Strategies for Consumer Research

Strategies for Consumer Research Consumer research is a type of applied sociology that attempts to map and understand the way in which consumers behave and make decisions about the products that they purchase. This is absolutely fundamental to those managing marketing processes for an organisation. Understanding how consumers make the decision to purchase a particular item of goods or service is vital to the setting out of marketing plans for products. The research will also discover which marketing approaches are the most successful and, therefore, which ones should be repeated to attract attention[1]. Typically, this type of research is statistical in nature, pulling together all of the decision inputs that consumers will look at, before making decisions[2]. For example, factors such as availability, price, likely value growth and functionality will all play an important role in terms of consumer decision making. Traditional consumer research aims to be entirely objective in nature and is undertaken in an impartia l manner, attempting to form an understanding of the actual state of affairs in the given product market. However, more recently, there has been recognition that many consumers will simply make impulse purchases and that one specific set of inputs will not always produce the same result, as human perceptions and decision making processes vary considerably from individual to individual, depending on a range of factors that cannot be neatly placed into a scientific analysis[3]. Essentially, there are two key approaches to consumer research which are recognised and discussed in the research paper by Isabelle Szmigin and Gordon Foxall. Traditionally, consumer research theorists have argued that consumer research must naturally either centre on the interpretive approach or the positivist approach[4]. Szmigin and Foxall argued that a combination of the two approaches will produce the best approach. Critically, Szmigin and Foxall recognise that the real value in consumer research comes from the quality of the information that the research gives to the managers making the ongoing marketing decisions. This has arguably been a massively overlooked factor in consumer research. The ultimate goal for consumer research should surely be to give a definitive course of action for a marketing department to follow in order to gain the maximum possible consumer penetration. By arguing this point, Szmigin and Foxall successfully demonstrate that the ideal form of consumer res earch must take account of both scientific, objective decision making factors as well as the subjective and emotional decision making factors, if it is to gain a detailed and inclusive understanding of consumer behaviour[5]. There are arguably inherent positives and negatives to both approaches and these are discussed by Szmigin and Foxall, with varying degrees of conviction. Ultimately, however, the authors failed to reach a final conclusion as to which method offered the better approach and instead opted to conclude that a middle ground would be the best approach. In this paper, the question as to whether this conclusion is a true reflection of the position or whether the authors simply failed to find conclusive evidence and were thus forced to reach this conclusion due to the absence of any convincing suggestions to the contrary is evident[6]. Interpretive v Positivism The two different approaches under discussion are interpretative and positivistic, although it could also be seen as a debate between science and art[7]. Similarly, positivistic consumer research is more commonly referred to as quantitative research and interpretative research is referred to as qualitative research. This is a direct reflection of the statistical importance of the positivistic approach. With the positivist approach, a large group of individuals is studied with an attempt to draw one conclusive set of statistics that explain all consumer behaviour. The focus is very much on the four Ps, namely product, price, place or location and promotion. In the positivist approach, the basis for the research is that the four Ps will be the underlying factors that will make up the decision making process for consumers. These are all objective factors and take little or no account of dealing with personal preferences as displayed by individual consumers. During this process, a hypoth esis is drawn up which essentially sets out the claims which the research aims either to prove or disprove. This positivist approach is heavily statistically based and the questioning of consumers will aim towards gaining figure based results that can be displayed in the form of graphs. Similarly, the reliability of the findings is tested by statistical methods including ascertaining the significance level of the data. Whilst this method is seen as being potentially conclusive and providing statistical data that can be used in marketing techniques, it fundamentally misses the fact that humans behave in different ways even when faced with the same raw data. Different consumers will make different decisions and will place different relative values on the input factors detailed above. Interpretative research aims to take this factor into account. Research is focussed on a smaller group of individuals with the aim of mapping out consumer behaviour based on a range of more subjective factors such as those relating to cultural and sociological impacts[8]. With this approach, however, the personality and subjective beliefs of the researcher are much more likely to have an impact on the results of the research. Personalities and subjective thoughts will naturally vary depending on the consumer’s values and, with this in mind, there is a serious question as to what value this type of research can off er to marketing professionals within a company. Without any statistical patterns of behaviour, it can be very difficult for marketing professionals to determine a set of trends that can be accurately relied upon[9]. Interpretative Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research Szmigin and Foxall spent a large amount of their analysis considering whether the interpretative value has any merit and what it can offer in terms of additional value that this method offers the process of consumer research. Szmigin and Foxall recognised that papers relating to interpretative research are often seen as peripheral to positivistic research, offering little in the way of added value. This is, however, rightly discarded by the authors. The paper explains the concepts that have been developed surrounding the use of interpretative research. One of the most formative of these concepts is that indicated by Thompson[10], that interpretative research will come up with multiple possible worldviews rather than one individual ‘way of the world’, which was distinct from the positivistic approach. One of the central points determined by Szmigin and Foxall was that the interpretative approach accurately represented the complexities of human nature and that failure to consider this was a fatal flaw in the traditional positivistic approach[11]. Interestingly, the approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall, on the one hand, recognised the absolutely vital elements that the interpretative approach bring to the phenomenon that is essential for the complete understanding of consumer behaviour, but also gives credence to the way in which this approach is too value laden and thus not entirely reliable as a source of information for marketing professionals. The weakness of allowing subjective and internal states of the consumers to be taken into account is widely accepted by Szmigin and Foxall, yet despite this, there is a refusal to write off this approach, entirely[12]. One possible way of reconciling these opposing thoughts is that of considering the interpretative research methods as a way of ascertaining a range of several possible causes of action based on the range of potential consumer thought patterns from which positivistic research approaches can be used to narrow down the data into a more useful set of conclusions. It is this combination of the two approaches that Szmigin and Foxall focus on in reaching their conclusion. The approach, on the face of it, appears to be entirely logical given the data available. A Further Look at Interpretative Research Before simply accepting the proposition that the interpretative research approach offers additional supporting information to the more traditional approach, a greater analysis of the potential added value that can be obtained through the use of interpretative research is required. Klein Myers[13] argued that interpretative research is simply a way by which knowledge is obtained through consumer research. Rather than seeing interpretative research as a distinct method of conducting consumer research, it may be viewed as a way of filtering the information gathered through a set of cultural and social parameters. Interpretative research does not involve the pre-setting of parameters or any other variables; instead, it lets the social context influence the phenomenon. It seems that the approach of combing the two theories is powerful, but not in the way that Szmigin and Foxall identified. A paper by Bruce Rowlands[14] also explored the issue of the relative use of interpretative and positivistic approaches. However, in this case, it was concluded that the combination of the two approaches would be valuable but not simply because no conclusive conclusion relating to the choice of one over the other could be reached, but rather due to the fact that combining the two approaches can achieve the best of both worlds, in certain circumstances. In this case, it was held that the two approaches worked well together where the non constrained interpretative approach can be used within at least a certain set of boundaries (albeit loosely defined)[15]. Critically, this paper recognised that the problem with interpretative research is that reaching a meaningful conclusion can be virtually impossible, in many situations. This is down to the potential width of results that such an untargeted approach can cause. However, in this paper it was concluded by Bruce Rowlands that this difficulty could largely be overcome by setting at least basic parameters to guide the research in the first instance to ensure a degree of control in the research process[16]. By combining the findings of the Bruce Rowlands paper and that of the paper under current discussion, it is clear to see that there is at least some merit in the argument that the two methods can be successfully combined to offer rounded consumer research[17]. Positivistic Approach Analysis Based on Szmigin and Foxall’s Research It seems, from considering both the research as conducted by Szmigin and Foxall and other related research in the area, that it is generally thought that interpretative research methods have been developed to fill in the gaps of the positivistic approach. In order to explore this theory fully, the perceived weaknesses of the positivistic approach from the perspective of Szmigin and Foxall requires further consideration, as this will give a clear indication of the anticipated role of interpretative research methods. By establishing the weaknesses of the positivistic approach, it will then be possible to ascertain whether the use of interpretative research would indeed fill this gap and should, therefore, be considered as a means of offering a more complete consumer behaviour analysis[18]. Szmigin and Foxall saw that there were several inherent weaknesses in the positivistic approach. Firstly, it was identified that the underlying assumption that there is one reality that does not change; this is clearly unrealistic with consumers in a constant state of flux with ever changing external and internal decision factors. True positivism also works on the assumption that all consumers will make purchasing decision based on entirely reasoned factors with absolutely no input from irrational desires and impulse purchases. This is an over-simplistic view of the way in which consumers actually make decisions. It is well recognised that consumers will often make purchasing decision based on entirely irrational desires and, therefore, certain data patterns will be entirely meaningless, if only rational decision factors are considered. Szmigin and Foxall also recognised that in taking this concept of a single reality as encouraged by the positivistic approach, there is a danger that all other possible realities are excluded, thus potentially missing out other possibly valuable data sets. These main weaknesses in the positivistic approach are argued by Szmigin and Foxall to be the reason that interpretative research methods are necessary in order to fill in these gaps. These weaknesses are so substantial that it is accepted by Szmigin and Foxall that a positivistic approach is so fundamentally flawed that it alone cannot produce any meaningful data for the eventual users, namely the marketing manager in the relevant organisation. A Wider Look at the Positivistic Approach The positivistic or quantitative approach to consumer research is regarded as the traditional approach to consumer research; therefore, there is considerably more research available on the potential weaknesses to this area of research. Martin Callingham[19] stated that the main weakness in the use of qualitative approach is that, although input factors can be analysed against the actual outcome, there is no way, through using this direct data to ascertain whether the input factor was the actual cause of the witnessed outcome[20]. For example, if a company runs an advertising campaign and sees sales increase, the positivistic approach will show the statistical increase in sales, but will not show that it was the advertising campaign that drove this increase. The rise in sales will not necessarily be down to the advertising campaign; it could be down to a range of other cultural or social factors[21]. This failure to link cause and effect is the cited reason for the need to enhance the traditional positivistic approach[22]. Quantitative research is entirely science based with the emphasis on objectivity reliability and generalisations. Whilst this is clearly desirable in the field of research, consumer behaviour simply does not fall neatly within this scientific approach. There is positive value to be had in this approach, particularly when the aim of the research is to link directly some factor with base line results; it is both unbiased and objective with no values being derived from the researcher themselves. Despite this, the positivistic approach is clearly limited. Any variable that is not part of the model is totally disregarded and, as such, it is limited in its findings to the variables that are laid out in the original model[23]. Any fluidity of consumer behaviour will not be captured, which is an essential part of any consumer research project. It is this weakness that the use of interpretative research aims to manage and deal with by adding value to the overall research project[24]. Summary of Findings The need to expand upon the traditional positivistic approach has been clearly recognised by Szmigin and Foxall. The paper recognises that there are inherent weaknesses in both approaches to consumer research which render the use of one research method to the exclusion of the other, ineffective[25]. However the paper has been slightly unsatisfactory in the way in which it reaches this conclusion. The approach taken by Szmigin and Foxall involved the consideration of the weakness of both methods and, having concluded that both methods have fundamental flaws, it was then decided that the only possible solution was to use a combination of the two. This conclusion is agreed with; however, a slightly more positive approach to reaching this conclusion would have been welcome[26]. Other research papers have taken a more pragmatic approach by considering the difficulties and weaknesses with the traditional approach and then looking positively at whether or not the interpretative approach can suitably fill the gaps in a way that would improve the nature of the consumer research[27]. The weaknesses in the traditional approach of failing to consider discarded variables and of failing to link the cause and effect of behaviour have been duly noted by Szmigin and Foxall. Where the analysis falls down is that they do not then go on to consider fully how the interpretative approach could deal with these issues. It would seem, therefore, that by pulling together all of the relevant research in this area using an interpretative approach predominately yet with at least the basic controls such as those suggested by the positivistic approach, the best of both worlds will be achieved and the most comprehensive consumer research can be undertaken[28]. In summary, therefore, Szmigin and Foxall have reached the correct conclusion as to the importance of combining the two approaches, but the way in which this conclusion was reached could have been achieved in a more positive fashion rather than it being a default position which is what appears to have been the case with Szmigin and Foxall. Bibliography Anderson, Paul F., On method in consumer research: a critical relativist perspective, Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (Sept), 1986, 155-173. Belk, Russell W., Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006. Blumer, Herbert,, Symbolic Interactionsim, Englewood Cliffs: NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1967. Brown, Stephen, Marketing and literature: the anxiety of academic influence, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Jan), 1999, 1-15. Calder, Bobby J., Tybout, Alice M., Interpretive, qualitative , and traditional scientific empirical consumer behaviour research, in Hirschman, Elizabeth. C. (ed.), Interpretive Consumer Research, Provo, UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 199-208. Callingham, Martin, Market Intelligence: How and why Organizations Use Market Research, Kogan Page Publishers, 2004. Charmaz, Kathy, Between positivism and postmodernism: implications for methods, Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 17, 1995, 43-72. Cova, Bernard, Elliott , Richard, Everything you always wanted to know about interpretive consumer research but were afraid to ask, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Davies, Andrea, Fitchett, James A.,An Empirical Exposition of Paradigm Incommesurability in Consumer Research: Two Museum Studies Revisited, Proceedings of the EIASM Interpretive Consumer Research Conference, Brussels, May 2000. Firat, A. Fuat, Venkateash, Alladi, Liberatory postmodernism and the re-enachtment of consumption, Journal of Consumer Research, 22 (3), 1995, 239-67. Goulding, Christina, Consumer research, interpretive paradigms and methodological ambiguities, European Journal of Marketing, 33, 9/10, 1999, 859-873. Goulding, Christina, Grounded theory: the missing methodology on the interpretivist agenda, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 1(1), 1998, 50-57. Hackley, Christopher E., Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and Consumer Research, Routledge, 2003. Heath, Timothy B., The reconciliation of humanism and positivism in the practice of consumer research: a view from the trenches, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 20 (2), 1992, 107-118. Hirschman, Elizabeth. C., Scientific style and the conduct of consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (Sept), 1985. 225-239. Hirschman, Elizabeth C., Postmodern Consumer Research. The Study of Consumption as Text, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992. Hoffman, Donna, Holbrook, Morris B., The intellectual structure of consumer research: a bibliographic study of author cocitations in the first 15 years of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (March), 1993,505-517. Hogg, Margaret K., Maclaran, Pauline, Rhetorical issues in writing interpretivist consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Hudson, Laurel A., Ozanne, Julie L., Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (March), 1988, 508-521. Hunt, Shelby. D., Positivism and paradigm dominance in consumer research: towards critical pluralism and rapprochement, Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (June), 1991, 32-44. Klein, H., Myers, M., A Set of Principals for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, 23, 1, 1999, 67-94. Leong, Siew M., Sheth, Jagdish N., Tan, Ching T., An empirical study of the scientific styles of marketing academics, European Journal of Marketing, 28 (8/9), 1994, 12-26. Lutz, Richard J., Positivism, naturalism and pluralism in consumer research: paradigms in paradise, in Advances in Consumer Research,16 ed. Srull, Thomas, Provo:UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 1-7. McQuarrie, Edward F. Glen-Mick, David, On resonance : a critical pluralistic inquiry into advertising rhetoric, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (Sept), 1992, 180-197. Nancarrow, Clive, Moskvin, Alexander, Shankar, Avi, Bridging the great divide the transfer of techniques (qualitative and quantitative techniques), Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 14 (6), 1996, 27-37. Rowlands, Bruce H., Grounded in Practice: Using Interpretive Research to Build Theory, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 3, 1, 2005, 81-92. Schiffman, Leon G., Hansen, Havard, Kanuk, Leslie Lazar, Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook, Pearson Education, 2008. Silverman, David , Qualitative Research, Theory, Methods and Practice, London: Sage, 1997. Solomon, Michael R., Bamossy, Gary, Askergaard, Soren, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. The VOICE Group, Reflections on collaboration in interpretive consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008. Thompson, Craig J., Eureka! and other tests of significance: a new look at evaluating interpretive research, Advances in Consumer Research, 17, eds. Goldberg, Marvin, Gorn, Gerald, Pollay, Richard, 1990, 25-30. Footnotes [1] Nancarrow, Clive, Moskvin, Alexander, Shankar, Avi, Bridging the great divide the transfer of techniques (qualitative and quantitative techniques), Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 14 (6), 1996, 27-37. [2] Hackley, Christopher E., Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and Consumer Research, Routledge, 2003 [3] Silverman, David, Qualitative Research, Theory, Methods and Practice, London: Sage, 1997 [4] Schiffman, Leon G., Hansen, Havard, Kanuk, Leslie Lazar, Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook, Pearson Education, 2008 [5] Hogg, Margaret K., Maclaran, Pauline, Rhetorical issues in writing interpretivist consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008 [6] Hudson, Laurel A., Ozanne, Julie L., Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (March), 508-521, 1988 [7] Hirschman, Elizabeth. C., Scientific style and the conduct of consumer research, Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (Sept), 1985, 225-239, 18 [8] Solomon, Michael R., Bamossy, Gary, Askergaard, Soren,, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999 [9] Calder, Bobby J., Tybout, Alice M., Interpretive, qualitative, and traditional scientific empirical consumer behaviour research in Hirschman, Elizabeth. C. (ed.), Interpretive Consumer Research, Provo, UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1989, 199-208 [10] Thompson, Craig J., Eureka! and other tests of significance: a new look at evaluating interpretive research, Advances in Consumer Research, 17, eds. Goldberg, Marvin, Gorn, Gerald, Pollay, Richard, 25-30, 1990. [11] The VOICE Group, Reflections on collaboration in interpretive consumer research, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11, 2, 2008 [12] Davies, Andrea, Fitchett, James A., An Empirical Exposition of Paradigm Incommesurability in Consumer Research: Two Museum Studies Revisited, Proceedings of the EIASM Interpretive Consumer Research Conference, Brussels, May 2000. [13] Klein, H., Myers, M., A Set of Principals for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly, 23, 1,,1999, 67-94 [14] Rowlands, Bruce H., Grounded in Practice: Using Interpretive Research to Build Theory, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 3, 1, 2005 (81-92) [15] Brown, Stephen, Marketing and literature: the anxiety of academic influence, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Jan), 1-15, 1999 [16] Hoffman, Donna, Holbrook, Morris B.,The intellectual structure of consumer research: a bibliographic study of author cocitations in the first 15 years of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (March),1993, 505-517. [17] Cova, Bernard, Elliott, Richard, Everything you always wanted to know about interpretive consumer research but were afraid to ask, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 11,2, 2008 [18] Hirschman, Elizabeth C., Postmodern Consumer Research. The Study of Consumption as Text, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992. [19] Callingham, Martin, Market Intelligence: How and why Organizations Use Market Research, Kogan Page Publishers, 2004 [20] Hunt, Shelby. D., Positivism and paradigm dominance in consumer research: towards critical pluralism and rapprochement, Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (June), 1991, 32-44. [21] McQuarrie, Edward F., Glen-Mick, David , 1992, On resonance : a critical pluralistic inquiry into advertising rhetoric, Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (Sept), 1992, 180-197. [22] Anderson, Paul F.,On method in consumer research: a critical relativist perspective, Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (Sept), 1986, 155-173. [23] Heath, Timothy B.,The reconciliation of humanism and positivism in the practice of consumer research: a view from the trenches, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 20 (2), 1992, 107-118. [24] Leong, Siew M., Sheth, Jagdish N., Tan, Ching T., An empirical study of the scientific styles of marketing academics, European Journal of Marketing, 28 (8/9), 1994, 12-26. [25] Goulding, Christina, Consumer research, interpretive paradigms and methodological ambiguities, European Journal of Marketing, 33, 9/10, 1999, 859-873. [26] Belk, Russell W., Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006 [27] Charmaz, Kathy, Between positivism and postmodernism: implications for methods, Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 17, 1995, 43-72. [28] Lutz, Richard J., â€Å"Positivism, naturalism and pluralism in consumer research: paradigms in paradise, in Advances in Consumer Research, 16, ed. Srull, Thomas, Provo:UT: Association of Consumer Research, 1-7, 1989

The Classic of Poetry

The Classic of Poetry is a collection of old Chinese literature that has been rewritten and renamed into the Book of Songs/Odes. (â€Å"Norton Anthology of World Literature† 812) This collection of poems seemed to become popular around the beginning of Confucianism. Confucianism is the concept of centering one’s life or work on authority figures, family, and friends. The expression of Confucianism is best seen in the work of Tu Fu. Confucianism is wide spread throughout the Classic of Poetry.Confucianism is brought out in the poetry because it focuses on education, political views, and social views. Education in the poetry helped to spread the ideas or moral values and knowledge to the people of China. (â€Å"Norton Anthology of World Literature† 812) Political and social views were also spread because it seemed to give the Chinese people an outlook of their own political system and how the system was used to run the different Chinese dynasties. The Classic of Po etry spread through China like wildfire and was first recognized the most by the Chou society. â€Å"Norton Anthology of World Literature† 812) Confucius wanted the poetry to get a reaction from people and for people to be able to get actual perceptions from reading the poetry. The idea was for the reader to be able to put themselves in the author’s brain as if the reader is physically seeing what the author describes. The Classic of Poetry is compiled of simple poetry it essentially lays out the reality of â€Å"early Chinese Civilization. † (Norton Anthology of World Literature† 813) Also read: Platos Attack on PoetryDifferent works in the Classic of Poetry truly do seem very simple but when reading between the lines it is easy to find the poem’s true meaning. â€Å"Fishhawk† is an excellent example of poetry that appears to be simple, but in reality it has a deep meaning. â€Å"Fishhawk† is a poem about a female that is watching her husband have an affair with a much younger woman from a distance. The woman is hurt and angered but will stay with her husband until the end of her/his days because that is what is expected. She would not dare to leave her husband even though there is infidelity in the marriage. Stewart) There seems to be an unwritten understanding that marriage in the Chinese culture is sacred even if there is no physical attraction between the husband and wife. Marriage is a sacred bond and one would never enter into divorce. Popol Vuh is a compilation of stories from the â€Å"Quiche people of Guatemala. † (â€Å"Norto n Anthology of World Literature† 3076) Popol Vuh is full of â€Å"mythological narratives and a genealogy of the rulers of the Post-Classic Quiche Maya kingdom of highland Guatemala. (Vopus) The Popol Vuh is made of stories merged together to create an epic and â€Å"may be called novelistic. † (â€Å"Norton Anthology of World Literature† 3076) The Popol Vuh also has comparisons to those in â€Å"The Bible† since it covers creation of the Earth and the living creatures on the earth. â€Å"The Bible† explains how God made the Heavens and the Earths and Popol Vuh explains how gods made the Earth, placed in in the sky, and populated the Earth with living creatures. The comparison between â€Å"The Bible† and Popol Vuh is perhaps the biggest comparison that can be made since there are various similarities. The Bible† covers the great flood and how God was angered by the sins of mankind and He destroyed the Earth and everyone except Noah an d his family and the animals on the ark. Popol Vuh gods were also angered by mankind and sent a flood to destroy them as well. The mythology aspect in the Popol Vuh is perhaps a passed down story from â€Å"The Bible† that is told according to the Quiche people. Clearly there are enough similarities to bring truth to â€Å"The Bible† and the story of creation and the flood. Popol Vuh genealogy is depicted through the family ties.The twins Hunahu and Xbalanque are the main focus of the story’s genealogy. The twins have a family line that is involved throughout the Popol Vuh. Part Three of the Popol Vuh goes back to an earlier time in history when Hun-Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu, the father and uncle of the twins, were defeated in the underworld and were buried in the ball court. Hun-Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu were great ball players as were the twins Hunahu and Xbalanque. The genealogical connections are that the family as a whole were good ball players and were app arently good at defeating others.There is a family tie there that cannot be broken and is strong bond. The Classic of Poetry and the Popol Vuh are both amazing works of world literature. Each of these works has made its mark on two very different cultures and societies. The Chinese culture is one that is strong and true in morals and knowledge following Confucianism. The Quiche also seemed to be focused on strong morals and religions as a whole. Bibliography Stewart, Summer. † Women: The Hips of Ancient Chinese and Egyptian Cultures. † . N. p. , n. d. Web. 22 Jul 2012. lt;http://voices. yahoo. com/women-hips-ancient-chinese-egyptian- cultures-5713174. html>. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Second. A. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. , 2002. 812. Print. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Second. C. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. , 2002. 812. Print. Vopus, . â€Å"Popol Vuh – The Sacred Book of The Mayas. † . N. p. , n. d. Web. 22 Jul 2012. .

A Comparison of Prayer Before Birth, the Tyger and...

English Literature Coursework Prayer Before Birth, The Tyger, and Half-past Two are poems which explore encounters between the speaker, or a character, and a force that is greater than he is. How do the three poets develop and contemplate this experience? Prayer before Birth, The Tyger and Half-past Two are three poems which explore an encounter between the character and a force much greater than he is. The first, by Louis MacNeice, uses imagery of religion and innocence to present God as a higher power acting above us, whilst The Tyger, by William Blake, describes the creation of the tiger and who its creator might be, again showing God as immensely powerful, but in this case he is shown as intimidating and frightening. Half-past Two,†¦show more content†¦Blake also uses the image of god as a blacksmith forging and creating the spirit, body and brain of the tiger. He uses phrases such as â€Å"What the hammer?†, â€Å"in what furnace was thy brain?† and â€Å"anvil† to paint this image. This brings up the idea of someone else, an external force, creating our brain, what we use to control ourselves, and therefore controlling us. Such an idea reminds us of Prayer Before Birth and the child not wishing to be controlled by society or by other men. The idea of an unstoppable force creating, forming us and our world is also present in Ted Hughes’ ‘Wind’, which presents the weather as a forger of the landscape with phrases such as â€Å"woods crashing through darkness†, â€Å"the hills had new places†, â€Å"the fields quivering†. These expressions show how the storm has deformed and recreated the land, thus bringing back the idea of a peripheral overwhelming power lurking over us. In both these poems a dark, heavy atmosphere is present, created by the subjects of death, destruction and terror with the use of vocabulary such as â€Å"burning†, â€Å"deadly†, â€Å"blood-baths†, â€Å"murder† or â€Å"kill†. This morbid language creates in both texts a fear of unknown forces acting upon the speaker. However, the two poems present different views of this force; in Prayer Before Birth, the child is frightened of the world and what lies outside waiting for him; his fear is much more accentuated as a

Facts About Idaho

Capital: BoisePopulation: 1,584,985 (2011 estimate)Largest Cities: Boise, Nampa, Meridian, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Caldwell, Coeur dAlene and Twin FallsBordering States and Countries: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Canada Area: 82,643 square miles (214,045 sq km)Highest Point: Borah Peak at 12,668 feet (3,861 m) Idaho is a state located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and shares borders with the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada (map). A small part of Idahos border is also shared with the Canadian province of British Columbia. The capital and largest city in Idaho is Boise. As of 2011, Idaho is the sixth fastest growing state in the U.S. behind Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Georgia and Utah. The following is a list of ten geographic facts to know about the state of Idaho: 1) Archaeological evidence shows that humans have been present in the region of Idaho for many thousands of years and some of the oldest human artifacts in North America have been found near Twin Falls, Idaho (Wikipedia.org). The first non-native settlements in the region were predominantly those of French Canadian fur trappers and both the United States and Great Britain claimed the area (which was then a part of the Oregon Country) in the early 1800s. In 1846 the U.S. gained control over the area and from 1843 to 1849 it was under the control of Oregons government. 2) On July 4, 1863 the Idaho Territory was created and included present-day Idaho, Montana and parts of Wyoming. Lewiston, its capital, became the first permanent town in Idaho when it was established in 1861. This capital was later moved to Boise in 1865. On July 3, 1890 Idaho became the 43rd state to enter the United States. 3) The 2011 estimated population for Idaho was 1,584,985 people. According to the 2010 Census about 89% of this population was White (usually also includes the category of Hispanic), 11.2% was Hispanic, 1.4% was American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% was Asian, and 0.6% was Black or African American (U.S. Census Bureau). Of this total population, approximately 23% belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 22% is Evangelical Protestant and 18% is Catholic (Wikipedia.org). 4) Idaho is one of the most sparsely populated states in the U.S. with a population density of 19 people per square mile or 7.4 people per square kilometer. The capital and largest city in the state is Boise with a city population of 205,671 (2010 estimate). The Boise-Nampa Metropolitan area which includes the cities of Boise, Nampa, Meridian and Caldwell has a population of 616,561 (2010 estimate). Other large cities in the state include Pocatello, Coeur dAlene, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls. 5) In its early years, Idahos economy was focused on fur trading and later metal mining. After becoming a state in 1890 however its economy shifted toward agriculture and forestry. Today Idaho has a diversified economy that still includes forestry, agriculture and gem and metal mining. Some of the states main agricultural products are potatoes and wheat. The largest industry in Idaho today however is the high tech science and technology sector and Boise is known for its semiconductor manufacturing, and also features great schools like Boise State University. 6) Idaho has a total geographic area of 82,643 square miles (214,045 sq km) and it borders six different U.S. states and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is completely landlocked and it is considered a part of the Pacific Northwest. 7) The topography of Idaho varies from but it is mountainous throughout much of its area. The highest point in Idaho is Borah Peak at 12,668 feet (3,861 m) while its lowest point is in Lewiston at the confluence of the Clearwater River and the Snake River. The elevation in this location is 710 feet (216 m). The rest of Idahos topography consists mainly of fertile high elevation plains, large lakes and deep canyons. Idaho is home to Hells Canyon that was carved out by the Snake River. It is the deepest canyon in North America. 8) Idaho is home to two different time zones. Southern Idaho and cities such as Boise and Twin Falls are in the Mountain Time Zone, while the panhandle part of the state north of the Salmon River is in the Pacific Time Zone. This region includes the cities of Coeur dAlene, Moscow and Lewiston. 9) Idahos climate varies based on location and elevation. The western parts of the state have a milder climate than the eastern portions. Winters are generally cold throughout the state but its lower elevations are milder than its mountainous regions and summers are generally warm to hot throughout. Boise for example is located in the southern part of the state and sits at an elevation of about 2,704 feet (824 m). Its January average low temperature is 24Â ºF (-5Â ºC) while its July average high temperature is 91Â ºF (33Â ºC) (Wikipedia.org). By contrast, Sun Valley, a mountainous resort city in central Idaho, is at an elevation of 5,945 feet (1,812 m) and has an average January low temperature of 4Â ºF (-15.5Â ºC) and an average July high of 81Â ºF (27Â ºC) (city-data.com). 10) Idaho is known as being both the Gem State and the Potato State. It is known as the Gem State because almost every type of gemstone has been mined there and it is the only place where the star garnet has been found outside of the Himalaya Mountains. To learn more about Idaho visit the states official website.