Can good leadership be taught Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Can good leadership be taught - Essay Example Knowledge can be gained, skills can be learnt but intelligence cannot be generated. A person needs to be intelligent and sharp in order to gain knowledge and utilize it. Leadership requires certain traits in a person.Leadership and managerial work are common observable facts that there are no general rules that creates leadership events or leadership methods, or for that issue great leaders. Managerial work and leadership are made cooperatively. Therefore, the only way to understand leadership correctly is the basic knowledge in group sciences. In simple words, managerial work is the process of describing and calculating the victory. A leader is the person who puts forward the plan, explains success, and confirms the capability of success. It is clear that a leader who assures these things will be more competent than other leader who desires to put the idea but refuses to accept any work in the managerial part (Clark, Clark & Albright, 1990). Hence, effective leader is the one who ha ve power over people and whose decisions are binding on others. Everyone possesses leadership potential. Effective Leadership can, & normally does, emerge from the inside. Effective leadership requires the leader to take the whole group along. It is not necessary to involve the whole group in decisions regarding the group’s success however; the members of group are ‘helpers’. These ‘helpers’, if motivated and encouraged to work together, may quicken the process of success. Motivation emerges with the feeling to improve the surroundings. An effective leader must know that motivation is the key to improve the group's performance and the chances of success. Motivation, however, is not easy. It requires continuous performance appraisal and strong communication skills. This is the point from where effective leadership enters. Effective leadership requires the leader to choose the tasks for the group. A leader may also take suggestions from other group members but it may end up in losing the actual aim of the group. Hence, an effective leader should keep a strict watch over the performance and path of the group if it is moving towards achieving its goals or not. All these techniques to keep the group together and to motivate them and decision making techniques can be taught (FBI, 2007). The difference among success and failure of a team or group can be determined by leadership. Leadership divides the achievers from the spectators. And

Case Study He Said, She Said Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

He Said, She Said - Case Study Example Presentation of the Key Facts It seems that Marie and Lenny have lived together for some time without Mike. The reason this seems this way is because Marie wants Mike to have a hands off approach in matters with Lenny. She is Mike’s fiancee but she does not allow him to have any real interaction about the discipline with Lenny. Lenny does whatever he pleases and in this particular instance, he defies his curfew. There could be many things going on with him until these wee hours of the morning. Marie does not seem to want to punish Lenny in any real way and this makes Mike very concerned with their relationship. As an example, in the present situation, Marie did not approach Lenny for the reason he was out until 2:45 am, but rather told him she was worried and that he should call if he is going to be out late. Her conflict style with Lenny seems to be very passive and one that seems to avoid conflict (Bragg, 2010). It seems that Marie does not want to make Lenny angry because h e is her child and the relationship with him is more important than discipline. Also, Lenny tells his mother he will do whatever she wants around the house as long as she allows him to stay out late. Mike on the other hand, sees where the situation is going and knows that Lenny needs discipline. He has a more assertive style but he seems to not show it because Marie will not let him.

The Decrease Leg Shaking Psychology Essay

The Decrease Leg Shaking Psychology Essay Anxiety is a normal emotion, and we all encounter anxiety in certain situations that causes us be anxious. When we are anxious, we would experience physical symptoms arising in response to anxiety ( Ginsburg, Riddle, Davies, 2006; Roth, Antony, Swinson, 1999), such as muscle tension and stomachache which affect our everyday lives, known as somatic symptoms (Ginsburg et al., 2006). Social anxiety is a disorder that happens when a person faces a social situation and reacts in response to fear or distress due to feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth (Bà ¶gels, 2006; Hofmann, 2007; Purdon, Antony, Monterio, Swinson, 2001). This happens to me when I am in certain social situation, I get social anxiety that I tend to shake my legs. For this behaviour modification program, I have chosen to decrease and control my leg-shaking behaviour. It has been bothering me and it has been causing irritation to certain people who were and are in my presence. The operational definition of leg-shaking is that for this program, I tested the effect of leg-shaking on my performance during the times when I was sitting down (which was when the leg-shaking behaviour almost always occurred). I needed to know exactly what sort of leg-shaking behaviour I was performing and how I should measure it. I needed to know what type of performance I am suggesting that leg-shaking behaviour affected, and how I should measure that. Furthermore, I needed to know the underlying causes and triggers of my leg-shaking behaviour, which I believe is triggered by anxiety that I usually experience, but not as much as before, in social situations. First and foremost, behaviour modification is defined as a technique of behaviour change that is based on the procedures of the principles of learning psychology to evaluate and determine a persons or any other organisms private and public actions and reactions in order to assist in improving ones everyday lifestyle (Martin Pear, 2011). Basically, behaviour modification is founded on the concepts of operant conditioning. It is a technique to improve an individuals behavior by changing the way a person acts to a particular situation or stimuli using positive and negative reinforcement. In result, it replaces an undesirable behavior to a more desirable behavior. There are rules to follow and that are critical when planning and engaging in a behaviour modification program. These includes rules of such as positive and negative reinforcement, ratio schedule, extinction, shaping, and schedules of reinforcement (Martin Pear, 2011). The following are brief definitions of some of the terms mentioned above: Positive reinforcement means that a particular stimulus that is given on the spot increases the likelihood of a particular response to occur another time (Martin Pear, 2011). Negative reinforcement means that a particular stimulus is being removed to increase a particular response or to keep a particular response in a current desired state (Martin Pear, 2011). Extinction is applied in operant conditioning, and it refers to the process of changing the state of a learned response by ensuring to no longer reinforcing that particular response (Martin Pear, 2011). There are pitfalls that occurs in the process of extinction which I discussed later in this paper. The process of shaping is the reinforcement of altering and controlling a learned response through the process of changing that response much closer to desired response, but not exactly (Martin Pear, 2011). In this program, I would be shaping my behaviour by alternating my leg-shaking behaviour to a more desired behaviour, which is sitting down with my feet firmly on the ground without shaking my legs. A schedule of reinforcement is a program that determines how and when the frequency of a response happening will be followed by a reinforcer (Martin Pear, 2011). The delivery of a reinforcer could depend on the frequency of a certain number of responses, the passage of time, the presence of certain stimuli, the occurrence of other responses of the animal, or any number of other things occurring (Martin Pear, 2011). There are different schedules of reinforcement, I will discuss very briefly about the important ones that I implemented in this behaviour modification program. One of the different schedules of reinforcement are the schedules of intermittent reinforcement. There are four different schedules of intermittent reinforcement which are differential reinforcement of low rates (abbreviated as DRL), differential reinforcement of zero responding (abbreviated as DRO), differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviour (abbreviated as DRI), and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviour (abbreviated as DRA) (Martin Pear, 2011). In this program, I used the DRO intervention. DRO means that reinforcement only occurs when a particular response does not happen at a time (Martin Pear, 2011). This particular response is being modified to another behaviour, and that behaviour would be reinforced instead (Martin Pear, 2011). Another schedule of reinforcement is ratio schedule which is defined as that reinforcement depends only on the number of responses a person or any other living thing has performed (Martin Pear, 2011). Reinforcement that depends on only some of the time are said to involve partial or intermittent reinforcement (Martin Pear, 2011). In interval schedules, responses are reinforced only if the responses occur after a certain amount of time has passed (Martin Pear, 2011). In fixed interval schedule (abbreviated FI), the set time is constant from one occasion to the next (Martin Pear, 2011). With a variable interval schedule (abbreviated VI), responses are reinforced if they occur after a variable interval since the beginning of the schedule cycle (Martin Pear, 2011).These are the rules of psychology of behaviour modification that I employed in the program. Since I applied the intermittent schedule, I did not use the continuous schedule as this involves reinforcing a response or a beha viour every time it happens (Martin Pear, 2011). Not many research have been done on the effects of leg-shaking behaviour on an individuals well-being and/or on the effects it may have on other individuals surrounding a person with leg-shaking behaviour. Not only the literature on leg-shaking behaviour is very limited, but case studies centering on the effects of this behaviour and on controlling or modifying the behaviour are limited as well. The following research can be used to identify early emotional and behavioural development, providing an opportunity for treatments for not only individuals my age, but for younger age groups as well- particularly in the early stage of emotional and behavioural development that are disruptive such as the leg-shaking behaviour. Bà ¶gels (2006) stated that individuals with social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder) tend to have distressing feelings of not being accepted by others who are aware of the physical symptoms these individuals have. These physical symptoms, such as trembling, which closely relates to my leg-shaking behaviour, that these individuals present on account of distressing and unpleasant thoughts about themselves are causing difficulties for them and to others around them (Bà ¶gels, 2006). In Bà ¶gelss (2006) research, participants with social phobia, and who were within the age group of 17 to 65 were tested for their ability to decrease their tendency of attentive to their physical symptoms of anxiety. The purpose of this research was to determine whether if participants turn their attention to a task-oriented activity called task concentration training, would lessen their anxiety and diminish their physical symptoms of anxiety (Bà ¶gels, 2006). The results showed that the e xperiment was successful as participants diverted attention from their physical symptoms of anxiety to a task-oriented activity. The study of participants who were afraid of exhibiting the physical symptoms of anxiety support the notion that individuals from a wide range of age group, can modify these types of behaviour by focusing on work. However, it did not show whether individuals under the age of 17 can. In another study, a male participant who was 26 years at that time, and who suffered from mental developmental disability was studied (LeBlanc, Hagopian, Maglieri, 2000). It was made clear that even though this is a person with a mental developmental disability at adult age, (a person) can adapt ones behaviour by using or participating in a token economy (LeBlanc et al., 2000). The researchers employed the DRO intervals and schedule to reduce this mans socially unacceptable and undesirable behaviours (LeBlanc et al., 2006). The results showed that the treatment was effective as it decreased the occurrence of the participants socially unacceptable behaviour. The problems with LeBlanc et al.s (2000) research were not only there was one participant recruited for this study and that he had developmental disabilities; but the behaviour that has been modified had to do with his inappropriate social interactions. Even though this may not precisely relates to my topic, I chose for my literature review in research because my leg-shaking behaviour has been affecting the way I interact with others who has been noticing this. This may continue to affect me and others if I did not attempt to change this. Thus, this leg-shaking behaviour is considered socially inappropriate. In addition to this note, I also used the same reinforcement in my program. The first purpose of this research was to investigate whether when a persons leg-shaking behaviour caused by anxiety creates difficulties in ones lifestyle and/or get in the way of others around this person. The second purpose was to investigate whether if and when a person learns how to control and decrease the occurrence of this leg-shaking behaviour by alleviating and improving the internalizing and externalizing state of a person aids in overall well-being and aids in not causing disturbance to others. How I Selected My Target Behaviour and Why its Appropriate for this Assignment Two other behaviours I was considering working on, but decided to work on my leg-shaking behavior instead were to increase my piano playing practice, and to exercise more. They were appropriate for the assignment, but they were not realistic for me to work on this semester. I am rarely home, therefore the probability of cooking and healthier food was very slim during the time. However, the probability of exercising during the time was moderately likely to occur, but I did not perceive this behaviour to be as vital to change as my leg-shaking behavior. I wanted to work to change a behaviour that is not only affecting me and others, but that it is also more simple and more doable to work on during the past months. Moreover, these other two behaviors are both common behaviour that I believe most people use for a project similar to this behaviour modification program. Controlling Antecedents of Pre-Program Behaviour The root of my habit most likely started and had to do with a social situation I was facing when I was very young. I was extremely shy. I had social anxiety. My fear of being in any social situations or interactions made me so nervous that it could be the main trigger of my shaking legs. Pre-Program Behaviour Level In this section, I will describe how I observed my behaviour. During the process of this observation, I found that I had habitual thoughts that momentarily flash through my mind. Here my task was to replace these habitual thoughts or bad thinking habits with good thinking habits. By doing so, I would create new thoughts that became my new habitual thoughts. These thoughts came from my feelings of anxiety, particularly in social situation or stressed situation. I counted to keep anxiety in check so that it would not encourage my old habitual negative thoughts. The reason is that my habitual thoughts affected the way I saw myself in a significant way in situation, and still do a little. If I did not change my thinking, my old habitual thoughts will continue to perpetuate my leg-shaking behaviour. Controlling Consequences of Pre-Program Behaviour Not controlling my leg- shaking behaviour is rewarded with being able to only concentrate while studying or listening to lectures or doing other things when sitting down. This allows me to not think about monitoring my leg-shaking constantly and to freely express my inner feelings of anxiety by letting my subconscious behaviour takes over. By detaching myself from observing and being mindless of my leg-shaking behaviour elicited by feelings of anxiety and overgeneralizing. In psychological terms this process is called positive reinforcement for a behaviour such as leg-shaking. I shake my leg and in return get rewarded by getting away with behaving any way I want when I am feeling anxious, stressed, or nervous. The way positive reinforcement works is that once I get rewarded for my leg-shaking behaviour I am more likely to do it again. My Self-Modification Program For my self-modification program, since I planned on changing my thinking patterns in order to prevent me at least from shaking my legs too often, then I rewarded myself with a sensible reward. The sensible reward was that once I have controlled my leg-shaking behavior, I could listen to music. I had to earn a privilege to be able to listen to a song or songs longer as listening to music is very rewarding for me. This applied to the token economy as I was using minutes of listening to music as a reward for not shaking my legs when I am anxious in a social situation. I kept track of minutes on a sheet. I started with two hours of listening to music per day. I normally did not listen to 2 hours of music straight, but this was doable. I cannot really hear the music without headphone so I asked one of my family members to take away my headphone from me for the day and then give it back to me sometime after 10 at night. I lost a minute of listening to music when I failed to control my leg-shaking behaviour. At the end of the day, I listened to the amount of time I have earned to listen to music provided that I have any minutes left. Whenever I got sidetracked by my work and other distractions, then for every leg-shaking behaviour I do, I subtracted one minute of listening to music. In addition to this note, l laid out a plan, including making notes of the crucial moments that I was less likely and most likely to shake my legs unconsciously on account of feeling anxious, stressed, or nervous. I prepared for my crucial moments by turning to helpful sources of influence, a friend and a family member. Then I planned on beginning deliberate practice by placing myself to a tempting situation. In short, my goal was to experience the desire but not to give in shaking my leg to express my feelings of anxiety outwardly. My Program in Action This was the part when I employed deliberate practice especially practice for crucial moments. I broke the steps into small pieces, and practice each step in short intervals. I also got immediate feedback at times against a clear standard, and evaluated my progress. I learned to be prepare for setbacks and I was also prepared for them some of the times. As mentioned earlier, the specific and measurable behaviour I have been monitoring was to attempt to eliminate my leg-shaking behaviour. From the start of the program, I measured the occurrence to anxiety, as well as the intensity and frequency of anxiety as my anxiety have been triggering my leg-shaking behaviour to be present. Moreover, I have been observing and keeping track of my thinking errors that normally preceded my leg-shaking behaviour. I also have been monitoring my improvement in controlling and diminishing my leg-shaking behaviour by engaging in how often I subconsciously performed leg-shaking behaviour and by decreasing the frequency and intensity of my anxiety so that my leg-shaking behaviour will dissolve after the program ends. I have been employing intermittent reinforcement in my program. Continuous reinforcement would not work as I found that I had not always been aware of when I shook my legs in certain situations. The unexpected surprise I learned was that I even shook my legs when I was not in social situation. I shook my legs when I worked on my school assignments. Because of this, I started to encounter pitfalls. The pitfalls I have encountered throughout this program were that I frequently thought of excuses to avoid treating my leg-shaking behaviour. At times in class or in any social situation, I fell into my thinking traps and engaged in these thinking patterns which resulted in my habitual leg-shaking behaviour. Evaluation of My Program Referring to the level of the behaviour pre-program and during the program (see Figure 1 in the Appendix), my attempt to decrease my tendency to shake my leg did not work in the beginning of the program due to the effects of delay of reward. But it did worked later on after the first month I started the program. When it came to the use of reward in the program, the important component in the reward is the interval between the behaviour and the reward. I found that when the delay of receiving reward increased, it did not reward the desired behaviour as much as I wanted it to. Therefore, such delays in receiving rewards was not effective in altering a behaviour. This kind of applied to the use of punishment to decrease a behaviour. If the interval between the undesirable behaviour and punishment is delayed, then the punishment would not be effective in suppressing such behaviour (Martin Pear). Therefore, I should make notes that in the future my desired behaviour should be rewarded immediately. If this does not work, then another change I might make is to use punishment instead when I shake my legs. Ending the Program; Future Plans Although I am done with the behaviour modification program, I plan on continuing to manage my leg-shaking behaviour, which, again, happens when I get anxious. I will try to slowly stop myself from depending on the program to keep my leg-shaking behaviour under control. I will keep a long-term perspective to improve my behaviour and to improve myself. I plan on practising not only self control, but self-care as I tend to encounter stress or period of anxiety in the face of difficult situations such as speaking up in class as I am shy. I will help myself feel at ease during periods of stress by attempting to use what I learned from the behaviour techniques and exercises this semester. Even though I will not depend on the exercises and techniques I have applied in my program, I believe I still need regular exposure to anxiety-provoking situations in order to stay in condition. I believe this will help me over the long term to keep myself habituated to the experiences that I learned from in situations I found were and still are a little anxiety-provoking. Discussion and Conclusion What I learned from this experience was that my obsessive thoughts and compulsive leg-shaking behaviour did not make sense. These thinking patterns that I fell into when I am nervous, stressed, sad, or depressed were generally believable, and negative, and they made my life more challenging than they needed to be. Even though I did not fully believe my obsessive thoughts, I found that I frequently engaged in my leg-shaking behaviour to get the obsessive thoughts to stop. I overestimated the probability of risk that if something could go wrong, it will go wrong. I am guilty of overgeneralizing things. So I held back many times from putting myself in certain situation that meant no harm to me or anyone, and naturally I slipped into my leg-shaking behaviour. When I triggered one of my old habitual thoughts, I corrected it with the positive one so that these positive thoughts became my new habitual thoughts. Even though I am done with this behavioural modification program for the course, I still need to thoroughly weave this fact into my memory whenever my leg-shaking behaviour strikes. This way, I will be able to weave this fact into my conscious control to pull the plug on my tendency to worry and to overgeneralize which triggers leg-shaking behaviour. I know that the more I practice this new behaviour, the more likely I will do it in the future so that I do not return to my former state of leg-shaking behaviour. A higher decrease in behaviour level as shown in the appendix results when I held back from overgeneralizing or from inviting pessimistic thoughts that triggered my leg-shaking in social situation. My new behaviour improved significantly after I was concentrating on changing thought patterns. This supports the notion that focusing on another activity (such as partaking in token economy or that is task-oriented) can aid in decreasing a behaviour that is bothersome (Bà ¶gels, 2006; LeBlanc et al., 2000). References Bà ¶gels, S. M. (2006). Task concentration training versus applied relaxation, in combination with cognitive therapy, for social phobia patients with fear of blushing, trembling, and sweating. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(8), 1199-1210. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.08.010 Ginsburg, G. S., Riddle, M. A., Davies, M. (2006). Somatic symptoms in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry,  45(10), 1179-1187. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000231974.43966.6e Hofmann, S. G. (2007). Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: A comprehensive model and its treatment implications.  Cognitive Behaviour Therapy,  36(4), 193-209. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16506070701421313 LeBlanc, L. A., Hagopian, L. P., Maglieri, K. A. (2000). Use of a token economy to eliminate excessive inappropriate social behavior in an adult with developmental disabilities. Behavioral Interventions, 15(2), 135-143. doi: 3.0.CO;2-3 TARGET=_blank>http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-078X(200004/06)15:23.0.CO;2-3 Purdon, C., Antony, M., Monteiro, S., Swinson, R. P. (2001). Social anxiety in college students.  Journal of Anxiety Disorders,15(3), 203-215. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6185(01)00059-7 Roth, D., Antony, M. M., Swinson, R. P. (2001). Interpretations for anxiety symptoms in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(2), 129-138. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00159-X

Anorexia and Bulimia :: Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa

Why does food become a deadly enemy for some people? Well, society continues to send the message to young women and even to a small number young men (more and more men are becoming victims of eating disorders these days) that to be happy and successful one must be thin, which causes them to starv and/or binge and purge themselves in an attempt to gain what the media considers an ideal figure. The media is full of "toothpick" thin models, in which women desire to be like. Women often need to be in the feel of being in control, it is an ongoing battle they encounter with perfection. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder with psychological, and physiological effects. It is an eating disorder, common especially among young women of normal weight, that is characterized by episodic binge eating. Bingeing is defined as the rapid consumption of a large amount of food, often a bulimic person will eat more in two hours than a normal person would consume in an entire day. Binges are often followed by feelings of guilt, shame, loss of control, anxiety and depression. These negative feelings, especially anxiety and shame lead to bulimic behaviors, such as purging. The most common purging behavior is vomiting, which is a way to dispose of the calories and fat taken in that causes weight gain orally. The other way of diposing calories and fat are the use of laxatives, it is not as common as vomiting. There is more pain caused to the anus when using laxitives, then there is pain to the throat when vomiting, thats why laxatives are a less common way and vomiting is a more common way. Exact causes of bulimia nervousa are unknown even though in studies there is some evidence that an occurring brain chemical may influence eating behaviors, because it is in connection to the regulation of food intake. Growing/constant peer pressure is also a big help of causing bulimia, as well as low self-esteem. Young women with an older sister, mom, or even friend that has an eating disorder is ten times more likely to develop one herself, than any other child on their own. There are psychological factors of body dissatisfaction, self-esteem (as said before), perfectionism and abuse-associated with bulimia nervosa and women. While perfectionism and abuse have been risk factors in the models of bulimia, body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem seem to contribute more to bulimic behavior.

“Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Works of Voiture” Essay

In this early epistle, first published in 1712 as â€Å"To a Young Lady, with the Works of Voiture,† Pope addresses his friend Teresa Blount through the work and name of the early seventeenth century French poet and letter-writer Vincent de Voiture. In this indirect address of a female friend facing an uncertain marriage market, Pope resurrects a writer renowned for his raillery and charm in order to demonstrate the capacity of language to supersede its historical and social context. As a female member of a once powerful Catholic family, Teresa Blount’s only career choice was to marry within an aristocratic Catholic community in decline. Through the mediating space of Voiture’s work, Pope invites Teresa, as well as the reading public, to engage in a literary practice that hastens the arrival of a political community within the confining space of the private sphere. Since Pope re-published this epistle in 1735 as an address to Teresa’s younger sister Patty, it seems clear that he always had a broader public in mind when he made his call for the perversion of the private sphere through language. In the course of this epistle’s double address, Pope evacuates himself as the author by joining the Blount sisters and a larger community of readers. While every letter may imply a wider audience in addition to an individual addressee, Pope’s epistle takes the unification of these two audiences as its subject. In the process, Pope uncovers the potential for an epistolary community to persist beyond the boundaries of the present. From the perspective of this epistle, the subordination of women represents a literary problem whose solution lies in the opening this exclusion provides into an epistolary community that exists only at the margins of early eighteenth century English life. Although it is not clear whether Pope ever sent this epistle to Teresa Blount, its epistolary form demands that one read it as a part of an important female practice in late seventeenth and early eighteenth century  England. While men of this era â€Å"lived gregariously, in the company of their fellows in the coffee houses and inns of the city,† women, particularly unmarried ones, were confined largely to the private or domestic sphere.[1] In coffee houses, inns, and workplaces, men of equal or at least friendly classes had the ability to freely socialize with one another. As objects on the marriage market, it was not considered respectable or pragmatic for women to participate in these â€Å"centers of social exchange† (Perry 69). According to the diary of an early eighteenth century man, whom Ruth Perry quotes in her study of epistolary fiction, women who appear in public loose value on the marriage market since men inevitably â€Å"grow tired and weary† of their â€Å"beauty or other less qualifications† (Perry 69). Without access to the social sphere of life, women turned to writing letters â€Å"which were at once a way of being involved with the world while keeping it at a respectable arm’s length† (Perry 69). In addition to providing a way to privately manage courtship, letters allowed women to constitute a community of acquaintances and friends. With the establishment of the national Post Office in 1660 and the improvement of its service in the latter half of the century, letters became a reliable means for women to overcome the physical absence of friends imposed upon them by custom. The epistolary form of Pope’s poem situates it within a practice that was not only acceptable but encouraged among women of the period. When Pope composed his â€Å"Epistle to a Young Lady, with the work of Voiture† in 1710, he wrote from the perspective of a man feminized by disease and emasculated by anti-Catholic laws. Although the epistle was considered more publicly oriented than a letter in prose and was practiced frequently by writers of both genders, Pope’s marginal status as a physically disabled Catholic suggests the relevance of the female tradition of letter writing to his published epistles. Despite his sometimes virulent attacks on women, most notably in the later epistle â€Å"Of the Character of Women,† Pope’s Catholicism and chronic ill health â€Å"combined to bar [him] from the full enjoyment of the privileges reserved for men in his society.†[2] The exclusion of Catholics from owning property, attending university, or holding public office limited Pope’s access to the public sphere. Unlike other English Catholics, Pope could not escape this â€Å"internal exile† through retiring to rural family life (Rumbold 4). Pope suffered from Pott’s disease, a tubercular infection of  the bone that rendered him, at least in his own mind, physi cally unfit for marriage. â€Å"Less than five feet tall and deformed by a curvature of the spine, he [Pope] was acutely conscious of being ‘that little Alexander the women laugh at’† and refused offers of marriage on more than one occasion (Rumbold 4). In a letter to the Blount sisters in 1717, Pope reports that his friend Lord Harcourt proposed that he marry a relative of his in financial need. Pope declined the offer since he â€Å"did not care to force so fine a woman to give the finishing stroke to all my deformities, by the last mark of a beast, horns.†[3] Pope’s sense of his monstrous appearance highlights the importance of his epistles and letters to women since they represented a form of friendship freed from the immediate concerns of the body. In these written addresses to women, Pope develops a literary practice that exploits the poetic possibilities in his limited position within both the public and domestic spheres of English society. His epistle to Teresa Blount is an attempt to exemplify the strategy that he proposes in heroic couplets to negotiate a subordinate social position through language. After discussing the work and life of Voiture in the first stanza, Pope transitions into a discussion of liter ary genres as distinct styles of being. In the only rhyme break of the poem, Pope speaks of his life: â€Å"Let mine, an innocent gay farce appear, / And more diverting still than regular† (lines 25-26).[4] The break in rhyme between â€Å"appear† and â€Å"regular† playfully marks a departure from the metric structure of the poem in order to reinforce the narrator’s hope that his life appear â€Å"more diverting than regular.† Through hoping that his life â€Å"appear† as â€Å"an innocent gay farce,† Pope introduces a conception of life as a construction that one always performs before a public. Rather than being inherently â€Å"an innocent gay farce,† Pope’s narrator seeks to fabricate this appearance for an audience that will presumably be entertained. As a dramatic form whose â€Å"sole object is to excite laughter,† the narrator’s desire to style himself as an â€Å"innocent gay farce† manifests Pope’s need to control the laug hter that his body elicits.[5] Pope’s conception of life as a poetic object in the second stanza of his poem provides a context for the struggling Blount sisters and the public to understand the notion that the subjection of women is a literary problem. Pope opens his third stanza with the couplet, â€Å"Too much your sex is by their forms confined, / Severe to all, but most to  womankind† (lines 31-32). The smooth transition from discussing life in terms of genre to the subjection of â€Å"womankind† obscures the profoundly radical nature of the notion that a limitation of â€Å"forms† constitutes this state of subjection. Given the context of this couplet, the plural noun â€Å"forms† signifies both the rules of social propriety and the standards of a particular literary genre. The following line, â€Å"Custom, grown blind with age, must be your guide,† completes the effacement of the distinction between these two connotations of form (line 33). â€Å"Custom† simultaneously describes a literary and social confinement that is â€Å"severe to all, but most to womankind.† Pope’s discussion of these â€Å"formal†¦chains† within verse form suggests that his epistle seeks to exemplify a strategy for living within this state of confinement (line 42). In declaring his desire to shape his self according to the rules of â€Å"an i nnocent gay farce,† Pope provides a model for responding to the confining â€Å"forms† of a repressive society. With the personal pronoun â€Å"your† in the phrase â€Å"your sex,† Pope directly engages both his addressee and the public who reads their seemingly intimate exchange. The pronoun â€Å"Your† marks a shift in the poem from the more abstract portrait of Voiture and the narrator’s imitation of his form of life to the more immediate subject of the reader’s fate. Through introducing this personal pronoun in its possessive form, Pope posits a common sense of belonging among its audience to a particular â€Å"sex.† Since the poem culminates in a triumphant â€Å"our,† the phrase â€Å"your sex† at the opening of the third stanza reveals the developing constitution of a community defined in part by its confinement. The caesura in the second line of this couplet, â€Å"Severe to all, but most to Womankind,† emphasizes the increasingly level of specificity in Pope’s imagining of this community. While â€Å"all† may be readers and imitators of Voiture, only a particular sex, â€Å"your sex,† suffer the most from â€Å"severe† forms. The emergence of Pope’s audience as a subject of the poem through the possessive pronoun â€Å"your† raises the question of election which the second line of this couplet appears to answer. The third stanza of Pope’s epistle culminates in a call for this elected audience to reject the role of â€Å"virtuous wife† and embrace a retired community that preserves the â€Å"free innocence of life† through its poetic practice (line 46 and 45). After his transformation of the audience into a part of the poem, the emotional intensity of the stanza  builds into the exclamatory couplet: â€Å"Ah quit not the free Innocence of Life! / For the dull glory of Wife!† (lines 45-46).[6] Pope uses â€Å"innocence† in the first stanza to describe Voiture’s â€Å"wisely careless† and â€Å"innocently gay life† (line 11). In the second stanza, Pope vows to imitate Voiture in constructing a life that appears as â€Å"an innocent gay farce† (line 25). The word â€Å"Innocence† returns in the third stanza in the form an appeal to the reader not to abandon a state of paradise that they already inhabit. The construction â€Å"quit not† situates the reader within a state of purity analogous to the biblical vision of a Garden of Eden. Through opposing this state of moral purity to the â€Å"dull Glory of a virtuous Wife,† Pope suggests that a â€Å"virtuous† life is a confining form made necessary by pride. â€Å"Made slaves by honor,† women pursue the position of wife to achieve the status of virtue bestowed upon them by a patriarchal English society (line 36). The crucial negation â€Å"quit not† implores the female reader to withdrawal from her virtuous and honorable position in society in order to realize â€Å"the free innocence of life† within an epistolary community of friends. Following the emotional climax of the exclamatory couplet, Pope offers a more subdued and prescriptive image of a state of Epicurean retirement. With extensive knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman poetry, Pope is certainly aware that his portrait of a retired life of ease invokes the Horatian notion of otium as well as the related legacy of the Epicurean garden. In response to the tyranny of marriag e, Pope’s speaker advises the reader, â€Å"Nor let false shows, or empty titles please: / Aim not at joy, but rest content with ease† (lines 47-48). A comma marks the caesura in each line after the fourth syllable, which creates a sense of equivalence between the two negations â€Å"Nor let false shows† and â€Å"Aim not at joy.† This equivalence associates â€Å"joy† with the â€Å"false shows† that lead women to unknowingly contribute to their own servitude in their stubborn pursuit of fame. The narrator asks the reader to â€Å"rest content with ease,† or a more stable sense of pleasure founded on a withdrawal from rather than a fulfillment of physical desire. Pope’s conception of a virtuous withdrawal from a life of servitude echoes Epicurus’ advice to his younger friend Menoeceus to reject the â€Å"pleasure of the profligate† and embrace the â€Å"simple life† in which â€Å"the body is free from pain and the mind from anxiety.†[7] In the absence of pain and anxiety, Menoeceus can seek to cultivate a stable  and just experience of pleasure that Epicurus terms ataraxia. Pope’s injunction to â€Å"rest content† expresses the foundation of this state of â€Å"ease† in a withdrawal from the social position of a â€Å"virtuous wife.† In asking his reader to â€Å"rest† or â€Å"remain† within a state of â€Å"free innocence,† Pope reveals the exemplary function of a poem that must show how one accesses this already existing freedom of life. Since Pope makes his appeal for a retired life of ease in a published epistle in heroic couplet form, it appears that his conception of a withdrawn community is not entirely separate from the political sphere. Although he primarily discusses Pope’s later, satiric epistles, William Dowling’s argument that Augustan poets politicize the private sphere through their epistolary practice in fact holds most true in Pope’s early epistles to ladies.[8] â€Å"In a world threatened by fragmentation and alienation,† Dowling explains, Pope resurrects the memory of an innocent community â€Å"by writing not merely epistles but verse epistles, poems in which the isolation symbolized by epistolary solitude is then opposed and redeemed by verse as an institutionalized mode of public utterance† (Dowling 11). From a state of solitude intensified by his status as a physically disabled Catholic, Pope provides his friend an example of how to engage with the public without becoming subjected to it. The formal structure of his epistle â€Å"redeems† his solitude by inscribing the reading public or the â€Å"epistolary audience† as a â€Å"presence† within a private letter to a friend (Dowling 12). While the formal structure of the â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Works of Voiture† undoubtedly addresses a public audience, it interpellates this audience not necessarily as members of a pre-capitalist â€Å"traditional society,† as Dowling believes, but rather as potential constituents of an always possible epistolary community (Dowling 15). As a result of his overly rigid conception of the opposition between â€Å"solipsism† and â€Å"community,† Dowling fails to appreciate that the solitary withdrawal from which Pope writes acts as a condition of his imagined or interpellated community’s possibility. In his epistle to Miss Blount, Pope appeals to the public through his advice to a young lady troubled by her precarious position within the marriage market. He implores her to reject  the role of â€Å"virtuous wife,† which would subject her to a â€Å"tyrant† and obstruct the constitution of literary friendships (lines 46 and 40). Pope’s portrait of Pamela, a young woman who succeeds in the marriage market, in the fourth stanza of this epistle depicts the stifling confinement of marriage as an obstacle to any form of literary self-fashioning. Through the fulfillment of her â€Å"prayers,† Pamela is cursed with the â€Å"false shows† and â€Å"empty titles† o f a successful young woman (lines 49 and 47). Pope emphasizes the paradoxical nature of her accomplishment in the following couplet: â€Å"She glares in balls, front-boxes, and the Ring, / A vain, unquiet, glittering, wretched thing!† (lines 53-54). Pamela’s status as a married upper-class woman allows her to appear at dances, plays, and the fashionable â€Å"ring† in Hyde Park without any damage to her reputation. The verb â€Å"glares† establishes the importance of vision to a couplet that culminates in transforming Pamela into a purely physical or seen object. Through gaining her right to see and be seen in public places of entertainment, Pamela unknowingly submits to her own objectification. By the second line of the couplet, Pamela no longer â€Å"glares.† The list of adjectives, â€Å"vain, unquiet, glittering, and wretched,† appears to simultaneously describe the public venues identified in the first line and the â€Å"thing† that concludes the second. As the wife of a wealthy man, Pamela exists within these public spaces as an â€Å"Ornament,† or a â€Å"proud declaration† of her husband’s ability to â€Å"maintain† her in a state of idleness (Rumbold 1). Although each of these arenas should offer the opportunity for reciprocal gazing, it seems that the power of the male gaze in the public sphere transforms the once glaring Pamela into nothing more than a â€Å"wretched thing.† Without the capacity to look, and hence interpret the world, Pamela looses her ability to fashion herself as a subject. The cautionary tale of Pamela who fails to follow Pope’s strategy of simultaneous withdrawal and engagement with the world would have been immediately relevant to Teresa Blount, the poem’s original addressee. Pope composed the â€Å"Epistle to a Young Lady, with the Work of Voiture† in the same year that Teresa’s father died and it â€Å"became clear that the [Blount] estate could not meet the obligations laid in his will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  for his daughters’ dowries (Rumbold 60). Within a Catholic community that â€Å"felt its persecution most keenly in financial terms,† Teresa’s lack of a dowry that reflected her family noble’s heritage limited  her marriage prospects to men from less dignified backgrounds (Rumbold 58). During this period, Teresa and her sister Patty participated in an epistolary game with fellow Catholic aristocrats that was modeled on the Rambouillet salon of early seventeenth century Paris. In letters inspire d by the charming raillery of Voiture, who was one of the most well-known members of this salon, the eligible children of a persecuted aristocracy practiced the art of courtship. Pope’s portrait of a young woman â€Å"cursed† by the fulfillment of her â€Å"prayers† undoubtedly pleased Teresa since she had only remote odds of succeeding in her game of courtship. As a â€Å"landless cripple,† Pope was not a part of this game and thus had a sense of isolation from the marriage market in which some of his friends were actively engaged (Rumbold 53). In her analysis of Pope’s â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount,† Valerie Rumbold suggests that it was â€Å"tempting† or desirable for Pope to undermine the â€Å"vested interests of more fortunate men† with his scathing critique of marriage (53). While this may indeed have been true, it appears rather cynical to allow this to be the primary means of interpreting his call for a community constituted by a new form of human relations. In the fifth stanza of the poem, Pope conceptualizes the poetic practice that will bring this community of friends into existence as â€Å" good humour† (line 61). Pope reconfigures â€Å"good humour,† which was conventionally understood at the time as exhibiting a proper form of behavior or disposition, into a literary practice of establishing friendships through letters. If the reader falls victim to the marriage god Hymen, the speaker advises: â€Å"Good humour teaches charms to last, / Still makes new conquests, and maintains the past† (lines 61-62). After warning his audience not to trust its â€Å"now resistless charms,† Pope posits â€Å"good humour† as a means to â€Å"teach† or train charms â€Å"to last† (line 59). When read out of context, this conception of â€Å"good humour† may appear as practical advice for a wife who needs to establish a lasting relationship with her spouse. Within the context of a poem framed by an invocation of a dead author, Pope’s reconfiguration of â€Å"good humour† must be read as form of writing that creates a certain temporal confusion. The adverb â€Å"Still† that begins the second line of this couplet emphasizes the lasting quality of writing, which continually establishes friendships with new readers. The new â€Å"conquests† of good humou r occur within the present as a result of its  preservation in language. Following the dictates of â€Å"good humour,† Pope gives space to the past in order to allow it to become the present. Through resurrecting the past in the name of Vincent de Voiture, Pope exemplifies the practice of â€Å"good humour† through which he hopes to constitute a new community of friends. The couplet that follows the discussion of the necessity of good humour in marriage marks an abrupt departure from what may have appeared as practical advice for a young married woman. Pope begins the next stanza, â€Å"Thus Voiture’s early care still shone the same, / and Monthausier was only changed in name† (lines 69-70). The adverb â€Å"thus† equates the preceding conception of â€Å"good humour† as the only means to secure a relationship with Voiture’s epistolary love for his married friend. With the continuity between these two stanzas, Pope seeks to accentuate the literary quality of â€Å"good humour.† Voiture’s â€Å"early care† refers to his life-long devotion, much of it expressed in letters, to the daughter of the noble Madame de Rambouillet. As an untitled son of a wealthy wine merchant and therefore a part of the bourgeoisie, it was not possible for Voiture to publicly consummate his love for Julie de Rambouillet. When Julie finally consented to marry an eligible long-time admirer, the Duc de Monthausier, at the age of thirty-two, she left behind a devastated Voiture with whom she maintained an active epistolary friendship until his death in 1648. The publication of an English translation of Voiture’s Familiar and Courtly Letters in 1696 and again in 1700 created a sensation in England that gave new life to the epistolary relation of these two lovers.[9] Pope gives space to the life of Voiture by first invoking his past love and then allowing him to love again in the perpetually innocent and living field of language. After Julie de Rambouillet becomes the property of the Duc de Monthausier, Voiture’s love or â€Å"early care still shone the same† because he had established a literary bond with the object of his devotion. In the second couplet of this stanza, Pope shifts to a present tense and a plural subject to describe the reanimation of this epistolary love: â€Å"By this, ev’n now they live, ev’n now they charm, / Their wit still sparkling and their flames still warm† (lines 71-72). Pope marks his shift from Voiture’s past with the â€Å"By this,† which allows Voiture’s letters to â€Å"make new conquests† in the name of a loving community in the present. The repetitive construction of the first line of  the couplet emphasizes the presence of these lovers in the present. Pope’s hospitality to the names and hence memory of these lovers allows them to â€Å"live† and â€Å"charm† in the present. The repetition of â€Å"still† in the second line of the couplet reinforces the sense that the â€Å"care† and â€Å"charm† these lovers exhibited constituted â€Å"good humour.† The â€Å"still† attributed to â€Å"good humour† returns to depict the continual warmth and â€Å"sparkling† wit that allows this epistolary love to not only live again, but also expand within the community of the present. In hosting the name of Voiture within his epistle to Miss Blount, Pope exemplifies a form of literary friendship that both preserves and promotes a poetic community. The exemplary nature of Pope’s epistle consists in resurrecting and joining this community rather than unearthing Voiture as an exemplum of epistolary love. From the perspective of Pope’s epistle, Voiture’s letters demonstrate a misplaced desire to physically possess Julie de Rambouillet. In one of his translated letters to Julie, Voiture demonstrates his complete lack of ease with the desperate plea: â€Å"Do not think that our love is a whit the more private, for the pains we take to conceal it; the Dejection which is visible in my Countenance, speaks plainer than anybody can do. Let us then lay aside Discretion which cost us so dear, and give me, after Dinner, an opportunity of seeing you, if you would have me live † (70). Since Voiture confesses in another letter to Julie that â€Å"all my words [to her] will bear a double construction,† his threat of publicly disclosing their illicit love affair should be as at once playful and menacing (70). According to the logic of Pope’s epistle to Miss Blount, the problem with this plea is not the intensity of its passion, but rather the use it makes of the letter form. In her study of the development of epistolary fiction, Ruth Perry notes that letters always gesture elsewhere because â€Å"the climactic events† they discuss remain â€Å"beyond words† (86). While Voiture uses this attribute of letters in hopes of provoking a physical encounter with his loved object, Pope employs his epistle as a means of constituting a community made possible by the physical absence of its members. The impossibility of Voiture’s love for Julie and its resulting confinement within the field of letters explains why Pope chooses to address Miss Blount and the broader public through the work of this slighted lover. As a bourgeoisie man with â€Å"a stature three inches below the middle one,† Voiture was restricted, perhaps against his own intentions, to practicing the â€Å"good humour† of an epistolary lover (21). Through appealing to the internal audience of first Teresa and then Patty Blount with the work of Voiture, Pope interpellates them as his epistolary lovers in the mold of Julie de Rambouillet. In a letter written only a few years after the original composition of the â€Å"Epistle to a Young Lady, with the Work of Voiture,† Pope asks the unmarried Betty Marriot to â€Å"Cast your eyes upon Paper, Madam, there you may look innocently.†[10] Rather than seeking to provoke a physical consummation of his passion, Pope implores Betty to indul ge in a love restricted to the boundaries of the page. In his epistle to the Blounts, Pope further abstracts himself from his addressee by offering the â€Å"lines† of Voiture as a mediating space in which epistolary lovers can meet. The opening couplet of Pope’s â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Works of Voiture† evacuates his self through a reanimation of the â€Å"lines† and life of Voiture. Pope immediately shifts the attention of the reader away from his relationship to the addressee: â€Å"In these gay thoughts the loves and graces shine, / And all the writer lives in every line† (lines 1-2). The preposition â€Å"in† begins the poem through establishing its location â€Å"in† the thoughts stimulated by the work of an author shared by the Pope and his audience. As a widely read writer of letters, Voiture represented an institutional figure that Pope draws on to situate his poem within a space that is irreducible to either writer or reader. Since the â€Å"loves and graces shine† in â€Å"the gay thoughts† that Voiture continues to inspire, this opening couplet configures the entire poem as an effect of Voiture’s work. â€Å"All the writer lives in every line† refers therefore to both the widely published work of Voiture and the particular verse epistle to follow. The association of light with the verb â€Å"shine† communicates a sense of vitality that Pope reinforces with the verb â€Å"breathe† that concludes his opening stanza. In the final couplet of his opening stanza, Pope emphasizes the always  potentially living nature of language by situating his epistle within the experience of reading and thus living with Voiture. The impetus for Pope’s conception of an epistolary community lies in the transformation of â€Å"death† into â€Å"breathe† in the following couplet: â€Å"The smiles and loves had died in Voiture’s death, / But that for ever in his lines they breathe† (lines 19-20). Voiture â€Å"played the trifle, life, away† through an epistolary practice that enabled his charms to exist within a linguistic space that is always potentially living (line 12). Pope establishes a number of breaks in the awkwardly constructed final line of this stanza to isolate and hence highlight â€Å"they breathe.† Since Voiture consecrated his love in letters, it can forever be reanimated by the admiring breath of later readers. In the final stanza of his epistle, Pope returns to the communal experience of reading Voiture in order to triumphantly reveal the power of his loving community in letters. Pope concludes his â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Work of Voiture† with a corporeal conception of reading that appeals to his double audience to join an abstracted or retired community of readers. The affective exchange between Voiture and â€Å"you† in one of Pope’s final couplets offers an image of reading that threatens to dissolve the very category of the reader. Pope writes, â€Å"Pleased, while with smiles his happy lines you view, / And finds a fairer Rambouillet in you† (lines 75-76). Miss Blount, or any other reader, physically reflects the â€Å"happy lines of Voiture† with â€Å"smiles† that mark her material participation in the continuing existence of these â€Å"lines.† Through hosting the work of Voiture within his own epistle, Pope enables it to assume agency within the present. Voiture’s charming good humour returns to interpellate Miss Blount and the broader epistolary audience as a â€Å"fairer Rambouillet.† While Voiture’s desire to possess Julie had obstructed the complete transformation of his love into language, his â€Å"ghost† capitalizes on the distance of death to find an even more innocent love in the eternally available present (line 74). In identifying Voiture’s present reader as a â€Å"fairer† or more innocent object of his devotion, Pope crystallizes the paradoxical logic of an epistle that measures hope by the amount of distance it can establish from the present. Pope relinquishes ownership over his self in order to provide his guest, Voiture, with a space to breathe within the crowded field of language. Through this act of self-effacement, Pope exemplifies the poetic process through which one transforms oneself into a member of an epistolary community. In the final couplet of his poem, Pope announces the coming of a new community of friends: â€Å"And dead as living, ‘tis our author’s pride, / Still to charm those who charm the world beside† (lines 79-80). The shift from the pronoun â€Å"you† in the previous couplet to the collective â€Å"our† marks the accomplishment of his interpellation of a new epistolary community. His interpellation of both Miss Blount and the broader public as readers of Voiture acts as the condition of this community’s possibility since it is guaranteed by a collective ownership over the language of the past. As readers of the same â€Å"happy† lines, these interpellated or called for individuals share an affective bond that allows them to claim a collective ownership over Voiture. Once the interpellated individual acknowledges his claim for Voiture’s always living â€Å"charm,† he can demonstrate this responsibility through the literary practice of good humour. The â€Å"fairer Rambouillet† thus â€Å"charm[s] the world beside† in recognition of the past which she simultaneously honors and perpetuates in her own epistolary production within the present. Pope surrenders all claims to his self in the â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Work of Voiture† in recognition of his place within a community founded by its hospitable relationship to the past. The address of first Teresa and then Patty Blount with this epistle represents an act of friendship that asks these unmarried women to realize the poetic potential within their exclusion from the centers of social life in early eighteenth century England. With his acknowledgement of the presence of a broader reading public, Pope seeks to begin the process of constituting a community in which he can join the Blount sisters as a loving friend. As a community made possible by the confining forms of a fragmented and patriarchal society, Pope’s vision of an epistolary collective necessarily resides at the very margins of life. ———————– [1] Perry, Ruth. Women, Letters, and the Novel, New York: AMS Press, 1980: page 69. [2] Rumbold, Valerie. Women’s Place in Pope’s World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989: page 2. [3] Pope, Alexander. â€Å"Letter to Teresa and Martha Blount,† Alexander Pope: the Major Works, ed. Pat Rogers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006): page 151. [4] Pope, Alexander. â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Works of Voiture,† Alexander Pope: the Major Works, ed. Pat Rogers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006): pages 46-48. All citations refer to this edition unless otherwise noted. [5] Oxford English Dictionary. â€Å"Farce,† Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. [6] Pope, Alexander. â€Å"Epistle to Miss Blount, with the Works of Voiture,† Alexander Pope: Minor Poems, Twickenham Edition, ed. Norman Ault and John Butt (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954): pages 62-65. Although they both claim to have incorporated the 1735 revisions, there is a discrepancy in this couplet between the epistle in the â€Å"Minor Poems† collection and the â€Å"Major Works of Pope.† I have quoted the former in deference to its greater authority and my preference for it. [7] Epicurus. â€Å"Letter to Menoeceus,† Letters, Principal Doctrines, and Vatican Sayings, trans. Russell M. Greer (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1964): page 57. [8] Dowling, William. The Epistolary Moment: the Poetics of the Eighteenth-Century Verse Epistle, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991. [9] Voiture, Vincent. Familiar and courtly letters written by Monsieur Voiture to persons of the greatest honour, wit, and quality of both sexes in the court of France, trans. Mr. Dryden and Mr. Dennis (London: Printed for Sam Briscoe, 1700). [10] Pope, Alexander. â€Å"Letter to Miss Marriot,† The Correspondence of Alexander Pope: Volume 1, ed. George Sherburn (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956): page 205-206. Quoted by Rumbold, page 50.

Managerial Economics Essay

Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 4. Describe the importance of the â€Å"other things equal† assumption in managerial economic analysis. 5. Describe what constitutes a market, distinguish competitive from non-competitive markets, and discuss imperfect markets. 6. Emphasize the globalization of markets. NOTES 1. Definition. Managerial economics is the science of directing scarce resources to manage cost effectively. 2. Application. Managerial economics applies to: (a) Businesses (such as decisions in relation to customers including pricing and advertising; suppliers; competitors or the internal workings of the organization), nonprofit organizations, and households. (b) The â€Å"old economy† and â€Å"new economy† in essentially the same way except for two distinctive aspects of the â€Å"new economy†: the importance of network  effects and scale and scope economies. i. network effects in demand – the benefit provided by a service depends on the total number of other users, e.g., when only one person had email, she had no one to communicate with, but with 100 mm users on line, the demand for Internet services mushroomed. ii. scale and scope economies – scaleability is the degree to which scale and scope of a business can be increased without a corresponding increase in costs, e.g., the information in Yahoo is eminently scaleable (the same information can serve 100 as well as 100 mm users) and to serve a larger number of users, Yahoo needs only increase the capacity of its computers and links. iii. Note: the term open technology (of the Internet) refers to the relatively free admission of developers of content and applications. (c) Both global and local markets. 3. Scope. (a) Microeconomics – the study of individual economic behavior where resources are costly, e.g., how consumers respond to changes in prices and income, how businesses decide on employment and sales, voters’ behavior and setting of tax policy. (b) Managerial economies – the application of microeconomics to managerial issues (a scope more limited than microeconomics). (c) Macroeconomics – the study of aggregate economic variables directly (as opposed to the aggregation of individual consumers and businesses), e.g., issues relating to interest and exchange rates, inflation, unemployment, import and export policies. 2 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 4. Methodology. (a) Fundamental premise – economic behavior is systematic and therefore can be studied. Systematic economic behavior means individuals share common motivations and behave systematically in making economic choices, i.e, a person who faces the same choices at two different times will behave in the same way both times. (b) Economic model – a concise description of behavior and outcomes: i. focuses on particular issues and key variables (e.g., price, salary), omits considerable information, hence unrealistic at times; ii. constructed by inductive reasoning; iii. to be tested with empirical data and revised as appropriate. 5. Basic concepts. (a) Margin vis a vis average variables in managerial economics analyses. i. marginal value of a variable – the change in the variable associated with a unit increase in a driver, e.g., amount earned by working one more hour; ii. average value of a variable – the total value of the variable divided by the total quantity of a driver, e.g., total pay divided by total no. of hours worked; iii. driver – the independent variable, e.g., no. of hours worked; iv. the marginal value of a variable may be less that, equal to, or greater than the average value, depending on whether the marginal value is decreasing, constant or increasing with respect to the driver; v. if the marginal value of a variable is greater than its average value, the average value increases, and vice versa. (b) Stocks and flows. i. stock – the quantity at a specific point in time, measured in units of the item, e.g., items on a balance sheet (assets and liabilities), the world’s oil reserves in the beginning of a year; ii. Flow – the change in stock over some period of time, measured in units per time period e.g., items on an income statement (receipts and expenses), the world’s current production of oil per day. (c) Holding other things equal – the assumption that all other relevant factors do not change, and is made so that changes due to the factor being studied may be examined independently of those other factors. Having analysed the effects of each factor, they can be put together for the complete picture. 6. Organizational boundaries. (a) Organizations include businesses, non-profits and households. (b) Vertical boundaries – delineate activities closer to or further from the end user. (c) Horizontal boundaries – relate to economies of scale (rate of production or delivery of a good or service) and scope (range of different items produced or delivered). 3 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics (d) Organizations which are members of the same industry may choose different vertical and horizontal boundaries. 7. Competitive markets. (a) Markets. i. a market consists of buyers and sellers that communicate with one another for voluntary exchange. It is not limited by physical structure. ii. in markets for consumer products, the buyers are households and sellers are businesses. iii. in markets for industrial products, both buyers and sellers are businesses. iv. in markets for human resources, buyers are businesses and sellers are households. v. Note: an industry is made up of businesses engaged in the production or delivery of the same or similar items. (b) Competitive markets. i. markets with many buyers and many sellers, where buyers provide the demand and sellers provide the supply, e.g., the silver market. ii. the demand-supply model – basic starting point of managerial economics, the model describes the systematic effect of changes in prices and other economic variables on buyers and sellers, and the interaction of these choices. (c) Non-competitive markets – a market in which market power exists. 8. Market power. (a) Market power – the ability of a buyer or seller to influence market conditions. A seller with market power will have the freedom to choose suppliers, set prices and influence demand. (b) Businesses with market power, whether buyers or sellers, still need to understand and manage their costs. (c) In addition to managing costs, sellers with market power need to manage their demand through price, advertising, and policy toward competitors. 9. Imperfect Market. (a) Imperfect market – where one party directly conveys a benefit or cost to others, or where one party has better information than others. (b) The challenge is to resolve the imperfection and be cost-effective. (c) Imperfections can also arise within an organization, and hence, another issue in managerial economics is how to structure incentives and organizations. 10. Local vis a vis global markets. (a) Local markets – owing to relatively high costs of communication and trade, some markets are local, e.g., housing, groceries. The price in one local market is independent of prices in other local markets. 4 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics (b) Global markets – owing to relatively low costs of communication and trade, some markets are global, e.g., mining, shipping, financial services. The price of an item with a global market in one place will move together with the pries elsewhere. (c) Whether a market is local or global, the same managerial economic principles apply. (d) Note: Falling costs of communication and trade are causing more markets to be more integrated across geographical border – enabling the opportunity to sell in new markets as well as global sourcing. Foreign sources may provide cheaper skilled labor, specialized resources, or superior quality, resulting in lower production costs and/or improved quality. ANSWERS TO PROGRESS CHECKS 1A. The managerial economics of the â€Å"new economy† is much the same as that of the â€Å"old economy† with two aspects being more important – network effects in demand and scale and scope economies. 1B. Vertical boundaries delineate activities closer to or further from the end user. Horizontal boundaries define the scale and scope of operations. ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Marketing over the Internet is a scaleable activity. Delivery through UPS is somewhat scaleable: UPS already incurs the fixed cost of an international collection and distribution network; it may be willing to give Amazon bulk discounts for larger volumes of business. 2. Number of cars in service January 2002 + production + imports – exports – scrappage during 2002 = Number of cars in service January 2003. Number of cars in service is stock; other variables are flows. 3. [omitted]. 4. No, models must be less than completely realistic to be useful. 5. (a) Average price per minute = (210 + 120 x 4)/5 = 138 yen per minute. (b) Price of marginal minute = 120 yen. 6. (a) Flow; (b) Stock; (c) Stock. 5 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics 7. (a) The electricity market includes buyers and sellers. (b) industry consists of sellers only. The electricity 8. (a) False. (b) False. 9. [omitted]. 10. If there are scale economies, the organization could product at a lower cost on a larger scale, which means wider horizontal boundaries; and vice versa. 11. Yes. Horizontal boundaries: how many product categories should it sell? Vertical boundaries: should it operate its own warehouses and delivery service? 12. Intel has relatively more market power. 13. (b). 14. Both (a) and (b). 15. Competitive markets have large numbers of buyers and sellers, none of which can influence market conditions. By contrast, a buyer or seller with market power can influence market conditions. A market is imperfect if one party directly conveys benefits or costs to others, or if one party has better information than another. WORKED ANSWER TO DISCUSSION QUESTION Jupiter Car Rental offers two schemes for rental of a compact car. It charges $60 per day for an unlimited mileage plan, and $40 per day for a time-and-mileage plan with 100 free miles plus 20 cents a mile for mileage in excess of the free allowance. a. For a customer who plans to drive 50 miles, which is the cheaper plan. What are the average and marginal costs per mile of rental? (The marginal cost is the cost of an additional mile of usage.) b. For a customer who plans to drive 150 miles, which is the cheaper plan. What are the average and marginal costs per mile of rental? c. If Jupiter raises the basic charge for the time-and-mileage plan to $44 per day, how would that affect the average and marginal costs for a customer who drives 50 miles? 6 Chapter 1: Introduction to Managerial Economics Answer (a) It is helpful to sketch the total rental cost as a function of the mileage (see figure below). The breakeven between the two plans is at 200 miles per day. For 50 miles, the time-and-mileage plan is cheaper. Average cost = $40/50 = 80 cents per mile. Marginal cost = 0. Total cost ($) time-and-mileage plan unlimited mileage plan $60 $40 0 100 200 Quantity (miles per day) (b) For the 150 mile customer, the time-and-mileage plan is still cheaper. Average cost = $(40 + 0.2 x 50)/150 = 33 cents per mile; marginal cost = 20 cents per mile. (c) After the increase in the basic charge, the average cost = $(44 + 0.2 x 50)/150 = 36 cents per mile, while marginal cost = 20 cents per mile. The increase in the basic charge doesn’t affect the marginal cost. 7

Boracay Famous White Beach Tourism Essay Essay Example

Boracay Famous White Beach Tourism Essay Essay Example Boracay Famous White Beach Tourism Essay Essay Boracay Famous White Beach Tourism Essay Essay Harmonizing to Tourism Philippines, Boracay is celebrated for its long white sandy beaches, and is besides a popular mercantile establishment for H2O athleticss activities such as aqualung diving, snorkeling, sailing etc. Other than the flaxen beaches, Boracay is good known for the night life and party scene. There are legion bars and nines along the whole stretch of beach, largely located at station 2 of Boracay. Spas are besides readily at most topographic points ; you can even happen free-lance masseurs policing the beaches! ( Tourism Philippines, 2008, Retrieved From: hypertext transfer protocol: //tourism-philippines.com/boracay-travel-guide/ ) Harmonizing to corporate.mozcom.com, The best portion of the island is its 4 kilometer. White Beach, besides called long beach by the locals. It is situated at the west seashore between the small towns of Angol and Balabag, and some experient travelers claim it to be the finest beach of all Asia. The H2O is shallow here and its sand brighter and finer than most beaches in the archipelago. There are about 350 beach resorts with 2000 suites to accommodate virtually everyone s gustatory sensation. There is adjustment of all types and monetary value classs. Restaurants range organize the native fastfood stables to constitutions that would fulfill even a epicure. You can happen beer articulations every bit good as discos with astonishing visible radiation and sound equipment. ( corporate.mozcom.com, n.d, Retrieved From: hypertext transfer protocol: //corporate.mozcom.com/dot/r6/borfacts.html ) Nestor P. Burgos Jr. of the Filipino Daily Inquirer states that, DISCERNING travellers and tourers prefer finishs off the beaten path. But many of them still stop up in the world-famous beach of Boracay Island in Aklan. This is because of its white beach and all right white sand and crystal clear Waterss, harmonizing to Edwin Trompeta, regional manager for Western Visayas of the Department of Tourism. The beach and Waterss combined with the island s nightlife brand Boracay irresistible, he says. Despite contentions on land ownership and unregulated development, Boracay has drawn more tourers every twelvemonth because of its celebrated white beach, systematically included in the lists of the best beaches in the universe. Furthermore, the planetary economic slack has failed to stifle tourer reachings with new foreign markets and local tourers doing up for the slack in visitants from states hit hard by the universe recession. As a affair of fact, tourer reachings on the island have been on the upswing for a decennary. They are up from 554,181 tourers in 2006, 596,707 in 2007, 634,263 in 2008 and 649,559 last twelvemonth. For the first five months of this twelvemonth, tourer reachings have grown by 12 per centum, harmonizing to informations from the touristry office of Malay town in Aklan. Boracay s extremum season normally begins in October and stopping points until May the undermentioned twelvemonth From January to May 2010, tourer reachings reached 378,694, higher than the 337,664 tourers who visited the island in the same period last twelvemonth and the 320,994 tourers who came in 2008. The highest figure was recorded in May with tourer reachings making 101,349, higher than the 92,813 tourers in the same month in 2009 and 83,731 in 2008. More than 600,000 local and foreign tourers visited the white sand beaches and assorted parts of Boracay during the period, more than 40 per centum higher than the 2009 figure of around 470,000. DOT 6 said they have recorded more than 230,000 foreign tourers in the island as of early October. . This is good intelligence amid the assorted travel advisories issued by several states against sing in the Philippines, the DOT 6 said. The United States, Australia and United Kingdom had earlier issued advisories as safeguards in going to the state in the aftermath of reported panic menaces. The touristry of Boracay is go oning to turn in fact, The News Today states that, Boracay s gross, chiefly due to touristry, has reached P 12.17 billion as of the 3rd one-fourth, higher compared to last twelvemonth s figures. Income from touristry in Boracay from January to May make P6,961,683.28. ( Burgos, 2010, Retrieved From: hypertext transfer protocol: //newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20100814-286677/Boracay-tourism-still-up-amid-woes ) Tourist Attractions and Activities in Boracay Harmonizing to travelnet.com, Boracay is celebrated for the followers: Beachs / White Beach Boracay self-praises of a sugary white sand beach and cerulean bluish Waterss. The best portion of the island is the four-kilometer White Beach known to be the finest beach in the universe. The encompassing H2O is shallow and the sand is finer and brighter than most beaches in the archipelago. White Beach is so, soooo mulct, it feels like steping on stat mis of babe pulverization! Aquasports The island Eden of Boracay is a perfect topographic point for watersports. Here, you can partake in a assortment of exhilirating aqua action from swimming and snorkeling to scuba diving, windsurfing, sailboating, kayaking, boardsailing, and yachting. Nature Stumbling / Eco-Adventure World-renowned Boracay is an escapade island ideal for island hopping, hike, trekking, undermining, mountain mounting, biking, and horseback equitation. Trekking and mountain biking can convey even the intrepid to the island s quaint inside small towns and to the borders scenic bouldery drops, detecting along the manner many concealed coves with stray beaches far from the tourer crowd. Boardsailing at Bulabog Beach On the eastern side of Boracay Island is Bulabog Beach. It is a boardsailor s Mecca that draws partisans from all over the universe, particularly during the extremum season from November to March. In January, it is the site of an International Funboard Cup. Paraw Regatta Sailboating and kayaking are popular sporting activities, with Boracay playing host to the one-year Paraw Regatta, an international sailing boat race that makes usage of the native outrigger. Diving Dive sites surround the island and are larning locales to both novitiates and professional frogmans, guided by competent teachers of the many dive stores that operate in the country. For trueblue aqualung plunging partisans, Yapak in Boracay is a great deep honkytonk. Recreational Sports Laid-back Boracay is the perfect locale for golf, tennis, bowling, even beach volleyball. Top-of-class comfortss for these activities are available in the island. For golf bugs, Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf and Countryclub has an 18-hole title class. Partyhopping The codification in Boracay is purely informal. Walking barefoot than shod is the regulation instead than the exclusion. Singing discos have the beach for a floor, giving dance a new turn. From twilight to click, the island turns into one large party topographic point where everyone is welcome to fall in in. Mambo Number 5 For the adventure-driven, Mambo Number 5 is a small spot of boating and air current surfboarding, a small spot of aqualung diving, a small spot of trekking, a small spot of mountain biking, and a small spot of golf. Shoping Bargain shopping is a joy of a recreation while in Boracay. Souvenir pieces provide eternal possibilities, from bangles and native accoutrements made of shells and semi-precious rocks to alien or modern-day beach wear and manner graphicss. Dining The gustatory sensation of the 6th Region, to which Boracay belongs, is rather simple. Charbroiled poulet is common menu. Another favourite dish is natural fish marinated in spicy acetum. Dining is no job in Boracay, with most resorts holding their ain eating houses that serve both Filipino and international culinary arts. Small bite bars line the island. Relaxation Diversions are non a job in Boracay, with leisure activities calendared throughout the twelvemonth and comfortss offered by some 350 tourer constitutions. The island is ideal for beachbumming, relaxing, and merely idling about. At the terminal of the twenty-four hours, unwind with a restful massage. The island neer runs out skilled masseurs offering massage services by the beach. For a more epicurean dainty, see the new Mandala Spa. Boracay Boardsailing The picture-perfect tropical island of Boracay offers flat-water velocity seafaring, wave jumping, and longboard cruising. White Beach, shielded from the amihan, or north-east monsoon, is for novices. Bulabog Beach, on the other side of the island, has ideal conditions for velocity, slalom, and high-wind shortboard seafaring. It is besides the site of the one-year Boracay International Funboard Cup. Tabon Strait has superb high-performance seafaring, but there is a existent hazard of being swept off, so this site is for skilled crewmans merely. Tibiao Whitewater River Rising near the extremum of Mt. Madja-as, the Tibiao River descends about 2000m on its short but disruptive journey to the sea. The lower subdivision of the river, known as the Chicken Run , is grade 3 ; the more hard upper subdivision reaches grade 4. The Tibiao has all the authoritative characteristics of a tropical white water river, with rich flora hemming the Bankss, positions of rice patios, dramatic falls and clear H2O. The river is close to Boracay and easy accessible. Natural Formations Beachs / White Beach Boracay self-praises of a sugary white sand beach and cerulean bluish Waterss. The best portion of the island is the four-kilometer White Beach known to be the finest beach in the universe. The encompassing H2O is shallow and the sand is finer and brighter than most beaches in the archipelago. White Beach is so, soooo mulct, it feels like steping on stat mis of babe pulverization! Festivals Ati-Atihan ( 2nd weekend of January ) January is the clip to hang loose in Kalibo, the Land of the Atis and the gateway to Boracay. For all of three yearss, it celebrates the Ati-Atihan Festival where frenzied streetdancing is performed by costumed and black-sooted folks as they wend through the chief streets from morning until the witching hours. Ati-Atihan commemorates the 13th-century land trade between 10s migrating Bornean captains and the Aboriginal Ati King Marikudo. It besides honors the town frequenter, the baby Santo Nino. To the concomitant of 100s of lyres and membranophones, revelers throw all suppressions to the air current as they join the folks in a huffy gigue punctuated by rhythmic cries of: Hala bira! Puera pasma! Hala bira! Viva Santo Nino! ( Loosely translated: Let travel! Do nt acquire ill! Let travel! Hail the Holy Child! ) Paraw Regatta Annually, Boracay Island plays host to the Paraw Regatta, an international sailing boat race that makes usage of the native outrigger. International Funboard Cup A music and dance celebration picturing the history, folklore, and traditions of the Lobocanons. Bolibong Kingking is a term applied to the membranophones and tam-tams and their beat used to attach to the invocation dance rite in forepart of the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the 2nd Patron of Loboc. Pana-ad SA Loboc ( Holy Thursday A ; Good Friday ) Bulabog Beach, situated on the eastern side of Boracay Island, is a boardsailor s Mecca that draws partisans from all over the universe. Every January, it is the site of an International Funboard Cup. Selling Boracay A survey was undertaken for the International Finance Corp. ( IFC ) by a squad of Filipino and German consultantsA to better and develop Boracay to do it a first tourer finish. Harmonizing to this survey, the program is accomplishable and through this, the island of Boracay can vie with other world-renowned beaches like those in Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia. The program is to redesign the selling scheme to do the island more seeable and accessible to tourers from around the universe, declared IFC Country Manager Vipul Bhagat. Boracay is presented as a oasis of good investing chances, paying attending to strategic touristry selling and publicity so as to ask for and carry more tourers into sing the island. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mb.com.ph/node/61659 The survey emphasizes the major alterations which are intended to be done and implemented to develop, sustain and do Boracay a major finish for high-ticket touristry. These alterations include the transportation of solid waste direction installation from Boracay to Caticlan ; the building of low-cost mainland lodging to ease migration and congestion in Boracay ; improved conveyance installation between Boracay and Caticlan ; development of Caticlan s airdrome and marina ; a Caticlan-based full service infirmary to react to exigencies, and ; an agro-industrial centre in Caticlan with ice and cold storage installations and a public market. Issues like migration, zoning, deficiency of wellness installations and medical forces, ocular and noise pollution, solid waste and H2O direction, energy supply and intra- and inter-island conveyance are besides addressed. In add-on, the edifice of educational installations offering tourism-related services, environmental direction and eco-tourism in Caticlan was besides recommended to raise the consciousness of the locals to go on preserving, prolonging and developing the island that is considered as one of the Philippines most cherished and cherished natural resources. .A To get down with the selling and strategic direction development, the IFC conducted a web selling seminar for local functionaries and business communities to better and hone their accomplishments and use the usage the Internet to market Boracay and better and build-up its image. A separate forum for possible investors was besides held in Manila.

Free Essays on GM’s Saturn Division And Its Product Mix

Today we are looking at GM’s Saturn division and its product mix. I will describe the mix and talk to their strategy for their product line. I will also show how Saturn organized its product in relation to some of its competition. Saturn provides a lineup of American-made cars, focusing on value and customer needs. The vehicles tend to be smaller, are built with dent preventing polymers instead of sheet metal and are sold at a pre-set â€Å"no-haggle† price. Saturn’s product mix for vehicles is structured with a width or breadth of 6 product lines. Saturn also keeps their product length very short. The longest line is the VUE with four models. Most of their vehicles are restricted to two models. These vehicle groups are: 1. Saturn’s S-Series Sedans, the first car released and their most basic vehicle. This is a reliable car at an affordable price that comes in three models, the SL, the SL1 and the SL2. 2. Saturn’s 3-Door Coupe, a sporty hatch back vehicle that makes the most of its interior room with a unique 3d door to allow adults into the back seat. This vehicle comes in two models, the SC1 and SC2. 3. Saturn’s L-Series Sedans, a more luxurious vehicle with more options. This vehicle comes in two models, the L200 and the L300. 4. Saturn’s L-Series Wagons, the only station wagon in Saturn’s lineup. This vehicle comes in two models, the LW200 and the LW300. 5. Saturn’s VUE, their sport utility vehicle created to compete in that hot market. This vehicle comes in four models, the FWD 4, the FWD 6, the AWD 4, and the AWD 6. 6. Saturn’s newest release, the ION Sedan that will replace the S-Series cars. â€Å"The two ION models are completely new from the ground up and offer surprising refinement for the small-car segment. Even the name is new, since they replace the pioneering S-Series in the Saturn lineup. Both the four-door sedan and the "quad coupe" - so-called because of its dual rear-access doors (R... Free Essays on GM’s Saturn Division And Its Product Mix Free Essays on GM’s Saturn Division And Its Product Mix Today we are looking at GM’s Saturn division and its product mix. I will describe the mix and talk to their strategy for their product line. I will also show how Saturn organized its product in relation to some of its competition. Saturn provides a lineup of American-made cars, focusing on value and customer needs. The vehicles tend to be smaller, are built with dent preventing polymers instead of sheet metal and are sold at a pre-set â€Å"no-haggle† price. Saturn’s product mix for vehicles is structured with a width or breadth of 6 product lines. Saturn also keeps their product length very short. The longest line is the VUE with four models. Most of their vehicles are restricted to two models. These vehicle groups are: 1. Saturn’s S-Series Sedans, the first car released and their most basic vehicle. This is a reliable car at an affordable price that comes in three models, the SL, the SL1 and the SL2. 2. Saturn’s 3-Door Coupe, a sporty hatch back vehicle that makes the most of its interior room with a unique 3d door to allow adults into the back seat. This vehicle comes in two models, the SC1 and SC2. 3. Saturn’s L-Series Sedans, a more luxurious vehicle with more options. This vehicle comes in two models, the L200 and the L300. 4. Saturn’s L-Series Wagons, the only station wagon in Saturn’s lineup. This vehicle comes in two models, the LW200 and the LW300. 5. Saturn’s VUE, their sport utility vehicle created to compete in that hot market. This vehicle comes in four models, the FWD 4, the FWD 6, the AWD 4, and the AWD 6. 6. Saturn’s newest release, the ION Sedan that will replace the S-Series cars. â€Å"The two ION models are completely new from the ground up and offer surprising refinement for the small-car segment. Even the name is new, since they replace the pioneering S-Series in the Saturn lineup. Both the four-door sedan and the "quad coupe" - so-called because of its dual rear-access doors (R...

Analysis on Overt Covert Racism

Racism is socially constructed in society and is used to differentiate privileges, wealth, and social class amongst individuals. Overt and covert racism have unique distinction in the sense that, one is explicit and the other is implicit. Thus, in today’s society, practices of popular culture account for hegemonic depictions in overt and covert racism. Firstly, overt racism is explicit in the sense that it is intentionally out there to demonstrate differentiations in the individual or group through harm or attacks. Secondly, covert racism could be considered an implicit method in which can be thought of as the effects of overt racism. Furthermore, covert racism in the example of black discrimination would be the generalization or stereotyping of African-Americans by the mass public (non-blacks) who perhaps can be thought of as, â€Å"brainwashed†. Lastly, through social constructionism hegemonic practices can be found in overt and covert racism. With that, White America has effectively socially constructed an ideology that became hegemonic towards the Black community through the effects of overt and covert racism. Racism in, â€Å"Identity and Community† is defined as the concept in which discrimination in human beings is based on physically, biologically, and genetically distinct types. Because of that, racism is the clear distinction of these â€Å"types† which begins the hierarchical distinction between racial groups. Overt racism is depicted in the film, â€Å"Malcolm X† where it is socially constructed such that the ideology that Blacks were an inferior race and should be treated harshly because of their skin color and origins. The manifestation of racism towards Blacks by White America is clearly overt racism as it explicitly and intentionally advocates the discrimination of African-Americans. Not only that, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan in the film are a prime example of overt racism such that they are preaching to the mass public about the inferiority of African-Americans. Thus hegemony in overt racism accounts for the death of Malcolm’s father. Hegemonic practices in the film are depicted in a covert manner such that the persecution of Blacks by the White Americans is accepted by the on-victims. To elaborate, it is not forcing the non-victims of racism to accept the new ideology but because of social constructionism, the idea of stereotypes becomes acceptable. Racism was acceptable in America during the 20th century, thus the power of racism becomes legitimate. In addition, covert hegemonic racism is evident such that â€Å"integration† or assimilation has always existed to be white. This is because it is never White-Americans integrating into black colleges, culture, or neighborhoods, whereas African-Americans are forced into assimilating into the norm. It is in a sense that the bystanders become racially de-sensitized and are then able to become and accept the regime’s ideology, in a hegemonic manner. This in turn may create covert racism, such that the younger generation are educated through social learning theory and are then â€Å"racists† themselves, but may not realize it. In the book, â€Å"White Savagery and Humiliation, or a New Racial Consciousness in the Media†, Newitz further explains that as young children, the world is quickly divided into â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† objects. This example of early covert racism surfaces in today’s popular culture as parenting and social constructionism continues to shape today’s youth into stereotyping. In comparison to the film, the African-Americans are unable to fulfill and achieve their highest level of social classes because of suppressions and persecutions from the white community. As during the time, it was socially seen to be acceptable to discriminate African-Americans because of social constructionism. In conclusion, hegemonic practices in American Popular Culture are still very resilient and real today in the sense that African-Americans still experience racism regardless of influential movements such as having the first Black President. With that said, overt racism in today’s society is becoming less explicit because of new cultural norms, and social constructionism, whereas covert racism is becoming more prevalent because of its ability to facade itself under a cloak of silent approval. This can be attributed to the idea of â€Å"Decolonization of Culture† in the chapter, â€Å"Introducing Popular Culture† where Szeman and O’Brien notes that during the civil rights movement, social groups have begun to realize the faultlines of stereotyping social norms in race. It is important to note that covert racism will always exist in America, as long as social constructionism permits it. This demonstrates the power social constructionism has in racism which ultimately becomes the foundation of hegemony in African-Americans.