Dubai’s heritage and culture for future generations Essay Example for Free

Dubai’s heritage and culture for future generations Essay There has been a sufficient mention of a profound dearth of interest in preserving Dubai’s heritage and culture for future generations. The severity of Dubai’s cultural problems (both current and impending) is an overwhelming testament to the shortfalls of various cultural players. Dubai’s cultural scene is beset by issues ranging from funding to the non-existence of a governing agency on cultural arts and activities. The lack of funding allocation for Culture, Heritage and the Arts hampers government organizations from awarding prizes for artistic/literary achievements and awarding subsidies for the pursuit of the Arts. This phenomenon holds true for the Fine Arts and Literature although the UAE government has accorded ample financial support for Festivals like the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises and theatrical infrastructure improvements. Support for Folklores Promotion and Archeology and Heritage Campaign, however, has not been reasonable; folklore presenters being imported from Oman and Archeology and Heritage Funds mostly channeled to administrative expenses. Education, being an essential tool for information dissemination, interest stimulation, and revolutionary change has not been aptly utilized to impact artistic/cultural perspectives among Dubai’s youth. This has crucial implications for both the quality and availability of indigenous workforce in that line. There are limited schools for Drama and Theatre, Music, and Folklore. Academic trainings for Archeology and postgraduate courses for Media are unavailable in the United Arab Emirates. Insufficient emphasis is given to Fine Arts, Literature, Folklore, and Heritage in school curriculums. Commercial Music Institutes, more than being of questionable quality, are beyond affordability by some Dubai residents. Lack of public interest is often the offered rationale for these academic limitations, although initiatives focused on the dilemma could have sparked a renewed public interest in Culture and the Arts. This dearth of public interest has crucial implications for the composition of Dubai’s cultural workforce and the artistic/cultural participation among the populace. The Nationals’ interest in theatre and performing arts is in congruence with the number of theatrical activities providers- both are limited. Dubai’s Fine Arts Exhibits showcase some unique talents and the artistic experience. However, the arena is beset by commercialism and a lack of appreciation among UAE nationals. Expatriates are more keen on Emirate Arts which benefits from an artistic enthusiasm peculiar to a wealthier society segment. Dubai’s Musical Arena is characterized by a musically-inclined, musically-upbeat society, and a commercialized musical education system. Songs and dances are an important part of celebrations, and there is an inordinate demand for international concert seats. Inadequate project experience and strong public participation, however, marks Dubai’s Film Scene. The launching of the International Film Festival in 2004 and the Dubai Studio City Project are predicted to generate a strong reception on Dubai’s film, TV, and music industries. Dubai’s literary domain, mainly focused on poetry, is not supportive of the development of intellectuals and thinkers. Government-sponsored poetry awards are an insufficient compensation for the limited career prospects for literature graduates. Festivals in Dubai such as the Dubai Shopping Festival and the Dubai Summer Surprises have acquired an international reputation, drawing tourists from the Middle East and beyond. However, a highly-trained festival-hosting workforce stands in stark contrast to the unprofessional and poorly-trained folklore performers, mostly from Oman. While Dubai’s rapid economic growth has made it a preferred destination for business meetings and international events, its vantage for exhibiting local folkloric performances to an international audience has not been fully utilized. It is quite ironic in that part of the reason of the businesses’ choice of Dubai is the pursuit of some Mideastern charm. Restoration attempts on Dubai’s historic buildings and the circulation of accompanying brochures and maps in multiple international languages are commendable efforts at giving tourists a glimpse of its ancient glory. The aforementioned measures are necessary to take advantage of Dubai’s vantage in the highly-competitive heritage tourism industry. However, the unavailability of Archeology programs in the UAE academe, and hence, the dearth of local Archeology specialists consequence in expatriate archeologists having to send artifacts to their respective countries for research/examination. Dubai’s Media Sector, with its state-of-the-art infrastructure and openness to competition, is in a struggle between foreign ownership and foreign workforce domination and calculated guardianship measures against Western infiltration. The media hub, albeit accommodating of the city’s cosmopolitan composition, suffers the dearth of a commercialized local cultural content. Islam is highly-inculturated and educationally-integrated in Dubai amidst its policy of accommodation and support to non-Muslim, expatriate religions. It is only a sober fact that the beauty of Islam has been overshadowed by negative perceptions pertinent to Terrorism. By and large, Dubai’s Islamic atmosphere, liberal for its multicultural make-up, is aptly guided by the Islamic values of tolerance and moderation. Technology can accord Dubai’s Arts and Culture a distinct vantage, but it can also effect otherwise. Electronic proliferation is a global trend, and cultural domination vis-a-vis high-technology is way unpredictable. It would also be of interest to note of the inadequate coordination among various cultural and arts providers and between Dubai’s public and private sectors. Dubai’s cultural scene is oblivious to common notice because of the dearth of literature in the subject; the absence of data on usage, patterns and preferences and the paucity of surveys and researches are common themes that beset Dubai’s cultural components. It is ironic that cultural/heritage problems prevail in Dubai, while the United Arab Emirates as a whole advocates culture and heritage. In the UAE, the preservation of many of its unique archaeological and architectural sites and its manuscripts have been given special preference. Literature and customs are widely studied in schools, while museum displays, heritage villages and the restoration of vanished monuments (based on photographs, local memory and documentary evidence) have helped to create a context and feel for this cultural legacy . It appears that most of the cultural development is occurring in Abu Dhabi; in 2005 a law was passed in this city establishing Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage Authority. This new Authority’s goal is to sponsor intellectual and artistic activities and preserve the cultural heritage of the Emirates. This entails directly promoting Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage, drawing up and implementing cultural policies, plans and programs, reviving cultural heritage projects, and organizing exhibitions and conferences on cultural heritage 1. Abu Dhabi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New York-based Guggenheim Foundation to establish a world-class museum devoted to modern and contemporary art, called the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (GAD), the museum designed by the eminent architect Frank Gehry will place the Emirates as a leading international cultural destination22. The researchers have asserted that situated in the center of Abu Dhabi, there is a Cultural Foundation which is now part of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADCH); this, at the heart of the capital’s cultural life benefits children, adults of all ages, UAE citizens and expatriates. One of the most significant features of the Cultural Foundation is the National Library which has well over a million books, primarily in Arabic, although there are also collections in a myriad of foreign languages. A majority of these volumes are available for reference for the public, plainly requiring a simple registration process. There is also an area for children where special programs are planned, especially during the school holidays2 . It is apparent that the culture of Dubai should be promoted in the same manner; perhaps these cities could share wealth in culture preservation through the Fine and Performing Arts and the Media.

The Rise Of Melaka

The Rise Of Melaka IN 1511,despite the brave efforts of its defenders the last defences of Malacca was overwhelmed in the face of a fierce and sustained Portuguese invasion.Sultan Mahmud and his remaining fighting men were finally forced to abandon the city and retreated to Pahang before moving to Johor where his descendents founded the Sultanate Of Johore which lasted into 1914 . The fall of Malacca to the Portuguese brought to an end more than a hundred years of Malay rule. At its height, the sultanate was one of the worlds busiest emporia, attracting ships from the Middle-East, India, China, the Ryukyu, and the surrounding islands of the Archipelago. During the period, Malay wealth and power dominated the region. It was also an influential Islamic centre.It was an international enterport of its day the same way Singapore is to us today. Scholars generally agree that the fall of the Malacca sultanate marked a turning point in Malaysian and world history. But they disagree as to the nature of that importance. Many Western writers portray the fall of Malacca as ushering in a new political and economic order in Malaysia and South-East Asia, one dominated by the West. Others, including Asian scholars, dispute this. They insist that the Portuguese Empire was really a commercial enterprise based on a series of strategically-located fortified posts. The Portuguese were never able to impose an influence in the way the Malacca sultanate once did. Within the sphere of power in the Straits of Malacca, the Portuguese were only one of them.And unlike the Malacca Empire did not expand its influence beyond the City of Malacca. From the Western perspective, the success of the Portuguese in Asia was of epoch making importance. The capture of Malacca was the highlight of nearly a hundred years of Portuguese exploration. Prior to this, Western traders had travelled overland to reach China. But it was only in 1498 that a Portuguese fleet under Vasco da Gama finally rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at the Malabar Coast of India. For the first time, a Western fleet from Europe had reached Asia. Adam Smith, in his classic Wealth of Nations, declared this as one of the two great events recorded in human history. The other, according to him, was the discovery of The New World(America) For a long time Europe had searched for a sea route to China and the East. But what motivated countries such as Portugal and Spain to undertake early explorations and to seek territorial expansion? Portugal was then only a small and poor country of about a estimated 1 million people. A mixture of motives such as scientific curiosity, adventure, profits, and religious zeal explains the support given by the state in the early Portuguese and Spanish explorations. One of the earliest patrons was Prince Henry of the Portuguese ruling house and he was keenly interested in science and geography. But perhaps the overriding factor was that there were profits to be made in the trade of spices. During the Crusades from the 11th to the 13th century, Christian knights and pilgrims had acquired the tastes of the Mediterranean, including spices. Spices then meant Eastern luxuries but pepper, nutmeg, clovers, and cinnamon were the more highly sought. These various spices soon became essential for food preservation and preparation in the pre-refrigeration era of Europe. But the spice trade was controlled by Arabs and Indian Muslims who dominated the Indian Ocean. Europe could only obtain pepper and cinnamon through the middlemen merchants of Genoa and Venice. Religious zeal was also behind the attempt to weaken Arab and Indian Muslim control of the spice trade. To this could be added the evangelical hope to bring the gospel to non-Christian lands. But the Portuguese had very little navigational knowledge to get to Asia. Furthermore, the Muslims controlled long stretches of the waters. Some explorers decided to try a different route. Hence, six years before Da Gamas voyage, Christopher Columbus sailed westward, believing this to be a shorter and easier way to Asia. Instead, he reached America. It took several exploratory voyages down the west coast of Africa before Da Gama finally made it to India. If immediate returns were to be measured, then the expedition had really little to show. The trip had lasted more than two years and, of the original crew of 170, only 54 survived. The glass beads, trinkets and textiles brought to Calicut, India, by the Portuguese found no demand. On its way back, Da Gamas mission resorted to seizing a cargo of spices from a small Muslim ship. From a wider view, Da Gamas expedition must also be seen as really a modest maritime feat compared to Arab seamen who had been circumnavigating Africa for centuries before him. Arabs traded over long distances stretching from ports of the Mediterranean through to India and to China. By the time of Chinas Tang dynasty, there was a large community of Muslim merchants in Guangzhou (Khanfu to the Arabs). Detailed Arab navigational manuals such as by Ibn Majid provided sailing information from Africa to China. Likewise, Chinese ships had by the 9th century been trading regularly at Quilon, a port just south of Calicut. The use of the compass and advances in ship technology helped Chinese overseas trade. More than a hundred years before Da Gama, Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) led a Ming fleet of 62 large ships that called on rulers in the South-East Asian region. In the next few years, the Ming emperors sent out six more expeditions. One of these led by Admiral Zheng He reached the east African ports of Malindi and Mogadishu as well as Aden and Hormuz in the Arabian Sea-Persian Gulf area. For Western scholars, Da Gamas expedition defined the beginning of a new epoch in world history. For over a thousand years, Europe had been on the defensive, having to fight off the Islamic and then the Mongol threats. According to British historian Eric Hobsbawm, Europe after Vasco da Gama took a more assertive international role and over the next 500 years gained hegemonic influence over most parts of Asia. The Portuguese first, and then the Spaniards, the Dutch, the British, and the French carved out empires. It was under two viceroys, Francisco de Almeida (1505-09) and Afonso dAlbuquerque (1509-15) that Portugals Asian empire, the Estado da India, was created. DAlbuquerque personally led naval campaigns to seize strategic points along the major trade routes. Goa was captured in 1510, Malacca in 1511, and Hormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf in 1515. The Portuguese took over Malacca but the city never regained the prosperity and the power that was seen during the sultanate period. Once Malacca was no longer ruled by Malays, it lost the daulat, or legitimacy, to command tributes and trade from the surrounding states. Where there was one dominant emporium in the Straits of Malacca in the 15th century, by the turn of the 16th there were several. The Portuguese presence survived largely by allying itself with one or several of the local states. From the local historians point of view, the fall of Malacca had at least three other major impacts on the immediate course of South-East Asian history. Firstly, the shift of Muslims merchants from Malacca contributed to the rise of Aceh. New commercial prosperity and political power strengthened Acehs claim to being the new Islamic centre in the Straits. Aceh, at the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries, conquered most of north Sumatra and extended influence over the Peninsular west coast states. The Acheh push to the coast states were anyway interrupted by The Portuguese Empire The Johore Empire which after the fall of Malacca took control of most of the Malacca former Vassal states such as Pahang,Perak,Terengganu and Temasik(Singapore).The three powers continued to struggle with each other for control of the Malacca straits trade on into the 18th century. The Sultanate of Melaka or Malacca Sultanate (Malay: Kesultanan Melayu Melaka) was a Malay sultanatecentered in the nowadays state of Melaka, Malaysia. Traditional historical treatise marks circa 1400 as the founding year of the sultanate by a traitor Malay Raja of Singapura, Iskandar Shah, who was also known in certain accounts as Parameswara. The view however is being compete by a new historical contract that place the founding year in circa 1262. At the height of the sultanates influence in the 15th century, its capital grew into one of the most important entrepots of its time, with domain covering much of the Malay peninsula, Riau Islands and a significant portion of the east coast of Sumatra. As a noisy international trading harbor, Melaka appeared as a center for Islamic tutorial and dissemination, and encouraged the development of the Malay language, literature and arts. It heralded the golden age of Malay sultanates in the archipelago, in which Classical Malay became the lingua franca of the Maritime Southeast Asia and Jawi script became the primary medium for historical, religious and intellectual exchange. It is through these intellectual, spiritual and cultural developments, the Melakan era witnessed the enculturation of a Malay status, the Malayisation of the region and the subsequent formation of an Alam Melayu. In 1511, the capital of Melaka fell to the Portuguese Empire, forcing the last Sultan, Mahmud Shah (r. 1488-1511), to decline to the further reaches of his empire, where his progeny established new ruling dynasties, Johor and Perak. The legacy of the sultanate remained, with significance lies in its far-reaching political and cultural legacy, which, arguably, continues to be felt in modern times. For centuries, Melaka has been held up as an exemplar of Malay-Muslim civilization. It established systems of trade, diplomacy, and governance that persisted well into the 19th century, and introduced concepts such as daulat- a distinctly Malay notion of sovereignty that continues to shape of a new generation understanding of Malay kingship. Before the arrival of the first Sultan, Malacca was a fishing village to live by local Malays. Malacca was founded by Parameswara, also known as Iskandar Shah or Sri Majara, the last Raja of Singapura (present day Singapore) following a Majapahit attack in 1377. He found his way to Malacca around 1400 where he found a good port-it was accessible in all seasons and on the strategically located small point of the Malacca Straits. According to a popular legend, Parameswara was resting under a tree near a river while hunting, when one of his dogs cornered a mouse deer. In self-defence, the mouse deer pushed the dog into the river. Impressed by the courage of the deer, and taking it as a propitious omen of the weak overcoming the powerful, Parameswara decided on the spot to found an empire on that very spot. He named it Melaka after the tree under which he had taken shelter, the Melaka tree (Malay: Pokok Melaka). In collaboration with united countries from the sea-people (orang laut), the wandering proto-Malay privateers of the Straits, he established Malacca as an international port by compelling passing ships to call there, and establishing fair and secure facilities for warehousing and trade. Mass settlement of Chinese, mostly from the imperial and merchant fleet occurred during the dynasty of Parameswara in the nearby of Bukit Cina (Chinese Hill), which was perceived as having excellent Feng Shui. Palace of Malaccas Malay Sultanate came from its strategic location, Malacca was an important stopping point for Zheng Hes fleet. To enhance relations, Hang Li Po, according to local folklore a daughter of the Ming Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry Sultan Manshur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married locals and settled mostly in Bukit China (Bukit Cina). (See Zheng He in Malacca). At the height of its power, the Sultanate of Malacca ruled over the southern Malay Peninsula and much of Sumatra. Its rise helped to hold off the Thais southward expansion, as well as hasten the decline of the rival Majapahit Empire of Java, which had been declining in power as Malacca rose. Malacca was also pivotal in the spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago. After Vietnam (then known as Annam) destroyed Champa in the 1471 Vietnamese encroachment of Champa, they engaged in hostilities with Malacca with the intent of conquest. In the 9th month of the year 1481 envoys arrived with the Malacca again sent envoys to China in 1481 to inform the Chinese that, while Malaccan abassador were returning to Malacca from China in 1469, the Vietnamese attacked the Malaccans, killing some of them while castrating the young and enslaving them. The Malaccans reported that Vietnam was in control of Champa and also sought to conquer Malacca, but the Malaccans did not fight back, because they did not want to fight against another state that was a tributary to China without approval from the Chinese. They enquired to face the Vietnamese party to China which was in China at the time, but the Chinese inquire them since the disturbance was years old, they could do nothing about it, and the Emperor sent a letter to the Vietnamese ruler responsibility him for the incident. The Chinese Emperor also ordered the Malaccans to lift soldiers and fight back with violent force if the Vietnamese attacked them again.

Pendleton Civil Service Act :: essays research papers

Pendleton Civil Service Act Since the beginning of the government, people gained and lost their jobs whenever a new president took office. These jobs were political pay-offs for people who supported them. Many people did not take their jobs too seriously because they knew they would be out of their office soon. As Henry Clay put it, government officials after an election are "like the inhabitants of Cairo when the plague breaks out; no one knows who is next to encounter the stroke of death." Over the years the flaws that were made and the problems that resulted became more obvious. After an election you could open a newspaper and find many advertisements, which offered government jobs that were filled before the election. On January 16, 1883 the U.S. legislation established a law, which gave employment based on merit rather than on political party affiliation that leads to corruption in the government system. Widespread public demand for reform in the government was stirred after the Civil War by accusations of incompetence, corruption, and theft in federal departments. After a guy who was refused an office job that he was capable of assassinated President James A. Garfield in 1881, civil service reform became a leading issue in the elections of 1882. In January 1883, Congress passed a comprehensive civil service bill sponsored by Senator George H. Pendleton, providing for the open selection of government employees and guaranteeing the right of citizens to compete for federal jobs without regard to politics, religion, race, or national origin. The new law covered only about 10 percent of the positions in the federal government, but nearly every president after Chester A. Arthur, who signed the bill in to law, broadened its scope. By 1980 more than 90 percent of federal employees were protected by the act. The Pendleton Civil Service Act classified certain jobs, removed them from the ranks, and set up a Civil Service Commission to oversee a system based on merit and not political stance. The commission draws up the rules governing examinations for those positions that Congress places in the classified civil service.

The Poweful Message of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five Essay

The Poweful Message of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five From Ancient Greek playwright, Euripides, ("To die is a debt we must all of us discharge" (Fitzhenry 122)) to renowned Nineteenth Century poet, Emily Dickinson, ("Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me -/ The carriage held but just ourselves/ And Immortality" (Fitzhenry 126)) the concept of death, reincarnation, rebirth, and mourning have been brooded over time and time again. And with no definite answers to life's most puzzling question of death being given, it only seems natural that this subject is further explored. Kurt Vonnegut is one of many modern writers obsessed with this idea and spends many of his novels thematically infatuated with death. His semi- autobiographical novel, dealing with his experiences in Dresden during WWII, named Slaughterhouse Five, The Children's Crusade or A Duty Dance With Death, is no exception to his fixation. "A work of transparent simplicity [and] a modern allegory, whose hero, Billy Pilgrim, shuffles between Earth and its ti meless surrogate, Tralfamadore" (Riley and Harte 452), Slaughterhouse Five shows a "sympathetic and compassionate evaluation of Billy's response to the cruelty of life" (Bryfonski and Senick 614). This cruelty stems from death, time, renewal, war, and the lack of compassion for human life; all large themes "inextricably bound up" (Bryfonski and Mendelson 529) in this cyclically natured novel that tries to solve the great mystery of death for us, once and for all. Billy's life had revolved around these ideas from the time he was a child. At the age of twelve Billy "had undergone the real crises of his life, had found life meaningless even if he could not then articulate that concept, an... ...Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1980. \ Bryfonski and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1978. Fitzhenry, Robert I., ed. The Harper Book of Quotations. New York City: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. Gurton and Jean C. Stine, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. Riley and Barbara Harte, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1974. Riley, Carolyn, ed. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1975. Shepard, Sean. "Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five." http://erme.bgsu.edu/~jdowell/kvandsh5.html Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. New York City: Laurel Books, 1969.

Ticket to Listen :: Music Rolling Stones Personal Narratives Essays

Ticket to Listen One little remnant of my past that I hold dear to me is a tiny scrap of paper. Though it is somewhat creased because of wear and tear, it still is able to tell a tale. The background is a pale white; the back is filled with tiny font disclaimers throughout it which leave no unusual scenario unexplained. The front has a broad blue stripe and a thinner orange strip underneath. Some of the black lettering is faded but the most important words still stand out, they are â€Å"The Rolling Stones†, â€Å"Landover, MD† and â€Å"Fed ex Field†. Those few words are all that need to be legible on my ticket for me to remember and still be able to tell the tale no matter how many years pass this stub by. The story on how I got this ticket is a little unusual. It all started when I found out the Stones were playing in Landover, MD which is far when you compare it to their next stop which was California. Both my boyfriend and I are huge Rolling Stones fans and all he ever wanted was to go see them live in concert. So of course after finding out they were playing in MD only five days before the show I had my work cut out for me. The next few days consisted of me calling every ticket distributor known to mankind to no avail, there was always some problem no seats available or seats available but none together†¦ The list went on and on, but I have this thick-skinned thing about me that once I want something I’m just going to have to find some way to get it and I was determined to pull this one off. Despite all my efforts the day of the concert came and I still had no tickets, yet I knew it didn’t matter I was still going to get us there somehow. I spent the whole day on and off the phone with my boyfriend’s older sister Candi scheming up some brilliant plan to get in. It ended up being our plan to just wing it. We were going to surprise my boyfriend and hop in the car and head down to Maryland right after school.

Oligopoly versus monopoly competition Essay

Differences Between Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition Market Structures Market structure refers to the interconnected characteristics of a market, which include the number of firms, level and forms of competition and extent of product differentiation (Business Dictionary, 2012). Based on these parameters, several market structures are defined and this essay will focus on two of them, namely monopolistic competition and oligopolistic markets, by discussing the differences among them and their impact on the customers. Oligopolistic market is defined as a market that is dominated by few large firms, and that these firms are mutually dependent, where they have to monitor the actions of other competitors closely and act accordingly in response to that (Ison and Wall, 2007). These firms target bigger markets, at regional, national and even international level. Examples of oligopolistic markets include airline, petroleum and bank industries (Economics Online, 2012). On the other hand, monopolistic competition market refers to a market with large number of firms, each producing slightly different product, i. e. their products are unique in its own right and hence the firms have a certain degree of monopoly power (Ison and Wall, 2007). In general, these firms target a smaller market size, say at a local or regional level (Economics Online, 2012). For example, restaurants, hair saloons and boutiques are all examples under this market structure. Firms in oligopoly market have a certain degree of control over the price of their products (Ison and Wall, 2007). However, there is interdependence in price making between the firms. For non-collusive oligopoly, any price making decision will have to take into account the likely reaction of the other firms to ensure market share (Economics Online, 2012). Hence, there is a potential for price war, where the firms try to beat each other by lowering the price, without any increase in demand for their products, as illustrated by the Kinked Demand Curve (Figure 1; Economics Help, 2012). Such circumstance is undesirable as their profits might be diminished and the consumers will be the only beneficiaries. In contrast, in the case of collusive oligopoly, the firms collude among themselves by agreeing on a price of products to avoid price war. Owing to the significant market share they own, they can set the price high to gain supernormal profit (Geoff Riley, 2006). Figure 1. Kinked demand curve (Economics Help, 2012). In monopolistic competition, the firms have only little control over the price (Ison and Wall, 2007). This is because the extensive differentiation of products means the firms face constant competition from others, and may easily be replaced if their price is deemed unreasonable, despite certain unique features of their products. Oligopoly and monopolistic competition market structures also differ in term of profit making. Firms in oligopolistic can make supernormal profit all the time and there are several reasons to this (Ison and Wall, 2007; Amos Web, 2012). Firstly, they own significant market share in a huge market, therefore the sales volume is high. Secondly, average cost of production is low as they produce in bulk. Thirdly, as discussed before, they have the ability to set price, especially in the case of collusive oligopoly (Amos Web, 2012). For instance, Tesco is a chain supermarket that is found everywhere in the UK (hence huge market size) and as they purchase their products from suppliers in bulk, the cost is kept at minimum, thereby maximising their profits (Mearday, 2009). In contrast, for monopolistic competition, profit making is not for sure. However, theoretically speaking, there are two stages to the profit making by firms in monopolistic competition (Ison and Wall, 2012; Bized, 2001). In short run, the firms can set the price high to obtain supernormal profit (represented by shaded region in Figure 2A). As the abnormal profit they make in short run attracts many potential rivals, the firms must then set the price low to stay competitive in long run (Figure 2B). For example, in Canada, the price of personal computers was very expensive when they were first introduced into the market, but as the number of computer manufacturers increased, the price of personal computers has been declining over the past decade (Figure 3; Statistics Canada, 2011). B B A A Cost Cost Price Price Figure 2. (A) Profit maximisation in short run in monopolistic competition. (B) Normal profit making in long run in monopolistic competition (Bized, 2001). Figure 3. Change of computer price by different purchasers. (Statistics Canada, 2011). Mode of competition is also different between the firms in oligopoly and monopolistic competition. Oligopoly is characterized by imperfect competition, mainly due to high barriers for entry to market (Economics Online, 2012). This is due to various reasons including exclusive resources ownership, extensive relevant knowledge, patent and copyright, other government restrictions, managerial challenge and high start-up cost. (Economics Online, 2012; Amos Web, 2012). Airline industry is a typical example of that, as setting up an airline companies requires huge financial resource and compliance to strict rules and regulations imposed by the authority (Amos Web, 2012). For example, in Malaysia, the second airline, AirAsia was only established in 2001 (AirAsia, 2012), 46 years after the establishment of Malaysia Airline in 1947 (Malaysia Airline, 2012). In contrast, there is near perfect competition in monopolistic competition market, as there is freedom to enter or exit the market due to low entry barrier (Economic Online, 2012; Amos Web, 2012). As opposed to oligopolistic market, the start up cost for firms in monopolistic competition market is much lower, as the market size they target is smaller (Ison and Wall, 2007; Economic Online, 2012). Also, as discussed before, product differentiation in this market means each firm has a somewhat unique product, fulfilling the demand of a certain group of consumers in the market. Moreover, there is less restriction from the government and starting firm does not require exclusive knowledge. For example, one can easily open a restaurant, as long as he or she has a unique menu to offer. In conclusion, oligopoly and monopolistic competition represents two distinct market structures. From consumers’ point of view, monopolistic competition is more preferable. Through monopolistic competition among the firms, consumers enjoy to choose from a wider range of products, which are available at more competitive prices. This is because the firms always try to enhance their products with better innovation and keep their prices down to attract customers. Oligopoly on the other hand is less desirable for consumers as products can often be overly-priced since the firms have a greater control over price. References: 1. Business Dictionary (2012) Market Structure. BusinessDictionary. com. Retrieved on 6th March 2012, from: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/market-structure. html#ixzz1olN7AqYq . 2. Mearday, J. (2009) Characteristic of Monopolistic Competition – Welker’s Wikinomi. Retrieved on 2nd March 2012, from: http://welkerswikinomics. wetpaint. com/page/Characteristics+of+Monopolistic+Competition 3. Riley, G. (2006) Oligopoly – Overview. Tutor2u. Retrieved on 5th March 2012, from: http://tutor2u. net/economics/revision-notes/a2-micro-oligopoly-overview. html. 4. Riley, G. (2006) Monopoly & Economic Efficiency. Tutor2u. Retrieved on 12th March 2012, from: http://tutor2u. net/economics/revision-notes/a2-micro-monopoly-economic-efficiency. html. 5. Amos Web Encyclonomic (2012) Oligopoly, Characteristics. AmosWeb Encyclonopic Webpedia. Retrieved on 7th March 2012, from: http://www.amosweb. com/cgi-bin/awb_nav. pl? s=wpd&c=dsp&k=oligopoly,+characteristics . 6. Amos Web Encyclonomic (2012) Monopolistic Competition, Characteristics. AmosWeb Encyclonopic Webpedia. Retrieved on 8th March 2012, from: http://www. amosweb. com/cgi-bin/awb_nav. pl? s=wpd&c=dsp&k=monopolistic+competition,+characteristics . 7. Ison, S. and Wall, S. (2007) Economics (Fourth Edition), Prentice Hall, London. 8. Malaysia Airline (2012) Cooperate Info – Our Story. Malaysia Airlines. Retrieved from 12th March 2012 http://www. malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en/corporate-info/our-story. html 9. AirAsia (2012) Company Profile. Airasia. com. Retrieved on 12th March 2012. http://www. airasia. com/gb/en/corporate/corporateprofile. page. 10. Economics online (2012) Oligopoly. Economics Online. Retrieved on 12th March 2012, from: http://economicsonline. co. uk/Business_economics/Oligopoly. html. 11. Economics online (2012) Monopolistic Competition. Economics Online. Retrieved on 12th March 2012, from: http://economicsonline. co. uk/Business_economics/Monopolistic_competition. html . 12. Statistics Canada (2011) Computer prices continue their decline. Statistics Canada. Retrieved on 13th March 2012, from http://www. statcan. gc. ca/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/information/information02-eng. htm . 13. Economics Help (2012) Oligopoly. Economics. Help. Retrieved on 13th March 2012, from: http://www. economicshelp. org/microessays/markets/oligopoly. html . 14. Bized (2001) Monopolistic Competition – Short run to long run. Biz/ed. Retrieved on 13th March 2012, from http://www. bized. co. uk/reference/diagrams/Monopolistic-Competition—Short-Run-to-Long-Run.

Poems

English Coursework Compare how strong human emotion Is conveyed in three poems from Section C of the Anthology and three other poems you have studied. Poetry engages readers with different forms of emotion; these emotions can be conveyed through stylish and subtle use of extraordinary language, form, structure and context, all of which provide an additional dimension to the literature. Emotion Is defined as a â€Å"strong feeling† and this will be explored in the paired poems: ‘Having' and ‘Remember'; ‘A Mother In A Refugee Camp' and ‘Mother Any Distance'; ‘Sonnet 1 16' and ‘If.The key themes in these passages are the universal feelings which we all experience, such as love and resentment. The poems In each pair share similar subject matter and messages. Poetry Is a thought-provoking way to explore the challenges encountered throughout our lives. These are demonstrated by the look and shape of a poem, the sophisticated vocabulary and emotion which can be depicted. Looking at the poems, I will explore how emotion is displayed and communicated to the reader. A Mother In a Refugee Camp' by China Achebe Is about the sadness of a mother who prepares o have her dear son take from her due to an unfortunate illness in the midst of a civil war refugee camp. The poem goes through four changing stages of emotion: reflection, sickness, pride and subsequently yet unfortunately ending in death. These emotions are universal experiences. Meaningful language Is used In the first line, â€Å"No Madonna and child could touch†, a religious reference used to describe the epitome of a mother and son relationship.The poem vividly describes the horrors taking place in the civil war, in lines such as, â€Å"heavy odors of diarrhea† and unwashed children with washed-out ribs† which graphically depict the experiences of disgust, as Intense pathos Is created at the expense of the children. Strong language is used so the reader can detect the stench of the odors and conceptualize the unwashed ribs of the children, as they're so desperate and in need of care. Huge pity Is Invoked In the reader as they can vividly picture what is happening In the camp.The â€Å"ghost-smile†, Is a false, fake smile displayed as the mother tries to behave with courage and strength at the most emotional time of her life, also provoking the reader as it did for me into feeling condolence and sympathy awards her. She is there in the present yet her mind is completely taken away from the camp Into reflecting upon memories. Comparatively ‘Mother Any Distance' by Simon Remarriage is a more thought-provoking poem as it delves into the ordeal of a young man leaving home and breaking free from his mother.It is thought-provoking because it allows the reader to reflect on one's own thoughts of this whether it is yet to come or a previous encounter. Loss and separation are two emotions felt In the paired poems but in contras ting contexts. ‘Mother Any Distance' focuses more on restoration whilst ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' on total heartbreak. ‘Mother Any Distance' is written in free verse allowing flexibility in structure and vocabulary.Likewise, words invariably used to portray distance are used to create a sense of the loss that Is soon to take place, â€Å"acres†, â€Å"years† and â€Å"zero-end†, these Impact the reader leading them to understand that the distance between the mother and son in this 1 OFF created through such lines as â€Å"she soon would have to forget† and â€Å"other mothers there had long ceased to care†. However, in both poems there is a feeling of not being able to deny something that looms large.The repetition of the word ‘mother' shows us the maternal love she feels and the inability to let go of her son as he moves into adulthood. Fantastic imagery is used such as the metaphors â€Å"Anchor†, safe foundation s and â€Å"Kite†, this represents the process of flight. The â€Å"endless sky to fall or fly', the son is preparing to fly, to leave safety, knowing not what lies ahead. In ‘Mother Any Distance' the stanza size seems to increase as the distance between them grows. As in ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' the mothers are devoted until the end.I feel that ‘Mother Any Distance' captivates me more as it has made me think owe my own experience will be and also because this is a more universal event. By contrast, ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' is something that many cannot relate to or cannot understand the pain and agony. Carol Ann Duffy ‘Having' focuses on the emotions of loss and separation. Having or Miss Having as she is known in Charles Dickens' ‘Great Expectations' is an elderly character who in her younger life was left at the altar and continues to obsess over this.The selection to not include the Miss at the start of her name is unknown; I f eel that it may be due to her coming creature-like and Duffy wishing to focus on her as person and not Just a spinster. Duffy self-consciously transforms this novel character from being depressed in ‘Great Expectations' to a more aggressive angry character in the poem ‘Having'. An interesting and controversial alliterative ‘B' oxymoron â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard. † is used in line one. This shows that possibly Having still has thoughts of love towards her ex-fiance ©e but still holds a grudge long after their parting.Duffy uses vivid colors as symbols, starting in line three, â€Å"dark green pebbles for eyes† Rene representing the emotion of envy, with her sinister thoughts. Also, â€Å"pebbles† demonstrate that her feelings are unhealthy as she wishes such hatred to another human being. From line three, this turns out to be a continuous theme throughout the rest of the poem. At the end of the poem, emphasis is used with â€Å"the hea rt that b-b-b-breaks. † Having is hiding from the outside world as she is old and trembling whilst she reflects on her younger years.The poem is written in free verse, allowing a flow through freedom of a variety of words and sentence structures as there are no constraints as in a sonnet. The stanzas are broken down into lines of four, called a quatrain; the stanzas go through four stages of emotion; hatred, horror, reflection and further hatred, finishing the way it started, returning to the emotion of hatred. ‘Remember' by Christiana Rosettes is written in first person as is ‘Having' thus the reader has a sense of a relationship with the protagonists in the poem, creating more pathos.Rosettes was bought up in the times of the Pre-Raphael movement, possibly explaining why her poems were controversial with formerly inaudible religious references such as â€Å"Pray'. In these paired poems protagonists are similar in hat they are soul-destroyed and are both going th rough or reminiscing on emotional break downs. Repetition of the personal pronouns â€Å"me†, â€Å"you†, â€Å"our† and â€Å"l† highlight the intimacy of the personal relationship and highlight loss between two people, also affecting the way we interpret the poem as it could be about anyone. Having' in its regular verses of four is much unlike ‘Remember' with a solid block of emotional her. â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away', a very melancholy line stating how sad she is and that soon she will be departing, setting the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the poem. Gone far away into the silent land† says that where she is going will not be dreadful, she can be calm and relaxed here but â€Å"far away'; she will not be able to return. However, this could be viewed as a euphemism for death and like Hafnium's â€Å"beloved sweetheart bastard† create an oxymoron feel. Remember' is a sonnet (a 14 lined poem), self-contradictory in it s paradoxical form in which the feel of the poem changes two lines from its conclusion from a demanding command at the start of each quatrain â€Å"remember me† to â€Å"better by far you should forget and smile† a happier and quite nostalgic quote. It follows the rhyme pattern, ABA and iambic pentameter, which are regular patterns; this gives the poem a flow and beat. Along with the precise use of punctuation, used in the middle of lines on clause emphasis, called a caesura, often incorporated to emphasis a point, â€Å"Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay. Compared to Having which follows no rhyme scheme, this is due to the constant use of enjambment. The emotions conveyed in ‘Having' and ‘Remember' are those of confusion and love. ‘Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare was published in 1609 in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The focal point is the emotion of love which is defined as â€Å"a strong feeling of affection†, which in Shakesp earean times perhaps had more meaning and more importance.Love is prominent throughout the poem through the use of poetic devices and fanciful language in the metaphors, â€Å"the star to every wandering bark† and â€Å"an ever-fixed mark', in an attempt to define the indefinable love. Shakespeare is trying to declare to us that love can't be altered by any means â€Å"love alters not with his brief hours and weeks. † Love is eternal, â€Å"bears it out even to the edge of doom†. To summaries what Shakespeare is attempting to say Where there is life there is love'. The poem has a rhetorical theme of love and what it is, which can be interpreted in many different ways.Comparably love, like the poem, has no real end or conclusion. After all, love is a philosophical perception. Rudyard Kipling ‘If like ‘1 16' explores the conflicting emotions of love and pride. ‘If is a didactic poem, meaning to give instruction. ‘If serves as an instructio n in this case to an exceptional leader, illustrating the actions a man should take throughout life, such as never giving up, â€Å"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting†. The creative use of an exclamation mark, manfully be a man, my son! † captivates the reader's attention and adds sudden enthusiasm to a rather serious poem.Writing to children, the rhyme scheme ABA assists coherence and comprehension. The paired poems are written in iambic pentameter, offering a regular pattern which also adds a ironically and infatuating quality to the poem. ‘If' is written in four stanzas of eight rhyming lines, in its order of ABA, whilst ‘1 16' is split into three quatrains and a couplet. The structure of the paired poems emphasizes the emotions depicted. The rhyme scheme in ‘If gives a sincere yet uplifting feel whilst ‘1 16' is more sophisticated.