A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixty-seven

Sansa In the tower room at the heart of Maegor's Holdfast, Sansa gave herself to the darkness. She drew the curtains around her bed, slept, woke weeping, and slept again. When she could not sleep she lay under her blankets shivering with grief. Servants came and went, bringing meals, but the sight of food was more than she could bear. The dishes piled up on the table beneath her window, untouched and spoiling, until the servants took them away again. Sometimes her sleep was leaden and dreamless, and she woke from it more tired than when she had closed her eyes. Yet those were the best times, for when she dreamed, she dreamed of Father. Waking or sleeping, she saw him, saw the gold cloaks fling him down, saw Ser Ilyn striding forward, unsheathing Ice from the scabbard on his back, saw the moment . . . the moment when . . . she had wanted to look away, she had wanted to, her legs had gone out from under her and she had fallen to her knees, yet somehow she could not turn her head, and all the people were screaming and shouting, and her prince had smiled at her, he'd smiled and she'd felt safe, but only for a heartbeat, until he said those words, and her father's legs . . . that was what she remembered, his legs, the way they'd jerked when Ser Ilyn . . . when the sword . . . Perhaps I will die too, she told herself, and the thought did not seem so terrible to her. If she flung herself from the window, she could put an end to her suffering, and in the years to come the singers would write songs of her grief. Her body would lie on the stones below, broken and innocent, shaming all those who had betrayed her. Sansa went so far as to cross the bedchamber and throw open the shutters . . . but then her courage left her, and she ran back to her bed, sobbing. The serving girls tried to talk to her when they brought her meals, but she never answered them. Once Grand Maester Pycelle came with a box of flasks and bottles, to ask if she was ill. He felt her brow, made her undress, and touched her all over while her bedmaid held her down. When he left he gave her a potion of honeywater and herbs and told her to drink a swallow every night. She drank it all right then and went back to sleep. She dreamt of footsteps on the tower stair, an ominous scraping of leather on stone as a man climbed slowly toward her bedchamber, step by step. All she could do was huddle behind her door and listen, trembling, as he came closer and closer. It was Ser Ilyn Payne, she knew, coming for her with Ice in his hand, coming to take her head. There was no place to run, no place to hide, no way to bar the door. Finally the footsteps stopped and she knew he was just outside, standing there silent with his dead eyes and his long pocked face. That was when she realized she was naked. She crouched down, trying to cover herself with her hands, as her door began to swing open, creaking, the point of the greatsword poking through . . . She woke murmuring, â€Å"Please, please, I'll be good, I'll be good, please don't,† but there was no one to hear. When they finally came for her in truth, Sansa never heard their footsteps. It was Joffrey who opened her door, not Ser Ilyn but the boy who had been her prince. She was in bed, curled up tight, her curtains drawn, and she could not have said if it was noon or midnight. The first thing she heard was the slam of the door. Then her bed hangings were yanked back, and she threw up a hand against the sudden light and saw them standing over her. â€Å"You will attend me in court this afternoon,† Joffrey said. â€Å"See that you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed.† Sandor Clegane stood at his shoulder in a plain brown doublet and green mantle, his burned face hideous in the morning light. Behind them were two knights of the Kingsguard in long white satin cloaks. Sansa drew her blanket up to her chin to cover herself. â€Å"No,† she whimpered, â€Å"please . . . leave me be.† â€Å"If you won't rise and dress yourself, my Hound will do it for you,† Joffrey said. â€Å"I beg of you, my prince . . . â€Å" â€Å"I'm king now. Dog, get her out of bed.† Sandor Clegane scooped her up around the waist and lifted her off the featherbed as she struggled feebly. Her blanket fell to the floor. Underneath she had only a thin bedgown to cover her nakedness. â€Å"Do as you're bid, child,† Clegane said. â€Å"Dress.† He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently. Sansa backed away from them. â€Å"I did as the queen asked, I wrote the letters, I wrote what she told me. You promised you'd be merciful. Please, let me go home. I won't do any treason, I'll be good, I swear it, I don't have traitor's blood, I don't. I only want to go home.† Remembering her courtesies, she lowered her head. â€Å"As it please you,† she finished weakly. â€Å"It does not please me,† Joffrey said. â€Å"Mother says I'm still to marry you, so you'll stay here, and you'll obey.† â€Å"I don't want to marry you,† Sansa wailed. â€Å"You chopped off my father's head!† â€Å"He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I'd be merciful, and I was. If he hadn't been your father, I would have had him torn or flayed, but I gave him a clean death.† Sansa stared at him, seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a padded crimson doublet patterned with lions and a cloth-of-gold cape with a high collar that framed his face. She wondered how she could ever have thought him handsome. His lips were as soft and red as the worms you found after a rain, and his eyes were vain and cruel. â€Å"I hate you,† she whispered. King Joffrey's face hardened. â€Å"My mother tells me that it isn't fitting that a king should strike his wife. Ser Meryn.† The knight was on her before she could think, yanking back her hand as she tried to shield her face and backhanding her across the ear with a gloved fist. Sansa did not remember failing, yet the next she knew she was sprawled on one knee amongst the rushes. Her head was ringing. Ser Meryn Trant stood over her, with blood on the knuckles of his white silk glove. â€Å"Will you obey now, or shall I have him chastise you again?† Sansa's ear felt numb. She touched it, and her fingertips came away wet and red. â€Å"I . . . as . . . as you command, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† Joffrey corrected her. â€Å"I shall look for you in court.† He turned and left. Ser Meryn and Ser Arys followed him out, but Sandor Clegane lingered long enough to yank her roughly to her feet. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† â€Å"What . . . what does he want? Please, tell me.† â€Å"He wants you to smile and smell sweet and be his lady love,† the Hound rasped. â€Å"He wants to hear you recite all your pretty little words the way the septa taught you. He wants you to love him . . . and fear him.† After he was gone, Sansa sank back onto the rushes, staring at the wall until two of her bedmaids crept timidly into the chamber. â€Å"I will need hot water for my bath, please,† she told them, â€Å"and perfume, and some powder to hide this bruise.† The right side of her face was swollen and beginning to ache, but she knew Joffrey would want her to be beautiful. The hot water made her think of Winterfell, and she took strength from that. She had not washed since the day her father died, and she was startled at how filthy the water became. Her maids sluiced the blood off her face, scrubbed the dirt from her back, washed her hair and brushed it out until it sprang back in thick auburn curls. Sansa did not speak to them, except to give them commands; they were Lannister servants, not her own, and she did not trust them. When the time came to dress, she chose the green silk gown that she had worn to the tourney. She recalled how gallant Joff had been to her that night at the feast. Perhaps it would make him remember as well, and treat her more gently. She drank a glass of buttermilk and nibbled at some sweet biscuits as she waited, to settle her stomach. It was midday when Ser Meryn returned. He had donned his white armor; a shirt of enameled scales chased with gold, a tall helm with a golden sunburst crest, greaves and gorget and gauntlet and boots of gleaming plate, a heavy wool cloak clasped with a golden lion. His visor had been removed from his helm, to better show his dour face; pouchy bags under his eyes, a wide sour mouth, rusty hair spotted with grey. â€Å"My lady,† he said, bowing, as if he had not beaten her bloody only three hours past. â€Å"His Grace has instructed me to escort you to the throne room.† â€Å"Did he instruct you to hit me if I refused to come?† â€Å"Are you refusing to come, my lady?† The look he gave her was without expression. He did not so much as glance at the bruise he had left her. He did not hate her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all. She was only a . . . a thing to him. â€Å"No,† she said, rising. She wanted to rage, to hurt him as he'd hurt her, to warn him that when she was queen she would have him exiled if he ever dared strike her again . . . but she remembered what the Hound had told her, so all she said was, â€Å"I shall do whatever His Grace commands.† â€Å"As I do,† he replied. â€Å"Yes . . . but you are no true knight, Ser Meryn.† Sandor Clegane would have laughed at that, Sansa knew. Other men might have cursed her, warned her to keep silent, even begged for her forgiveness. Ser Meryn Trant did none of these. Ser Meryn Trant simply did not care. The balcony was deserted save for Sansa. She stood with her head bowed, fighting to hold back her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it pleased him to call justice. Nine cases out of ten seemed to bore him; those he allowed his council to handle, squirming restlessly while Lord Baelish, Grand Maester Pycelle, or Queen Cersei resolved the matter. When he did choose to make a ruling, though, not even his queen mother could sway him. A thief was brought before him and he had Ser Ilyn chop his hand off, right there in court. Two knights came to him with a dispute about some land, and he decreed that they should duel for it on the morrow. â€Å"To the death,† he added. A woman fell to her knees to plead for the head of a man executed as a traitor. She had loved him, she said, and she wanted to see him decently buried. â€Å"If you loved a traitor, you must be a traitor too,† Joffrey said. Two gold cloaks dragged her off to the dungeons. Frog-faced Lord Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. â€Å"Life is not a song, sweetling,† he'd told her. â€Å"You may learn that one day to your sorrow.† In life, the monsters win, she told herself, and now it was the Hound's voice she heard, a cold rasp, metal on stone. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† The last case was a plump tavern singer, accused of making a song that ridiculed the late King Robert. Joff commanded them to fetch his woodharp and ordered him to perform the song for the court. The singer wept and swore he would never sing that song again, but the king insisted. It was sort of a funny song, all about Robert fighting with a pig. The pig was the boar who'd killed him, Sansa knew, but in some verses it almost sounded as if he were singing about the queen. When the song was done, Joffrey announced that he'd decided to be merciful. The singer could keep either his fingers or his tongue. He would have a day to make his choice. Janos Slynt nodded. That was the final business of the afternoon, Sansa saw with relief, but her ordeal was not yet done. When the herald's voice dismissed the court, she fled the balcony, only to find Joffrey waiting for her at the base of the curving stairs. The Hound was with him, and Ser Meryn as well. The young king examined her critically, top to bottom. â€Å"You look much better than you did.† â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† Sansa said. Hollow words, but they made him nod and smile. â€Å"Walk with me,† Joffrey commanded, offering her his arm. She had no choice but to take it. The touch of his hand would have thrilled her once; now it made her flesh crawl. â€Å"My name day will be here soon,† Joffrey said as they slipped out the rear of the throne room. â€Å"There will be a great feast, and gifts. What are you going to give me?† â€Å"I . . . I had not thought, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† he said sharply. â€Å"You truly are a stupid girl, aren't you? My mother says so.† â€Å"She does?† After all that had happened, his words should have lost their power to hurt her, yet somehow they had not. The queen had always been so kind to her. â€Å"Oh, yes. She worries about our children, whether they'll be stupid like you, but I told her not to trouble herself.† The king gestured, and Ser Meryn opened a door for them. â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† she murmured. The Hound was right, she thought, I am only a little bird, repeating the words they taught me. The sun had fallen below the western wall, and the stones of the Red Keep glowed dark as blood. â€Å"I'll get you with child as soon as you're able,† Joffrey said as he escorted her across the practice yard. â€Å"If the first one is stupid, I'll chop off your head and find a smarter wife. When do you think you'll be able to have children?† Sansa could not look at him, he shamed her so. â€Å"Septa Mordane says most . . . most highborn girls have their flowering at twelve or thirteen.† Joffrey nodded. â€Å"This way.† He led her into the gatehouse, to the base of the steps that led up to the battlements. Sansa jerked back away from him, trembling. Suddenly she knew where they were going. â€Å"No,† she said, her voice a frightened gasp. â€Å"Please, no, don't make me, I beg you . . . â€Å" Joffrey pressed his lips together. â€Å"I want to show you what happens to traitors.† Sansa shook her head wildly. â€Å"I won't. I won't.† â€Å"I can have Ser Meryn drag you up,† he said. â€Å"You won't like that. You had better do what I say.† Joffrey reached for her, and Sansa cringed away from him, backing into the Hound. â€Å"Do it, girl,† Sandor Clegane told her, pushing her back toward the king. His mouth twitched on the burned side of his face and Sansa could almost hear the rest of it. He'll have you up there no matter what, so give him what he wants. She forced herself to take King Joffrey's hand. The climb was something out of a nightmare; every step was a struggle, as if she were pulling her feet out of ankle-deep mud, and there were more steps than she would have believed, a thousand thousand steps, and horror waiting on the ramparts. From the high battlements of the gatehouse, the whole world spread out below them. Sansa could see the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya's hill, where her father had died. At the other end of the Street of the Sisters stood the fire-blackened ruins of the Dragonpit. To the west, the swollen red sun was half-hidden behind the Gate of the Gods. The salt sea was at her back, and to the south was the fish market and the docks and the swirling torrent of the Blackwater Rush. And to the north . . . She turned that way, and saw only the city, streets and alleys and hills and bottoms and more streets and more alleys and the stone of distant walls. Yet she knew that beyond them was open country, farms and fields and forests, and beyond that, north and north and north again, stood Winterfell. â€Å"What are you looking at?† Joffrey said. â€Å"This is what I wanted you to see, right here.† A thick stone parapet protected the outer edge of the rampart, reaching as high as Sansa's chin, with crenellations cut into it every five feet for archers. The heads were mounted between the crenels, along the top of the wall, impaled on iron spikes so they faced out over the city. Sansa had noted them the moment she'd stepped out onto the wallwalk, but the river and the bustling streets and the setting sun were ever so much prettier. He can make me look at the heads, she told herself, but he can't make me see them. â€Å"This one is your father,† he said. â€Å"This one here. Dog, turn it around so she can see him.† Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. â€Å"How long do I have to look?† Joffrey seemed disappointed. â€Å"Do you want to see the rest?† There was a long row of them. â€Å"If it please Your Grace.† Joffrey marched her down the wallwalk, past a dozen more heads and two empty spikes. â€Å"I'm saving those for my uncle Stannis and my uncle Renly,† he explained. The other heads had been dead and mounted much longer than her father. Despite the tar, most were long past being recognizable. The king pointed to one and said, â€Å"That's your septa there,† but Sansa could not even have told that it was a woman. The jaw had rotted off her face, and birds had eaten one ear and most of a cheek. Sansa had wondered what had happened to Septa Mordane, although she supposed she had known all along. â€Å"Why did you kill her?† she asked. â€Å"She was godsworn . . . â€Å" â€Å"She was a traitor.† Joffrey looked pouty; somehow she was upsetting him. â€Å"You haven't said what you mean to give me for my name day. Maybe I should give you something instead, would you like that?† â€Å"If it please you, my lord,† Sansa said. When he smiled, she knew he was mocking her. â€Å"Your brother is a traitor too, you know.† He turned Septa Mordane's head back around. â€Å"I remember your brother from Winterfell. My dog called him the lord of the wooden sword. Didn't you, dog?† â€Å"Did I?† the Hound replied. â€Å"I don't recall.† Joffrey gave a petulant shrug. â€Å"Your brother defeated my uncle Jaime. My mother says it was treachery and deceit. She wept when she heard. Women are all weak, even her, though she pretends she isn't. She says we need to stay in King's Landing in case my other uncles attack, but I don't care. After my name day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head.† A kind of madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, â€Å"Maybe my brother will give me your head.† Joffrey scowled. â€Å"You must never mock me like that. A true wife does not mock her lord. Ser Meryn, teach her.† This time the knight grasped her beneath the jaw and held her head still as he struck her. He hit her twice, left to right, and harder, right to left. Her lip split and blood ran down her chin, to mingle with the salt of her tears. â€Å"You shouldn't be crying all the time,† Joffrey told her. â€Å"You're more pretty when you smile and laugh.† Sansa made herself smile, afraid that he would have Ser Meryn hit her again if she did not, but it was no good, the king still shook his head. â€Å"Wipe off the blood, you're all messy.† The outer parapet came up to her chin, but along the inner edge of the walk was nothing, nothing but a long plunge to the bailey seventy or eighty feet below. All it would take was a shove, she told herself. He was standing right there, right there, smirking at her with those fat wormlips. You could do it, she told herself. You could. Do it right now. It wouldn't even matter if she went over with him. It wouldn't matter at all. â€Å"Here, girl.† Sandor Clegane knelt before her, between her and Joffrey. With a delicacy surprising in such a big man, he dabbed at the blood welling from her broken lip. The moment was gone. Sansa lowered her eyes. â€Å"Thank you,† she said when he was done. She was a good girl, and always remembered her courtesies.

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Five pillars in islam - Essay Example To be a true Muslim, it is must to obey and act according to the five pillars of Islam, as mentioned in the Holy Quran revealed upon the last Prophet of God (Allah) Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad preached an integrated universal plan directed to all mankind, in which authority on earth is devolved to mankind with the creation at their disposal to utilise.They are given the tools of learning (inspiration or revelation) and the general guidelines to be used in order to stay on the right course, as well as the freedom to choose. Prophet Muhammad preached by presenting his own life as an example to follow and did nothing beyond the doings of an average Muslim. Holy Quran and Sunnah (teachings of Holy Prophet) in this context is the best example of what he did by setting his own example in this world.Prophet Muhammad's preaching revolves around the central theme that after death every body will be raised at the Day of Judgement and all will be judged by God based on their conduct in this life. No doubt it was Prophet Muhammad's inspirations, which put mankind on a new footing by stressing the use of empirical observations and the use of reason and reflection as the guiding tools for seeking the way of God. The five pillars necessary to be practiced by a Muslim are none other than:1.Shahadat (Kalma Tauheed) – The belief of one and only God; 2. Salat (Prayers) – prayers performed five times a day at regular intervals i.e., dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night; (Pasquine, March 2002) 3. Siyaam (Fasting) 4. Zakat (Charity) - Charity tax for the poor and disadvantaged; 5. Hajj (pilgrimage) - Obligatory for a Muslim to perform at least once in his lifetime. Shahadat - Tauheed (Confession of one God) In the midst of that milieu which was followed by the then superstitious beliefs, and had been cross-fertilized by all sorts of ideas, right in the centre of the Arabian Peninsula, separated but not isolated, Prophet Muhammad came preaching that there is only One God for all creation, Allah (an assimilated form of Al-ilaah, the god), with no other gods besides Him, accessible to all, with no priesthood as an intermediary, no original sin and no ethnic, tribal or racial overtones. In the Quran we find God addressing human beings in general or the believers, but never 'the Arabs' or 'men' in contradistinction to 'women'. (Hamdiyyah, 2000, p. 26) 'Shahadat' in the form of 'Kalma Tauheed' is the belief that must be declared and uttered by every Muslim, which means that he has acknowledged by his heart and soul that there is no God except "Allah" and Prophet Muhammad is His most beloved and last Prophet. This doctrine is the foremost principle for being a Muslim after which a Muslim follows other doctrines. The oneness of Allah prevents a Muslim from getting into other confusions and diversification which is the cause of uniting the Muslims all over the globe to a single main believe, i.e., Allah is the creator of the universe and all the things within ranging from nature to life. Prophet Muhammad is the last messenger for whom Allah has created the whole universe and He is the one to whom we are onus to worship and none other. Salat (Prayer) The second main pillar of Islam is Salat (Prayer), which is, in fact, one of the earliest and most constantly urged elements of Prophet Muhammad's message. "The word used 'Salat' refers to Arabic word where it refers precisely to liturgical prayer, a public worship of God in the form of audibly uttered words". (Peters, 1994, p. 164) Quran says, Prophet Muhammad advises the Muslims "Do not be loud in your prayer nor speak it softly (as if in secret), but find a way between" (Quran 17: 110) It is the second basic pillar which makes it compulsory for a Muslim to practice his daily five times prayer which is accompanied by particular gestures and postures, as laid down in the teachings of Prophet Muham

Discussion Questions and Participation Questions Essay

Discussion Questions and Participation Questions - Essay Example Opportunities to expand your services 7. Better flexibility 8. Increased risk assessment 9. Improve quality 10. Increases in quantity (Brighthub, 2011). In the past I have used project management as a guide to help me complete projects. I have used project management to develop schedules, in order to optimize time, and to become more efficient at tasks. Project management skills can be improved by participation in continued education seminars on the subject, by reading peer review journal articles, and through practice among other methods. Brighthub.com (2011). The Top Ten Benefits of Project Management. Retrieved February 3, 2011 from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/2350.aspx Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F.R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. 2. Safety stock is additional inventory that is held in order to mitigate the risk of a stockout. The safety stock is a considered a buffer mana gement uses to create a comfort level in which to operate. The safety stock should only be used after regular inventory runs out and if the company is unable to replenish its inventory. The safety stock should be used as a last resort in order to keep the operations going. A few years ago I worked a part-time in a warehouse for a company that manufactured paper. There were different rolls of paper that would be used as raw material for the different paper products sold by the company. The buffer or safety stock was managed by the warehouse crew. We would deliver the safety stock to the manufacturing line whenever the company ran out of its regular inventory of paper. 3. Out of the factors you mentioned about project management which I believe people can work on in order to improve their utilization of the factor is time. Time is a crucial element in project management. Projects involve the use of different deadlines for the delivery of project deliverables. In a project when one per son is late with their part of the project it creates a chain reaction which affects the work of the other members. The project manager has to provide follow up on the work of team members in order to ensure everyone is on the same page. 4. One of the first project management teams I was involved in occurred a few years back. I was a freshman in college back them and I had been assigned to my first team project as a college student. It was an intimidating experience for me because I did not know what to expect. I was very lucky to have worked with a great team of players. One of the guys was a senior business student; he served the role of project leader. He was a very outgoing person that knew how to lead others. I learn from this first experience that interpersonal relationships are a critical success factor for project management teams. 5. Engineers are very talented professionals that can add a lot of value to a project. Due to their ability to apply innovation engineers are oft en involved in project management. It would be a wise career move for an engineer to purse an MBA degree. The knowledge gained through a master’s degree program in business can be extremely beneficial for an engineer among other professionals. Professionals with a background in business are better suited to handle the pressures associated with the work of a project manager. 6. Sometimes people utilized project management skills without even knowing they are using them. No project is too small for

Single sex schools Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Single sex schools - Research Paper Example ols are better than co-ed schools mainly because of the following three reasons: 1) Research has shown that children, both boys and girls obtain better grades in single-sex schools 2) Children can be their self in single-sex schools and 3) They are more comfortable in single-sex schools as both the sexes feel and think differently. If one accepts this reasoning than co-ed schools may not be the right choice. But then again there is not enough evidence to prove that single-sex schools are better than co-ed schools. A detailed study of the advantages and disadvantages of both the types of schools may perhaps help in arriving at a conclusion. . I t is generally believed that children can be themselves in same sex schools and take part in activities that suit them. For instance they can enjoy poetry or be a part of a band instead of marching without worrying about what the girls might think. Similarly girls can take part in sports like football or hockey without the fear of being labelled as a tomboy. Gils are able to shed their shyness. Children feel comfortable exploring subjects of their choice especially the non traditional ones. Girls feel comfortable studying subjects like advanced science or carpentry whereas boys can participate in orchestras or study languages like Latin without fear of being ridiculed for exploring subjects that are considered non-traditional. They need not don stereotypical roles and are encouraged to be curious and fearless. In short single sex schools allow children to be themselves. Today children face a huge amount of pressure from all quarters to become adults even before they are prepared. Children are forced to grow up too quickly. Some children are more comfortable in single-sex schools as the social pressures are less here. A child can grow at his own pace. As boys mature later than girls boys need more time to grow and single-sex schools may allow them to grow at their own pace. The atmosphere in single sex schools is

International and strategic marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International and strategic marketing - Essay Example This paper describes the rise of the recorded-music industry, the emergence of disruptive technologies and the effect of this disruption on the marketing strategies of today’s recording industry companies. The marketing strategies are discussed in perspective of the 7Ps of marketing. 3Ps are identified and analysed as potential channels for implementing marketing strategies that could mitigate the threat to recording industry’s digital music sales posed by free and illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing websites. Table of Contents Executive summary 1 Table of Contents 2 2.0.Marketing strategies in the Music Industry 6 2.1.Product 7 2.2.Price 8 2.3.Place 8 2.4.Promotion 8 2.5.People 9 2.6.Process 10 2.7.Physical evidence 10 2.8.Section summary 10 3.0.Topics impacting the industry 11 3.1.Changing process using partners and intermediaries 11 3.2.Promoting legitimate digital music using merchandise and concert business 13 3.3.Repackaging physical evidence 14 4.0.Conclusion 15 References 16 1.0. Introduction According to the British Recorded Music Industry, the music industry can be broadly categorised into four sectors: song writing and publishing, recording, live music and artist management (BPI 2012). In all these sectors there are many different organisations and individuals performing different roles and earning their living. Currently the large share of the industry’s value is generated and controlled by the recorded music and live music sectors. The recorded sector is dominated by four major corporate labels that comprise of several smaller companies that focus on different regions and markets. These four conglomerates are: Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Music and Warner Music Group (The Economist 2008). The live music sector is dominated by Live Nation Entertainment in the United States. The growth of the recorded music sector epitomised by the rise of music labels towards the end of the 20th century led to the recording sector being synonymized as the music industry (Wikipedia 2012). The recorded music sector grew largely due to the ability of the music labels to efficiently and cost-effectively fulfil the several stages in the process of moving music from artist to consumer. The major record labels are vertically integrated businesses. The stages in the recording industry are: Artists and Repertoire (A&R) – involves finding new acts; recording music – involves composition, production and licensing of copyright; manufacture of mechanical recordings e.g. CDs and vinyl; music distribution and logistics; marketing and promotion; and retail activities (Fleming & E. G. Hughes 2002). Some of the factors that made music labels profitable are: economies of scale which spreads overheads over a wider revenue base; diversity of artists which enables them to maintain a steady flow of releases; and breadth of music catalogue. However, in the 21st century, the emergence and growth of three technologies led to the disruption experienced in the broad music industry in general, but mostly in the recorded-music industry’s value chain. These three technologies are digitalization, data compression and the Internet (Dolata 2011). Digitalization of music made it easy to make copies

Discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Discussion questions - Essay Example t is an abstraction of phenomena, a theory consolidates all the variables that define the phenomena and outline the characteristic relationship between or among the variables. The above concept-theory aspects show that concepts and theories are intertwined. In other words, theories are built on concepts. Concepts lay the foundation upon which theories are developed. Concepts introduce the idea or phenomena in question but do not develop any variables or principles contained therein. With this foundation, theories capture the variables, principles and interests contained in the concepts and interrelates them prior to the development of the desired theory. When the principles and variables to the concepts are defined and their characteristic relationship outlined, then a theory is developed. That is to say, theories are basically formed from concepts (Walker & Avant, 2011). The link between concepts and theories is therefore seen through the interdependence of each one of them to the other. A concept is not a theory, and on the other hand a theory results form a concept. This complementarity is the link between concepts and theories. Theories are tested through formulation, evaluation and assessment of hypotheses. A hypothesis is a statement that argues for or against a phenomenon. The interest is to test and ascertain which phenomenon is most appropriate and applicable to the theory being tested. In other words, null and alternative hypotheses are stated in the context of the theory being tested. It is important to highlight that theories are tested to confirm or refute them. If proven true, theories are upheld. On the other hand, when proven false, they are refuted. Theory testing focuses on the variables that define the theory. The concepts that make up the theory are highlighted and the relationship between and among all the variables determined. In order to do this, the fact that the theory being tested is formulated from concepts is upheld. Data and

God and the Philosopher Essay Example for Free

God and the Philosopher Essay Abstract Philosophers are known to be great thinkers.   The discipline itself is concerned with ethics, what things exist and their essential natures, knowledge, and logic.   Typically, when one is asked about his or her beliefs, the subject of God comes up. Whether or not God exist is the biggest and most ultimate question that people have ever asked. The topic of God is important to the philosopher.   He enjoys the contemplation of the subject. â€Å"Proofs of the existence of God† developed over the past 2,400 years by different philosophers. It is the foundation of most introductions to philosophy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Does God exist?   The existence of God can be compared to space.   We know that space does not have an ending.   God â€Å"has no beginning and no end.   He is eternal† (Cameron, 465).   Some people don’t believe in anything that is not visible to the eye (Cameron, 471). The link to God for most philosophers is the world.   Thomas Aquinas, a theologian, â€Å"specialized in the philosophical analysis of the nature of God and God’s relation to the world† (McCarty, 196). He refers to Aristotle as â€Å"The Philosopher†; â€Å"Aquinas uses Aristotle’s emphasis on the importance of empirical evidence to offer the creation of the world as proof for the existence of God as its cause† (McCarty, 197).   He saw the creation of the world as proof for the existence of God.   â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.   Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Big Bang Theory tries to disprove the Genesis account of creation by stating that the universe was formed from an explosion.   Usually an explosion produces disorder and chaos, not trees, flowers, and animals (Cameron, 418).   Also, in order for an explosion to occur, there must be something present to explode and a means to cause the explosion.   â€Å"You cannot create something out of nothing† (Cameron, 419).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Proofs of the existence of God† is a set of arguments that were developed over the past 2,400 years by different philosophers.   The purpose was to demonstrate that â€Å"there is, or exists, an infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent creator of the universe who goes by the name of God† (Wolff, 364).   The first and â€Å"philosophically weakest† proof is the Argument from Design.   William Paley presented his argument in his book â€Å"Natural Theology†.   He noted that man-made objects were designed to serve a purpose by its maker.    We can compare this to the creations of nature, like the human eye or the brain.   They are sophisticated and cannot be duplicated.   The conclusion is only God must be the â€Å"all-powerful Maker† (Wolff, 366).   The second proof is the Cosmological Argument, which is offered by thirteenth-century Christian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas.   His first argument is that some things move in the world.   Secondly, there must be a first movement to precede other movements.   A â€Å"first mover† must exist.   That â€Å"necessary being is God† (Wolff, 373). The final proof and â€Å"the most famous, the most mystifying, the most outrageous and irritating philosophical argument of all time† is the Ontological Argument (Wolff, 378).   Saint Anselm writes about this proof in his philosophical work the â€Å"Proslogion†.   The concept of the existence of God was based on the idea of the perfect being.   Nothing greater than God is inconceivable (Wolff, 370).   Some philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, have defended this proof over the past nine centuries.   On the other hand, it has also been rejected by other philosophers, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, and claimed as invalid because it cannot be proven. In addition to the Cosmological Argument, Aquinas argues his case using five proofs of his own (McCarty, 197).   The first proof is motion.   As with the Cosmological Argument, a â€Å"first mover† must exist to cause motion.   His second proof is causation.   â€Å"The natural world holds together through a tight chain of cause-and-effect relationships† (McCarty, 198).   For example, rain causes vegetation to grow.   The third proof is necessity/possibility. Aquinas argued that all events either have to be necessary or possible.   â€Å"A Necessary Being must exist that actualizes the possibility of the world as we know it† (McCarty, 199). The fourth proof is gradation. Some natural beings are more advanced than others.   Humans are at the top of the evolutionary chain.  Ã‚   â€Å"God has given him dominion (authority) over all the animals (Genesis 1:28) â€Å" (Cameron, 427).   This leads into the final proof of governance.   Humans are intellectually superior to animals and have priority over them (Cameron, 427). This is part of God’s Order (McCarty, 200). Most arguments for the existence of God start with some fact about the world and all of its components and activities (Morris, 243).   The topic of God is important because He is the backbone of any philosophical discussion. The Bible states that God is holy (Psalm 99:9).   Webster’s definition of holy is â€Å"sanctified†, which means to be free from sin. Ethics is a big part of philosophy. It embraces right conduct and good life.   â€Å"Ethical conduct is behavior that respects and nurtures truth, beauty, goodness, and unity, in our own lives, and in the lives of people we deal with day to day† (Morris, 111).   Good people struggle daily to resist temptations and pressures that they would not consider to be proper behavior.   â€Å"A good person is a person who shoots at the target of human happiness and flourishing for other people as well as himself† (Morris, 101).   On the other hand, there are people that don’t think about the consequences of their behavior. They act to satisfy their own selfish needs (Morris, 111). Philosophers view the concept of morality as a set of many rules (Morris, 112).   The Bible lists many of them.   Exodus 20 in the Old Testament lists The Ten Commandments.   The book of Leviticus contains many rules for work, worshipping God, and cleanliness. Another aspect of morality is The Golden Rule.   It states: â€Å"So in everything, do to others what you would have the do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets† (Matthew 7:12). In other words, treats others, as you would like to be treated.   â€Å"It captures the main attitude of an ethical person regarding the impact of his actions on others† (Morris, 114). In conclusion, the existence of God is a link for philosophers to the world. The topic of God is important when discussing ethics, morality, and nature to twentieth century philosophers as well as thirteenth-century ones. References Cameron, Kirk, Comfort, Ray. (2004). The School of Biblical Evangelism.   Gainesville:   Bridge-Logos Publishers. International Bible Society. (1984). The Holy Bible.   Grand Rapids:   Zondervan Publishing House. McCarty, Marietta. (2006). Little Big Minds:   Sharing Philosophy With Kids.   New York:   The Penguin Group. Morris, Tom. (1999). Philosophy For Dummies.   New York:   Wiley Publishing Company. Wolff, Robert Paul. (2000).   About Philosophy (8th).  Ã‚   Upper Saddle River:   Prentice Hall.

Influence of Christianity on Literature

Influence of Christianity on Literature Introduction Christianity and Islam are daughter religions of Judaism. They were established as splinter groups from Judaism at different times in the history of the Jews. On its part, Judaism is a very old religion which traces its origin from the Old Testament times of Abraham and Moses. In fact, all of its doctrines revolve around the Mosaic Law. These are sets of rules/commandments which were given to Moses by God (Yahweh) in Mount Sinai. It happened at a time when he was called by God to go back to Egypt and deliver His people (the Israelites) from the yoke of oppression from the ruthless Pharaoh. This followed the enslavement of the Israelites that lasted for over 400 years until they were eventually delivered by Moses. Later, Judaism became the official religion amongst the Jews[1]. On the other hand, Christianity is a religion which is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. As recorded in the Synoptic Gospels in the Holy Bible, Jesus was born of Virgin Mary and Joseph[2]. Despite growing in strict Jewish traditions, He later directly criticized the actions of the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees who had been imposing stringent laws on the people. Thus, He advocated for transition into a new order which later turned to be Christianity especially after His death. This came as a result of the efforts of the early apostles under the leadership of St. Peter. All these were done because of the teachings of Jesus Christ who had been appealing to His followers to accept to repent their sins and accept the good news[3]. The good news was about the promise of eternal life which would accrue to anyone who would accept Him as their personal savior. In other words, Christianity is a new religion which split from Judaism and is based on the teachings of Jesus Himself. This clearly demonstrates that it is a daughter religion of Judaism. After all, it also reveres the Old Testament as a holy book. To the Judaists, Old Testament is the most important holy book used in advancing their teachings and doctrines. Meanwhile, Islam is also another religion which is also believed to have split from Judaism. It was the last religion which traces its origin to Judaism. It was founded by Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be upon Him) who lived a lot of years after the death of Jesus Christ. Unlike the rest of the religions, Islam came into existence after the interactions of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). Meaning, it borrowed a lot of doctrines from Judaism and Christianity which were already established at the time it was founded. According to Islamic historians, Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) was the last and most important prophet amongst the Muslims. To the Muslims, Quran is the only Holy Book which should be used in the worship of Allah (the only God to be worshipped). However, the Quran is often used along side the hadith which contains the speeches about Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Why Christianity Dominates Literature As a matter of fact, Christianity, Islam and Judaism are some of the most prominent classical religions in the contemporary society[4]. According to the latest statistics, there are a total of 2.9 billion Christians in the world today. This is nearly a third of the world’s population. Meaning, it is the only religion with the highest number of followers globally. For Christianity to reach where it is today, it has actually had a very long history. This began at the time of Jesus who initially faced too much opposition from conservative Jewish sects such as the Pharisees. Because of their different world views, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law made it so hard to for Jesus to spread the gospel to His followers. Even after triumphantly defeating death, it was not easier for the early Church apostles to advance Jesus’ teachings and spread the good news to all the corners of the world as He had commanded them[5]. Thus, it means that Christianity has managed to dominate literary texts depicting its mother and sister religions due to the fact that it has had a lot of committed people who dedicated their life to serve humanity and make remarkable contributions to people’s lives. If it were not for their efforts, it might not be much easier for the authors, early church fathers, philosophers and theologians to write about. This might be attributed to the numerous extra-ordinary activities which they performed[6]. As already highlighted, amongst these people is Jesus Christ. It is a common knowledge to all Christians that Jesus is the most important figure in this religion. Had it not been for Him, Christianity would not have existed. This is because He managed to gather large multitudes and performed numerous miracles which many people, especially His critics could not believe. Therefore, because He had lots of stories to be written, several books have been published provide people with all these information. They are very important since they act as evidence for the great works that He did as He was battling the dominance of the Pharisees who had taken control of the Jewish community for a very long time. Unlike Jesus, these Pharisees were so conservative and had made life to be too challenging to the ordinary Jews who needed to be saved from such oppression. Right from His birth, Jesus Christ had a very complicated history. First, His birth had been prophesied by several prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah. God had planned that He would be born of a Virgin Mary (who still remained virgin even after His birth). Besides, His birth took place in the historical town of Bethlehem in a very unusual place[7]. Later, He made lots of contributions towards the development of Christianity. These include a series of sermons that He delivered in different laces which He traversed during His entire period of the ministry[8]. As a universal figure, He did not only concentrate in Israel, but even preached to the gentiles. This demonstrates that He had not only come for the Jews, but also for other people especially the sinners who needed to repent and accept to live according to the word of God. Therefore, these teachings are some of the most popular works which have been published by several scholars. In fact, the manner in which He exhaustively used the parables during His sermons made Him to be classified as the greatest and best teacher in the world. Everyone wanted to publish a book to record His works. A part from recoding the preaching of Jesus, many scholars have been interested in writing books about the miracles that He had performed. As already highlighted, Jesus Christ performed some of the greatest miracles in the history of man. Here, He cured the sick, fed the hungry and raised the dead. Each of these is of a great importance to His followers. They proved that He was actually concerned about the welfare of His followers especially the poor, malnourished and the less fortunate in the society. For instance, by curing the lepers and those possessed by demons, Jesus demonstrated that He could liberate individuals from their agonies. This was particularly seen when He cured those who had been sick and abandoned for several decades. Therefore, inmost of the writings, all these information is captured. This has been evidenced even in the literary works which discuss about Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A part from Jesus Christ, the other important figure amongst the Christians is Virgin Mary. Of course, Mother Mary is a revered figure amongst the Christians, Judaists and the Muslims. The stories of Mary have been extensively covered in several books[9]. This is because she is believed to be holding a very important position both in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. For the Judaists, Mary is the mother of Jesus. It is through her that the Jews got a messiah who had been promised to them since the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah. For a very long time, the Jewish society had been waiting for a messiah who was to come and save them from their oppressors. Thus, Mary plays a very integral role in Judaism. If it were not her, Jesus would not have been born. The same applies to the Muslims who also believe in Jesus. However, unlike Christians, they hold that Jesus was not God, but a prophet just like others like Mohamed, Isaiah and Obadiah. Therefore, Mary is also revered by them as she is accredited with the bearing of Jesus. On the other hand, Mary holds a central position in the church. To the Christians, it is Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus Christ, a messiah who had been promised to them by God. Therefore, by being the mother of Jesus, Mary is undoubtedly the mother of God. Thus, she is the mother of the church. For this reason, the information about Mother Mary has been disseminated by several writers. This is what has been evidenced in the stories such as The Tales of Count Lucanor and Miracles of Our Lady which are amongst the earliest books written to give accounts of some of the most memorable miracles performed by the Virgin Mary in the history of the Christian Church. In the Miracles of Our Lady, Gonzalo de Berceo gives a clear presentation about the miracles of Virgin Mary which she had performed to her followers. However, this is given from the perspective of Christianity. As it is recorded in the collections, Virgin Mary had used her powers as the mother of God to perform different types of miracles that she used to reward her faithful and obedient followers. At the same time, she performed some miracles in order to punish those who did not follow her ways, but opted to be subversive in their actions. Therefore, they had to be punished by Mary so as to act as examples and make them conduct themselves in line with Christian teachings. However, most of these teachings are highly held by the Christians. In Miracle Three: Cleric and the Flower, Virgin Mary performed a very extra-ordinary action which amazed everyone. It was an example of how she, as a Mother of the Church, could use her divine powers to perform miracles to demonstrate that it is a worthy thing for a person to live as per the word of God. In this miracle, there was a cleric who was a very righteous man of God. He always lived according to the teachings of the Bible. As a clergy, he was doing all the good things which are accepted by God. During that time, it was a tradition to accord Christians a decent burial. A person in his stature would be buried in a Christian cemetery which was specially designed to burry staunch followers like him. However, when he died, no one bothered to burry him as per the traditions. Instead, he was jealously buried in isolation. Based on his relationships with Mother Mary, she ordered that the man be buried in the designated Christian cemetery. Therefore, when he was to be exhumed, everyo ne was amazed to find out that the dead man was not rotten, but producing attractive and pleasant flowery smell. Hence, Mother Mary performed this miracle to reward the clergy for his dedicated services during his lifetime[10]. In miracle 16: The Little Jewish Boy, Mother Mary also performed a miracle which was classified as a reward for righteousness. In Bourges, there was a great division between the Jews and Christians. The members of the two religions were hostile to one another. In fact, this is similar to the situation that existed during the time of the early church in which the early church apostles were surprised by the Jews and Roman authorities. However, in this case, the little Jewish boy whose parents were strict Judaists got an opportunity to play with Christian and join them in a church service in which he saw, admired, liked and fell in love with the Mother Mary. Later, when he went back to his family and informed his father about it, he was infuriated. Therefore, he threw the boy into a raging fire. Surprisingly, the little boy was not harmed at all. When he came out, he attributed his escape to Mother Mary whom he had seen her image on the church wall. This miracle can also be used to just ify why Mother Mary is too popular amongst the Christians. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are related in many ways. A part from sharing similar history, they have a lot of common beliefs and doctrines. These include the belief in God and prominent historical figures such as Jesus and Mary[11]. Today, they still remain as the most popular classical religions in the society. However, Christianity still stands out very strongly. This is evidenced in the manner it dominates literary work in which all of these religions are included. This might be attributed to the fact that it has lots of significant people who constitute its long, turbulent and expansive history. For instance, in The Tales of Count Lucanor and Miracles of Our Lady, a lot of stories are presented about Virgin Mary who used her powers to perform lots of miracles to the Christian believers[12]. Even if Mary is accepted by all these religions, she holds a very important position in the Christian Church. In a publication like Miracles of Our Lady, it has to prominently feature about Christianity. It has to appeal most to the Christians because they are the ones who have placed Mother Mary in the highest status as compared to the Muslims and Judaists. To the Muslims, Jesus was not a central figure in the foundation of their religion. He was just a prophet like any other. Hence, it implies that Virgin Mary could be like an ordinary human being who gave birth to a prophet of Allah. Hence, she can not be more important than other mothers who gave birth to other prophets. Although slightly different, in Judaism, Virgin Mary was the mother of Jesus who came to liberate the Jews from their (political) oppression. He did not found their religion. However, this is much different from Christians who believe in Jesus as a messiah whose teachings should strictly complied with. Hence, Mother Mary becomes the mother of messiah who readily offered His life as a ransom to save humanity from their si ns. And because Jesus was God, Mother Mary obviously becomes the mother of God. Further more, since Jesus is embodied in the Church, Mother Mary too becomes the mother of the church[13]. This explains why she is still adored as the central focus of the church through whom the believers can receive blessings and salvation. She is more important to Christians than to any other religion. Bibliography Ackerman, Jane E., ‘The Theme of Mary’s Power in the Milagros de Nuestra Seà ±ora’, Journal of Hispanic Philology, 8 (1983-84), 17-31. Braudy, Leo, From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity (New York: Vintage Books, 2005). Daas, Martha Mary, The Politics of Salvation: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Reinvention of the Marian Myth, Papers of the Medieval Hispanic Research Seminar 66 (London: Department of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, 2011). Duby, Georges, The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980). Flory, Jean, ‘Chivalry’, in Encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). Kelley, Mary Jane, ‘Spinning Virgin Yarns: Narrative, Miracles, and Salvation in Gonzalo de Berceo’s Milagros de Nuestra Seà ±ora’, Hispania (USA), 74 (1991), 814-23. Keen, Maurice, Chivalry, Yale Nota Bene (New Haven: Yale Unive rsity Press, 2005). Rubin, Miri, Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary (London: Allen Lane, 2009). Seidenspinner-Nà ºÃƒ ±ez, Dayle, ‘On ‘â€Å"Dios y el mundo†: Author and Reader Response in Juan Ruiz and Juan Manuel’, Romance Philology, 42 (1988-89),  251-66. Warner, Marina, Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary (London: Weidenfeld Nicholson, 1976). [1] Kelley, Mary Jane, ‘Spinning Virgin Yarns: Narrative, Miracles, and Salvation in Gonzalo de Berceo’s Milagros de Nuestra Seà ±ora’, Hispania (USA), 74 (1991), 814-23. [2] Ackerman, Jane E., ‘The Theme of Mary’s Power in the Milagros de Nuestra Seà ±ora’, Journal of Hispanic Philology, 8 (1983-84), 17-31. [3] Braudy, Leo, From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity (New York: Vintage Books, 2005). [4] Keen, Maurice, Chivalry, Yale Nota Bene (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005). [5] Duby, Georges, The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980). [6] Warner, Marina, Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary (London: Weidenfeld Nicholson, 1976). [7] Keen, Maurice, Chivalry, Yale Nota Bene (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005). [8] Rubin, Miri, Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary (London: Allen Lane, 2009). [9] Seidenspinner-Nà ºÃƒ ±ez, Dayle, ‘On ‘â€Å"Dios y el mundo†: Author and Reader Response in Juan Ruiz and Juan Manuel’, Romance Philology, 42 (1988-89), 251-66. [10] Seidenspinner-Nà ºÃƒ ±ez, Dayle, ‘On ‘â€Å"Dios y el mundo†: Author and Reader Response in Juan Ruiz and Juan Manuel’, Romance Philology, 42 (1988-89), 251-66. [11] Seidenspinner-Nà ºÃƒ ±ez, Dayle, ‘On ‘â€Å"Dios y el mundo†: Author and Reader Response in Juan Ruiz and Juan Manuel’, Romance Philology, 42 (1988-89), 251-66. [12] Daas, Martha Mary, The Politics of Salvation: Gonzalo de Berceo’s Reinvention of the Marian Myth, Papers of the Medieval Hispanic Research Seminar 66 (London: Department of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, 2011). [13] Flory, Jean, and ‘Chivalry’, in Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).

Cisco Systems: SWOT Analysis and Marketing Analysis

Cisco Systems: SWOT Analysis and Marketing Analysis Principles of Marketing Abstract This study aims to provide information on key marketing concepts and strategies adopted by Cisco Systems Inc. It critically analyzes Ciscos business strategies and practices by describing and evaluating its market orientation along with the impact of its marketing practices on business thereby providing an overview of its competitive advantage and SWOT analysis. One of the most vital and comprehensive marketing tools Ansoff Product-Growth Matrix has been implemented for Cisco, identifying its potential development, segmentation and diversification tactics. Porters Five Forces framework has also been included to derive five forces that determine competitive intensity and attractiveness of markets. Ciscos B2B and B2C segments are identified in conjunction with the marketing mix of product, price, promotion and place to support its marketing strategies in order to align it with its adopted business model. Introduction Cisco Systems Inc, a networking systems developer and manufacturer, was founded by two computer scientists at Stanford University in 1984. Cisco went public in 1990. Computers on local networks had not been able to communicate easily with computers outside that network, until Cisco introduced its first commercial router in 1986. Geographically dispersed networks of computers using different networking protocols, were able to be linked together by Ciscos multi-protocol router. Cisco quickly emerged a global leader in networking hardware, software and services, expanding to over 40,000 employees along with annual revenues of $23.8 billion by the end of 2000, although the economic downturn affected Ciscos 2001 revenues and compelled Cisco to layoff close to 14% of its employees (Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2001). Cisco Systems, Inc. is the global leader in computer networking for the Internet. Today, networks form an integral part of education, government, business systems and home communications. Cisco hardware, software and service contributions are used to establish the Internet solutions that make complex networks possible, enabling easy access to information anywhere, at any time, by individuals, organizations and countries. Additionally, Cisco has pioneered the utilization of the Internet in its own business practices and provides consulting services based on its experience and expertise to support other organizations around the globe. Since the companys inception, engineers at Cisco have promptly contributed in the innovation of networking technologies based on Internet Protocol (IP). This tradition of IP innovation endures with the evolution of industry-leading products in the core technologies of switching and routing along with advanced technologies in areas like home networking, security, IP telephony, storage area networking, optical networking, and wireless technology. Cisco offers a broad range of services, including technical support and a dvanced services in addition to its products. Cisco markets its services and products, both directly through its channel partners as well as through its own sales force, to service providers, commercial businesses , large enterprises and consumers. Social responsibility and customer focus are the core values on which Cisco operates as an organization (Cisco Systems Inc 2004). Over time, Cisco has proved its ability to successfully capture market transitions. Commencing in 1997 with the certainty that voice and video would all be converged to one, proceeding to the Network of Networks in 2000 and the network becoming the podium for all related web technologies and the base of customer solutions along with the most recent market transition of collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies. At Cisco, product offerings evolve as per market transitions only to best meet customer requirements. Cisco has emerged from Enterprise and Service Provider solutions to recognizing and approaching customer needs in numerous other segments including Small, Consumer and Commercial. To a large degree, the network has evolved to into a platform for providing one transparent and seamless customer experience. A key aspect of Ciscos culture is connecting and collaborating with others to make the world smaller through innovative technology and use it to enhance life experiences. Thats the Human Network a place where everyone is connected. (Cisco n.d.) Market Orientation Jaworski and Kohli (1996) defined market orientation as the organization wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs, dissemination of the intelligence across departments, and organization-wide responsiveness to it. Customer and Market Focus In recent years, market-driven organizations have begun to evolve as the new industry giants. The market-driven formula for success in todays marketplace is to produce the right product at the right price at the right time (Bill Barrett 2001). The right product is the one that solves the customers problem and delivers the highest value. The right price is what the customer is willing to pay. The right time is when the customer needs the product. Customer needs and priorities are continuously changing. Therefore, an organization must know how customers wants, needs and values emerge over time to be successful. To gain the desired knowledge of the customer, an organization must focus on the current and prospective markets and customers it serves and put the customer first in every aspect of the organization. Marketing-orientated companies focus on customer needs (Jobber 2007: 6). By including the customer in an organizations mission and goals, market-driven organizations make providing value to the customer a top priority. This commitment to the customer is evident in Cisco Systems mission statement: To shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors and ecosystem partners (Cisco n.d.) Ciscos market focus begins with its emphasis on delivering unprecedented value to its customers, as well as other stakeholders, including employees, investors, and environmental partners. Ciscos mission statement is consistent with market-driven perspective of serving the objectives of all the stakeholders (Bill Barrett 2001). We believe Ciscos market orientation emphasizes continuous improvement of the processes since information gathering is one of the main characteristics of a market driven organization. As the market demands and customers requirements change continuously, it is extremely essential for such organizations to gather relevant data in all environmental sectors competitive, political, cultural, economic, technological, human resources and most importantly the consumer. Thus, it can be said that Ciscos orientation is rightly aligned with its mission statement./p> Relationship Strategies The market-driven concept suggests that putting the customer first in all aspects of an organization results in satisfying all stakeholders, which challenges the belief that multiple stakeholders often have conflicting goals. Market-driven organizations use relationship strategies to form partnerships and alliances with stakeholders to create synergy and minimize or eliminate conflicting goals. Cisco Systems has formed strategic alliances with suppliers and customers to deliver a customer-centric, total solutions approach to solving problems, exploiting business opportunity, and creating sustainable competitive advantage for our customers (Bill Barrett 2001). Cisco and its partners recognized that their products and services, combined with those of suppliers and customers, created a total solution that was more valuable than the sum of the individual pieces (Bill Barrett 2001). The most fundamental way in which Cisco views its strategy is around the idea of change, and how change aff ects customers. Essentially, it believes that market transitions that most affect customers define competitive opportunities. Change is recognized as endemic and adaptation considered to be the Darwinian condition for survival (Jobber 2007: 6). Cisco prepares for market transitions by listening to customers and by taking risks, innovating and investing 3-5 years in advance of a major transition in order to capitalize on it before competitors when the transition is realized in the market (Cisco n.d.). Ciscos vision and innovativeness can be clearly seen from the above statements that promote its connoisseurship in computer networks and the recent developments of the Internet. Its ability to anticipate and prepare for such market transitions is the key plot of its customers and its own success. Changing needs present potential market opportunities, which drive the company (Jobber 2007: 6). Cisco makes every effort in its power and scope to work towards its vision by its innovativeness which has provided enormous potential market opportunities. This approach is by far one of the largest contributors to its success in the Silicon Valley amongst its competitors in the industry. It has led to Cisco being one of the big names among industry giants like Microsoft, Apple, Sun Microsystems etc. Elements of Market Orientation Customers guide where we go and we stay ahead of market shifts so that we are ready to help our customers evolve, as their industry evolves (Cisco n.d). The customer centric approach is vital to the product development at Cisco. It signifies the presence of market orientation in the organization with respect to the customers needs and requirements that form the basis of marketing strategies at Cisco. Some of the most influential market orientation elements are strategies based on providing value for customers, rapid response to negative customer satisfaction, immediate acknowledgement to competitive challenges, and speedy detection of changes in customer product preferences (Pelham 2000). Cisco has been concentrating on the consumer markets as part of their marketing strategies. It transitioned itsLinksyssubsidiary into a dedicated consumer business group, formed a consumer-focused council, and made key changes in the way it builds consumer products. This change has accentuated Cisco s efforts in building brand awareness among customers worldwide. Cisco has tried to adopt a unified approach to consumer market since it acquired Linksys, a home networking company. It can be seen as a strategy based on creating value for customers and its focus on the much fragmented home networking segment where Cisco had expansion plans due to its belief in home networking being on the cusp of a major market transition. Cisco Business Strategies Reaching Market Adjacencies through a New Management Model Cisco business strategy for the fiscal year 2009 was to address not less than 30 market adjacencies, and they concentrated mostly in those areas where the networking technology and protocols have not seen widespread adoption (Chambers 2009). Emerging markets like India and China have provided Cisco ample growth opportunities and value for their customers and shareholders. In order to capture these opportunities, Cisco requires to move with speed and thought leadership. To accomplish this, they have a new management model based on Councils and Boards which will collaborate to set a long term direction for their business strategy. The council and board members decisions will help the organization to ensure that the goals are aligned throughout the company (Chambers 2009). Capturing Market Transitions Ciscos success also comes from capitalizing on market transitions before they occur. Their goal is to capture these market transitions faster than their competitors by identifying the technologies which play a crucial role in the future of communications and Information Technology. Acting on this differentiated strategy, they made multiple acquisitions in fiscal 2008 2009 (Chambers 2008) including wireless, unified communications and security technologies. Cisco continues to grow through internal development, acquisitions, their global partnerships, and cross-functional teamwork. One area of their differentiated strategy includes a goal of growing each product category in their advanced technologies to capture $1 billion-plus in annual revenue and the number-one market position (Chambers 2008). Providing customer satisfaction is one of Ciscos core values. Creating sustainable customer partner ­ships is a crucial part of Cisco strategy and provides invaluable insight into market tr ansitions. In addition to their technology, Ciscos knowledge of economic development, education, government, healthcare, national security and public safety issues has increased customer trust in Cisco (Chambers 2008). Being close to their customers is they believe the best way to uncover opportunity for the next market transition, long before it becomes obvious to others. Sustained Differentiation across Customer Segments and Geographies Ciscos strategy is made upon four pillars: To capture customer driven market transitions by identifying, investing and positioning. Constant innovation which is enabled through building, buying or collaborating with their partners. Cisco differentiated market approach with their ability to bind together both their business architectures and the technology. Prioritization of initiatives and cross functional teamwork that drive execution across customer segments, products, geographic theaters and value added services. Ciscos differentiated strategy has evolved based on their customer requirements to create sustainable differentiation in the industry and better serving of the needs of all their customers (Chambers 2007). Cisco is continuing to expand their services, product offerings and distribution capabilities to the strategic market. Small and medium sized businesses are increasingly taking on networking technology as they realize efficiencies from their investments in Ciscos products. With the use of efficient networking hardware and software products, SMEs have discovered new ways to work effectively and efficiently (Chambers 2007). From a geographic perspective, Cisco was pleased with the strong and balanced performance they achieved in their four largest theaters. These include European Markets, United States and Canada, Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific. Perhaps Ciscos greatest geographic success of fiscal 2007 was their Emerging Markets Theater, where their revenue grew by 39 percent on a yearly basis (Chambers 2007). Cisco believes that its business processes and collaborative approach to their emerging markets sector have significantly contributed to its growth. Cisco Channel Strategy Cisco is partnering with best in class providers to ensure that their customers receive the highest standard of support and the solutions for its products (Cisco 2009). They consider their partners as an extension of Cisco and their partnerships are truly based on long term commitments and mutual benefits. Cisco is creating market growth through their direct investments, in conjunction with the investment in partnerships which allows them to expand their knowledge, visibility and experience in new technologies. Ciscos strategy is to actively invest in all the major technology segments on a global basis. As with acquisitions, all the investment targets are thoroughly examined and analyzed for both their business and technology. Below are the Cisco acquisitions for the fiscal year 2009 (Cisco 2009). Set-Top Box Business of DVN (Holdings) Ltd.-November 2, 2009 DVN has major operations in China and they are the market leader in digital cable solutions. DVN shares Ciscos vision of performance, scalable and services-rich cable interactive platform extending into every home.Market opportunity for Cisco with this acquisition is cabling solutions. ScanSafe, Inc.-October 27, 2009 The company ScanSafe is a market leader of software services and they provide web security solutions for global enterprises as well as small businesses. By this acquisition Cisco can lead as provider of on-premise content security and their market opportunity from this acquisition turns out to be network security. Starent Networks, Corp.-October 13, 2009 Starent Networks is a leading supplier of IP based mobile infrastructure solutions, targeting mobile and converged carriers. According to Cisco there is an active investment in this market by the service provider, since the global mobile data traffic is expected to double every year. The market opportunity for Cisco with this acquisition is mobility. Tandberg-October 1, 2009 Tandberg is a global leader in video communications. They have a broad range of world class video endpoint and network infrastructure solutions. So with this acquisition, Cisco will expand its collaboration to offer more solutions to a number of customers further accelerating market adoption globally. Tidal Software, Inc.-April 9, 2009 Tidal Software is the creator of intelligent application management and automation solutions. This acquisition will advance Ciscos data center strategy by enhancing product and service delivery offerings. Pure Digital Technologies Inc.-March 19, 2009 Pure Digital, are creators of the best-selling Flip Video brand. They are pioneers in developing consumer friendly video solutions and with this acquisition Cisco can expand in the media enabled home solutions segment and capture the consumer market transition to visual networking (Hooper 2009). Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, Inc.-January 27, 2009 Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence Inc, they are leading provider of intelligent middleware technology that enables businesses to integrate building infrastructure and information technology (IT) applications over a common Internet Protocol (IP) network, resulting in improved efficiencies, greater energy savings and a reduced carbon footprint. Ciscos market opportunity with this acquisition is physical network security. The Next Market Segmentation for Cisco Cisco has been targeting towards getting a two digit sales growth from the telecommunication sector for the year 2009. Cisco is a market leader in the telecommunication sector and they are very optimistic to realize the target. For Cisco, telecommunication sector is one of the massive market segmentations for their products, especially in the IP technology. Cisco launches 2 to 3 solutions periodically for their technology which consists of updates or some added features as extensions of their current products (Yulyanto 2009). Cisco Key Success Factor After only a few years of its foundation, Cisco became a powerhouse in network technology. It was largely unfamiliar to the average consumer until the dot-com explosion, which resulted in a large customer base, such that it became worthwhile to reach potential decision-makers in a variety of ways. The arrival of the Internet as a ubiquitous part of our lives meant that increasing numbers of small businesses and average consumers rapidly became a part of Ciscos customer base. Both market segments contribute to the addition of extra computers, whether for new employees or for family members who want to surf the web simultaneously, which has driven the demand for simpler networking products that even a non-techie can set up. In fact, sales to small and medium businesses accounted for approximately 20 to 30 percent of Ciscos US$ 18.878 billion in revenue that ended in July 2003 (Cook 2004). While the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an explosion in large computer networks as companies upgr aded their infrastructures or simply set them up for the first time, the next several years likely saw a huge jump in small networks, thanks to the ability of Wi-Fi to share a single broadband connection with several computers without the need to drill holes or run Ethernet cables (Cook 2004). The Impact, Positive and Negative, of the Organizations Marketing Mix Marketing Mix Marketing mix is defined as the tactical tools that the marketers use to implement their strategies mixing the controllableelementsof aproducts marketing plan which arecommonly termed as 4Ps: product,price, place and promotion (Kotler 2008: 202). These elements are adjusted until a balanced proportionis found thatservestheneedsof the customerswhile generatingoptimumincome. Product Product can be defined as anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations and ideas (Kotler et al. 2008: 539). Ciscooffers a wide range ofproductsand networking solutions designed for enterprises and small businesses across a variety of industries. They are also addressing their customer requirements in many other segments including commercial and small business. The network has become a platform for providing a transparent customer experience (Insight 2009). Managing the Product Mix Positioning and Repositioning A well planned and executed brand repositioning helps Cisco to increase their brand value along with sales. Cisco is very closely aligned with their corporate strategy, regular investments in their brand positioning or repositioning to always renew the brand significance and maintain its connection with their customers. By brand positioning Cisco has gained enormous benefits as shown below: Brand Measure The branding campaigns conducted by Cisco have lifted its brand equity and helped it to gain shares and grow sales. This has also helped them to strengthen their overall brand recognition and exceed the averages on core brand measures. After the campaign launch, Cisco has been positioned into the security space by lifting their IT security brand consideration by 54% among their tech audience in six months (Slideshare 2008). Ciscos success brand repositioning depends upon their close alignment with their overall corporate strategy which includes product positioning, channel/alliance strategy and acquisitions (Slideshare 2008). Market Share Cisco has strengthened its dominant share in the core market by 72% in switching and 80% in routers. It has also expanded their share in the new products by 6% in messaging applications, 41% in web conferencing and 21% in the video conferencing segments respectively (Slideshare 2008).The market share has been increased for the entire r ange of Cisco security products including their firewall applications, VPN and for secure routers. Jobber (2007: 405) explains Product Strategy as: The emphasis on product portfolio analysis is managing an existing set of products in such a way as to maximize their strengths. But companies also need to look to new products and markets for future growth. A useful way of looking at growth opportunities is the Ansoff Matrix. Cisco Ansoff Analysis Market Penetration Market penetration is the fundamental method of a growth strategy in which the business focuses on selling current products into existing markets. It maintains or increases the market share of current products, restructures mature markets by driving out competition and increases the usage by existing customers (Tutor2u 2009). Acquiring competitors may be one of the major ways of gaining market penetration. It may also be achieved by more aggressive ways of promotional campaigns, supporting it with a competitive pricing strategy and dedicate more resources to selling products. Cisco is known for its innovative products and introduction of those products into the market before its competitors that helps in generating mature markets. Its products like Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Network Analysis Module, Cisco 7600 Series routers, Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Firewall Services Module and many other products have already captured the market (Cisco 2009). It is increasing the market share and customer loyalty through social networking sites, blogs and public interviews. Its main strategy to penetrate the existing market is through acquisitions. It acquired Audium Corporation in June 2006 that gives it opportunity to penetrate into the IP enabled voice telephony market, Cognio, Inc in September 2007 through which it entered into wireless networking, Nuova Systems, Inc in April 2008 that gives it chance to enter into data centers and ScanSafe, Inc in October 2009 that helped Cisco to capture the network security market (Cisco Systems 2009). Market Development Market development can be essentially termed as a growth strategy where the business aims to sell its current products into new markets. Such a strategy can be achieved by venturing into new geographical markets, new product dimensions and new distribution channels. Alternatively, different pricing strategies can be adopted to attract customers and create new market segments (Tutor2u 2009). Cisco recognizes the common strings that exist between sales, engineering, security and marketing groups. Once the main links are identified by its RD Team, it tries to build a suitable interface between the groups which contributes to the companys market development. Develop, Partner or Acquire is the 3 Tier strategy followed by Cisco. It teams up with industrys major companies and then provides persuasive offers to the customers. WirelessLANs, content networking,storage networking, voice over IP and Metro IP includingoptical networking are the extended product dimensions for market development ( Cisco 2001). In addition to this, Cisco is attempting to establish its marketing presence in other potential geographical locations like China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc. Product Development Product development can be defined as a strategy where a business seeks to introduce new products into current markets. It requires the development of new competencies and new products which may appeal to the customers (Tutor2u 2009). Existing product lines may be extended to provide existing customers with greater choice. Cisco sets vision and then makes its strategies to achieve its targeted goals. Its strong RD capitalizes the current market situation and then provides customized business solutions according to customer needs and further plans for new products. Cisco has identified four key requirements to increase acceptance in the business world: security, availability, quality of service, and reliability (Payataqool 2009). Diversification Diversification is the advancement strategy where a business introduces new products in new markets (Tutor2u 2009). This strategy involves high risk since the business targets markets where it has no or very little experience. Cisco has started its diversification in the emerging countries that extend from Russia to the Eastern Europe and Middle East that will also include Africa and Latin America. Industries in developing countries still use limited technology despite of having concentrated wealth, less government transparency and the customers willingness to use the most advanced and high tech products and services. The company not only targets to supply advanced networking equipment but also focuses on the target countrys revolution. Cisco has successfully initiated transformation projects in Chile, Turkey and South Africa as part of its diversification strategy (Deign 2009). Managing product over time Product Life Cycle With the dynamic state of todays economy, an organizational change should not only adapt to the current climate, but it must also encourage growth (Wrage 2009). Cisco has followed this by moving from a traditional silicon based organization to a lifecycle business model. These changes are challenging for Cisco since they have more than 60,000 plus employees supported by their 46 data centers worldwide. This new life cycle consists of six separate stages: In the prepare phase it determines the business case and the project requirements. Plan phase develops the detailed project plan describing the resources and responsibilities. In the design phase it details the alignment of business goals and the technical needs. Implement phase delivers the new capabilities with the integrations. Operate phase monitors and reviews the implementations. Lastly, the Optimize phase has a continuous improvement activity of the existing processes (Wrage 2009). So with these steps in place, Cisco has start ed progressing into an organization that is best suited for the service-oriented network infrastructure organization making the cost savings and efficiency a reality (Wrage 2009). Promotion Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the products and persuade the target customers to buy it (Kotler 1999). Promotion is one of the factors which influence the buying behavior of the customer. It helps to inform people about the product and its usage. Cisco is using many means of introducing their products in global markets. They use advertising as the main tool to introduce new products and to connect with potential customers. They advertise their new products and services through public relationship, direct marketing, internet and online promotions. Cisco also uses the social media channels such as networking and blogs as a tool to promote and to extend their products to the larger audience. Cisco follows the following elements for their promotion strategy: Direct Marketing As stated by Peter Drucker (2009), Marketing is not a function; it is the whole business seen from the customers point of view. Direct marketing captures the customers by avoiding intermediaries. Cisco uses various methods to promote their product such as direct mail, telephone, telemarketing, e-marketing and other tools to directly communicate with the customers. Cisco conducts various direct marketing campaigns such as online shopping, cable television infomercials, which helps them in getting the direct response from their target audience and also to meet their demand generation goals. Advertising Advertisement can be defined as Any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor (Armstrong, Kotler 2009:383). Cisco can be grouped under the product oriented advertiser category, which highlights product features, their services and price through various advertising channels as internet, magazines, television and by e-marketing. AIDA Model AIDA is a model generally adopted by the sellers to stimulate the purchase decision of the customers. Attention The element attention, describes the stage where the brand manages to obtain customer attention, informing the customers about the product. This could be either a positive or a negative attention. The next step is to build a relationship with customers by means of advertising which is a prominent tool in the marketing mix. The product is then launched in order to encourage the customer decision of buying the product. Interest In this stage, it generates the confidence in the buyers about the products that company plans to promote. The seller then explains how this product will meet the customers requirements. Cisco as a brand has interested its customers and built the confidence in the buyer about their product interests the customers. Desire In this stage the seller inspires the customer towards the product and then relates the products to their needs. Here, advertising strategies are best suited. Since customers have the choice of choosing their configuration, it stimulat es the desire to purchase the product. Action This phase deals with persuading the consumers to buy the product and explain them the immediate benefits of the product. Advertising and direct ma Art Therapy: Benefits and Applications Art Therapy: Benefits and Applications Psychology and art therapy might have been in use to heal from thousands of years, for instance, in the 7th century Vaghabhatta in his Ashtanga Hridaya narrates as â€Å"Obeisance be, to that unique, unparalleled, rare physician who has destroyed, without any residue, the diseases like lust, anger, greed, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, fear and many such bad emotions† hinting on psychological treatments and awareness that were existing. Concurrently almost at the same period, The Chitrasutra of the Vishnudharmottara Purana, in his discourse on Indian painting details on various schools, techniques and ideals, significantly, he prescribes art is a form of emotional communication and a healing process. He says: Painting cleanses the mind and curbs anxiety, augments future good, causes the greatest delight, kills the evils of bad dreams and pleases the household deity (Kalmanowitz, Potash, Chan, 2012: 192). These ancient scholars, though have specified these therapies did not expl icate the details as the fields were out of the scope of their literature purview; however, they have left behind remarkable evidence on these therapies. Therefore, it is apparent that Indians worked with the awareness of art’s therapeutic benefits, which can be adverted to as an established concept of art therapy. Kramrisch proclaims that Chitrakara often admits that the knowledge of Vishnudharmothara is a mere transference of the knowledge he pursued from Indian lineage repeated and compiled from older sources [does not mention whether the older source was in the form of text/ verbatim/ training. Nevertheless, it shows the theory was pre-existing prior to the 7th century] (Kramrisch. S 1928: 4). A substantial research remains open for any further literature review and literature search for more details on these supposedly lost therapies. Clinical interventions hinder the healing process, especially in children on the contrary, adapting non-verbal method, e.g., ‘art’ is considerably accommodating. In need of psychologists providing fair and non-verbal communication to assess children The Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT; Bracken McCallum, 1998a) was developed to help multi-cultural and multi-lingual populations and children who have sensory limitations, learning disabilities, psychiatric conditions, and various language-impairing neurological disorders (Reynolds, R. C. Kamphaus, W. R. 2003: 254). Further regarding psychotherapy techniques it is also mentioned that â€Å"all these methods have a number of fundamental limitations† (p. 15). The atmosphere is utmost important for children. Art studio is more welcoming and enables children to believe that they can carry through something over there, while the clinical environment is fearful and fretful (Councill T., 2003, 208). Staricoff in her exhaustive research review[1] (Arts in Health: A review of the medical literature cites nearly 400 papers showing the beneficial impact of the arts on a wide range of health outcomes) summarizes her findings as commitments with local artists and museums can show a significant improvement in medical students. Foreword by Peter Hewitt acknowledges that Artists are well aware regarding the positive impact and benefits of their works in healthcare centers. Art of medicine can be enriched with responsiveness, consciousness, and thoughtfulness by combining art based activity in medical students[2]. Visualizing the art works can improve observation and understanding skills of students during medical training[3]. Art making, aesthetic improvements and installations can be worthwhile during treatment as they reduce the anxiety, provides a positive response to the treatment and speeds up the recovery, thereby reducing a prolonged treatment and increased expenses[4]. All these research reports show that art directly benefits the patient, staff, medical students and families. Art is vital for effective medical training and treatment. Neuroscience has shown amazing advancements using art that does not rely on theoretical explanations or interpretation, e.g., fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) observes direct variations in the brain’s network during visualization[5]. Observing or producing visual art reduces the distress by opting positive distraction from negative feelings and thoughts thereby promoting health benefits[6]. Many scientists explore the use of art; such scientists illustrate and publish more advanced, highly cited research than the average scientists who are not involved in visual arts[7]. Hence, art making not only plays its role in healing but also places itself in the intellectual science camp. This article is intended not to go against art psychotherapy or psychotherapy, but unfortunately, though we have copious evidence on the direct benefits of art, art therapy display predilection towards psychotherapeutic benefits. The concern is in the present situation of art therapy, where art is observed as parasitic on psychotherapy since it believes nothing can be achieved without verbal communication. On taking the risk of compromising with psychotherapy, this article questions whether we have lost the concept of â€Å"Art as therapy†? Have we sacrificed the essential values, viewpoints and integrity of art in the process of reconciling art and psychology? Is it a sacrifice made merely to get recognized as a scientific field? The benefits of art have been discussed throughout the art history, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology literatures. In Dissanayake’s point of view the relationship between evolution and art is assessed sometimes as crucial to survive by making special. Culturally primitives use to pass on the morals and information. Psychologically, they use to relieve from the anxieties of uncertain life (Dissanayake 1992a as cited in Kaplan 2000: 59). Kaplan argues that by enabling language development, creativity, problem solving skills, self-esteem, and mental reparation visual art can support our well-being (Kaplan, Frances, 2000, 62). Art therapy Art therapy has emerged as a prevalent therapeutic module and has a long history of several decades. Art is a powerful tool in communication that can be used to understand emotions, stress and in-built complexities of people. The ability to reduce anxiety, resolve life’s struggle and enhance life without any age bar has elevated art into the realm of therapeutic forms, be it spiritual healing, medications, play therapy, neuroscience, etc. (Malchiodi, 2003, ix), getting involved with the practice of art making improves observation, hand and eye coordination, perception and brings in relaxation and reparation, overall well-being is observed due to the art’s nature of self-soothing (Malchiodi, 2003, 353). In art as therapy it becomes difficult to provide dynamic therapeutic benefits as the client needs to have a rudimentary skill of making art (Nucho 2003: 14), similarly, clients without rudimentary skills of art making may face difficulty in producing their mental discrepancies in art psychotherapy (Nucho 2003: 14), and nothing happens without discourse (needs reference). A further related problem of the art psychotherapy approach is that art work and observations are linked to comfortable explanations made by clients, these descriptions, nevertheless man stem from ignorance, insecurity, uncertainty, cover ups and disparity that a client might possess or poses. Miller without seeing any progress in mentally ill adults from insight-oriented art psychotherapy engaged them in loosely structured art activity which was more satisfying and rehabilitative (Kaplan 2000: 99). This means that in art psychotherapy the evidence supporting empirical research processes, adds little to what can be described, is difficult to disprove and often involves a circular explanation of the relation between art and psychotherapy. Such explanations are of little value, because they fail to enlarge upon what is already known and established in psychotherapy and keeps one in confusion regarding what art can provide more than the benefits of retrieving images for clinical psychol ogy purpose. Not necessarily by means of art psychotherapy, but treatment would any way happen through psychotherapy counselling, as art psychotherapy strongly believes in discourse and its attributes, which leads one to question the subsistence of art psychotherapy concept. Science fails to analyze why a person has depicted a certain image when the circumstance of action and depictions controls the mood and brings out false positive response from the client. Human beings are tuned to oppose the personality analysis whenever they feel discomfort, they refuse to open up or select to feed negatively. Rather than depicting the primary mood disorder, they prefer to depict unaccomplished desires, hoping for mercy and/or fulfillment. This leads to wrong assertion. Crazy artists and suiciding psychologists It appears to be too simple to say that art as therapy is therapy by itself, a self-healing process, or an auto reparative tool. Often the concept strikes to get to its point. For e.g., Regarding addiction and art, the disgraceful act of being addicted can be resolved by involving in art activities (Santora P. B., Dowell, M. L., Henningfield E (Ed), 2010, 6) these, points get blurred as we question what about those crazy drug addict artists who could not cure themselves in the procedure of creating artwork? Does art have self-healing capacities? Can a common man win through art where world renowned artists failed? These questions may make us turn back to psychology, but Tori DeAngelis[8] says â€Å"several studies support the idea that psychologists may have an elevated risk for suicidal ideation and behavior compared to general population†. An astonishing percentage as high as 40 to 60 percent of psychologists faced disruption due to work load, anxiety and depression was reported by A 2009 APA survey, such instances affect clients and psychologists are insufficiently prepared to deal with distressed colleagues comes as a blow in the discipline of psychology. J. S. MAUSNER and R. C. STEPPACHER[9], conducted a study, where weirdly a doubtful, anxious and unsuccessful career were major reasons of psychologists committing suicide. Later, the initial impact of being unsuccessful many people starts planning to die and psychologists are not left behind. Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), whose ink blot test is prominently popular could not wait to see his work propel, with all the drawback of financial blockage, he reduced his inkblot prints to 10 numbers, the failure of his publication made him to die committing suicide. (Schultz, P, D, Schultz, E, S, 2005: 19). Likewise, we have witnessed Suicides of noted psychologists Michael J. Mahoney, PhD, in 2006, and Lawrence Kohlberg, PhD, in 1987. Reference As an example of addiction Freud encouraged cocaine and he himself was a cocaine user, his biographer Ernst Jones says Freud use to smoke up to twenty cigars a day in the process he developed cancer and begged his physicians to down him[10]. Further, what about the psychologists who suicide one after the other†¦. Why couldn’t they heal themselves as similar to artists who were not cured by their art at all? Did those artists with the process of art, live long being addicted rather than committing suicide? Art definitely has something to present at least the urge to live. Dr Staricoff quotes Swedish research showing that â€Å"engagement with the arts is associated with longer life expectancy† (Staricoff, 2004, 2). What art can afford us and what we can obtain will remain unrevealed till we get pitched to this marvelous concept of art. Reward processing makes a specific contribution to the neural processing of visual art, that artistic status alone is enough to instantiate reward processing, and that the brain thus responds to art for art’s sake[11]. The art instinct therefore has been eternally planted in the heart of man. Art provokes happiness when one lives merrily, and when one is in pain, yet it provokes the happiness by removing the deep rooted grief of the soul, hence it is impossible to destroy the art and appreciation that is imbibed in a man (Davar F. C., 1935, 2). Without readiness, and self-preparedness any therapy would fail in producing beneficial results. What seems most important to remember is that the art made in therapy is not only a source of information for the therapist; it is also a mirror for the youngster, as Edith Kramer once wrote, â€Å"Paintings are valuable not so much because they can tell the adult something about the child, but also because the very act of creating helps the child to learn something new about himself. This process of self-discovery and self-acceptance through art is the core of art therapy† (Rubin, 2005, 120). Unclear and blur mental images become clear and meaningful during art therapy course (Rubin, 2005, 153) and this brain game is not possible, without client’s willingness and enthusiasm which is raised by the foreseen pleasure of creating art itself. All these creative people and psychologists were all aware of their situations, an artist who is addicted need to divert his art activity into other courses of artwork; a psychologist with problems need to confer with other therapists. It was like a story of a fish which decided to lie in the same pond without caring for its spirit, though picked back, time and again, it got back to the same pond where there was no enough oxygen, it was the problem of that fish which cannot be generalized with all those fishes in the sea. [1] Arts in health: a review of the medical literature- www.artscouncil.org.uk [2] Jo Marie Reilly; Jeffrey Ring; Linda Duke. Visual Thinking Strategies: A New Role for Art in Medical Education, Fam Med 2005; 37(4): 250-2. [3] Jasani SK, Saks NS. Utilizing visual art to enhance the clinical observation skills of medical students. Med Teach. 2013 Jul;35(7):e1327-31. [4] Studies show that incorporating the arts can save money, improve the patient experience and do a lot more. http://www.ucira.ucsb.edu/why-we-need-the-arts-in-medicine/ [5] Edward A. Vesse, G. Gabrielle Starr, and Nava Rubin, Art reaches within: aesthetic experience, the self and the default mode network, Front Neurosci. 2013; 7: 258. [6] Lankston., Cusack., Fremantle., Isles, Visual art in hospitals: case studies and review of the evidence, J R Soc Med. Dec 1, 2010; 103(12): 490-499 [7] Daniel Gurnon, Julian Voss-Andreae, and Jacob Stanley, Integrating Art and Science in Undergraduate Education, PLoS Biol. Feb 2013; 11(2): e1001491. [8] DeAngelis, Tori 2011: 19 [9] J. S. Mausner and R. C. Steppacher, Suicide in professionals: A study of male and female psychologists, http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/6/436 [10] http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/tp/facts-about-freud.htm [11] Simon Lacey., Henrik Hagtvedt., Vanessa M. Patrick., Amy Anderson., Randall Stilla., Gopikrishna Deshpande., Xiaoping Hu., Joà £o R. Sato., Srinivas Reddy., and K. Sathian. Art for reward’s sake: Visual art recruits the ventral striatum. Neuroimage. Mar 1, 2011; 55(1): 420–433.