The Colonial Influence on Sri Lankan Society and on Hill Country

Chapter ONE: 1.0 Colonial ere and hill state. 1.1 The colonial influence and its impacts on Sri Lankan society. The traditional Sri Lankan society was chiefly based on Buddhism as the faith, agribusiness as the chief tenancy and the caste oriented opinion system. The kingship pattern disposal system was dominated the land and throne was decidedly entitled to a Buddhist. The Buddhist monastic was really of import in the opinion system through the male monarch. Peoples chosen really simple and low life form and the society were chiefly disciplined by Buddhist doctrine. Basically, traditional Sri Lankan society was peaceable, generous and merely due to long term influence of Buddhism. The basic and likely the lone economic activity of the common multitudes were paddy and other grain cultivation. Other than that they had merely really few demands due to their really simple life form and they were really easy to fulfill with really limited resources in the state. That type of life form can be identified as self-sufficing economical system. Social construction had a strong order with the feudal system predominating in dominant mode. All the lands were chiefly belongs to the male monarch and the male monarch gave them harmonizing to his favour. The lands can be divided consequently to their ownership and the responsibility towards the male monarch. The basic types were as given below. 1. â€Å" Ninda Gam † – The lands donated by the male monarch to his authorities retainers. The crop belongs to the proprietors and can be changed the ownership harmonizing to the household. 2. â€Å" Gabada Gam † – The lands separated for male monarchs usage and the people who cultivate on those lands should give part to the castle. Besides people should make responsibilities to the male monarch and to the castle. 3. â€Å" Vihara Gam † – The lands given to the Buddhist temples by the male monarch and there people who had to cultivate on them and besides the crop should split in to two. 4. â€Å" Devala Gam † – The lands given to devala by the male monarch. It is clear that the ownership of the lands goes to the male monarch and land was the foundation of the male monarch right to the service and part of the people and vise versa. â€Å" Although the Ceylon litoral had since the early sixteenth century been successfully by Portuguese, Dutch and British. The kandyan land maintained its independency under the male monarchs from Wimaladarmasuriya 1 ( reg-AD 1591-1604 ) to the temperament of Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe by British in 1815 † ( Prof. Nimal De Silva- Architect journal-1990 ) The Kandyan period was rich with powerful male monarchs like Rajasinghe two who succeeded subverting the Lusitanian with the aid of the Dutch. The disposal system was really powerful that the influence of it on the common multitudes was really great. As historiographers shows the Portuguese was the first Europeans who came to the Srilanka every bit early as 1505 and accordingly were succeeded by Dutch. Both of above encroachers were able to capture the maritime states of Sri Lanka and they were established their ain authoritiess. The Portuguese introduced Roman catholism and Dutch the adopted their judicial disposal system which is still remain in Srilanka as Roman-Dutch jurisprudence. The hill state subjected to important alterations during the British period. The huge influence of British disposal spread over the full society because they established their authorization allover the land. They were wholly succeeded in making a westernized value system. Catholism was treated as the province faith and the Buddhism was overpowered by the catholism. The Sinhalese were forced to encompass catholism by offering particular privileges to those who did so. English instruction spread through out the state and people were taught to believe as British and to esteem their values. The British were successfully created a class of Sinhalese in really facet of life built in skin color. 1.2 Colonial influence on architecture of hill state. The colonial had really closed fond regard with hill state and people of hill state. It is because they identified the clime of the hill state was so familiar to the clime of their state. So they began to take hill state to pass their reposeful yearss and that created figure of personal businesss with local adult female on hill state. These types of closer fond regards causes to the important alterations in socio-cultural and economic background of the hill state. 1.2.1 Socio-culture and economic background of the colonial period in Hill state. A societal difference had begun to originate between Sinhalese of low state and hill state. Kandyan had a sense of pride natured by the fact that they had retained their political independency and they begun to look at the low state Sinhalese who had fallen quarry of christianism and other western influences, with dubious oculus. That causes to split Sinhalese in to two culturally different classs. Harmonizing to the historiographers after the invading of the Kandyan land in 1815AD the British intentionally attempted to diminish the power of Sinhala headsmans ‘s, in order to destruct the forming power of Sinhalese. As a trap they identified the spread between up state and low state. Then the British were strengthened the spread and destroyed the harmoniousness of the Srilankan society. The British identified the demand of a reform in the bing disposal system in order to reconstruct and keep their jurisprudence and order over the Island on a long term. Two incidents that promote d these reforms where the 1797-98 rebellion in maritime States and 1817-18 rebellion of Kandyan state. Harmonizing to the history, more basic alterations took topographic point in the 1830s largely due to the reform initiated by the Colebrook Cameron committee which visited the state in 1829-30. They learn towards western signifiers of disposal based on money economic system and free endeavor, alternatively of the feudalist system that was predominating. After the recommendation of the Colebrook Cameron committee most of the authorities monopolies was given up and stairss were taken to sell the authoritiess lands known as ‘Gabada Gama † . They were sold in auction and it permitted in persons to originate the procedure of land purchase. Freehold right of land extended significantly. In the interim, rapid development took topographic point in the physical substructure of the state. The Colombo-Kandy main road was completed by 1832 and the route web became one of the most important and economically considerable characteristics. This web was sonly supplemented with the postal and telegraph services. Colombo-Kandy railroad was completed by the twelvemonth 1867 and later encompassed a milage of 713 by the twelvemonth 1924. Reasonably subsequently in 1880 the Colombo seaport was developed. These reform and development provided a huge scope of economical and employment chances in Sri Lanka. Some of the of import capital investing and economic enterprisers used their wealth to give their kids a good English instruction in the best school of the state and higher instruction abroad. Srilankan who finished the school instruction were absorbed to the disposal system as clerks, civil retainers and etc: these Srilankans were really happy with these occupations because they provide them good populating criterion, socially acceptableness and secured hereafter. The new middle-classes of the Srilankan society emerged out of them. The freshly emerged categories consolidated their position with the aid of the British authorities. In that sense they were really grateful to British swayers. They were heartlessly condemned every thing covering with Srilankan traditional civilization. They chosen catholism to Buddhism as a more modern faith ; spoke merely in English and thirstily follow ed anything linked with British in order to foreground them egos as westernized quality of local over the traditional Srilankan society. 1.3 History of plantation industry. The Arabs were introduced the java works to Srilankan and Southern India at first clip, subsequently Srilankans begun to grew the java widely in the gardens and was besides planted around the temples. During the Portuguese captured the Srilanka from 1505 to 1655 no effort was made to cultivate the works. As historiographers mentioned in their paperss the Dutch were started to cultivate certain harvests such as cinnamon and java at 1740. How of all time the first java plantation was unluckily started in the tropical low state about 10 stat mis off from the Galle, on land closer to Baddegamuwa on Gindura River. Because of the tropical clime the first effort was unsuccessful. There after they came to the Kandy territory in hill state, as the clime looks more suited for the java cultivation. Harmonizing to the historiographers the first java works was placed by Sir Edward Banns in 1823 under the British authorities. Meanwhile the Ceylone became the universe ‘s largest java manufacturer. There were some major grounds had identified as the grounds for the accomplishment of the java industry. 1. Coffee cultivation really popular among Europeans. 2. The sudden failure in java production in West Indies islands. The java industry in Srilanka had reached its highest extremum in 1868 harmonizing to the history. Then there was a sudden autumn occurred in java industry because of the disease call â€Å" hamileia vatatrix † . As it spread through all over the Ceylon java plantations so started Rubber cultivation at Rathnapura, Galle and Kalutara territories. There after the Rubber became the outstanding commercial harvest in ceylone at 1890. As a consequence of the industrial revolution the gum elastic industry became succeeded. Besides the traditional coconut cultivation was developed in good managed mode. Even though the java destroyed by the disease there were batch of plantation owners remain and they tried to replant the tea. Then the tea became a good manner of puting money lost in java cultivation. Many of the java plantation owners became tea plantation owners and by the mid 1890s the â€Å" tea camelia was became outstanding harvest in Ceylon. Harmonizing to the history James Taylor was the first tea plantation owner land area of tea, by the seeds brought from Assam. The historiographers says that he was the first commercial graduated table tea plantation owner in Srilanka. Thus began the tea industry in Srilanka. James Taylor Tea plantation 1.4 Climate conditions and output of tea. The output potency of any harvest is set by the clime and its twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours fluctuation, which we call as conditions. The most of import characteristic in the conditions is as follows, 1. Annual rainfall 2. Temperature fluctuation 3. Wind speed 4. Humidity Besides the nature of the dirt is another of import factor for any harvest. 1. Rainfall The hill state receives more than 2500mm rainfall spread over the twelvemonth. Tea is grown on the hillsides of tropical and semitropical states. The harvest needs 2000mm-5400mm during the twelvemonth. Annual rainfall 2. Temperature The hill state has a cool brumous clime during the twelvemonth. This occurs because of the tallness above from the average sea degree. In this part the temperature varies from 15.6C lower limit to 27C upper limit. There is a line drive relationship between shoot extension rate and average temperature. This type of cold clime is favourable for tea cultivation. Annual temperature fluctuation 3. Soil status When sing the dirt status in hill state we can see it is red-yellow podzolic and ruddy brown laterite which is suited for tea cultivation. Tea is turning in broad scope of dirt types and there for it does non intend is that there are certain dirt features which must be met by any peculiar dirt where tea is to be grown. Soil status requires for tea cultivation SOIL ( General chemical belongingss )Ph dirt H2O4 %Organic affair5.4 %Entire N0.33 %CN ratio9.63 %Available P ( ppm )24 %Average one-year rainfall and lowest-highest average month temperature on tea turning countries of hill state.KandyNuwaraEliyaLatitude8N7NLongitude81E80.45EAnnual rainfall2375mm2225mmTemperature scope ( C )22.8-25.813.3-15.6Average temperature23.914.4

Meaning to Your Name…Hehehe

What does the name â€Å"Magdeline† mean? A name is much more than just a name! M is for  musical, your hidden talent! A is for  absolute, for you know your mind. G is for  goal, your eye on the future. D is for  dazzle, the sparkle of you. E is for  excellence, your passion, your drive. L is for  luxury, the luxury of your smile. I is for  intense, your zest of living. N is for  neatness, your orderly way. E is for  exquisite, who could argue? What does the name â€Å"Gladys† mean? A name is much more than just a name! G is for  genial, a pleasing personality. L is for  luxury, the luxury of your smile.A is for  accomplished, in all that you do. D is for  dashing, the romantic you! Y is for  yearn, your innermost desires. S is for  sensible, the practical side What does the name â€Å"Magdeline† mean? A name is much more than just a name! (1991/11/20) M is for  munificent, for you are extremely liberal in giving. A is for  able, for you surely are. G is for  glitter, the spark that is you. D is for  dependable, on you I can rely. E is for  easy going, no ruffles here. L is for  lucky, who is more? I is for  impress, for impress you will. N is for  name, a pleasant one indeed. E is for  enchant, for enchant you will.What does the name â€Å"Catherine† mean? A name is much more than just a name! C is for  casual, no pretension here. A is for  affirm, the certainty of knowledge. T is for  treasure, that of your friendship. H is for  heavenly, your spirit is strong. E is for  elate, you make others happy. R is for  refreshing, the sparkling you. I is for  inspire, others seek your guidance. N is for  noble, your regal bearing. E is for  expressive, not one to hold within. The name  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Catherine†Ã‚  is of Greek origin and it means  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pure†. It’s a name commonly given to girls. What does the name â€Å"Cletuse† mean?A name is much more than just a name! C is for  confident, no doubts here! L is for  look, the way you look at life. E is for  excellence, your passion, your drive. T is for  treasure, of your friendship. U is for  upstanding, your inner-self. S is for  select, as few are chosen. E is for  elegant, born within you. What does the name â€Å"Alphoncina† mean? A name is much more than just a name! Ais for  accomplished, in all that you do. Lis for  laughter, you spread wherever you go. Pis for  passion, your fire! His for  hope, the encouragement you give. Ois for  outlook, pleasing to all. Nis for  nice, need I say more?Cis for  cuddle, those intimate moments you cherish. Iis for  impress, for impress you will. Nis for  nice, need I say more? Ais for  affirm, the certainty of knowledge. What does the name â€Å"Rethabile† mean? A name is much more than just a name! Ris for  realist, the way you are. Eis for  enjoy, your life can be fun! Tis for  trie d, tried and true you. His for  honor, your most valuable possession. Ais for  abundant, your cheer knows no bounds. Bis for  beloved, as you are to many. Iis for  instill, the lesson of life. Lis for  luxury, the luxury of your smile. Eis for  expressive, not one to hold within.

Barbie Dolls and Their Influence

Barbie and girls each have their own way of explaining or worshiping toys. They are related to toys and the way they use them can be quite different. But after all, what really matters is that they spend time with them. That's why I want children to have toys and want toys. This is feasible for the eyes of merchants and venture capitalists, which they want because they are good opportunities for maximizing profit. Barbie is a brand of accessory brands including Mattel dolls and other family members and collectable dolls. For over 50 years Barbie is an important part of the toy's fashion doll market and has been the subject of many controversies and litigation, often including imitation of dolls and their lifestyle. Mattel sells over 1 billion Barbie dolls and is the company's largest and most profitable product line. However, sales have sharply declined since 2014. The doll changed the world's rich community toy business by becoming a tool for selling related products (accessories, c lothes, Barbie friends, etc.). She has great influence on social value by telling women's autonomy features and many accessories This is an ideal high end lifestyle that can be shared with wealthy friends. Barbie is a model woman? The generation has played this doll for a long time and many people want to be like her: party girls, professional women and beauty queen are all integrated. In the poem entitled Barbie by Marge Piercy, the title tells the theme of that poem. Mrs Linde replied, My wife should not borrow money without my husband's consent (Ibsen 88). I already think that women are lower than men, Ibsen is a fake. In Barbie's verse, the author Marge Piercy believes that American Barbie is usually a perfect woman. This makes people laugh for appearance reasons, expecting Barbie-like images. This doll symbolizes what a woman should be and what he is fighting for. Barbie makes me misunderstand the children when I was young, I feel pressure to act by looking at this unrealistic image. When thinking about the word Barbie, people often think about her unrealistic figure - plump waist, thin thighs, long legs - though less than 2% of American women want to reach this level It is. Does not everyone want to be all this? As we grow we recognize that it is unrealistic and unachievable, but as a child and as a young adult it may make girls around the world mislead.

Video Surveillance Cameras vs. Personal Privacy Research Paper

Video Surveillance Cameras vs. Personal Privacy - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that video surveillance has been in existence for a long time now. Often you will find cameras in shopping malls, bank halls, workplaces, airports, transportation hubs and mostly on urban streets. As modernization and development increased, the number of risks also grew to such an alarming extent that employers, governments, organizations and even individuals saw the need for keeping a close watch on their lives and property. Video surveillance has been more embraced in the recent times compared to other complex systems. Camera surveillance has taken over the market as a main figure of supervision in high risk public and private areas, where theft and terrorism are observed to be prevalent. The digital technology has proved to be the ultimate stimulator for camera surveillance, which comes in a variety of models that could be easily implemented for use. According to Jones, there are about 100 million CCTV cameras operating in the world of w hich 30 million can be identified to be from the United States. Systems of video surveillance cameras have been applied widely to different situations and not necessarily to intrude on personal privacy but to monitor and supervise activities for the intended purposes. The use of surveillance cameras is potentially used and recognized in the European nations more than in the United States, with Europe significantly overstating the benefits of the CCTV.... It is obvious that those cameras will be deployed on both ordinary public places and even more private areas, which are prone to crime. The constitution project staff (12) mentions that video surveillance is carried out in line with the need for police investigation, in a suspected criminal act of an individual in New York, pursuant to a warrant. Most of the crimes are strategically organized not to occur in an open place, rather looking for a secluded environment to pursue their mission. Placing cameras in such locations would make it easier for security agencies to deter crime and capture the offenders. Many in the society oppose the government strategy, claiming that they are being watched or recorded enough to read an individual’s next move and the way they privately carry themselves in the public. A study on Manhattan surveillance cameras established that there were high chances of being recorded almost every step of the way, as one walked around the city and most especia lly, it seems to be worse when more cameras are even located in some sacred public domains (Winston and Edelbach 223). While this is true, individuals concentrate more on their private life and tend to forget that the primary concern is not surveillance intrusion in privacy, but to gather and cover timed activities for analysis and as evidence in case of an event (Constitution Project Staff 8). Again, individuals who seem to be anxious would portray a character that would raise the suspicion of security agents monitoring activities on cameras, making them question whether the individual has a hidden agenda. With border patrol surveillance, cameras are placed on roads, highways and at the border to keep watch and control exits and

Stem Education Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stem Education - Term Paper Example STEM education is a very different from education that deals with a different approach to learning and teaching so as to integrate the overall content of technology, mathematics, science, and engineering. The practice standards of this specific type of education are aligned towards a behavioral combination that needs to be present to the students who are undergoing such form of learning. The behaviors that are essential to a learning approach comprises of logical reasoning, investigation, inquiry, and collaboration (Hill, Bloom, Black & Lipsey, 2008).The major aim of such education is that the students should be proficient enough to answer various complex questions that are related to science, mathematics, technology, and engineering. The learning approaches for this form of education would be totally different in relation to the traditional education system (Stone, Alfeld & Pearson, 2008).The teaching procedure is based more on real life investigation where the students are taught m ultiple ways so as to investigate different kinds of global issues and create solutions that would be applicable for real-time problems and challenges. The STEM education is more focused towards developing the skills in the students which would help them to deal efficiently with real-time situations.The teachers who deliver this form of education needs to be continuously updated on the various changes that are taking place across the globe so that they are able to transmit the right information to their students.

Hate Groups Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hate Groups - Research Paper Example Its main objective was to uplift spiritual social and economic conditions of African Americans. However, the group attracted many critics that it is supporting the Black Separatist ideology. The nation of Islam is not affiliated to any larger hate group but has interacted with many foreign influential persons. These include the dictator of Libya Col Gaddafi and Omar al-Bashir of Northern Sudan. According to Gibson (2012), the nation of Islam advocated for the adherence of the five pillars of Islam faith. It teaches faith, morality, mutual respect and discipline. They discourage premarital sex, abortion and the abuse of substances including the use of tobacco and alcohol. He created the malicious and ‘devil white ‘. Fard preached the coming of an overthrow restoring the superiority of blacks. This group holds that intermarriages or race mixing should be forbidden. Like other Muslims, they believe there is no other God but Allah but to them he came in the form of Fard. On an interview in the media, Fard explained that God used black mud to model a black man who was the first man. The whites emerged from a contraceptive measure generated by Yacub. Wallace further preached that according to the bible the fall of Babylon was symbolic to today’s America to fulfill prophesy of the book of revelation. NOIs ideology of anti Semitism is dominant in the organizatio n with its leader Elijah calling Jews greedy for imposing Jesus to authority. Farrakhan held a lot of prejudice during the early days of civil movement campaigns. Some of his remarkable words were when he called Hitler a very great man and Judaism a dirty religion. His biased remarks against Jews and whites attracted a lot of appeal from many African Americans. This racist ideology by Wallace spread fast, and he gained a lot of fame among the blacks. The United Kingdom forbade him from visiting the United Kingdom as the officials saw his as a

Does ultilitarianism clash with John Stuart Mill's theory of liberty Essay

Does ultilitarianism clash with John Stuart Mill's theory of liberty - Essay Example democracy, skepticism and tradition (this he does at the same time), and liberty but each must avoid dogmatic thinking while operating, and the rights of the individual are sacrosanct. His extraordinary thoughts are difficult to understand, but if grasped as for their correct import, they must provide lots of valuable input for the practicing politicians of the day, as well as to evaluate the works of the thinkers, past and present! It is difficult job for an ordinary reader to try to understand whether his utilitarianism clashes with the theory of liberty; for the intelligent also, it is a tough exercise. Whereas he focuses on the individual and extols freedom, he dubs majority humanity as mediocre. Why the defender of freedom entertains such contradictory ideas? Critics, therefore, dub Mill as one of the most egotistical and arrogant philosophers. J. S. Mill was an English philosopher and economist. He wrote Utilitarianism in 1861. This essay propounds a moral and legal theory, with roots in classical philosophy. Its argument is straightforward. â€Å"Morality consists in bringing about the best state of affairs, and that the best state of affairs is the state with the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism continues to be an important theory in modern philosophy.† (Spark Notes†¦) Mill had problems later with his own aversions to say that utilitarianism was too unemotional and that it failed to capture or understand the higher pleasures. His struggle to reconcile Utilitarianism is evident in his later writings but he did not reject utilitarianism as a moral theory. He continued to uphold a more complex version of utilitarianism. Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness."(Spark Notes) Happiness according to Mill is pleasure and the absence of pain. Having said this, he

Economic Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Article Analysis - Essay Example Banks, chastened by the recent credit disaster due to the subprime mortgage loan debacle, have refused to take more risks by way of lending. Seeing that the stimulus package did not work as expected, both Treasury and the Fed decided to inject funds directly -- from the helicopter, so to speak -- into the economy by buying distressed assets in order to pump more money into the economy to spur growth. This took the form of programs named Term Auction Lending Facility, Term Securities Lending Facility, and Asset Backed Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Lending Facility. This buyback program had recently reached $2.2 trillion from $950 billion last September 2008. Such an approach sought to stave off a "catastrophic downturn" although some observers think that the recession is already running, the worst since the early 1980s. From the economists point of view the attempt of the US government to intervene is based on what has been learned from the Great Depression of the 1930s when the so-called "invisible hand." was found no longer reliable. A British economist, John Maynard Keynes, proposed that the government should take direct action to stimulate the economy, by way of infusing liquidity through direct spending to stimulate consumption and industrial activity. The injection of cash could be made through the banking system, through low interest rates, or through fiscal policy via a budget deficit, or by a combination of both monetary and fiscal policy. First, the Fed offers low discount rate to the banks, and the latter should be able to to lend the money to borrowers at just a slightly higher interest to account for their income derived from the spreads In the present situation, however, the banks are not extending credit. Consequently, the Fed had to take direct action by purchasing distressed assets . When the economy recovers as widely believed it will, starting --

Salary Negotiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Salary Negotiation - Essay Example The service of professionals has a market value that is measured based on the median pay of professionals with similar educational and professional background which is a baseline that helps a person determining how much labor of a person is worth. This essay discusses various strategies a professional can utilize in the middle of a salary negotiation and analysis the scenario of the person with a salary demand with counter move of the firm mentioning a specific budget for the position which is lower than the professional’s minimum salary demand. The salary negotiation scenario has many alternative solutions the person can choose to gain an upper hand and maximize the salary offer from the employer. The first argument that must be brought to the negotiating table is the employer’s improper conduct of setting up an interview with full knowledge of the minimum salary requirements to then bring a wild card of an alleged company budget for the position. The time of a person is worth money, the interviewee’s time is subject to the economic law of opportunity cost which stipulates that the value of a person’s time can be measured by comparing what the person could be earning if he were doing something else (Varian, 2003). There are online sources that allow a person to determine their market value based on multiple variables such as experience, education and geography. The website Salary.com provides in depth free reports about thousands of job profiles. For example an accountant with cero to two years of experience is categorized an Accountant I; this category for professionals living in the state of Florida has an average salary of approximately $37,000 per year (Salary.com, 2008). In the salary negotiation scenario the person with the salary demand should have based his initial minimum requirements on the median salary for his profession based on a verifiable source. When the company came with the salary

Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music - Research Paper Example ifferentiated effects of Romanticism in music can be discerned such as the move towards greater freedom in both the form and the design of musical pieces. Previously, music had been more diverted to relating the real and the happening. Romanticism begun to change the realistic stance of music by introducing new elements to music that relied in large part on imagination and fantasy. The addition of the element of adventure in nineteenth century music is also undeniable (Beard and Gloag). The Romantic Movement placed a great emphasis on inventing new kinds of lyrical melodies that were song like in their overall composition. This meant that the new music being produced generally had richer harmonies to display along with an adventurous modulation. This meant that music was often chromatic – a trait that was achieved using a striking utilization of discords. Music from this period also presents a greater sense of ambiguity (Schmidt-Jones and Jones). This generated ambiguity is more noticeable in terms of the overall tone and the various harmonic functions that compose it. Additionally the rhythm of the music from this era is more ambiguous than from before. Another major limitation of previous music productions was their limited reliance on pitch. The Romantic Movement can also be credited with providing music with striking and often bold contrasts that were achieved through the exploration of wide ranging pitches. Other than the pitches, the exploration of various dynamics and differentiated tones is also a constant feature of nineteenth century music. The dramatic transformation of sounds present in nineteenth century music was only possible because larger and more complex orchestras were being used. When contrasted to previous orchestra arrangements, the new orchestra arrangements could be considered gigantic in numbers and the varieties of instruments being used. The move to larger orchestras was also facilitated by the invention of the valve system. The

Ferdinand de Saussure Essay Example for Free

Ferdinand de Saussure Essay Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own. [1][2] The preferred object of stylistic studies is literature, but not exclusively high literature but also other forms of written texts such as text from the domains of advertising, pop culture, politics or religion. [3] Stylistics also attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language, such as socialisation, the production and reception of meaning, critical discourse analysis and literary criticism. Other features of stylistics include the use of dialogue, including regional accents and people’s dialects, descriptive language, the use of grammar, such as the active voice or passive voice, the distribution of sentence lengths, the use of particular language registers, etc. In addition, stylistics is a distinctive term that may be used to determine the connections between the form and effects within a particular variety of language. Therefore, stylistics looks at what is ‘going on’ within the language; what the linguistic associations are that the style of language reveals. * | Early twentieth century The analysis of literary style goes back to Classical rhetoric, but modern stylistics has its roots in Russian Formalism,[4] and the related Prague School, in the early twentieth century. In 1909, Charles Ballys Traite de stylistique francaise had proposed stylistics as a distinct academic discipline to complement Saussurean linguistics. For Bally, Saussures linguistics by itself couldnt fully describe the language of personal expression. [5] Ballys programme fitted well with the aims of the Prague School. [6] Building on the ideas of the Russian Formalists, the Prague School developed the concept of foregrounding, whereby poetic language stands out from the background of non-literary language by means of deviation (from the norms of everyday language) or parallelism. [7] According to the Prague School, the background language isnt fixed, and the relationship between poetic and everyday language is always shifting. [8] Late twentieth century Roman Jakobson had been an active member of the Russian Formalists and the Prague School, before emigrating to America in the 1940s. He brought together Russian Formalism and American New Criticism in his Closing Statement at a conference on stylistics at Indiana University in 1958. [9] Published as Linguistics and Poetics in 1960, Jakobsons lecture is often credited with being the first coherent formulation of stylistics, and his argument was that the study of poetic language should be a sub-branch of linguistics. [10] The poetic function was one of six general functions of language he described in the lecture. Michael Halliday is an important figure in the development of British stylistics. [11] His 1971 study Linguistic Function and Literary Style: An Inquiry into the Language of William Goldings The Inheritors is a key essay. [12] One of Hallidays contributions has been the use of the term register to explain the connections between language and its context. [13] For Halliday register is distinct from dialect. Dialect refers to the habitual language of a particular user in a specific geographical or social context. Register describes the choices made by the user,[14] choices which depend on three variables: field (what the participants are actually engaged in doing, for instance, discussing a specific subject or topic),[15] tenor (who is taking part in the exchange) and mode (the use to which the language is being put). Fowler comments that different fields produce different language, most obviously at the level of vocabulary (Fowler. 1996, 192) The linguist David Crystal points out that Halliday’s ‘tenor’ stands as a roughly equivalent term for ‘style’, which is a more specific alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. (Crystal. 1985, 292) Halliday’s third category, mode, is what he refers to as the symbolic organisation of the situation. Downes recognises two distinct aspects within the category of mode and suggests that not only does it describe the relation to the medium: written, spoken, and so on, but also describes the genre of the text. (Downes. 1998, 316) Halliday refers to genre as pre-coded language, language that has not simply been used before, but that predetermines the selection of textual meanings. The linguist William Downes makes the point that the principal characteristic of register, no matter how peculiar or diverse, is that it is obvious and immediately recognisable. (Downes. 1998, 309) Literary stylistics In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Crystal observes that, in practice, most stylistic analysis has attempted to deal with the complex and ‘valued’ language within literature, i. e.  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœliterary stylistics’. He goes on to say that in such examination the scope is sometimes narrowed to concentrate on the more striking features of literary language, for instance, its ‘deviant’ and abnormal features, rather than the broader structures that are found in whole texts or discourses. For example, the compact language of poetry is more likely to reveal the secrets of its construction to the stylistician than is the language of plays and novels. (Crystal. 1987, 71). Poetry As well as conventional styles of language there are the unconventional – the most obvious of which is poetry. In Practical Stylistics, HG Widdowson examines the traditional form of the epitaph, as found on headstones in a cemetery. For example: His memory is dear today As in the hour he passed away. (Ernest C. Draper ‘Ern’. Died 4. 1. 38) (Widdowson. 1992, 6) Widdowson makes the point that such sentiments are usually not very interesting and suggests that they may even be dismissed as ‘crude verbal carvings’ and crude verbal disturbance (Widdowson, 3). Nevertheless, Widdowson recognises that they are a very real attempt to convey feelings of human loss and preserve affectionate recollections of a beloved friend or family member. However, what may be seen as poetic in this language is not so much in the formulaic phraseology but in where it appears. The verse may be given undue reverence precisely because of the sombre situation in which it is placed. Widdowson suggests that, unlike words set in stone in a graveyard, poetry is unorthodox language that vibrates with inter-textual implications. (Widdowson. 1992, 4) Two problems with a stylistic analysis of poetry are noted by PM Wetherill in Literary Text: An Examination of Critical Methods. The first is that there may be an over-preoccupation with one particular feature that may well minimise the significance of others that are equally important. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) The second is that any attempt to see a text as simply a collection of stylistic elements will tend to ignore other ways whereby meaning is produced. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) Implicature In ‘Poetic Effects’ from Literary Pragmatics, the linguist Adrian Pilkington analyses the idea of ‘implicature’, as instigated in the previous work of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. Implicature may be divided into two categories: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ implicature, yet between the two extremes there are a variety of other alternatives. The strongest implicature is what is emphatically implied by the speaker or writer, while weaker implicatures are the wider possibilities of meaning that the hearer or reader may conclude. Pilkington’s ‘poetic effects’, as he terms the concept, are those that achieve most relevance through a wide array of weak implicatures and not those meanings that are simply ‘read in’ by the hearer or reader. Yet the distinguishing instant at which weak implicatures and the hearer or reader’s conjecture of meaning diverge remains highly subjective. As Pilkington says: ‘there is no clear cut-off point between assumptions which the speaker certainly endorses and assumptions derived purely on the hearer’s responsibility. ’ (Pilkington. 1991, 53) In addition, the stylistic qualities of poetry can be seen as an accompaniment to Pilkington’s poetic effects in understanding a poems meaning. Stylistics is a valuable if long-winded approach to criticism, and compels attention to the poems details. Two of the three simple exercises performed here show that the poem is deficient in structure, and needs to be radically recast. The third sheds light on its content. Introduction Stylistics applies linguistics to literature in the hope of arriving at analyses which are more broadly based, rigorous and objective. {1} The pioneers were the Prague and Russian schools, but their approaches have been appropriated and extended in recent years by radical theory. Stylistics can be evaluative (i. e.  judge the literary worth on stylistic criteria), but more commonly attempts to simply analyze and describe the workings of texts which have already been selected as noteworthy on other grounds. Analyses can appear objective, detailed and technical, even requiring computer assistance, but some caution is needed. Linguistics is currently a battlefield of contending theories, with no settlement in sight. Many critics have no formal training in linguistics, or even proper reading, and are apt to build on theories (commonly those of Saussure or Jacobson) that are inappropriate and/or no longer accepted. Some of the commonest terms, e. g. deep structure, foregrounding, have little or no experimental support. {2} Linguistics has rather different objectives, moreover: to study languages in their entirety and generality, not their use in art forms. Stylistic excellence — intelligence, originality, density and variety of verbal devices — play their part in literature, but aesthetics has long recognized that other aspects are equally important: fidelity to experience, emotional shaping, significant content. Stylistics may well be popular because it regards literature as simply part of language and therefore (neglecting the aesthetic dimension) without a privileged status, which allows the literary canon to be replaced by one more politically or sociologically acceptable. {3} Why then employ stylistics at all? Because form is important in poetry, and stylistics has the largest armoury of analytical weapons. Moreover, stylistics need not be reductive and simplistic. There is no need to embrace Jacobsons theory that poetry is characterized by the projection of the paradigmatic axis onto the syntagmatic one. {4} Nor accept Bradfords theory of a double spiral: {5} literature has too richly varied a history to be fitted into such a straitjacket. Stylistics suggests why certain devices are effective, but does not offer recipes, any more than theories of musical harmony explains away the gifts of individual composers. Some stylistic analysis is to be found in most types of literary criticism, and differences between the traditional, New Criticism and Stylistics approaches are often matters of emphasis. Style is a term of approbation in everyday use (that woman has style, etc.), and may be so for traditional and New Criticism. But where the first would judge a poem by reference to typical work of the period (Jacobean, Romantic, Modernist, etc. ), or according to genre, the New Criticism would probably simply note the conventions, explain what was unclear to a modern audience, and then pass on to a detailed analysis in terms of verbal density, complexity, ambiguity, etc. To the Stylistic critic, however, style means simply how something is expressed, which can be studied in all language, aesthetic and non-aesthetic. {6} Stylistics is a  very technical subject, which hardly makes for engrossing, or indeed uncontentious, {7} reading. The treatment here is very simple: just the bare bones, with some references cited. Under various categories the poem is analyzed in a dry manner, the more salient indications noted, and some recommendations made in Conclusions. Published Examples of Stylistic Literary Criticism G. N. Leechs A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry (1969) Laura Browns Alexander Pope (1985) Roy Lewiss On Reading French Verse: A Study in Poetic Form (1982) George Wrights Shakespeares Metrical Art. (1988) Richard Bradfords A Linguistic History of English Poetry (1993) Poem The Architects But, as youd expect, they are very Impatient, the buildings, having much in them Of the heavy surf of the North Sea, flurrying The grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them With a hoarse roar against the aggregate They are composed of — the cliffs higher of course, More burdensome, underwritten as It were with past days overcast And glinting, obdurate, part of the Silicate of tough lives, distant and intricate As the whirring bureaucrats let in And settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, Awaiting the post and the department meeting —  Except that these do not know it, at least do not Seem to, being busy, generally. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost Vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier Of concrete like rib-bones packed above them, And they light-headed with the blue airiness Spinning around, and muzzy, a neuralgia Calling at random like frail relations, a phone Ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, That they become attentive, or we do — these Divisions persisting, indeed what we talk about, We, constructing these webs of buildings which, Caulked like great whales about us, are always. Aware that some trick of the light or weather Will dress them as friends, pleading and flailing — And fill with placid but unbearable melodies Us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass.  © C. John Holcombe 1997 Metre Though apparently iambic, with five stresses to the line, the metre shows many reversals and substitutions. Put at its simplest, with: / representing a strong stress \ representing a weak stress x representing no stress, and trying to fit lines into a pentameters, we have -| /| x| x| x| /| -| \| x| /| x| | But| as| youd| ex| pect| | they| are| ve| ry| x| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| x| x|. Im| pat| ient| the| build| ings,| hav| ing| much| in| them| x| x| \| x| /| x| x| \| /| /| x x| Of| the| heav| y| surf| of| the| North| Sea,| flurr| ying| x| /| -| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| The| grit,| | lift| ing| the| pebbl| es,| fling| ing| them| \| x| /| -| /| x| \| x| /| x| \| With| a| hoarse| | roar| a| gainst| the| agg| re| gate| x| \| x| /| \| x| /| /| x| x| /| They| are| com| posed| of,| the| cliffs| high| er| of| course| \| /| x| \| -| /| x| / | x| \| | More| burd| en| some,| | un| der| writ| ten| as| | x| /| x| /| -| /| -| /| x| /| | It| were| with| past| | days| | o| ver| cast| | x| /| x|. \| /| x| \| -| /| x| x| And | glit| ter| ing,| ob| du| rate,| | part| of| the| -| /| x x x| /| -| /| -| /| x x| /| x x| | Sil| icate of| tough| | lives| | dist| ant and| in| tricate| -| \| x| /| x| /| x| \| -| /| x| | As| the| whir| ring| bu| reau| crats| | let| in| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| And | set| tled with| cof| fee| in| the| con| crete| pal| lets| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| A| wait| ing the| post| and| the| de| part| ment| meet| ing| x| \| x| /| \ x | /| x| x| \| /| x| Ex| cept| that| these| do not| know| it, | at| least| do| not| -| /| x| /| x| /| x| /| x| \| x|. | Seem| to| be| ing| bus| y| gen| ER| all| y| \| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| So| per| haps| it is| on| ly| on| those| cloud| less| al| most| -| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| \| /| x| | Vac| uumed| af| ter| noons| with| ti| ER u| pon| ti| ER| x| /| x| \| /| /| -| /| x| /| x| | Of| con| Crete| like| rib| bones| | packed| a| bove| them| | x| /| \| /| x| \| x| /| /| x| \| | And | they| light| head| ed,| with| the| blue| air| i| ness| | -| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| | | Spin| ning a| round| and| muz| zy,| a| neu| ral| gia| | -| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x x| /| |. | Cal| ling at| ran| dom like| frail| re| lat| ions a| phone| | -| /| x x x| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | Ring| ing in a| dist| ant| of| fice they| can| not| get| to| x| /| x| /| x| /| x x| /| /-| \| | That| they| be| come| at| ten| tive, or| we| do| these| | x| /| x x| /| x x| /| \| x| /| x| /| Di| vis| ions per| sist| ing, in| deed| what| we| talk| a| bout| -| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| | | We,| con| struct| ing these| webs| of| build| ings| which| | -| /| x| /| \| /| x| /| x x| /| x| | Caulk| Ed | like| great| whales| a| bout| us are| al| ways| x| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | |. A| ware| that some| trick| of the| light| or| weath| ER| | | \| /| x x| /| -| /| x x| /| x| | | Will| dress| them as| friends| | plead| ing and| flail| ing| | | x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| /| x x| And| fill| with| plac| id| but | UN| bear| able | mel| odies| -| /| x| \| -| /| x x x| /| \| /| | | Us | in| deep| | hint| erlands of| in| curved| glass| | Poets learn to trust their senses, but even to the experienced writer these (tedious) exercises can pinpoint what the ear suspects is faulty, suggest where improvements lie, and show how the metre is making for variety, broad consistency, shaping of the argument and emotive appeal. Though other scansions are certainly possible in the lines above, the most striking feature will remain their irregularity. Many lines can only roughly be called pentameters; Lines 16 and 17 are strictly hexameters; and lines 27 and 28 are tetrameters. In fact, the lines do not read like blank verse. The rhythm is not iambic in many areas, but trochaic, and indeed insistently dactylic in lines 9 and 10, 21 and 22 and 28. Line 27 is predominantly anapaestic, and line 3 could (just) be scanned: x x| / x| /| x x \| /| | /| x x | Of the| heavy| surf| of the North| Sea| | flurr| ying|. Reflective or meditative verse is generally written in the iambic pentameter, and for good reason — the benefit of past examples, readers expectations, and because the iambic is the closest to everyday speech: flexible, unemphatic, expressing a wide range of social registers. Blank verse for the stage may be very irregular but this, predominantly, is a quiet poem, with the falling rhythms inducing a mood of reflection if not melancholy. What is being attempted? Suppose we set out the argument (refer to rhetorical and other analyses), tabbing and reverse tabbing as the reflections as they seem more or less private: {8} 1. But, as youd expect, 2. they are very impatient, the buildings, 3. having much in them of the heavy surf of the North Sea, 4. flurrying the grit, 5. lifting the pebbles, 6. flinging them with a hoarse roar against the aggregate they are composed of — the 7. cliffs higher of course, more 8. burdensome, 9. underwritten as it were with past days 10. overcast and glinting, 11. obdurate, 12. part of the silicate of tough lives, 13. distant and intricate as 14. the whirring bureaucrats 15. Let in and settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, awaiting the post and the department meeting — 16. except that these do not know it,  17. at least do not seem to, being busy, 18. generally. 19. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier of concrete like rib — bones packed above them, and 20. they light-headed 21. with the blue airiness spinning around, and 22. muzzy, a 23. neuralgia calling at random like 24. frail relations, a 25. phone ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, that 26. They become attentive, 27. or we do — 28. these divisions persisting, 29. indeed what we talk about, 30. we, constructing these webs of buildings which 31. Caulked like great whales about us, are 32.  always aware that some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends, 33. pleading and flailing — and 34. fill with placid but unbearable melodies 35. us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass. The structure should now be clear. Where Eliot created new forms by stringing together unremarkable pentameters, {8} this poem attempts the reverse: to recast an irregular ode-like structure as pentameters. And not over-successfully: many of the rhythms seemed unduly confined. But once returned to the form of an eighteenth century Pindaric ode, however unfashionable today, the lines regain a structure and integrity. Each starts with a marked stress and then tails away, a feature emphasized by the sound patterns. {9} Sound Patterning To these sound patterns we now turn, adapting the International Phonetic Alphabet to HTML restrictions: 1. But | as | youd | expect | u | a | U | e e | b t | z | y d | ksp kt | 2. They | are | very | impatient | the | buildings | A | a(r) | e E | i A e | e | i i | th | | v r | mp sh nt | th | b ld ngz | 3. Having | much | in | them | of | the | heavy | surf | of | the | North | Sea | a i | u | i | e | o | e | e | e(r) | o | e | aw | E | h v ng | m ch | n | th m | v | th | h v | s f | v | th | n th | s |. 4. flurrying | the | grit | u E i | e | i | fl r ng | th | gr t | 5. lifting | the | pebbles | i i | e | e | l ft ng | th | p b lz | 6. flinging | them | with | a | hoarse | roar | against | the | aggregate | they | are | composed | of | i i | e | i | e | aw | aw | e A | e | a E A | A | a(r) | o O | o | fl ng ng | th m | w th | | h s | r | g nst | th | gr g t | th | | k MP zd | v | 7. the | cliffs | higher | of | course | more | e | i | I e | o | aw | aw | th | kl fs | h | v | s | m | 8. burdensome | u(r) e e | b d ns m | 9.underwritten | as | it | were | with | past | days | u e i e | a | i | (e)r | i | a(r) | A | nd r t n | z | t | w | w | p st | d z | 10. overcast | and | glinting | O e(r) a(r) | a | i i | v k St | nd | gl NT ng | 11. obdurate | o U A | bd r t | 12. part | of | the | silicate | of | tough | lives | (a)r | o | e | i i A | o | u | I | p t | f | th | s l k t | v | t f | l vz | 13. distant | and | intricate | i a | a | i i e | d St NT | nd | NT r k t | 14. as | the | whirring | bureaucrats | a | e | e(r) i | U O a | z | th | w r ng | b r kr ts | 15. let | in | and | settled | with | coffee | in | the | concrete | pallets | e | i | a | e ie | i | o E | i | e | o E | a e | l t | n | nd | s tl d | w th | k f | n | th | k Kr t | p l Ts | awaiting | the | post | and | the | department | meeting | e A i | e | O | a | e | E e | E i | w t ng | th | p St | nd | th | d p tm NT | m t ng | 16. except | that | these | do | not | know | it | e e | a | E | U | o | O | i | ks pt | th | th z | d | n t | n | t | 17. at | least | do | not | seem | to | being | busy | a | E | U | o | E | U | E i | i E | t | l St | d | n t | s m | t | b ng | b z /td | 18. generally | e e a E | j nr l | 19. so | perhaps | it | is | only | on | those | cloudless | almost | vacuumed | afternoons | O | e(r) a | i | i | O | o | O | ou e | aw O | a U | a(r) e oo | s | p h ps | t | z | nl | n | th z | kl dl s | lm St | v k md | ft n nz | with | tier | upon | tier | of | concrete | like | rib | bones | packed | above | them | and | i | E e(r) | e o | E e(r) | o | o E | I | i | O | a | e u | e | a | w th | t | p n | t | v | k nkr t | l k | r b | b nz | p Kt | b v | th m | nd | 20. they | light | headed | A | I | e e | th | l t | h d d | 21.with | the | blue | airiness | spinning | around | and | i | e | U | (A)r i e | i i | e ou | a | w th | th | bl | r n s | sp n ng | r nd | nd | 22. muzzy | a | u E | e | m z | | 23. neuralgia | calling | at | random | like | U a E a | aw i | a | a o | I | n r lj | k l ng | t | r nd m | l k | 24. frail | relations | a | A | e A e | e | fr l | r l zh nz | | 25. phone | ringing | in | a | distant | office | they | cannot | get | to | that | O | i i | i | e | i a | o i | A | a o | e | oo | a | | f n | r ng ng | n | | d St NT | f s | th | k n t | g t | t | th | | 26.they | become | attentive | A | E u | a e i | th | b k m | t NT v | 27. or | we | do | aw | E | oo | | w | d | 28. these | divisions | persisting | E | i i e | e(r) i i | th z | d v zh nz | p s St ng | 29. indeed | what | we | talk | about | i E | o | E | aw | e ou | in d | wh t | w | t k | b t | 30. we | constructing | these | webs | of | buildings | which | E | o u i | E | e | o | i i | i | w | k nz str Kt ng | th z | w bs | v | b ld ngz | wh Ch | 31. caulked | like | great | whales | about | us | are | aw | I | A | A | e ou | u | a(r) | k kd | l k | gr t | w lz | b t | s | | 32. always | aware | that | some | trick | of | the | light | or | weather | will | dress | them | as | friends | aw A | e (A)r | a | u | i | o | e | I | aw | e e(r) | i | e | e | a | e | lw z | w | th t | s m | tr k | v | th | l t | | w th | w l | dr s | th m | z | Fr ndz | 33. pleading | and | flailing | E i | a | A i | pl d ng | nd | fl l ng | 34. will | fill | with | placid | but | unbearable | melodies | i | i | i | a i | u | u A(r) a e | e O E | f l | w th | PL s d | b t | n b r b l | m l d z | | 35. us | in | deep | hinterlands | of | incurved | glass | u | i | E | i e a | o | i e(r) | a(r) | s | n | d p | h NT l ndz | v | nk v d | GL s | Sound in poetry is an immensely complicated and contentious subject. Of the seventeen different employments listed by Masson {10} we consider seven: 1. Structural emphasis All sections are structurally emphasized to some extent, but note the use (in decreasing hardness) of * plosive consonants in sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 10-13, 19, 28-50; 31 and 35. * fricative and aspirate consonants in sections 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 19, 25, 28, 32, 35. * liquid and nasal consonants in sections 3, 4, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 31-35. Also: * predominance of front vowels — in all sections but 6, 7, 11, 16, 17, 19 and 31. * predominance of vowels in intermediate positions — only sections 16 and 17 having several high vowels and section 3 low vowels. 2. Tagging of sections Note sections 1, 7, 13 and 15. 3. Indirect support of argument by related echoes * Widely used, most obviously in sections 3-7, 12-13, and 15. 4. Illustrative mime: mouth movements apes expression * Sections 2, 6, 11-13, 19, 31 and 35. 5. Illustrative painting * Sections 3-6, 10-13, 15, 19 and 33. Most sections are closely patterned in consonants. Those which arent (and therefore need attention if consistency is to be maintained) are perhaps 8, 9, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 27. Originally the poem was cast in the form of irregular pentameters. But if this is set aside in favour of the 35 sections listed above, how are these sections to be linked in a self-evident and pleasing form? A little is accomplished by alliteration: * f in sections 3 to 7. * s and t in sections 12 to 15 * w in sections 29 to 32 And also by the predominance of front and intermediate level vowels, but these do not amount to much. Certainly we do not find that the overall shaping of the poem emphasizes the argument or content. Sociolinguistics Language is not a neutral medium but comes with the contexts, ideologies and social intentions of its speakers written in. Words are living entities, things which are constantly being employed and only half taken over: carrying opinions, assertions, beliefs, information, emotions and intentions of others, which we partially accept and modify. In this sense speech is dialogic, has an internal polemic, and Bakhtins insights into the multi-layered nature of language (heteroglossia) can be extended to poetry. {11} Much of Postmodernist writing tries to be very unliterary, incorporating the raw material of everyday speech and writing into its creations. This poem seems rather different, a somewhat remote tone and elevated diction applying throughout. Let us see whats achieved by grouping under the various inflections of the speaking voice. * urgently confidential But, as youd expect, cliffs higher, of course, that they become attentive or we do * obsessively repetitious flurrying the grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them Burdensome, underwritten overcast and glinting, obdurate * over-clever silicate of tough lives  distant and intricate constructing these webs of buildings distracted and/or light-headed except that these do not know it at least do not seem to with the blue airiness spinning around calling at random like frail relations * melancholic and/or reflective some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends pleading and flailing and fill with placid but unbearable melodies. The exercise hardly provides revelation. Heteroglossia is an interweaving of voices, moreover, not shifts of tone or reference. And yet there is something very odd about the opening line. Why should we expect the buildings to be very impatient? This is more than the orators trick of attracting attention, since the animate nature of buildings and their constituents is referred to throughout the poem. To be more exact, the attitude of the inhabitants — observers, bureaucrats, architects — to the buildings is developed by the poem, and is paralleled by the tone. But why the confidential and repetitious attitude at the beginning. Why should we be buttonholed in this manner? Why the But, which seems to point to an earlier conversation, and the urgency with which that earlier conversation is being refuted or covered up? Because the blame for something is being shifted to the buildings. What error has been committed we do not know, but in mitigation we are shown the effect of the buildings on other inhabitants. Or perhaps we are. In fact the whirring bureaucrats seem to grow out of the fabric of buildings, and we do not really know if the we, constructing these webs of buildings is meant literally or metaphorically. The poems title suggests literally, but perhaps these constructions are only of the mind: sections 17, 20-29, 32 and 34 refer to attitudes rather than actions, and there is an ethereal or otherworldly atmosphere to the later section of the poem. So we return to heteroglossia, which is not simply borrowed voices, but involves an internal polemic, {12} that private dialogue we conduct between our private thoughts and their acceptable public expression. The dialogue is surely here between the brute physicality of a nature made overpoweringly real and the fail brevity of human lives. That physicality is threatening and unnerving. If the we of the later section of the poem is indeed architects then that physicality is harnessed to practical ends. If the constructing is purely mental then the treatment is through attitudes, mindsets, philosophies. But in neither case does it emasculate the energy of the physical world. Architects may leave monuments behind them, but they are also imprisoned in those monuments (us in deep hinterlands) and hearing all the time the homesick voice of their constituents. Conclusions: Suggested Improvements The greatest difficulty lies in the poems structure. An pentameter form has been used to give a superficial unity, but this wrenches the rhythm, obscures the sound patterns and does nothing for the argument. If recast in sections defined by rhythm and sound pattern the form is too irregular to have artistic autonomy. A return could be made to the eighteenth century Pindaric ode in strict metre and rhyme, but would require extensive and skilful rewriting, and probably appear artificial. A prose poem might be the answer, but the rhythms would need to be more fluid and subtly syncopated. Otherwise, blank verse should be attempted, and the metre adjusted accordingly. The internal polemic is a valuable dimension of the poem, but more could be done to make the voices distinct. http://www. textetc. com/criticism/stylistics. html1. On StylisticsIs cognitive stylistics the future of stylistics? To answer this question in the essay that follows, I will briefly discuss Elena Semino and Jonathan Culpeper’s Cognitive Stylistics (2003), Paul Simpson’s Stylistics (2004), and a recent essay by Michael Burke (2005). However, because questions are like trains – one may hide another – any discussion of the future of stylistics raises intractable questions about stylistics itself. French students of stylistics, for example, will come across definitions of the discipline like the following. According to Brigitte Buffard-Moret, â€Å"si les definitions de [la stylistique] – que certains refusent de considerer comme une scien

Business enterprise Essay Example for Free

Business enterprise Essay Design a website for a business enterprise, meeting user requirements I have designed my own website and my aim was to meet the requirements that my users need and desire from a health and beauty business. The specific purpose for my site is to promote my ethical made produce while keeping people happy and giving them what they want and expect. Furthermore, the purpose for my site is to give my customers a sense of my brands personality and to hopefully retain them my users and continue to grow though e-commerce. Its purpose is to inform people of â€Å"who I am† and â€Å"what we do† and provide my customers with efficiency while saving time on my part and increasing my customer base. I am defining my website to 14 – 35 year olds who have an interest in keeping healthy and looking nice while still being ethical and beneficial to the environment. My products range from hair, skin, nails, make-up, music, candles and many more, so whoever is interested in these, I will be defining my website to them. On my website I have six webpages (with links to others) and these include a homepage, transaction page, enquiry/chat help page, review/customer feedback page, our story page, our products page and an additional â€Å"find us† page and â€Å"our philosophy† page. I have thought about how I am going about retaining customer and encouraging repeat visits by inserting certain aspects, for example, a product on sale. I have thought about how I will build trust from my site and I have added a chat help page so customers can ask questions and present enquiries. I also have thought about celebrity promotion and how someone who people trust, trusting a brand can help users to build trust and confidence. P5 Describe how the design meets user needs My website design is designed to be simplistic but interesting to look at while providing users with all the appropriate information to guide them and also keep them safe and feeling protected. The layout is designed to be simple to read with all the appropriate pages aligned so they are easy to pinpoint. There isn’t a lot on each page itself which means that customers avoid getting confused and can navigate around my site without stress. One of the functions of my site is to encourage interaction with particular sites that shows my business in a good light such as â€Å"sure2amaze.com† which I have copied and paste a link so users can view professional/customer feedback compared to other health and beauty products. I also have linked my  Facebook page and Twitter which enables off-site conversation, allowing users to create a circle of interaction that extends from on-site conversations to off-site conversations. In regards to my market segmentation, my user needs is to be efficient, up to date and engaging. In relation to the website in general, my website needs to be speedy, accessibility, good navigation and provide information. My website is modern yet has a vintage twist via the product bottles being the original brown pipet glass bottles that people might have used a while back. I engage my customer with marketing strategies such as celebrity promotions, and my website server is quick meaning the users experience doesn’t experience any turbulence. Furthermore, all my website pages are aligned at the top of the page which never disappears. In addition to all this, I have pages such as â€Å"our philosophy† or â€Å"our story† which presents users with appropriate information to establish personal connections with the customer to engage them. I feel all these features are appropriate because not only to the engage the user and encourage them to remain on my website, information about our story and celebrity recognition can enable the user to build trust and confidence when navigating around the site or making a purchase. Feeling protected can also build trust with the user and my security padlock image gives the user reassurance that when they are on the site they are safe which makes it appropriate because the user will not continue to shop with you if they experience any problems and feel they are taking a risk. My domain name is â€Å"www.aesthetic-cosmetics.co.uk† and this briefly means, a unique name that identifies an â€Å"internet resource† such as my website. The hosting option I chose is â€Å"wix.com† where I pay monthly fees to keep my website active on the internet. Hosting options basically means where a website reside in order to be ready to be viewed by online visitors. The security settings I chose is â€Å"comoo authentic padlock† which protects my users from any dangerous website additions and informs them that their personal information will be safe. Security setting basically protects the users information by safely storing this in the sites system and reassuring them that it will not be used for unapproved purposes. M2 Assess how the website design meets user requirements My market segmentation is 14 – 35 year olds who have an interest in keeping  healthy and looking nice. The attributes my target market has is being cautious about their image, being on trend including all different ethnicities, backgrounds and sexual natures. Other attributes of the younger generation might include being active online and more aware of what companies should deliver via being ethical and providing security for users. I believe my target group want something engaging so therefore colourful and interesting to look at while being individual and unique. The type of typography that my market segmentation will be attracted too are writing techniques which has explosive words of colour while still being professional and easily readable. The typography of young adults/teens are to have â€Å"friendly round corners† and that the mojority of teenagers prefered either the font â€Å"bambo† or â€Å"comic sans† accourding the this website; â€Å"http://issuu.com/anna_magombe/docs/research_into_typographic_design_for_young_people_†. The data was easy to find and I found this on a website which displayed an easy to read booklet on the â€Å"typography design for young people†. My website portrays the overall organisational objectives for my site by adopting an easy-to-use column of pages in the header which means users can easily navigate around the website. Another reason why my website portrays organisation is the features included such as a chat link, safety settings, customer feedback, information all come together to define an organised website with all the relevant features to meet user needs. Without these features, my website would appear to be disorganised and lacking in relation to customer satisfaction standards. D2 Evaluate the extent to which the website design meets user requirements, making recommendations for improvements In my opinion, I believe my website to have been designed well, but due to the lack of efficiency through Wix, I feel my design layout could have been improved if I used a more user-friendly hosting option. I feel the pictures and colour screen are engaging and simplistic. However because of the lack of features via Wix, I believe my website look crowded and I understand that some of the information designed to improve my users experience might be looked over and missed out in relation to the positioning and font size (chosen from the lack of space). Some improvements I could have made would be choosing a different hosting option other than Wix. The reason for this is because there is room for improvement in the user friendly side of things in relation to this hosting option.

Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on Bilateral Trade Flows

Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on Bilateral Trade Flows Chapter 1: Introduction The relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade flows has been extensively reviewed in literature. Exchange rate volatility refers to the extent to which prices of currencies tend to fluctuate over time. Theoretical literature has provided diverging views on the effect on exchange rate volatility on trade flows. Some authors argue that an increase in exchange rate volatility implies that risk averse firms are faced with uncertainty with respect to their earnings and hence would generally respond by redirecting their activity to local markets. On the other hand, other researchers pointed out that when the assumption of risk aversion is lifted, it can be argued that market participants are more likely to take advantage of the fluctuations in the exchange rate so as to increase their profits which will cause an increase in international trade. The various empirical studies carried out on this topic have not been able to establish a clear link between exchange rate volatility and trade. Therefore from both theoretical and empirical point of view, the relationship between exchange rate and volatility is ambiguous. Mauritius is often cited as an example of a country which has undergone successful trade liberalization and export-led growth. It is also said that trade policies has shaped the countrys path of industrial development, contributing to over two decades of steady growth and propelling the country in the ranks of the â€Å"newly industrialized economies†. However since the 1960s, the Mauritius has experienced much changes and reforms in its trade policy. Early trade policies adopted by Mauritius involved an import substitution strategy while at the same time providing incentives for export promotion. However as from the 1980s, Mauritius moved towards a more outward-oriented strategy and embarked on trade liberalisation. Imports restrictions and tariffs were reduced while economic stability was maintained. By the mid-1990s, Mauritius had one of the most liberal economic regimes in Africa. Incentives for export promotion like tax incentives, preferential rates of borrowing and so o n were maintained. One of the key factors of exports competitiveness is the level of exchange rate in Mauritius which had to be kept low. In addition the exchange rate regime itself in Mauritius has been deregulated over the years in a set of financial liberalisation measures. The exchange rate regime in Mauritius has also evolved from a fixed exchange rate system to a manage float one. In the 1970s, Mauritius adopted a pegged exchange rate system where the rupee was first pegged to the sterling. The rupee started floating vis-à  -vis other foreign currencies in June 1972 while still being pegged to the sterling. However as from 1976, the Mauritian rupee was delinked from the sterling and was pegged to the SDR. The rupee-SDR peg lasted for seven years and as from 1983 Mauritius pegged its currency to a trade-weighted basket of currencies. This is because the appreciation of the dollar US which had the highest weight in the SDR basket caused the rupee to appreciate considerably and hence causing inflation. Hence the Mauritian rupee had to be delinked to the SDR. In the 1990s, Mauritius embarked on a set of financial li beralisation reforms and in 1994 exchange rate controls were removed and Mauritius adopted a manage float exchange rate regime. The evolution of the exchange rate system from a fixed to a manage float one implies that the exchange rate in Mauritius is subject to wider fluctuations. This begs the question whether the fluctuations in the rupee has any significant impact on the volume of trade in Mauritius and which of the theories advanced by researchers is applicable for Mauritius. Bilateral trade between Mauritius and USA is considered to assess this question. The rest of the paper is organised as follows: Chapter 2 presents a broad survey of the literature concerning the relationship between trade and exchange rate volatility. Chapter 3 describes the model that will be used and presents the methodology that will be applied. Chapter 4 presents the empirical findings of our study and the interpretation of our results. Finally chapter 5 presents the summary and conclusion of our study and also provides some policy implications and implications. 2.1 Introduction The 1970s saw the demise of the Bretton Woods system since a fixed exchange rate system no longer appeared feasible given the speculative flows of the currencies. This led to the adoption of a freely-floating exchange rate regime by many countries. Since March 1973, exchange rates have become more volatile and less predictable than they were during the fixed exchange rate period when changes occurred infrequently. There have been considerable investigations on the effect of Exchange rate volatility on the volume of trade. The increase in the risk of international transactions led researchers to investigate the exchange rate volatility-trade flows connection. Investigators argue that variability increases uncertainty and risk which causes firms to produce less than they would produce under certainty. This view was supported by Baron(1970), Clark(1973) and Ethier(1973). Empirical studies which yielded a negative relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade include Akhtar and Hilton(1984), Fountas and Aristotelous(1999), Arize(1997, 1998a and 1998b) and Rose(2000). However other authors have rejected this view, arguing that the exchange rate volatility have very little or at times even positive impact on trade volume. Researchers like Hooper and Kohlhagen (1978), Bahmani et Tavlas(1988), Bahmani et al.(1993), Bailey, Tavlas and Ulan(1987), found evidence of a negative effect of exchange rate uncertainty on trade volume, the effect was insignificant. Klassen(2004) also found no significant relationship between Exchange rate volatility and international trade. Research conducted by McKenzie and Brooks(1997), Franke(1991), Neumann(1995), Viaena and Vries(1992) and Baum et al(2004) on the other hand found a positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade. Other researchers like Cushman(1983) on the other hand obtained mixed results. This chapter provides an overview of the vast literature that covers this particular issue of exchange rate volatility and trade. Section 2.2.1 provides an overview traditional exports and imports functions used in most studies and their findings. Section 2.2.2 elaborates on additional factors which have been used in empirical studies. Finally section 2.2.2.4 outlines the research carried out to determine the relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade. Literature defines volatility as the tendency of prices to fluctuate either up or down. Exchange rate volatility is in fact a measure of how exchange rate changes over time. It has been argued that exchange rate volatility has a significant impact of the level of trade. First we will discuss the various factors that have an impact of trade in an economy. 2.2 Determinants of Bilateral Trade Flows Most of the empirical works used the traditional export and import demand models. While the traditional models were deemed to be significant in explaining trade, these works were often deemed to be unsatisfactory since several key determinants of trade were omitted which led to unreliable results and conclusions. Therefore, the traditional trade function was used in addition to other explanatory variables. Nevertheless, the major contribution of the traditional trade model in explaining exports and imports cannot be ignored. 2.2.1 Traditional Export Demand Function The traditional export demand function commonly used by many studies was expressed as a function of real income, relative prices and/or exchange rate. This was termed by Goldstein and Khan (1985) as the imperfect substitute model. An aggregate export demand linking real exports with a measure of foreign real income and relative prices is an important element in most conventional trade models. In theory, the higher the foreign income, the higher the demand for export. This is because an increase in foreign income is relative to an increase in the purchasing power of the foreign economy. Likewise an increase in domestic income will increase the demand for imports. Real foreign income were normally proxied using real GDP or real GNP or index of industrial production of the foreign economy. Relative prices were also included in the model. Relative prices are an indicator of a countries competitiveness and are normally proxied by the ratio of foreign prices to domestic prices or the ratio of import prices to import prices. Exports and relative prices is expected to have a positive relationship since an increase in relative prices implies that foreign prices are increasing which means that the competitiveness of exports is increasing. One of the most influential empirical work on export demand was that of Senhadji and Montenegro(1999) who estimated demand elasticities for a large number of developing and industrial countries using OLS and Phillip Hansenss fully modified ordinary least square techniques. They found that exports react to both the trade partners income and to relative prices in a large sample of both developing and industrial countries. Marquez and McNeilly(1988) examined income and price elasticities for exports of non-OPEC developing countries using quarterly data for 1973-84. This study was based on the two-stage square estimation technique. Import prices, real income and lagged endogenous variables were the main explanatory variables. They found a positive and significant income elasticities for exports and a significant relationship between prices and exports. Among other prominent empirical works which find a positive and significant relationship between trade and income are Sachs and Warner(19 95), Frankel and Romer(1999) and Edwards(1998). Wu(2004)constructed a foreign trade model for China using error correction model. They found a significant and inelastic relationship between relative price and export demand. Other empirical works included exchange rate as a determinant of export in their model. It is widely known in the international trade literature that a change in real exchange rates will affect trade flows directly with all other things being equal. A change in the real exchange rate rather than a change in the nominal exchange rate will affect exports and imports under the Generalized Marshall-Lerner condition. Also real exchange rate is another important measure of a countrys competitiveness. Real exchange rate is the nominal exchange rate that has been adjusted for inflation differentials. A real depreciation or devaluation of domestic currency will lead to an improvement in trade flows of a country and vice versa. This is because if the price of the currency of a country is low, its exports will be cheaper hence demand for its exports will increase. Imports also will be affected since imports will appear more expensive to local residents. However empirical works have found diverg ing results when assessing whether exchange rate have any effects on trade. Miles (1979) tested the effects of devaluation by entering the exchange rate directly into the trade flows. The results obtained were not conclusive since the exchange rate coefficient with respect to trade flows was significant in only three out of 14 cases examined. Warner and Kreinin(1983) specified the determinants of trade flows of 19 developing countries using conventional models. They found that the effect of real exchange rate changes on the volume of exports are significant as predicted by the theory. Similarly Himarios(1989) reassessed the impact of devaluation on real magnitude of trade flows and found that real exchange rates had a significant effect on trade flows. Rose (1991) analysed the relationship between the effective real exchange rate and the real trade flows for five major Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United States. He found no relationship between these two variables, and thus the generalized Marshall-Lerner condition did not hold. Bahmani-Oskooee and Malixi (1992) based their work on Almon lag structure on real exchange rate but found no support for a relationship between trade and real exchange rate. However on employing the Engle-Granger cointegration approach, Bahmani-Oskooee and Alse (1994) assert that the long-run impact of devaluation on the trade balance model is positive. Bahmani-Oskooee concluded that trade flows are more responsive to changes in relative prices and to changes in the exchange rates in the long run than in the short run. Brada et al. (1997), who divided the data set into two sub-samples, reports no long-run relationship between the variables of the trade balance function in the 1970s but they have revealed reverse results for the 1980s Kale (2001) points out that a real depreciation of the domestic currency helps to improve the trade balance with a lag of about one-year and the impacts of devaluations on the trade balance are positive in the long-run. Haque et al.(1990) used a generalised non-linear 3-staged least square estimation for the period 1963-87. They used a conventional model where real imports is expressed as a function of real domestic output, real exchange rate and a lagged import term. All signs were significant. Real imports were found to be real exchange and income inelastic. While the above factors were used as the main determinants of exports, there are also other also factors which are important determinants of trade. 2.2.2 Other factors affecting bilateral trade 2.2.2.1 Inflation rate and trade Inflation is defined as a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. High inflation is like to have a negative effect on trade flows because it reduces exports competitiveness and makes imports cheaper. When domestic price rises, foreign goods are relatively cheaper (ceteris paribus) and demand for imports should increase, Inflation adversely affects some sections of the population, distorts relative prices, erodes value of financial assets and creates uncertainty and instability in the economy. This may lead to an overall decrease in output in the economy since investors and producers is faced with uncertainty about future prices and economic outcome. Gylfason(1998) used cross-sectional data covering 160 countries for the period 1985-1994 and found that high inflation tended to be associated with low exports in proportion to GDP. Kotan and Saygili(1999) found that inflation rate significantly and positively affect non-oil exportati on in the long-run while in short run inflation did not have any significant impact of non-oil production. 2.2.2.2 Investment and Trade   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are valid theoretical reasons why a high investment ratio should give rise to a strong export growth performance. One theoretical background is provided by Ghosh and Chandrasekhar(2001). They stated that the rate at which international trade grows varies over any period. Also a countrys ability to increase its exports would depend on its production structure and the rate at which this structure is changing. Furthermore, countries normally engage in international trade by XXXodernizesXXXg in the production of certain commodities only. Therefore a countrys ability to increase its exports will therefore depend on its capacity to rapidly transform its production structure in the direction of commodities where world trade would grow faster. The rapidity of this transformation is linked to the investment ratio(ratio of investment to GDP), that is the higher the investment ratio, the higher the rate of transformation of the production-structure and hence the greate r the ability of the country to participate in world trade, that is the greater the rate of export growth. Also production capacity, potential productivity, cost effectivesness, production process will all be increased by properly-oriented investment and hence export competitiveness should also increase. Investment is said to enlarge the production base and thus increasing production capacity. It XXXodernizes production processes and thus improving cost effectiveness. It also allows for the production of new and improved products, increasing value added in production. In addition it incorporates international world-class innovations and quality standards. All this leads to an active participation in international trade and favourably affects exports. Patnaik and Chandrasekhar(1996) in their research analysed cross sectional data for 25 developing countries for 20 years and found a positive relationship between investment-ratio and export growth. FDI is said to foster innovation and competitiveness in the local industry. Moreover it contributes to technological innovation and increased production capacity in the domestic economy. Another import element of investment is foreign direct investment(FDI) which has been argued to be a prominent factor in promoting exports. Horst(1972), Lipsey and Weiss(1984), Head and Ries(2001) and Camarero and Tamarit(2004) are among the authors that find a positive relationship between FDI and trade. 2.2.2.3 Capacity Utilisation and Trade Capacity utilization refers to the extent to which an enterprise or a nation actually uses its installed productive capacity. Thus, it refers to the relationship between actual output that is produced with the installed equipment and the potential output which could be produced if capacity was fully used. From theoretical and empirical point of view, the relationship between capacity utilisation and exports is ambiguous. On one hand, researchers argue that when firms uses excess capacity, this will increase to a general increase in capacity utilisation and will lead to an increase in output. It will be possible for firms to export more. Productivity also may increase since firms are employing more of their excess capacity. Likewise an increase in foreign capacity utilisation is likely to have a negative impact on domestic exports. This is because an increase in foreign capacity utilisation means firms are able to increase their productivity and output. Also Hooper and Kohlagen(1978) who were the first to introduce capacity utilisation in their model to determine the relationship between exchange rate volatility and exports, argued that as domestic capacity utilisation increases, domestically produced goods are delivered with longer lags and hence decreasing quantity demanded of imports. Likewise an increase in foreign capacity should decrease the demand of exports. Correa, Dayoub and Francisco(2007) in their study found that domestic capacity utilisation positively affect export intensity of Ecuador. On the other hand other authors argue that exports growth is possible mainly in the presence of large unemployment of domestic resources. Dunlevy(1979) and Artus(1977) argued that in the long run an increase in capacity utilisation will reduce the quantity of exports and increase the export prices. However Medhora(1990) found that both domestic and foreign capacity utilisation was insignificant in explaining West African imports. 2.2.2.4 Exchange Rate Volatility and trade Basic uncertainty trade models   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The traditional models examine the behaviour of undiversified firms and are based on the assumption that the firms profitability is linked directly and unambiguously to the movement in one bilateral exchange rate. The variability of that exchange rate is assumed to measure the risk to the firm in conducting trade. Therefore in the simplest model, higher exchange rate risk is assumed to have a negative impact on trade, since it creates uncertainty with respect to profits of firms exports and, hence, lead risk-averse exporters to reduce their supply of exports, an effect that increases with the degree of risk aversion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example provided by Clark(1973) can be used to illustrate the concept of how exchange rate volatility can affect the level of a firms exports. Clark develops a model of a firm operating under competitive conditions. In the simplest version described, it is assumed that the firm produces a homogeneous commodity which is sold entirely in a foreign market. The firm has no market power and its does not import any inputs and the production decision is taken before observing exchange rate volatility, therefore output is constant over the planning horizon. Also the price of the exported good in foreign currency is an exogenous variable. The firm in paid in foreign currency and hedging possibilities such as forwards or futures market is very limited. The firm converts its proceeds from exports at the current exchange rates. Given the above assumptions, variability in the exchange rate will affect the firms level of profits since output cannot be altered in response to a favourable or unfavourable move in the profitability of exports due to exchange rate movements and there are also limited hedging techniques. Therefore uncertainty about future exchange rates translates into uncertainty on future export receipts in domestic currency. This uncertainty will be considered by the firm when deciding on the level of exports. The firm maximises the expected value of utility which is assumed to take the following quadratic form: U(p)= a p +b p2 Under conditions of risk aversion (b   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However the above analysis is based on a number of restrictive assumptions. Other researchers attempted to examine the relationship between exchange rate variability and trade flows by relaxing some of the assumptions like no hedging possibilities while still maintaining the risk aversion theory. Clark (1973) notes that while risk-aversion among traders might depress the volume of a countrys exports, perfect forward markets might reduce this effect. Advanced economies have well developed forward markets where specific transactions can be easily hedged, thus reducing exposure to unforeseen movements in exchange rates. However most developing countries do not have access to such markets for currencies. Baron (1976) finds that forward markets may not be sufficiently developed, and traders may still be unsure of how much foreign exchange they want to cover. In addition, Baron provides another approach to the model developed by Clark by relaxing the assumptions of perf ect competition and by emphasising on the role of the currency in which the products are invoiced. He argues that invoicing in a foreign currency will result in a price risk. When an exporting firm invoices its commodity in foreign currency, it is faced with the risk of variations in the foreign exchange which will affect revenue. The quantity demanded will however remain the same since the price will not change over the contract period and hence the firm cannot benefit from fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate. When invoicing in home currency, the exporter will face a quantity risk. This is because the quantity demanded will be uncertain since the price of the commodity to the buyer will be uncertain. The firm will also face uncertainties regarding its cost of production since the assumption that the firm will not import factor inputs is relaxed. In both cases the risk averse firm will try to minimise its risk exposure either by expanding or contracting supply. Baron shows tha t an increase in risk will cause prices to rise which will result in an increase in supply. The higher price reduces expected profits since demand is elastic at optimal prices, but it increases expected utility. On the other hand, if the firm invoices in domestic currency, its response will depend on the properties of the demand function in the destination market. Baron shows that if the function is linear, prices will decrease resulting in an increased demand. However the price-cost margin decreases which reduces the expectation and variance of profits. Also, under the basic model, changes in exchange rate does not have any effect on real opportunities available to the firm. Firms are held to be risk averse and factor inputs are assumed to be fixed. They are also assumed to make production and export decisions before the exchange rate is known and inventories are ignored. When the assumption of risk aversion is lifted, the negative relationship between exports and exchange rate volatility can even be reversed. De Grauwe(1988) developed a model that shows that the effect of volatility on trade will depend on the degree of risk aversion. He argued that firms with a slight degree of risk aversion will decrease their exports whereas very risk averse firms will increase exports so as to avoid a drastic decrease in their export revenues caused by higher exchange rate volatility. Franke(1991) showed in given a monopolistic setting, risk neutral firms may increase exports if exchange rate volatility increases. The theory that trade may be a ffected by exchange rate volatility is also based on the assumption that factor inputs cannot be altered so as to adjust optimally to a change in exchange rates. If firms are able to adjust one or more factors of production with respect to a change in exchange rates, variations in exchange rate may provide firm with the possibility of making a profit. This view was analysed by Canzoneri et al.(2004), De Grauwe(1992) and Gros(1987). In addition, Clark et al.(2004) affirm that there are several other factors which can reduce the negative effects of exchange rate volatility and trade. They argued that a multinational firm which engages in a diversity of trade and financial transactions across several countries can benefit from various opportunities to exploit offsetting movements in currencies and other variables. For example if an exporting firm is importing intermediate inputs from a country whose currency is depreciating, this can offset a decrease in export revenues through a decrease in cost of production. Also recent studies has shown that the tendency for exchange rates to adjust to differences in inflation rates and hence if exports are priced in a foreign currency that is depreciating, the loss to the exporter from the declining exchange rate is at least partly offset by higher foreign currency export price(Cushman 1083 and 1986) Finally as put forward by Makin(1978), multinationals have many possibilitie s of internally managing their exposure to foreign exchange risk, for example by holding a portfolio of assets and liabilities in different currencies. In his analysis of exchange rate volatility, Gros(1987) takes into account adjustment costs. His model consist of a risk neutral and competitive firm which exports its entire output. It is shown that if some factor can be adjusted instantaneously, an increase in exchange rate volatility increases a firms investment. The rationale behind this is that if exchange rate for the exporting firm is high, this means output price will be high and thus the firm can increase production by utilising more of the flexible factor so as to obtain a more than proportionate increase in profits. On the contrary if prices are low, production can be reduced to limit losses. An increases in the volatility of prices means that there is the possibility for excessive prices increases. Therefore it is more desirable for firms to have high capital stock and over time the export supple function shifts upwards. In this study, exchange rate variability affects exports through its effect on investment. Another aspect of the relationship between exchange rate variability and trade is the presence of sunk cost. Sunk market-entry costs are faced by risk neutral firms when they enter the market for exports. This would arise particularly where the firm is exporting differentiated goods and require substantial investment by the firm for example to adapt their product to foreign market and to create a marketing and distribution network. Sunk cost tend to make firms less responsive to short run fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate as they would have the tend to continue to operate in the market as long as they can recover their variable costs and to wait for a change in the exchange rate which will allow them to recoup their sunk costs((Baldwin,1988; Krugman, 1989) Finally, other researches like Bacchetta and Van Wincoop (2000) conduct their study within a general equilibrium framework. They use a simple general equilibrium model for two countries where the source of uncertainty are monetary, fiscal, and technology shocks, and they compare the level of trade and welfare for fixed and floating exchange rate arrangements. They reach two main conclusions. First, there is no clear relationship between the level of trade and the type of exchange rate arrangement. Second, the level of trade does not provide a good index of the level of welfare in a country, and hence there is no one-to-one relationship between levels of trade and welfare in comparing exchange rate systems. Theoretical analysis of the relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade flows has yielded indeterminate results and hence this issue has attracted a large number of empirical researches. One of the earliest analysis was carried out by Hooper and Kohlhagen(1978) who assessed the effect of exchange rate volatility on the volume of aggregate and bilateral trade flow for all G7 countries except for Italy using time series data for the period 1965-1975. They utilised the model by Ethier(1973) for traded goods and derived equations expressing export prices and quantities in terms of cost of production reflection both domestic and imported inputs, other domestic prices, domestic income and capacity utilisation. Exchange rate risk was measured using the average absolute difference between the current period spot exchange rate and the forward rate last period, as well as the variance of the nominal spot rate and the current forward rate. Their conclusion was that they found no sig nificant effect of exchange rate risk on the volume of trade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cushman(1983) uses a model similar to Hooper and Kohlhagen to investigate the effect of exchange rate uncertainty on trade flows among industrialised countries. However he enhances the model by extending the sample size to include more recent data and by using real rather than nominal exchange rate. Of the 14 sets of bilateral trade flows, Cushman found a significant negative effect of real exchange rate on trade flows in 6 cases against only 2 cases where the association is statistically significant and positive. Along the same line Bailey and Tavlas(1988) did not find any significant evidence of a negative effect of exchange rate variability on trade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The work of Akhtar and Hilton(1984) were among the few early papers which generated fairly consistent results. They derived volume and price equations for Germany and United States multilateral trade for the period pertaining to a floating exchange rate. Exchange rate volatility was measured in terms of the standard d