Torture under International Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Torture under International Criminal Law - Essay Example Facts reveal that it can be committed at times of war and at peace, to a prisoner of war, a suspected civilian or a common criminal. It is defined in various international and regional laws, conventions and statutes in an attempt to curb its practice by numerous states. While originally covered in international human rights and international humanitarian laws, a number of theorists relegated it to another branch international law – that of international criminal law. The prominent definition of torture is embodied in section 1(1) of Convention Against Torture 1, to wit: â€Å"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions† (Torture and Ill-Treatment n.d., para. 4). Four elements must exist to be considered torture under the definition, which are: a) the act must be done with intent, b) there is extreme pain and suffering , c) done for the purpose of eliciting information or other objectives, and d) consented by a public official (Torture and Ill-Treatment n.d.). The second element poses issues and disagreement as to the determination of pain and suffering, being subjective to the victim (Torture and Ill-Treatment n.d.). The same degree of pain can produce different effects upon a strong young man and an old sickly person (Torture and Ill-Treatment n.d.). While ill-treatment is not properly defined in the conventions, case

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Marketing Plan - Essay Example This is a functional drink and can be made available in different flavors to suit different tastes. With the mission to reach the product to the vast majority of the people, it has been decided to undertake a marketing plan which includes stating the marketing objectives, the research to forecast the demand and then the marketing strategy. To determine the demand that could be generated for this new product, it is considered necessary to conduct a survey. To conduct the survey market segmentation is necessary so that the target market is studied rather than the whole market. Since this is a health drink and that too a milk product, focus would be on the children between 6 and 18 years and the women. The segmentation would further be based on psychographic details like lifestyle and social demographics like the income level. Thus to conduct the survey questionnaires have been designed (Appendix A). These questionnaires would be sent out via emails to housewives. The addresses would be procured from the local clubs and women’s organizations. Questionnaires would also be sent to the local clubs and organizations where a large number of women are employed. The marketing mix of any product would include the right product at the right time in the right place with the right sales and promotion strategy and at the right price. To have competitive positioning, these are the four P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) very essential for marketing any product. To ensure good sales of our product and services, it is essential to understand the product, its need and importance, the price should be reasonable, if necessary dual pricing, the product should be easily available hence distribution has to be right and finally the right awareness of the product. The promotional strategies have to be taken into account depending on competitive factors. The product is new in the market with a focus on health and targeted at children and the women and hence success is

Innocent Smoothies Customer Relationship

Innocent Smoothies Customer Relationship Although the smoothies market in the UK enjoyed a period of exceptionally strong growth of more than 150% between 2005 and 2007, this has now been stalled by the impact of the recent economic recession and consumers switching their loyalty to alternative, cheaper pure fruit drinks. As well as suffering from unfavourable economic conditions, smoothie manufactures have failed to convince UK consumers that the drinks are not full of calories and are not bad for their teeth, despite strong contradictory evidence from the British Nutrition Foundation (2008). The result of all of this is that the smoothies market declined by some 36% between 2007 and 2009 (Mintel Report Sales Brochure, 2010). The smoothie market is now showing signs of a fragile recovery and Mintel forecasts that improved economic conditions, together with the increased penetration of the childrens market, will see the smoothies sector returning to growth soon (Mintel Report Sales Brochure, 2010). 1.2 Background to Innocent From its founding vision of Europes favourite little juice company, Innocent has now moved on its goal to being the earths favourite little food company by 2030. This new vision encompasses food and not just drink and demonstrates how Innocent is moving in parallel with its customers desire for a whole range of fresh and natural foodstuffs (Innocent Drinks Annual Report, 2007). The brand leader in the smoothie market, Innocent, has largely been responsible for fuelling the growth in the market and despite the general market downturn, it still commands an 80% market share. However, Innocents market share has been boosted, not just by its own performance, but also by the decision taken by PepsiCo to remove its PJs smoothie brand in early 2009 (Mintel, 2010). 2.0 The Principles and Practice of Customer Relationship Management This CRM approach to business focuses on the retention of customers and the building of relationships with those customers. The concept of customer retention, as a lower cost option than a constant cycle of customer acquisition and loss, is a discipline that organisations have understood for many years (Rosenberg and Czepiel, 1984). However, some researchers have suggested there is a lack of evidence to support the quantifiable, financial benefits of customer retention (Dowling and Uncles, 1997). The notion of both retaining customers and enhancing customer relationships, in order to make them more durable and thus more profitable, has also been advocated by academics for some years (Berry, 1983). However, the idea of customer satisfaction as a function of relationship enhancement did not gain favour amongst theorists until the early 1990s (Crosby et al., 1990; Perrien and Ricard, 1995). The term customer relationship management (CRM) to describe an all embracing customer management system was not used until the mid-1990s in the information technology industry and was later described by Ryals and Payne (p.3, 2001) as information-enabled relationship marketing. The interchangeable nature of the terms customer relationship management and relationship marketing is now generally accepted (Zablah et al, p. 116, 2003). The successful implementation of CRM practises in the grocery retail sector has been well evidenced in the case of Tesco, which is the UKs leading supermarket chain. Its clubcard customer loyalty programme was first launched in 1995 and now has over seven million members (Tesco website, 2010). The scheme delivers a range of benefits to customers who shop both at Tescos stores and at its online supermarket and it also provides valuable market intelligence on shoppers purchasing habits, which feeds back into Tescos marketing planning process (Tesco website, 2010). This enables Tesco to deliver highly targeted and personalised communications via direct marketing which serves to further enhance the relationship with its customer base. A criticism frequently levelled at customer loyalty schemes is that they are not proven to foster loyalty nor do they deliver incremental sales and profits for an organisation (Dowling and Uncles, 1997). Tesco, however, has produced ample evidence that its loyalty scheme does indeed deliver on all of these counts (Humby et al, 2007). 3.0 Innocent drinks Customer Relationship Management Strategy Innocent has largely adopted a traditional approach to its marketing relying heavily on above-the-line promotion to build equity in its brand, which has been successful, as evidenced by its huge market share. Innocent has, however, dabbled in relationship marketing techniques in the past in order to attempt to increase the loyalty of its customers and encourage them to engage with the brand more. For an example, in August 2003, Innocent created Fruitstock, which was positioned as a free festival for nice people, the nice people in this case being Innocents customers. The event included live music and food stalls (Sahlman, 2004, p.8). Innocent spent nearly one third of its annual marketing budget on the first Fruitstock and repeated the event a year later when it attracted over 80,000 people (Sahlman, 2004, p.8) Commenting on the first Fruitstock, Richard Reed, Innocent co-founder, said, This event cost about  £200,000 to put on. At this point, I cant prove that it was a good investment. From a hard numbers perspective, maybe wed have been better off hiring new salespeople. But we are doing things that are hard to quantify. From a hard numbers perspective, why waste time on labels? There are important secondary benefits to things like Fruitstock: We had customers in the VIP area having a great day with their families. Employees could come with their family and friends. Its not just about advertising-it helps with recruiting, PR, and other areas. (Sahlman, 2004, p.8) Fruitstock has since been abandoned with Innocents CRM strategy now focussed on its website and associated newsletter which is sent to over 120,000 customers. However, Marketing Director at Innocent, Charlotte Rawlins, admits Were perhaps not as sophisticated in database management as wed like to be but  we do realise the value of direct contact and are going to make our newsletters more personalised (Turner, 2008). Innocents only structured current CRM strategy is based on its family, which is basically an informal club for customers. The benefits of membership seem to be limited to the entitlement to receive a monthly electronic newsletter and the promise of invitations to special events (Innocent website, 2010). 4.0 The Marketing Audit A marketing audit is a formal and structured review of an organisations existing marketing activities and market environment. The diagram below shows the role of the marketing audit in the overall marketing process. Objectives Marketing Audit Analysis Feedback Planning Implementation Control Feedback Evaluation 4.2 PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis is deployed to enable an organisation to examine the external macro-environment that it operates in, as follows (Gillespie, 2007). (P)olitical This refers to government policy in terms of the degree of intervention there is, if any, in the marketplace. In 2004 the Food Standards Agency in the UK positioned itself to tackle the obesity problem by stating that there was going to be a focus on convincing consumers to seek out healthier food options. It also demanded that the food and drinks industry supported it in this stance (Food Standards Agency, 2004). The Agency did, however, concede that the industry had already made some progress in offering consumers healthier options but urged retailers in the sector to see this as part of their corporate social responsibility and not just as a marketing strategy to gain more business. Government efforts to promote healthier eating through an increased intake of fruit and vegetables with its 5-a-day campaign has created an awareness level of 74% amongst consumers with 58% claiming that they have taken action as a direct result (Food Standards Agency, 2008). (E)conomic This includes such factors as interest rates, taxation changes, economic status and growth prospects, inflation and exchange rates. Interest rates continue to be at an all time low with correspondingly lower mortgage payments for most homeowners. However, unemployment, and the threat of unemployment, in both the private and public sectors, has reduced consumer confidence resulting in a curtailment of spending on higher priced, so called luxury items. (S)ocial This covers changes in social trends that can impact on consumer demand. The age profile of the UK population is getting older. Currently 37.9% of the UK population is aged 45 or more. By 2031 this is forecast to grow to 45.7% (Office for National Statistics, 2010). There is a definite cultural shift towards healthier eating in the UK. It is unlikely that we will ever put health before taste, but brands that manage to combine great taste with practicality as well as a positive health proposition, are in an ideal position to win full marks from the consumer'(Quick, p. 3, 2008) (T)echnological This examines how new technologies create new products and new processes. The ubiquitous internet and the rapid onward march of mobile electronic communications devices will increasingly influence the way consumers interact with, and buy, branded products. (E)nvironmental Environmental factors include the weather and climate change and how these may impact on the marketplace. Global warming and climate change are impacting on the UK. With a generally warmer climate in prospect for the future the soft drinks market (including smoothies) may stand to benefit from environmental conditions. (L)egal This covers the legal environment and framework within which the organisation and its competitors operate. There are no current legal issues that may impact on the market. 4.4 Porters Five Forces Porters Five Forces model allows an organisation to examine how its micro market operates (Porter, p.49, 1980) The Threat of New Entrants includes such issues as capital requirements; brand identity and reputation; access to distribution; expected response from existing market players. Innocent enjoys an 80% share of the UK Smoothies market so it is vulnerable to threats from new entrants. However, the newest entrant into the market and number two in terms of share, Tropicana, has made little headway despite the equity in its brand gained through its fruit juice products and despite a heavyweight promotional spend (Mintel, 2010). The Bargaining Power of Suppliers suppliers of everything from raw materials to expertise can exert pressure on a business in different ways. For example they could charge premium prices for a unique, high quality or difficult to obtain ingredient or service. Innocent sources its raw materials from thousands of farms all over the world so is not particularly vulnerable to the bargaining power of its suppliers. In fact the bargaining power tends to lie with Innocent itself. The Bargaining Power of Buyers this refers to the ability of customers to put pressure on a business to reduce its current prices and to not increase prices. This pressure can manifest itself in different ways such as consumers switching allegiance to other brands based on price sensitivity. Smoothies are sold at a premium price in the fruit juices market. The market for smoothies is very price sensitive particularly during difficult economic times when consumers are liable to seek out lower priced alternatives such as pure fruit drinks. The Threat of Substitute Products this threat relates to the propensity of consumers to switch, not necessarily just to direct competitors but also to substitute products. Substitute products, in the form of supermarket own labels, pose a significant threat to established brands in the smoothie marketplace. The leading brands, such as Innocent, are suffering from consumers switching to own label smoothie and fruit juice products, in the shorter term, due mainly to price considerations. The extent of this switch is evidenced by the fact that the large supermarkets now dominate the fruit juice drinks market with their own brands (Keynote, 2010). The growth of supermarket own label brands is having a big impact on the sale of manufacturer branded, fast-moving, consumer goods (Veloutsou et al., 2004). Supermarket own label brands are no longer just the lower quality and lower priced alternatives to manufacturer brands that they once were as, since the late 1990s, they have been offering a genuine quality option for consumers (Burt, 2000). Rivalry among Existing Businesses in the Marketplace this covers such factors as overall growth in the market sector; product differences; brand identity and reputation; the nature and diversity of competing businesses. Although the smoothies market in the UK enjoyed a period of exceptionally strong growth between 2005 and 2007, this has now been stalled by the impact of the recent economic recession and consumers switching their loyalty to alternative, cheaper pure fruit drinks (Mintel, 2010). Also, smoothies manufactures have failed to convince UK consumers that the drinks are not full of calories and are not bad for their teeth despite strong contradictory evidence from the British Nutrition Foundation (2008). 4.5 Changes in Consumer Behaviour The emergence of global brands, such as Coca-Cola and Apple, and the continuing globalisation of world markets, together with the introduction of new technologies, such as the internet, have all enabled consumers worldwide to interact more easily with the organisations from which they buy their products and services (Doole and Lowe, 2008). This, in turn, has fragmented many consumer markets and made them far more competitive than previously. Organisations have to increasingly recognise that the consumer is king in modern business and if they fail to satisfy those customers, organisations are unlikely to generate improved sales revenues and profits (Blackwell et al, p.10, 2001) Consumer behaviour patterns in the grocery retailing markets have evolved over the last twenty years and are continuing to change. For example, in the last few years government campaigns promoting healthy eating, such as the 5-a-day campaign, mean that consumers are more educated about the benefits of healthy options in their diet and are, consequently, increasingly demanding healthy food from their retailers. A quote taken from a report by Business Insights re-enforces this viewpoint: 80.6% of respondents agreed that over the next 5 years consumers will increase their uptake of functional health products, but will also continue to indulge. (Kemsley, 2006) 5.0 Proposals for Improving CRM 5.1 Intelligence gathering It has been seen that an integral part of effective CRM is customer satisfaction, which can ultimately lead to customer loyalty. However, for an organisation to truly be able to identify and satisfy the specific needs of its customers, it has to adopt one of the basic principles of market orientation namely, customer intelligence gathering (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990; Ruekert, 1992). The type of intelligence gathered should focus on customer feedback that gives the organisation insight into its market position vis-à  -vis its competitors (Ruekert, 1992). The dissemination of the intelligence throughout the organisation is as important as the gathering process (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990). Apart from its family club here is little evidence to suggest that Innocent is operating an effective customer intelligence gathering system so it needs to consider this as part of its overall CRM programme. Innocent should conduct regular focus groups and surveys of its customers and potential customers to constantly monitor customer expectations, in terms of product quality and performance. 5.2 Helping Customers to Adopt a Healthier Lifestyle The PESTEL analysis has shown that the political and social environments are very much pro healthy eating and drinking habits and, consequently, are conducive to the growth of the smoothie market. Also, the Porters Five Forces analysis has demonstrated that consumers are not convinced about the health benefits of smoothies. In addition changing consumer behaviour patterns mean that consumers are now more educated about the benefits of consuming healthy products than ever before. At present, 100% pure fruit juices and smoothies count as only one portion in terms of the criteria laid down for 5-a-day, regardless of how much of either product is consumed (Ruxton, 2008). This is in spite of the fact that research has shown that that pure fruit and vegetable juices, such as those contained in smoothies, offer comparable health benefits to those of whole fruits and vegetables, (Ruxton et al., 2006). The Porters Five Forces analysis has also shown that consumers are generally not convinced of the health benefits of smoothies. So there is an opportunity for Innocent to help its customers better understand the health benefits of smoothies and, at the same time, lobby for their support in recognising the true value of smoothies in a 5-a-day regime. If customers could be persuaded to pledge their support through, for example, signing an online petition in favour of the proper recognition of the value of each portion of smoothies then this would not only galvanise support for the case for smoothies but also raise customers awareness levels of the health benefits of smoothies. Additionally it would serve to increase customer engagement with the innocent brand. This, together with the inclusion of general healthy lifestyle advice within the Innocent family newsletter, would all work in favour of customer satisfaction with the brand and could all positively influence loyalty. 5.3 Promoting Loyalty through Customer Segmentation Changing consumer behaviour has been shown to have fragmented markets and intensified competition and the smoothies market is not immune to this trend. This is further evidenced by the Porters Five Forces analysis, which indicates that the smoothies market is facing intense competition from substitute products, in the shape of lower priced, pure fruit juices and supermarket own brand smoothies. In times of intense competition, customer loyalty programmes are often introduced in order to improve customer retention rates through the provision of rewards for customers or certain segments of customers (Bolton and Ockenfels, 2000). Although loyalty programmes have their critics research has shown that they can increase brand loyalty and profit (Caminal and Matutes 1990; Kim et al., 2001). The PESTEL analysis has also revealed that the UK population profile is forecast to shift increasingly to the over 45s. Innocent currently has little resonance with this market (Mintel, 2010) and consequently needs to engage with existing and potential customers in this age group. By targeting this market, Innocent will be able to grow its market share outside of its traditional core audience, which is the market segment in which there is the most intense competition. Innocent should, therefore, consider developing a smoothie drink especially for the over 45s, which would have a formula made up of ingredients that have specific health benefits for this particular audience. Research has shown that the over 45s are increasingly conscious of their health needs and are seeking out the so called magic foods which include berries, almonds, and ginger (Starling, 2010). Innocent could easily manufacture a smoothie for this market containing such ingredients, which are natural and would not compromise its commitment to using 100% natural ingredients. Innocent could then also segment its CRM programme by specifically addressing these customers in its direct marketing activity and it could create a special family of over 45s within its existing overall customer family. By producing a separate newsletter for this audience, with unique and relevant content and incentives, Innocent could, for the first time, start to build relationships with the over 45 age group. 6.0 Summary and Conclusions The smoothies market experienced dramatic growth up until 2007 when the impact of the worldwide economic recession brought the market to a halt. Innocent has retained its market share and continues to be the dominant player albeit in a market that has suffered from declining sales for the last three years. Innocent has achieved its dominance primarily through heavyweight promotional support for its brand. However, this strategy alone is no longer enough to sustain the business in a changed world of fragmented and globalised markets where consumers demand more from their brands. The marketplace is well set to work in Innocents favour, however, with the UK government being committed to improving the health of the nation and consumers themselves having become more educated about the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Nonetheless, consumer scepticism about just how healthy smoothies really are is currently restricting growth of the market. Also, the ongoing tough economic situation is ca using some consumers to switch from the premium priced, manufacturer- branded drinks to more affordable supermarket own brands and to other products, such as pure fruit juice drinks, which consumers perceive as having similar health benefits. So there is a big task ahead for the Innocent brand inasmuch as it needs to persuade its customers of the true health benefits of its products. There is a precedent for the implementation of an effective CRM programme in the grocery retail sector in the shape of Tescos Clubcard. For Innocent, it is proposed that a much expanded CRM programme could help alleviate the negative effects of the current market conditions that are working against its growth objectives. These health giving benefits are probably the most important attribute that smoothies possess and Innocent, as market leader, needs to demonstrate its leadership qualities by engaging in more meaningful relationships with its customers and persuading them of the healthy nature of its products and campaigning with them for a greater recognition of this factor in the political environment. It is also important for Innocent to broaden its product appeal and establish meaningful and durable relationships with a market sector it h as failed to penetrate to date, namely the over 45s age group. Underpinning any successful CRM initiative is the gathering of customer intelligence. Innocent needs to invest in this area by conducting more research with its customers using tools such as paper based and online surveys and focus groups, in order to truly understand trends in the marketplace, the nature of its customers buying behaviour and, most importantly, how its customers relate to the Innocent brand. Only by doing this can Innocent construct and implement a CRM programme that will have resonance with its customers, and potential customers, and will, consequently, deliver an opportunity for deeper, more meaningful and mutually beneficial customer relationships.

Essay --

â€Å"Promises that you make to yourself are often like the Japanese plum tree- they bear no fruit,† said Francis Marion. The youngest son of six children from Gabriel and Esther Marion was born in 1732 at the family plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina, whose name was soon to be Francis Marion. The Marion family moved to a plantation in St. George when Francis was only a toddler so that the children could receive an education in Georgetown, SC. When Francis turned fifteen, he decided to take a job as a sailor and register as the sixth crewman on a schooner, which is a type of sailing vessel with several masts. After a voyage to the West Indies, on the trip back the ship was reported to be hit by whale and sunken. After a week in a small boat under the blazing sun, two men have died due to exposure and dehydration, while the Marion and the rest have survived and made it back to shore. Soon to come throughout Francis Marion’s life more adventurous scenarios wil l been seen and greatly affect America’s history which will show how Francis Marion receives the nickname the ,†Swap Fox.† With a disaster at sea, Francis made a bright decision to go back to his home plantation. With another disaster brewing on land, the French & Indian War was crucial for Francis Marion because warfare was seen for the first time but far from the last time. Marion mobilized into a militia company in 1757 serving as a lieutenant to defend the frontier. Taking orders under Captain William Moultrie, Francis pursued in a barbarous movement facing the Native American tribe called the Cherokees. Throughout the short war, Francis took important notes of Cherokee tactics which stressed on tools like camouflage, utilizing the terrain for advantage, and ambushi... ... appointed Loyalist militias to pursue Marion. Through no militia could stop him, he won victories at Black Mingo Creek, Blue Savannah, and Tearcoat Swamp. Still No one could touch him, Major Patrick Ferguson's force was defeated at the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7. Cornwallis became increasingly concerned about Marion, so as a result he dispatched the feared Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to destroy Marion's command. With nicknames like â€Å"Bloody Man† or â€Å"Butcher† Lieutenant Colonel Banastre was not the best choice to mess with, even after the â€Å"Waxhaw’s Massacre† slaughtering hundreds. Tarleton was told intelligence spilling Marion’s location. Closing on Marion's camp, Tarleton hunted for the patriot for seven hours and across 26 miles before stopping in swampy territory and stating, "As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him."

Friedman vs Keynes

Friedman vs. Keynes I. INTRO . II. Milton Friedman A. Historical Background B. View of Economy a. Early Views b. Later Views C. Influence on Policy Makers a. Richard Nixon b. Ronald Reagan III. John Maynard Keynes A. Historical Background B. View of Economy a. Trade b. Unemployment C. Influence on Policy Makers a. Prime Minister David Lloyd George b. Frank D. Roosevelt IV. Conclusion Friedman vs. Keynes The discipline of macroeconomics deals with the performance, structure, and behavior of a national economy as a whole.Macroeconomists seek to understand the determinants of aggregate trends in an economy with particular focus on national income, unemployment, inflation, investment, and international trade. Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes, who was both great economists, embraced the different challenges of the world by imposing their own philosophies. Although both Friedman and Keynes have some similarities, strong disagreements about the monetary arena set them apart. These tw o gentlemen traveled different paths of economics their whole life to establish ground rules for the government to follow.The first son of a working class Jewish family, Milton Friedman was born in New York City in the early 1900’s. Milton graduated high school before his 16th birthday and received a scholarship to Rutgers University where he began a specialization in mathematics. Milton’s interest in economics was influenced by two economics professors during his undergraduate studies during the time of the Great Depression (Friedman, 2005). He was convinced that the study of economics could help solve ongoing economic difficulties. Milton graduated with a double major of economics and mathematics.Milton has been credited as being the most influential economist of the second half on the twentieth century. Though originally a follower of the theories of John Maynard Keynes, Friedman later revoked the ideas of central control after witnessing the effects and moved towar ds advocating free markets. Friedman’s views of monetary policy, taxation, privatization, deregulation influenced the presidential term of Ronald Reagan in the United States during the 1980’s and Margaret Thatcher in Britain. Friedman served on the committee of economic advisors for President Richard Nixon and was at times nsuccessful at convincing Nixon to accept his advice (Stein, 2006). In addition to the influence on world leaders, Friedman’s impact on economy is also evident in his contribution to the payroll withholding tax system. This system was put in place to counteract tax evasion and tax avoidance either by domestic or international taxpayers. Milton Friedman also advocated for a voluntary military and against a draft. Friedman’s approach to economy and government developed into a laissez-faire view. He defended capitalism and criticized the ideas of the New Deal. John Maynard Keynes was born in Cambridge, England in 1883.John’s father was a registrar at the University of Cambridge and an economist while John’s mother was one of the first female graduates of the University of Cambridge, and later the mayor of Cambridge. John Maynard Keynes began his studies in mathematics and the classics at King’s College of Cambridge (Reich, 1999). Keynes was strongly influenced by Alfred Marshall to change his academic interests to politics and economics. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies Keynes became a civil servant in India for a spell and later returned to Cambridge to teach economics.As World War I ensued Keynes returned to government employment and studied relations with war allies. Keynes acted as an economic advisor to Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Reich, 1999). Keynes is best known for his work and theories of prolonged unemployment. In his 1936 publication Keynes’s General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money Keynes explores the competitive capitalist economy that could move th e economy toward a state of full employment based on a government sponsored policy.One could argue that geography, upbringing, and the social era that each economist was at during his professional peak as contributing factors to their differences. Friedman’s ideals appear to be rooted in rules while Keynes believed that policy should be carried out by superior elite. While Friedman believed that the interest is a real phenomenon is determined by the supply of and demand for loaned funds, Keynes would argue against. Keynes would pose that the interest rate is a monetary phenomenon and is determined by the supply of demand for money.There are obvious differences between Friedman and Keynes, yet there are some underlying similarities in their work. Both of these economists were great advocates of their ideas; both saw the great depression as a crisis due to lack of demand; both wrote in favor of floating exchange rates; and both were on the side of freedom in the great ideologic al struggle of the 20th century. In addition, both economists believed that capitalism should be preserved and that there were financial policies that could support a reasonable rate of growth (Stein, 2006).Based on the research that I have conducted I tend to lean towards agreeing with Friedman, though I do not reject all of the concepts presented by Keynes. Friedman’s approach to an unbalanced economy is realistic to what is seen in today’s economy. In following Friedman’s suit, I suspect that the aggregate economic state of the United States today, specifically increasing gas prices and high unemployment, as a result of significant world events. James/ECO-202 Reference Friedman, M. (2005).Milton Friedman Autobiography; The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1976. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/ economics/laureates/1976/friedman-autobio. html Reich, R. B. (1999, March 29). John Maynard K eynes His radical idea that governments should spend money they don’t have may have saved capitalism [Electronic Version]. Time. Stein, B. (2006, November 27). Milton Friedman, freedom fighter. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www. time. com/time

King Duncan’s murder marks the beginning of MacBeth’s downfall Essay

Who can be held most responsible for this? In this essay I am going to be discussing who was mainly to blame for MacBeth’s downfall. I am going to be looking at Lady MacBeth, the Three Witches and MacBeth himself. Shakespeare wrote this play for King James 1. The moral of the play demonstrates respect for the King and how there would be chaos if his authority was disrupted. Shakespeare shows us this when King Duncan is murdered, even nature is upset – horses go wild and start to attack each other, owls shriek and many more strange things happen. This idea would have pleased King James because in Shakespearian times Kings and Queens believed that they were chosen by God to rule over a nation. The play illustrates that killing a King would be like disobeying God’s will. King James 1 was obsessed with witches and Shakespeare’s use of them in ‘MacBeth’ would have pleased the King further. James believed that witches caused evil and they were the work of the devil. So when they appear to MacBeth in the play, and could ultimately cause his downfall due to their predictions, the King would have approved of this, and so approved of Shakespeare’s work. I am now going to discuss in further detail, how Lady MacBeth could be to blame for MacBeth’s downfall. Lady MacBeth first appears in the play speaking a soliloquy. This has a dramatic effect on the audience in that we can see inside her mid as she speaks. We get the impression that she doesn’t think that her husband is capable of ruling over Scotland. She thinks that he is too weak by saying, ‘†¦ yet I do fear that thy nature is too full o’th’milk of human kindness’. She also thinks that if MacBeth got to be king, he could and would only get there by going good, and this is not prepared to do any evil to get there. She says, ‘What thou wouldst highly, thou wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win’. From her soliloquy we can learn that Lady MacBeth comes across as not really knowing her husband, and that she is mean and evil. The audience really get to see into her thoughts. But we start to think, ‘does she know the true MacBeth?’ as further on in the play she is not at all surprised by what her husband can do. In Act 2 Scene 2, we really begin to see the how Lady MacBeth can influence MacBeth and how unemotional she is. She finally persuades MacBeth to murder King Duncan, and after he has carried out the deed, she shows no remorse and no emotion to MacBeth when he is worried. She says that if Duncan hadn’t reminded her of her father, she would have killed him herself, ‘Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t’. However, here we see that she does have some kindness, but it wasn’t enough for her to stop Duncan from being killed. She is ultimately evil and nothing can deter her from it. In the same scene she goes on to say that MacBeth shouldn’t worry about what they have done, ‘These deeds must not be thought of after these ways; so, it will make us go mad’. This is significant in the play, as in the end, Lady MacBeth does herself go mad. She starts to sleep walk and tries to wash imaginary blood off her hands. In the end her guilt gets too much for her and she kills herself. I think that Lady MacBeth cannot be blamed for MacBeth’s downfall. She did contribute to some of it, as she emotionally blackmailed him into doing her work. The other murders that MacBeth committed, they were on his own and Lady MacBeth had nothing to do with them. We could maybe say that she started him off with the realisation that he could actually kill King Duncan when MacBeth told her about the witches. But MacBeth already had the thought of murder in his head before she said anything to him. In Shakespearian times all of the audience of ‘MacBeth’ would have believed in witches. Witches symbolised the devil. People thought that they were a source of evil, and so they were very superstitious about people acting ‘differently’. In ‘MacBeth’, Shakespeare introduces the witches as being very strange characters. He describes the, as, ‘†¦ so withered and wild in their attire, that look not like th’inhibitants o’th’earth’, ‘†¦ by each at once her choppy finger laying upon her skinny lips; you should be woman and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so’. From this we can create a picture in our minds of very wild and weird looking women. In Shakespearian times if anyone had looked like this they would have been branded as a witch and killed. When MacBeth and Banquo first meet the witches they are returning home from a victorious battle. The witches give them both predictions. To MacBeth they say, ‘All hail MacBeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis. All hail MacBeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor. All hail MacBeth, that shalt be King hereafter’. The witches don’t give MacBeth bad predictions they just tell him what will be in the future. Further on in the play, MacBeth returns to see the witches, forcing the, to tell him more predictions. They make apparitions appear to MacBeth. The first apparition, an armed head, enters and says, ‘MacBeth, MacBeth, MacBeth; Beware MacDuff, Beware the Thane of Fife’. The second apparition, a bloody child, now appears and says ‘†¦ Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm MacBeth’. Finally the third apparition appears, a child crowned with a tree in his hand, and says to MacBeth, ‘Be lion – melted, proud and take no care, who chafers, who frets, or where conspirers are. MacBeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane shall come against him’. In all of the predictions that the witches and the apparitions have told him they have not actually mentioned murder. The witches cannot be blamed for the murder of King Duncan and MacBeth’s downfall. It was a personal choice of whether to act upon or ignore the predictions. Banquo chose to ignore them and never think of their evil again, whereas MacBeth decided to make sure that they came true. Shakespeare makes the witches look bad because they were what started MacBeth off with thinking he could be something greater than he already was. But the witches did seem to find great delight in MacBeth’s downfall. They could be said to be pure evil. They put thoughts into MacBeth’s head without the audience really realising it. I think that the witches planned all of this to happen. They wanted to think that they would have some part in MacBeth’s downfall. If they hadn’t of gone to him and said that he could be King, MacBeth would never have thought of it and he would never have broken down. The role of the witches was to produce temptation, choice and opportunity. Shakespeare was trying to get the message across that things shouldn’t always be thought upon. We can see this by how MacBeth was brought down from listening to the predictions, and Banquo wasn’t caught up in it all because he chose to forget about them. MacBeth, however, can be blamed for his own downfall. At the start of the play he is portrayed as being a hero by the Captain, ‘†¦ For brave MacBeth – well he deserves that name – disclaiming fortune with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion carved out in his passage†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. King Duncan goes on to say, ‘O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman’. With what the Captain and the King say about MacBeth, we get the impression that we should look up to and think highly of him. When MacBeth first meets the three witches, he is confused by how they look. When they tell him their predictions he wants them to tell him more, ‘Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more’. He likes what they have said to him and straight away we get to see a darker side of him, ‘My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise, and nothing is, but what is not’. This shows that MacBeth has an image or picture of murder in his mind. The thought of murder is already there. Ultimately MacBeth had the choice to either kill or not kill Duncan, and he chose to. He did it because he wanted to, even though there was influence. But MacBeth was a strong man and could have said no. In the end temptation took over and he acted upon it – he murdered King Duncan. MacBeth showed real evil by doing this – evil that was already inside of him, it couldn’t have been put there by somebody else, no matter how persuading they are. But Lady MacBeth and the Three Witches triggered this evil off. It made MacBeth go from a bold, valiant soldier, to a cold blooded killer. Shakespeare has put across the moral question, ‘why is there evil and suffering in the world?’. He has answered this by showing how people can just change when they are faced with temptation and opportunity – opportunity to be something bigger than they already are. He shows that most people can never be happy with what they have and that they strive to have something bigger and better – no matter what they have to do, and who they have to hurt to get there.