85 Synonyms for Help

85 Synonyms for Help 85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help† 85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help† By Mark Nichol There are so many ways to help at least eighty-five, I discovered. Here are that number of synonyms and idiomatic phrases for the verb help: 1. Abet: to actively help with an endeavor 2. Accommodate: to offer something, especially to help meet a need or want 3. Advance: to speed up the development of an initiative or cause 4. Advise: to recommend or warn 5. Aid: to provide something necessary to help 6. Alleviate: see relieve, and to help correct or remove a problem 7. Ameliorate: to make better or more manageable 8. Amend: to help by improving 9. Assist: to supplement an effort 10. Attend: to stand ready to help 11. Back: to help with actions or words, or to help financially 12. Backstop: see bolster 13. Bail out: to help someone suffering hardship; also, to abandon an enterprise 14. Ballyhoo: see hype 15. Bear a hand: see â€Å"lend a hand† 16. Be of use: see benefit 17. Befriend: to become a friend of 18. Benefit: to be helpful 19. Bolster: to help in order to strengthen 20. Boost: to physically help one up from below, or to help publicly; also, slang for â€Å"steal† 21. Buck up: see bolster 22. Buttress: to strengthen figuratively or literally 23. Care for: to help someone recover 24. Champion: to advocate or protect 25. Cheer: to make someone feel better through deeds or words; also, to applaud vocally 26. Comfort: to provide hope or strength, or to console 27. Contribute: to give financial or material help or to provide services 28. Cooperate: to proactively offer help, or to compromise 29. Counsel: see advise 30. Deliver: to convey something to another 31. Ease: to make easier 32. Embolden: to give courage to 33. Encourage: to inspire, or to help by offering a positive comment or making a helpful gesture 34. Endorse: to approve or recommend 35. Facilitate: to help enable something to occur 36. Favor: to give partisan help to someone 37. Forward: see encourage 38. Foster: see encourage and nurture 39. Further: see encourage 40. Go to bat for: see back 41. Guide: see advise, or to show or demonstrate 42. Hearten: see encourage 43. Hype: to provide extravagant publicity 44. Intercede: to become involved on another’s behalf 45. Launch: to help someone start an enterprise 46. Lend a hand: to provide material help 47. Meliorate: see ameliorate 48. Mentor: see advise 49. Minister to: to give help to, especially in terms of emotional or physical needs 50. Mitigate: see relieve and mollify 51. Mollify: to assuage, soften, or soothe 52. Nurture: to help develop 53. Oblige: to indulge a request for help 54. Open doors: to provide help through influence or recommendation 55. Palliate: to reduce discomfort or pain, or to excuse 56. Patronize: to provide help through influence or financial support 57. Plug: see promote 58. Promote: provide help by advertising or by enabling publicity 59. Prop up: see bolster 60. Push: to help in reaching an objective 61. Reinforce: see encourage, or to strengthen 62. Relieve: to remove a burden or obligation, or to take one’s place in performing a task 63. Remedy: see relieve 64. Rescue: to help someone or something harmed, in poor conditions, or in financial straits 65. Restore: to improve by returning to a previous, better condition, or to help rejuvenate 66. Revive: to bring back to life or former improved circumstances 67. Root for: to publicly make positive comments, or to applaud vocally 68. Sanction: to approve, especially in an official capacity; can also mean to ratify, or to censure) 69. Save: see rescue 70. Second: see assist and reinforce 71. See (something) through: to help accomplish or complete a task 72. Serve: to satisfy or supply needs or wants 73. Sponsor: see patronize 74. Stand by: see back 75. Stick up for: see back 76. Stimulate: see restore 77. Stump for: see promote 78. Succor: see relieve 79. Support: see assist and promote 80. Sustain: see assist and relieve 81. Take under (one’s) wing: see patronize 82. Treat: to care for 83. Stand one in good stead: see bolster 84. Uphold: see assist 85. Work for: to help accomplish a goal Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsWhat to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowCareful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Details of James Deans Death in a Car Accident

Details of James Dean's Death in a Car Accident In September 1955, actor James Dean was driving his brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a head-on collision with a 1950 Ford Tudor. James Dean, only 24 years old, died in the crash. Although already famous for his role in East of Eden, his death and the release of Rebel Without a Cause caused James Dean to soar to cult status. James Dean, forever frozen as the talented, misunderstood, rebellious youth remains the symbol of teenage angst. Who Was James Dean? John Kobal Foundation/Contributor/Getty Images James Dean had appeared in a number of television shows before getting his big break in 1954 when he was chosen to play Cal Trask, the leading male role in the film East of Eden (1955). This was the only one of Deans films released before his death. Quickly following East of Eden, James Dean was signed to play Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), the film for which Dean is best remembered. Immediately following the filming for Rebel Without a Cause, Dean played the lead role in Giant (1956). Both of these films were released after Deans death. James Dean Raced Cars As Deans movie career began to take off, James Dean also started to race cars. In March 1955 Dean raced in the Palm Springs Road Races, and in May of that year he raced in the Minter Field Bakersfield race and the Santa Barbara Road Races. James Dean liked to go fast. In September 1955 Dean replaced his white Porsche 356 Super Speedster with a new, silver Porsche 550 Spyder. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images Dean had the car specialized by having the number 130 painted on both the front and back. Also painted on the back of the car was Little Bastard, Deans nickname given to him by friend Bill Hickman, who was Deans dialogue coach for Giant. The Accident On September 30, 1955, James Dean was driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when the fatal accident occurred. Originally planning to tow the Porsche to the rally, Dean changed his mind at the last minute and decided to drive the Porsche instead. Dean and Rolf Wuetherich, Deans mechanic, rode in the Porsche. Following were photographer Sanford Roth and Bill Hickman, driving a Ford station wagon that had a trailer for the Spyder attached. En route to Salinas, Dean was pulled over by police officers near Bakersfield for speeding around 3:30 p.m. After being stopped, Dean and Wuetherich continued on their way. Two hours later, around 5:30 p.m., they were driving westbound on Highway 466 (now called State Route 46), when a 1950 Ford Tudor pulled out in front of them. 23-year-old Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the Ford Tudor, had been traveling east on Highway 466 and was attempting to make a left turn onto Highway 41. Unfortunately, Turnupseed had already started to make his turn before he saw the Porsche traveling quickly toward him. Without time to turn, the two cars smashed nearly head-on. The injuries among the three involved in the crash varied greatly. Turnupseed only received minor injuries from the accident. Rolf Wuetherich, the passenger in the Porsche, was lucky to be thrown from the Porsche. Although he suffered serious head injuries and a broken leg, he survived the crash. Dean, however, was killed in the accident. Dean was just 24 years old at the time of the wreck. Posthumous Academy Awards To this day, James Dean is the only person to receive two Academy Award nominations posthumously. In 1956, he was nominated posthumously for Best Leading Actor for his role in East of Eden. This was a historic first. In 1957, Dean was again posthumously nominated for Best Leading Actor, this time for his role in Giant. What Happened to Deans Smashed Car? Many Dean fans wonder what happened to the smashed Porsche. After the accident, the crumpled car was toured around the United States as part of a driver safety presentation. However, en route between two stops, the car disappeared. In 2005, Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois, offered $1 million to anyone who currently had the car. So far, the car has not resurfaced.

With reference to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, discuss the Essay

With reference to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, discuss the Romantics active and complex involvement with gender - Essay Example It was during this era when the essence of a woman revolved on bearing and rearing children. History will tell us that women then were deprived of basic rights. To illustrate such vision, women were denied of formal education and prohibited to exercise the right to suffrage. They stood behind the shadows of great men who ruled society during that time. Branded as man’s attendant and helper, women were treated as second-rate citizens. Thus, women of the 19th century were nominated with only two roles to portray, either submissive companions of their husbands or industrious housewives and caring mothers to their children. These are the only cherished triumphs of the women who lived in that period. In 1972, British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft authored a book entitled   â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects.† She was one of the first highly acclaimed authors on feminist philosophy. â€Å"In this book, she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but only appear to be for lack of education. She suggests that men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason† (Wollstonecraft). She emphasized the importance of women in society because they bear children, rear and educate them to become good citizens of society. â€Å"Women should not only be regarded as objects that are to be traded in marriage, but must be accorded the same fundamental rights as men because men and women are co-equals. Wollstonecraft insisted that all political authority should rest on the grounds of reason and justice alone, she demanded that every person be entitled to enjoy and dispense the fruits of his and her own labors, that inequality of rank be eliminated† (Mellor 32). The social restrictions of women in the 18th Century became one of main subjects illustrated in Jane Austen’s book, Pride and Prejudice, wherein the character of Elizabeth Benne t, was shown as an example of how a woman can survive the challenges of a male-conquered society through her distinct brilliance, charm and intelligence. II. DISCUSSION The protagonist in Austen’s novel is Elizabeth Bennet. She is often described as an intelligent young, witty woman and, playful, though exhibiting sheer impertinence did not make her distasteful to others. Her family’s financial condition forced her to seek out a marriage for convenience. She remained the ideal woman of her time as she expressed her intention to marry for love. She was branded as one of Austen’s beloved heroines of all time. In the novel, Elizabeth was forced to conform to the prevalent social restrictions in place, which included a marriage for convenience. Elizabeth is then met the high and mighty, Mr. Darcy, who was enamoured by her simplicity and wit. However, society dictates that Mr. Darcy should marry a woman of aristocracy, beyond Elizabeth’s social class. This cir cumstance wounded her pride, and thus caused her to foster prejudices against Mr. Darcy. â€Å"Austen is regarded as an affirmative novelist. Positive values of good sense, kindness candor and restraint of egotistical impulses are exhibited by the characters in her novel. Morality is dominant in her written works, and does not consist in swallowing whole the values which society offers her, and her moral affirmations are always qualified by important critical or ironic reservations† (Nardin 3). This was exactly the purpose of Elizabeth’s character, unconventional and unafraid of the limitations imposed by society. She was envisioned as full of pride and her truthful

See the attachments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

See the attachments - Assignment Example The incoming research will investigate workforce diversity in light with establishing parameters surrounding it. The report is defragmented into three key sections and a secondary section. The commencing secondary section- rationale of the study- will justify why it is important to engage in these studies. As well, the section will incorporate two key theories to support the study. The first primary section, Workforce Diversity will assess what is known about the discipline. The midsection will propose a Personal Development Plan. The last section will clarify on the learning outcomes of the PDP. There have been growing debates on the extent of diversity in organizations. Primarily, critical attention is accorded to whether organizations are affirming Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) in affirming to diversity. Diversity concerns stretch valiantly with gender, race, sexual orientation and physical abilities being the most visited roles. Rice (2015, p. 93) establishes that diversity might be identified as an important goal for the workforce by affirmative action, which might show positive results, but not everyone may benefit from the sometimes blunt methods applied to achieve it. Convincingly, although developing practices increase the relevance of the diversity in the organization, different groups seems to benefit more than others. The rationale for such studies is projected by the fact that not much has been done in the field of diversity. A crucial theory in these studies is Social Identity Theory. Social Identity Theory can be identified as a mixture of people with the different group identified within the same social system. Intergroup perspectives have been one of the major frameworks for understanding human interactions in a wider organizational context. The category of being perceived by others belonging to a given social category is nullified at this point. In relation to the theory, Guajardo (2014,

Frank Capra, Meet John Doe Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frank Capra, Meet John Doe - Movie Review Example Keeping in mind public reaction, power players got involved in realization of John Doe project, picking out a man ready to play the role for money and disappear at the right moment. However, the â€Å"actor† eventually realizes the scale of social manipulations and sets himself against his puppeteers. The movie vibrantly reflects the topic of social manipulation and power play, vesting it in the settings of contemporary New York and then the entire America. Here, I would like to mention Harry Cooper’s brilliant acting – to my thinking, Capra chose a perfect man to embody the image of John Doe, the symbol of protests against rotten social order. The topic that was most vividly illustrated in the Meet John Doe movie is definitely the role of mass media in public conscience and its ambiguous nature. No invention can be exclusively positive or negative by its nature – it only has potential. Mass media is an example of such invention depicted in the movie. On one hand, newspapers and radio plat and grow the idea in minds of thousands of people – good idea celebrating unity and mutual respect among â€Å"average† citizens. On the other hand, it is mass media that distort this idea, convert it to the use of political campaigns and make the adherents abandon John Doe’s ideas. Here, on the example of Ann Mitchel and others, a narrower topic of journalist ethics is raised. At the same time, the ideas professed by John Doe are rather close to biblical ones, reminding average people of general human morality – Mitchell encourages them via Willoughby’s voice on the radio to help and unite with their neighbors, implying that such average people are the nation, not the politicians. The movie is an absolute masterpiece despite the fact that it wasn’t fully appreciated after release in 1941. Classical work of the world’s cinema,

Influencing factors of consumer complaint behaviour in Malaysia

Influencing factors of consumer complaint behaviour in Malaysia INTRODUCTION If consumers experience dissatisfaction with products or services and are unable to obtain satisfaction from sellers or manufacturers, they may turn for help to a variety of consumer complaint agencies. Therefore, a third party can be the next step for consumers to improve their satisfaction if they still dissatisfied with the companys response. Few consumers actually complain directly to the manufacturer or service provider, so businesses may be unaware of consumer complaint actions (Day, Grabicke, Schaetzel, and Stauchbach, 1981; Stephens and Gwinner 1998). Franklin (1992) believes that consumer complaints is correlated with demands for more government regulation and intervention in the market place. From a managerial perspective, complaints represent potentially valuable information in guiding marketing strategy. Further, from a public policy perspective, complaints may aid the development and targeting of consumer protection and market regulatory programmes (Fornell and Westbrook , 1979). Hence, complaints can provide an alert to the distribution channel of the government regulation that needs correction in the business, and gives the company an opportunity to convince the customer to continue patronising their stores and buying their products. Thus, in the market place, effective complaint management must be a priority for every business, as the complaining behaviour provides companies with a chance to remedy the dissatisfaction and, ultimately, to retain loyal customers (Franklin, 1992; Davidow and Dacin, 1997). Balasubramaniam (1984) suggests that consumer protection may comprise polices and actions involving government intervention to ensure that all consumers obtain what they really want. The increasing demand for consumer protection is a modern phenomenon, and efforts are being made by governments to obtain greater enforcement from laws, however, these laws are not considered as particularly helpful to consumers for matters pertaining to trade descriptions (Financial services, housing, food, etc), door-to-door sales, distance selling, and safety of particular product; consumers should be provided more protection by statutes (Rachagan, 1998). Thus, several Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Papua-New Guinea, have enacted statutes specifically titled as Consumer Protection Acts/Codes for consumers to solve specific problems. Most research on consumer complaint behaviour is conducted in the U.S. (e.g. Bearden and Mason, 1984; Day, 198 4; Davidow and Dacin, 1997), Canada (e.g. Barnes and Kelloway, 1980; Lau and Ng, 2001), and European countries such as Norway (e.g. Gronhaug and Arndt, 1980), the Netherlands (Morel, Poiesz and Wilke, 1997) and the U.K. (Crosier and Erdogan, 2001). Based on the different cultural settings, complaint issues in Asian countries are insufficient (e.g. Phau and Sari, 2004; Keng, Richmond and Han, 1995; Lau and Ng, 2001). Thus, to understand complaint behaviour and consumer orientation in the marketing system of Asian consumers is extremely important for their survival. Based on previous studies, this report provides a basic framework for seeking redress to show the main determinant factors that influence the ultimate decision to complain to the firms, third party agencies and take court action through the intention variable. The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivation for seeking redress from the firms and the third party complaint process, especially from the Malaysian consumers perspective. LITERATURE REVIEW In fact, the intention can change over time based on the individuals provisional nature. Human behaviour can be considered under volitional control since the individual is prepared to exert maximum effort. Thus, intention can affect human actions, and the relation between intention and action can be seen as the goals and plans that guide behaviour (Ajzen, 1985). Singh (1988) proposes a two-stage strategy explaining that consumers usually engage in multiple complaint behaviour. The first step is consumer complaint intentions. He reports the unique dimensions that support consumer complaint behaviour responses due to the relative intensity of the different consumer complaint behaviour options (i.e. intentions). It should not simply be based on the behaviour that they did/did not engage in. In the second step, consumer complaint behaviour is explained as consumers taking action for their dissatisfaction for an independent situation. Kim, Kim, Im and Shin (2003) also argue that consumer complaint intention is an outcome of the consumers attitude perspectives, rather than complaint behaviour, as they noted that intention is much better predicted and explained by attitude than behaviour. Thus, complaint intention plays the mediating role to explain the consumers attitude and complaint action in this study. According to the previous studies, the current study attempts to investigate how the variables, such as the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies, perception of business practices and responsiveness to complaints and the importance of the product, influence the complaint intention and complaint action. Knowledge of Consumer Rights and Consumer Agencies Referring to social behaviour, Ajzen (1985) suggests that information that is recognized by the individuals will ultimately influence their further behaviour; Ormrod (1999) proposes that reinforcement responses only increase while the learner is aware of the connection. Singh and Wilkes (1996) suggest that an individuals learning about mechanisms and options of complaining affect consumer complaint behaviour, such as knowledge of unfair practices, consumer rights, and complaint channels. Agbonifoh and Edoreh (1986) argue that market imperfections are one of the market factors that make consumers feel helpless when they face discontent. Hence, consumer protection is one of the reactions to change the consumers helplessness. Guiding the consumers to enjoy their rights and the awareness of the existence of regulations and provisions becomes important when they encounter frustration or depression about the dissatisfied products or services (Agbonfoh and Edoreh, 1986). Thus, awareness of consumers rights and consumer protection agencies is important for consumers making the decision to redress their dissatisfaction to firms or third party. Moyer (1985) found that complainers with relatively good information concerning their consumer rights and who are more aware of possible help from third parties are more active in seeking information and more likely to express their dissatisfaction to sellers. Day (1984) suggests that consumers knowledge about where to complain affects the consumers complaint behaviour. Based on Haefner and Leckenby (1975), and Tipper (1997), in the current study, knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies is defined as the individual awareness and understanding of consumer rights and consumer protection agencies in Malaysia. An individuals knowledge or information is the basis for influence on human behaviour (Ajzen, 1985). Day and Landon (1976) suggest that consumers who are less knowledgeable will rarely seek redress for their discontent with products or services. Moyer (1985) found that complainers who seek more information and have more interest in the consumer protection laws are more active in expressing their dissatisfaction to sellers. Tipper (1997) found that knowledge of consumer rights has a significant positive influence on third party redress. It can be viewed that American consumers with more knowledge about consumer rights are more inclined to utilize federal agencies and legal action as their third party redress options than other consumers. Ajzen (1985, 1991) suggests that intention can be used as a mediating variable between the information variable and specific action. Referring to the limited previous literature, the hypotheses on knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies wit h complaint behaviour can be stated as follows: Hypothesis 1a: Consumers with more knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies are more likely to have high complaint intention. Hypothesis 1b: Consumers with more knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies are more likely to take complaint action. Hypothesis 1c: Complaint intention will mediate the relationship between knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies and complaint action. Perception of Business Practices and Responsiveness to Complaint Keng, Richmond and Han (1995) determine that market factors should influence consumer complaint behaviour, such as a businesss reputation for quality and service, and the responsiveness of the business to complaints. Moyer (1985) found that complainers hold negative expectations concerning an organizations responsiveness to their complaints, they feel that third party actions are on behalf of the consumer. Granbois, Summers and Frazier (1977) delineate that consumers perception about a firms willingness to provide redress has the most significant correlation with complaint behaviour. Jacoby and Jaccard (1981) discuss that marketing channel factors affect consumer complaint behaviour. Richins (1982) points out that the efficacy of complaining and the retailers willingness to solve complaints can be a major factor in consumers complaint behaviour. If the customer responsiveness or firm-related failure from firms or business causes the individual dissatisfaction, consumers are more like ly to tell others about their unhappiness since they tend to perceive the firm to be at fault, and consumers may feel angry and desire to hurt the firms business (Lau and Ng, 2001). Crie (2003) suggests that buyers and sellers interaction frequency plays a part in the preference for verbal complaint action. Based on the previous literature review, the reputation of the business practice and the retailers willingness to address complaints causes consumers dissatisfaction and may influence the consumers complaint behaviour (Richins, 1982; Keng, et al., 1995; Phau and Sari, 2004; Lau and Ng, 2001; Crie, 2003; Liu and McClure, 2001; Weiser, 1995). In the current study, perception of business practices and responsiveness to complaints can be defined as the consumers perception about firms practices and firms responsiveness to their complaint (Keng, et al., 1995). To examine the complaint intention, Richins (1982) found that if consumers perceive that a business is willing to remedy the complaint they are more likely to make a complaint, they feel that complaining is worth the effort. Regarding predicting complaint action from business practices and responsiveness to complaints, Richins (1982) found that if complainers believe that business responsiveness is low, they are more likely to take complaint action. Phau and Sari (2004) found that Indonesian complainers have a negative perception concerning business practice and responsiveness to complaint. Referring to third party complaint actions, Tipper (1997) found that American consumers with a negative feeling about business practice and responsiveness to complaint are more likely to address their complaint to the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Agency, State Attorney Generals Office, Federal Agency and take legal action. Ajzen (1985, 1991) suggests that intention can be used as a mediating v ariable between the attitudinal (perceivable) variable and specific action. Thus, the hypothesis in this study proposes that: Hypothesis 2a: Consumers with a positive perception of business practice and responsiveness to complaint will be more likely to have high complaint intention. Hypothesis 2b: Consumers with a negative perception of business practice and responsiveness to complaint will be more likely to take complaint action. Hypothesis 2c: Complaint intention will mediate the relationship between the perception of business practice and responsiveness to complaint and complaint action. Importance of Product Generally, consumers tend to perceive that high quality products or services have a high price and if the quality of the product or service is below their expectation they will be discontent. Day (1977) suggests that the higher the price of the products or services, the higher the expectation will be performed, and luxury products can influence the consumers status. Keng, et al. (1995) define the consumers perception of the importance of the product as the price of the product, how socially visible the product is, and the durability and frequency of using the product, all of which may influence complaint behaviour. Therefore, the importance of the product can affect consumer complaint behaviour (Keng, et al., 1995; Phau and Sari, 2004). In the present study, the importance of the product can be defined as the price of product, used frequently, socially visible and used for a long period. Day (1977) found that if the actual performance of the product or service dilutes the consumers status, they will be more likely to make a complaint. Jacoby and Jaccard (1981) argue that consumers with higher information regarding their dissatisfaction are more likely to take complaint action. Phau and Sari (2004) found that products that reflect the consumers status, or are used frequently, or over a long period of time, and expensive unsatisfactory products, affect the consumers complaint action for Indonesian consumers. Keng, et al. (1995) found that if the price of the product is high, the more socially visible the product, or the quality of the product is defective, consumers are more likely to take complaint action. Ajzen (1985, 1991) suggests that intention can be used as a mediating variable between the attitudinal (perceivable) variable and specific action. Thus, the hypothesis is stated as the following in the current study: Hypothesis 3a: Consumers with a perception that the unsatisfactory product is expensive, is used frequently, seen by others and is used for a long period of time, are more likely to have high complaint intention. Hypothesis 3b: Consumers with a perception that the product is expensive, is used frequently, seen by others and is used for a long period of time, are more likely to take complaint action. Hypothesis 3c: Complaint intention will mediate the relationship between the importance of the product and complaint action. Complaint Intention and Complaint Action In both the TRA (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) and TPB (Ajzen, 1991) models, the intention construct is considered as the mediation role between the beliefs and the behaviour. Godin and Kok (1996) define the intention as the expressed motivation to perform some behaviour or achieve some goal (p. 94). Ajzen (1991) suggests that intention can be referred to the amount of effort a person exerts to engage in actual behaviour. Ajzen and Driver (1992) argue that intention can be assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence behaviour, it is indications of how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behaviour (p. 208). Hence, the more an individual intends to carry out, the more likely he or she will do. Ajzen (2001) suggests that intention plays an important role in guiding human action and it can perform a goal-directed behaviour in a specific context (p. 47). Ajzen and Driver, (1992) suggest strong intentions of individuals to engage in behaviour or to achieve their behavioural goals. Hurbes and Ajzen (2001) found that intention contributes significantly and gives a positive prediction of hunting behaviour. Singh (1988) found that consumers with private and third party complaint intention are actually more engaged in private and third party actions. Richins (1982) also suggests that a propensity to complain is significantly related with actual behaviour. Therefore, the stronger intentions from consumers to engage in complaint actions, the more successful they are predicted. The proposition between complaint intention and complaint actions shows as following: Hypothesis 4: Consumers with a higher intention of seeking redress for complaining are more likely to take action on their complaints. In accordance with previous studies, this study prefers to treat each factor as separate concepts that can influence the consumers intention and actions in the research framework (see Figure 1). H3b H2b H1b H3a H2a H1a H4 H1c / H2c / H3c Importance Of Product Complaint Intention Complaint Action Perception on Business Practices and Responsiveness to complaint Knowledge of Consumer Rights and Consumer AgenciesFigure 1: The Research Framework METHODS OF THE STUDY The data in this research was collected by a survey involving self-administered questionnaires. The population and sample were Malaysian citizens residing in Kuala Lumpur, Peninsular Malaysia. To provide an adequate level of confidence, this present research used 700 as the target sample size. In order to capture this targeted sample size of respondents, 1,200 respondents in three shopping malls, the Tribunal for Consumer Claims in Kuala Lumpur and the National Consumer Complaints Centre were intercepted and requested to participate in the study from February 2007 to the end of April 2007. Finally, a total of 834 survey questionnaires were found to be usable in this study. The constructs used in the questionnaire were derived from previous research based on the literature review. The questionnaires were produced in three languages English, Chinese and Malay. The final research questionnaire consisted of four parts. The first part included 7 statements to measure the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies variables, which were adapted from Haefner and Leckenby (1975), and Tipper (1997). A 7 point Likert-scale from 1 = very poor to 7 = excellent were used in this section. The next section concerned 10 statements on the respondents perception of business practice and responsiveness to the complaint variable, which were adopted from Kim, et al. (2003) and 4 statements on the importance of product variable, which were adopted from Phau and Sari (2004). Seven point Likert-scales from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree were used in the second part. Another 10 statements of the complaint actions that consumers intended to take were adopte d from Singh (1988). Seven point Likert-scales from 1 = very unlikely to 7 = very likely were used to measure the complaint intention variable in part three. The last part included 5 statements which measured the complaint actions that consumers had taken (Yes/No) by using the Guttman scale, this variable was adopted from Singh (1988). FINDINGS OF THE STUDY As discussed in the study of Garver and Mentzer (1999), the Structural Equation Model (SEM) is a powerful technique that combines the measurement model (confirmatory factor analysis) and the structural model (path analysis) into a simultaneous statistical test and provides a measurement theory and a structural theory (Hair, et al., 2006). In this report, the SEM was used as the main statistical analysis tool to purify the measurement items and AMOS 5.0 was used for testing the hypothesis relationship. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) According to Anderson and Gerbing (1988), and Hair, et al. (2006), the first assessment should be any structural model that exists with an acceptable goodness-of-fit. Thus, it could begin by fitting a CFA model that includes covariance between all pairs of latent factors. In this paper, the overall fit for the base measurement model were poor GFI=0.886, AGFI=0.861, TLI=0.873, CFI=0.884, RMSEA=0.057 and CMIN/DF=2.693. In order to improve the model fit indices, items PBR4, PBR7, KNLEG2, KNLEG3, and KNLEG4 were deleted from the base model due to the lower factor loading and high modification indices. After deletion, the overall fit for final the measurement model in the calibration sample was excellent, with GFI=0.928, AGFI=0.913, TLI=0.917, CFI=0.927, RMSEA=0.045 and CMIN/DF=2.693. Testing the Hypotheses Once an acceptable measurement model is available, the structural model evaluation should be able to start. The results of the structural model show that the model achieved a good level of fit, à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡2 = 902.067, à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ 2 / df = 2.693, GFI = 0.928, AGFI = 0.913, TLI = 0.917, CFI = 0.927, RMSEA = 0.045. The result also reported that 13.6 per cent of the variance associated with complaint intention was accounted for by its three predictors: knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies, perception on business practices and responsiveness to complaint and importance of product. Accordingly, it was determined that 35.3 percent of the variation in complaint action was accounted for by its four predictors including complaint intention. Testing the Hypotheses on the Complaint Intention Examining the relationship between the independent variables and the complaint intention, Hypothesis 1a, (see Table 1) regarding the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies on the complaint intention, was supported (P = 0.000, ÃŽÂ ² = 0.295). It explained that if consumers with more knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies, they would be more likely to make complaints. This result approved the suggestion from Day and Landon (1976). The result did not support Hypothesis 2a (see Table 1) about the perception on business practices and responsiveness to complaint (p = 0.370, ÃŽÂ ² = 0.039). This means that consumers perception on business practices and responsiveness to complaints has no significant relationship with the complaint intention. This result was consistent with the study of Halstead and Droge (1991). Referring to Hypothesis 3a (see Table 1), the results show that the importance of product significantly influences the complaint intention (p = 0.000; ÃŽÂ ² = 0.219). This result indicates that if consumers perceive that the product is expensive, is used frequently, is seen by others and is used for a long period of time, they are more likely to intend to make a complaint. This result is proved in the study of Day (1977). Table 1: Hypotheses Test on Complaint Intention ÃŽÂ ² S.E C.R. P Support H1a CI KNLEG 0.295 0.018 5.715 0.000* Yes H2a CI PBR 0.039 0.071 0.897 0.370 No H3a CI IP 0.219 0.032 3.429 0.000* Yes *: p Testing the Hypotheses on the Complaint Action To test the hypotheses on the complaint action, Hypothesis 1b (see Table 2), regarding the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies on the complaint actions, was supported (p = 0.000, ÃŽÂ ² = 125). It could be explained that consumers with more knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies are more likely to take complaint action. Referring to hypothesis 2b (see Table 2), the perception on business practices and responsiveness to complaint showed a negative marginally influence on the complaint action due to p = 0.000, ÃŽÂ ² = -0.063. This result is consistent with the findings from Richins (1982) and Tipper (1997). It could be explained that Malaysian consumers with a negative feeling about business practice and responsiveness to complaint are more likely to take complaint action against the firms or the third party. Testing hypothesis 3b (see Table 2), the importance of product showed a negative significant relationship with complaint action to the firms or the third parties (p = 0.000, ÃŽÂ ² = -0.211). This result does not support the hypothesis due to the negative relationship between the importance of product and the complaint action. Regarding the relationship between complaint intention and complaint action, the results (see Table 2) support hypothesis 4 (p = 0.000; ÃŽÂ ² = 0.552). This means that once the complainers have a strong intention to seek redress, they will definitely take action to get further satisfaction on their dissatisfied products or services from the third parties or the businesses. These results confirm the suggestion of Ajzen (1985, 1991) and Singh (1988). Table 2: Hypothesis Test on Complaint Action ÃŽÂ ² S.E. C.R. P Support H1b CA KNLEG 0.125 0.008 2.980 0.003* Yes H2b CA PBR -0.063 0.029 -1.829 0.067m Yes H3b CA IP -0.211 0.012 -4.575 0.000* No H4 CA CI 0.552 0.041 6.883 0.000* Yes *: p m: marginally significant Testing Hypotheses on Mediating Effect A mediating effect is created when a third variable/construct intervenes between two other related constructs that explain how or why each predictor variable influences the criterion. Testing the mediation effects, Hair et al. (2006) suggest that if the indirect effect of the variable is higher than 0.08, it indicates a mediating effect. If the p-value of the independent variable and mediating variable, mediating variable and dependent variable, independent variable and dependent variable, are significant, partial mediation will be proved; if the p-values of the independent variable and mediating variable, mediating variable and dependent variable, are significant, full mediation will be proved. Table 3 shows the hypotheses on the mediation effect in this study. Regarding Hypothesis 1c, the finding in Table 3 shows that the indirect effect of the knowledge of consumer rights and complaint agencies on the complaint actions was 0.163, which was higher than 0.08, and the p-value for knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies and complaint intention, complaint intention and complaint action, knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies and complaint action were all significant. Thus, complaint intention fully mediated the relationship between the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies and the complaint action. Following the same procedure, the indirect effect of the perception on business practices and responsiveness to complaint showed 0.022 ( Table 3: Direct and Indirect Effect on the Mediation Variable Direct Effect Indirect Effect Total Effect Hypothesis Supported Type of Mediation H1c: KNLEGà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CA 0.125 0.163 0.288 Yes Partial Mediation H2c: PBRà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CA -0.063 0.022 -0.041 No H3c: IPà ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢CA -0.211 0.121 -0.090 Yes Full Mediation DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Most previous studies in the consumer complaint behaviour have focused on the two-group typology, which consists of complainers and non-complainers (Kim, Kim, Im and Shin, 2003, Keng, et al., 1995; Phau and Sari, 2004). This study offers a broader classification, which is consumers making complaints to the firms and third parties. The framework in the present paper has provided valuable information concerning the consumers motivation for seeking redress based on the consumers understanding of consumer rights and consumer protection, market factor and importance of product or services and level of dissatisfaction. Hopefully, the development of this model provides a basis for future research on exploring consumer complaint behaviour. Although a third party complaint agency is one approach to assist organizations handling the dissatisfaction with consumers together, it is unfortunate that many organizations never realize the importance of complaint handling. Consequently, for improving a complaint handling management programme, business, policy makers in governments and consumer organizations must understand how these factors influence complaint behaviour, and develop strategies for influencing variables and complaint behaviour as follows. According to the knowledge of consumer rights and consumer agencies, it contributed an important value to predict consumer complaint behaviour. The practical implication for policy makers in governments or consumer organisations is that they should provide more approaches to educate consumers about their rights and responsibilities as consumer education concerns the necessary skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding to become an effective consumer (Brennan and Ritters, 2004). This education can help consumers to obtain the skills and knowledge needed to make adjustments to their choices and improve the consumers confidence to take action in their life. Thus, consumer education along with effective regulations and access to good quality advice and information from government or consumer organisations are essential components against the irresponsibility or unethical business in the marketplace. Referring to the market factor, the results show that consumers perception of business practice and responsiveness to complaints is not an important factor in examining the complaint action. Thus, as business managers and executives, they should realize the importance of complaint handling. Organizations can educate consumers by focusing the complaint process on removing the fear of confrontation and intimidation factors. Firms can offer some compensation to the disgruntled consumer and should not complain about the extra effort or cost involved, and consider each customer as a prospective buyer when they make a complaint. For consumers who perceive a higher cost of complaining when they are unable to contact the organization, the company can offer a generic booklet that is distributed to consumers explaining how to effectively get in touch with the organizations to increase consumer confidence and purchase intention (TARP, 1986). Businesses may encourage consumers to make a complain t by adopting strategies that shift the blame away from the consumers, such as by replacing the product or service with which they are dissatisfied for free. Therefore, the way of complaint handling can develop a good image for the firms and help enhance marketing effectiveness in the long run. Keng, Richmond and Han (1995) found that complainers are more likely to resort to complaint action if the price of the product is high or the quality of the product is defective than the non-complainers. This research found that consumers intended to making complaints if they feel dissatisfied with the product or the product was expensive, was used frequently, seen by others and was used for a long period of time. Thus, the firms should pay special attention to complaints concerning expensive durable products; the seller should be trained to handle complaints well, and the firm should not raise consumers

Linguistic Stereotypes Essay -- Research Papers Language Essays Langua

Linguistic Stereotypes Language is a method in which individuals communicate in order to get their opinion across to the listening party. Language is the tool which ideas can be conveyed in various ways. Typically, language is referred to verbal communication, however, it ranges to all methods of communication i.e. sign language. Linguistic stereotypes are an existent form of discrimination. Since, languages are criticized and mocked due to the connection between language and cultural character. Thus, language is significantly related to the identity of the speakers. In addition, languages are vulnerable to criticism due to differences in cultural behavior. Firstly, according to ‘dictionary.com’ identity is defined as the variety of characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. Or in simpler terms the individuality of a person which makes him part of a society or creates a cultural connection or resemblance. These characteristics can be religion, culture and any other form of behavior that shows a sign of distinction. A personal interpretation is, the link established between an individual and a group which have unique characteristics. Language has a personality and a mood, created by the behavior of the speakers and their cultural identity. Moreover, this includes the tools speaker use to communicate through i.e. sign language. Languages can be described by human emotions and feelings; therefore, language is personified and dynamic. Historical events have lead to changes in languages in caused flexibility and dynamicity of language. Globalization and colonization also had an effect in word borrowing, and many languages have been altered due to this. Languages are also interpre... ...conversation and mood. Finally, the media’s involvement in creating stereotypes, and their ability to harness linguistics to establish links between language and identity. Comedians use accents as a method of criticizing a group of people and referencing to cultural behavior. Therefore, Linguistic stereotypes occur due to the association between language and the identity of a group of speakers. Works Cited: Preston, Dennis R. ‘Do you speak American?’ 27 April 2005. . Rabidcow. ‘Language Stereotypes’. 26 April 2005. Spark Notes.com ‘Casablanca, study guide’, 27 April 2005. . ‘Dicionary.com Definition of Identity’

Creative Writing Essay

Specific poetic forms have been developed by many cultures. In more developed, closed or â€Å"received† poetic forms, the rhyming scheme, meter and other elements of a poem are based on sets of rules, ranging from the relatively loose rules that govern the construction of an elegy to the highly formalized structure of the ghazal or villanelle. Described below are some common forms of poetry widely used across a number of languages. Additional forms of poetry may be found in the discussions of poetry of particular cultures or periods and in the glossary. Sonnet Among the most common forms of poetry through the ages is the sonnet, which by the 13th century was a poem of fourteen lines following a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. By the 14th century, the form further crystallized under the pen of Petrarch, whose sonnets were later translated in the 16th century by Sir Thomas Wyatt, who is credited with introducing the sonnet form into English literature. A sonnet’s first four lines typically introduce the topic. A sonnet usually follows an a-b-a-b rhyme pattern. The sonnet’s conventions have changed over its history, and so there are several different sonnet forms. Traditionally, in sonnets English poets use iambic pentameter, the Spenserian and Shakespearean sonnets being especially notable. In the Romance languages, the hendecasyllable and Alexandrine are the most widely used meters, though the Petrarchan sonnet has been used in Italy since the 14th century. Sonnets are particularly associated with love poetry, and often use a poetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery, but the twists and turns associated with the move from octave to sestet and to final couplet make them a useful and dynamic form for many subjects.] Shakespeare’s sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry, with 20 being included in the Oxford Book of English Verse. Shi (poetry) Shi (traditional Chinese: è © ©; simplified Chinese: è ¯â€"; pinyin: shÄ «; Wade-Giles: shih) Is the main type of Classical Chinese poetry.Within this form of poetry the most important variations are â€Å"folk song† styled verse (yuefu), â€Å"old style† verse (gushi), â€Å"modern style† verse (jintishi). In all cases, rhyming is obligatory. The Yuefu is a folk ballad or a poem written in the folk ballad style, and the number of lines and the length of the lines could be irregular. For the other variations of shi poetry, generally either a four line (quatrain, or jueju) or else an eight line poem is normal; either way with the even numbered lines rhyming. The line length is scanned by according number of characters (according to the convention that one character equals one syllable), and are predominantly either five or seven characters long, with a caesura before the final three syllables. The lines are generally end-stopped, considered as a series of couplets, and exhibit verbal parallelism as a key poetic device. ]The â€Å"old style† verse (gushi) is less formally strict than the jintishi, or regulated verse, which, despite the name â€Å"new style† verse actually had its theoretical basis laid as far back to Shen Yue, in the 5th or 6th century, although not considered to have reached its full development until the time of Chen Zi’ang (661-702) A good example of a poet known for his gushi poems is Li Bai. Among its other rules, the jintishi rules regulate the tonal variations within a poem, including the use of set patterns of the four tones of Middle Chinese The basic form of jintishi (lushi) has eight lines in four couplets, with parallelism between the lines in the second and third couplets. The couplets with parallel lines contain contrasting content but an identical grammatical relationship between words. Jintishi often have a rich poetic diction, full of allusion, and can have a wide range of subject, including history and politics. One of the masters of the form was Du Fu, who wrote during the Tang Dynasty (8th century). Villanelle The villanelle is a nineteen-line poem made up of five triplets with a closing quatrain; the poem is characterized by having two refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stanza, and then alternately used at the close of each subsequent stanza until the final quatrain, which is concluded by the two refrains. The remaining lines of the poem have an a-b alternating rhyme.The villanelle has been used regularly in the English language since the late 19th century by such poets as Dylan Thomas, W. H. Auden,and Elizabeth Bishop. Tanka Tanka is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, with five sections totalling 31 onji (phonological units identical to morae), structured in a 5-7-5 7–7 pattern.There is generally a shift in tone and subject matter between the upper 5-7-5 phrase and the lower 7-7 phrase. Tanka were written as early as the Nara period by such poets as Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, at a time when Japan was emerging from a period where much of its poetry followed Chinese form. Tanka was originally the shorter form of Japanese formal poetry, and was used more heavily to explore personal rather than public themes. By the 13th century, tanka had become the dominant form of Japanese poetry, and it is still widely written today. Haiku Haiku is a popular form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, which evolved in the 17th century from the hokku, or opening verse of a renku. Generally written in a single vertical line, the haiku contains three sections totalling 17 onji, structured in a 5-7-5 pattern. Traditionally, haiku contain a kireji, or cutting word, usually placed at the end of one of the poem’s three sections, and a kigo, or season-word. The most famous exponent of the haiku was Matsuo BashÃ…  (1644–1694). An example of his writing: Ã¥ ¯Å'Ã¥ £ «Ã£  ®Ã© ¢ ¨Ã£â€šâ€žÃ¦â€°â€¡Ã£  «Ã£  ®Ã£ â€ºÃ£  ¦Ã¦ ±Å¸Ã¦Ë† ¸Ã¥Å"Ÿç” £ fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete Edo miyage the wind of Mt. Fuji I’ve brought on my fan! a gift from Edo Ode Odes were first developed by poets writing in ancient Greek, such as Pindar, and Latin, such as Horace. Forms of odes appear in many of the cultures that were influenced by the Greeks and Latins.The ode generally has three parts: a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode. The antistrophes of the ode possess similar metrical structures and, depending on the tradition, similar rhyme structures. In contrast, the epode is written with a different scheme and structure. Odes have a formal poetic diction, and generally deal with a serious subject. The strophe and antistrophe look at the subject from different, often conflicting, perspectives, with the epode moving to a higher level to either view or resolve the underlying issues. Odes are often intended to be recited or sung by two choruses (or individuals), with the first reciting the strophe, the second the antistrophe, and both together the epode.Over time, differing forms for odes have developed with considerable variations in form and structure, but generally showing the original influence of the Pindaric or Horatian ode. One non-Western form which resembles the ode is the qasida in Persian poetry. Ghazal The ghazal (also ghazel, gazel, gazal, or gozol) is a form of poetry common in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu and Bengali poetry. In classic form, the ghazal has from five to fifteen rhyming couplets that share a refrain at the end of the second line. This refrain may be of one or several syllables, and is preceded by a rhyme. Each line has an identical meter. The ghazal often reflects on a theme of unattainable love or divinity. As with other forms with a long history in many languages, many variations have been developed, including forms with a quasi-musical poetic diction in Urdu. Ghazals have a classical affinity with Sufism, and a number of major Sufi religious works are written in ghazal form. The relatively steady meter and the use of the refrain produce an incantatory effect, which complements Sufi mystical themes well. Among the masters of the form is Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet who lived in Konya, in present-day Turkey. Genres In addition to specific forms of poems, poetry is often thought of in terms of different genres and subgenres. A poetic genre is generally a tradition or classification of poetry based on the subject matter, style, or other broader literary characteristics. Some commentators view genres as natural forms of literature. Others view the study of genres as the study of how different works relate and refer to other works. Narrative poetry Narrative poetry is a genre of poetry that tells a story. Broadly it subsumes epic poetry, but the term â€Å"narrative poetry† is often reserved for smaller works, generally with more appeal to human interest. Narrative poetry may be the oldest type of poetry. Many scholars of Homer have concluded that his Iliad and Odyssey were composed from compilations of shorter narrative poems that related individual episodes. Much narrative poetry—such as Scottish and English ballads, and Baltic and Slavic heroic poems—is performance poetry with roots in a preliterate oral tradition. It has been speculated that some features that distinguish poetry from prose, such as meter, alliteration and kennings, once served as memory aids for bards who recited traditional tales. Notable narrative poets have included Ovid, Dante, Juan Ruiz, Chaucer, William Langland, Luà ­s de Camà µes, Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Robert Burns, Fernando de Rojas, Adam Mickiewicz, Alexander Pushkin, Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Tennyson. Epic poetry Epic poetry is a genre of poetry, and a major form of narrative literature. This genre is often defined as lengthy poems concerning events of a heroic or important nature to the culture of the time. It recounts, in a continuous narrative, the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of persons.] Examples of epic poems are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, the Nibelungenlied, Luà ­s de Camà µes’ Os Lusà ­adas, the Cantar de Mio Cid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, Valmiki’s Ramayana, Ferdowsi’s Shahnama, Nizami (or Nezami)’s Khamse (Five Books), and the Epic of King Gesar. While the composition of epic poetry, and of long poems generally, became less common in the west after the early 20th century, some notable epics have continued to be written. Derek Walcott won a Nobel prize to a great extent on the basis of his epic, Omeros. Verse drama and dramatic verse, Theatre of ancient Greece, Sanskrit drama, Chinese Opera, and Noh Dramatic poetry is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung, and appears in varying, sometimes related forms in many cultures. Greek tragedy in verse dates to the 6th century B.C., and may have been an influence on the development of Sanskrit drama, just as Indian drama in turn appears to have influenced the development of the bianwen verse dramas in China, forerunners of Chinese Opera.East Asian verse dramas also include Japanese Noh. Examples of dramatic poetry in Persian literature include Nizami’s two famous dramatic works, Layla and Majnun and Khosrow and Shirin, Ferdowsi’s tragedies such as Rostam and Sohrab, Rumi’s Masnavi, Gorgani’s tragedy of Vis and Ramin, and Vahshi’s tragedy of Farhad. Satirical Poetry Poetry can be a powerful vehicle for satire. The Romans had a strong tradition of satirical poetry, often written for political purposes. A notable example is the Roman poet Juvenal’s satires.[128] The same is true of the English satirical tradition. John Dryden (a Tory), the first Poet Laureate, produced in 1682 Mac Flecknoe, subtitled â€Å"A Satire on the True Blue Protestant Poet, T.S.† (a reference to Thomas Shadwell).Another master of 17th-century English satirical poetry was John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.Satirical poets outside England include Poland’s Ignacy Krasicki, Azerbaijan’s Sabir and Portugal’s Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage. Lyric poetry Lyric poetry is a genre that, unlike epic and dramatic poetry, does not attempt to tell a story but instead is of a more personal nature. Poems in this genre tend to be shorter, melodic, and contemplative. Rather than depicting characters and actions, it portrays the poet’s own feelings, states of mind, and perceptions.Notable poets in this genre include John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Antonio Machado. Elegy An elegy is a mournful, melancholy or plaintive poem, especially a lament for the dead or a funeral song. The term â€Å"elegy,† which originally denoted a type of poetic meter (elegiac meter), commonly describes a poem of mourning. An elegy may also reflect something that seems to the author to be strange or mysterious. The elegy, as a reflection on a death, on a sorrow more generally, or on something mysterious, may be classified as a form of lyric poetry. Notable practitioners of elegiac poetry have included Propertius, Jorge Manrique, Jan Kochanowski, Chidiock Tichborne, Edmund Spenser, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Thomas Gray, Charlotte Turner Smith, William Cullen Bryant, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Evgeny Baratynsky, Alfred Tennyson, Walt Whitman, Louis Gallet, Antonio Machado, Juan Ramà ³n Jimà ©nez, William Butler Yeats, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Virginia Woolf. Fable The fable is an ancient literary genre, often (though not invariably) set in verse. It is a succinct story that features anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that illustrate a moral lesson (a â€Å"moral†). Verse fables have used a variety of meter and rhyme patterns. Notable verse fabulists have included Aesop, Vishnu Sarma, Phaedrus, Marie de France, Robert Henryson, Biernat of Lublin, Jean de La Fontaine, Ignacy Krasicki, Fà ©lix Marà ­a de Samaniego, Tomà ¡s de Iriarte, Ivan Krylov and Ambrose Bierce. Prose poetry Prose poetry is a hybrid genre that shows attributes of both prose and poetry. It may be indistinguishable from the micro-story (a.k.a. the â€Å"short short story†, â€Å"flash fiction†). While some examples of earlier prose strike modern readers as poetic, prose poetry is commonly regarded as having originated in 19th-century France, where its practitioners included Aloysius Bertrand, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud and Stà ©phane Mallarmà ©.Since the late 1980s especially, prose poetry has gained increasing popularity, with entire journals, such as The Prose Poem: An International Journal,Contemporary Haibun Onlinedevoted to that genre. Speculative poetry Speculative poetry, also known as fantastic poetry, (of which weird or macabre poetry is a major subclassification), is a poetic genre which deals thematically with subjects which are ‘beyond reality’, whether via extrapolation as in science fiction or via weird and horrific themes as in horror fiction. Such poetry appears regularly in modern science fiction and horror fiction magazines. Edgar Allan Poe is sometimes seen as the â€Å"father of speculative poetry†.

The History and Invention of Pottery

The History and Invention of Pottery Of all the kinds of artifacts which may be found at archaeological sites, ceramicsobjects made from fired clayare surely one of the most useful. Ceramic artifacts are extremely durable and may last thousands of years virtually unchanged from the date of manufacture. And, ceramic artifacts, unlike stone tools, are completely person-made, shaped of clay and purposely fired. Clay figurines are known from the earliest human occupations; but clay vessels, pottery vessels used for storing, cooking and serving food, and carrying water were first manufactured in China at least 20,000 years ago. Yuchanyan and Xianrendong Caves Recently redated ceramic sherds from the Paleolithic/Neolithic cave site of Xianrendong in the Yangtse Basin of central China in Jiangxi province hold the earliest established dates, at 19,200-20,900 cal BP years ago. These pots were bag-shaped and coarse-pasted, made of local clay with inclusions of quartz and feldspar, with plain or simply decorated walls. The second oldest pottery in the world is from Hunan Province, at the karst cave of Yuchanyan. In sediments dated between 15,430 and 18,300 calendar years before the present (cal BP) were found sherds from at least two pots. One was partially constructed, and it was a wide-mouthed jar with a pointed bottom that looks very much like the Incipient Jomon pot illustrated in the photograph and about 5,000 years younger. The Yuchanyan sherds are thick (up to 2 cm) and coarsely pasted, and decorated with cord-marks on the interior and exterior walls. The Kamino Site in Japan The next earliest sherds are from the Kamino site in southwestern Japan. This site has a stone tool assemblage which appears to classify it as late Paleolithic, called Pre-ceramic in Japanese archaeology to separate it from the Lower Paleolithic cultures of Europe and the mainland. At the Kamino site in addition to a handful of potsherds were found micro blades, wedge-shaped microcores, spearheads and other artifacts similar to assemblages at Pre-ceramic sites in Japan dated between 14,000 and 16,000 years before the present (BP). This layer is stratigraphically below a securely dated Initial Jomon culture occupation of 12,000 BP. The ceramic sherds are not decorated and are very small and fragmentary. Recent thermoluminescence dating of the sherds themselves returned a 13,000-12,000 BP date. Jomon Culture Sites Ceramic sherds are also found, also in small quantities, but with a bean-impression decoration, in a half-dozen sites of the Mikoshiba-Chojukado sites of southwestern Japan, also dated to the late Pre-ceramic period. These pots are bag-shaped but somewhat pointed at the bottom, and sites with these sherds include the Odaiyamamoto and Ushirono sites, and Senpukuji Cave. Like those of the Kamino site, these sherds are also quite rare, suggesting that although the technology was known to the Late Pre-ceramic cultures, it just was not terribly useful to their nomadic lifestyle. In contrast, ceramics were very useful indeed to the Jomon peoples. In Japanese, the word Jomon means cord-mark, as in cord-marked decoration on pottery. The Jomon tradition is the name given to hunter-gatherer cultures in Japan from about 13,000 to 2500 BP, when migrating populations from the mainland brought full-time wet rice agriculture. For the entire ten millennia, the Jomon peoples used ceramic vessels for storage and cooking. Incipient Jomon ceramics are identified by patterns of lines applied onto a bag-shaped vessel. Later, as on the mainland, highly decorated vessels were also manufactured by the Jomon peoples. By 10,000 BP, the use of ceramics is found throughout mainland China, and by 5,000 BP ceramic vessels are found throughout the world, both independently invented in the Americas or spread by diffusion into the middle eastern Neolithic cultures. Porcelain and High-Fired Ceramics The first high-fired glazed ceramics were produced in China, during the  Shang  (1700-1027 BC) dynasty period. At sites such as Yinxu and Erligang, high-fired ceramics appear in the 13th-17th centuries BC. These pots were made from a local clay, washed with wood ash and fired in kilns to temperatures of between 1200 and 1225 degrees Centigrade to produce a high fired lime-based glaze. Shang and Zhou dynasty potters continued to refine the technique, testing different clays and washes, eventually leading to the development of true porcelain. See Yin, Rehren and Zheng 2011. By the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), the first mass pottery manufacturing kilns were begun at the imperial  Jingdezhen  site, and the beginning of export trade of Chinese porcelain to the rest of the world opened up.   Sources Boaretto E, Wu X, Yuan J, Bar-Yosef O, Chu V, Pan Y, Liu K, Cohen D, Jiao T, Li S et al. 2009. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and bone collagen associated with early pottery at Yuchanyan Cave, Hunan Province, China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(24):9595-9600. Chi Z, and Hung H-C. 2008. The Neolithic of Southern China–Origin, Development, and Dispersal. Asian Perspectives 47(2):299-329. Cui J, Rehren T, Lei Y, Cheng X, Jiang J, and Wu X. 2010. Western technical traditions of pottery making in Tang Dynasty China: chemical evidence from the Liquanfang Kiln site, Xian city. Journal of Archaeological Science 37(7):1502-1509. Cui JF, Lei Y, Jin ZB, Huang BL, and Wu XH. 2009. Lead Isotope Analysis Of Tang Sancai Pottery Glazes From Gongyi Kiln, Henan Province And Huangbao Kiln, Shaanxi Province. Archaeometry 52(4):597-604. Demeter F, Sayavongkhamdy T, Patole-Edoumba E, Coupey A-S, Bacon A-M, De Vos J, Tougard C, Bouasisengpaseuth B, Sichanthongtip P, and Duringer P. 2009. Tam Hang Rockshelter: Preliminary Study of a Prehistoric Site in Northern Laos. Asian Perspectives 48(2):291-308. Liu L, Chen X, and Li B. 2007. Non-state crafts in the early Chinese state: an archaeological view from the Erlitou hinterland. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 27:93-102. Lu TL-D. 2011. Early pottery in south China. Asian Perspectives 49(1):1-42. Mà ©ry S, Anderson P, Inizan M-L, Lechevallier, Monique, and Pelegrin J. 2007. A pottery workshop with flint tools on blades knapped with copper at Nausharo (Indus Journal of Archaeological Science 34:1098-1116.civilisation, ca. 2500 BC). Prendergast ME, Yuan J, and Bar-Yosef O. 2009. Resource intensification in the Late Upper Paleolithic: a view from southern China. Journal of Archaeological Science 36(4):1027-1037. Shennan SJ, and Wilkinson JR. 2001. Ceramic Style Change and Neutral Evolution: A Case Study from Neolithic Europe. American Antiquity 66(4):5477-5594. Wang W-M, Ding J-L, Shu J-W, and Chen W. 2010. Exploration of early rice farming in China. Quaternary International 227(1):22-28. Yang X-Y, Kadereit A, Wagner GA, Wagner I, and Zhang J-Z. 2005. TL and IRSL dating of Jiahu relics and sediments: clue of 7th millennium BC civilization in central China. Journal of Archaeological Science 32(7):1045-1051. Yin M, Rehren T, and Zheng J. 2011. The earliest high-fired glazed ceramics in China: the composition of the proto-porcelain from Zhejiang during the Shang and Zhou periods (c. 1700-221 BC). Journal of Archaeological Science 38(9):2352-2365.

Economic Reform in Poland and the Czech Republic essays

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