Commentary All the Kings Men Essay Example for Free

Commentary All the Kings Men Essay We left the bay, and lost the salt, sad, sweet, fishy smell of the tidelands out of our nostrils. We headed north again. It was darker now. The ground mist lay heavier on the fields, and in the dips of the road the mist frayed out over the slab and blunted the headlights. Now and then a pair of eyes would burn at us out of the dark ahead. I knew that they were the eyes of a cow-a poor dear stoic old cow with a cud, standing on the highway shoulder, for there wasn’t any stock law- but her eyes burned at us out of the dark as though her skull were full of blazing molten metal like blood and we could see inside the skull into that bloody hot brightness in that moment when the reflection was right before we picked up her shape, which is so perfectly formed to be pelted with clods, and knew what she was and knew that inside that unlovely knotty head there wasn’t anything but a handful of coldly coagulated gray mess in which something slow happened as we went by. We were something slow happening inside the cold brain of a cow. That’s what the cow would say if she were a brass-bound Idealist like little Jackie Burden. The Boss said, â€Å"Well, Jackie, it looks like you got a job cut out for you.† And I said, â€Å"Callahan?† And he said, â€Å"Nope, Irwin.† And I said, â€Å"I don’t reckon you will find anything on Irwin.† And he said, â€Å"You find it.† We bored on into the dark for another twenty miles and eighteen minutes. The ectoplasmic fingers of the mist reached out of the swamp, threading out from the blackness of the cypresses, to snag us, but didn’t have any luck. A possum came out of the swamp, threading out from the blackness of the cypresses, to snag us, but didn’t have any luck. A possum came out of the swamp and started across the road and might have made it, too, if Sugar-Boy hadn’t been too quick for him. Sugar-Boy just shaded the steering wheel delicately to the left, just a fraction. There wasn’t even a jounce or twitch, but something thumped against the underside of the left front fender, and Sugar-Boy said, â€Å"The b-b-b-b-bas-tud.† Sugar-Boy could thread a needle with that Cadillac. At about the end of that eighteen minutes and twenty miles, I said: â€Å"But suppose I don’t find anything before election day?† The Boss said, â€Å"To hell with election day. I can deliver Masters prepaid, special handling. But if it takes ten years, you find it.† We clocked off five miles more, and I said, â€Å"But suppose there isn’t anything to find.† And the Boss said, â€Å"There is always something.† And I said, â€Å"Maybe not on the Judge.† And he said, â€Å"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something. Two miles more, and he said, â€Å"And make it stick.† And that was all a good while ago. Color Key: Simile Characterization Imagery Personification Jack Burden, the narrator of the novel, has a request by the Boss to dig into Judge Irwin’s past â€Å"and make it stick.† The journey of finding something on him builds Jack’s character and foreshadows the death of some of his friends. As they are coming back from the visit to Judge Irwin’s house, they encounter cows on the road. Jack Burden looks into the burning eyes of â€Å"a poor dear stoic old cow† whose skull was of â€Å"blazing molten metal,† and Jack says that the cow is â€Å"a brass-bound Idealist like little Jackie Burden† like a slow thought in her brain. Jack Burden questions the visit to Judge Irwin’s house thinking that there was no sin made by him and identifies himself as an idealist. Because of Jack’s long relationship with the judge, he questions if there is really anything to find about him. The Boss convinces him that â€Å"Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he [passes it] from the stink [of the diaper] to the stench of the shroud. There is always, something,† leaves and says â€Å"And make it stick.† The last paragraph shows that the future of the book is foreshadowed to the reader with Jack saying, â€Å"And that was all a good while ago.† It all shows that Jack Burden is certainly not a weak character because he eventually does find something on the judge like the Boss said. The dirt that he found stuck so good that it was great for Robert Penn Warren to put the conclusion in the beginning of the book.

Biographical Interpretation Works In Relation Essay Example for Free

Biographical Interpretation Works In Relation Essay Many literary works come across as hard for explanation, its been a problem since literature has been a main stay in society. Over time many styles of interpretation have been both approached and adapted by readers and critics alike. One of the most popular is the biographical interpretation. This is when a reader makes use of details regarding the life, times and works of an author as a means of solving interpretive problems. The biographical interpretation is a very good way to get inside the readers head because the past, and your past experiences are what shape your mind as it matures over time, even the smallest experience can make a decent sized impact on ones thought process. Mark Twain is a good example of an author that has been analyzed, possibly even over analyzed. By every angle he has been looked at, most notably for his works on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you were to read his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without taking a look at any biographical pieces about Mark Twain you would undoubtedly not get as much out of the novel as you would in contrast, if you were to read the biography. To prove the point the help of the semi-biographical essay The Life of Samuel Clemens and the Reception of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be called upon throughout the essay. At the beginning of the biographical essay there is an excellent explanation of the personal side of Twain the only clear picture is that Twain was a man of paradox (pg. 19). The reason this excerpt fits the topic of biographical interpretation is because one key word within that quote, that key word being paradox. A paradox is a statement that seems contrary to common sense and yet is perhaps true. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn being the novel that we are taking a look at in contrast to the biographical side of Mark Twain this word, paradox, fits perfectly since there are paradoxes running throughout the novel. A good example of a paradox in the novel is from the mouth of Huck Finn himself: When it was dark I set by my campfire smoking, and feeling pretty satisfied; but by-and-by it got sort of lonesome, and so I went and set on the bank†¦ and counted the stars and drift-logs and rafts that come down, and then went to bed; there aint no better way to put in time when you are lonesome; you  cant stay so, you soon get over it. (Pg. 62) The paradox that has been spoken by Huckleberry is that depression and lonesomeness can be slept away. Which when first heard can be looked over and seen as straight out nonsense. However if it is thought about closely most people that are depressed can be get a quick fix from what makes them depressed by sleeping through it as much as they can, sort of like sleep and relaxation was the drug of its time. It may sound inconceivable now, but in the era that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was penned the idea of sleeping, or rather lounging around for days was not that inconceivable because they did not live the busy lifestyle in which we live in current time. This is just one of many paradoxes throughout the book that reflect the author in a great way due to the fact that he was known as a living paradox because of the way he lived his life. For a man that made money out of writing about adventures of rafting down the Mississippi and barely getting by money wise seem so interesting. But grew up living in Connecticut for a good amount of time in his life and also seeking to be filthy rich, and have no worries is most likely the biggest paradox of his life. Another way that the book of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be looked at from a biographical perspective and make sense is the fact that the main characters in the novel have a very similar background as to which they grew up in. In a paragraph written by an African American professor of eastern studies and a writer of African-American folktales and poetry. A man by the name of Julius Lester speaks of the relationship between Huck, Tom, and Mark Twain himself in a very unique manner. Just after he speaks of how he does not recollect ever reading the writings of Mark Twain, but then says something to the effect of what American child hasnt read the tales of Huck and Tom so maybe he has, but the literature was not that significant to his life. What Lester has to say is something that most people taking the biographical interpretation approach should use as an approach to all authors in relation to the characters they write of: I do have an emotional memory of going to Hannibal, Missouri with my parents when I was eight or nine, and visiting the two-story frame house where Mark Twain lived as a boy-where Huck and Tom lived as boys. (Pg. 341, Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) This is a great comment because when you take a novel and  try and put a biographical interpretation onto that novel you need to take a very close look at the characters and their relation to the author. That is the mainstay of the biographical interpretation, how the characters are at all a parallel to the author. With Mark Twain himself growing up for part of his life on the Mississippi it gave him great knowledge of what he was talking about, and it gave him the roots of the characters that are now notable American icons. Him having the knowledge of the Mississippi, and of southern life in America at that time influenced the characters and the novel infinitely. Whether it is a satirical look at the way American life was at that time is a whole different essay. With all of this in mind it can be said that he sure lived the life of Huck and Tom whether it be on a lower level, or a parallel these characters and Mark Twain are one in the same. These are only a few examples of how the biographical interpretation of a novel is a very reliable approach to analyzing literature as long as you know that the biographical information is accurate. Doing this will also make the novel much more enjoyable because if you read the biographical essay, paragraph, novel, etc. Then you will be able to go along the book and be able to not look down upon the book, but look more for the reason that that author had said what he said, and what he really meant by it. It is about looking from the inside and looking out at the novel for the reasons behind what was said, instead of looking into the novel for the reasons to not read the book altogether

Effectiveness of an Oral Hygiene on Hearing Impaired Child

Effectiveness of an Oral Hygiene on Hearing Impaired Child Effectiveness of an oral hygiene instruction on the plaque score among hearing impaired children- A cross-sectional study Abstract Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an oral hygiene instruction on the plaque scores among hearing impaired children. Materials method: A total of 56 institutionalized children with hearing impairment in the age range 5-17 years were selected for the study. Oral hygiene status was assessed using Turesky–Gilmore–Glickman modification of the Quigley Hein Plaque Index (MQPI), dentition status along with DMFS were recorded. Oral hygiene education along with the proper tooth brushing technique was demonstrated using a tooth model. Oral hygiene status was reassessed after 21 days and the data obtained was analyzed Statistical analysis: Results : Conclusion: Introduction Oral health plays an important role in the overall health of children, and, in particular it is more important for children with special health need. Children are prone to oral health problems when their oral hygiene maintenance is poor. Dental caries is the most prevalent and widespread disease seen in children and among the disabled it is the greatest unattended health need1. Children with hearing impairment (CHI) seem to be one such group lacking adequate oral health awareness to maintain their oral health owing to communication barriers2,3 Hearing impairment (HI) forms major disability affecting many children world-wide. There are 23,000-25,000 children (aged 0-15 years) who are permanently deaf or hard of hearing in UK4. According to National Sample Survey Organization in India, 0.4% of 1065.40 million children are hearing impaired and every child in 1000 live births suffers from HI.5 Hearing impairment primarily influences communication, on which it can have a devastating effect6. As the degree of loss increases, psychological, emotional and social disturbances generally become more pronounced.6The extent of disturbance also depends on age of onset, training, and acceptance of disability6. Various factors contribute to the significant problems experienced by this population group in accessing health care and in communicating with doctors such as lack of sign language and due to the lack of awareness training among health service staff and the shortage or absence of aids to communication7. People with disabilities deserve the same opportunities for oral health and hygiene as those who are healthy. Previous studies have found hearing impaired children have poorer oral hygiene than non-hearing impaired children8,9. Plaque and gingival indices in disabled children after a mechanical plaque control were significantly different compared with those of non-disable children10. Although numerous plaque control methods have been proposed, tooth brushing using a correct technique is effective in controlling plaque is safe, easy to use and cost effective.11 With respect to the importance of assessing the oral health care needs among these special groups of population and lack of studies carried out on this issue in the pertinent population, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral hygiene instruction on the plaque scores among hearing impaired children. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in National Residential School for Deaf, Bangalore , an institution for the deaf and dumb children which comprised of 56 children aged between 4-17years.Prior written consent was obtained from the school and also the intervention of the study design was been explained. Ethical clearance was obtained from A total of 56 children participated in the study which included both male and female. Children present on the day of the examination were included. Those who were not willing to participate or those unwell were excluded. General information about the respondent’s oral hygiene habits and frequency of dental visits were obtained using a questionnaire. Dental examination was performed using dental mirror and a probe in broad daylight in accordance with WHO guidelines12. Oral examination included: number of teeth, presence of caries, restorations and number of extracted teeth and plaque score. Acquired data was entered in the dental records for each patient. For the assessment of dental status, the DMFS (decayed, missing, filled) index was used and the Turesky—Gilmore–Glickman modification of the Quigley–Hein plaque index (1970)13 was used to assess the plaque score. Plaque was assessed on the facial and lingual surfaces of all the teeth. A plaque score per pe rson was obtained by totaling all the plaque scores and dividing by the number of surfaces examined. A score of 0 to 5 was assigned to each facial and lingual non-restored surface of the tooth as shown in Fig 1. Scoring was as follows: 0 = no plaque/debris 1 = separate flecks of plaque at the cervical margin of the tooth. 2 = a thin continuous band of plaque (up to 1 mm) at the cervical margin of the tooth. 3 = a band of plaque wider than 1 mm but covering less than one third of the crown of the tooth. 4 = plaque covering at least one third but less than two thirds of the crown of the tooth. 5 = plaque covering two thirds or more of the crown of the tooth. Figure 1.Tooth areas graded by the Turesky et al Modified Quigley Hein Plaque Index Following initial examination, oral hygiene instructions regarding the importance of maintaining a good oral hygiene, development of dental caries and the tooth brushing technique in the form of manual demonstration of tooth brushing on tooth models was given. The technique of tooth brushing demonstrated was dependent on the age group of the child. Children younger than 8 years, because of their limited manual dexterity were being demonstrated with the horizontal scrub technique and those older than 8 years, modified bass technique was demonstrated. A tooth brush and toothpaste (Colgate,India-1000 ppm of maximum available fluoride) was given to all the participants to standardize the process. After 3 weeks, once again plaque scores were recorded and statistically analyzed with baseline scores. Results Discussion The AAPD defines special health care needs as â€Å"any physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment or limiting condition that requires medical management, health care intervention, and/or use of specialized services or programs.14 Oral health is an inseparable part of general health and well-being. Individuals with SHCN may be at an increased risk for oral diseases throughout their lifetime.15 Physical disability such as hearing impairment can result in difficulties to reach an ideal health status of the teeth. Since children with hearing impairment are either dependent on their parents or care providers for their general and oral health care needs, it is the responsibility of the dental health care professional to design new and innovative ways to provide dental health education to these children.16 Education is one of the essential factor responsible for behavioral change in children. 17 Particularly, oral health education is the key t o prevent oral diseases and it is always appropriate to educate school age children 18 and through them education can reach their families and community members as well.19 To deliver quality health education, various approaches can be planned to have a better communication as communication is a key factor in conveying dental health education to the children with hearing impairment.16 According to the child’s development stage and motor skill oral hygiene instruction should be instructed. Variations in the ability of tooth brushing must be considered, especially with younger children. Intensive individual training of each child is also essential to achieve desired benefits of the technique. `In the present study, the higher plaque score before OHE confirm poor oral hygiene status in children with hearing impairment similar to earlier studies.3-5,20,21 Hence, the prime motive of this study was to instill appropriate oral health awareness in these children. After the initial examination, a sample of tooth brush and fluoridated tooth pastes were given to the children to motivate them toward active participation in the program. Oral hygiene education talk was given to children to make them understand the importance proper oral hygiene procedures and the development of dental caries. With the help of the school teacher using the sign language, and according to the age wise proper brushing technique were being demonstrated. It was seen that almost all of the children showed a keen interest to learn the proper brushing technique. Majority of the children in this study use the horizontal scrub technique and Fones technique. The use of the horizontal scrub technique has been reported as a method of choice in young children in various studies because of the inability to apply other tooth brushing techniques.22-24 Tooth brushing skill and the required manual dexterity for tooth brushing are developed in children aged 8 years and above.25Mescher et al26 reported that children age 6 years and younger do not have the hand functions which are required for tooth brushing, and hence concluded that the sulcular brushing technique could be mastered by children 8 years and above. Kropfl27 reported that modified bass method to be significantly more efficacious than horizontal scrub method. Kremers et al28 and Zhang et al29 showed that Bass technique effectively removed interdental plaque when compared to other techniques. Age comparison between older and younger age groups shows differences in the maintenance of oral hygiene which is also seen in this present study. Chronological age is a reasonable predictor of tooth brushing ability and manual tooth brushing skills are acquired better after 4-5 years of age.30 In the present study, it was seen that there was a significant plaque reduction in high school children (12-16 years) compared with primary school children (5-7years) and middle school children (8-11 years) indicating better motivational and performance skills in the older age group children compared with younger ones. This can be said to be influenced by the greater cognitive ability and the manner of learning and initiation in older age groups. The results of this study showed that the OHE program was effective in improving their oral health status significantly and was equally successful in improving their oral health. Conclusion . Bibliography Hennequin M, Faulks D, Roux D. Accuracy of estimation of dental treatment needs in special care patients. J Dent 2000;28:131-136 Stiefel DJ. Dental care considerations for disabled adults. Spec Care Dentist 2002;22:26S-39. Alsmark SS, Garcà ­a J, Martà ­nez MR, Là ³pez NE. How to improve communication with deaf children in the dental clinic. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 2007;12:E576-81. Champion J, Holt R . Dental care for children and young people who have a hearing impairment. B r Dent J 2000;189:155-9. Jain M, Mathur A, Kumar S, Dagli R J, Duraiswamy P, Kulkarni S. Dentition status and treatment needs among children with impaired hearing attending a special school for the deaf and mute in Udaipur, India. J Oral Sci 2008;50:161-5. Tunis W, Dixter C. Dentistry and the hearing-impaired child. J Pedod 1979;3: 321-334. Champion J, Holt R. Dental care for children and young people who have a hearing impairment. Br Dent J. 2000 Aug 12;189(3):155-9. Barnett S, Franks P. Health care utilization and adults who are deaf: relationship with age at onset of deafness. Health Serv Res 2002; 37: 105-20 Oredugba FA, Sote EO. Oral hygiene status of handicapped children in Lagos. Niger J Gen Prac 2002; 5: 75-9. Reynolds WE, Blick BM. Evaluation the effectiveness of instruction in oral hygiene for mentally retarded boys. J Publ Health Dent 1974; 34: 8-12 Arunakul M, Kuphasuk Y, Boonyathanasit R. Effectiveness of oral hygiene instruction media on periodontal health among hearing impaired children. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2012 Sep;43(5):1297-303. WHO. Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods. 4th Ed. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1997. Lobene RR, Weatherford T, Ross NM, Lamm RA, Menaker LA. A modified gingival index for use in clinical trails. Clin Prev Dent 1986;8(1):3-6. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Definition of special health care needs. Pediatr Dent 2012;34(special issue):16. Lewis CW. Dental care and children with special health care needs: A population-based perspective. Acad Pediatr 2009;9(6):420-6. Shetty V, Kumar J, Hegde A. Breaking the sound barrier: oral health education for children with hearing impairment. Spec Care Dentist 34(3): 131-137, 2014 Christensen GJ. Special oral hygiene and preventive care for special needs. J Am Dent Assoc 2005;136:1141-3. Flanders R A. Effectiveness of dental health educational programs in schools. J Am Dent Assoc 1987;114:239-42. World Health Organization. Oral Health Promotion through Schools. WHO Information Series on School Health. Document 8. Geneva: WHO; 2003 Brown JP, Schodel DR. A review of controlled surveys of dental disease in handicapped persons. ASDC J Dent C hild 1976;43:313-20. Kumar S, Dagli R J, Mathur A, Jain M, Duraiswamy P, Kulkarni S. Oral hygiene status in relation to sociodemographic factors of children and adults who are hearing impaired, attending a special school. Spec C are Dentist 2008;28:258-64. Kimmelman BB, Tassman GL. Research in design of children’s toothbrushes. J Dent Child 1960;27:60. McClure DB. A comparison of toothbrushing technics for the preschool child. J Dent Child 1966;33:205à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ10. Ruggà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœGunn AJ, Macgregor ID. A survey of toothbrushing behaviour in children and young adults. J Periodontal Res 1978;13:382à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ9. Das UM, Singhal P. Tooth brushing skills for the children aged 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ11 years. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent 2009;2:104à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ7. Mescher KD, Brine P, Biller I. Ability of elementary school children to perform sulcular toothbrushing as related to their hand function ability. Pediatr Dent 1980;2:31à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ6. Kropf JL. Clinical Evaluation of Magnifying Lighted Mirror and Unwaxed Dental Floss as Oral Hygiene Adjuncts. Master’s Thesis, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, School Dentistry; 1971. p. 124. Kremers L, Lampert F, Etzold C. Comparative clinical studies on 2 toothbrushing methodsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœRoll and Bass technic. Dtsch Zahnarztl Z 1978;33:58à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ60. Zhang JH, Sha YQ, Cao CF. Comparative study of the effects of removing plaque by two toothbrushing methods. Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao 2005;37:542à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ4 Unkel JH, Fenton SJ, Hobbs G Jr, Frere C L. T oothbrushing ability is related to age in children. ASDC J Dent C hild 1995;62:346-8.

Biography of Adolf Hitler :: essays research papers

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th 1889 in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria. Adolf grew up with a poor record at school and left, before completing his tuition, with an ambition to become and artist. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, Hitler neither worked nor studied, but had gained an interest in politics and history. At the age of nineteen when his mother had died he had no relatives that were willing to support him and for about four years he spent his time on the streets and in shelters. In 1913 Adolf Hitler, still homeless, moved to Munich in southern Germany. At the outbreak of the first World War, in 1914, he volunteered for service in the German army. He spent some of his time as a prisoner-of-war, at a camp at Traunstein before returning again to Munich. When he went back to Munich he had been involved with politics, his responsibilities given to him was for publicity and propaganda. Hitler had success with this drawing thousands of people to his speeches and the group had changed their name to the National Socialist German Workers Party( or Nazi for short ) on April 1st 1920. By 1921 Hitler had virtually secured total control of the Nazi party. Hitler later had run into some trouble with Munich police. He was charged of treason in 1923 and sentenced to five years in jail. This gave Hitler very much needed publicity for his party and he was released only spending six months in prison. The collapse of the Wall St. Stock exchange in 1929 helped the Nazi party. Hitler campaigned hard for Nazi candidates, promising the public a way out of their current hardship. He did not win this campaign but four years later he was appointed Chancellor in a coalition government. By July Hitler had proclaimed a law stating that the Nazi Party was to be the only political party allowed in Germany. Churches were prosecuted and ministers he preached non-Nazi were frequently arrested by the Gestapo and carted off to concentration camps. Anyone opposing of the Nazi party or of Hitler’s ruling was killed after the party was notified. These occasions happened frequently and the secret police (the Gestapo) were killing many people for this. The Jewish population was increasingly persecuted and under the Nuremburg laws of September 1935, Jews were no longer considered to be German citizens and therefore no longer had any legal rights.

Free Speech, Censorship, and Self Determination Issues in Protests against the Chinese Government :: China Government Research Politics Papers

Free Speech, Censorship, and Self Determination Issues in Protests against the Chinese Government Introduction As a Chinese American, I have long admired the African American culture that spawned the civil rights movement. Here was a people buffeted by a history of discrimination that asserted its equal rights as men and women. Whether advocating nonviolence and integration or separation and violence if necessary, these men and women used and asserted their freedom of speech on the streets, in writings, and on the airwaves. Today we see China growing rapidly in economic power yet shaken by protests by workers displaced by the closings of state owned enterprises and migrant workers treated as second class citizens. We see organizations, from the Chinese Democratic Foundation to the Falun Gong, advocating and asserting human rights. The Chinese government has been relentless in "nip(ing) those factors that undermine social stability in the bud, no matter where they come from."(7) Many human rights organizations and dissident organizations have turned to the Internet to protest these government actions and to communicate, inform, and advocate their message to both the Chinese people and to the rest of the world. As a believer in protests and freedom of speech and someone who wants Chinese culture to grow, I should be a staunch supporter of these organizations and their actions. Yet, I am torn. What's Happening In China China is undergoing rapid and violent change. China has the fastest growing economy in the world, growing at 9.1% clip in 2003. SFGate recently reported on Shanghai novelist Mian Mian whose tale exposing an underground of rock, drugs, and promiscuity is reminiscent of America in the 60's. The number of Chinese Internet users is estimated at close to 80 million. A new generation of artists have appeared on the scene, wryly commenting on China's rapid change. China, nominally communist, seems freer than ever before and its future looks bright. Yet, you also hear reports of corruption, of large and growing underclass, and renewed repression. It seems that partly fueling China's engine of growth is a near inexhaustible supply of cheap and desperate labor spawned by the closing of state owned enterprises (S.O.E.s) and an impoverished rural population. These hardships have spawned a migrant labor population, estimated to swell to 100 million this year, that has flooded urban centers looking for work. These workers are denied education, medical care, pensions, are locked out of most jobs, and are vulnerable to labor abuses.

The Grapes Of Wrath: Description Al Joad And The Setting :: essays research papers

The Grapes of Wrath: Description Al Joad and the Setting Al Joad is a fairly skinny guy of medium built who starts out being a cocky, self-conceited character. His only justifiable reason for acting cocky is that his brother, Tom, killed a man and went to jail. Al respects his brother and thinks of him as a man for having killed another man. The fact of the matter is that Tom was only acting in self defense. After a man came after Tom with a knife, Tom hit him over the head with a shovel, and killing him in the process. Al would receive complements all over town from people who recognize him and being the brother of a man that was a killer. As soon as Tom Joad comes home from prison, Al is a changed person. He is no longer cocky and he almost resents his brother coming home so soon. As the Joad family is forced to leave their home land and travel to California, Al takes on a great responsibility. His job is to drive the family and take complete care of the truck that they are driving. Al takes his job very seriously and gets upset when anything happens to the car. Emotionally, I would say Al has become very strong throughout the novel. He starts out pretty depend on the "glory" of his brother, but he takes his responsibilities seriously. I see Al as being a crucial character later in the novel. He is the kind of person that needs motivation from the start, but once he gets going, he won't stop. Setting Description Oklahoma could best be described as one large dustbowl. All rain has ceased to fall. The dry wind wisps through the air and gathers dirt. If you listen closely enough, it sounds as though there are people moaning whenever wind is present. The heat is so humid that any source of water is dried up, and the plants wither away. All of the corn crops are gone as well as all other crops. The dirt is like sand; it has no moisture or fertilization.

Consumer Buying Behavior Essay

Abstract: ‘Consumer is king’ –the statement carries profound truth in it. Today the success of any firm depends upon the satisfaction of consumers. For satisfying the consumers the firm should know about the behavior of the consumers. In these circumstances understanding consumer is a very difficult task because of the changing technology, innovation, and changes in life style. Researchers conducted many research in this area, and they given only few suggestion, but there is no final conclusion. As per the ideas given by the researchers, there are two factors influencing the consumers such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It is difficult to classify consumers by conventional demographic factors and unless their thought process and buying behavior are fully understood, decisions on product designs and packaging, branding and distribution channels are likely to be misplaced. With the inevitability of change looming large over the horizon, Indian companies must le arn from their western counterparts; not only to identify the sources, timing and direction of the changes likely to affect India, but also the new competencies and perspective that will enable them to respond to these changes, comprehensively and effectively. Look more:  the consumer buying process begins when essay This study mainly focus on understanding the external factors like demographic, social, cultural ,price, quality ,product attributes etc for buying toothpaste. The market share of any product is highly determined by the purchasing behavior of the consumers. Following study is conducted by the researcher to find out the behavior of the consumers, to analyze the preference of consumers, & consumer awareness. Descriptive research design was adopted and the data is collected through primary and secondary sources. The method adopted for conducting survey is questionnaire; Simple random sampling technique was adopted for selecting the consumers. Key words: Consumer behavior, Toothpaste buying pattern, Toothpaste awareness, Promotion impact, Attribute impact. 1. Introduction Consumer behavior is stated as the behavior that consumer display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products, services and ideas that they expect will satisfy their needs. The study of consumer behavior is concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with why they buy it, when and how they buy it, and how often they buy it. It is concerned with learning the specific meanings that products hold for consumers. Consumer research takes places at every phase of consumption process, before the purchase, during the purchase and after the purchase. According to Philip Kotler defined consumer behavior as â€Å"all psychological, social and physical behavior of potential customers as they become aware of evaluate, purchase, consume and tell other about products and services†. The scope of consumer behavior includes not only the actual buyer and his act of buying but also various roles played by different individuals and the influence they exert on the final purchase decision . Individual consumer behavior is influenced by economic, social, cultural, psychological, and personal factors. 1.1 Consumer purchase decision A decision is the selection of an action from two or more alternative choices. Consumer decision to purchase the goods from the available alternative choice is known as â€Å"consumer purchase decision†. The various options of the consumer may be classified into five main types of decisions. They are what to buy, how much to buy, where to buy, when to buy, how to buy. The participants in the buying decisions may be classified as the initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and users. The marketing people should initiate the participants in the purchase decision to make the purchases of the product at different marketing strategies. There are number of reasons why the study of consumer behavior developed as separate discipline. Marketers had long noted that consumer did not always act or react, as marketing theory would suggest. The size of the consumer market in the country was vast and constantly expanding: millions of dollars were being spent on goods and services by millions of people. Consumer preferences were changing and becoming highly diversified. 1.2 Indian Oral Care Industry Many people in India still clean their teeth with traditional products like Neem twigs, salt, ash, tobacco or other herbal ingredients. Average all India per capita consumption of toothpaste is a dismal 82gms.The dentist to population ratio is a critically low 1:35000 in the country. This results in low oral hygiene consciousness and widespread dental diseases. Less than 15% of the Indian toothpaste users brush twice a day. Colgate and Hindustan Lever together account for over 85% of the organized toothpaste market. Red and Black toothpowder still accounts for 35% of the toothpowder market. In toothpowders, Colgate and Dabur are the leading players sharing between them 75% of the market 2. Review of literature 2.1 Consumer behavior Consumer behavior has been always of great interest to marketers. The knowledge of consumer behavior helps the marketer to understand how consumers think, feel and select from alternatives like products, brands and the like and how the consumers are influenced by their environment, the reference groups, family, and salespersons and so on. A consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. Most of these factors are uncontrollable and beyond the hands of marketers but they have to be considered while trying to understand the complex behavior of the consumers. In this study, the researcher emphasizes the importance of lifestyle and its impact on the buyer behavior. 2.2 Consumer Personality Factors There are two factors mainly influencing the consumers for decision making: Risk aversion and innovativeness. Risk aversion is a measure of how much consumers need to be certain and sure of what they are purchasing (Donthu and Gilliland, 1996).Highly risk adverse consumers need to be very certain about what they are buying. Whereas less risk adverse consumers can tolerate some risk and uncertainty in their purchases. The second variable, innovativeness, is a global measure which captures the degree to which consumers are willing to take chances and experiment with new ways of doing things (Donthu and Gilliand, 1996).The shopping motivation literature is abound with various measures of individual characteristics (e.g., innovative, venturesome, cosmopolitan, variety seeking), therefore, innovativeness and risk aversion were included in this study to capture several of these traits. Measures by Donthu and Gilliland (1996) were used to measure innovativen ess and risk aversion. 2.3 Perception: Perception is a mental process, whereby an individual selects data or information from the environment, organizes it and then draws significance or meaning from it. 2.4 Perceived fit Perceived fit is an attitudinal measure of how appropriate a certain channel of distribution is for a specific product .Morrison and Roberts (1998) found that consumer’s perception of the fit between a service/product and a channel is very influential in determining whether they will consider using that channel for a specific service. In fact, perceived fit was found to be more important than consumer’s preferences for the distribution method or service. 2.5 Product Class knowledge Product class knowledge is a measure of consumers perceptions of how much they know about a specific class of products (eg.,cars)This type of measure is consistent with what Brucks(1985) called subjective knowledge, that is, consumers self-perceptions of knowledge levels. This is often contrasted with objective knowledge, which is what consumers actually know. Park and Lessing (1981) proposed that subjective knowledge provides a better understanding of consumers decision making processes because consumers level of confidence in their search and decision making behavior, independent of their objective knowledge. 2.6 Product type Past research indicates that consumers purchase and channel decisions might be influenced by the type of product being investigated (Cox and Rich 1964:Lumpkin and Hawes 1985;Morrison and Roberts 1998:Papadopoulos 1980:Prasad 1975:Sheth 1983: Thompson 1971). In particular ,these authors state that certain products might be more appropriate for one channel or another, which ultimately influences consumers channel preference and choice. 2.7 Quality It is our aim to provide the best product for the consumer and we believe that if the products have quality the consumer will pay the price, says Amal pramanic, regional business director .Oral-B 2.8 Packaging Packaging establishes a direct link with the consumers at the point of purchase as it can very well change the perceptions they have for a particular brand. A product has to draw the attention of the consumers through an outstanding packaging design. Earlier packaging was considered only a container to put a product in, but today, research in to the right packaging is beginning at the product development stage itself. Packaging innovation has been at the heart of Dabur’s attempt to rap with the urban consumers. It spends large sums annually on packaging research.-â€Å"We have been laying emphasis on aesthetics, shelf appeal and convenience for consumer’† says Deepak Manchandra, manager packaging development 2.9 Promotion The greatest challenge faced by companies today is holding and increasing their market share and value. This is always a strenuous exercise and one of the tools for the same is marketing. There is no specific game rule available for using these marketing tools .The reason is: each promotional tool has its own characteristics. 2.10 Familiarity with a channel Consumer’s familiarity with a channel is a measure of the general experience they have with purchasing products through specific channels (i.e.. catalog, internet, and bricks-and-mortar retailer). Through frequent use consumers should become accustomed to using the channel, which reduces their apprehension and anxiety in purchasing products through the channel. 2.11 Brand Awareness According to Rossiter and Prey (1987), brand awareness precedes all other steps in the buying process. A brand attitude cannot be performed, unless a consumer is aware of the brand. In memory theory, brand awareness is positioned as a vital first step in building the bundle of associations which are attached to the brand in memory (Stokes, 1985). 2.12 Family influence A family exerts a complex influence on the behaviors of its members. Prior family influence research has focused on intergenerational rather than intergenerational influence in consumer generationalisation. As has been compellingly demonstrated, parents influence children (Moore, Wilkie, and Lutz2002; Moschis 1987).Yet, consumption domains clearly exist where sibling efforts may also be exerted 2.13 Shopping motives Shopping motives are defined as consumer’s wants and needs as they relate to outlets at which to shop. Two groups of motives, functional and nonfunctional, have been proposed by Sheth (1983). Functional motives are associated with time, place, and possession needs and refer to rational aspects of channel choice. Whereas nonfunctional motives relate to social and emotional reasons for patronage. The functional motives included: convenience, price comparison, merchandise assortment. The nonfunctional motives entail: recreation.