Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Example for Free

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay Although there are parallels between Irish and Welsh sagas of elopement, the powerful self confident women depicted in these narratives do not represent the real women of Medieval Ireland and Wales. Proinsias Mac Cana has suggested that the dominant roles of Deirdre and Grainne in their respective tales (Longes mac nUislenn and Toruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne) are ‘literary variations on the exemplar of the sovereignty goddess’ (Doan, 1985: 90). Bitel (1996: 2) asserts that Celticists have been seduced by these dominant female characters viewing them as representative of real women with considerable power over men, a depiction which if true should be reflected in the law tracts or ‘custom in action’(Stacey, 2002: 1107). This paper will argue that the ecclesiastical and legal tracts of both Ireland and Wales offer many images of women, judgements about women, and regulations for women. They do not however present the stereotypical medieval woman as the sovereignty goddess depicted in the secular sagas. Because women left no written records, we are dependent on male literature (probably all of the texts written in early Ireland and Wales) for a definition of woman and her cultural role. These male authors wrote of women in: ‘saint’s lives; poems; sagas and myths; gnomic texts; histories; chronicles; genealogies; folktales; theological tracts; and extensive ecclesiastical tracts; and secular laws’ (Bitel, 1996: 12). Although these texts offer insights on women they must be viewed through the hermeneutical lens of the socio-historical context of the era in which they were written. Early medieval Ireland was a patriarchal society and a woman’s role and identity was determined by patriarchal norms and conventions. The literati of this era did not define woman as an independent individual. Women existed only in relation to men and therefore their representation in literature was not entirely objective or according to Bitel consistent. Tensions exist between various texts. The portrayal of women as ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1995:137) presented in the eighth century wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic contrasts sharply with the recognition of a woman as home-maker and wife with limited recourse to the law depicted in Cain Lanamna or the law of couples (O Croinin, 1995: 127) . The majority of the extant Irish law books were composed between the seventh and ninth centuries. At this stage the Irish literati were members of the nobility educated in monastic communities. Many were monks but this elite group also included jurists, historians, poets and story tellers. Mc Cone has suggested that these learned elite produced literature for the monastery which was heavily influenced by Biblical texts (Bitel, 1996: 14). Donnchadh O Corrain, Liam Breatnach and Aidan Breen have argued that there exists a close connection between ecclesiastical law and Irish vernacular law (Stacey, 2002: 1108). Stacey asserts that although the legal sources from Wales (compiled in the twelfth and thirteen centuries) are later than the Irish sources there is also a significant link between ‘legal, poetic and ecclesiastical learning’ (2002: 1108). The Irish penitential books written between the sixth and the ninth centuries reveal conflict between the ideals of Christian leaders and the customs of early Irish communities. These penitentials were designed as moral guides for confessors in attributing penance in the rite of confession (Gula, 1989: 25). According to Bitel, Christian clergy were intent on transferring social control of sex from the kin group to the individual Christian (1987: 67). Fox concurs with Bitel, asserting that by liberating the individual from the bonds of clan and family, the church was attempting to reduce kinship to ‘its lowest common denominator [the nuclear family: the lowest kinship group that is compatible with reproduction] while appearing to support basic kinship values’ (1993: 109-110). The Clergy in promoting Christian morality for the individual attempted to reorganize Early Irish society. According to Bitel, the kin group were influential in controlling sexual activity. This was necessary to ensure the survival of the community as an interdependent group. Archaeological evidence suggests that houses consisted of one room. This allowed for little individual privacy and sex was a natural and visible part of family life. Illicit encounters had to take place outside of the home, and even then they were monitored by the community. Any kind of sexual relationship that had to be conducted in secrecy was considered dangerous. The survival and welfare of the clan depended on social stability and this principle determined the attitude of the pre-Christian Irish toward sexuality. Sex in itself however was not considered immoral. Celibacy was not portrayed as a virtue in the secular literature. Cu Chulainn’s sexual exploits are recorded in the sagas; however his casual encounters did not threaten the community (Bitel, 1987: 70-71). Bitel asserts that ‘the tension between individual desire and community need had always to be resolved in favour of the community’ (1987: 72), and herefore marriage was a contractual arrangement determined not by romance or love but by the necessity of producing children and the survival of the kin group. Woman’s reproductive capacities themselves are integrated into the economic life of the society. The image of woman depicted in Cain Lanamna is a woman whose social emotional and economic orientation is directed towards the family and home. Early Irish Law, commonly known as Brehon Law was a series of civil laws which governed every aspect of daily life including marriage and divorce. Marriage and divorce were interlinked by virtue of a contract agreed and a contract dissolved. Under the Brehon system, women were free to marry in one of nine ways, although the primary type of marriage, lanamnas comthinchuir was the most common. Both partners enter this marriage with equal financial resources. In the second type of marriage, lanamnas for ferthinchur, the woman contributes little or no financial assets to the marriage. In the third category, lanamnas for bantinchur, the woman contributes the greater share of the marriage assets. These three categories required formal pre-nuptial agreements. With the remaining six types of marital union (including cohabitation with a woman with family consent, voluntary eloping without family consent, voluntary abduction without family consent, illicit rendezvous, marriage by rape and marriage of two insane people) marriage entailed the assumption of financial responsibility for child rearing (O Croinin, 1995: 128). Corresponding to the wide variety of marriages recognized by law, there were many grounds for divorce. A woman might divorce a man who failed to satisfy her sexual needs because he was sterile, impotent, bisexual or homosexual. In this instance she was entitled to be paid her coibche in addition to a fine in compensation. A woman could divorce her husband on the grounds of indiscretion should he discuss intimate details of their marriage outside of the home. A woman could also divorce her husband should he abandon her either for the church or for a life on the road as he would no longer be in a position to maintain her. Physical abuse was also considered legitimate grounds for divorce. Even if the original blemish disappeared, a woman was entitled to the equivalent of her bride price as compensation. The laws are quite clear about the validity of female testimony in matters concerning consummation of marriage. This testimony is verified by a physical examination of the woman by female dignitaries. In a case where a woman refuses her husband his conjugal rights either because of a problem pregnancy or her menstrual cycle, the law regarded her objections as valid. A woman could also choose to divorce on grounds of infidelity although extra marital relations were recognized by law (O Croinin, 1995: 129). O Croinin suggests that in general terms many women were recognized by the law in ‘their capacity as wives and in their own right as individuals’ (1995: 133) Law texts are clear that a woman’s rights in divorce are specific to each type of marriage and related marriage contract. Lanamnas Comthinchuir was regarded as the most common type of marriage at this time. It was a dignified state for the wife, she was known as a be cuitchernsa, literally ‘a woman of joint dominion, a woman of equal lordship’ (O Croinin. 1995: 128). If this category of marriage ended in divorce, the woman received what she had initially contributed to the marriage in addition to a share of the profit accrued from the couple’s joint activities during the marriage period. O Croinin records that the division of property was in accordance with fixed proportions: ‘one third went to the partner who provided the land; one third to the partner who provided the stock; and one third to the partner who provided the labour’ (1995: 128). This last provision recognized the woman’s work in the home and on the farm. The second type of marriage lanamnas for ferthinchur represented a different kind of divorce settlement. Since the woman provided neither land nor stock, she was entitled to half of her own handiwork and one sixth of the dairy produce in store. If she had worked diligently on the farm and in the home she took one ninth of the corn and cured meat in store. She also received a sack of corn for a specified time. Divorce in the third category of marriage, lanamnas for bantinchur, ensured that the woman retained a life interest in the farm. She could not however transfer any rights to the estate to her children. She could however marry one of the heirs to the property and preserve her children’s right to inherit. Although the Irish lawyers appealed to Scripture, particularly to Leviticus to justify parallel cousin marriages, church law declared parallel cousin marriages incestuous (O Corrain, 1985). The Welsh tractate ‘the laws of women’ contains rules governing marriage and division of property in medieval Wales. There are four redactions of Welsh law manuscripts: the Cyfnerth and the Blegywryd redactions both derive from south Wales; Iorwerth is classed as a north Wales redaction; and finally the Latin manuscripts (there are similarities between the Latin laws and the Welsh redactions). Although the sources from Wales are dated to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, women in the Welsh tractate like women in Cain Lanamna are portrayed as wives and home-makers (Roberts, 2008: 58-59). Stacey asserts that the most ‘striking’ passage of the ‘Laws of Women’ outlines the domestic and agricultural goods granted to each partner in cases where the marriage had lasted longer than seven years (2002: 1109). This passage is common to each of the Welsh redactions of the law books and can also be found in four of the five Latin compilations. The couple must divide their possessions equally, the pigs become the property of the man and the woman takes ownership of the sheep. If there are only sheep and goats, the sheep go to the man and the goats to the woman. The children are also divided between the couple ‘two parts go to the father, the eldest and the youngest, and the middle to the mother’ (Stacey, 2002: 1111). The division of household goods is itemised: all milk vessels, except for one pail and one dish becomes the property of the woman. The man is entitled to all of the drinking vessels and the riddle while the woman is entitled to the sieve. The man is entitled to the upper stone of the quern and the woman to the lower stone. The bed clothes which cover the couple becomes the property of the woman while the clothes which they lay on belong to the man. The man receives the cauldron and the blanket and the pillows from the bed together with the wood axe, coulter and all the sickles except for one which the woman obtains. The woman is granted the pan, the broad axe, the bill hook and all of the flax, linseed and wool. She also receives the plowshare. Any gold or silver is divided equally between the couple. The man is entitled to the corn above and below the ground, all of the hens and one cat. The remaining cats become the property of the woman. The woman receives the salted meat but if it is hung it becomes the property of the man. The woman is also granted as much flour as she can carry along with the cut meat and the partly used cheese. They each retain their own clothes except for their cloaks which must be divided equally. Any balls of wool in stock become the property of the sons (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Like Irish Marriage Law, the Welsh Laws of Women attempted to secure a measure of financial independence for each partner in the event of divorce . Unlike Irish marriage law however which divided property according to specific marriage contracts, some rovisions in the Welsh divorce law appear illogical. Jenkins suggests that the Welsh division of property on divorce, attempts to ensure that each partner has the necessary provisions to survive but he asserts that the division of the quern stones is ‘curious’ since they cannot be used independently (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Similarly the coulter is granted to the man while the plowshare is received by the woman. Since both blades would have been required for planting this division appears to make little logical or practical sense. Stacey also points out that the man receives all of the corn and hens but only one cat to protect them from vermin while the woman receives the remaining cats although she has no grain or hens to protect (Stacey, 2002: 1113-1116). Welsh divorce law does not seem to be based on the wealth brought to the marriage by each party or indeed on the status of the marriage. In Irish Law the apportionment of property is determined by both of these factors (Stacey, 2002: 1113). Stacey suggests that the division of property in a Welsh divorce is symbolic of the destructiveness of divorce and failed marriage. He asserts that this was a secular ‘homily’ on the improvident nature of divorce (2002: 1124). Although the marriage property is divided the woman ultimately is disadvantaged because under Welsh Law, she has no claim to land and must be satisfied with portable goods. Although women under Welsh law were afforded the opportunity to divorce their husbands due to his impotency, leprosy or bad breath (Roberts, 2008: 63), Nerys Patterson suggests that the woman was further disadvantaged in the wake of marital separation: female virginity was highly valued and her loss of virginity would affect her chances of remarriage (2002: 1121). These medieval divorce laws clearly situate the woman in the home, rearing children, cooking, spinning wool and working on the farm. It is tempting to view these laws as depictions of a progressive egalitarian society, however the political and social realities of a woman’s life suggest otherwise. A woman’s legal definition derived from that of her father, brother or her legal husband. A legal tract on honour price (dire) defined women’s legal and social position ‘her father had charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she is a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children . . the Church when she is a woman of the Church [i. e. , a nun]. She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorization of one of her superiors’ (Bitel, 1996: 8). According to Bitel, these legally and socially incapacitated women were the real Medbs of medieval Ireland. When measuring a woman’s status, the laws measured women against the legal norm of the free adult male and as such a woman’s worth remained only half that of her male guardians honour price. The Irish literati along with many medieval authors considered female bodies as ‘less valuable copies of mens’ (Bitel, 1996: 19). This principle is reflected in the only extant Irish medico-legal tracts namely Bretha Crolige and Bretha Dein Checht which accorded women less medical attention and food rations than men (Bitel, 1996: 21). Women therefore were considered physically and psychologically less than man, less than human (Bitel, 1996: 23). The ninth century Triads text, Trecheng Breth Fene unveiled some basic assumptions about the nature of woman. The Triads suggested that ‘the three drops of a wedded woman’ were drops of blood (a good wife was a virgin at marriage); sweat; and tears (a good wife should be willing to suffer hardship to support her husband and children). One of the three misfortunes of a man was proposing marriage to a bad woman. According to the Triads, women were their husband’s property and were akin to animals. ‘When a man loaned either a woman or a horse, he had to expect it to be used by the borrower’ (Bitel, 1996: 23). The wisdom text also suggested that ‘like a cow’s udder, women through her womb, was one of the three renovators of the world’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). Another wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic suggested that women ‘should be feared like beasts’ because they were ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). A woman’s physical characteristics and fertility therefore were animal like and unreliable. The eighth or ninth-century wisdom text Senbriathra Fithail considered the characteristics of ‘a good wife’ (Bitel, 1996: 27). Advising his pupil Cormac mac Airt, Fithal (a druid) asserted that a good woman had ‘common sense, prudence, modesty, excellent Irish, delicacy, mildness, honesty, wisdom, purity and intelligence’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). All of these attributes according to Fithal were necessary for a woman to become a desirable wife. A bad wife on the other hand was characterised by ‘wretchedness, stinginess, vanity, talkativeness, laziness, indolence, noisiness, hatefulness avarice, visiting, thieving, keeping trysts, lustfulness, folly and treachery’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal asserted that it was possible to detect a woman’s character based on her physical appearance. He suggested that Cormac should avoid: ‘the fat short one’; ‘the slender short one with curling hair’; the fair tall one’; ‘the dark-limbed, unmanageable one’; ‘the dun coloured yellow one’; and ‘the slender prolific one who was lewd and jealous’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal determined that the worst wife was a be cairn or a whore. A successful marriage however could be assured by a union with the ‘tall, fair, very slender ones’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal admitted to Cormac however that the ideal woman may not exist and that most women had character flaws. The author of Tecosca Cormaic was adamant that all women were ‘chronically dissatisfied, bad tempered, untrustworthy, wanton, manipulative, ambitious, greedy, arrogant whiners’ (Bitel, 1996: 29). Bitel suggests that the real problem with women is that they were not men and the writers of the gnomic tracts could only define them by their many indefinable natures: they had similar physical bodies to men but were not men; they had reproductive characteristics and temperaments similar to animals but were not animals. The only certainty appeared to be was that women must be controlled and her inferior position in society maintained (Bitel, 1996: 30). The writers of ecclesiastical canons suggested that women could only be redeemed by denying their female characteristics and their female sexuality. Bitel argues that canonists established a ‘gender hierarchy’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Unlike the typologies found in secular and wisdom texts, the cannon scribes attributed a moral value to virginity and abstinence. Nuns were accorded a high moral value as were ‘widows who took the veil’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Thomas O’ Loughlin suggests that the Collectio canonum hibernesis, a systematic collection of law, codified certain patristic theories producing an understanding of marriage ‘as a state secondary to virginity’ (1997: 188). The canonists justify their position by quoting Jerome who asserts that ‘virginity follows the lamb wherever he goes’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). Jerome expands on this theme suggesting that ‘earth is populated by marriage, so heaven is by virginity’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). The underlying concept is clear, virginity is exemplified and sexuality creates problems. According to O’Loughlin this principle was the basis of ecclesiastical thinking on marriage throughout the middle ages and Jerome’s opinion that sexual activity was ‘inferior and earthy’ in comparison to virginity which was ‘noble and superior’ has been held responsible for the cult of virginity and celibacy in the Latin church (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). Augustine also considered sexuality dangerous but (quoting Paul in 1 Corinthians 7) asserted that while celibacy was the desired state, ‘lawful marriage is to be preferred to burning with desire and fornication’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). The dangers of sexuality therefore were to be contained within the institution of marriage. Although canonists admitted that clerics could fall to sexual temptation, the general consensus was that women as the weaker sex were more likely to succumb to sexual temptation.

Mesopotamia and Egypt Essay Example for Free

Mesopotamia and Egypt Essay The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar, but they were also different in some ways. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt developed their civilizations centered on rivers, but these rivers were polar opposites. Mesopotamia was between two rivers called the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt’s civilization developed around the Nile River. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers differed from the Nile River. The Nile River was calm, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were wild and very unpredictable. Since these rivers had opposite behaviors, Mesopotamia’s specialty was in irrigation, while Egypt was a more agricultural society. Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar in their roots, but they also had distinctive forms of social organization and religious observance that developed because of the rivers that surrounded them. Mesopotamia’s social organization was a way to differentiate between rulers and those who were commoners. Each city-state in Mesopotamia had elders and young men that made decisions for the community. Rulers protected their access to both political and economic resources by creating systems of bureaucracies, priesthoods, and laws. Priests and bureaucrats served their leaders well, defending and advocating rules and norms that validated the political leadership. Lists of professions were passed around so each person could know his or her place in the social order. The king and priest were at the top of the social structure followed by bureaucrats who were scribes, supervisors, and craft workers. The craft workers were jewelers, gardeners, potters, metal smiths, and traders; this was the largest group of the social structure. The craft workers were not slaves but they depended on their employer’s households. People rarely moved from one social level to another. Not only was there organization between society in general, but there was also specific organization between families. In families, the senior male became the patriarch. A family was made up of a husband and a wife who was bound by a contract that stated that the wife would provide children, preferably male, and the husband would provide support an d protection. If there was no male child, a second wife or slave could bear children to serve as the couple’s offspring. In families, sons would inherit the family’s property and the daughters would receive dowries. Priests were at the top of the social organization with the king because they lived in temples, which represented  the cities’ power. Bureaucrats were at the top of the social structure underneath the main people of power because they were scribes. Mesopotamia was the world’s first city to keep records and read, developing a writing system. Writing became important to the development of cities and enabled people to share information across greater distances and over longer periods of time. Scribes played a significant role in developing a writing system that people anywhere and in the future could decipherer. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers served as major communication and transportation routes for Mesopotamia. The need for a system of record keeping developed because farmers and officials needed a way to keep track of the distribution of goods and services. It was important to keep track of goods and services because long-distance trade was very important to Mesopot amia since it lacked many raw materials that were crucial to developing the city. On the other hand, in Egypt, the social organization was similar to Mesopotamia, but differed just slightly. At the top was a Pharaoh or also called a king was the center of Egyptian life followed by priests, scribes, craftsmen, and lastly farmers and slaves. The Pharaoh was at the center of life and had the responsibility to ensure that flooding of the Nile River continued without interruption and had the responsibility to develop a vibrant economy. Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh was a descendant from the gods. Egypt had one advantage that Mesopotamia did not have, the Nile River. The Nile River was navigable and provided annual floods. These annual floods allowed for regular moisture. Even though the Nile River did not fertilize the fields as wells as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, the yearly floods meant that the topsoil was renewed every year, making the soil easy to plant in. Egypt also had the sun that allowed a bountiful agriculture. Egypt, similarly to Mesopotamia, was a scribe nation. Since little people were literate in both Mesopotamia and Egypt, a scribesâ €™ social status was increased automatically. However, even though both Mesopotamia and Egypt were scribal cultures, Egypt appeared to be more literate. This could be because Egypt developed later than Mesopotamia, and they may have used it more since Egypt had the Nile River. The Nile provided for good harvest allowing Egypt’s economy to flourish. Since Egypt had good harvest, they may have needed to keep better track of goods and services because they had more goods to keep track of since they had better harvest than  Mesopotamia. Social structure in Egypt and Mesopotamia was not the only thing that was affected by the rivers. Another aspect of early civilization that was affected by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia was religion. Mesopotamians had beliefs in gods that molded their political organizations and controlled everything. They believed the gods controlled weather, fertility, harvests, and the underworld. They had to respect their gods, but they also feared them because they were powerful. A major way for Mesopotamians to worship their gods was through the temples. Temples were gods’ homes and were the cities’ identity. To demonstrate cities’ power, rulers would elaborately decorate temples. The priests and other officials lived in the temples and worked to serve gods, the most pow erful immortal beings to the Mesopotamians. Temples ran productive and commercial activities and those that were close to the river would hire workers to hunt, fish, and collect. The temples were a way for people to worship their gods and show their faithfulness to them. Therefore, since the Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled everything including weather and harvest, two important aspects in Mesopotamia civilization, it was important that they stay faithful to their gods since they did not have the best rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would flood if there was heavy rainfall during the height of the agricultural season. Thus, if they worshiped their gods frequently, the Mesopotamians may believe that the gods will bestow good weather eliminating floods more often, creating a better year of harvest. Like Mesopotamia, each region in Egypt had its own god. In addition, Egypt also had temples to worship their gods. In Egypt, gods were inactive and the kings, or pharaohs, were active. The pharaoh had responsibility to uphold cults while the priests were to uphold regular rituals. The pharaoh acted as a mediator between the gods and the people o f the city. He supported the gods through rituals held in temples, which the Egyptians contributed many resources to. Since trade from the Nile River allowed the city of Egypt to prosper economically, they had more resources to build more elaborate temples and later on pyramids. Pyramids were unique to Egyptian culture. The pyramids became a place for state rituals and were very important to Egyptian culture. Since Egypt prospered because of its location next to the Nile, they had an abundance of resources that was necessary to build the intricate temples. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were  riverine cultures. Each city had its own unique social organization and religious beliefs, but they had similar roots. Both civilizations were scribal cultures, but since Egypt had the Nile River, the two civilizations differed. Since both civilizations were scribal, scribes attained great social status under the king and priests. Egypt prospered greatly from the resources that the predictable Nile River offered. Mesopotamia had the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that were unpredictable, but still provided for irrigation and allowed the city to advance in irrigation technology and opened the city up to the surrounding cities. Mesopotamia and Egypt both had polytheism and worshiped their gods in temples. Instead of referring to the king like in Mesopotamia, Egypt refers to the pharaoh. Egypt believed that the pharaoh communicated with the gods. The rivers in both Mesopotamia and Egypt opened these areas up to the rest of the world and allowed for great economic growth.

Strategic Management of Tesco: PESTLE and SWOT Analysis

Strategic Management of Tesco: PESTLE and SWOT Analysis Tesco plc is a leading global grocery with its headquarters in Cheshunt in the United Kingdom where it is ranked second in this country in terms of revenues and third in terms of profits. This company has stores in more than 14 countries in the world and has employed more than 326000 employees globally. In the United Kingdom, the food and drink retail sector represents the largest industry offering large employment opportunities to people of the United Kingdom and the whole world in general. In the global competition and companies pictures, it is of great importance for a company to come up with a strategy that will evaluate its competitive advantage. In this case, PESTEL analysis is used by the Tesco plc. This analysis indicates that, Tesco plc has to monitor and respond to uncontrollable forces that are posed by six factors. These factors include; political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal. In this essence, these forces influence the macro environm ent of the Tesco plc. The other aspect which is of great significance to consider when evaluating the competitive advantage of this company is the SWOT analysis. In this respect, the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of this company are analyzed. From the analysis it can be learned that the companys strengths and opportunities neutralize the weaknesses and threats. It can be learned from the analysis that this company has been able to operate a number of stores in the whole world with the major ones being in the United Kingdom. The increased advancement of technology acts as a potential basis for the company to operate online and offer its customers with products from different parts of the world. Introduction Tesco Plc. is one of the largest global groceries headquartered in Cheshunt in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest retailer in the whole world when measured in terms of profits and third largest when measured in terms of revenues. In the United Kingdom, Tesco has a market share of 30% hence becoming the market leader in this country. This company has more than 2318 stores in 14 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. Tesco plc was founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen and the first store was opened in the year 1929 in Burnt Oak. Tesco plc has a flat hierarchical structure where each and every intended action has to pass through the management. There are six levels which are between checkout staff and chief executive. This company has employed more than 326000 employees across the globe where 237000 of them are in Europe where it has its largest private employer. This company has 83 Tesco stores and 447 superstores in the United Kingdom. Tesco plc has been using th e strategy of pile em high, sell em cheap as a way of minimizing production costs. The mission and vision of this company are to offer superior and technical representation and add value to its products and customers by providing highly innovative solutions to their customers design, manufacturing requirements, and procurement. This is usually done by improving the quality, productivity, and services to a competitive edge. The grocery sector where foods and drinks are sold represents the largest industry in the United Kingdom. This sector offers employment opportunities to more than three million people in different levels such as primary production, manufacturing, and retailing. In the year 2003, the food and drink retail sector accounted for about 9% of the countrys gross domestic product. In order to increase its competitive advantage, Tesco plc has diversified its production where it supplies clothing and other non food lines. Its own label products are in three levels which include, value, normal, and finest. In addition to convenience produce, most of the companys stores have gas suppliers hence becoming one of the largest United Kingdom autonomous petrol retailers (Porter 1980: 27). Strategy growth company PESTEL analysis In the process of evaluating the competitive advantage of this company, there are six forces that Tesco has to respond to and which influence its macro environment. These forces include; political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors. In the process of shaping the marketing strategies for the Tesco plc, these macro-environmental factors have been evaluated in both global and domestic markets to successfully penetrate the markets and possess a higher niche in competition (Pearce Robinson 2003: 237). Table 1: PESTEL analysis of Tesco plc Political factors As it operates in a globalized environment with stores across the globe, Tescos performance is greatly influenced by the political conditions of the countries where it has its stores. This is because each and every country has its own political standing which may be different from United Kingdom. Among the important factors that act as productive grounds for this company is the fact that United Kingdom is politically stable and free from corruption. Additionally, most of the countries where it has its stores like; Japan, Turkey, Hungary, Ireland, and Poland among others are politically stable providing good environment for business (Patterson 2002: 251). The United Kingdom government encourages businesses and retailers to offer a mix of job opportunities from centrally located, highly paid, lowly paid, locally based jobs, and flexible jobs. The political factors prevailing not only in Britain but also in the whole world influence Tesco to employ all kinds of people as a way of provid ing employment opportunities to citizens. The aspect of political stability has increased the companys profits as taxation policies in Britain encourage operations of business sector. Economic factors Economic factors as they influence demands, costs, and prices of the products offered are of great concern to this company. The whole globe has experienced economic decline and hence the aspect of purchasing products has been greatly affected in all companies without the exception of Tesco plc. In this respect, the inflation rate of the United Kingdom has dropped from 3.6% in the year 2009 to 2.2% in the year 2010. This indicates that there is an increased value of money hence decreasing the costs of living and the purchasing power increases in return. Since Tesco plc has a number of stores not only in UK but also in the whole world, its business cycles are not heavily affected since there are sales throughout the year. The current economic growth has affected the purchasing power of buyers hence reducing the number of sales made by this company. Additionally, the level of income in the United Kingdom is relatively unequal hence making some people fail to afford the products offered by this company (McLoughlin Aaker 2010: 211). Socio-cultural factors It should be noted that people make up markets in the world and hence there is a strong demographic force in global and local markets. Population growth is one of the interests of marketers especially in cities, urban areas, and towns but this does not necessarily mean that the increased population forms potential markets for the produced goods. This is because one may have a lot of people to feed hence failing to purchase the products offered by Tesco plc. The fact that many people have gone to school has increased customer awareness of their rights and hence they are only buying products that are of high quality (Mazzucato 2002: 58). The concept of ethnicity implies that the United Kingdom is an amalgam of races where different races have different tastes and cultures. In this country more than 90% of the total population are the Whites hence marketers are mostly targeting them. Location is another factor that is usually considered by marketers as most of the potential buyers are f ound in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Tesco plc is strategically located in a place where potential buyers are heavily targeted. Environmental factors Globally, there have been increased campaigns on environmental preservation and many companies are supposed to preserve the environment. This is because most of the pollutions that are done to the environment are caused by industries. As a way of maintaining and preserving environment, Tesco plc usually uses licensed waste disposal services. There are legal requirements that force companies in the United Kingdom to support the aspect of sustainable development and this cannot be done without professional ways of disposing wastes (Lake Powell 1999: 63). Additionally, water that is used in this company is usually recycled in so that it can be reused as a way of preserving the most important resources in the United Kingdom. Globally, consumers are aware of the impacts of environmental pollution and hence are increasingly buying products that have been produced through environmentally friendly means. Legal In the United Kingdom there is competition law that is established under the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. This usually affects the behaviours of businesses in this country as there is a manner in which they are supposed to compete. It is a requirement for all businesses in this country to abide with these laws and Tesco plc is not excluded (Kotler et al 2005: 54). Tesco plc is mostly involved in selling foods and drinks and hence has to abide with the Health and Safety Laws in this country. These laws are provided under the Health and Safety Act 1974. Technological factors In the global competition, quality of products or services is highly appreciated by customers and any company that produces high quality products wins most customers. In this case, quality is usually guaranteed by technological advancement and hence Tesco plc has improved its technological innovations. The speed of technology transfer in this company is very fast as employees are learning technological aspects in order to improve their performance within the company. Innovation is highly encouraged in this company and this has helped the company in improving its competitive advantage in the whole world (Jeffs 2008: 68). SWOT analysis of Tesco plc The concept of SWOT analysis usually indicates the competitive advantage of a company by looking at its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths Tesco plc has been able to operate a number of stores in the whole world with the major ones being in the United Kingdom. This has helped it to enter into the global market hence reaching a wide number of customers. Additionally, this company has recently engaged in advertising its products online where customers are in a position to learn and order products online (Rumelt 1991: 172). Through the stores that are located in more than 14 countries globally, customers are able to get their ordered products in time. The products that are produced by this company are usually of high value and quality hence attracting large numbers of customers. By operating in urban areas, Tesco plc has been able to capture most people as these are the highly populated areas globally. This company has been able to compete stiffly with its competitors like Sainsbury, Marks Spencer, and ASDA hence improving its financial strengths. There has been diversification where Tesco plc also supplies clothing and o ther products away from food and drink line. This has helped this company is competing with its competitors (Ireland et al 2007: 37). Weaknesses Tesco plc is using a lot of fossil fuel in its distribution of products especially in transport network. This is because it is not wholly established to have stores in almost all countries of the world. Additionally, this company has only targeted the developed world leaving out the developing and under developed nations which may produce potential customers for their products. The aspect of using internet in advertising its products has been covering only a certain group of people as mostly the youths are the ones who make use of internet. This indicates that those people who do not use internet frequently will not be in a position to know about its products (Human Resource Management 2010). Threats There is a very stiff competition that is posed by Tesco competitors like Sainsbury, Marks Spencer, and ASDA. Most companies worry about taxes in any country and Tesco being no exception worries about taxes in the United Kingdom and the other countries where it has stores. The innovation by other companies is another threat of this company as any increase in innovation will result to a very stiff competition towards this company (Grant 2009: 26). Opportunities The recent advancement in technology offers Tesco plc a great opportunity of using internet in selling its products. In this aspect, internet is the most used technology that is able to reach a wide number of customers even in areas where there are no stores. Additionally, there is an opportunity of forming alliance competitors or suppliers in order to reduce production and distribution costs. Collaborations are very necessary in that companies share resources and hence they do not fear taking risks in any pursuit of development (Coulter 2009: 56). Recommendations In order for the Tesco plc to achieve a higher ground in competition than its rivals it has to do the following; Improve the management in order to make sure that all stores are well managed so that quality services may be offered to customers. The company should encourage employees innovations in order to compete with other companies. The company should increase its target population by opening new stores in other countries in order to target large numbers of customers Conclusion In winding up, competitive advantage of a company can be evaluated using different strategies that are very essential in a company. In this case, the PESTEL analysis of the Tesco plc indicates that this company has to monitor and respond to the six forces that influence its macro environment. These forces include; political, economic, technological, soci0-cultural, environmental, and legal. From the SWOT analysis of the Tesco plc, this company has a number of strengths and opportunities that are able to neutralize weaknesses and threat. Africa: Beyond The Stereotypes Africa: Beyond The Stereotypes In a single day 95 photographers document a wildly diverse continent bursting with energy and promise. Send 95 photojournalists around the African continent on the same day, and what do you get? Pictures and columns that belie the clichà ©d expectations, a prosperous South African family enjoys breakfast in a sparkling kitchen near Johannesburg, denim-clad girls giggle as they walk to class in Cape Verde. Africa, which is bigger than the United States, China, Argentina, Europe, India combined; contains 53 nations, 720 million people and more than 800 ethnic groups who speak more than a 1,000 languages. The 250 photos from each photographer barely even scratch the surface of the continents diversity. (magazine, 2002) Studying Africa If educators had the time to survey their students before engaging students in the study of the continent, they would undoubtedly be shocked by (i) the lack of knowledge about Africa, which is the second largest continent in terms of both land area and population, and (ii) by the images of Africa held by the majority of their students. Africa is probably the least known and the most misrepresented of the continents. This is due to the simplistic explanatory constructs through which the media, government, and educational texts have brought understanding to events (social, economic, political) and practices (social, cultural, religious) in Africa. (Exploring Africa)http://graphjam.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/arbitraryuser.png Common stereotypes  · Africa is the Dark Continent  · Africa is culturally monolithic  · Africa without history  · Africa is pagan  · Africa is uncivilized  · Endemic violence  · Endemic hunger/starvation Behavioral Characteristics- African behavior is determined by primordial drives, Savagery, Tribal loyalty, Superstition determines attitudes and behavior, Weird cultural practices. Many popular images of Africa are based on stereotypes that present fragmented, inaccurate, and at times fallacious, images or representations of Africa. These images and misrepresentations become the basis of knowledge. Given the lack of in-depth knowledge of Africa and the prevalence of generalized stereotypes to interpret Africa, Americans tend to use explanatory constructs to bring meaning and understanding to images and news from Africa. Common examples include the following:  · Tribalism- seemingly endemic conflicts in Africa are explained by primordial tribal impulses.  · Patrimonial structures and practices-African patrimonial structures encourage nepotism, corruption, and economic and political inefficiency. Therefore, they preclude democracy.  · Communitarian orientation- Anti-individualism precludes personal initiative, development, and modernity. (Exploring Africa) Sources of Stereotypes Historical European explorers, colonial officials, and missionaries created representations of Africa and Africans through narratives that were consonant with their beliefs and supportive of their agenda (e.g. Africans as uncivilized incapable of governing themselves). Contemporary News Media cover Africa superficially (crisis driven coverage). Reporters often have no background in Africa. Liberal use of inadequate explanatory constructs. Entertainment Media perpetuates negative images of helpless primitives and evil pagans. The media glorify colonialism and European intervention. Currently, Africa is represented as a place of endemic violence and brutal but ignorant dictators. Animalization of Africa through the many of nature shows on Africa that presents Africa as being devoid of humans. Safari Industry promotes an orientation to animals and exploitation of non-representative African cultures (e.g. Maasai, Pekot, San, etc.). Theme parks in united states that feature African themes. Advertising-industry has built and exploited (and thereby perpetuated) simplistic stereotypes of Africa. U.S Textbooks covering Africa often provide inadequate coverage, and use popular explanatory constructs. Feature pictorial images (predominance of animals and exotica).Highlight social and cultural representations of non-representative groups such as the Maasai and San. (Exploring Africa) African stereotypes- A Reaction from the Public After generally refraining from criticizing media coverage of African news, it has becoming increasingly hard for some people to resist commentary. I suppose one can only read and watch so many stereotyped and misinformed news stories before it becomes too much to bear. Texas in Africa (an African blog spot), the ladies at Wronging Rights, among others have always been quick to stress the problem with bad reporting. For example: A story written by Jeffrey Gettleman on the drought currently plaguing Kenya. Gettleman writes: A devastating drought is sweeping across Kenya, killing livestock, crops and children. It is stirring up tensions in the ramshackle slums where the water taps have run dry, and spawning ethnic conflict in the hinterland as pastoralist communities fight over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land. The twin hearts of Kenyas economy, agriculture and tourism, are especially imperiled. The fabled game animals that safari-goers fly thousands of miles to see ar e keeling over from hunger and the picturesque savannah is now littered with an unusually large number of sun-bleached bones. (Gettleman, 2009) There is definitely a severe drought in Kenya and it is indubitably a cause of great concern for Kenyans dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. As Gettleman notes, the drought is also increasing conflict in some parts of the country, with farmers struggling for access to arable land. Such conflict, however, is not ethnic, but rather an instance of basic survival. Aside from this point, what I find most troublesome about Gettlemans piece is his suggestion that the Kenyan economy will somehow crumble as a consequence of the drought. The unknowing reader comes away from Gettlemans piece with an image of a completely impoverished, desert-like country on the brink of disaster a stereotype of a typical African country. While Kenya surely does have its problems Gettlemans imagery is highly misguiding. Technology in Kenya is expanding at a rapid pace, heralding much opportunity for development. Emphasis is also being placed on the countrys private sector as an engine for growth, as well as small-scale manufacturing. One doesnt get any of this from Gettlemans piece. African stereotypes and Social Psychology Research by social psychologists strongly indicates that we as individuals find it difficult to hold conflicting or contradictory beliefs/understandings. Social psychologists call this aversion cognitive dissonance, the discomfort in holding contradictory beliefs or representations. Yet when we are exposed to evidence that contradicts an accepted image, we may not recognize or be bothered by the contradiction (e.g. Africans are primitive but not be flustered when introduced to Africans who are clearly very modern), unless prior representation is challenged. To give a simple example, many Americans believe that Africa is comprised of jungle, sparsely populated savannah, or desert. When shown pictures of modern African cities, individuals may accept that the cities are in Africa; however, if the dominant representation is not directly challenged in attempt to maintain cognitive consonance, students will maintain their prior perception. So in spite of pictorial evidence, many people wil l revert to their prior knowledge and understanding of Africa. Debunking African stereotypes It is important that educators advocate a feeling of understanding and appreciating other cultures and societies. So many people tend to judge other peoples actions and ways of life by their own cultural values. Educators need to steer away from this ethnocentric view. In teaching about Africa, stereotypes and biases naturally creep in. educators should be on guard to not perpetuate the beliefs that seem to come to mind. Words in describing Africa can be altered for example consider the table below. Stop word Substitute word Jungle rainforest Tribe Ethnic group/ people Backward/primitive/savage/native traditional Bush savannah Witch doctor herbalist Costume National attire Juju/superstition faith Also educators should examine materials before hand for stereotypes and biases. Dont show a collection of pictures that only show Africans dressed in little clothing or wearing masks. Urban and rural areas should be represented too. Educator should talk about the people and not just the jungle and its inhabitants. Often, seemingly subtle opinions and failure to represent the real Africa can do harm to the students who look to educators as authorities on something they will probably never personally experience. (Turner, 1995) Works Cited (n.d.). Retrieved 3 23, 2010, from Exploring Africa: http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu Gadzala, a. (2009). China In Africa. Trafficking in African Stereotypes . Gettleman, J. (2009, 9 8). Africa. Lush Land Dries up, Withering Kenyas hopes , p. A1. magazine, s. (2002, 12). Africa. Retrieved 3 2010, from http://www.smithsonianmag.coms/africa.html Merryfield, M. M. (1995). . Turner, D. (1995). teaching about africa. Utah: early elemetary.

Group Paper :: essays papers

Group Paper Anorexia is characterized by a significant weight loss resulting from excessive dieting. The strong desire to be thin and a fear of becoming obese motivate so many women and an increasing number of men, to begin dieting. Anorexics consider themselves to be fat, no matter what their actual weight is. Often anorexics do not recognize they are underweight and may still â€Å"feel fat† at 80 lbs. Anorexics who are close to death will reveille the parts of their body where they feel they need to loose weight. In their attempts to become even thinner, anorexics will avoid consuming food and taking in calories at all costs. An estimated 10 to 20% of anorexics will eventually die from complications related to the disorder (http://www.mirror-mirror.org/eatdis.htm). In my personal experience, a person with anorexia may feel like their life is out of control. In this case since the person feels like they have no control over anything, they turn to anorexia for stability in their lives. They feel that they can control their eating habits and weight, and what goes into their body and what doesn’t. This feeling of control gives the person a sense of relief that he or she is in charge of at least some aspect of their life. They feel a sense of power when they step on the scale every morning and see a decrease in weight. When it does go down, they have â€Å"succeeded† and when it does not, they have failed in trying to accomplish their goal of thinness. When anorexics loose weight, they feel that they have all of the power and control over themselves. Anorexics are usually people who strive for perfection; they will set very high standards for themselves, and they feel that they always have to prove their competence to everybody else around them. Anorexics will usually put their needs on the back burner while putting others’ needs ahead of theirs, even if it may cause their own life to suffer. Sometimes anorexia is an escape for the individual from their problems. By forcing themselves to focus so strongly on dieting and loosing more and more weight, they can block out all of their other personal problems. Anorexics usually have very low self-esteem, and sometimes they feel that they do not deserve to eat.

Measuring Rate of Rater Uptake by a Leafy Shoot :: Papers

Measuring Rate of Rater Uptake by a Leafy Shoot The water uptake can be measured easily and because very high proportion of the water taken up by a stem is lost in transpiration, it enables the rate of transpiration to be measured. Key Factors to be kept Constant: - ================================== v Temperature - room temperature (approximately 25Â ºC) v Wind speed - No artificial wind was produced to affect results v Light intensity - Extra light was not used v Humidity - it was not humid on the day experiments were conducted The water uptake for the control Experiment. Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm) Final meniscus positionof the air bubble (cm) Water uptake (Distance moved) (cm) Total water uptake (cm) 1 10.0 10.7 0.7 0.7 2 10.7 11.5 0.8 1.5 3 11.5 12.3 0.8 2.3 4 12.3 13.0 0.7 3.0 5 13.0 14.0 1.0 4.0 6 14.0 14.8 0.8 4.8 The water uptake when Vaseline is applied on the top surface of the leaves. Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm) Final meniscus positionof the air bubble (cm) Water uptake (Distance moved) (cm) Total water uptake (cm) 1 6.0 6.6 0.6 0.6 2 6.6 7.2 0.6 1.2 3 7.2 7.9 0.7 1.9 4 7.9 8.5 0.6 2.5 5 8.5 9.2 0.7 3.2 6 9.2 9.7 0.5 3.7 Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm)

Women Heed Stroke Warnings Better Than Men :: Essays Papers

Women Heed Stroke Warnings Better Than Men I read an article from the American Psychological Association Monitor. The article deals with women and the fact that studies show they heed stroke warnings better than men do. A stroke awareness program in central Illinois significantly increased public knowledge of stroke warning signs, but more among women than men, a team of medical researchers found. According to the article, the study’s lead researcher, psychologist Wayne Dornan, PhD, believes the key to women’s better performance can be found in the results of a two-year-old study, which found women fear motor impairments from stroke more than death and men fear death more than any deleterious consequence of stroke. In the more recent study, Dornan and his colleagues evaluated people’s understanding of the risk factors for stroke among residents of the twin cities of Bloomington and Normal in central Illinois before and after they implemented a five-month intensive stroke-awareness campaign. Overall, the number of people who knew at least one stroke warning sign—including weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty speaking or understanding simple statements, and sudden blurred or decreased vision increased from 57 percent to 78 percent. But most of that increase could be accounted for by a rise in women’s awareness 67 percent to 81 percent. Men’s awareness barely increased at all apparently, more than half were unable to name a single stroke warning sign before and after the awareness campaign, the researchers found. The researchers obtained their data by surveying a random sample of more than 1,314 of the 100,000 residents of the twin cities before the campaign and 1,216 residents afterwards. Dornan said in the article that new time-sensitive pharmaceutical treatments for stroke have made it more imperative than ever that people recognize the symptoms of stroke and seek immediate treatment,. And another new study, noted by Doman published in an issue of Stroke suggests that the number of strokes in the United States is dramatically higher than previously estimated: 700,000 annually as opposed to the earlier estimate of 500,000.

Nanotechnology Uses to Enhance Computer Performance Essay

Although the core concepts of nanotechnology were introduced in the early 1950’s, nanotechnology was not properly introduced to the world until 1974. That was the year a Japanese scientist, named Tanigushi, coined the word â€Å"nanotechnology†. Nanotechnology refers to the constructing and engineering of systems at the atomic level. â€Å"Nanotechnology will be the major technology in development of every machine in coming years. † (Wifinotes, n. d. ) Nanotechnology will greatly improve the functionality and performance of computers. Body  In everyday terms, â€Å"Nanotechnology is based on manipulations of individual atoms and molecules to build complex atomic structures. † (Tarasov, 2009, pg. 1) Working at the atomic level is a very new technology. The size of a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. For comparison purposes, â€Å"A very fine human hair is about 10,000 nanometers wide, which is the smallest dimension we can see with the naked eye. † (Cook, 2005) Before research could begin, researchers had to first invent a machine that could work with such small particles. Their goal was to manipulate atoms and molecules into a particular configuration – a configuration capable of performing functions similar to a microprocessor. The technology prior to nanotechnology started out rather primitive. It was a major advance in technology when vacuum tubes were invented. They came into existence about the same time Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Vacuum tubes were first used in computers in 1946 until 1958. By then, vacuum tubes could not be made any smaller, so technology gave us transistors. Transistors were used in computers from 1959 to 1964. One transistor took the place of 40 vacuum tubes. When the limits of the transistor were reached, computer builders used integrated circuits from 1965 to 1970. In 1971, the microprocessor came into computer use. Faster and smaller than anything so far, the microprocessor led to the invention of personal computers. Now that the advancement of microprocessors has nearly reached its limits, it is now time for the next generation of processor, which some researchers say will be engineered on the nanometer scale. But, how will they manipulate particles on such a minute scale? Before manipulating atoms into the desired position, researchers had to see them first. Researchers had to invent a microscope that would allow them to see atoms. In 1981, IBM researchers invented the Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM). (University of Wisconsin, 2008) This microscope allowed researchers to â€Å"see† atoms. As it turns out, in 1989, researchers found they could actually manipulate atoms into the desired position with the SPM. †¦researchers have been able to manipulate and stabilize atomic-size structures in such a way that they can persistently maintain the qualities needed to be classified as viable, though still strictly experimental, computational devices. † (Goth, 2012) Atoms are constantly moving, so catching one to move around was very difficult. The atoms needed to be cooled down to near absolute zero, to -450 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature where most atoms hardly move. The Scanning Probe Microscope (Nanooze, 2005) After cooling the atoms, researchers were able to use the SPM to move individual atoms to a specific location. One at a time, they moved the atoms into position to spell â€Å"IBM†. It took them nearly an entire day to do it. See image below: Atoms arranged to spell IBM (Nanooze, 2005) Since the first manipulation of atoms had been demonstrated, researchers have continued to move atoms into complicated configurations, as shown in the figure below. Depiction of a nanotechnology produced gear set (Wifinotes, n. d. ) After all the groundwork had been laid, computer researchers turned their attention to using nanotechnology in the computer world. Their first target was the microchip. Current microchip technology limits have nearly been reached and the researchers went to work shrinking the size of the processors . â€Å"†¦ etching [lithography] techniques can only take features so far – anything below 22nm is just not feasible. † (European Nanotechnology Gateway, n. d. ) Right now, the newest chipsets using lithographic etching are being produced with 65nm features. Intel has realized a 10-15% improvement in drive current, which means greater performance, through the use of nanotechnology. Meanwhile, at IBM, to aid the shrinking of the processors, â€Å"researchers have developed transistors from carbon nanotubes. †( European Nanotechnology Gateway, n. d. ) Carbon nanotubes show great improvements compared to conventional silicon transistors. â€Å"The carbon nanotubes are long, thin strands of carbon molecules. In the lab, they delivered more than double the amount of electrical current compared to the top-performing transistors currently on the market. †( European Nanotechnology Gateway, n. . ) â€Å"A single strand of carbon atoms (red)†¦contained in a multi-walled carbon nanotube. † (American Institute of Physics, 2003) Lithographic etching is being replaced with a new process called â€Å"block co-polymer lithography†, or BCP. Scientists have found a process to create nano-scale patterns that is expected to be used in the manufacture of microprocessors. Using the new process, silicon wafer features have been developed between five and 20 nanometers thick – much smaller than the current 65 nanometers. In the figure below, you can see an image of a nano-scale microprocessor created by the BCP process: (Nanotechnology, 2011) According to Nanotechnology – Future Technology: †¦with the use [of] nanotechnology, it could be possible to transform desktop computers into computers that are the size of a watch but with more operating capacity and they will also last longer than current computers†¦Computers with the capabilities of current workstations will be the size of a grain of sand and will be able to operate for decades with the equivalent of a single wristwatch battery. This technology advancement will make computers more abundant, cheaper to manufacture, faster, and smaller. (Nanotechnology – Future Technology, 2012) When a processor’s feature size is reduced, it uses less electricity and produces less heat, thereby becoming more efficient and economical to operate. Being more efficient and economical also means faster, more reliable overall performance of the computer. Conclusion Nanotechnology will provide the world with advancements in electronics along with many other fields, such as biology, chemistry and medicine. In the future, nanotechnology will play a major role in the discovery of new components, such as nano-sized microprocessors, and will enhance many other existing technologies. â€Å"Nanotechnology will be the major technology in [the]development of every machine in coming years. † (Wifinotes, n. d. ) Nanotechnology will greatly improve the functionality and performance of computers.