Dead Metaphor Definition and Examples

Dead Metaphor Definition and Examples A dead metaphor is traditionally defined as a  figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use. Also known as a  frozen metaphor or a historical metaphor. Contrast with creative metaphor. Over the past several decades, cognitive linguists have criticized the dead metaphor theory- the view that a conventional metaphor is dead and no longer influences thought: The mistake derives from a basic confusion: it assumes that those things in our cognition that are most alive and most active are those that are conscious. On the contrary, those that are most alive and most deeply entrenched, efficient, and powerful are those that are so automatic as to be unconscious and effortless. (G. Lakoff and M. Turner, Philosophy in the Flesh. Basic Books, 1989) As  I.A. Richards said back in 1936: This favorite old distinction between dead and living metaphors (itself a two-fold metaphor) needs a drastic re-examination (The Philosophy of Rhetoric) Examples and Observations Kansas City is oven hot, dead metaphor or no dead metaphor. (Zadie Smith, On the Road: American Writers and Their Hair, July 2001)An example of a dead metaphor would be the body of an essay. In this example, body was initially an expression that drew on the metaphorical image of human anatomy applied to the subject matter in question. As a dead metaphor, body of an essay literally means the main part of an essay, and no longer suggests anything new that might be suggested by an anatomical referent. In that sense, body of an essay is no longer a metaphor, but merely a literal statement of fact, or a dead metaphor. (Michael P. Marks, The Prison as Metaphor. Peter Lang, 2004)Many venerable metaphors have been literalized into everyday items of language: a clock has a face (unlike human or animal face), and on that face are hands (unlike biological hands); only in terms of clocks can hands be located on a face. . . . The deadness of a metaphor and its status as a clichà © are relative m atters. Hearing for the first time that life is no bed of roses, someone might be swept away by its aptness and vigor. (Tom McArthur, Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press, 1992) [A] so-called dead metaphor is not a metaphor at all, but merely an expression that no longer has a pregnant metaphorical use. (Max Black, More About Metaphor. Metaphor and Thought, 2nd ed., ed. by Andrew Ortony. Cambridge University Press, 1993) It's Alive! The dead metaphor account misses an important point: namely, that what is deeply entrenched, hardly noticed, and thus effortlessly used is most active in our thought. The metaphors . . . may be highly conventional and effortlessly used, but this does not mean that they have lost their vigor in thought and that they are dead. On the contrary, they are alive in the most important sense- they govern our thought- they are metaphors we live by. (Zoltn Kà ¶vecses, Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002) Two Kinds of Death The expression dead metaphor- itself metaphorical- can be understood in at least two ways. On the one hand, a dead metaphor may be like a dead issue or a dead parrot; dead issues are not issues, dead parrots, as we all know, are not parrots. On this construal, a dead metaphor is simply not a metaphor. On the other hand, a dead metaphor may be more like a dead key on a piano; dead keys are still keys, albeit weak or dull, and so perhaps a dead metaphor, even if it lacks vivacity, is metaphor nonetheless. (Samuel Guttenplan, Objects of Metaphor. Oxford University Press, 2005) The Etymological Fallacy To suggest that words always carry with them something of what may have been an original metaphoric sense is not only a form of etymological fallacy; it is a remnant of that proper meaning superstition which I.A. Richards so effectively critiques. Because a term is used which was originally metaphorical, that is, which came from one domain of experience to define another, one cannot conclude that it necessarily continues to bring with it the associations which it had in that other domain. If it is a truly dead metaphor, it will not. (Gregory W. Dawes, The Body in Question: Metaphor and Meaning in the Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33. Brill, 1998)

Weevils and Snout Beetles, Superfamily Curculionoidea

Weevils and Snout Beetles, Superfamily Curculionoidea Weevils are odd-looking creatures, with their comically long snouts and seemingly misplaced antennae. But did you know theyre actually beetles, just like ladybugs and fireflies? Both weevils and snout beetles belong to the large beetle superfamily Curculionoidea, and share certain common habits and traits. Description: Its difficult to offer a general description for such a varied group of insects, but you can easily identify most weevils and snout beetles by an extended snout (actually called a rostrum or beak). A few groups within this superfamily, most notably the bark beetles, lack this feature, however. All but the primitive weevils have elbowed antennae, extending from the snout. Weevils and snout beetles have 5-segmented tarsi, but they appear 4-segmented because the fourth segment is quite small and obscured from view without careful inspection. Weevils and snout beetles, like all beetles, have chewing mouthparts. While it may appear by its shape that a weevils long snout is for piercing and sucking (like true bugs), it is not. The mouthparts are quite small and located at the end of the rostrum, but are designed for chewing. Most weevil and snout beetle larvae are white or cream in color, legless, cylindrical, and shaped like a C. They tend to burrow, whether in a host plant or other food source. Families in the Superfamily Curculionoidea: Classification within the superfamily Curculionoidea varies, with some entomologists dividing the group into just 7 families, and others using as many as 18 families. Ive followed the classification accepted by Triplehorn and Johnson (Borror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition) here. Family Nemonychidae – pine flower snout beetlesFamily Anthribidae – fungus weevilsFamily Belidae – primitive or cycad weevilsFamily Attelabidae – leaf-rolling weevils, thief weevils, and tooth-nosed snouth beetlesFamily Brentidae – straight-snouted weevils, pear-shaped weevilsFamily Ithyceridae – Ithycerus noveboracensis Family Curculionidae – snout beetles, bark beetles, ambrosia beetles, and true weevils Classification: Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – ColeopteraSuperfamily - Curculionoidea Diet: Nearly all adult weevils and snout beetles feed on plants, though they vary greatly in their preferences for eating stems, leaves, seeds, roots, flowers, or fruits. The primitive families of weevils (Belidae and Nemonychidae, primarily) are associated with gymnosperms, such as conifers. The larvae of weevils and snout beetles vary greatly in their feeding habits. Though many are plant feeders, they generally prefer dying or diseased plant hosts. Some weevil larvae are highly specialized feeders, with peculiar dietary habits. One genus (Tentegia, found in Australia) lives and feeds in marsupial dung. Some weevil larvae prey on other insects, like scale insects or the eggs of grasshoppers. Many weevils are serious pests of crops, ornamental plants, or forests, and have significant economic impact. On the other hand, because they feed on plants, some weevils can be used as biological control for invasive or noxious weeds. Life Cycle: Weevils and snout beetles undergo complete metamorphosis, like other beetles, with four life cycle stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Special Behaviors and Defenses: Because this is such a large and diverse group of insects with a broad range of distribution, we find quite a few unique and interesting adaptations among its subgroups. The leaf-rolling weevils, for example, have an unusual way of ovipositing. The female leaf-rolling weevil carefully cuts slits into a leaf, lays an egg at the leaf tip, and then rolls the leaf up into a ball. The leaf drops to the ground, and the larva hatches and feeds on the plant tissue, safe inside. Acorn and nut weevils (genus Curculio) bore holes into acorns, and place their eggs inside. Their larvae feed and develop inside the acorn. Range and Distribution: Weevils and snout beetles number about 62,000 species worldwide, making the superfamily Curculionoidea one of the largest insect groups. Rolf G. Oberprieler, an expert in weevil systematics, estimates the true number of existing species may be closer to 220,000. There are currently about 3,500 species known to inhabit North America. Weevils are most abundant and diverse in the tropics, but have been found as far north as the Canadian Arctic and as far south as the tip of South America. Theyre also known to inhabit remote ocean islands. Sources: Borror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.Beetles of Eastern North America, by Arthur V. Evans.Morphology and Systematics: Phytophaga, edited by Richard A. B. Leachen and Rolf G. Beutel.A World Catalogue of Families and Genera of Curculionoidea (Insects: Coleoptera), by M. A. Alonso-Zarasaga and C. H. C. Lyal, Entomopraxis, 1999 (PDF). Accessed online November 23, 2015.

Workplace Monitoring - How Much Is Too Much Essay

Workplace Monitoring - How Much Is Too Much - Essay Example Despite the battle over privacy issues, employers remain firm in enforcing workplace monitoring for a number of reasons. A survey by the American Management Association in 2001 revealed the following as the top reasons: (1) Legal compliance – to provide some degree of legal protection for both company and consumer and falls under â€Å"due diligence† of a company to keep adequate records; (2) Legal liability – to prevent employees from accessing offensive graphic material on computer screens that could escalate hostility in the workplace environment; (3) Performance review – to allow supervisors to review, evaluate and improve job performance of customer service and consumer relations personnel based on taped field calls and other sources procured through monitoring; (4) Productivity measures – to ensure all activities and communications in the workplace are business related; (5) Security concerns – to protect the value of proprietary corpora te information.3 2. Duke L. & Tech. Rev., â€Å"Monitoring employee e-mail: Efficient workplaces vs. employee privacy†, iBRIEF/ eCommerce, Issue No. 0026, 25 July 2001, 2 May 2007 . 3. American Management Association, â€Å"2001 AMA survey workplace monitoring and surveillance summary of key findings†, AMA Research, 2001, 2 May 2007 . There are many ways by which workplace monitoring is performed. But the main idea is that employers have the right to monitor every business activity performed during office hours. In telephone monitoring, an employer may choose to listen to employees’ phone calls at work for reasons of quality control. Some protection may be accorded to the employee if he is calling from a phone designated for personal calls but if he tries to use a business phone for

Procurement route Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Procurement route - Essay Example The clients specify the budgetary constraints to the consultant who are then supposed to determine the targets and requirements from the business case prepared by the client. As the requirements and specification are prepared by different entities, certain amount of time is spent in the transformation and is hence slow in comparison to other approaches. This approach has also not been found to be suitable for complex construction projects due to a lack of prolonged involvement of the client in the design and build, due to which there is a gap between desired outcomes and the actual implementation. There is a greater degree of sub-contracting of certain aspects of the construction to specialized sub contractors due to which work progresses on numerous fronts simultaneously, which is why it is suitable for fast-track and complex projects. An additional management contractor is employed to maintain correspondence with all elements connected with the project involved in the project. This way, the management contractor has full freedom to choose specialized companies to handle specific works of the project qualitatively and at a brisk pace. This approach also provides less cost certainty as both design and construction commence at the same time, which means adjustments and modifications to cost, budget and raw materials always take place. The preceding paragraphs have described the various procurement routes that have evolved as part of the process of procurement. However, not all are suitable in the current context of the issue surrounding the Conlon’s Chemicals site. As such, it is deemed appropriate to evaluate each procurement approach with the given problem and arrive at the most suitable procurement route. The client in this case has only specified the budget and has made it clear that the cost of the two projects have to stay within the specified budget. When considering the traditional

Mongol Brutality Essay Example for Free

Mongol Brutality Essay Although the Christian and Muslim warriors were of extreme cruelty, the Mongols brutality and carelessness was far greater because of their battle tactics, physiological warfare, and weaponry. These ‘barbarians’ captured a surplus amount of land in a stunning amount of time with questionable war tactics. Despite the brutality of the Mongols, Christian and Muslin warriors began to become more and more merciless. All three of these groups of warriors prove to be dangerous and cruel, but the Mongols seem to have the perfect mix of terror and destruction to make them the most brutal. The Mongols warfare tactics, although quite cruel, proved effective. When the Mongols wanted a village or town to expand their empire, they attacked with full force. The devastating thing about these attacks though, was the ‘no mercy’ kind of mindset they showed. These warriors were known to kill everything to get what they wanted, men, women, and children alike. The Muslim and Christian warriors were thought to have slaughtered whole towns before, but unlike the Mongols, it was not a tactic they were known for. The Mongol people were feared everywhere they went as word spread about these ruthless attacks. The fear these warriors inflicted on some people was enough to surrender attacks and turn over cities before a battle even began. Although whenever the Muslim or Christian warriors approached a battle, it was fought. This proves just how cruel yet skilled these Mongol warriors must have been. However, in most cases, just surrendering seemed to be the better idea, because in the case you didn’t, your city may have been looted and burned with all your people slaughtered. The Mongols success and expansion is largely due not only to their war tactics but also to their advanced weaponry. The Mongols were expert horsemen and masters of the bow and arrow, therefore adding to their success. These warriors used special ‘long bowsâ€℠¢ to have more powerful and precise a weapon; they also used horses to charge into villages and slaughter those inside. Worst of all, the Mongols were thought to have catapulted dead bodies infected with the plague over city walls to kill all of the residents through biological warfare. The Christian and Muslim warriors, although with good weapons, could not match the expertise, power, and experience the Mongols had with their weapons. Their weaponry was simply more advanced and powerful adding to the brutality of these cruel Mongols. The Mongols were extremely powerful warriors, with disturbingly merciless attacks. These warriors’ slaughtered entire towns,  looted cities, and then burned them to the ground. The Christian and Muslim ways of warfare could in some aspects be similar to that of the Mongols, but not nearly to the extent of the Mongols. These warriors who made cities surrender before an attack even began and who had advanced weaponry matched with expert and experienced weapon holders were practically unstoppable. These cruel slaughtering’s, feared attacks, and powerful weap ons used with no mercy outweigh any opposition in the argument of why the Mongols were more brutal than Christian and Muslim warriors.

Irony and Symbolism in Willa Cathers Pauls Case Essays -- Cather Pau

Irony and Symbolism in Willa Cather's Paul's Case   "Paul's Case," by Willa Cather, is a story that deals with a young boy who does not feel that he lives a life befitting of him. Upon a close reading, it is evident that "Paul's Case" is ruled by irony and symbolism, which are apparent in the story through the words of the narrator. The irony woven throughout the text builds up to an epiphonic moment, a main paradox in the story, which reveals to the reader Paul's true nature. Paul believes that everyone around him is beneath him. He is convinced that he is superior to everyone else in his school and in his neighborhood. He is even condescending to his teachers, and shows an appalling amount of contempt for them, of which they are very aware. In one class he habitually sat with his hand shading his eyes; in another he always looked out of the window during the recitation; in another he made a running commentary on the lecture, with humorous intention. Paul wanted everyone to think he was better than they were. Not only did he try to dress as if he were rich and important, his very actions displayed a great amount of disdain for everyone around him. Paul sees himself as superior. He carries himself with a haughty countenance and air about him, apparent in the description "Paul entered the faculty room suave and smiling." His attempts to portray himself as elegant is obvious in the adornments with which he tries to accentuate his attire: "he wore an opal pin in his neatly knotted black fourin-hand, and a red carnation in his button-hole." The irony in Paul's self-delusion lies in the way he is, in reality, seen by the rest of the world. While he thinks that he is dapper and winning in his ornamented garb, t... ...ft who is actually honest. To Paul, the ultimate place in life is to be a part of the upper class. Paul had to try very hard, and be very dishonest, to convey a certain image so that he would be accepted as a part of that class. At this moment, since the best place to be is the upper class, and if one must be dishonest to achieve high social status, Paul wonders how there can be anyone in the world who is honest because everyone should be striving to be a part of the upper class. As far as Paul is concerned, his deceitful measures were an acceptable means for achieving his goal. Works Cited and Consulted Brown M. & Crone R. Willa Cather the Woman and Her Works. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1970. Cather, Willa. â€Å"Paul’s Case.† The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter 6th ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 198-207.

Figures of Authority in” The Crucible” by Arthur Miller Essay

One of the most important themes in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is the nature of authority and people who abuse it. In the story, authority is determined by the religious status one has in the community and often education plays a role. Nowadays, authority is noted by the place you have in society and is also based on education and sometimes wealth. It seems that whenever there is a figure of authority, there is always someone abusing the power designated to them. Back in the Puritan times, religious leaders like reverends and people skilled in the teachings of the Bible were the authority figures; and even with attempting to do good by following the word of God like they were supposed to, there were many occurrences where they smuggled in some law or did something for the benefit of themselves because they dominated and felt like no one below them could rebel against that or else they would be punished. This happened so often because people feared authority and the thought of the punishment they would receive was horrible because everything was tolerated a lot less, so they did not rise up to correct these happenings. One example of the power of authority being abused in The Crucible, is the fact that Reverend Parris spends too much money on things that the church doesn’t need, for his own benefit. It seems as though he is more preoccupied with getting things that are an advantage to himself and his name, than he is with his religion and God. An example of someone noticing this is when John Proctor says, â€Å"A minister may pray to God without he have golden candlesticks upon the altar sir, when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at Parris’s elbows- it hurt my prayer,† and then he goes on to say, â€Å"I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I’ll not conceal it.'† (Act 2, Scene 3 p., 856). He is speaking of not baptizing his children because he does not believe that Parris is a proper server of God. Now, authority is everywhere, from the president, to the police, to people you respect like teachers and parents. You see the neglect of power even more nowadays than you did in the Puritan times, and they usually leave a larger impact. For example, in an article by Catherine Ford titled, ‘Give authority figures an inch†¦ they’ll take a mile,’ she speaks of a high  school in Canada where teachers were given the right by the Supreme Court of Canada to strip-search their students if they are thought to be breaking the rules of authority. Twenty freshman boys at Kingswell High School in Ontario were stripped searched when they were the suspects in stealing ninety dollars from the school. Strip-searching teenagers for such a minor offense shouldn’t be allowed, even if the government in Canada has a different idea on that than the United States does. It even states in the article that, â€Å"A malicious and predatory authority can make hard time an exqui sitely painful emotional, mental and physical experience.† Now after the ordeal, the vice president of the school realizes that it was the wrong thing to do. How is it that people don’t realize something is wrong until after it is done? Another example of the abuse of power is the whole rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He goes and kills innocent people in his country because they do not support him fully. He took over Iraq with military force and is now the president, or military leader of that country. He abuses the power he has given himself quite often and in cruel ways. For example, in an article written by Robert Prather, he states, â€Å"To accomplish his own rule, Saddam has shed so much blood. If his aim is for his power to be transferred to his family after his death, I think this is far into the realm of wishful thinking.† That quote taken from the article shows that to get what he wants, Saddam uses the power he has to kill people that stand up against him. It is almost like it was back in the Puritan days where the people were afraid to stand up against the one who was in charge, except now, you can’t even identify his followers, so if you were to say something insulting about Hussein, you c ould get arrested or killed without even expecting it. As you can see, in most cases when authority is represented, there is always going to be one person misusing the power that they have in being authority; and when there are people misusing their power, there are always going to be people below them, too afraid to stand up for what they know is right. Hopefully, sometime when history decides to stop repeating itself, people will learn that if they stick together, then they can rebel against the one or few that are misusing their power of authority.

Macbeth William Shakespeare Essay

(i) â€Å"Shakespeare’s Macbeth invites us to look into the world of a man driven on by ruthless ambition and tortured by regret.† Write a response to this view of the play, Macbeth, supporting the points you make by reference to the text. Mark ex 60 by reference to the criteria for assessment using the following breakdown of marks. P18 C18 L 18 M 6 60 marks A+ B C D E- 100% 60 – 51 42 33 24 23 – 0 30% 18 – 16 13 10 8 7 – 0 10% 6 – 5 4 3 3 2 – 0 Expect candidates to respond by treating of both ambition and regret, though not necessarily equally. Allow that candidates may view Macbeth as a man â€Å"driven on† by the ambitions of others in his world, e.g. Lady Macbeth, Malcolm, Banquo, and so on. Expect the focus of discussion, in such cases, to centre on the impact that the ambitions of others make upon Macbeth. Code A for ‘ambition’, R for ‘regret’, and A/R for points combining the two. Possible points: Ambition: – his eager response to the witches – the killing of Duncan and Banquo – his obsession with ‘vaulting ambition’ – he embarks on a tyrannical rule, determined to hold on to power – Lady Macbeth, however, questions his capacity to be ruthless – his soliloquies repeatedly qualify the ruthlessness of his character Etc. Regret: – Macbeth wrestles with his conscience – he is plagued by visions of his evil deeds and their consequences – following the murder of Duncan he is incoherent and tormented – he is haunted by the realisation that he has achieved a ‘fruitless crown’ and a ‘barren sceptre’ – his mind is ‘full of scorpions’ – for him life becomes progressively more empty and worthless Etc.

How well does Shell fulfil the needs of its stakeholders Essays

How well does Shell fulfil the needs of its stakeholders Essays How well does Shell fulfil the needs of its stakeholders Essay How well does Shell fulfil the needs of its stakeholders Essay A stakeholder is any individual or group which has a stake in a company. They therefore include the employees, suppliers, creditors, customers, shareholders and local communities that are affected by the actions of the business. I will be investigating whether Shell is able to fulfil all the needs of it stakeholders, by using secondary data collected from the company website and newspaper articles, in order to evaluate whether Shell has adopted either the stakeholder concept or the shareholder concept, and from this I will evaluate whether there are any conflicts between the stakeholders of Shell. If a business adopts the shareholders concept, this means that the main and sole objective of the business is to maximise the value of the company, so in practice the management tries to make the shareholders as much profit as possible. Therefore any decisions that the management makes is in the interests of the stakeholders, which means that the business avoids conflicting objectives. The advantages of this are that, in the short term, the business may be able to improve its short term profitability, as they do not make any philanthropic donations, or spend money trying to satisfy any stakeholders. The stakeholder concept has more objectives than just making the shareholders as much profit as possible, although this still remains one of the goals of the business, and the business attempts to fulfil the needs of all groups and individuals who are connected to the business. More and more businesses are adopting this concept, because it can improve a business reputation, and therefore give it a competitive advantage and can also attract socially responsible investors. However, problems can arise when the views of one stakeholder clash with the views of another. Royal Dutch Shell (or Shell) is a multinational group of energy and petrochemical companies, which has bases in over 130 countries and more than 108,000 employees. It describes itself as a company that operates in environmentally and socially responsible ways, safely and profitably, however its competitive advantage is in its innovative methods of exploration and production of chemicals, as its reputation is still being built, due to a lot of controversy that has surrounded Shell for decades. Shell wants to be seen as a socially responsible business that takes into account all the needs of its stakeholders, for example by looking for alternative sources of energy to replace finite resources, such as petrol. It is one of the biggest private sector organisations in the world, and in terms of operating profit, in 2006 it was the third most profitable company according to newspaper report, after making just over $26 million dollars after taxation. It 5 Year Financial Summary also shows that its income before taxation has increased every year from 2002 to 2006, and in fact has increased by over 155% in the past five years. This shows that investors are happy, because they are being rewarded for their investment by gaining a substantial profit, which has grown largely due to rocketing oil and fuel prices. Shells record profits were largely due to record oil prices, especially in petrol, where the price topped a dollar barrel. Furthermore, the growth of production in Nigeria has helped to increase profits of the largest European oil company. In fact Shell was one of the only major oil companies to turn a profit in the 2nd quarter of 2007 (April to June), after a fall in profits was expected due to a 2% decrease in production. Furthermore, earnings per share have increased by over 168% in the past 5 years, which shows that the value of their investment is improving continuously. However, the controversy surrounding Shell often leads to a fall in share prices, for example when Shell overstated its oil reserves by 20%, which caused investor anger, and a lot of selling of shares, which decreased the companies market value by $15 billion. A record profit is good news for employees, as if the company is growing, and then there is more money to explore for oil and gas, which means that their jobs are more secure. An example is Shells i 350 million investment programme for investments in Scotland, which it says will safeguard 300 jobs and create 100 new contractor jobs. Furthermore, Shell tried to address it social Royal Dutch Shells website says it recognises that employees are also a valuable stakeholder in the company and that their opinions are of the utmost importance, so it has a very democratic style in that it tries to listen to all employees and discuss are held before decisions are made, as they believe that that this management style is the best fit for their company. Shell published a document in 2000 called People and Principles, in which it emphasised how its beliefs in being a socially responsible company, which attracted a lot of graduates into the company. However, since then Shell has gained a lot of bad publicity, especially as they are often in trouble over employee safety, such as their operations in the North Sea of the coast of Scotland, where lapses in safety procedures have caused a variety of complaints to be made. Concerns have been raised by unions about the decrease in key personnel since Shell announced the sale of the instillations, which could leave staff unable to manage in the case of an emergency. Another example is the danger faced by their workers in Nigeria, due to pipeline explosions and the kidnap of oil workers in the Delta region. Fears have grown among employees and this in turn affects Shells share prices, which is bad news for investors as well. Despite the fact that Shell claims to get their resources in the most environmentally responsible way, they are often at loggerheads with another stakeholders, the environmentalists, because although Shell has more than one objective, the environmentalists only have one, to protect the environment, and Shell continues to be heavily criticised for its environmental record. An example of this is in late July this year; Shell announced that they were to begin drilling for oil in the arctic, off the shore off Alaska, America. Environmentalists believe that the impact of drilling on the wildlife (such as bowhead whales) would be catastrophic; however Shell (and its shareholders) opposed this. Furthermore, Russia has threatened to revoke Shells license for the development of oil and gas skills, due to what they believe to be Shells inability to address the safety concerns surrounding their Sakhalin project. Added to this, the Argentine government ordered Shell to shut down one of its refineries in Buenos Aires, as they discovered that the site didnt have the correct environmental permits and had failed to conduct the necessary impact studies. Action was taken after government inspections uncovered soil pollution and the Argentine government also accused Shell of illegally taking water from a local estuary. On all occasions, Royal Dutch Shell has fiercely defended itself, however the frequency of the allegations has damaged the reputation Shell has tried to build, as an ethically responsible company, and further disillusioned environmentalists about how socially responsible Shell is. Overall, I believe that for such a competitive industry such as energy and chemicals, and with such a large company such as Shell, it is inevitable that there will be some clashes between stakeholders (such as the environmentalists and the stakeholders), because they all have different aims. I also believe that is impossible for Shell to fulfil all the needs of its stakeholders, because clashes between stakeholders means Shell often has to side with one or a group of stakeholders, which at the moment seems to be the shareholders. I believe Shell must do more to prove that it is a socially responsible company, in order to satisfy the needs of more of its stakeholders, for example doing more to address safety concerns and increasing the investment in local communities in the countries where it explores for oil and gas, and increasing the amount of money it puts into making its process as environmentally friendly as possible. Although, initially this would cost some money, the shareholders would eventually see a return in the longer term, because the benefits of building a reputation as a socially responsible company would attract a lot of new customers. Furthermore, it would attract the best graduates to the company, and would mean fewer disputes with local communities and governments, which would not only save money but also benefit Shells reputation.

Battle of Waxhaws in the American Revolution

Battle of Waxhaws in the American Revolution The Battle of Waxhaws was fought May 29, 1780, during the American Revolution (1775-1783) and was one of several American defeats in the South that summer. In late 1778, with the fighting in the northern colonies increasingly becoming a stalemate, the British began to expand their operations to the south. This saw troops under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell land and capture Savannah, GA on December 29. Reinforced, the garrison withstood a combined Franco-American attack led by Major General Benjamin Lincoln and  Vice Admiral Comte dEstaing the following year. Seeking to expand this foothold, the British commander-in-chief in North America,  Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, mounted a large expedition in 1780 to capture Charleston, SC. The Fall of Charleston Though Charleston had defeated an earlier British attack in 1776, Clintons forces were able to capture the city and Lincolns garrison on May 12, 1780 after a seven-week siege. The defeat marked the largest surrender of American troops during the war and left the Continental Army without a sizable force in the South. Following the American capitulation, British forces under Clinton occupied the city. Escaping North Six days later, Clinton dispatched Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis with 2,500 men to subdue the South Carolina back country. Advancing from the city, his force crossed the Santee River and moved towards Camden. En route, he learned from local Loyalists that South Carolina Governor John Rutledge was attempting to escape to North Carolina with a force of 350 men. This contingent was led by Colonel Abraham Buford and consisted of the 7th Virginia Regiment, two companies of the 2nd Virginia, 40 light dragoons, and two 6-pdr guns. Though his command included several veteran officers, the majority of Bufords men were untested recruits. Buford had originally been ordered south to aid in the Siege of Charleston, but when the city was invested by the British he received new directions from Lincoln to assume a position at Lenuds Ferry on the Santee River. Reaching the ferry, Buford soon learned of the citys fall and commenced withdrawing from the area. Retreating back toward North Carolina, he had a large lead on Cornwallis. Understanding that his column was too slow to catch the fleeing Americans, Cornwallis detached a mobile force under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton on May 27 to run down Bufords men. Departing Camden late on May 28, Tarleton continued his pursuit of the fleeing Americans. Armies Commanders Americans Colonel Abraham Buford420 men British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton270 men The Chase Tarletons command consisted of 270 men drawn from the 17th Dragoons, Loyalist British Legion, and a 3-pdr gun. Riding hard, Tarletons men covered over 100 miles in 54 hours. Warned of Tarletons rapid approach, Buford sent Rutledge ahead towards Hillsborough, NC with a small escort. Reaching Rugeleys Mill mid-morning on May 29, Tarleton learned that the Americans had camped there the previous night and were around 20 miles ahead. Pressing forward, the British column caught up with Buford around 3:00 PM at a location six miles south of the border near Waxhaws. The Battle of Waxhaws Defeating the American rearguard, Tarleton sent a messenger to Buford. Inflating his numbers to scare the American commander, he demanded Bufords surrender. Buford delayed responding while his men reached a more favorable position before replying, Sir, I reject your proposals, and shall defend myself to the last extremity. To meet Tarletons attack, he deployed his infantry into a single line with a small reserve to the rear. Opposite, Tarleton moved directly to assault the American position without waiting for his entire command to arrive. Forming his men on a small rise opposite the American line, he divided his men into three groups with one assigned to strike the enemy right, another the center, and the third the left. Moving forward, they began their charge approximately 300 yards from the Americans. As the British approached, Buford ordered his men to hold their fire until they were 10-30 yards away. While an appropriate tactic against infantry, it proved disastrous against cavalry. The Americans were able to fire one volley before Tarletons men shattered their line. With the British dragoons hacking with their sabers, the Americans began surrender while others fled the field. What happened next is a subject of controversy. One Patriot witness, Dr. Robert Brownfield, claimed that Buford waved a white flag to surrender. As he called for quarter, Tarletons horse was shot, throwing the British commander the ground. Believing their commander to have been attacked under a flag of truce, the Loyalists renewed their attack, slaughtering the remaining Americans, including wounded. Brownfield insinuates that this continuation of hostilities was encouraged by Tarleton (Brownfield Letter). Other Patriot sources claim that Tarleton ordered the renewed attack as he did not wish to be encumbered with prisoners. Regardless, the butchery continued with American troops, including wounded, being struck down. In his report after the battle, Tarleton stated that his men, believing him struck down, continued the fight with a vindictive asperity not easily restrained. After approximately fifteen minutes of fighting the battle concluded. Only around 100 Americans, including Buford, succeeded in escaping the field. Aftermath The defeat at Waxhaws cost Buford 113 killed, 150 wounded, and 53 captured. British losses were a light 5 killed and 12 wounded. The action at Waxhaws quickly earned Tarleton nicknames such as Bloody Ban and Ban the Butcher. In addition, the term Tarletons Quarter quickly came to mean that no mercy would be given. The defeat became a rallying cry in the region and led many to flock to the Patriot cause. Among those were numerous local militias, particularly those from over the Appalachian Mountains, which would play a key role at the Battle of Kings Mountain that October. Vilified by the Americans, Tarleton was decisively defeated by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781. Remaining with Cornwallis army, he was captured at the Battle of Yorktown. In negotiating the British surrender, special arrangements had to be made to protect Tarleton due to his unsavory reputation. After the surrender, the American officers invited all of their British counterparts to dine with them but specifically forbade Tarleton from attending.

Britain and the empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Britain and the empire - Essay Example Thompson believes that the concept of the new clock time, came into existence because of capitalistic interests, replaced the earlier perception of time3. These earlier perceptions of time, emanated from the collective wisdom of mankind. These earlier views regarding time were imposed by religious and social authorities, before the emergence of the industrial revolution. This paper analyzes the ideas of Thompson regarding how time was perceived by the traditional society, and how it changed during the industrial revolution. This is in the late 1700s. Furthermore, this paper analyzes who had the ability of telling time, and how the changes and use of time affected the rural laborers during the 1700s, and what is meant by â€Å"Saint Monday†. This paper further analyzes how the discipline of time regulation related to the wages and experiences of the workers during the 18th century. It further analyzes the context of idleness, in the view of Thompson. This paper also contains the independent ideas and insights of the essay by Thompson. Thompson denotes that during the pre-industrial societies, people had different views and believes about time4. This believes and views were imposed by social and religious authorities, and based on collective wisdom of members of a society. These societies viewed time, based on their commercial, social, and religious activities. For example, in societies that practiced hunting, agriculture, and other human interaction activities with the natural world, time discipline was governed by biological, as well as astronomical factors. People knew specific seasons, or times through observations. The Islamic lunar calendar is an example in which people identified time and seasons through religious means. This calendar was developed by the nomadic Arabs, who lived in the deserts. The lunar calendar does not reflect any seasons, because it was not convenient for these Arabs. However, with the arrival of