Royal Selangor IT System And Cloud Computing

Royal Selangor IT System And Cloud Computing 1. Introduction This report is commissioned by the request of Royal Selangor International (RS) for the purpose of analyzing existing IT infrastructure and draw out recommendations for RS to adopt to cloud computing technology. The current IT infrastructure that operates RSs business processes are analyzed. Data for the analysis are collected through interviews with RS management representatives. Based on these data and comparison with available cloud computing solutions, recommendation on the adoption of cloud computing are derived for RSs considerations. 1.1. Background Royal Selangors core business is retailing pewter artifacts and jewelleries. RS is a private owned company manufacturing and retailing fine quality pewter artifacts products worldwide and is now the largest pewter artifacts producer in the world. Founded in 1885 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, RS has expanded leaps and bounds to international recognition and has won several prestigious awards. The company recently celebrated its 125 years anniversary. The homepage URL of the Royal Selangor is http://www.royalselangor.com RS currently operates 3 brands under the company. RS on its own crafts and retails the pewter artifacts, Selberan which retails fine jewellery and Comyns, a brand that has 350 years old legacy in silversmiths. (Bernama 2011) RSs products are marketed through 3 channels as follows; RS owned flagship stores which are located at prominent shopping districts around the world, including London, Tokyo, Melbourne and Toronto. Distribution network to reputable retailers around the world. Online shop that serves both distributors and customers. The major part of RSs success is through the online retailing. RS are the pioneer in setting up its business for online shopping. It has enabled RS to spread its business internationally to distributors and also directly to end users. RS was awarded the CIO award in 2001 which recognizes the genius is IT implementation and strategy. (International 2001) The online shop has also provided RS channel to communicate with the customer and improves its services. RS has also established worldwide offices with warehousing facilities in major markets such as Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Britain and North America.   1.2. Corporate Structure RS is a family run business since it was first founded in 1885. Through 4 generations, the business has been passed on to succeeding family members. RS organization structure for the manufacturing business is as per Attachment A. The Managing Director is supported by two General Managers, managing and overlooking the entire operations from raw materials, production, research and development, marketing, e-commerce up to distribution and international marketing. Each section operates on its IT system for reporting and thorough tracking of the raw materials up to storage and distribution. Further detail analysis of the IT system of RS will be captured in Part 2. RSs Company Policy states the ambition of the company to maintain its status among the forerunners of the industry and to strive for excellence by being ahead of competition. In align with this policy, RS has adapted well with new IT systems to further improve its services to the customers. This is proven when RS opened its online store 10 years ago in 1996 while many industry players are still skeptical about online store. (Yee 2007) RS has structured its operations to run on a systematic IT infrastructure. Business processes of the group include the following: Financial department Human resource management Manufacturing Distribution Marketing Warehousing Customer relation management. 2. IT Infrastructure With over 1000 different products to be manufactured and distributed across local branches in Malaysia and also to 20 other countries directly, RS requires a system that could provide up-to-date and accurate information to the people involved. RS had embarked on various marketing strategies to expand the organisation and in the year 1996, ventured into the e-commerce with RS online shop and website promotion and advertising (International 2001). The subsequent business strategies, marketing, e-commerce system and web development have since been developed in-house to the specific needs of the organisation and RS wanting more control in its development and deployment. (Yoon Kit, Yong 2011, pers. comm., 1 April) Critical business processes especially for manufacturing and the retailing are being integrated and streamlined for speedier processing and better performance for the organisation. For the manufacturing department, integration and real-time updating of information for raw materials, work-in-progress and final goods are vital for the organisation to be leaner. Enterprise applications have the capability to provide accurate buying trends of customers and the information gathered have translate into a better inventory management for the organisation and also to the customers. As for the design team, IT is needed to speed up the design period and can help to transform new ideas into great products. Design information can be used for quick and clear generation of manufacturing ready drawings and used for virtual prototyping. All this can offer distinct advantage to RS over their competitors such as new products were created in pewter with an additional animated storybook. (Bao Shan, Yip 2011, pers. comm., 3 April) Retailing staff will benefit from the information on customers and also inventory to better serve the customer. Fast response and also delivery scheduling can help the retail staff to close sales deal quicker. Besides that, online marketing tools such as social networking are used to promote products actively. For RS, the strategic role of IT is very clear and it is for creating a competitive advantage over their competitors. (Yee 2007) 2.1. Computer Hardware Platforms For the routine tasks, desktop computers and laptops from Dell and HP running on Intel or AMD processors are provided. For the design team, Apple IMac is used as it is more suited for the modelling and designing purposes.   The mainframes are located in-house and consist of HP and Dell servers. These are dedicated for the critical applications such as the enterprise resource planning system (ERP), Storage Area Network, private automatic branch exchange (PABX) and the network systems between the offices and also the online shop. Cashiers at the respective branches are utilizing Point of Sales (POS) Terminals connected to the main servers for daily transaction processing. 2.2. Operating System Platforms For the general desktop computing or client level, RS is using Windows based operating system to manage the resources and activities of the computers. The Apple computers are supported with IMac OS X system. For the servers, RS is using Samba / Linux Server OS systems which are open sourced and it is easily adaptable to different servers and software. Centralised updates and patches are provided in-house by RS IT staff. 2.3. Enterprise Software Application RS is currently using the Baan ERP system and it was deployed in the year 1999. The system is used mainly in manufacturing, finance, human resource and warehousing. The Baan Client is running on the Windows based operating system. The selection of Baan was based on the capability of the manufacturing module of the Baan ERP system. 2.4. Networking / Telecommunication RS requires a reliable network and telecommunications setup because of the global presence and extensive distribution channels to more than 20 countries such as Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and United States of America. Locally, there are about 21 outlets nationwide. They are using Unifi fibre optics broadband services provided by Telekom Malaysia. This is for the standard activities such as internet and correspondences and the network is managed via Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite. As for the dedicated leased line, it is connected to the offices and branches via the Cisco Networks. Cisco Core Switch provides the entire organisation connectivity for their Enterprise Data Routing and with the switching capability of the Intelligent Bandwidth helps to ensure optimum availability to their office and branches worldwide. Inter-office communication is using Lotus Notes as the integrated desktop client option for accessing e-mail and calendaring. The main office is utilizing PABX phone system which is able to support an enterprise wide phone and fax machines where as the branches are connected via standard public switched telephone networks. 2.5. Data management and Storage The Data management and storage for RS is quite large as it is to ensure that all product designs are archived and kept for future reference. The other requirement of the organisation is to provide a shared folder running on the server as the depository of the new product designs in use by the organisation. The major usage of a 20 tetrabyte space is for the designs of the products and the accessibility of the information by various departments. Baan ERP application and database usage accounts for about 200 gigabyte space and the Lotus Notes application takes up about 150 gigabyte space. The physical hardware for the storage comes from various original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sources and the main supplier is Dell. The hardware components are Dell / EMC CX3 which is utilizing Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)/Fibre hard disk for key production system. 2.6. Internet Platforms The key internet sites for RS are the online shop/e-commerce and the visitor center homepage. The other sites under the group are Comyns and Selberan which is also under the support of RS IT department. The web site was built with customers in mind it is to be used as a two-way communication channel for customers, as well as a one-to-one marketing and fulfilment tool. The web hosting of these sites has been outsourced to CSC to ensure service availability and network latency. These webhosting servers are running on the latest iteration of Microsoft IIS Servers. The website are maintained with Linux / Apache / MySQL / Perl/PHP/Python package as it is open-source and it is easily adaptable to suit RS applications. 2.7. Consultants and System Integrators Most of the system integration work is done in house leveraging on the knowledge available. Currently, RS is getting external consultant support for the Baan ERP systems when required. The e-commerce system initially was out sourced but due to the specific needs of the organisation, it is now fully developed and maintained in house. Others system integrators or consultants are being appointed when necessary. Issues that were identified are as follows:- To ensure interoperability between each systems. RS have basically two systems to ensure its interoperability which are the CRM and the ERP applications. As for the other platforms such as servers and data center, the software used are open source whereby customisation would be easier. Ensure constant communication and connection between shared information worldwide. The need to access to data and inventory in real-time and reliably. Maintain a well integrated and smooth supply chain especially for the online shop. It needs to be updated constantly and best practices are to be employed and cascade down to the operation levels. Implementation will be a major stumbling block due to the manufacturing processes being labour intensive. Maintenance of software and hardware systems 24/7. For storage, the challenge is managing the data and managing the systems that house the data. Software tools that track and manage storage resources efficiently are in high demand for these reasons. IT staff retention proved to be difficult. Internally, the IT department is supporting on hardware troubleshooting whereas the service or troubleshooting support will be provided by the external team of consultants. The current staff skill is sufficient to maintain and operate the system effectively. However, the staff education at the operator level is still lacking. Constant training and retraining is required. Cost reduction is actively pursued whenever there is chance as budget is always constrained. Since data storage continues to grow at 40% to 60% per year, the challenge is amplified to try to get the most from any new storage purchase. Challenges that are constantly faced by RS are listed below and a few are being actively pursued by RS. To maintain operation excellence in the whole value chain design, manufacture, distribution and retailing not only locally but also worldwide. Leaner production and shorter processing time and delivery schedules are key focus area for continuous improvements. (International 2001) To innovate and re-invent the â€Å"wheel† for the retailing and marketing of the products by using IT. Constantly RS need to find ways to market their products as the current marketing channel in local and overseas retail shops, on-line shop, corporate customers and the visitor center / showroom is not adequate. Currently each competitor in pewter ware has their very own website and they are promoting their products on line, retails shops and also at their main showroom (Tumasek 2011). RS have to look at the industry of premium giftware as well which would consider a worldwide market. Search Engine Optimisation programs, partnership with search engines and partnerships with other websites are areas to focus more in order to penetrate further into the international market. (Shankar 2003) To retain customers and to attract new customers are important. Major competitors such as Tumasek, Oriental Pewter, Mariwasa and Pewter Arts are constantly challenging RS. New designs and faster production and roll-out of products would ensure a greater market share. Providing better and more personal touch to customer service will benefit in the long run as customers would have greater perception of the product not only in terms of quality but also the service that comes with it. (Shankar, 2003) To constantly review the business strategies and if necessary upgrade or adapt the current system based on the specific needs of the organisation. The final call is that any new product or system purchased should move towards lower costs, better processes and common management.(Yee 2007) Strategies such as using setting up websites in native languages of the country they are going to market the product. Open source plays an important role with the servers in RS. (Yoon Kit, Yong 2011, pers. comm., 1 April) Most of the infrastructure servers are on Linux which gives flexibility in rolling out new servers as well as replicating our administration. RS uses a lot of the virtual machine ware so it is now easier to deploy new test and production servers on demand without having to submit capital expenditure and commission new machines. Constant updating of information and also skills related to open source would be vital for RS. 3. Cloud Computing   Cloud computing obtained its name from the metaphor for internet which represents an area on the network that resides outside (cloud) but is required to make the network complete. The control of the cloud is an external partys concern which is hosted and maintained by other parties and does not need the interference of the internal parties (Velte et al. 2010, p. 3). Examining the Cloud computing, it is basically a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. These resources include networks, servers, storage, applications, and services that can be provided to the customers to assist its daily operations. As explained in NIST document, Cloud computing consists of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models (Mell Grance January 2011, pp. 2-3). The 5 Essential Characteristics On-demand self-service. Services are available to the customer at all times and without any need for intervention by the service provider. Broad network access. The system is web based and can be accessed from any internet enabled device such as through mobile devices, thin or thick client platforms. Resource pooling. The provider of the cloud computing services uses physical or virtual resources to serve multiple customers with different needs. The customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources. Rapid elasticity. Customers can scale up or scale down according to their own requirements. Additional services can be purchased at any time. Measured service. Customers accessing the system are easily tracked and controlled by means of storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts. The 3 Service Models Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The provider offers an application that the customer can be accessed by different client platforms such as a normal client computer. The software is web based and does not reside in the customers computers. The devices only need to interface via a thin client interface such as the Web browser. The consumer does not need to physically install the software. Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the customer to develop applications using the programming languages and tools provided by the provider. The customer will only have control of the application developed using the platform provided. Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The provider only provides the infrastructure to the customer. The customer controls its own software and applications but has no control over the cloud infrastructure. The 4 Deployment Models Private cloud. The cloud services are provided to only one organization. Community cloud. The cloud services are shared by few organizations Public cloud. The cloud services are made available to the general public or a large industry group and are owned by an organization selling cloud services. Hybrid cloud. The mixture of two or more cloud deployment models which runs on a standard or propriety technology. To summarize the definition of cloud computing, it is where software, platform or infrastructure services that are made available to the customers at all times. The customers have relieved itself from the concerns of operating and maintaining the physical aspects of the system and enable them to focus on its core competencies.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Before exploring the adoption of Royal Selangor with cloud computing, the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing will be explored in following chapters below to examine further the key positives that will help the company. Figure 3.1 illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud Computing. 3.1. Advantages of Cloud Computing 3.1.1. Financial Benefits Cloud computing provides new solutions for all sizes of businesses and industries. When modern businesses looks for ways to cut operating cost without losing much productivity, cloud computing serves to be a key part to assist the business to achieve the target. By improving server utilization and decreasing the number of servers, significant cost reductions can be seen and additionally, future capital expenditure can be controlled. Normally servers are designed to have redundancy as well as spares for future expansions. This translates to capital expenditures spent for facilities that are not utilized. Cloud computing provides enables the customer to only pay the amount of usages utilized which translates to cost reductions.   Also, theres a reduction in physical server depreciation cost. As pointed out above, fewer servers maintained by the company means less depreciation costs. In addition, it also directly reflects to energy consumption and facilities cost. Reduced servers require less energy to operate and smaller facilities. When a true comparison is done, using a fully cost model, the decision weighs more favourably towards cloud computing. And when the other advantages are taken into account then cloud computing can really stack up as a viable option (Group 2009, p. 6) . 3.1.2. Technological benefits Cloud computing has the ability for the system to expand and contract automatically based on the demand of the customer. For software, new users can be assigned to the system and start using almost immediately without much complications. The resource platforms such as storage, networks and servers are available on-demand and again do not require much intervention or effort by the customer to prepare the system. More significantly is the redundancy and back-up system available to the customer, ensuring that the data are safe and protected. 3.1.3. Operational benefits In terms of operations benefits, this can be referred as outsourcing the IT system and delegating the risk management. Service providers have to ensure that the system is available at any time and redundancy provided. The problems that have been concerns for companies running physical hardware, servers and data centers can now shift the risks to the service provider. Access to the system is also improved as it can be accessed from anywhere through an internet enabled device. This improved operation excellence as data are always available at anywhere, anytime to the users of cloud computing. 3.1.4. Environmental Benefits By using lesser servers through servers consolidation, energy consumption of the IT system is drastically decreased. This translates to lower and more efficient energy consumption. 3.1.5. Competitive Advantage Businesses can be more competitive by adopting to cloud computing. Cloud computing provide a quick and efficient start up for any small or medium size businesses. This enables them to have almost similar capacity as larger established companies in terms of IT systems. Also, with data easily available, it enables businesses in general to be more agile and response quicker to market. 3.2. Disadvantages of Cloud Computing While the advantages of cloud look promising, there are also disadvantages to the cloud services such as below:- 3.2.1. Security issues There is a need to look at the security aspect for cloud. The security risks that come with cloud computing ranges from user access, recovery, regulatory compliance and long term viability.   Sensitive data processed/stored externally brings with it an inherent level of risk, because outsourced services bypass the physical, logical and personnel controls† from in-house programs. The controls of user access and also content management access would need to be transparent and clear so customers are not worried about their data being compromised. (Brodkin 2008) 3.2.2. Lack of control For cloud computing, the hardware and software could be based in multiple locations all around the world compare to in-house systems. The control on the storage and security of the data will be the under the jurisdiction of the cloud vendor and users do not have much control over it. Performance and upgrading of the applications and data protection will be relying on the timeliness or scheduling of the vendors to update their software. 3.2.3. Lock-in to cloud vendors Users should be aware of the risk of lock-in to the cloud vendors. The consideration will be on whether in the future there is the need for changes or replacement of the software/platform/infrastructure selected initially and thus switching cost will be incurred. Based on the three types of cloud computing, the service and platform will have some sort of impact and difficulty if there is a need to change vendors. Selection of vendors that provide minimum lock-in should be preferred. (Petri 2010) There is also the need to ensure that the data that is held with the vendor will remain available even if they have been acquired or merge with other larger vendors. 3.2.4. Reliability on cloud functionality Cloud vendors based their business on providing high up-time and downtimes should be kept to a minimum. Overall hardware and network reliability from cloud vendors are considered to be at par or above par comparing to the average data center. However, there are instances when there is downtime and this would be considered to be unacceptable if it is too long and economic losses are being factored in. A few vendors will have strict service level agreements (SLAs) that provide themselves with a method of controlling the downtime. (ENKI 2011) Besides the downtime from servers, we need to look at the downtime created due to non internet service such as connection and bandwidth availability. There might be problem when the internet connection is not available or not sufficient to support the functionality of the applications. This would totally render the cloud application a total failure. 3.2.5. Data segregation Data stored in the cloud is generally in a shared environment and it is placed within the same location as other users. There is the need to ensure that the data is fully secured and only the authorised user can access it and the cloud provider should proof that encryption schemes were designed and tested by experienced specialists. Data can be totally unusable if there is complication during the de-cryption procedure. (Brodkin 2008) 3.2.6. Recovery of Data and Services There would be difficulty in accessing the data and service provided in the cloud as the user would not have any information on where the data is or how it is being stored. In the event of disaster, the cloud provider would need to setup a proper data recovery or restoration. There would be question on when can be data be ready for use once they initiate the recovery process. (Brodkin 2008) 4. Recommendation of cloud computing adoption/adaption The findings from above are analyzed against the factors that forms the Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure (Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 223). This will provide an outline of RSs requirement to adopt cloud computing as its IT infrastructure. 4.1. Market demand for organisations services Internet sales have always been the forefront business of RS. 80% of RSs sales are from the online shop. (Yee 2007) Considering future trends, the e-commerce will keep on expanding and improving. The market demand is and has proven to be in abundance for RS to venture. With cloud computing, RSs operation can be more streamlined and improved and meet customers demands. 4.2. RS business strategy RS strive to be the best pewter manufacturer in the world and maintain its competitive edge over competitors. (Khay Chong, Saw 2011, pers. comm., 5 April) 4.3. RS IT strategy, infrastructure and cost RS plans to use IT to gain competitive edge over their competitors and to maintain their market position. The strategy has proven to be useful as it was acknowledge by the CIO Asia Award in 2001 and Intelligent Enterprise: Asias Intelligent 20 award for the E-commerce operations.(International 2001) Ventures into social media marketing and web collaboration with overseas online shop have provided the exposure and advertising advantage for them such as partnership with John Lewis (http://www.johnlewis.com) or Wesell Royal Selangor (http://www.wesellroyalselangor.co.uk/). 4.4. RS Information technology assessment Current setup is very centralized and all located within the main HQ. From the IT infrastructure study, we find that the hardware and software used within the organization are considered to be reasonable and commonly used in all industries. The use of open source have also help in ensuring that the system can be modified and be made better as they use it with constant upgrading. However the weakness could lie with the staff availability. With cloud computing, it is a perfect IT infrastructure for RS to adopt. Switching to cloud computing provides a feasible solution for RS to maintain its businesses outside of Malaysia with the same IT infrastructure. 4.5. Competitors IT Services In evaluating RSs competitors IT services, two main competitors namely Tumasek Pewter and Oriental Pewter are analyzed. Both Tumasek Pewters (http://www.tumasek.com/home.htm) and Oriental pewters (http://www.orientalpewter.com.my/home.htm) website does not have online shop. RS is the leader in pewter industry as its main competitors are not having the same IT services as RS. This is even more a reason for RS to adopt cloud computing. As the start-up of IT system are faster through cloud computing, the competitors will definitely offer the same services in the near future. By adopting cloud computing first, RS can be ahead of competition. 4.6. IT infrastructure investment in pewter/retail industry For retail industry, capital spending in 2008-09 at John Lewis (RS partner) was  £404m, compared with  £363m in the previous year. About  £30m represents investment in efficiency projects such as new Oracle finance systems recently implemented in Waitrose and the firms head office, and investment in maintaining and modernising its IT set-up. (Mari 2009) Investment into IT for manufacturing is continuing to grow for Asian manufacturer and focus is on cloud based applications capability to increase the efficiency of the organization such as gaining insight on customer behaviour, improve efficiency and productivity of manufacturing operations and in the supply chain from supplier and also to customers. (Yap 2011). Under the Malaysias Economic Transformation Programme, the wholesale and retail and tourism industry are place in the forefront of Malaysias economic development. Few key areas were earmarked for development and the key area with IT investment would be the globalisation of our products by means of virtual retail platform or malls. Investment of about RM 1.3 billion will be spent on this area which can help competitors of RS to develop their online shop. (PEMANDU 2010) RS is well aligned to adopt to cloud computing. Moving into cloud for an established firm like RS requires a strong management vision statement and support for the migration. Strategies had to be developed to enable the migration to be completed flawlessly and most important, without hampering any existing business processes. Strategies to be taken by RS are as follows; Business Review To establish the key objectives, tools that can be use is SMARTA objectives which is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely and Agreed. ( Williams 2010, p. 102 ) Project Management To setup a Project management team to manage the migration and keep all stakeholders satisfied. An Implementation plan will provide the necessary clear procedures for the migration. ( Williams 2010, p. 113 ) Adoption to cloud system shall be done according to recommended solutions as below; For the routine communications and content management, RS would be wise to look at the various applications offered from cloud computing. This would probably relieve some of the bottleneck for support currently faced by RS IT departments staff. Part of the RS marketing channel to corporate users would be beneficial if there was an application similar to what is being offered by Sales.Force.com. The sales value chain from i

Essay --

Expression System: Combination of host and expression vector and its DNA clone, induce the function of foreign gene within host cell that yield proteins in larger amount in called as expression system. pET Expression System: pET is a vector that is used for cloning of desired proteins within host cell. Introduction: pET expression system is widely used method for cloning for creation of No. of clones for most wanted proteins. For this purpose expression vector or recombinant vector is introduced within host cell. This recombinant vector carry all gene essential for manufacturing of proteins, having promoter suitable for host cell, it also carry terminal sequence for transcription, and also have ribosome binding sites. One pET expression system was introduced by W.F. Studies and B.A. Moffatt in 1986 that was expression system of T7 polymerase. Two methods were used for stability of T4 RNA polymerase. One of the method uses lambda bacteriophage for induction of coding gene for T4 RNA polymerase and another method involved in direct insertion of gene within chromosome. It is most used method due to production of proteins in large quantity, that present in T7 promoter and have only binding sites for RNA polymerase. (Moffatt. B.A, et. al. 1986) Control of levels of Basal Expression: There are six vector-host unions that are produced by pET expression system. These are essential because only one condition is unfavorable for protein that are targeted. (Resenberg. A.H, et. al. 1987) Host Strains: In non-expression host, after production of plasmids, they are interconverted into T7 polymerase gene (ÃŽ »DE3 lysogen) that carry host to express target protein. The lac UV5 promoter control the gene of T7 RNA polymerase in ... ...ide bond in cytoplasm is induced by strains of OrigamiTM. Rapid: †¢ System that uses E.coli gives results rapidly. †¢ Other vectors provide appropriate restriction sites that are used for subcloning. †¢ Targeted proteins are purified in single step, methods that contain no antibody are selected. Versatile: †¢ Fusion tags of N-Terminal and C-terminal are preferred to purify, purify and locate. †¢ Replication originated at f1 in sequencing and mutagenesis. †¢ Sites for multiple cloning are of wide range. Complete: †¢ Number of useful products †¢ Various shapes of systems. (Imotaka. H. et. al. 2009) Collusion: It is concluded that pET expression system is helpful in synthesizing of proteins. It induce transcription as well as translation. pET vector inserted within host cell carry desired gene to be cloned. pET expression system help in cloning of desirable gene or product.

Jacobean Reading of King Lear Essay

King Lear was written around 1603-06. A contextualised political reading interprets King Lear as a drama that gives expression to crucial political and social issues of its time: the hierarchy of the Jacobean state, King James’ belief in his divine right to rule, and the political anxieties that characterised the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign: fears of civil war and division of the kingdom triggered by growth of conflicting fractions and a threatening underclass. Like all writers, Shakespeare reflected the world he knew. The ancient Britain the pseudo-historical Lear lived in contained anachronistic references to aspects of Jacobean life, such as eel pies and toasted cheese. Kent calls Oswald a ‘base football player’, evoking the class assumptions of the times. More significantly, King Lear reveals the conditions and preoccupations of Jacobean England in terms of politics, social change, justice, religion, madness, and the natural order. Politics Watching the play, Jacobean audiences would detect many resonances with their own socio-political climate: troubled and uncertain times as Elizabeth’s reign draws to a close and James ascends the throne – as the Tudor dynasty gave way to the Stuarts. Poverty, food shortages and unemployment were commonplace; Bedlam beggars were troublesome, roaming the countryside pleading for charity. These social features are explored by Shakespeare via Lear’s madness and the character of Edgar-turned-poor-Tom. The Cordelia-led French invasion may have sparked memory of the Spanish Armada of 1588. Lear’s character contains parallels to King James’s. James, like Lear, believed in his own divine right to rule, and deemed it blasphemous to question the King’s action. The divine right of the King was the prevailing sentiment reinforced by law, and Lear’s unwitting decision to abdicate  ruptures the divine and natural order Shakespeare makes subtle allusions to James’ profligate behaviour – which held significance for Jacobean audiences. James had proved susceptible to the flattery of ambitious courtiers. Lear’s belated recognition of the conventions, flatteries, and corruptions by which he has long been deceived provides sharp reminder to James that a king is only man like other, subject to the same human frailties: â€Å"they told me I was everything; ’tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.† James, with his intention to unite England and Scotland, would have welcomed the play as a validation of his unionist views. The doomed Lear shown to have â€Å"divided in three our kingdom†; this brusque cutting-up of a kingdom would have appalled the audience (who would share Kent’s horror), warning against partitioning of a state. Monarchs have a sacred duty to keep their kingdom intact, it was a sin to abdicate or divide their country. The divided coronet is a striking visual image, symbolising the political dysfunction, chaos, civil war and personal tragedy that follows the division of the kingdom. Social Change Both Lear and James rules societies characterised by its distinct hierarchical order – but also in the process of social change. A stable feudal society wit its strong allegiances and rigid hierarchy had crumbled in the wake of new scientific discoveries and global exploration. Increasing wealth from commerce fostered new ideas about value and status, as James made social mobility a reality with the selling of knighthoods for cash. A prosperous commercial gentry challenged the King’s power and divided the aristocracy, giving rise to difference political fractions – reflect in the rivalry between Albany and Cornwall. Newly acquired power and property gave rise to a new kind of individual – those who felt no obligation to the old feudal loyalties, filled with the spirit of radical individualism, driven by self-interest. Edmund,  Gloucester’s unscrupulous illegitimate son, refuses to â€Å"stand in the plague of custom† and seeks to thrive by his own cunning – mocking the superstitious beliefs of his father (an upholder of the old feudal loyalty to the king). Another is the corrupt, self-serving Oswald, who is ridiculed by the nobleman Kent. But he represents the emerging class of thrusting individualists in Jacobean England, motivated by self-interest, not loyalty to the traditional order. In their acquisitiveness, Goneril, Regan and Edmund flaunt the â€Å"offices of nature, bonds of childhood, effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude† within the old order of human relationships. Social Preoccupations/Values: How Jacobeans would have responded to these themes/motifs Justice – King Lear reflects the passionate interest of the Jacobeans in justice – both process of law (human justice) and justice meted out by gods (divine justice). The play’s many trials would strike a familiar chord in its contemporaries. There are five trials: 1. Love trial 2. Trial of Kent, whose bluntness earns him instant punishment 3. Improper trial of Gloucester by Cornwall and Regan 4. Lear’s hallucinated ‘mock trial’ of Goneril and Regan 5. Trial by combat where Edmund is destroyed. In each case, the play raises questions as to whether justice has been done. In his madness, Lear becomes obsessed with bringing his daughters to justice, while losing faith in human justice, asking â€Å"which is the justice,  which is the thief?† He reveals the inherent hypocrisy in judgement itself as he imagines a beadle (Jacobean figure of legal authority) punishing a whore despite how he â€Å"hotly lusts to use her in that kind for which thou whippst her†. The concluding lines â€Å"through tattered clothes great vices do appear: Robes and furred gowns hide all† – is a damning indictment of human justice, where possession of power is more important than fairness, where the fallibility of judgement present itself as a searing criticism of Jacobean society. Divine justice, although unmotivated by tangible influences, is equivocal – and their effects equally devastating. Although Albany claims Cornwall’s deserved disgrace of being killed by a servant as proof of divine justice, the death of Cordelia is a bolt from a sky cleared by the vanished storm, demonstrating that there’s no simple scheme of rewards or punishments, earthly or divine. Both are equally wanton, confirming the bleak views of human predicament expressed in â€Å"like flies to wanton boys are we to th’gods; They kill us for their sport†. Religion – Adapted from old play: King Leir, which is pre-Christian. Shakespeare gave his play a pagan setting, which allowed greater freedom for him to present ticklish theological issues, in particular the question of providence, without falling foul of the strict Jacobean censorship. Jacobeans would be shocked by the image of a son assisting his father to attempt suicide, which is a sin. Audience may detect the Christian theme of a journey through pain, suffering and humiliation to love, forgiveness and wisdom. There are obvious biblical echoes, like as Cordelia’s â€Å"O dear father, / It is thy business that I go about†, and the apocalyptic nature of the storm. Thus, its bleak, almost sadistic ending diverges from Jacobean expectation. It doesn’t fit the tragedy trajectory that moves from order to disorder and eventual restoration and fulfilment – Hence, a modified version by Tate containing a happy ending had replaced Shakespeare’s original on the stage for few centuries. Madness – Jacobeans’ attitudes to madness were harsh and unsympathetic (bedlam beggars were believed to be possessed by devils). They may have been startled by the proliferation of madness within the empowered individuals of society: Lear’s madness is that of a selfish, autocratic old man whose will is thwarted, whose moral blindness, misjudgements and lack of understanding of himself and others inevitably lead to breakdown: â€Å"O Fool, I shall go mad† Cornwall and Regan seem to become mad in their obsession with Gloucester’s punishment. Gloucester thinks it better to be ‘distract’ and lose his sorrow in ‘wrong imaginations’. He views madness as a privilege, bestowing innocence upon the insane person. Ironically, the madness of Poor Tom, and archetypal image of insanity, is put on. The Fool’s ‘madness’ is professional, witty, exposing the weakness and folly of his ‘reasonable’ superiors. Human madness is reflected as disturbance in nature and society. Lear’s inner torment is externalised by the violent storm. Lear’s tearing up of the kingdom is political madness, kindling a storm of social frenzy that precipitates cruelty, blindness, madness and death. These incidences of madness demonstrate the vulnerability of those in whom we entrust power, and thus how fragile the fabric of Jacobean society was. The Natural Order – Jacobeans would have viewed the play, especially its characters, through notions of what’s ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ instilled into them by their paradigm. This paradigm advocates hierarchical order enforced by God – with King fixed at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, and the father at the family’s – both charged with the duty to maintain their state in harmony. The perversions that occur to this order are unnatural: Lear’s division of the kingdom according to daughters’ protestation of love violates a monarch’s duty to keep his kingdom unified. This act allows evil to breed, resulting in personal and social madness in the form of suffering, civil war, self-destruction. Children revoking their filial duty also violate natural order. Being female, Goneril and Regan’s usurping of the patriarchal status quo induce particular shock and horror in Jacobeans. Their self-destruction is expected repercussion of their double felony against the natural order. A Jacobean reading interprets King Lear as a vivid social portrait, featuring aspects of social conditions, depicting social change, and voicing the beliefs of its contemporary audience. Its story teaches a moral lesson against the shirking of responsibility and division of one’s state. Its characters represent social groups- their actions and interactions parallel the ebb and flow of social forces.

My First Three Meditations - Original Ideas - 1361 Words

Greetings! I am writing in response to your request of me to review your first three Meditations. Truly, I have never seen such original ideas. You never cease to amaze me with your extraordinary talent in philosophical thinking. In this letter I am going to address some claims which I feel are astounding and others which I feel may be inconsistent. However, I will warn you before you progress that I do not believe that there will ever be a flawless idea, despite the fact that I do feel some of your ideas are very well written. One argument which truly catches my attention is the one where you try to prove that a good god exists. You attempt to prove this by using the idea of different levels of reality. In your text, you state that,†¦show more content†¦With this reasoning in mind, you also propose that an effect cannot have more reality than its cause and thus should have just as much reality as its cause. You go on to state that, â€Å"†¦the idea that enables me to understand a supreme deity, eternal, finite, omniscient, omnipotent, and creator of all things other than himself, clearly has more objective reality within it than do those ideas through which finite objects are displayed† (Descartes 28, Margin 40). Therefore, the idea of God, which is infinite cannot be one composed by a mere human who is finite. Due to our levels of experience and our lack of exposure to anything that is infinite, it is impossible for us to develop the idea from anywhere that something or someone can be immortal. Thus, you come to the conclusion that only God could have created the idea of God, being that he or she is of the same level of reality. So, you believe that the idea of God is innate in us. I truly believe that this is a very compelling argument that is well reasoned. I admire the originality of this idea and I believe you did exceedingly well on using your reasoning of levels of objective reality to come to the conclusion that there is a God who is good. However, I also believe that any argument no matter how well argued may be doubted. I recall that you noted, â€Å"What will be true? Perhaps, just the single fact that nothing is certain† (Descartes 17, Margin 24). So, with that thought in mind, I would like to propose someShow MoreRelatedIn Philosophy, There Are Going To Be Some Agreements And1393 Words   |  6 PagesMonism is the view that attributes oneness; cannot be separated. Spinoza’s Response Hello Descartes, I hope all is well. I just finished reading The Meditations on First Philosophy for the third time, and I really enjoyed it. I must admit I am quite impressed with your work. However, there are some issues that I would like to address. In the Meditations, you state, â€Å"I am only a thing that thinks.† What exactly does this means? It sounds as if you are only a mind that exist and have no physical bodyRead MoreAn Analysis of Descartes’ First Meditation Essay example1448 Words   |  6 Pages(Phil 100) Prof. Michael Rosenthal November 13th, 2012 An Analysis of Descartes’ First Meditation In Descartes’ First Meditation, Descartes’ overall intention is to present the idea that our perceptions and sensations are flawed and should not be trusted entirely. His purpose is to create the greatest possible doubt of our senses. To convey this thought, Descartes has three main arguments in the First Meditation: The dream argument, the deceiving God argument, and the evil demon â€Å"or evil genius†Read MoreThe Meditations By Rene Descartes1384 Words   |  6 PagesRenà © Descartes main goal in the Meditations is to establish that one exists and that a perfect God exists. However, he first argues that the idea that everything perceived around one could be false because the senses are sometimes deceiving. 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In order to achieve happiness one must first realize that every sentient being-that is, every creature endowed with even a very basic sense of awareness which can be defined by three basic aspects or characteristics: body, speech and mind. It is important to know that the mind is essence, is the most important aspect of all creatures that share the attribute ofRead MoreEffects and Techniques in Haiku811 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion 3 a) My interpretation of the meaning of the poem is that individuals can find peace and rest, living with only the bare essentials. While this may seem an austere life, simple living can allow individuals to find the beauty, greatness and richness that exist all around them in nature – as in an autumn dusk. Even in moments of sadness and despair, nature has the power to uplift us. b) My interpretation of the poem is based on the context in which haiku exists, my knowledge of theRead MoreResponse to George Berkeleys Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous1009 Words   |  5 PagesA Response to George Berkeley’s Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous The following essay is a response to George Berkeley’s Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, in which he argues that the Cartesian notion of substance is incoherent, that the word matter as Descartes uses it, does not mean anything. This essay is also about words as memories, and about the two fictional Marcels, young and old. Hylas is a Cartesian thinker, and Philonous is Berkeley’s voice of reason