Compare and contrast upper-class life in 1800 in Seoul with life in Essay

Compare and contrast upper-class life in 1800 in Seoul with life in the same era in Edo. Be sure to include information on education and leisure activities - Essay Example Seoul grew with time and made great political impact. Among the activities that were embraced in Seoul were sports. The change in socio-political status of this era impacted on the interest in leisure activities as well as the education. Seoul people later embraced activities such as arts, learning the alphabets, painting, and drawings. On the other hand, by 1800’s Edo was ruled by strict customs with the intention of promoting stability. Confucianism prevailed; ensuring that the social boundaries were strictly maintained, as in Seoul (Ebrey et al. 279-288). Unlike in Seoul, the Edo era consisted of four social orders; the samurai, the peasants, the merchants, and the artisans. The peasants produced the food necessary for life, unlike in Seoul where sports were embraced. Artisans produced non-food items while merchants amassed wealth without making goods, and were listed least socially. Before the 18th century, Japan was in isolation and the peasants and the samurai were poor and stagnated. In 1800’s, however, the education status of the people rose as the ban on western books was lifted. Scholars adopted Dutch books and learnt mathematics, medicine, and military science. Like in the Seoul, leisure and arts were embraced as

Is now a good time to buy shares in Marks & Spencer PLC (500words) Essay

Is now a good time to buy shares in Marks & Spencer PLC (500words) - Essay Example A historical review of the financial performance of the firm would suggest that its performance during last five years have remained consistent i.e. the overall revenue of the firm increased from $14.726Billion, in 2004, to $17.990 Billion in 2008- a growth of more than 22%. It is also critical to note however that the firm recorded negative growth in revenue during 2005 & 2006. (Hoovers.com, 2008). Operating Profit of the company showed an improved performance by recording a growth of over 65% during the same period i.e. Operating Income was $1.461 Billion in 2004, whereas in March 2008, it was 2.415Billion. The Net Operating Cash flows during last five years have been positive and have shown considerable growth from 2004 to 2008. Net Operating Cash Flows were $633.5 Million in 2004, whereas during 2008, Marks & Spencer recorded net positive cash flows of $2.133Billion. Return on equity remained consistent during last five years i.e. 0.6% in 2004 & 1.2% in 2008.