How does Shakespeare use conflict in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1 Essays

How does Shakespeare use conflict in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1 Essays How does Shakespeare use conflict in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1 Paper How does Shakespeare use conflict in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1 Paper Essay Topic: Romeo and Juliet In this essay I will address how conflict is successfully used in Act 1 Scene 1 to prepare the audience for the rest of the play. It will firstly show how Shakespeare uses physical conflict between the two feuding families. Secondly I will demonstrate the idea that Shakespeare introduces emotional conflict through the character of Romeo, and his outpourings of love for Rosaline. Finally I will show that the character of Romeo demonstrates both physical or external conflict and emotional or internal conflict. The purpose of the prologue is to clearly outline the plot of the whole play in fourteen lines and it also allows the audience to be settled before the actual play properly starts. The audience gets a glimpse of the rest of the play, it is introducing the idea that there is conflict; for instance â€Å"death-marked love† gives the idea of love not being positive, but is hinting that love is in fact negative as it relates to death. The prologue is a fourteen-line sonnet; it rhymes alternately till the last two lines where the sentences end in rhyming couplets indicating to the audience that the first act is beginning. The audience watching the play would associate a sonnet with love. However the audience is made aware that death and violence are going to be a major part of the play due to very angry, violent and aggressive words; these include â€Å"death†, â€Å"rage† and also â€Å"mutiny†. We are also told that â€Å"from ancient grudge break to new mutiny† which describes a history â€Å"ancient† long standing conflict between the two families. We also learn that there is a â€Å"continuance of the parents’ rage† indicating to the audience that this conflict is still on-going and unlikely to be easily resolved. Act 1 Scene 1 opens with Gregory and Sampson of the house of Capulet, in a public place in Verona City which shows immediately where the story will take place. From the outset it is clear that the servants are looking for physical conflict, as they are ‘armed with swords and bucklers’. At this time gentlemen wore swords, but servants usually didn’t, so by being armed it is obvious that Gregory and Sampson are looking for trouble. The language of the two servants is very masculine â€Å"we’ll draw† (swords) gives the audience the idea that Sampson is looking for a fight. We learn that he â€Å"will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague† learly demonstrating he will not run from any conflict with the Montagues. However, Gregory is not as interested in taking part in this conflict but is more interested in talking with his mouth rather than his sword. â€Å"If thou art moved, thou runn’st away† shows how he would rather goad Sampson and challenge his masculinity with the clever use of words. The language used during the interaction between the two servants, such as addressing each other as â€Å"thou† is very upper class and not the language of a servant. This would appeal to the nobility and the upper classes in the audience. This scene is also very comedic; it does this to show the lighter side of the conflict within Romeo and Juliet. One way it is funny is when talking about the male sexual slurs â€Å"My naked weapon is out† is referring to his sword in a sexual way, which will entertain the audience. Another comedic feature is how Gregory can change the context of Samsons words. Sampson states that â€Å"we’ll not carry coals† meaning that they will not be accept any goading by the Montague then Gregory replies â€Å"No, for then we should be colliers† (coal miners) this is funny as he changed the context of carrying coals to mock Samson. The first encounter between the two families begins when servants of the two households Sampson and Gregory (Capulet) meet Abraham and Balthasar (Montague). Sampson symbolically bites his thumb; this indicates that he is looking for a fight. Again we see conflict being introduced as biting your thumb at someone was an insulting gesture. He does this to stir things up between the two families; admitting that â€Å"I do bite my thumb, sir† the audience would probably see him as a trouble maker and the source of conflict. However their view of him could change because he starts to back down due to finding out the law isn’t on his side and we learn that he does â€Å" not bite my thumb at you, sir. † At this point the audience would then begin to view him as weak. The noble Benvolio (cousin of Romeo) is the peacemaker as he tries to stop the fight and orders them to â€Å"Part, fools! † It is significant that it is Benvolio who is the peacemaker as his name means good will. However, Tybalt (Capulet) comes along and will not â€Å"talk of peace! I hate the word,† leaving Benvolio with no choice but to continue the conflict. The citizens of Verona are obviously sick of the conflict that exists between the Capulets and Montague, as they shout â€Å"Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montague! † So it is clear that the people of Verona do not like the frequent civil wars. This negativity towards conflict could also be seen as a metaphor for maintaining the peace in Shakespearean society. The prince is introduced as the person who tries to maintain order and peace in Verona; he does this firstly by calling to the mob. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,† By addressing them as rebellious he shows them as being outside of the law. He also threatens them with torture to control the citizens so he has to address them with ferocity. This is something that the audience would relate to because peace existed at his time during Elizabeth’s rule. However to remain in power Tudor kings and Queens would use torture and execution to control any â€Å"Rebellious subjects†. Torture in the 16th century usually ended in death. With the loss of fingers and then larger limbs, death would usually follow. The rack was also being a predominant means of torture. Shakespeare uses metaphors to add dramatic effect, â€Å"purple fountains issuing from your veins† refers to spilled blood due to the civil brawl; this emphasises that he will not tolerate the feud. Personification is also used when the Prince tells the citizens to â€Å"throw your mistemper’d weapons to the ground† he is talking about the weapons having human traits when they are being used for the wrong reasons. Once again he is emphasising how he feels that fighting is not the answer. Lady Montague’s dialogue shows she is worried about Romeo being involved in the fighting, because she cares about his well being, she asks Benvolio â€Å"Romeo? Saw you him to-day? † However Benvolio is able to tell lady Montague that Romeo wasn’t at the battle and that he was in the forests with a â€Å"troubled mind† introducing the idea of emotional conflict. We further learn of Romeo’s emotional state of mind when Montague describes Romeo’s behaviour as â€Å"black and portentous†. He says that even when it is day he â€Å"pens himself† in his â€Å"chamber† and â€Å"shuts up his windows†. This description of Romeo allows the first scene to change direction from physical conflict to emotional conflict. The audience’s first impression of Romeo is that he is very dark and mysterious due to his habit of locking himself in his room. However the audience at the same time will be intrigued to find out what has caused this depressive behaviour. The question is asked by Benvolio â€Å"do you know the cause? † which would echo the audiences thoughts. The audience learns more of the character of Romeo when Montague compares his son o a flower and how â€Å"the bud bit with an envious worm, Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air. † This metaphor enables the audience to learn more about Romeo’s nature, by comparing him to a flower the impression of Romeo is that he is more delicate than the previous characters. The audience learn that Romeo’s emotional inner conflict is due to his love for a beautiful woman (Rosaline) who has rejected his advances. This male suffering was a popular theme in love poetry of this time and was echoed by authors such as John Donne in Sweetest Love, I do not go â€Å"When thou weepst, unkindly kind, my lifes blood doth decay. Romeos dilemma is similar to that of Petrarch who loved a girl called Laura, this identifies Romeo to the audience as a Petrarchan Lover. As the passage moves on we learn more of Romeos inner conflict. His state of mind is demonstrated by the use of oxymorons â€Å"loving hate† â€Å"heavy lightness† and â€Å"sick health† all give a clear indication of how the use of opposites echo the turbulent state of his mind. The sentences are also disjointed when he describes his love he jumps from â€Å"Mis-shapen chaos † to â€Å" cold fire, sick health! which further reflects his confusion because of his unrequited love. However Romeos mood changes and this is indicated by blank verses (iambic pentameters) when he further describes what love means to him. This style of writing helps to make the script flow which demonstrates how Romeos love flows. His feelings of what love means to him are further reinforced by the inclusion of rhyme â€Å"shown, own† â€Å"sighs; eyes;† and â€Å"discreet, sweet†. This elevation in language is reiterated in the language that he uses when he later describes his feelings for Juliet. The audience learns more about Romeos mysterious love when he compares her to Dian. Dian was the goddess of chastity and this gives the audience an indication of the true nature of his love. She is described as having â€Å"Dian’s wit† therefore by comparing her to a goddess she is intelligent and yet has the body of a goddess. The fact that she wants to â€Å"live chaste† and â€Å"Cuts beauty off from all posterity† supports the idea that she will never return his love and adds to his emotional conflict causing Romeo to become depressed. We learn that Romeo declares that he cannot even bare to say her name and he asks â€Å"Bid a sick man in sadness make his will:† Emphasizing the idea that to say her name would cause him to die. Conflict is again reinforced in his love for Rosaline, when he talks about his fight to win over Rosaline. He describes it as a battlefield where he uses words such as â€Å"siege. † These are not words usually associated with love but by saying them the conflict that exists can be seen as both emotional and physical. Benvolio gives Romeo the advice that he should â€Å"Examine other Beauties† Romeo says that this would only make things worse. He likens it to a man that is struck blind can’t forget that he once could see â€Å"his eyesight lost†. Once again Romeo is emphasising that he can never forget his love and the emotions that he is feeling can be related to something physical such as losing his sight. The first act introduces the audience to more details of the physical conflict in Verona that was mentioned in the prologue. We learn that this long standing feud is between the Capulet and Montague families. However it is a feud â€Å"bred of an airy word† demonstrating that it is so longstanding that nobody really knows how it started. Romeo who is a member of the Montague family is key to the idea of conflict and brings together both physical and emotional conflicts. He is himself suffering inner emotional conflict because of his love for a woman who â€Å"hath forsworn to love† and so cannot return his love. Romeos father likens him to a flower that has not â€Å"spread his sweet leaves† this points to the idea that he is not a strong and forceful male. But instead the ideal person to become embroiled in the love affair indicated in the prologue. The emotional conflict that he feels is linked to the physical conflict that is happening around him, by his choice of words when he likens his love to a battle by his use of the word â€Å"siege†. This linking is further reinforced when Romeo likens the idea of emotional conflict to the physical conflict of losing his sight. It is my belief that Shakespeare uses conflict in Act 1 Scene 1 to prepare the audience for the conflicts that exist between the two families and to introduce them to the character of Romeos and how his emotional instability will affect the rest of the play.

What Is the Cauchy Distribution

What Is the Cauchy Distribution One distribution of a random variable is important not for its applications, but for what it tells us about our definitions. The Cauchy distribution is one such example, sometimes referred to as a pathological example. The reason for this is that although this distribution is well defined and has a connection to a physical phenomenon, the distribution does not have a mean or a variance. Indeed, this random variable does not possess a moment generating function. Definition of the Cauchy Distribution We define the Cauchy distribution by considering a spinner, such as the type in a board game. The center of this spinner will be anchored on the y axis at the point (0, 1). After spinning the spinner, we will extend the line segment of the spinner until it crosses the x axis. This will be defined as our random variable X. We let w denote the smaller of the two angles that the spinner makes with the y axis. We assume that this spinner is equally likely to form any angle as another, and so W has a uniform distribution that ranges from -Ï€/2 to Ï€/2. Basic trigonometry provides us with a connection between our two random variables: X tanW. The cumulative distribution function of X is derived as follows: H(x) P(X x) P(tan W x) P(W arctanX) We then use the fact that W is uniform, and this gives us: H(x) 0.5 (arctan x)/Ï€ To obtain the probability density function we differentiate the cumulative density function. The result is h(x) 1/[Ï€ (1 x2) ] Features of the Cauchy Distribution What makes the Cauchy distribution interesting is that although we have defined it using the physical system of a random spinner, a random variable with a Cauchy distribution does not have a mean, variance or moment generating function. All of the moments about the origin that are used to define these parameters do not exist. We begin by considering the mean. The mean is defined as the expected value of our random variable and so E[X] ∠«-∞∞x /[Ï€ (1 x2) ] dx. We integrate by using substitution. If we set u 1 x2 then we see that du 2x dx. After making the substitution, the resulting improper integral does not converge. This means that the expected value does not exist, and that the mean is undefined. Similarly the variance and moment generating function are undefined. Naming of the Cauchy Distribution The Cauchy distribution is named for the French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789 – 1857). Despite this distribution being named for Cauchy, information regarding the distribution was first published by Poisson.

The culture( Values & norms) and the artifacts culture of United Essay

The culture( Values & norms) and the artifacts culture of United Nation Environment Program (UNEP ) - Essay Example UNEP documented the "Cultural and Spiritual Values of Diversity" in 1999 in which the organization put forward that biodiversity must be recognized in terms of employee diversity since different people and cultures view and appreciate it exclusively because of their unique experiences and heritages. Every employee in UNEP must put in mind that, for the organization to conserve the natural gifts, he or she must learn more about it and how best to interact with the same environment. In addition, the faith of employees play a major role in promoting responsible behavior, encouraging individual discipline, maintaining high morals, that supersede the need for instant gratification with no self-interest and responsibility in order to achieve comprehensive and long-term benefits for the environment as well as for humanity. Ethical values, solidarity, justice, tolerance, equality, respect for human rights, and protecting the environment are the building blocks for UNEP. Some norms and values give guidance in the daily operations of UNEP. Communication activities must respect the charter of the organization and its core values of professionalism, integrity, and diversified respect. All stakeholder needs such as regionalization must be fully integrated into the whole process of communications delivery and planning, which ought to be service-oriented. In one spirit, UNEP members should support all the strategies and policies laid down and offer cross-divisional support and collaboration towards achieving a conducive environment. Most importantly, UNEP aims at attaining the highest quality of editorial levels, accessibility and relevance for all its members, thus all member states should corporate through having ethical values regarding the surroundings. It is against the policies of UNEP for any staff member or nation to be unresponsive, lack knowledge and information, or fail

Macroeconomic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macroeconomic - Essay Example The shift of scarce resources from the private to the public sector would result in a budget deficit because the government would have to increase the interest rates in order to capture the attention of the population to buy the debt. An increase in the government spending in particular areas can also be an instrumental way of promoting technological innovation, the skills of the workforce and the social infrastructure. For instance an increase in government spending on transport infrastructure will not only have a cumulative effect on the aggregate demand but will also promote productivity and competitiveness (Riley). Likewise, if the government spends more on education, it would have direct effects on the population, producing more educated individuals and a skilled workforce. An increase in the spending of the government would have a direct impact on the aggregate demand. Increased government spending would cause an increase in the aggregate demand, which would in turn have an imp act on the entire economy. The increased AD would culminate in the rise in the output as well as the prices. Moreover over a long period of time, the increased government expenditure causes a fiscal policy multiplier, characteristic of increased consumer spending (Mankiw 484).

Biblical rationale for koinonia Essay Example for Free

Biblical rationale for koinonia Essay The term ‘Koinonia’, a Greek word, occurs around 20 times in New Testament. Each of these verses give one or more aspects of the Koinonia as implied by the original Greek term. Koinonia is mostly translated in English New Testament as ‘Fellowship’. The meaning of the Greek word takes many forms – Fellowship, close relationship, participation, gift, companion, partner and sharer. 1 Koinonia first occurs in Acts 2: 42. â€Å"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. † 2 Some of the important passages are, â€Å"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. † 3 â€Å"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. † 4 â€Å"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. † 5 â€Å"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. † 6 â€Å"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? † 7 â€Å"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy 1. Richard J. Goodrich, Albert L. Lukaszewski, A Reader’s Greek New Testament (Michigan: Zondervan, 2003),375-376. 2. Acts 2:42 3. 1 John 1:3 4. 1 John 1:6 5. 1 John 1:7 6. 2 Corinthians 13:14 7. 2 Corinthians 6:14 1 complete by being like minded, having the same love being one in spirit and purpose. † 8 â€Å"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. † 9 A care full reading of these passages denote Koinonia to mean, fellowship, fellow ship with fellow humans, fellowship with the Triune God – God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, common attribute – holiness, common bond – Love, like minded, one in Spirit and purpose, and the purpose of this fellowship is to become like Christ. This fellowship is possible only with similar characteristics – purity, which is made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Fellowship with Christ means in Pauline thought, being in Christ, in Christ’s words, being in Christ to give fruits. This term is associated with the church. Bible says Church is the body of Christ. 10 Church is not the making of men but it is the creation of our Lord. God is the author of the church. So also Koinonia is not of men but it is the gift of God. It is evident then that the fellowship meant by the term Koinonia denotes the fellowship between the members of the church and that with Christ. Koinonia is brought into the church by the Holy Spirit and with out God the Trinity present in the church, there is no koinonia worth mentioning. It can be said, Koinonia is the God’s plan for the church. God wants fellowship with His created beings and also wants that fellowship to permeate among his created beings. The Koinonia – Fellowship with God has a definite purpose, entails participation in God’s plan and being partner and sharing in his work- his vine yard.   8. Philippians 2:1, 2 9. Philippians 3:10 10. Ephesians 5:24-32 The concept of Missions ensues from the study of Koinonia. We can clearly see this concept through out Bible. Fellowship with God Creation scenario. In Genesis, we see God creates all the universe and Adam. God wanted Adam to have fellowship. God and Adam had fellowship. But when sin entered humanity, effecting the fall of man, Adam wantonly got away from the presence of God and the agony and anguish inflicted on God is reflected by God’s question â€Å"Adam ,where are you? †11 Fall of man. The consequence of sin is the loss of Fellowship with God. The corollary of this is the loss of fellowship among human beings as depicted by the Cain-Abel episode. Instead of loving fellowship- Koinonia, there arose jealousy, hatred, and enmity resulting in murder. When God asked Cain , â€Å"where is your brother, Cain lied, saying I don’t know. He even protested saying, am I his keeper? a reckless answer. Sin breeds lies and recklessness. The scenario was continuing and the mankind was estranging from God’s intended purpose of creation, kindling the indignation of God, resulting in the deluge during Noah’s time. But there are instances of people having fellowship with God like Enoch and Noah. Life of Enoch. It is written in Bible, that Enoch walked with God while living in this world. God took him at his 365th age. Enoch’s life illustrates a life of constant and continuous fellowship with God. Life of Noah. Noah lived a life pleasing to God denoting the fellowship he had with God. God was communicating with Noah and Noah was responding to God’s instructions and doing the work God had given to him. Fellowship entails partnership and participation of the God’s plan. Call of Abraham. God called Abraham to follow him and Abraham faithfully followed him. Godetween God and Abraham seen in this passage is a fine example of Fellowship – close relationship between God and Abraham. God wanted to bless the whole world through Abraham and reestablish the lost fellowship between God and humanity. The chosen tribe of Israel, with whom God wanted to establish fellowship, is the descendant of Abraham. The nation of Israel. The nation of Israel is the chosen one for establishing God’s fellowship with humanity. God wanted to bless the whole nations of the world through Israel. God blessed Egypt through Joseph. He blessed Babylon through Daniel. God planted his presence among Israel during their sojourn in wilderness, all through day and night. God communicated with Moses face to face, just like a friend. Moses had good fellowship with God. The nation of Israel was not faith full all the time and sinned against God. Sin estranges God’s people from God and the fellowship is lost. God wanted to reestablish the fellowship and he raised many prophets to give clarion call and to bring back people to his fold. Prophets. The mind of God is clearly depicted in the messages of the prophets. Through Isaiah God laments, â€Å"I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. † 13 Fellowship is lost when there is rebellion, â€Å"The Ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. † 14 Fellowship is lost when there is no understanding, when there is loss of communication. God laments through Prophet Jeremiah, â€Å"†¦what fault did your fathers find in me that 12. Genesis 18: 17-33 13. Isaiah 1: 2 14. Isaiah 1: 3 they strayed so far from me? †15 God anguishes, â€Å"my people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. † 16 God is the living water, but the nation of Israel have opted the worldly things instead of God, showing that the fellowship with God is lost when the close relation ship with him is lost. God says, Israel has forgotten him, â€Å"Does a maiden for get her Jewelry, a bride her wedding? yet my people have forgotten me with out number. † 17 God says, â€Å"My people are fools, they do not know me. They are sense less children; they have no understanding they are skilled in doing evil they know not how to do good. † 18 When the fellowship with God is lost, knowledge of God and understanding of God’s ways are lost, and the ability to perform good works glorifying God is also lost. In all these passages God complains of the loss of fellowship with his chosen people. But God longs to re establish the lost relationship. God says, Return faithless Israel†¦ I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, I will not be angry for ever†¦for I am your husband. I will choose you †¦I will give shepherds after my own heart, who will lead with you with knowledge and understanding †¦Return faithless people, I will cure you of your backsliding. (Jeremiah, 3:12, 14, 15, 22) God expresses his love for his people through the prophets. Through Jeremiah, He says, â€Å"Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. There fore my heart yearns for him, I have great compassion for him†. 19 Here we see the mind of God. Though the chosen nation has sinned and estranged from God, loosing the fellowship, God’s heart yearns for them and God longs to re establish the fellowship– the relationship.   15. Jeremiah, 2:5 16. Jeremiah, 2:13 17. Jeremiah, 2:32 18. Jeremiah, 4:22 19. Jeremiah, 31:20 God’s agony for the estranged people is depicted in the writings of Prophet Hosea, My people are determined to turn from me. †¦ How can I give up you Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? †¦My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man- the Holy one among you. ( Hosea, 11: 7-9) Here we see, God says he is among his people, but his people turn from him; but still God is compassionate and agonized. God promises through Prophet Jeremiah, making new covenant, forgiving their wicked ness and making them His People. â€Å"†¦ I will put my law in their minds and write in their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. †¦ for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. † 20 Here we see fellow ship with God is re established when sins are for given. The new covenant foresees a conversion in the mind of God’s people. The new covenant is best expressed by prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53, which talks of the Redeemer suffering for the sins of his people. Isaiah states, Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows †¦ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. †¦the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all †¦ he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. (Isaiah, 53: 4-8) The Redeemer took all the iniquities and bore all the punishment to bring forgiveness and restoring the peace and relation ship with the Godhead for his people. Fellowship with God is possible only when the sins are forgiven and when similar characteristics exist among all. The fulfillment of Prophecy and the advent of Jesus. At the appointed time, the eternal Son of God took the form of humanity and was born of Virgin Mary according to the scriptures   20. Jeremiah, 31:33, 34 . and with the fulfillment of prophecy. Gospel according to Mathew records the statement of the angel, She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins†¦. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ which means, ‘God with us. ’ (Mathew, 1: 21-23) Here we see, â€Å"Jesus will save his people from their sins, and â€Å"they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us –God dwells amongst us. The second God head of the Trinity has assumed permanently the human nature so that He will dwell among the humans, and he will forgive their sins and justify them as sinless. This is the essence of the Gospel. Because of the advent of Christ Jesus, fellowship with humans is established. The teachings of Jesus. The Jews- Pharisees taught the Old testament scriptures scrupulously, leaving the essence of the scriptures. Jesus taught the scripture truths effectively using parables driving the central, deep, and spiritual points of the truth. Apart from the ethical teachings contained in the sermon of the mount, Jesus taught his disciples how to do the will of God effectively, â€Å"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. † 21 In essence believing in the son of God is the work pleasing to God. The Gospel truth is well given in the words of Jesus, â€Å"to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,†22 and â€Å"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. †23 The sole requirement of salvation on the part of men is to believe in the Name (Person) of Jesus and receive him. 1 John 6: 29 22 John 1: 12 23 John 3: 16 Abiding in Christ. Jesus explains the importance of abiding with him in Gospel according to John Chapter, 15. Here we see fellow ship between Jesus and the believer is compared to the vine tree and the branches. Only when the branch remain in the tree it can be alive and give fruits. Apart from the tree the branch itself cannot give fruits. So if we are in fellowship with Jesus and Jesus in us, we will be fruitful. And God will be glorified because of our good fruits. 24 The fellowship entails giving good fruits for the glory of God. We may compare and contrast this with God’s question in the prophecy of Jeremiah, â€Å"I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? †25 God planted Israel as a good vine tree expecting good fruit, but it turned into a corrupt and wild vine. The reason for this unfruitfulness is the non abiding nature of the nation Israel. What is the fruit Jesus is talking about? Jesus explicitly says to obey his commands, the chief command being the command to love each other as Jesus has loved us, â€Å"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. †26 Jesus has taught that love is the fulfillment of Law and Prophecies. Jesus has summarized the law as, 1). Loving God whole heartedly and 2) loving the neighbor as oneself. 27 Fellow ship and Church assembly. Jesus promises to be with us where ever two or three come together in his name, â€Å"where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. †28 This denotes the fellowship – Koinonia between the believers and the Savior. The criteria required are, 1) gathering in His name, 2) togetherness- oneness of mind. 24 John 15: 1-8. 25 Jeremiah 2: 21 26 John 15: 12 27 Mark 12: 30,31 28 Mathew 18: 20 Fellowship and Missions. Jesus promises to be with us always to the end of the age, â€Å"†¦ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. † 29 This promise is given at the great commission denoting the fellowship of the savior is assured for the carrying out of the great commission. The fellowship has a definite purpose, doing the will of God, partaking in his plan of salvation taking the Gospel message to the un reached. Fellowship- Koinonia has a definite Missionary perspective. Fellowship and interpersonal relationship. Jesus gave importance for both the vertical relation ship- relation ship between the person and God and the horizontal relation ship- the person and his neighbor. We see this concept in many of his parables. A beautiful example of the God’s requirement of fellow ship- Koinonia is given in the parable of prodigal son. 30 Here we see the second son went away from the fellowship of his father and his brother and lived a sinful life, wasting all his resources and finally repented and returned to his father. But the loving father was all along waiting for his return and received him whole heartedly and restored him his son ship, and there was joy and celebration in the house hold. But the elder son could not digest this. He could not forgive his brother and was arguing with his father. The father admonished him and states, â€Å"†¦ we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found. † 31 This parable tells the mind of God. He wants all to be saved and wants his people to cooperate with him in saving people. Thus Koinonia results in gladness. Jesus, in his high priestly prayer prayed to the Father, â€Å"†¦that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know   29 Mathew 28:20 30 Luke 15: 12-32 31 Luke 15: 32 that you send me †¦Ã¢â‚¬ 32 Fellowship – Koinonia as envisaged by Jesus is complete unity, unity in purpose, action, witness, and partnering with Christ in carrying out God’s will of saving people. The birth of the Church is in direct answer to this High priestly prayer of Jesus. The birth of the Church. Church is not a mere organization involving Christians. Church is the mystical body of Christ for carrying out the plan of God in saving the nations. Augustine affirmed that â€Å"Church is the mystical body of Christ whose principle or unity is that it is a fellowship of love. † 33 Church is the body of Christ, in that through the Spirit Christ is ruling inspiring, sustaining and uniting power in the church. †¦ It is the presence and working of the Holy Spirit which makes church the body of Christ. † 34 In Acts, we see â€Å"†¦ the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved. † 35 So it is clear, Church is the making of God. In the spiritual sense there is only one Church – Church Universal, spiritual, and invisible. But practically we see many denominations- big and small. These are all local assemblies, practicing Christians. The one universal, Spiritual, holy, apostolic, and catholic church comprises of members from all local assemblies, big or small, from all parts of the earth, with out any difference of race or culture or language. Fellowship among Christians Christians have fellow ship with the father, Son and Holy Spirit and with one another. Possession of the Spirit is the decisive mark of being a Christian. 36 The fellowship with God leads one to fellowship with fellow believers, because â€Å"God has poured out his love into our hearts by 32 John 17: 22-23 33 Owen C. Thomas p 233 34 Owen C. Thomas p 231 35 Acts 2: 47 , 36 Owen C. Thomas p 231 the Holy Spirit. † 37 A. Nygren argues in his book Agape and Eros â€Å"The fundamental theme of Christian faith and life is Agape, God’s love for humanity in Christ and in response humanity’s love for their neighbors. † 38 Surely there exists Koinonia between true believers, what ever be the denominational difference among them. The one sign of the universal Koinonia is the existence of un explainable love towards the fellow Christian of any denomination. The absence of this love is a clear proof of heretical leanings. Koinonia – Fellow ship is the mark of any Christian assembly. The fellowship characteristics expected out of any Christian assembly as listed out in Unger’s Bible dictionary, â€Å"Confession of faults to one another with prayer, James 5:16 . Assembly with exhortation and provoking to love and good works. Hebrews 10: 24, 25. Partaking of Lord’s supper. I. Corinthians11:24, 25. Ministering to the Saints: Acts11:29, Romans 12:13, 15: 25, I Cor. 16:1, 2. II Cor. 8:4, Heb: 13:16. Bearing infirmities of the week and edification, Rom: 15:1. Love for and fellowship with one another is necessary as an evidence to love of God. I John 4:12. Christ prayed that his people might have fellow ship with each other. Fellowship with God is essential to fruitfulness. Jn15:4†. (Unger’s Bible Dictionary 1983, 349) On a look of the early Christian Church, one can easily find the marks of Koinonia among Believers. We see in Acts 2:42, â€Å"They devoted themselves to Apostolic teaching, Breaking of bread- meaning partaking in Lord’s supper, Prayer, being together, had every thing in common, selling their possessions and giving to the needy, glad and sincere, and praising God†. The immediate effect of the Koinonia among the early Christians was that the other people came to know of this and filled with awe favoring the believers and the Church began to grow as God was adding the new converts. 37 Romans 5:5 38 Owen C. Thomas p 265 It is not out of context to quote a famous Tamil Evangelist, N. Jeevanandam regarding the Christian fellowship. While he was giving a message on Christian unity and love, narrated a vision that he had. While he was praying, he in his vision, was taken to Hell by an angel. There he saw all in pandemonium. There was a dining table and there were food available on it. People surrounded the dining table and were very hungry and desirous of eating. But they were unable to eat as their hands were stiff and they could not take the food to their mouth. After struggling for some time they got restless and started cursing each other for their plight, accusing one another and were hitting each other. There was utter pandemonium. At the next vision, the angel took him to Heaven. He was taken to a dining room, and the dining table was full of eatables. People came to the dining table and they were all in joy full mood, and started praising God. On closely looking on them, the evangelist found out that these people also could not bend their elbow. But they all started to eat, praising God. They started feeding one another with their stiff hands with out any difficulty, patting each other. They all cooperated with each other, there was happiness and praising. The message is simple- by helping others one fulfills the Royal law, ‘love your neighbor as your self’ 39. The new law of love cares for one another, honors, accepts, serves, and encourages others. God, as a father wants His children to live at peace and harmony with each other. St Paul Teaches in his epistles, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:1-5) __________________ 39 James 2: 8 Biblical rationale for small groups We have seen the Church is a Spiritual entity and God is the author of it, it is catholic-means universal, and invisible. The local Christian assemblies, big or small, are all part of the Spiritual Church. God only knows who all part of the Church are. The one and only qualification needed on the part of the believer to be a part of this Church is faith in Jesus – the shed blood of Jesus Christ effecting â€Å"Justification by faith†. Salvation is free and is of the Grace of God. Having justified freely, the believer gratefully obeys the Lord, and is in spiritual union with the Savior, participating with Christ and fellow believers in carrying out the will of God, with the ultimate goal of glorifying God. The chief end of Koinonia is the glorification God, through worship acceptable and work fruitful. As long as these criteria are met, there is no problem with the size of the congregation, whether big or small. There is often difficulty on the part of one Church group in practicing Koinonia with another group, because of doctrinal differences. It is human to cast doubt about other side. It takes maturity to understand and acknowledge other groups. We find a beautiful example in the life of Moses. The people of Israel were murmuring and complaining against God and Moses. Moses was much grieved and he prayed to God that he can not take the burden of leading the people single handed and wanted God to take him away. But God told Moses to gather 70 elders so that he will put the Spirit on them and so did Moses. God sent the Spirit to all the seventy elders and when the Spirit came, all of them prophesied. But of the seventy, two elders – Eldad and Medad were not in the company of Moses but were in the camp and they had also prophesied. Coming to know of this, Joshua asked Moses to stop them. Moses replied, â€Å"Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORDs people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them! † 40 Here we see a beautiful example of leadership, magnanimity and tolerance on the part of Moses. Joshua, out of loyalty towards Moses, wanted others, who are not in the company of Moses, to be derecognized. But Moses wants all the people to be prophets like him whether they are in his company or not. We see another similar instance in New Testament. John tried to stop another man who was driving out demons in the Name of Jesus, reasoning that he is not of their company. But Jesus said, â€Å"Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you†. 42 Group loyalties should give way to loyalty towards God. Koinonia should be manifested universally, with out any local loyalty. Heresy and Cults. Another aspect we have to consider regarding small groups is the Doctrinal Purity. Through out the church history, one can find heretical movements. There is a danger of development of heretical tendencies in small groups. , distorting the Gospel message as taught by Christ and Apostles. The leaders of the small groups may introduce novel doctrines by giving false interpretations of the Bible passages, even to the extent of denying the Lord who has bought them with his blood. The modus operandi of these leaders is to introduce novelty to attract more people. Their motive is aggrandizing themselves. This problem is existing even from N. T. period. Jesus and the Apostles have warned of these people. 43 Numbers 11:29 42 Luke 9:49,50 43 Mt 24:5, 11,24; Acts 20:40; Rom 16: 17,18; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Tim 6:3-5 Examples of heretics of early Church are, Montanists, Arians, and Gnostics. Modern day heresy is Jehovah Witness. Cults. Small groups may initially exhibit much cohesiveness and have very close knit fellowship, attracting it’s members to its fold. The members will be totally loyal to the group leader even surpassing loyalty to Christ. These small groups, if with out communion with other Christian communities, may develop into a close circuit community with secret doctrines and dealings. The leader of the cult will exert out right control over the members of the group, almost enslaving them, indoctrinating them, and leading them astray- away from the true doctrine. The leader may even assume superhuman postures, demanding and accepting allegiance more than that is given to Christ who has shed his blood, bought and redeemed them. Then the group will lose its Christian character and outlook, the members will backslide, losing the grace and Joy of Salvation and get separated from the fold of Christ. A few examples of the past decades are, 1). Sun Moon group of South Korea, 2). Jim Jones group of United States of America, and 3) Paul Asir Laurie group of India. So it is always safe and advisable for the small groups to have some form of communion with the established major Church groups. Summary Koinonia – fellowship is a divine attribute, a divine creation, and it is alien to carnal human mind. Koinonia is possible only with the participation of Godhead- the Triune God- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and any show of fellow ship with out God’s presence is only hypocritical exhibit, concealing the selfish human attribute. Koinonia as manifested in the early church is God’s plan for carrying out his will – taking the message of Salvation to all mankind. Koinonia exists in the Church and God is present among his people in the Church- The Church Universal, mystic, spiritual – the body of Christ. The prerequisites of membership in the universal Church for humans are; Justification by faith in Jesus, cleansing of sins by the blood of Christ, and sanctification by Holy Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad in the hearts of members by Holy Spirit and this is the bond of fellowship- Koinonia. The local church groups, big or small, are all part of the universal church. The visible signs of Koinonia in Church groups are: the joyful worship of the Triune God and fellowship with partaking of Holy Eucharist, love and concern for one another, Joy of sharing and caring, helping and lifting the weak, honest and transparent dealing with one another, partaking in the joys and tribulations of one another, taking care of other’s needs, encouraging one another, and considering others better than oneself. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thomas, Owen C. Introduction to Christian Theology. Delhi: ISPCK, 2000. The NIV Study Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, 1985 Unger, Merrill F. Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody press, 1983,

The Cause of Voter Apathy in Canada Essay -- Cause and Effect Essays

What causes voter apathy? Why, in the most recent federal and provincial elections, did roughly 40% of eligible voters stay home? Perhaps candidate A, running for party A led by leader A, is not perceived as being significantly different from, or better than, candidate B, running for party B led by leader B. This lack of perceived difference between candidate-party-leader A and candidate-party-leader B, is not the only problem in an election. It is also impossible to vote directly on an issue. Yes, you can let an issue influence how you vote, but on election day you are forced to endorse one candidate, party and leader and repudiate all other candidates, parties and leaders. Issues take a back seat to personalities. In theory, voters can have their specific concerns addressed during an election. But that's not reality. Elections simply do not provide voters with a direct say on any issue. Rather, elections are centered on personalities. The real question, the only real choice, is as to which party should run the province or the country. A vote for an Opposition Party candidate is a vote to replace the Government Party, and a vote for the Government Party candidate is a rejection of the Opposition Parties' bid for power. But Canadians cannot use their ballots to implement - or to reject - any specific policy concerning health, education, labour, social services, the criminal justice system, fiscal issues, the environment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, etc. Total control remains with the politicians up to five years at a time. And when voting day finally arrives, issues are drowned out by one big question: which leader/party should be the Government/Premier, or the Government/Prime Minister? Even when issues are ... ...vote for MLAs and MPs, they are also smart enough to vote in a referendum on an issue of their choice. By increasing the individual voter's effectiveness, citizens' initiative decreases voter cynicism. Citizens' initiative enables the active participation of all voters in their democracy. It reduces the influence of those who lobby politicians behind closed doors. Citizens' initiative gives taxpayers the power to ensure that difficult and controversial issues cannot be avoided or ignored. Citizens' initiative makes politicians more accountable and more responsive to taxpayer concerns at all times. The fact that citizens could put a proposal on the ballot puts pressure on politicians to act on the concerns of Canadians. In short, citizen-initiated referendums will increase accountability and openness, empower taxpayers, and improve our representative democracy.

The Greater Good of Society Verses Individualism

His ideas off the war state and nature state. He greatly believed in democracy and equality among man. He believed in the three states of Democracy which are: a state of equality, state of liberty, and a state of nature. Locke believed that â€Å"one man comes by a power of another† and in doing so creates a perfect society. Locke's view of society differs from the philosopher Thomas Hobb, but agree with Mill. He believes that a man in his natural state is constricted by laws, but could eventually do whatever he pleases.The state of nature is to ensure safety so the nature of war is ot reached, so no man will step out of his state and threaten another man's state. Also if the natural rights of freedom are broken a state of war is reached. Locke views an individual to be more important than society. Individuals steer the way of which society is going, and where they will go. Because an individuals' creates history, while humanity follows. For example Martine Luther King had one dream, this one man's view and opinion caused an outcry to America for change; and change did come. If individuals state of nature or freedom there will be a state of war among man.In conclusion all three philosophers all had similar ideas. They all believed that an individual is greater than society. But is that necessarily correct. One man is more important than humanity, and humanity is beneath an individual. Mills concept of happiness virtually ruining the good of mankind. While Locke viewed man's safety of their natural state an essential rule of mankind, which prevents the nature of war. The last philosopher Hobbs had an idea that in order for mankind to function, the individual most do two thing. One could together to form a common bound, and two, be completely happy. But who is more important, you or mankind?

Eharmony Examination

What kind of a platform business is the online personals market? What kind of network effects (direct, cross-sided, positive, and negative) does it leverage? How structurally attractive is it? The online personals market is a specific niche of social networking, and it is a sole-sponsor, proprietary platform business. In terms of network effects, it could be seen as a one-sided network (users can instigate an interaction, or can have someone else instigate an interaction with them), but is better described as a two-sided market with men on one side, and women on the other (with the exception of homosexual sites which are clearly one-sided markets). Within this, there are both direct and cross-sided network effects. For direct, there are small positive effects (as a man, you want enough men on your side to attract women on the other side), but primarily negative effects (the more people on your side, the more competition you will have finding a match). For cross-sided, there are positive effects (the more of the opposite sex there are, the more likely you will find a match), and negative effects (if there are too many people on the other side, it may be hard to search through the noise to find an actual match—not to mention that there can be liars, frauds, and other undesirable people on the other side of the network). To examine the attractiveness of the industry structure, a five forces analysis will offer us insight. First, we can consider buyers’ power. In this case buyers (prospective daters) do have some power in that there are a plethora of other options online (from Match to free sites), as well as any number of venues in the real world. However, since they are individual consumers, they do not have scale power and must accept prices. Further, there is an overall opinion that meeting the right person is very hard, and thus there is a significant willingness to pay for a quality service. Second, looking at the competitiveness of rivals, it is clear that there is a significant amount of competition (though concentrated within a few main players). Match is trying to copy eHarmony with Chemistry, and they have been increasing spend on advertising. Yahoo! also boasts a strong installed base that they can funnel into their Personals site. In addition, free sites keep everyone in check in terms of the amount they can charge. Nevertheless, the main players have demonstrated price discipline, as prices have remained steady or even risen (in the case of the competition). Third, the threat of new entrants is low / moderate. There are a hundreds of niche sites starting up every year, but for the most part, the built-in network effects of the three main players, as well as multi-homing costs, have kept the three leaders consistent over the years, and each year the vast majority of new sites fail. The biggest threat would be for a behemoth like Facebook to activate its users on a proprietary site, but so far this has not materialized for a number of reasons. Fourth, the threat of substitutes is always present. In addition to the numerous ways that people can meet partners in the real world, there are also real world match services that pre-date the internet (as well as the threat of new technology and innovations changing everything). However, for the time being, online personal sites are clearly the most efficient and affordable option for the masses. And lastly, there is really no bargaining power of suppliers. eHarmony controls all of its inputs. Thus, the sum of these parts leads to a pretty attractive industry. It is not a winner-take-all market (multi-homing costs, while present, are not overwhelming, and the case mentions that many people are members of multiple dating sites), but the significantly strong network effects and stability of a few main players lead this to be a profitable industry ( primarily for the incumbent leaders). What is eHarmony's competitive advantage? What differentiates it from its competitors? How does the company create value? What is the value proposition to the customer? What kind of customer benefits the most? Can we calculate the company's competitive advantage by relying on the equation of willingness to pay minus cost, as discussed in the Google versus Microsoft session? Is the competitive advantage sustainable? The main competitive advantages of eHarmony are in its ability to offer high quality customers (which is the really the â€Å"product† they are offering), and more accurate matches with superior ensuing relationships. Just as Google’s research and continual adjustments give it an advantage in offering more relevant searches, eHarmony’s research department has created a match algorithm that greatly outperforms the results of its competitors (and arguably the traditional methods of meeting, as well). Further, their long initial setup process serves to self-select only the most serious of consumers, which leads to an increased WTP of everyone who makes it through (and additionally, this has led to more women than men signing up—an extraordinary feat since women have been the hardest customers to acquire in the online dating world). The company differs from its competitors in its guided matchmaking (though Match has recently tried to copy this). Rather than allowing free range for the users to search through the database of potential mates, eHarmony first weeds out the non-serious and non-desirable applicants with its extensive questionnaire, and then uses its patented algorithm to find the best potential match. It takes this even further by then scrutinizing each potential match with additional questions before an actual interaction can begin, and this has ensured a much more accurate product than its competitors. The company creates value by doing a lot of the work for its clients. While the initial time investment (45 minutes) may be longer than the traditional model, it then provides the service of searching through the millions of potential matches. This not only proves to be a more accurate way to find dates, but also saves a great deal of time (where most online daters spend a 7 times as much time searching for a partner as they do interacting). And for men, who are usually fighting over a scarcity of women, they benefit from the majority percentage of women who have become the core of eHarmony’s paid customers. Thus the value proposition for the customer is: better matches (and better quality people) with a much smaller time commitment. The customers who benefit most from this are people who are serious about finding a person for a long-term relationship (rather than those who are just browsing, or hoping to have flings with as many people as possible). With eHarmony’s superior product, we can calculate that their competitive advantage? (WTP-Cost)eHarmony> (WTP-Cost)Chemistry. In this case, eHarmony’s average price (of the four options) is $37. 45 versus $34. 14 for Chemistry, demonstrating the increased WTP of their customers. Further, their advertising strategy (avoiding costly broadcast networks in favor of more cost-effective national cable buys) has helped to keep costs down significantly in comparison to its rivals. By building up network effects and switching costs (including termination fees and amount of time / information invested in their platform), this can be a sustainable advantage. But as with all social media, creating insurmountable switching costs is never really possible, and there is always a risk of new competitors or a game-changing technological shift. And the uber-popularity of sites like Facebook pose a significant threat, as they could integrate a sophisticated dating platform into their current offering, and instantly have hundreds of millions of potential customers at their fingertips. How much of a threat is Chemistry to eHarmony? How could Chemistry break eHarmony's network effects (direct and cross-sided)? As with Google’s search versus Bing, eHarmony is in a very advantaged and enviable position versus Match’s Chemistry offering. The eHarmony product is clearly superior, with the eHarmony benefitting from years of learning and tweaking their algorithm (again, similar to Google’s position). Further, their ability to point to the number of successful relationships they have continues to grow, and thus feeds the virtuous circle by attracting new customers. That said, Chemistry cannot be taken lightly. Match comes in with the deep pockets of IAC, and the ability to match any investment that eHarmony makes—and we have seen this recently with their increased marketing spend. As a latecomer, Chemistry comes in with the benefit of being able to ride on eHarmony’s coattails, learning from their success and mistakes and copying their offering. Further, most of what eHarmony offers while sophisticated, is not inimitable. In terms of ways that eHarmony can break eHarmony’s network effects, they can certainly subsidize some of the switching costs (leave eHarmony and your first month or two are free). Since women are the hardest customers to attract (and wherever they go, the men will follow), they could selectively subsidize the women—e. g. – women pay half price, and once they have built up a vast network of women, they would be able to charge a premium for the male customers. They could also beef up their offering so that they not only cover meeting people, but weddings, having children, and other stages of life that would enable them to extend their customers’ lifetimes (as eHarmony has considered). Another potential idea would be to create a network of niche sites all under the Chemistry banner where there would be sub-sites focused on a number of specific niches (based on lifestyle, religion, sexuality, etc. ) and allow people to join the main site, plus one or two of the niche sub-sites for free. However, most importantly Chemistry needs to dramatically improve its matching competency. As a latecomer facing a dominant incumbent, it has to offer better results than eHarmony if it’s going to break the network effects and challenge for the top position in the market. That is not an easy task to accomplish, and it will cost a lot in research (to improve their matching skills), and then marketing (to let potential customers know about their improved product). Due to resource constraints (and need for strategic focus), eHarmony can only pursue one of the options: how would you go about ranking their relative merit? Once you have done that, choose your top-ranked option and evaluate it. To evaluate the four options on the table for eHarmony, we need to examine their merits on a number of key dimensions. First, how does the strategy fit in terms of the company’s current competencies and competitive advantage? Second, how does it serve to bolster network effects and strengthen the relationship with the current core customers? Third, how well does it address the competitive threat? And fourth, how does it position the company for future growth opportunities? {draw:frame} Upon consideration of these dimensions, it is clear to me that the best option is to grow the new business of handling life transitions. This is the most comprehensive strategy in terms of addressing the various needs of the business. If this were a winner-take-all market, then defending the niche by rapidly increasing the number of paying members would be the correct strategy, but since multi-homing costs aren’t overwhelming, we’ve established that this is not a winner-take-all market. Expanding to medium-term relationships does offer the upside of immediate growth opportunities, but more importantly, it unravels the competitive advantage and value proposition of having top-quality, like-minded individuals who are willing to pay a premium for a better chance to meet a life partner (in some ways it is almost a different business). Lastly, geographic expansion seems perfectly poised for disaster. While it would be the best opportunity for growth in both the near- and long-term, it also goes against the competitive advantage of offering the best matches based on detailed knowledge and understanding of their consumers. To do it properly, they would not be able to transplant the knowledge they’ve gained in the US, but would need to start again with new research in each country they wanted to expand into which is not an efficiently scalable model. Thus that leaves us with expanding into the new business of handling life transitions. This offers the opportunity to have balanced growth—the lifetime of the customer grows from the â€Å"finding a partner stage† to a potential for many years or even life. It also allows the company to capitalize on and build on the goodwill that they earn from their customers when they provide a positive (and life-changing) match, and diversify its revenue stream from purely subscription based into a mix of subscription and advertising. Further, the ability to keep customers longer can help to bolster the network effects as the network becomes larger and offers more value. It also increases switching costs the more that one invests in building up a personal eHarmony ecosystem. In doing so, it addresses the competitive threat by beating the competition to further innovate and lock-in the customer base. And lastly, it builds on the current competencies and competitive advantages by leveraging the advanced research skills that are a large part of eHarmony’s success, with the collective R and knowledge serving as a barrier to entry for potential new entrants. In order to successfully execute this strategy, there will be the need for additional resources. However, this will not be overwhelming and can all happen with internal investment. They will only need to build out and expand eHarmony Labs to continue the expanded focus from forming relationships, to the ensuing events that occur in each relationship. With the project already underway and experienced research scientists already on the payroll, eHarmony is in a much better position to act on this than its competitors. There will some additional marketing and sales investment needed to attract new customers who are already involved in committed relationships, but the majority of its growth will be organic in that they will be able to keep their â€Å"matching services† customers for much longer, and greatly reduce the churn rate. In terms of the competitive threat, I believe this will be enough to stay ahead of Match / Chemistry, and Yahoo! (as well as other new entrants). The name of the game is bolstering network effects, switching costs, and multi-homing costs to carve out a significant and stable market share, and this strategy accomplishes all three. With more offerings, eHarmony should be able to capture more users (as well as keeping them longer) which will continue to feed its network effects. Additionally, having all of these services under the eHarmony banner will increase the amount of time and information supplied by the customers, and thus increase both switching and multi-homing costs. As a response, eHarmony can expect the others to copy, though eHarmony is far ahead and better positioned in this field, so this is not an immediate threat. Additionally, they may find pricing pressure as the ompetition resorts to more desperate measures of cutting price (since they will not be able to compete on the product). In regards to this, they need to be firm in their pricing, knowing that they have the superior product, and continue to build up switching costs to keep their customers captive for the long term. With a superior product and strong network effects in place, eHarmony can expect a profitable life in the near future. EXT RA CREDIT: â€Å"Yellow Submarine,† â€Å"With a Little Help from My Friends,† â€Å"Act Naturally†

Glry essays

Glry essays Glory America's Civil War was one of the most important wars in the History in the United States. In this war about 700,000 Americans were killed and nearly 37,000 of these casualties were of men of the African American descent. The movie Glory is one of the best-known movies of African Americans from the North fighting in the civil war. This story is largely seen through the eyes of Robert Shaw, the young commanding officer of the fifty-fourth Massachusetts volunteer African American Regiment. The soldiers of the 54th Regiment faced many hardships. Due lack of supplies, soldier's feet were all bloody and full of blisters. One solider received a brutal military whipping as a punishment when he was caught deserting trying to find shoes. Uniforms weren't being given out for a while too. The men also received news that they were only to receive pay of ten dollars rather than receiving thirteen dollars, which the white soldiers were given. At first, soldiers of the 54th were used for nothing but manual labor, until Shaw convinced his commander through the use of blackmail to allow the 54th Regiment to be transferred to a combat command. This tactic proved that these African American men were equal if not better than the white soldiers because of their heart and will to prove their abilities. I think that the key scene in this movie would definitely be the battle at the end of the movie. This was the battle in which Commander Shaw led his black regiment, the first group of men to try and conquer the Confederate fort. Shaw did this knowing that the casualties would be tremendous but he proceeded anyway. This was Commander Shaw's last battle along with most of his black regiment. They died trying to capture the Confederate fort and none of them would have wanted it differently. Though Shaw's regiment was heroic and honored, they were unable to capture the Confederate fort. ...

Fort Mims Massacre in the Creek War

Fort Mims Massacre in the Creek War Fort Mims Massacre - Conflict Date: The Fort Mims Massacre took place on August 30, 1813, during the Creek War (1813-1814). Armies Commander United States Major Daniel BeasleyCaptain Dixon Bailey265 men Creeks Peter McQueenWilliam Weatherford750-1,000 men Fort Mims Massacre - Background: With the United States and Britain engaged in the War of 1812, the Upper Creek elected to join with the British in 1813 and began attacks on American settlements in the southeast. This decision was based on the actions of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who had visited the area in 1811 calling for a Native American confederacy, intrigues from the Spanish in Florida, as well as resentment about encroaching American settlers. Known as the Red Sticks, mostly likely due to the their red-painted war clubs, the Upper Creeks were led by notable chiefs such as Peter McQueen and William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Fort Mims Massacre - Defeat at Burnt Corn: In July 1813, McQueen led a band of Red Sticks to Pensacola, FL where they obtained arms from the Spanish. Learning of this, Colonel James Caller and Captain Dixon Bailey departed Fort Mims, AL with the goal of intercepting McQueens force. On July 27, Caller successfully ambushed the Creek warriors at the Battle of Burnt Corn. As the Red Sticks fled into the swamps around Burnt Corn Creek, the Americans paused to loot the enemys camp. Seeing this, McQueen rallied his warriors and counterattacked. Overwhelmed, Callers men were forced to retreat. Fort Mims Massacre - The American Defenses: Angered by the attack at Burnt Corn Creek, McQueen began planning an operation against Fort Mims. Constructed on high ground near Lake Tensaw, Fort Mims was situated on the east bank of the Alabama River north of Mobile. Consisting of a stockade, blockhouse, and sixteen other buildings, Fort Mims provided protection for over 500 people including a militia force numbering approximately 265 men. Commanded by Major Daniel Beasley, a lawyer by trade, many of the forts inhabitants, including Dixon Bailey, were mixed-race and part Creek. Fort Mims Massacre - Warnings Ignored: Though encouraged to improve Fort Mims defenses by Brigadier General Ferdinand L. Claiborne, Beasley was slow to act. Advancing west, McQueen was joined by the noted chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle). Possessing around 750-1,000 warriors, they moved towards the American outpost and reached a point six miles away on August 29. Taking cover in tall grass, the Creek force was spotted by two slaves who were tending cattle. Racing back to the fort, they informed Beasley of the enemys approach. Though Beasley dispatched mounted scouts, they failed to find any trace of the Red Sticks. Angered, Beasley ordered the slaves punished for providing false information. Moving closer through the afternoon, the Creek force was nearly in place by nightfall. After dark, Weatherford and two warriors approached the forts walls and scouted the interior by looking through the loopholes in the stockade. Finding that the guard was lax, they also noticed that the main gate was open as it was blocked from completely closing by a bank of sand. Returning to the main Red Stick force, Weatherford planned the attack for the next day. Fort Mims Massacre - Blood in the Stockade: The next morning, Beasley was again alerted to the approach of a Creek force by local scout James Cornells. Disregarding this report, he attempted to have Cornells arrested, but the scout rapidly departed the fort. Around noon, the forts drummer summoned the garrison for the midday meal. This was used as the attack signal by the Creek. Surging forward, they rapidly advanced on the fort with many of the warriors taking control of the loopholes in the stockade and opening fire. This provided cover for others who successfully breached the open gate. The first Creeks to enter the fort were four warriors who had been blessed to become invincible to bullets. Though they were struck down, they briefly delayed the garrison while their comrades poured into the fort. Though some later claimed he had been drinking, Beasley attempted to rally a defense at the gate and was struck down early in the fighting. Taking command, Bailey and the forts garrison occupied its inner defenses and buildings. Mounting a stubborn defense, they slowed the Red Stick onslaught. Unable to force the Red Sticks out of the fort, Bailey found his men gradually being pushed back. As the militia fought for control of the fort, many of the settlers were struck down by the Red Sticks including women and children. Using flaming arrows, the Red Sticks were able to force the defenders from forts buildings. Sometime after 3:00 PM, Bailey and his remaining men were driven from two buildings along the forts north wall and killed. Elsewhere, some of the garrison was able to break through the stockade and escape. With the collapse of organized resistance, the Red Sticks began a wholesale massacre of the surviving settlers and militia. Fort Mims Massacre: Aftermath: Some reports indicate that Weatherford attempted to halt the killing but was unable to bring the warriors under control. The Red Sticks blood lust may have been partially fueled by a false rumor which stated that the British would pay five dollars for each white scalp delivered to Pensacola. When the killing ended, as many as 517 settlers and soldiers had been struck down. Red Stick losses are not known with any precision and estimates vary from as low as 50 killed to as high as 400. While the whites at Fort Mims were largely killed, the Red Sticks spared the forts slaves and took them as their own. The Fort Mims Massacre stunned the American public and Claiborne was criticized for his handling of the frontier defenses. Beginning that fall, an organized campaign to defeat the Red Sticks commenced using a mix of US regulars and militia. These efforts culminated in March 1814 when Major General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In the wake of the defeat, Weatherford approached Jackson seeking peace. After brief negotiations, the two concluded the Treaty of Fort Jackson which ended the war in August 1814. Selected Sources Fort Mims Massacre Fort Mims Restoration Association

Multinational Marketing Information Systems Term Paper

Multinational Marketing Information Systems - Term Paper Example The strategy usually involves a choice – to either standardize or adapt. Most of the time, the company chooses a strategy that is a combination of both standardization and adaptation. Standardization refers to the application of a marketing mix to the whole global market – the same solution applied in the company’s home (North American) market, for instance, is used likewise employed in its newly opened Southeast Asian operations, for instance. This obviously has its drawbacks at first glance. Total standardization seldom works across different countries because of differences in language, consumer preferences, culture, laws, marketing infrastructure, and competition structure. (Alimiene et al, 2008) On the other hand, seldom does the total adaptation of marketing solutions work for a multinational enterprise, either. In such situations, the company could not take advantage of the economies of scale, marketing expertise, and information acquired in the other markets where the company maintains its presence. The ideal marketing strategy is one that exploits the advantages of being able to address the cultural differences of foreign markets and separate products that comes with adaptation, while at the same time employing the economies of scale and global market knowledge gained through standardization. The diagram below is presented in order to better highlight the complications involved in multinational marketing strategy formulation. During product development, a stage of the business cycle wherein marketing information plays a determinative factor, the multinational company employs a variety of internal strengths that may emanate from different locations around the globe. For instance, in the example given the product concept is hatched in Singapore, approved in Houston, and designed in Singapore and Taiwan. The final assembly involves production plants in various regions of the world, for local markets.