What’s Up with Pasta

What's Up With Pasta Q1: We need to understand and research why the Spaniards are spending relatively less on Pasta than its European neighbors. Current market research done by AEFPA offers insufficient data, so we need to improve data quality. The main goal is the get a clear demographic segmented market overview. One of the problems is that we cannot clearly identify the potential and current pasta consumers clearly – we simply do not know enough about of core target group. In addition we need insights on consumer behavior and habits as we do not know what drives the consumer decision when choosing pasta and when declining pasta.Another advantage of a broad market study would be that it would become clear if there are segments in the market currently not being explored. As a result we will be able to clearly identify the market entry barriers for pasta. According to our calculations (Appendix 1), there is an underutilized yearly market gap of EUR 87Mln. Given this significan t amount we find it justified to spend 0. 2% (Eur 175. 000) of the market gap initializing the market research plan, collect the data and conduct the analysis.Costs to marketing strategy, marketing planning and implementation are not included in this figure. We estimate the overall cost of the market research will be Eur 132. 800 Judging from informal discussions with contacts in Unilever and Kraft Foods, our estimate seems to be on the low side. Q2 – Methodology: We are interested in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research. In our opinion we need both elements to fully understand the market. This will allow us to better segment the market. Starting point of the quantitative research is the detailed quantitative research already done by AEFPA.The Geographical sales overview, distribution channels and sales pr. pasta type, must be investigated further. We suggest conducting a demographic segmentation overlay to this data, as the segmentation will serve us by divi ding a large population/sample into specific customer groups. We are opting for the demographical segmentation as we expect to receive a large amount of data that otherwise would not be feasible to analyze. Therefore, we cluster the information to make patterns of sub-groups visible and will enable to identify consumer profile and behaviors.We refer to this as top-down market research. The consumer behavior can only be partly captured in the demographic segmentation, so to ensure we have a bulky sample of data, we introduce a bottom-up process by initiating â€Å"Shopper Insights† research. â€Å"Shopper Insights† will in addition to bring to additional data on behavior also provide invaluable insights to the customer’s perception of pasta. The aim with â€Å"Shoppers Insight† is to passively monitor the customer’s behavior in the situation of purchase at point-of-buying to learn about the â€Å"conversion rate†.Unilever defines â€Å"Shopp ers Insight† as † focus on the process that takes place between that first thought the consumer has about purchasing an item, all the way through the selection of that item†. This is further underlined by practical examples from Kraft Foods Switzerland, who has provided access to their methodology to this group. We will be adopting the methods of â€Å"5 S’s† to conduct our â€Å"Shopper insights† research and conduct this across the difference distribution channels mentioned in the case.Detailed explanation in Appendix 2 By making use of both top-down and bottom-up quantitative research, we feel we have adequate data quality. However it is critical to maintain a satisfactory sample size. We assume our sample pool will be the entire Spanish population. There are many considerations when choosing a sampling size. We consider it a tradeoff between costs and sampling quality as there is a linear relationship between the sampling size and the cost. We estimate that the sampling size must be at least 384 people. See further details in appendix 3.To finish the research we introduce â€Å"Consumer Insight† which is a qualitative overlay. Personal interviews with customers will be done immediately after the consumer has been observed in the â€Å"Shoppers Insight†. The sample size when conducting qualitative research is less important as there is no need for statistical significance, so we will be highly selective when choosing participants. Actually we will aim to only interview the â€Å"High-Consumer† and â€Å"Non-consumer† segments found in the top-down demographic segmentation research.This will provide strong qualitative data for creating the marketing strategy and planning. These topics will not be discussed in this paper. Q3 – Implementation: As we want to build in the existing data from AEPFA, significantly more data collecting must be done. We would conduct a survey on a large sample, using these four variables: Age, life-cycle stage (the life cycle stage of a consumer group defines what will be the need of that particular customer), Gender and Income. In addition questions in pasta purchasing history and frequency would be asked.The questions will be designed so the answers can be directly comparable across the entire sample. This can be achieved by having a 1-5 scale designed on which the answers must fit one of the numbers. Example: Question: â€Å"How often do you eat pasta†, Possible answers: â€Å"1: Never, 2: ones a day, 3: ones a week, 4: ones a month, 5: ones a year†. By constructing all questions to fit such answer-schedule, we will be able to achieve statistical significance. The result will be a clear segmented group, where we can establish who are the current consumers (core buying segment) and non-consumers (core anti-buyers).We believe these segments should be targeted for further penetration. Next step we passively and discretely mo nitor the consumer at point-of-buying using the â€Å"5 S’s† approach (See appendix 2). We will be present in all the distribution channels mentioned. This can be done via video or via physical presents. It is paramount the customer is unaware she/he is being monitored as this potentially would influence the buying habits. The consumer segments found above – the consumer and non-consumer – will be specifically targeted in the monitoring. I. e. hen a consumer fits one of the segments, the monitoring will be initiated. We wish to focus on these segments due to costs, but could increase the sampling to all customers across all segments if budget would allow. As the quantitative research should not stand alone, we would initiate in-depth interviews with more open-ended questions to better grasp the motivation behind the choice made by the customer. Such questions could be â€Å"Why did you buy pasta†, â€Å"What type of pasta do you normally buy†, â€Å"why did you buy pasta instead of rice or potatoes. . For the non-consumers questions could be â€Å"Why do you choose rice/potatoes instead of pasta†, †Which pasta products are you missing in the shop† etc. We believe the quantitative and qualitative output of this extensive research plan, by identifying the two interesting segments and dwell into their motivations behind their choice, would form an excellent base for developing an effective market strategy and for creating an overall marketing strategy for Pasta in Spain. ? APPENDIX 1For the calculations of the market gap – difference in current and potential market – we have assumed the following: †¢Current year is 1990. †¢Potential year is 1992. Population has increased by 0. 6% from 1990 to 1992. †¢Euro/Pesetas exchange rate is 166. 386. (Official final fixing when Spain adopted the Euro) †¢Consumer behavior in terms of demand of the different pasta types is unchange d from 1990 – 1992 †¢Pasta price was inflated with 4% from 1990 – 1992. †¢Consumption of pasta rose 1 kg pr. Capita from 1990 – 1992 Pasta Market in 1990: Pasta Market in 1992: ? APPENDIX 2:The 5 S’s method is designed so marketers can observe a customer from entering point-of-buying (POB) to final transaction. The method works on two levels: 1. Consumer level; The consumer are monitored so we follow the target discreetly around the POB. We observe how the consumer Sees, Scans, Spot, Show interest and (potentially) Select the product we represent. This gives us valuable information as we can identifies were in the process we lose the customer (also call Fall-out). The conversation rate is computed as number of consumers selecting our product out of shoppers entering the POB.The net sales for a given company is highly sensitive to changes in conversation rate – Only a small increase in conversion will generate a (relative) large increase i n sales. 2. Store layout and the category placement in POB. We can observe the customers’ ability to find the product in POB; is the product visible to the consumer, where on the shelve is it placed, is it placed with complementary goods? or supplementary goods? After the research is concluded feedback will be delivered to POB to improve visibility if required. ? APPENDIX 3: We recognize the sample size of 1067 is a (very) rough estimate.We opted for an internet resource from Creative Research Systems as we decided to focus our resources on the research planning and method. The sample size is computed using: Confidence level: 95% Confidence Interval (margin of error) 5% Population 40’000’000 We believe these input factors are comparable with real-life statistical simulations. ? APPENDIX 4: As we require a specialized set of data and therefore need a specialized report, we assume such report must be order and bought directly at a Market Research company or instit ute under normal circumstances.As it is specialized we assume the price will be high, so budget with a one-time payment of EUR 75. 000. We have only very little foundation for making this estimate. It was the conclusion of a conversation between marketing executives on Linkedin. The bottom-up research will need to conduct 384 observations in order to fulfill to the minimum sample size requirement found in appendix 3. Based on information from marketing sources at Kraft Foods, we consider it realistic one market researcher can conduct 25 observations in one day. This results in 15. 3 days of work at an assumed daily rate of EUR 1000

Two Kinds of Response to the Challenges of the XX Century: Freud’s Pessimism versus Camus’ Optimism

Early 20th century was a time when European civilization found itself in a deep crisis. That was a â€Å"good old world† of progress and orderliness in the late 19th century crashed down in the flame of the First World War. European thinkers had to face a dramatic question: whether Europe is still existing and whether its ideals of humanism and enlightenment are still sought-after, or its previous aspiration to the perfect world were in vain? Naturally this question was being answered both in pessimistic and optimistic light. In this paper I will attempt to analyze these two concepts, using Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents as an example of pessimism and Camus’ Plague as example of optimism. At that I am going to argue that both pessimistic and optimistic approach attempted to discover latent natural aspects of human nature. The difference was only in the attitude towards these aspects. Freud’s work can be distinctively separated into two great periods: before and after the WWI. In the first period he explored the optimistic desire of life, pleasure and reproduction that he called Eros. In the second period he became interested in the desire of death and killing that he called Thanatos. Most basically, he attempted to explain what does mankind exist for, and in the Civilization and Its Discontents he finally melancholically observed that â€Å"The question of the purpose of human life has been raised countless times; it has never received a satisfactory answer and perhaps does not admit of one. † (Freud 51). In contrast to Freud’s runaround, Camus does answer the question, or, better to say, offers two answers. The first one is given by the people before the Plague: â€Å"Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, ‘doing business. † (Camus 2). The second one is given after the Plague has come: â€Å"if there is one thing one can always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love. † (Camus 298). In Camus novel the Plague does not certainly mean war, this is rather a disaster that makes people unite in their new understanding of life values. But what makes people change in the disaster and what are the motivations that cause them to change? Freud sees a dramatic conflict between civilization and human nature. In order to become â€Å"civilized† and make use of the benefits of civilization people have to oppress their own nature and â€Å"civilization, therefore, obtains mastery over the individual's dangerous desire for aggression by weakening and disarming it and by setting up an agency within him to watch over it, like a garrison in a conquered city. † (Freud 119). Yet those hidden inclinations never disappear and explode like an overheated steam boiler as soon as civilization control weakens in such situations as war or distress. Then people are no longer driven by rules, but by instincts, including desire to deaden and die, that tragically prevails over desire to live and give life. Camus agrees with Freud and also pays outstanding attention to relations between civilized human individual and the world of natural instincts. He notes that â€Å"what's natural is the microbe. All the rest-heath, integrity, purity (if you like)-is a product of the human will, of a vigilance that must never falter†. (Camus 253). Yet the book does not include much descriptions of any behavior that Freud would call â€Å"natural†. There are few scenes of cruelty, bit most of the men stay men like guards at the gates who are not interested in the plague at all and can easily be bribed to let a man leave the affected city. Life continues even in the times of plague and instinctive behavior is not demonstrated as soon as may be, but only in the most stressing situations. A habit to be civilized still prevails in the Plague. Freud is unable to find a way out of this conflict and his late confessions like â€Å"readiness for a universal love of mankind and the world represents the highest standpoint which man can reach† (Freud 91) sound futile and unrelated to the subject matter. In contrast to this, his conclusion that â€Å"One feels inclined to say that the intention that man should be ‘happy' is not included in the plan of ‘Creation. † (Freud 53) seems to tally up the entire Freud’s work. The more people tend to become good and orderly, the worse shall be the following explosion of the â€Å"steam boiler†. Human nature is unchangeable and wild for Freud. Camus idea of the role of instinctive side of human nature is different. Men are good after all, and even their instincts can be enjoyable. One of the last scenes of the novel occurs on the seashore. The author and a friend of him go swimming symbolically both cleaning themselves from plague and returning to natural roots of their personality. Unknown† and â€Å"uncontrolled† dies not surely mean â€Å"bad† for Camus. A disaster does reveal the hidden, it strips individual personalities to reveal their most suppressed inclinations, but who said that those inclinations are always bad? â€Å"What we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise† (Camus 306) concludes Camus. Such â€Å"optimism without hope† did give hope to the ruined Eu rope.

Website Usability of Coventry University Students Union Assignment

Website Usability of Coventry University Students Union - Assignment Example There are different ways usability can be determined for a given software product. These different ways are known as the usability evaluation methods. They include usability testing, usability inspection, and lastly, usability inquiry.In usability testing, we look at how users use the software product or website to accomplish various tasks. Then, as evaluators, we use the different results we receive from the whole process to determine whether the user interface is usable enough to support the demands of users as they go about accomplishing their different tasks. Under usability testing there are several other different sub-methods (Nielsen, 1994). The sub methods include co-discovery learning, coaching method, question-asking protocol, performance measurement, shadowing method, thinking aloud protocol, remote testing, and lastly, teaching method.The next testing method or evaluation method for the usability of a software product or a website is usability inspection. In this case, as the software developer, or as a user and or a professional in the usability field, we look at the various aspects of the user interface that are related to each other. There are different ways of doing this. We could decide to do this using pluralistic walk through, or using cognitive walkthroughs, or heuristic evaluation, or feature inspection, and lastly, through perspective based inspection. The last evaluation method is done through, usability inquiry. In this evaluation method, as professionals and evaluators, we talk to the users.... Under usability testing there are several other different sub-methods (Nielsen, 1994). The sub methods include co-discovery learning, coaching method, question-asking protocol, performance measurement, shadowing method, thinking aloud protocol, remote testing, and lastly, teaching method. The next testing method or evaluation method for the usability of a software product or a website is usability inspection. In this case, as the software developer, or as a user and or a professional in the usability field, we look at the various aspects of the user interface that are related to each other. There are different ways of doing this. We could decide to do this using pluralistic walk through, or using cognitive walkthroughs, or heuristic evaluation, or feature inspection, and lastly, through perspective based inspection. The last evaluation method is done through, usability inquiry. In this evaluation method, as professionals and evaluators, we talk to the users to find out information ab out what they like about the product we are giving them. In this process, the target or aim is to get to know the dislikes, the likes, the needs, as well as the understanding of the users. This can be done by watching them use the system to do real work, or through talking to them and asking them questions and noting down the answers. Additionally, the questions could be written or asked aurally. The different ways inquiry evaluation takes place is through, focus groups, field observation, interviews, questionnaires, proactive field study and so on and so forth. www.cusu.org is the website run by the Coventry University Students Union. The Coventry University Students’ Union, abbreviated CUSU, represents the voice of the students

Open Innovation in Service Sectors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Open Innovation in Service Sectors - Essay Example As a way of meeting the expansion and evolution in the service sector, which is mostly focused on changes in customer preferences for service delivery, players within the service sector have used research and development (R&D) to identify specific changes that customers desire, so that they can direct or focus their attention on these areas of change. Once companies and institutions adopt this strategy to change with the changing environment in which they do business, we say the companies are engaged in innovation (Harabi 2005). Writing on innovation within the service sectors, Hagedoorn and Cloodt (2003) pointed out that the rate of change and expansion experienced of late demands that companies do just more than the traditional idea of innovation. It is in light of this that writers and reviewers have followed up with research on the most advanced ways in which the service sector can make the best use of innovation. Lately, companies such as LEGO, Barclays Bank and British Broadcas t Corporation (BBC) have introduced the all new term of open innovation in the transaction of most of the businesses they are engaged in, as a way of building on the traditional ideas of innovation. ... On his part, Chesbrough (2003) sees open innovation as a meta-innovation that involves the practice of co-creating with customers in the service industry, where it is traditionally said that for customers to have their way in specifying what they want is very difficult because the experience there is tacit (Meyer 2012). By implication, it can be said that it is the customer that decides on the value of innovation as most forms of changes in the service industry are focused on changes in customer preferences for service delivery. From this opinion, the external stakeholder base that is talked about could be said to be the customer. In some other fields of study, open innovation in the service sector has been regarded to go beyond the customer and include a larger non-shareholder stakeholders such as suppliers, quality assurance teams and marketers (Johne & Storey 2008). A similar definition was put up by Chesbrough (2003, p. 3) who this time round explained open innovation as ‘a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology’. For various organisations, open innovation has been approached using different models and parameters of change. For example, LEGO, Barclays Bank and BBC have all used different models of open innovation, which gives a signal that the best way to approach open innovation in the service sector is to open the concept according to what a company is involved in (Gallouj 2002). Open innovation is also expected to have three major phases made up of transition strategy, dynamic management practice and open innovation culture. These

Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services Essay

Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services - Essay Example Ethical issues in organizations touch on the workers honesty, respect and trust. Ethics also deal with the way an organizations leadership conducts its affairs and the type of leadership adopted and the culture in the organization. An example of an ethical issue is whether the managers should seek the views of the other workers or who should make decisions. Failure to engage all members of the staff in decision making is an ethical issue in which the managers should reflect on whether what they are doing is good or bad. The choice of management’s decision cannot be resolved in a court of law although this influences the motivation in an organization. The other example of an ethical issue is on how an employee behaves towards their seniors. For instance when the opinion of an employee is ignored in a meeting despite this observation being helpful to organization can strain the relationship between the management and the other workers but one cannot be resolved in court. Impacts of diversity on human capital management and development in an organization According to Choi and Rainey (2010), the American workforce is continuously becoming more diversified due to greater access of equal employment opportunities for the minorities and women. Choi and Rainey (2010) describe that early research on workplace diversity focused on the individual and organizational outcomes; concluding that diversity provides a great opportunity and challenge to the organization. Consequently they argue that understanding the impacts of diversity on the organizational results such as employee satisfaction and organizational performance is critical. Choi and Rainey (2010) affirms that researchers have come to a... Diversity at workplace is can be an important aspect in ensuring organizational effectiveness. However, if diversity is not properly managed it could lead to conflicts and miscommunication leading to poor team work and problems in management. The laws require all organizations to be diverse by complying with the provisions of equal opportunities commission. Discrimination may not be intentional in all circumstances since implementation of some organizational policies may lead to disparate impact and disparate treatment. In the case study of CitySide Financial Services, the bank is locking out African-American from holding managerial positions in the External Deposits units in a claim of trying to be responsive to the kind of customers served in the unit. To deal with ethical and legal issues that can arise in an organization, businesses need to seek the opinion of a legal expert. Moreover, organizations can manage diversity through adoption of a lean management hierarchy that coordin ates and resolves conflicts with it.

Advertising through Video Games Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

Advertising through Video Games - Coursework Example However, building a brand that can withstand the test of time and retain its undisputed position among the consumers is definitely not an easy task. As human creativity coupled with technological advancements is on a constant inclination, companies face challenges from all sides. Companies are always pushed to the extremes of being the leaders of the global market than mere survivors. The concept of 'blue ocean markets' has now become a clich as every market sector throngs with more and more companies with relentless aim to carve a niche market for themselves. In such scenarios, strategic companies go beyond the textbooks of brand equity and charter the new areas. One such medium that possesses promise, to loft almost every brand today is the Video Gaming arena.Human brain has always been looking for newer aspects in the various categories faced in life. As the consumer's vision of gaining information over the radio and television has drifted to the newer and faster technologies like computers, there was a necessity to hire new methodologies to reach out for them. The best method to involve the consumers of all age groups was to focus on the advertising aspects through Video Games.This paper mainly aims at studying the factors involved and the prospective benefits that advertising through video games brings about. As a part of its endeavor to answer the primary question, the paper also presents several insights into the world of brand equity. The research also concentrates upon various intangible factors related to the brand of a company that differentiates it's product in the market. It presents the importance of a strong brand value, its importance in modern marketing and the various factors that carve a brand for a product. For a better understanding we also study the pattern of advertising video games right from its evolution. Finally it also throws light on the lesser studied world of video gaming, the enormous prospects it holds and how it can act as a bo on to a company. Results of various research works are analyzed based on the consumer perceptions, effect of product placements and so on. The research is conducted basically to try and understand the tangible results that advertising through video gaming provides. Introduction Research has clearly proved that the consumer's perception has a direct relationship to a brand's market value and consequently the success of the business. Attitudes and perceptions of consumers build the overall brand equity for a particular product. Marketers of various companies invest large amounts of money and time into molding the consumer perceptions about their goods. As for some clients a brand of a product is the matter of prestige and pride, it is easier to set a mark on such mindsets. It is very obvious that, if the consumer is satisfied with the claims made by the company, he will join the company's clientele and remain there as long as the company backs out of the initial promise. A brand is considered as a promise made by the producer to the consumer about the various features embedded in the product. It mainly intensifies the quality of the product. Advertising has been the oldest and yet thriving means to shape the attitudes and perceptions of consumers about the pr oduct of a company. The advertising mediums have been taking various shapes based on time and technological aspects. IPSOS ASI, a leading advertising research company conducted a study comprising

Adopting Strategy and Operations Management Essay - 30

Adopting Strategy and Operations Management - Essay Example The author of the paper states that for the company’s operational perspective, they would be losing millions from the sales due to this market stagnation, but they must also augment it and continue and salvage what profit that could be had. Their target customers should be well informed of which stores are still operational so that somehow profits could still be derived while even offering discounts to entice the market. Business is always a gamble; it is something indefinite, uncertain, and ever-changing. It is important to be readily flexible in shifting and adapting operations should a profitable venture present itself. In an article by Sam Grobart for Bloomberg, he cites that mobile ads are garnering much profit for the companies that engage in it. In this age of social media and smartphones, the bridge of communication to the consumers can be easily bridged, which is why many companies should be shifting their attention into this. Google, which garners the most profit out of this, has also adopted its operations in a way wherein Android devices could also benefit. With the introduction of mobile-payment schemes, they have enabled their advertisers to have more of a monopolized attention to the consumers through their smartphones

Interim Assessment Report Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interim Assessment Report - Research Proposal Example Research objective Research objectives are the most important elements of a study. It is often regarded as the foundation of a research work (Babbie, 2012; Kumar, 2005). Moreover, the scope of the research is also established on the basis of the objectives of the study. This study principally aims to examine the impact of mobile search &social media on brand awareness, marketing and liberalization in Saudi Arabia. However, the study also has other objectives as well. The different objectives are presented below: - To identify the influence of mobile search & social media on brand awareness, marketing and liberalization in Saudi Arabia. To recognize how social media can drive customers towards a business and how it can help companies to embrace loyal customers. To identify the best or the most popular social media in Saudi Arabia. To explore how the indentified social media is helpful for the common people and business houses of Saudi Arabia. To identify how mobile search & social med ia can be used by business houses to investigate the business environment and simultaneously bring innovation to the business. To create an independent model to survey the business environment by employing mobile search & social media. ... In the similar context, O'Leary (2004) put emphasis on the fact that what used to be defined with ease 30-40 years back has now become exceedingly complex in the recent times. One of the obvious reasons is the rapidly changing business scenario and arrival of different type of research methods. Thus, which used to hold true 30-40 years back, not hold fully acceptable or not at all acceptable in the present days. In general, there are two broad research paradigms namely positivism and interpretivism. Positivism is often referred to as a scientific method of doing a research. A researcher believing in this philosophy considers realism as true and can be expressed from the viewpoint of an objective (Tobin &Joseph, 2006). Another significant differentiating factor between the two philosophies is that positivists considers quantitative analysis as the more reasonable and helps to draw a logical solution of the subject of concern. Researches believing in this philosophy often consider ques tionnaire survey, online polls, surveys as the best way of collecting data (Blaxter, Hughes & Tight, 2006; Scharff, 2002). The interpretivism philosophy on the other hand believes in anti-positivism concept. They do not consider reality to be stable or reality is articulated from the objective viewpoint. On the contrary, they regard reality is not stable and is constantly changing (Creswell, 2003). Furthermore, they also believe that the behavior of human being is constantly changing as the surrounding in which they exist, strongly impacts them. The researchers belonging to this category also tries to unearth the perception of people about the circumstances in which they exists (Mukherji & Albon, 2009). The differentiating

Girl Interrupted Character Analysis Essay Example for Free

Girl Interrupted Character Analysis Essay Borderline personality disorder is characterized by intense shifts in mood. This is often accompanied by periods of intense aggression, substance abuse, and self damaging behaviors. People with borderline personality disorder will sometimes attempt suicide impulsively in periods of extreme depression or anger. Often times people with borderline personality disorder feel extremely bored, empty, mistreated and alone. Intense feelings of loneliness usually are followed by frantic efforts to avoid being alone. Suzanne is initially institutionalized for taking a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka. She claims that she was not trying to kill herself, but only get rid of a headache. At the beginning Suzanne claimed that she had no bones in her hand. This fits more with a delusional disorder. Suzanne often exhibits spontaneous damaging behavior that is mainly sexual. Other spontaneous behaviors include breaking out of the hospital, stealing her medical files, and not taking medication. She also aids in drugging a nurse and steals a guitar from the art room to help cheer up another patient. Spontaneous dangerous behavior is one of the major signs of borderline personality disorder. Suzanne has strange ideas about her symptoms and diagnosis, the major example being the bones in her hand disappearing and then reappearing. She often seeks to be alone; shows many social anxieties around people and had a lack of close friends on outside of the hospital. These symptoms go along with schizotypal personality disorder. Contradictions to the possible schizotypal personality disorder would include that she is sometimes the life of the party which falls in line more with borderlines. She also desperately seeks male attention leading to her promiscuous sexual behavior that goes against the seeking of complete isolation often exhibited by others with scizotypal personality disorder. Her social anxieties are not clear in the movie and it is unknown whether they are because of negative feelings about her or whether she has paranoid fears. Despite the schizotypal possibility it is more likely that she has borderline personality disorder. This is because she clearly exhibits the majority of the signs of someone with borderline personality disorder including self destructive behavior, feelings of emptiness, intense shifts in mood lasting only a short period of time, consistent suicide ideation, feelings of rejection and not fitting in. Even the schizotypal symptoms can be explained by borderline personality disorder. People with borderline personality disorder often have odd thinking, quasipsychosis, and unusual perceptions. Although Suzanne showed symptoms of many types of disorders, the Borderline that she was diagnosed with was the most fitting and prevelant in her actions in the movie.

The Poetry of the First World War Essay Example for Free

The Poetry of the First World War Essay Does the Poetry of the First World War reflect the changing attitudes to War? Poems in the early part of the First World War were pro war which means that they were saying that the war was good fun with women and uniforms. The main aims of the poems were to get men to join the army and fight the Germans. After two years of the war in July 1916 the battle of the Somme took place, 60,000 English soldiers died each day. Anti war poems started to be written about how bad war really was, but these poems were hardly ever published in newspapers or magazines, as they still wanted men to join up to fight. The two pro war poems that I have chosen are Fall In by Harold Begbie and Whos for the Game by Jessie Pope. The Recruiting poems of 1914 were required because, unlike most European countries, we did not have conscription and therefore did not have a large army. They saw the war was going to be long and hard and recruiting poems and posters made people volunteer for the army until conscription was introduced in 1916. Fall In by Harold Begbie does exactly what it is meant to do. It makes people feel ashamed about not going and fighting for your country. The title Fall In is like a command, which they use in the army saying you must fall in, group together and fight. It also has another meaning say you are going to fall in to the army. You do not have a choice but you will fall in. Begbie says: What will you lack, sonny, what will you lack. When the girls line up on the street, shouting their love to the lads come back These are the first three lines and are saying that when the other men who joined up for the army come back, you will be left on your own with all the girls wanting the army men. And grin till your cheeks are red? Here the man Begbie is talking about his embarrassment about not being in the war and his face is going red. When your children yet to be clamour to learn of the part you played Begbie is saying that if you have children who are yet to be born and they want to know about what you did in the war, what will you do when you cannot answer them? You will miss out on your children looking up to you; this is what Begbie is saying. When you sit by the fire in an old mans chair and your neighbours talk of the fight Again Begbie is telling you when your friends will talk about the war for years to come they will not respect you when you answer that you did not go. Begbie is saying that you will miss the respect from friends. Your head shamed and bent? Or say I was not the first to go. But I went, thank God, I went Begbie is saying this to make people who have not gone to war yet feel that it does not matter that you have not gone yet, but there is still time to join to get all the things I just said you will miss. In the last stanza Begbie is saying if you do not join up and the war was lost it will be your fault that we lost. Begbie is trying to make the shirkers feel ashamed for not volunteering by telling them of the things they will miss out on. Things like, the women when you return from war, by your children looking up to you and the respect of your friends and neighbours when they talk about the war in years to come. Then towards the end of the poem he says that you can join up now, you were not the first to go but you went. The second pro war poem I will look at is Whos for the Game? by Jessie Pope. The great soldier poet, Wilfred Owen, particularly detested her. In this poem she tries to make war sound like a game. The poem is based on the game rugby. Pope says: Whos for the game, the biggest thats played? She is saying who wants to join the army, come on, its just a game come and play. Who would much rather come back with a crutch, Than lie low and be out of the fun? Pope is saying that it is better if you go to war and get injured than just having to lie low, rather than people talking about you not going to war and missing out on all the fun of war. Throughout the poem Jessie Pope uses slang, sit tight and up to her neck. She does this because it will be young men joining the army and they do not want to be sitting in the pub reading a formal poem, which they will not understand and just read the first line and put it down. They want to read in the way most of these men would talk. Rupert Brooke was a highly popular pro war poet. He was unaware of the conditions in the trenches which motivated by poets such as Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg and Siegfried Sesson on the front line. The two anti war poems I have chosen are Dulce et Decorum Est and Disabled. I felt that of the poems that I was given to choose from, these two told a tragic story of what war was really like. Wilfred Owen at the time seemed to be bitter. His reason for being bitter is that he read the pro war poetry by writers such as Jessie Pope, who was writing about the joys of war, how fun it was and how the ladies will love you. I have chosen Dulce Est because the poem describes the hardships for a group of soldiers who have to struggle through the life of war in the trenches. I have chosen Disabled because it shows the struggle of one man who has lost his legs and his arms at the elbow. All he has are the memories and they seem to become more distant as the days go on. Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patri Moria translated into English means It Is Sweet And Honourable To Die For Ones Country. If someone is reading the poem for the first time and learns of the English meaning of the title before reading the poem they may feel it is a poem that makes you think of the army in a good way. After reading the poem a number of times I have come to a conclusion that Owen named the poem this because of the strong statement that he makes in the poem. In a way I get the feeling that Owen was mocking the saying but I dont think he was mocking the army as a whole. The first stanza is not like how a pro war poem starts they are not all having a laugh wearing nice uniform, being cheered at by the ladies, they are staggering through mud, tired bleeding, and this is was Owen wanted you to think what war was really like. Owen says Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags Own is trying to say that these men came into the army as fit young men and now war has turned them into old hags, bent over and staggering. Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs The soldiers are fed up. They are so tired that even when the flares go off behind them they dont have the energy or even feel like turning around to see them. And towards our distant rest The reader and the men are lured into a false sense of security as we think they are safe from bombs. Blood shod Owen says this because they have been walking for a long time and is like they are wearing shoes of blood but what he is really saying is they have been treated like animals because Horses hoofs are shod. The men have been treated in an inhumane way, like they are worthless. Drunk with fatigue Owen is saying that the soldiers are so tired that it is as though they are drunk. Owen is trying too saying that the soldiers are as though they dont know entirely what they are doing. They are just being led along like zombies. Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind them Fine-Nines are gas bombs that the Germans used in the war. Owen is saying that the men are so tired that they are just blanking out the sounds of these gas bombs, as they are behind the lines and think they are not in range. The bombs are personified as is they are moving slowly and are weary. The pace of the poem quickens in the 2nd stanza. The soldiers are woken by a gas attack. This effectively shatters the mood that Owen has told of us in the opening stanza. The soldiers are now woken by the fact that their lives are in danger and they now have to be fully aware of all their surroundings. Owen says Gas! GAS! Quick boys! The men have just woken up they are still half-asleep the first sign of Gas is in lower case as they have just seen what going on. The second GAS is the man shouting for their lives as they try to find their gas masks. Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning The green light Owen talks about is the gas falling down on them. Owen uses a simile saying that the man is drowning in a green sea, which he means by the colour of the gas looking like the sea. The reality is that the man is drowning, when a gas attack takes place, the lungs fill up with fluid and drown on your own bodily fluids. The ecstasy of fumbling Owen does not mean that there is an adrenaline rush. But medically it means a morbid state of nerves, which means that your nerves are making you think of one thing to do, which in this case, is to put your gas masks on. Fitting the clumsy helmets Owen is either saying that the men are clumsy in putting the helmets on or the helmets clumsy by letting the gas in. Owen tells us how this memory has stayed with him. The sight of a dying man lunging at him in a plea for his life. In the short 3rd stanza, Owen seems to have a great fear of the gas attacks when he talks of them. Owen talks of all of the nightmares he has had because of the war and this event. Owen says In all my dreams before my helpless sight Owen is dreaming about that man, which was dying before him Owen dreams about it because there was no way in which he could help him. The 4th stanza is back to the slow pace of the 1st stanza. In this stanza Owen is accusing the pro war poets of doing this, making young men to join the army and just to go to their deaths. He was addressing mainly Jessie Pope because on the original draft he writes under the title, To Jessie Pope He describes how the man was taken away and then Owen walked behind and saw his face. Owen is still haunted by the nightmare. If in some smothering dream Owen describes his dreams as smothering because when he sleeps that is all he can think of the man dying. We flung him in The dead bodies are treated like meat there are so many deaths it becomes like a routine thing. In the first stanza he say blood shod like animals are shod once again here is another reference to them being treated like animals. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children or ardent for some desperate glory. Owen is saying that if you could see the things he had seen then you would not believe the lies that the pro war poets tell you. By saying this he is expressing the bitterness he has not only for the army but the situation as a whole. Owen adds more examples of this throughout the last stanza. Owens main question to the reader in the last stanza is before going into the army think carefully of what you are doing as you might get and see something in great contrast to what you may have imagined. The poem is describing a terrible shocking death by gas, how can it be sweet and honourable to die for ones country if you die like this. This is the country that sold him the old lie. Dulce ET decorum est. pro patria moria. In Disabled Owen is describing a man who has no legs and his arms have been amputated at the elbow. He is in an institute, a nursing home of some sought. This poem is an angry response to the type of patriotic poetry with made light of disability and which glorified death. Instead of writing and millions of dead or injured, he focuses on one person. Disability is not on the battlefield with bombs going off and people being blown up, it is at home, after the war, after the glory of winning. People will only think about the men who died in the war, not the people how have been, dehumanised and will have to sit in some home for the rest of the their lives. This is why the poem comes across as so shocking because in the days of the war people didnt know about the disabled people just about the people who died. Till gathering sleep The man is waiting for the night to come for him to sleep, as he hates to die, as he cannot do anything. I think the man sees sleeping as an alternative to death and he wants to end his life. Owen tell us about how he used to be, before he became injured, he used to like going out to have fun on the town at night, but now he just wants to go to bed and forget about the memories At the start of the 4th stanza it says, One time hed liked a blood-smear down his leg, This is ironic as he liked getting injured and bleeding and it is as if he enjoyed it now it has got it a millions time worse. It was after football, when hed drunk a peg. Hes thought hed better join He had drunk a peg of beer so he was probably not in the right frame of mind when he decided to join the army. It also says Someone had said hed look a god in kilts, Thats why; and may be, too, to please his Meg He is saying that he joined the army because he would look good in a uniform. I many of the pro war poems say that is one of the good things about war the uniform. He also joined because of a girl called Meg, who he was trying to impress, which it also says in pro war poems that when you join the army you get all the women wanting to be with you. The young man had lied to get in to the army Smiling they wroth his lie; aged nineteen years The men who were recruiting even knew that he was lying but they still wrote his name down. Germans he scarcely thought of he join the war note knowing about what was going on he had never thought about the Germans before. He talks about the evenings. He says that at this time the towns atmosphere was fun and happy everyone is dancing having fun. Owen makes the town sound romantic so that would feel for the man more. He says the girls look upon like he has some kind of disease. He talks of how he will never again feel the waist of a woman. He also talks about how he threw away his knees in the war. His was once a lovely face which now he looks old. His back is now in a brace and this was the back that was not so long ago was a strong as anything. He has lost his colour just like losing blood. He feels as though he has poured his life away down endless shell holes; he wonders what he has been given for this. Nothing. And leap of purple spurted from his thigh. Owen says And no fears of fear have come yet He had thoughts of all the swords and other weaponry that he would receive in the army. He had great thoughts of wearing the smart uniform. He thought that playing football was great, the buzz he got from the cheering. People thought of him as hero. He thought that people would cheer for him in the army; he wanted to be a hero in the army. He thinks of the army spirit, the pride in his unit. He tells about how he was given cheers and the noise of the drums as he leaves. He is so very optimistic. When he is brought back the cheers were not like the ones before the cheers are in contrast to what he imagined. This is ironic to him. Only a few people cheered when he came back only one man inquired this man was the priest. He will spend the next few years doing as the rules say. People will just take pity on him. He talks of how the women ignore him for the strong people. People with all their body. His final thoughts of the poem are one of total depression. He thinks that life is pointless. He is so helpless he cant go to bed without someone being there to help him. He feels as though he only has a few years left. He wants to be put to death as he feels like he has nothing to offer or that his life tolerable and he feels as though nothing that he does or feels will make him feel his life is worth it. As you can see from both poems they are very powerful. Each of the two poems makes a statement. One difference between the poems is that Dulce Est is a view on the army that concerns a whole array of the army. With Disabled it is just a description of the pain of one person. One thing that I feel both poems have in common is that they both talk about how they were lied to and how they were sold a lie. This is true, If a person wanted an example of army life at its worst then I would show them Dulce ET Decorum. However if I was asked about a poem that describes a poem where a person can see how the war affected people. II would recommend the latter Disabled is in my opinion the most moving of the stories as it represents a mans struggle for his life. This man can offer nothing to his country now. He cant even offer himself something that he feels will make his staying alive worth it. Whilst the majority of the people in Dulce Et are still alive this mans soul, has in effect died. He has lost his colour and cant get used to the fact that he is unpopular. I find Dulce Et Decorum to be the more shocking of the two poems. My reasons are as follows, although Disabled is a very moving and powerful poem in its own right, it only describes the view of one person in the army. I think that what makes Dulce Et so powerful is that Owen speaks for the masses in the army when he talks of the daily horrifying sights and regular attempts by the Germans to gas them. Reading these poems can enlighten a person. Many people say that they live stressful lives and are under extreme pressure. If you think of what these young men must have gone through it can put a lot of things in to perspective. Day in day out these men had to have the weight of a nation on their shoulders this is before they have to dodge land mines and gas attacks.