Civil Engineering An Interdisciplinary Field Essay

Name Institution Course Instructor Date Civil Engineering Career My understanding of Civil Engineering and how it has evolved throughout the semester Civil engineering is an interdisciplinary field that deals in the design, construction and maintenance of the natural and physically built environment (Wong p.213). It entails the constructions works for roads, canals, dams, bridges, buildings and other forms of man-made infrastructure. Civil works are executed to improve the living standards of human beings. Structures are designed to accommodate the needs and safety of the occupants. In civil engineering, detailed investigations are conducted to determine the safest standards for most structures in order to enhance their integrity. For example, the bearing capacity of soil is analyzed. In addition, the safe loading for structures is also determined analytically, and the approximate mix ratio for building materials is also determined from a mathematical perspective (Becerik-Gerber et al p. 97). Over the semesters, civil engineering has evolved as a practical-oriented rather than a theoretical discipline. In addition, the courses pursued in this major have provided more insights on the interdisciplinary scope of this discipline. Since sustainable construction is a contemporary issue in engineering, care should be taken to ensure that construction activities do not pollute the environment (Delatte et al p. 47). In fact, ethical practices in civil engineering have bridged theShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Importance of Architectural Engineering1202 Words   |  5 Pages but for buildings in particular, architectural engineers are needed. 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Bite Me A Love Story Chapter 23 Free Essays

string(200) " out and in an instant her fingers were wrapped in his beard and she was pulling his head back, not yanking, but pulling with an irresistible strength, as if he’d been hitched to a power winch\." 23. Brat in the Paper Aisle MAKEDA She stood under the eave of a post office that looked out on the Safeway parking lot, watching the old man with the dogs pounding at the door. Well, that would make seven. We will write a custom essay sample on Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 23 or any similar topic only for you Order Now She knew she should wait for the others, but what fun was there in that. A lean black guy let the old man and his dogs into the store, then locked the door behind him. She moved to the side of the building, then along the front behind a long train of shopping carts, where she could look through the windows without being seen herself. They were spread out, each working an aisle to himself. She really should call for the others. Neither would be that far away, but she did so little on her own anymore. She examined the window. Thick Plexiglas, she wasn’t going through that. She could kick the door down, of course, but then they would run and there’d be chasing and if any got away Rolf would pout with disapproval for months. Not that she wasn’t beyond pouting herself. She once awakened to find Bella and Rolf merged together in mist without her and refused to take solid form for a year except to feed. That was how they began each night, merged in mist form, still inside their titanium chamber, experiencing every corner of each other’s consciousness, every memory, every emotion, every want, every fear-complete knowing, complete intimacy. After an hour or so, they would assume their solid forms, then leave the chamber and feed, or watch a video of a sunrise or sunset. That was it! Mist. She would go into the store by stealth. Except for the one with the dogs, they were all young men, weren’t they? She knew she could hold the rapt attention of a young man. She’d take each one, drain him without the others even knowing what happened, then share the experience with Rolf and Bella tomorrow night. It was always fun to bring something new and dangerous to their night. She wouldn’t be able to wear her special suit, or take any of the weapons, but it was just as well. She couldn’t leave bodies. Seven. She’d be as full as a tick, ready to pop. She checked that none of them was by the door, hid her weapons under the shopping carts, then lay down and oozed out of the Kevlar bodysuit, across the sidewalk, and under the door. Rock and roll was blasting out of the PA system, filling the store with a relentless chainsaw rhythm guitar that drowned all other sound. She swirled around the registers, then started to make her way across the aisles. The first two were empty, then in the third, the old man was sitting all by himself on a milk crate. Scented candles were lit up and down either side of the aisle, as if someone had laid out a landing strip. She could sense the others around her, but her perceptions weren’t as sharp in mist form and the odor and heat from the candles made it nearly impossible to tell how far away they were. Their heartbeats and breathing were lost in the music, but there was blood in the air. All over in the air. She floated up to the ceiling, where she could see over the tops of the shelf gondolas. There were two of them working on the other side of the store, bobbing in time to the music. Rolf would have wafted back out the door and called the others, and Bella would have drawn an elaborate plan to stalk them, one at a time, and pick them off when they were alone, but that was exactly why she wasn’t going to do either of those things. As she pulled herself into solid form she felt a horrible wrenching in her chest, like her heart caving in on itself. Not a physical pain, but a sudden absence. One of the others was suddenly not there. Rolf. Just not there. She stood there in front of the old man, naked, shaking, trying to bring herself back to the hunt. â€Å"Don’t scream,† she said. THE EMPEROR He didn’t like that the men were locked in the walk-in cooler, and he didn’t like that the Animals had tied him up, rubbed liver and steaks all over him, and set him on a milk box, but he had done his duty to his city. He had alerted the only people who would listen to the presence of the black ship, told them what the strange faux-Hawaiian had said about the old vampires coming for them, and he could have some peace of mind in that. They didn’t have to duct tape his hands so tightly, and tape his ankles to the milk box. They could have just asked. Ah, youth. She materialized about twelve feet in front of him, nude, nubile, and athletic, so black she might have been made of polished ironwood, yet the death-pallor made her lips appear lavender. Her hair was trimmed close to her scalp, her eyes appeared to be gold, but he couldn’t tell for sure. She shivered for a moment, as if a current was being applied to her body. He watched her muscles tensing and relaxing, rippling under her skin in waves. Then she stopped shaking and opened her eyes. â€Å"Don’t scream,† she said. Blood tears formed in the corners of her eyes. â€Å"Oh my, if you aren’t lovely,† said the Emperor. She smiled and he saw fangs there, and he suddenly felt as if he might wet himself. She moved a few steps closer to him. â€Å"Are those steaks on your shoulders?† she said. â€Å"Yes. There’s liver in my pockets as well.† She cocked her head as if listening. â€Å"Where are the others?† â€Å"I don’t know,† he said. Her hand shot out and in an instant her fingers were wrapped in his beard and she was pulling his head back, not yanking, but pulling with an irresistible strength, as if he’d been hitched to a power winch. You read "Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 23" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Where are they?† He could feel his vertebrae cracking, feel her raking her fangs over his neck. Then the sound of a high-pressure gas burst and she wasn’t there, and there was a length of heavy nylon line in the space where her face had been. â€Å"Down!† came Lash’s voice, as he, Troy Lee, Jeff, and Drew all rolled out of the shelves where they had been hiding behind rows of toilet paper and paper towels. The vampire woman’s head was pinned to a bale of paper towels with the stainless-steel spear from Barry’s spear gun. She screeched like a wildcat and pulled herself away and leapt at Drew, who was leveling a Super Soaker. Lash yanked the spear gun and the nylon line whipped her around. Jeff and Troy Lee opened garden sprayers on her from the front, while Drew unloaded the Super Soaker from the back. She screeched and writhed in the streams, but her flesh was coming off in great slimy chunks, as if she were wax and had been dropped into a foundry furnace. It was all over in ten seconds, and every item for twenty feet in either direction had been knocked off the shelves, the Emperor was on his back, unable to right himself, and the ancient vampire was a puddle of red goo that still bubbled as it broke down. â€Å"What do you know,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Grandma’s tea worked.† Lash nodded and threw the spear gun to the floor with a clank. â€Å"Clint! Clean up on aisle four!† JODY Because she never liked going to the gym, Jody decided to stake out the Raven from the roof of an office building next door instead of on the Bay Club. The fact that she’d been able to leap from brick balcony to brick balcony until she was on the roof, six floors up, proved what she had always maintained, at least when she was alive: working out is narcissistic bullshit. She almost wished that the girls she’d worked with at the Transamerica Building could see her now-all of them stuffing themselves into Spandex and nylon after work and heading to the Bay Club or 24 Hour Fitness in hope of meeting someone who wasn’t a creep and, in the case of the Bay Club members, someone who was rich. She imagined them saying, â€Å"Do you want to come with us? We can get you a guest pass. Mohitos afterward?† â€Å"No thanks,† she’d say. â€Å"I’m going to go bench-press an Audi a couple of sets, grab the satchel with the three-hundred grand I stashed on a roof up the street, and go back to my loft and fuck my immortal boyfriend until dawn.† Okay, that wasn’t really what she was going to do, but she for goddamn sure was not going to the gym and getting all sweaty so she could meet guys. She didn’t even want to be on the roof of the gym, knowing that there was unprotected fitness going on below. She could see the Raven across the Embarcadero, and the Rasta kid was doing nautical stuff with different instruments. At least she thought he was doing nautical stuff. He could have just been dicking around with expensive equipment. None of the vampires was there. There were lights coming from a few of the ports below the cockpit, but she didn’t see any movement. The sense of immediacy that had driven her here had evaporated somewhat. She thought about calling Tommy, but didn’t have any idea what his new cell phone number might be. She used Abby’s phone and dialed Foo’s number, but it went to voice mail, which she didn’t see as a good sign. If the other two vampires were out of the ship, and she had to wait for them to return, she’d never get a shot at them from this far away. If they didn’t come back until dawn, she’d be caught outside at sunrise. There was a warehouse by the pier, perhaps that roof. And she’d set herself a time limit. If they didn’t show by a half-hour before sunup, she’d head back to the loft. Even at a slow, human jog she’d make it in plenty of time. She’d have to sneak down the back of the building, though. You didn’t want people to see you jumping two or three stories at a time. She understood why the vampires had to keep their secret, she really did, but not at the expense of them killing her friends. â€Å"Good view?† A woman’s voice came from behind her. Jody rolled and whipped around, pulling Foo’s UV laser from the waistband of her jeans. She didn’t have on the sun-glasses so she pointed the laser at the figure coming across the roof toward her, closed her eyes, turned away, then fired. The laser buzzed out a blue beam that lasted two seconds, then started making a high-pitched whining sound as it recharged its capacitor. â€Å"Oh, very nice,† came the voice. It was definitely a woman, amazing figure, wearing a skin-tight black suit, a black mask, and sunglasses, and carrying some sort of weapon. She looked like a superhero. Jody was on her feet, in a crouch. The laser thing was still charging, but maybe it would fire a weaker blast, give her time to move. â€Å"Nah, nah, nah.† The woman raised her weapon, and fired. A stuttering stream of pellets peppered Jody’s arm and she lost hold of the laser. Jody felt as if her arm were on fire. She looked to see ten tiny holes, each smoking, with a clear liquid, not blood running out of it. The woman whipped off her hood and sunglasses, but kept the weapon trained on Jody. She was stunning, a pale, Mediterranean beauty with waist-length hair like black silk and almost impossibly large eyes. â€Å"That light thing is sweet, but you should get one of these,† she said. â€Å"It’s basically just a pellet gun modified to fire chemical pellets, but the chemical, there’s the magic.† â€Å"It burns like hell,† Jody said. â€Å"Yes, it does. And I could cut you in half with this before you could get to me. That’s the problem with light weapons, they don’t have range and it doesn’t take much to stop them. Like this suit, for instance. I mean, this thing has a UV light on it, but that’s just to keep you from turning to mist. Can you do that, fledgling?† â€Å"That’s what Elijah called me,† Jody said. â€Å"That’s what he called all of us in our day.† Jody tried to figure out how to get to the woman. She knew she could move impossibly fast for a human, but this was another vampire, a very old vampire. She had once squared off against Elijah thinking all things were equal among vampires and he’d nearly ended her. As if she was reading Jody’s thoughts the vampire fired her weapon and Jody felt her other arm light up with pain from shoulder to elbow. â€Å"Ouch. Fuck. You bitch!† â€Å"Bella, not bitch. And what were you going to do to me, fledgling? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? We have been together hundreds of years. You ended pieces of history. You took parts of me.† She fired again and Jody’s right leg gave way. â€Å"What do you mean, pieces?† â€Å"You don’t know what it is to merge with another being then? With a lover? We were lovers, Rolf, Makeda, and me, for hundreds of years, and now they are gone.† â€Å"I don’t know what you’re talking about.† â€Å"Both are gone, I could feel it. Funny, I didn’t know I was always aware of their presence until they were gone. Not an hour ago. I’m alone now. I should let you live if only because we’ve lost two. There are fewer than a hundred of us, fledgling, and you might have been one of us.† â€Å"I didn’t know,† Jody said. â€Å"I don’t even care anymore. Maybe I’ll just kill you and lie down and wait for the sun to come up. I’ll never even know what happened.† â€Å"Trust me, that’s not as painless as you think it is,† Jody said. â€Å"Don’t!† said Bella. She raised her weapon again but this time, when the little UV light came on, Jody pushed off with her good leg, did a high backflip, and fell six stories to the courtyard below. She expected to feel bone-crushing pain, hear the crackle of vertebrae, maybe even the crunch of her skull, but instead she felt warm water envelop her. She had landed in the Bay Club’s pool, which meant she must have launched herself a good forty feet away from the roof. Her predator mind, the one that had risen to tell her that the City was hers, now kicked in, assessing survival. She was under water, that was good. The pellet weapon wouldn’t penetrate the water more than a foot before losing it’s effectiveness. Plus, the pool water was flushing out whatever heinous chemical had been burning her. She felt herself healing, even as she hovered at the bottom of the pool. She could stay there indefinitely without breathing if necessary. The bad news was that Bella was still up there, and as soon as Jody left the water, the good news would end. It was very unlikely she could take the older vampire hand-to-hand, even if she could get past the pellet weapon, but she could run. Even if she was no faster than Bella, she knew this neighborhood. She’d worked here for years, and she wasn’t three blocks from Okata’s dismal little apartment. She dug in her jacket pocket and found Abby’s phone. It was a weatherized model and the screen was still showing the time. Still four hours until sunup, and that was a guess. She had to cut it extremely close, but if she could bolt away from the Raven with just enough time to find shelter herself, but not enough time for Bella, she just might get away. And maybe in the meantime, Rivera and Cavuto would call out a S.W.A.T. team to storm the black ship. Or the Animals would blow it up, like they had Elijah’s yacht. Maybe Bella would dive into the water after her, although losing the high ground would take away a distinct advantage. Maybe one of the people in the apartments above would look down and think there was a body in the pool, and she could make her escape when the EMTs came to rescue her. That’s it. She assumed the yoga posture called â€Å"down-floating corpse† and waited, listening for any disturbance that might indicate she had company in the pool, and concentrated on her wound healing. Maybe if she healed enough she could go to mist and sneak out that way. She hadn’t moved a lot in mist form, nor had she ever changed under water and she wasn’t sure she could, but it might be worth a try. A shadow fell across the bottom of the pool, cast by the mercury lights above, and she flipped over to see Bella moving catlike at the edge of the pool. Then again, maybe not. CHET He’d watched them slaughter all of his fellow vampire cats and instead of running, as would have been his feline instinct, he tracked the killers, which was behavior born entirely of his human side. The three sides of his nature were in constant conflict. Even now, his cat side hated water, and wanted to flee, but his human side felt hate rising and wanted to attack. The vampire side told him to remain hidden, to approach in stealth, as mist, but his cat side told him to pounce, rip her throat out with claw and fang. It occurred to him, as he watched from the roof of the Bay Club as she paced around the pool in her skin-tight black suit, that water or no water, revenge or no revenge, he was going to hump the bejezus out of her before any other action took place. There was part tomcat in all of his natures. He’d started his pack by mating with any female in heat, then they turned males, and so on. And he continued his undead romp through the alleys and backyards of San Francisco, but as he grew larger, and the human part of him manifested, he was just too big to finish the deed. If he fed on them, they went to dust before he got to hump them, and if humped them, they didn’t survive for him to feed on them, and he’d humped a bunch of cats to death before he figured that out. It turned out, size did matter. But here was the perfect solution. Moving strong and sexy, just the right size-he could lock his jaws on her neck and have at it, then drink her blood or bite her head off as the whim hit him, and all the time that horrible weapon would be pointed away from him. He went to mist and oozed down the side of the building in a stream that blended with the night fog creeping in off the Bay. JODY Jody just happened to be looking up at Bella’s watery silhouette against the mercury light when she saw another shape appear behind Bella, leap on her back, and pull her away from the edge of the pool. Jody was not going to sit around checking references, whatever that thing was, it was an ally. She came out of the water like a rocket, and in two steps she leapt to the top of the twelve-foot security fence and looked back. Something had pulled Bella around and now had her face-down on the pavement and appeared to be humping the bejezus out of her. Jody knew she shouldn’t, but she paused. Big kitty ears, big kitty tail, big kitty sinking his fangs into the back of Bella’s neck. Kitty was as big as Bella, maybe a little bigger. Chet. Bad kitty, Jody thought. Bella shrieked, then launched herself backward with her arms, lifting both of them into the air, where they did a half-backflip and landed on the concrete with Chet’s back as the point of impact. He let go with his jaws and Bella spun around and let loose with the pellet weapon. Chet yowled and jerked on the ground. Bella strafed his neck, which dissolved instantly into a mass of goo. He stopped moving. Jody had seen enough. She leapt off the fence to the sidewalk and took off into the financial district, taking a right at the next corner, then a left, going as fast as her legs would carry her-to hell with someone seeing. She tried to go to mist, but couldn’t. Either the fear or her injuries were stopping her. She could hear Bella’s footsteps behind her, a block away, now less than a block. What was the range of that pellet weapon anyway? Left on Broadway, left on Battery, right on Pacific, footsteps on her ass, now left on Sansome, next left, she heard the pellet gun sputter and she felt her right leg go out from under her. She rolled and tried to come up but the gun sputtered again and her left leg was gone. She rolled over onto her back, pushed away, scooting on her butt. The gun spat and her left elbow stopped working. â€Å"Fuck, how much ammo does that thing have?† â€Å"More than I’ll need to turn you to soup,† Bella said. â€Å"Oh look, no swimming pool.† â€Å"Shame, I guess you won’t get to enjoy another kitty fuck.† The gun spat. Jody’s right arm folded behind her with a splash of pain. Bella ran her nails over her breast. â€Å"Didn’t happen. This suit will stop light, even small-caliber firearms-â€Å" But evidently not blades, Jody thought. Because she was a vampire, and things happened more slowly to her predator eyes, she saw the blade come over Bella’s shoulder, enter her body at her left trapezius, and zip across her chest and her kitty-dick-proof suit to exit just under her right arm. Bella’s head and right arm slid right, her left arm and the rest of her body fell left. She had a rather surprised expression on her face that stayed there, even as her mouth continued to work soundlessly, as if she really, desperately wanted to finish that last sentence. â€Å"Hello,† Okata said. Jody looked past the swordsman to the sign on the corner that read: JACKSON STREET. How to cite Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 23, Essay examples

Strategic Business of Tesco System

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Business of Tesco System. Answer: Introduction In today's cut throat competitive environment, it is necessary for any company to diversify its product in more than one business. Creating value through various businesses to achieve a single directed goal is defined as corporate strategy. The corporate strategy is formed in the view of the companies goals, vision and mission. This strategy is very helpful in long term success and profit maximisation of the company (Thompson, 2001). There are many multinational companies and giant players in global markets such as Tesco PLC, Walmart, HUL, PG, Wesfarmers, Woolworths Ltd., LG, Apple or Dell, which have diversified their products and lines. Tesco PLC is a UK based, headquartered in England, which is a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer company founded in 1919 (Tesco PLC, 2016). In this report, we are exploring strategic business management of Tesco PLC and its strategic business units. The study entails and explores the concept of business level strategy and competitive environment of Tesco PLC. Corporations are the institutions or business units in which group of people are engaged in some productive activities for a pre-defined objective (Furrer, 2010). Tesco PLC is a very big retailing company with 3rd largest retailer in the world by profits and 5th by revenue and besides that it is expanded in almost 18 to 20 countries especially in Europe and Asia. Approximately 60% of the sales and profits of the company is through retailing business (Tesco PLC, 2016). They are the best food retails with the brand name 'Finest' and 'everyday value' and supermarkets in Europe. They have more divisions in online and offline services. In order to communicate its activities related to business every company shares a unique mission, design, logo and massage to give visual effect and identity which is defined as corporate identity (Reading, 2004). It is important for any big company because it enables any company for constant visibility and easy communication to its costumes as well as it renders positive attitude among its competitors all around the world. Tesco is build on a philosophy of 'Every Little Help' and believes in valuing its customers experience in every possible way (Tesco PLC, 2016). Product portfolio embroils all products of the company that includes different categories and product lines (Cravens). In addition to this, Service analysis is the IT services that a company provides to its customers known as service design package. It is sharing the information to the customer through information technology department of the company and that can be outsourced (Marketing Management, 2000). Service and product analysis is a vital part in financial analysis for any investor. Tesco PLC offers wide range of products in groceries, electricals and flowers. Besides that, some of the IT services of the company is financial, insurance and telecoms services. As a multiple businesses Tesco PLC deals in Superstores, Tesco Metro, Express stores, Tesco Extra, One Stop, internet retailing, Tesco Clubcard, Petrol stations (Tesco PLC, 2016). In term of subsidiary Tesco PLC has Bank, Mobil, Tesco Lotus, Tesco Ireland, Dunnhumby, Aeon Every co. Ltd. Bannatyne Music, OCSET LLC, Tesco services etc. Business Units Identification Tesco PLC has various business units such as it deals in food products like all grocery items, meal products and fresh food, non food like electronics, home goods retailing services etc (Tesco PLC, 2016). The company has a strategic business unit strategy which is highest quality products and services with best reasonable prices. It is very focused on long term stability and provides focused delivery services. Strategic Business Units (SBU's) are the part or division of a big company that is a separate autonomous organisational unit (Reading, 2004). These separate entities are big enough to control their management by themselves and small enough to be independently flexible. They have their own objectives and different mission but shares the same value of core business company. SBU's are very responding to market changes as they analyse and adopt market changes accordingly (Reading, 2004). In this case we are highlighting the strategic management of Supermarkets of Tesco. Products that has a close nature or property, satisfies same need of class, can be used together, can be marketed by the same source or can be sold to same range customers is defined as product line (Jolibert, et al., 2012). In case of Tesco PLC Supermarket has several products lines in groceries, Tesco direct comprising technology and games, garden related equipments, home and furnishing, baby and toddler products, health and beauty products, clothing and accessories, toys, home electricals, Cars and entertainment and books (Tesco PLC, 2016). Furthermore, service line is basically the segment of services that has the same nature of benefits or information. The products offered in the services are same with some price changes and according to the need of the customers(Avlonitis Papastathopoulou, 2006). Tesco PLC offers many service lines example Tesco Clubcard, Tesco Bank, Tesco mobile, Recipes and Ideas, Magazine facilities. Tesco PLC Superstore also give services like Tesco living, Tesco opticians and Tesco photo (Tesco PLC, 2016). Business Unit Revenue Centre Revenue centres are the part of responsibility centres of an organisations that manages the resources of the company. These are the stores and centres that are responsible for the direct sale of the products and services of the company to the external buyer. It traces its own costs as well as any other unit that fetches profits (Crosson and Needles, 2007). These are internal service cost allocation centres that are responsible for the reporting motives. Tesco PLC has the largest segment in Supermarkets in UK, Asia and Europe. The gross sale excluding VAT and fuel of the company in 2015/2016 is ?48,352m whereas ?49,853m in 2014/2015, almost 3% of change in the statutory results. After including fuel the total revenue was ?54,433m in 2015/2016 and ?56,925m in 2014/2015, estimate 4.4% change from the last year (Tesco PLC, 2016). Apart from this, UK's and Republic of Ireland's alone revenue including fuel for 2016 was ?5,891m. Operating profit margin before exceptional goods was ?505m changing 1.17% for the year 2016 (Tesco PLC, 2016). External Environment Analysis Operating environment is the external or micro environment of the company in which the company experiences both negative as well as positive impacts (Jin and Lin, 2012). There are various factors that affects the external environment of company and impacts its financial securities and image. PESTEL analysis is a tool to examine and control the external/ macro environmental factors that influence an organisation (Yksel, 2012). PESTEL factor acronyms can be defined as Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factor. This analysis examines the factors that impacts companies growth and success but cannot be controlled. This analysis is mainly delivered on industrial level (50MINUTES.COM. 2015). In Tesco PLC supermarkets industrial analysis is of UK market. Political Legal factors includes employment legalisation demand that focused on the welfare and development of the employees in terms of different kinds of labour demand offered by the company such as lower paid higher paid locals, full-time, part-time etc (Leahy, 2012). The company is already fulfilling its employment legalisation demand by not differentiating between full and part-time labours plus it provides job guarantee schemes for the customers and provide many more benefits according to different categories of labours for older people, single parents and first time workers. Additionally, competition commission is preventing the small retailers, suppliers from collapsing by boycotting the big supermarkets. However, Tesco is also already supporting the small vendors and suppliers by giving them employment in its company. After this, the pricing standards of the company is also reasonable as per the standards, in fact they sell products below the cost price (Tesco PLC, 2016). Lastly, according to the European Food Authority standards nutrients description are also been followed by the company such as food with 'low fat', 'light' and 'reduced fat' label. In Economical factor, UK market is very competitive and is currently facing declining due to rising prices in food sector which is affecting the market negatively. At present, all the large retailers and supermarkets are preventing their survival through franchising, mergers, acquisition and self starters. On the other hand, difficult legal requirements by the government as well as land resources in the towns are very limited which is the main problem for retailers and super marketers (Humby, et al., 2007). Thus, main focus of the competitors and markets is on garbing the right place or the most convenient place for people to take the advantage of flexible shopping. Social or cultural factors that are influencing the UK market is mainly changes towards demand for qualitative food like exotic foods and fishes also people are demanding for good taste and focus on value added products and services (Tesco PLC, 2016). Further, demographic related changes are augmenting in the number of working women buyers and older people. Operating cost and supply chain cost is reducing. Along with this, people are tending to be more experimental and aware in case of food habits. People are diverting their taste buds for healthier and organic food. Technological changes are rapid and huge in UK market. Online shopping sites have covered most of the pace because of the easy access. Information technology system has changed the entire method of recording, billing and administrative system of retailing market. Some of the companies are highly advanced in IT system and they are operating their businesses fast, accurately and flexibly (Humby, et al., 2007). Environment factors includes strategies launched by the UK government to dwindle the cutting waste, stop the environmental damage and drop the expenditure of resources and to promote the environmentally friendly manufacturing and consumption (Mason and Evans, 2015). Apart from this, imposing 'fat tax' on fatty foods advertising and highly processed foods by the government is another factor that has affected Tesco but the company has adopted and changed its various products into more health inclined with the help of suppliers. Corporate social responsibility incorporation is also second challenge that has affected many big multinational companies (Tesco PLC, 2016). Tesco has taken the social responsibility seriously and persistently making efforts to improve the environment. Source of Substantial Competitive Advantage Substantial competitive advantage is referred to the uniqueness in the brand through the quality, technical know how or costing of the product that can not be copied or duplicated by any other company, specially competitors. It is high profitability for any company over its competitors because of special skill, process or potent in the products (Hutt and Speh, 2012). Tesco is a very reputed company in UK, Europe and Asia. It has made it image very strong because it delivers good quality of food as well as durable in nature. All the services and products of the company are very reasonable according to their product life cycle and the company offers a wide range of products in a single product line that attracts more customers (Humby, et al., 2007). Furthermore, Tesco PLC is a technological friendly company and always endows innovative and new technology in the market. It is one of the most growing companies in the world due to its operational efficiency and ability to enter in any new market with the most latest technology (Mason and Evans, 2015). It always offers something new and unique products and services to the customers that enhances the shopping experience and keep engaging them with Tesco products. On the other hand, the company also experiments with the store arrangements and innovation in the presentation of the products new formats, concepts and products mix entice customers more easily. Moreover, there are four factors that impact the substantial competitive advantage of any company including first, product innovation that lures the new customers as well as retains the old customer to experience the pleasant and exciting shopping (Janet, et. al., 2015). Second, information technology which enables a company to be competitive in the current dynamic market. Third, managerial capacity that gives internal strength to the company do do everyday business with ease and effectively (Filho, et. al., 2010). Fourth, relationship with the suppliers, suppliers are the main source of quality good and relationship with them ensures the success of the company even in difficult situations. Strategic direction is tracing and customising the requirement aligned with the strategic goals of the company to develop and govern in the any market condition (Davies and Ellison, 2003). Cross checking the portfolio with the strategic goals ensures the right direction of the company which makes company more focused towards its objectives and mission (Harrison and St. John, 2009). As a future recommendation Tesco PLC should do some basic things like retaining its competitive advantage by becoming more market sensitive to the customers need and more creative in loyalty and club programmes (Mason and Evans, 2015). The company should also focus on the management of localising and marketing of the products. It should follow stakeholder-marketing oriented approach to ensure the internationalisation of the products with the same standards. The company needs regain its focus in expanding its chain in US and china market. The company should diversify and keep in acquisition for the global enlargement. Global expansion and marketing growth lead to increase in revenue. If Tesco PLC left behind in global expansion spree, competitors will capture its place soon. The company should also focus in expanding its business in BRICS area that is Brazil, Russia and India. These are global and very wide market witch will give immense opportunities to the company to grow and compete in international level (Mason and Evans, 2015). As well as it should focus on re-entering the US market but with some good strategic approaches and highly technological advanced products. The company should focus on the adoption of culture with the expanding the market. References 50MINUTES.COM. 2015. Management Marketing. 50 Minutes. Avlonitis, G., and Papastathopoulou, P. 2006. Product and Services Management. SAGE. Cravens. Strategic Marketing 8E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Crosson, S. and Needles, B. 2007. Managerial Accounting. 8th ed. Cengage Learning. Davies, B., and Ellison, L. 2003. The New Strategic Direction and Development of the School: Key Frameworks for School Improvement Planning. 2nd ed. Routledge. Filho, J. M. et. al. 2010. Strategic corporate social responsibility management for competitive advantage. BAR - Brazilian Administration Review 7(3). Furrer, O. 2010. Corporate Level Strategy: Theory and Applications. Routledge. Harrison, J. S., and St. John, C. H. 2009. Foundations in Strategic Management. 5th ed. Cengage Learning. Humby, C., et al. 2007. Scoring Points: How Tesco Continues to Win Customer Loyalty. Kogan Page Publishers. Hutt, M. D., and Speh, T. W. 2012. Business Marketing Management: B2B. Cengage Learning. Janet, M. et. al. 2015. Factors Influencing Competitive Advantage among Supermarkets in Kenya: A Case of Nakumatt Holdings Limited. International Journal of Novel Research in Humanity and Social Sciences. 2(3) pp. 63-77. Jin, D. and Lin, S. 2012. Advances in Electronic Commerce, Web Application and Communication. Springer Science Business Media. Jolibert, A., et al. 2012. Marketing Management: A Value-Creation Process. 2nd ed. Palgrave Macmillan. Leahy, T. 2012. Management in 10 Words. Random House. Marketing Management. 2000. Marketing Management. Atlantic Publishers Distri Mason, R. and Evans, B. 2015. The Lean Supply Chain: Managing the Challenge at Tesco. Kogan Page Publishers. Reading, C. 2004. Strategic Business Planning: A Dynamic System for Improving Performance Competitive Advantage. Kogan Page Publishers. Tesco PLC. 2016. About Tesco PLC. [Online].Available at: https://www.tesco.com/ [Accessed on: 10 April 2017] Tesco PLC. 2016. Annual report 2016.[Online].Available at: https://www.tescoplc.com/media/264194/annual-report-2016.pdf [Accessed on: 10 April 2017] Tesco PLC. 2016. Strategic report 2016.[Online].Available at: https://www.tescoplc.com/media/264195/strategic-report-2016.pdf [Accessed on: 10 April 2017] Thompson, J. L. 2001. Understanding Corporate Strategy. Cengage Learning EMEA. Yksel, I. et al. 2012. Developing a Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for PESTEL. PESTLE Analysis: Understand and plan for your business environment Analysis. International Journal of Business and Management. 7(24), 52-66.

Lord Capulet Monologue Essay Example

Lord Capulet Monologue Essay What? Your still crying? For god’s sake, just shut up now. I couldn’t even sleep last night because of the noise. I mean look at the state of you. You didn’t even cry this much when you were a baby! Go on then, aren’t you gonna tell her the good news to cheer her up? What? You’ve told her? What do you mean she doesn’t want him? I don’t understand. She should be thanking us. Do you have any idea how many girls would die to marry Paris? This guy’s perfect for you. He’s loaded, and you’d be famous, you’ve always wanted to be famous and you’d even become a part of the royal family. Ughhh, your as useless as a pen with no ink. I don’t believe you. After everything I’ve done for you. I’ve fed you, clothed you, bought you everything you’ve ever wanted, and this is how you repay me. Ugh, you stupid girl. Your going on that plane to marry him whether you like it or not, even if I have to drag you. Actually you know what I can’t even look at you, just don’t say anything, before I hit you. Ugh, remind me why we decided to have her again? You puny little hell-hated lout. I’ve spent every waking moment searching for the perfect husband, do you have any idea how many people you’ve let down? We will write a custom essay sample on Lord Capulet Monologue specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lord Capulet Monologue specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lord Capulet Monologue specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I hope your proud of yourself. You spleeny dread-bolted measle. You’re spoilt, that’s what you are. I can’t marry him, I’m too young. I’m not ready. Well I’ll tell you what, if you don’t marry William, then I will throw you out. Disown you. And don’t say I won’t because I will. I don’t care if you stone, beg or even die in the streets, because you won’t be my daughter anyway, you won’t have anything, because everything you have is all because of me. That’s final. I won’t be changing my mind.

Free Essays on Phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria, otherwise known as PKU, is a rare genetic disease that is caused by a person’s body being unable to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. The disease can cause mental retardation because the build up of phenylalanine in the body. When phenylalanine is not broken down and turned in a different amino acid, tyrosine, it can create other enzyme routes that build up in the blood stream and body tissue. This can be extremely harmful to the body and its development. This disease is caused by missing the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, this enzyme is the one that normally breaks down phenylalanine. It is rare for this enzyme to be completely absence, but this form leads to the most severe mental retardation and neurological problems. Most cases occur when this enzyme is deficient and the amount of phenylalanine is slightly higher than usual amount in the circulatory system of a person. This is called hyperphenylalaninemia.. These disorders are different than norm ! al PKU. (Shuett; McKusick) PKU occurs immediately when a child is born. The child appears to be completely normal, but can have blue eyes and can have fairer skin and hair than the rest of its family members. If PKU is unidentified early in an infants life they can have early symptoms which can be identified. Half of untreated babies while develop symptoms such as vomiting, irritability, an eczema-like rash, and a mousy odor to their urine (Bellenir 69). They can also have nervous system problems. Increased muscle tone, and very active tendon reflexes occur from these problems. Soon after they start to undergo mental problems. These problems are severe mental retardation and seizures among other things. Other indications are a smaller head than usual, prominent cheek and upper jaw bones with widely spaced teeth, poor development of tooth enamel, and decreased body growth(Bellenir 69). PKU is passed on in a â€Å"autosomal recessive† gene. This means that a pers... Free Essays on Phenylketonuria Free Essays on Phenylketonuria Phenylketonuria, otherwise known as PKU, is a rare genetic disease that is caused by a person’s body being unable to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. The disease can cause mental retardation because the build up of phenylalanine in the body. When phenylalanine is not broken down and turned in a different amino acid, tyrosine, it can create other enzyme routes that build up in the blood stream and body tissue. This can be extremely harmful to the body and its development. This disease is caused by missing the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, this enzyme is the one that normally breaks down phenylalanine. It is rare for this enzyme to be completely absence, but this form leads to the most severe mental retardation and neurological problems. Most cases occur when this enzyme is deficient and the amount of phenylalanine is slightly higher than usual amount in the circulatory system of a person. This is called hyperphenylalaninemia.. These disorders are different than norm ! al PKU. (Shuett; McKusick) PKU occurs immediately when a child is born. The child appears to be completely normal, but can have blue eyes and can have fairer skin and hair than the rest of its family members. If PKU is unidentified early in an infants life they can have early symptoms which can be identified. Half of untreated babies while develop symptoms such as vomiting, irritability, an eczema-like rash, and a mousy odor to their urine (Bellenir 69). They can also have nervous system problems. Increased muscle tone, and very active tendon reflexes occur from these problems. Soon after they start to undergo mental problems. These problems are severe mental retardation and seizures among other things. Other indications are a smaller head than usual, prominent cheek and upper jaw bones with widely spaced teeth, poor development of tooth enamel, and decreased body growth(Bellenir 69). PKU is passed on in a â€Å"autosomal recessive† gene. This means that a pers...

Adam and Eve Creation Essay Example for Free

Adam and Eve Creation Essay ? The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.† (Genesis 2:7). The Hebrew for man is pronounced aw-dawm, from which Adam is derived. It’s also related to aw-dawm-ah, which means red earth, or red clay – indicating the natural earth elements that composed Adam’s body, and the body of every human being since. â€Å"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden [see Where Was The Garden Of Eden?] to work it and take care of it. † (Genesis 2:15). Adam wasn’t going to lead an idle life – he had a job right from his first day. For a little while, Adam was the only human being in existence (imagine being the only person on an entire planet!). â€Å"The Lord God said, â€Å"It is not good for the man to be all alone.† (Genesis 2:18) â€Å"So The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then The Lord God made a woman from the rib. He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, â€Å"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.† For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.† (Genesis 2:21-24) Eve’s original name, when translated, meant simply â€Å"woman,† (a â€Å"female man†) just as Adam was known simply as â€Å"man† (a â€Å"male man†). He called her â€Å"woman,† and she called him â€Å"man.† Later, â€Å"Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.† (Genesis 3:20). Eve is derived from the Hebrew word which means life-giving. Eventually, besides Cain And Abel, they had Seth (Genesis 5:3), and numerous other children (Genesis 5:4). â€Å"So God created man in His Own Image, in The Image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, â€Å"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.† Then God said, â€Å"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.† And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.† (Genesis 1:27-31). (see The Seven Days Of Creation) Adam and Eve had a perfect life in Eden. That is, until That Old Serpent slithered in. Fact Finder: What was God’s command to Adam (Eve had not yet been created) regarding a certain two trees in the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:16-17 Adam and Eve Creation. (2016, Nov 13).

Does Health Policy assist in combating some of the health problems in Essay - 1

Does Health Policy assist in combating some of the health problems in United KINGDOM(DEMENTIA POLICY IN UK) - Essay Example Looking at these alarming statistics, it can be noted that incidences of dementia will only continue to grow. Attention needs to be paid to the ways in which it can become an item of national priority with comprehensible plans being laid out for public spending and service development. Dementia is most commonly found in old people, it is said that 1 in 5 people over 80 have some form of dementia while in those over the age of 65, only 1 in 20 seem to be affected (PSSRU, 2007). However, this is not to say that it cannot occur in young people, in UK, a growing number of younger populations are showing early signs of dementia. While no, one, clear factor has been identified as a cause of dementia, it is said that genetic background, lifestyle, age and medical history could lead to the initiation of dementia. The way each individual experiences dementia depends a lot on their physical upkeep, emotional quotient and family support. However, being a progressive disorder, its symptoms eventually become more rigorous as time passes. There are many varieties of dementia and they are classified depending on the different ways in which the infections affect the brain. In this paper we discuss the four major types of dementia that affect the UK population: 2. Vascular dementia is always found in persons who have suffered a stroke (it could be a single stroke or a series of small strokes). This dementia takes form when the oxygen supply to the brain fails following a stroke and brain cells die (Alzheimers Society,

NOL Card - Change Management Case Research Paper

NOL Card - Change Management Case - Research Paper Example to work on their technology and infrastructure designed and facilities and for this cause working on roads, building, parking areas, buses, cars, taxi is highly important that needs to be taken care off. The government has given the responsibly to handle the working and operations of buses, roads, and parking areas to RTA. Not only this RTA is also responsible for the traffic signals, the rules and strategic planning of roads, buses, stations, etc in Dubai. NOL card is designed by RTA for using different modes of travelling and parking areas that are designed by RTA. RTA is consistently working to provide ease of travelling to their citizenship and to the people that travels and visits Dubai. For this cause, they have introduced different types of NOL card according to the need and preferences of the travelers. Not only this, but RTA has also introduced the Smart card that is more easy and reliable in use than other card and now RTA has also made agreements with the grocery markets a nd other stores and shopping outlets to use the NOL card for purchasing grocery items and others hopping items thus making the lives of their citizen’s more easy and comfortable. Road Transport Authority (RTA) was formed in November 2005 with the main responsibility of coming up with policies and strategies of transforming the transport system of Dubai. In an effort to achieve its objective RTA introduced the use of NOL cards in public transport system. This is a modern technology that uses a smart card to pay for public transport. These smart cards are of four types including red, silver, gold, and blue with each category tailor-made to fit certain category of clientele. The use of NOL card was recognized by the government as an important tool to modernize the transport sector to match international standards. This analysis used transformational part of Bruke-Litwin causal model of organization performance and change in order to identify the key elements that derived the need for

Ansoffs Matrix - Planning fo Growth Essay Example for Free

Ansoffs Matrix Planning fo Growth Essay This well known marketing tool was first published in the Harvard Business Review (1957) in an article called Strategies for Diversification. It is used by marketers who have objectives for growth. Ansoffs matrix offers strategic choices to achieve the objectives. There are four main categories for selection. Ansoffs Product/Market Matrix Market Penetration Here we market our existing products to our existing customers. This means increasing our revenue by, for example, promoting the product, repositioning the brand, and so on. However, the product is not altered and we do not seek any new customers. Market Development Here we market our existing product range in a new market. This means that the product remains the same, but it is marketed to a new audience. Exporting the product, or marketing it in a new region, are examples of market development. Product Development This is a new product to be marketed to our existing customers. Here we develop and innovate new product offerings to replace existing ones. Such products are then marketed to our existing customers. This often happens with the auto markets where existing models are updated or replaced and then marketed to existing customers. Diversification This is where we market completely new products to new customers. There are two types of diversification, namely related and unrelated diversification. Related diversification means that we remain in a market or industry with which we are familiar. For example, a soup manufacturer diversifies into cake manufacture (i.e. the food industry). Unrelated diversification is where we have no previous industry nor market experience. For example a soup manufacturer invests in the rail business. Ansoffs matrix is one of the most well know frameworks for deciding upon strategies for growth.

Government Funding For The Arts Essay -- essays research papers fc

Government Funding for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts is a government sponsored foundation. The duty of the National Endowment for the Arts is to foster the growth of the arts evenly through the national, state, and local levels of the country. With all of the budget slashing that is now taking place the arts is the first place that people look to take money from. This not only happens on the national level but also in our schools. Many people don't see the arts as important. It is the most important thing that our society has. Art, in each and every form that it comes in, shows us who we are. Our pictures that we paint, our songs which we compose, our theater for which we write, act, and dance for, our buildings which we design, as a whole, explains our culture. Future historians will look back at these things and judge us by our accomplishments in these areas. When we look back in history, we recall it through the greatest past achievements in art: the Sistine Chapel, the great pyramids of Egypt, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and the works of Plato. Shouldn't we be able to show feats just as grand? Most Americans do agree with me. In 1992, a study called the "Americans and the Arts VI" was conducted; it ended with these results: * 60% of the people support the federal support of the arts. * 63% of the people support the state's support of the arts. * 84% of...

Affects of Gender on Intelligence

The Effect of Gender on an IQ – Spatial Intelligence Introduction Intelligence is the capability to take in new information and adapt to situations. It is derived from both genetics and environment. Genetics are the part that genes play in a person’s life. It is also questioned that different levels of different types of intelligence are based on whether a person is male or female. Howard Gardner suggested that there are multiple types of intelligence, those of which are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal and intrapersonal.These intelligences make up the IQ of an individual. Types of intelligences: * Linguistic: the ability one has with of words. * Logical-mathematical: the use calculation. * Musical: sound and rhythm. * Spatial: the use of spacing and where the placing of things are in comparison to one another. * Bodily-Kinaesthetic: the use of body and motion. * Naturalistic: the awareness one has wit h their natural environment. * Interpersonal: the use of interaction with other people. * Intrapersonal: the understanding of one’s self.A previous experiment conducted shows the differences between levels of spatial intelligence in males and females and how it can be changed, stating that the findings ‘found that playing an action video game can virtually eliminate this gender difference in spatial attention and simultaneously decrease the gender disparity in mental rotation ability’ (Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition – 1990). It stated that ‘women benefit[ed] more than men’. The aim of this experiment is: to investigate the effect of gender on multiple types of intelligence, specifically spatial intelligence.Hypothesis: It is believed that the majority of males have more spatial intelligence than females. Independent Variables: gender Dependent Variables: level of intelligence Method Participants Eq ual amount of 12 girls and 12 boys from the two current (2013) Year 11 Loyola College Psychology classes aged 16 to 17 years. Materials * Task Sheet * Computers with internet * IQ quiz handout Procedure As Seen on ‘Unit 2 Psychology APS 2 SAC 1: ERA Intelligence’ – Task Sheet (refer to appendix) 1. You will form a pair where the 1st person will do puzzle 1 and the 2nd will do puzzle 2. 2. Person 1 Go to the website below complete the puzzle ttp://www. onlinejigsawpuzzles. net/animals_14_polar_bear. htm 3. Record the time required to complete the test and gender of the participant on the table attached. 4. Person 2 to go to the below website and repeated the process above http://www. onlinejigsawpuzzles. net/animals_11_parrot. htm 5. Now complete the questions 1-10 on the IQ quiz handout on logical reason. 6. Correct your questions. 7. Give your results table to either Mr Hong or Ms Ray so that the result may be collated. Results Spatial Test Scores Table: Test Sc ore| No. of Girls | No. of Boys| 8| 1| 3| 7| 4| 2| 6| 1| 2| 5| 5| 4| 4| 0| 1| 3| 1| 0|Mean: Girls – 5. 83 Boys – 6. 16 Median: Girls – 5. 5 Boys – 6 Mode: Girls – 5 Boys – 5 Graph: Statement of Table and Graph: These results are from a Spatial Intelligence test. The highest scores given were four eights one of which was achieved by a female and the other three by males. The lowest score given to females was a three and the lowest score given to males was a four. On average males scored higher than females with the average score for both categories (male and female) being a score of five. Jigsaw Puzzle Times Table: Times in Minutes:| No. of Girls:| No. of Boys:| 4:00 – 4:59| 3| 0| 5:00 – 5:59| 3| 4| :00 – 6:59| 3| 4| 7:00 – 7:59 | 0| 2| 8:00 – 8:59| 1| 2| 9:00 – 9:59| 2| 0| Mean: For girls and boys – 6:00 – 6:59 Median: Girls – 5:00 to 5:59 Boys – 6:00 to 6:59 Mode: Girls à ¢â‚¬â€œ 4:00 – 4:59, 5:00 – 5:59, 6:00 – 6:59 Boys – 5:00 – 5:59, 6:00 – 6:59 Graph: (in minutes) (in minutes) Statement of Table and Graph: The Jigsaw Puzzle time results ranged from above four minutes to below 10 minutes. The specific male range was between five minutes to 8 minutes and 59 seconds. Over half of both males and females scored between 5 minutes and 6 minutes 59 seconds. The quickest time and the longest time were both completed by females.Discussion In this experiment the hypothesis was supported in the Spatial awareness test with the majority of males performing at a higher level of spatial intelligence compared to females but not supported in the Puzzle as the majority of females finished their puzzles in a shorter time than males. In the spatial intelligence tests the males had a higher average than females with a quarter of the males achieving the top score compared to the one female. This is not as much shown in the puzz le completion times where, although the lowest score was achieved by a female, the highest score was ompleted by a female as well as the majority of the shortest times were done by females. Males had a smaller range though, with their scores a little more consistent than females. These results suggest that males do tend to have more spatial awareness compared to females but does not mean that there are not exceptions to this suggestion. This may because males, especially within the age range selected for this experiment, have a higher tendency to be playing action video games which in earlier experiments have suggested can improve and maintain a higher level of spatial awareness.Variables could include the past experience of the subjects including interests, availability to mind games and information, previous intelligence tests conducted, etc. as well as the mood and energy of the person and the time the test was conducted. Improvements could include having all subjects tested at t he same time and under quitter conditions without communication. No ethical consideration was given with the exception of the task sheet briefing for the subjects. No debriefing or acknowledgment of agreement to the experiment was given.As the participants were under the age of 18 an improvement for next time would be to have parental consent to the participation of the experiment. It is concluded that in this experiment males showed a higher ability in spatial awareness. This information suggests that gender does in fact have an effect on intelligence levels but does not mean that there are not exceptions to this suggestion. References * Feng J. , Spence I. , & Pratt J. (1990) Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Edwards R. , Blaher-Lucas E. , Marangio K. , Moore V. (2010) Oxford Psychology Units 1 & 2 Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Appendices Appendix 1 – L ink to puzzle page Appendix 2 – Participant data/Raw data Unit 2 Psychology AOS 2 SAC 1: ERA Intelligence The Task: To investigate the effect of gender on multiple types of intelligence, specifically spatial awareness. You will conduct the experiment along the following guidelines. 8. You will form a pair where the 1st person will do puzzle 1 and the 2nd will do puzzle 2. 9.Person 1 Go to the website below complete the puzzle http://www. onlinejigsawpuzzles. net/animals_14_polar_bear. htm. 10. Record the time required to complete the test and gender of the participant on the table attached. 11. Pearson 2 to go to the below website and repeate the process above http://www. onlinejigsawpuzzles. net/animals_11_parrot. htm 12. Now complete the questions 1-10 on the IQ quiz handout on logical reason. 13. Correct your questions. 14. Give your results table to either Mr Hong or Ms Ray so that the result may be collated. The Written Report:The written report must be written under the following headings: Title Introduction Method Results Discussion/conclusion References Appendices All aspects of this ERA will be completed at home. You will be given the ERA in the last week of term 3. The final ERA will be due via email on the 19th of October. If you wish to hand in a draft of the ERA it must be given to your teacher by 5th October. Introduction (250-500 words)- The introduction must provide: * Rationale for this experiment * Exploration and discussion of any key theories and concepts related to this experiment from past research. Identification and discussion of the key concepts involved in this experiment that can be used to explain the results * Stated aim of the experiment * Identification of the dependent and independent variables of the experiment * A stated operational hypothesis Method (150 words)- The method must include: * Participants, Materials, Procedure written according to Lab Report conventions * Information regarding the characteristics of your e xperimental design, participant selection and reference to ethical procedure Results (no word limit)- The results must include: At least one annotated table and an overall statement of results. This must be manipulated in order to present it in a fashion that is ideal for the manner in which you will interpret the data in your discussion Discussion/Conclusion (400-600 words)- The Discussion/Conclusions must include: * A reference to the support or unsupported operational hypothesis * A valid justification for your opinion * Valid inferences from the raw data and results * A discussion regarding how the ideas provided in the introduction are supported or not by your findings * Generalization of findings * Extraneous/confounding variables Conclusion and possible improvements As a final note: * The world limit must be adhered to with a 10% variation both ways. Excess words will not be considered in the grading process (the title, abstract, results, all in-text references, graph/table t itles and annotations, appendices and final reference lists are not included in word count) * All work must utilize in-text referencing (Harvard Style) and provide references * All work must be typed in size 12 (Calibri or Times New Roman font) * All tables, graphs and pictures must be labeled and annotated * Appendices must be included.If referred to in your Lab Report, there must be a clear indication as to which specific areas of the appendices is being utilized. * PLAGARISM FROM ANY RESOURCE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Any identified plagiarism will result in that section of the Lab Report being removed and not considered in the grading process. In the case of work being copied from another student, BOTH students involved will face disciplinary actions based upon VCAA guidelines that may result in an ‘N’ grade for Unit 2 Psychology.Grade Criteria and Structure for SAC 1b Unit 2 Psychology Name: Criteria: Introduction| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0| Identification and exploration of su perordinate goals and other theories and concepts relevant to the experiment| | | | | | | Evidence of research and explanation of concepts relevant to the experiment. | | | | | | | Identification and use of IV and DV in an operational hypothesis| | | | | | | TOTAL: /15| Criteria: Method| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0|Identification of key process in developing a method| | | | | | | Identification and explanation of the utilized experimental design| | | | | | | TOTAL: /10| Criteria: Results| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0| Ability to manipulate raw data into a meaningful format and presentation (Creation and use of accurate data graphs and tables) | | | | | | | Accurate identification of key statistical information from raw data (Mean, median, mode and/or other relevant statistics)| | | | | | | TOTAL: /10|Criteria: Discussion and Conclusion| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0| Accurate and justified identification of support/no support for operational hypothesis| | | | | | | Proposed explanation of results in relation to acquir ed data| | | | | | | Proposed explanation of results in relation to researched theories and concepts relevant to the experiment| | | | | | | Exploration of the relevance of the results to the areas of reducing prejudice| | | | | | | Identification and discussion of extraneous variables and improvements to the experiment| | | | | | | Identification and summation of general conclusions to the population based upon the established data | | | | | | | TOTAL: /30| Criteria: Overall Requirements| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1| 0| Quality of referencing and research, and overall written quality and presentation of the ERA| | | | | | | TOTAL: /5| Total Score: /70 ( %) Comments: Recording table | Gender (male/female)| Time (in seconds)| Participant 1| | | Participant 2| | | ______________________________________________________________________________ Articles for your reference in completing this ERA Go to the following links to read articles related to spatial intelligence and gender. http://pss. sagepub. com/content/18/10/850. full http://pss. sagepub. com/content/4/1/35. full. pdf+htmlThe following websites contain information on multiple intelligences http://www. tecweb. org/styles/gardner. html http://www. infed. org/thinkers/gardner. htm Raw DataFemale Participants| Gender| Score on test| Jigsaw puzzle time| 1| f| 7| 5:07| 2| f| 5| 4:48| 3| f| 7| 4:42| 4| f| 7| 6:25| 5| f| 5| 9:35| 6| f| 5| 9:33| 7| f| 8| 4:58| 8| f| 3| 8:16| 9| f| 7| 5:27| 10| f| 5| 6:40| 11| f| 5| 6:24| 12| f| 6| 5:43| Male Participants| Gender| Score on test| Jigsaw puzzle time| 1| m| 7| 5:10| 2| m| 6| 6:31| 3| m| 8| 6:00| 4| m| 7| 6:22| 5| m| 5| 8:39| 6| m| 8| 5:48| 7| m| 5| 6:04| 8| m| 8| 5:18| 9| m| 5| 7:21| 10| m| 5| 7:39| 11| m| 6| 5:39| 12| m| 4| 8:17|

Process Flow Chart

The Flow Process Chart In analysing processes, particular actions along the way are often significant, especially if you are looking to eliminate sources of waste (or muda, as the Japanese call it) such as having documents piling up in in-trays or materials being moved from pillar to post. How it works The Flow process Chart is a simple half-text, half-picture method of showing the steps in a process, using symbols to indicate the type of action being taken and text to give details of the action. The chart can selectively be used to show what happens to selected people, materials or equipment. [pic] Parts of a Flow Process Chart A particularly useful feature of the chart is that it can be drawn up as the process is happening. Thus you can follow a part around a factory floor, for example, noting how and when it is machined, stored, moved, etc. The table below shows many of the symbols that may be found in Flow Process Charts. |Symbol |Title |Description | |[pic] |Operation |A complex action or process (possibly described elsewhere), often | | | |changing something. |[pic] |Transport |Movement of people or things. May be accompanied by a distance | | | |measurement. | |[pic] |Delay |Idle time of people or machines, or temporary storage of materials. | |[pic] |Storage |Permanent storage of materials or other items. | |[pic] |Inspection |Checking of items to ensure correct quality or quantity. | [pic] |Combined operation |Overlay symbols for actions which combine types. Put the main activity | | | |outside. | |[pic] |Reject |Rejection of item. Parentheses show percentage of items rejected. Line to| | | |right l ead to consequent action. | |[pic] |Differentiated operation|Letter shows type of operation, e. g. C = clerical, | | | |M = machine, etc. |[pic] |State change |Description indicates change in state, for example a liquid cooling into | | | |a solid. | |[pic] |Alternating processes |Down-arrow indicates one of several possible actions. This can show | | | |alternative or simultaneous processes. | How to do it 1. Identify the process to be charted and the objective for charting it. 2. Identify the symbol set to be used. 3. Record the steps of the process as it happens, starting at the top of the page, with symbols on the left overlaying a vertical line with appropriate notes about what is happening to the right. Try to record significant activities which are generally of approximately equal size (unless the problem is at the detail level, do not try to capture too much detail). You can also make the diagram more useful by such tricks as numbering the different action types in sequence (for example so you can see how many times the item under examination was moved) and changing the direction of ovement arrows to show input or output activity. You can also put the time taken in each activity to the left of the symbol. [pic]Using the Flow Process Chart 4. If you are watching the process as it happens, you may want to repeat the analysis several times to ensure you have captured the normal chain of events. 5. Analyse the final chart, for example totalling times taken in non-value-adding activities such as storage, movement and inspection. Process Flow Chart The Flow Process Chart In analysing processes, particular actions along the way are often significant, especially if you are looking to eliminate sources of waste (or muda, as the Japanese call it) such as having documents piling up in in-trays or materials being moved from pillar to post. How it works The Flow process Chart is a simple half-text, half-picture method of showing the steps in a process, using symbols to indicate the type of action being taken and text to give details of the action. The chart can selectively be used to show what happens to selected people, materials or equipment. [pic] Parts of a Flow Process Chart A particularly useful feature of the chart is that it can be drawn up as the process is happening. Thus you can follow a part around a factory floor, for example, noting how and when it is machined, stored, moved, etc. The table below shows many of the symbols that may be found in Flow Process Charts. |Symbol |Title |Description | |[pic] |Operation |A complex action or process (possibly described elsewhere), often | | | |changing something. |[pic] |Transport |Movement of people or things. May be accompanied by a distance | | | |measurement. | |[pic] |Delay |Idle time of people or machines, or temporary storage of materials. | |[pic] |Storage |Permanent storage of materials or other items. | |[pic] |Inspection |Checking of items to ensure correct quality or quantity. | [pic] |Combined operation |Overlay symbols for actions which combine types. Put the main activity | | | |outside. | |[pic] |Reject |Rejection of item. Parentheses show percentage of items rejected. Line to| | | |right l ead to consequent action. | |[pic] |Differentiated operation|Letter shows type of operation, e. g. C = clerical, | | | |M = machine, etc. |[pic] |State change |Description indicates change in state, for example a liquid cooling into | | | |a solid. | |[pic] |Alternating processes |Down-arrow indicates one of several possible actions. This can show | | | |alternative or simultaneous processes. | How to do it 1. Identify the process to be charted and the objective for charting it. 2. Identify the symbol set to be used. 3. Record the steps of the process as it happens, starting at the top of the page, with symbols on the left overlaying a vertical line with appropriate notes about what is happening to the right. Try to record significant activities which are generally of approximately equal size (unless the problem is at the detail level, do not try to capture too much detail). You can also make the diagram more useful by such tricks as numbering the different action types in sequence (for example so you can see how many times the item under examination was moved) and changing the direction of ovement arrows to show input or output activity. You can also put the time taken in each activity to the left of the symbol. [pic]Using the Flow Process Chart 4. If you are watching the process as it happens, you may want to repeat the analysis several times to ensure you have captured the normal chain of events. 5. Analyse the final chart, for example totalling times taken in non-value-adding activities such as storage, movement and inspection.

Free Essays on Confucianism And Christianity

Confucianism And Christianity The premise of Confucian teachings are centered on the idea of Jen or the virtue of. To accomplish this divinity, five relationships must be honored: ruler and subject, living family to ancestors, father and son, elder and younger brother, husband and wife. These relationships led a push for a revolution of the political system to adopt the methods of Jen. Confucius sought to revive the ancient Chinese culture by redefining the importance of society and government. He described a society governed by reasonable, humane, and just sensibilities, not by the passions of individuals arbitrarily empowered by hereditary status. He felt that this could be achieved through education and the unification of cultural beliefs. He believed that citizens that were cultivated people whose intellects and emotions had been developed and matured by conscious people would benefit a nation. He felt that those born into the feudal system were had a personal duty to excel socially by means of power. Those w ho were of lesser class should also seek out education to better themselves. Confucius felt that love and respect for authority was a key to a perfect society; this strict respect was practiced through rituals and magic. The Confucius traditions have caused a tradition to set within its institution and are extremely active. It has, unfortunately, allowed the political institution to manipulate the Confucius system, as with Christianity. Christianity also preaches a divine, brotherly love. Modern Christianity seeks to discover a rational understanding of the person, as did Confucius; yet, Christianity feels that faith in the Jesus Christ, as a personal savior is essential to this enlightenment. It was also under the guise of Christianity that it had to confront totalitarian systems uses of power in its sphere of influence. Christians believed in an Absolute against all absolving of the relative, can protest in the name of God. ... Free Essays on Confucianism And Christianity Free Essays on Confucianism And Christianity Confucianism And Christianity The premise of Confucian teachings are centered on the idea of Jen or the virtue of. To accomplish this divinity, five relationships must be honored: ruler and subject, living family to ancestors, father and son, elder and younger brother, husband and wife. These relationships led a push for a revolution of the political system to adopt the methods of Jen. Confucius sought to revive the ancient Chinese culture by redefining the importance of society and government. He described a society governed by reasonable, humane, and just sensibilities, not by the passions of individuals arbitrarily empowered by hereditary status. He felt that this could be achieved through education and the unification of cultural beliefs. He believed that citizens that were cultivated people whose intellects and emotions had been developed and matured by conscious people would benefit a nation. He felt that those born into the feudal system were had a personal duty to excel socially by means of power. Those w ho were of lesser class should also seek out education to better themselves. Confucius felt that love and respect for authority was a key to a perfect society; this strict respect was practiced through rituals and magic. The Confucius traditions have caused a tradition to set within its institution and are extremely active. It has, unfortunately, allowed the political institution to manipulate the Confucius system, as with Christianity. Christianity also preaches a divine, brotherly love. Modern Christianity seeks to discover a rational understanding of the person, as did Confucius; yet, Christianity feels that faith in the Jesus Christ, as a personal savior is essential to this enlightenment. It was also under the guise of Christianity that it had to confront totalitarian systems uses of power in its sphere of influence. Christians believed in an Absolute against all absolving of the relative, can protest in the name of God. ...

Personal Statement for University of South Alabama

For University of South Alabama - Personal Statement Example The pursuit of this program is also meant to help me develop better management competencies. One of my objectives that will help me develop better management competencies is to utilize the resource that this program will give me in getting a good grip of how to disseminate nursing practice both in writing and orally. My long-term goal is to join the nursing faculty in order to help impart nursing students with specialized knowledge preparing them for quality nursing practice. This is with the recognition that the student enrollment into nursing schools is growing with time whereas the nursing faculty workforce has remained the same. Teaching nursing will enable me to engage nursing knowledge at a higher level, imparting students with skills that will enable them to manage knowledge in this diverse science. Another thing that motivates me endeavor to join the nursing faculty is the increasing complexity of the healthcare system because this is creating a need for nursing students to get specialized knowledge to methodically navigate the system and still maintain high levels of nursing care to patients. This program offers a specialty in clinical nurse specialist in adult health and as such, it is best suited to help me realize my educational goal of gaining better knowledge in adult care. The program will impart me with competence in designing, implementing, managing and evaluating projects aimed at giving better care to adult patients guided by evidence-based practice. Some adult care initiatives needed inter-professional teams and the curriculum of this program is designed in such a way that will give me knowledge on how to lead and manage such teams. While on my clinical rotations, I realized that information technology has become crucial to clinical decision-making that helps improve the quality of patient satisfaction and this is the knowledge with which this program

Writing 2 pages paper After reding 'pdf' material Essay

Writing 2 pages paper After reding 'pdf' material - Essay Example It must be in a position to satisfy its customers by providing quality service of affordable prizes, which are the mostly sought out qualities by the market consumers. After achieving these qualities, a company is then in a position to improve its profits by the mode of operation as its gains popularity among its customer. These companies apply OE to gain favour over their rivals. The nature of duty completion and the overall policies applied to improve efficiency and further advance into customer satisfaction (Porter, 40). The nature of OE improves on the product’s overall quality or increasing the rate of production. Strategy in turn, enables differentiation in performance within companies. It means a company is able to perform its functions differently from its competitors but in an advanced way to improve its market position. The realized differences in performance are majorly determined by the measures the company employs to improve its profits. These may be involved in employing advanced technology in production or hiring experienced skilled personnel in production. There are also efforts to motivate its employees by offering incentives to generate added efforts that would accelerate overall production. These measures are added to implement strategy that promotes continuity and superiority in a company over its competitors that have an impact on its overall growth. The key driving force in strategy is being unique. The company’s ability to undertake functions differently greater than its adversaries dictates enhanced strategy implementation. Most companies who thrive in the market apply unique strategy measures that favour customer preferences. However, it is essential to constantly achieve the desired modifications and implement new strategies because developing companies have a tendency to imitate the policies of the successful

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Proposal - Essay Example an identifying the underlying factors for the proposal, such as saying the relocation will save costs, or improve business activities, or streamline distribution. Maybe something like: â€Å"This business relocation proposal identifies an environmental analysis of Durham North Carolina which identified this region as the best business opportunity for change initiatives. This will impact our sales and marketing divisions as well as human resources†. This way, it addresses a specific group of people in the firm. The purpose of the proposal is to identify the most appropriate location for business relocation. It suggests the regional attributes which make Durham an inviting relocation area. It is clearly stated in the first paragraph, when it is cited that research suggests several key elements about Durham which support the need to move business there. However, again, it is suggested that some element is added to the first section which highlights the importance of these characteristics to the business, as that is the main reason for relocation efforts. Message.   Is the message well organized?   Is it well developed with ample use of examples and specific details to support the purpose of writing?   If not, what can be done to improve the writing in this area? The message is very well-organized and visually pleasing. There is a great usage of charts and diagrams which support the main points of the proposal, from quality of life, transportation, and governmental incentive programs. In fact, the visual aspects of this proposal STRONGLY support the premise and purpose of the relocation research project. The main thing missing from this proposal are the impacts to the business from an organizational perspective. It clearly defines Durham and its attributes, but does not (anywhere really) suggest how Durham will impact the internal and external capabilities of the business. Now, this would likely be left up to the writer as to how in-depth the business perspective

Criminal psychology of why do people commit crimes Essay

Criminal psychology of why do people commit crimes - Essay Example Still others blame criminal behavior on the hierarchal make-up of society; that laws are specifically made by the aristocracy to rule over those in the lower social classes. Psychological factors and cognitive development also have been theorized to play a role in criminal behavior. The answer could be one or a combination of these theories. All economically deprived persons aren’t criminals and those that believe life has treated them unfairly or who have grown up around crime as a way of life, though they may be pre-disposed, do not necessarily resort to crime. This discussion briefly explains these theories for criminal behaviors in an attempt to display their similarities and differences and concludes with thoughts regarding how they may intertwine supplementing each other as an explanation. Among the biological and physiological explanations for crime is the Behaviour Genetics Theory which postulates a biological explanation for crime. While the genetic make-up of an individual does not induce any specific actions, anti-social behaviour can be facilitated by neurotransmitters in the brain and hormonal imbalances which generate tendencies to act in a particular way. â€Å"Low self-control is strongly and inversely related to the neurotransmitter/neuromodulator serotonin, and that serotonin level is heritable† (Robinson, 2004). Abnormal serotonin levels have been shown to be an origin of criminal behaviours of all types of crime because an individual lacks the natural ability to control their impulsive thoughts thereby acting upon them. Everyone has thoughts they would never act upon. Those with this abnormality tend to act first and think later. Evidence compiled from studies has supported another link between a particular inherited mutant gene and criminal behav ior. Instead of high serotonin levels the neurotransmitters in the brain, because of genetic abnormalities, may produce low levels of an enzyme which causes

Contemporary Styles of Preaching

Contemporary Styles of Preaching Chapter Five Impact, event, and context in contemporary preaching 5.1 Mapping the commonalities. The diversity of the trends identified in the earlier review (sections 2.4 to 2.8) presents a particular challenge to the analysis of justifiable generalizations about homiletic theory and practice in the last half-century. As Edwards observes, there seem to be more forms of preaching today than in all previous Christian centuries put together (2004: 835). Furthermore, Edwards judges that preachers during the late-twentieth century tried to accomplish a greater variety of things through their sermons than any of their predecessors attempted (2004: 663). Allen, Blaisdell and Johnston similarly describe the current homiletical scene as a smorgasboard of approaches and cite no less than eleven identifiable contemporary styles of preaching (1997: 171). According to Edwards two developments account for this diversity: namely, the sheer number of people who designate themselves as Christians (in the 20th century Christianity became the most extensive and universal religion in history (Barratt, 2001: 3)), and the huge proliferation of organizational bodies within which preachers are operative (2004: 835). The work of the statisticians Barratt, Kurian and Johnson supports Edwards judgement; in their World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) they estimate that in the year 2000 Christians of all kinds numbered 2 billion people in 33,820 distinct denominations (2001: 10). They observe that there are today Christians and organized Christian churches in every inhabited country on earth (2001: 3). The impact of this globalization is significant even in the much narrower geographical confines of this thesis, and it is inconceivable that an accurate appraisal of preaching practice and theory could be made apart from a ready acknowledgement of the fo rces and influences that are properly termed global. The indicators of institutional decline apparent in the churches of the Western world have to be set against rapid and continuing growth in other parts of the globe. This shift of numerical strength inevitably has consequences for preaching as for other aspects of church practice and faith. The presence in the UK of Christian personnel from the southern parts of the world, increased congregation to congregation contact made possible by cheap air travel, and the development of Internet usage, all offer new understandings and strategies from elsewhere in the global church in ways much more directly influential than even in the immediate past. The practice of preaching, like most other human endeavours in the early twenty-first century, takes place within a pluriform social environment in which many and diverse influences from the widest possible arenas of human activity have a bearing. That said, preaching, in social terms, remains predominantly a locally-focused activity, and sermon style and content are usually closely related to the specifics of the sub-cultural frames in which the life and self-understanding of the congregation is set. Consequently, the power of the local context is another factor underlying Edwards observation of the immense diversity of contemporary sermon styles. As Edwards puts it, such diversity shows how radically ad hoc all Christian preaching is (2004: 835). That is not to say, however, that such enormous diversity denies the possibility of any sensible generalization. In particular, as was suggested in the earlier review, three aspects are identifiable within contemporary preaching practices that have particular significance for collective memory-namely, awareness of a sermons psychological engagement, communicative salience and contextual pertinence. In other words, those aspects of preaching that deal with a sermons impact on the hearer; its purposefulness as an event in its own terms; and its relationship to the context in which it is delivered and heard. In order to establish an analytical framework that is not too unwieldy three texts that are in some sense representative documents will be analysed closely. Other texts that develop, challenge, or amplify the issues disclosed will be added to the discussion as the argument requires. The representative texts have been selected as indicative of three prominent strands in the ongoing discussion of homiletic practice: firstly, continuity in terms of issues of concern and of practice methodology; secondly, change in practice and the philosophical and technical components that undergird it; and thirdly, reorientation that aims to subtly change the locus of practice itself. The first text will utilize a perspective from prior to the 1955 to 2005 period under review that still has currency, albeit in terms significantly altered from earlier years. The second will analyse a perspective of more recent origin that signifies contemporary concerns with philosophy and communications theory and the technical practice that flows from them. And the third will examine a perspective that sees the local context of preaching as fundamental to homiletic activity rather than just the arena in which it takes place. The first text is Phillips Brooks Lyman Beecher Lectures of 1877, last reissued in book form as recently as 1987, and described by Killinger as one of the most readable and inspiring volumes on preaching ever penned (1985: 207). The version used here will be the 1904 edition, published in London under the title Lectures on Preaching. No attempt will be made to alter the gender specificity of Brooks words since, although this study readily acknowledges that the preaching task belongs as much to women as to men, the assumptions of his text in this area are a clear marker of changes that have taken place even under the cover of longstanding common concerns. David Buttricks 1987 book Homiletic: Moves and Structures is the second focus. At more than 500 pages, this is a monumental work in size, as well as scope and influence. Edwards (2004: 806) describes Buttricks work as being as influential and significant as Fred Craddocks pioneering of the New Homiletic, and Lischer (2002: 337) credits him with the first homiletic in theory and practice geared to our [present day] culture of images. The final representative text is Leonora Tisdales 1997 work Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art, which asks preachers to become ethnographers of their congregations in order to understand the human nature of their hearers from the inside as it were. Tisdale is one of a new movement of homiletic practitioners and theoreticians at home with anthropological and sociological models in Christian ministry and alert to cultural-linguistic issues. Her work provides a way into the insights of those who acknowledge that preachings former authority has all but evaporated, but who see a radical social re-encounter as being a real possibility for a reshaped sermon practice. 5.2 Continuities of concerns and practice: Brooks and contemporary preaching. As was noted earlier (Section 2.5), Brooks Lyman Beecher Lectures remained much used as a guide to homiletic practice well into the period under review. Indeed such has been the influence of his insistence on preaching as the bringing of truth through personality (1904: 5) that Brooks expression continues to be repeated in exactly the same terms in contemporary works, such as those of Day (1998: 6) and Killinger (1985: 8). In dwelling on the preachers personality Brooks managed to encapsulate what, in the 1870s, was a new and burgeoning interest in the human psyche. It was hardly coincidence that his lectures were delivered in the same decade in which William James became Americas first professorial-level teacher of psychology (Harvard in 1875) and G. Stanley Hall the countrys first PhD in psychology. Unwittingly no doubt, Brooks reflected on novel intellectual ideas of his own day and, in doing so, identified within preaching practice what was to become a major preoccupation in many areas of discourse in the twentieth-century: namely, the human psyche and its relationship to action and truth. It is pertinent, therefore, to examine what Brooks understood by personality and its relationship to Christian truth in order to appreciate how his ideas were developed by homiletic practitioners in the period under review. What might appropriately be termed personalist (i.e. an emphasis in preaching on the personal religious experience of the hearer somehow addressed very directly by the preacher) has been, and continues to be, a major component in sermon delivery and design. Brooks concept of preaching as truth through personality became a kind of slogan for many preachers in the twentieth-century, and indeed remains a very influential mantra for many practitioners to this day. In Brooks lectures that sloganized thought had a rather more nuanced definition: Preaching is the communication of truth by man to men. It has in it two essential elements, truth and personality. Neither of those can it spare and still be preaching. The truest truth, the most authoritative statement of Gods, communicated in any other way than through the personality of brother man to men is not preached truth. Suppose it written on the sky, suppose it embodied in a book which has been so long held in reverence as the direct utterance of God that the vivid personality of the men who wrote its pages has well-nigh faded out of it; in neither of these cases is there any preaching. And on the other hand, if men speak to other men that which they do not claim for truth, if they use their powers of persuasion or of entertainment to make other men listen to their speculations, or do their will, or applaud their cleverness, that is not preaching either. The first lacks personality. The second lacks truth. And preaching is the bringing of truth through personality. (1904: 5) For Brooks, the two components of truth and personality had to stand together, since their meeting was the point at which the universal and the particular met. It would be an exaggeration to say that Brooks viewed religious truth as essentially something that can only be known in personal experience; but he did believe that truth was at its most effective and powerful when known and expressed in personal terms. He understood the truth of the Christian faith to be universal and invariable, with personality as the site where it was realized through variable and particular understanding and appropriation (1904: 15). Thus although he was clear gospel truth was a message to be transmitted, he insisted that it could only be transmitted via the voice of a witness, i.e. someone for whom it had become an indispensable part of that persons own experience (14). In terms of memory maintenance, Brooks approach assumes that the preacher is deeply cognizant of the Christian tradition and is, as it were, a bearer of it in his or her own person. 5.2.1 The personal characteristics of the preacher. Being such a bearer of the tradition required of the preacher exacting personal characteristics. The rigour Brooks brought to the personal qualities required of the preaching witness continues to be challenging reading for anyone pursuing such a role. Alongside a deep personal piety (1904: 38), Brooks listed mental and spiritual unselfishness (39), hopefulness as against judgmental fear (40), a vigorous commitment to physical health along with the offering of the whole of life in ministerial service (40), and an enthusiasm that made for a keen joy in preaching (42). Brooks saw the task of preaching as always needing an essential grounding in the very personhood of the preacher, by which he meant truth communicated through personality in an absolutely literal sense. The second of his Lyman Beecher Lectures, entitled The Preacher Himself, amplified the point in this enumeration of the qualities necessary for success in preaching: purity and uprightness of character; lack of self-consciousness founded on absolute trust in God; genuine respect for those preached to; thorough enjoyment of the task; gravity of intent in all things; and courage to speak out (1904: 49-60). At first sight the list appears remote from more recent homiletic theorys concern with techniques and philosophical issues, and therefore it might appear as less accessible and relevant to practitioners since the 1950s watershed in preaching identified earlier. Such personal qualities can seem to be more easily related to an era when the person of the preacher was regarded as carrying more authority than nowadays. Although in terms of wider social recognition the preacher is no longer a star of oratory, similar attributes are still sought after-but for rather different reasons. Killinger (1985), for example, stresses the importance of the physical and mental health of the preacher as an aspect of communication, since troubles in those areas are signalled subconsciously to an audience and work towards undermining the intended message. He writes: Suppose we are preaching about wholeness and reconciliation but actually conveying a message about fragmentedness and despondency. The words may sound right, but there is something about the tune, about the look in our eyes, about the tension in our faces, that counters what we are saying. At best, people get a double message. It is very important, therefore, for the preacher to be as healthy and joyous as possible. Anything less impedes his or her message about the life-giving community of God. We are working at our preaching, for this reason, even when we are taking care of ourselves. (1985: 198-199) Although the point is expressed in the idiom of late twentieth-century communications theory the reasoning is clearly akin to that of Brooks. For both, emphasis on the physicality of the preacher is an aspect of how the message will be received in the light of how the hearers perceptions of the speaker. The body of the preacher, as well as his or her mental and spiritual capabilities, is, in this sense, a tool in the preaching witness. Contemporary women homileticians have also emphasized physicality; but from a perspective that radicalizes it by making the woman preachers bodily experience a site of homiletic resource. In Walton and Durber (1994), the negative, indeed destructive, consequences of a profound prejudice in the Christian tradition against womens bodies are highlighted. They note that in the light of this shameful history and despite occasional counter-tradition movements, the advent of more widespread preaching by women with the rise of Nonconformity did not generally challenge the unembodied nature of homiletic practice. Until the rise of the Womens Movement, women preachers, like their male counterparts, stressed a common rationality and a universal human nature that was blind to the particularities of embodied experience (Walton and Durber, 1994: 2). In more recent years, however, some women homileticians have striven to speak from their bodily experience and utilize both the negative and positive aspects of femininity, conception, pregnancy, birth, health and nurture in their theology of preaching (for example, Ward, Wild and Morley, (1995); Gjerding and Kinnamon, (1984); Riley, (1985); By Our Lives, (1985); Maitland, (1995); and Marva Dawn in Graves, (2004)). According to Walton and Durber, such efforts are part of a new emphasis that is fuelling developments across the whole spectrum of theological enquiry. They write: Sexuality and suffering are still rarely named within a Christian tradition that prefers to speak of the spirit rather than the body, light rather than darkness and a God who creates life but bears no responsibility for pain and dying. Women who have begun to preach from their bodies are not merely redressing an existing imbalance and enriching the storehouse of Christian metaphors and symbols but are also provoking new theological debates close to the very heart of the faith. (1994: 4) This emphasis on the body as a resource for preaching content rather than solely the necessary vehicle of delivery as it were, certainly takes Brooks focus on personhood further than he could possibly have imagined. That said, even here there is a certain congruence between what Brooks said and these very contemporary concerns. He did, after all, insist that the needs and preoccupations of no one sex or age should monopolize the life of the congregation, and that ministrations to it must be full at once of vigour and of tenderness, the fathers and the mothers touch at once (1904: 207). Brooks could not have possibly foreseen the Womens Movement and its repercussions for preaching, but his unease with a domineering and authoritarian style in the pulpit-mediated through his lasting influence-at least readied some preachers for a message that needed to be heard. The physical and personal qualities of the practitioner described neither in terms of communication theory nor embodied theology, but in ways even more reminiscent of Brooks own characterization of the preacher, have reasserted themselves through organization theory and the study of leadership. As the authority of the church, in terms of rules and obligations, has ebbed away, and the legitimacy of power based on tradition more and more questioned, it is perhaps the case that authority based on exemplary character has increased in relative importance. Certainly in the world of commerce and business the significance of the personal qualities of leaders and managers has been extensively theorized and debated. In the use of terms such as sapiential authority and referent power, organization theorists have pointed up the crucial importance of a personal knowledge and skill that readily communicates itself to others, and a personality-based ability to influence by attracting loyalty (Rees and Porter, 2001: 82). Other theorists, e.g. Charles Handy, talk in terms of the invisible but felt pull that is described as magnetism (1985: 135). Handy writes: Aspects of magnetism, the unseen drawing-power of one individual, are found all the time. Trust, respect, charm, infectious enthusiasm, these attributes all allow us to influence people without apparently imposing on them. The invisibility of magnetism is a major attraction as is its attachment to one individual. (1985: 136) Brooks himself used the very term magnetism and described it as: the quality that kindles at the sight of men, that feels a keen joy at the meeting of truth and the human mind, and recognizes how God made them for each other. It is the power by which a man loses himself and becomes but the sympathetic atmosphere between the truth on one side of him and the man on the other side of him. (1904: 42) Excluding the gender specificity, Handy might have written in very similar terms. (Comparable thoughts, although using other nomenclature, can also be found, for example in Schein, 1992: 229; Zohar and Marshall, 2000: 259; and Nelson, 1999: 76). The significance of the personal charisma of the preacher is, perhaps, in the process of rehabilitation via business practices that readily recognize the importance of personal as well as systemic qualities in the effective functioning of organizations. With the support of such an appreciation, a contemporary homiletician, such as Day, can assert, without risking suspicion and disapprobation, that the hope of the sermon lies in the authenticity of the preacher (1998: 147). As regards the maintenance of tradition as collective memory, the resurgence of individualized authority raises the question whether organizational structures within the churches are strong enough to prevent intentional or unintentional abuse of that corporate memory bearin g responsibility. 5.2.2 The preacher as learner and as pastor. Before leaving issues associated with personhood, two of Brooks themes regarding the preachers actions are worth considering since, again, they are things that continue to be widely discussed in the literature; namely, the preacher as learner and the preacher as pastor. After considering the dangers to the preachers personality of self-conceit, over-concern with failure, self-indulgence, and narrowness, Brooks brings his second lecture to a close with a vigorous plea for what would now be called lifelong learning. He writes: In [Christian ministry] he who is faithful must go on learning more and more for ever. His growth in learning is all bound up with his growth in character. Nowhere else do the moral and intellectual so sympathize, and lose or gain together. The minister must grow. His true growth is not necessarily a change of views. It is a change of view. It is not revolution. It is progress. It is a continual climbing which opens continually wider prospects. It repeats the experience of Christs disciples, of whom their Lord was always making larger men and then giving them larger truth of which their enlarged natures had become capable. (1904: 70) What Brooks discerned as an essential component of the preachers disposition has nowadays been widened to embrace all who claim to be faithful believers. Discipleship as lifelong learning is a concept in wide contemporary currency in the churches, and is discussed, for example, in documents such as the published strategies of the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church for training, detailed in the reports Formation for Ministry within a Learning Church (2003) and Shaping the Future: New patterns of training for lay and ordained (2006). The notion of Christian leaders needing to be exemplars in this ongoing commitment to learning and personal growth figures in much of the literature on congregations and pastoral ministry, such as Mead (1994), Baumohl (1984), Hawkins (1997), and Anderson (1997); albeit these and numerous other authors, make it plain that the goal of such action is the enhancement of learning in the whole church. In the preaching literatu re, allied perspectives are expressed in such concepts as local theology (Tisdale, 1997), conversational preaching (Rose, 1997), listening to or with sermon preparation (Van Harn, 2005), embodying the scriptures communally (Davis and Hays, 2003), and interactive preaching (Hunter, 2004). Through these and other mechanisms, Brooks call for continuous learning on the part of the preacher finds its contemporary expression in practices that aim to widen that learning to include the whole body of people who are party to the sermon and the preachers and their own wider ministry. As Anderson puts it, every act of ministry teaches something about God (1997: 8). That is a sentiment to which Brooks would have been sympathetic given his emphasis on the absolute core of preaching as the widest of concern for souls. Learning, in collective memory theory, is often associated with the changing of the meanings and understandings of memories, and the processes by which traditions are appropriated by individuals. As aspects of learning clearly related to relationships they echo contemporary concern in the church about whole body learning. In Brooks description of the preacher as pastor this analysis reaches very familiar territory, in that such a description probably remains the pre-eminent designation of the homiletician within the churches. Brooks thought on this matter was absolutely unequivocal: The preacher needs to be pastor, that he may preach to real men. The pastor must be preacher, that he may keep the dignity of his work alive. The preacher, who is not a pastor, grows remote. The pastor, who is not a preacher, grows petty. Never be content to let men truthfully say of you, He is a preacher, but no pastor; or, He is a pastor, but no preacher. Be both; for you cannot really be one unless you also are the other. (1904: 77) The conviction remains no less powerful more than a century after Brooks lectures: for example, Eric Devenport writing in 1986 could assert, without fear that his opinion would be controversial: Preaching and pastoral work go hand in hand. This is one of those truths that has to be proclaimed time after time, for unless it is heard, then most preaching will not only be dull but dead. (in Hunter, 2004: 145) Clearly, at different times and in different church structures, the nature of pastoral practice has been viewed in a variety of ways. Sometimes it has been mutual support in discipleship, and at other times psychotherapeutic intervention. In some circumstances it has been ad hoc care and conversation, and in others programmatic structures of community creation. Amongst these and many other activities, those who would preach have frequently seen such pastoral practice as a fundamental adjunct to the homiletic task. Although the influence of the problem centred preaching method of Henry Emerson Fosdick, mentioned above (section 2.5), has waned in recent decades, the notion that preaching must somehow relate to the felt life-concerns of those in the congregation is still the key to good practice for many preachers. Whether the emphasis is Tisdales (1997) preacher as the caretaker of local theology, Willimons (1979) or Longs (1989) straightforward emphasis on the role of pastor, Pasquare llos (2005) preaching as the development of communal wisdom, Buechners (1977) telling the truth in love, or Van Harns (2005) insistence on listening in preaching, the overarching perspective is that of pastoral care to individuals and groups. The tradition as collective memory must, in these circumstances, serve pastoral needs. Here the link to the presentist character of collective memory appears strong. 5.2.3 Preachings first purpose and the style appropriate to it. Returning to the issue of preaching as art. From Brooks paramount concern with personhood and themes that flow from it, this discussion now turns to two other aspects of his lectures that remain significant concerns in homiletic literature: style of language, and preachings first purpose. In his emphasis on preaching as witness, Brooks made a distinction that continues to figure prominently in homiletic texts to this day: namely, the difference between preaching about Christ and preaching Christ (1904: 20). Preachers, Brooks insisted, should announce Christianity as a message and proclaim Christ as a Saviour not-discuss Christianity as a problem (1904: 21). He asserted: Definers and defenders of the faith are always needed, but it is bad for a church when its ministers count it their true work to define and defend the faith rather than to preach the Gospel. Beware of the tendency to preach about Christianity, and try to preach Christ. (1904: 21) This distinction continues to be vigorously promoted, particularly amongst the New Homiletic advocates of an inductive sermon methodology. From the distinction there comes an emphasis in sermonic style on a demonstrably engaging, emotionally affective, and inclusivist presentation, rather than a detached, analytical or objective stance. Brooks would have undoubtedly concurred with David Bartletts worries about sermon style that appears to make sin more interesting than grace, and evil more lively than goodness (in Graves, 2004: 25). Bartlett suggests that sermons too often misdirect their hearers by putting active or abstract language and thoughts in the wrong places. He writes, For the most part we show evil and then tell about goodness. We show judgment and then talk about the doctrine of mercy (in Graves, 2004: 25). Yet again, Brooks lectures were extraordinary prescient of a concern that has become commonplace these many years later. Likewise, Brooks conviction that a sermon is essentially a tool and not an end in itself is also a perspective that continues to be vigorously debated (Brooks, 1904: 110). Unlike Browne (1958), Brooks was insistent that preaching is not an art form. He wrote: The definition and immediate purpose which a sermon has set before it makes it impossible to consider it as a work of art, and every attempt to consider it so works injury to the purpose for which the sermon was created. Many of the ineffective sermons that are made owe their failure to a blind and fruitless effort to produce something which shall be a work of art, conforming to some type or pattern which is not clearly understood but is supposed to be essential and eternal. (1904: 109) In many ways, Brownes advocacy of the sermon as art-form (1958: 76) was a reaction to those who had taken Brooks evident pragmatism and utilitarianism as regards technique and turned it into a bald instructionalism that claimed too much for itself and was simply tedious. That was not Brooks intention, however, as his aim was an absolute focus on the tumultuous eagerness of earnest purpose (1904: 110). His overriding concern was that sermons should engage and communicate in such a way as to affect and mark personalities at their most profound level. As such, his understanding of the nature of sermonic engagement serves the purposes of collective memory. His objection to preaching as an art-form was the tendency he saw for art to be an end in itself-over concerned with pure forms and the abstractions of principles (see, for example, pages 110 and 267 of the 1904 edition). These many years later, art operates, and is applied within immensely diverse environments wholly unknown when Brooks lectured: so his criticism is, perhaps, no longer apposite. On the other hand, how far and in what ways artistic expression relates to and uses tradition is a question rather more vexed now than in Brooks day. The one aspect of artistic endeavour Brooks was willing to concede was art in the sense of an awesome appreciation of the mysteriousness of life. This was something Brooks regarded as an essential component of the preachers outlook, and was the reason for his advocacy of the preacher as, at least in some measure, a poet (1904: 262). Preaching as art form brings to the forefront of homiletic awareness the sermons place in the imaginative construal of engaging gospel alternatives to commonplace understandings and outlooks. Collective memory theory suggests that affiliation to group identity is an essential element in the continuity of memory. What the emphasis on preaching as art form does is alert the preacher to the need to create in preaching that sense of engagement, creativity and exploration that aims beyond utilitarian instruction. Here, preaching is seen as genuinely performative. Like the repeated performances of a classic drama, a sermon hearer can become intensively engaged again and again with material that, although familiar, becomes in the engagement surprisingly new. Likewise the preacher as performer or artist, works with familiar texts in order to render then creatively new in a sermon. From both sides of the sermon event collective memory is supported via the performative interaction. The discussion of art related issues in contemporary homiletic literature largely supports this assessment. Morris, in his Raising the Dead: The Art of the preacher as Public Performer, makes performance the guiding principle of all homiletics and insists that preaching should delight and enrich in ways similar to other mediums (1996: 19). Gilmore, in his Preaching as Theatre (1996) shares the same concern with performance, and designates preaching as a dramatic event that happens. He writes: As long as preaching is seen as lecturing or teaching, then, in order for it to be effective, listeners have to go away and do something about it. If it is art, they dont. By the time it is over something has happened, or has failed to happen. This is what makes preaching as an art distinctive, more exciting and satisfying when it works, more depressing and worrying when it doesnt. (1996: 7) Other homileticians are a little more reserved and tend to use the idea of art or artistic endeavour as but one tool the preacher can employ. For example, in Allen (1998), the appreciation of works of art and artistic frames for sermons are advocated as ways to create spheres of perception i Contemporary Styles of Preaching Contemporary Styles of Preaching Chapter Five Impact, event, and context in contemporary preaching 5.1 Mapping the commonalities. The diversity of the trends identified in the earlier review (sections 2.4 to 2.8) presents a particular challenge to the analysis of justifiable generalizations about homiletic theory and practice in the last half-century. As Edwards observes, there seem to be more forms of preaching today than in all previous Christian centuries put together (2004: 835). Furthermore, Edwards judges that preachers during the late-twentieth century tried to accomplish a greater variety of things through their sermons than any of their predecessors attempted (2004: 663). Allen, Blaisdell and Johnston similarly describe the current homiletical scene as a smorgasboard of approaches and cite no less than eleven identifiable contemporary styles of preaching (1997: 171). According to Edwards two developments account for this diversity: namely, the sheer number of people who designate themselves as Christians (in the 20th century Christianity became the most extensive and universal religion in history (Barratt, 2001: 3)), and the huge proliferation of organizational bodies within which preachers are operative (2004: 835). The work of the statisticians Barratt, Kurian and Johnson supports Edwards judgement; in their World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) they estimate that in the year 2000 Christians of all kinds numbered 2 billion people in 33,820 distinct denominations (2001: 10). They observe that there are today Christians and organized Christian churches in every inhabited country on earth (2001: 3). The impact of this globalization is significant even in the much narrower geographical confines of this thesis, and it is inconceivable that an accurate appraisal of preaching practice and theory could be made apart from a ready acknowledgement of the fo rces and influences that are properly termed global. The indicators of institutional decline apparent in the churches of the Western world have to be set against rapid and continuing growth in other parts of the globe. This shift of numerical strength inevitably has consequences for preaching as for other aspects of church practice and faith. The presence in the UK of Christian personnel from the southern parts of the world, increased congregation to congregation contact made possible by cheap air travel, and the development of Internet usage, all offer new understandings and strategies from elsewhere in the global church in ways much more directly influential than even in the immediate past. The practice of preaching, like most other human endeavours in the early twenty-first century, takes place within a pluriform social environment in which many and diverse influences from the widest possible arenas of human activity have a bearing. That said, preaching, in social terms, remains predominantly a locally-focused activity, and sermon style and content are usually closely related to the specifics of the sub-cultural frames in which the life and self-understanding of the congregation is set. Consequently, the power of the local context is another factor underlying Edwards observation of the immense diversity of contemporary sermon styles. As Edwards puts it, such diversity shows how radically ad hoc all Christian preaching is (2004: 835). That is not to say, however, that such enormous diversity denies the possibility of any sensible generalization. In particular, as was suggested in the earlier review, three aspects are identifiable within contemporary preaching practices that have particular significance for collective memory-namely, awareness of a sermons psychological engagement, communicative salience and contextual pertinence. In other words, those aspects of preaching that deal with a sermons impact on the hearer; its purposefulness as an event in its own terms; and its relationship to the context in which it is delivered and heard. In order to establish an analytical framework that is not too unwieldy three texts that are in some sense representative documents will be analysed closely. Other texts that develop, challenge, or amplify the issues disclosed will be added to the discussion as the argument requires. The representative texts have been selected as indicative of three prominent strands in the ongoing discussion of homiletic practice: firstly, continuity in terms of issues of concern and of practice methodology; secondly, change in practice and the philosophical and technical components that undergird it; and thirdly, reorientation that aims to subtly change the locus of practice itself. The first text will utilize a perspective from prior to the 1955 to 2005 period under review that still has currency, albeit in terms significantly altered from earlier years. The second will analyse a perspective of more recent origin that signifies contemporary concerns with philosophy and communications theory and the technical practice that flows from them. And the third will examine a perspective that sees the local context of preaching as fundamental to homiletic activity rather than just the arena in which it takes place. The first text is Phillips Brooks Lyman Beecher Lectures of 1877, last reissued in book form as recently as 1987, and described by Killinger as one of the most readable and inspiring volumes on preaching ever penned (1985: 207). The version used here will be the 1904 edition, published in London under the title Lectures on Preaching. No attempt will be made to alter the gender specificity of Brooks words since, although this study readily acknowledges that the preaching task belongs as much to women as to men, the assumptions of his text in this area are a clear marker of changes that have taken place even under the cover of longstanding common concerns. David Buttricks 1987 book Homiletic: Moves and Structures is the second focus. At more than 500 pages, this is a monumental work in size, as well as scope and influence. Edwards (2004: 806) describes Buttricks work as being as influential and significant as Fred Craddocks pioneering of the New Homiletic, and Lischer (2002: 337) credits him with the first homiletic in theory and practice geared to our [present day] culture of images. The final representative text is Leonora Tisdales 1997 work Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art, which asks preachers to become ethnographers of their congregations in order to understand the human nature of their hearers from the inside as it were. Tisdale is one of a new movement of homiletic practitioners and theoreticians at home with anthropological and sociological models in Christian ministry and alert to cultural-linguistic issues. Her work provides a way into the insights of those who acknowledge that preachings former authority has all but evaporated, but who see a radical social re-encounter as being a real possibility for a reshaped sermon practice. 5.2 Continuities of concerns and practice: Brooks and contemporary preaching. As was noted earlier (Section 2.5), Brooks Lyman Beecher Lectures remained much used as a guide to homiletic practice well into the period under review. Indeed such has been the influence of his insistence on preaching as the bringing of truth through personality (1904: 5) that Brooks expression continues to be repeated in exactly the same terms in contemporary works, such as those of Day (1998: 6) and Killinger (1985: 8). In dwelling on the preachers personality Brooks managed to encapsulate what, in the 1870s, was a new and burgeoning interest in the human psyche. It was hardly coincidence that his lectures were delivered in the same decade in which William James became Americas first professorial-level teacher of psychology (Harvard in 1875) and G. Stanley Hall the countrys first PhD in psychology. Unwittingly no doubt, Brooks reflected on novel intellectual ideas of his own day and, in doing so, identified within preaching practice what was to become a major preoccupation in many areas of discourse in the twentieth-century: namely, the human psyche and its relationship to action and truth. It is pertinent, therefore, to examine what Brooks understood by personality and its relationship to Christian truth in order to appreciate how his ideas were developed by homiletic practitioners in the period under review. What might appropriately be termed personalist (i.e. an emphasis in preaching on the personal religious experience of the hearer somehow addressed very directly by the preacher) has been, and continues to be, a major component in sermon delivery and design. Brooks concept of preaching as truth through personality became a kind of slogan for many preachers in the twentieth-century, and indeed remains a very influential mantra for many practitioners to this day. In Brooks lectures that sloganized thought had a rather more nuanced definition: Preaching is the communication of truth by man to men. It has in it two essential elements, truth and personality. Neither of those can it spare and still be preaching. The truest truth, the most authoritative statement of Gods, communicated in any other way than through the personality of brother man to men is not preached truth. Suppose it written on the sky, suppose it embodied in a book which has been so long held in reverence as the direct utterance of God that the vivid personality of the men who wrote its pages has well-nigh faded out of it; in neither of these cases is there any preaching. And on the other hand, if men speak to other men that which they do not claim for truth, if they use their powers of persuasion or of entertainment to make other men listen to their speculations, or do their will, or applaud their cleverness, that is not preaching either. The first lacks personality. The second lacks truth. And preaching is the bringing of truth through personality. (1904: 5) For Brooks, the two components of truth and personality had to stand together, since their meeting was the point at which the universal and the particular met. It would be an exaggeration to say that Brooks viewed religious truth as essentially something that can only be known in personal experience; but he did believe that truth was at its most effective and powerful when known and expressed in personal terms. He understood the truth of the Christian faith to be universal and invariable, with personality as the site where it was realized through variable and particular understanding and appropriation (1904: 15). Thus although he was clear gospel truth was a message to be transmitted, he insisted that it could only be transmitted via the voice of a witness, i.e. someone for whom it had become an indispensable part of that persons own experience (14). In terms of memory maintenance, Brooks approach assumes that the preacher is deeply cognizant of the Christian tradition and is, as it were, a bearer of it in his or her own person. 5.2.1 The personal characteristics of the preacher. Being such a bearer of the tradition required of the preacher exacting personal characteristics. The rigour Brooks brought to the personal qualities required of the preaching witness continues to be challenging reading for anyone pursuing such a role. Alongside a deep personal piety (1904: 38), Brooks listed mental and spiritual unselfishness (39), hopefulness as against judgmental fear (40), a vigorous commitment to physical health along with the offering of the whole of life in ministerial service (40), and an enthusiasm that made for a keen joy in preaching (42). Brooks saw the task of preaching as always needing an essential grounding in the very personhood of the preacher, by which he meant truth communicated through personality in an absolutely literal sense. The second of his Lyman Beecher Lectures, entitled The Preacher Himself, amplified the point in this enumeration of the qualities necessary for success in preaching: purity and uprightness of character; lack of self-consciousness founded on absolute trust in God; genuine respect for those preached to; thorough enjoyment of the task; gravity of intent in all things; and courage to speak out (1904: 49-60). At first sight the list appears remote from more recent homiletic theorys concern with techniques and philosophical issues, and therefore it might appear as less accessible and relevant to practitioners since the 1950s watershed in preaching identified earlier. Such personal qualities can seem to be more easily related to an era when the person of the preacher was regarded as carrying more authority than nowadays. Although in terms of wider social recognition the preacher is no longer a star of oratory, similar attributes are still sought after-but for rather different reasons. Killinger (1985), for example, stresses the importance of the physical and mental health of the preacher as an aspect of communication, since troubles in those areas are signalled subconsciously to an audience and work towards undermining the intended message. He writes: Suppose we are preaching about wholeness and reconciliation but actually conveying a message about fragmentedness and despondency. The words may sound right, but there is something about the tune, about the look in our eyes, about the tension in our faces, that counters what we are saying. At best, people get a double message. It is very important, therefore, for the preacher to be as healthy and joyous as possible. Anything less impedes his or her message about the life-giving community of God. We are working at our preaching, for this reason, even when we are taking care of ourselves. (1985: 198-199) Although the point is expressed in the idiom of late twentieth-century communications theory the reasoning is clearly akin to that of Brooks. For both, emphasis on the physicality of the preacher is an aspect of how the message will be received in the light of how the hearers perceptions of the speaker. The body of the preacher, as well as his or her mental and spiritual capabilities, is, in this sense, a tool in the preaching witness. Contemporary women homileticians have also emphasized physicality; but from a perspective that radicalizes it by making the woman preachers bodily experience a site of homiletic resource. In Walton and Durber (1994), the negative, indeed destructive, consequences of a profound prejudice in the Christian tradition against womens bodies are highlighted. They note that in the light of this shameful history and despite occasional counter-tradition movements, the advent of more widespread preaching by women with the rise of Nonconformity did not generally challenge the unembodied nature of homiletic practice. Until the rise of the Womens Movement, women preachers, like their male counterparts, stressed a common rationality and a universal human nature that was blind to the particularities of embodied experience (Walton and Durber, 1994: 2). In more recent years, however, some women homileticians have striven to speak from their bodily experience and utilize both the negative and positive aspects of femininity, conception, pregnancy, birth, health and nurture in their theology of preaching (for example, Ward, Wild and Morley, (1995); Gjerding and Kinnamon, (1984); Riley, (1985); By Our Lives, (1985); Maitland, (1995); and Marva Dawn in Graves, (2004)). According to Walton and Durber, such efforts are part of a new emphasis that is fuelling developments across the whole spectrum of theological enquiry. They write: Sexuality and suffering are still rarely named within a Christian tradition that prefers to speak of the spirit rather than the body, light rather than darkness and a God who creates life but bears no responsibility for pain and dying. Women who have begun to preach from their bodies are not merely redressing an existing imbalance and enriching the storehouse of Christian metaphors and symbols but are also provoking new theological debates close to the very heart of the faith. (1994: 4) This emphasis on the body as a resource for preaching content rather than solely the necessary vehicle of delivery as it were, certainly takes Brooks focus on personhood further than he could possibly have imagined. That said, even here there is a certain congruence between what Brooks said and these very contemporary concerns. He did, after all, insist that the needs and preoccupations of no one sex or age should monopolize the life of the congregation, and that ministrations to it must be full at once of vigour and of tenderness, the fathers and the mothers touch at once (1904: 207). Brooks could not have possibly foreseen the Womens Movement and its repercussions for preaching, but his unease with a domineering and authoritarian style in the pulpit-mediated through his lasting influence-at least readied some preachers for a message that needed to be heard. The physical and personal qualities of the practitioner described neither in terms of communication theory nor embodied theology, but in ways even more reminiscent of Brooks own characterization of the preacher, have reasserted themselves through organization theory and the study of leadership. As the authority of the church, in terms of rules and obligations, has ebbed away, and the legitimacy of power based on tradition more and more questioned, it is perhaps the case that authority based on exemplary character has increased in relative importance. Certainly in the world of commerce and business the significance of the personal qualities of leaders and managers has been extensively theorized and debated. In the use of terms such as sapiential authority and referent power, organization theorists have pointed up the crucial importance of a personal knowledge and skill that readily communicates itself to others, and a personality-based ability to influence by attracting loyalty (Rees and Porter, 2001: 82). Other theorists, e.g. Charles Handy, talk in terms of the invisible but felt pull that is described as magnetism (1985: 135). Handy writes: Aspects of magnetism, the unseen drawing-power of one individual, are found all the time. Trust, respect, charm, infectious enthusiasm, these attributes all allow us to influence people without apparently imposing on them. The invisibility of magnetism is a major attraction as is its attachment to one individual. (1985: 136) Brooks himself used the very term magnetism and described it as: the quality that kindles at the sight of men, that feels a keen joy at the meeting of truth and the human mind, and recognizes how God made them for each other. It is the power by which a man loses himself and becomes but the sympathetic atmosphere between the truth on one side of him and the man on the other side of him. (1904: 42) Excluding the gender specificity, Handy might have written in very similar terms. (Comparable thoughts, although using other nomenclature, can also be found, for example in Schein, 1992: 229; Zohar and Marshall, 2000: 259; and Nelson, 1999: 76). The significance of the personal charisma of the preacher is, perhaps, in the process of rehabilitation via business practices that readily recognize the importance of personal as well as systemic qualities in the effective functioning of organizations. With the support of such an appreciation, a contemporary homiletician, such as Day, can assert, without risking suspicion and disapprobation, that the hope of the sermon lies in the authenticity of the preacher (1998: 147). As regards the maintenance of tradition as collective memory, the resurgence of individualized authority raises the question whether organizational structures within the churches are strong enough to prevent intentional or unintentional abuse of that corporate memory bearin g responsibility. 5.2.2 The preacher as learner and as pastor. Before leaving issues associated with personhood, two of Brooks themes regarding the preachers actions are worth considering since, again, they are things that continue to be widely discussed in the literature; namely, the preacher as learner and the preacher as pastor. After considering the dangers to the preachers personality of self-conceit, over-concern with failure, self-indulgence, and narrowness, Brooks brings his second lecture to a close with a vigorous plea for what would now be called lifelong learning. He writes: In [Christian ministry] he who is faithful must go on learning more and more for ever. His growth in learning is all bound up with his growth in character. Nowhere else do the moral and intellectual so sympathize, and lose or gain together. The minister must grow. His true growth is not necessarily a change of views. It is a change of view. It is not revolution. It is progress. It is a continual climbing which opens continually wider prospects. It repeats the experience of Christs disciples, of whom their Lord was always making larger men and then giving them larger truth of which their enlarged natures had become capable. (1904: 70) What Brooks discerned as an essential component of the preachers disposition has nowadays been widened to embrace all who claim to be faithful believers. Discipleship as lifelong learning is a concept in wide contemporary currency in the churches, and is discussed, for example, in documents such as the published strategies of the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church for training, detailed in the reports Formation for Ministry within a Learning Church (2003) and Shaping the Future: New patterns of training for lay and ordained (2006). The notion of Christian leaders needing to be exemplars in this ongoing commitment to learning and personal growth figures in much of the literature on congregations and pastoral ministry, such as Mead (1994), Baumohl (1984), Hawkins (1997), and Anderson (1997); albeit these and numerous other authors, make it plain that the goal of such action is the enhancement of learning in the whole church. In the preaching literatu re, allied perspectives are expressed in such concepts as local theology (Tisdale, 1997), conversational preaching (Rose, 1997), listening to or with sermon preparation (Van Harn, 2005), embodying the scriptures communally (Davis and Hays, 2003), and interactive preaching (Hunter, 2004). Through these and other mechanisms, Brooks call for continuous learning on the part of the preacher finds its contemporary expression in practices that aim to widen that learning to include the whole body of people who are party to the sermon and the preachers and their own wider ministry. As Anderson puts it, every act of ministry teaches something about God (1997: 8). That is a sentiment to which Brooks would have been sympathetic given his emphasis on the absolute core of preaching as the widest of concern for souls. Learning, in collective memory theory, is often associated with the changing of the meanings and understandings of memories, and the processes by which traditions are appropriated by individuals. As aspects of learning clearly related to relationships they echo contemporary concern in the church about whole body learning. In Brooks description of the preacher as pastor this analysis reaches very familiar territory, in that such a description probably remains the pre-eminent designation of the homiletician within the churches. Brooks thought on this matter was absolutely unequivocal: The preacher needs to be pastor, that he may preach to real men. The pastor must be preacher, that he may keep the dignity of his work alive. The preacher, who is not a pastor, grows remote. The pastor, who is not a preacher, grows petty. Never be content to let men truthfully say of you, He is a preacher, but no pastor; or, He is a pastor, but no preacher. Be both; for you cannot really be one unless you also are the other. (1904: 77) The conviction remains no less powerful more than a century after Brooks lectures: for example, Eric Devenport writing in 1986 could assert, without fear that his opinion would be controversial: Preaching and pastoral work go hand in hand. This is one of those truths that has to be proclaimed time after time, for unless it is heard, then most preaching will not only be dull but dead. (in Hunter, 2004: 145) Clearly, at different times and in different church structures, the nature of pastoral practice has been viewed in a variety of ways. Sometimes it has been mutual support in discipleship, and at other times psychotherapeutic intervention. In some circumstances it has been ad hoc care and conversation, and in others programmatic structures of community creation. Amongst these and many other activities, those who would preach have frequently seen such pastoral practice as a fundamental adjunct to the homiletic task. Although the influence of the problem centred preaching method of Henry Emerson Fosdick, mentioned above (section 2.5), has waned in recent decades, the notion that preaching must somehow relate to the felt life-concerns of those in the congregation is still the key to good practice for many preachers. Whether the emphasis is Tisdales (1997) preacher as the caretaker of local theology, Willimons (1979) or Longs (1989) straightforward emphasis on the role of pastor, Pasquare llos (2005) preaching as the development of communal wisdom, Buechners (1977) telling the truth in love, or Van Harns (2005) insistence on listening in preaching, the overarching perspective is that of pastoral care to individuals and groups. The tradition as collective memory must, in these circumstances, serve pastoral needs. Here the link to the presentist character of collective memory appears strong. 5.2.3 Preachings first purpose and the style appropriate to it. Returning to the issue of preaching as art. From Brooks paramount concern with personhood and themes that flow from it, this discussion now turns to two other aspects of his lectures that remain significant concerns in homiletic literature: style of language, and preachings first purpose. In his emphasis on preaching as witness, Brooks made a distinction that continues to figure prominently in homiletic texts to this day: namely, the difference between preaching about Christ and preaching Christ (1904: 20). Preachers, Brooks insisted, should announce Christianity as a message and proclaim Christ as a Saviour not-discuss Christianity as a problem (1904: 21). He asserted: Definers and defenders of the faith are always needed, but it is bad for a church when its ministers count it their true work to define and defend the faith rather than to preach the Gospel. Beware of the tendency to preach about Christianity, and try to preach Christ. (1904: 21) This distinction continues to be vigorously promoted, particularly amongst the New Homiletic advocates of an inductive sermon methodology. From the distinction there comes an emphasis in sermonic style on a demonstrably engaging, emotionally affective, and inclusivist presentation, rather than a detached, analytical or objective stance. Brooks would have undoubtedly concurred with David Bartletts worries about sermon style that appears to make sin more interesting than grace, and evil more lively than goodness (in Graves, 2004: 25). Bartlett suggests that sermons too often misdirect their hearers by putting active or abstract language and thoughts in the wrong places. He writes, For the most part we show evil and then tell about goodness. We show judgment and then talk about the doctrine of mercy (in Graves, 2004: 25). Yet again, Brooks lectures were extraordinary prescient of a concern that has become commonplace these many years later. Likewise, Brooks conviction that a sermon is essentially a tool and not an end in itself is also a perspective that continues to be vigorously debated (Brooks, 1904: 110). Unlike Browne (1958), Brooks was insistent that preaching is not an art form. He wrote: The definition and immediate purpose which a sermon has set before it makes it impossible to consider it as a work of art, and every attempt to consider it so works injury to the purpose for which the sermon was created. Many of the ineffective sermons that are made owe their failure to a blind and fruitless effort to produce something which shall be a work of art, conforming to some type or pattern which is not clearly understood but is supposed to be essential and eternal. (1904: 109) In many ways, Brownes advocacy of the sermon as art-form (1958: 76) was a reaction to those who had taken Brooks evident pragmatism and utilitarianism as regards technique and turned it into a bald instructionalism that claimed too much for itself and was simply tedious. That was not Brooks intention, however, as his aim was an absolute focus on the tumultuous eagerness of earnest purpose (1904: 110). His overriding concern was that sermons should engage and communicate in such a way as to affect and mark personalities at their most profound level. As such, his understanding of the nature of sermonic engagement serves the purposes of collective memory. His objection to preaching as an art-form was the tendency he saw for art to be an end in itself-over concerned with pure forms and the abstractions of principles (see, for example, pages 110 and 267 of the 1904 edition). These many years later, art operates, and is applied within immensely diverse environments wholly unknown when Brooks lectured: so his criticism is, perhaps, no longer apposite. On the other hand, how far and in what ways artistic expression relates to and uses tradition is a question rather more vexed now than in Brooks day. The one aspect of artistic endeavour Brooks was willing to concede was art in the sense of an awesome appreciation of the mysteriousness of life. This was something Brooks regarded as an essential component of the preachers outlook, and was the reason for his advocacy of the preacher as, at least in some measure, a poet (1904: 262). Preaching as art form brings to the forefront of homiletic awareness the sermons place in the imaginative construal of engaging gospel alternatives to commonplace understandings and outlooks. Collective memory theory suggests that affiliation to group identity is an essential element in the continuity of memory. What the emphasis on preaching as art form does is alert the preacher to the need to create in preaching that sense of engagement, creativity and exploration that aims beyond utilitarian instruction. Here, preaching is seen as genuinely performative. Like the repeated performances of a classic drama, a sermon hearer can become intensively engaged again and again with material that, although familiar, becomes in the engagement surprisingly new. Likewise the preacher as performer or artist, works with familiar texts in order to render then creatively new in a sermon. From both sides of the sermon event collective memory is supported via the performative interaction. The discussion of art related issues in contemporary homiletic literature largely supports this assessment. Morris, in his Raising the Dead: The Art of the preacher as Public Performer, makes performance the guiding principle of all homiletics and insists that preaching should delight and enrich in ways similar to other mediums (1996: 19). Gilmore, in his Preaching as Theatre (1996) shares the same concern with performance, and designates preaching as a dramatic event that happens. He writes: As long as preaching is seen as lecturing or teaching, then, in order for it to be effective, listeners have to go away and do something about it. If it is art, they dont. By the time it is over something has happened, or has failed to happen. This is what makes preaching as an art distinctive, more exciting and satisfying when it works, more depressing and worrying when it doesnt. (1996: 7) Other homileticians are a little more reserved and tend to use the idea of art or artistic endeavour as but one tool the preacher can employ. For example, in Allen (1998), the appreciation of works of art and artistic frames for sermons are advocated as ways to create spheres of perception i