Heaney’s poems explore by varied poetic means the enduring significance of family and childhood in human life

Much of Heaney's poetry, particularly from his early selections, explores childhood and family. Heaney perhaps uses these themes as a means of discovering his true self by travelling back to his roots. His childhood experiences have certainly had a deep impact and acted as inspiration for many of the poems from his first book, ‘Death of a Naturalist', but there are also poems in later books that explore this theme. Aside from giving us an insight into Heaney's early life, his exploration of childhood and family also reflects the rural Irish culture at the time and the political situation in Ireland. The poet also explores the themes of childhood and family through the use of various poetic devices, including vivid imagery and structure. The first poem that I have decided to examine is ‘Digging' from Heaney's first collection, ‘Death of a Naturalist'. This poem focuses on the poet's father and grandfather, and his admiration for their digging skills. It also shows the great contrast between father and son, in that Heaney has â€Å"no spade to follow men like them†; his talents lie in writing. Digging' is the first poem in the selection, and certainly depicts Heaney's insecurities about his writing career and his early struggle to define himself as a poet, and break the family tradition of rural labour. The poem is littered with various poetic devices, which help to bring the poem and the poet's feelings alive to the reader. Firstly, Heaney uses the simile, â€Å"snug as a gun† to describe the way the pen feels when he holds it. This suggests that it fits his hand well and is very powerful. It could also mean that, whereas his father and grandfather use the spade as their weapon, Heaney uses the pen. Some have also proposed that the image of the â€Å"gun† is a reflection of the violence in Northern Ireland. However, this cannot be so, because this poem was published in 1966, before the troubles started. He also chooses to use rather vivid language to describe his father's actions while digging in the garden. For example, â€Å"a clean rasping sound† is almost onomatopoeia, as the word really sounds like the noise a spade makes when it sinks into hard ground. Further examples of onomatopoeia are, â€Å"squelch†, â€Å"slap†, â€Å"sloppily† and â€Å"gravelly†. â€Å"Straining rump† is also a good choice of language, as the reader can instantly visualise how hard the man is working and feel his pain. A further poetic tool is the use of technical language, such as â€Å"lug† and â€Å"shaft†, which show their technique and skill in their trade, as they know exactly what they are doing and thoroughly understand every part of their tool. Colloquial language is also used, such as â€Å"By God, the old man could handle a spade†. This is perhaps used as a way for Heaney to connect with the rural population of Ireland and associate himself with his roots. The structure of the poem is also a very important feature, as it helps to illustrate Heaney's insecurities with his writing career. The stanzas are very irregular, suggesting that the poet's thoughts are wandering aimlessly as he is trying to discover his true identity and accept his trade. However, the structure could also be said to portray the idea of digging, in that the first four stanzas grow in length, almost like a spade travelling deeper into the ground. Heaney uses the theme of ‘Digging' and roots as an extended metaphor, as through writing this poem, he is attempting to get back and identify with his own roots and dig into the past and his childhood, in order to discover his true self. He demonstrates the significance of family and childhood experiences and the impact they have on your actions in later life. Heaney was clearly worried that he was disappointing his father by not continuing the family trade, and this poem seems to act as an apology for this. The last stanza of ‘Digging' is very similar to the first stanza, but instead of the pen being â€Å"as snug as a gun†, Heaney resolves that he will â€Å"dig with it†. This implies that the pen is Heaney's tool, just like the spade was his predecessors' tool. The occupations may be vastly different, but they still require a great deal of expertise. The second poem that I have chosen to explore is ‘Personal Helicon', which is also from Heaney's first collection, ‘Death of Naturalist'. This poem contains many double meanings. On the surface, it would appear as if Heaney is reflecting on his favourite pastime as a child, which was playing with water and wells. This, indeed, is true, but he is also using the theme to talk about writing poetry. The word â€Å"Helicon† in the title refers to a place in ancient Greece where there are springs that supposedly give inspiration to anyone that drinks there. This suggests that, for Seamus Heaney, the memories of his childhood and his love for water and wells are his personal inspiration for his poetry. It is also an interesting choice of word because both sources of inspiration are associated with water. â€Å"So deep you saw no reflection in it† describes one particular well that Heaney encountered as a child. However, the image of the bottomless well also portrays what a poem is like, filled with different meanings. A further example of a double meaning can be found in the line, â€Å"A white face hovered over the bottom†. This refers to the literal reflection of Heaney that could be seen in the water, but could also mean that he is always evident in his poems; each poem connects in some way with the poet, no matter what the theme is. An important poetic device that the poet uses in ‘Personal Helicon' is highly expressive and vivid language, which helps the reader to envision exactly what the wells were like. Good examples of this are â€Å"fungus†, â€Å"dank moss† and â€Å"finger slime†, which all conjure up wonderful, yet repulsive images of exactly what wells are like and the enjoyment that children find in wet, dirty places. Heaney has also incorporated a clever metaphor into the poem, which is â€Å"the trapped sky†. The sky is obviously not trapped within the well in a physical sense, but it appears to be due to its reflection in the water at the bottom of the well. The last two lines of ‘Personal Helicon' are extremely significant, as they represent the motivation behind Heaney's poetry and illustrate exactly what he is like. â€Å"I rhyme to see myself, to set the darkness echoing. † This would imply that Seamus Heaney writes poetry in order to discover himself and approach subjects that cannot be approached in any other way. A critic once proposed that the â€Å"darkness† refers to the unknown, the things that remain hidden, concepts that have not been brought into the light and expressed in words. Whether it is personal fears or social and political injustices, poetry is a medium to bring these unspoken attitudes and opinions to the world, and to make them â€Å"echo† and resound with force. The mention of the word, â€Å"darkness† also links in with Heaney's next book, entitled â€Å"Door into the Dark†, suggesting that he was very insecure and apprehensive about his ‘debut' collection of poems and how successful it would be. Overall, ‘Personal Helicon' gives the reader an insight into Seamus Heaney's childhood and the features of rural Ireland, and shows, similarly to the previous poem, what effects childhood experiences can have on a person's later life. The final poem that I have chosen to study is ‘The Other Side' from Heaney's third poetry collection, ‘Wintering Out'. This poem chronicles the poet's childhood experiences of the vast divide between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, and tells the story of a Catholic family (Heaney's family) and a Protestant neighbour living on the other side of the stream. Heaney uses a great deal of religious imagery within this poem, perhaps in order to reinforce the theme of religious divide. A good example of this is, â€Å"‘It's poor as Lazarus, that ground'†. Lazarus is the name of a poor man in the bible, so this is a clever simile that not only depicts the poor quality of Heaney's farmland, but also underpins the overall theme of the poem. There are a number of other religious images within the poem also. â€Å"That tongue of chosen people† is a reference to Protestants and the fact that they are supposed to speak â€Å"properly† and in a superior manner to Catholics. â€Å"Chosen people† is a biblical image and â€Å"promised furrows† links in with the bible and the idea of the â€Å"promised land†. Tares† is another word used in the poem that suggests religious significance, as in the bible, these were weeds that the enemy deliberately planted to ruin others' crops. Another interesting simile within this poem is, â€Å"as if party to lovemaking or a stranger's weeping†. This is an excellent use of imagery, as it really portrays to the reader the extent of the neighbour's embarrassment at having interrupted Heaney's family's prayers. Another poetic device used in the poem is onomatopoeia, shown through the expression â€Å"moan of prayers†. The word â€Å"moan† really does sound like the chanting of prayers often heard in churches, as it is a rather extended, droning word, reflecting what the prayers were like. To conclude, ‘The Other Side' depicts the significance of family and childhood experiences, as Heaney has undoubtedly gained much inspiration from his memories of the division between religions in Ireland when he was a child. Overall, it is evident that a number of Heaney's poems explore the enduring significance of family and childhood in human life, as he openly acquires a good deal of inspiration from his early years. Within these poems, he uses various poetic devices as a means of expressing memories, feelings and objects in a highly vivid and engaging way. His fascinating and intelligent use of language is certainly at the forefront of all of his poems, whether it is shown through imagery, onomatopoeia or realistic descriptions. Heaney once said that, ‘Words themselves are doors', suggesting that they can open up new ways of understanding, expressing and interpreting situations and feelings.

Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Ahmad’s case story presents interesting facts about how he thinks and feels about his situation. He seems to think about his life as something destined to be what it is. Ahmad said that his friends did not make him bad; he was already bad to begin with. This demonstrates a way of thinking with a strong locus of control. He knew why he turned out to be a problem child and he did not blame his friends for his mistakes, crimes and decisions. But he did emphasize that his mother had told him what he was going to be in the future.As a child, Ahmad may have come to believe in this prophecy which is why he thinks like that. This tells us that Ahmad is capable of thinking logically; he actually did not blame his mother for turning out to be the person he is, but to him his mother was right in saying he was going to be a bad person in the future. Ahmad seems to have the ability to take responsibility for his actions and maybe in this case he can also plan for his future. These are the reasons why Ahmad can benefit with solution focused brief therapy.Solution focused brief therapy would help Ahmad think about his present situation which he already have done in his case interview. The focus of the therapy is on helping the client recognize his ability to negotiate, plan and act on his desired outcomes of the therapy even in one session. It is important to note that solution focused brief therapy believes that the client is motivated to achieve his goals in therapy, and Ahmad has all the indications that he is motivated.Moreover, solution focused brief therapy is suitable in cases where the client firmly believes that what he/she is cannot be changed but rather to be able to find the means to move on with their life. For Ahmad, the focus is not on knowing why he became like this but rather to plan for his goals after this therapy. Solution focused brief therapy had been found to work well with all kinds of clients even with children, thus increasing the suitability of the approach to this case. 2. Discuss some of key counseling issues that Ahmad is facingThe key counseling issues that Ahmad is presenting include a poor self-concept, a deterministic sense of where his life is heading and an inadequate relationship with significant others. Ahmad says that he is destined to be a thief just as his father was destined to be a drug addict. This tells us that Ahmad had begun on the path of self-fulfilling prophecy because it was what he always heard from his mother. Moreover, he did not resist this prophecy because it validated his relationship as his father’s son which he might have not known while he was a child.At the same time, Ahmad seemed to be mostly affected by his mother’s behavior towards him. He even blamed his mother for starting him on smoking when he was in kindergarten. From this statement, it could be surmised that Ahmad’s mother was not very present in his early life, the mother was permissive, did not show any a ffection or care even when he did not go home for days and beat him when she knew he did something wrong. The attempts of the mother to discipline Ahmad only contributed to the child’s belief that he was not wanted or that he was a bad person.His poor self-concept was probably developed from what he heard from his mother who to him is the most significant person. These key cousnelling issues are important because it would hinder Ahmad’s chances of realizing his goals in therapy. His self-determinism and poor self-concept may stop him from thinking about his future since he is already a bad person there is nothing that could be done about it. His inadequate relationship with his mother has actually caused his poor self-concept which can be worked on during therapy.3. Discuss the therapeutic goals and how you would manage the case of Ahmad using your chosen therapeutic approach Solution focused brief therapy relies on three fundamental questions that needs to be asked by the therapist to the client which if done properly can lead to realizations that would help the client reach his goals. The therapist has to trust the client that he would answer the questions and the therapist has to ask the questions in such a way that the client would be able to adequately answer it.The basic questions include what are client’s hopes for the outcome of the therapy, what would be the client’s life be if these hopes are realized and what have the client been doing now and in the past that would help the client realize his goals. In Ahmad’s case the therapist first asks the question what are his goals in this therapy. Whatever Ahmad’s response be, it would be accepted as valid and real to him and can be established as the desired goals of the therapy. Ahmad’s goals should be placed foremost in the therapeutic relationship.The therapist can further ask Ahmad what he would feel if he realized this goal, would it make him feel better or not. In this way the client could further examine his goals if it is really what he wanted. The therapist also does not impose his/her own values or beliefs into the client’s goals. After establishing the desired goals of the client, the therapist then can begin asking the second question centering on the preferred situation or kind of life that Ahmad wants to have when his goals are realized.In this stage of the therapy, the client is asked to elaborate on what his goals would bring him in the future. If his goal is to stop being apprehended then a likely approach would be to ask Ahmad what would his lie become if he does not have to face the police and the court as much, in this way Ahmad would realize a future without the threat of being caught by the police a likely possibility and which he can attain. By discussing the client’s feelings, thoughts and reactions to the desired goal for the future, it becomes more present to Ahmad and become more attainable.In th is part of the therapy, the therapist can ask Ahmad the â€Å"magic question†. The magic question had been developed to help the client think more about his/her desired goals. The magic question is phrased as â€Å"if you wake up in the morning and all of the things you would want to happen have happened already how you would feel? † The goal is to be able to help the client realize that there is something after the problem, that there is no need to figure out the solution because occasionally the solution will present itself and the client just have to recognize it.In Ahmad’s case, the magic question would be â€Å"if you wake up in the morning and a miracle had occurred to wipe all your problems, what would be the things you would notice that tells you that a miracle did occur? † After this elaboration, the therapist then asks Ahmad to describe what he had been doing now or in past that he thinks would likely lead him to his goals. The idea here is to d raw out the skills and resources that the client already has in attaining his goals, it focuses more on the strengths of the client rather than his past or his problem behaviors.The client must be able to make the connection between what he already has done that have worked to help him reach his goal and the therapist can do this by asking the right questions and leading the client to discover for himself what those resources are. Solution focused brief therapy is called brief because sessions would only range from one to six times where significant realization and improvement can already occur. Ahmad is an intelligent person and he may be able to benefit from 2 or 3 sessions just to get his work through his issues with his relationship with his mother.4. Discuss the limitation challenges and ethical issues you might face in managing this case The limitations of solution focused brief therapy are dependent on the kind of problems and clients that come to the therapy. For example, if the client has substance abuse problems and would actually want to stop being caught by the police as her likely goal, this becomes an ethical dilemma for the counselor since solution focused brief therapy would accept all the goals of the client be it bad or good.However, a skilled therapist can always lead the client to positive future behaviors rather than dwell on the negative goals of the client. If the goal is to learn how to get away from the authorities, then the therapist has to ask the client what she thinks would lead her to this goal, and naturally the client would say to stop doing bad things. On the other hand, solution focused brief therapy generally work well with logical clients, if the client had a mental illness or a disability and is not capable of making decisions by themselves, then the approach would not work.Ahmad is clearly logical but a limitation would be that he is already convinced that he is bad and he does not see any problem with it. Solution focused brief therapy is only possible when the client has a clear idea of his problems, and Ahmad clearly does not think that being bad is an issue, he was maybe born to be bad. Solution focused brief therapy also does not allow therapists to change the values, ideas and emotions of the client and working with Ahmad’s concept of his being bad would definitely be a challenge. 5. Discuss the therapeutic technique that you would use this case and discuss the limitation of the techniqueSolution focused brief therapy had been borne out of the belief that instead of trying to understand the problem and finding solutions to it, it is more beneficial to focus on the future and the solution to the problem. More importantly, the client often has the resources to solve the problem which can be drawn out by the therapist using magic questions. This approach also says that the past is done with and the client or the therapist cannot do anything to undo it, so it is more worthwhile to focus on t he future and the solution to the problem.The approach is called brief since therapy is initiated only when the client needs to work on a problem and when the client already knows what to do with the problem, then the therapy is terminated, in this case one or two sessions would be sufficient. The limitations of the technique heavily depend on the inability of the client to work past the problem identification stage to the goal identification stage. If the client has difficulty in this area, the therapist can throw questions that lead the client to coping behaviors which also facilitate a clear identification of goals.Although solution focused brief therapy is simple in theory, it is actually very difficult to apply in real cases since it lacks structure and the therapist must have the presence of mind to stop from delving into the past since it is not relevant to the approach. Person Centered Therapy 1. After reading the story of Ahmad use one approach in counseling that you think might be helpful in managing this case. Explain briefly why you have chosen this approach. Ahmad’s case story is the best candidate for the application of the person centered therapy since Ahmad had issues with his self-concept and this is the forte of person centered therapy.Ahmad’s poor self-concept that is being a bad person because he was born that way was an acceptance of his mother’s conditional regard for him. He would rather be a bad person because his mother says so and which tells him he is like his father and therefore gain acceptance than to resist the idea of being a bad person and be ignored by his mother. From Ahmad’s narrative, it was obvious that his mother only paid attention to him when he was found to misbehave or when he did something really bad.Not going home for several days was not bad since his mother according to him trusted him; it was only when his mother knew of his stealing and vandalism that he was punished. To Ahmad, even a negative attention is more important than no attention at all from his mother. The person centered therapy specifically believes that psychological problems or disturbances stem from the inadequacy of unconditional positive regard that the client experiences in his childhood thereby stifling his growth and personal development.The person centered approach also believes that each one of us has the ability to grow and to achieve our potentials given the right amount and quality of positive regard. 2. Discuss some of key counseling issues that Ahmad is facing Ahmad has already formed his identity and self concept based on other people’s opinion of him, and that is a bad person. He even goes as far as saying that some people are borne to be good or bad and he is one of those who were already bad when they first came to the world. All the experiences he had in his life seemed to affirm this idea which has led to his own acceptance of that self-concept.Ahmad’s life had prob ably turned from bad to worse as he got older because he lacked the caring and nurturing relationships that would initiate change in his life. All his life, he had been doing bad things such as smoking in kindergarten, dropping out of school, stealing, leading a pack of boys to commit stress crimes, and yet he does not seem to be bitter about it. Ahmad had come to believe that it is his birthright to be bad, which to the person centered therapist, is a very alarming and poor self-concept.Another counseling issue that Ahmad needs to work with the therapist is how his relationship with his mother had contributed to his self-concept and that not because his mother sees him as a bad person does not mean that all the people in the world see him as such. 3. Discuss the therapeutic goals and how you would manage the case of Ahmad using your chosen therapeutic approach The person centered approach rests on the principle that when the client experiences the core conditions that are necessary for the therapeutic relationship, he/she will begin to experience change.The therapy first begins with the therapist establishing a relationship with Ahmad wherein the therapist must let Ahmad feel that he is accepted for who is and what he has done in the past, that Ahmad is a person of worth and that the therapist is there to listen and to understand his experiences. The person centered approach also believes that the client knows his/her problems better than any other person and the focus is not to find solutions or to explore the client’s problems but to provide the necessary core conditions to inspire change in the client.Thus Ahmad would be asked to return for a regular session, wherein the therapist would make the client feel that he is happy to be with Ahmad, that he listens and empathize with Ahmad, when Ahmad says he does not like being in therapy, the therapist would not be quick to refute any of it but rather accepts that feeling as valid and help Ahmad explore m ore that feeling without the need for meeting any desired behavior or rules of the therapist.If Ahmad refuses to talk during therapy, then the therapist must not force him to talk but rather make him feel that even if he does not talk, the therapist still values his effort in coming to the session. The third core condition is congruence which means that the therapist is genuine and honest about his feelings and ideas, this demonstrates to Ahmad that the therapist is transparent and that he does not have to be someone else than himself during their counseling sessions. During each session, the therapist must strive to make Ahmad feel that he is accepted, loved, listened to and welcomed.In this way, Ahmad would soon trust and realize that the therapist is a real person who is willing to give him attention and care without being anything else other than himself, during sessions the therapist can ask Ahmad questions about his life, his experiences, his goals for the future and his feeli ngs and thoughts which would later on make Ahmad share his dreams and aspirations and maybe on his own begin to act on his plans or change his behaviors because each person is capable of change, of doing good and of becoming better persons.Hopefully, the quality of the therapist’s relationship with Ahmad makes him realize that he is not a bad person, that he just believed he was because it was what he always heard. 4. Discuss the limitation challenges and ethical issues you might face in managing this case The limitations in using the person centered approach in Ahmad’s case is that he may not have the luxury of time to always come for sessions, he may be in a facility for youth offenders or he may even be imprisoned due to his crimes which would make it impossible for him to work with a therapist.Although group homes have in-house counselors and Ahmad might be able to work with them. Another challenge is the fact that an accepting and emphatic counselor might instead validate or reinforce Ahmad’s belief that there is nothing wrong with his behavior because he is destined to be bad. In fact, Ahmad may seem to have rationalized his self-concept into saying that bad people naturally do bad things, so if he is a bad person, then it is natural for him to do bad things.Moreover, there is no way to verify Ahmad’s stories because in this approach the therapist believes and relies on the client’s accounts as being true. 5. Discuss the therapeutic technique that you would use this case and discuss the limitation of the technique The person centered approach believes in the fundamental goodness of all human being, thus no matter how bad a person is, there will always be room for goodness to grow in his person. As such, the therapeutic relationship is established to provide the client with the core conditions necessary fro growth.Psychological disturbances occur because people do not always receive unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuineness; moreover, the individual comes to accept the positive regard of other people despite its being conditional because it is better to have any kind of attention than no attention at all. This approach also believes that by providing the right nurturing environment the client would become more aware of his thoughts and feelings would be able to understand more of himself and his behaviors.This approach however is not for everyone, very young children who lack self-awareness, and those who do not want to explore their thoughts and feelings or expose their inner self to other people would not find this approach very useful. The goal of person centered therapy is found its fundamental belief and faith in the person, thus the therapy is also focused on the person’s experiences, beliefs, wishes, feelings and issues which have either prevented him/her from growing into the person that he/she should be.There are a number of criticisms leveled against person centered ap proach because it lacks direction and it structure. It depends heavily on the problems that the client brings to the therapy. Another criticism is that if person centered therapy claims that a healthy relationship is more important than the expertise of the therapist then what then the difference of this approach from other approaches is.However, research although controversial at this point had found that the effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship is strongly associated with the quality of the relationship of the client and the therapist. References de Shazer, S. , Berg, I. , Lipchik, et al. (1986). Brief therapy: Focused solution development. Family Process, 25, 207-221. Mearns, D. & Thorne, B. (1999). Person-Centered Counseling in Action, 2nd ed.. London: Sage.

Racial Formation in the United States (1960-1980) Essay

Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s book, Racial Formation in the United States, identifies race and its importance to â€Å"America†. Saying, it â€Å"will always be at the center of the American experience† (Pg.6). Challenging both mainstream (ethnicity-oriented) and radical (class-oriented) analyses, Omi and Winant argue that race has been â€Å"systematically overlooked† (Pg. 138) as an important factor in understanding American politics and society. They set as their task in construction of â€Å"an analytic framework which to view the racial politics of the past three decades† in America (pg.5) The book is organized in three parts. Part one surveys three perspectives on American race relations: â€Å"ethnicity-based theory†, â€Å"class-based theory† and â€Å"nation-based theory†. Omi and Winant have arguments with each. Ethnicity-based theory is criticized for its tendency to consider race under the rubric ethnicity and thus to overlook the unique experiences of American racial minorities (blacks, Native Americans, Asians). Class-based theory is similarly taken to task for overlooking the power of race in social, economic, and political relations in its concern with economic interest, processes, and cleavages. Finally, nation-based theory is challenged as geographically and historically inappropriate for analyzing the structure of American race relations. What is needed according to Omi and Winant, is a â€Å"racial formation perspective,† one that can deal with race as â€Å"an autonomous field of social conflict, political organizations, and cultural/ideological meaning† (p.52). Part two is an elaboration of racial formation perspective. Omi and Winant define â€Å"racial formation† as â€Å"the process by which social, economic and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories, and by which they are in turn shaped by racial meanings† (pg.61). The racial formation perspective emphasizes the extent to which race is a social and political construction that operates at two levels: the â€Å"micro† (individual identity) and the â€Å"macro† (collective social structure). The two levels  interact to form a racial social movement when individuals (at the micro level) are mobilized in response to political racial injustice (at the macro level). Through racial movements, social and political conceptions of race are â€Å"rearticulated,† and a new racial order immerges. Then the new racial order itself becomes a target of reactionary challenges and re-rearticulating. In part three, Omi and Winant discuss the period since the 1950s in the civil rights movement and its increasingly militant demands for American political reform, continues through the actual body of civil rights legislative and policy changes enacted by American political system, and culminates in the racial reaction of the new Right and the Reagan â€Å"revolution.† While they argue for the continued importance of the role of race in American politics, culture, and economics in their conclusion, Omi and Winant make no specific predictions. They sate, in fact, that â€Å"the nature of the racial contest the next time around remains open.† This lack of specificity is not limited to the conclusion, but a lack of thoroughness throughout the book. The result explanation of Racial Formation in the United States is interesting but ultimately not very compelling or a useful book. The authors present their ideas in an engaging manner but fail to provide detailed analysis. We are told that â€Å"race has been a key determinant of mass movements, stat policy, and even foreign policy in the United States† (pg.138), yet we are given only the occasional examples as support for these assertions. The authors remind us that â€Å"one of the first things we notice about people when we meet them (along with their sex) is their race† (pg. 62). This is not news. To live in American is to know the power of race in society. In addition to a lack of efficient evidence, the authors’ criticisms and arguments are often inconsistent and unclear. For example, the three literature review chapters in part one are far from encyclopedic, are rather dated, and draw from a very narrow range of the bodies of writing they are supposed to cover. Such incomplete and unconventional citations rise suspicious arising from selectivity combine with confusion arising from  inconsistency. After devoting a chapter to a critique of ethnicity-based theory, the authors conclude that â€Å"ethnicity theory†¦comes closet to our concept of ‘racial formation† (pg. 53). Similarity, after spending a chapter outlining uselessness of nation-based theory, the authors cite â€Å"Chicago nationalism† (pg. 104-105) as evidence of the primacy and longevity of race in America. Perhaps most confusing in the whole presentation is Omi and Winant’s insistence that American sociology’s use of the concept of â€Å"ethnicity† has blinded us to the importance of â€Å"race† in America. Never in the book’s 201 pages do the authors define either term. We are left to conclude that race refers to some bundle of a body of differences, while ethnicity refers to linguistics, religious, or cultural divisions among populations. The implication is that physical (racial) characteristics are more powerful than social or cultural (ethnic) characteristics in shaping inter group relations and ethnic politics. This implication reveals the authors’ conceptual short sightings resulting from their exclusive focus on America’s narrow expedience. While color constitutes a powerful ethnic boundary in the United Sates, any broad understanding of racial and ethnic relations in America or elsewhere cannot ignore the reality and unpredictability of no grouping of ethnic boundaries, for example, among black Africans in Nigeria, Uganda, or Zaire, or among white Europeans in Northern Ireland, Belgium, or Spain. Class lectures and discussion expressed many different experiences of Immigrating groups in the U.S. Omi and Winant’s book explore a theory-based approach to understand racial formation, and the development of immigrating individuals and groups. The class was introduced by four â€Å"main concepts in immigration†; Uprootedness (Handlin), Transplantation (Bodnar), Assimilation (Higham) and Ethnicity (Conzen). All important components of the immigrating experience, although assimilation is the most important. The ability for an immigrating individual and/or group to assimilate is imperative for future prosperity, which is the consistent intention behind emigrating from original homelands. Higham’s theory of assimilation ignores original cultures and identities, classifying many specific cultures under one pluralism. Omi and Winant, criticize this phenomenon and suggestion in the  Ethnic-based theory. Believing in specific contribution each American minority makes socially, economically and politically. The diversification of cultures and experience is the â€Å"continual building on which America was founded† (pg. 32). Constant with the book, there is no suggestion to improve the ignorance of racial and cultural grouping in assimilation and the books theories are left short at criticism. Despite its conceptual and evidentiary shortcomings, Racial Formation in the United States makes two important contributions: to assert the independent or at least interdependent power of race and ethnicity in society and emphasizes the extent to which ethnicity is a political phenomenon enacted both in social movements and in political policy. The book will be most useful reading for sociologists who adhere to what Omi and Winant identify as class-based theories of ethnicity, that is, that ethnicity is really class disguise.

Civil war and the abolition of slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Civil war and the abolition of slavery - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that from 1565-1568, Spanish conquerors established a settlement in Florida wherein 500 slaves were introduced. After that, a flock of African slaves was brought by Dutch explorers in Jamestown, Virginia in the form of â€Å"indentured servitude,† and this group was the first permanent forced and involuntary servants in the New World. Northerners had a different view towards slavery because first and foremost, the North was an industrial territory while the South had a vast acre of agricultural plantations. Therefore, the Southerners took advantage of the presence of African slaves because of their massive labor force while the Northerners felt threatened that these slaves would soon take away their industrial jobs away from them since they worked for free. Both the abolition and pro-slavery sentiments were growing during the late 17th century. The abolition of slavery sentiment was fought by the Northerners, and later on, was grante d in 1804. Moreover, the federal government also encouraged the Southerners to end up slavery in order to achieve a balance between slave states and Free states. There was already the establishment of political balance in the United States, but the proposition of Democratic senator Stephen Douglas to allow territories between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains to choose whether or not to give permission to slavery. According to Arnold, this event led to the Civil War because it destroyed the said balance.

Interpersonal Conflict in Film Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interpersonal Conflict in Film - Research Paper Example The movie film ended without showing how such conflict is handled, and in fact, there is no proof of it at all. The work at hand tries to discuss why the conflict was not handled effectively and what could have been done differently. Interpersonal conflict happens when individuals fail to agree or share on the same views, which is an upshot of having varied interests or goals (Rahim, 2011). This is exactly what happened to Deborah and John. At some point, these two characters have varying point of views in life, even wants, desires and goals, that each of them failed to manage to understand. The movie film shows a little portion for effective communication between Deborah and John especially during the confrontation. Deborah talks so much of words that her husband, John, could hardly catch up. There was a depiction of poor communication process in this case, making the entire conversation between Deborah and John so monotonous that the latter failed to emphasize his points to allow t he former to know his stand. In other words, one clear reason why the depicted interpersonal conflict was not handled effectively is due to the lack of focus to emphasize a good point of view for better communication, which has to be a two-way process between the receiver and the speaker. The movie film did not quite deal much of this point, leaving the entire situation between John and Deborah hanging until the end. On the other hand, the movie film handles too many interpersonal conflicts in it, as it depicts varying walks of life. One reason why there was poor handling of the interpersonal conflict between John and Deborah is the point that there are also other conflicts that need to be addressed or resolved apart from theirs. Their interpersonal conflict is common to take place among couples, but the entire movie has its point of view not only on their family, but the entire perspective of the movie film comes from Cristina, who herself have specific struggles to handle with her mother, a single Hispanic parent, Flor. This is the reason why it has become a great priority in the movie film to end it up with a meaningful resolution on the part of Cristina’s family, leaving it hanging to resolve the conflict between John and Deborah. This is a specific reason why at some point it was not that effective how the movie film handles the interpersonal conflict between John and Deborah. On the other hand, the movie film reveals that it is re-enacted based on Cristina’s essay application for scholarship in a prestigious academic institution. This makes the entire story to have a strong bias on her point of view, resulting to effective resolution on the case of her own family, and leaving the entire situation hanging for Clasky’s couple. The interpersonal conflict between John and Deborah could have been handled effectively if somewhere in the essay application of Cristina, there should have been significant information concerning the progress of Clasky’s couple. This may be made possible if Cristina would only have concluded the essay with a specific insight of the characters of the couple and how things might go smoothly if people are able to adjust to everyone’s personalities, attitudes, culture, and value no matter how diverse the group that someone might go through. On the other hand, the movie film fails to address the general issue of human emotion, as an effective element to ensure effective

Analyze Possible Problems Associated with Reintegration after Research Paper

Analyze Possible Problems Associated with Reintegration after Prisonization - Research Paper Example ii) Evaluation – A summary of the obstacles in the path of rehabilitation of the ex-prisoners, convicted of petty crimes like stealing, larceny, etc. iii) Recommendations - The various methods by which criminals can be corrected and their participation as a part of the society can be improved on. B. Grave Crimes: Incidences and corresponding punishments to graver crimes like murder or manslaughter is discussed. i) Biblical Explanation – Graver crimes like homicide is interpreted in the light of the views in the Bible. Murder entitles the death penalty but there is always the scope of pardon, evident from the biblical story of ‘Cain and Abel’. ii) Evaluation - An analysis of the actual factors that leads normal individuals to turn into hardened criminals and solutions to those problems. iii) Recommendations – Methods of correction for criminals convicted of grave crimes like, murder. III. Economic Perspective : The possible contribution of the rehabil itated convicts to the growth of economy and national income generation. Also, their economic contribution to community services and welfare activities is analyzed. IV. Conclusion : A summary of the process of rehabilitation of ex-convicts and reintegrating them into the society. V. References Abstract The study of the possible problems in the reintegration of the imprisoned into the civil society reveals the complexities that exist in this case. The embarrassment faced by an ex-convict to face society, in the aftermath of his sentence, is a very sensitive issue and hence, should be handled with the utmost kindness and caution. Generosity of heart, in this respect, may reap huge dividends and solve the problems that cannot be solved by a harsher treatment of criminals. If anything, injudicious punishments can actually cause more crimes than solve them as is evident from studying the upsurge of terrorism in various nations. A person who had committed a crime should not be treated as an outcast throughout his life and the society, as a whole, should strive to be less judgmental and hypocritical. Economically, the study shows the benefits in GDP creation that can be accrued if the these imprisonized population is converted into an active workforce, consistently contributing to National Income. This is a section of huge untapped labor power that can find employment in the informal sector and must be fully utilized for optimum growth of the economy. Prisons are considered to be the god-forsaken margins of a society, both from a rigid Christian point of view as well as a general one. To survive in these pockets of crime, malice and violence, an individual has to transform oneself completely, psychologically and physically. No matter how normal or innocent, a person is compelled to develop certain skills and attributes that are â€Å"considered highly dysfunctional in free society† (Marlow, 2008, p.42). Since these sites are infested with mutual mistrust, isol ation from the society at large, dependence on the institution and an ever-dangling danger of bloodshed, a person may feel limited, humiliated, and extremely deprived. This makes a dent on his persona indefinitely and poses as a problem in the path of reintegration into the society. Hence, proper and efficient programs must

Manhattan Bagel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Manhattan Bagel - Essay Example Since its inception, the association now has over 1000 franchise members, as well as 350 suppliers and 7000 franchisee members. Manhattan Bagel Franchise Manhattan Bagel always brings fame to the customer's desires for each varied sensation in flavour. It also creates a very uniquely attractive place featuring traditional as well as modern selections for their meals. The company is about authentic food for the real people, this serves in a way suggesting that each customer is a treasured neighbour. The companies’ authentic food includes, the award winning bake bagels and boil, and also goes right in to our appetizing and freshly baked food. The success of Manhattan stores depends on various factors, this includes availability of the suitable stores sites and securing of lease terms for new locations, also, should consider the company’s ability to obtain or acquire construction and also other necessary permits in timely manner, moreover, ability to meet schedules set for construction, the financial and capabilities of company’s main franchisees, lastly the company should have business and general economy conditions (Grumet). Its success partially depends on the ability it has to attract, contract and retain suitable franchisees and their abilities to open and also operate each of the stores successfully. To spice it all, Manhattan business may be subjected to changes in the products tastes to maintain consumers, local and regional economic conditions, national, type and the trends in demography, location and number of the businesses competing. The competition is always increasing in Bagel industry significantly with the increasing number of regional, local and national stores competition for locations of stores and franchisees, as well as their customers. The services offered by the company are standardized and maintained by the authorities’ regular checks (Grumet). It understands and also acknowledges that each and every detail or in formation that is valid to the company is given attention. Through this, the company maintains high standards in its operations and product demands are in that case increased, sold all over the markets by their stores while the reputation and goodwill is protected. Manhattan Bagel Strengths Manhattan Bagel strengths are seen in the company’s brand which exists with franchisee field support structure. It began at its inception and thereafter polished and honed ever since. The other strength of Manhattan Bagel is the senior positions in the management are filled with the veterans from the company thus bringing a very strong background operating the business. The leadership in the company is also very skilful and experienced in all supporting departments. Moreover, the program in the company extends the daily operations in individual store, from the right manuals supply to topical training thorough field support. Additionally, while the company strive to uphold the standards of their stated brands, it also works with franchisees on a consultative base through the Franchise Consultant network to help it improve by moving the brand forward. The company also has in-house culinary department ranking with the best in industry (Grumet). The culinary researchers in the company and seasonal chefs are considered to be constant quest for the future of the Manhattan. Through this, the company franchisees showcased and the cutting edge culinary prospered in the markets. Manhattans Bagel weaknesses Though many companies have gone into

Democratisation and Reforms in Singapore and Malaysia Research Paper

Democratisation and Reforms in Singapore and Malaysia - Research Paper Example This paper therefore is to scrutinise and study the process of democratisation and reform in Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore and Malaysia have an aspect of striking similarity which has shaped their process of democratisation. Both countries enjoy strong authoritarian stability because of the strong state apparatuses they possess. Some strong states such as Taiwan and South Korea had emerged before Malaysia and Singapore became authoritarian in the 1960s and would have been instrumental in helping stabilise national politics in Singapore and Malaysia to democratise. Slater observes that the drawback in this state of affair above is that the same state strength that props up stable transitions to democracy is the very force that enables authoritarian rulers and regimes to forestall democratisation and reforms. This is to mean that the chief reason for Singapore and Malaysia’s democratisation is the main reason democratisation and reforms may not transpire thereto. A case whic h underscores the need for Malaysia’s democratisation and reforms is epitomised by the move by the Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak of singlehandedly picking a committee to review the country’s electoral system and the Internal Security Act. While the Prime Minister dishonestly explained such a move as a needful exercise in arresting lawlessness, the entire exercise was a response to the Arab Spring (Slater, 30). The need for Singapore and Malaysia to democratize and reform The need for Singapore and Malaysia to undergo democratisation and reforms is premised on the economic gains and developments that are taking place therein. In the case of Singapore, there has been the registration of rapid and gradual economic growth. For this cause, Singapore has come to be the second highest income earner in Asia, immediately after Japan. As a matter of fact, Singapore is being touted by scholars such as Beng-Haut as the largest non-democracy economy in world history . Because of this status, it is expected that Singapore should be setting the standard for democracy and reforms in the Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, much to the chagrin of many, this is not the case, yet the failure to democratise and reform will stunt economic accruals therein (Beng-Haut, 23). The need for Singapore to democratise is also underscored by the fact that Singapore’s political life and commitment to constitutionalism is doing very badly. According to Beng-Haut, with the exception of the Islamic Brunei sultanate, Singapore remains the only ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member which is excluded from the list of countries that are democratising. The exclusion of Singapore from the ASEAN countries that are democratizing is serious, given that other pseudo-democracies such as Indonesia where institutions (such as the electoral commission) are still too weak to withstand the undue influence of the executive, were included in the list (Beng-Haut, 23). Conversely, Singapore has no recourse to democratise and reform, given that it still has strengths that can facilitate democratisation. Singapore parallels other authoritarian regimes by manifesting commitment to human rights and collective goals. Factors That Impede Democratization and Reforms in Singapore and Malaysia Setbacks that inhibit Singapore’s path to democratisation and reforms are: (a) tension between the presence and influence of

Behavior problems in Adolescents with Learning Disabilities Essay

Behavior problems in Adolescents with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example The presence of behavior problems among children with various forms of learning disabilities is not so hard to imagine, given the challenges they are faced to compete in a learning environment with their disability. Therefore, many of the children may feel less intelligent when comparing to their peers in various areas of educational performance. These problems may present as external as well as internal behaviors, and without proper addressing of these, the child may grow up as an individual with multiple behavior problems. (Johnson, nd) One of the complications in the correct delivery of education to such children is the variety of disorders that are present within the context of learning disabilities. The lack of proper teaching skills and inability of the child to cope may lead to uninterested behavior among the children and consequently, poorer performance may lead to further reduction of the motivation of the child to perform academically. (Lee and Donald, 2003) Such problems are especially hard to address among the adolescent and teenage groups, who are already vulnerable during their transition phase from childhood to adulthood. This firstly clarifies that learning disabilities are not only a challenge that children of younger age groups face with. Adults and adolescents also face the same problems and some may go undiagnosed for a long time. (Revisiting Learning Problems and Learning Disabilities, 2002) Also, the severity of the learning disorder must also identify along with the type, so that the person is educated with the right strategies to help cope with and overcome his or her learning difficulties. (Revisiting Learning Problems and Learning Disabilities, 2002)The external features of these learning disorders are usually found as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder or ODD and conduct disorder or CD. Internal features may present as depression and anxiety

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Theodore White is one of the most sought after history writers about the inner details on presidential issues that covered the American history. The political background of different issues that covered the inner cases of the president’s life, during and after their administration in the US is something that is one of the most important features of the writings of this particular author. One of the most important written works of White is that of the book entitled Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. This reading naturally focuses on the process on how Richard Nixon failed to bring the American society at the brim of its dreams. Summary and Content In his first State of the Union Message, the 37th president of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, placed â€Å"first priority† on world peace and a â€Å"just† settlement of the war in Vietnam. But his major preoccupation was the state of America. Commenting on his speech, the New York Times said: â€Å"His picture was of a nation robbed of its natural heritage by human and industrial carelessness, cheated of the dividends of economic growth by inflation, poorly served by a proliferating Federal apparatus, and threatened by crime and the growth in population. † Nixon’s theme was best expressed perhaps in a rhetorical question. â€Å"In the next ten years we shall increase our wealth by 50 percent,† he said. â€Å"The profound question is—does this mean that we will be 50 percent richer in a real sense, 50 percent better off, 50 percent happier? † Does the record of the past ten years provide a sound basis for answering, Yes? The majority of the nation’s peoples who live in metropolitan areas choked by traffic, suffocated by smog, poisoned by water, deafened by noise and terrorized by crime see little reason for great optimism. After reelection, American president Richard M. Nixon pledged to work to end â€Å"the whole era of permissiveness† in the United States. He declared: â€Å"We have passed through a very great spiritual crisis in this country,† and says that the Vietnam war was â€Å"only part of the problem. † It was also reported that Mr. Nixon intends to restructure the Federal government. Many believe that the moves the president intends to make could increase his power while diminishing that of the Cabinet. A domestic crisis exists in the United States. In 1968 Richard Nixon at the climax of his presidential campaign adopted the slogan, â€Å"Bring Us Together. † Now, a year and a half later, says a news report from Washington, D. C. , â€Å"Americans are so torn apart, so savage toward each other, that the president and Mrs. Nixon, obviously for safety reasons, were prevailed on to cancel trips around the country. † â€Å"The country,† said Mayor Lindsay of New York, â€Å"is virtually on the edge of a spiritual—and perhaps even a physical—breakdown. † Historian Arnold Toynbee commented: â€Å"The American people seem to be moving rapidly towards civil war: middle-aged noncombatants against young men subject to the draft; the affluent against the poor; white against black, students against the National Guard . .The decision on the American home-front is going to decide the fate of the world, and the rest of us can do nothing about it. We have no say, but we, too, are going to be victims of America’s domestic agony. † Overall Critique It could not be denied that with the written work of White, it could be observed that he was able to decipher the different elements of the Nixon administration that has placed it in a situation that has caused it to fail in giving America the rightful dream that they want to realize. It could be observed that through this written work, it is not that hard to understand how the Nixon administration set a sample to the coming administrations as to what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided to be able to come up with the most effective policies that are made to make the entire society succeed towards its realization of the future truth of it dreams’ fulfillments. Furthermore, this book also notes the implication of the Nixon administration towards the exploration of American politics as per noted and recognized as an important part of the American society. There’s a lot of hypocrisy . . . and so forth in political life,† said former U. S. President Richard Nixon in a recent TV interview. â€Å"It’s necessary in order to get into office and in order to retain office. † In speaking about political campaigning, he said: â€Å"As a candidate, you have to dissemble, you have to recognize that you can’t say what you think about an individual because you may have to use him or need him sometime in the future. † He felt that when a politician or a president says something he does not believe, it should not be viewed as lying; it is just a part of politics. References: Theodore H. White. (1975). Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. Scribner; 1st edition.

Analysis of Lidls Marketing Strategy | 7Ps, SWOT

Analysis of Lidls Marketing Strategy | 7Ps, SWOT Introduction Lidls history begins in the 1930s, when their first store was created in Germany acting as a grocery wholesaler. Since then, Lidl has now become one of the largest grocery retailers in Europe, with over 600 stores operating in the UK, and thousands based across Europe (Butler, 2014). Although the amount of stores that Lidl have in operation is staggering, it is made even more amazing by the fact they only expanded out of Germany 20 years ago (Lidl, 2015). This rapid expansion has made them one of the most dominant and feared competitors in the UK grocery market, with major grocery retailers constantly trying to minimise Lidls portion of market share. Although Lidls market share in the UK is still relatively small, with them acquiring 3.5% at the beginning of 2015, they are one of the fastest growing grocery retailers. Whilst many supermarkets are losing their market share, Lidls was increased by a stagger 15.1% from 3.1% to 3.5% (FT, 2015). Figure 1 highlights the variation in market share, and how much market share each supermarket currently holds. As previously mentioned, although Lidl have a relatively low market share, they are currently one of the fastest growing retailers in the market. An analysis of Lidls current marketing strategy will be conducted, with particular emphasis on the 7 Ps of marketing. Furthermore, Porters Generic Strategies will be analysed in order to aid in the understanding of Lidls current strategies. This will then be concluded with a SWOT analysis, with recommendations being drawn up via the utilisation of a TOWS matrix. Marketing Strategy Analysis The five core concepts of marketing are; consumer needs/wants/demands, products and services, value/satisfaction/quality, exchanges/transactions/relationships and markets (Kotler, et al., 2008). One of the most efficient ways to analyse these factors is to conduct a marketing strategy analysis, which looks to explore the strategies an organisation utilises in order to grow and expand their market share. 7 Ps Analysis In order to successfully analyse Lidl marketing strategy, a 7 Ps analysis can be conducted, which seeks to analyse some very basic, but significant issues. Originally, the 7 Ps was only comprised of 4 Ps which aimed to address certain issues that would allow a firm to have a more developed understanding of their internal operations. The 4Ps are comprised of; product, price, place and promotion (CIM, 2009). However, due to the limited applicability of the 4 Ps, three more were added to form the 7Ps, which aims to encompass some service qualities the 4 Ps do not cover (Booms Bitner, 1981; Lusch, et al., 2007). Product (Quality, brand name, service line, warranty, capabilities, facilitating goods, tangible clues, price, personnel, physical environment and process of service delivery): Very solid brand name from being one of the cheapest supermarket retailers in the industry. Their main competition as a value supermarket is Aldi (Bosshart, 2006). The products sold in Lidl are often very similar to the goods sold in other supermarkets, such as Tesco or Asda. However, the main distinction would be the different brand names of the products in Lidl stores. Consumers could have a negative perception of the quality of Lidls products as they are sold for such a cheap price (Siro, et al., 2008). Price (Level, discounts and allowances, payment terms, customers own perceived value, quality/price interaction and differentiation): One of the key competitive advantages for Lidl is their clever pricing strategies. Lidl entered the market on the basis of being one of the most value-driven supermarkets in the industry (Dolgui Proth, 2010). All payments are made up before leaving the store at the check outs. As they offer goods at an incredibly cheap price, consumers may believe that the goods they sell are poor quality, however this is generally not the case (Siro, et al., 2008). Place (Location, accessibility, distribution channels and distribution coverage): Lidl have a plethora of stores across the UK and Europe. However, depending on the country, they operate in different segments of the supermarket industry, ranging from value to high-end goods (Butler, 2014). They have a variety of distribution hubs across the UK and Europe to ensure that stores are maintaining a constant level of stock (Brown, 2015). As their business model is to sell as many goods as possible in the shortest amount of time, ensuring stock levels are maintained is incredibly important. This means that it is imperative to have stores in reasonably close proximity to national distribution centres. Promotion (Advertisements, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, personnel, physical environment, facilitating goods, tangible clues and process of service delivery): Lidl do not current have any loyalty schemes present in the UK, as they believe their pricing model is enough to incentivise consumers. Lidl often have in store promotions, but they do not discount their goods as highly as other retailers due to the low prices that already exist. People (Personnel training, discretion, commitment, incentives, appearance, interpersonal behaviour, attitudes and customer behaviour/degree of involvement): Employees are generally paid a very attractive salary, but have to work incredibly hard whilst on the job. The amount of items scanned is often used as a performance measurement indicator (Ruddick, 2015). High training standards to ensure employees can scan items fast enough and meet all customer needs. Consumers may feel that staff do not pay them enough attention as they are very rushed doing their job responsibilities. Process (Policies, procedures, mechanisation, employee discretion, customer involvement, customer direction and flow of activities): Primary process of Lidl is to purchase and sell as many goods as possible on a low-cost basis. Consumers are not very involved in any of the processes or procedures of Lidl, and would have little power over their business operations. Physical (Environment, furnishings, colour, layout, noise level, facilitating goods and tangible clues): The majority of Lidl stores are laid out in a very linear and traditional manner. This is to aid consumers in finding their goods as soon as possible and having easy access to purchase and leave (Lidl, 2015). Lidl will often exhibit their brand colours, yellow and blue, throughout their stores or surrounding areas. This will help consumers know there is a Lidl nearby. Porters Generic Strategies Porter outlines four generic strategies; differentiation, cost leadership, differentiation focus and cost focus (Porter, 1980). From utilising the information gathered from the 7 Ps analysis, it becomes quickly apparent as to what strategy Lidl are currently pursuing. Lidl have a reliant focus on selling quality products at the cheapest cost possible. This would suggest that they are utilising a cost leadership strategy, and are implemented it with incredible effectiveness (Morschett, et al., 2006). However, in order to maintain their current rate of growth and expansion, Lidl may have to diversify from their current strategies in order to stay competitive and innovative within the UK grocery market. SWOT Analysis Based on the 7 Ps analysis, a SWOT analysis can be conducted in regards to Lidl. The SWOT analysis will help an organisation measure and understand the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threats facing the firm. Being able to identify these elements will help an organisation to formulate and develop strategies which may build on the strengths, negate the weaknesses, exploit the opportunities or counter the threats (Dyson, 2004). Strengths (Simon, et al., 2010; Kumar Steenkamp, 2007): Strong business structure allows them to sell their products at an incredibly cheap price. Wide range of private labels gives them exclusivity and security. Has a huge amount of stores across the whole of the UK and Europe giving Lidl great exposure. Online presence that showcases the products they have and any deals they may be running. Weaknesses (FT, 2015; Siro, et al., 2008): Does not quite have the market share of the other big supermarkets in the UK, such as Tesco or Asda. Has not been able to spread their operations outside of Europe very successfully. As their products are so cheap consumers can often think that the quality is not good enough. Opportunities (Felsted, 2014): Potential to expand in the UK and acquire a higher share of the UK grocery market. Successfully expanding abroad can provide more funds to invest in the UK. Expand their website to actually accept orders and sell products. Threats (Poulter, 2014): If Lidl were to engage with a price war with other major grocery retailers then they could force competitors prices down. International expansion of other global brands would cause more competition. Aldi surpassing their market share and becoming the dominant discount grocery retailer. Recommendations Together with the SWOT analysis, a TOWS matrix can be utilised in order to develop strategies and recommendations for Lidl to acquire a greater market share of the UK grocery industry (Weihrich, 1982). Based on the TOWS matrix, and the analysis of Lidls current market strategies, three recommendations can be laid that would help Lidl acquire a greater share of the UK grocery market. The three recommendations are; Extend the usability of their website to accept click collect orders or even delivery. This would expand their presence in the UK market. Develop and implement upper-class branded products in order to target a new demographic and compete with the major supermarket retailers on a more even environment. Construct firm barriers of entry to deter other organisations from entering the UK grocery market and potentially encroaching on Lidls market share. In order to stay competitive in the UK grocery industry, and continue to build upon their UK market share, Lidl should utilise the aforementioned strategies. Furthermore, this could result in them following a combination of generic strategies, as the introducing of upper-class brands, in combination with their current business structure, would suggest a differentiation strategy is in place. However, if Lidl pursue the adoption of other strategies, they must ensure that their current consumer base is not alienated, or they could end up losing market share. Furthermore, Lidl should continue to open more stores in the UK in order to expand their presence and accessibility, which will allow their operations to have similar exposure to the other major supermarket retailers. Bibliography Booms, B. H. Bitner, M. J., 1981. Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms. In: Marketing of Services. Chicago: American Marketing Association, pp. 47-51. Bosshart, D., 2006. Cheap?: The Real Cost of Living in a Low Price, Low Wage World. London: Kogan Page Limited. Brown, G., 2015. Giant Lidl distribution hub to create 500 West Midlands jobs. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/giant-lidl-distribution-hub-create-8883111 Butler, S., 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/27/lidl-launches-store-expansion-programme. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/27/lidl-launches-store-expansion-programme CIM, 2009. Marketing and the 7Ps, s.l.: Chartered Institute of Marketing. Dolgui, A. Proth, J. M., 2010. Pricing strategies and models. Annual Reviews in Control, 34(1), pp. 101-110. Dyson, R. G., 2004. Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick. European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 152, pp. 631-640. Felsted, A., 2014. Lidl expansion to crank up pressure on big stores. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2465c426-fd53-11e3-bc93-00144feab7de.html#axzz3giD80B9c FT, 2015. Half of UK shoppers visited Lidl, Aldi over Xmas. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.ft.com/fastft/260632/half-of-uk-shoppers-visited-lidl-aldi-over-xmas Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. Saunders, J., 2008. Principles of Marketing. 5th ed. s.l.:Prentice Hall. Kumar, N. Steenkamp, J. B. E. M., 2007. Private Label Strategy: How to Meet the Store Brand Challenge. Cambridge: Harvard Business Press. Lidl, 2015. Customer orientated expansion. [Online] Available at:Â  http://property.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/5187.htm Lidl, 2015. http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/659.htm. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/659.htm Lusch, R. F., Vargo, S. L. OBrien, M., 2007. Competing through service: Insights from service-dominant logic. Journal of Retailing, 83(1), pp. 5-18. Morschett, D., Swoboda, B. Schramm-Klein, H., 2006. Porter outlines four generic strategies; differentiation, cost leadership, differentiation focus and cost focus (Porter, 1980).. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 13(4), pp. 275-287. Porter, M. E., 1980. Competitive Strategy. s.l.:Free Press. Poulter, S., 2014. Aldi and Lidl to force big four supermarkets into price war to stop stampede of customers to discount chains. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539064/Aldi-Lidl-force-big-four-supermarkets-price-war-stop-stampede-customers-discount-chains.html Ruddick, G., 2015. Supermarkets could increase prices to pay for living wage. [Online] Available at:Â  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11736662/Supermarkets-could-increase-prices-to-pay-for-living-wage.html Simon, H., Gathen, A. V. D. Daus, P. W., 2010. Retail Pricing Higher Profits Through Improved Pricing Processes. In: Retailing in the 21st Century. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 319-336. Siro, I., Kapolna, E., Kapolna, B. Lugasi, A., 2008. Functional food. Product development, marketing and consumer acceptance—A review. Appetite, 51(3), pp. 456-467. Weihrich, H., 1982. The TOWS Matrix A Tool for Situational Analysis, San Francisco: Long Range Planning .

Birds Eye And The UK Frozen Food Industry Marketing Essay

Birds Eye And The UK Frozen Food Industry Marketing Essay INTRODUCTION: Birds Eye Foods Ltd was incorporated in the United Kingdom in 1938 in response to the interest that Robert Lucas, the chairman of Winget Ltd developed in the product while in the USA. On incorporation, it was owned by General foods corporation (their parent company in the USA), Robert Lucas and Chivas and sons Ltd (a British canner and jam maker). Birds Eye was subsequently acquired in March 1943 by Unilever, who identified its potential to serve their current business interests in the three main categories: fish (Mac fisheries), fruits and vegetables (Batchelors peas), and poultry (Poulton Noel Ltd). Their strategy was to grow the business along those 3 areas and to push for global expansion. The dearth of infrastructure and the meticulous needs of quick-freezing implied that to guarantee the quality of their products, Birds Eye had to invest across their entire supply chain and build their own system. In essence, they were geared towards establishing an organisation that was fully integrated from controlling food production (raw materials sourcing, harvesting equipment, production equipment, location and construction of plants) to distribution up to the retailers frozen food cabinet (cold storage, insulated vehicles) via their sister company SPD (Grant, 2010). Birds Eye is considered to be one of the founders of the modern frozen food industry and, is credited with many innovations in food processing, freezing techniques, quality management, vegetable cultivation techniques and harvesting equipments as it sought to secure competitive advantage. Some of the other players in the frozen foods market included: Smedleys (National Canning), Smethurst Ltd, Mudd and Son, etc. From humble beginnings, Birds Eyes market share reached 70% in the 1950s and 1960s. Their RoCE in the same period was highest in the industry, with 16.2% in 1964. However, the 1970s and 1980s ushered in a change in the dynamics of the industry. Falling barriers to entry (blast freezers) led to a reduction in production processes and costs of production, and change in the retail industry (counter-service to self-service and the emergence of large supermarkets/retail chains). The influx of new entrants to different parts of the supply chain (from distribution to marketing) led to the decline of Birds Eyes market share and its profitability; 18.5% market share in 1983. Based on the information given this report seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Why did Birds Eye develop as a vertically integrated producer? 2. In sourcing raw materials, explain why Birds Eye adopted different arrangements for peas, fish, and meat? 3. Why did specialized intermediaries emerge? 4. Did a vertically integrated producer have a competitive advantage over more vertically specialized suppliers of frozen foods during the early 1980s? 5. What should Birds Eye have done in 1979? LITERATURE REVIEW: Corporate level strategy is the conduct of drafting, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. It is the process of specifying the organizations mission, vision and objectives, developing policies and plans, often in terms of projects and programs, which are designed to achieve these objectives and then allocating resources to implement the policies, and plans, projects and programs. Firms can develop strategies that ensures that they have a competitive advantage in the market and this can be done in the following ways Internal development: This is a process where the firm looks within itself and builds up its own resources and capabilities internally. The problem with this approach is that it might take a lot of time to build up the required capacity. Some of the reasons why a firm would want to internally build up its capacity are: they might want to develop product internally to form core competence. they may seek to avoid culture clash with the merging partner. they might be unable to find a suitable acquisition target. Mergers and Acquisition: This is a process where a firm either merges with other firms or out-rightly acquires the firm in question to increase their capacity. Some of the benefits of MA are stated below: Economies of scale: This refers to the situation where a firms cost can be reduced due to expansion. The expansion results in a decrease in per unit cost associated with production. Economies of scope: This is similar to economies of scale but its related to the efficiencies derivable from the production of two different goods together, rather than separately and it can be attributed to the products using common technology or common marketing channel. Create value/Increased revenue or market share: When a firm merges or acquires another firm it is probably a competitor or a firm along its supply chain. Integrations like these help firms to secure their supplies, reduce transaction times and create revenue and savings opportunities across the chain. So the buyer is basically increasing its revenue market share when it takes over another. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES: This is a cooperative relationship between firms involving the sharing of resources in pursuit of common goals. Firms can go into a contract/relationship with another firm in the actualization of its goals. These alliances could be in any of the three forms: Analytical Framework: Birds eye joined the UK frozen food industry when it was novel and stayed on till it became mature and saturated. For strategic reasons Birds Eye opted for a vertically integrated business model as shown in figure 1.0. Given the changes that continued to hit the UK frozen food industry in the time under consideration it was paramount that Birds Eye continued to assess its position in the market relative to other players and emerging factors. For much of the 1950s and 1960s, the barriers to entry were prohibitive enough to restrict the number of players. Factors ranging from the cost of setting up machinery, distribution costs, marketing costs were significant enough to deter other investors. The Porters 5 Forces Analysis shown in figure 2.0 shows how Birds Eye was squeezed from all sides as all the forces worked against them simultaneously: The farmers grew developed the capabilities needed to raise high quality vegetables. Technological innovations reduced the costs of raising and processing food, this led to new entrants. Most entrants couldnt afford massive investments in marketing so they aimed to deliver mainstream or even unbranded foods that will compete on functionality. Changes in the retail industry introduced customers to more options and more savings. The caterers who bought in bulk preferred the basic brands that werent expensive. Verdict = The industry had become saturated and unattractive. The BCG Matrix The BCG matrix helps us to dissect a business into its different component parts and evaluate them objectively on the basis of the state of the market (whether there is growth, low or high) and the firms share of the market (whether low or high). Table 1.0 in the appendix summarises the position of the different aspects of Birds Eyes businesses across its supply chain. On the strength of the analysis and the case we make recommendations in the next section. Recommendation: Birds eye develop as vertically integrated producer for the following reasons: Firstly, adequate infrastructure for deep freezing was absent at the time so Birds Eye had to develop theirs. This warranted them investing across their supply chain. Secondly, Birds Eye needed to control their entire supply chain to guarantee consistent supply of high quality raw materials, and also regular supply of products to customers. Thirdly, they wanted to ensure that all process within the production and supply chain is efficiently optimised. Fourthly, the structure of their supply chain delivered economies of scale that helped to optimize costs. In sourcing raw materials, explain why Birds Eye adopted different arrangements for peas, fish, and meat?: The sourcing arrangements that Birds Eye adopted for the different raw materials was dependent: Vegetables: Birds Eye adopted their chosen strategy for vegetables because the seeds, cultivation, fertilization, treatment and harvestation practices available to farmers of the time could not guarantee a high quality final product. The farmers didnt have the equipment to harvest vegetables fast enough for them to be freezed in good time. Fish: Due to the nature of whitefish and where they are found, Birds Eye couldnt control their production. Inability to control their breeding left them with the option of sourcing for the best of the available supplies; buying fish fresh from dock side auctions or buying fishes that were frozen at sea. Between 1965 and 1969 they had a majority stake in a fishing company in a bid to ensure their cod supplies. Meat: Meat was primarily poultry and because this process could be controlled from start to finish Birds Eye acquired poultry farms and subjected them to their strict standards. Why did specialized intermediaries emerge?: The specialized intermediaries in this case refer to the specialist storage, freezing and transportation companies. Some of the reason for their emergence include: The availability of infrastructure: invention of blast freezers: The invention of blast freezers among other technologies made production cheaper and more efficient. This meant most of the costly barriers to entry had disappeared. Diversification to create value and spread risk: Companies who had competitive advantage in a certain segment of food production merely started offering their products in frozen form to enter the growing market. Processing to increase value added: Firms that originated from agricultural cooperative realized that if they added value to their produce they could command more returns on them. Most of the intermediaries were flexible: The intermediaries offered their services on very flexible contractual terms. The costs of building a vertically integrated was high so firms concentrated on one or two parts of the supply chain. Vertically integrated producers: Vertically integrated suppliers were better placed than vertically integrated producers of frozen food in the 1980s. In the early days of the industry owning all aspects of the supply chain was expedient as there was a dearth of infrastructure; firms needed to build competitive advantage on the basis of their products quality and also control their costs so, it was key to own the entire chain. However, the 1980s ushered in new and cheaper technologies that made production cheaper and more efficient. Also, competition grew from more specialized and efficient firms entered the market to compete thereby reducing margins. Therefore, we believe it would have paid Birds Eye more to concentrate on its core capabilities, seek to control its supply entire supply chain by means of long term contracts with firms specialized in areas where it was weak in, instead of owning them. What should Birds Eye have done in 1979?: Having identified that the vertically integrated approach to supply chain management that helped them grow in the 1950s and 1960s was no longer the best (as shown above), Birds Eye should have sold off their under-performing divisions and concentrated on the profitable sections as shown by the BCG matrix in table 1.0. In detail, Birds Eye should have sought to: Divest its physical investment in the fish/meat/seed sourcing, cultivation and harvesting , and instead activate a contractual strategic alliance with the co-operatives. Free up its resources tied up in the distribution business and instead contract the distribution out to other more efficient firms. Among their brands, they should concentrate on the frozen foods that they have a competitive advantage and leave the British grocery segment. Stop cutting prices. Appendix: Figure 1.0: Birds Eye Supply Chain Figure 2.0: Porters 5 forces analysis Portfolio Management Analysis: The BCG Matrix: Table 1.0 HIGH MARKET SHARE LOW LOW MARKET GROWTH HIGH Stars Question Marks Prepared meals Transport Distribution Freezing Processing Cash Cows Frozen fish Frozen meat Storage Dogs Vegetable Fruit

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Parents, friends, staff, and fellow graduates, I like that word, graduates. In fact, I like that word so much, that I decided to look it up in the dictionary for the heck of it. And beyond the obvious definitions I found, there was one that plainly stuck out. "To change gradually". Now if you think about it, I guess that sums up all our years of schooling right there. I mean, I can still remember back to first grade and racing home to watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles defeat Shredder and the evil foot soldiers. Of course, Michelangelo was my favorite because he was the care-free surfer turtle that every boy dreamed of being like. Well, cartoons didn't last long in junior high, and my first real change occurred because of the eventual realization that girls were not brain-sucking aliens and yes, you could talk to them. And Aaron, you can still talk to them. Well, that led to the dances, and let me tell ya, those were some interesting days for me. My first slow dance, consisted of a good 14 inches between me and my unfortunate partner (sorry Michelle). But as we all know, those days didn't last long either and the glory days of high school jumped on us like a varsity sport initiation. From the fire drills in the rain, to those studly guys in cheer skirts, high school was virtually a blur and brought us to the point we are at now. And though all our years of high school flew by with a quiet whisper, there was always this gradual change within us. Every day we developed a clearer picture of who we were and what we wanted to do with our lives. While I guarantee you that most of us won't remember every trigonometric function or who the 11th president was, in the end, it doesn't really matter. This is because the greatness of ... ...ce. Our Football team took 1st in WESCO and went to the playoffs. The Winter Guard took 1st in state with their incredible performance and the Drama department put on two phenomenal plays that drew sellout crowds. Basketball thrilled us all by making it back to the state tournament and the boys soccer team made the playoffs for the first time in over 10 years, just missing a state berth. It's because of our leadership, that the students of Sanders High School now have a renewed sense of pride and spirit. We have brought Sanders back to the top, and blazed a trail for incredible things to come. I love you guys, and from spending four years of high school with ya, I know that each one of us will relentlessly pursue our dreams and stop at nothing to see them become a reality. So look out world, cause the graduating class of 2006, will be a class that you never forget.

Advertising, Food and Children :: Expository Exemplification Essays

Advertising, Food and Children "Peanut, peanut butter and jelly." Advertising has an impact on its audience. From songs to logos to characters, food product advertisers must keep in mind their audiences. Competition is the force which causes advertisers to target children. Children are targeted through the use of cute phrases, animated characters, and toys in these competitive advertisements. Many types of food have a phrase associated with them. Commercials use these phrases to implant their product into the audiences memory. Goldfish crackers are an example of one these products. "I love the fishes `cause their so delicious..." This is the theme to a well known commercial which advertises Pepperigde Farm goldfish crackers. Children sing the phrase over and over throughout the entirety of the commercial. By the time the commercial ends the line and product are inevitably stuck in a persons mind. The commercial says "... and my mom says that's okay", which implies to children that their parents will allow them to eat this snack. Another example of a product with an addicting phrase is Oscar Meyer bologna. "My bologna has a first name its O-S-C-A-R..." Instead of this song selling the product itself, its aim is to sell the brand. The Oscar Meyer company has had auditions for the next Oscar Meyer child. Again, their goal is to sell their brand. The company also has another product with a catchy song, Oscar Meyer hot dogs. "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener..." The stress of this phrase is also the brand. Oscar Meyer commercials use children to sing these songs and like the goldfish commercial, the song has been imprinted into a persons memory be the end of the commercial. Both companies goal is to sell their product. By targeting children, whole families are then targeted. Competition between companies with similar products, is the reason phrases are used. If one company can create a phrase that everyone will know and remember, they are one step closer to winning the race. Animated characters are also a medium used to target children. Animation has been the way which companies from Disney to Cartoon Network, capture the attention of children everywhere. Tony the Tiger is the spokesperson for Kellogg's frosted flakes.

Community Health Nursing Essay

As a registered nurse of only three years, I am often referred to by my peers as a â€Å"baby† nurse. However, in those short three years of practice I have learned and continue to learn many things whether medical, personal, or humanitarian. My personal nursing experience has been in surgical care services. The vast majority of the patients I have cared for are those undergoing elective procedures. They have chosen to have joint arthroplasty or some other type of procedure. I have also had the great fortune to care for those who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as cancer and leukemia. Many times I see these patients in the infancy of their disease process, but I also see them on a continue basis during treatments such as blood or platelet transfusions. The difficulties faced by patient s such as these are varied and bring with each a different set of needs to be assessed and addressed. You become not just a nurse but a caregiver, advocate, therapist, and more often than not a friend. It is when working with these patients that the dynamics of quality versus quantity of life become central to care. In many cases family concerns, whether well meaning or not, may overshadow the patient’s wishes. Our selfish need to keep loved ones with us can blur the line as to the patient’s own wants and needs. In dealing with this you must also assess your own beliefs as to end of life decisions. My role as a nurse must be to advocate for my patient, to develop trust in the relationship, and to follow through with their wishes. All the while promoting compassion in our interactions,  In this case scenario, there are three strategies in which I would implement to address Mrs. Thomas as a patient. After assessing the patient and her situation referrals should be made for therapy modalities both physical and occupational, home health, and psychological/mental health for both Mrs. Thomas and her spouse/caregiver. Physical and occupational therapy could evaluate Mrs. Thomas and initiate a plan of treatment to increase stamina and range of motion to keep the patient at an optimum level of functioning. Physical improvement even in small increments can have a positive effect on the patient’s outlook. Home health could evaluate Mrs. Thomas and her need for pain control as well as her fear of dependency. Education at this juncture is imperative to patient outlook as well as outcome of treatments. With pain management in place, physical therapy could progress, thus increasing the level of patient participation. Also a mental health/psychological referral could be invaluable to both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. Mrs. Thomas could be assisted in working through and understanding the stages of her illness, as well as her depression and sadness concerning her family relationships. It could also help Mr. Thomas with his depression and allow them both to connect with support groups or individuals within the community with whom they can share experiences. One of the best resources for breast cancer patients is the Susan B. Komen Foundation. As a certified breast cancer educator, I have had the pleasure of working with both survivors and their families. Education is very important to all concerned in a medical diagnosis of breast cancer. Understanding of the disease process and its effects are also essential to a healthy outlook. The Komen Foundation offers support to patients, survivors, caregivers, and family members. It would be an excellent resource in which both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas could receive individualized treatment and support. The team approach is also necessary for working with patients, families, and caregivers. As a nurse you must accept that an individual cannot meet all patient needs so you draw upon other health care professional s to accomplish the highest levels of care. A wide variety of team members can be utilized in the care of the Thomas’. Physicians who offer direct clinical care and disease pathologies, social workers/clinical case managers who can assist in community resources as well as their knowledge of insurances, spiritual leaders to aide in dealing with final decisions and spiritual needs of the patient and family, pharmacists  who assist with a wide array of pharmacological treatments for pain and symptom control, dieticians can be helpful in counseling with meals, nutrition, supplements, and hydration. Other team members may include physical and occupational therapy, psychologists, and perhaps even volunteers to assist in the home and with errands. The needs of Mrs. Thomas and her family will continue to fluctuate as her disease progresses. It is important for the team to stay abreast of these needs and adjust plans of care accordingly. At some point hospice services may be called upon and continued through death. This can be provided at home or on an inpatient basis. Initiating a plan of action can alleviate stress from both the Thomas’. Mr. Thomas may feel that some of the caregiver burden has been lifted and this could aid in the treatment of his depression. This in combination with medication could be the keys to initiating successful treatment. If a psychological evaluation is needed due to the possibility of suicidal ideations, then immediate intervention is warranted with a crisis facility. Especially if there is deemed eminent danger of self harm. With pieces of the clinical puzzle in place, the Thomas’ can be assisted with as much compassion, dignity, and support as possible to meet their needs in both the short and long term.

The Significance of Myth in the Novel Ceremony

Many people in our culture misunderstand the function of myth. We usually assume that there are two kinds of narrative, completely different from one another: a journalistic compilation of facts, all literally true and verifiable, or stories spun by a fiction writer for the purpose of entertainment only. Myth, we assume, falls resoundingly into the latter group. While primitive and superstitious people may have once believed that the sun was pulled across the sky by a chariot, we in our infinite scientific wisdom know that is not the reason that the sun appears to move in the sky when viewed from earth. Therefore, the myth is written off purely as a work of fiction and fantasy. Indigenous peoples throughout the world, however, look at their myths and folktales in quite another way. They recognize in them an explanation, not for the way physical science works or history occurred, but for the way their culture feels about itself. For Native Americans, these stories concern the universe and the spiritual domain. They are didactic because they teach the history of the people, how to live, and how to survive. According to Paula Gunn Allen, â€Å"myth is a story of vision;†¦ a vehicle of transmission of sharing and renewal. † It connects the past with the present. Myths â€Å"show us that it is possible to relate ourselves to the grand and mysterious universe that surrounds and informs our beings†¦The mythic heals, it makes us whole† (Allen, 116-17). Myths explain by analogy concepts that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to explain literally. They do so in a way that bypasses the conscious, analytical mind and heads straight for the heart (technically, the unconscious). Folklorist Carol Mitchell explains that Silko’s use of the Laguna creation myth at the beginning of Ceremony, â€Å"it recreates the power and the time of creation. The cosmic creation is the exemplary model of all life,† and hopes that it will restore the patient, Tayo (Mitchell, 34). Mitchell also believes that the use of this myth is a â€Å"spiritual means by which the novelist is inspired in her creative work† (Mitchell 28). The stories are thus emotionally and psychologically satisfying, and can have a very therapeutic effect when an individual's spirit is sick. Ceremonies are the retelling of the myths by a tribal healer or shaman. Then there are rituals which are the physical enactments of what is told in the myths. The purpose of the ritual is to â€Å"transform something (or someone) from one state to another† (Allen, 103). In the novel is a healing ritual which changes Tayo from a sickly, altered state, one which is of isolation and despair, to a state of health and wholeness with his people. This is the plot in Leslie Marmon Silko's novel, Ceremony. â€Å"Her narrative plot follows a cyclical of time, like that found in Native American myths and legends, instead of a western linear sense of time† (Bell, 53). It is open to irrational spiritual experiences instead of confining itself to scientific logic and reason. In addition, Silko’s main focus is more on the whole community and Tayo’s relationship to that community than it is on Tayo’s individuality. More importantly, she constructs the novel itself as a sacred ritual. Continuously throughout the novel, Silko flip flops between the main plot and various internal poems of Native American origin. One such poem involves a being named Thought-Woman. When Thought-Woman thinks, whatever she thinks about appears. I’m telling the story she is thinking,† says Silko at the start. The myth is reality, and the novel leads the reader into that unity between myth and reality. â€Å"Reality is a story†, Silko explains. The material presented in poetic form paces the reality, leading us to the denouement of the novel, and it also portrays the action of the story and gives structure. When we see the reality of the novel in terms of the mythic poem, is when we see this order in the story. The loss of power and vision, or, as Tayo says, â€Å"how the world had come undone,† the fight to return the world to its proper ays, the ultimate end to the crisis, and the identity and harmony created by this successful conclusion of the story are all predicted, ordered, and directed by the myth or poem. The â€Å"mythic poem† expresses the poems meaning. It creates that meaning. It is not just a metaphor or a piece of local sentiment. The extended drought, the Whites, the fall of tribal identity and meaning, the war, and even nuclear experiments are given me aning through the poetry, or you could say through the connection and intertwining of myth and reality. Robert Bennett, in his critical analysis of Silko’s Ceremony, states, â€Å"these interspersed poems create a second mythic narrative that runs parallel to the realistic narrative about Tayo. Even though these mythic poems take up less space than the realistic narrative, they are equally, if not more, important than the realistic narrative† (Bennett, 2). The poems mark important mile stones in the story for Tayo. They are placed in the beginning of the novel and at the end. These mythic poems trace Tayo’s recovery throughout the novel. Gregory Saylor describes the opening of Ceremony as with keeping with Silko’s vision of healing because it is written in the verse of Thought-Woman, who is the giver of all life. He claims that â€Å"from these opening pages we learn about the energy of stories, their ability to cure, and their capacity to counter the witchery of destruction† (Saylor, 00). This connection of stories as healing entities and the warriors of witchery gives an intriguing perspective to the purpose of Tayo’s journey. Tayo has suffered what we would consider a nervous breakdown as a result of traumas suffered in the war. The trauma actually occurred because he encounters enemy soldiers, who seem to bear the faces of his family. He is first sent to a Veteran's hospital upon his arrival back to the states, where he is diagnosed to suffering from â€Å"battle fatigue† and released without being cured completely. He then returns to his home on the reservation, where his symptoms get worse. Tayo has been told by the young doctor at the VA clinic that he really should rid himself from all his Indian heritage as much as possible, because that is what is making him sick, and that the worst thing for him is â€Å"Indian medicine† (Silko, 3). By â€Å"Indian medicine,† the VA doctor does not mean herbs and weeds. What he truly means is Tayo's spiritual condition and the return into the culture and heritage of his people. The Indian culture is of deep spirituality, and it is difficult for an Indian to think of having a mental disorder that is not a sign of a spiritual disintegration. The fact that Tayo feels his connection to his spirit and to the spirit of his people fading is why he perceives himself as â€Å"white smoke†. He feels this mainly because he is no longer completely an Indian, and the smoke is white because Tayo has accepted too much of white culture that differs from his heritage as an Indian. Tayo's aunt calls a local healer to treat his problem, Tayo's spiritual distress, which shows his loss of identity with the values and heritage of his people. Betonie, the healer called to help Tayo, makes the surprising claim that Tayo is not to blame white people: â€Å"We can deal with white people, with their machines and their beliefs. We can because we invented white people; it was Indian witchery that made white people in the first place† (Silko, 132). What he means is that Native Americans, by doubting the strength and the rightness of their culture, have allowed the white man to manipulate them; the triumph of white culture, he asserts, is a result of the surrender of the Indian people as a whole. Although Betonie appears to be a classical shaman, with all the usual potions and paraphernalia, he heals through stories intended to put Tayo back in touch with his natural heritage. One of the stories told in Ceremony is that of the magician Pa'caya'nyi and his lure of the Indian people with promises of magic. The Indians worshipped the Corn Mother by working their fields and helping the Mother grow big amounts of corn. In return the Corn Mother blessed the people's land. Pa'caya'nyi spoke to the people and told them that they should not work so hard in the fields, it was completely wasting their time and energy. He told them that he could see to it that their fields could continue to be productive just by him using his magic for them. The people stopped working and The Corn Mother became angry with her people, and left them on their own. As a result, a terrible drought came; the corn wilted, and the animals left. The people realized for the first time that what they had with the Corn Mother was a two-way relationship and that it took work to sustain the relationship. For many years they had worked hard to serve her, and as they had worshipped her, she had blessed them. No amount of magic or witchery could replace what they had once had. Tayo had a natural relationship with the earth based on his heritage, as well as with his Indian spirituality. But he had been seduced by the â€Å"witchery† of the white man into believing that he did not need to practice his ethnic heritage. By leaving the Indian world for the white one, he turned his back on his culture and replaced it with a set of cultural beliefs that seemed more modern and a lot less work. However, in doing this, he lost sight of himself and his spiritual connection to the earth. Betonie proves that what Tayo is, inside and out, is an Indian. To retain an ethnically different heritage in a white world, and to keep that heritage viable and meaningful, is hard work. But the cost to the individual of allowing that relationship to lapse is tremendous. Tayo momentarily paid the price of his neglect with his sanity. Now he is able to go forward and recapture his cultural inheritance, and by doing so, reclaim himself. Tayo’s return to individual and cultural identity and health through ceremonial integration with a unified story, or reality, is central to the novel. Tayo’s act of cursing the rain parallels the loss of rain in the mystic story. His personal breakdown reflects the breakdown of Laguna cultural integrity. His personal dryness of emotion, spirit, and community identity find physical manifestations in the drought suffered by the people of Laguna. Betonie’s ceremony is Tayo’s path to reintegration back to identity on the personal, cultural, and mythic level. But it is also the Laguna’s path back to reintegration. Tayo begins to heal when he is able to leave himself open and vulnerable to the forces of myth. Bettina Havens Letcher maintains in her dissertation, In the Belly of This Story, that â€Å"the Native American notion of myth is one that counteracts the negativity of witchery. When Tayo begins to live the stories of his youth, he opens his soul to the possibility of healing. He takes his culture and allows it to take over his personality. By losing himself he is able to become whole. During this journey, Tayo and Ts’eh, in their connection with each other, opens Tayo to the vulnerability that begins his healing. During their union, â€Å"He was afraid of being lost, so he repeated trail marks to himself. He eased himself deeper within her and felt the warmth close around him like river sand. But he did not get lost† (Silko 181). Instead he gathers strength from his connection with the land through his physical and emotional connection to Ts’eh. Tayo is healed because he is able to allow himself to join the mythical battle. The importance of Ts'eh in the story is derived from her role in Tayo’s recovery. Ts’eh lives on her own in the rim rock and is in touch with her land. Being out o f touch with his heritage and caught between the white world and his own peoples world, leaves Tayo feeling invisible and hollow inside. Through the power and strength of nature, Ts'eh helps Tayo become in touch with his Indian side. She instructs him on how to use certain plants, flowers, and ceremonies and how they are helpful to Native Americans. When Tayo falls in love with her is when Tayo begins to feel alive again. He restores his connection with his culture and no longer feels invisible anyone. Ts’eh takes away all Tayo’s nightmares and replaces them with pleasant dreams, like when one night he awoke â€Å"dreaming of her arms around him strong† and â€Å"he was overwhelmed by the love he felt for her† (Silko). Nevertheless, Tayo has completed his healing journey and feels whole again. Tayo no longer feels like a walking shadow, but finally a real person with feelings and emotions, other than anger and guilt. It is with the help of Betonie and Ts'eh that he discovers himself and is ultimately able to overcome the trauma inflicted upon him by his birth mother and Aunt. He is able to accept his mixed ancestry in a changing world. Therefore, when Ts'eh finally leaves him, Tayo is able to go on living and remembering all that she has taught him. Overall, Tayo's healing process was long and arduous. However, it was successful. With the guidance and support of Betonie and Ts'eh, Tayo was able to complete his healing journey on his own. In essence, he was able to recover his own life and find a desire to live. In understanding that the real world and the mythic world is one in the same, Tayo is healed and the reader is shown how the combination of the two leads to the success of not only Tayo, but to the story as a whole.