Marks and spencer group

Marks and spencer group 1. Vision (mission Statement) Marks and Spencer Group (MS) is a retailer of clothing, foods and Homeware. It operates through owned stores and franchise stores. The company has two reportable geographic segments: UK and international. MS operates through a chain of 622 stores across UK and 278 international outlets throughout 34 countries worldwide The companys operations can be categorized under two divisions: food and general merchandise including clothing and home ware. The food division focuses on fresh, natural, healthy food; special celebration products; authentic ready meals and exceptional everyday food such as Oakham chicken and Aberdeen Angus steaks. It chain of 205 franchised Simply Food stores operates in railway stations, Heathrow Airport and motor service areas. These stores offers its customers an opportunity to shops between visits to the companys main stores. The clothing division product portfolio includes womens wear, mens wear, lingerie childrens wear and footwear. Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh , Sri Lanka and Turkey offices provides the raw materials to the division. This division offers some prominent brands which includes: Autograph, Limited Collection, Cellozione, Blue Harbour, Girls Boutique, Per Una and Ceriso. The home division product and services caters homeware and home accessories; kitchen and tableware; lighting; and furniture products. The division also offers catalogue and online services (Company Overview 2009) The vision of this project would be to bring up the Limited collection brand of Marks Spencer the most sought after product in the market. This research will put up strategies which in turn make the limited collection brand to be most popular in both UK and international segment. 2. Aims Rebrand the Marks and Spencer Limited Collection to resonate with the brands long standing vision. Expand the brands current target market. Create an in-store environment that represents the aspirations of the brands target consumer. Market research is an orderly, objective way of learning about people. The people who buy from you or might buy from you (AG strategies 2003). This research will mainly aim at setting market targets against which results can be evaluated. It also works out the time needed to make the presence felt. To calculate the right price as the price is the value of the product we offer and a sum which can be afforded by the customers. 3. Objectives; Tactics Expand the brands target audience to the demographic of women aged 30-45 over 12 months, aiming for a 15% increase in sales within each 6 months period. Develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers in order to capture a value from customers to create profit and customer equity. Exploiting the opportunity to mace process of comparing the companys products and processes to those of competitors or leading firms in other industries to find ways to improve quality and performance. 4. SWOT Analysis Situation Analysis Internal Analysis Corporate Social Responsibility at Marks and Spencer has traditionally been interpreted as a paternalistic regime for the large labour force of shop assistants which provides a provision of quality and value for money for the customers. As 90 per cent of these were women cared for by women supervisors, perhaps ‘maternalistic would be a better word. The welfare facilities were no doubt appreciated by the Companys numerous retail workers (Chapman, S 2004). Though the clothing market faced a difficult year many factors, Marks Spencer remain the number one brand on the High Street. MS continued to develop their brands, with particular focus on improving their value, while injecting newness and style across their ranges. The three fold aim we had at the time of beginning the womens wear brands two years ago have been established and fulfilled successfully. They were mainly to clearly segment all our brands in line with our clear customer profiles; to keep our brands fresh; and to offer great quality and value at all price points. ‘In 2000 Sir Harry Djanogly, Chairman of Coats Viyella, announced to an incredulous textile world that it was no longer profitable to supply MS. Then Charnos closed its dedicated factories for the same reason, whilst Bairds, Gents and Bentwood were axed by new bosses at MS head office, and Dewhirsts sharply cut back and were forced to close several factories. The chain store group finally decided it could manage with three major British clothing suppliers (Coats Viyella, Courtaulds and Dewhirsts) but when the first of these severed the connection, MS was left with serious problems (Chapman, S 2004). The market we are dealing with very little lead time so that we need to get new products into the stock more frequently than anticipated. External Risks and Opportunities Concentrating solely on the youth may not be the wisest thing to do. As the youth can be very unpredictable, moreover now the youth are sheltering back home due to the recruiting freeze. The demographic between the young and the retired will provide the best opportunities. In our ageless society, for those in their late 30s and beyond looking or feeling young has retail appeal. Appealing accessories will also help to put the limited collection to the main stream of sought after brand. Peronis latest promotion offers customers the chance to win an Antonio Berardi leather laptop case (Birra di Moda), pitching this accessory as something aspirational and exclusive. In reality, a series of factors might make the man bag an increasingly practical and popular purchase. The trends of 50s and 80s now again making an uproar, if one exploit the opportunity in a right manner on could capture the attention of potential buyers. 5. PESTEL Analysis Political Analysis The global nature of the crisis will make it far more difficult for many countries to rely on devaluing currencies to make their economies more competitive and increase export volumes. Deflation will affect emerging economies especially if the national currency is depreciating sharply. There is also then a danger that imported inflation will get out of hand. That said raising interest rates to strengthen the local currency in a time of recession and low liquidity is pure poison for the respective economy (Verdict 2009). Among the Top Five economies, the major mature economies of western Europe (Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain), rankings remained stable with the UK ahead of France. And in the Top 10 Polands consumer expenditure has leapfrogged Belgiums. However, Greece has displaced Austria in the Top 10 and has overtaken Sweden in the process (Verdict 2009). Economical Analysis ‘Marks Spencer is the leading retailer in the clothing market, with a market share of 10.4% in 2008. It has wide price architecture and targets a broad customer base through its variety of sub brands, though mainly attracts older, more affluent customers. Intense competition from value players as well as other department stores has placed Marks Spencer under great pressure, particularly in clothing where the difficult economic environment is forcing consumers to be much more selective about what they spend their money on (How Briton Shops 2009). ‘As an effect of the recession customers have become savvier in their shopping habits and are increasingly concerned about value. As a result, shoppers are buying from a bigger pool of retailers to ensure they are getting the best value for money. Though Marks Spencer continues to focus heavily on the value of its clothing, its offer is not as enticing as those of value retailers Asda, Primark and Matalan, which have all increased their main user shares'(How Briton Shops 2009). Social Analysis ‘However, customers mainly visit other clothing stores that are at the value end of the market. Five of the eight other clothing stores used by loyal main users of Marks Spencer are value retailers, highlighting how important it is for the retailer to stay competitive on price while also offering superior quality to ensure its success (How Briton Shops 2009). Technological Analysis ‘Opportunities for cross-shopping across departments remain. Though it sells electricals, food, footwear and homewares as well as clothing, Marks Spencer does not appear as the main store in these categories for its main customers for clothing. Footwear in particular should be a focus for the retailer, given the close proximity of the department to clothing and the opportunity to point out to customers co-ordinating themes for outfits (How Briton Shops 2009). In menswear, MS has looked to differentiate with technical product innovation, such as water and stain repellent Stormwear finish in trousers and a silver finish on the Freshfeet range of socks said to reduce the presence of bacteria that cause smelly odours (Mintel 2009). 6. Competitor Analysis According to Verdict research report 2009, Next is observed to be positioned in the second largest retailer after Marks Spencer with 7.1% share of the market in UK. Their main target market is aimed at 25-45 years old women and men consumers. They offer a wide range of products such as womens wear, menswear, children-wear, accessories, footwear, homewares and furniture (Verdict, 2009). While the other retailers have dropped their price and launched valued products During the recession in 2008, Nexts marketing strategy had been successful by retaining their products at same level of quality, design and price where other retailers have launched value ranges and dropped price. By assuring their quality and design, they also achieved positive impression on their brand image from the customers. However, they are still failing to attract young customers ranging 25-34 year olds. Over the past two years, Next had achieved very strong and solid online sales as known as the Next Directory, which ranked them as the highest online market share among the competitors. As one of Nexts marketing strategy, Next does not use their brands to target different segments of its customer base. Unlike Marks Spencer and Debenhams, Next limits and narrow its apparel resulting low loyalty from consumers. 7. Strategy Tactics Segmentation We want our customers to get what they are looking for. Mintel international group has announced that MS is the destination for clothes shopping for the over-45s, according to our consumer research, and is thus well placed to benefit from the expected ageing of the population. Where as the under 25s group had very limited appeal to the product MS carried. It is very clearly with in the plan that the aim of new strategy will be to make it appealing to the all three segments with more frequent stock updates at least by each week. On the one hand this means keeping the door open to the 30-somethings, encouraging an easy transition to MS shopping later. The recently launched Indigo range of casualwear and denim suggests a step in this direction, but the range falls short of offering anything really attention grabbing, in Mintels view. However, the more catwalk-led autumn 2009 collection could succeed in this. A strong childrenswear offer could also contribute, by bringing mums into the stores (Mintel 2009). The 40-somethings of today are the contemporaries of supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer, while the 50-somethings share their birth decade with Madonna, and while they may not aspire to look like these celebrities, they are influenced by the whole younger for longer trend. Catering for increasingly young attitudes with flattering cuts and materials is likely to be key, and something we believe the new Portfolio range has not fully succeeded in yet (Mintel 2009). Now the targeted segments will be a) 18-25, b) 25-40, c) 40-50, 50 and above The 18-25 segment will be the one that is shying away mostly from the wants they have due to the economic back down turns, and the alluring styles and pricing will be crucial for the revival of that segment to the expected out come. 7. Marketing Mix Making best use of the 4Ps Product The product offer has now expanded beyond the capacity of any individual store, underlining the importance of seamless integration between the physical stores and the back catalogue. While MS reports that it is trialling in-store ordering, Mintel feels this is an area where ensuring ease of access across channels would maximise synergies (Mintel 2009). MS has traditionally been all about one brand show room for clothes They always had From underwear to outerwear Across occasions from casual through business to formal Across price points in the middle mass market For almost all ages (perhaps with the exception of teens and young adults) Including footwear and accessories Now this has got to change a bit more appealing to todays tastes to make it an impacting product stock. The sub-brands divide the collection by fashionability/quality and, to a certain extent, by price, though segmentation of the offer in-store sometimes falls short of supporting this to maximum effect.

Challenges and Techniques of the Oil Industry

Challenges and Techniques of the Oil Industry The Oil Sand Energy availability and economic progress go hand in hand. It is not possible to achieve economic progress in the absence of cheap, reliable energy availability. The use of energy on the part of society has increased systematically over the past two centuries, since the time of the industrial revolution. And there is no end in sight to the increase in the consumption of energy. This will continue because as global population continues to increase and especially in some of the emerging countries like China and India, the consumption of energy is bound to increase exponentially. In the past fifty years, global energy consumption has increased monotonously and how is this demand satisfied? This demand is being meet primarily with crude oil. Crude oil has been the largest energy component since 1960 and grew very rapidly in the 1970s and ever since, has grown less rapidly. Though oil has been losing ground but nevertheless, it remains the most important source of energy, second being coal, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Oil is a fossil fuel and the world is about 80 to 85% dependent on fossil fuels for our energy supply. This is a challenge because when fossil fuels are burnt, they emit CO2 in the atmosphere and since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it contributes to global warming Oil is a mix of hydrocarbons that are liquid under atmospheric conditions. The fact that they are liquid allows for easier processing, transportation, storage, and has a higher content of energy per volume. These are the greatest advantages that oil has over other energy resources.   However, there are scenarios where the oil is not trapped in a cap rocks and forces it way out to the surface, or very close to the surface of the ground, at which point, the lighter molecules evaporate into the atmosphere and what is left are heavier molecules, which are normally called extra heavy oil or bitumen. This is known as Oil sands or Tar sand and it is made up of a mixture of sand, water, clay, and bitumen[1]. Oil sands or Tar sand are found in various countries throughout the world, but the vast quantities of oil sand reserves are found in Canada and Venezuela, according to EIA. Alberta, Canada, is estimated to have about 1.7 to 2.5 trillion barrels of oil sand reserve, thus, represent ing the largest single reserve of oil in the world.[2] Accordingly, Canada produced about 3.8 million barrel per day of crude oil, in 2014 alone. Of this, 2.2 million barrel per day was produced from the oil sands.[3] About 10% of the worlds oil reserves are located in the Alberta oil sands and about 96 percent of Canadas total oil reserves are contained in the oil sands.[4] Moreover, Canada is said to be the leading supplier of crude oil and refined oil products to the United States and the trend continues to grow in terms of percentage of US oil imports. About 60 percent of Canadas production capacity from oil sand, about 1.34 million barrels per day is exported to the US.[5] Energy as found in nature needs to mined, processed, refined and transported before it is available for end use. Unlike oil produced by conventional oil drilling which is generally less dense than water, extracting oil from oil sands is more complex. There are two methods for getting bitumen out of the ground and turning it into usable products in-situ and open pit mining. The extraction method used will depend on how deep the oil sand deposits are below the surface. Both methods are complex, energy-intensive and expensive processes. In-situ (in place) In-situ extraction process is used to mine bitumen that lies deep below the surface of the ground (greater than 75 meters underground). According to studies, about 80% of oil sands reserves in Canada are accessible via in-situ techniques.[6] The in-situ method normally uses a process called Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). This method requires the drilling of two horizontal wells; one is used for injecting steam into the oil sand deposit to heat the oil sand making the bitumen to become more fluid and easy to flow more easily. The second well is used to pump out the flowing bitumen to the surface.[7] Open-Pit Mining Like the conventional oil mining Open-pit mining is used when mining oil sand reserves that are closer to the surface of the ground (less than 75 meters below the ground). According to industry report, 20% of oil sand reserves in Canada are extracted using this mining technique.[8] With this method, trees and top layer of soil are cleared, large shovels are used to scoop the oil sand, which is mix of sand, water and bitumen into large trucks and then moved it to onsite processing facility, where hot water is added to this mixture of sand, clay, bitumen, in a large separation vessel. Bitumen froth is forced to rise to the surface, during the separation process and then removed and diluted with chemicals.[9] Normally, the spent sand and other materials that are recovered during this process is then returned to the mines to fill in empty space that has been mined as a way of reclamation Upgrading Once the Bitumen is recovered from either through open-pit or from in-situ operation, the viscous substance is then processed in order to make it easier to transport through pipelines to various refinery, where it is to be used as feedstock. This process is called upgrade. The purpose of upgrading is to transform bitumen into synthetic crude oil, a high quality, light sweet crude oil, by removing carbon and adding hydrogen and chemical to bitumen.[10] Typically the upgrading process comes in two phases namely primary and secondary upgrading. The primary upgrading involves breaking down the heavy molecules of bitumen into lighter and less viscous molecules. The secondary upgrading is used to further cleanse and purify the bitumen attained from primary phase. This phase involves removing other impurities such as nitrogen, Sulphur, and trace metals and get it ready for oil refineries.[11] Refining The bitumen is finally delivered to through pipelines the refinery through pipelines. The SCO product is then sent to a downstream refinery for conversion into final product.[12] Here the oil is processed and converted into final products like gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, plastics, asphalt and other consumer and industrial products. Environmental Challenges The mining and processing of oil sands present a variety of environmental impacts, such as global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, disturbance of land structure, and air and water quality. It also may have significant social and economic impactson local communities. Another major concern is related to the tremendous amount of water required for oil sands development -extraction, upgrading and refining. It is estimated that the process requires an average of three barrels of water for one barrel of oil produced,[13] though some of the water are be recycled. The major environmental challenges to oil sand extraction among others are land, water, air: Land Development of oil sand crate concern about the accumulation of large amounts of residual waste known as tailings. Tailing, which contain a mix of water, clay, un-recovered bitumen, and dissolved chemicals, including some organic compounds are considered to be extremely toxic and very hazardous to the environment. Moreover, the tailings are stored in large ponds and causes seepage into the surrounding landscape, though the water released from the ponds can be recycled and reused, however, most still remains as mud almost indefinitely. The massive activities associated with oil sand project are also known to create tremendous structural disturbances of the landscape including seismic exploration and construction of wells, roads pipelines etc. negatively impact the environment and endangers the wildlife. Water Since oil sand is made up of a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen, a hot water process is required to separates the bitumen from the associated sand, water, clay and minerals. The process takes enormous amount of water of fresh water to produce a barrel of bitumen from mined oil sands. In many cases, the water is sourced from ground water aquifers. Rapid expansion of oil sands projects are causing great strains on fresh water resources, which leads to ecological and environmental problems.[14] Also, since bitumen is denser than water, it can be harder to clean up when there is a spill. Additionally, oil sands mining operations produce huge amounts of toxic waste, known as tailings, which consist of water, sand, silt, clay, hydrocarbons and contaminants.   The contaminates may contain various levels of naphthenic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenolic compounds, ammonia and mercury etc., some of which, according to International Agency for Research on Cancer an d the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are known to be cancer-causing agent.[15] Even worst, the tailings are mostly stored in ponds or man-made dams, thus causing the tailing to leak into ground water and surrounding water resources. It is estimated that about four billion liters of tailings leak each year, thereby triggering immense environment devastation.[16] Air Extracting Oil sands require a substantial amount of energy in processing to process, upgrading and refining bitumen to the final products suitable for market. The entire development process is so energy intensive that it contributes immensely in carbon emissions. Reports suggest that the oil sand industry is among the highest contributors of national air emissions in Canada. Oil is produced to be consumed, more than half of the oil consumed in the world is for transportation fueling societys unquenchable demand for mobility. More than 50 percent of oil produced is used for transportation needs.[17]. As the worlds population grows, so will the global passenger mobility, global freight and transportation volumes. Additionally, the current global rise in urbanization, the global economic growth, as well as high level of economic development are other important factors prompting the increase in demand for oil. As fossil fuel, final oil products are burnt for energy through the various applications for which they are used. When burnt, they emit high amounts of harmful emissions, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particles that drift into the atmosphere and contribute to air pollution. Carbon dioxide and water vapor, along with other gases such as ozone and nitrous oxide, are known greenhouse gases and the increasing amounts of these greenhouse g ases in the atmosphere are linked to global warming and could have disastrous environmental consequences.[18] However, since the business of producing oil from oil sand is base generally on oil price, chances are that there will be some slowdown in sand oil operations around the world, as oil prices decline. Due to the recent downward trend of oil prices, the economic viability and financial attractiveness of oil sands projects have also declined. Financial analysts including those from Goldman Sachs and Total have concluded that oil sands projects require long-term prices in excess of $80/barrel to break even[19]. Deutsche Bank and BP, among others, have raised doubts about the future of investing in oil sand and Shell Oil has significantly scaled back its oil sands plans[20]. If these phenomena should continue, it might be the preeminent way in reducing and mitigating the environmental degradation being caused by oil sand. [1] http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/what-are-the-oil-sands/recovering-the-oil [2] http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy [3] lbid [4] www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/oilsands-101 [5] Kenny Bruno, Bruce Baizel, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Elizabeth Shope, and Kate Colarulli, Tax Sands Invasion: How Dirty and Expensive Oil from Canada Threatens Americas New Energy Economy (May 2010) [6] http://www.suncor.com/about-us/oil-sands [7] http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/what-are-the-oil-sands/recovering-the-oil [8] http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy [9] http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/what-are-the-oil-sands/recovering-the-oil [10] http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy [11] lbid [12] http://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/oilsands-101 [13] http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy [14] lbid [15] Kenny Bruno, Bruce Baizel, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Elizabeth Shope, and Kate Colarulli, Tax Sands Invasion: How  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Dirty and Expensive Oil from Canada Threatens Americas New Energy Economy (May 2010) [16] lbid [17] https://www.iea.org [18] Kenny Bruno, Bruce Baizel, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Elizabeth Shope, and Kate Colarulli, Tax Sands Invasion: How Dirty and Expensive Oil from Canada Threatens Americas New Energy Economy (May 2010) [19] lbid [20] lbid

Steven King :: Essays Papers

Steven King "If you have an imagination, let it run free." - Steven King, 1963 The King of Terror Stephen Edwin King is one of today's most popular and best selling writers. King combines the elements of psychological thrillers, science fiction, the paranormal, and detective themes into his stories. In addition to these themes, King sticks to using great and vivid detail that is set in a realistic everyday place. Stephen King who is mainly known for his novels, has broadened his horizons to different types of writings such as movie scripts, nonfiction, autobiographies, children's books, and short stories. While Stephen King might be best known for his novels The Stand and It, some of his been published are his short stories such as "The Body" and "Quitters Inc". King's works are so powerful because he uses his experience and observations from his everyday life and places them into his unique stories. Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital. Stephen, his mother Nellie, and his adopted brother David were left to fend f or themselves when Stephen's father Donald, a Merchant Marine captain, left one day, to go the store to buy a pack of cigarettes, and never returned. His fathers leaving had a big indirect impact on King's life. In the autobiographical work Danse Macabre, Stephen King recalls how his family life was altered: "After my father took off, my mother, struggled, and then landed on her feet." My brother and I didn't see a great deal of her over the next nine years. She worked a succession of continuous low paying jobs." Stephen's first outlooks on life were influenced by his older brother and what he figured out on his own. While young Stephen and his family moved around the North Eastern and Central United States. When he was seven years old, they moved to Stratford, Connecticut. Here is where King got his first exposure to horror. One evening he listened to the radio adaptation of Ray Bradbury's story "Mars Is Heaven!" That night King recalls he "slept in the doorway, where the real and rational light of the bathroom bulb could shine on my face" (Beaham 16). Stephen King's exposure to oral storytelling on the radio had a large impact on his later writings. King tells his stories in visual terms so that the reader would be able to "see" what was happening in their own mind, somewhat in the same fashion the way it was done on the radio (Beaham 17).

Duties of Fidelity Essay -- Business, Duties of Reparation

Ross prima facie duties speak of fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, non- maleficence and self-improvement. Even though Ross has explained each duties, it is still uncertain that how these duties can be implied in marketing activities. If we look at each duty, it is not easy to implement every duty in a situation unless it demands so. One has a prima facie duty (not) to do a certain action if and only if there is some moral demand for one (not) to do it (Baumrin, 1965). Therefore in order to execute these duties, understanding the circumstances is very important. It is understood that prima facie duties are expressions referring to a characteristic by certain individual act-tokens rather than by certain act-types (Atwell, 1978). A sense of which duties are towards the bottom of the scale and which duties are towards the top is to be made sure in order to achieve every duty (Robinson, 2010). Duties of fidelity are the duty of keeping up promises. The company should not promise anything to their customers that they cannot execute. Promise can be anything related to product quality, size, etc. Breaking a promise can bring down the value for the products as there will be no trust for the products in the market. Keeping up promises will encourage the customers to buy the product. According to prima facie duties, one cannot be blamed if he undertakes to make the right choice but it does not produce a good act (Meyers, 2009). Duties of reparation are only essential when one cannot keep up the promise or when unintentional mistakes happened. If the product is damaged then the product is to be recalled and repaired or new products have to be issued to the customers. Cash Payments can also be made fo... ...tilitarian can increase the costs for the company but they are responsible to do so because, the fault is not caused by customers. Whether a person’s action is morally justifiable, is a deontological question; whether the act is good is ultimately a consequentiality question (Meyers, 2009). According to my point of view what Maruti Suzuki did was correct but these faults are not supposed to be happened from a company like these. Instead of repairing faulty cars new cars is to be provided immediately when they recalled faulty ones. Also they should have taken additional efforts to help customers when they were waiting for their car to get repaired. They should have given bonus packages to their customers for the mistake happened. Even though it can add total cost for the company, it can support them in maintaining their customers and good will in the market.

Robotics :: essays research papers

Two years ago, the Chrysler corporation completely gutted its Windsor, Ontario, car assembly plant and within six weeks had installed an entirely new factory inside the building. It was a marvel of engineering. When it came time to go to work, a whole new work force marched onto the assembly line. There on opening day was a crew of 150 industrial robots. Industrial robots don't look anything like the androids from sci-fi books and movies. They don't act like the evil Daleks or a fusspot C-3P0. If anything, the industrial robots toiling on the Chrysler line resemble elegant swans or baby brontosauruses with their fat, squat bodies, long arched necks and small heads. An industrial robot is essentially a long manipulator arm that holds tools such as welding guns or motorized screwdrivers or grippers for picking up objects. The robots working at Chrysler and in numerous other modern factories are extremely adept at performing highly specialized tasks - one robot may spray paint car part s while another does spots welds while another pours radioactive chemicals. Robots are ideal workers: they never get bored and they work around the clock. What's even more important, they're flexible. By altering its programming you can instruct a robot to take on different tasks. This is largely what sets robots apart from other machines; try as you might you can't make your washing machine do the dishes. Although some critics complain that robots are stealing much-needed jobs away from people, so far they've been given only the dreariest, dirtiest, most soul-destroying work. The word robot is Slav in origin and is related to the words for work and worker. Robots first appeared in a play, Rossum's Universal Robots, written in 1920 by the Czech playwright, Karel Capek. The play tells of an engineer who designs man-like machines that have no human weakness and become immensely popular. However, when the robots are used for war they rebel against their human masters. Though industrial robots do dull, dehumanizing work, they are nevertheless a delight to watch as they crane their long necks, swivel their heads and poke about the area where they work. They satisfy "that vague longing to see the human body reflected in a machine, to see a living function translated into mechanical parts", as one writer has said. Just as much fun are the numerous "personal" robots now on the market, the most popular of which is HERO, manufactured by Heathkit.

Islam and Terrorism

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Acknowledgement Chapter -1 1. 1Introduction Chapter-2 2. 1Islam 2. 2 Muslim 2. 3 Concept Of Islam 2. 4 Pillars Of Islam 2. 5 Concept Of JIHAD In Islam Chapter-3 3. 1Terrorism 3. 2 Elements Of Terrorism 3. 3 Types Of Terrorism 3. 4 Terrorist? 3. 5 Al-Qaeda 3. 6 Another Phase Chapter-4 4. 1 Islam and terrorism Chapter-5 5. 1Different Incidents 5. 1 9/11 5. 2 The Madrid Bombing 5. 3 The London Bombing 5. 4 Bombay Attack Chapter-6 6. 1Conclusion CHAPTER-1 1. 1 INTRODUCTION: Terrorism is a very vast and the most discussed topic in the contemporary world of global politics. Although it was being discussed well before 9/11, but the difference after 9/11 is that now even a lay man in the most remote part of the world is discussing it. There were times when people would say that we do not follow politics  or we do not get involved in politics. But now I think no one can run away from it, it is a part of everybody's lives, it is a part of our lives – so we better start living with it. Terrorism is an old phenomena it over the time took different shapes. Today terrorism has taken a very complicated and dangerous form. Islam is a religion and a complete code of life and totally appose terrorism. In current scenarios the basic reason of terrorism is not Islam but international politics and national interest of the nations of the world. And world powers use it as a supportive pillars. ‘‘Islam is not a source of terrorism but its solution’’ Here we discuss Islam and Terrorism and the present phenomena of so called Islamic terror. This is now days at the top of the international agenda. That is because those who emerge and carry out acts of terrorism in the name of Islam. And those who criticize these acts , represent a tiny minority in the world of Islam. Failing to understand Islam which is religion of peace and justice hey make it a tool of terrorism. In fact from the last few centuries Muslim have been said to be responsible for violence by western forces and their allies. And on the other hand Islam And on the other hand Islam rejects to respond to violence with violence. In fact Islam suggest to respond to evil with goodness. CHAPTER -2 2. 1 Islam What Does â€Å"Islam† Mean? The word â€Å"Islam† itself means â€Å"Submission to Allah. The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of â€Å"Christianity† which was named after Jesus Christ, â€Å"Buddhism† after Gutama Buddha , â€Å"Marxism† after Karl Marx, and â€Å"Confucianism† after Confucius. Similarly, Islam is not named after a tribe like â€Å"Judaism† after the tribe of Judah and â€Å"Hinduism† after the Hindu s. The Arabic word â€Å"Islam† means the submission or surrender of one's will to the will of the only true god worthy of worship, â€Å"Allah†. 2. 2 Muslim Anyone who does indeed submit to the will of Allah as required by Islam is termed a â€Å"Muslim,† which means one who has submitted to the will of Allah. Many people in the West have developed the sad misinformed trend of calling Islam â€Å"Muhammadenism† and it's followers â€Å"Muhammadins. † This is a totally foreign word to Muslims and unrecognized by them. No Muslim has ever called his religion â€Å"Muhammadenism† or called himself a â€Å"Muhammadin. † 2. 3 Concept Of Islam: Islam teaches us that this life is a life of worship. We are placed on this earth in order to worship Allah and obey His command. During this earthly life we are subjected to a series of trials. We have the option of enduring these trials and conforming to certain laws, and our reward will be great in the next life, or we may decline to endure these trials and choose to not conform to the law, then we will be made to regret it in the next life. Unlike some other religions which claim that God entered in a covenant with a certain group of people and that this group is genetically better than all other human beings, or closer to God, Islam on the other hand teaches that no color, race, tribe, or lineage is better than any other. â€Å"O humankind! Verily! We have created you from a male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Verily! the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing. Verily! Allah is The Knower, The Aware. † The noble Qur'an, Al-Hujrat(49):13. 2. 4 Pillars Of Islam: (1) To bear witness that there is no entity worthy of worship except Allah(God) alone, and that Muhammad (pbuh) was His messenger. This establishes obedience to God Almighty alone. (2) To perform five prescribed prayers to God every day according to a specific prescribed method and at specific prescribed times. This continually reminds us to bear God in mind in all actions, either before or after any given prayer. (3) To pay two and a half percent (2. 5%) of ones wealth to charity every year if their savings exceed a certain minimum level which is considered above the poverty level. (This is the basic concept, the actual calculation is a little more complex). (4) To fast the month of Ramadhan (from the Islamic Lunar calendar) every year from sun rise until sunset. This involves not eating, drinking, or having marital relations, from sun rise until sun set. 5) To perform a pilgrimage to Makkah (in the Arabian Peninsula) once in a Muslim's lifetime if it is financially possible and their health permits. During this period, Muslims come from all over the world to join together for six days in a prescribed set of acts of worship. All Muslim men are mandated to wear the same garment which was designed to be very plain, simple, and cheap to obtain. 2. 5 Concept Of JIHAD In Islam: in the Arabic la nguage the word â€Å"Jihad† literally means, â€Å"to strive,† and â€Å"to struggle. † Some Muslim scholars further classify Jihad into following categories: 1. Jihad-an-nafs or Jihad against one’s self; 2. Jihad ash-shaitaan or Jihad against Satan; 3. Jihad al-kuffar or Jihad against disbeliever; 4. Jihad al-munafiqeen or Jihad against hypocrites; 5. Jihad al-faasiqeen or Jihad against corrupt Muslims. Qur’an-(9:5):  Ã‚   â€Å"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, And seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war) ; but if they repent (accept Islam) and establish regular prayers and practices regular charity then open the way for them; for God is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. Qur’an-(8:65):   â€Å" O Apostle ! Rouse the believers to the fight, if there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering , they will vanquish two hundred; if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of the unbelievers; for these are a people without understanding. † CHAPTER 3 3. 1 Terrorism: Acts of unlawful violence and war. Terrorism is no t a new phenomena, its is as old as creation of man. It came into existence when for the first time in the history of mankind someone intimidated others to gain his purpose. With the passage of time advancement in the methods and techniques made terrorism more complicated and artful. Terrorism is defined as a mean of extending intimidation in a systematic way by governments, groups or individuals to gain various political, religious and ideological objectives. The experts on terrorism agree that terrorism is a structure mode to spread violence and terrify people with purpose of gaining political, ideological and religious aims. 3. 2 Elements Of Terrorism: There are four elements of terrorism: ? Violence, force(83. 5%) ? Political(65%) ? Fear, emphasis on terror(51%) ? Threats(47%) ? Psychological effects and anticipated reaction(41. 5) ? Intentional, planned, systematic, organized action(32%) ? Methods of combat, strategy, tactics(30. 5%) 3. 3 Types Of Terrorism: ? Bio-Terrorism ? Chemical-Terrorism ? Cyber-Terrorism ? Nuclear-Terrorism ? Religious-Terrorism 3. 4 Terrorist? Terrorist are those group of people who commits acts of violence to produce fear, or harass or weaken or embarrass government security forces. Such groups discourage foreign investment, or assistance programs that can affect the target country’s economy. There are about 30 organization involve in terrorist activities throughout the world. Al-Qaeda is the main network of terrorist according to American think tank. 3. 5 Al-Qaeda After expulsion from Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden( leader of Al-Qaeda) established headquarters for al-Qaeda in Khartoum, Sudan. The first actions of al-Qaeda against American interests were attacks on U. S. servicemen in Somalia. Osama Bin Laden is on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives for his possible involvement with the circa 1998 bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. 3. 6 Another Phase Some terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah have limited their acts to localized regions of the Middle East, while others, notably Al-Qaeda, have an international scope for their terrorist activities. Bombings An increasingly popular tactic used by terrorists is suicide bombing. This tactic is used against civilians, soldiers, and government officials of the regimes the terrorists oppose. The use of suicide bombers is seen by many Muslims as contradictory to Islam's teachings;[weasel words] however, groups who support its use often refer to such attacks as â€Å"martyrdom perations† and the suicide-bombers who commit them as â€Å"martyrs† (Arabic: shuhada, plural of â€Å"shahid†). The bombers, and their sympathizers often believe that suicide bombers, as martyrs to the cause of jihad against the enemy, will receive the rewards of paradise for their actions. Suicide attack A suicide attack (also known as suicide bombing) is an attack intended to kill other s and inflict widespread damage, while the attacker intends to die as well in the process. CHAPTER-4 4. 1 Islam And Terrorism . During the last two decades in particular, the concept of â€Å"Islamic terror† has been often discussed. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on targets in New York and Washington which caused the death of thousands of innocent civilians, this concept has once again returned to the top of the international agenda. Even though the hijackers have Muslim identities, the terror they perpetrated cannot be labeled â€Å"Islamic terror†, just as it would not be called â€Å"Jewish terror† if the perpetrators were Jews or â€Å"Christian terror† if they were Christians. In fact, the aggressors can commit such violence only with the intention of attacking religion itself. It may well be that they carried out this violence to present religion as evil in the eyes of people, to divorce people from religion and to generate hatred and reaction against pious people. Consequently, every attack having a â€Å"religious† facade on American citizens or other innocent people is actually an attack made against religion. All the three Theistic religions command love, mercy and peace. Terror, on the other hand, is the opposite of religion; it is cruel, merciless and it demands bloodshed and misery. This being the case, while looking for the perpetrators of a terrorist act, its origins should be sought in disbelief rather than in religion. People with a fascist, communist, racist or materialist outlook on life should be suspected as potential perpetrators. The name or the identity of the triggerman is not important. If he can kill innocent people without blinking an eye, whatever his label is, then he is a disbeliever, not a believer. He is a murderer with no fear of God, whose main ambition is to shed blood and to give harm. How we can say that Islam and Muslim are terrorist? In current scenario Muslims are the only victim of terrorism because they face terrorist activities on daily bases and also face world criticism. They are all anti-Muslims and make different prapogenda against muslim because some elements are against and oppose the progress and development of these muslim countries and want to engage them in such activities. Even as they said some muslim liberations parties as terrorist parties as they called hamas in palastine, hizbullah in lebenon, mujahidin moment in Kashmir and true Afghanistan islamist moments and many other moments as terrorist moments if they are terrorist moment then what is Israel done in palistaine, black waters in Pakistan, raw in Kashmir, fbi, and cia in Afghanistan ,Iraq, and Pakistan and also some other muslim countries. On the one side they said that they work for human rights and freedom and on the other hand they called liberation moments as terrorist moment if they claim on islam and muslims then muslimalso claim that the non muslims state are also terrorist! Islam is that religion who forbid people to harm even animal and than how a follower of islam other humans like him? They are many other form of terrorism like cyber terrorism, bio terrorism, reginol terrorism, chemical terrorism and mostly muslim countries are unfamiliar with these terms then why west emphasizes that muslim are terrorist why they cannot blame on other form of terrorism the reason is that they only against islam and muslim? For this reason, â€Å"Islamic terror† is quite a erroneous concept which contradicts Islam's message. That is because, the religion of Islam can by no means concur with terror. On the contrary, Muslims are responsible for preventing terrorist acts and bringing peace and justice to the world. Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran, God has said: God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers. (Quran, 60:8) CHAPTER-5 Main Incidents Of Terrorism Through Out The World: 5. 1 9/11 In response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, the U. S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Al-Qaeda's infrastructure in the country was destroyed and their military commander, Muhammed Atef, was killed. Abu Zubaydah, another top operative, was captured in Pakistan. Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, however, escaped and are presumed alive. They release audio and video messages to the Arab media from time to time. In March 2003 the U. S. widened the war on terrorism by invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein and his Baath party (see Iraq profile). The decision to encompass Iraq in â€Å"the war on terror† has been highly controversial. Although President Bush asserted that there was a working relationship between Hussein and al-Qaeda, no solid proof of collaboration between them specifically on the Sept. 1, 2001, attacks, or on any other terrorist activities has emerged. 5. 2 The Madrid Bombing On March 11, 2004, Spain's most horrific terrorist attack occurred: 202 people were killed and 1,400 were injured in bombings at Madrid's railway station. Evidence soon emerged that al-Qaeda was responsible. By April, a dozen suspects, most of them Moroccan, were arrested for the bombings. On April 4, several suspects blew themselves up during a police raid to avoid capture. Many Spaniards blamed their prime minister's staunch support of the U. S. and the war in Iraq for making Spain an al-Qaeda target. 5. 3 The London Bombing On July 7, 2005, London suffered a terrorist bombing, its worst attack since World War II. Four bombs exploded in three subway stations and on one double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, killing at least 52 and wounding more than 700. A group calling itself the Secret Organization of al-Qaeda in Europe claimed responsibility on a Web site, asserting that the attacks were a retaliation for Britain's involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A year after the bombing, British investigators concluded that the links between the bombers and al-Qaeda were marginal. The four bombers, all born in Britain, had all visited Pakistan, but there was no evidence of any direct support from al-Qaeda. 5. 4 Bombay Attack The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing terrorist attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamic terrorists from Pakistan. The attacks, which drew widespread condemnation across the world, began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308. . 5 Iraq bombing Iraq faces bomb blast and sucide bombing on daily bases. And America blame on Iraqi people while they blame America for this. 5. 6 pakistan bombing attacks Pakistan facing also facing bomblast attacks and sucide bombing attacks on daily bases and after 9/11 pakistan face a lot of problem and critical situation of security and still facing terrorist activity. As atta ck on marriot Islamabad, g. h. q Rawalpindi etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ CHAPTER-6 6. 1 Conclusion: In my opinion: Islam and terrorism have nothing to do with each other. But at the same time it is Islam that has made it very clear what is terrorism and who are the terrorists. We all know that there is no clear definition of terrorism in politics, but there is very clear definition by Islam. Because Islam has made very clear rules for war, and there are no abiguities whatsoever. We, the Pakistanis, are now actually the ones who are more clear about it than anyone. No doubt there were many confusions before, but after the Lal Masjid operation followed by the worst form of terrorism, Pakistanis have realised what terrorism is and who the terrorists are. Well, I might be exaggerating that all the Pakistanis have realised it, but I am quite confident that the large majority has realised it. The reason behind that is the successful military operation in Swat. As soon as Musharraf left, the things started to unfold and people started realising that they have been betrayed. Even the majority of the supporters of Musharraf now know and admit that he was playing â€Å"the double policy game. † We always knew that the tribal areas were full of merciless criminals who were involved in inhumane criminal activities who would do anything for dollars. The same criminals turned into terrorsists with a fake ideology for power. Who doesn't like to be in power? So whatever they are doing is for power and nothing to do with Islam. I have friends from those areas who are politically much aware than many of us, and they also confirm that those Muslims are involved in the most unIslamic activities. And then there are other factors of brain-washing, foreign elements, etc. But this proves that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism which Pakistan is facing. And at this moment Pakistan is the hardest-hit terrorism victim. Iraq and Afghanistan are now way behind in this regard. The only focus is now Pakistan. So it should be clear now that Islam and terrorism are not related but only being projected as one, and Pakistan is the best example. REFERENCES: http://www. faithfreedom. org/Articles/SKM/jihad. htm http://www. religioustolerance. org/isl_jihad. htm United State Policy On Terrorism BY Ahmed Ijaz Terrorism Ideology And Revolution By Noel O’Sullivan The Osama Bin Ladin I Know By Peter L. Bergen

Kate Chopin and Charles W. Chesnutt Wrote the Literary History for America Post-Civil War

The American Civil War drastically changed the society and culture of the United States. History books all tell the stories of the struggle by recently freed African American slaves. These books tell of the financial hardship, as well as the cultural endeavors these people had to endure to attempt to become equals to white Americans, as well as to acquire equal rights. Racial segregation is a big topic highly covered on this area. However, there are stories that are less often told about the close relationships between white and black, and also people of Indian decent. This is where literature books come in handy. Post-war American literature is booming with stories of freedom, hope, and love. One topic that seemed to emerge at this time was interracial relations or marriages between blacks and whites. Kate Chopin and Charles W. Chesnutt both wrote of these types of relationships but in very different ways and outcomes. Due to being raised around the time of the civil war and living in the south, these authors wrote the truth of what they saw and experienced. By looking at Chopin’s works La Belle Zoraide and Desiree’s Baby, and Chesnutt’s The Wife of His Youth, three different sides of interracial relations can be seen. These tales of the south post-war help people today to understand their heritage, as well as the great mixture of people that makes up the United States today. According to the biography of Kate Chopin in The Norton Anthology of American Literature, she was born in 1850, was raised mostly by her mother after the death of her father. She was taught in St. Louis and had graduated and married by the end of the civil war. This is when she moved to the south, where she was submerged into a new, thriving mixed racial culture in New Orleans. She was influenced by some of the great French writers, including Maupassant, from which her style seems to mimic. Both authors’ writings were observational; Chopin wrote what she saw in the world around her. Her writings upset some people due to this fact. She did not hold back or sugar coat anything when she was writing. She was categorized as a â€Å"local colorist† due to her topics. With her French background knowledge, she had a tendency to have a dangerous style of writing compared to other American authors at this time. Also, since New Orleans had so much southern culture, mixed with Creole origins, it is easy to see why this area was fascinating to Kate Chopin. She wrote heart-wrenching love stories with shocking twists between unsettling characters. It may seem normal today, but at this time, this type of writing was as revolutionary as the war. It is lucky for the newer generations that she was willing to write this way. La Belle Zoraide, a story with Creole backings, was based from the author’s views of her life in New Orleans. The story begins with a black caretaker telling a story to her lighter mistress that she took care of. Just looking at the set up, the reader can tell the bond between the mistress and the negress as the latter was said to have washed and kissed her feet. Both women are older, but it is the black still serving or taking care of the white. The story also tells the reader that the Mistress is married, but is sleeping alone, making the reader assume that her husband has died and she is now alone with her maid. The black caretaker begins to tell a story of a beautiful, captivating Creole girl with light brown skin. This brown girl also had her own black servant, as if to say since she was lighter than her servant, she was better than her as well. There was a mulatto suitor available for the young Zoraide, but he was not pleasing to her. She was instead infatuated with a black man, but was forbidden to act upon her feelings. However, she disobeyed and became pregnant. The caretaker explained that no one can keep negros from finding a way to love each other. Because of the way this was put, it almost seems as though love is the one thing that takes precedence above all other things for the black population. After that, her love was sold far away, so the only thing she had to hold on to was their baby. But, out of spite, the child was taken away and told that it was dead. With the loss of her lover and her child, the young Zoraide lost herself. She went crazy, and would not accept her child when they tried to give it back to her. Beautiful Zoraide turned to a pitied and mocked old woman, who undoubtedly died alone. This shows again, just what the love of a child or another human can do when it is taken away. The story also shows how a person’s power over another can unintentionally ruin their entire life. Zoraide’s mistress wanted the best for the mulatto girl, but the girl had hosen a different path. So when the mistress tried to control the outcome of her life, it backfired, causing a young girl to lose hope and her sense, and caused a young child to lose its parents. This story is a show of the emotional pain put on blacks by white people. The next of Chopin’s stories, Desiree’s Baby, is another sad story of love gone wrong. Desiree had been found as a young child and raised by a woman who had no children. The child became a beautiful girl and married a hardworking man whom was a master of some black men. The couple had a baby together, but soon there was something wrong. The husband became angry and distant with the wife. As it turned out, the child was not white like the parents, but was the color of a quadroon, or a child about a fourth black. The father was very angry, as he was a slave owner, and was married to a woman with black in her heritage, causing them to have a baby that appeared the same. When Desiree confronted her husband Armand about the color of the child, he was angered and put all of the blame on his wife. He wanted her and the baby to leave. It says that â€Å"he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name†(Chopin 424). Later, Armand burned all of his wife and child’s things, and all of the letters she had sent to him. And in the end, the reader finds that Armand is also hiding a secret. Armand’s mother was a black woman. This ironic turn can create anger in a reader at the injustice of such a man. For it is not just the mother, but the fathers fault as well for the color of their child. But since the father passed for so long as a white man, and has negroes that work for him, it would ruin his life and his name if it were found out that he was black. He would lose everything. So instead the man made a choice, to give up his love and his child, in order to save his life as he knew it. This turn of events shows that even though love between two people can be strong, the fear of losing everything is stronger. Armand was fearful of his situation; possibly fearful of his negroes working for him, as well as the white people in the area. Because Armand and his wife were of the same mostly white race, their child ended up showing the black inside. And, sadly, that color is all that mattered at the time. Like the writings of Kate Chopin, Charles W. Chesnutt also wrote stories of the Deep South. His parents were free people of the south. Chesnutt was well educated and became a writer of the stories of slavery. As a light colored black man, he focused on the opposite of Armand in the past story. He encouraged blacks of all shades to honor their past. Because of his writing skills, and perhaps the fact that his readers didn’t know he was a black man at first, he became one of the first black fiction writers to be taken seriously by a white press(Chesnutt 458). The idea of a black person staying true to their past is beautifully portrayed in the story of Mr. Ryder in The Wife of His Youth. In this story, Mr. Ryder is a light skinned black man, who commonly is seen as white. He is an older gentleman, who seems to be a well suited bachelor. He was well read, educated, with a nice house and furniture. Many women pursued him, but none won him over until Mrs. Dixon came into town. He was planning to ask her hand in marriage. He wanted to do this in order to ensure that he continued to be seen as a white man, and because he was taken by her. As he tried to decide how to address Mrs. Dixon at the ball he was throwing for her, he was approached by an older black lady, who asked for his help. She was trying to find her husband, who was a free black man, sold by her owner for profit. He had tried to go back to her, but she had been sold as well for punishment. She had been looking for her husband Sam for twenty-five years, making her way through life as if that was her only goal. The reader can see here another example of the everlasting love between this woman, and hopefully her Sam would feel the same. At the ball, when it is Mr. Ryder’s turn to speak, he tells the crowd of this older lady that he has met just earlier that day. He mentions how rare it is to find people with that kind of devotion to the person that they love. But he explains a part of the story that was untold by the woman. He asked what should be done, if her husband was actually a light skinned, well educated man that could not find her either. And if the man found her all these years later, should he call on her and complete the bond of their slave marriage to make it legal. Mrs. Dixon confirmed that he should acknowledge his past wife, even though he thinks he may have found another to love. Mr. Ryder is pleased with this response, as he goes to get the elderly lady, explaining that it is his wife. This portrayal of devotion is unlike Kate Chopin’s stories. This work is uplifting and seems to be written in a hopeful way. There are some differences in the fact that this ball was to be taken place twenty-five years after the end of the war, and Mr. Ryder had been born a free-man. This made his transition into the white population much easier. Also, it shows that it was not only the wife that stayed true, but also Mr. Ryder, as he had stayed single all that time as well. The community encouraged him to continue his life with his former wife, as if it would have been wrong to have it any other way. There is a large difference in social acceptance, as today it is acceptable to divorce, but then, it was unheard of, whether the marriage was technically legal or not. There are some common ideas between all of these stories. First, these stories give a sense that love is unconditional and unbreakable among the black culture. However, when the story becomes about interracial marriages or children, society and culture seem to play a bigger role in what is acceptable. According to Bratter’s essay, the acceptance of interracial marriages is increasing as the number of these couples is increasing. However, with this increase of marriage is also leading to a higher rate of divorce between mixed-race couples. The rate of interracial marriage divorce has found to be about 10% higher than the divorce rate among same race couples. Whatever the reason, these studies have shown that even though the divorce rate may currently be higher for mixed-race couples, the overall divorce rate continues to climb. This shows that society’s idea of acceptance is changing. As in The Wife of His Youth, after all that time, the man still took his wife back. The encouragement of the ball’s crowd shows an obvious change in society, not just racially, but culturally. Another common piece to each of the stories is the acceptance of the light skinned mulatto into white society. It seems to be that people really were judged based on the color of their skin. Light skinned black people could be passed off as white people, or were treated almost as third class citizens, above the blacks but below the whites. Zoraide and Sam Rider are both aware of their true African American roots and choose to stay true to those roots, even though they can pass at white or mulatto. Armand, however, turns his back on his mulatto wife and child, even though he knows the he also carries some African American blood inside him. It is if he is angered at himself, and his wife, that they could not produce a white-looking baby. Armand and Zoraide still live by the ideas that their skin color makes them who they really are. Zoraide knows that she is not white, and should be able to choose from the black men if she cannot be considered white. Armand, however, is so obsessed with his status, he does not want to have anyone question his or his wife’s race. Back in that time, Jim Crowe Laws tried to categorize who was black and who was white. A black person was seen as any person with any history of black in their family. This was known as the â€Å"one-drop rule†(Davis 5). By this law, and the fact that that a person’s rights depended on their race, it is understood why Armand may do this. In contrast, in today’s society, much of the population may have mixed ancestry somewhere in their past line. However, this does not classify their rank or their worth. In America today, people are judged more on their education and their skills than they are on their looks. Looking at these works, many comparisons can be made about America’s past, and the people that once made it. These writings are the history book for American culture after the civil war. Americans can learn much about the past through these stories. Even though these stories may not be historically accurate, they give the tone and ideas about American’s past culture. It is helpful to see these cultural changes so that Americans can know where they come from and how far the American culture has come.