Born in the Usa Essay Example for Free

Born in the Usa Essay The song deals with the effects of the Vietnam War on Americans that can be depicted after going through the wordings of the song. The song is often misinterpreted as a patriotic song as the starting lines and the body of song resembles so. The song was initially written in 1981. It served as a title song for the film maker Paul Schrader. The song became so popular that Springsteen used it for his multi-platinum album. During his concerts, the crowd used to enjoy a lot with national flags. The song was treated as a patriotic song. People were generally not focusing on the wordings in the song. The song tries to show up the cultural diversity been faced by the people who had experienced Vietnam War. It is a tribute to Springsteen’s friends who were involved in the war. Some of them did not come back. These people tried to get fitted in Vietnam, but they found themselves unsuccessful. When they came back, they faced too much of hardships. The songs narrative traces the victims’ working-class origins, induction into the armed forces, and disaffected return back to the States. An anguished lyrical interlude is even more jolting, describing the fate of the writer’s brother (in some recordings or live shows, the word brother is replaced with buddy): â€Å"I had a brother at Khe Sanh Fighting off the Viet Cong Theyre still there, hes all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms now† Springsteen is talking about the country that he was born into, raised in, touted as the greatest in the world. He is talking about it in context to the Vietnam War. The character in the song has a brother and a lover of his brother, both whom are killed during this meaningless conflict. Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery Im ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run, aint got nowhere to go The above lines show that these vets are living dead-end lives with little or no positive change in their future. Even the line where he talks about the woman and his brother Theyre long gone, shows that some people really did not pay any attention to the people returning from Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Army was involved in the Battle of Khe Sanh, not the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong) heard in the song lyrics. Eventually the Americans prevailed and broke the siege, only to withdraw from the outpost a couple of months later. Khe Sanh thus became one of the media symbols of the futility of the whole war effort in the States. Some of the scholars writing in the journal American Quarterly explored the song as a grievance for the embattled working-class identity. Deeply analyzing the unspoken feel behind the song, it can be noted that the anthem chorus contrasts with the desperate narrative, a tension which informs an understanding of the songs overall meaning: the nationalist chorus continuously overwhelms the desperation and sacrifice passed on in the verses. The imagery of the Vietnam War could be read as metaphor for the social and economic siege of American blue-collar communities at large, and that lyrics discussing economic devastation are likely symbolic for the effect of blind nationalism upon the working-class. The song as a whole, express grief on the destabilization of the economics and politics protecting the industrial working class in the 1970s and early 1980s, leaving only a deafening but hollow national pride. In attaining the hollow national pride, the miseries of War affected people were neglected. The writer clearly describes his frustration regarding the negligence given to a particular culture. He says about non-acceptance of the culture by their own people. He is not saying that the group he is addressing is not capable of meeting challenges of the culture, but the culture was not accepting those people in their ethnic group. Ultimately those people were left alone in their own society and the society didn’t bo ther about them.

The Development Of The Iphone Marketing Essay

The Development Of The Iphone Marketing Essay The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Apple Inc is a US company based and the iPhone runs Apples iOS mobile operating system, originally named iPhone OS. The first iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 the most recent iPhone, the 6th-generation iPhone 5, was released on September 21, 2012. The user interface is built around the devices multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity (2G, 3G and 4G (iPhone 5 only). It was a mobile phone, but like nothing the world had ever seen before. It was revolutionary and would change the way people interacted with the world forever. This phenomenon of a smartphone called iPhone started five and a half years ago, when Steve Jobs took the stage at MacWorld and introduced iPhone to the world. iPhone was designed with 100% of screen without a keypad button and it was created to Apples head of design, Jonathan Ive. Along the revolution of iPhone, starting with the iPhone 3G, it came bundled with a range of apps which something that never been offered by any other phones previously. This included Google Maps, YouTube, Stocks, Weather, Games and thousands more which are still seen on iPhones today. This apps impressed the world where various of things can be done at just a finger tips. iPhone Characteristics The Apple Iphone is showing better sales and brand recognition because of product characteristics. There are several great and special characteristics to the iPhone: Innovative   has an innovative touch screen that is specially patented and the function is extended from other mobile. Quality   iPhone is built with most scratch resistant screens and has a fine metallic finish that is durable and light. The software suite is also resistance to computer viruses. Functionality iPhone evolve from one generation to another. The function will increase and extend for each development. The function and features is further discussed in the topic of Development of iphone. Appearance The sleek styling of the iPhone gives the device its characteristic appearance. The design and size of iPhone are able to capture attention of customer because of its stylish and elegant design. Data Transform and communication unified Speed up smart decisions with application that enable you to track a range of business activities, monitor current sales figures, generate reports, analyze business data and make approvals Transform iPhone into an office phone by connecting to your organizations telephony infrastructure. It is also able to make calls over a Wi-Fi network and manage sophisticated call handling. iPhone Target Market Professional and Corporate Business Users iPhone is a well-known brand for business people. Existing software is well established and compatible with many products for this market. The market is familiar with Palm products; significant switching costs are involved in going to an iPhone. These people need iPhone to coordinate their busy schedules and communicate with colleagues, friends and family. Coprorate People like from World Wide Technology are significantly rely on iPhone to communicate, coordinate to each other and maintain network infrastructures in the field. Students iPhone secondary consumer targets are high school, college and graduate students who need one portable multifunction device. Mainly this market will be replacing their iPod and cell phone with the iPhone. Age targeted group range are from 15 to 25 years. Young and successful male According to Solutions Research Group, the average iPhone customer is a 31-year-old man with a college degree and an income of $75,600 per year. A salary 26 percent higher than the American average.Almost half (43 percent) of all likely buyers lived in technically adept states such as California and New York, but only 28 percent were female. Younger buyers dominated, with 63 percent aged 34 or younger. Successful younger men were the target audience that Apple had focused on. One month prior to the release of the iPhone, Solutions Research Group profiled a cross-section of those aware of the phone. The forecast of potential buyers for the day of the release ranked a majority of T-Mobile customers, ATTs only GSM-based product competitor, at 15%. The second largest group expected to purchase the new iPhone was ATTs existing customer base, at 12%. The Solutions Research Group also found that 72% of males, versus 28% of women were most likely to investigate the phone at its minimum price of $499. The obvious current target audiences for the Apple iPhone include young people between the ages of 20 and 35. iPhone Marketing Strategy As with all Apple marketing, the iPhone marketing strategy is very clear, simple and clever. With the plain and simple apple icon, Apple focuses on the pure innovative style of their products. The ground-breaking style of the iPhone was touted for months before the initial release and has remained the best of the best when it comes to cell phones over the past several years. Before the iPhones official release, Apple ran four television commercials promoting the new cell phone. The first of the commercials portrays the new iPhone as the next step up from the popular iPod. The first four iPhone commercials flaunted the convenience, innovation, and usefulness of a single product with the functionality of not only a phone, or a music device, but a product that can, among other things, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, make conference calls, check e-mail, browse the web, and view maps. Development of the iPhone The first generation In 2007, Apple introduced another outstanding product, the iPhone. The first edition of iPhone was launch on January 9, 2007, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. During that time, it is described as a revolutionary product since it is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone. There are two initial models that had been ready to be marketed. 4GB model and 8GB model went on sale being fully marketed by 2008. The principal advantage of the iPhone was the way it could use software applications. These software applications delivered similar content to the iPhone that was in iTunes. The iPhone had the capabilities of the iPod and would synchronize when connected to a computer. iPhone 3G iPhone 3GS iPhone are then further developed to iPhone 3G. This new model was launched on July 11, 2008 in eighty countries and territories. And on June 8, 2009, Apple once again announce the release of iPhone 3GS along with plans to fully marketed it in U.S., Canada and major European countries. The enhancement from first generation iPhone to iPhone is more in term of physical features such as size, weight and memory storage, while, development of iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS has improve in term of operating system and processor. iPhone 4G iPhone 4GS iPhone 4G was released on February 10, 2011. The marketing point of iPhone 4G is using video calling feature (Apple promote it as FaceTime) as main strong points compared to other competitors and it predecessors. The iPhone 4 runs using the same operating system used on Apples product such as prior iPhones, the iPad, and the iPod Touch which is the iOS operating system. The unique design of iPhone 4 compared to the last 3 generation is that it incorporates an uninsulated stainless steel frame that acts as the devices antenna. Later, on October 4, 2011, the fifth generation of the iPhone has been released. It retains the exterior design of the iPhone 4, but new application voice recognition system known as Siri and a cloud storage service named iCloud is introduced. iPhone 5 Introduction to the sixth generation iPhone is announced on September 12, 2012. Among all the iPhone that has been released, the iPhone 5 shows the most significant change in physical features. The phone portrays a slimmer, lighter model that introduces a higher-resolution, 4-inch screen to the series and the chip is 22 percent smaller than the iPhone. Despite of that, it is twice as fast, doubling the graphics performance of its. It is also operating using the new Apples mobile operating system known as iOS 6. Competitors Although iPhone has become a phenomenon in world of mobile, there is a few close competitors that can be directly compared with iPhones and giving customers a second though. The two closest competitors to the iPhone is Samsung Galaxy S-III and Nokia Lumia 920. Samsung Galaxy S-III The Samsung Galaxy S-III was unveiled on 3 May 2012 in London and officially released in 28 European and Middle Eastern countries on 29 May 2012, before being progressively released in other major markets in June 2012. It was designed using the concept of touchscreen, slate-format Android smartphone and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Samsung Galaxy S III is a extended and improved version of Samsung Galaxy S II. It includes additional software features, expanded hardware, and a redesigned. The S III uses quad-core processor, and employs interesting features such as intelligent personal assistant, eye-tracking ability, increased storage, and a wireless charging option. Nokia Lumia 920 Nokia Lumia 920 is a smartphone manufactured and marketed by Nokia. It begins to be available at the market starting on September 5, 2012. The interesting features portray by Nokia Lumia 920 is it has a 1.5  GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait CPU and a 4.5 IPS TFT LCD display. It is also built with a high-sensitivity capacitive touchscreen covered by curved Gorilla Glass. Using Windows Phone 8 as the operating system, Nokia Lumia 920 does have its own attraction especially to working users. It supports inductive charging (it can be charged by being placed directly onto a charging pad) compatible with Qi Inductive Charging. One of the advantage is it features an 8.7 megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilization for still images and videos. It comes with 32GB internal storage, but the only disadvantage is it has no card slot. Memory is limited to the built-in storage only. Malaysia Context Market Structure Demand Supply Pricing Strategy Elasticity Market structure By analyzing the straits of iPhone such as the price setting, competitors and product differentiation, it is shown that iPhone display an oligopoly market structure. Oligopoly market structure is when the market is dominated by a few numbers of sellers, which each offer similar or identical products. Factors that classified iPhone into oligopoly market structure are:- Entry and exit The barriers of entrance are high. iPhone had to face challenges such as economies of scale, patents, access to expensive materials and complex technology. There might be also restriction from government regulation resulting difficulties for new firms to enter the market. Number of firms There are only few firms that involve in producing the similar products. iPhone is currently competing with several smart phone models such as Samsung Galaxy S-III, produce by Samsung and also Nokia Lumia 960 manufactured by Nokia. These are the companies that the action of one will influence the others in terms of profits. If Apple decide to change its pricing structure for iPhone, it will bring impact all oligopolies firms profit collection. Demand and Supply Looking at a Malaysia context, Apple iPhone can be considered as a luxury and premium product. iPhone arrived Malaysia somewhere in the first quarter of 2009, and it was brought in by telecommunication company, Maxis and later followed by DiGi and recently Celcom. With its unique features and designs it attracts the market accordingly. iPhone has revolves over time through their features, design characteristics and so on. This will be discussed later under the development of iPhone. The quantity demanded of any good is the amount of the good that buyers are willing and able to purchase. Apple received quite an impressive demand for their product namely iPhone. Up to date, Celcom Axiata has revealed to MalaysianWireless early this month that it has got over 190,000 active iPhone users in their network. In comparison to Celcom, it is believed that Maxis has some 4 million smartphones users where about 60% of them are using prepaid. Meanwhile, DiGi claims that it has over 5.5 million mobile internet users. Both Maxis and DiGi have not revealed their actually breakdown on numbers or type of smartphones users in their network yet. The figures revealed by Celcom show a tremendous demand and supply as compared to a study done in 2010 where only about 132,228 users of iPhone. With this figures, we could see the demand of an iPhone in Malaysia had increase from time to time. In the law of demand, it says that the lower the price of a good, the larger is the quantity demanded and the higher the price of good, the smaller is the quantity demanded holding other variables constant. Generally in an economic form, if Apple increases the price of iPhone, quantity demanded of the Apple product will be decrease. This is because iPhone is considered as luxuries goods where people can still live without using a smart phone. A rational consumer will tend to choose for substitution brand such as Samsung or Nokia Lumia which produce a most likely the same product. Therefore, an increase of price will decrease the demand of a good. In other words, the price elasticity of demand for Apple product is elastic whereby increase in price will result a huge reduction on the quantity demanded of the good. This statement can be supported through the graph below. Price of iPhone (RM) Quantity of iPhone (units) P2 P1 Q1 Q2 The graph above shows the relation between the price and demand of the iPhone. Assume that the price of a iPhone increased and the demand for the iPhone is elastic. Initially the market price of iPhone is set at P1 and the quantity of demand is set at Q1. When there is an increase of price, there will be movement along the demand curve. The price will goes up from P1 to P2. Increase of price will decrease the quantity demand of the iPhone because people will look for substitution brand. Therefore, quantity demand will decrease from Q1 to Q2. From the above drawing, we can see that the demand curve is flatter. This is because changes of price will leads to a bigger impact on the changes of the quantity demand. Pricing Strategy On the 26 June 2007, the share price of Apple fell by 2 per cent on the face of it a fairly trivial event except that it was about to launch (exclusively in the USA) the arguably most-hyped mobile device in history known as the iPhone. The iPhone is a variant of what are generally categorised as smartphones, As smartphones go, the iPhone was not unduly expensive at $499 for the entry level model, nor was the scale of monthly service charges which were set between $60 and $100 in conjunction with a two-year contract. But the Apple shareholders were edgy: the value of Apple had risen by $34 billion since the iPhone had been announced to the world and they stood to lose much of their gains if the iPhone proved to be a one-week wonder   Prices1st generation 4G iPhone $499, 8G iPhone $599.Current iPhone 4 16G $199, 32G $299 with two year contract.iPhone 3GS still available at ATT for $49 with two year contract. iPhone combines three products, is a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching- into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone. Loyalty the iPhone is oriented more toward to the entertainment market than to the business market. 0 Q1 Q2 R Total Revenue (RM) Quantity of iPhone (units) Maximum Total RevenueAn oligopoly is like monopolistic competition where it lies between perfect competition and monopoly. Apple who produced iPhone which is identical to some other smartphones in the market need to stay aware of the pricing strategy that best suits them in order to retain the loyal consumers. On top of that, before setting up a price of the product, they have to aware whether the demand on their product is elastic or inelastic in the market. If the demand of their product is elastic in the market, setting up a higher price on the product might cause them to lose customer. In brief, demand elasticity will affect the total revenue of a company. From the theory of economics, a luxury product will always have an elastic demand. However, Apple understood the theory and they applied with their pricing strategy. This is vital for them to preserves their markets value until today. Apple understands the market demand very well and they always brings the new features and new design to attract the market. The graph below will show the relation between the price cut and total revenue. Suppose the demand of iPhone is elastic, the total revenue will increases as there is a price cut as shown at the left area of the graph. If the demand of iPhone is inelastic, the total revenue will decrease if there is a price cut as shown at the right area of the graph. When the demand of iPhone is at the unit of elastic, the maximum of total revenue can be achieved as shown at the highest point of the revenue curve. Conclusion It is undeniable that iPhone has a very unique and good market value as the company has developed very well. This is due to good business strategies such having the highest prices and lowest unit costs in the industry. The price of an iPhone is most likely the same from time to time and from our group point of view, the price elasticity of demand on iPhone in Malaysia is not elastic but it is inelastic in reality. The tremendous users of iPhone from 2010 to 2012 as discussed earlier proved this statement well. iPhone have its own loyal consumers and the product are recognized by public thus increasing of price for the new launched of iPhone will not really affect the sales in the market. For those who are affordable, they will still demand for the iPhone instead of other competitors. The features and unique design that attracts the consumers instead of the price. This is due to Apple as a premium brand, trusted quality and the worth-to-buy that lies behind it. On top of that, iPhone in Malaysia are being sold by telecommunication providers such as Maxis, DiGi and Celcom. These telecommunication providers offer installment payment together with the data plan as part of the marketing strategy. This makes iPhone affordable as consumers able to settle the payment in a longer period. Due to their secrecy, innovation, branding and product to product connectivity and compatibility, iPhone is the most sought after mobile device and is the market leader in the mobile market.

Free Essays on Whartons Ethan Frome: Weakness of Character :: Ethan Frome Essays

Ethan Frome: Weakness of Character Ethan Frome, the main character in the book entitled Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, has many complex problems going on at the same time. His family has died and he has a wife that is continually sick, and the only form of happiness he has is from his wife's cousin Mattie. This, however, at times proves to be hard because of Ethan's wifes interference. Nothing seems to be going in Ethan's favor. One theme of the book is weakness of character; this is shown by Ethan’s marraige, his inability to stand up to his wife, and his involvement concerning the "accident." The first way weakness of charcter is shown in the book is through the marriage of Ethan and his wife. He married her because she had tried to help his mother recover from an illness, and once his mother died he could not bear the thought of living in the house alone. His wife was seven years his senior and always seemed to have some kind of illness. It seemed all she ever did was complain, and he resented this because it stifled his growing soul. Since his wife was continuously ill, and her cousin needed a place to stay, they took her in to help around the house. Ethan took an immediate propensity to her cousin, Mattie, because she brought a bright light upon his dismal day. He seemed to have found someone that cared for him, was always happy and could share his youth, unlike his sickly wife who always nagged him. He longed to be with Mattie, however he had loyalty to his wife. He did not have the courage to stand up to society and resolve the error that he commited by marrying his first wife. The second example of weakness of character was not being able to stand up to his wife. His wife claimed that a new doctor said that she was extremely sick, and needed more help around the house. She told him without any discussion that Mattie had to go. Ethan could not find the words to make her alter her decision. His wife also decided that Mattie had to leave the next day itself and Ethan could not do anything about it. It was stated in the book that his wife had the upper hand in the house by the line "Now she [his wife] had mastered him [Ethan] and he obeyed her.

Hypocrisy in Arthur Millers The Crucible Essay -- Essay on The Cruci

Hypocrisy in Arthur Miller's The Crucible â€Å"I want to open myself! ... I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!† Such a line was said by Miss Abigail Williams, who claimed to be a gift from God, but as we see, turned out to be the devil herself. Hypocrisy is the issue that many characters suffered from in the novel. We see hypocrisy in the lives of the religious leaders, or Reverends, of the town, we see it in the lives of the rich and greedy, as well as in the lives of the guilty. Hypocrisy seems to be the issue in the town of Salem. We see hypocrisy cover the lives of the religious leaders in Salem. Many of which claim to be holy men, and do not show it in the works of their lives. The reader discovers the greed in Reverend Parris as he claims to be a man of God. He never seems satisfied with the money he receives as pay for being a preacher as well as his wanting ...

Linux Versus Windows NT :: essays research papers

Linux versus Windows NT Forget the browser wars. This year's big nerd battle is the server shootout between Linux and Windows NT - and it's not just a bunch of geeks nit-picking. While both offer more affordable platforms for Web service than in the past, Linux and NT are polar opposites on almost every other level. They look different, run differently, support different software, and cost money in different places. So far though, most press coverage of the Linux-NT debate has focused on the competing business models, and there's been little helpful information for deciding which OS to use. At the other end of the coverage spectrum, technical comparisons usually stick to performance tests, churning out reams of numbers from the lab and missing the big picture of owning and operating a Web site. The most obvious difference between NT and Linux is that NT attempts to bring the familiar Windows graphical user interface to a server environment. Ideally, a Webmaster could maintain NT (and its bundled Web server, Microsoft Internet Information Server, aka IIS) primarily by pointing and clicking. NT also comes bundled with a singular set of Microsoft site development tools. Linux, on the other hand, builds from the long, varied tradition of Unix command-line culture. It can be harder (or at least more daunting) to learn Unix from scratch than it is to learn a Windows system, but Unix users who get over the hump of the initial learning curve rarely express happiness over trying to do the same work in a Windows environment. That's the "Windows rage" you observe whenever your local sysadmin (System Administrator) has to get up from his Linux workstation to fix your PC. If there's one area where NT stands out over Linux, it's the willingness of third-party software vendors to develop versions of their software for it. Ad-serving software, search engines, databases, application servers, and e-commerce shopping carts are almost certain to come in NT versions, whereas big-name vendors such as Oracle, Sun, and IBM have just begun to commit to Linux. A Windows NT license costs about $300. A Linux license costs nothing. Not much overhead, but the real costs come later: lost income from downtime or unfixed bugs, high prices for technical employees who make things go, and extra machines and software as the site grows. There's a notable lack of consensus as to whether Linux or NT delivers a lower total cost of ownership.

Describe Some of the Ways That the Person-Centred Approach

Describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred Approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic Approaches to Counselling. The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. (Rogers, 1961, p. 186) The Mental Health Foundation (2012, Talking Therapies) refers to certain therapeutic approaches as talking therapies. These therapies include: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy and Person Centred Therapy (PCT).The Foundation says, ‘Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behaviour and mood’. In attempting to describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic approaches to counselling it may be helpful to acknowledge that that binds them. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) identifies that, ‘there is evidence that the relationship between the counsellor and the client is more important than the approach the therapist uses.BACP (2011). This does not presuppose that counsellors working within differing paradigms practice in an entirely different way to their counterparts or that those working within each approach operate in exactly the same way either. Indeed, it is within the relationship between the counsellor and the client that many of the differences in the therapeutic approaches can be identified. Nelson – Jones (2011, p1) warns us to, ‘be careful not to exaggerate the differences between counselling and therapy schools since there are similarities and differences among them. Worsley et al. (2011, p. 25) believe that, ‘the Person Centred Approach is a basic philosophy of living, and not a technique for therapy’. Worsley’s view does highlight a potential schism between the Person Centred model and the Psychodynamic and CBT approaches; that of, ‘feeling over process’ (B owyer 2011). Mearns and Thorne (2008, p. 9) provide some welcome professional credibility to this viewpoint by identifying a link between the experience of living out the tenets of the Person Centred approach (on both a philosophical and professional level), with the counsellor’s own ability to ‘grasp a hope that seems to lie beyond despair’.This raw awareness helps translate towards a natural realisation of some of the therapeutic conditions (namely: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive) regarded by Person Centered practitioners as critical to achieving positive change. Branch and Dryden (2008, p. 33) see this as the most significant point of divergence between the Rogerian (Person Centred) and CBT therapeutic approaches, in that Rogers considered the Core Conditions (Rogers 1957, pps. 95 – 103) to be both necessary and sufficient whilst CBT purists recognise the conditions as desirable and necessary but not sufficient to bring about client chan ge.In purist terms therefore, it can be seen that CBT, ‘focuses on eliciting and restructuring maladaptive goal-impeding thinking (Branch and Dryden 2008, p. 24) whilst the Psychodynamic approaches are sometimes called the ‘uncovering’ therapies (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 42) which, ‘aim to take the lid off that seething cauldron and bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness. CBT and psychodynamic therapies may therefore be regarded as being focused on identifying and challenging behaviours and beliefs, whereas from the counsellor’s perspective, the Person Centred model assumes no such prescriptive agenda.Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 203) acknowledge that the Psychodynamic approach focuses on the client’s past experience ‘whereas the Person Centred approach focuses on the here and now. Care must be taken not to assume that this is a one size fits all definition. For some counsellors and therapists working within each therapeutic paradigm may well ‘borrow’ methods and strategies from other approaches in order to help effect positive change. There is one tenet however which differentiates Person Centred therapy from the two other approaches; control.Whilst there is a communality of approach insofar that relationship is critical to all approaches, it is the hierarchy within the relationship which acts as differentiator. Within the Person Centred relationship, the client retains control; determining where and at what pace the relationship develops and what is explored and what remains unsaid. The non- directive approach taken by the counsellor allows the client freedom to hold his ‘comfort blanket of self-structure’ intact (Bowyer 2010) until such time that he feels able to begin a journey towards eventual self- actualisation (Goldstein 1940, p. 258). Tolan (2010, p. ) sees self- structure as being everything a person holds about herself and about the world. Following on fr om the concept of non-directive client control, the Person Centred practitioner does not consider himself to be the expert, the client is. The division between the three approaches is further widened by the atmosphere in which the counselling session takes place. Russell and Jarvis (2003, p47) identify a difference between humanistic (e. g. Person Centred) and other therapies (including CBT and Psychodynamic), in that the former refers to ‘clients’ whereas the latter regard those in therapy as ‘patients’.This reinforces the view of humanistic based therapies (including Person Centred) that regard the therapist and client as equal partners. On the client’s journey towards personal fulfillment therefore, Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 89) feel that the counsellor or psychologist ‘acts as a companion, not a guide’. In the absence of a professional ‘expert’ comes a dynamic shift of personal responsibility. Within the psychodynamic and CBT approaches, the therapist, albeit somewhat tacitly does seek to effect positive change and sees this as a professional responsibility and not one which the client is capable of undertaking on their own.To this end, it is the practitioner who assesses the need and determines the outcome(s). CBT is based on finding solutions to issues or problems identified by the counsellor. In turn, the Psychodynamic approach assumes long held conflict between the conscious and unconscious state and sees its role as ‘bringing the unconscious thoughts and feelings into conscious awareness to help individuals make sense of their current problems, of past memories, and of dreams (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 4). These somewhat presumptive approaches when coupled with a’ fix it’ mentality (particularly prevalent within the time to cost driven NHS/CBT approach) seem somewhat at odds to that of Person Centred Therapy which works in the immediate and holds true the belief that â⠂¬Ëœall clients have within themselves vast resources for development’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p. 16). Mearns and Cooper (2005, p. 60) provide a meaningful insight into a comparison of therapeutic approaches, ‘While inexperienced therapists tend to differ widely and are easily identifiable by their adopted approach, experienced therapists tend to become more close in their working and are not so easily identified by approach†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. it probably means that therapists are learning from their clients and are gradually being shaped by their clients to offer a relationship that is meaningful. I have so much to learn.

From a Chinese Perspective

Contemporary Art in China unravels as a budding butterfly out of its cocoon. Years of militant ruling and the imposition of state-centered concepts made contemporary art mundane and stagnant. At the onset of globalization, modern artists from China found more room to wiggle as they begin to showcase their talents in a more matured Chinese setting. Unable to resist the pressures of globalization, Chinese modern art has slowly opened up to the challenge set by global competitors as it hones its craft into the local and international scene with a distinctive Chinese mark. This new found freedom has resulted in emboldening Chinese artists to meld different mediums and points of view into their artwork, creating a time capsule that pays homage to the past and elucidates the future. Most of the world renowned Chinese artists such as Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Huan, Ai Weiwei and Liu Xiaodong have made themselves visible because of their unique perspectives about Chinese life and I do not think that their creative impact would have been grand if it did not involve a disturbing quality, especially a distorted one. The function of these artists was not merely to beautify the tedious surroundings of modern China but to diversify its angle on Chinese culture, unfettered from the shackles of its restrictive past. In this respect, I believe that the responsibility of the contemporary artist lies in creating ripples within their immediate environment. I also deem that contemporary artists also have the opportunity to make use of modern tools in order to produce an artwork that is relevant in today’s society of technological advancement and multiculturalism. I have had the prospect of visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai recently wherein the current theme was â€Å"Couples in Contemporary Art†. It featured the artworks of 15 coupled artists in celebration of their varied outlook on gender and power relations between sexes. The artworks exhibited the use of different materials and mediums such as acrylic on canvas, watercolor on marble, bronze and stainless steel sculptures, ceramic and mineral color on silk among other things. I was specifically entranced by the works of the couple Chen Xioadan and Yang Jianping as they used bones and Silica gel for their artworks. It was the first time I had ever seen an exhibition wherein couples were involved so it was very interesting to see the polarities in their viewpoints. Another art showcase that I am very fond of is the selected paintings of Zhang Xiaogang in Charles Saatchi’s gallery. Although I have not been to London, I have seen some of his paintings online and in magazines and I believe his artworks depict our cultural past in its barest form. His paintings merge Asian and European techniques through his use of surrealism and portrait like images of the Chinese family. These artworks incorporate the aesthetics of traditional Chinese charcoal drawings, which give off hues of grey, black and white. A likeness to old photo studio shots, it illustrates the continuous link of the past to the present. The paintings demonstrate a timeless appeal that places emphasis on genealogical roots as each character is a mirror image of another, distinguished only by certain features or marks. The occasional interruption of such marks and colors indicate a focal viewpoint that Zhang had intended for the observer to ponder. The dream-like distortions of Zhang’s paintings signify a complex psychological dimension of Chinese culture in the past, as can be observed in the way the body parts were portrayed such as characters with big heads and eyes and small arms. These suggest narrative readings about personality and a claustrophobic sense of self as images distort the cultured past. Learning about Zhang’s artworks being patronized by people all over the world made me realize how China has matured in order to allow artists like Zhang to represent the country in the world of art. If it were not for globalization, many creative talents from China would still be bottled up in a trend of conformity. Outside influences has greatly affected the crafting of contemporary art in China, which has placed Chinese artists at par with their foreign counterparts. This is why I believe that being exposed to an environment where diversity of culture is encouraged and established among daily interactions could bolster the creative identity of an artist. Constructing art and interpreting its parameters establishes a concrete notion of the abstract realm. As an artist seeking approval from his or her peers, I regard that such activities that expand one’s knowledge would also be culturally beneficial since I would be able to acculturate myself to the modern ways of western thinking and at the same time, impart my Chinese heritage to the fellow artists that I come into contact with. I trust that the network of people that will cross my path would also be able to contribute in strengthening cordial relations between the Chinese and the Americans. I believe that change is important for the growth of an individual artist as that is how creative identity is isolated and constructed. It would be interesting to see and learn from the different viewpoints and techniques of other artists, as well as the opportunity to handle challenges found in a multicultural setting. Such experiences will surely create an impression on my worldview as a Chinese and as a budding artist.