Hughes Essays - Harlem Renaissance, African-American Literature

Hughes Essays - Harlem Renaissance, African-American Literature Hughes As a talented American author, Langston Hughes captured and integrated the realities and demands of Africa America in his work by utilizing the beauty, dignity, and heritage of blacks in America in the 1920s. Hughes was reared for a time by his grandmother in Kansas after his parents divorce. Influenced by the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Carl Sandburg, he began writing creatively while still a boy. Not only did Hughes suffer from poverty but also from restrictions that came with living in a segregated community. While he attended an integrated school, he was not permitted to play team sports or join the Boy Scouts. Even his favorite movie theater put a sign that read No Colored Admitted. In spite of these obstacles, Hughes developed a natural sense of self-confidence and hope. His grandmother always lived as a free woman and was insistent about standing up for the right of all people to be free. Under her influence, Hughes learned to endure the hardships of prejudice without surrendering his dignity or pride. (Berry 7) My father hated Negroes, Hughes wrote, I think he hated himself, too, for being a Negro. Hughes wanted to attend Colombia University and needed his fathers financial aid. His father refused because he wanted Hughes to study engineering. Seeing his sons determination, he finally agreed to help pay his tuition. University officials were surprised to discover Hughes was black. He was discriminated against from dormitories to the student newspaper. Angered by the racism he unexpectedly encountered, Hughes began to explore New York, which brought about the most important stage in his development as a writer. Even though his father was racist, Hughes never was. He always sought to speak to all Americans, especially on the larger issues of social, economic, and political justice. He did not hide the fact that he lived with racism, but he talked of his strength, and the strength of many other blacks, to stand tall and believe in a better future. (Berry 12) The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and psychological watershed. It was an era in which black people were perceived as having finally liberated themselves from a past fraught with self-doubt to an unprecedented optimism. It gave African Americans a novel pride in all things black and a cultural confidence that stretched beyond the borders of Harlem to other black communities in the Western world. The Harlem Renaissance was a provocative response to the new era: an aesthetic response that transcends time to celebrate identity, creativity, the past, and the present. (Rummel 33) Hughes accepted his vocation to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America. His personal credo, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, became the credo of a generation of African-American poets. In it Hughes argued against surrendering racial pride to the hope of acceptance of whites. The urge among some black artists to be as little Negro and as much American as possible, wrote Hughes, was a mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art. Hughes poetry drew from traditional sources and individual voices; his experiments reflected an attempt to capture the myriad of colors known as black. He defined a black beauty in which he interpreted and recorded the lives of the common black folk. To Hughes, even when an ordinary person sang, danced, or worked; they were likely to be making beauty. He truly believed that these people were producing art and culture all the time, almost as if they were rainbows that had to be captured before they vanished. His interest in portray ing the lives of average people angered black leaders who believed that black writers should emphasize the best qualities of blacks so white leaders would obtain a favorable impression. (Chow 1) When he took a job as a seaman aboard an old ocean liner, Hughes marveled at the vitality and diversity of African tribal culture, but he also saw how the continent was exploited and poverty-stricken by the European colonial powers. Hughes time in Africa was inspirational, resulting in several poems condemning white colonialism or celebrating black unity and beauty. His racial pride made his poetry popular among many Africans. (Berry 21) When he traveled to Paris, Hughes developed a love for jazz. His

Book Censorship and Banning of Childrens Books

Book Censorship and Banning of Childrens Books Many people think that book censorship, challenges and book banning are things that happened in the distant past. That is certainly not the case. You may also remember all of the controversy about the Harry Potter books in the early 2000s. Why Do People Want to Ban Books? When people challenge books it is generally out of a concern that the contents of the book will be harmful to the reader. According to the ALA, there are four motivating factors: Family ValuesReligionPolitical ViewsMinority Rights. The age level for which a book is intended does not guarantee that someone wont try to censor it. Though the emphasis seems to be on challenges to childrens and young adult (YA) books some years more than others, attempts are also continually mounted to restrict access to certain adult books, often books that are taught in high school. Most complaints are made by parents and are directed to public libraries and schools. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The Fight Against Book Censorship When the Harry Potter books came under attack, a number of organizations joined together to establish Muggles for Harry Potter, which became known as kidSPEAK and focused on being a voice for kids in fighting censorship in general. KidSPEAK stressed, Kids have First Amendment rights- and kidSPEAK helps kids fight for them! However, that organization no longer exists. For a good list of organizations that are dedicated to fighting book censorship, just take a look at the list of sponsoring organizations in my article about Banned Books Week. There are more than a dozen sponsors, including the American Library Association, National Council of Teachers of English, American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Association of American Publishers. Parents Against Bad Books in Schools PABBIS (Parents Against Bad Books in Schools), is just one of a number of parent groups around the country challenging childrens and young adult books in classroom teaching, and in school and public libraries. These parents go beyond wanting to restrict access to certain books for their own children; they seek to restrict access for other parents children as well in one of two ways: either by getting one or more books removed from the library shelves or having access to the books restricted in some way. What Do You Think? According to article Public Libraries and Intellectual Freedom on the American Library Association Web site, while it is important and appropriate for parents to oversee their childrens reading and media exposure, and the library has many resources, including booklists, to assist them, it is not appropriate for the library to serve in loco parentis, making judgement calls appropriate for parents in terms of what their children do and do not have access to rather than serving in their capacity as librarians. For More Information About Book Banning and Kids Books ThoughtCo addresses the issue in the article Censorship and Book Banning in America about the controversy surrounding the teaching of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in an 11th Grade American Literature class. Read What Is a Banned Book? and how to save a book from banning by ThoughCo  to learn how you can prevent book censorship.

Proof read Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proof read - Essay Example As a businessman, my father is always busy together with my mother who assists him in the details of his transactions. Despite their busy schedules though, our parents always make time for the family and include me and my sister in their travels every December. Therefore, I have come to love the month of December because I am not only able to be with my parents but I also get the chance of visiting other places. I have already been to different parts of the world such as France, Singapore, Germany, China, Seoul, Japan, Korea, England, USA, and Canada. The interesting places often make family vacations extra special and wonderful because I get to visit beautiful places and taste different delicious foods. Travelling around the world has therefore become my dream because I am very interested in exploring other cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds. As an afterthought, I think my father intentionally instilled in me the importance of travel to a businessman. Looking bac k, I could see how he has guided and molded to becoming a good businessman through the education that was given to me which I believe would really be very beneficial. I graduated from Gandhi Memorial International School in my hometown. As an Indonesian, I fluently speak my native language which is Bahasa Indonesia. Coming from Chinese descent as well, I am able to speak Mandarin because I am forced to speak the language with my grandparents. In addition, the school I attended also taught us the language. As an international school, Gandhi Memorial taught most of our subjects using the English language. This enabled me to use the language well. As an aspiring businessman, I consider my communication skills as an advantage because I know I could communicate well with other people. Knowing the benefits of education, I entered Pasadena City College on the Fall of 2013 to pursue higher education. My travels proved to be helpful as I lived

Freedom Writers - Economics of Race and Gender Movie Review

Freedom Writers - Economics of Race and Gender - Movie Review Example The movie is made in the context of Rodney King sparked LA riots in 1992 and its impact on people with a special reference to the lives of students at Wilson High School after a few years of riots. Director set the stage for a serious subject in the very beginning of the movie while filming street situation and unrest during riots. Long Beach is a gang-infested and poverty-stricken place where violence and killing is the everyday story. This scenario wages a new war in streets and school is no different, a cynical resentment and anger moves in school hallways and triggers violent confrontations between students at any point in time. In the very beginning, Erin’s enthusiasm for teaching was scoffed at and her students were entitled to be â€Å"un-teachable† rather â€Å"at-risk† gangsters who can never be tamed. Despite her unexpected encounter with students and their arrogant behavior, Erin decided to fight for the purpose of her presence in school as a teacher. After the initial hostile reaction to her efforts, Erin creatively tried to be friend with students. It was the only way to unite the teens and teach them to think beyond the racial divided that they couldn’t cross even in the classroom. Their minds were blocked by the perceptions that they were anything except students; they were blacks, whites or Cambodians. Erin wanted to expose them to different perspectives and ideologies beyond their own streets and homes. It was only possible through books but to Erin’s surprise, school authority not only refused to provide books but other resources as well. For authorities, it was the waste of time and resources. Somewhat discouraged and shocked, Erin takes up the part-time job in order to provide students with learning aids. By encouraging students to write what they feel like in their diaries inspired by Anne Frank and Zlata’s Diary: A child’s life in Sarajevo, she not only worked on their language skills but also taught them tolerance and compassion.

The U.S. Mixed Economy and the Economic Role of Government Essay Example for Free

The U.S. Mixed Economy and the Economic Role of Government Essay In all economies scarcity (TOC1) is a real problem. This means compared to our unlimited wants the production factors (TOC 1) are scarce. As a result of this as a society we need to economize the use of resources in an efficient manner. Any Economic system has to address the fundamental questions of what to produce, how to produce, when to produce and for whom to produce. This entails an economic system. These economic issues can be addressed by different economic systems. These systems can be a capitalist economic system or socialist economic system. In a mixed market economy like the US economy the demand and supply allocate resources and private ownership of property is protected and the major motive for production is profit and it is based on the assumption of rational self-interest. (TOC 1) This means on the assumptions that people will behave to maximize their benefit minimize cost. As well competition is the cornerstone in the efficient allocation of resources to meet consumer demand and the source of technological advancement on a continuous basis so that the economy grow in a more dynamic manner. In US Government regulates the economy to encourage competition, provide public goods such as military forces, public schools welfare programs and also formulate fiscal and monetary policy to dampen trade cycles in the US economy particularly after the great depression in the 1930’s. Contrast to this in an economic system, which, is closer to a command economy, or socialist economic system the government intervenes heavily in resolving economic issues and the market plays a minor role. In a Socialist system the government mostly determines what to produce, how to produce, when to produce and for whom to produce. As well competition is not encouraged and private property is curtailed in a command economy. (U.S. Department of States Bureau of International Information Programs, http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/market/mktec8.htm) As discussed above it is obvious that the command economy does well in income distribution compared to capitalist systems. However they are not dynamic and may stagnate and produce shortages because of wrong central plan priorities no incentives and rigidities of the system to respond to changing circumstances and it is undemocratic in essence. In this respect capitalist system is more efficient. That is market economy allocates resources efficiently than command economy. It is also a fact Capitalist system is prone to shocks and may produce inflation as well it also is prone to trade cycles like boom and bust. For example in US economic history after the great depression 1930.s the economist agreed it is necessary to regulate the economy by fiscal and monetary policy and by micro economic reform and gave birth to the mixed a economy rather than pure capitalist system. (U.S. Department of States Bureau of International Information Programs, http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/market/mktec8.htm)Â   There fore one can conclude that all economic system evolve all the time and capitalist and socialist economic systems have strengths and weaknesses. Bibliography U.S. Department of States Bureau of International Information Programs. GOVERNMENT IN A MARKET ECONOMY. Retrieved on October 2, 2006, From INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAM USINFO.STATE.GOV Web Site: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/market/mktec8.htm.

Clozapine :: Drugs Science Medical Psychology Essays

Clozapine Clozapine is an atypical anti-psychotic medication that acts as an antagonist (a drug that blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter), thus producing an inhibitory effect, at a variety of neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. The exact site and action by which Clozapine produces its therapeutic effects is difficult to locate due to the complexity of its interactions with several neurotransmitters. It is believed that the two key neurotransmitters that Clozapine interacts with are serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA), particularly at 5-HT2, D2, and D4 receptors (Brenner, H.D., BÃâ€"ker, W., Genner, R., 2001). Serotonin is a biogenic amine derived from tryptophan that generally produces inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (meaning that it causes hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic cell membrane).Functions of serotonin include regulation of sleep and emotions. Dopamine is a monoamine catecholamine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Receptors that bind dopamine are termed dopaminergic. Dopamine is one of the principal modulatory neurotransmitters in the brain and may have inhibitory or excitatory effects depending upon the response of the postsynaptic receptor (King, www.indstate.edu). Clozapine also has effects at muscarinic M1 receptors, adrenergic receptors, cholinergic receptors, and histamine receptors (Brenner, et al). There are many disputed theories of the biological causes of schizophrenia. One of the most prominent ideas is the "dopamine hypothesis." The dopamine hypothesis attributes hyperdopaminergic function, meaning an excess of dopamine at certain synapses, as a possible cause of schizophrenia (Fann, W.E., Karacan, I., Pokorney, A.D., & Williams, R.L., 1978). Dopamine systems arise from two primary midbrain clusters, the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra which have discrete projections to mesolimbic, mesocortical, and striatal regions of the brain. The neurochemical anatomy of dopamine differs in cortical and striatal regions, and it appears that dopamine concentration, receptor regulation, and D2 receptor density varies greatly between striatal and extrastriatal regions (Jones, & Pilowsky, 2002). It is supposed that the therapeutic actions of antipsychotic drugs are exerted via the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways in the brain (Hyman et. al., 1995). According to the dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia, limbic D2 receptor blockade is essential for a drug to have antipsychotic activity. It is believed that the therapeutic actions of antipsychotic drugs are exerted via the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways in the brain by acting as D2 receptor antagonists (Hyman et al.)Without exception, effective antipsychotic drugs have at least some degree of antagonism of the dopamine D2 receptors. (Breier, A., Tran, P. Clozapine :: Drugs Science Medical Psychology Essays Clozapine Clozapine is an atypical anti-psychotic medication that acts as an antagonist (a drug that blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter), thus producing an inhibitory effect, at a variety of neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. The exact site and action by which Clozapine produces its therapeutic effects is difficult to locate due to the complexity of its interactions with several neurotransmitters. It is believed that the two key neurotransmitters that Clozapine interacts with are serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA), particularly at 5-HT2, D2, and D4 receptors (Brenner, H.D., BÃâ€"ker, W., Genner, R., 2001). Serotonin is a biogenic amine derived from tryptophan that generally produces inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (meaning that it causes hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic cell membrane).Functions of serotonin include regulation of sleep and emotions. Dopamine is a monoamine catecholamine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Receptors that bind dopamine are termed dopaminergic. Dopamine is one of the principal modulatory neurotransmitters in the brain and may have inhibitory or excitatory effects depending upon the response of the postsynaptic receptor (King, www.indstate.edu). Clozapine also has effects at muscarinic M1 receptors, adrenergic receptors, cholinergic receptors, and histamine receptors (Brenner, et al). There are many disputed theories of the biological causes of schizophrenia. One of the most prominent ideas is the "dopamine hypothesis." The dopamine hypothesis attributes hyperdopaminergic function, meaning an excess of dopamine at certain synapses, as a possible cause of schizophrenia (Fann, W.E., Karacan, I., Pokorney, A.D., & Williams, R.L., 1978). Dopamine systems arise from two primary midbrain clusters, the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra which have discrete projections to mesolimbic, mesocortical, and striatal regions of the brain. The neurochemical anatomy of dopamine differs in cortical and striatal regions, and it appears that dopamine concentration, receptor regulation, and D2 receptor density varies greatly between striatal and extrastriatal regions (Jones, & Pilowsky, 2002). It is supposed that the therapeutic actions of antipsychotic drugs are exerted via the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways in the brain (Hyman et. al., 1995). According to the dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia, limbic D2 receptor blockade is essential for a drug to have antipsychotic activity. It is believed that the therapeutic actions of antipsychotic drugs are exerted via the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways in the brain by acting as D2 receptor antagonists (Hyman et al.)Without exception, effective antipsychotic drugs have at least some degree of antagonism of the dopamine D2 receptors. (Breier, A., Tran, P.

Consumer Preference on Infants Milk Essay

There is no question about breast milk being the best start a baby can have in life. It is firmly believes that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby and is strongly committed to its protection and promotion. Starting at about 6 months of age, the period of weaning is critical for the future development and growth of infants. The introduction of appropriate and nutritious complementary food from this age is extremely important. Infant formula milk is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants less than 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder (mixed with water) as a substitute to breast feeding. Companies that manufacture infant formula used different strategies in order to market their product one of them is product positioning. Product positioning is an important part of a product marketing strategy. It helps buyers and users understand where a product ‘fits’ in terms what it offers, and how it compares with competing products. Product positioning is an important element of a marketing plan. Product positioning is the process marketers use to determine how to best communicate their products’ attributes to their target customers based on customer needs, competitive pressures, available communication channels and carefully crafted key messages. Effective product positioning ensures that marketing messages resonate with target consumers and compel them to take action. Product positioning and consumer buying behavior must be studied in order to prove the perception of consumer in purchasing infant formula. Statement of the Problem. This study aimed to determine the Product Positioning of Infants’ Formula Milk in selected Drugstores in Bacoor City. 1. What are the socio- economic characteristics of the consumers who are purchasing infants’ formula? 2. What are brands of infants’ formula consumer buys? 3. Which drugstore consumer purchased the infants’ formula milk? 4. How do drugstores position their infants’ formula milk product? 5. What are the buying attributes of consumer? Objectives: This core objective of the study is to identify the product positioning of infants’ formula in selected drugstores in Bacoor City. This study aimed to: 1. describe the socio-economic characteristic of consumers who are purchasing infants’ formula milk. 2. identify the brand of infants’ formula consumer buy. 3. identify the drugstore in which consumer purchases the infants’ formula milk. 4. determine on how drugstores position their infants’ formula milk. 5. determine the buying attributes of consumer. Importance of the Study: The findings of the study would create a deeper understanding about the product positioning of infants’ formula. It will be beneficial to the following: Buyer. This study would serve as a guide to buyers in making the right in choosing appropriate infants’ formula. Distributors. This study will serve as a guide to distributor to identify the attributes that buyer consider in purchasing infants’ formula milk, so that they can position their product effectively. Retailer. This study will serve as a guide to retailer to know what is the most preferred brand of infants’ formula milk buyer purchases so that they will know which brand of infants’ formula milk they will sell. Future Researcher. The researcher could gain insights in product positioning of infants’ formula milk. The information from this study can guide those who are interested to conduct the same study. Operational Defintion of Terms: In order for the reader to understand the study, the following terms are hereby defined operationally as they will be used in the study: Buyer. They are the individuals who purchase infants’ formula milk. Drugstore. It is a retailing store that offers infants’ formula milk. Socio- Economic Characteristics. This are composed of age, gender, civil status, monthly income, employment status and educational attainment of consumers who are buying infants’ formula milk. Product Positioning. It involves creating a unique, consistent, and recognized customer perception about a firm’s offering and image. A product or service may be positioned on the basis of an attitude or benefit, use or application, user, class, price, or level of quality. It targets a product for specific market segments and product needs at specific prices.

Evangelism and Business Essay

A business is bounded with many obstacles just like experienced in act of making disciples. The commission of Jesus to the Christians to go make the disciples of all nations is like an entrepreneur who dares to venture into a new business. God is like a cook when it comes to making of disciples. The world is God’s kitchen where He does the preparation. This task comes with a lot of risks and challenges such as opposition, persecution and rejection. To begin with, just like in the task of making the disciples, a business venture experiences tough times; time of slow growth or even close down. The times when the church experienced persecution compares to the time when a business is experiencing heavy loses. If the loses become so big the business owner would even think of closing down. Just like the persecution that was experienced by the church in the early years of Christianity that seemed as though they were aimed at completely facing out the church. Endurance is expected during all these tough times. As the bible puts it â€Å"fix our eyes on Jesus† and â€Å"run with endurance the race that is set before us† (Hebrews 12: 1-2), it therefore requires a business owner to hold on despite the tough times. A business owner needs the motivation to help him/her move on. This can be derived from teachings of Paul to the Philippines saying, â€Å"[We] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us]. (Phil 4:13). Times of smooth and flawless growth always come despite all odds. In business, this is the time when one experiences no hitches. Its time when one reaps good profits from his ventures and all goes well; the business expands and returns are high. This compares to the time when the church experiences no obstacles and is growing like the raging fire. These are times when evangelism does not seem challenging and men are fired up, ready to go to any corner of the world to spread the gospel to everyone (acts 21:8). Just like the way a business owner delights in the achievements growth, God too delights when one earnestly spreads His messages in evangelism. Jesus puts it to the disciples that He delights and rejoices with them in their pursuit for his word (Philippians 12:17-18). Reference Holy Bible, New International Version, (1984). International Bible Society

Value chain analysis Essay Example

Value chain analysis Essay Example Value chain analysis Paper Value chain analysis Paper customer and repair service, upgrading are main example of this Sales and Service activities. For instance Carphonewarehouse offer customers to upgrade their phone contract with a free mobile phone and other promotional offers. This service soar up the value of a product. Secondary activities exist to support these primary activities and would include thing like infrastructure, human resource, technology and procurement. Procurement Procurement basically hold the duty for every type of purchasing such as goods service and material. Thus a business or company gain resources. The intention of procurement is not to allow the price go higher but to ensure the best possible quality. Technology development Technology is necessary activities for so called Value chain analysis which performs detailed study to obtain results on certain subject. This discover how to cut down cost and find the way to stay more successful than anyone else. It requires to use of hardware, software, expert knowledge to bring in business changes of input to output Human resources To bring the right staff doing the right thing at the right time is an obligation for this activities. This process starts from recruiting or hiring staff, training and developing. Human resource department also follow dismissal procedure when required. Answer to E Dell Computers can be illustrated as an example of Value Chain analysis. It manufactures computers in several region such as Europe, America, Taiwan, Malaysia and China. This company has brought a significant change in computer production. By this strategy Dell has been able to sell computer directly to the customers. This system is known as Electronic Data Interchange and Just In Time (JIT) inventories are mostly depend on website technology. This process can supply the computer to a customer within a week as soon as an order is placed. Altogether assembling a computer take less than seven hours including software installation and system check. It is necessary for suppliers to hold the inventory as to get the parts when needed, as a result they know when replenishment is required. Dell became no 1 computer seller by maintaining efficient operation strategy. the server, storage system, mobile and desktop computers are built-to-order in six manufacturing facilities around the world The web based system instruct and maintain the order and inventory level. Dell can take its inventory only in four days regardless of how many customers they are serving with how many products. ( Fiscal 2005,in review 2005). Dell enables its customer to buy products through internet or over the telephone or fax and named this process direct to consumers business model. It is claimed that dell made it easy for customers to order product online than order over phone or fax. After order the computer is assembled than supplied to customers within 7 working days. Dell also has achieved significant success in its sales and marketing. Now a days advertisement of dell product can be seen across TV, newspaper etc. due to this type of advertisement and promotion currently Dell now sell over 50% of its total sale by internet. Moreover one third of Dell employees are working in sales and marketing. Also to remove possible internal conflict dell introduced credit for sale to country manager and sale reps whether the order is taken by phone or internet. In order to reduce cost dell minimised the level of interaction between consumers and employees by introducing direct sale. Customers often contacts service centre if they experience a system problem. An example for this would be , if a customers hard disc fails to work, then the information pass through the technical support and then into Dells service and support systems. After that a piece of new equipment shipped to customer. In this stage dell ranked a position behind Apple, IBM and Toshiba  regarding customers service. (Computers, Desktops, Laptops, 2006, p. 232). But Dell has managed to remain in a higher position than its rival HP and Compaq  . Senior executives became aware of this situation and now working ahead for improvements.

Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy

Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy ​Known for:  signing the Great Privilege and, by her marriage, bringing her dominions under Habsburg control Dates:  February 13, 1457 - March 27, 1482 About Mary of Burgundy The only child of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and Isabella of Bourbon, Mary of Burgundy became ruler of his lands after her fathers death in 1477. Louis XI of France attempted to force her to marry the Dauphin Charles, thus bringing under French control her lands, including the Netherlands, Franche-Comte, Artois, and Picardy (the Low Countries). Mary, however, did not want to marry Charles, who was 13 years younger than she was. In order to win support for her refusal among her own people, she signed the Great Privilege which returned significant control and rights to localities in the Netherlands. This agreement required the approval of the States to raise taxes, declare war or make peace. She signed this agreement on February 10, 1477. Mary of Burgundy had many other suitors, including Duke Clarence of England. Mary chose Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, of the Habsburg  family, who later became emperor Maximilian I. They married on August 18, 1477. As a result, her lands became part of the Habsburg empire. Mary and Maximilian had three children. Mary of Burgundy died in a fall from a horse on March 27, 1482. Their son Philip, later called Philip the Handsome, was held as virtually a prisoner until Maximilian freed him in 1492. Artois and Franche-Comte became his to rule; Burgundy and Picardy returned to French control. Philip, called Philip the Handsome, married Joanna, sometimes called Juana the Mad, heiress to Castile and Aragon, and thus Spain also joined the Habsburg empire. The daughter of Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian was Margaret of Austria, who served as governor of the Netherlands after her mothers death and before her nephew (the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) was old enough to rule. A painter is known as the  Master of Mary of Burgundy  for an illuminated Book of Hours he created for Mary of Burgundy. Mary of Burgundy Facts Title:  Duchess of Burgundy Father:  Charles the Bold of Burgundy, son of Philip the Good of Burgundy and Isabella of Portugal. Mother:  Isabella of Bourbon (Isabelle de Bourbon), daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy. Family Connections:  Marys father and mother were first cousins: Agnes of Burgundy, her maternal grandmother, and Philip the Good, her paternal grandfather, were both children of Margaret of Bavaria and her husband John the Fearless of Burgundy. Marys great-grandfather John the Fearless of Bavaria was a grandson of John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia; so was another great-grandmother, her mothers paternal grandmother Marie of Auvergne. Also known as:  Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Marie Places: Netherlands, Habsburg Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Low Countries, Austria.

Moonsnail Strategic Management Accounting Essay

Moonsnail Strategic Management Accounting - Essay Example The next section will deal with an internal and external analysis of the company based on which strategic recommendations have been set out. Â  Having gained a brief overview of the company and the history of the company, it is also essential to study the internal and external forces that create an impact on the company. Hence to gain a better understanding of the same a SWOT analysis of the company and Porter’s five force analysis of the company has been provided below (also, see Appendix). This helps in the development of the strategic direction and recommendations for the company. Â  The first most essential aspect of the company that needs to be understood is the strengths. As understood, the company deals with handmade products and this helps in ensuring high-quality products with least defects. Also, the unique selling point of the company is the individualized and unique products that it develops and sells in the crafted shops. The simple processes and modest working environment of the company also permit to ensure that all processes are value based and the customers are not overcharged for any of the products, unlike the competition. The brand name and image is strong and well recognized across the country. In terms of weaknesses, the company deals with handmade products which limit products that can be developed. Also, the lack of machines in the production leads to increased processing time and increased need for human resources to meet market demand. The main markets and sales are from the tourist, which is based on seasonal markets hence leading the company to deal with the seasonal changes. High costs for advertising and marketing expenses. Â  In terms of the opportunities, Moonsnail has a number of opportunities that it can use for its growth and improvements.