How is love portrayed in Romeo and Juliet? Essay

Shakespeare portrays love in Romeo and Juliet in many ways. Their love is portrayed by images of light and dark and is juxtaposed against death, and he sets next to Romeo and Juliet the love associated with sight and appearances. In all, their love is of another world. The love of Romeo and Juliet is portrayed as otherworldly and heavenly. They are â€Å"star-crossed lovers†, with their destiny pre-determined; they and other humans have no control. Instead the control lies with fate and God. The lovers are â€Å"fortune’s fools†. This dependency on fate and otherworldly powers lend their love a sense of being something heavenly, â€Å"hanging in the stars†. With their love, they are able to rise above their world and everyone else. Their love is a means to escape the world of reality and to create their own world of darkness. This world of darkness is their consequential deaths, because their love is â€Å"death-marked†. Their love is too passionate and powerful to remain in their world, ruled by family hate and violence. Shakespeare describes love in terms of sight and appearances. Romeo and Juliet’s love is blind, they first meet at a ball, where Romeo is â€Å"covered in an antic face† and Juliet’s identity is unknown to him. Their first meeting is love at first sight. Romeo has â€Å"ne’er saw true beauty till this night† and this shows their love’s dependency on sight. During their second meeting at the balcony, Juliet asks Romeo to â€Å"doff thy name†, as names are also a type of disguise and mask. Romeo in turn replies that he is hidden â€Å"from their sight†, so that his appearance is seen only by Juliet, who has the â€Å"mask of night† on her face. Despite both of them admitting that they love each other, their love is heavily depended on their sight and the appearance of the other person. This theme is an important element of Shakespeare’s portrayed love because the play itself is based on sight, appearances and masks l ike the family name. In the play, a common theme is contrasting images of light and dark. Shakespeare uses these images of light and dark often in terms of light and day. Most of Romeo and Juliet’s meetings happen at night. At the Capulets ball, Romeo’s first description of Juliet is that â€Å"she doth teach the  torches to burn bright†. To Romeo, Juliet, the â€Å"fair sun† will be forever associated with light. But to Juliet, she links Romeo, â€Å"bescreened in night†, with darkness and the moon. In the morning after their wedding night Romeo and Juliet argue whether it is light or dark. If it is dark, they are able to stay with each other for longer, but since it is the â€Å"lark, the herald of the morn; no nightingale†, the light separates them. Light reveals and exposes, and before the light can expose the truths and realities of their relationship, they are forced to separate. Light and dark can never coexist, and symbolising their love as that show ho w it can never survive in reality. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare employs opposing factors. One of the most potent contrasts is how he sets love next to death. Their love has â€Å"sprung from my [their] only hate†. This juxtaposition emphasises their love and how out of place it is in their society they live in. Both love and death are very strong themes all through the play and are linked. Juliet often refers to death, almost subconsciously. If she does not meet Romeo, she thinks that her â€Å"grave is like to be my [her] wedding bed†. Juliet orders that when Romeo dies, he should be cut â€Å"out in little stars†. These are not only foreshadowing the lovers imminent deaths, but the constant link between love and death in the play. They spend one night together, and the next morning Juliet comments how she imagines him â€Å"dead at the bottom of a tomb† and that he â€Å"lookst pale† Romeo replies that so does she. Exactly a day later, they are lying together again, dead in the tomb. Their love is so passionate and intense, but â€Å"violent delights have violent ends†. Instead of being that type of love that pushes and protects them from violence and death, their type of love pushes them towards it. The â€Å"violent ends† are the lovers’ suicide, they must finally meet death to preserve their love. Shakespeare does not want to portray the sweet, gentle and almost childish love, like the love Romeo thought he had for Rosaline. Instead he wanted to portray Romeo and Juliet’s love as powerful, violent, passionate, and as intense as death. Because of the way in which Shakespeare employs images and common themes, the play records Romeo and Juliet’s evolving love, from their metaphorical and  heavenly meetings at the ball with â€Å"torches† to their literal and dramatic deaths in the darkness of the mausoleum. In the space of four days, Shakespeare has encompassed a lifetime.

The Effect Of Motivation, Values And Involvement Of The Buyers In The Market

In each and every market the buyers are unpredictable and therefore strategic marketing should be in a way that the marketers influence the decisions made by the buyers. Motivation, values and involvement of the buyers plays a very important role in influencing the decision of the buyers. For a business organization to be unique from other competitors in the industry it needs to form a strong relationship with the current buyers and the potential buyers.Considering the values of the buyers, involving them in the decision making process and motivating them accordingly are some of the ways that businesses can use to influence the behavior of the buyers. There is need to research on the motivation, value and involvement of the buyer because all of the successful sales are made not because of the excellence of the products being marketed but because the marketers either consciously or unconsciously have found a human reason to why their products should sell. The marketers need to underst and the role of motivation, values and involvement of the buyers so as to have a successful sale.Businesses that misunderstand the above role end up making wrong decisions concerning the behavior of the buyer and hence they incur significant losses. Research also needs to be carried out to show the differences in the levels of motivation and involvement between buyers who are purchasing for business reasons and those who are purchasing for personal reasons. Understanding the values, motivation and the involvement of the buyers also helps businesses retain their customers and hence have a stable market and a competitive advantage in the market.Due to the above factors which clearly show the importance of the motivation, values and involvement of the buyers there is need to carry out a research so as to provide more information to businesses on this topic. LITERATURE REVIEW In a business context the behavior of the consumers is referred to as the study of the reason why consumers purc hase specific items during a certain period in a certain place. In trying to understand the concept of consumer behavior a lot of research has looked at it from a social, psychology and economics view.A lot of research has been carried to evaluate the behavior of the consumers but most of the research is carried out on groups of the consumers and fails to investigate the behavior of a single consumer without the influence of the other consumers in the market. Most of the research that has been carried out studies the characteristics of consumers in groups so as to understand the needs and preferences of a certain group of consumers (Solomon et al: 121-135). This research study will study the consumers individually to understand personal needs and preferences of consumers.Studies have also been carried out to investigate the influence consumers get from their friends, families and the society as a whole. Consumer behavior also tries to study the consumer retention, the relationship o f the consumers and the business and also the values of the consumers. Businesses need to consider the motivation of the buyers in order to improve their sales. There are two types of motivations of the buyers: psychological motivation and physiological motivation (Hauftvet et al: 889).Consumer behavior studies are carried out to determine how the consumers use and dispose the product as well as to understand how the products are purchased. Marketers need to understand the use of the products they deal with because this affects how a product is positioned in the market and how the marketers can influence the consumption of the product. Due to the fact that environmental problems arise as a result of disposal of the products purchased by the consumers it is necessary to study the disposal of products as this affects the motivation of the buyers towards a certain product.The research will extend previous studies in that it will look at the effect of consumer behavior on the society fo r example aggressive marketing of foods rich in high foods has serious effects on the health of the population (Henry, 2004: 256-262). In the early 1900’s Dither carried out a qualitative market research and suggested that the motives of the consumers are initiated by concealed unconscious needs. However, most of the theories developed by Ditcher on consumer motivations have been disregarded in the modern marketing strategies (as cited in Ziems, 2004: 211).Ditcher identified five stages involved in the motivation process as underlying need, drive, desire, goal and behavior. Consumer involvement is the increased state of awareness that tends to motivate consumers to think about a product and seek information regarding the product before they buy it. High levels of involvement of the buyers have been seen to increase the attention of the buyers towards certain products and also the consumers place greater importance on the sources of the information relating to the products.Thi s research will also investigate whether there is more to motivating the consumers rather than unaware desires or wants of the consumers. Hein, 2006 noted that the only best way to hook a buyer into buying a certain product is touching the buyers emotionally (Hein, 2006: 42). HYPOTHESES The level of motivation of the buyers affects the competitive advantage of the business. The value of buyers on a certain product affects the sales of the product. High levels of involvement of the buyers increase the information the buyers have regarding the product.RESEARCH METHODS In selection of the research methods to be used in this research, time available for the research, the cost of the research and access to the information were the factors that will be put into consideration. For the successful completion of the study it will be necessary to collect data from various sources to enable the business produce items that the buyers want and not what the business thinks the buyers want. Both pr imary and secondary methods of research will be used in this study.Secondary research will involve making use of information that has been collected in previous studies. Primary data collection methods will also be used in this research. The methods used will include mail questionnaires, use of focus groups, phone surveys and direct observations. The research will focus more on the data collected through surveys because surveys produce more specific information regarding the buyers. The surveys will have open ended questions as well as close ended questions.Due to the fact that mail surveys are generally inexpensive they will be preferred in this research to cut down the cost of the research. MEASUREMENT APPROACH Collection of the data in this study will commence by informing the expected respondents of the need to carry out the research and how their responses will be treated during the research. The expected respondents will then be sent a copy of the questionnaire through mail. S o as to minimize the chances of unanswered questionnaires the researcher will take a sample of the respondents from a group of the consumers.The sample will consist of people of all races, ethnic group and age. Follow ups will then be done through the phone to ensure that the respondents have received the questionnaires and they are willing to respond to the questionnaires. Observations will then be made to understand the level of involvement of the respondents and how this affects the market of the product. After the questionnaires have been completed by the respondents the researcher will then collect all the questionnaires and analyze the data acquired.Analysis of the data will be carried out by use of SPSS and then graphs and charts will be derived from the data to present the data in a more clear way. The researcher will then collect secondary information from previous studies that have been carried out. The secondary information combined with the primary information will then be used to show how the values, motivation and the involvement of the buyers affect the market of the product. Statistical analysis will also be carried out on the data collected to test for validity and reliability of the data.DISCUSSION For the successful completion of this research contributions will be drawn from earlier researchers in the area. The marketers will also be expected to participate in the research in that they will give experiences on how the values, motivation and involvement of the consumers have affected the marketing of their products. One of the major difficulties expected during the research is unwilling respondents. This will result to unanswered questionnaires hence gaps in the expected data.An error may occur in the observation method of collecting information, this happens when the researcher observes the wrong behaviors of the sampled population. There will be need for further research in this area to clearly identify the measures that business organizat ions should take to ensure that the buyers are more involved in the business activities. WORD COUNT: 1, 480 WORK CITED Haugtvedt P. Curtis, Paul Herr and Frank R. Kardes, (2008), Handbook of consumer psychology, Illustrated Edition, New York, CRC Press Hein, K. (2006, October 2). Inside the Mind of the Marketer.Brandweek, 47(36), 16-21. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from the Academic Search Complete database Henry Assael, (2004), consumer behavior: a strategic approach, illustrated Edition, Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Publishers Solomon R Michael, Gary J. Bamossy, Soren Askegaard, (2001), Consumer behavior: A European perspective, Second Edition, New York, Prentice Hall Publishers. Ziems, D. (2004, June). The Morphological Approach for Unconscious Consumer Motivation Research. Journal of Advertising Research, 44(2), 210-215. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from EJC database

Religious Architectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religious Architectures - Essay Example The Masjid e Nabwi also known as the Prophet’s Mosque is the second holiest place of worship for Muslims. It is the largest mosque of the world which is also the resting place for Prophet Muhammad and two Caliphs of Islam namely Abu Bakr and Umar. The original mosque was built by the Prophet himself in 622 CE. The mosque was built in a rectangular shape; the walls were made using palm trunks and mud and the ceiling was made using palm fronds. The mosque had a raised platform where the holy book of Islam, the Quran was recited. This place was not only a place of worship but also a court, religious school and a community center where politics and other fundamental issues were discussed. Today this mosque is 100 times larger than the original mosque. The place where Prophet Muhammad used to preach was beside palm tree wood which was replaced by a ‘minbar’ in 628. This was done so the Prophet could be higher than the crowd and it would be easier to lead the prayer or address the crowds. The mosque now has two floors where prayers are offered. The roof is also used during peak times to accommodate the worshippers. The green dome is called ‘Ar-Rawdah’ and is situated above Muhammad’s grave. It is also called the ‘Dome of the Prophet’. The mosque has a total of 27 domes. There are holes in the base of each dome; this is done so the interior is kept illuminated. The mosque has 10 minarets. Minarets and dome are important distinctive architectural elements of a mosque. Minarets are useful because they give a visual focal point and they are also used as a vantage point for ‘adhaan’, the call for prayer. Minarets also provide a natural ventilation system. As the dome gets heated by the sun the air is drawn in from the windows and up and out the minarets. There is a ‘mihrab’ in every mosque to mark the direction of the ‘qibla’ (where the worshippers face towards while offering praye rs). The Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence and the first great basilica there. It was built in the place of the 9th century worship place of Santa Maria delleVigne. In 1221, after the site was assigned to the Dominican Order, a new church was built which was designed by Fra Ristoro da Campi and Fra SistoFiorentino. The church has the basic architectural elements of a church; the basilica, the stained glass windows and the Latin cross. The interior of the church is built based on the basilica plan as a Latin cross. It is separated into a nave and a short transept. The nave which is 100 meters in length is designed this way to give an impression of graveness. Stained glass windows are a common part of a church. They represent religious scenes or figures as well provide sufficient natural light in the church. Some people also associate this entering of light with Christ. The ones in Santa Maria church date back to the 14th and 15th century. The chapels of the church include F ilippoStrozzi, Gondi Chapel, Cappella Strozzi di Mantova, Della Pura, Rucellai Chapel, Bardi Chapel, Sacristy and the Spanish Chapel. Chapels are small rooms situated within a church. The Sistine Chapel is of great importance for the Christians as it is the home of the Pope in Vatican City. Known for its architectural designs and decoration done by the Renaissance artists such as Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo and Pinturicchio the chapel has been a place for functionary papal happenings and religious endeavors. It is also the venue where the new Pope is chosen. The Sistine Chapel is also famed for Papal Conclaves. When a conclave takes place, a chimney is fitted in the chapel’s roof for signaling with smoke. When white smoke is seen rising from the chimney, it is a sign that a new pope has been selected. The smoke results

Motivation Letter (as to why my university should choose me to be the Essay

Motivation Letter (as to why my university should choose me to be the graduate representative speaker at graduation) - Essay Example The lecturers are always ready to listen, and advice me when I seek their help and have mentored my leadership. University life has made me successful, and it would be an honor to express my regards in reciprocation. The special relationships that I had with the lecturers contributed greatly to my personal growth. They taught me crucial values, which I still practice to date. Consequent to their mentorship, I attained a personality that has made me achieve my dreams in life. My heart overflows with gratitude to them, because of influencing my life positively, and would appreciate an opportunity to appreciate them in kind through service delivery to the institution. Members of staff also played a great role in my life. They were always friendly to me, and took their time to help, whenever I sought their help. Their cooperation allowed me to have an easy time in campus, and I would like to demonstrate results of their efforts. Having been a social student, I always made use of available opportunities to interact with other students in the University. I participated in most of the school opportunities, which gave me a platform to meet and bond with other students. Following these interactions, I managed to build strong relationships with my fellow students, and this motivates me to represent them during the

Is The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum a feminist film If so,why Movie Review

Is The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum a feminist film If so,why - Movie Review Example A Nobel prize-winning writer, Bà ¶ll had composed an exposition scrutinizing the Bild-Zeitung (the generally circled every day tabloid that was the trade bovine in for spendable dough the yellow press realm of Axel Springer) for fanning mass craziness with its scope of the Baader-Meinhof group. The paper then marked Bà ¶ll a terrorist sympathizer, and he and his family were subjected to police provocation, hunts, and wiretaps. Bà ¶lls reaction was to compose The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (subtitled "How Violence Can Arise and What It Can Lead To"), about a young lady whose life is crushed when the police associate her with harboring a terrorist (Taubin, 2003). As Katharina is dragged into cross examination and mortified by the police, its unimaginable not to consider this in light of all around archived treatment of ladies in the wake of sex outrages and assault allegations. These points and appeals highly stress the film’s feminist orientation. The specialists tear separated her loft, address her thought processes and history, and make intimations about her. They dont such a great amount of ask as interest, such a great amount of test as demand. She is blameworthy not until demonstrated pure, but rather essentially liable. As an inseparable unit with the states power goes the press, sensationalizing, lying, and talk mongering. This is an immediate analogy for the way ladies are slut-shamed, disgraced in private and open, and as the film advances, it weaves into it layer upon layer (Black, 2015). Some of political movies rise above their historical minute. Yet viewing Volker Schlà ¶ndorff and Margarethe von Trottas The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum today leads to the powerful experience. There is little contrast between this portrayal of West Germany in 1975, when the nervousness about terrorism disintegrated essential majority rule values, and what we are afraid of is going to happen — might undoubtedly be now happening —

Poetry Essay Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poetry Questions - Essay Example d as something whose beauty is cherished from afar as long as the gap of distance made by the heights where the object of interest resides is not closed. So that this initial part of the poem proceeds with â€Å"Provided it do hopeless – hang -- / That – â€Å"Heaven† is – to Me!† The creation of â€Å"Heaven† – is what I cannot reach! May be recognized with unusual use of punctuations. Dickinson richly fills in her composition with dashes all throughout the poem, locating them where appropriate. This reflects a particular attitude with the manner the speaker ought to connect words so that they generate interjections somewhere and evoke how much ‘heaven’ means to her. She further engages in enumerating scenes that are evidently beyond her reach, stating with keen sentiment â€Å"The Color, on the Cruising Cloud -- / The interdicted Land --†. Heaven, for the joyful speaker, must be a sight of paradise as she continues to express â€Å"Behind the Hill – the House behind -- / There – Paradise – is found!† To this extent, a critical reader may be inclined to observe that the poet desires to render the main character to possess a playful imagination of hovering at a spot from the distant Hill where all she could possibly have at that moment is a treasure in mind or that ‘House’ at the other side of the ‘Hill’. Dickinson can be felt to draw an allusion whereby the idea of being brought to her setting of heaven depends on whether or not a huge barrier can be crossed since the ‘Hill’ in the second stanza occurs to divide the onlooker and the dream ‘House’. Apparently, Dickinson’s heaven is found within the realm of this planet and need not be that which is conventionally associated with the cosmic bodies or the spiritual world. As long as there exists a great distance to be covered, either by longitude or latitude, between a dreamer and the dream, then this situation gives birth to the notion of heaven. Besides this, nevertheless, the

Business Report - Country Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Report - Country Analysis - Essay Example However, the oversaturation in the market provides some obstacles and the option of joint venture and partnership appears to be the most profitable in expansion in the wine industry. France has been a major power in the European Union. Over the last 500 years, the country has flourished in various sectors like economy and culture. The political influence of the country also has been significant in the European Union. France has been one of the most developed countries and it is the world fifth largest economy as measured under the GDP and the ninth largest in terms of the purchasing power parity of the country. People in France enjoy high standard of living with good level of education throughout the country. The country has also a strong democratic foundation and the government is unitary semi presidential. In terms of economy France is the member of G8 group of nations. France is the origin country of the 39 biggest organizations in the world. The country has a mixed economy with a major number of the private enterprises and also a considerable number of state and government organizations. The government of the country has considerable influence over the key s egments of the economy which includes the infrastructure sector, agricultural sector and all the sectors operating in the country. According to the figures of World Trade Organization, in 2009 France became the world’s sixth largest exporter and the fourth largest importer of the manufacturing goods. The overall economic strength of the country can also be accounted from the fact that in 2008 France emerged out to become the largest receiver of foreign direct investment among the various OECD countries. French organizations also invested significantly towards the economy which further empowered the overall economic condition of the country. In matters of economy, the financial service, banks and the insurance sectors are an important

Economic Trends of Global Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Trends of Global Markets - Essay Example Lastly, major disruption in global energy supplies that â€Å"could be driven by conflict among key energy-producing states, sustained internal instability in two or more major energy-producing states, or major terrorist actions† (15). Why is the United States currently experiencing a major trade deficit? In March 2006, Robert Scott reported that the United States’ major trade deficit was caused by â€Å"rapid growth in the deficit on goods and services trade and large increase in unilateral transfers, which were temporarily reduced by payments from foreign insurers for losses caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the third quarter.† Two-thirds of the increase in U.S. deficit was largely attributed to the rapidly rising oil prices and imports according to Scott. In addition, he also cited the rapid growth of interest payments to foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities. Foreign holdings of these securities, whose interest rates are expected to rise as well, have increased by $ 108 billion in the last quarter of 2005 alone. Scott estimated that foreign borrowings made up for more than 80% of the federal debt increase. With the Asian governments’ bullish promotion of its export-led growth at the backdrop, Scott pointed that the 11% decline in the U.S. dollar’s value since the second quarter of 2002 was insufficient to slow the trade deficit’s growth. He added that â€Å"the dollar must fall by at least 30% to 40%† for the deficit to reach a sustainable level of less than 3% of the U.S. GDP. This would reduce export prices and achieve the needed increase in exports relative to imports. This scenario will likewise push up the prices of imports in the U.S. resulting to import reduction and a shift in demand favorable to U.S. products. Why are some observers optimistic about the long-term trade position of the United State

Employment relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employment relations - Essay Example agement style, a remnant of Theory X, merely treated employee relations this way, alongside seeing them as not valuable assets of the organization and not to be consulted for decision-making. The autocratic manager dictates orders to his staff and takes no recognition of consulting the employees on relevant decisions. Leaders in this kind of environment tend to control the situation. This kind of management style persisted for a very long time, until the democratic management style came in. At present, employee relations are more focused on ascertaining a productive people resource, a trend that was missing in the last decades. Employee relations are dealt with by resolving labor conflicts and informing the management about concerns that relate to employee welfare and long-term economic security. In a democratic workplace environment, human resource management gives more emphasis on employee development and their welfare, including pay and benefits, workplace condition, and job secur ity, supporting the growing knowledge that people resource is the most important of all resources. It may be inferred that in the past decades, employee relations was aligned to achieving economic production and was its ultimate goal, to the point that job security was always influenced by the rise and fall of the production market. This signifies a lack of prioritization of employee welfare, and placing them in second fiddle to economic production and profits. Rubinstein and Kochan (2001) state that the last two decades of the twentieth century was a time of tumultuous change and debate over what goal should corporations serve, and how the system of labor-management relations should be reformed. This is indicative of a growing concern for human resources, which may have been influenced by the emergence and reinforcement of several motivation theories. The past has also witnessed a corporate world in which shareholders and investors were reasserting control over corporations in order

Communications Plan Essay Example for Free

Communications Plan Essay The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and TSA awarded a $37m grant for expansion projects at Denver International Airport. These funds are being used for the master plan projects. Approximately $11.6m will go towards rehabilitating runway 8/26, and over $1.7m will be used to improve the taxiway system surrounding Jeppesen Terminal. About $8.7m will be used to upgrade runway 16L/34R. About $15m from the TSA grant will be spent on improving the airports baggage screening system. Stakeholder Analysis To examine the role of the airport stakeholders a precise definition of stakeholders and their goals for the airport is necessary. The purpose of this section is to identify the airport’s goals from the point of view of each stakeholder group. 1) Passengers For passengers, the airport provides a transition point between the ground and air transportation modes, or a connection point between two flights. Different sub-types of passengers have been identified (Neufville Odoni 2003): 1) Arriving passengers 2) Originating passengers 3) Transfer passengers 4) International and domestic passengers 5) Charter and low-fare airline passengers 6) Shuttle/commuter passengers These passenger types are not mutually exclusive; rather, an individual passenger may be a member of more than one subtype of passenger categories. Arriving and originating passengers are commonly referred to as origin and destination (OD) passengers. Independent of the passenger classifications according to the above attributes, the passengers may be viewed in two different capacities in the context of this analysis. First, passengers can be viewed as participants in the economic system, either as business travelers or as tourist/leisure travelers, purchasing services from airport service providers and interacting in different ways with local businesses and the local community. Second, passengers can be viewed as individual travelers that have expectations about receiving quality services, and passing through the airport system in a convenient manner. These two perspectives have different implications on the goals for the airports and will be treated separately in the following subs ections. a) Passengers as Economic Participants Passengers may participate in the economic system in one of several ways: 1) As origin leisure/personal travelers: These are passengers from the local community that use the airport as their departure point for leisure or other personal travel. 2) As origin business travelers: These are travelers representing local businesses, using the airport as their departure point. 3) As destination leisure/personal travelers: These are visitors to the region, for tourism or other personal purposes. 4) As destination business travelers: These are business travelers coming to visit local businesses. If the airport’s traffic is heavily geared toward OD traffic, then demand at the airport is more heavily dictated by the local economy. In contrast, significant connecting (transfer) passenger levels are less sensitive to the performance of the local economy, but those traffic volumes may represent vulnerability for the airport since they are to a greater degree dictated by a carrier’s viability and route decisions. Passengers contribute toward the financing of airport capital improvement projects through Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) of up to $4.50 per passenger. PFCs are paid directly by passengers through airline tickets and proceeds must be used for capital improvements at the airport that collected them (Wells Young 2003). The goals for passengers as economic participants relates to the cost of travel: Providing access to low airfares is a key objective for the airport in the view of air passengers. b) Passenger as Travelers When considering the passengers as travelers as a stakeholder group, the focus is on the passenger as an individual. The goal of the airport from the individual passenger viewpoint is, moving passengers quickly and conveniently to where they need to go. This view considers the airport as a transit point from one mode of transportation to another, or as a connection point between two different flights. Ensuring on-time performance was raised as the most important aspect to achieving this objective. 2) Business, Commerce, Tourism, Arts, Sports, and Education Organizations The organizations that in various ways are customers of the airport have been summarized as â€Å"business, commerce, tourism, arts, sports, and education organizations†. Some organizations are direct users of the airport by importing or exporting services (i.e. business travelers) and goods (raw materials or finished goods). Other organizations are indirect customers of the airport as a result of their custome rs (e.g. tourists) traveling through the airport. The term â€Å"organizations† is used to encompass both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Organizations Organizations whose clients arrive through the airport Organizations that are direct users of the airport Importers of services and goods Exporters of services and goods The airport serves as an engine of business activity for the organizations in the region. The airport drives and supports economic activity in several different ways, including both through business activities directly at the airport and through business activities throughout the regional economy (Button Stough 2000). Underlying goals for maximizing this economic activity include maximizing passenger volumes and traffic at the airport as well as maximizing the number of destinations served and the frequency of those services (Matt Erskine, Greater Washington Board of Trade 2009). As a result of the different types of use of the airport described in the previous paragraph, the priority of one goal over another varies between organizations. 3) Air Carriers Air carriers provide the air transportation service from the airports. Air carriers include both passenger and cargo carriers and are classified into three subcategories (Environmental Protection Agency 2000): 1) Large certified carriers: These carriers have a certificate to carry 61 passengers or more, payload equal to or greater than 18,000 pounds, or conduct international operations. 2) Small certified carriers: These carriers fly aircraft that carry less than 61 passengers, carry less than 18,000 pounds, and do not conduct international operations. 3) Commuter carriers: These are air taxis with a published schedule of at least five weekly round trips between at least two airports. Air carriers select airports based on the passenger demand for service to/from the airports (i.e. revenue generation potential) and based on the cost of operating at the airport. The airlines have the objective of achieving high yields, (Doganis 2002). Airports serve the role of providing access to high yield markets. Attractive airports ensure low cost of air carrier operations at the airport. This includes both minimizing direct fees charged to air carriers through the maximization of non-aeronautical revenues (Dallas Dawson, Tampa International Airport 2009) and minimizing costs incurred by air carriers through delay on the ground (Peter Stettler, Ricondo and Associates 2009). An airport may serve either as a hub for a carrier, with a high portion of that carrier’s flights operating to/from the airport, or as a non-hub airport with a lower portion of flights for a given carrier (Belobaba et al. 2009). In either situation, the airport should act as an efficient hub/connection point, contributing to ensuring air carriers’ on time performance (Pat Oldfield, United Airlines 2009). In addition, it is the expectation of air carriers that airports ensure safety of operations on the airport surface (Kurt Krummenacker, Mood ys 2009). 4) General Aviation Users General aviation encompasses many types of aviation outside the air carrier definition, including (Wells Young 2003). 1) Air taxi operators (except those air taxi operators listed in section IV.A.3) 2) Corporate-executive transportation 3) Flight instruction 4) Aircraft rental 5) Aerial application 6) Aerial observation 7) Business 8) Pleasure Several of the goals listed for air carriers also apply to general aviation in terms of on-time performance, low costs, and safety. However, a representative of a business aviation organization defined the primary goal of airports as serving as access point to the national air transportation system by providing good availability and high capabilities in terms of instrumentation and services (Jeff Gilley, National Business Aviation Association 2009). 5) Airport Organization The airport organizational structure varies (Neufville Odoni 2003) and can be comprised of an individual airport such as Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW) (DFW Airport 2009) or as a group of airports managed by the same organization, such as the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) (Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority 2009). The airport organization is overseen by a board appointed by local governments. In larger airports or systems of airports, a common feature is that the organization includes a separation of operating units which carry out on-going management of airport operations, and they are separate from staff units which have responsibility for (among several other areas) infrastructure development (Neufville Odoni 2003). The airport itself pays for some capital infrastructure projects. Airport operating revenues come from sources such as landing fees, terminal leases and proceeds from concessions sales. This revenue is used to pay for the airport’s operating expense, but any surplus can be used to contribute toward capital improvements. A set of goals for the airport organization can be derived from studying airports’ strategic plans and objectives and from interviewing airport management experts. The primary objective (sometimes referred to as the â€Å"mission†) of the airport is to provide access to high quality air services to its region. Other goals, such as ensuring strong financial performance and high operational efficiency, are considered as â€Å"means to an end† in that they enable the airport to achieve this overarching goal (DFW Airport 2008; Hillsborough County Aviation Authority 2006). A summary view of the airport’s goals is presented using the structure of Denver International Airport’s strategic plan (Denv er International Airport 2009): 1) Excel in airport management: This goal includes: a) Achieve high security and safety (City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007; Denver International Airport 2009; Hillsborough County Aviation Authority 2006) b) Grow revenue and manage costs (City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007; Denver International Airport 2009; DFW Airport 2008; Hillsborough County Aviation Authority 2006) c) Drive economic growth (Denver International Airport 2009) d) Grow passenger numbers (City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007; Denver International Airport 2009) e) Provide access to a high number of destinations and a high frequency of service (Denver International Airport 2009). This goal relates immediately to the primary objective of the airport described above. Airport management must also achieve a balance where sufficient infrastructure capacity exists for handling traffic while capacity is at the same time not over-built (Paul McKnight, Jacobs Consultancy 2009; Frank Berardino, GRA Inc 2009). Additionally, a key objective for airports is to maximize non-aeronautical revenues since that provides diversified revenues and allows for keeping usage charges to air carriers low, thereby potentially attracting more traffic (Chellie Cameron, MWAA 2009; Peter Stettler, Ricondo and Associates 2009; Seth Lehman and Emma Walker, Fitch Ratings 2009). 2) Provide high levels of customer service: This goal includes ensuring a good experience for both passengers and other customers (City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007; Denver International Airport 2009; DFW Airport 2008; Hillsborough County Aviation Authority 2006). 3) Develop environmentally sustainable practices and minimize noise: This goal includes minimizing emissions, energy consumption, etc., within the airport (Denver International Airport 2009; City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007). Some airports, such as Sea-Tac, are also beginning to expand their focus by considering greenhouse gas emissions not only from the airport-controlled operations but also from airlines and other tenants as well as the public (Port of Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport 2007). Related to this is the goal of minimizing airport-related noise (Neufville Odonin2003). 4) Develop high-performing employee teams: This goal relates to developing effective and skilled employees (City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007; Denver International Airport 2009) and maximizing employee engagement (DFW Airport 2008). 5) Enhance competitive advantage: This goal includes providing competitive user rates and protecting the airport’s physical infrastructure (Denver International Airport 2009; City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control 2007). Some of these goals may be in competition with each other. For instance, the goal of maximizing non-aeronautical revenue can conflict with the goal of developing environmentally sustainability and providing a good experience for passengers: The latter two goals would be aided by promoting and developing access to public transportation access modes to the airport such as bus or rail. However, the goal of maximizing non-aeronautical revenue is better served by maximizing revenue-generation in the form of parking revenue from private vehicles. In such instances, airport management must balance the competing priorities in order to accomplish the goals of the airport. 6) Investors and Bond-Holders The majority of airport debt is of the general airport revenue bond (GARB) type. GARB means that the bond is backed by revenues generated from airport operations and not backed by any government funding source. The credit ratings agencies Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings participate in this system by assigning grades of investment quality to the airports’ bonds. The ratings agencies’ ratings affect the interest rates and terms of the bonds (Wells Young 2003). A large number of factors impact the bond ratings, including: 1) Historical and projected population growth 2) Historical and projected employment expansion and mix 3) Passenger growth 4) Airport utilization trends 5) Portion of origin and destination (OD) traffic 6) The importance of the facility to the overall US system of airports 7) Whether the airport is in a favorable geographic location (e.g. is it a natural hub location?) 8) Airfield capacity and attractiveness of facilities 9) Debt burden and carrying costs 10) Financial strength of carriers with a lot of connecting traffic, and their level of commitment to the airport 11) The role of the airport in the dominant carrier’s network 12) The level of legal flexibility for the airport to change the rates it charges air carriers 7) Concessionaires Airport concessionaires operate passenger services in terminal buildings and may include food and beverage services, retail services, and hotels. Concessions operators pay the airport organization a fixed annual fee and/or a percentage of gross revenues (Wells Young 2003). Considering the concessions operators’ objective of maximizing profits, the goals of the airport for these operators are deduced to be maximizing passenger volumes and minimizing the fees paid to the airport organization. 8) Service Providers The service providers are private operators that offer services to air carriers and general aviation users. Independent operators may supply these services (e.g. fixed-base operators, FBOs), but some of the services may also be provided by the airport operator, the airline itself, or by another airline. Services provided include (Neufville Odoni 2003): 1) Supply of aviation fuel and oil 2) Baggage handling and sorting 3) Loading and unloading of aircraft 4) Interior cleaning of aircraft 5) Toilet and water service 6) Passenger transport to/from remote stands 7) Catering transport 8) Routine inspection and maintenance of aircraft at the stands 9) Aircraft starting, marshalling, and parking 10) Aircraft de-icing 11) Passenger handling (e.g. ticketing and check-in) 12) Cargo and mail handling 13) Information services 14) Preparation of handling and load-control documents 15) Supervisory or administrative duties Similar to concessionaires, independent service providers pay a fee to the airport organization which is typically a percentage of gross revenues (Neufville Odoni 2003). In a parallel to concessionaires, service provider goals for the airport would include maximizing traffic volumes and minimizing the fees paid to the airport organization. 9) Employees The employee category includes both direct employees of the airports organization as well as employees of companies operating at the airport, such as concessions operators. Some employees are organized into unions, such as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU USW West 2009) and Unite Here (Unite Here 2009). The objective of the airport from the perspective of those unions is to provide secure jobs, wages, and benefits (Unite Here 2009). 10) Federal Government The federal government participates in the airport system in three different roles: As a bill-payer, as an operator, and as a regulator. Each of these roles will be addressed in this section. In terms of the government’s role as a bill payer for the system, the Airports Improvement Program (AIP) is administered by the FAA and its funding comes from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which in turn is funded by user fees and fuel taxes. AIP funds can be applied toward projects that support aircraft operations including runways, taxiways, aprons, noise abatement, land purchase, and safety, emergency or snow removal equipment. In order to be eligible for AIP funding, airports must be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), which imposes requirements on the airport for legal and financial compliance (Wells Young 2003). The NPIAS has two goals: To ensure that airports are able to accommodate the growth in travel and to keep airports up to standards for the aircraft that use them (FAA 2008). The government’s role as airport operators includes three different agencies: 1) FAA: The FAA is the operator of ramp, ground, local, and departure/arrival air traffic control services (United States Code of Federal Regulations 2010). 2) Transportation Security Administration (TSA): The TSA provides passenger and baggage security screening services. The TSA states that it is the goal for its baggage screening operations to screen for explosives and other dangerous items while maximizing efficiency (Transportation Security Administration 2009). This can be translated to state that it is the goal for the airport to ensure secure transportation of people and goods while minimizing the impact of security measures on legitimate travelers and goods. 3) Customs and Border Protection (CBP): The CBP is responsible for operating passport control and customs inspections at international airports. The CBP states that it is its mission to protect â€Å"our nation’s borders from terrorism, human and drug smuggling, illegal migration, and agricultural pests while simultaneously facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade† (Customs and Border Protection 2009). Just as for the TSA, this can be translated to state that it is the goal for the airport to ensure secure transportation of people and goods while minimizing the impact of security measures on legitimate travelers and goods. Lastly, the federal government is a regulator of the airports system. Airports that are included in the NPIAS are subject to a number of federal regulations that are enforced by the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration. The regulations apply to both the airport infrastructure as well as to service providers within the airport systems. The purpose of these rules is to ensure the safe and efficient operations of public-use airports (Wells Young 2003). 11) Local Government US airports are with few exceptions not private, profitmaking enterprises. Instead, airports are typically owned and operated by public entities such as cities, counties, or local airport authorities (Neufville Odoni 2003). For instance, Washington’s Dulles and National airports are owned and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airport’s Authority (MWAA). The MWAA is officially a body independent of the local government but its board is appointed by the Governor of Virginia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Governor of Maryland and the President of the United States). Similarly, Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, Stewart International, and Teterboro airports in metropolitan New York City are owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 2009). Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is jointly owned by the City of Dallas and the City of Forth Worth (DFW Airport 2009). The government owners in the form of city and local governments are represented by an airport board which is responsible for the strategic direction of the airport and for appointing airport management (Wells Young 2003). The local government is supported in an advisory role by federally funded Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) who are charged with assisting in planning for aviation and other transportation infrastructure for the local region (Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations 2010). State and local government also contribute as bill-payers for capital improvement projects (Airports Council International North America 2009). The objectives of the airport from the point of view of the local government is representative of those of the local community it represents and involves both maximizing its positive effects while minimizing its negative effects. One form of positive impact of the airport is in the shape of economic effects. There is significant literature on the economic impact of airports. However, many studies are sponsored by the airports authorities themselves, making them more political than analytical. Although there may be no definitive measure of the economic impact of airports, a structure for the types of impacts of airports to their regional communities has proposed (Button Stough 2000): 1) Short-term impact from construction, expansion, and renovation of airports 2) Sustained impact in the form of jobs at the airport (direct impact) and off-airport jobs that result from the â€Å"multiplier effect† of the income generated by employees at the airport 3) Stimulus of the local economy as a result of firms and individuals having air transportation services at their disposal 4) Spurring other economic development by crossing thresholds for economies of scale, scope, and density. The authors note that this last form of impact is very difficult to quantify. COMMUNICATION PLAN Communication Objectives The objective of this strategic communications plan is to serve as a road map for how communications will be done between members of the project team as well as the stakeholders.. This plan comprises objectives, strategies and tactics for how team correspondence will be performed between each facet of the project team.. Works Cited Kurt Krummenacker, Moodys, 2009. Interview of Kurt Krummenacker, Moodys, by David Schaar, George Mason University. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, 2009. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Facts. Available at: http://www.mwaa.com/about_the_authority/facts [Accessed October 15, 2012]. Neufville, R.D. Odoni, A.R., 2003. Airport systems, McGraw-Hill Professional. Port of Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport, 2007. Port of Seattle,Seattle-Tacoma International Airport,Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory 2006, Sarkis, J., 2000. An analysis of the operational efficiency of major airports in the United States. Journal of Operations Management, 18(3), 335-351. Sarkis, J. Talluri, S., 2004. Performance based clustering for benchmarking of US airports. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 38(5), 329-346. Schap, D., 1986. Municipal ownership in the electric utility industry, Praeger. SEIU USW West, 2009. SEIU USW West About Us. Available at: http://www.seiu-usww.org/about/Default.aspx [Accessed October 16, 2012]. Smith, D.M., 1979. Where the grass is greener, Taylor Francis. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 2009. Overview of Facilities and Services About the Port Authority. Available at: http://www.panynj.gov/about/facilities-services.html [Accessed October 18, 2012]. Transportation Security Administration, 2009. Transportation Security Administration What We Do. Available at: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/index.shtm [Accessed October 16, 2012]. Unite Here, 2009. Unite Here. Available at: http://www.unitehere.org/about/airports.php [Accessed October 16, 2012]. United States Code of Federal Regulations, 2010. Title 14,Part 91. Available at: [Accessed February 5, 2010]. Upham, P.J., 2003. Towards sustainable aviation,Earthscan. US-Citizens Aviation Watch, 2009. US-Citizens AviationWatch. Available at: http://www.us-caw.org/ [Accessed October 16, 2012]. Wells, A.T. Young, S.B., 2003. Airport planning management, McGraw-Hill Professional. White, E.T., 1976. Utilities, Dept. of Defense, National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Wolfe, H.P. NewMyer, D.A., 1985. Aviation industry regulation, SIU Press.

The CISG and the CESL

The CISG and the CESL In the 21st century, international contracts and cross-border sales are regularly used by people all around the world. Most goods we buy in our daily life are connected to at least one international contract in one way or another. A great part of the international economy and most businesses in Europe rely on international trades and cross-border transactions. But almost all international contracts share the same question: which legislation guides the contract? Is it the domestic law of the seller or the domestic law of the buyer? The answer to this question might have a big influence on, for example, the distribution of risks in the contract or the amount of damages paid in the case of a breach of contract. It is, therefore, essential for every cross-border trade transaction to know in advance which legislation will guide the contract. This is the point where the CISG and the CESL come into play. Both, the CISG and the CESL, try to provide the buyer and the seller with a reliable and unified legislation. Between all sellers and buyers located in a country that accepted the CISG the legislation for any given trade is determined by the convention. The CESL seeks to accomplish the same goal between all European countries. A reliable legislation is especially important in business to business transactions (B2B transactions). Businesses are usually involved in a great number of sales contracts with different business partners in different countries at the same time. The work required to evaluate risks and calculate appropriately would be just too costly. The only solution is a unified international sales law. However, the question arises why there is the need for a second cross-border sales legislation next to the CISG. The statement was given by the ICC on the European Commission proposal for a regulation on a Common European Sales Law also raises the same question. To answer this question, this assignment will compare the CISG and the CESL to one another. Therefore, this essay will have a look at the regulations provided by the CISG and CELS with a focus on the provisions related to e-commerce as well as on the backgrounds of both regimes. Firstly, the essay will introduce the two regimes and give some general information about them. Secondly, the essay will identify all major differences between the two legislations and analyse the CELS suitability to fill gaps in the CISG. The essay will also take a closer look at rules and regulations implemented by the CESL. Lastly, the essay will put the findings in relations to the needs of businesses and B2B transactions and thereby analyse whe ther the CESL is just an optional instrument or an improvement to the CISG. The essay will end by giving a conclusion. A. CISG The CISG was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and was signed in Vienna in 1980. The CISG came into force on 1 January 1988, after being ratified by 11 countries.[1] Currently, 78 states have signed the Convention[2] and the combined trade power of those 78 countries sums to about 80% of international trade. The only major country yet to sign the CISG is Great Britain. The CISG is described in the convention as follows: The CISG governs contracts for the international sales of goods between private businesses, excluding sales to consumers and sales of services, as well as sales of certain specified types of goods. It applies to contracts for the sale of goods between parties whose places of business are in different Contracting States, or when the rules of private international law lead to the application of the legislation of a Contracting State. It may also apply by virtue of the parties choice. Certain matters relating to the international sales of goods, for instance, the validity of the contract and the effect of the contract on the property in the goods sold, fall outside the Conventions scope. The second part of the CISG deals with the formation of the contract, which is concluded by the exchange of offer and acceptance. The third part of the CISG deals with the obligations of the parties to the contract. Obligations of the sellers include delivering goods in conformity with the quantity and quality stipulated in the contract, as well as related documents, and transferring the property in the goods. Obligations of the buyer include payment of the price and taking delivery of the goods. In addition, this part provides common rules regarding remedies for breach of the contract. The aggrieved party may require performance, claim damages or avoid the contract in case of a fundamental breach. Additional rules regulate passing of risk, anticipatory breach of contract, damages, and exemption from performance of the contract. Finally, while the CISG allows for freedom of form of the contract, States may lodge a declaration requiring the written form.[3] B. CESL The CESL was drafted by the European Commission in 2011. The CESL is based on the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR)[4]. The CESL looks to unify trade law in the European Union by providing an additional legislation to the CISG. In contrast to the CISG is does not apply to contracts automatically but chose the so-called opt-in solution. The CESL only comes into effect if both parties agree on using it as the guiding legislation. The draft of the CESL has been revealed to the public, but the convention is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament. The first part of the CESL deals with the general principles and applications of the convention. The second part of the CESL deals with the definition of a legally binding contract, duties of the seller and the buyer while forming a contract, the conclusion of the contract, and the right to withdraw the contract. The third part of the CESL deals with the interpretation of a contract and the identification of unfair content. The fourth part of the CESL deals with the obligations and remedies of the performing parties in a sales contract such as delivery of the goods and payment of the agreed price. The fourth part also covers the distribution of risks in the contract. The fifth part of the CESL deals with the obligations and remedies under a service contract. The sixth part of the CELS deals with damages and interest. A. Objectives and scope of application of the CISG and the CESL The first point to discuss, are the objectives of the CISG and the CESL. Why were they implemented, what is their purpose, what is the goal they want to archive, and what contracts do they cover? 1. The CISG The objective of the CISG is to unify the substantive law of professional international sales of goods. The CISG, however, principally excludes consumer sales unless the consumer is not recognized as a consumer by the other party or where the consumer sells to a professional buyer.[5] Other than that, the CISG covers all forms of professional sales. The reason the CISG was drafted was the insight that different sales laws of different states hinder international trade. To remove those differences and to thereby simplify international trade. Since most merchants do not really care about the law applicable to their specific contract, the CISG only replaces the otherwise applicable national law as far as the CISG reaches.[6] The CISG applies automatically to all trade contracts matching the requirements of the CISG. 2. The CESL The purpose of the Regulation is to improve the conditions for the establishment and the functioning of the internal market by making available a uniform set of contract law rules.[7] The objectives of the CISG and the CESL are therefore essentially the same. Both conventions look to remove the national law from international trade, as the differences between laws represent a hindrance to cross-border trade transactions and should, therefore, be removed. However, the CESL, as its name already indicates (Common European Sales Law), only seeks to archive this aim within the European Union. The CESL does not apply automatically to all trade contracts within the European Union. It is intended to be an additional instrument parties of a sales contract can choose, in order to avoid differences between domestic sales laws. The authors of the CISG want a choice in favor of the CESL to be understood as a conclusive deselection of the rules of the CISG.[8] Additionally, the CESL is intended to apply mainly to consumer contracts and to small businesses. The CESL only covers contracts between consumers and professional sellers and contracts between professional traders if one of them is a small or medium sized business.[9] The CESL aims to protect the naturally disadvantaged party in an international sales contract. However, even though the CELS expressively excludes contracts between large businesses, the proposal includes the option to make the CESL available in large scale international sales contracts between large companies, if the member states chose to do so.[10] 3. Comparison The scope of application and the objectives of the CISG and the CESL only match to a very limited extent. Where the CISG aims to act as a tool to facilitate international trade on a global level between companies, the aim of the CESL is to protect consumers and small businesses primarily in the European Union. However, the scope of application of the CISG and the CESL overlap on small and medium sized businesses. In contracts between small and medium sized businesses the CESL therefore truly represents an optional instrument, as the statement of the ICC on the proposal states (Unless the member states decide to open the CESL to large businesses). This fact is, however, surprising, since the CESL ´s primary goal is consumer protection, whereas the CISG ´s aims to facilitate international trade between businesses. Another important aspect to notice are the different solutions on how the conventions are implemented into trade law. While the CESL is intended to be an alternative solution to existing domestic trade laws the involved parties can choose as an alternative, the CISG aims to replace the different national sales laws by default. B. Opt-in and Opt-out As mentioned before, the CISG and the CESL require different circumstances under which they apply. The CISG, on the one hand, applies automatically the moment its conditions of applications are met. However, this is only true in case the parties of the contract did not choose to opt-out, meaning the parties did not explicitly agree on excluding the CISG.[11] The CESL, on the other hand, chose a so-called opt-in solution. Only if the parties explicitly agreed on the application of the convention, is the contract guided by the CESL.[12] It is, however, doubtful whether the opt-in solution selected in the CESL provides an incentive big enough for businesses to opt into the convention. Since the CESL includes a high level of consumer protection, it seems unlikely that small businesses have any interest in the application of the CESL in their contract.[13] Consumer protection is usually not necessary in B2B contracts and sometimes even aggravates trade. It is therefore highly unlikely tha t businesses to whom the CESL applies choose the CESL over the CISG. C. Partial exclusion Article 6 of the CISG states that parties can exclude each part of the CISG or the convention as a whole from their contract.[14] The only exceptions to this are: (1) form requirements established by the member states according to Article 12 CISG[15], (2) the unwritten exceptions in the final provisions[16], and (3) the principle of good faith in international trade.[17] The CESL, on the other hand, can only be adopted as a whole, since its rules and regulations are mandatory.[18] This principle is revisited in recital 24 of the proposal for a Common European Sales Law as it states: In order to avoid a selective application of certain elements of the Common European Sales Law, which could disturb the balance between the rights and obligations of the parties and adversely affect the level of consumer protection, the choice should cover the Common European Sales Law as a whole and not only certain parts of it.[19] Contrary to the idea of an all or nothing solution in the CESL, recital 30 of the CISG reads as follows: Freedom of contract should be the guiding principle underlying the Common European Sales Law. Party autonomy should be restricted only where and to the extent that this is indispensable, in particular for reasons of consumer protection. Where such a necessity exists, the mandatory nature of the rules in question should be clearly indicated ;[20] indicating that only parts of the CESL are mandatory and can therefore not be excluded in case the convention is chosen as the guiding law. The compatibility of those contrary statements in the CESL is up for discussion and will probably only be resolved in case the CESL is issued. For B2B transactions it is essential to have the flexibility granted by the possibility of a partial exclusion of certain rules. Businesses will most likely only consider the CESL as an alternative to the CISG if it does not limit them in their freedom of contract. D. Conflict of laws The CISG and the CESL both are international conventions on sales law. They naturally compete with the international law established by the contractual states. Therefore, an important aspect of the CISG and the CESL is their relation with international private law. The regulation in the CISG is very straightforward: as far as the CISG reaches does it supersede private international law.[21] The supersession does not limit the parties in the exclusion of parts of the CISG and thereby also limiting its supersession. The CESL takes basically the same approach. The relationship between the CESL and the private international law is covered in recital 27 and Article 11 CESL. Article 11 states: Where the parties have validly agreed to use the Common European Sales Law for a contract, only the Common European Sales Law shall govern the matters addressed in its rules. Provided that the contract was actually concluded, the Common European Sales Law shall also govern the compliance with and remedies for failure to comply with the pre-contractual information duties.[22] Additionally, in recital 27 the CESL states: All the matters of a contractual or non-contractual nature that are not addressed in the Common European Sales Law are governed by the pre-existing rules of the national law outside the Common European Sales Law à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[23]. The CISG and the CESL do not replace private international law as a whole. Both conventions only provide a uniformed international trade law inside their scope of application.[24] E. Comparison of specific regulations in the CISG and the CESL 1. Contractual conformity of goods The most important part of any law concerning the sale of goods are the rules regarding the contractual conformity of the goods. In the CISG this topic is covered in Article 35 and mainly focuses on the agreements of the parties made concrete in the contract.[25] Whether a good is delivered in the condition and quantity necessary to avoid liability does first and foremost depend on the way the parties described the good in the contract. Only if such an agreement was not included in the contract is the contractual conformity determined by assumptions made in the CISG.[26] The CESL takes a different approach. Whether a good delivered is in conformity with the contract depends on two different aspects: The goods must match the agreement of the parties in the contract, but at the same time the good must be compliant with certain requirements laid down in the Articles 99 and 100 of the CESL.[27] This, so called, objective and subjective approach may be the standard in most modern consumer protection laws[28]. It most certainly does not comply with the needs and concerns of modern B2B international transactions. In trades between businesses goods can serve the intended purpose even in cases I which they are (not) fit for purpose for which goods à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ of the same description would ordinarily be used.[29] A case like this would lead to the preposterous situation, where the seller is liable for damages even though a good serving the purpose was delivered. This again demonstrates one of the main issues of the CESL regarding the usage in B2B transacti on. Unifying consumer protection and the interests of businesses in one convention never serves both interests equally well. Both, the CISG and the CESL, regulate the requirement of notification of lack of conformity and the examination of the goods in sales contracts between traders.[30] 2. Formation of contract The formation of a contract is an essential part of a trade law convention. It is therefore not surprising that the CESL is very similar to the CISG in many aspects and even copied some parts. a) Open price A difference is that Article 31 (1) (b) CESL requires only sufficient content and certainty for there to be a contract, while according to Article 14 (1) sent. 2 CISG an offer is sufficiently definite if ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦expressly or implicitly fixes or makes provision for determining the quantity and the price. There is no doubt that under the CESL an offer with an open price can be a valid offer.[31] Under the CISG this question was disputed. But since the parties can derogate from Article 14 CISG they can validly conclude a contract even if the offer leaves the price open. Then, according to Article 55 CISG, the market-price fills the gap.[32] Thus, despite differences in formulation both regulations here accord in substance.[33] b) Incorporation of standard contract terms Standard contract terms are without a doubt an important part of international sale contracts. However, the standard contract terms are not regulated in the CISG. In the past 25 years courts and scientists developed basic rules in regard to standard contract terms considering the fundamental principles of the CISG.[34] The CESL does include rules regarding standard contract terms.[35] The CESL copied the solution the German supreme court established.[36] Article 70 of the CESL states: Contract terms supplied by one party and not individually negotiated within the meaning of Article 7 may be invoked against the other party only if the other party was aware of them, or if the party supplying them took reasonable steps to draw the other partys attention to them, before or when the contract was concluded.[37] The CESL does however not include regulations regarding the meaning of reasonable steps in a B2B relation. Neither does the CESL include rules about the language in standard contract terms between businesses, since Article 82 CESL does only apply to B2C contracts. A further uncertainty in the CESL is Article 86: In a contract between traders, a contract term is unfair for the purposes of this Section only if: (a) it forms part of not individually negotiated terms within the meaning of Article 7; and (b) it is of such a nature that its use grossly deviates from good commercial practice, contrary to good faith and fair dealing.[38] The terms good commercial practice, good faith and fair dealing are not defined in the CESL. Providing a well-established meaning towards those terms would take years of court ruling and scientific research. The implementation of rules regarding standard contract terms in the CESL is a step in the right direction. The usage of standard contract terms is common throughout international sales. Easy and well-established rules are essential for a healthy trade environment and the acceptance of the rules. There are however too many weaknesses and uncertainties in the rules of the CESL to identify them as an improvement compared to the practice established in the CISG. Especially in B2B transactions, there are too many undefined words and phrases to make it a reliable set of rules for businesses to use. c) Defects of consent As indicated above, the Vienna Sales Convention contains rules on the formation of international commercial sales contracts. However, Article 4 CISG expressly provides that the Convention is not concerned with the validity of the contract or with the effect which the contract may have on the property in the goods sold. These matters have therefore been left to the applicable national law to regulate. However, Article 4 CISG adds that this is different in so far as is otherwise expressly provided in this Convention. The question of whether a topic has or has not been included explicitly or impliedly within the scope of CISG is, however, difficult to answer in practice and has been the subject of much litigation the prevailing view is that this must be assessed on the basis of CISG itself, and it is assumed that a topic that is not expressly regulated in CISG may nevertheless be governed by the Convention on the basis of the general principles of the Convention.[39] Defects of consent concern the validity of the contract and will therefore not be governed by CISG, unless specified otherwise. Is this indeed the case? It is generally assumed that in so far as a mistake or misrepresentation relates to the characteristics of the goods, to the creditworthiness of the buyer or the extent to which the buyer is capable of performing his obligations under the contract, these matters fall within the scope of the provisions on the conformity of the goods (Articles 35 ff CISG) and the provision regarding anticipatory breach (Article 71 CISG), which implies that resorting to the applicable national law on these matters is not necessary. [40] In that case, the uniformity that CISG is to bring about obstructs the application of a national approach towards mistake or misrepresentation in cases which concern conformity.[41] This implies that in most cases where a buyer could rely on a remedy based on mistake or misrepresentation in relation to the sale of goods under national co ntract law, he cannot rely on that remedy if CISG applies to the contract although CISG does not explicitly deal with these issues, they impliedly fall within the scope of CISG. Cases where the buyer concluded the contract under the influence of fraud or deceit is thought not to be governed by CISG,[42] even though in these cases also there is often a close connection with conformity issues. Therefore, national rules on fraud apply where a mistake has been deliberately caused by the seller so that in such cases the contract may be void or avoided. Similarly, CISG does not deal with issues such as threat, abuse of circumstances, which means that the buyer may rely on the remedies available under the applicable national contract law for these defects of consent, even where CISG applies.[43] The Common European Sales Law contains a comprehensive set of provisions on a fundamental mistake, fraud, threat and unfair exploitation (Articles 48-51 CESL). In the subsequent articles, the exercising of the power to avoid or confirm the contract and the consequences thereof are regulated (Articles 52-55 CESL). These provisions by and large overlap with national approache s in these areas, even if the requirements under CESL to invoke a remedy for, for instance, unfair exploitation may be stricter than national doctrines on abuse of circumstances. This entails that in so far as CESL applies to the contract, defects of consent are exclusively dealt with under the umbrella of CESL, and no recourse is needed or possible to the national contract law on this subject. This means that the parties to the contract will not be taken by surprise by the availability of a remedy for a defect of consent or the absence of such a remedy under the national contract law on this subject. In this respect, opting for CESL rather than CISG is certainly more attractive for both parties, as the former lays down a more comprehensive legal regime [1] http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/sale_goods/1980CISG.htm; The signing Nations were Argentina, China, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, Lesotho, Syria, the United States, Yugoslavia, and Zambia. [2] http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/sale_goods/1980CISG.htm for a complete list of all member states. [3] http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/sale_goods/1980CISG.html [4] Von Bar: Priciples, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law, Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) [5] Art. 2 lit a CISG. [6] U Magnus, CISG and CESL, p. 226. [7] Art. 1 Proposal; see also Explanatory Memorandum to the CESL, COM (2011) 635 final, p. 4. [8] Recital 25, Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [9] Art. 7, Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [10] Art. 13 lit. b, Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [11] Art. 6 CISG. [12] Art. 3 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [13] U Magnus, CISG and CESL, p. 229. [14] Art. 6 CISG. [15] Art. 12 CISG [16] Art. 89-101 CISG, with the re-exception of Art. 100 CISG. [17] Art. 7 (1) CISG [18] Art. 8 (3) Proposal for a Common European Sales Law, this is at least true for B2C transactions. [19] Recital 24 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [20] Recital 30 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [21] U Magnus, CISG and CESL, p. 238. [22] Art. 11 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [23] Recital 27 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [24] Grundmann S, Common Market Law Review, Session 50 (2013), pp 237-240. [25] Art. 35 (1) CISG [26] Art. 35 (2) CISG [27] Art. 99,100 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [28] Feltkamp/Vanbossele, European Review of Private Law, Volume 19 (2011), p. 886. [29] Art. 100 (b) Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [30] Art. 38, 39, 43 CISG; Art. 121, 122 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [31] Art. 18 (1) sent. 2 CISG and Art. 34 (2) CESL or Art. 19 (3) CISG and Art. 38 (2) CESL [32] LG Neubrandenburg 3 August 2005, CISG-online Nr. 1190 [33] U Magnus, CISG and CESL, p. 243. [34] Schwenzer, Inrto to Arts 14-24 CISG; Art 14 CISG [35] Art. 70 Proposal for a Common European Sales Law. [36] Mazeaud, Unfiar Terms in Contr

WItchcraft :: essays research papers

Witchcraft   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In general witchcraft is sorcery, the magical manipulation of the supernormal forces through the use of spells, and the conjuring or invoking of spirits. Wicca is the most common witchcraft. During the middle ages and the renaissance, it was defined as evil magic. This is the very reason Joan of Arc was burned at the stake; she was accused of being a witch. Although many think that it is a religion that worships the devil, Wicca does not have anything to do with worshiping the devil or Christianity. The most common form of witchcraft is done with the use of spells. To set a spell, the person doing it will set up an altar/table in which to place the candles and symbols on. The spells consist of words that can either be chanted or inscribed in something. The candles are used to direct the spell towards a specific purpose, such as: pink-love, white-healing and peace, and black-death. These colors can be used for different meanings; however, these are the standard mea nings. There are many other colors out there with their own unique meanings, like if a spell was being set on a person; a candle that was their favorite color could be used. The symbols used consist of charms, pictures, flowers and belongings depending on the spell being set. These symbols must represent the spell and they cannot just be anything done quickly without thought. For example, if the person were trying to make their friend heal from a sickness a picture of the person or something that represents them would work. Very experienced witches use potions that consist of a complicated formula and weird recipes. Almost anything one could think of could be in a witch’s potion, such as bat blood, human blood, eyeballs, herbs, spices, etc. In order to be able to work this magic one must acquire enough knowledge through meditation, and other acts of complete focus and research, others are just born with the natural power. Most people who have this power set spells for the goo d and others well-being; for, any evil spell one sets will come back on them times three. This law is called the power of three times three, which must be known before there are any attempts of setting spells. Although this seems like a great and easy thing, it is very dangerous. The words in the spell are taken literally, for instance if your spell was set to make someone leave you alone for good, it could cause the person to die.

Science of Flavors :: essays research papers

Abstract:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The flavor of food is what compels us to eat certain items. The taste sensations of different food combinations are at time mesmerizing. The restaurant industry has long been based on tending to the need of the consumer, feeding them good food. As economic times change, there are more appearances of chain casual dining restaurants. Consequently, the change brought a need of consistency of food products. Food science is a field where the study of people and food. The field has been contributing immensely to the successful expansion of the chain restaurant industry. The science of flavor has proven to be extremely marketable and flavorful. Science of Flavors And the Restaurant Industry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The restaurant industry has long been established on the service of good food. Stand alone restaurants bringing the fine and new flavorful cuisines are very hard to come by nowadays. The massive trend of chain casual dining restaurants is in effect, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Since the chain system of restaurants works on brand recognition there is a standard system for every aspect of the restaurants niche that each establishment must follow. In addition, since these casual dining establishments work on a volume base commission, they need to produce good food, fast; furthermore, each dish needs to be the same every time. The consistency of the food throughout every chain establishment produces a problem in the casual dining nation, which is why all the franchises are turning to the science of food; in other words, food science. Food science has been producing phenomenal feats throughout the restaurant industry. The study of food and people’s perception of flavors has proven to be very marketable throughout the casual dining sector. The Science of Flavors First and foremost an diminutive understanding of flavor is necessary. Flavor is a complex mixture of sensory input of the food being eaten. The composed sensory input is: taste (gustation); smell (olfaction); tactile sensations; and visual sensations. Although people may use the word â€Å"taste† to mean â€Å"flavors† in the strict sense it is applicable only to the sensation arising from specialized taste cells in the mouth. Those taste cells are the taste detectors distributed all throughout the tongue. The taste detectors are specialized configurations commonly referred to as taste buds. (Margolskee, Smith 2001) Usually the first step in food consumption and much of food’s flavor is perceived through the olfacotory impression on the mind.

The character of Simon appears different from the other boys in many :: English Literature

The character of Simon appears different from the other boys in many ways. What effect does this give, and why has Golding used such a character for a contribution to the novel as a whole? Use a study of character to justify your response, and closely ... The character of Simon appears different from the other boys in many ways. What effect does this give, and why has Golding used such a character for a contribution to the novel as a whole? Use a study of character to justify your response, and closely analyze one passage describing Simon. The novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, written in the early 1950’s is an allegorical, adventure story; a castaway story about the loss of innocence. Within this novel William Golding presents many ideas and themes on levels which require a depth of consideration, but which can also be interpreted in different ways by all. The main theme Golding puts forward is the idea the book is based around. The island is a microcosm of the world, and so the behaviour in which the boys partake represents that of society. Therefore, the degeneration of civilization which occurs, shows that society holds everyone together, without the restraints and rules of society, man loses sense of right and wrong, and anarchy and savagery can come to light. The beast within will slowly but surely reveal itself, when there is nothing to hold it back, leading to a return to primal states, ultimately resulting in afore said savagery. The novel shows that it is Golding’s belief that the human impulse is not as deeply rooted to civilization, as it is to savagery. The novel shows our morals come directly from our surroundings, and the boys’ behaviour justifies this as their surroundings are changed. Most of the boys do encounter these changes, except for one. Simon. He stands on an entirely different plane from the rest of the boys. Although he is younger than Jack, Ralph and Piggy, he is good, pure and has the most positive outlook. He is insistent that even in the worst of situations, they will be rescued, even when the likes of Ralph are doubting the odds. Simon seems to have a spiritual human goodness which is deeply connected with nature. He is kind to the younger children, and sees the good within all. He is the first, and perhaps the only one to realize that the beast on the island is not in the physical form, but the evil which lurks within all human beings, - ‘â€Å"What I mean is †¦maybe it’s only us†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ‘Simon became inarticulate

Walking Dead Syndrome

THE WALKING DEAD SYNDROME English 150 Instructor: S. Jone November 7, 2011 The Walking Dead Syndrome Introduction The Walking Dead syndrome is considered a rare disease. I believe everyone in this existence has a purpose on this vast place we call earth. However, there are people diagnosed with a syndrome who believe they have no soul or convinced themselves they are dead. The â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome† is also commonly known as â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. In this paper, I will refer this syndrome as â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome†. Cotard’s syndrome is linked with other mental illnesses which could explain a person’s state of mind of feeling non-existent in society. I will further discuss eight aspects of this syndrome: defining the Walking Dead Syndrome, defining mental illness, description of several mental illnesses associated with this syndrome, classifications of Cotard’s syndrome, analysis of patients, diagnosis of syndrome, and types of treatments available for patients. Defining Walking Dead Syndrome or Cotard’s Syndrome Many people I discussed this topic with never heard of the â€Å"Walking Dead Syndrome†. The Walking Dead Syndrome was first created by French neurologist, Jules Cotard, hence, named the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome†. He was a French neurologist who first described this psychiatric condition. First reference to the syndrome was made in the year 1880, when Jules Cotard gave a lecture in Paris. In this lecture, he described various degrees of the syndrome, while he said that a person who resorts to despair and self-hatred begins in the early stages of this disorder. With deterioration, the person might go to the extent of denying the very existence of himself or herself. There are detached from the sense of existence of self (â€Å"Cotard Syndrome† 2010). Patients portray themselves similar to the concept of â€Å"zombies†. Hollywood has portrayed horror and science fiction based movies on â€Å"zombies† or the â€Å"walking dead†. In the movies, zombies are typically mean and fond of human flesh, they groan and cannot talk, have incredible strength, and display rotting flesh. A zombie is physically identical to a normal human being, but completely lacks conscious experience. If we suddenly lost our minds, or consciousness our bodies might continue to run on for a while, our hearts might continue to beat, we might breathe while asleep and digest food. But without the contribution made by minds, behavior could not show characteristically human features. In the Urban Dictionary, 1999-2011, a zombie is defined â€Å"as deceased human being who has partially returned to life due to undeterminable causes. The brain retains base facilities, namely gross motor function. In its near-mindless state, it grasps no remains of emotion, personality, or sensation of pain. In rare cases, some of the reanimated have reflexively preformed routine activities from their past lives†. The people diagnosed with Walking Dead Syndrome have similar portrayals including not having internal organs and smelling of rotting flesh. A hypothetical analogy can be explained when most of us have woken up after a really good night out. Our first drive in the morning was motivated by a desire for food and coffee. If we as a society experience a chemical or radiological contamination, we might be experiencing the hangover from hell. Our higher thought would be destroyed, the neural system would be degraded, and leave just the body running on its primary functions. Defining Mental Illness Since the beginning of man, I think there has been mental illness, and chemical imbalance generates a huge part, and some people just do not have the ability to use parts of their brain for reason and logic. According to to Sorrentino, Wilk, and Newmaster (2009), a mental illness can be: â€Å"caused by a combination of genetic, biological, personality, and environmental factors, is a disturbance in a person’s ability to cope with or adjust to stress; the person’s thinking, mood, and behaviours are affected, and functioning is impaired †¦mental illnesses affect people of all ages, culture, and educational and income levels. The onset of most mental illnesses occurs during adolescence and young adulthood† (p. 641). Most mental illnesses are brought on by the stresses of life, money, property, and consumption. Having a mental illness varies from person to person and if you cannot go about your day as you normally would due to a condition then it is a mental illness. An example would be having an â€Å"anxiety disorder†, and if you cannot leave your house anymore due to petrifying fear, then there is clearly a problem. Unless of course you cannot recognize that you are having problems and you are posing a threat to yourself or others, then you can be forcibly placed under the guidance of a psychologist. Mental illness can be contributed to either biological, psychological, and environmental factors. The biological factors can be attributed to genetics or â€Å"mental disorders tend to run in families, suggesting a hereditary factor†¦the number of close relatives a person has who suffer from depression or other mood disorders is the best predictor of the likelihood that the individual will develop a mood disorder† (Boyd, Johnson, Bee, 2009, p. 385). In addition, psychological aspects can be contributed to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, and the environmental causes can be defined as a person living in poverty or substance abuse. Mental Illnesses Associated with Cotard’s Syndrome People diagnosed with the â€Å"Cotard’s Syndrome† have been treated for a mental illness or combination of bi-polar, delusions, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder, to name a few. The major mental illnesses are painful, pervasive, disruptive and usually disabling. Firstly, a â€Å"bi-polar disorder† is defined as â€Å"a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 651). Whereas, â€Å"delusions† are the â€Å"false beliefs that are firmly held† (Purse, 2011). An example is a person who has grandeur delusions or has paranoid tendencies. In the grandiose subtype, the person is convinced that he has some great talent or has made some important discovery, they have an inflated sense of self-worth. In addition, their delusions center on their own importance, such as believing that they have done or created something of extreme value or think they have a â€Å"special mission†. There is reference to another type of delusion known as â€Å"nihilistic delusions†. This type of delusion describes a person â€Å"focused on the individual’s body, including loss of body parts, being dead, or not existing at all† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). Furthermore, Cotard syndrome created a new type of depression which â€Å"is described as anxious melancholia, ideas of damnation or rejection, insensitivity to pain, delusions or nonexistence concerning one’s own body, and delusions of immorality† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, & Audenaert, 2011). This type of delusion is a major attribute of Cotard’s syndrome. Thirdly, â€Å"schizophrenia† which â€Å"is an extremely complex mental health disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disturbances in thinking, and withdrawal from social activity† (Sorrentino, Wilk, Newsmaster, 2009, p. 55). News and entertainment media tend to link mental illnesses including schizophrenia to criminal violence. Most people with schizophrenia, however, are not violent toward others but are withdrawn and prefer to be left alone. Lastly, â€Å"schizoaffective disorder† is described as a â€Å"person having symptoms of both schizophrenic and bipolar disord er† (Purse, 2006). Some disorders will cause parts of the brain to stop performing their normal functions. These can leave people out of control and disoriented (not knowing what they themselves are doing). Classifications of Cotard’s Syndrome In its early stages, Cotard’s syndrome is characterized by vague feeling of anxiety with a varying time span from weeks to years. This anxious state gradually augments and can result in nihilistic delusions where denial of life or denial of body parts are the prominent features. The patient loses sense of reality. Despite the delusion of being dead, these patients show an increased tendency to automutilation (self harm) or suicidal behaviour. (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). A case studying involving 100 patients, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, (2009) reveal three types of Cotard’s syndrome. The first is a form of â€Å"psychotic depression† in which anxiety, melanchonlia, delusions of guilt, and auditory hallucinations are the more prominent features. The second class is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type I†, which is associated with hypochondriac and nihilistic delusions. The third type is â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome Type II†, which includes anxiety, depression, delusions of immortality, nihilistic delusions and suicidal behaviour are characteristic features†. However, in Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011, a case study conducted in 1999, identified three stages of Cotard’s syndrome. The first stage, germination stage, is characterized by important hypochondriac cenesthopathy and depressive mood. A diagnosis of Cotard’s syndrome cannot be made in this stage yet. In the blooming stage, the characteristic features of Cotard’s syndrome (nihilistic delusions, delusions of immorality together with anxiety and negativism) are seen. The last stage, the chronic stage is differentiated in two forms: one with persistent emotional disturbances (depressive type) and the second where depressive symptoms are less prominent (paranoid type) (as cited by Yamman, 1999). The two classifications described above have assisted in diagnosing of Cotard’s syndrome. The similar features displayed are nihilistic delusions, depressive mood, and anxiety. Analysis This syndrome does not affect a specific category of people. A study of 100 patients, revealed that â€Å"Cotard’s syndrome was diagnosed in 2 of 349 patients†¦taking into account only severely depressed older adult patients. In addition, the average of age of person studied was 52 years of age, however, the study also suggested that Cotard’s was occasionally described in children and adolescents (Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009). Furthermore, according to Wani et al. , (2008), â€Å"this syndrome is typically related to depression and is mostly found in middle-aged or older people. In the analysis the following results were displayed: â€Å"depressive mood (89%), nihilistic delusions (69%), anxiety (65%), delusions of guilt (63%), delusions of immortality (55%), hypochondriac delusions (58%)† (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Diagnosis The diagnosis reveals a psychological and neurological aspect of Cotard’s syndrome. The â€Å"depersonalization phenomenon† as described in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009, is referred to using German erminology leib (body for me) and korper (body as such), korper becomes more prominent than leib and the body less associated with the self (leib), depersonalization onset can then occur. However, in depersonalization, the patient feels as if he or she is dead (in difference of affect), whereas in Cotard’s syndro me, the patient is convinced that he or she is dead (lack of feeling). Cotard’s syndrome is often associated with parietal lobe lesions. Compared with controls, patients with Cotard’s syndrome have more brain atrophy in general and more median frontal lobe atrophy in particular. Cotard’s syndrome may be associated with multifocal brain atrophy and medial frontal lobe disease. Neurological assessments were performed and findings resulted in patients affected by â€Å"parietal brain dysfunction† and structural brain abnormalities. Recent discoveries have indicated that Cotard’s syndrome was associated with multifocal brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement. The interhemispheric fissure enlargement means â€Å"parietal lobe lesions† (Joseph and O'Leary, 2011) or bending in the frontal and occipital regions and this abnormality also been observed in schizophrenic patients. Others have described and enlargement of the third and lateral ventricles. In one patient, the patient was diagnosed with a schizophrenia disorder and a left sided hypoperfusion in the temporal, parietal and frontal lobes. The medical term of hypoperfusion is defined as a â€Å"decreased blood flow through an organ† (Meriam-Webster, 2011). In addition, the patient experienced improvements of the inferior frontal and left hypoperfusion and there was evidence of decreased hyperprofusion of the left temporal lobe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (cited in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, and Audenaert, 2009). Treatments There are several methods utilized to treat mental health struggles. A patient can seek professional assistance by psychology or psychiatry therapy and/or the utilization of medication. If you lived in the 16th century with any undefined mental disorder, you were considered as â€Å"possessed by the Devil† and cast away to some godforsaken monastery dungeon in which monks would constantly pray for and exorcise you. The Catholic Church they used a methodical guidebook to describe all behavioral aspects and associations of witchcraft, satanism, etc. nd utilized this upon people who were suffered with mental or behavioral maladies, and it was not commonly understood in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. In the medieval ages, they were burned because they thought demons haunted the mentally ill. In later years, we willfully experimented on them, cutting into their bodies and brains to â€Å"fix them†, this was called, trepanation. The â€Å"evidence of trepan ation has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times onward. Cave paintings indicate that people believed the practice would cure epileptic seizures, migraines, and mental disorders† (Wikipedia, 2011). It is really disgusting and is the major reason that even today it is to some a badge of humiliation instead of just an illness. Complete recovery may occur spontaneously and suddenly as onset of Cotard’s syndrome. There are several reports of successful pharmacological treatment of Cotard’s syndrome. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is considered an important treatment option in Cotard’s syndrome. It is noted, in Debruyne, Portzky, Van den Eynde, Audenaert, 2009, that young patients use of mood stabilizers should be considered because Cotard’s syndrome in this population is often part of a bipolar disorder. Successful treatment with ECT and the patient with underlying major depressive disorder resulted in recovery of left and right temporal hypoprofussion and normalization of profusion in the frontal cortex was reported after treatment with antidepressants (Debruyne, Portzky, Peremans, and Audenaert, 2011). Please be aware that people who have true mental illnesses do suffer. They want more than anything to be able to feel and function like other people and they will actively seek help. The reality is that certain medications and treatments help those who are suffering from these conditions. Conclusion Mental illness is not a modern invention. The mentally ill have been recognized in one form or another by every culture we have a record of. How they were perceived and what their value is what has largely changed. Some people do not retreat into their minds as much as they are supposed to, while others spend all their time there. What we eat and breathe and drink affects our health and our brain, and a healthy individual's brain tends to have more to work with and develop all the right chemicals and nerve sheaths. A good parent with their strong sense of empathy realizes that their child is a thinking, growing human being and will always need that light touch that points them in the â€Å"right direction† and prevent them from getting â€Å"lost†. The right nature and nurturing are essential for a healthy development. Some cases of these disorders I believe could be a simple lack of the ingredients to solve this chemical imbalance. Given that our brain is constantly changing accordingly with the times, a chronic chemical imbalance quickly becomes more than just that, as the brain has grown and changed around this shortcoming. The kind of understanding you wish people had for those with mental disorders would be a universal understanding for all if people would look into themselves and observe their own thoughts and behaviors. We are our best test subjects since we have full access to all the â€Å"data†, and by observing ourselves totally (mentally, developmentally, chemically) we can apply our understanding to others and learn from the experience. People need to care about how people's minds work in general, understanding â€Å"you guys† would come with the turf, and communication with our angry neighbors would be much more effective since we'd all see where everyone is coming from. Philosophers have long contemplated human happiness, and how to live a â€Å"good† life, in harmony with our own nature. The problem is that humans do not really know what makes them happy, and what they think will, or will not, and instead they find contempt and superficial pleasures they believe will satisfy them. As a result, some people will not live a good and peaceful life that satisfies the majority of people. The fact is not everyone needs medication, but there are those who do. Some need it temporarily, some for a lifetime. Some simply need therapy, and some benefit from dietary changes. I believe understanding is the highest ideal we should seek to attain. Understanding and being honest with ourselves about ourselves and applying our own understanding to others may help us see that we are not as different as we'd like to believe. I believe that sense of commonality with all human beings can generate empathy, compassion and ultimately peace in all of us. It is when we categorize each other, ourselves, and place value on those categories then we breed hatred, ignorance and fear. References Boyd, D. , Johnson, Paul, Bee, Helen (2009). Lifespan Development. (4th Canadian Edition). Toronto: Pearsons Canada Inc. Cotard Syndrome. (2010). Disorders Central. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://www. disorderscentral. com/cotard-syndrome. html Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. Peremans, K. , ; Audenaert, K. , (2011). Mind and Brain The Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://content. yudu. com/Library/A1t5r8/MindampBraintheJourn/resources/73. htm Debruyne, H. , Portzky, M. , Van den Eynde, F. , ; Audenaert, K. (2009). Cotard’s Syndrome: A Review. Current Psychiatry Reports. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from University of Calgary On-line Resources: http://www. springerlink. com. ezproxy. lib. ucal gary. ca/content/f43j790n7161432m/ Hypoperfusion. (2011). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/medical/hypoperfusion Joseph AB, and O'Leary DH. (2011). Brain atrophy and interhemispheric fissure enlargement in Cotard's syndrome. PubMed. gov. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/3759917 Purse, Marcia. (2011). Delusions. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. com/od/definingbipolardisorder/g/gl_delusions. htm Purse, Marcia. (2006). Schizoaffective Disorder. About. com. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://bipolar. about. om/od/glossary/g/gl_schizoaffect. htm Sorrentino, Sheila A. , Wilk, Mary J. , and Newsmaster, Rosemary (2009). Mosby’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker. (2nd Canadian Edition). Toronto: Elsevier Canada Urban Dictionary. (1999-2011). Zombie. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www. urbandictionary. com/define. php? term=zombie Wani, A. Z, Abdul, W. Khan, Aijaz, A. Babe, Hayat, A. Khan, Qurat-ul, A. Wani, and Taploo, Rayneesa (2008). Cotard's syndrome and delayed diagnosis in Kashmir, India. International Journal of Mental Health Systems.