Merchant of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

Antonio, a Venetian merchant, complains of melancholy; his friend Bassanio asks for a loan to travel to Belmont to court the beautiful heiress, Portia. Antonio agrees, but says that he must borrow the money from one of the city's moneylenders because all of his ships are at sea. At Belmont, Portia is also melancholy because, according to the terms of her father's will, she must marry the man who chooses the casket (out of a choice of gold, silver or lead) containing her portrait. If he chooses wrongly, he is condemned to remain unmarried forever. Antonio approaches Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, to ask for a loan. Shylock hates Antonio and tricks him into promising to forfeit a pound of flesh if he cannot pay in time. Shylock's daughter Jessica elopes with the Christian gentleman Lorenzo. Bassanio, accompanied by friend Gratiano, departs for Belmont. The Prince of Morocco comes to Belmont and chooses the wrong casket; meanwhile, in Venice, rumors swirl that Antonio's ships have been lost at sea. The Prince of Arragon also chooses the wrong casket, and then Bassanio arrives at Portia's house. He and Portia fall in love, and he makes the correct choice (the lead casket), but their happiness (and that of Gratiano, who will marry Portia's lady-in-waiting, Nerissa) is interrupted by news that Antonio has lost all his money and failed to pay the debt, and Shylock is demanding his pound of flesh. In Venice, Antonio is taunted by Shylock, who refuses to listen to reason. Portia disguises herself as a man and secretly follows Bassanio to Venice. The Duke of Venice presides over the trial. When Shylock refuses to accept Bassanio's offer to repay the loan, the Duke announces that he has called on a legal expert to settle the matter. A letter arrives from the expert, saying that he has sent one of his brightest pupils to pass judgment--the pupil is Portia, who arrives dressed as a young lawyer. She reads the contract, and declares that Shylock is entitled to the flesh. The moneylender praises her, but Portia then adds that the contract says nothing about shedding blood, so Shylock must cut the flesh without making Antonio bleed or else be arrested for shedding a Christian's blood. Shylock angrily retreats and says that he will take Bassanio's money, but Portia denies him even this, declaring that he has conspired against a Venetian citizen's life and thus his own life is forfeit.

Human Population Essay

Census Bureau of the United States has estimated that the current world human population is about 6,818,500,000 people. In 2009 the United Nation estimated the world human population to be around 6,800,000,000. This is an indicator that the human population is growing at a very alarming rate with an annual birth rate of approximately 134 million per year against 57 million deaths (Freeman. 1974). The alarming increment in the number of human on earth has raised queries as to whether the planet earth is becoming over populated. The human population is experiencing scarcity of resources due to the overpopulation. In order to them to counter this problem they have come up with ways that have in turn threatened the ecosystem. For instance there planet earth is warming up, the air is being populated, and the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have risen (Freeman. 1974). It is estimated America enjoyed a low population of less than 100 million in the years 1950s. During this period there was a series of epidemics that were believed to have been introduced by their encounter with the explorers from Europe leading high death rates. Evidences provided by archaeologists indicated that most deaths of the current world were cause by diseases by the old world such as influenza, smallpox, and measles. However, with time the natives developed immunity towards these diseases (Collinson. 2002). The life expectancy for children increased tremendously in the 18th Century and so did the human population due to introduction of vaccines, effective medication, and improved sanitation. As a result the United Kingdom alone is said to have doubled in every 50 years population. India’s population has since grown from 125 million in 1750s to 1. billion. The 20th Century recorded the highest increment in human population worldwide. This is also attributed to increased agricultural produce and improved medical knowhow (Collinson. 2002). Researchers have indicated that the rate of population growth has decreased except in the Middle East, Latin America and Sub-Saharan. However some countries such as Eastern and Central Europe and experiencing negative factors as a result of decrease in population. Japan and Western Europe are said to fact similar threats in the near future as a result of change in fertility pattern. A study done by the United Nation in 2006 showed that the drop in population growth was as a result of demographic transition. The report also indicated that should this pattern of growth remain unchanged, there might be zero rate of growth by the year 2050. Research indicates that Asia has the largest number of people of approximately 3. 8 billion, which is 60% of the world human population, while Africa has 12% (Zuckerman. 1996). Prediction The rapid increases in human population lead Thomas Malthus to predict in 1798 that the world would run short of food supply by the mid 19th Century. Paul R.  Ehrilich, in 1968 predicted that famine would occur in 1970s and 1980s. However various economists challenged them as various measures had been put in place to counter the foreseen problem. For instance, the massive awareness of green revolution lead to increase in food production whose increment has been concurrent with the rapid growth of the population. Analysts have however warned that despite the increase in food production, the prices are sky rocketing making its accessibility to those who have the means, and thus a larger number of human population experiencing malnutrition (Collinson. 002). Green Revolution The introduction of Green Revolution lead a 250% increase in food production for the year 1950 to 1984. However, the green revolution being supported by fuel irrigation among other things such as pesticides and fertilizers lead to acute prices of food. Therefore, despite the discovery saving the continent from dire famine, it has not entirely addressed the accessibility of food by the poor. United Nation reported that as at 2005 approximately 850 million people were facing malnutrition due to lack of purchasing power of food. The high production of oil is an indicator that oil is crucial for daily survival. Farming is now mechanized where by bio-fuel is required which has had an effect on the prices of the farm produce (Freeman. 1974). Overpopulation Overpopulation is said to be a serious threat for the next generation. Generally is a state whereby there are more humans on earth than the earth can handle; in terms of provision of enough resources that would make them live happily and live it a fit place for the next generation users. However some countries provide incentives for people to increase their birth rate. This is said to have an impact of the growth of the economy and military security. Other critics have challenged such countries saying that the world is overpopulated and that failure to control birth rate is in fact increasing death rate by default. On one hand, some politicians call for countries, especially MDCs to increase their population size to maintain their economic growth and military security. On the other hand, critics denote that one out of five people living here today is not properly supported and believe that the world is already limited in resources (Freeman. 974). Causes of Rapid Human Population Growth The world has seen a rapid increase in human population due to low death rate and increased birth rates. Above all the high skilled science and technological advancement have contributed in reduction of death rates. These innovations lead to increment in production and supply of food, the public health sector has been able to provide clean water and sanitation as wel l as introduction of effective antibiotics and vaccines which have contributed to prolonging human lives. In the past developing countries way of life was wanting. However, there has been the processes of education and global interactions that has lead to enhancement in their standards of living, and thus longitivity of lives. These innovations have seen discovery of treatment for diseases that once killed so many people such as measles, malaria, and flu (Zuckerman. 1996). Food Production and Distribution There also has been innovation in the agricultural sector, the biggest break through being genetically modified food as well as irrigation. For instance in the United states there was an increase in production from 631 million tones to 1. 65 billion tones between the years 1950 and 1984. This is an indicator that the amount of food produce increased tremendously that can cater for increasing human population (Hutchinson. 2008). These technologies has also allowed new breed of seeds, fertilizers and modern machinery which in turn has lead to expansion of agricultural sectors across the globe. Studies indicate the production of food has increased by 24% in the last 10 years. However, these expansion in food produce has not been witness evenly particularly in African Countries. Researchers have also confirmed that there is no food shortage in the world, but equitable distribution should be considered. There are very many people particularly in African countries that do not have sufficient cash to buy food (Collinson. 2002). Public Health Survival of daily living is depended on basic needs such as safety shelter, food, and clean water. Initially inaccessibility of clean water would contribute to wiping out children from cholera. Studies indicate that in the year 1990, less than 50% of the human populations were capable of getting access to safe drinking water, however there has been in increase of accessibility of clean water to 75% afterwards. It was forecast that the accessibility to clean and safe drinking water was to increase by 14% in the year 2000 throughout the world (Hutchinson. 2008). Housing Due to the rapid increase in human population, there has been the need to expand on housing. This has therefore resulted in evolution of urban centers which are highly populated. Due to high demand in housing, accommodation has become very expensive. As a result there has emerged high class, middle class, and low class societies. The poor are forced to live in slums, whereby women and children are exposed to threats such as rape and exploitation. There have been strategies by various governments throughout the world to eradicate poverty in vain. Cheap housing schemes have been designed by some governments; unfortunately the number of the poor is appalling (Collinson. 2002). Consequences Studies have confirmed that the poorest countries have the largest number of human population. Research has also confirmed that there is a correlation between poverty and fertility as well as high child hood mortality rate. Therefore the people who enjoy high standards of living have low fertility rates, these people also have a longer life span as opposed to the poor as well as lower infant mortality rate. In a nutshell poverty and overpopulation are associates of increase of death and diseases. This is because lack of adequate sanitary housing and clean drinking water lead to health issues (Freeman. 1974). Developing countries have the highest number of human population as opposed to the developed countries. For instance one in every five persons in the Soviet countries live below the poverty line, as opposed to one of every eight person in America. Poverty is said to have been caused by the acute increase in population after the end of the 2nd World War. Poverty has the lead to death of mankind. Instead of allowing poverty to persist, it is important to limit our number be-cause in dense populations too many lack adequate food, water, shelter, education and employment. High fertility, which has been traditionally associated with prosperity, prestige, and security for the future, now jeopardizes chances for many to achieve health and security (Hutchinson. 008). Many governmental and non governmental organizations have been set up to ensure that the projected population in the coming years will be concurrent with production of food, water, heath care, technology, and education. For instance the development countries have put in efforts to ensure that both the social and economic conditions are at par. Programmes such as World Food Programme have been designed to ensure equitable distribution of food especially in developing count ries.

Vincor International Analysis

Vincor International goal is to become one of the top five wine companies in the world in terms of earnings. In order to attain this goal they have implemented a corporate strategy that focuses on using their existing powerful position in market to help them developing sales, marketing, distribution capabilities on an international scale. The strategy also includes acquiring new wineries and wine brands in new emerging region in the wine market also called â€Å"New World regions†(Vincor, 2005) throughout the world. More precisely Vincor International strategy for growing the market shares involved the six following strategic actions: â€Å"(1) emphasizing the development, sales and marketing of wines in the fastest growing segments of the market, particularly the premium wine segments; (2) continuing to participate in the premium wine category through the development of premium brands that we own; (3) expanding the sales and distribution reach of our brands into regions which are supportive of New World wines; (4) continuing to complete acquisitions of premium branded wine companies in New World wine regions; (5) expanding the supply of premium grapes and, in particular, Canadian grapes to satisfy the growing demand for premium VQA wines; and (6) developing ice-wine into an international luxury product, capitalizing on the reputation of Inniskillin. † (Vincor, 2005) As for the â€Å"New world† (Vincor, 2005) expansions, Vincor strategic actions involve in growing in earnings are to improve operating income by acquiring new wineries and rationalizing and integrating the operations. This will also permits the expansion of the company’s product line and the expansion of the company’s currents brands by providing new distribution opportunities. Porter’s Five Forces Model Risk of Entry by potential competitors: Vincor International should not be overly threatened by the entry of potential competitors in their market. This is because the wine industry is a market with significantly high barriers of entry. In order to start a successful wine producing business a company needs significantly large capital investments. Given the complexity of the wine industry a strong knowledge is also needed in order to produce quality wine on par with competitors and understanding the market. Finally a new entrant will also be faced with a lengthy process in order to begin its business, licensing procedures and requirement are long and land and vineyard preparations make it for a prolonged initial production. Hence given these multiple obstacles the threat of new entrants for Vincor International is described as low. Intensity of rivalry among established firms: According to the Vincor International information form â€Å"the international wine industry is intensely competitive†. (Vincor International, 2005) This means that there is a lot of producers around the world that competes for shelf space and consumers taste. The rivalry is intense, the businesses in this market need to competitive on price, quality, brand recognition and/or distribution. The leading drivers in the wine industry that will be making the product stand out seem to be product quality. The Intensity of rivalry among established firms is described as high. Bargaining power of buyers: Vincor international have sales around the world and their principal buyers are consumers, wholesalers, government liquor boards and retail stores. When selling directly to consumers and retail stores the bargaining power lays with the buyer because there are so many wines to chose from. As for wholesales and government liquor board the bargaining power of buyer is even stronger because there are so few of them and there is a lot of wine to choose from. Hence, the bargaining power of buyers for Vincor International is very high and the company needs to find innovative ways and strategy to attract and keep its buyers. Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers all depends on the main product of wine, hence the wine grapes. It’ll rely on the relationship of demand and supply and demand of those wine grapes for the season. For instance if the grapes or having a good season and there is an unlimited amount of quality grapes then the bargaining power will rely with the buyer, hence the bargaining power of suppliers will be low for this particular season. However if the weather is not cooperating during the growth and there is a limited amount of grapes available to the buyer than the bargaining power will lay with the supplier and will be assessed to high for that season. Therefore the bargaining power of suppliers can change from season to season depending on the availability of quality grapes. It is also important to point out the bargaining power of supplier will also vary with the kind of wine produce, one kind of grape needed for a particular kind of wine can be abundant but another type of grape needed for a different type can be scarce. A good knowledge of the industry and weather can help a wine producer better manage the uncertainty of the bargaining power of suppliers from season to season. Vincor as tried to minimize the bargaining power by having owning their own vineyard and wineries so they supply their own grapes however they still buy 35% of their needed grapes from suppliers. Threat of substitutes: In the wine industry, the companies are faced with a vast variety of substitute. Basically any alcohol beverages from beer to champagne are a threat of substitutes. Depending on consumers taste wine can lose costumer shares to any other drinks. When a consumer as no particular taste preference for wine and consumer will chose another form of alcoholic beverage, a cheaper form if they are a price driven. Hence the threat of substitutes is assessed to high in the wine industry. Impact of the Macro-environment on Vincor International Vincor International is greatly affected by its political and legal environment because they are producing and selling a controlled substance. Hence in order to produce and sell wine Vincor must follow rules and regulations implemented by the country they are doing business in. Those rules and regulations includes how they produce their product, the distribution channels they utilize, where they sale their product, who they sale their product to and many other restrictions they must obey to. Also since Vincor is an international company it is also affected by the export policy of their home country but also the import policy of the country where they are selling their product. Any changed in taxes, currency value and economic changes in any country where they do business in will likely affect their revenue stream and operations. Another force affecting this market would be the changing demographic. The consumers are growing older and new consumers enter the market, hence the wine industry is faced with a changing age demographic. Wine has seen a increased in popularity in the younger generation however they have different tastes and it is important for Vincor to keep track of these trends and to adapt to the change in tastes of the changing demographic in order to stay competitive. Technological forces also affects Vincor International because the quality of the product plays an important role in their competitive advantage. Therefore they always have to keep up to date on new technology that would improve their wine quality. Technology can also help respond other changes in the outside environment, as we will see in the impact of social forces. Therefore the technological changes and new innovation must be taken into serious consideration to stay competitive. The social force that would most affect the wine industry including Vincor International would have to be one of the biggest social movements of the last decade, which is the shift towards a healthy lifestyle. (Hill, 2007) Health consciousness is not a positive thing for the wine industry because alcohol is perceived to be armful to your health. This is why it is important for Vincor to have a strategy to respond to this threat. Many companies in this industry have taken several approach to respond to this health trend and redefined competition. Strategies have been ranging from funding research to demonstrate the health benefits that comes from consuming wine to producing organic wine and even going as far as developing new wine production processes that aims at lowering the alcohol level in wine and calling it the â€Å"healthy wine†. (Sperling, 2010) On the national level the wine industry including Vincor International will be influence by the macroeconomic forces influencing Canada. The industries will most likely be affected by the growth rate of the economy and currency exchange. Since Canada has a currently good economy and the dollar is going strong Vincor is most likely experience an expansion of customer expenditures leading to less competitive pressure because Canadian customer are not currently struggling financially they are more likely to spend money on non essential items like wine. However the raise in the Canadian dollar compared to the US dollar will work against Vincor International’s exports business. A rising dollar will discourage other countries to import Canadian products because they now have to pay more for them. As for the global forces influencing the wine industry, globalization would have to be the main force. The falling barriers to international trade and investment have permitted Vincor international to grow their domestic market further than the United States and Mexico but also to Europe and other markets. Vincor International is therefore part of a global marketplace reaching a much greater consumer base but also leaving room for more intense competition from all the other international wine producers.

Observation and Reflection Essay

Observation My partner, Jude, and I were partners and we decided to observe the volleyball game at the gym. While watching the game, there was a group of PNUan girls that caught my attention. So I decided to let them be the subject of my observation. That group of girls was really wild and loud as opposed to the rest of the audience watching the game. They shouted and cheered for the PNU team. Whenever the team scores, they stood up and cheered at full volume. They even had this jingle that goes like this â€Å" P-N-U FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! † and sometimes mentioned a name of one of the players. But, I noticed that when the game started to reach its climax, those girls booed the opposing team every time they scored . Reflection: Maybe those girls are just really fond of watching volleyball games. Maybe they just want to show their support and encouragement to the PNU players that is why they were acting somewhat wild and loud. Actually, they are such good adherents of our Men’s Volleyball team because they were really at the top of their voices in cheering for the team. They also showed effort and commitment in supporting the team. But I find it ill-mannered when they started booing the other team. For me, it is good to support our players but supporting them does not include being rude to the others. They did not only humiliate their selves, but they have given shame to our school. In that simple action, they just showed that we PNUans are no better. But that is just my point of view. I learned from this experience, that simple actions can really affect your character. That even if you do a whole lot effort in doing something, if you stepped on someone’s dignity while on the way, it will never matter. We should always consider those people around us while performing our actions . We should practice thinking twice before we decide and do something. At the end of the day, what matters is on how we treat and associate with the people around us.

Identify and illustrate some of the dominant cultural values of modern Essay

Identify and illustrate some of the dominant cultural values of modern consumer societies - Essay Example Moreover, it is still a debatable issue whether modern consumerism has espoused globalised or localised philosophies (Merz et al. 2008: 166-182). Yet, literature on this topic has focused on finding the disparities between theoretical knowledge and its practical implementations. The main difficulty in arriving any conclusive model of consumer culture in modern societies is that social values and systems are too generic to hint at any distinctive features of consumerism. On one hand, the 21st century is market-centric. The pervasive market trends have engulfed everything material or immaterial. Theories of branding, especially those involving adolescent psychologies, clearly show how cultural propensities are directly regulated by the market economy (Naim et al. 2008: 627-640). On the other hand, this market driven economy fails to justify behaviours such as religious preferences or jingoism (Slater 1997: 24). This essay strives to discuss the key factors that can be held as probable identifiers of the dominant cultural values that underpin modern consumer societies. Culture is an abstract term for a number of social, economic and behaviorist aspects. The process of locating cultural attributes in any given society is extremely complex, for the notion of culture is highly de-territorialised due to regular intermingling of a diverse array of cultures across domestic as well as international borders. Hence, there is a pluralistic dimension to the study of ethnology in the context of consumerism (Craig and Douglas 2006: 322-342). The counter-culture movements in the 1960s may be examined in order to explore the subtleties of social hegemony and its impact on human culture. Market oriented economic practices in the modern era have not diffused into the realm of mass consumerism. Such practices are cultural properties of the elites who rule the economy of any given society. The mass, on the contrary, are compelled to using what is

Visual Perception (Psycology 101) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Visual Perception (Psycology 101) - Essay Example Thus the retinal stimuli or the image on the retina of the eye is pretty different to what is actually viewed by the eye in the first place. Scientists and doctors alike have been researching for a long time so as to understand the basis behind such an anomaly. The people who have interest at understanding this proposition thus make it a point to find out the exact basis of the visual processing which is taking place and the relationship that is formed up between the two as a result of the same. There has been some difficulty at understanding and thus translating the basis of visual perception and the eventual processing of the visual sense as to how the same creates or at times maintains what a person actually wants to see but the image is just not there at all. Thus this phenomenon holds a lot of ground for the people who fathom that eyes play a huge part in the development of the pictures that brain wants it to make and thus portray to the human being. It is for this reason that there has been work in the related field. As concerns to the unconscious or subconscious mind, we understand the fact that inference of an unconscious nature takes place. It was Hermann von Helmholtz who devised the study which was related with the visual perception. He stated that vision had a lot of part in the make up of the unconscious inference and thus it was contemplated that vision is indeed a part of the matter which discerns the basis for a probable understanding or interpretation as concerns to data which has not been considered complete by now. Gestalt theory also has its say in the make up of the visual perception discussion. With this, we find that Gestalt researchers raised a number of significant questions which had one thing or the other with the whole paradigm of visual perception. In fact they came out with the famous Gestalt laws of Organization which have to this day facilitated in the study of as to how people think

The Roman History of Cassius Dio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Roman History of Cassius Dio - Essay Example Suetonius and his work the â€Å"The lives of the twelve Caesars" gives us an insight into the character of Nero. While the emperor did not see any direct action in Britain, the causes for the revolt grew under his watch. Thus, one can argue that Nero's lack of concern or apathy towards the provinces and empire contributed to the revolt. As such, the main argument in favor of seeing Nero as responsible for the revolt is his lack of interest or complete disregard for the provinces. Accordingly, using the texts of the Dio, Tacitus, and Suetonius, this essay will first examine the circumstances surrounding the revolt of Boudicca and the manner in which Nero's behavior contributed towards it. The province of Britain did not have a very hostile population. In fact, Tacitus claims that "The Britons themselves submit to the levy, the tribute and the other charges of the empire with cheerful readiness†¦". Instead, the province, which was in charge of Suetonius Paulinus, revolted as a r esult of growing political and economic mistreatment by the Roman provincial administration. This reached a climax with the death of the King Prasutagus who ruled the Iceni autonomously. In his will, he divided his kingdom between Nero and his daughters in order to win approval with the imperial order. However, instead of winning favor, his queen, Boudicca, was flogged, his daughters ravaged and his family, along with those of other nobles were plundered. This incident, along with the abuses of the procurator and the governor, prompted Boudicca and a vast number of Britons to revolt. Further injustices against the Iceni included the takeover of their property by the procurator and the change in the status of their kingdom from autonomous to provincial. Furthermore, financial concessions made to the British earlier became void. Dio stated that the revolt cost approximately 80,000 Roman lives and almost destroyed the Ninth Legion.