Matthew’s Use of the Old Testament Scripture Essay Example

Matthew’s Use of the Old Testament Scripture Essay Matthew wrote his gospel with two purposes in mind: first, he wanted to prove that Jesus was the promised coming King-Messiah of the Old Testament, and second, he wanted to explain to his readers the kingdom program of God. The issues involved in the person of the Messiah are many during Matthew’s time. He had to deal with those concerns immediately in order for him to be able to prove his point beyond reasonable doubt (Constable 55).For one thing, the long-awaited Messiah had to be without question from the lineage of Abraham, and that, Matthew was able to establish in the very first chapter of his gospel. He not only had verified that Jesus came as a descendant of Abraham and therefore a bonafide Jew, but substantiated as well in the first chapter of his gospel, that Jesus also had descended from the ancestry of King David to show that Jesus was the Son of David, the coming King who would rule like David to restore Israel’s Golden Years under the reign of Davidâ€℠¢s descendant who is the Messiah (Escalona 2). Jesus, according to Matthew, has fulfilled through the testimony of His background and life the requirements that would support the conclusion that He was indeed the promised Messiah and King (Walvoord 12).These points were very important to emphasize, so Matthew started right away with these very aims in mind. With these understanding, the modern-day readers will be better off intellectually, as they approach the book of Matthew. The problems posed by Matthew chapter 1 would immediately be eliminated such as the question of â€Å"Why the drudgery of mentioning names (mostly unknown) all the way back to Abraham?† It may bear no relevance for people today, but for those people to whom Matthew was directing his message, the identity of Jesus – as far as his pedigree was concerned – was of utmost importance (Family Bible Notes 1). The Messiah had to be first of all a descendant of Abraham and of David. And the only thi ng that could possibly remove this doubt from the minds of his readers was an established proof of Jesus’ Abrahamic and Davidic lineages – which of course Matthew had established very well (Geneva Bible Notes 1).DiscussionThis paper deals with responding to the inquirer’s mind concerning Matthew’s use of the Old Testament. Its position is to establish first the Messiahship of Jesus as seen in the eyes of the apostle Matthew and then lengthily discuss the kingdom agendum or program of God.I. Jesus: The King-MessiahAnother way that Matthew has employed was his heavy use of the Old Testament scriptures – particularly, prophecies. In chapter two, specific fulfilments of prophetic pronouncements were fulfilled as to certain places and events. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which according to the writer was a specific fulfilment of prophetic scripture (Barnes 2).   When Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Christ/Messiah would be born,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: But   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel’.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Applications like these of certain Old Testament scriptures are notable in all of the four gospels. They relied a great deal on prophecies, and therefore their frequent references to them further concretized the fact of Jesus’ identity. In all four gospels, different aspects of the Christ’s Person were explored and thus, by the time the inquirer has finished reading all of the gospels, there have to be no more questions left. In fact, even one of the gospels is enough to convince anybody of the Messiah’s identity (John 20:31) ( Teacher’s Commentary 2).Matthew’s gospel is sufficient to present to its audience Jesus as their long-expected Savior. All of the circumstances surrounding His birth and childhood were clear realizations of Hebraic predictions. In Matthew chapters 3 – 4, Jesus’ royalty is presented. John the baptizer is here also introduced and for the said purpose – to introduce to Israel her King. During those times, it was customary for VIP’s or very important persons to have emissaries who would go before them to make preparations for their arrivals. Emissaries or forerunners would go and announce to designated destinations the royalty’s impending visit. Included to their task is to make sure that the place was in good condition to host the king. When there needs to be some repairs on infrastructure, sometimes those forerunners would go to such extent as do the work of â€Å"smoothing the highway† through which the king would take to reach his destination (Constable 56).John the baptizer prepared Jesus’ way and also proclaimed Him as a very important figure in that He was the most awaited person of the times – the coming King. When John announced that the kingdom of God was â€Å"at hand,† what he meant was that all or everything that were needed for the kingdom to be established among them (Israel) was to accept their King in Jesus. They rejected Him though. It was necessary for the predicted Messiah to be crucified for many Old Testament prophecies to be fulfilled (Psalms 22, Isaiah 53, Daniel 9, Zechariah 13). In Matthew 3:3, the writer identified God with Jesus as he quoted Isaiah 40:3. This clearly means that Jesus’ kingdom is also the kingdom of God. The two are not different but the same. This quote from Isaiah proves that Jesus is not a mere representative of God but more than a representative. Matthew’s point was Jesus is LORD. He makes his point very vivid by quoting from m any passages over and over from the Old Testament (Constable 55).Again, in Matthew 3:16-17, the narrative pointed to the fact that at that juncture of Jesus’ life (and it was before He started His ministry), the Holy Spirit anointed Him. This event denotes that Jesus as a man would be reliant to the power of the Spirit as also the Scripture has attested in Isaiah 42:1. Of course, at the very start of His life, He was already filled with the Spirit. He was even conceived through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). The descent of the Holy Spirit at His baptism stresses the fact that Jesus would be accomplishing His messianic ministry totally dependent on the Spirit’s power. It specifies a point for understanding that Jesus’ authority through which He discharges His ministry was through the Spirit. Hence, empowered by the Spirit, Jesus acted as the instrument of God and spoke as God’s mouthpiece. The term â€Å"Son of God† was very familiar in the prophet ic writings. It was used frequently to identify David’s descendant who would come after him to occupy his throne to become Israel’s king (2 Samuel 7:13-14, Psalms 2:7, 89:26-29). God’s approval and commendation of Jesus were both linked to the aspect of the Messiah’s work of saving His people from their sins as the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 42 53). â€Å"Son of God† is a messianic title (Clarke 1).II. God’s Kingdom ProgramThe first nine chapters of Matthew seemed to have shown not only the background of Jesus’ identity but also the pathetic condition of humanity as represented by those multitudes that followed Him. Thus, at this point, Matthew proceeded to lay out the program of the Kingdom of God. First, there is the need for workers in the field (Matthew 9:37-38). Jesus is shown here as one moved with compassion for the multitudes. It recalls for the readers the fact of God’s compassionate heart for His people. In the book o f Ezekiel 34, God is described as the true Shepherd of His people, whose compassion would not allow for His people to be taken advantaged of. The word â€Å"weary† is translated â€Å"distressed† (NASB) and â€Å"harassed† (NIV) in other translations of the Bible. These descriptions vividly depict the people of God – the Jews – as being intimidated and oppressed by their leaders. The people needed deliverance and there was no one able to deliver them. They’re as sheep without a shepherd (Constable 56).The Old Testament is replete with a description of God and the coming Messiah as the shepherds of His people. At this point in time (Matthew 9), Matthew presented the agenda or program of God for His kingdom. Jesus needed workers to continue on with the work which He has started (Barnes, 2001). There needs to be workers who would serve as workers for God’s harvest. But, first of all, the workers for the harvest must be sent by God. There fore Jesus commands prayer. â€Å"Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.† This is similar to what Apostle Paul has stated in his epistle to the Romans, â€Å"And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’† (Romans 10:15). Only at this juncture that the twelve disciples of Jesus are called apostles (Matthew 10:1). He chose the twelve probably to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The people who have spiritual sensitivity at that time must have detected that at Jesus’ appointment of the twelve He was launching them to execute His messianic programme (Barnes, 2001). The apostles were the first â€Å"sent out† ones. Although the title was exclusively theirs, they’re told by their Master to still pray for workers. During the time of the original apostles, God was continually hearing their prayers to send â€Å"workers† for the harvest. There was Barnabas (Acts 14:4), and Paul himself was designated as apostle and received his commission from Jesus directly. The primary agenda of the kingdom was to reach everyone in Israel with the message of the kingdom. Although the message had to be first proclaimed in Israel, it was to be later on extended to â€Å"all the nations† (Constable 56).Since the work had to be taken by them to all the â€Å"lost sheep of Israel,† and eventually to the â€Å"nations,† the Master foresaw its accompanying need in the part of the messengers. â€Å"And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food† (Matthew 10:7-1 0). The nature of the work is extensive; they had to â€Å"teach† their converts â€Å"to observe all things† that Christ had taught them. The kind of work that God calls His servants to is definitely a kind of work which proves as well what kind of â€Å"Lord† He is: that He is an excellent Master, able to see (â€Å"the God Who sees†) the needs of His servants or followers before they even feel the need. This means that when an individual becomes a partaker of Himself He also has become a partaker of all His benefits (Teacher’s Commentary 2).Men who become Jesus’ followers must be taught to know concerning things that are God’s or what are called divine things. Not only will they benefit best when they know what the things that are God’s, they also become instructors fit to impart the goodness and the mind of God. In addition, they are promised that what are needed will be sufficiently met and thus their own experiences of Go d’s faithful attention the promises He made to His followers, both spiritual and material needs. The servants of God then, are enjoined to be faithful as well to be able to deliver His message in adherence to the rightful message as Jesus taught and delivered as well to the apostles, the first Christians and the succeeding generations of faithful believers of the gospel (Clarke 1).Doubters and unbelievers look with disdain, cynicism and scorn when the discussion revolves around these words of Jesus and the gospel. When the faithful talk about the promises that the Old Testament Scripture holds out for the people and these Jesus reinforced as well in the New Testament, they see only myth, and delusions on the part of the believers (Robertson’s NT Word Pictures, 2001). That is because they don’t have the eyes of faith, nor were instructed of the thousands of year’s proof of the veracity of the Bible, and have not experienced the truth and reality of these S criptures in their lives. The effectivity of Matthew’s work is found in the millions of followers who had tested Jesus’ Messiahship not only in their spiritual faith but in the totality of their finite experience (Clarke 2).In conclusion, Matthew not only and merely was acting as an evangelist-historian, but as biographer par excellence, whose work was without a blend of his own opinion or views, which has undoubtedly established its internal credibility in the gospel itself. Other apostles like Paul, did not have to add anything to what Matthew said or wrote, but enlarged on what this gospel writer witnessed and chronicled in his experiences with Christ.

Phytoplankton essays

Phytoplankton essays Upon a short period of very extensive research, one can conclude many things about the phytoplankton content of the waters surrounding the continent of Antarctica.First of all, what is phytoplankton? Phytoplankton is defined as planktonic plants and other autotrophs which are the most important primary producers in many marine ecosystems. (p. 213 Castro-Huber) Many factors influence the growth of phytoplankton such as sunlight, water temperature, and water current. In my specific study of the pytoplankton present in Antarctic waters, I discovered a most unusual pattern of growth: only on three occasions from September 1997 to March 2000 was phytoplankton present in the waters of Antarctica. Of the three individual times that phytoplankton was present in the water, two of these occured in December 1998 and 1999, the other in September 1998. Every other month from September 1997 until March 2000, the waters contained a phytoplankton reading of 0 (zero). The only conclusion that can be made about the numerous occasions in which phytoplankton was absent from the waters is that massive sheets of ice cover the water around the continent of Antarctia making unacceptable conditions for the ...

Free sample - Death. translation missing

Death. DeathSuzan -Lori Parks is an American artist, who stayed in Germany for quite some time when she was young. As a writer, she received several awards in 2001 and 2002 consecutively. Parks was heavily influenced by Faulkner’s book ‘As I Lay Dying’, written in multiple perspectives. Her own version, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’, borrows heavily from Faulkner’s book in terms of stylistic devices and plot arrangement. On the other hand, William Faulkner who at one time was awarded an award for literature back in 1950s was a child of Murray Charles. Born in America, his writing skills are well known with several stories and novels to his credit. His style of writing is connected to modernism European literature; which is why the reader unless very keen and highly intuitive, cannot grab anything until may be later in the text. Back in 1930, ‘As I Lay Dying’ was brought in the lime light by William Faulkner. The text revolves around Addie Bundren sickness, her eventual death and burial ceremony. In the text, the author uses the family of the deceased to communicate their information through monologue. The late is not caught in many incidences by the reader using monologue apart from when she is pronouncing her burial site. In this article, the focus will be in one specific way in which Lori Parks in her text Getting Mother’s Body 2003, echoes and perhaps rewrites William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying 1930. It will focus on how a specific theme of death is focused in the latter as echoed in the former. The essay will bring on the surface how death is witnessed in the two books beyond the literal meaning of the word. Like for example, how is death experienced in marriages? What causes the death of characters? How is it received by the bereaved? In the two books, the theme of death is evident and is being represented by the two mothers in each case.   Just like in Faulkner’s book where the family is moving with the body of their dead mother in preparation for burial in the upcountry, in Parks text, Billy Beede is soliciting for support from his close friends and family to help get the body of her mother given that the burial location is being taken over by a shopping mall enterprise. In Parks’ text, the mother’s blues songs are used symbolically by the author to show her message while in Faulkner’s text the mum talks while in the burial box. In this text, the author engineers the death of Billy’s mother to come when she is only ten years of age and this leaves her with a lot of problems as the only people who can take care of her is the aunt and the uncle. On the other hand, Faulkner brings on the surface the little children of Addie when she dies. Although the father is still alive, the family is very poor and they even struggle to give her a decent burial. In Getting Mother’s Body by Parks, the death of Billy’s mother left her so disappointed now that she was an orphan and she was living in Texas town which was being associated with poverty. This is also the same case in Faulkner’s text when Cash the eldest son of Addie makes her a coffin way before she had died. The death of Addie Bundren in Faulkner’s text is received by the family members differently. The youngest son Vandram likens her death to that of a fish he manages to trap some hours back. He is so disturbed that her mother is closed in a box. Just like Billy Beede gets pregnant while still a teenager, the same happens to Dewey Dell in Faulkner’s book in that she gets pregnant while still a teenager. Another echo in form of thematic concern of death by Parks is the death that is experienced in marriages. In the text ‘Getting Mother’s Body’, Billy is unfortunate to get pregnant while she is hardly eighteen years of age. On getting pregnant, she parts way with her estranged boyfriend. This can be viewed as a death of a relationship which emanates from the love that the two had dying. On the other hand, in the text ‘As I lay Dying’ Faulkner’s exposes Dewey Dell as experiencing the same type of death in her affair with Lafe. This is clearly brought immediately after her mother dies so much so that she is so frustrated that she cannot even be in a position to mourn the death of her mother. Going by this, it is evident that parks echoed Faulkner’s book only that in the latter’s text the girl gets pregnant immediately her mother dies while in the former’s it come after some time. In Parks text, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’ the sudden death of Willa Mae’s marriage is brought out. When this happens, she decides to move in with Dill Smiles. After some time Billy is born although she is dark skinned owing to her mother’s many lovers. This is after the death of her former marriage which equally does not seem to work magic for her. On the other hand, in Faulkner’s text, the marriage of Addie Bundren is headed for the rocks due to poverty. This leads to constant quarrels between her and Anse Bundren her husband. The theme of death is further emphasized in the two books on how the bereaved behave upon the death of a loved one. For instance, when Willa Mae succumbs, owing to self induced miscarriage, Dill Smiles, upon receiving the shocking information, avails himself in hospital just in time to offer her a decent burial as the deceased had requested. Willa, as it is revealed in the text, had been buried with very expensive jewels. This is a clearly indication how the dead are honored by those left behind. On the other hand, the death of Addie Bundren is taken with a lot of seriousness by all and sundry in Faulkner’s text. Upon her death after a long illness, her son Cash takes his time to build a coffin just for his mother. He does this with a lot of seriousness as he takes into account all his skill to come up with something magnificent just for her mother. On the burial ceremony day, the same honor for the dead is witnessed where people sing in honor of Addie. The men are also seen o bserving silence as a sign of respect and honor to the deceased. In the same way dill smiles honors the wish of Willa Mae on where she will be buried, Anse Bundren tries so much to honor the request of her wife although by the time she dies he is very broke. It is amazing how the dying women talk in their deathbed. In Parks’ text, ‘Getting’s Mother’s Body’, Willa talks to dill smiles on where to be buried. She also reveals her affair with an affluent man who gave her an expensive ring. She requests to be buried with it. In Faulkner’s text, Addie Bundren talks on her deathbed about her affair with a rich man from the town. This she says led to a very miserable marriage to her husband Anse Bundren. It is the same infidelity that resulted to the birth of Jewel just like in Parks’ it led to Billy’s birth. The theme of death is further emphasized in different ways by the two authors. In Parks’ text, the death is symbolically brought through self induced miscarriage by Willa Mae. It is clearly seen in the text how the writer engineered Willa’s death through abortion that turns sour. This is meant by the author to show the reader how dangerous abortion is, that it can result to death. In Faulkner’s text, the author uses the younger son to compare the death of Willa with that of a fish. It can be explained to say that the death of the fish is symbolic of Willa’s death just as the young son observes. It is also surprising how everybody relates everything to death. Upon the death of her mother Jewel also tends to think that his horse was dead. In a strange but equally humorous way, the two authors bring on the surface the death of the unborn. In Parks’ text, Willa Mae meets her death while she was trying to kill the unborn child in her womb. As fate would have it the unfortunate happens. This might have been used by the author to caution on the dangers that comes with abortion. In Faulkner’s book, Dewey Dell attempts to commit the same mistake that Willa did although her efforts to try and buy a medicine to induce abortion is cut short by a pharmacy attendant who takes her to bed. Finally, the last nail on the coffin of Anse’s marriage to Addie is witnessed when he introduces his new bride to his children. In conclusion, Parks’ text, ‘Getting Mother’s Body’ borrows heavily from Faulkner’s text ‘As I lay Down’ in many perspective. The same thematic concerns addressed in the former’s book are the same in the latter’s. All in all, parks have given the story a different meaning and it sounds more interesting compared with the original text.

Employment and discrimination law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Employment and discrimination law - Essay Example Moreover, for indirect discrimination claims in both sex and race discrimination, there are four conditions which must be satisfied: However, in order to rely on the DDA provisions for bringing a discrimination claim, Anthony would have to demonstrate a â€Å"disability† for the purposes of the DDA. Section 1 of the DDA defines this as â€Å"a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.† The case of Goodwin v The Patent Office6 provided detailed guidance section 1 of the DDA. The first consideration is whether â€Å"the application has an impairment which is either mental or physical7†. Anthony has been diagnosed with cancer, which will constitute physical impairment for the purpose of the DDA definition. Accordingly, Anthony’s condition will come within the definition of a disability under the DDA and the next consideration is whether the impairment will affected his ability to carry out normal day to day activities. The case of Greenwood v British Airways9 determined that this necessarily involved a factual investigation10†. With regard to the current scenario, Anthony’s job as analyst is impacted as he will need a week off every month for treatment. Otherwise, he can still undertake his duties. However, on grounds of the impairment to his ability to carry out the job full time, coupled with the poor economic climate, he is being made redundant. The next issue is whether the adverse effect is substantial11. The Goodwin case highlighted that the definition of substantial means â€Å"more than minor or trivial12† and is essentially a question of fact in each case. Relevant considerations include how long it takes to complete tasks and the manner in which tasks are undertaken.13 With regard to Anthony, he appears to have a senior position it is evident that her work has significantly suffered, which further

Saving Natural Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving Natural Resources - Essay Example Likewise, the contemporary lifestyle of people all over the world can not be thought to exist without oil. Oil is used for fuelling the vehicles and airplanes. The modern lifestyle is shaped according to these. We can not think to continue the business in the modern age without having vehicles, which in turn, require oil to be driven. â€Å"A litre of petrol produces about 2.5kg (5 lbs) of greenhouse gases, while a US gallon produces nearly 15 lbs of greenhouse gases† (Viator.com). Gas is an alternative to oil, but that does not solve the problem of unsustainable development because that too is a natural resource and depletes as more and more of it is being used. The contemporary lifestyle is an outcome of heavy reliance on natural resources, thus it will diminish along with the natural resources. In light of the rapidly depleting natural resources, we need to change our living practices so that we can enjoy the pleasures of life for a longer period of time. Of all the natural resources, the one that concerns us the most is oil. If we stop depending upon oil, we will have done much to make the life style sustainable. In order to achieve that, what needs to be looked into is the purposes we need oil for in general. We generally need oil for fuelling cars and making electricity. Both of these purposes can be achieved without depending upon oil. Most of the oil that is extracted from Earth is used for fuelling vehicles. â€Å"Transportation is the second leading contributor to greenhouse gases in the country† (Shahan). The potential solution to this problem lies in the use of bicycles. Bicycles offer a solution not only to this, but to various other problems of the contemporary age as well like obesity. Bicycles do not need any fuel to be driven and yet, the wheels on which it runs make the journey less time consuming. In order to drive a bicycle, the rider needs to peddle constantly. This is a very good exercise for the thighs. In addition to making us smart and healthy, use of bicycles also reduces the chances of dreadful road accidents. The collision of a bicycle rider with a man on foot is least likely to result into a life taking accident, unless there were some other factors involved in it. Thus, by replacing vehicles with bicycles, man can not only make himself indifferent to the oil reserves, but it will also make our living practices environment friendly and the life style sustainable. Natural resources not only include what is hidden under the surface of Earth; they also constitute all plants and animals as they are the fundamental source of food and nutrition for the humans. Polar bears are dying in large numbers as a result of the global warming. The point here is not that they are food for humans, but â€Å"[i]f people want a more people-centered reason to save polar bears, it surely exists in the way lack of polar bears could ultimately affect human food supply and commercial fishing industries† (Ellis-Chri stensen). This takes the discussion of saving natural resources to the level of global warming. The two phenomena are linked with each other. As the temperature of Earth is rising, more and more animals are dying. They can not sustain the effect of heat. Therefore, we also need to take measures to reduce global warming in our attempt to save natural resources. Built environment happens

Classifications of Liquid Crystals

Classifications of Liquid Crystals 1. Introduction 1. Introduction to Liquid Crystals 1.1 Historical background Liquid crystals are a unique state of matter, between solid (crystalline) and liquid (isotropic) phases some compounds form a distinct, different intermediate phase, sometimes referred to as the â€Å"fourth state of matter† or â€Å"mesophase†. These compounds display properties of both solid and liquid. Anisotropic intermolecular interactions of the molecules, or mesogens, within a liquid crystalline material mean that the molecules possess some orientational or positional order but with a lower degree of organisation compared with a crystalline solid. This means liquid crystals possess liquid-like flowing behaviour, but because of their positional order, such compounds are often more viscous. Liquid crystals are attributed to their sensitivity to various stimuli, such as temperature, electric and magnetic fields. This sensitivity, combined with the self-assembling behaviour of liquid crystals make them extremely interesting and fascinating for chemists and physicists . Friedrich Reinitzer, a botanist at the Karl-Ferdinands-Università ¤t was the first to discover and publish work on liquid crystals[1] in 1888. In this paper he described the melting phenomena of cholesterol benzoate, in which there were two melting points; the compound transforms into a cloudy fluid at 145.5  °C which became clear at 178.5  °C.[1] Reinitzer could not explain these observations, so he sought help from physicist Otto Lehmann, an expert in polarisation microscopy. Lehmann investigated the optical properties of the compound and found crystallites in the cloudy fluid, and observed this to be an intermediate phase (or â€Å"mesophase† – from Ancient Greek,ÃŽ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ­ÃÆ'ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (mà ©sos) meaning â€Å"middle†) between the liquid and solid phase. This intermediate phase showed birefringence but also flowed like a liquid.[2] In 1904, Lehmann was the first to coin the term â€Å"Liquid crystal† for these types of compounds. Vorlà ¤nder, a German chemist, was another pioneer in liquid crystal research and he discovered that molecular shape was very important in the geometry of the mesophase.[3] In 1935 Vorlà ¤nder retired but due to his research most of the liquid crystals up this date had been synthesised by him. For a long time liquid crystals were merely scientific curiosity.[4] The unique properties of liquid crystals together with some molecules being sensitive to electric fields, began the research by Heilmeier[5] in 1968 which led to the discovery and widespread applications in liquid crystal displays (LCDs).[6][7][8][9][10][11] 1.2 Classifying Liquid Crystals Liquid crystals are classified in many ways,[12][13] molecules within the mesophases (mesogens) can be calamitic (rod-like), discotic (disc-like), amphiphilic, nonamphiphilic, metal containing, non-metal containing and low molecular weight or polymeric. Liquid crystals either show thermotropic behaviour or lyotropic behaviour. Thermotropic behaviour means the compounds are liquid crystalline within a defined temperature range, below this range compounds are crystalline and above it compounds are isotropic liquids (figure 1). Thermotropic liquid crystalline compounds also require no solvent. Lyotropic liquid crystals are dependent on solvents, where solvent concentration affects aggregation and liquid crystal behaviour. Figure 1: Rod-like (calamitic) molecules representing molecular arrangement of thermotropic liquid crystalline phase transitions. This work is focused on calamitic, thermotropic liquid crystals. Mesophases of such liquid crystals can be divided into categories which depend on the orientation and order. The main categories are nematic (N), smectic (Sm) and cholesteric (N*) (or chiral nematic) (figure 2). Figure 2: Molecular arrangements of different sub-phase allignments. 1.2.2 Nematic Phases The nematic phase is the simplest mesophase known; there is long range orientational order between the mesogens but no short range positional order. Mesogens are able to freely translate and rotate along the director field (n) but are randomly distributed in space. â€Å"Nematic† comes from the Ancient Greek word ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ± (â€Å"nema† meaning thread) as when observed through a microscope thread-like structures are observed. 1.2.1 Smectic Phases Liquid crystals with smectic mesophases were originally discovered from amphiphilic molecules, the phase type coming from the Ancient Greek word ÏÆ'ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ µÃŽ ºÃâ€žÃŽ ¿ÃÆ' (â€Å"smektos† meaning soap-like). Today, the word smectic is used for liquid crystals in which the molecules occupy orientational order, but are also organised in layers[14]. These organised layers can slide relative to each other, which contributes to the liquid character of the liquid crystal phase. Many smectic phases have been discovered, each smectic phase differs in the orientation and position of the mesogens.[15] Smectic phases are distinguished by letters; SmA, SmB, SmC etc. with SmA and SmC being the most common. Smectic phases are distinguished via the molecular orientation within the layers (figure 2).[16][17] Smectic A (SmA) mesophases have molecules aligned along a director field (n) and are parallel to the layer normal and in smectic C (SmC) mesophases the molecules are tilted at a certai n angle away from the layer normal.[17] Compounds exhibiting smectic mesophases are sometimes referred to as two dimensional liquids, since there is no positional order within each layer.[14] 1.2.3 Cholesteric Phases The cholesteric phase is the nematic phase only mesogens change orientation in a helical manner with respect to the director field (n). The director field in the cholesteric phase changes direction and is perpendicular to the direction of the helix. The chirality comes from the molecules orienting themselves into a helix; each layer is non-superimposable. Within the cholesteric mesophase is the pitch, which is defined as the distance between one mesogenic layer and another which has rotated 360  ° to the director field (figure 3). Figure 3: Representation of the cholesteric mesophase with the cholesteric pitch. The first observed liquid crystals based on cholesterol derivatives showed this mesophase type, which is where the mesophase name â€Å"cholesteric† originates.[1][2] 1.2.4 Chiral Liquid Crystals There are 3 main types of chiral liquid crystals. The first type was found with cholesterol benzoate (the first liquid crystal discovery) in which the molecule contains one or more stereocentres. These form liquid crystals with helical order in the mesophase. The second type contains two molecules; a chiral guest molecule and an achiral nematic molecule. These molecules are mixed together to form chiral cholesteric structures. In the third type, mesogens layer themselves perpendicular to each other forming a helix or twist. These molecules do not need to be chiral, as the perpendicular stacking form helixes, giving this third type the name twisted nematic. Twisted nematic phases are found in liquid crystal displays and chiral liquid crystals overall are useful in the field of stereochemistry, optics and material science.[12] 1.3 Ionic Liquid Crystals Knight and Shaw were the first to discover liquid crystals which were ionic in 1938; the compounds had a pyridinium cationic core and flexible alkyl chains attached.[18] Ionic liquid crystals possess properties characteristic of liquid crystals (molecular order, mobility, anisotropy of physical properties) and ionic liquids (conductivity, thermal stability)[19] making them very interesting and useful for ion conduction (aligned ionic liquids[20][21]), electroluminescence (which can be used in organic light emitting diodes), manufacturing of displays[10], spatial light modulators[22], optical connectors and switches[23], molecular sensors and detectors[24][25] References [1] F. Reinitzer, Monatsh Chem 1888, 9, 421–441. [2] O. Lehmann, Z Phys Chem 1889, 4, 462–472. [3] D. Vorlà ¤nder, Z Phys Chem 1923, 105, 211–254. [4] T. J. Sluckin, D. A. Dunmur, H. Stegemeyer, Crytals That Flow Classic Papers from the History of Liquid Crystals, 2004. [5] G. H. Heilmeier, L. A. Zanoni, L. A. Barton, Appl Phys Lett 1968, 13, 46–47. [6] M. Schadt, H. Seiberle, A. Schuster, Nature 1996, 381, 212–215. [7] M. Schadt, W. Helfrich, Appl Phys Lett 1971, 18, 127–128. [8] M. Schadt, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 2009, 48, 03B001. [9] H. Kawamoto, Process IEEE 2002, 90, 460–500. [10] M. A. Karim, Electro-Optical Displays, CRC Press, 1992. [11] P. Yeh, C. Gu, Optics of Liquid Crystal Displays, John Wiley Sons, 2010. [12] I. Dierking, in Textures Liq. Cryst., Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, 2003, pp. i–xi. [13] P. J. Collings, J. S. Patel, Handbook of Liquid Crystal Research, Oxford University Press, 1997. [14] A. Jakli, A. Saupe, One- and Two-Dimensional Fluids: Properties of Smectic, Lamellar and Columnar Liquid Crystals, CRC Press, 2006. [15] C. Bahr, in Chirality Liq. Cryst. (Eds.: H.-S. Kitzerow, C. Bahr), Springer New York, 2001, pp. 223–250. [16] M. Barà ³n, Pure Appl. Chem. 2001, 73, DOI 10.1351/pac200173050845. [17] B. Chen, X. B. Zeng, U. Baumeister, S. Diele, G. Ungar, C. Tschierske, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 4621–4625. [18] G. A. Knight, B. D. Shaw, J. Chem. Soc. 1938, 682–683. [19] K. Binnemans, Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 4148–4204. [20] T. Kato, Science 2002, 295, 2414–2418. [21] M. Yoshio, T. Kagata, K. Hoshino, T. Mukai, H. Ohno, T. Kato, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 5570–5577. [22] B. Bahadur, Liquid Crystals — Applications and Uses: (Volume 3), WORLD SCIENTIFIC, 1992. [23] J. L. De Bougrenet de la Tocnaye, Liq. Cryst. 2004, 31, 241–269. [24] A. Hussain, A. S. Pina, A. C. A. Roque, Biosens. Bioelectron. 2009, 25, 1–8. [25] C. Ohm, M. Brehmer, R. Zentel, Adv. Mater. 2010, 22, 3366–3387.

Topshop SWOT Analysis

Topshop is a fashion store that has around 300 stores in the UK, and over 100 in international places. It was launched in 1964, and Topshop has become one of fashion’s largest success stories. They have captured the most fashionable styles every seasons, its bold and saucy approach to style has attracted fashion-conscious shoppers and industry insiders alike. Topshop’s triumph has been impressive, despite its humble start. Topshop started in the basement of Peter Robinson department store in 1964 and a few years later became an independent retailer. In 1994, the brand took over the entire 90,000 sq ft space at London Oxford Circus, when the iconic Topshop flagship was launched. It is still there today, and is said to be the world’s biggest fashion store on the high street, captivating over 200,000 shoppers each week. As an early pioneer of high street and designer collaborations, Topshop’s partnerships with brands such as Cella Birtwell and Kate Moss, who is the history’s most iconic fashion names, and they have further secured the brand’s reputation as a fashion leader. Topshop’s strength. Topshop’s strength is to access to target market with over 300 stores nationwide, and they are doing online shopping and shipping to over 100 countries now. Topshop also have a wide variety of merchandise, with thousands of looks per season, their looks per season comes along with creative design concepts and fresh ideas every year, these strongly says that the trend awareness of Topshop is very high. Topshop is also said to be the largest fashion store in UK, offering free personal style consultants, competing with the high-end department stores. They are in collaborations with designers and celebrities like Kate Moss and Cella Birtwell. Lastly, Topshop is part of arcadia, which is a group managing several successful brands. (177) Topshop’s weakness The weakness of Topshop is that few of the garments quality is not matching with the price, and that they have too many products and the staffs are not well educated enough about the merchandise, for example the material of the apparels. Most of the merchandise are made suited for only the younger demographic and few of the ad campaigns are not eye catching enough. The company is said to be global, however it has a presence only in few countries worldwide. Topshop’s opportunities Topshop’s opportunities are that they have the potential for further globalization of the brand and more than 60 cities with a potential for a Topshop has been identified. Topshop also have th potential to franchise brand and develop new products and services like more trained staff. Topshop also have the opportunities to become the largest fashion store in other cities than London. Topshop’s threats Topshop’s biggest threat is the constant new entries and competitors in their home market. There might be possible recession and people are less likely to spend money on trendy items Topshop have in store, given the current weaknesses of currency, Topshop is not the bargain it used to be. With constant new entrant, there will be price wars with their competitors. Topshop being a global retailer means that they are exposed to political problems in the countries that they operate in. With Topshop’s success, there is a potential for a brand that will copy the style that Topshop has for the past few years of trends. (377)