Flyting - Definition and Examples of Flyting in English

A verbal slanging match: a ritualized form of invective in which insults are exchanged. Its as if a verbal space has been cordoned off, says Ruth Wajnryb. Inside this space a sanctioned kind of swearing can take place . . . where taboos are knowingly and legitimately flouted, providing a linguistic and psychological safety valve for a public letting off of steam (Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language, 2005). Etymology: from the Old English, argue. Examples and Observations: Although the language is often gross, even grotesque and astonishingly scatological, there is also a certain element of play. . . . [Flyting] is the verbal equivalent of virtuoso sword-play. . . .[In the farce] Gammer Gurtons Needle (acted 1566) . . . we find the new idioms of what the devil, how a murrain [plague], go to, Fie shitten knave and out upon thee, the pox, bawdy bitch, that dirty bastard, the whoreson dolt, for Gods sake, thou shitten knave and that dirty shitten lout. The violent altercations between Grandma Gurton and Dame Chat show the closest affiliations to flyting:Gammer​Thou wert as good as kiss my tail,Thou slut, thou cut, thou rakes, thou jakes,[You whore, you jade, you bawd, you shit-house]will not shame make thee hide thee?ChatThou skald, thou bald, thou rotten, thou glutton,[You scold, you hairless thing, you rubbish, you pig]I will no longer chide theeBut I will teach thee to keep home.​(G. Hughes, Swearing: A Social History of Foul Language, Oa ths and Profanity in English. Blackwell, 1991) The Slanging Match in Henry the Fourth Part One Seventeenth-century playwrights regularly provided their audiences with such contests, knowing that they would be well received. There is the well-known exchange in Shakespeares Henry the Fourth Part One (2:iv) between prince Hal and Falstaff. Hal comments on Falstaffs size and weight, calling him: clay braind guts, though knotty-pated fool, thou whoreson, obscene, greasy tallow catch. He also points out that Falstaff is: a bed-presser, a horse-back-breaker, a huge hill of flesh. Falstaff retaliates by remarking on Hals thinness: you starveling, you eel-skin, you dried neats tongue, you bulls pizzle, you stockfish, you tailors yard, you sheath, you bow case, you bile standing tuck.​(Leslie Dunkling, Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address. Routledge, 1990) Playing the Dozens The tradition of ritualized swearing, very much like flyting, continues in a number of places in the modern world. It is perhaps most notable in black American communities, where it is called sounding or signifying or playing the dozens. Variations of this kind of flyting provide social distinctions between in-group and out-group members. But they also act as lyrical cornerstones for much of the anthemic rap (particularly gangsta rap) that defines gang neighbourhoods, including communities of young people from other ethnic backgrounds who admire gang values. . .This style is also called capping and cracking on and is found as well in urban Aboriginal English in Australia.(Ruth Wajnryb, Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language. Free Press, 2005)

Macbeth S Head - 1067 Words

How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? How are the witches portrayed and what influence do they have along the play? In Macbeth, the witches seem to be confusing figures. They are portrayed as dark, eccentric, and strangely amusing creatures. It doesn’t show that they have that much importance early on, but after finishing the play and comprehending, we see that the witches have done a lot. We can deduce that the â€Å"weird sisters† specifically implant ideas in Macbeth’s head, which later influence him by giving him all types of information that eventually affect his way of handling guilt, and other emotions that put him on the edge of sanity. The witches know that Macbeth will be bad, it is not enounced why, but†¦show more content†¦Macbeth is viewed as inferior and compared to his manly wife. Lastly, King Macbeth s conversation with the three murderers he chose to do the task of getting rid of Banquo and Fleance strongly shows the suggestion of confused gender roles. Macbeth clearly asks them if they are men. All of these examples clearly prove the suggestion of co nfused gender roles that will be seen throughout this play. Again, his naivety towards the witches predictions makes him believe that the throne is truly meant for him, and therefore these horrible imaginings of what he must do, can all be due to the witches influence, and not from the true nature of the Macbeth. Enter Lady Macbeth, whose evil ambition contorts that of her husband forcing him to join her in the evil world she has created for herself. Her efforts are so big that she even begs the spirits to dehumanize her and practically depersonalize her, which makes her seem as a fourth weird sister. However, in the beginning, through Macbeth s openness to his wife in his letter concerning the witches predictions, it is apparent that they once had a friendly relationship. He trusts her, another quality of innocence, and this trust contributes to his downfall. Macbeth s love for Lady Macbeth caused him to feel the need to prove his manhood, which eventually led to his downfall. After he proved he was a man byShow MoreRelatedMacbeth: Witches Influence on Macbeths Decisions1278 Words   |  6 PagesMacbeth: Witches Influence on Macbeth s Decisions In the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, the witches influence on how Macbeth made his decisions played a crucial part in contributing to his eventual destruction. The witches were trying to create chaos by prophesying to Macbeth in order to get him to act. They planted the seed of evil in Macbeth s head that grew to dominate his mind. But it was Macbeth who made the choices that determined his fate. 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Music on the Bamboo Radio Free Essays

How does Nicholas change and grow During the novel? â€Å"Music on the Bamboo Radio† is a historical fiction novel written by Martin Booth sets in the time of 1941 when the imperial Japanese Army invades Hong Kong. The main character of this novel, Nicholas Holford, a British boy who disguised as a Chinese and survived through the war, but on the way, he faced a lot of challenges and difficulties to his new life which transform Nicholas into a brave and mature young man. Nicholas changes and be more matures in many ways, one of Nicholas’s most obvious change that he demonstrated in this novel, is that he turned to be more independent and started to make his own decisions. We will write a custom essay sample on Music on the Bamboo Radio or any similar topic only for you Order Now He was a boy who relies on his parents a lot and rarely needs to make his own decisions. At the start of the novel, Nicholas’ parents were sent away to join and work in the war, which they left Nicholas alone with their servants, Tang, Ah Mee and Ah Kwan. Tang urged for Nicholas and the other servants to leave and hide from the Japanese Soldiers, but Nicholas refuses to leave and insists on waiting for his parents. â€Å"We must wait, when my parents get back. † (Page 4) He does not realize that refusing to leave will bring them into huge danger, he is also not brave and mature enough to make decisions. However, as the novel progressed, Nicholas became much more independent and starts making his own decisions. In Nicholas’ new life, he has to live with a Chinese family and help them to do housework which chores became his daily routine. Unfortunately, Tang was sick from a mosquito bite after selling fish in the market one day, and in order to same Tang’s life, Nicholas and Ah Mee has to risk a trip to Kowloon to take the medicine, Quinine, which is the only way to save Tang’s life. After the tough and difficult journey, they finally took the medicine they need, but on their was back home, Ah Mee becomes too exhausted and tired that she couldn’t walk anymore. The time is ticking away, they must bring the medicine back home as soon as possible to save Tang’s life. â€Å"Nicholas knew there was nothing for it. Tang’s life depend on him now. â€Å" (Page 52) Nicholas ran back home with the Quinine, he decided to leave Ah Mee behind after serious and carful thoughts. â€Å" You’ll be safe here,’ Nicholas declared. ‘ The people will look after you while you sleep. † (Page 52) These show that Nicholas is now able to make good and thoughtful decisions. Unlike before, Nicholas thought carefully rather should or should not run back home and leave Ah Mee here, he is able to consider both sides and determine the importance on each side before making the decision, so he takes out his bravery and made this decision. In the middle of the novel, Major Fox, from the British Army Aid Group have been asked for the helps from Nicholas to deliver a package of a bottle of vaccine and a bar of gold. This bottle of vaccine could save hundred of human lives, and this task could only be done by Nicholas. After thinking deeply, â€Å"When he had been considering going with Tai Lo Fu to destroy the†¦ his voice quite and resolute. â€Å"I’ll deliver it. ’ â€Å" (Page 109/110) Nicholas decided to help deliver the package. This mission is very risky and dangerous for Nicholas, he might get caught by the Japanese soldiers and possibly get killed by them, but Nicholas know that he could not rely on anyone this time, instead, he has to help others in need and make this decision himself. Making this decision also showed that Nicholas became very independent and he is able to make mature decisions. Another major change that Nicholas demonstrated in this novel, is that he protects and helps other in need and became considerate of others. Nicholas grown up in a wealthy family, he has a gardener, cook and servants. (Page 3/4) He doesn’t really need to do chores for himself, regardless the fact that he wouldn’t even need to help and protect others. However, as Nicholas begins his new life, living in a Chinese Family. He starts to take his own responsibilities, and even helping his new family do chores and housework. (Page 26) Nicholas also shows his protection of others when he and Ah Mee went on the trip to get Quinine for Tang. Nicholas and Ah Mee walk past some Japanese soldiers And the prisoners on their way back home, but Ah Mee stumbled and dropped her bundle beside them, this caught the Japanese soldiers attention and they thought Ah Mee was trying to communicate with the prisoners, which caused the soldiers to shout and took out their rifles pointing at them, but Ah Mee was too wear to stand up. Nicholas suddenly thought of an idea, he thought that the Japanese will not understand Cantonese either, so he made up nonsense with Cantonese and imitates the Chinese accent, trying to protect and change the Japanese soldier’s focus. Page 49/50) Although Nicholas did to succeed at the end and was saved by Ah Kwan, he had tried his best to protect Ah Mee in times of danger. Nicholas also became a lot wiser and smarter, and also became much more trustworthy. At the beginning of this novel, Nicholas saw two Japanese soldiers in less than seventy meters from him. â€Å" He wanted to scream, jump up, shout out, it’s alright. It’s only me. Don’t shoot. I’m only eleven. â€Å" (Page 3) Nicholas didn’t realize that doing that will only cause more attention from the Japanese soldiers and caused them to kill him straight away. The right thing he should so, is quietly leave without causing any attention and hide. However, Nicholas changed as he faces more challenges. When Nicholas went on a trip with Ah Kwan and Tai Lo Fu, he met a few Japanese soldiers walking past him, again, but he reacted wisely. Although he was very afraid and scared, he stayed quiet and still, not causing any attention, (Page 65) This incident showed that Nicholas became much more wise and smart, knowing how to keep himself safe in times of danger and also learning from his mistakes. Before Nicholas went on this trip with Ah Kwan and Tai Lo Fu, he has to keep a secret first. The purpose of this trip, is for Nicholas to do a huge favor for the East River Column Army, which fight against the Japanese secretly. The army wanted Nicholas to translate a english note from the British for them, but if the Japanese find out about this Army, they will kill all of them immediately. So Nicholas has to keep this great secret and help finish this mission without letting anyone know. â€Å"Nicholas nodded. Any sense of flattery evaporated. (Page 61) As the novel progress and Nicholas went on his mission, we can see that Nicholas kept his promise and the secret only to himself. This showed that Nicholas is not a wise and trustworthy young man. Through this war, Nicholas changed dramatically in many ways, both mentally and physically. He faced many difficulties and tough challenges, but it’s only these challenges that can transform Nicholas into a mature young man. Nichol as also surprised and amazes me because of his significant change and transformation and he also sets a great example for us to learn and experience from. How to cite Music on the Bamboo Radio, Papers

Implications of Human Resource Management †Free Sample

Question - The influence that customers have on business activity has increased in recent years. What HRM implications does this have for workers and managers? Answer - Customers are source of income for most of the many firms. In order to succeed in the complex market, the organization majorly focuses on the customers so that they can survive in the global market. Therefore, in order to develop sustainable success, companies try to satisfy them through their products or services and builds long term benefits in order to maintain their profit level (Victorino and Bolinger, 2012). On the other hand, many companies employ customer relationship management, collects information regarding consumers by data driven marketing process so that better marketing strategy can be build and more effort can be extracted from the sales force (Hyeong Yu Jang, 2012). The business activity of an organization can be largely impacted if the customers are not satisfied with their service or product. As a result, company may suffer loss or they might lose their market shares. Apart from that, many firms therefore, try to build continuous rapport for the customers so that t he customers can be loyal to their product or brand. The growing competition and entries of many small firms can make difficult for the company to hold the customer for longer period of time and serve them (Poddar and Madupalli, 2012). On the other hand, the customer has great influence on the business activity of the firms. Therefore, it makes the company to have a better organizational system so that they can provide better and quality service to consumers. The firms strategize all their activities by making the customers center point. The company can provide training to their employees so that the knowledge and servicing skills can be enhanced (Lynch, 2012). The workers are provided on and off the field training so that consumers behavior can be understood and their requirement can be made accordingly. Apart from that, the managers of the company can have huge pressure to recruit the people that can be capable to deliver superior service to consumers and also increasing the quality of production and product (Finn, 2011). Therefore, it is big task for the companies to design their business activity according to the customer desire and requirements. For instance, the growing concern of the customers towards health y food in recent years has made ALDI to remove the goods that are heavily saturated in terms of fat and containing high percentage of sugar. Therefore, ALDI has ordered their workers to decrease the amount of fat from the production and allowed managers to guide the workers and design the strategies in order to attract the customers (Centre, 2015). In other example relating to Yorkshire Electricity shows in order to provide quality and timely service to their customers adopted different strategy. The company provided training to their workers and build new working practices for educating and training the workers so that Total Quality Performance environment can be formed. On the other hand, the manager of the company formed a research team in order to know the customers perception towards the company so that better customer service can be provided (Summitskills.org.uk, 2015). Therefore, it can be said that today companies gives first preference to the customers in order to survive i n the competitive market. Reference List Centre, I. (2015). Aldi: The German Wal-Mart?| Strategy Case Study - Competitive Strategy Case Study. Ibscdc.org. Finn, A. (2011). Customer Delight: Distinct Construct or Zone of Nonlinear Response to Customer Satisfaction?. Journal Of Service Research, 15(1), 99-110. doi:10.1177/1094670511425698 Hyeong Yu Jang,. (2012). The Effects of Service Qualities on Customer Satisfaction and the Moderating Effects of Customer Involvement and Customer Delight in Sports Center. Jounalofkoreaservicemanagementsociety, 13(1), 107-132. doi:10.15706/jksms.2012.13.1.005 Lynch, W. (2012). Enhance Customer Service With Technology and Collaboration. OPF, 38(11), 20-21. doi:10.5991/opf.2012.38.0070 Poddar, A., and Madupalli, R. (2012). Problematic customers and turnover intentions of customer service employees. Journal Of Services Marketing, 26(7), 551-559. doi:10.1108/08876041211266512 Summitskills.org.uk,. (2015). North East Yorkshire Humber Case Studies. Victorino, L., and Bolinger, A. (2012). Scripting Employees: An Exploratory Analysis of Customer Perceptions. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 53(3), 196-206. doi:10.1177/1938965512443347

Albanian crises of 97 essays

Albanian crises of 97 essays It is not easy at all to try to understand and define what happened in Albania between end of 96 till summer 97. It is almost impossible to really tell why it happened, whether it was organized if it was, what went wrong and what should have be done to avoid that. One thing is for sure though The State did NOT function. The state didnt function in several aspects and dimensions. The government was not able to prevent the expansion of the pyramid schemes. It also was not able to warn its citizens in due time about the risk that they had taken. On the other side, the citizens themselves were expecting everything from their government. And when things went wrong, the Government was on the spotlight. Everybody blamed the state and forgot they the citizens form an integral part of the state. People didnt understand that by attacking the state and its institutions, they were attacking themselves. Dont ask what the Government can do for you, but what you can do for your Government-. Unfortunately most of the citizens didnt see it this way. There can be several factors that can explain why people reacted that way. History of regimes in Albania. Albania has had very short period that can be considered that they had an independent state and the government that served them, and that is from 1920 till the Italian occupation . For the rest of the time we have either been under occupation, thus not considering the government as Albanian, or under dictatorship so that the government was serving the dictator and not the people. Manipulation of the situation by the opposition. The opposition played a very destructive role by putting narrow political interests above wider national ones. Another notion that did not function was the hierarchy. The army, the police forces and other public officials/servant didnt ...

pearl harbor a suprise or not essays

pearl harbor a suprise or not essays Knowledge that was not passed on and Miscommunication before December 7th Prior to December 7th there were many warnings and letters given to the military saying there was possible plan of attack on Pearl Harbor very few of these letters were actually received by the military. On November 27, the Chief of Naval Operations sent a letter to Lt. Layton concerning the possibility of imminent attacks on Pearl Harbor Refer to my 272338 {the naval sabotage warning}. Army has sent following to commander western defense command. Negotiations with Japan appear to be terminated to all practical purposes with only the barest possibilities that the Japanese Government might come back and offer to continue. Japanese future action unpredictable but hostile action possible at any moment. If hostilities cannot repeat not be avoided the United States desires that Japan commit the first overt act.... Prior to hostile Japanese action you are directed to undertake such reconnaissance and other measures as you deem necessary but these measures should be carried out so as not to repeat not to alarm civilian population...Undertake no offensive action until Japan has committed an overt act....1 This was one of the few letters that Layton received. Shortly after receiving this letter, Layton saw the Army begin to get ready, troops started moving as well as trucks: I though I saw weapons moving into the street and I presumed that they were going into full condition of readiness, including the emplacement of anti-aircraft and other mobile weapons around Pearl Harbor.2 Layton received other signals in addition to these, some confirming war within a few days and others saying war was going to happen in South East Asia. None of the signals, however, were passed on to military officials who could have used this information. One man who needed the information was McCollum. He received the above letter on December 1st 1941. Captain W.A. Heard...

Single-sex education and coeducation Research Proposal

Single-sex education and coeducation - Research Proposal Example While some researchers have stressed on the advantages and significance of single-sex education as the single most tool of enhancing the educational experience of the students and securing their long term prospects, yet others have vehemently opposed the same, categorizing such a system as essentially reintroducing gender barriers and providing differing treatment to students on the basis of their gender. This paper focuses on the both these aspects from a broad perspective and explores the vast amount of literature available to arrive at a logical conclusion. Although, with respect to any given educational setting, learning outcomes are a consequence of an interplay of various factors – such as, social, emotional, psychological, physical and intellectual and can hardly be construed as resulting from a single variable. The educational policy of the schools, composition of subjects taught, family background of the students etc work collaboratively towards enhancing the student’s overall performance. The present decade has witnessed the resurfacing of the single-sex educational system, which is largely attributed to the transformation in the educational reform policies, and most of all to the rising cynicism about the credibility of co-educational systems with respect to its ability to offer an unbiased learning environment to the students and its approach towards the treatment of issues concerning gender bias. The arguments in favor of and against a particular type of educational system which has helped shaped our perspectives, although wide in number, are more or less, ambiguous both in terms of nature and content, and hence inconclusive. The success or failure of a single-sex education or co-education is dependent on various factors such as the objectives and mission of the institutions, indicators of success used to analyze the phenomenon, historical perspectives, financial constraints, availability of resources etc. among others. Given the fact that all

An analysis on the foreign women's fashion magazines in China, and Literature review

An analysis on the foreign women's fashion magazines in China, and compare how do Chinese people appreciate Western magazines - Literature review Example Consumer Culture in China Davis (2005) conducted a qualitative study in which two groups of Chinese consumers in Shanghai were interviewed. The first group consisting of 51 men and women were interviewed in 1987 and the second group comprised of different Chinese consumers consisted for 46 men and women. The consumers were between the ages of 40 and 50. The interviews were open-ended and involved questions relative to consumption expectations in the future. The results of the study found that since the late 1980s, Chinese consumer culture, at least in relation to Shanghai has undergone a revolution of sorts (Davis, 2005). Chinese consumers have experienced significant changes in terms of increased income, improved standards of living, increased spending power, a greater variety of consumption choices and have embraced â€Å"globally branded foodstuffs, pop-music videos and fashion† (Davis, 2005, p. 692). ... Zhou, Arnold, Pereira and Yu (2010) offer some insight into Chinese consumer culture in China’s inland and coastal regions. According to Zhou, et. al.(2010), China is one of the world’s most important consumer markets although there is very little known about the different drivers of Chinese consumption trends and habits in China’s different regions. Using a cultural materialism approach, Zhou, et. al. (2010) analysed consumer decisions approaches among inland and coastal consumers in China. The study found that there were no material differences between coastal and inland consumers in terms of their style of shopping although their pleasure/hedonic shopping styles are different (Zhou, et. al., 2010). These differences are only important for marketers in determining what marketing approach to take for appealing to the pleasure of consumers in different regions in China. Xiao and Kim (2009) conducted a study to determine the extent to which the â€Å"changing val ue systems of modern China† impacted the consumption habits of Chinese consumers (p. 610). Using a multivariate analysis approach, the study found that functional, emotional and social values were linked in a positive way to foreign goods. Individualism and collectivism were identified as having positive links to foreign goods and life satisfaction. Individualists’ consumers were not as satisfied with their lives as collectivists were, but they were more amenable to foreign goods (Xiao & Kim, 2009). Dickson, Lennon, Montalto, Shen and Zhang (2004) conducted a survey of 1,628 married consumers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai to collect data informing of

Inventory Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Inventory Management - Essay Example Inventory items usually consist of the goods, raw materials and finished products. All of these items are seen as money or profit for the owner of any specific organization. Campbell (2007) states that keeping track of raw materials, works-in-process and finished products are obviously critical to a companys bottom line. The aims and objectives of the research regarding inventory management are to analyze various issues which are associated with the inventory management process in any specific organization. Another purpose is to talk about the importance and significance of these issues in the process of inventory management. The plan of the report is that those matters or issues, which influence the inventory management process of any company or organization, will be critically examined and studied in order to see their impact on the inventory control and management system and suitable solutions will be found in order to properly tackle any sort of issue that may appear in the organization regarding the process of inventory management. If we talk about the importance of inventory management system, we can say that inventory management is the root cause for the success of any company or organization. Zierden (2009) states that to be successful in today’s market, dealers need to have concrete inventory strategies and processes in place. If the company contains required amount of inventory items in the stock, the company never faces a demand-supply problem. Demand-supply issue always occur when the company gets out of stock and when the inventory stock level of the company is balanced, the company will never face the issue of less stock and high demand. Muller (2003) found that balanced inventories are very important for the companies because all companies, whether they are medium sized or a large sized organization, inventory management is the key to productivity and success. Piasecki (2003) found that

How Women Are Affected By Poverty Sociology Essay

How Women Are Affected By Poverty Sociology Essay In recent years, focus has been on discovering if poverty is gendered, that is to say to what extent women may be more at threat of poverty than men. In this essay I shall be discussing how women are affected by poverty and what factors lead to women being poorer than men. Peter Townsend et al (1987) have argued that there has been a feminisation of poverty, this term may be understood in various ways, it may refer to the increased risk of poverty or the increased visibility of womens poverty it may also refer to the reconstruction of poverty from a womans viewpoint. It is difficult to compare the poverty of men and women because statistics are usually based on households and this suggests that household incomes are shared evenly between adult members. Glendinning and Millar (1987 maintain that men get a larger share in most cases and this may echo their higher earning ability and the fact that in many households men still make the decisions of how money is spent. It has been shown that women are more likely to be poorer than men, although their poverty has often been masked behind studies that focused on male-headed households Ruspini (2000). Townsend acknowledges four groups which make up the majority of the female poor, these consist of women who take care of children and other dependents they are unpaid and are unable to take up employment. There are also lone women with children who dip in and out of employment. Then there are elderly women like pensioners who live alone. There are also women with low earnings where the incomes of others in the household do not contribute towards the total household income to enable the womens income to go over the poverty line. Women unquestionably tend to experience more poverty than men because their labour both unpaid and paid is undervalued, in addition women have always experienced work in a different way from men. A private and public split has always existed where women were seen as belonging in the private sphere of hearth and home and the ideologically constructed family, whereas men were seen as belonging in the public sphere of the market and the state. In terms of work, three main reasons for why womens poverty continues have been identified, the first is because a third of all women of working age still remain outside the labour market almost twice the proportion for men, they do not have equal access to the core of the labour market and they are disproportionately represented within part-time and lower paid jobs and on average women are paid less than men. The New Labour government has aimed to maximize labour force involvement by supporting (the idea of work-life balance) and trying to make it easier for people to merge paid work and family life. In-work benefits and tax credits were introduced as incentives however the working families tax credit has been more beneficial to women earners than those whose main income comes through male partners since it is more likely to be paid through the pay packet. The development of a National Childcare Strategy was also introduced but it does not measure up to the levels of childcare provi sion to be found in most other European countries. The second reason involves the responsibility women have for most of the tasks associated with social reproduction in the way of unpaid care work and domestic labour. The third reason is the sharing of income and resources within families, in the majority of cases this does not benefit women. Individuals can be poor in households with adequate incomes. This finding has important implications for policy initiatives aimed at the relief of poverty (Pahl 1989; Kempson 1996). Other forms of inequality have persisted within the public sphere, Gillian Pascall (1997) and others have argued that while women now make up a high proportion of the public sector workforce in healthcare, social work and education, they remain under represented in senior and management positions. This is characteristic of the sticky floor where women are concentrated in specific occupations with low pay and status and what they do at work is often similar to what they do at home, although the introduction of the minimum wage in April 1999 has been beneficial to women who are dependent on low paid work but not to other wage groups. Though most health service workers are women, most of the surgeons are men and it is largely men who control health and social services including services that concern women, for instance reproductive healthcare, as well as support for informal carers and the education system. This is typical of the glass ceiling where women are less likely to hold senior positions and when they do hold senior positions they have to work harder and for longer hours in jobs that are classed as mens work. In the 1970s 70 percent of managers were men and today 90 percent of judges are men. Anti discrimination legislation has sought to outlaw all forms of sex discrimination but this has mostly brought about advances for individual women but has not benefited all women although it has improved the practices of most employers as well as raising public awareness. While the education system no longer just prepares girls for domesticity, it is tending to equip them for sub- servient occupations especially in the public sector on the other hand it has also expanded womens options in the labour market. Despite the fact that women have been allowed to vote and participate in the democratic process on the same terms as men since 1928, in 2000 only 20 percent of Westminster Members of Parliament were women and in 2001 only 28 percent of local government councillors were women (EOC 2001). Although there has been a feminisation of the labour market, the increase in womens workforce participation can have disastrous effects on their health because of the double burden they have to shoulder, at home they take care of children and perform domestic tasks which are unpaid as well as doing their paid job. The General Household Survey of 1998 showed that the majority of carers were women who provided more than a hundred hours of care per week which was far more than any paid worker would do. It has been shown that caring is costly in various ways, for one there is loss of earnings and the rate of adults providing care who are in paid employment is low, the effect is even greater for women than men and greatest of all in the case of a mother providing care for a disabled child Arber and Ginn(1995): Baldwin (1985). In addition costs that are associated with disability like house adaptations to accommodate special equipment and higher transport costs. There is also the cost to the carer in terms of the stress and strain (Glendinning and Millar1992; Pahl 2006). Social policy is beginning to acknowledge the contribution of carers, one way was the introduction of the Carers Act 1985 which imposed an obligation on local authorities, however the support that carers receive is still limited. Financial support is also provided by the social security system with benefits like carers allowance and disabled persons tax credit for low paid disabled workers. There are also many ways in which care can be paid for Ungerson (2000); see also Ungerson (2006). The way social security is arranged and its effects on women can be attributed to the architects of the welfare system who were so used to patriarchal assumptions about respective roles of male breadwinners and female homemakers that the National Insurance system for example was founded on the idea that married women would mainly be financially dependent on their husbands and although obvious biased elements have since been removed, the inheritance of the assumptions on which the system was founded remains. Lewis and Piachaud (1992) demonstrated that women have always been poorer than men by showing the proportion of women amongst adults in receipt of poor relief or social assistance was at around 60 percent and was the same at the end of the 20th century. Women are the main recipients of most benefits and rely more on means tested benefits even though it means greater personal scrutiny, rather than contribution based benefits like jobseekers allowance, incapacity benefit and industrial injury benefit because these types of benefit rely on the recipient having been employed, and for women their work patterns are sometimes interrupted when they take time out to raise children and therefore their national insurance contributions are affected. Women are also in some cases hidden claimants because they receive benefits as dependents of male breadwinners, and for this reason, the welfare state may also function directly to make women dependent on men, although housing and social security provision has provided at least some measure of independence to women like those escaping from violent or dysfunctional relationships. Donzelot (1979) has observed that families seem to have extended functions and are subject by the welfare state to greater levels of surveillance and control for example womens performance as mothers and informal carers may be subject to supervision by healthcare and social service professionals. The family has not lost its functions, but it has lost control. It is still the major arena for the care of dependents, but traditional female tasks are now defined and managed outside the family and by men. Pascall (1997: 23). This is seen in the cases of lone parents 90 percent of whom are women who will have social assistance benefits withdrawn if they should cohabit and they can be compelled to cooperate with the making of child support assessments against the father(s) of their child(ren). In terms of work the, mother -as-work policy ignores that child care is also work and lone mothers stand little chance of becoming equal stakeholders because they must be both breadwinners and carers, and the position at present is that lone mothers are likely to be praised for the paid work they do and condemned as welfare dependent for the unpaid work they do and the eradication of the Lone Parent Premium to income support which directly disadvantaged many lone parents most of whom are women. In recent years studies have shown that pensioners are far more likely than the working population to experience ongoing poverty, between 1998 and 2001, 18 percent of pensioners experienced persistent poverty as compared to 7 percent of the working population. Studies have also found that in recent decades older women and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to experience poverty than other pensioners. Findings from these studies led Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to state in 2002: Our aim is to end pensioner poverty in our country. the introduction of a pension credit in October 2003 which guaranteed a minimum income of half of those people in this age group in the UK attempted to meet this goal but the success of this policy depends on all those entitled to claiming the benefit actually doing so Flaherty et al (2004). The majority of people over state pension age do retire from the labour market, but as longevity has increased the labour markets have tightened and retirement has become in Townsends words a kind of mass redundancy (1991:6). As a group, old peoples vulnerability to poverty is not as great as it was in the post second world war period, but this should not mask the fact that there is now greater inequality between older people than before. Since the number of old people both as a proportion of the total population and in absolute terms has grown this means that pensioner poverty is still a major issue. The employment of older people can be sensitive to changes in the labour market conditions and they may be shut out of jobs when the demand for labour falls. Age concern (see McEwan 1990), argue that older people are frequently subject to discrimination if they choose to re-enter the labour market often on mistaken assumptions about their reliability and adaptability. Additionally when older people do eventually become frail they suffer the same problems associated with disability. The lack of provision of universal pension in this country is out of sync with most industrialised countries, although the introduction of stakeholder pensions for people with no access to private pensions and the introduction of free eye tests has gone some way in helping pensioners at a disadvantage. Feminists tend to view welfare state provision as being important for improving womens lives but it also reinforces female dependency on men and the sexual division of labour. Some strands of feminism stress that women are closer to nature and are naturally more caring and less aggressive and they address the world in a different voice Gilligan (1982). Other strands of feminism discard this view and assert that the gendered nature of society is the exact product of power relations and patriarchy. It is a result of the dominance of men over women and can be rejected. So in conclusion, having assessed and considered all the evidence and studies on gender and poverty, it is clear that although successive governments have through legislation and policies attempted to lessen the poverty of women, the gap between the sexes still exists and women are still very disadvantaged and are poorer than men and a major reason is the structure of the welfare state which contributes to and reinforces the differences.

Immanuel Kant Essay -- Immanuel Kant Deontology Ethics

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant was born, lived and passed away in his home town of Konigsberg. He lived from 1724 to 1804. He studied at the local university and later returned to tutor and lecture students. It wasn’t until he met an English merchant by the name of Joseph Green that Kant learned of David Hume and began to develop his ideas of morals and values. Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781) is believed by many to be his greatest work. Kant’s was known mainly, however, for his moral code The Categorical Imperative. Immanuel Kant was a follower of Deontology, or duty ethics. This means that for an act to be moral it must be performed out of duty. If you are concerned for the end product of your actions it is not a moral act. Only when your action is done in such a way that your only ...

McBride Financial Marketing Plan Essay

McBride Financial is a fast growing organization with plans to open a total eight offices located in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South and North Dakota. Services will specialize in providing financial mortgage assistance to first time buyers, retirees, professionals, families and individuals with credit problems. McBride Financial provides customers with informative information without any hidden cost. Breakdown of services and rates are thoroughly explained with every home purchase. Applications are processed within one business day. Marketing Plan The development of McBride Financials marketing plan will require various forms of market research. The three major groups McBride will focus on will be first time buyers, buyers with credit problems, and retires purchasing primary or secondary homes. Market research will be conducted through the collection of surveys, contact methods, marketing intelligence and internal data. Advertising will consist of promotional television, radio, newspaper, and internet ads that appeal to specific marketing groups. Local realtors will be used for advertising purchases as well. Marketing strategies will be developed that establish McBride Financial as the leader in low cost mortgage services. Online Research Most consumers have access to the internet; as a result McBride Financial will conduct online surveys to reach a broad focus group. â€Å"Online research accounts for 8% of all spending on quantitative marketing research, and most industry insiders predict healthy growth† (Armstoring & Kotler, 2005). Cost associated with online research is minimal and will help McBride Financial meet budget demands. The use of online surveys will be implemented to gain a better perspective of consumer needs. Surveys will consist of 25 questions related to home purchasing and financial planning. Surveys will be forward to the marketing department for further analysis and plan development. Media Advertising McBride Financial currently has plans to air a radio ad which informs consumers of the company low cost special financing offers. McBride Financial has included a promotional pamphlet that will be available at airports, store newsstands and realty offices. In addition, an ad has been printed in newspapers nationwide. The development of McBride Financials television ad is currently in the works and will began broadcasting later this month. McBride Financial has joint-ventured with Realtor.com in order to reach our expanding consumer based. â€Å"Realtor.com is the largest real estate database of homes for sale and the official site of the National Association of Realtors; real estate listings, realtors, mortgage rates, home buying help and much more can be accessed through the website†. Financial calculators, investing tips, lender comparison, and many other services can be access through relator.com. Links to McBride Financial can be found under the mortgage lenders link. Internet Marketing Part of the McBride Financials advertising plan will focus on internet advertising through the company’s website. In order to expand marketing efforts, McBride Financial will develop and maintain an interactive website that provides consumers with information regarding the latest rate changes and tax breaks. Internet advertising makes use of banner ads, search engines, email adverting, and paid search terms. â€Å"Internet advertising involves bringing users to a web site or generating traffic; the web site itself may consist primarily of a simple presentation of information about a company, its products and services† (Magee, N.D.) Target Market McBride Financial will focus their lending services toward three major groups. All consumers are encouraged to use McBride Financial as a qualified mortgage lender. First Time Buyers Purchasing a new home can be overwhelming for many first time buyers. McBride Financial service will work closely with first time buyers to ensure customers receive the best available rates and the largest tax breaks. McBride Financial offers services to fit all first time buyer needs: Credit reports, appraisals, home inspections and easy approval can be complete by filling a simple application. Credit Problems McBride Financial offers specialized services for clients with credit problems. McBride Financial offers services for a fixed rate of $1500 dollars. Our rate is significantly lower than our competitors and accommodates consumers with less than perfect credit; preapproval is quick and easy. Retirees Purchasing the perfect vacation home can be made easy due to McBride Financials state of the art property search. Home buyers can quickly lock-in prime rates and feel assured their rates will not change. Advanced information systems ensures the security and privacy of all customers are highly maintained. Conclusion Providing consumers with competitive mortgage lending requires effective advertising and a strategic marketing plan. McBride will meet the demands of consumers by providing the lowest rates available for qualified borrowers. Retirees, first time buyers and clients with credit problems will benefit from McBride Financial services. Marketing strategies will be employed to allow consumers to apply line of credit. McBride will be the leader in lost cost mortgage services.

Something Wickid this way comes essays

Something Wickid this way comes essays I use processes that are most common among my peers to select my books. I usually have one of my parental units, usually my mom, to go out and look for books. This is the way it happens because up until now I had no mode of transportation. I have faith in my mother to make a good choice; she usually does, for she knows most of my likes and most of my dislikes. This is how its been for a long time, but at least she can pick some pretty interesting books. Three unfamiliar words/unfamiliar usages Alighieri meaning hell or some hellish place Ironmongery heavily tooled, worked, and strangely shaped iron Drolls cliffs and mountebanks The seller of the lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm in a green town in Illinois, in late October. The lightning rod salesman calls to the boys and asks if their folks are home, they say no. He asks if they have any money, the boys shook their heads. He then asks them their names. William Halloway and Jim Nightshade the boys reply. The boys begin to tell their story on how they were born only minutes apart around Halloween. The lightning rod salesman decides to give the boys a rod for free because, he feels a storm is coming and its going to hit Jims house. The contraption was covered in ancient dialects, the language of the storms. He goes on about the storm that is going to hit. Its going to be no ordinary storm, the lightning rod salesman says. He says his name is Tom Furry and for the boys to hammer it high on the roof. Tom totes his bag of contraptions and walks on as the boys nail the rod up. The boys head down to the library for their weekly run. They get to the library and Jim heard some strange music off in the distance. Wills dad meets the boys there; he works as a janitor and is quite old. The boys looked at some dinosaur books, they all discuss the books that they have picked...

An Overview of Costa Rica essays

An Overview of Costa Rica essays A chain of rugged mountains divides Costa Rica, which is an extended part of the Andes-Sierra Madre chain. Costa Rica is in Central America and is surrounded by Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the south. Costa Rica is approximately 19,730 square miles, which is slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia. Bordering the country to the east is the Caribbean Sea, and to the west is the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica's total coastline distance is 1,290 km. The highest point is Mt. Chirripo, which stands at 3,797 meters high. Costa Rica is included in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" with seven out of forty-two active volcanoes on the chain. The population of Costa Rica is something around 3,534,174, which was taken in July of 1998. The country is marked with a 2.4% population growth rate, which increases annually. 96% of the Costa Rican natives are Caucasian (including mestizos), 2% are African American, 1% are Chinese, and 1% are Indian. Over 90% of the people in Costa Rica believe the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. The official language is Spanish, but English is spoken in parts around Puerto Limon. Costa Rica has a 95% literacy rate, which is from both males and females over the age of fifteen that can read and write. San Jose is not only the capital of Costa Rica; it is also the country's largest city with a population of 300,000. Most of the economic, political, and social events of the country take place in the capital of San Jose. In colonial times, the main industry was tobacco growing and processing. By the mid-1800s, the city (along with the entire country) became a coffee producing area. San Jose was founded around 1738 some two hundred years after Spain's Westward expansion for Cartago. San Jose gained independence from Spain in 1821. It later went on to become the country's political base, and in 1823 it became the country's capital. San Jose is a modern city with parks and fine buildings open to the public. The cap...

Yahoo Inc Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Yahoo Inc - Statistics Project Example It is important to observe trends in the time series data in order to assess which model to apply when undertaking a forecast of data. In this regard, graphical presentations are usually recommended. Thus in this study, graphs are used to show the trends in the data gathered as has been recommended by other scholars for observing time series data (Anderson, et al., 2010). One of the objectives of this paper was to assess the measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion (spread). In this study, we use mean scores and median values to assess central tendency and standard deviation, minimum and maximum values to assess spread in the time series data. Therefore, this has been done for sales, costs, and profits of Yahoo Inc. for the period under review. These results are presented in table formats in Part II of this paper. There are many methods that can be used to forecast time series data such as the one in this study (Table 1). In our assessment of the task at hand and the l imitation of resources, we conducted the forecast using regression analysis technique which we found to be appropriate for this study. There are a number of statistical software available for conducting forecasts of time series data (Evans, 2003). These include but are not limited to Excel, SPSS, Stata, Eviews, R, and Minitab. Again, due to resource limitations and our assessment of the task at hand, we use the Excel software to conduct the forecasting exercise in the present study.

Surface analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Surface analysis - Essay Example For example, corrosion in metal is prevented through the use of specific chemicals; various optical effects on lenses may be done through special coatings; and automobile emissions are significantly reduced through the unique chemical composition on the surface of an auto-exhaust catalyst. To achieve the desired function, the surface a material should be analyzed to determine its physical characteristics, chemical composition, chemical and atomic structure, electronic state, and molecular bonding (Vickerman, 2009). Methods Several probes may be applied on a solid surface to measure its response, namely: electrons, ions, neutrons, photons, and heat or field. Each probe has a specific response. The combination of probes and corresponding responses provides 36 basic classes of experimental techniques which may be utilized for surface analysis. Table 1 Most Commonly Used Surface Analysis Methods Incident Excitation Probe photon electron ion neutron electric/magnetic field Radiation Detec ted photon FTIR, Raman, XAFS, EXAFS, SFG, IR EDAX NRA GDOES electron XPS/ESCA, UPS, (AE) XAFS AES, SAM, SEM, TEM, LEED, RHEED, SPE, STM, EELS STM, AFM ion SIMS, LEIS, RBS, ISS neutron INS As shown in Table 1, the following shows the most commonly used surface analysis methods: FTIR – Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy; Raman Vibrational Spectroscopy; XAFS – X-ray Absorption Fine Structure analysis; EXAFS – Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure analysis; SFG – Sum Frequency Generation; IR – Infrared Spectroscopy; EDAX – Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-rays; NRA – Nuclear Reaction Analysis; GDOES – Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy; XPS/ESCA – X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy / Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis; UPS – Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy; (AE) XAFS – Auger Emission X-ray Absorption Fine Structure analysis; AES – Auger Electron Spectroscopy; SAM –Sc anning Auger Spectroscopy; SEM – Scanning Electron Microscopy; TEM – Transmission Electron Microscopy; LEED – Low Energy Electron Diffraction; RHEED – Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction; SPE – Spin Polarized Electron spectroscopy; STM – Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy; EELS – Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy; AFM – Atomic Force Microscopy; SIMS – Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry; LEIS – Low Energy Ion Scattering spectroscopy; RBS – Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy; ISS – Ion Scattering Spectroscopy; and INS – Inelastic Neutron Scattering; Analysis Auger electron spectroscopy or AES is considered as a key chemical surface analysis tool for conducting material samples. The AES technique is based on the excitation of auger electrons which allow not only the imaging of atoms but for chemical identification as well. Information available through AES ranges between the first 2 to 10 at omic layers of the sample surface (Matheiu, 2009). Meanwhile, low energy electron diffraction or LEED works by bombarding a surface with beam of low energy electrons which enable the identification of the surface structure by electron diffraction (Vickerman, 2009). A beam of low energy electrons between 10 to 200 eV is used to determine crystallographic structure. A device called a Retarding Field Analyzer is utilized to detect diffracted electrons. Diffracted electrons appear as spots on a phosphorescent screen which move according to energy variations of electrons. The intensity of the spots also provides information regarding surface reconstructions (Walker, 2011). An auger

Assignment Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment Reflection - Essay Example With such manoeuvres, it is more likely to attract many more customers in the market. However, a stagnant business that rarely makes changes in the management, service delivery and customer care will rarely make positive growth. In counter reactions to such situations, Nestle employs the â€Å"four pillarâ€Å"solution. This includes innovations and renovations, operational efficiency, consumer communications and delivery of goods. The case study was practically knowledgeable as it shed light on the following activities in a business. The first approach in case study on Nestle was directed at observing the current operational excellence and evaluate its effects on the business (Jackson, 2008:11). The management is concerned about all activities that are in the business and how they are conducted. This will give the people in control information on all the activities of the business and how each of the activities is affecting the business (Hitt, Duane and Hoskisson, 2012: 43). For e xample, the company is not interested in the short term profits that could jeopardise the firm’s performance in the long run (Chopra, 2009:12). This is a serious problem that could jeopardize the performance of the business (Moran, Braaten and Walsh, 2013:16). Since this is the initial stage, the manager should keenly watch the processes of supplying products and time taken before the products are dispatched to the market. In ensuring there is concrete observation of all the activities that are taking place, a manager should conduct a personal observation on all these activities (Rubin and Babbie, 2010:19). This will give first hand information. In such a manoeuvre, the manager will have unbiased information on the activities that are taking place in the business (Samii, 2004:12). In strengthening the information that is collected, the manager should then embark on collecting information from the line managers. This includes horizontal ad vertical line managers in the firm (P aul, 2011:21). This is by collecting information from the people that work in the stated departments in Nestle. Gathering such information will give concrete information that is reliable. After the observations, the manager should then try to analyze the situation. This is a situation that is affecting the supply of products and services and must have a negative impact to the business (Saunders, 2003:18). First, it is a setback to the businesses since the market will be affected in the long run (Dolley, 2011: 20). Secondly, the Nestle firm is to make a positive impact in the market. However, when the short term goals are vitalized, the company will not meet its long term goals. In such a case, the business is at a risk of losing some of its customers. After analysis the situation, a manager should look at the causative factors (Marschan-Piekkari and Welch, 2011:11). This includes focusing on the supply of materials, technological mishaps and transport preparation. Similarly, the man ager has to analyze the number of employees working on the delivery of finished goods. This will be followed by slotting various solutions and changes that could be used to rectify the problem. When the manager in Nestle comes up with various solutions to the problem, it is a preparation to ensure the situation does not affect the business (Wall and Rees, 2004:32). For example, the manager could come up with options of increasing the number of emp

Feelings towards Essay Example for Free

Feelings towards Essay All throughout this scene there are various indications about the rising tension caused by Eddies feelings towards his niece Catherine. It begins when Eddie confronts Rodolfo about taking advantage of Beatrice and not treating Eddie with respect. I know, but in your own town you wouldnt just drag off some girl, without permission. Here he is highlighting the lack of respect he feels that Rodolfo treats him with. He is referring to Beatrice as some girl, which shows that in Eddies eyes Rodolfo does not see Beatrice as anything special or important. Beatrice (Eddies wife) suspects that Eddies feelings towards Catherine are un-natural and contributes throughout this scene to the rise in tension. Well he didnt exactly drag her off though, Eddie. This would annoy Eddie, as he is not receiving any support, she is also saying that Catherine is independent and chose to go with Rodolfo which would raise tension further. When Eddie tells Rodolfo that he is simply her uncle, Beatrice pounces on this and retorts Well then, be an uncle then. The others would take this at face value, however Beatrice is referring to Eddies un-natural affection for Catherine, which will shock Eddie. Marco then issues a challenge to Eddie, asking him to say what Rodolfo has done wrong. Eddie says that Catherine was never out on the street till twelve oclock at night before Rodolfo came. Marco instantly tells Rodolfo that he must come home early now. By saying this Marco has eliminated the supposed problem, which leaves Eddie with no problem in which he can camouflage his jealousy. Now that Eddie has no more problems but has a dented ego. He begins to create new problems, however he disguises them so that these problems are perceived as concern for Rodolfo; I mean suppose he gets hit by a car, wheres his papers, who is he, you know what I mean? Beatrice states that the same risk is generated during the day when he is at work. Here we see that Eddie is holding back a voice full of anger almost like a car revving up. This simple action is showing the rise in tension as a result of Eddies problem. Eddie now retreats to his rocking chair, showing that he is fighting a losing battle. As Eddie is reading his paper, awkwardness is felt in the room. Catherine reacts by putting the record Paper Doll on; the title in itself indicates the song content. Then Catherine is overcome with rebellion/revolt and asks Rodolfo to dance, causing Eddie to freeze and feel uncomfortable. Rodolfo realises this and refuses to dance however Beatrice and Catherine soon persuade him. As Eddie burns a hole through Rodolfos back he asks, Whats this, a new record? Eddie has heard this song many times before, however he is no hearing it through new ears, new jealous ears. When Marco reveals that Rodolfo is a very good cook, Eddie finds this amusing and mockingly says, Its wonderful. He sings, he cooks, he could make dresses. Thus making another dig at Rodolfo, implying that he has homosexual tendencies. Rodolfo mistakenly takes this as a compliment and smiles thankfully. This is another opportunity for Eddie to put Rodolfo down and he says that he should not be working on the boats but instead working in a dress shop. Yet again he phrases it so that it may be perceived as a compliment. During this speech he unconsciously twists his newspaper into a tight roll, which gives an insight into his somewhat angered/resentful thoughts and also symbolises the rise in tension.

Hotel Industry: Brand Image and Customer Loyalty

Hotel Industry: Brand Image and Customer Loyalty Hotel Brand Images: Exploring Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction Contents (Jump to) Introduction Rationale Aims and Objectives Hypothesis Statement Secondary Literature Review Primary Quantitative Research Literature Review Brand Identity and Image Brand Strategy and Customer Satisfaction Consumer Loyalty and Brand Image Hotel Brands and Consumers Conclusion and Implications Research Approach Survey Questionnaire Data Sampling H1: Consumer loyalty is not related to brand identity in hotels. H2: Consumer satisfaction is not related to brand image of hotels. Correlation Analysis Conclusion Introduction This research paper takes the position that branding and brand loyalty have become an important part of modern day business marketing. Accordingly, consumer perceptions, brand image, and market research are all important components of developing continuous brand image. The development of brand loyalty has a direct impact on today’s marketability and viability of a service or product in today’s competitive market. Brand loyalty has been considered to be the repetition of consumer purchase behaviour under the conditions of the consumer’s sensitivity to a product as on of the more prevailing trends in global hotel marketing (Kayaman and Arasli 2007). Other viewpoints describe brand loyalty as having an attitudinal measurement (Kayaman and Arasli 2007). Brand performance has several aspects: quality, price, credibility, value, trust, and consistency. Delgado-Ballester Munuera-Aleman (2001) suggested that core brand trust and brand image functions have a key role in developing consumer loyalty and is characterised by high involvement of the organisation in service quality. The ability of an organisation to hold onto a market position is highly based on its ability to gain new customers while retaining old customers. Gunter Heather (2007) showed that in the service industry, the ability of team members to complete a service to the customer is important in developing customer loyalty and increasing the customer’s perception of service quality. This research explores key performance indicators of brands as they impact consumer loyalty in the hotel industry. This is done by looking at the theories behind brand performance, which include market signalling theory as well as brand identity and brand image. The research examines the efficiency of internal operations of organisations as they impact brand consistency. These components are interrelated with evidence for consumer patronage and consumer loyalty, based on various factors that will be explored as being relative to building (or diminishing) consumer loyalty. The dissertation will utilise secondary research as a literature review to establish the components and relationships between brand identity, consumer loyalty, and brand strategy. The ultimate goal of this research is to describe how consumer’s build expectations and perceptions regarding a particular brand image and how consumer loyalty to a particular hotel can be managed through brand strategy. Rationale Dean (2001) made the conclusion that the hotel industry has suffered in stock value compared to other industries. In 2001, only the Hilton brand was present in the top 100 brand names, with a market value of 1.4 billion dollars (Dean 2001). This shows that there is a need to understand and describe customer loyalty in the hotel industry to further consumer patronage of hotels. The hotel industry, especially in the luxury sector, offers an experience of a product and service. Therefore, it stands to reason that the consistency the brand offers has a strong impact on the consumer’s perception. Kandampully Suhartanto (2000) showed that hotel consistency should revolve around the internal performance of housekeeping, reception, food and beverages, as well as price and value to be considered competitive and to maintain consumer loyalty. This research is rationalised by the idea that understanding customer loyalty based on satisfaction in these arenas impacts market value, and thus can assist hoteliers in world wide competition. Aims and Objectives The aim of this dissertation is based on the above rationale and is focused on consumer based perceptions of hotel brands. The goal is to explore and examine the factors of customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and hotel branding for the betterment of organisation’s operating in the hotel industry. Thus, the research aims to develop stronger market value through brand identity and brand image perceptions of the customer. The objectives to reach this aim are to first, describe the relationships between brand identity and customer loyalty through secondary literature review research. The next objective is to utilise primary quantitative survey methods to statistically evaluate the impact of the relationships between customer satisfaction and brand identity on customer loyalty. The end results should lead towards a description of the occurrence of customer loyalty perceptions in the hotel industry based on the factors of brand identity and customer satisfaction described in th e literature review. Hypothesis Statement Based on the aims and objectives of the research, the following hypotheses are to be explored through quantitative data: H1: Consumer loyalty is not related to brand identity in hotels. H1.0: Consumer loyalty is related to brand identity in hotels. H2: Consumer satisfaction is not related to brand image of hotels. H2.0: Consumer satisfaction is related to brand image of hotels. Secondary Literature Review The secondary literature review will be conducted to establish the variables and factors that develop the above hypothesis. In this, the research has chosen to utilise mainly scholarly journal databases, including Sage Journals Online, EbscoHost, and Thomspon-Gale. Each of these databases is peer-reviewed and scholarly, as well as international, which allows for a holistic focus on the issues of consumer loyalty from a global viewpoint. The point that each of these journal databases is international is important as this research focuses on the hotel industry as a whole, not on the hotel industry in any particular nation. The research was conducted using the Boolean search terms of ‘brand identity’ and ‘consumer loyalty;’ ‘brand identity’ and ‘consumer satisfaction’; ‘brand image’ and ‘consumer satisfaction’; ‘brand image’ and ‘consumer loyalty’; ‘consumer satisfaction’ and ‘consumer loyalty’; ‘brand identity’ and ‘brand image.’ Results were then sifted through based on date and current relevance to organisational branding, hotel branding, or market branding. This was important to do as some research findings were not related to the actual research, some findings that were unrelated and had to be removed included gender bias, cow procreation, and other unrelated terms. Future secondary literature review research will focus on stronger Boolean search terms to remove unwanted topics and prevent unnecessary time extensions. The secondary literature review is utilised to establish the questions in the quantitative survey as well as to establish relationships between each hypotheses statement. Primary Quantitative Research Primary quantitative research was chosen for this study as it allows for statistical and objective evidence to be presented and to accept or reject the stated hypotheses. The choice and rationale for the primary quantitative research is explored further in the methodology section. For this short introduction, quantitative research allows for specific information regarding the occurrences of customer loyalty and satisfaction, which can act as a precursor for further qualitative research later. Furthermore, the use of surveys allows the researcher to make specific and numerically succinct statements regarding the subjects at hand, from the customer’s perception. The research approach is deductive, meaning that it is theory testing rather than inductive, which is theory generating. In this manner the research proposes to accept or reject the hypothesis and establish the relationship between hotel brand identity-image and consumer loyalty-satisfaction. Branding is method of determining an organisation’s competitive position based on consumer perceptions, where the organisation’s position to competitors impacts consumer choices (Daffey and Abratt 2002). In corporations, branding has increased in recent importance, particularly in leisure and travel services, where increased attention has been placed on service branding in hotels, retail, and banking industries (Hatch and Schultz 2003). Research identified the need for branding as it pertains to the brand image and brand identity, which separates the brand based on the internal components of the industry or organisation as well as it is congruent with shared values and meanings identified by both the organisation and consumer perceptions (Hatch and Schultz 2003). Thus, the relationship between brand identity, brand image, and consumer perception for leisure services, such as hotels, has become imperative to describing the marketing needs of an organisation. Brand Identity and Image Brand identity is an antecedent to brand image, thus what the organisation puts forth as its brand identity impacts the consumer’s perception of brand image (Daffey and Abratt 2002). The focus can be placed on the interface within brand identity and consumer perception of brand image, which involved the corporate branding method and the manner in which it is perceived by the consumer, thus impacting the consumer’s identification with the brand and increasing or decreasing the consumer’s perceived brand value (Daffey and Abratt 2002). Conceptually, brand identity is the organisation’s marketing mission in regards to the brands vision and values (Kapferer 2004). Brand identity is thus fulfilled by the organisation’s competence towards its internal and external vision, aims, and values (Kapferer 2004). This means that brand identity is an articulation of the organisation’s ethos, which incorporates the individualistic image that a competitor pla ces on its products, where the goal is to differentiate the service or product definition from other brand identities (Kapferer 2004). The statement has been made that brand identity has three main goals (Albert and Whetten 2003). The first of these goals are to capture the organisation’s essential service or product paradigm (Albert and Whetten 2003). Secondly, the organisations brand identity should exhibit and define its meaning towards consumers; and thirdly this meaning allows the brand to be differentiated and exhibited with continuity in the consumer’s mindset (Albert and Whetten 2003). Bosch (2006) examined that the construction of brand identity is to involve the elemental intent of the organisation’s product or service, where the organisation’s reputation is relevant to the personality of the brand identity set forth by the marketing strategy (Bosch 2006). Thus, brand identity becomes an organisation’s operational strategy that allows it to enhance or integrate an internal vision to external customers, thereby shaping the customer’s purchase intentions and value-ad ded perceptions towards that brand. As noted, brand identity precedes brand image. Brand image is imperative to gaining consumer validation and retention. When an organisation sets forth an image that is favourable in the mindset of the consumers, it inherently builds a specific competitive advantage (Aaker 1997). Brand image is a construction of consumer perceptions of the brand, and therefore is based on the most recent mindset of beliefs that the consumer holds towards the brand itself (Nandan 2005). The consumer’s perceptions and feelings are based on the brand identity, as well as the consumer’s experiences and relationships with the organisation (Nandan 2005).Thus, brand image has a strong value for an organisation and is ascertained to create a distinctive and sustainable competitive advantage (Aaker 1997). It is therefore defined that brand image is the meaning of connection between the consumer and the organisation’s product or service, where the goal is to increase consumer loyalty in the net result of the marketing strategy (Aaker 1997). This net result is impacted by the consumer’s perception of the brand (Aaker 1997). This consumer perception is built by experiences with the brand and the impressions the brand leaves with the customer, thus altering the customer’s beliefs and feelings towards the product (Aaker 1997). This alteration of the consumer perception creates the consumer’s behaviour and attitude about a product or service (Aaker 1997). The link between brand identity and brand image has been noted to be largely based on the role of communication that forms consumer perceptions as they pertain to branding (Harris and de Chernatory 2001). However, some confusion as to the specific role of marketing brand identity and the formulation of brand image exists. While some researchers explore that consumer perception is built based on such marketing communications (Harris and de Chernatory 2001), others substantiate that brand image is not a result of brand identity marketing, but of the experiences of consumers with the product and service of the brand (Chun and Davies 2006). This means that the external communications of the organisation, noted in the above paragraphs to be centred on exposing the value, aims and intentions of the brand (Kapferer 2004) have less impact on the consumer’s mindset than the consumers actual experiences with the brand (Chun and Davies 2006). This is especially true in the service orient ed industries, such as hotels, where service context related firms are more likely to gain or lose brand image in the customer’s mindset based on consumer experiences with the service (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Consumer experiences such as word of mouth, poor service relationships, and negative service receipt are more likely to impact the perception of a brand image than the organisation’s marketing strategy of the brand’s identity (O’Cass and Grace 2004). In this relationship, the role of service employees and their relationship with the customer becomes an integral part of building a brand image, where the recognition of employees to the brand identity as well as towards delivering a positive customer service experience is more important to sustainable brand image than any other factor (Hardaker and Fill 2005). This is because the employee operating in a service context, such as a hotel, is the first point of contact the consumer has with the bran d (Hardaker and Fill 2005). Thus, the experience a consumer has with an employee of a service based industry has multiple interfaces as the employee’s value, the brand identity, and the consumer’s perception, all of which create the brand image (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Brand Strategy and Customer Satisfaction It stands to reason that if consumers create a perception of a brand image based on their level of satisfaction, then there is an inherent link between brand image and customer satisfaction. This was established as a positive image towards consumer satisfaction increases consumer loyalty, where it is postulated that the relationship also develops consumer loyalty (Chun and Davies 2006). In this relationship, there is a congruent development between brand identities, as it is externally presented by the organisation, and consumer satisfaction as it is internally perceived by the consumer (Chun and Davies 2006). The development is that a firm utilises brand strategy, as this has the ability to increase brand loyalty when it ensures that the relationship between brand identity and image is congruent and consistent, as it applies to influencing consumer loyalty (Nandan 2005). Thus, brand identity has an increased positive relationship that is established between the customer’s per ception of satisfaction, the development of loyalty, and the brand’s image (Nandan 2005). Consumer promotions are one method that organisations use to increase brand awareness, and thus establish brand identity. Consumer promotions include coupons and sweepstakes, but increasingly include loyalty programs such as points for repurchases. These types of sales promotions are have the targeted goal of increasing repurchase intentions of final purchases (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Consumer sales promotions are just as various as brands themselves, existing as incentives for purchasing or repurchasing, while others attempt to communicate the nature of the organisation (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Some promotions will be based on pricing discounts, while others are non-priced based, such as additional products or special services (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Consumer promotion is a traditional brand strategy that is thought to enhance consumer loyalty by offering special rewards for repurchasing a service or product (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Thus, it is supposed that consume r promotions influence the consumer by enhancing how the customer cognitively perceives the value of a service or product (Kotler and Armstrong 2002). Value, as the difference between price and received goods, is the object that creates price perception. Price perception, in turn, establishes how a customer values the brand’s overall image, and thus if the consumer is willing to purchase the brand (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). Price perceptions can be both positive and negative. In luxury instances, higher prices for higher levels of services are considers attributes to the consumer’s success, and therefore the repurchase intentions may be based on the intrinsic value the consumer places on the actual service receipt, rather than the cost of the service (Moore et al 2003). Price and customer loyalty therefore become complex, as in some cases very low prices for a luxury brand, or over-promotion of the brand, lead to devaluation of the brand, where the consumer finds less value for the same service offered at a lower price (Moore et al 2003). This leads towards product quality perceptions, where the superiority of a service is approached by the consumer based on the consumer’s expectations of the service (Moore et al 2003). Consumers may place a judgement upon the quality of a service based on the information they have received through brand identity strategies regarding the service, when this information is not congruent with the customer’s received service, there is a negative gap in customer satisfaction (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). Consumer judgements are created by intrinsic and extrinsic information (Schiffman and Kanuk 2004). The concern is that there is a gap between brand identities put forth by the organisation and brand images received, or perceived, by the consumers (Hatch and Schultz 2003). This gap exists when the internal identities of the organisation, as they relate to the values and ideals of the organisation, are not externally perceived by the consumer (Hatch and Schultz 2003; Chun and Davies 2006). Thus, the need for a brand strategy that bridges this gap for increased customer perceptions becomes a managerial goal to narrow the gap (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). This need for gap reduction is stated to be a holistic need, where brand strategy is centred on the ability of the organisation to ensure that all employees are able to breach the gaps and have the same values and aims that the organisations places external brand marketing importance upon (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Emphatically, this means that strategy towards the brand image is highly reliant upon the internal brand identi ty of the organisation and the external brand image the customer forms (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Thus, there is an increased need in brand development and strategy for organisations to match the consumer’s needs and perceptions with the brand’s identity, which in turn will increase consumer loyalty but not necessarily consumer satisfaction (Chun and Davies 2006). Consumer Loyalty and Brand Image Conceptualizing the link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty has several dimensions (Oliver 1999). In this, satisfaction has the asymmetric consequence towards the development of consumer loyalty, yet consumer loyalty does not impact consumer satisfaction in the same manner (Oliver 1999). A consumer that has been traditionally loyal to a particular brand will not simply choose the brand after a dissatisfactory service experience simply because they have formed a habit of being loyal to that brand (Oliver 1999). Chun and Davies (2006) examined that a brand’s image can impact consumer loyalty based on the experiences of a customer in regards to the brand service delivery by employees. This means that employees are frequently the heart of a service brands image, and the front line of the ability of a brand to build consumer loyalty. Furthermore, employees are the most frequent determination of a consumer’s mindset towards a brand, which in turn impacts the consumers perception and frequency of loyalty towards the brand (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Thus, it is implied that employees are the foundation of building service brand images, and the employee of the service brand has the strongest impact of brand identity communication in the customer’s mindset (O’Cass and Grace 2004). Thus, what occurs is a service brand dimension where the employee, rather than the organisation, becomes the forefront for brand image formulation, which establishes that employees are the ambassador’s of a brand image (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). For the leisure and travel sectors, employees act as the interface between the consumer’s service needs and the brand image formation (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Therefore, the consumer’s internal perceptions of a brand are enhanced or diminished by the service experience and communications of employees, which in turn results in future commitments to brand loyalty when these experiences and communications are positively perceived by the customer (Harris and de Chernatony 2001). Consumer satisfaction and loyalty are dependent on the consumers perceived value of a brand image. In early work regarding the subject, Oliver (1997) showed that consumer satisfaction is the ability of a service to fulfil the consumer’s need, thus it is based upon the response of the organisation towards fulfilling what the consumer believes, or perceives, to be important and of value. The ability of the consumer to develop a perception regarding the service of a brand is based upon a consumer’s judgement regarding the provisions of services and products and the pleasure that the customer receives, intrinsically, from the consumption of the product or service (Oliver 1997). Oliver’s (1999) later work established that consumer loyalty is a strong commitment of the consumer to repurchase the product or service in a consistent manner, based on the previous judgements that the consumer held, which are further enabled by both the customer’s and the organisation’s behaviours and attitudes towards the brand’s identity and image (Oliver 1999). Consumer attitudes have several components. First, the cognitive component establishes the rational appeal of a product or service, where the consumer makes a decision based on characteristics the consumer determines to be imperative to filling a consumer need (Rowley and Dawes 1999). The affective component is established as the emotional connections a consumer develops with the service, such as fulfilling a social or status need by purchasing a particular brand (Rowley and Dawes 1999). Lastly, the cognitive components of consumer attitudes are those that are relative to the consumers’ behavioural patterns (Rowley and Dawes 1999). Cognitive components are based on the consumer’s previously formed behaviour patterns, for example the difference between a hedonic and utilitarian purchaser. A hedonic behaviour pattern is where a consumer purchases a product based on the ability to receive a particular emotional need, such as societal satisfaction (Rowley and Dawes 1999). A utilitarian purchaser focuses on the physical needs of a product’s ability to fulfil a gap in the customer’s necessary purchase intentions (Rowley and Dawes 1999). This is further established by Chun and Davies (2006), where consumer loyalty as a behavioural and attitudinal aspect contains strong intrinsic characteristics built by the needs of the consumer and compared to the ability of the organisation to deliver towards these needs, which in turn develops the consumer’s attitudes and behaviours towards a brand. Yet consumer perception and brand loyalty is not only direc ted by behaviours and attitudes, it is also built by cognition of the brand and its associative value (Jones and Taylor 2007). In this, while attitudes and behaviours are important, the customer also may be inclined to cognitively assess the price that has been paid against the service or product received, which is the basic foundation of consumer’s perceived value (Jones and Taylor 2007). Hotel Brands and Consumers Consumers of hotel services seek consistently reliable service with fair to high quality and an affordable price within their perception of affordability (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Hoteliers place strong significance towards consumer satisfaction as this impacts the hotel’s perceived brand image (Dube and Reneghan 2000). What occurs is the brand hotel begins to operate based on its quality of service by delivering service value information to the customer before the customer views or uses the service product (Bruicks, Zeithaml and Naylor 2000). This means that as consumers seek out a particular amount of service quality to fulfil the gap between their needs and the service receipt, hoteliers are simultaneously awarding service quality based statements towards their internal brand identity and external brand image (Bruicks, Zeithaml and Naylor 2000). Effectively, brand images are built with multiple brand scopes achieved, where larger hotel chains offer several brand images with their end consumer’s perception of value and quality in mind (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Thus the hotel’s brand strategy is to develop brand value based on service awareness, rather than service receipt, as well as the quality of perception in the consumer’s mind, leading towards consumer satisfaction (Aaker 1991). As brand strategy leads towards the sight unseen ideal of gaining customer satisfaction, researchers have explored that hotels with higher consumer satisfaction for a perceived high value or high quality service are less conscientious about price and promotions, but more consciences in regards to service receipt and the quality of service (Dube and Reneghan 2000). Brand strategy of hoteliers focuses on increasing operational success of their overall brand measurements, where the ideal strategic viewpoint is to gain market share from the brand strategy (Ekinci 2002). However, the hotel industry has mixed results from brand strategies and brand images (Ekinci 2002). These mixed results are due to consumer’s perceptions of the brand image and brand quality (Ekinci 2002). The divergence exists when brand growth and consumer quality perceptions create a gap between the consumer’s expected service quality from the brand identity and the consumer’s receipt of service qu ality (Ekinci 2002). Pricing and promotion models also create a gap in expectations and perceptions (Ekinci 2002). This occurs because of the market signalling theory, which explains that consumers may expect higher quality from organisations with higher market shares, which increases the demand for future business and services (Helloffs Jacobson, 1999). In the hospitality industry, as market share leaders become more visible to consumers through brand identity and brand marketing strategy, advertising messages become aligned with the high market share and high quality perceptions (Helloffs Jacobson 1999). Size of the hotel chain, amenities, desirable locations, and similar services at various locations all become part of hoteliers brand marketing strategies as they gain market share. However, there is the concern that strategic brand management may cause a negative relationship between brand image, market share, and consumer’s perceived expectations of quality (Helloffs J acobson 1999). Some studies examine that consumer’s expectations of quality increase as market share increases, yet the consumer’s satisfaction with a service decreases almost simultaneously (Helloffs Jacobson 1999). Therefore, market signalling theory, as it applies to a hospitality organisation’s externally presented brand identity, may not be the precursor to adequate consumer satisfaction and the consumer’s internal perception of the brand’s image. Hoteliers are very aware of the needs for strong consumer focus, yet multiple hospitality organisations have differing perspectives regarding the customer’s needs and perceptions. For example, hoteliers may focus on strong franchise development, based on tourism locations, and typically focus on the customer needs of service continuity, as offering the same services at each tourism franchise location (Linder 2001). However, another line of thought is that corporate development and managerial strategy, rather than the franchise consumer, is more important in building brand identity to customer awareness (Linder 2001). Thus, there is a divergence in hotelier’s management strategy between the continuity of service franchises and the value of service towards the customer. There is some evidence that hoteliers have a brand identity need to respond to the customer’s concerns of cost and quality, but also to decide the level of service continuity within the franchiseâ⠂¬â„¢s, or in the lack of franchising, to respond to the needs of quality in the consumer’s service receipt (Michael 2000). One interesting component of this relationship is that franchising actually has a negative impact on quality, but service continuity has a positive impact (Michael 2000). Thus, the consumer may expect the same service quality at each hotel location, but is not likely to receive the same level of quality at each franchise location (Michael 2000). However, when the customer’s level of perceived quality does not have a gap in service continuity between franchise or hotel locations, then there is a strong positive relationship (Michael 2000). There is a negative relationship when service quality of a particular brand image that the customer has a created a specific internal perceptions are not equivocal, leaving a gap between what the customer believed would occur in values and quality, and what the customer believed they received in value and Bertolt Brecht: Using Comedy As Political Device Bertolt Brecht: Using Comedy As Political Device Bertolt Brecht, born in Augsberg Germany 1898, was a highly influential playwright, director and innovative performance theorist, making a major contribution to dramaturgy and theatrical production that continues to be portrayed within theatres and on stage to this date. His ideas and theories regarding political theatre reject the naturalistic system put forward many years before by Konstantin Stanislavski and attempted to persuade an audience to want to make a difference in society. In his early twenties, Brecht began to have an aversion to the capitalist society he was brought up in and sought after a more equal approach to the world and people around him. This was when he began his exploration into Marxism: a political philosophy, often referred to as a form of socialism, which emphasises the importance of the class struggle in society and maintains the belief that everyone is equal. This is a viewpoint that Brecht remained loyal to throughout the rest of his life and career with a certain level of Marxist influence being noticeably present in each of his plays and productions. Marxists believe in a socialist society that does not distinguish between classes of people. Marxists tend to be working class people or the proletariat and these fellow Marxists, i.e. the proletariat, were the people Brecht intended his plays for. He wanted to use his talent within the theatre to connect with the working class people in order to change the capitalist oppression under which he lived. His plays rejected the naturalistic stage style and portrayed the world at the time in a way that would enable each spectator to adopt a critical awareness of the action they saw on stage. Brecht laid down a system of performance and production techniques in order to create an atmosphere within the theatre that would prevent the audience from hanging their brains up with their hats in the cloakroom (Anon; www.delamere-arts.com.) The use of these techniques within theatre production is now formally known as Epic Theatre. Brecht intended his theatre to be both didactical (though not dull or boring) and dialectical, and believed that in order to make an audience pay attention to what they are seeing and hearing from the stage they must be distanced from the action (i.e. the audience see the stage as a stage and the actors as actors.) Epic theatre aims to create this production of thought in the spectators, creating a distance between them and the action through the use of a technique known as verfremdungseffekt or V-effekt. Roughly translated as the making strange effect, the V-effekt is a technique which solely intends to make the audience aware they are in a theatre at all times, enabling them to adopt an attitude of inquiry and criticism in their approach to the action. The audience must at no time during an epic play be seen to be in a trance or take what they see on stage for granted. Richard Schechner (2006) claims that the best way to think of the V-effekt is as a way to drive a wedge between th e actor, the character, the staging (including blocking, design, music and any other production element) so that each is able to bounce off, and comment upon, the others. In this an actor may pay a complete disregard for the fourth wall (a naturalistic staging and acting technique) directly addressing the audience in speeches, there may also be the use of a narrator (such as the Street Singer in The Threepenny Opera), songs and explanatory placards to interrupt the action and thus distance the audience from what they are watching. Other techniques Brecht introduced to the stage included the use of Gestus, or Gestureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with attitude (Mumford, 2008, p.54) which sees the actors conveying the intentions of a performance through tableaux, a single gesture or voice inflection. An example of this was portrayed in the National Theatres production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Holmes; 2007) which saw the governors wife, Natella smoking over the babys pram. This showed her complete lack of love and care for her child. This, in itself, maintains a distance between audience and action in that a spectator is able to see the difference between actor and character, with an actor offering personal opinion through their actions and their use of such gestures. This distancing effect can also be created, as stated by Richard Schechner (2006) previously, by other production elements including the use of harsh, bright lighting, multi-role acting, visible set changes completed by the actors themselves, the use of half -curtains and also music and songs that clash with the action, providing further comment on the action about the themes and ideas. Brecht wanted his spectators to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable within the theatre, comparing his audiences to those at a boxing match or in a public house (smoking, chatting leisurely.) Brecht insisted that, maintaining these techniques and ideas, plays should be fun and playful (Lyon Breuer, 1992, p. 95.) He believed that the use of Spass, the German word for fun, adds to the effectiveness and overall power of the political and social messages each and every one of his play emits. Research into Brechts beliefs (Eddershaw, 1996) show that criticism through fun (spass) is a vital element in Brechts notion of effective theatreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to encourage a working class audience. Brecht believed that a theatre that cannot be laughed in is a theatre to be laughed at. Humourless people are ridiculous (Brecht as cited by Bradby McCormick, 1978, p.112). He found influential examples of spass in arts such as cabaret and silent films (Brecht is said to be a big fan of silent actor C harlie Chaplin.) Comedy, as Brecht believed, is a historically bound phenomenon (Wright, 1989, p.49) that is intended for political purpose. With this in mind, Brecht used comedy as a political device within most, if not all of his plays. His dialectical theatre focuses on what would have been categorised as comedy at the time at which a play was written but has since become an anachronism (Willett Manheim, 1985, p.2). Brecht believed that: Comedy quotes what has never been natural. It is laughter at the not natural which provides the leverage to escape the ideological determinations of society. Brecht finds the source of comedy in the nature of society rather than in the nature of an individual. (Wright, 1989, p.49/50) Many believe that because of this approach to the theatre, Brechts plays (especially the use of comedy as a political device) no longer have the same affect on contemporary culture as they would have done on an audience of Brechts time. Characters he created to mock society, highlighting the class struggle and the capitalist oppression of his time appear satirical and stereotypical within modern day culture. Although, many critics maintain the belief that this use of satirical humour within the characters in his plays enhances the dialecticism of his work many others believe that without background knowledge of Brechts intentions within his theatre and instead of distancing the audience, such comedy brings them together in laughter. However, in saying this and at the time of writing his plays, Brecht was ingenious in his implementation of comedy within his plays. He did not force comedy at or onto an audience but instead used two contrasting acting styles at the side of one another, cleverly placing a down-to-earth, normal character alongside an embellished character. Both characters make political statements while one is also able to show the other character up. A good example of this can be found in The Caucasian Chalk Circle with the characters of the governors wife, Natella, drunken judge, Azdak and the peasant maid, Grusha within the scene of The Chalk Circle. Grusha maintains a sophisticated characterisation while the characters of both Natella and Azdak appear to mock the upper classes within society. This scene suggests that although Natella might have more money and be better dressed, Grusha still proves to be the better mother after all. This emphasises a strong socio-political message that materialism i.e. how much money a person has or how they look does not mean everything or even anything, it is what is inside a person that counts. As well as this, the scene also adds to the dialecticism of this particular play in that it appears to create a debate within the audience as a whole and also in the mind of the individual spectator as to who should, could and/or would be the better mother. It became well-known as Brecht delivered more and more plays and productions that he brought in comedy with a constant element of surprise, both because all was not always as it seemed on stage but also several different styles of acting were able to sit alongside each other and exist together (as shown above.) This technique acts as both a political device in showing the hierarchy within a capitalist society but also distances the audience with comedy. By using comedy, or spass, as a distancing technique whilst also highlighting the political and social messages of the play, Brecht was able to successfully achieve his aim of enabling an audience to adopt a critical awareness of what they saw on stage. This meant that the audience were more likely to leave the theatre wanting to make a change to the capitalist society that they were part of. Brechtian techniques, including his specific techniques involving comedy, are widely and very commonly used in contemporary cultural practice. However many claim that, nowadays, this is more than likely for an aesthetic value rather than to provide a political message and/or to add dialecticism to a performance or production. For example, TV crime drama programme, Hustle follows a small group of long-con artists during their everyday lives and through their work e.g. as they con other members of society out of money or possession. There is a constant hint of Brechtian influence throughout each episode with the use of Gestus (gestures such as hand movements and voice inflections that remind the viewer that they are watching con artists whilst they are at work), v-effekt (including direct address to camera and the con artists stepping out of character (i.e. the character adopted for the con) from time to time to explain their tricks to the audience) and also the use of spass within the characterisation of the victims of the cons (For example, a rich but clumsy, married businessman easily falling for and being seduced by the female of the con artists who is playing the part of another female within society). This use of spass within the piece is essential to enable the socio-political messages of each episod e to be conveyed to the audience. The con artists prove themselves to be different to what a stereotypical con artist is perceived to be in that they only con people of a higher class than themselves who are greedy, cheats and/or liars. They are portrayed as normal, down-to-earth human beings of a range of race, age, sex and colour. The characterisations of the victims of the cons they trick are generally stereotypical with each and every one of them being of a higher class (e.g. using queens English or Received Pronunciation, wearing business suits etc.) This conveys a sort of Robin Hood effect in that they are stealing from the rich but in order to teach them the lesson that they shouldnt cheat, lie etc. As described above, it is easy to see how this programme may be perceived as a contemporary example of the Brechtian use of comedy as a political device. This programme uses the general idea of spass by sending up the bad guys i.e. the members of a higher class, inviting the audie nce to laugh at these characters and also condemning what they stand for. However, as the programme is not strictly Brechtian in that the con artists are actually actors playing con artists (spectators are only made aware of this during the titles of the programme) it is questionable as to whether such Brechtian techniques were used in order to present a specific socio-political message or whether it was just for aesthetic purposes. It is also hard to tell whether the director intended to assist (Brechtian technique) or just plainly create the gaze of his/her audience Within Brechts plays and productions it is plain to see his attempt to assist the thought production or gaze within an audience i.e. how and what they interpret from the action they see on stage. Using a dialectical approach, Brechtian plays provide options and provoke debate, encouraging an audience member to create their own judgement and opinion regarding the action that they see on stage and so also critiquing how they see society around them and gaining their own understanding of it. In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, for example, a director may choose to provide the audience with other options e.g. the option for Grusha to leave baby Michael behind rather than to flee with him. This gaze between the spectator and the stage is essential and very important to Brechtian epic theatre, in order to get across any social or political message, a play is trying to convey, to the target audience i.e. a working class audience. A good contemporary stage example of this idea would be the work o f Mark Ravenhill. A very controversial playwright of the current time, Ravenhill is well-known for being highly influenced by Brecht. In his first play, Shopping and Fucking, Ravenhill set out to shock this audience to make them step back and question what they saw on stage, comparing this to the society they live in making them question that also. The play opens with a young man and woman, Robbie and Lulu, attempting to feed another young man, Mark, who is suffering or going cold turkey after attempting to quite heroin. This protagonist within the narrative also vomits on the stage. In most productions of this play the spectators are able to see the possibility of different outcomes for different characters. Using the names of a very well-known boy band called Take That as the character names within the place, this creates comedy within the piece to convey political messages as the audience will be very aware of any comparisons or contrasts that may be made between the characters o n stage and the members of the boy band. The play explores the breakdown of self value within people in society and the effect on the people since the announcement by Margaret Thatcher (1987) that there is no such thing as society. Although there is only a glimpse of Brechtian influence within the play, there is a clear socio-political message being portrayed and conveyed to the audience throughout the play. But, in saying this, we must always bear in mind that Brechtian signs and language was and is always intended to be read more than once e.g. the play (and so the socio-political message) is first read and interpreted by the actor before it is conveyed to the spectator, on stage, by the actor: what Brecht gives us to read is, by a kind of disengagement, the readers gaze, not directly the object of his reading; for this object reaches us only by the act of intellection (an alienated act) of a first reader who is already on the stage. (Barthes, 1986, p.219). However, with this being said, any interpretation of a Brechtian play made within contemporary cultural practice may prove unsuccessful in achieving Brechts official intentions due to the advance and change in society and societal values. In every play he wrote and directed, Brechts main aim was to make a change. He wanted his idea of theatre and the plays he wrote to encourage an audience to commit to social change, making them leave the theatre wanting to change the way they, and other around them, live their lives. Comedy within the theatre, to Brecht, was essential in order for him to connect with this target audience of the proletariat or working-class members of society. He found that criticism through spass was the easiest way to convey his socio-political messages in that it enabled a v-effekt, or distancing effect, between the action on stage and the audience. This gaze between the action and spectator is highly important in that, although Brecht would assist this gaze by providing the action and different options etc, he essentially wanted his spectators to make their own minds up and make their own decisions regarding what they saw on stage. However, due to the advance and change within society and societal values since Brecht wrote his plays, theories and techniques, the comedy Brecht used within his plays, has since been translated in contemporary cultural practice into a highly satirical manner, in which members of a higher class of society are mocked and stereotyped. In a modern theatre and within contemporary cultural practice, this would be more likely to bring an audience together in comedy rather than assisting the individual to adopt a critical awareness of the world that they live in. 2846