An Analysis of the Dramatic Impact of the Restaurant Scene in Death of a Salesman Essay

Death of a Salesman was first performed in 1949 and was seen to be a powerful and moving piece of drama. I will now be going through the appeal and the impact of the play. First of all, the book of Death of a Salesman can be said to be a universal book, in the sense that it has broad range of themes and is a book for everybody. It has all sorts of aspects, and real life situations that one has to take in mind. Lets first look at the characters. Willy Loman is an insecure and self-deluding travelling salesman. Despite him desperately searching through his past, he is not the typical tragic hero that we have come to depict. He is rather a man who doesn’t achieve self-realization and self-knowledge. He fails to realize his personal failure, and an emotional and spiritual understanding of himself. Willy’s crucial problem is the failure to understand the anguished love that is offered to him. This is the real problem, and tragedy of the play. In the end, he is forced to making the most extreme sacrifice to allow Biff to follow the American Dream. In the end, we remember him by his quote that he made to Charley, â€Å"after all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you’re worth more dead than alive†. Biff Loman essentially wants to seek the truth about himself. While the father and brother alike, are in their self-delusional selves, and are unable to accept the miserable lives that they have, Biff accepts failure and confronts it. Essentially, Biff’s discovery of Willy’s affair drains him of all the faith he had in Willy. Willy sees Biff as an underachiever, and a person that could rise to the top, but Biff on the other hand sees himself trapped in his father’s unrealistic ambitions. Biff’s general identity crisis is a major aspect in the drama. In order to find it, he must expose his father’s delusions. Happy Loman is seen as Willy’s incarnation but with all his worst aspects. He is a difficult character to emphasize. He is a one-dimensional and emotionless character in the play. His empty vow at the end, which says he will â€Å"beat this racket†, is the full embodiment of the lie in which is the American Dream. He has blind ambitions, and is swallowed up by his lies that he is the assistant buyer, when in fact he is just an assistant to the assistant buyer, and is a no body. He is also depicted in this quote, â€Å" My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women, and still, goddamit, I’m lonely†. This idea represents that in fact, Happy has not got such a delightful life, as we have come to conclude, but in fact, he has an inner-emptiness. He feels as though he is a failure, and knows it, just like Willy, but never admits it. Linda Loman is one of the more reasonable characters in the play. She symbolises the need for patience and reason, as well as being the most realistic. She is practically the emotional core of the play. Well, the analysis of these characters should give an idea of what the play portrays. Here is the impact and the appeal, along with the major themes. The play is very much a mix of all sorts of different things, tragedy, social commentary and family drama. The American Dream is one of the most talked about issues in the entire play. Essentially, Willy depicts the American Dream very well. He believes wholeheartedly in what he considers its promise. He believes that a â€Å"well liked† and â€Å"personally attractive† man in business will indubitably possess all the material wealth and possessions that the world has to offer. However, his constant obsession with the vision of a superficial man with the qualities of being well liked and personally attractive is farfetched. Rather, a more understandable man would have depicted the American Dream as being identified as, hard working and positive approaching that leads to success. Eventually it is this very denial of how life works that destroys Willy. He approaches Bernard as a nerd because he studies hard and tries for success. Yet when he finds that Bernard reaches promise and success, and when he looks at his own life, he is left in a disparity, as he realises what a blind and fake kind of vision he lived for. It is actually this very idea that can be very appealing. It teaches a lesson about life, success and failure. How a man, fixed on a blind vision, realises that it is not superficial values that create a successful man, it is the desire to be the best, to want to learn, to strive for success, rather than wait for it. It is this very concept, in which we see a man crumble to a grinding halt. It is actually a truly remarkable aspect, as in it makes you think about life’s goals, and it is the educated people that prosper, not the fake. Another major issue in the play is betrayal. In the play, Willy constantly believes that Biff has betrayed him, in the sense that Biff hasn’t followed his ambitions and dreams that he had for him. Willy believes Biff has to follow his dreams and his path, and the moment Biff tries to reject this, he takes it personally, and says it’s spite. Overall, Willy fails as a salesman, to ultimately, sell the American Dream to his son. Then, Willy assumes that Biff has betrayed him because of his discovery of his affair with The Women. Whereas, Biff, who called Willy â€Å"a phoney little fake† believes Willy, with his unending ego-stroking lies, betrays him. What interests here, is the relationship between father and son. Here we have, a son dying for the truth and being realistic about what and who he is, confronting a father, surrounded by his own self-delusions about the American Dream, and to force it upon his son. This is a very interesting concept, which puts up the idea that Willy has really betrayed Biff, firstly because of his affair, which hurt Biff so much, as he loved his father and mother dearly, and also the fact that Biff is not given the chance to be realistic about himself and his family. I think it is the relations between father and son that are most interesting here. Another issue in the play, that the audience will notice, is abandonment. When Willy is a child, his father, leaving him and Ben alone, abandons him. Ben eventually leaves for Alaska, and Willy is left pondering over his warped vision of the American Dream. Thus, he tries desperately to prove it to his family, and Biff, who Willy loves dearly and has great ambitions for, drops Willy with his dreams when he finds out his betrayal to Linda. Finally, in the restaurant scene, which will be mentioned later, Willy finally believes his American Dream is coming to light, but all his illusions are shattered, and he is left babbling in the washroom. It seems that every abandonment causes great despair over Willy. It actually quite saddens the audience when they see this lonely figure of a man, living up to his fake dreams, to be shattered and let down by those dearest to him. What is interesting, is that how we come about seeing this. His abandonment by his sons can be seen to be his incapability of being realistic about life, and that is one of the main reasons why Biff is uneasy towards Willy. The fact that he is always in unrealistic dreams. So generally, it can be interpreted in different ways. One interesting point I would like to make is that Willy has this tendency to mythologize figures. In the play he has a very important quote, â€Å" And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up the phone, and to be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people?† Willy speaks of Dave Singleman here, as a legend and the embodiment of the American Dream. Here is his mistake. His failure to understand his own life, leads to his demise. Willy fails to realise the loneliness, and hopelessness of Singleman’s job. It is that very failure to realise this, that sees both his sons abandon his fake Dream. It is also the fact that he mythologizes Biff and Happy. He is quoted as saying Biff is like Adonis and Happy like Hercules. This is because he believes Biff and Happy to be the absolute embodiment of the American Dream. He sees them as being perfect in every way required, but the reality is extremely different. Moreover, the fact that there includes many different types of symbols also makes you think. It can be said that the rubber hose is an important symbol in itself, as it constantly reminds us of Willy’s desperate attempts to commit suicide. Here, the rubber hose represents the attempts at killing himself with gas, which is, the supplier of his families basic needs. This very idea of inhaling gas is the concept that Willy thinks, is a crucial battle to afford such simple necessities. Diamonds are what I find, extremely puzzling. These diamonds represent two things to Willy. They are, the validation of ones labour, and the ability to pass actual material goods to children. They are both what Willy is craving for. On the other hand however, they are a representation of the discovery of Ben in Alaska, and Willy’s desperate failure as a Salesman. The mistake of Willy, essentially what he feels as well, is that he didn’t go with Ben to Alaska and peruse the American Dream for which he craved so much. Instead, he stayed for what the Dream promised, financial security. So, at the end Ben encourages Willy to enter the Jungle and obtain the diamond, thus, to kill himself for the insurance money to make his life meaningful in at least one sense. So, these ideas were the key concepts of the play. This is exactly what makes it a fantastically interesting and complicated piece of drama. The fact, that so many lessons are learned, so many ideas are played, so many themes and genres are come across. These are what make Death of a Salesman, a truly magnificent piece of writing. It is the fact that it takes the audience into a whole bundle of new ideas and aspects to consider that makes it remarkable. The fact also, that it is set in the 1980’s makes it even more interesting. It depicts the typical nature of the American Dream. Arthur Miller (the author) tries to get the idea across that the American Dream is nothing but an illusion; it is hard working that really matters. Maybe some time ago it was the case, but not now. This idea is clearly implied throughout the book. For example there is Biff’s struggle to get the concept of realism across to his father, there is Happy’s lies and failure, also Bernard’s excellent success, and also Charley’s success even when he was not well liked, and finally, Willy’s failure in life. It is all these ideas that make the play truly astonishing. Now, after describing the play as a whole, I will move on to the restaurant scene, one of the most important scenes in the entire play. It is the climax of the whole Drama. I will first describe the scene then explain and comment on it with quotes. It starts of with the scene in Frank’s Chop House. After Happy meets a particular girl, Miss Forsythe, Biff explains to Happy that he waited six hours to see Bill Oliver, and Oliver didn’t even remember him. He quotes after that, â€Å" I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and- I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years, I was a shipping clerk.† Biff asks where he ever got the idea that he was a salesman for Oliver, he was only a shipping clerk. However, it was Willy’s lies and exaggerations that led him to believe he was a salesman when he actually wasn’t. Then Biff accounts how he stole Bill Oliver’s fountain pen and was disgusted with himself. Happy tells Biff to go tell Willy lies, and say he is thinking about the preposition and then Willy will eventually forget the whole matter. When Willy arrives, he reveals the shocking news, â€Å"I’m not interested in stories about the past or any crap of that kind because the woods are burning, boys, you understand? There’s a big blaze going on all around. I was fired today†. After that he states he needs some good news to go back to Linda with, because he is essentially in disparity, and his life is wrecked. Then everything goes off. Willy says to Biff that he can’t blame him because he is the one who failed math. Young Bernard appears in Willy’s flashback, telling the news to Linda, that Birnbaum flunked Biff. Biff gets completely confused at his father’s crazy statements, and tries to calm him down and explain the truth to him, but it reaches a stage where Willy refuses to listen to Biff’s story. In an absolute frenzy, Willy goes into a state of delirium and has a semi-daydream about the discovery of The Woman in the Boston hotel. Biff backs down, and then desperately starts to lie in an attempt to save his father, â€Å"Oliver talked to his partner about the Florida idea. You listening? He-he talked to his partner, and came to me†¦ I’m going to be all right, you hear? Dad, listen to me, he said it was a question of amount!† Then, when Biff can’t lie anymore, because he is afraid that Willy will get hurt, Willy is insulted by Biff, thinking it is spite and lashes out at his son, he quotes â€Å"You rotten little louse, are you spiting me?† whereas Biff would never do that, because he loves his father and only wants to help him. Then Willy goes off into the washroom and talks to himself. Biff returns to Happy in the Chop House, and accuses Happy of not caring about his father. Essentially Biff reveals the real character that Happy is. Biff tells him in a crucial quote, â€Å" I sense it, you don’t give a goddam about him.† Happy says he should go out with the ladies. Biff leaves in guilt and anguish. Happy claims to the ladies that Willy is not his father, â€Å"he’s just a guy† and then he frantically asks for the bill, Stanley doesn’t respond, so they all leave, and Willy is left babbling in the washroom alone. So, before I get on to the scene with The Woman, I want to explain this. First of all, as Willy has encountered Howard, Bernard and Charley, and has seen their success, his dreams are seriously dented. His illusions and constructed reality is falling apart. Biff wants to essentially leave behind all the lies and fake illusions and start a new beginning, one with his father relating to honesty. Willy, however, wants his sons to aid him in constructing a false truth. One that includes reliving the American Dream for him. Willy takes Biff so far, as to produce a false report of the interview with Bill Oliver and Happy is very willing to accept. When Biff starts to produce a negative report, Happy jumps in with positive remarks to keep the talk going, he quotes, â€Å"Sure pop, sure, he told him my Florida idea†. He comes up with false information about the interview, and here, it is absolutely clear that he has only his own interests in mind, however the damning evidence comes la ter. After a moment of weakness and defeat, Willy’s ultimate fear is lived in the restaurant. He is in an emotional breakdown, and needs Biff and Happy to give him confidence, as he knows he is not liked anymore, and he knows it better than anybody. Eventually we see the state of abandonment as before, when Biff and Happy reject him. Willy’s dream is coming apart, and Happy and Biff have dented it more than any other. For Biff, the experience of finding out the truth about himself and the fact that he is not a salesman for Bill Oliver, makes him even more determined to crack the lies that surround him, at any cost. Willy refuses to hear out Biff because he wants to stay in delusions. He doesn’t want the truth, because he realises how bitter it is, and he knows it. Essentially it can be said that he can’t handle the truth. On top of that Biff doesn’t want to hear Willy’s lies because he is tired of them, he doesn’t want them repeated and repeated. He wants his Dad to realise him. Biff believes, that he must conquer the heavy lies put on him, and realise the truth about his personal degradation. Both Willy and Biff know the differences between the death of a salesman in Singleman and Willy’s own pathetic vision of death. The basis here is that Biff understands that behind the American Dream lies a lonely, and terrible death, one that Singleman himself had. Happy and Linda want Willy to die as he is, in delusions and false truth, but Biff is determined to reach the real truth. Now, this is essentially what is going on in this scene. Biff tries desperately to uncover the lies about himself and Willy, but Willy won’t let him explain. It’s as almost if Willy doesn’t want to hear. Another point to add is that before Biff tries to explain things, we find out he is slightly on alcohol and nervous, and it is essentially because he wants to say he is worthless, a no body, and a bum, something that his father will not accept. Biff tries to explain but Willy won’t let him. This implies Willy is saying, I want to stay in illusions, I’m empty, I don’t want to know the truth. Biff then quotes, ‘His answer was- Dad you’re not letting me tell you what I want you to hear!’ This is very interesting, because Biff is about to tell a half lie, but that’s not what he wants to do, because he wants to get straight. He wants to come out with the truth, and he also loves his father, and doesn’t want to hurt him. With the key line of ‘he’s just a guy’ Happy shows himself as a distorted, thinner image of Willy. However, Willy has a good side to him, his love for his family, and his sense of humour are his good sides. Overall, this scene where we see Biff and Happy, can be said to be the emotional climax of the whole play, as many different ideas and concepts are revealed. Now, I will be describing the scene where Willy is left alone in the rest room, and is in a flashback. When his sons have departed from the Chop House, Willy is left alone in his daydreams and flashbacks about Biff’s visit to Boston. In his daydream he is in a hotel room in Boston with his mistress. After telephoning repeatedly, Biff is knocking on the door. The Woman pesters Willy to go answer. We learn something new about her, as she quotes, â€Å" You know you ruined me, Willy? From now on, whenever you come to the office, I’ll see that you go right through to the buyers. No waiting at my desk any more, Willy. You ruined me.† She doesn’t ‘t actually mean Willy ruined her, but it is just a sort of joke. However, this means, that Willy met her in a buyer’s office and she was presumably, the secretary. Willy is clearly nervous about the surprise visitor, and he orders her to stay in the washroom because it might be a clerk investigating their affair. Willy answers the door and Biff is there. He tells Willy he flunked maths and asks Willy to persuade the teacher, Mr. Birnbaum, to pass him. Then Willy quotes, â€Å"Come on, let’s go downstairs and get you a malted.† Willy is clearly trying to get Biff out of the room quickly. When Biff imitates the maths teacher, The Woman laughs in the bathroom. Willy insists that it is nothing. The Woman suddenly enters the room. Willy quickly pushes her out into the hall way and says that she is a buyer staying in a room next door who needed to shower in Willy’s room, because her room was being painted. Biff then, astonished, sits on his suitcase, crying silently, and not buying his father’s lies at all. Willy says he will go talk to the math teacher, but in tears, Biff says he should forget it. The most harmful blow was when he quoted, â€Å" You-you gave her Mamas stockings!† Then he quotes, â€Å" You fake! You phoney little fake! You fake!† Biff leaves in tears, and Willy is left on the floor quoting, â€Å" I gave you an order! Biff, come back here or I’ll beat you! Come back here! I’ll whip you!† Stanley pulls Willy out of his daydream. Willy is still on his knees yelling and ordering Biff. Stanley pulls him back up, and Willy attempts to tip him, but Stanley sneakily puts it back into Willy’s pocket. Willy asks him frantically where a seed store is, he must plant something, he quotes, and â€Å"Nothing’s planted I don’t have a thing in the ground† So, what did this all mean? Well, Biff discovers the affair of Willy and calls him â€Å"phoney little fake†, so, this means that he suddenly, at that moment, realises what’s beneath Willy’s facade and despises the man behind it. This is what saddens Willy the most, to be exposed in that way. From then on, Willy decides that the reason for Biff rejecting his illusions and the reason for his failure in life is because of what he found out. Of course, in logic, Biff hated Willy for his affair, and therefore hated his ambitions and dreams as well. In this way, Willy mixes up professional with personal. Willy, in his understanding of the American Dream, believes that it has no need for professional success; rather, he thinks that one can derive happiness without these things. Essentially, he thinks success derives from immaterial and ephemeral concepts, of being â€Å"well liked† and having â€Å"personal attractiveness†. Willy believes, that because Biff doesn’t respect him anymore, as a father or person, he automatically rejects the American Dream. However, Willy is correct. This knowledge of the crime that Willy has committed tarnishes any emotional aspects, so therefore Biff rejects the whole idea of the fake American Dream, that Willy is so desperate to sell. Another aspect is the symbol of Linda’s stockings. Earlier in the play, Willy was preoccupied with the state of Linda’s stockings and her mending them. Until the restaurant scene, which is the most climatic scene where Biff tries to uncover all the lies surrounding the Loman household, the only subconscious trace of Willy’s adultery is the complete and utter persistence to throw away Linda’s stockings. These stockings are the ultimate symbol of betrayal and guilt, which overpowers Willy. When Biff then rejects his ambitions for him and the American Dream, his Dream also starts to crack. Willy’s delirious interest in the seed shop and the end reveals a lot about him. At that moment Willy is a failure. He is poor, unemployed and has nothing to give to his sons. He tries to give Stanley a dollar to portray to him at least that he does own something. However, it was a pretty pathetic and feeble attempt. Stanley though doesn’t accept it, because at that time he feels dear to Willy since both sons have left him. In addition, the failure to raise Biff the way he wanted means he has to plant some vegetables at least, to prove his labour and to raise something successfully. The quote at the end, â€Å"Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground†, is implying how Biff was able to break free of his American Dream, and the traditions of his family. Finally, the metaphor represents Willy’s natural preferences to do manual labour, and that being a salesman, was definitely the wrong choice to go with. So, I have come to an end and the only conclusion that I can make of the play, is that it is a fantastically good idea. The themes have an extraordinary range. These include betrayal, the American Dream, material success, commerce, truth vs. lies/fantasy, family, instinct, work, death and ‘dying well’. I’ll end with a quote made by Biff, which summed up Willy very well, â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.† Background Information: The whole play addresses many painful conflicts regarding the American national values. It offers a post war personal tragedy reading. I think mostly; Miller is concerned with America revolving around the false myth that is based on capitalism and materialism constructed by the post war economy. A type of view, which was held highly by the founders of America. The challenge of the American Dream was very radical at the time of World War II. Radical as it was, many of the artists and philosophers took up the idea of realistic views and personal meaning. At that time this was unusual, and the government didn’t like the idea, they had confusion already in the country. However, many people, even then, had so many conflicts, which included racial and economical, that they couldn’t take up the idea of a social reformation. Many people still kept their ideological interests in hand. However in this day and age, it is obvious that the ideas of people like Arthur Miller have been put into practise, and now, the emphasis is of the American Dream is that it only works if you want to succeed and get to the top by working hard and being positive that you will do well. So, as a final comment, I think that Arthur Miller’s ideas and concepts managed to change the way people think about how society and families work, and what are the values to keep in mind.

organic chem Essays

organic chem Essays organic chem Essay organic chem Essay INTRODUCTION Aliphatic hydrocarbons with 1 double bond between carbons are called alkene. They follow the naming convention of the alkanes except that the suffix -ene is used instead of -ane. From alkene, we can produce alcohol by hydration of alkene. Hydration is a process of adding water directly to the carbon-carbon double bond (C=C). The objective of the experiment is to get the alcohol from the alkene through hydration reaction and to differentiate the physical properties between the alkene and the alcohol. APPARATUS 1 . Goggles 2. Disposable nitrile gloves 3. Beaker (250ml) 4. Measuring cylinder (5ml or 10ml) 2 5. Boiling tubes -2 6. Glass stirring rod CHEMICALS 1. Ice , a few lumps 2. Hex-I-ene (IRRINTANT ,HIGHLY FLAMMABLE) 3. 75% sulphunc acid (CORROSIVE) 1 5ml 4. Distilled water 20ml For distillation 1 . Anhydrous sodium carbonate (IRRITANT) 0. 5g 2. Bromine water, 0. 01 M (HARMFUL at this concentration) Iml 3. Acidified potassium manganate (VI) solution ,about 0. 001M Iml 4. Sodium (HIGH FLAMMABLE,CORROSIVE) a small piece no bigger than 2mm 5. Eye protection 6. Beaker (250 rnl) 7. Separating funnel (250ml) 8. Conical flask (250ml) 9. Filter funnel 10. Filter paper 11. Distillation apparatus,with thermometer (0-200 or 0-250 ) 12. Test-tube rack 13. Test-tubes , with corks 8 14. Forceps 15. Scalpel PROCEDURES PREPARING THE MIXTURE 1. A few lumps of ice and some water was placed in a beaker to make an ice bath. 2. 15 ml of hex-I-ene was measured using a measuring cylinder it was poured into a boiling tube. 3. The hex-I-ene was allowed to cool in the ice bath for about three cylinder. 5. An acid was added to the hex-I-ene slowly while keeping the tube in the ice bath and the mixture was stirred using a glass rod. 6. The mixture was stirred continuously when all the acid has been added until it becomes homogeneous. It took about 5 minutes. 7. The mixture was allowed to stand in the ice bath for another 5 minutes, then an equal volume of cold water was carefully added by using another boiling tube. The mixture separated in two layers. The top layer was impure hexan-2- 01, the lower layer contained mainly sulfuric acid. DISTILLATION OF THE PRODUCT 1. The contents in the boiling tube was tipped into a beaker. Then the contents was poured into a separating funnel, stopper, shake and the contents was allowed to ettle. . The stopper was removed and the lower layer were ran off into a beaker and it was discarded by carefully washed it down the sink with plenty of water. 3. 20 ml of distilled water was added to the separating funnel, stopper and shake. This washed the hexan-2-ol. The stopper was removed and the bottom aqueous layer was ran off then it was discarded. 4. 0. 5 g of anhydrous sodium carbonat e was placed in a 250 ml conical flask. The hexan-2-ol was ran out of the separating funnel into the flask. The flask then was swirled frequently for about twenty minutes until the hexan-2-ol dried. The distillation apparatus was set up. The hexan-2-ol was unloaded as much as possible from the conical flask into the distilling flask and then the rest was filtered into the distilling flask. 6. Distilled. The hexan-2-ol was collected at 1300 and 1600C. Hex-I-ene boiled at much lower temperature, 630C. 7. A few drops of hex-I-ene and hexan-2-ol were used for each test to compare them. RESULTS Hex-I -ene Test reactions Hexa-2-nol Heterogenous is formed (top layer-colorless, bottom layer-yellow color) Bromine water, (Br2) Brown color change to colorless Purple color change to pale yellow Potassium manganate,(KMn04) Purple color change to dark brown No reaction Sodium metal , (Na) More soot Lit splint Less soot DISCUSSION From the experiment, we found that alcohol is produced from the hydration of alkene. Electrophilic addition is a reaction in which two molecules Join together to make a bigger one. Nothing is losing in the process. The overall preparation is: C6H12 *H20 C6H130H The alkyl hydrogensulfate reacts with water to give alcohol and regenerates sulfuric acid. The secondary alcohol hexan-2-ol is formed rather than the primary hexan-l-ol.

An Argument Against Breed-Specific Legislation Essay -- Argumentative,

To say â€Å"pit bull,† however, is a vague reference to several pit bull types, which are considered separate breeds by registries like the American Kennel Club (AKC). Each type has a slightly different breeding history; many began with the breeding of bulldogs with terriers to produce a loyal, compact and tenacious breed (â€Å"American Pit Bull Terrier†). The standard three pit bull types most often mentioned by name in breed-specific legislation include the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. That is not the extent of the legislation, however, which also includes dogs that â€Å"substantially conform to the breed standards established by the American Ken e 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. Cohen, Judy, and John Richardson. â€Å"Pit Bull Panic.† Journal of Popular Culture 36.2 (2002): 297. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. â€Å"Dog Bite: Fact Sheet.† Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. â€Å"Dogfighting Fact Sheet.† The Humane Society of the United States. 2 Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. Melvindale, Mich., Municipal Code art. II,  § 4-137 (1990). Perry, April M. â€Å"Guilt by Saturation: Media Liability for Third-party Violence and the Availability Heuristic.† Northwestern University Law Review 97.2 (2003): 1045. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. â€Å"The Truth About Pit Bulls.† ASPCA. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. â€Å"U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities January 2006 to December 2008.† DogsBite. 20 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.

E-Business Resit Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

E-Business Resit Coursework - Essay Example The adoption of e–business is not restricted to any particular industry or particular company. From high tech aerospace industry to the farming industry, several companies of various sizes are conducting e–business activities at present. The paper will analyze the impact of internet and other digital technology in the supply chain process of retail industry (Jorge, 2008). The company chosen for retail industry is Topshop, a retail apparel company of the UK. It is a brand of Arcadia Group, a retailing giant of the UK. Topshop had earned its uniqueness through its own marketing strategies, retailing methods and online businesses (Topshop, n.d.). Impact of Internet on Supply Chain Process The impact of internet and digital technology in the market and within the general business performances are significant. In retail industry of the UK, the direct business system through internet had been applied by many companies. With regard to Topshop, it allows customers to choose any product through website and sell products without heavily depending on third–party distributors. The e– business of Topshop also assures convenience and cost cutback (Levi & Et. Al., 2004). A retail company such a Topshop is very successful in developing internet business model that let it to increase revenue radically and capture the market. According to Topshop, it sold almost 30 brace of knickers per minute, 500 brace of legging per hour and 6000 brace of jeans per day in the year 2006. The internet acts as a driver for business alteration (Rushton, 2007). The supply chain process is often viewed as a tactical asset as it has the strength to make a difference and develop sustainable advantage in the competitive economy. Presently, several new business enterprises had appeared to have complete advantage of the e–business e.g. ‘drop shipping’ which had rapidly gained reputation among retailers. In this system, an e–tailor takes order for pr oduct and provides the producer or distributor opportunity to send the product to the purchaser. In this system, the e–tailor does not possess any stock. Through the alteration of conventional supply chain process, the ‘drop shipping’ system helps to transfer the inventory management related difficulties to the producers (Feng, 2008). Impact of Internet on Retail Sector The retail industry had reacted lately to the competition from e–business environment and to identify the prospects offered by the internet. In recent times, the scene has changed, as many retail companies such as Topshop had introduced internet shopping to their offerings. Topshop knows the benefit they can have by entering into e-business. TopShop has its own virtual trade store and it services the products by its existing storehouse and supply chain network. High quantity products, whose demand is balanced with the supply on the basis of long-term estimation, are stocked in stores. In ca se of low quantity products, the storing is done centrally for the purpose of internet marketing. The products which are purchased online have high volatility of demand, thus the centralised stocking helps to

Exploring the development and scope of public health Essay

Exploring the development and scope of public health - Essay Example This research paper aims at analyzing the scope of alcoholism, and identification of ways of solving the problem through research. In the UK, various factors have been pointed to affect social health, individual wellbeing and the ultimate health of an individual. These factors include increase in chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. The second one is about the concentration of the aged and the lone dwellers in the UK. Then finally the trend linked to smoking and alcohol abuse (Earle, 2004). The work at hand focuses on the alcohol abuse, describing the scope and nature of this social problem and including suggested research approaches to amend the situation. In the British community, consumption of alcohol is a normal practice that contributes significantly to the British economy. Many individuals take alcohol very responsibly while certain portions of the populations are also entangled by alcohol abuse (Earle & Sidell, 2007). One heard many things about the harmful consumption of alcohol and its negative impacts on the economy, the society and the individual’s health. Furthermore, abuse of alcohol has been observed to cause a variety of public health concerns including violence, poisoning, chronic diseases such as cirrhosis and certain cancers and accidents (Morgan, 2012). The effects of alcohol misuse in the society include lower economic status as a result of reduced productivity, frequent sick days and unemployment (Zuccato et al., 2008). Added to this, social harm occurs through high rate of divorce and rampant cases of domestic violence which are perpetuated by the individuals with high dependence on alcohol. Alcoholics are likely to be motivated to do crime and anti-social behaviors. All of these situations consequently result to higher burdens in the National Health System as characterized by the immediate demand for primary care linked to cases of alcohol-related-hospital admissions (Unwin, 2007) The Home Office and the

Journal Assignment Observation of a Presentation Essay

Journal Assignment Observation of a Presentation - Essay Example Each person hired had to have restaurant experience in the area of their work. For an example, a person in the kitchen had to have kitchen and food preparation experience. There were 14 new people hired for this day time shift. Each person wore a name tag, and they were told that they needed to wear the name tag every time they came to work. One lady started to laugh. She was rather young, and Mr. Marcus asked her what was funny. She said that she was glad she didn't have to wear them like the ones that retail stores have their employees do because they aren't able to be read! As the people introduced themselves, it was easy to see who were outgoing and who were quieter. The outgoing people smiled and made eye contact with others, while the more reserved were polite in their behavior, participated, but appeared uncomfortable in the group setting. Mr. Marcus smiled frequently, then said that he wanted all of them to understand correct table service because when working in an elite restaurant, it is necessary to know the procedures. He asked if anyone had ever known or practiced right-handed table service. One male, Jon, raised his hand and said that he did. Mr. Marcus asked him to come help him demonstrate. He had two of the other people sit as though they were guests in the restaurant. Jon set the table for right-handed service, then Mr. ... He had Jon take the dishes from the table from the right, then serve dessert to the guests. The others watched and Mr. Marcus asked if they had any questions. Geoff, another male, raised his hand and asked if left-handed service was ever used instead of the right handed method. Mr. Marcus explained how and when that could be used and the need to observe the guests as to which hand is used in eating. Mr. Marcus handled questions very well. Julia asked about having an accident and dropping something. Mr. Marcus' answer was pleasant. "Well, Julia, I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, the staff will help clean it up and then we'll fire you!" He laughed, admitting he was teasing, but that the staff would help in a crisis. His personal mannerisms, his smile, eye contact, and interaction, made the trainees feel comfortable. His non-verbal behavior was impressive and quite natural. It was obvious that Mr. Marcus was quite comfortable with his position. His mannerisms showed a person who was comfortable with himself and what he was doing. He made eye contact with every person he was training and had a way of getting each to participate without causing him or her to feel uncomfortable. He did this by a slight motion of his hand. His dress was a shirt and tie with a business suit, the jacket was removed while he was training. The language that was notable was his use of "guest" instead of "customer" and "service" instead of "waiting on the table." This was definitely an upper class eating establishment! Also, when a question was asked, he repeated the question in the form of a statement, then proceeded to answer the question. This is an excellent technique for anyone in communications or the teaching field. The trainees were dressed in the type of uniforms

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Labelling Theory

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Labelling Theory Labelling theory and its theorists focus on the groups and/or individuals who were deemed to be criminal and labelled thus by society. Labelling theorists studied the various interactions between the criminal groups and individuals and the conformist society. Labeling theory was quite popular in the 1960s and early 1970s, but then fell into decline-partly as a result of the mixed results of empirical research. This essay will go on to show the origins of labelling theory, the theory itself and will show its strengths and weaknesses using various case-studies and examples. Tannenbaum (1938) is widely regarded as the first labelling theorist. His main concept was the dramatization of evil. He stated that if a person is described as being a criminal then he automatically becomes one. Erwin Lamert (1951) founded the societal Reaction theory. This theory is widely credited to be the forerunner of the present day labelling theory. His theory basically states that a person experiences social deviance in two phases. The first phase is known as the Primary deviance phase. The second is known as the Secondary deviance phase. According to Lemert, the primary deviance phase begins with a criminal act. He or she is then labelled criminal but has yet to accept the label. The main point of view is whether he or she has accepted the criminal label. If the person views themselves as a criminal then the secondary deviant phase has begun. The object of whether a person views himself or herself as a criminal is what differentiates between the primary and secondary devian t phases. Lemert states that there are exceptions and people continue to stay in the primary phase, an example would be someone who rationalizes that the so called criminal act is legal as it is necessary for them to survive and earn money (an exotic dancer would be an example). The secondary deviance phase usually begins when a person has accepted the criminal label. They then accept themselves as being criminal as use it to counter (either by moving with similar peer groups or by other means) societys reaction to the initial act. Howard Becker (1963) is held to be the architect of the modern labelling theory. He is also responsible for coining the term moral entrepreneur which is a term used to describe law making officials who get certain criminal behaviour illegal. Becker proposed that criminal behaviour is dynamic in nature and changes throughout time. He therefore suggested that the actual act is impertinent to the theory. What matters was the type of people going through the criminal justice system. Therefore Becker says that personal motives and the influence by society has nothing to do with criminal behaviour. This is the most debated part of the labelling theory brought about by him. Becker pays particular attention to how people and society react and operate with others who have the criminal label. He mentions that once a person has the label of criminal associated with him or her; it becomes stuck with them and acts as a constant label. This effect is so profound that Becker states that individuals with this label begin to be associated with the word criminal. All their other associations and labels such as that of parent, employee, and so on take a back seat. It becomes so extreme that it becomes their one and only status. Foster et al, 1972 say that in certain unique cases, the label of criminal may force an individual to integrate back into society and try and try and show them that the criminal act he or she committed was a mistake and will not happen again (cited in Labelling theory). Although in most cases secondary deviance will be accomplished in which the person accepts the label of criminal and begins to associate with similarly branded people, losing contact with friends who conform to societies rules (Becker, 1963 cited in Labelling Theory). It has occurred only when both the society and individual consider him or her to be a criminal or a deviant. Labelling theory however has many inherent drawbacks. Firstly, according to Wellford (1975) the theory states that no acts are inherently criminal, and states that acts are only criminal when society considers them to be so. There are clearly some acts considered wrong in almost all the societies and nations in the world, murder, arson are a few such examples (cited in labelling theory). Secondly is the process of self-labelling. Hagen (1973) brings about the concept of self-labelling, in which he states the example of a murderer who has avoided all suspicion (the act is not criminal if no one is around to witness it or label him). He goes on to say that the murderer may have a conscience which will cause him to label himself or herself as a murderer. This goes against the labelling theory, which states that labelling must come from a third party. Thirdly, labelling theory is supposed to cover all criminal activity and has an effect on everyone irrespective of their race, social clas s, sex and age (Becker, 1963). Other criminologists have been doubtful of this part of the theory and hold that a persons race, social class and so on do have an effect. They mention that the above mentioned factors can either enhance or mitigate the effects of labelling theory. There is however no scientific study on the effects of the above factors. Marshall and Purdy (1972) stated that the studies conducted reflected actual behavioural differences that were reacted to differently by different people. Fourthly, it matters on who the audience is comprised of, as the level of denouncement an individual feels depends on the audiences reaction to the act. As the labelling theory states, the first is the audience learning about the act that is considered criminal and not the act itself. As it has already been explained, if the audience doesnt know about it then it is not a crime. Different audiences may have different reactions to a crime and thus the punishment and the labelling will vary even though the same crime is being committed. The last drawback of the labelling theory is that the personality of the individual matters. This can cause problems. The level of stigmatization an individual gets varies on whether or not he cares about his label. Studies have come across certain individuals that have personality traits which makes them resistant to the labels conferred on them by society. The biggest drawback one may say that affects labelling theory is that it has not yet been empirically validated. Some studies found that being officially labeled a criminal (e.g. arrested or convicted) increased subsequent crime, while other studies did not. Although there are many studies that validate it, there are none that can offer significant data in its support. Labelling also involves both a wrong or deviant act and a deviant person. There are however several things that are wrong with the drawbacks. The first one mentions that murder, arson and so on are all criminal in most of the nations and societies. That is not a drawback but merely a statement of facts. It merely states what society currently thinks. In the future the mindset of society may change and acts that were previously considered to be criminal may be legalised. History has shown that society has and will change to accept criminal behaviour or to make legal behaviour illegal. An example would be that of homosexuality. In the early times, it was illegal. Now it is legal. The smoking of marijuana is another example, although it is illegal in most of the societies and nations it is now slowly being tolerated in some and even being legalised in others. One of the other drawbacks also mentions the aspect of self-labelling. But as mentioned before, the individual or group may seek to rationalize their behaviour, thus avoiding the prospect of self labelli ng. An example would be a person stealing to satisfy his hunger. He would not label himself as a criminal as it was a necessary for him to do so. Thus most of the drawbacks can be explained. Lemert (1967) brought out the connection between social reaction and deviance through his studies and research of a number of Indian tribes in British Columbia. He noticed that in some tribes, stuttering occurred among their members and their language mentioned stuttering. Other tribes however had no mention of stuttering in their language and had no members of their tribes stuttering. Lemert could not establish a clear reason as to why that was so. He then went on to find that tribe that had stuttering, placed a very high meaning and emphasis on storytelling and oratory skills. Children of those tribes that placed a very high emphasis on storytelling were often brought up in a culture that placed a high value on not stuttering and having good oratory skills. Those that were not able to conform to the rest of the tribe i.e. had bad storytelling and oratory skills were mocked. Lemert concluded that the pressure placed on the members of the tribe to have good skills and the subsequent mockery and social exclusion if they didnt posses the oratory skills led to the development of stuttering. He said that in tribes where good oratory skills were not expected, there was no negative reaction and hence there was no deviance of the above type. He thus said that such type of labelling leads to more deviant behaviour. Thomas Scheff (1966) published Being Mentally Ill, was the first instance of labelling theory being applied to the term of Mentally Ill. Scheff said that mental ill was the product of societal influence, going against the common perceptions of the time. When society finds some act criminal or deviant, they usually place the term of Mental Illness on those who show that behaviour so that society can understand the reason for the behaviour and come to terms with it. According to him, society then places certain behavioural expectations on the individual and the individual subconsciously changes his behaviour to suit the expectations of society. He said that there are no different types of the mentally ill with just one type who conform to what society has labelled them to be. Walter Grove on the other hand was vehemently opposed to the theory proposed by Thomas Scheff. Grove argued the opposite point. He said that labelling theory and the mentally ill have no influence on one another. He said that people are said to be mentally ill, when they display behaviour that makes them to be so. Grove said that society has no influence whatsoever on mental illness. He said that due to their illness, they behave differently most of the time and are hence treated as such. There have been studies to show how after being diagnosed with a mental illness labelling has taken an effect, such as not being offered houses and jobs, but there is very little to show that labelling was the cause of mental illness in the first place. Thus we can say that labelling does have a profound effect but has yet to be shown that it was labelling that caused the illness in the first place. Labelling can have different aspects as well. An example would be drugs. Marijuana for example is tolerated in Amsterdam and is legal in other parts of the world (Mexico allows four grams for personal use). In those societies, soft drugs and their users are accepted and are not labelled as deviant or criminal. In these societies we see limited drug use and little or no overdoses and or drug abuse. In other societies however, soft drugs are illegal and the people who use them are labelled as deviant. It is in these societies that the policing organisations have trouble controlling the abuse of drugs. This is due to the fact that people with low self esteem or a different/weak personality trait takes these drugs to show that they can handle it and want to rebel against society. Becker (1953) wrote in his book, the Marijuana user, that the drug does not produce any addiction and that it has no withdraw sickness or any sort of substance that makes the user crave for the drug. The most fr equent use would be recreational. He questioned fifty of those users and found that they did not have any pre-dispositional behaviour towards it. They would be able to smoke it at one time and at others, they wont be able to. Thus the quality of deviance does not reside in the behaviour itself, but is rather the outcome of responses to that behaviour by various social audiences (Tierney). The daily mail ran an article which stated that some people were more likely to smoke if they saw Smoking Kills on it. This was due to the fact the these people had low self esteem and by doing something that brings them close to the edge makes them feel like a rebel. Thus we see that labelling though introduced to help society and make it a better place can actually make it worse. This part of the labelling theory has many policy implications. Intervention may make things worse. Labelling theory supports the idea of radical non-interventionism, in which policy dictates that certain acts are decrim inalised and the removal of the social stigmata surrounding the acts. The effect of labelling theory on juvenile behaviour is a bit more pronounced and clear. Youths are especially vulnerable to labelling theory. Once they start to believe in their negative labels, self rejection occurs which plays a major role in the social rejection theory. This self rejection attitude leads to the rejection of the norms of society and gives them a motive to deviate from conventional values of society. They then form bonds with like minded deviant peers. These youths then go on to reject those that have labelled them and tend to set up their own criminal lifestyles consisting of criminal behaviour. In schools, those that come from a working class family or a lower class, the youth gangs are seen as trouble makers compared to the middle class gangs who are labelled as pranksters instead. Research has shown that many of the youth gangs who come from the lower class get arrested and are labelled further as criminals. Gouldner (1968) argued that labelling theorists made the individual look innocent by the application of labels by control agents such as the police and society. He pointed out that deviance was created entirely on the whims of authority. An example to this would be the issue of homosexuality. Early in the century, authorities labelled it criminal and illegal. Those that were caught were persecuted as such. But now, homosexuality is an accepted fact in society and there are little or fewer stigmas and or labelling attached to it. Thus as shown in the above essay, labelling theory has many strengths and weaknesses. Those are, no acts are inherently criminal, there can be a process of self-labelling, it covers or is supposed to cover all criminal activity, depends on the members of the society or those that do the labelling and finally it depends on the personality of the individual. However, there are already inherent drawbacks with the drawbacks given by various individual sociologists. Those are that society changes, and so does labelling. Individuals can rationalize their deviant behaviour. In spite of these, the major drawback of the labelling theory is the lack of empirical data to support it. We can thus conclude that labelling theory does have an effect, but is not the primary cause for most of the acts committed.