Yearly Archives: 2016

‘Discuss the representation of women’s experience within the patriarchal scheme of things.’ [68%, 2007]

Image of the feedback sheet pertaining to Chris Larham's essay discussing the representation of women's experience within the patriarchal scheme of things [68%, 2007].

In this essay I will discuss the representation of women’s experience within the patriarchal scheme of things, with reference to Mary Wollstonecraft’s ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’, Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’, and Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’. I aim to highlight the theme of female subjugation within a male-dominated world that is common to all three authors, and examine the reasons proposed by Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf to explain such a prejudiced constitution of society. Finally, I shall demonstrate that Susan Glaspell’s literary genius produced a play that puts forward a strong statement on the necessity of female solidarity if women are to survive in a sex-biased society.[…]

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Posted in English Degree [Bachelor of Arts]

Writing Selves: Understanding Autobiography ~2,500-3,000 Word Essay [70%, 2007]

An image of the feedback sheet critiquing Chris Larham's essay on the interplay between 'autobiography' and 'fiction' [70%, 2007].

In this essay I will ultimately confirm Thomas Wolfe’s statement, concluding that all serious work in literature is a product of ‘fictional’ and ‘autobiographical’ elements. In order to arrive at this conclusion, I will firstly establish a provisional opposition in the form ‘autobiography’/’fiction’ that corresponds to the distinction between the ‘truth’/’untruth’ of the textual substance of serious literary works. Having thus distinguished the terms ‘autobiography’ and ‘fiction’, I will show that aspects of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ‘Confessions’ are undeniably rooted in reality, and highlight components of the narrative related in Philip K. Dick’s ‘Valis’ that are founded purely on imagination – thus offering evidence that apparently refutes Wolfe’s statement. From a post-structuralist perspective, I will deconstruct the argument that these two texts are uncorrupted representatives of ‘two’ literary genres by highlighting the ‘fictional’ elements of the Confessions with reference to Paul de Man, and shedding light on the ‘autobiographical’ basis of ‘Valis’. A further deconstruction of the terms ‘fiction’ and ‘autobiography’ will demonstrate that these terms cannot guarantee the (un-/)truthfulness of a literary text, as they are contaminated by one another at the etymological level. I will illustrate the ‘fictional’ technique of verisimilitude that further blurs the boundaries between ‘truth’/’untruth’, before using a scene from the film ‘V For Vendetta’ to exemplify Paul de Man’s belief that ‘autobiography’ is not a distinct literary genre, but, rather, a figure of reading or understanding literary texts, and that, therefore, all texts are at once both ‘autobiographical’ and ‘fictional’.

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Posted in English Degree [Bachelor of Arts]

Marked Practice Exam [38 out of 63, 60%, ‘C’ grade, 2001]

Image of the first marked page of Chris Larham's AS Level Business Studies practice exam [38 out of 63, 60%, 'C'-grade].

This essay will examine the following aspects of business theory: flexible working; rationalization; disadvantageous effects of employee job insecurity; inadequately skilled employees; theories of motivation; seasonality; stock buffers; and production methods.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

Coursework Project: Coca-Cola Versus Pepsi-Cola [‘B+’, 2001]

An image of the first marked page of Chris Larham's AS Level Business Studies coursework project examining the rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola ['B+', 2001].

This coursework project examines the rivalry between the Coca-Cola company and the Pepsi-Cola company. Conclusions are drawn following a consideration of a number of theoretical business frameworks: product details; current market situations; current initiatives; three-facet models; and Boston matrices.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

Would ‘Easyleisure.com’ view the current economic conditions as an opportunity? [14 out of 18, 2001]

Image of Chris Larham's original marked consideration of whether 'easyleisure.com' would view the current economic conditions as an opportunity [14 out of 18, 2001].

This essay assesses, analyses, and evaluates whether ‘Easyleisure.com’ would view the economic conditions [as stated in the case study] as an opportunity.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

Marked Practice Exam [61 out of 74, 82%, ‘A’-grade, 2001]

Image of the first marked page of Chris Larham's AS Level Business Studies practice exam [61 out of 74, 82%, 'A' grade, 2001].

The following topics are addressed in this practice exam: the definition of ‘Ltd’; the exchange rate; redundancy; ‘SWOT’ analysis; expansion into new markets and exporting to foreign shores; and the business effects of an economic upturn.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

The Trade Cycle: Questions and Answers [2001]

An image of Chris Larham's written responses to a series of trade cycle questions [2001].

This article examines the following aspects of the trade cycle: effects of economic recession; definition of ‘consumer durables’; stock level management; business preparation for recession; Government responses to ‘boom and bust’ economies; ‘CBI’ definition; ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ definition; and the official Government line during an economic recession.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

Evaluate the different aspects of starting up a new business and examine how businesses can develop a new opportunity to prevent the threat of competitors [17 out of 18, 2001]

Image of Chris Larham's marked essay evaluating the different aspects of starting up a new business [17 out of 18, 2001].

This essay evaluates two aspects of starting up a business: sources of finance and developing an export model.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

Changing Employment Practices [30 out of 30, 2001]

Image of the first marked page of Chris Larham's essay on changing employment practices [30 out of 30, 2001].

This essay considers changes in employment type and level, before proposing two measures that the Government could take to prevent/offset 50,000 job losses in the automotive industry.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]

“Analyze the methods that Polar Ices could use to tackle its under-utilization of capacity in the winter months” [7 out of 7, 2001]

Image of a piece of Chris Larham's work completed as part of a Business Studies AS Level qualification [2000/2001, graded at 7 out of 7].

Two methods that ‘Polar Ices’ could use to tackle its under-utilisation of capacity are *discounting* and *seasonal staffing contracts*.

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Posted in AS Level Business Studies [A1]