The Discussion of Homosexuality in Comic Books - 1980 Words

The discussion of homosexuality in comic books has a long history, reaching back to 1954, when German-American psychiatrist Frederick Wertham published Seduction of the Innocent, a book that warned about the negative effect of popular literature. The book was a minor bestseller and was taken seriously at the time, creating alarm in parents with the claim that reading the crime-, superhero- and horror comics that contain descriptions of violence, sex, drug use and other adult themes, children will be encouraged to similar behavior (Wikipedia). More than five decades later the song remains the same; not much seems to have changed in society’s mentality. Parents fear that violent video games will make their children into raging psychopaths,†¦show more content†¦There are Movies and TV-shows addressing the issue in one way or another, experimenting with LGBTQ characters and watching the reaction of fans, testing the waters. Twelve states have approved same-sex marriage le gislation in the US, celebrities and sportsmen are coming out to the public, with Pope Francis’ statement that gays and lesbians â€Å"must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity†, even the Catholic Church seems to have turned around and â€Å"has pressed the reset button on the Roman Catholic Church’s treatment of LGBT people (Chad Griffin), and in spite of all this, just in the past 3 years, there have been more than forty registered fatal hate crimes targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The comic-book industry did not ignore the issue either, and with all the other major media, comics have made a statement; with all the superheroes that are literally coming out of the closet, the fact that just this past year, there have been two same-sex marriages on the covers of the Astonishing X-men and Archie, two big-brand comic books, and that the first transgender comic-book character, the roommate of Batgirl, Alysia Yeoh, was introduced, this supposed â€Å"cult medium† turned into one of the strongest advocates for gay rights and marriage equality (Zachary, Esquire blogs). It might seem like homosexual characters are a new concept in comic books, though in fact they appeared as early as the ‘60s and ‘70s in all sorts of European, Asian,Show MoreRelatedThe s Comic Books Have Recently Become A Way Of Representing And Views On Sexuality1862 Words   |  8 PagesComic books have recently become a way of representing and expressing ideas on human sexuality. Politically InQueerect #2 by Dylan Edwards and Liliane and Muesli in Beyond Shades of Queer by Leanne Franson both tell a story with non-heterosexual characters to portray different views on sexuality. Franson’s comic contains many humorous panels that involve a cat or a dog interacting with a human being. She is concerned with the categorization of human sexuality based on sexual behavior and orientationRead MoreCloud 91343 Words   |  6 PagesDid Caryl Churchill succeed in breaking patriarchal stereotypes of gender and sexuality the way she intended in her play Cloud 9 with the cross-casting method or did it merely create a comic element in the play? If she did succeed how does her examination of sexism apply to the twenty-first century compared to its original production in 1979? Cloud 9 was written in the heart of the women’s liberation movement which is also known as the second wave of feminism. During this period, feminists foughtRead MoreThe Rape Fantasies Of A Fun Home. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic1301 Words   |  6 PagesThe Rape Fantasies of a Fun Home Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir written by American cartoonist and memoirist Alison Bechdel. Alison began her career by illustrating and writing comic strips for Dykes to Watch Out which debuted in 1983. Alison Bechdel was an LGBT activist who tells her unraveling story recalling her early years about struggling with self-identity while coming to understand her father s enclosed identity as well. Contrary, Rape Fantasies was written and publishedRead MoreWorld War II Comic Books Failed2324 Words   |  10 Pagesbehind ‘comics’ or ‘graphic novels’ continued to develop. The subject of these graphics range from early humans attempting to communicate information about animal migration patterns painted on the walls of caves, to mythological stories painted onto the surface of pottery. These images are made to be informative, or entertaining, but in general fail to deliver a message that moves beyond the delivery of information, and betw een good and bad. In both pre and post-World War II comic books failedRead MoreEssay about Pop Art’s Response to Mass Consumerism1133 Words   |  5 Pagesversatile artists whose names are synonymous with the movement. Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Andy Warhol all contributed to create what is known today as Pop Art. The main influence of Roy Lichtenstein’s artwork included panels from popular comic books. Lichtenstein would find a panel that was already designed and just reconstruct it himself using thick outlines, bold colours and benday dots. Arguably one of his most famous pieces of art, Whamm! displays this method of painting. Those methodsRead MoreThemes of Filipino Komiks Short Stories: a Content Analysis Themes of Filipino Komiks Short Stories: a Content Analysis Themes of Filipino Komiks Short Stories: a Content Analysis5271 Words   |  22 PagesTHEMES OF FILIPINO KOMIKS SHORT STORIES: A CONTENT ANALYSIS ABSTRACT This study is a content analysis of the various themes, sub-themes and the types of endings contained in the short stories in Filipino comic books, thereafter referred to in its vernacular form, komiks. The study sampled 30 komiks from two of the top komiks publishers in the Philippines. There were 10 samples of EXTRA (Special) komiks by the Atlas Publishing Company, thereafter referred to as Atlas Publishing, and 20 samplesRead More Homosexuality Must be Discussed in American Elementary Schools5112 Words   |  21 Pagesproductively dispel stereotypes, it is necessary that queer issues be implemented into the elementary school curriculum. In considering the addition of queer issues into elementary education this paper includes a definition of queer issues. A discussion of why queer issues must be taught follows its explanation. In addition, arguments against queer education are looked at and refuted. Finally, ways to implement queer education into elementary school curricula are discussed. In reading over theRead MoreVideo Time, And Legend Of Korra Are All Modern Shows2092 Words   |  9 Pagesvalid question. Taking a class that one has failed before does not guarantee that one will do better the second time. In other words, exposure does not always equal change. Yet, by presenting substantial, multi-dimensional characters, the door for discussion is presented while it may never have been before. Studies about LGB identity has shown that having â€Å"a sense of social support has been shown to enhance individual s psychological and physical well being† (Gomillion, Giuliano). This doesn’t meanRead MoreE ssay on American Censorship of Japanese Animation2491 Words   |  10 Pagessociety today.   Of course their customs have influenced their entertainment, especially television and movies.   In a day and age where information is free to all through the internet and reliable postal systems these television shows, movies, toys, and comics have made their way all over the world.   The reception of Japanese media has had mixed reactions, both good and bad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   America, being an amalgamation of societies and cultures, has naturally had a mixed reaction to Japanese media.   TheRead MoreLgbt19540 Words   |  79 Pagesorientation | * Homosexuality * Demographics * Biology * Environment | History | * LGBT history * Timeline * Social movements | Culture | * LGBT community * Coming out * Pride * Slang * Symbols * Gay village | Rights | * Laws around the world * Marriage * Union * Adoption * Military service * Legal aspects of transsexualism | Social attitudes | * Heteronormativity * LGBT stereotypes * Queer * Religion and homosexuality * Religion and

Business Controlled Assessment At Afro Caribbean Hair Styles

Business Controlled Assessment For my controlled assessment I have investigated an entrepreneur named, Asaya Marks, who owns a small multi-purpose business called Asaya Hardware and Asaya Beauty Box which changed on July 5th 2014 from Causeway  £ Saver. The business is both a hardware store and a beauty salon, the beauty salon specialising in Afro-Caribbean hair styles. For the controlled assessment I will be doing task 3, which states: Which of the qualities shown by an entrepreneur has most contributed to the success of their business? In response to this task I found a mixture of desk and field research; desk research expressing various opinions of entrepreneurial skills, field research being questionnaires and feedback forms expressing the entrepreneur, the staff and some customer’s views. From Appendix 1 I have become more aware of the importance of planning within a business- it allows an entrepreneur to decide their desired outcome for the business. Planning with consistency is also important (Appendix 4) as it leads to a more success and stability for the business; Asaya Marks does this by using forecasts often when planning which may lead to a more organised method of planning. Asaya Marks’ business benefits from planning as she can be more prepared for circumstances such as an increase in supply and demand in which she could have already planned a way to purchase goods from a different seller at short notice. As an entrepreneur Asaya Marks uses planning toShow MoreRelatedRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagescounter- culture that celebrates and sees redemption in Africa and rejects the European values that have oppressed a society. But prior to the advent of popular culture and especially the music recording business in the late twentieth century, its apparatus of cultural formation was controlled fully by the elite who, to a large extent, ran the educational apparatus and the economic system. But much of the country was beginning to question in earnest the structure of colonial society by the earlyRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagespollution and ecological degradation. And he tracks underlying trends and factors—such as rapid population growth, rampant consumerism, and global warfare—that have contributed to global climate change. Tucker concludes his rather pessimistic assessment of these key dimensions of the twentieth-century experience with cautionary explorations of key sources of our increased recognition and understanding of these processes and their implications for life on the planet, as well as with an overview

Business Communication Media

Question: If the Petrillo family are not able to achieve the American Dream of owning a home, should the media be blamed? Answer: Introduction: Media is an important tool in the contemporary world where it promises to open and wide-ranging stage for communication. The purpose of the essay is to understand the role of media in influencing the perception on the idea of American Dream. American Dream: In the present era, every individual is living in a situation of continuous mass communication and the effect is experience by them on regular basis (Littlejohn Foss, 2010). Often the effect of mass media is taken for granted as a result the touch with the reality and practical scenario is often lost. The American society is a capitalist society where most of the state affairs and economy is controlled and guided by the private owners profit interests. The American Dream have turned out to be a confused subject and the most complicated part is that it means a lot of different things to different people and perception changes according to individuals (Streitmatter, 2015). Every individual has some needs and aspirations and thus American Dream generally means opportunity and prospects to succeed in life. Influence of Media on American Dream: There is a big role played by the media in selling the American dream. The media create a concept of the symbolic life that can be explained as a general rationalization which legitimates the concept by making it metalize as reasonable (Flew, 2007). Television shows, news and movies of upper class, middle class and lower class has depicted how these classes have become rich but most of the time people simply forget that there is much more achieving American Dream than to just become rich and buy a big house. Basically, the American Dream has been represented in media in such a materialistic way that it has become impossible to achieve it. James Truslow Adams original American Dreamidea has been misinterpreted and showed in more materialistic revelation by media (Rosenberg, 2011). The mass media in the contemporary state is one of the most crucial instruments that safeguards the capitalist idea of ideological supremacy and manipulates the reality (Bryant Oliver, 2009). In reality the legitimate organization of capitalist economy sells the American Dream which includes the media. The media creates persistent themes in news and documents that calls to purchase America, generating a happy picture in front of the Petrillo family. The American society has simply moved from reality that represents practical scenario to the conception of simulacra that has no connection with the real world and practicality (Thompson, 2013). Conclusion: The Petrillo family and many others fail to achieve the American Dream simply because they fail to realize the reality in the influence of the media. The fulfilment of the American Dream is not possible in the current scenario as it is not wished-for. The American Dream is continuous process to dominate the workers, who actually work for capitalists in hope to achieve his dream one day. In reality the actual intention of the media is to attract customers to buy goods, lands and houses, or in simple world they are continuously promoting in search of consumers for the market, as without consumers the entire economic process would crush to an end. Therefore, it can be stated that the basic idea of American Dream has changed to become an element of the general consciousness of American society through institutionalization and legitimating where media plays an important role. Thus, media can be blamed for Petrillo familys unsatisfied American Dream, as it plays a crucial part in generatin g the idea of happy life in their mind. Reference: Bryant, J., Oliver, M. B. (Eds.). (2009).Media effects: Advances in theory and research. Routledge. Flew, T. (2007).New media: An introduction. Oxford University Press. Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A. (2010).Theories of human communication. Waveland press. Rosenberg, E. (2011).Spreading the American dream: American economic and cultural expansion, 1890-1945. Macmillan. Streitmatter, R. (2015).Mightier than the sword: How the news media have shaped American history. Westview Press. Thompson, J. B. (2013).Ideology and modern culture: Critical social theory in the era of mass communication. John Wiley Sons.

The Unexpected Essays (1201 words) - 9, , Term Papers

The Unexpected by It was a Saturday morning, and I thought it would be a good time to go to the beach with my friends since I had nothing to do for the rest of the week. So I decided to call my best friend Sarah to see if she wanted to drive with me down to the beach Unfortunately, she had a wedding to go to, so she was not able to make it. I was a little disappointed, but I decided to go to the beach by myself. I left home at 3:30 p.m. and arrived at 5:00 p.m. to the beach house. Everything looked the same wa as it did last summer when I came with my sister. The only difference was now I was alone, and that was little scary. The next morning I went to one of my favorite cafes The Italian Coffee. This Cafe held good memories since last summer I worked there. The owners Mr. Roger and Mrs. Roger told me that a job was available if I wanted to work. I thanked them, but e lained that I had other plans for the summer. I told them that the restaurant looked great since it had been renovated. It was very noisy and crowded, yet it had a wonderful atmosphere that customers like. Perhaps, it was the Italian music and the w derful smell of fresh coffee that attracted them. Suddenly a lady came over to my table and asked, '' How are you, Raquel?'' I told her, '' I'm sorry Maam I don't recognize you!. She replied, ''Oooh, Raquel , I'm Elizabeth's aunt''. I said, ''Of course, excuse me''. We started talking about h the place was crowded, and she told me that she had to meet a friend here, but she had not shown up. I told her that it was nice seeing here, but I was expecting a call and I had to go. She promised me she was going to tell Elizabeth to call me so w could get together for lunch soon. When I got home to check the answering machine, the telephone rang. It was mom. She said that Sarah was planning to come Monday, and if I needed anything to give her a call. I thanked her and said,'' You are not going to believe where I just came fr ?. She quickly replied, ''Don't even ask it '' The Italian Coffee''. '' You are right '' I giggled. '' The Rogers are doing great, working like crazy trying to make everything perfect '', I added. She said, '' Honey, I'll give you a call Friday n ht OK!. Good bye!''. So far my day was going great. I sat down and watched MTV. It was a re-run of '' The Real World''. I quickly fell asleep on the couch for two hours and was awakened by the door bell. It was Claudia Roger explaining that her mother had told her that was in town, so she decided to drop by. I told her , '' I'm glad you came by. Are you doing anything for lunch?''. When Claudia told me that she was available, we decided to go to the Dixie to get a cheese burger. On the way to the Dixie , we made a quick stoop by the shoe store to ask Mr. Edwards to tell his daughter that I was going to meet her at 5 o'clock so we could play volley ball with my friends. Mr. Edwards was concerned because he had eard rumors about a kidnapper in town. Since Elizabeth and I were running late , we didn't really pay munch attention to what he was saying. When we got home, Claudia left to go to work. Feeling in the mood for going to the beach, I packed all my th gs and drove there. When I got to the beach I couldn't find my friends, so I grabbed a magazine and all of the sudden felt asleep. Waking from my nap, I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. I went back to the shoe store in the mall to tell Mr. Edwa s that I didn't see his daughter down at the beach. He didn't know where she was either. He became hysterical and decided to

Free Essays on What Is Unique About Human Reality

What is Unique About Human Reality? When first confronted with this question I thought that the thing that made human reality unique was that it was always changing. I also stated that reality has the tendency to change based on individual and cultural environments. In this paper I will attempt to further explain my statements by taking a look at how different perspectives and social environments make human reality unique. I will then close by looking at the importance of the symbol and how it helps to create the uniqueness in human reality. Growing up in Philadelphia I always thought that everything around me was the same for everyone throughout Philadelphia. I thought that the reality I shared growing up in Philadelphia was the similar for everyone growing up in Philadelphia. Everyone who lived in my neighborhood basically lived in homes that were all alike on the outside. There was no one of a different race that lived in my area so I was basically surrounded by the same thing. Basically we all shared the same reality. This shared reality revolved around the same part of North Philadelphia in which we all grew up. I never really thought of anything outside of the box. It seemed that stepping out the realm of reality that I was a part of would leave me lost and confused. There were times that I wanted to break out of the environment that I was subjected to but it just seemed to hard to do. The adults in the neighborhood help shape the reality that we all were apart of. The adults put meanings on those thing s that we as youth did not understand. The police were not always there to protect and serve and anyone who was white was only there to keep you down. When growing up your reality is shaped not only by your environment but also by the adults in your life. Labels are put on things all around you and until you are old enough to change the meaning of that label you the individual are sharing the reality of som... Free Essays on What Is Unique About Human Reality Free Essays on What Is Unique About Human Reality What is Unique About Human Reality? When first confronted with this question I thought that the thing that made human reality unique was that it was always changing. I also stated that reality has the tendency to change based on individual and cultural environments. In this paper I will attempt to further explain my statements by taking a look at how different perspectives and social environments make human reality unique. I will then close by looking at the importance of the symbol and how it helps to create the uniqueness in human reality. Growing up in Philadelphia I always thought that everything around me was the same for everyone throughout Philadelphia. I thought that the reality I shared growing up in Philadelphia was the similar for everyone growing up in Philadelphia. Everyone who lived in my neighborhood basically lived in homes that were all alike on the outside. There was no one of a different race that lived in my area so I was basically surrounded by the same thing. Basically we all shared the same reality. This shared reality revolved around the same part of North Philadelphia in which we all grew up. I never really thought of anything outside of the box. It seemed that stepping out the realm of reality that I was a part of would leave me lost and confused. There were times that I wanted to break out of the environment that I was subjected to but it just seemed to hard to do. The adults in the neighborhood help shape the reality that we all were apart of. The adults put meanings on those thing s that we as youth did not understand. The police were not always there to protect and serve and anyone who was white was only there to keep you down. When growing up your reality is shaped not only by your environment but also by the adults in your life. Labels are put on things all around you and until you are old enough to change the meaning of that label you the individual are sharing the reality of som...

The Pros and Cons of Biofuels

The Pros and Cons of Biofuels There are many environmental benefits to replacing oil with plant-based biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. For one, since such fuels are derived from agricultural crops, they are inherently renewable- and our own farmers typically produce them domestically, reducing our dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil. Additionally, ethanol and biodiesel emit less particulate pollution than traditional petroleum-based gasoline and diesel fuels. They also do not have much of a net contribution of greenhouse gases to the global climate change problem, since they only emit back to the environment the carbon dioxide that their source plants absorbed out of the atmosphere in the first place. Biofuels Are Easy to Use, but Not Always Easy to Find And unlike other forms of renewable energy (like hydrogen, solar or wind), biofuels are easy for people and businesses to transition to without special apparatus or a change in vehicle or home heating infrastructure- you can just fill your existing car, truck or home oil tank with it. Those looking to replace gasoline with ethanol in their car, however, must have a â€Å"flex-fuel† model that can run on either fuel. Otherwise, most regular diesel engines can handle biodiesel as readily as regular diesel. Despite the upsides, however, experts point out that biofuels are far from a cure for our addiction to petroleum. A wholesale societal shift from gasoline to biofuels, given the number of gas-only cars already on the road and the lack of ethanol or biodiesel pumps at existing filling stations, would take some time. Are There Enough Farms and Crops to Support a Switch to Biofuels? Another major hurdle for widespread adoption of biofuels is the challenge of growing enough crops to meet demand, something skeptics say might well require converting just about all of the world’s remaining forests and open spaces over to agricultural land. â€Å"Replacing only five percent of the nation’s diesel consumption with biodiesel would require diverting approximately 60 percent of today’s soy crops to biodiesel production,† says Matthew Brown, an energy consultant and former energy program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures. â€Å"That’s bad news for tofu lovers.† Of course, soy is now much more likely to be grown as an industrial commodity than as an ingredient for tofu! In addition, the intensive cultivation of crops for biofuels is done with the help of large amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. Does Producing Biofuels Use More Energy than They Can Generate? Another dark cloud looming over biofuels is whether producing them actually requires more energy than they can generate. After factoring in the energy needed to grow crops and then convert them into biofuels, Cornell University researcher David Pimental concludes that the numbers just don’t add up. His 2005 study found that producing ethanol from corn required 29 percent more energy than the end product itself is capable of generating. He found similarly troubling numbers in the process used to make biodiesel from soybeans. â€Å"There is just no energy benefit to using plant biomass for liquid fuel,† Pimentel says. The numbers might look quite different, though, for biofuel derived from agriculture waste products which would otherwise end up in a landfill. Biodiesel has been manufactured from poultry processing waste, for example. Once fossil fuel prices rise back up, those types of waste-based fuels might present favorable economics and will likely be developed further. Conservation is a Key Strategy for Reducing Dependence on Fossil Fuels There is no one quick-fix for weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels and the future will likely see a combination of sourcesfrom wind and ocean currents to hydrogen, solar and, yes, some use of biofuelspowering our energy needs. The â€Å"elephant in the living room† that is often ignored when considering energy options, however, is the hard reality that we must reduce our consumption, not just replace it with something else. Indeed, conservation is probably the largest single â€Å"alternative fuel† available to us. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

The Academy Awards For Best Foreign Film Language Movie- can you take Essay

The Academy Awards For Best Foreign Film Language Movie- can you take it seriously - Essay Example Is it befitting to say that these awards ‘celebrate’ the harsh realities of common person while the common person turns a blind eye to them? In the following parts we shall discuss all this and about the past winners. Best Foreign Language nominees get a lot of attention from people around the world. They are a part of ‘meaningful cinema’ that forces people to think about the matter and to do something for the cause. This is said not without proof, Day of Glory, a nominee in 2006, made an impact on the public policy when the law for elevating the benefits to Algerian veterans was passed. It is apt to say that these movies have a niche audience because there are few people who admire the movie for its effort and for its success in bringing forth a matter that matters. Not many people are willing to give their one hour to a cinema that raises an issue and says it in an unflattering manner; people would rather watch something that entertains. This nature is common to people around the world; however, when a film is nominated for Oscars they will watch a nominee from their homeland if not all the nominees. This is a much better condition. Let us now come to the nominees from various countries and their journey to the final nomination. As already said there are many controversies surrounding a nomination. This journey of controversies starts as soon as a film has to be selected for nominee from a country. There are so many political and personal forces working at this level itself that it is hard to say whether the nominee is actually the best nominee from their respective country. Last year the nominee from India was surrounded in controversies, since a member of the jury was a close friend of the director of the movie. The matter was so serious that High Court had to interrupt and though the nominee was not backed out but a rule was passed that banned any related person to

Economy or goberment related Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economy or goberment related - Personal Statement Example One can clearly see how Economics has overtaken all other fields. Wolfers (2015) gives an explanation of the development in question by arguing that the Great Depression was the major reason why Economics took over. The government needed to devise a way that would relieve the country from the economic strains that it had gone through. The economist came in handy. Major focus and importance was given to Economics as it gave answers to the existing problems as opposed to Psychology or even Anthropology (Wolfers, 2015). In the work, the author also explains that Economists are also consulted in numerous fields today, including fields that touch on social issues (Wolfers, 2015). This explains why Economics has become a major for many students, as the field is extremely marketable in the job market. The popularity of the field is also expected to increase with the years. From Wolfers’ (2015) work, I agree that the field of economics has taken over the field of Social Sciences. In the present society, it is evident that a huge percentage of articles, even in the archives, mention concepts related to economists. The number of articles on Psychology, Sociology and other arts are reducing by the day. This explains the extent in which the world is shifting towards an economic turn. Wolfers (2015) also explains that the rise of economy began in the 1980s to date. This can be linked to the Great Depression that caused massive impacts on the economy of the country. After the catastrophe, the government opted to come up with stringent measures that would prevent such an occurrence (Wolfers, 2015). This explains the great interest in economics. I agree with the author’s sentiments as the government was obligated to come up with measures that would see to a stable economy. The historians that had taken up a huge share of the market had no place, and were slowly overtaken (Wolfers, 2015). I believe the economists were justified. No government

A History of Elizabethan Theatre Essay Example for Free

A History of Elizabethan Theatre Essay * Stage Shape and Configuration: The size of amphitheatre varied up to 100 feet in diameter. The stage shape was octagonal, circular in shape having between 8 and 24 sides. The open air arena, called the pit or the yard, had a raised stage at one end and was surrounded by three tiers of roofed galleries with balconies overlooking the back of the stage. The stage projected halfway into the pit. The Stage dimensions varied from 20 foot wide 15 foot deep to 45 feet to 30 feet. The height of the raised stage was 3 to 5 feet and supported by large pillars. The floor of the Stage was made of wood. The rear of the stage was a roofed house-like structure, supported by two large columns. * Scenery: Elizabethan stages were sparser in terms of decoration when compared to the equivalent in later eras, but items such as furniture, including pieces like tables and thrones, were used to embellish a scene. In some cases, more elaborate sets were used; these included grassy banks, gallows frames and caves * Costumes: The costumes used in Shakespeares theater companies were perhaps one of the most effective forms of props employed, allowing actors to reflect changes in character and even gender with relative ease. Many of these costumes captured the historical setting of specific Shakespearean plays; for example, togas and breastplates were worn in performances of Titus Andronicus. Make-up, along with female clothing was used to depict women characters, since Elizabethan laws forbade women to act on stage. * Lighting: There was natural lighting as plays were produced in the afternoon. However there was some artificial lighting mainly intended to provide atmosphere for night scenes. * Sound: Musicians were used for music. Music was an extra effect added in the 1600s. The musicians would also reside in the Lords rooms (best seats in the house). * Special Effects: Sometimes stage props served to recreate some special effect. Examples included fireworks, which were set off to replicate lightning in outdoor scenes, and actual pistols without the bullets which would be shot whenever military salutes or fighting needed to be shown. Even animals, such as dogs, were brought on stage in Shakespearean plays because creating a fake animal would have been more difficult. Trap doors would enable some special effects e.g. smoke. * Other Important Conventions:

William Shakespeares Richard III Essay -- William Shakespeare Richard

William Shakespeare's Richard III William Shakespeare’s characterization of Britain’s historical monarch Richard III, formerly Duke of Gloucester, is one of the most controversial in literature. To this day there are arguments upholding Richard III’s villainy and ascertaining his murder of the Princes in the tower, just as there are those who believe that he has been falsely represented by Shakespeare’s play and fight avidly to clear his name of any and all crimes. Because of the uncertainty surrounding his true character, Richard III is an intriguing personality to put into modern culture, which is exactly what Ian McKellen does in his rendition of the infamous ruler. However, McKellen’s portrayal of Richard III preserves the basic personality of Shakespeare’s character and continues the idea of Richard III as tyrant and murderer; there is no doubt that McKellen captures the bestial nature of Richard, but even though this main staple of the play is kept intact, there are oth er aspects of this adaptation that are not so true to Shakespeare’s vision. Overall, however, I believe that this is an honest modernization of a classic play, and that Shakespeare would have approved of most of the changes made, with only a few exceptions. The film adaptation of Richard III was relatively straight forward, and certain scenes were more clear on the screen than on the page, but there were several confusing episodes that detracted from an otherwise good rendition of Richard III. Without having read the book first, I feel that a viewer would have been totally lost during the opening scenes of destruction because there are no names given until ten minutes into the film, and even those are dropped rather casually. Because I have read... ... written play there is no such direction to let the audience know that Anne may not be aware of his full intentions or desires. It is entirely possible that when this play was performed in Shakespeare’s time this is exactly how the actor spoke his lines, but it is not clear one way or the other from the printed page. All in all, the film version of Richard III might be even more terrifying and brutal than the print version, because modern audiences will probably connect more with a visual image of atrocity rather than a purely written one. I believe that this is the power of Shakespeare’s work– it is powerful on paper, but still more powerful in performance. It is performance that lends his work its full potential, and as such the film of Richard III is true to the core argument of Shakespeare’s original text, illustrating the inner beast found in the soul of a man.

Credentialing System Implementation Essay

The previous two parts of this three-part assignment, the systems analysis and application architecture and process design aspect of the credentialing software project at TPI Health Systems (TPI) was explored. This last paper will explore the implementation stage of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) as it related to the credentialing project at TPI. There are six major steps to the implementation phase of the SDLC: (1) coding, (2) testing, (3) installation, (4) documentation, (5) training and (6) support. The text actually details five steps and breaks-out the last step, support, into its own phase (Satzinger, Jackson, & Burd, 2004, p. 626). The first phase, coding, is done in any of three development styles: (1) input, process, output, (2) top-down, (3) bottom up. The input, process, output (IPO) method is defined by first doing the activities that require external input followed by elements that process the input and concluded by programs that produce output (Zachman, 1987, p. 279). The IPO is effective in developing user interface first and simplifies testing. It does have a disadvantage of late output modules (Satzinger et al. p. 629). The top-down and bottom up methods produce the needed top or bottom modules, respectively. Top-down coding has the advantage of having a working version of the program. Poor utilization of programming personnel in the beginning of the project is disadvantage of the top-down development method. The bottom-up method puts programming personnel to work immediate, utilizing resources effectively. Unfortunately, this method also requires additional programming to test the modules, as well as an overall delay of testing by waiting for the top modules to be developed. The credentialing project at TPI used a weak IPO method of coding. The major attention was placed on converting the data in the existing Visual Fox format to Microsoft SQL 2000 compatible data. The company, SyMed, made no provision for any user interface changes. The process of how a credentialing application flowed through the TPI credentialing process was observed in the analysis phase of the project and the project team had wanted some user interface changes to accommodate TPI processes. These changes did not fit into the SyMed project plan, so the TPI process was changed to accommodate the pre-written user interface of the SyMed system. Testing is the next phase of the implementation phase. A comprehensive testing program includes a stepwise process starting with unit testing, followed by testing of group components called integration testing and concluded with entire systems test (Satzinger et al. , 2004, p. 640). Individual units or modules are tested prior to integration with more advanced modules, using driver modules. Once a set of modules are put together, integration testing can take place. These test include checking for interface compatibility, run-time exceptions, parameter values and unexpected state interactions (Satzinger et al. , p. 644-645). Jeff Theobald suggests that an effort should be made to concentrate not on just errors in a single application or module, but also the system as a whole and between systems (Theobald, 2007). After these tests are completed, the project goes on to system testing. System testing often involves daily â€Å"build and smoke† tests, where the system is set to run and is observed for â€Å"smoke† or errors (McConnell, 1996). The TPI credentialing system was tested in this manner. The project made it through the first two testing phases (unit and integration), but never made it out of systems testing. It â€Å"smoked† and never stopped due to a basic inability of the data store to handle the TPI method of placing multiple doctors in multiple entities. The SyMed development team called in the architect of the system and a step back to the analysis phase was made. Their entire development team, along with the architect, made a trip from Nashville to Louisville to redo the initial analysis. The team went back to Nashville with the new data and called back to say they could not do the project. The end of the project consumed uncounted person-hours, 7 months on the calendar and about $25,000 dollars. The next part of the implementation phase is installation. This phase is accomplished by several methods. The first is direct installation. This is where the new system is installed and implemented and the old system is â€Å"turned off. † This is a simple but risky way for a new system to be deployed. The next possible method of installation is parallel. This method is demonstrated by keeping both systems going for an extended amount of time. This is a low risk but high cost implementation scenario. Phased installation is the last method and is characterized by multiple possible pathways to final installation. Phased installation is also low risk, but can become quite complex due to the multiple pathways (Satzinger et al. , 2004). The TPI credentialing system, had it made it to this phase, was to be a parallel installation. Documentation is the next phase of implementation and usually consists of user documentation and systems documentation. User documentation is descriptions to users on how to work together with the system. It is typically how to startup and shutdown the system, the keystrokes necessary to do specific tasks, functions necessary to perform a specific procedure and troubleshooting tips (Satzinger et al. , 2004). System documentation usually consists of information necessary to maintain and re-implement the system in the event of a disaster. System documentation includes maintenance and upgrade procedures, analysis methods and in some cases, the source code and testing data (Satzinger et al. ). The TPI credentialing program had available pre-printed manuals of SyMed’s existing user interface and command sequences. The SyMed systems documentation was never provided. The next phase of implementation is training. Training can consist of formalized classes or presentations; self paced learning or group training. This training should be hands-on and emphasize actual applications that the system was created to perform. Timing of training is important. Training can be performed too early in the implementation progress, leading to unnecessary training that may need to be un-learned. Training is often seen as a luxury by some companies and is sometime omitted. This can be a costly mistake (Satzinger et al. , 2004). The TPI credentialing system was scheduled to have two days of formalized onsite training. The final phase of the implementation phase is support. As mention earlier, this phase s sometimes broken-out as its own stage. It is also often rolled into the training phase. Support is usually considered some form of help desk for most software development, though some companies offer only online documentation and troubleshooting. For this premise to work, the documentation needs to be robust and thorough. The TPI credentialing system never got to this phases and was unable to utilize either system. The failure of the TPI credentialing system software project had many contributors. Poor analysis and implementation of the SDLC was paramount, as well as budgetary issues. To sum it up, the failure was mostly due to TPI not knowing exactly what they wanted and needing more abilities than they had resources for, coupled with SyMed’s inability to recognize their limitations. The failure outlined above could have been mitigated by the knowledge and utilization of the capability maturity module (CMM). The CMM is a matrix that defines an organizations maturity of software processes Anderson, 2001). CMM is a process identification whose goal is to use defined and repeatable processes in software development. TPI would have scored a one and SyMed may have scored a two. Figure 1 illustrates the five modules of the CMM. Figure 1. Capability maturity module. This tool can be utilized by both software clients and vendors to identify potential success in a given software project. Additionally, IBM has developed the Rational Unified Process (RUP) for the object-oriented approach of software development. RUP is designed to make designed and repeatable processes easier. There are individuals who disagree with contention of repeatability for both CMM and RUP, claiming that like movies, software development success is not always repeatable.

Communication Actitivy Essay

As a new auditor for the CPA firm of Croix, Marais, and Kale, you have been assigned to review the internal controls over mail cash receipts of Manhattan Company. Your review reviews the following: checks are promptly endorsed â€Å"For Deposits Only†, but no list of the checks is prepared by the person opening the mail. The mail is opened either by the cashier or by the employee who maintains the accounts receivable records. Mail receipts are deposited in the bank weekly by the cashier. Instructions: Write a letter to Jerry Mays, owner of the Manhattan company explaining the weaknesses in internal control and your recommendations for improving the system. Mr. Jerry Mays Manhattan Company Dear Mr. Mays RE: INDENTIFICATION OF WEAKNESSES IN INTERNAL CONTROLS As your newly appointed auditors, Croix, Marais, and Kale (â€Å"CMK† or â€Å"we†) are mandated by the scope of our contract to review the internal controls over mail cash receipts (the â€Å"process†) of Manhattan Company (the â€Å"Company†). As part of the review, we will also provide some recommendations for improving any identified weaknesses in the internal control system of the Company. The review of the process identified the following, which we will classify as weaknesses in the internal control of the system: * Although checks are promptly endorsed â€Å"For Deposit Only†, no list of the checks is prepared by the person opening the mail; * Mail is opened by the cashier or by the employee who maintains the accounts receivable records; and * Mail receipts are deposited in the bank weekly by the cashier For each of the aforementioned, we will provide an explanation of the weakness as well as our recommendations for improvement. The checks endorsed, as â€Å"For Deposit Only† is a very good internal control mechanism. The endorsement is restrictive and reduces the likelihood that someone could divert the check for personal use, as banks will not give individual cash when presented with a check that has this type of endorsement. However, a weakness of the process lies in the fact that no duplicate of the list of the checks that are received is prepared by the person opening the mail. This is an example of a document procedure flaw in the process and an  internal control weakness. Without the preparation of a duplicate list as well as signing for the receipt of the checks, there is no trace that the event of receipt of the checks has occurred. By requiring signatures and preparing a duplicate list of the checks, the Company can identify the individual responsible for the event. To this internal control weakness, we would recommend the establishment of responsibility, where only a designated person – a mail receipt clerk will be authorized to handle checks received via mail. The mail receipt clerk should prepare in duplicate, a list of the checks received each day and sign the list to establish responsibility for the receipt of the data. As part of the process, the original copy of the list, along with the checks should be sent to the cashier’s department for the preparation of the daily cash summary. Additionally, the mail receipt clerk should send a copy of the list to the treasurer’s office, if there is one for reconciliation purposes with the daily cash summary. As mentioned above, we observed that the mail is opened by the cashier or by the employee who maintains the accounts receivable records. This is a flaw in the internal control of the process related to the segregation of duties or separation of function. The cashier’s office is responsible for the preparation of the daily cash summary and thus should not be the same person opening the mail of cash receipts, which is a related activity. Different individuals should be responsible for any related activity. A dishonest cashier can understate the recording of the mail cash receipts and report a different amount on the daily cash summary for personal benefits. Accordingly, we would recommend the establishment of responsibility, where only a designated person – a mail receipt clerk will be authorized to handle checks received via mail. Additionally, we recommend the segregation of duties, where different individuals receive the mail cash, record the receipts and hold the cash. This will ensure that different individuals are responsible for any related activity and that the responsibility for record keeping for the cash is separate from the physical custody of the cash. Finally, we also observed that the cashier deposits mail receipts in the bank weekly. The internal storage of cash on the premises of the Company is not advisable for obvious reasons- theft, robbery, and unauthorized access. Employees with other intentions can alert external cohorts to raid or rob the Company at night or at another time to gain access to the cash stored on  the premises. Additionally, the storage of the cash on the premises presents a â€Å"working hazard† for the employees as outsiders wanting to gain access to the cash may subject them to unwanted raids. The use of a bank on a daily basis contributes significantly to good internal control over cash. The company can safeguard the cash on a daily basis by using a bank as a depository and thus minimizing the amount of currency that the Company has on hand at any point in time during the week. Additionally, the use of the bank on the daily basis facilitates the control of cash because it creates a double record of all bank transactions – one by the Company and one by the bank. Also we recommend that all receipts be deposited in the bank on a daily basis versus the current practice of weekly deposits. In summary, if management implements the above recommendations, the Company will be in a better position to safeguard its assets from employee theft, robbery, and unauthorized use. Additionally, the company’s accounting records will be enhanced in its accuracy and reliability as a result of the reduction in the risk of errors and irregularities. We are available to further discuss with Company management and hope that the recommendations will be implemented as soon as practicable. We look forward to working with management on this initiative. Reference Weygandt, J. J., Kimmel, P. D., & Kieso, D. E. (2008). Financial accounting: 2010 custom edition (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Free Essays on Alcoholics

Alcoholism Alcohol is the most used and abused drug in the world. For this reason, some of the most common problems in society are alcohol related. Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disease that includes both a physical and psychological addiction. Alcoholics know the consequences associated with heavy drinking, but they are so addicted that they have no self-control. Alcohol becomes the single most important part of the person’s life. It totally consumes the alcoholic to the point where his or her thoughts and actions are associated with their alcohol addiction, if not guided by it altogether. Alcoholism, like other illnesses will become worse without treatment, and remain life threatening as long as it is left untreated. The psychological dependence an alcoholic has is when they think alcohol is necessary and life will not be good without it. The physical dependence an alcoholic has is when their body becomes so used to the drug that it now needs alcohol to function without pain. Alcoholism is not a disease experienced only by adults. Alcoholism, like any illness, can strike at any age. Ten percent of the adult drinkers in the U.S are considered alcoholics or at least experience drinking problems to some degree. Surveys have shown that more than one out of three Americans have a personal friend or relative who has had a drinking problem for ten years or longer. Almost two out of three Americans report that they know someone who drinks too much. It is estimated that there are 18 million alcoholic or problem drinkers in the U.S. For every alcoholic there are at least four other people who are affected by the alcoholic. This means that in the U.S. there are at least seventy-two million other people deal ing with the disease somehow. Many people believe that alcoholics are people that are the skid row winos and bums. This is a common misconception. Actually ninety-four percent of alcoholics live at home, while only six per... Free Essays on Alcoholics Free Essays on Alcoholics Alcoholism Alcohol is the most used and abused drug in the world. For this reason, some of the most common problems in society are alcohol related. Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disease that includes both a physical and psychological addiction. Alcoholics know the consequences associated with heavy drinking, but they are so addicted that they have no self-control. Alcohol becomes the single most important part of the person’s life. It totally consumes the alcoholic to the point where his or her thoughts and actions are associated with their alcohol addiction, if not guided by it altogether. Alcoholism, like other illnesses will become worse without treatment, and remain life threatening as long as it is left untreated. The psychological dependence an alcoholic has is when they think alcohol is necessary and life will not be good without it. The physical dependence an alcoholic has is when their body becomes so used to the drug that it now needs alcohol to function without pain. Alcoholism is not a disease experienced only by adults. Alcoholism, like any illness, can strike at any age. Ten percent of the adult drinkers in the U.S are considered alcoholics or at least experience drinking problems to some degree. Surveys have shown that more than one out of three Americans have a personal friend or relative who has had a drinking problem for ten years or longer. Almost two out of three Americans report that they know someone who drinks too much. It is estimated that there are 18 million alcoholic or problem drinkers in the U.S. For every alcoholic there are at least four other people who are affected by the alcoholic. This means that in the U.S. there are at least seventy-two million other people dea ling with the disease somehow. Many people believe that alcoholics are people that are the skid row winos and bums. This is a common misconception. Actually ninety-four percent of alcoholics live at home, while only six per...

A Case for Technical Grammar Skills

A Case for Technical Grammar Skills A Case for Technical Grammar Skills A Case for Technical Grammar Skills By Mark Nichol While I was studying English in college (I later opted for a more practical course of study, and graduated with a degree in theater arts), one of the classes I took dealt with grammar. The professor’s pedagogical approach? Pass out mimeographed copies of his manuscript for a grammar textbook do you care to carbon-date the year I took this class? and spend most of each session plodding through a few pages, asking students to identify the part of speech of each word not in occasional exercises, because there weren’t any, but in the instructional text itself. This was a monumentally boring exercise for me (I never polled classmates about their opinion), and the rote teaching strategy was somewhat surprising, too, because the instructor was an engaging fellow who was also a leading actor with a prominent regional theater company. On reflection, though, it might seem the ideal approach to someone accustomed to painstakingly memorizing lines in preparation for essaying a role. (For me, who later spent considerable time doing the same, it had a perverse logic to it.) It didn’t work for me, though. I passed the class, but with only a tenuous grasp of grammar, and years later, well along in my editorial career, I was still shaky on the difference between adjectives and adverbs. Does that really matter? Is a command of parts of speech essential for writers and editors? Yes, and no. Some DailyWritingTips.com visitors praise me for writing posts about grammar. Others castigate me for boring them with the same entries. By the same token, my professor’s thespian approach to learning must have seemed ideal to some of my classmates, even as I sat there glumly disengaged, getting some parts of speech right but, as I recall, missing more than I hit. So, even though I have relied throughout my career on a more holistic approach to shaping or reshaping my prose and that of others, trusting my instincts to know whether something reads well or requires (or is at least improved by) revision, I have also acquired a great deal of technical knowledge about grammar, and have benefited from this store of lore. Another issue in the variety of responses to my posts about technical matters is that some site visitors are more experienced than others; a recent critic identified himself as a former instructor of college-level English. But for every retired academician, many readers are budding writers, would-be editors, and those for whom English is not their first language. With this disparity in mind, I try to not only cover a wide variety of topics (grammar, usage, style, technique, careers, etc.) but also discuss subjects with varying degrees of complexity. In other words, I try to please some of the people some of the time, which I think is the best I can do. And the tip for the day? Even though I do not remember my grammar class fondly, I do think it had a latent effect on my desire to understand the mechanics of language, which I had never considered before (except in isolation, when completing a worksheet in a precollegiate English class). So, even if you think of yourself as a holistic learner, rather than a technically inclined one, know your grammar vocabulary (like the difference between a dangling modifier and a misplaced modifier), and endeavor to visualize sentences as machines whose components can usually be arranged in more than way but are often discovered, in one’s writing or reading experiences, broken and awaiting repair (or doomed, on the printed page, to a perpetual state of disarray). Rely on your Zen approach to crafting or reshaping prose if it works for you, but know your tools as well. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Cannot or Can Not?Sit vs. Set

International Business - Bella Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Business - Bella Healthcare - Essay Example ccess to market information in the Indian and US markets, qualified workforce who understands the needs of the market thereby, enabling the company to make the necessary changes, and modern technology which has been instrumental in lowering the cost of production of the company (Leon & Yong, 2012). Project Baton failed because there was a poor coordination between the US and Indian teams. The two teams focused their attention on two different parts of the new products. However, the level of communication between them was poor. The situation was worsened by time difference, variance in styles of communication, and different working styles, an aspect that increased distrust between the teams (Leon & Yong, 2012). The production unit caused the project to fail. For instance, the cost-cutting measures were very hard to implement. In addition, although the team that was assigned to develop the product had adequate experience in EKG production, it lacked the same knowledge in stress test systems (Leon & Yong, 2012). Management issues made the product to fail. For instance, the abrupt departure of the top manager bought chaos, an aspect that led to delays. Furthermore, the initial goals that were set by the company were too ambitious for the team to achieve. Furthermore, lack of guidance from top-level manager made the overall project to fail (Leon & Yong, 2012). Bella India should go on and develop the product for the local market because India has manufacturing advantages when compared to other countries. Therefore, it has a well trained and highly motivated workforce that can serve the Indian market. India has a high population that offers the company with an opportunity to expand its market share. Furthermore, the country is known globally for its health tourism (Leon & Yong, 2012). Therefore, more people are likely to come to India to seek health related services. This will increase the demand for the

Cultural Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Cultural Assessment - Essay Example Taking the stance of the security personnel, when a terrorist event occurs, the following response procedure should be applied, to wit: â€Å"four key actions typically occur in support of a response :( 1) gain and maintain situational awareness; (2) activate and deploy key resources and capabilities; (3) effectively coordinate response actions; then, as the situation permits, (4) demobilize.† (USDNS, 2008, 32) When reporting the incident, call 9-1-1 in times of disasters especially when it poses a threat to human life and to the property. All calls will require: (1) name of caller; (2) telephone number for call-backs at the scene or facility; (3) have local officials been notified of incident – Fire, Police, Sheriff; and (4) date, time and location of the incident. (Emergency Response) In addition, the security personnel and/or management of the subway should inform the National Response Center, the State Emergency Response Commissions and Local Emergency Planning Committees. Fire departments must also be notified. The following telephone numbers should always be ready and all personnel should be advised of these numbers in cases of emergency: MOST IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS: EPCRA HOTLINE 1-(800) 424-9346 and NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER 1-800-424-8802. The scope and nature of the terrorist event would dictate the response actions that should be immediately implemented by the local government unit closest to the incident. The following response actions, especially of the media and local government unit, are generally expected: â€Å"(1) Warning the public and providing accessible emergency public information. (2) Implementing evacuation and sheltering plans that include provisions for special needs populations and household pets. (3) Sheltering evacuees in pre-identified, physically accessible shelters and providing food, water, and other necessities to meet the needs of all people, including persons with disabilities and other special needs. (4)

Discussions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Discussions - Essay Example This is because the power of choices is in their versatility, and it enables the investor to adjust their position as per the prevailing situation or circumstances. However, this versatility has its cost and, therefore, the investors should assess this extra cost based on their knowledge and skills. Options also involve a risk which is not suitable for all investors. One should, therefore, be in a position to evaluate the risk associated and develop measures for managing such risks. Being ignorant of such risks will place the investor in a weak position. Stock options are the agreement between two parties to sell or buy an asset. It is the contract that gives one party the right. It does not give the responsibility to buy or sell an asset in the future at a pre-set price known as the strike price or exercise price (Fabozzi, 2008). There are two types of options; call option and put option. Call option is the financial contract that gives the buyer the right but, not the obligation to acquire a given number of assets in the future at a predetermined price. On the other hand, put option gives the right but not obligation to sell a specific number of underlying securities at some future date (Fabozzi, 2008). It is essential to review the proforma quantification in the footnotes periodically in order to access more information concerning the options. Even though the expense is expected not to persist, it changes as the situation changes and as investors, one should continually assess the information to be able to adjust the value or the cost of the option. Consumer spending theory states that, people spend their money at a level that is consistent with their expected average income. The steady average income which is long term is referred to as permanent income. Any individual will only save if his or her current income is higher than the expected permanent income (Thaller, 1981). This implies that people will only

Causes and Effects of Debt and Recessions

Causes and Effects of Debt and Recessions The great Depression in parts of World As we mentioned before, the Great Depression mainly started in the United States, but the U.S. was not the only state that was affected by it. Other states around the world were also affected by the economic recession of 1930s. Herbert Hoover, the president of the United States during the years of the Great Depression, attempted to recover the country by establishing some internal and external policies. Hoover’s believe was that too much interference of the federal government would end America’s independence and self-determination. Hoover also created projects to increase the public works’ funding, but they only created jobs for a small part of the unemployed people. Then in October 1931, Hoover set up the National Credit Corporation (NCC) in an attempt to calm the money deficiency. However, this program failed because it didn’t satisfy the nation’s expectations. In 1932, Hoover was the one who requested that Congress set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to make mortgages to businesses but in the end it didn’t succeed. In 1932, Congress passed the Emergency Relief and Construction Act to support for a federal relief. Yet, this program couldn’t invert the collapse during the Great Depression. Because Hoover failed to recover the United States, social unrest and violence began to surface while the depression deepened. Unemployed workers, relief recipients, and unpaid schoolteachers piled up together and performed demonstrations to show their disappointment. Even though Hoover initiated some internal programs to help the recovery of economy, he was slow to respond to the depression. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff In 1932 Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. It increased the tariffs by 50%. The increase of the tariff with 50% will make the imported goods more expensive and the people will buy the nation’s goods which led to the increase of demand.-But the countries of Europe reacted with the increase of their tariffs which decreased the exports of USA ~ 70%. The war of trade impacted further the prices of agricultural goods which decreased more and then more farmers bankrupted. The tariffs damaged not only American farmers, but they damaged the German unstable economy too. Germany started to pay the reparation to France and UK based on the Versailles Treaty. UK and France decreased the payments to loans that they had from the banks of USA which further weakened the banks in USA. War debts at the end of World War I All European nations had to pay over $10 billion ($115 billion in 2002 dollars) to USA. The economies of Europe had been destroyed from the war, therefore they hadn’t the money to pay back of. While USA requested the money back from former allies, this enforced the requests of European Countries to Germany to pay the reparations based on the Versailles Treaty, but Germany could not pay these reparations. This situation worsened the crisis since Europe could not buy goods from the USA. The decline of world trade helped to bring the great depression. FDR New Deal Following the Social Unrest of 1932, the people had blamed Hoover for failing to recover the States from the Great Depression. When Franklin D. Roosevelt came to power on March 1933, many thought that he was strived to end the Great Depression completely. During his campaigns, he promised to help the poor farmers, unemployed people, and also the elderly. Other than declaring a bank holiday, Roosevelt had created a new program for the economic recovery called the New Deal, which aimed to help the jobless, to recover the the economy, and prevent another depression. Here is a list of the New Deal programs and their purposes: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided jobs for the unemployed from age 17 to 29. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) helped by paying the states so they could give money and clothing for the unemployed people. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) paid farmers to stop growing specified crops, such as cotton, grain, tobacco, and corn. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) regulated wages, price control, and economic conditions in the industry. The Public Works Administration (PWA) made possible the construction of ports, schools, and aircraft carriers. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed many unskilled people to do public work projects. In 1934, FDR launched the Second New Deal which was more concentrated on increasing purchases and public social security. The Second New Deal programs dealt with reforming and also recovery. Some of Second New Deal programs and their purposes are listed below: The Social Security Act, sought to help the old people by setting up a pension system. The act also gave the States money to aid dependent children and people with disabilities. The National Labor Act, created a National Labor Relations Board for protecting the organized labor rights. The second AAA, established in 1928(verify 1928 apo 1938), was established for agriculture recovery to pay farmers for conservation methods, but only if they limited the necessary crop production. U.S. Housing Authority Act, established in 1937 in order to construct better house buildings by demolishing ghettos. Eventually, the New Deal that FDR launched couldn’t end the Great Depression since many agricultural problems were left unsolved. It is still dubious at how the Deal programs helped ending the depression. The Deal did, however, restore hope that was missing in the United States during the depression and also eased the hardships of its economy even though by the end of 1930s the country’s economy was still bad. The major change of USA Economy happened after the event of Pearl Harbor which noted the entry of USA in World War II. The people and industry of USA were in the functionality of war. The war’s weapons were needed urgently All the people worked for the war, the men trained to in order to be soldiers while the women worked in fabrics. There were the urgent needs for the Food for inside country and overseas at the war front. The entrance of the USA in World War II finished the Great Depression in the USA B. Worldwide Impact The Depression was followed by a global collapse of the industrial economy in Europe and the U.S., which also brought political and economic tension on every society. Furthermore, the depression brought a sequence of difficulties in the West and economic flaws in the world.As we mentioned, the starting of Great Depression is typically linked to the Crash of the stock market on October 29, 1929. However, in some countries it started by early 1928. In the same way, while the ending of Great Depression is related with the entrance of the USA to World War II in 1941, in different countries it finished at different times. The USA’s economy was growing in the middle of 1938 while many countries around the world were hurt by the Great Depression, those industrialized and also those that exported raw materials. Effects of Great Depression worldwide United States Most people see that the Great Depression had its starting point in the United States in 1933, when more than 15 million Americans were unemployed and the economic production decreased by almost 50%. Canada The Depression also hit Canada very hard, with the unemployed labor force 30%. The unemployment rate was less than 12% at the starting of World War Two. Australia Australia was affected hard too. The salaries dropped and the unemployment was 32% by 1931 Europe After World War II, most European countries owned a lot of money to American banks but the loans were so high and they couldn’t pay them. Since the American government didn’t accept the debt, Europe started borrowing money to pay back. However, as the economy of USA started to slow down, the European countries founded in difficulty where to borrow money. Further the United States had the high tariffs. European countries couldn’t sell the products in markets of USA. These countries started to have the failure to pay the loans. After the crash of stock market banks stayed afloat. They recalled their loans. While the money ran out of Europe and returned to USA, the European economies started to go down separately. The farmers throughout faced the food overproduction and the low price. The production of food had increased in the reply to needs of war. Many farmers bought the new equipment borrowing heavily, believing that the good market will continue to be higher. But the increase of production in Europe and the high imports from USA caused the decrease of the price, which made the payment of the debts very hard. The farmers leaved the rural areas. The international trade of Europe with USA decreased significantly during the depression period mainly due to the establishment by U.S government of Smoot-Hawley Tariff Policy in 1930 which applied 50% tariff to imported goods. The U.S government formed this policy in order to help and protect the companies of USA by increasing the demand for domestic goods. But, the charging with a high tariff of the goods from imports dropped the trade between USA and other foreign countries, including Europe, so created unemployment out of the country while the factories closed up. Kinderberger (1986) shows that during 1933 international trade decreased by 33% compared to the trade in 1929. France Despite being affected by the World War I, France wasn’t affected that much compared to the other European countries during the Great Depression, since it wasn’t dependent in trade. By 1930s, the country was characterized by high unemployment and political anxiety. Germany After the First World War, Germany was angry for losing their territory and paying war debts, while America provided loans in order to rebuild German economy. But, these loans stopped during the Depression causing the rising of unemployment and the development of extremism in the political system. In 1921, Germany made the first compensation payment and one year later they claimed that they wouldn’t be able to manage paying any longer. The reasons because German people put their faith in Hitler were because of their humiliation, the enormous debt, and the economic crisis after World War I. Nazi Germany, which boasted the economy and reached full employment, kept low level of wages while not harmonizing the allocation of investments and constantly growing its dependence from military production. Poland During the Great Depression, Poland, the newly independent country, experienced a quick and deep recession. The economy grew in the 1920s by attracting foreign wealth and loans. Then in 1929, a financial crash made the capital flow reduce and eventually the prices of agricultural products fell. The severe results of the economic collapse were social, being accompanied with high unemployment and low wages of agricultural workers. The total production of industry in 1932 was ~40% less than in 1928. But, the economy of Poland had developed by 1934 and increased past 19% in 1937. Because of this, the Polish government wanted to acquire capital in private and launched a strategy called the â€Å"Polish Etatism†. The strategy permitted the polish government to take control of the saving banks, the operation of foreign exchange, cartels and foreign trade. Additionally it influenced a huge investment program in public labor and the private actions. One projectthat was a great achievem ent was the Central Industrial District development in 1936, which was concentrated on the military, transportation, agricultural, industrialization, and urbanization improvement. Romania In Romania, the sector that was hit very hard was the agricultural one where the government earnings fell because of the decline of the agriculture products exports. By 1932, the taxes fell and the government began to aid the poor by forcing their repayment’s delay. However, during the depression, the government needed with any cost the fiscal balance so it was hard for it to intervene in the economy. During the first years, there wasn’t any understandable plan with the goal to fight depression, but instead to fight the most important problems. Furthermore, Romania had a huge problem with the foreign debt. Since European states couldn’t take loan to deal with their debts, import limits were increased and in 1932 the control on exchange was established. The industry of Romania managed to recover during the 1930s, however the most of people were too poor to impact the increase of consumption and demands, and in addition the developments in foreign markets could not help since they became protectionists as effect of Depression. Greece During the inter-war period, in Greece was present a strong belief in favor of financial independence and nationwide autonomy. Derilis and Costis (2006) claimed that this ideology could have been changed into an actual policy in 1932. The economy was focused more internally and was led by the state, which was to some degree a reaction to the other nations’ activities that broadly presented controls on trade and fees. High taxes, determinable restrictions and the use of mutual clearing agreements were broadly utilized. The state involvement in economic issues increased throughout the 1930s. The guideline of Greek Economy was now the greater independence using the inside resources and less dependence from the international economy. This tendency was noticeable in both industry and agriculture (Aldcroft, 2006). Yugoslavia In reality Yugoslavia was not hit particularly hard by the crisis, though the peasants faced the worst, being unable to pay and calling for the government action to relieve them of their debts. The government reduced taxes for the farming communities and eliminated debts for about 600, 000 small farmers. The government`s response to the crisis was under heavy French influence. The government tried to balance the budget and National Bank started promoting deflationary monetary policy, and imposed exchange control in 1931. Soon the government recognized the error of its economic policy and in 1933 started to pursue more expansionary fiscal policy, which soon turned deflation into inflation. The government was also spending money on public works, and was actively trying to influence the commercial banks to lower their interest rates. Comparing the Great Depression and the Economic Crisis of 2008 There have been a lot of comments and misconceptions about the comparison of the Great Depression and the Great Credit Crisis of 2008. Both of them were originated in US and then spread out the world. The Trade, capital flow and policies on prices of commodities were the factors which spread worldwide the Great Depression. Depending from their specifics and the above factors, different countries faced different effects. For example, France was almost passive, whiles some other countries, such as Japan, was affected and used largely the monetary and fiscal policies during that period. On the contrary, the Great Credit Crises was global, started in US and with bigger influence in US. It impacted the global world economy with even worse effects in other countries exports, production and equity prices decline. But in the similar way with the measures taken during the Great Depression, different countries reacted in different ways. Some countries applied more aggressive monetary and fiscal policies; some other applied less aggressive ones. Summary The crash of the stock market on October 1929 wan not the cause of Great Depression. It was a symptom. It was followed by the bank closing crisis which reduced largely the money flow in the country, drop of demands and production and increase of unemployment as well. The major causes of the depression were the wrong policies established by the Federal Reserve, wrong ration of investments in production vs. the salaries, overproduction in industry and agriculture, and inequality of wealth distribution. Other factors such as the needs for the reconstruction of economy, the needs for renovation of old industry and railway rods, massive people migration and natural ecologic disasters influenced badly the economy during the Great depression. The measures taken by the President Hoover administration in order to ease the effects of depressions were late and not sufficient while most of them failed. President Roosevelt administration applied several measures as part of so called New Deal Programs, which were effective, helped for easing and avoiding the effects of Great Depression but did not end it. These measures returned back the hope and confidence of investors and consumers, and combined with the increased production which served the demands of WWII, created the foundation for the US economy recovery and then for a rapid development of it after the war. The great depression was not only a local USA crisis; it was global and widespread in world. The impact of it was different for each country depending from their domestic economy specifics and dependency from the world economy. In some aspects, the Great Depression worldwide effects and reaction to them, joined by the weakness and confusion in the outside foreign policies were one of the causes which pushed the world into WWII.

Hate Crime Laws: Are They Constitutional? Essay -- essays research pap

Are hate crime penalty enforcement laws constitutional? â€Å"That’s Gay.† If you are around teenagers today, that is a phrase you will most likely hear very often. It is not necessarily meant as a homophobic or hate-filled remark, and most of the time it is referring to an object, an idea, or a conversation; things that obviously have no sexual orientation. But now, according to a bill passed by the senate, it could almost be considered a hate crime. Many people support the widening of hate crime laws, assuming that with stricter penalties, the crimes will lessen. In June, 2004, Senate passed a bill that received a record number of votes, passing 65-33, including 18 Republicans voting yes. The measure will add sexual orientation, gender and disability to the list of motives that provide for enhanced federal prosecution of a violent crime against a person (Lochhead). The current hate crimes law, which originated during the civil rights movement of the 1960s when many Southern states failed to prosecute assaults on African Am ericans, includes crimes motivated by hatred based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Many see this as a step forward, but there are some who think it is unconstitutional. Religious groups argue that "It advances the radical, well publicized agenda of homosexuals to gain acceptance for, and legal recognition of, homosexuality as a normal lifestyle" (Toalston). So who’s right? Should there be a separate category for crimes committed to minorities? Shouldn’t all crimes be treated just as serious as another? I believe that the categorizing of crimes into Hate Crimes is just further segregating people because of their differences, and that paying more serious attention to crimes committed on minorities is sending a bad message to those who are in the majority. First off, many people perceive hate crime perpetrators as crazed neo-Nazis or "skinheads". However, most hate crimes are carried out by otherwise law-abiding citizens who see little wrong with their actions. Alcohol and drugs sometimes help fuel these crimes, but the main determinant appears to be personal prejudice. New FBI data shows that the number of hate crimes reported in 2003 increased slightly, from 7,462 in 2002 to 7,489 in 2003. The 7,489 hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2003 involved 8,715 separate offense... ...will continue to believe that the widening of the classifications of hate crimes is just a way to keep certain people happy and to make them feel safe, while it really only further separates people who are viewed as different. Hopefully, sometime in the near future, we will figure out how to reach the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups of the world and prevent them from harming others. But I can tell you right now, that will not be accomplished by passing any bills that include the word â€Å"victim†, because it proves itself that its too late to help. Bibliography Lochhead, Carolyn - â€Å"Senate OKs bill including gays as hate crime victims† The San Francisco Chronicle, June 16, 2004 Toalston, Art – â€Å"Baptist agency lists '10 Reasons' to oppose hate crimes legislation† The Baptist Press, July 2 CivilRights.org - â€Å"New FBI Data Reports Increase in Hate Crimes† November 17, 2004 http://www.civilrights.org/issues/hate/details.cfm?id=26241 APA.org - Hate Crimes Today: An Age-Old Foe In Modern Dress http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/hate/ www.fbi.gov – Uniform Crime Reports http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Violence in Playgrounds and How to Curb the Menace

VIOLENCE IN PLAYGROUNDS AND HOW TO CURB THE MENACE Violence is on the rise in playgrounds and there are always young children who stand defenseless in the face of their peers, who may happen to be bigger than them and as such take the advantage to pick on the little ones. A report by the Federal School Authorities in Cairo have showed there has been a 70% increase in bullying report cases in 2005 playground, compared to the 15% recorded in 2002. this vividly shows a tremendous increase in bullying on playgrounds. Parents today have a major role to play in counseling their children over the bullying issue. However some parents may decide to tell their children to retaliate, but on a closer look that may not seem to be a good solution. Firstly, if a child decides to fight back, it puts him in an even greater risk because he may be outnumbered by the bullies and that even makes him more defenseless. Secondly, in the event of trying to defend himself, the child may adopt violent methods which he may have seen on T. V like stabbing or kicking in the guts. Consequently, inflicting a major injury on his fellow peers. Thirdly, by parents telling their kids to stand up and defend themselves, they are passing a subliminal message to children which may seem to encourage violence among the children. My final reason is based on a childhood experience ; a child was persistently bullied by a group of children and when he decided to confront his parents about the issue they asked him to stand and defend himself. The next day he took a knife to the playground and used it on the bully. The following are proper methods and solution to be used in such events. †¢Do not blame the child if he finally works up the courage to report bullying. It isn’t right to criticize him for not handling the situation. For example don’t ask him â€Å"Well, what did u do to bring it on? †. Also remember that hitting back is not a choice at playgrounds and is not encouraged at all. It might get him into trouble especially if the playground is for the school. To sum up parents should be aware that bullying prevention programs are often a very effective way to solve the problem rather than fighting back.

The Strength of Weak Ties

Here I would like to emphasize a bit on Social Capital. Social capital according to me is the pool of ties that a person encompasses during his lifetime including strong and weak ties. Persons with higher social capital are bound to be better off with greater health and general well being. Social capital helps to leverage the people we communicate with for the benefit of our shared and individual interest. We can relate this with a famous punch line – â€Å"I scratch your back, you scratch mine. The basic hypothesis of Granovetter’s work is that our acquaintances play a very important part in connecting different networks to one another. A personal example which I would like to share is that I have around 30 very closely knitted friends and family members and about 300 odd acquaintances. These acquaintances are comprised of my old classmates, co-workers and some friends through social networking groups. In the digital world these are friends connected through facebook, LinkedIn, orkut etc. Personally speaking it makes sense that in some cases my family and my close knitted friends are best suited to provide me with quality options and choices. For the most part I believe this is true under certain circumstances during personal care when I am sick or when I need advice for some personal decisions in life. But when it comes to looking out for a job the theory comes true to life. I would be naturally tapping my network of acquaintances and assuming I have a good amount of social capital in my network, I would be more likely be presented with more opportunities than my family and close knitted friends. Another example explaining the theory of weak ties is between the social networks existing in this globe. We can take an example of how LinkedIn is different from Facebook and why that difference matters. Weak ties are the social â€Å"degrees of separation† beyond the people we actually know. Facebook primarily is about knowing who you know, connecting with people who are already in your social circle. In my experience it does little to help you develop weak ties and it does nothing to introduce you to people you do not know. There is an interesting paradox that Facebook, perhaps, reinforces our stereotypes, because we are just getting content from our mostly like minded friends. LinkedIn by contrast, is about helping people expand their circles and improve their opportunities. LinkedIn has been slower to take off because it is a harder â€Å"get. † Beyond being a resume building site, why do I need this? If I'm not looking for a job or to find sales leads, why bother? Once you look at it from a content perspective, however, the benefit becomes clearer. Those â€Å"weak ties† provide you with â€Å"micro-nutrients† that your â€Å"strong ties† may not. Further investigation into the analogy of strong and weak bonds in physics is warranted, but the most immediate application in terms of content strategy is the serendipitous model of magazine content. If we consider content that a reader is looking for (through a Google search, for instance) to be strongly bonded, then the content they find along the way (in sidebars and various â€Å"asides† to use the html5 term) are weakly bonded. Magazines have always created content environments where their readers discover new things—and some of those things are advertisements. This serendipity of discovery is key to the pleasure of magazine reading and the financial success of the magazine business, but it has not translated all that well online. To end my observations I completely agree with this theory however I would like to bring an important aspect that a perfectly balanced strong and weaker ties help an individual to do the best and for the society at large. Thanks & Best Regards Pranav