Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Social inequality in 1820s Essay - 1385 Words

Social inequality in 1820s Social equality has been a goal of America since its very beginning. However, it was only an intention to be socially equal, but not a goal. Social equality or the fact that all men were created equal only applied to the white man. There was no intention in meaning that the blacks and Indians or even the women were equal. In the eyes of the delegates, and the common white majority, blacks, indians, and women were not an issue. To them, it was apparent that blacks were kids, Indians were savages, and women were homemakers. From the late 18th century to the mid 19th century was the greatest era of social and racial inequality in all American history. The Declaration of Independence states, We hold these†¦show more content†¦He was a child whom somebody had to look after. - W.J. Cash, The Mind of the South, pg. 85. Blacks were considered children. Social Equality cannot be achieved if inferiority is placed upon a race. Through the eyes of the Southerners, they believed that they were in fact saving the Black man from hell and his own savagery. Social and Racial Equality in the south was incredibly hard to obtain because blacks were considered childish, stupid, inferior, and hell-bound without the white mans help. On page 83 of The Mind of the South, W.J. Cash states, The black man occupied the position of a domestic animal. without will or right of is own. And yes, the black man did play the role of a domestic animal, he was stripped of liberities, property, and will by the whites. The black man PLAYED the role of a domestic animal, but he was not a domestic animal. The institution of slavery brought the blacks to the lowest class possible, the slave class, they had no respect, no equality, no rights. It took the will of abolitionists, white and black, along with the power of war to end slavery , and another 100 years for blacks to gain their rights. Are the Great Principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in teh Declaration of Independence, extended to us?... What to the American slave is your 4th of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year,Show MoreRelatedMacro Sociological Perspectives844 Words   |  4 Pagesperspective was founded by sociologist Karl Marx (1818-1883) and serves to introduce the concept that â€Å"inequality and specifically inequality under capitalism† exists between two main â€Å"classes† in society namely the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The functionalist perspective – another major sociological theory – was founded by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) and also includes contributions by Herbert Spencer (1820-1913) and Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). Durkheim is considered the main exponent of the functionalistRead MoreCompare and Contrast Functionalist and Marxist Theo ries of Stratification.1537 Words   |  7 Pagesand ethnicity have become increasingly important in recent years, social class is probably the most important form of stratification and is not seen as natural or interchangeable, but as being influenced by historical developments. One of the most important things about social stratification is that status is passed from the head of the family to their spouse or children. This means that age, sex and personality are not forms of social stratification as they are not dependent on family background.Read MoreSociology Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pagesthe political change, and a new awareness of society.† She adds that, â€Å"the term sociology was coined by a French social thinker Auguste Comte (1798-1857).† In the book, Thinking Sociology by Carl, sociology is defined as, â€Å"a science guided by the basic understanding that the social matters: our lives are affected, not only by our individual characteristics, but by our place in the social world.† Sociology should be studied using sociological imagination, â€Å"the ability to look beyond the individualRead MoreThe Development Of The Democratic World857 Words   |  4 Pagesof racial inequality to escalate into the marginalization of an entire people. Since its early days of pioneering the early democratic system, the United States has maintained such a desirable image propagating the phrase, â€Å"Land of the free, and the home of the brave.† Deep-rooted ideology of slavery in the ---As an independent republic, Texas initiated the first form of structural racism to come out of plantation slavery that established a racial hierarchy that developed a clear social div ide evenRead MoreJacksonian Democracy Dbq Essay1198 Words   |  5 PagesKathy Dai M. Galvin AP USH Period 1 Jacksonian Democracy DBQ The Jacksonian democracy of the 1820s-1830s is often associated with an expansion of the political influence, economic opportunities, and social equality available to â€Å"the common man,† a concept of the masses which President Andrew Jackson and his newly founded Democratic party came to represent. The new administration certainly saw gains for the majority; namely, public participation in government increased to unprecedentedRead MoreSlavery And The Civil War1447 Words   |  6 Pagesare not aware that before slavery the young nation was going though growing pains there were years of political strife and social upheaval that culminated in to Civil war that actually resulted in the Emancipation of Slaves. Slavery was pivotal to the compromises and conflicts of national politics in the decades leading up to the Civil War. The Sectional Crisis between 1820 and 1860 set off numerous controversies that ended up in the courts and in Congress. It started with the Missour i CompromiseRead MoreWalt Whitman s Song Of Myself1191 Words   |  5 Pageswhich lead him to having a collection of unnamed poems, and one of them was â€Å"Song of Myself†. In Walt Whitman’s poem â€Å"Song of Myself†, Whitman managed to express his individuality through his point of view in cultural, religious, and social aspects. During the 1820’s to 1865, the Transcendentalism Movement was taking place. This movement began with Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it was â€Å"an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century† (Goodman). It was an eraRead MoreImpact of Globalization in Belgium670 Words   |  3 Pagesto economic historians, they agreed the increased in per capita GDP is still limited across Europe during eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. During the period 1700 to 1820, the changes in GDP per capita are very limited such as less than 20 percent in European region including Belgium. Around year 1820, incomes per capita in Europe region including Belgium varied 60 to 90 percent compare to Great Britain. Thus, the incomes in Europe region including Belgium were around 40 percent lessRead MoreKarl Marx And The Communist Manifesto Essay1691 Words   |  7 PagesKarl Marx (1818-1883), in collaboration with his benefactor and friend, Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), founded the Marxist Theory. Both men were philosophers, however were referred to as revolutionaries. ‘The Communist Manifesto’, was written collaboratively by both Marx and Engels, as they explored the argument that â€Å"history and progress can be seen dialectically as societies shift from one mode of production to another†. This will be argued through a contextual account of Marxism, its developmentRead MoreThe Public Health Act Of 18481217 Words   |  5 Pagesholders against the majority of the population whom the changes only brought ‘want and misery’. The fact that t he most famous theory of societal inequality- Marxism enunciated a famous political ideology from the 1840s by Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) showed the influential new political ideology emerging from the vast inequalities signifying the seriousness of the problem in industrial societies. This economic determinism view was frustrating the middle class factory and mill

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Effects of Suburban Neighborhoods on Stream Ecology Research Proposal

Essays on The Effects of Suburban Neighborhoods on Stream Ecology Research Proposal The paper "The Effects of Suburban Neighborhoods on Stream Ecology" is an excellent example of a research proposal on environmental studies. A team of ecologists is studying the effects of suburban neighborhoods on stream ecology and due to limited time and finances, has decided to collect data from two sample points on a single stream. Measurables are temperature, dissolved oxygen, and aquatic macroinvertebrates.   The design will not give the researchers defensible scientific results because of the reliability and validity issues that arise from sampling strategy. The quantitative scope of the study requires reliability and validity that the design lacks. A representative sample is one of the qualities of a quantitative study this lacks in the research. Using a single stream ignores data from other streams in the neighborhood and should difference exist in the streams’ composition, the results will not reflect on the data. The use of two sample points is another issue that undermines the scientific quality of the study. Even a single stream may have different features along its flow and multiple data points are necessary for capturing information at different points. The arbitrary selection of two data collection points also identifies a threat to bias, possibly because of convenience. Internal and external threats to reliability therefore exist, extend to the validity of the study†™s results, and undermine its scientific quality (Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2013).The use of many streams for the study and many data points from each stream would improve the design, assuming that resource and time constraints are resolved. Reliance on secondary data can be an alternative if the constraints still exist. Probability sampling of data points, such as the use of stratified random sampling with demographic factors and existing literature on features of streams as bases for defining strata, would also improve the design (Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2013).

Sunday, December 15, 2019

To Kill a Mocking Bird Racism Free Essays

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, you will read that through all the hard times and hardship family and friends will always stay together in the end. Discrimination is a commonly used subject in To Kill a Mockingbird. With the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird being in the early 1900’s racism was very common. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mocking Bird Racism or any similar topic only for you Order Now The author used this information to his advantage because he was able to show how discrimination changed everyday interaction and life with other people. Everyday of our lives we come in contact with racism and discrimination against people with different colored skin.. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are inevitable examples on how racism has been used in Maycomb County. Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, a young black man, of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white girl. Of course everyone knows that Tom Robinson is going to lose in the trial only because the court always favors white clients against black clients because: â€Å"In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life† (X) Atticus tells Jem. This shows the power of racism in Maycomb County. The power is that just because a man is black means he loses in court no matter what. In the court is not the only time that racism occurs. When Atticus decided that he was going to defend Tom Robinson Francis, Atticus’s nephew, he calls him a â€Å"nigger-lover†. When Atticus asks him what he means he says, â€Å"Just what I said. Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you run wild, but now he turned out to be a nigger lover. † (X) This shows that even though Francis is in his family it doesn’t matter, if you’re racist you will be put down and stereotyped by anyone and everyone. Even when Atticus is defending a man in court he will be called names because of the man he is defending. Even though Atticus is everything but racist, Jem, Atticus’s son, were being brainwashed by the towns thoughts and opinions. One day as Jem and Scout were talking behind the courthouse Jem says something to scout that was very racist, â€Å"Once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black. † This shows that the thought of racism is not only seen in adults, but it is now flooding into the minds of children. In conclusion there are many forms of racism that were showed and used in Maycomb county within children and adults. How to cite To Kill a Mocking Bird Racism, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Plan & Plot Interior and Construction Pvt. Ltd - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about thePlan Plot Interior and Construction Pvt. Ltd. Answer: Introduction The report is at the view of selecting the real estate company hypothetically and the steps involved in its opening will be elucidated. The company selected is Plan Plot Interior and Construction Pvt. Ltd. (P P). Basically the company deals in the house construction and along with it providing the interior decoration at the relatively low cost to initially establish the business. Thereafter the internal and external analysis of business environment has been done to gain the market knowledge and the level of competition that prevails. First of all the assumed business has been selected and the steps involved in the accomplishment of business process are examined with the help of its 7 steps. Secondly the external environment has been studied through the Porters 5 forces model to evaluate the market condition and thereafter the internal environment was also researched using the SWOT tool where the strengths and lacks of the internal business are gained so that required changes could be incorporated. Lastly, the strengths and weakness of the internal and external tool has been investigated to mark its authentication and predicting the future strategies. Plot and plan interior and construction pvt. ltd. (P P) The company that has been selected for start-up is the Plot and Plan Interior and Construction Pvt. Ltd. The company deals in constructing the plans for building the houses, apartments and deals with the housing agencies. It mainly deals with the housing constructions along with the interior designing of the homes. Overall, the business deals with constructing and decorating the houses. It also undertakes the activities of repairing and renovating the plan of house by efficiently utilising the spaces and turning it out into the modern houses. Exporting of services is also supported through the online provision of services by constructing the group of freelancers who renders there services to foreign clients as well. This created the job opportunity as well as spread the business in overseas market without much investment of capital. To set up the business and implement the ideas the set up need to be designed and there is a set procedure which is to be followed to start-up the busine ss successfully and with the entire authentication (Mintzer, 2009). These steps are elucidated as under: Market research: First of all to start a business the market research has to be done. For that the core market should be analysed and use of the products and services need to be evaluated. It is necessary to know whether the services provided are in demand in the market or are they one of its own kind and likely to enhance the demand in the near future. The market survey is essential with respect to know whether the services are already existent in the market or is it covering the niche market. Market research also includes the study in terms of average income that the competitors are able to generate. While researching upon the market the competitors must also be figured out and there moves must be monitored and accordingly the launch is to be made (Houzz, 2013). Financial requirements: Finance is the blood of any business, as the body stops functioning without the blood similar is the case with the business. It could not survive for long period of time without the adequate fund. To start the business huge amount of capital requirement is necessary and plans are made to arrange the finance and what sources of funding need to be used. The financial aspect also depends upon the size of the business, if the business is at the major scale the requirements of finance is according to it. If investors are invited then marketing plan has to be designed in order to attract the investors to invest their values in the business (Bienert Santovito, 2017). Hiring the legal advisor: The legal advisor is another crucial element that plays a vital role in opening up of the business. The correct legal advisor helps in constructing the best and reliable paperwork which supports the business in an efficient manner. Also the good legal advisor always tries to protect and favour the company with their knowledge and practices. Attorneys helps in drafting the authentic contract, review the lease criteria, selects the best structure for business and construct the better business plan. The adequate manner to appoint the attorney is either through the referrals or by adopting the networking criteria (Kelly, 2016). Hiring the accountant: The selection of best accountant is essential enough to design and advice about the best ownership option to opt for. The accountant assists the attorney in rendering the advices to owner. The financial books are recorded by the accountants like bookkeeping and auditing the financial affairs that the company undergo. It is the duty of the accountant to advice owner in terms of the reserve policy as how to maintain the reserve and what will be the best essential manner to utilise the reserve in an effective manner. Accountant also assists the organisation in dealing with the tax affairs of the company and how these taxes could be paid so that entire payment has been made and tax saving is also enjoyed without any evasion (Tsui, Zhang Chen, 2017). Deciding the structure of business: By the structure of business it is meant that which type of ownership will be selected. Is the business setup a sole-proprietorship? Is the business favouring partnership? Initiating a corporation is also a thoughtful option but requires a lot more investment in its establishment. Even the limited liability corporation (LLP) could be adopted. Every business has its own choices and liabilities along with the liabilities there taxes and other paper work involved in choosing any type of business as accordingly the legal authorities and dealing takes place. The attorney and accountant assists in making the decision and drawing out the valuable and suitable solution beneficial for the business and its further development in the market area. Deciding the name of business: For every business its name is the foremost thing that strikes the mind of the partners, competitors, investors and other stakeholders. The companys name is the initial identity of the business. At the time of registration the name of the company is enrolled. It is the principle of conducting the business that a business is the artificial person and it comprises of its separate legal entity. Also the attention should be paid on selecting the best business name. There are certain properties that need to be kept in mind while deciding the business name, the name selected should not be similar to the other business as the popularity gets connected when the similar names are adopted and it is adverse for either of the parties. The spell check need to be made, the meaning of the name should comprise of certain meaning or it should be such that the characteristics and nature of the business gets depicted through the name itself (Yderflt Roxenhall, 2017). Getting all the necessary licenses and permits: The business indulged in the real estate need to acquire the valid licence and government permit to deal in the properties and local law of the city or state where the property has been located. The agents dealing in the real estate have to acquire the required license to precede the business further in an authentic manner. For that all the category of licenses need to be researched upon and the suitable category of license has to be adopted for the flexible and barrier free working is conducted in the future and development could be ensured (Winfree, Roasentraub Mills, 2016). Porters five forces Porters 5 forces model is given by Michael Porter who was the professor at Harvard Business School. The aim of developing this theory is to analyse the external market also known as the macro environment for the sake of evaluating the market competition that prevails in the market. Considering the real estate industry the porters analysis will assist in knowing the scenario of market in terms of real estate so that internal functioning could be made (Xiao Xu, 2017). Threat to new entrants: Real estate industry is the unique industry and is considered different from the construction industry. Many entrepreneurs are trying their skills, knowledge and abilities in the field of real estate to attain the heights by covering the major market area and attracting consumers. Also the real estate industry highly contributes in the economy of the country. In the recent times real estate business is growing up with the high pace and thereby the competition has been increased in different regions resulting in the political and economic growth simultaneously (Zhang Ren, 2006). The threat if substitute products: As the real estate industry is in the growing times the market targeted is changing on the continuous basis. The competition has become strict as the industry has transferred from public consumption to the private consumption. The personal consumption ask for varieties and since the competition is tough and everyone is entering in the similar field as the property business is gaining hike therefore people are switching to the best dealer and broker. Therefore in order to stay ahead of the substitutes two attributes have been added to business to grab the customers attention and enjoy two services at a time (Selvaraj Krishna, 2017). The bargaining power of suppliers: The suppliers play a vital role in conducting the business as the business is moreover dependent over the suppliers and they might use the threat of pricing by increasing the rates of the products which bound the buyers to pay the extra amount and recover it from their buyers or in order to maintain the market position and stand in the competition firmly the company might deduct the profit margin. The costing of land is the premier part in the case of real estate business, since the supply of the lands are limited in number therefore the bargaining power increases as the provider of land has the high-supply side (Chiu, 2016). The bargaining power of buyers: Buyer could be anybody; it can be an individual, family, any organisation or the department of government. In order to analyse the bargaining power of the purchasing behaviour of consumers are analysed. The private consumption buyer are more conscious now, they are aware enough about the things happening within the market and could easily compare the prices of and bargain accordingly. The developer of land renders the large fluctuations rights which directly affect the relationship and performance of the sales person and the income also gets affected. When the buyer get to know about the price flexibility within the process of land acquisition the bargaining power increases. Also the new entrants provide fewer prices and prefer price flexibility to construct the strong consumer base (Hayness, Nunnington Eccles, 2017). The competition between industry and rivals: The competitors are those dealing in the similar area of work and setting almost the similar pricing strategies to gain consumer base and retail the consumer so as to increase the consumer loyalty. Competitors are considered to be the most important part of the business as the consumers today need the number of options so that consumers could decide accordingly and with the increased competitor rivalry also increases (Ang et al, 2017). SWOT Analysis SWOT is the acronym of Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Strength. It is the internal analysis also known as micro analysis. It helps in analysing the internal atmosphere of the company (Xiao, 2016). Strength: Strengths of the real estate business Plan and Plot Pvt. Ltd. (P P) is that it helps in driving out the individual abilities and the resources are available in high quality. The individual competencies are well defined in the real estate business. The real estate team is effective as well as proactive (Li et al, ). Weakness: In the real estate and interior development business there is the resistance and adaptability of changes i.e. fluctuation in rate takes place. There occurs the gap in the organisational leadership and motivational problems also exist within the staff. The process of dealing with the things consists of stress and difficulty occurs (Jiang et al, 2017). Opportunities: The opportunities attached with policies and procedures initially implement the technology in the very new manner which should be effective. The competition could be weakened so that fair business is carried also the international real estate strategy could be adopted to flourish the business and lead it to new heights (Andres, 2016). Threats: The level of risk attached with real estate is very high and the frequent changes occur in the environment of positioning. The biggest threat is the changes affecting the preferences of the buyer and the modification taking place on the legal ground (Lerena, 2016). The strength and weakness of internal and external sources of environment Strength The strength of external sources porters five models is that it helps in analysing the external environment which helps in gaining the knowledge and awareness of the changing trends and tastes of the consumer. To what extent consumers are able to bargain and how much price flexibility does the real estate developer provides (Zhao et al, 2016 ). In terms of SWOT analysis it is an internal environment analysis which supports the internal structure of real estate business. It evaluates the working of business and what strength and weakness does it comprises of. Also the opportunities and threats are been seen and how these opportunities could be converted into strengths and the threats to be taken as challenges (Van Besthorn, 2017). Weakness The weakness of porters five models is that the external environment is dynamic in nature and there are certain factors that could not be predicted and they could be the political and legal norm that affects the business and at the certain stages due to these reason even the business come to an end. In the case of real estate the land acquisition by government is done and on the orders of government the land need to be vacated (Schaltegger, Burritt and Petersen, 2017). Weakness in the SWOT analysis is the weakness and threat portion. The weakness of the business lowers down the goodwill of the business and they are the portion where the company lacks. It leads to the improvement of the internal structure only and does not pay any role in rejuvenating the external environment. Conclusion The report argues over the construction business. For the sake of assessment the hypothetical company has been selected, namely, Plan and Plot Interior and Construction Pvt. Ltd (P P). The steps of opening up the business has been discussed in the seven steps which include the generation of ideas till the implementation of idea and starting up the business and heading towards the development. The business is further been analysed in the internal and external market using the competitive strategies and tools. For understanding and evaluating the external environment porters 5 forces model has been selected and in order to analyse the construction and interior designing business SWOT analysis has been done. At the end both the tools were evaluated on the parameter of strength and weakness. References Andres, P., 2016. Strategic planning and analysis of a small construction company. Ang, S., Olanrewaju, A.L., Chia, F.C. and Tan, Y.S., 2017, Awareness on Sustainable Affordable Housing Among Homebuyers in Malaysia, InMATEC Web of Conferences, Vol. 103, p. 03014. Bienert, S. and Santovito, R., 2017. Drivers and opportunities of sustainability in real estate development.Routledge Companion to Real Estate Development. Chiu, D.S.T., 2016.A technology-driven solution to disrupt the residential real estate industry of existing homes(Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Haynes, B., Nunnington, N. and Eccles, T., 2017.Corporate real estate asset management: Strategy and Implementation. Taylor Francis. Houzz, 2013, 6 steps to planning a successful building project, https://www.forbes.com/sites/houzz/2013/11/27/6-steps-to-planning-a-successful-building-project/#b2eca473b45e, accessed on 15th October 2017. Jiang, R., Mao, C., Hou, L., Wu, C. and Tan, J., 2017, A SWOT analysis for promoting off-site construction under the backdrop of Chinas new urbanisation,Journal of Cleaner Production. Kelly, M., 2016. Business Idea Generator: Great Ideas to Start Your Small Business. Lerena, D. C., 2016, Real estate and SWOT analysis, https://www.costainvest.org/en/real-estate-swot-analysis/, accessed on 15th October 2017. Li, C.Z., Hong, J., Xue, F., Shen, G.Q., Xu, X. and Luo, L., 2016. SWOT analysis and Internet of Things-enabled platform for prefabrication housing production in Hong Kong.Habitat International,57, pp.74-87. Mintzer, R., 2009, 7 Essential start up steps, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/202106, accessed on 15th October 2017. Schaltegger, S., Burritt, R. and Petersen, H., 2017.An introduction to corporate environmental management: Striving for sustainability. Routledge. Selvaraj, A. and Krishna, N., 2017. Eastern Housing LimitedMarketing Strategies of Real Estate Company in Bangladesh.Vision,21(1), pp.101-103. Tsui, A.S., Zhang, Y. and Chen, X.P., 2017. Successful Business through Moral Conduct and Integrity. InLeadership of Chinese Private Enterprises(pp. 225-237). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Van Wormer, K. and Besthorn, F.H., 2017.Human behavior and the social environment, macro level: Groups, communities, and organizations. Oxford University Press. Winfree, J.A., Rosentraub, M.S. and Mills, B.M., 2016.Sports finance and management: Real estate, entertainment, and the remaking of the business. CRC Press. Xiao, Y. and Xu, L., 2017. Business Expanding and Strategic Decision-Making Innovation for Real Estate Valuation Companies Based on Big-Data. InProceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate(pp. 1057-1068). Springer, Singapore. Xiao, Y., 2016, January. Sustainable development approach of Chinese home inspection industry based on SWOT analysis. InSustainable Development: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD2015)(pp. 444-454). World Scientific. Yderflt, . and Roxenhall, T., 2017. Real estate business model innovation and the impact of ego network structure.Management Research Review,40(6). Zhao, Z.Y., Zuo, J., Wu, P.H., Yan, H. and Zillante, G., 2016. Competitiveness assessment of the biomass power generation industry in China: A five forces model study.Renewable Energy,89, pp.144-153.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) Essay Example

The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) Paper The gangster genre of film has been on of the few genres which has evolved over time whilst still remaining close to the basic formula of each film. One of the firsts to mark the start of the gangster/crime genre was D. W. Griffiths The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912). The earlier films were set in the silent era if film. Meaning the narrative would often be crude and lack depth, due to the lack of any true dialogue. It wasnt until the 1927 film that the first modern gangster film was created, in the form of Josef von Sternbergs melodrama Underworld. It held many of the standard conventions and filmed from the gangsters point of view, a first for the genre. When the 1930s and the emergence of sound being used in the film dawned. So did the use of real-life crime bosses being used in the narrative for the crime/gangster drama. Many films were made about Al Capone. The films also because more appealing to the audience, as the added excitement of screeching tyres and gun shots. As the 30s continued, a wave of gangster films was released, each using the same narrative formula each time. Usually involving a gangster or bootlegger cast in an ant-hero role, however, towards the end of the film, he would meet his demise. One of the main formulas on the gangster genre was its mise en scene. The lighting was always dark. The costumes and props were also set to a specific formula, gangsters wore nice suits (usually black) and carried Tommy Guns. Police officers wore their uniforms and carried batons and private detectives always wore a brown trenchcoat and hat. In the early 1930s, the Hays Production Code brought the curtain down on the days of glorifying the main role of gangsters as hero. We will write a custom essay sample on The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The code brought us new gangster films, portraying the police or private detectives on the right side of the law as the Good Guys. Most of the films carried a moral of Crime doesnt pay. This quietened the uproar from the audience as the narrative gave the audience a hero that they could truly get behind. Gangster films kept to the same kind of formula which were tried and tested, until 1972. Im gonna make him an offer he cant refuse. Francis Ford Coppolas The Godfather (1972) reinvented the genre. Based on the book, written by Mario Puzo, of the same name, the film was about the Corleone family. A Sicilian family who settled into New York, whos crime syndicate made them as powerful as the Government and Big Business. One thing thats strikes with The Godfather is the non-diegetic soundtrack. It has one of the most recognisable theme tunes in a film. However, every piece of music is parallel. This may add to the soundtrack in one way, yet the lack of contrapuntal may be a detriment in another. This could be due to Francis Ford Coppola wanting to play it safe, and to not tamper with the atmosphere the music creates. The Godfather also had many selling points to the audience. The most obvious being its cast, featuring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton. However, one can look towards the book aswell to draw in an audience. The narrative structure remained focused on a single story throughout the course of the film. This is rare for a film with such a long approximate running time (Nearly 3 hours). This have been detrimental to the appeal of the film, as people may find it hard to sit through a single story for 3 hours The language in the film is also very important to the film. One thing the audience might notice is the lack of the words Mafia and Cosa Nostra. These being replaced with a euphemism of The Family (Or La Famiglia). This is quite the Juxta position, as such euphemisms are used; yet there are brutal murders which take place throughout the course of the film. There is also the use of both Italian and English. This could be interpreted as Coppola and Puzo trying to make them film as authentic as possible. People who are of different ethnicity still speak their mother tongue, even though they have immigrated to another country. The costume used in the film continues on with the gangster formula, with the Corleone males in expensive suits, the women in expensive clothing too. This is a shift from the moral of Crime doesnt pay which was placed on the genre some 40 years earlier. The opening shot of the film is a close up a face of a man in the Dons dark hone office; this opens up with intrigue, as the audience doesnt know who this man is. Most of the camera angles used in the film are used to make Don Vito Corleone look as powerful as possible, usually a high angle mid shot, to make him superior. There are also scenes where he has a light shining from above him, to make him look God like, despite his actions being more of reminiscent the devil. The Godfather laid the template for future films of the genre, while still following. It continues the representation of Italian-Americans being very family-orientated, complimented with a fiery temper. This is a double-edged stereotype, as it is positive that Italians are very close knit families, yet negative because of the short fuse. Say ello to mah lil friend Scarface (1983) was loosely based on Al Capone, however, the lead role was that of Cuban immigrant Tony Montana (Played by Godfather star Al Pacino). Scarface has a different selling point to The Godfather, which is that it is loosely based on Al Capone. However, the use of Al Pacino, who was in The Godfather can also be its selling point. One major difference between Scarface and The Godfather is its non-diegetic soundtrack. There is one scene in the film which is reminiscent of a Rocky movie. There was a montage where Montana and his associates were committing many illegal activities, however, the music used was contrapuntal, and it had a very positive sound to it. The language used was modern, with lots of expletives, showing that the gangsters are now starting to lose their class. Gangsters used to be like upper class businessmen, however, now the audience were starting to see gangsters as lower class people, who just happen to have money. The costume was a slight variation on the classic gangster attire. They were still wearing suits, however, the style is modern. One also notices the style of suit change as the film progresses, especially on Tony Montana. When he first enters Floridas crime world, he was wearing a cheap, pea-green polyester suit. However, towards the end of the film, his style becomes more and more expensive. Compare this to The Godfather, almost everyone is in a black suit, this could be due to Coppola wanting the audience to view the Corleone family as the Bad Guys and Brian LaPalma wanting the audience to root for Tony Montana. One of the first props the audience will take notice of is the Chainsaw which is used to kill Tonys friend Angel. This showed that the genre was getting more brutal and there was blood in abundance. This again can be referred back to The Godfather, as Tony cared for his friends and family, which is a positive social trait, however, this is sandwiched between the brutality and criminal activities. Scarface borrowed a lot of its Mise en Scene from The Godfather, despite being made some eleven years later. The audience was still seeing big guns, luxury cars, suits and money. The camera angles were made to look Tony Montana look very powerful, with lots of close ups and high angle mid shows and back lighting. The film also kept with a single narrative structure. Look, can everyone stop getting shot? Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) did something most films have tried, but havent really succeeded in. Making working class people look like gangsters. Gangsters were becoming working class heroes. The narrative has multiple stories, the first being the card game which has put the four central characters into  £500,000 worth of debt, and the second being the shifting of marijuana between two different gangs who have never even met before. The camera angles used were very different; there werent as many close-ups as there wasnt really one single central character. That being said, the first shot is an extreme close up of Eddy and other unnamed men (who later turn out to be policemen). One camera shot that is used to good effect is the slow motion shot. It makes an action-packed shot seem more realistic, as it is thought that when something like getting shot at happens, everything seems to happen in slow motion. The diegetic sound in these scenes are also muffled. There was also a lack of any direct brutality. The Godfather and Scarface show killings in great detail, however, when someone got shot in Lock, Stock, we dont actually see it happening. The musical score was also very different from the norm when it comes to the Gangster genre. The use of bands such as Ocean Colour Scene made the soundtrack more appealing to the audience, as opposed to constant parallel soundtrack. The costume made reference to the films pred ecessors; however, it was given a more casual look. Suits were not always the clothing of choice. Many characters opting for jeans and a shirt. However, the use of leather jackets and trench coats by almost all characters made it a new norm in the genre. The film had a selling point of Sting and Vinnie Jones starring in the film. Mustard? I dont care if hes Mohammed Im-Hard Bruce Lee Snatch (2000) continued where Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels left off. Using many of the same values used, the multi tier narrative and the semi-open endings. Both Lock Stock and Snatch had relatively open endings, with Tom straddling the bridge at the end of Lock, Stock and with someone coming over from America to buy the diamond in Snatch. The genre of the gangster has evolved greatly since its primitive early beginnings and has been somewhat cyclical. In the beginning, the gangsters were glorified, then vilified, now we seem to be living in an era where gangsters are glorified once again. We have also seen a shift from an Italian-American dominated genre to a more global genre, with some of the more successful films taking place in London. The films have also become shorter, with The Godfather and Scarface being longer films with a single narrative structure with a definite ending. To shorter, multiple narrative films where things are constantly changing.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Use OptionParser to Parse Commands in Ruby

Use OptionParser to Parse Commands in Ruby In the article discussing OptionParsers features we discussed some of the reasons that make using OptionParser in Ruby preferable to looking through ARGV manually to parse commands by hand. Now its time to get down to learning how to use OptionParser and its features. The following boilerplate code will be used for all the examples in this tutorial. To try any of the examples, simply put the examples opts.on block next to the TODO comment. Running the program will print the state of the options has and ARGV, allowing you to examine the effects of your switches. #!/usr/bin/env rubyrequire optparserequire pp# This hash will hold all of the options# parsed from the command-line by# OptionParser.options {}optparse OptionParser.new do|opts|# TODO: Put command-line options here# This displays the help screen, all programs are# assumed to have this option.opts.on( -h, help, Display this screen ) doputs optsexitendend# Parse the command-line. Remember there are two forms# of the parse method. The parse method simply parses# ARGV, while the parse! method parses ARGV and removes# any options found there, as well as any parameters for# the options. Whats left is the list of files to resize.optparse.parse!pp Options:, optionspp ARGV:, ARGV Simple Switch A simple switch is an argument with no optional forms or no parameters. The effect will be to simply set a flag in the options hash. No other parameters will be passed to the on method. options[:simple] falseopts.on( -s, simple, Simple argument ) dooptions[:simple] trueend Switch with Mandatory Parameter Switches that take a parameter only need to state the parameter name in the long form of the switch. For example, -f, file FILE means the -f or file switch takes a single parameter called FILE, and this parameter is mandatory. You cannot use either -f or file without also passing it a parameter. options[:mand] opts.on( -m, mandatory FILE, Mandatory argument ) do|f|options[:mand] fend Switch with Optional Parameter Switch parameters dont have to be mandatory, they can be optional. To declare a switch parameter optional, place its name in brackets in the switch description. For example, logfile [FILE] means the FILE parameter is optional. If not supplied, the program will assume a sane default, such as a file called log.txt. In the example, the idiom a b || c is used. This is just shorthand for a b, but if b is false or nil, a c. options[:opt] falseopts.on( -o, optional [OPT], Optional argument ) do|f|options[:opt] f || nothingend Automatically Convert to Float OptionParser can automatically convert argument to some types. One of these types is Float. To automatically convert your arguments to a switch to Float, pass Float to the on method after your switch description strings. Automatic conversions are handy. Not only do they save you the step of converting the string to the desired type, but also check the format for you and will throw an exception if it is formatted incorrectly. options[:float] 0.0opts.on( -f, float NUM, Float, Convert to float ) do|f|options[:float] fend Some other types that OptionParser can convert to automatically include Time and Integer. Lists of Arguments Arguments can be interpreted as lists. This can be seen as converting to an array, as you converted to Float. While your option string can define the parameter to be called a,b,c, OptionParser will blindly allow any number of elements in the list. So, if you need a specific number of elements, be sure to check the array length yourself. options[:list] []opts.on( -l, list a,b,c, Array, List of parameters ) do|l|options[:list] lend Set of Arguments Sometimes it makes sense to restrict arguments to a switch to a few choices. For example, the following switch will only take a single mandatory parameter, and the parameter must be one of yes, no or maybe. If the parameter is anything else at all, an exception will be thrown. To do this, pass a list of acceptable parameters as symbols after the switch description strings. options[:set] :yesopts.on( -s, set OPT, [:yes, :no, :maybe], Parameters from a set ) do|s|options[:set] send Negated Forms Switches can have a negated form. The switch negated can have one that does the opposite effect, called no-negated. To describe this in the switch description string, place the alternative portion in brackets: [no-]negated. If the first form is encountered, true will be passed to the block, and false will be blocked if the second form is encountered. options[:neg] falseopts.on( -n, [no-]negated, Negated forms ) do|n|options[:neg] nend

Friday, November 22, 2019

Social Entrepreneurism Module WA1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Entrepreneurism Module WA1 - Coursework Example Model 2 enterprises- These are nonprofitorganizations that realize their funding from the surrounding environment and the business community. They operate to ensure a sustainable social value at the same time minimizing costs. Model 3 enterprises- these are social organizations that depend entirely on private business funds. They operate as a business with their returns going to the investors (Dees, Emerson & Economy, 2002). Value evaluation – these are the assessment activities carried out the business enterprises to come up with facts that help in decision making in the organization or assist the evaluators in generating periodic reports. Value evaluation involves assessment of issues such as the number of clients served over a certain period, the impact of the organization to the society and the environment and the level of customer satisfaction. Strategic service vision- These are the goals and targets set by the organization’s management to be achieved after a set duration of time e.g. by the end of the financial period. Strategic service vision helps the management come up with the organizations objectives, missions and vision Operating services strategy- these are the strategic plans and procedures laid by an organization on their daily operations. Different organizations have different service strategies depending on the products or services they provide. Operating service strategies are important in helping the organization realize its goals, missions and objectives. Examples of operating service strategies may include maintaining their customers by getting their contacts and following up on their progress or ensuring a clean, tidy environment and maintaining proper hygienic standards to portray a good image of the organization. The activities of value evaluation provide the facts and information required in decision making by the management.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Child Care Aboriginal Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Child Care Aboriginal Australia - Essay Example "Assimilation" refers to the attempts of white Australian government to intermesh Aboriginal and white culture, often with the purpose of eventually eradicating Aboriginal culture. Under the 1940's assimilation policy, many Aborigines were removed from their own territory and forced to settle n new areas. Indeed, many Aborigines intertwined with whites. Sally Morgan's autobiographical novel, My Place, serves as an example of this mixed generation. "Dispossession" occurred when the White Australian government forced many Aborigines away from their original home. As a result, land which had originally been deemed sacred became the possession of white Australia. These occurrences of "dispossession" were particularly hard for Aborigines, who tied their beliefs and religion with particular geographic areas. This strong Aboriginal emphasis of land can be seen particularly in Aboriginal paintings and other forms of artwork. "Personal racism" refers to the subconscious idea that exists among some white Australians that Aboriginal identity is less valuable than white identity. This racism occurs on a personal level because white Australians believed that the darkness of someone's skin reflect their Aboriginal identity. ... The belief emphasized that it was up to Aborigines to gain land rights and reclaim their native lands. This period marked a great period of social progress for Aborigines and would eventually result in reclaiming many lost lands. "Invasion" occurred when English natives began to establish posts and reservations in Australia. In an Aboriginal perspective, the "invasion" of whites into Aboriginal culture resulted in the destruction of traditional Aboriginal society and the dispossession of most Aboriginal settlements. "Land rights" refer to the battle Aborigines face in reclaiming their own land. Within the past century, Aboriginals have won various land claims which provided back certain territories. Beginning with the Aboriginal Land Act of 1976, Aborigines have begun to reclaim their native lands. This phrase also represents the clash in thought between Aborigines and white Australians over who owns certain areas. Although white Australians physically own certain native Aboriginal lands, Aborigines claim that their religious and cultural beliefs entitle them to possession of sacred Aboriginal territory. Although the white Australian government attempted to mix Aboriginals with white society, "segregation" was still practiced in Australia and separated Aboriginal people from whites. On a basic level, Aboriginals were given certain areas to live apart from whites. "Segregation" was also practiced within society and many people who contained even one Aboriginal ancestor were segregated against as being less than people of entirely white heritage. "Terra nullius", a Latin phrase meaning "empty land", refers to a 17th century legal concept that allowed

Monday, November 18, 2019

MAF307 EQUITIES AND INVESTMENT ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MAF307 EQUITIES AND INVESTMENT ANALYSIS - Essay Example The strategic analysis of the group indicates that with continued development of new initiatives and business products, the group is likely to expand its client base by entering new markets. The company’s salary packing business continues to provide an annuity stream of income that further allows cross-selling of company’s other products such as leasing services. The company has a very strong balance sheet and cash flow position that gives it opportunity to choose inorganic expansion route. The company’s revenues from core activities experienced 12.6% to $161.50 million at the end of December 2012, with net profits rising over 19.3%. The company announced the gain in gross revenue and profit for the year June 2013 but a proposal from the Labour government shook company’s future earnings capacity causing the company’s share price to plunge by over 55% in the middle of July 2013. Background of Share Price Crash McMillan Shakespeare’s Finance gr oup share price almost halved since the government flagged changes to current laws of fringe benefit tax (FBT) that has created uncertainty in the markets. The company’s trading was suspended for a week and when it resumed trading the share prices crashed by over 48% to $7.99 wiping away almost $549 m of shareholders’ wealth from the markets (Australian Associated Press, 2013). Due to this reason the company’s management requested for an extension to halt trading which is viewed by many analyst as a desperate move by the management to avoid such huge amount of losses and save shareholders’ wealth from volatile and uncertain markets. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission have however rejected the company’s plea of halting trading. (Source: ASX, 2013) The company has criticised the government’s recent decision to tightening FBT guidelines especially on salary package and car leasing for the share price crash and uncertainty in ma rkets. The panic among the investors was evident since the proposed changes to FBT guidelines tighten fringe benefit taxes on salary packaging and car leasing. The investors in the market expected the revenues of the company to be adversely affected from the government’s decision since the company’s primary source of revenues is generated from car leasing and salary packages. This negative outlook on the company’ future earning capacity from the tightening of FBT created panic in the broader markets that led to overselling of company’s stocks in Australian Stock Exchange. Thus, it can be said from the above discussion that a chain of events starting from the government’s decision to tighten FBT guidelines, the same decision to adversely affect profitability of the company, negative sentiments among the investors in the market regarding company’s future, and huge sell of the Finance Group’s MMS stocks after a week’s inactive tra ding, ultimately caused the company’s share prices to plummet by over 55% in the mid of July 2013. Reasons behind Dramatic Price Change The company under observation derives almost 50% of its revenues from two major segments namely Asset Management and Group Remuneration Services. But from the analysis of financial statements of the company it is apparent that over 70% of its total earnings are generated from the revenues of group remuneration, which is almost three

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Federalism And The Perspectives Of Democracy Politics Essay

Federalism And The Perspectives Of Democracy Politics Essay The term Federalism which was introduced during 18 and 19 centuries in multicultural societies to meet different social needs in the direction of unity while reserving diversity, another time has been propounded in multi-cultural societies. While, federalism as a political and legal theory in different societies has its own characteristics, and based on the considerations of the units it shows different performances. The technologic revolution along with the development of international information networks have created a great revolution in the structure of governments and power centers, the governments decline took place gradually, great economic poles developed the extensive network of power; as a result, those national, local, and regional units supporting connection between local capital with global capital gain the political power. The Europe Union seeks to spread and reserve its historical achievements and concentrate its potentials to resist against the enormous revolutions of Asia and America National units often enjoy common culture, history, and territory, having a common political plan they try to provide appropriate backgrounds for having collaboration with other nations. National units, different groups and ethnics in collaboration process in a common territory acquire national identity and defend their nationality and territory. We have federalism system with its different forms in the political perspective of the world. It seems to be an effective approach for solving national problems in multi-cultural societies. (Yahyaee, 1384: 15) Globalization, in the present time, is changing monetary and financial markets, production and consumption toward globalizing; public opinions by applying communicational devices lead to globalization, so, the inscrutable power of the governments are declining and multi- structural powers are developing. 2. Research design and its importance: Proponents of federalism, who have attracted a lot of attentions from political forces and elites of national units, believe that dividing power among the units paves the ways for more collaboration and develops national identity. As a result, not only the territorial integrity is damaged, but also reinforces national impression among national units and different ethnics. In this regard, the democratic institutes are created and organized by people. In this situation, the democratic atmosphere of country paves the way for discourse under its shadow intellectual and helpful thoughts take form. Federalism contributes to the development of democracy, political culture, and gaining experience; as a result, political parties will be more active in the national units; democratic and constant institutes are established; political elites leave seclusion and contribute to training political practitioners, finally sophisticated and skillful political practitioners receive trainings necessary for managing the country. (Bashyryeh, 1995:37) In countries in which different nations live with their various features the development of democracy, politics and economy reflex in their political life, so that respecting nations and ethnics rights is included in the constitutional law. With respect to relative and classic democracy in which the will of majority is dominant, however, sovereignty is in the hands of that nation which has the majority and determines the political fate of the country in accordance their interests. So, the principles of democracy and regulations of multi- national societies can not secure freedom and rights of minor nations and ethnics. Federalism as a pervasive administrative and political approach has high functions and potentials that correspond with the needs of plural societies and is able to solve their structural problems. In order to fulfill this approach in plural societies and adopt it with different situations, first of all we should undertake cultural activities along with political and economical measures. (Kolaee, 2002: 18) Federalism or dividing power among different centers prevents power from concentrating in one center; this in turn leads to the development of democracy in the units. Fulfilling these situations, federalism activates political parties, trains more political elites to participate in countrys leadership and management. If the elites are familiar with social and economical features and needs of units, the can adopt more suitable policies; then they can apply communicational tools, find effective resolutions for the current problems, and develop their relationships with people. If there is close relationship between governmental institutes and people, independent institutes will be allowed to control performances of political power, this matter at last results in democracy development. 3. History and definition of federalism: Federalism originates from the Latin word Foedos that means agreement or treaty. Thus, cooperation and unity among different groups and units in search of establishing larger units to fulfill their common objectives is called federalism. (Habermas, 1996: 13) In political terms, federal government is a kind of political organization in which political power is divided among smaller political units; each one has its own regulations and institutes that function in accordance with their interests and public or group origins. In such a system, borders of power and units management are determined by certain regulations. Organizations of different federal nations are not the same. Based on their social, political, and geographical situations they have different features. The United States, Russian Federation, Federal Germany, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, and so forth have different structural and administrative organizations. Federal governments have two distinctive administrative systems. First, Federal administration has all the country under its coverage. This kind of administration is an active center conducting administrative activities nationwide. Besides this system, there are plenty of institutes and organizations selected directly by peoples votes that function under peoples monitoring. In the second system countrys administration is divided to smaller units. These administrative units include province to region. Therefore, they are called national or regional units. These federative units function within their borders and are considered to be responsible for a part of country or a certain population. Then, federalism is applied to a kind of administration in which there is a pervasive national government as well as several smaller national units. According to their population or regions, these units divide the political power among them and establish political government based on which. (Yahyaee, 2006: 62) If the process of uniting was in the same direction with the development of modern culture and economy as well as freedom, equality, justice, and law, there would be better results. As the process of nationalization in those western countries established based on power plurality and dividing it has led to democracy establishment. Switzerland, for instance, has got a brilliant history and experience in federative system. This country has always sought to expand this system in accordance with public and states rights. Thus, Switzerland has strengthened relationships among people, culture, language, and various needs. (Thurow, 2001: 86) Lack of centrality has expanded states abilities in accomplishing their activities, created closer relationships between people and governmental agencies and finally, thoroughly has developed democracy across society. As a result, Switzerland is considered to be a member of international family in which all the social and individual rights are secured exactly. A reason of Switzerlands social and economical developments lies in its administrative and political system that it is for a while that are managed federatively. Based on the above discussions, one can make this conclusion that in those countries where different nations and ethnics live with their special cultures and languages, they can pave the ways for a comprehensive progress. In January 1918, the first constitutional law of Russian Soviet Federative Social Republic (RSFSR) in the forth nationwide congress of the soviets was approved. That constitutional law was approved to be applied in managing Russian Federative Republic, as by then the Soviet Union has not been established. (Kolaee, 2002: 18) The constitutional law of 1918 which had suggested its objective as transition from a bourgeois democracy to a proletarian one, at the same time had discussed about nations equal rights and had proposed federalism in accordance with the development of different cultures. While evaluating the Czarina Russia, Lenin had said: Russia is the prison of the public; it is just through establishing the Soviet Union that we can secure all rights of the nations. According to this statement, article 70 of the Soviet Unions constitutional law had named that country as a multi-national one and its federal system in the form of soviets provides all nations with equal rights. (Kolaee, 2002: 170) Like Italy, Spain was ruled by centralist and dominant government of Franco. During that period, fascist and pen fascist thoughts were dominant in the political system. Therefore, democratic movements and public institutes were suppressed strongly. Under the pretext of trying to weaken the central government, regional and local movements, too, were suppressed and their members were pursued. After the death of Franco, there were remarkable changes in Spains political system. In 1987, the constitutional law changed. With respect to cultural and ethnical features, self-determined regions with different possibilities and authorities were established. The new law supported and guaranteed those self-determined regions. As a result, after the death of Franco they undertook remarkable measures in democraticazing their society. They began some activities in accordance with lack of centrality, determined ways of undertaking their measures and their borders to be able to negotiate with the central government. When the new constitutional law was approved, according to cultural, lingual, geographical, religious, and economical differences 17 self-determined regions were established. (Yahyaee, 2006: 64) Canadian federal system is consisted of 10 units; 9 of them are ruled by English speakers and the other one is governed by French speakers. Quebec is the only state French speakers have control over. This state is economically, especially in industry sector developed. Some social groups, especially extremist nationalists seek to separate this state from Canada. (Khobroyepak, 1999: 186) 4. Basic features of federative systems: Federalism forms based on two principles. First, based on population; that is, it should have sufficient similarities. Second, based on geographical regions which should have some differences with other regions. (Khobroyepak, 1999: 190) The number of constituent units depends on geographical divisions. Thus, these units take on different names. In some countries, for example, we have units called state, province, region, self-determined, and autonomous governments. The United States of America is consisted of some 50 states, Federal Republic of Germany of 16 units, Russian Federation of 89 different units with special rights and authorities, India of 25 states and Belgium of 6 regions. (Khobroyepak, 1999: 192) A federal system functions independently in its interior affairs. In federal systems public institutes are controlled by people, as political institutes are selected by people. Their performances, then, are controlled by people and democratic institutes which are not under the control of government. Canada is consisted of 10 federals and 11 administrative centres. Thus, federal systems are called multi-cantered systems. (Khobroyepak, 1999: 193) Nowadays, units of federal systems are not able to accomplish great projects by themselves and need the cooperation of other units. This element creates unity among the units. Federalism is an administrative system and a method of governing in which there are different centres of power. Unlike centralized systems which are ruled from one centre, in federal system there is a pervasive national government with several regional governments differing from autonomous or self-determined governments remarkably. Two-parted federal systems consist of 3 power centres. Attending the applications of refugees, accepting or rejecting foreigners residing or ways of settling them in different states, as well as establishing different associations are among the responsibilities of the states. Decision makings and performances of the states should correspond with expectations of the federal. Those units established as state or region having common culture and language with other unite, confine their activities mostly to development, construction, housing, water supply, conserving natural resources, and environment conservation. Educational and cultural activities of these units have their own regulations enacted by the federal governments which are carried out across the federal country. Units are mostly engaged in economical and constructive activities. There are different centers for making and executing decisions in federal governments; as units are responsible for monitoring and observing political and economical regulations and the centre has no if any intervene in units interior affairs. Finally, those units have their representatives in central organizations and have direct participation in decision makings; as it is one of the basic features of federalism. Establishing federal governments without units having economic possibilities is impossible, as units legal and administrative guarantees depend on their financial power. (Yahyaee, 2006: 95) It is why in establishing units based on population and geographical regions economical potentials and financial power are more emphasized on. Executing this policy in some cases, however, raises dissatisfaction or causes tension between national and ethnical groups. Most of the federal countries are divided based on geographical researches and establish their units according to these researches. These geographical regions are located alongside each other according to their common political and economical interests. People of these regions may have different cultures, races, religions and special features. (Maghsudi, 2001: 241) These features include race, culture, language, and national and religious beliefs. So, geographical units bring about some cultural and natural differences. These cultural and national differences whether have a long history or are created by the pass of time or political and historical events. Anyhow, these differences are of great importance in establishing federal units. Certainly, in the constitutional law of a federal country the relationship between the center and its related units and visa versa has been determined, their authorities and obligations, too, have been explained. In adopting federalism as a political system for a country, cultural, lingual, religious and ethnical differences have great importance. Among the important features of federalism one can refer to power division among the units, it is while we can meet the needs of those civilians who have different languages and cultures by adopting policies like corporatism, pluralism, and functionalism, but these concepts have no consistency with federalism. Dividing power according to geographical region and organizing federal system are the inseparable parts of federal systems. (Maghsudi, 2001: 243) Thus, the term federalism is applied to those units having geographical borders and interior regulations while participating in the central government. In federal systems, will of people can not alone decide on some of their wishes or fulfill them, it is the federal units and their residents who are determinant, as they propose their wills to the national assembly and control its performances. Thus, in the process of policy making in federal governments not only the people of country but also residents of the units affect this process. The number of parliament members depends on population. The more population a unit has, the more representatives it has. As a principle of federal systems, units have equal rights in the parliament and no one can change these rights for the benefits of others. People of those countries that have federal political systems have got multi- identities; that is, from one hand they have national identity and from the other hand they have a single identity belonging to their unit. These dependencies are either regional and geographical or ethnical and population; in each case those people simultaneously have more than one identity. They can refer to federal administrations or units organizations to have their applications attended. In most of the cases, they refer to their local organizations. As they can easily control their performances. Among other features of federalism we can name power division, units equality and having equal rights. These features exactly correspond to the essence of federalism. (Castells, 1997: 392) From international laws point of view, constituent units of federal country are not considered to be a whole and independent country, so, in international associations they do not enjoy the same benefits with independent countries. However, they can engage in some mutual economical contracts. Federal country attends the international associations on behalf of its related units and functions by their names. 5. Federalism and democracy: In federal systems public and democratic institutes control over government and administrative organizations performances, mainly in executing rules with respect to the different centers of power will be more effective. In this regard, federalism with its certain structure and regulations provides all the necessary possibilities for executing rules and expanding democracy for all the people and national or ethnical groups. We do not mean that other countries having centralized or self-determined structures are unable in executing democratic rules or respecting human rights. Some countries, especially those developed centralized ones with respect to their social and cultural differences produce macro policies, and then apply them in accordance with the interests of society and social groups. In a country where different nations live, development and institutionalization of democracy is in contrast with power concentration in a centre, as in such political organizing governments power increasingly grows so that by applying its power and relying on one of those reasons, it turns its people to some peasants and bases and governs them easily. (Maghsudi, 2001: 250) If power is divided and the law has sovereignty in a society, people are allowed to use these potentials and control governments performances. As a result, different units in a federal country contribute to survival and development of democracy. Proponents of democracy in multi-national countries defend nations rights and federalism. It should be said that federalism can not spontaneously reinforce democracy, and even some kinds of federalism may develop inequalities among the nations and weaken their correlation. Trying to find a form of democracy which can set civil nationality and equal citizenship rights in a society, prevent national and ethnical prejudgments is one of the most important duties of proponents of democracy in different societies. In federal systems, people have more participation in their political fate, political and economical competitions revolve the society, and in turn, this contributes to developing democracy and institutionalizing it. In societies where different nations with different cultures are living, creating solidity and nationalization has taken a lot of time, has spoiled appropriate opportunities and the necessary correlation for public progress has encountered a lot of challenges. Therefore, by reserving nations identity we can pave the ways for cooperation; create voluntary unity to reach common objectives. Federal system with its special structure prepares necessary opportunities in this regard, as the civilians not only participate in their unit, but also play remarkable roles in the political activities of their society. Undertaking economical competitions along with exhibiting art works, sports and other activities of units lead to the development of different sectors; this process, then, results in more correlation among nations; it is why federal system is considered to be an effective tool in expanding and maintaining democracy. In single and centralized systems, however, the cooperation between nations and different ethnics takes place in accordance with class and group interests, but this cooperation is found to be fragile; because if these interests are damaged, this cooperation will break down. This situation is more common in those countries which have not yet formed civil society or their social institutes are not so effective. Anyhow, these two administrative systems are organized with respect to social situations, population and geographical structure and have their special features. We should remind that democracy and its institutes do not form just in federal systems, as some countries with single administrative systems have made some remarkable progresses in creating civil society and developing democratic institutes, European developed countries can be good examples in this regard. So, having federal systems does not assure providing democracy and respecting international charter of human rights, but democratic institutes should develop to allow people to have direct intervene in their political fate. Having federal or pen federal law does not guarantee providing social and individual freedoms, as federal system is different from uniparty systems, marital dictatorship, and totalitarian regimes. Federalism is based on this concept that its related units have their own policy makings while having direct intervene in policy makings of the central government. Thus, the structure of representation takes shape and power will be divided. (Khobroyepak, 1999: 202) the units reserve their features including: language, religion, culture, history, and economy then make effort to reinforce them and patrol their national interests. In the case of having different power centers, the possibilities of centralization and empowering of a centre or a certain group disappear. Also, the system of democracy observation is applied by the units to reserve them, as observing law articles guarantees their survival. In those countries where federal system is adopted successfully, power centers seek to create political and economical cooperation among units to enjoy their benefits. Most of the policy researchers believe that federalism is one of the best choices and methods for supplying rights of ethnical, religious, and national minorities. As the law guarantees these rights and plurality of power centers pave the ways for reserving social structure and explaining its differences. The units keep their cultural, social, and economical identity. Therefore, they would not suffer from identity crisis and this, in turn, contributes to correlation among nations. Some countries governed by single systems try to develop democratic rights and solve ethnical problems by establishing autonomy and considering geographical situations. It is while supplying just political rights can not provide social justice, but the backgrounds of economical justice should be arranged. Accepting plurality federal countries get more ready for social revolutions. Therefore, accepting and developing democracy in these countries has prior backgrounds and can institutionalize easily, as cultural and social differences are accepted by these countries, so trying to reserve plurality results in rapid growth of culture. Ultimately, the bed for development of democracy and social and economical progress will be available. Stable democracy in federal systems depends on the relationships between units and the relationships between the centre and its related units. Power division among units and units participation in federal decision makings indicate of democracy development across society and peoples participation in their political fate. There are some federal systems, in which the units dont have sufficient power or authority, and then they are unable to decide about their social, political, and even economical fate; in comparison to autonomous regions, these units enjoy fewer authorities. Therefore, political participation of units in the central government and peoples role in determining policies of units show the degree of maturity and development of democracy in these societies. Owning to the remarkable developments in computer technology in the recent decades, now different countries are closer to each other and have developed their regional cooperation. (Falsafi, 1998: 249) Due to plurality in power centers, federalism has shortened peoples distance from these centers and has allowed them to have more participation. In those countries that have democratic systems and there is a single political system managing society politically, people participate in their political fate freely and select their representatives in accordance with their interests, then send them to the parliament and observe the execution of policies. Constitutional laws of federal countries are more often democratic, liberal, and have some features that encourage people to participate in their fate. It seems that all those countries which have any kind of political systems seek to display their constitutional laws as democratic by adding some democratic articles to them. It is beyond doubt that having some democratic articles in law does not indicate of democracy and has no administrative guarantees. As people and public institutes dont have power of monitoring and in the case of repre ssing the regulations by the ruling government have no means to defend it. In federal systems observing law is possible through different power centers. As forming dictatorship and controlling all the centers of power is difficult and with regard to their special situations, suppressing all the units can not be easily possible. It is why reserving constitutional law and operating democracy in federal countries are easier. (Falsafi, 1998: 249) unfortunately, there are some social and economical discriminations owning to them all the social groups dont have equal opportunities and possibilities. So, federalism by having extensive possibilities for expanding democracy and freedom across the society can not apply democracy by itself; but social, economical, and political backgrounds should be provided for the society to take steps towards democracy and social justice. Enjoying extensive potentials for solving social problems and identity crisis, federalism can not solve all social problems and in action encounters some shortages. Constituent parts of federal government act in accordance with their economical and social interests, and then create the sufficient regulations for their social and cultural development. They try to reserve their identity and reinforce it. Among these units, there are some minor groups or ethnics deprived from their social rights, and as are in minority can not reserve their interests and in special situations are suppressed strongly. So, while has those extensive potentials, federalism is found to be unable to develop pervasive democracy for all groups and ethnics; as a result it keeps social contradictions and crisis inside itself. For instance, we can refer to the situation of Negroes in different states of America. They are unable to reserve their interests and rights. The policy of their complete rejection or accept ance is adopted. As a result, we observe sometimes some social crisis and violence in those states that are accompanied with polices harsh suppression. (Mawlaee, 2001: 124) Thus, it is the civilians who are responsible for reserving and observing their civil rights. Federalism as a political system with its structural plurality is able to fulfill the charter of human rights and can adopt it in its units. 6. Challenges of federalism: Tremendous economical and social differences among units of federal government and its reflection in lifestyle have led to different approaches to international issues, treaties, conventions, and agreements. Federal government signs the charter of human rights and other agreements and undertakes to fulfill them. But the units considering expectations of the central government as intervene in its interior affairs, refuses executing those agreements. Thus, executing the contents of these treaties that support human rights anywhere and in any situation encounter different problems. Above all, in countries like US, Canada, and Australia that are managed by federal systems, the local people suffer from different deprivations; these deprivations do extensive damages to the federal system and put their justice under question. As, the units while have enormous possibilities, can not supply their ethnics and smaller groups rights and in some cases succumb to suppressing them. Canada, for example, adopting federal system, has allowed the residents of Quebec to use French language and has provided them with all the necessary possibilities to develop their language; it is while that Canada does not allow other speakers to develop their cultures and languages. In spite of those great possibilities federalism has allocated for the freedom of different nations living in a geographical region, can not solve all social problems; thus, cooperation among units is inevitable if we want to strengthen life levels and freedom. When the Soviet Union scattered, in those countries once had been governed by federal systems, separation increased unprecedentedly. A wave of blind nationalism covered those societies. War and murder replaced peaceful coexistence. (Kolaee, 2002: 138) Proposing the right of separation and mentioning it in the law prevents accomplishing long-term projects in federal countries. Distrust in an unknown future leads to political crisis, thus its economical and social results will appear in interior policy makings and international relations. The danger of separation weakens countries political stability. (Bashyryeh, 1995: 300) This process directly affects domestic and foreign investments and determines policial and economical fate of the country. In search of their short-term interests, units avoid long-term cooperation with other units. As a result, administrative organizations of federal government will encounter problems in macro policy makings which consider al peoples interests in l ong-term. 7. Discussion and conclusion: While the development of technology using satellite and information networks pass the borders and do not confine themselves to national governments and geographical borders , insisting on nationalism- in its chauvinistic form-, lingual and ethnical excellence indicates of a historic straying and lack of knowledge. It is taken for granted that any activity in the direction of federalism and political and economical unions requires extensive and open insights in which moderateness and negligence replace ethnical and cultural differences, then the prosper

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Realism in British Soap Opera Essay -- essays papers

Realism in British Soap Opera Using a media text as a key example, evaluate selected techniques of fictional production which contribute to a sense of realism consistent with genre or format used. Many have defined the term realism but these definitions by Watt and Williams can be easily applied to my choice of media text, which is the British soap opera. Fiske writes that Watt and Williams â€Å"†¦.tend to define it by its content. Watt traces its origins to the rise of the novel in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.† And Williams â€Å"†¦whose historical perspective covers the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, lists three main characteristics of realism in drama: he finds that it has a contemporary setting, that it concerns itself with secular action †¦ and that it is â€Å"socially extended†. ( Television Culture, John Fiske, Routledge, 1997, P.21 – 22) To expand on Williams’ three characteristics, the contemporary setting means that the drama should be set in the present day or at least modern times that the present audience are likely to have lived in. When the drama â€Å"concerns itself with secular action† this means that the events that take place within the drama are about people and described in human terms. The term â€Å"socially extended† means that the events in the drama revolve around the lives of ordinary people and not kings or social leaders. Williams definition can be seen to relate to the working class and their experience of subordination in industrial society. These are three of the generic characteristics found in the British soap opera. Coronation Street is one of Britain’s most successful soap operas where all of these characteristics can be seen clearly. The contemporary setting can be seen through the iconography used such as the modern cars, the clothes and issues that are discussed in the programme such as general elections. In soap opera this contemporary setting goes further than just modern day, they like to appear as if to be on the same day as the audience watching. This is achieved by covering the general elections as mentioned and characters making reference to the weekend in a Friday episode. The â€Å"Secular Action† in Coronation Street is clear as the narrative is character driven and the events are always seen from the characters point of view. â€Å"Secular Actionâ€Å" is particularly prevalent in Corona... ... record 29 million people watched an episode of Coronation Street in which Alan Bradley – who had been beating his wife Rita – was run over by a tram. After he had been â€Å"killed off† Mark Eden, who played Alan, was hit over the head with an umbrella in a shop. Viewers have also been known to send wreaths to television companies after characters have â€Å"died.†Ã¢â‚¬ ( Alex Duval Smith, Guardian, Education, Nov1 1994) In conclusion, the techniques used to contribute to sense of realism in the British soap opera include the three characteristics that Williams outlines. These are the use of a contemporary setting, the soap must concern itself with secular action and the soap should be socially extended. Other techniques that soap opera makers employ are the use of naturalism in the sets and characters, the time paralleling real time, the coverage of everyday issues as well as the big issues which actually happen very rarely but are very real. However the programme makers occasionally fail in their attempts to portray the real with the omission of gay characters and the closeness of all the residents of their particular area, which in real life is virtually non-existent.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Cultural relativism Essay

Cultural relativism remains a controversial if not completely misunderstood concept in the world today. It is strange that people consider cultural relativism a problem because to do so would hint at the belief in cultural superiority or exceptionalism. It would seem that there is also a belief that variant from other cultures that are in opposition to a separate culture yield a threat. Whether the threat is real is another matter because as long as one culture perceives a threat, then there will be a militant response to such threat conceived. These days, cultural relativism has a bad reputation in many quarters. It conjures images of a world where anything goes. According to this domino theory of norms, if people open themselves to the possibility that other cultures may have valid, if different, ways of life, the next thing you know, they’ll be â€Å"doing it in the streets. † (Rosaldo) Part of the reason for such distress at the notion of cultural relativism is the fact that there is an inherent belief held by many cultures that their system of beliefs, life, etc are the â€Å"right† way to live and that any type of culture that is different or perceptually opposite of the â€Å"right† way are â€Å"wrong† and need to be contained, altered or even saved from themselves. If there is no transcendent ethical standard, then often culture becomes the ethical norm for determining whether an action is right or wrong. This ethical system is known as cultural relativism. {1} Cultural relativism is the view that all ethical truth is relative to a specific culture. Whatever a cultural group approves is considered right within that culture. Conversely, whatever a cultural group condemns is wrong. (Anderson) An example of cultural relativism gone horrible wrong can be viewed in the early clashes amidst Europeans and Native Americans during the â€Å"New World† era of the early colonization of North America. To the Native Americans, humans were considered in harmony with nature and lived among the natural world. To the European mentality, there was the belief that the natural world needed to be tamed and cities needed to be built upon the land. To the Europeans, the Native earth centrist ideology was unacceptable and needed to be removed. This was the basis of most of the early clashes that ultimately lead to massacres and genocidal campaigns. What is bizarre about this type of thought process is that it assumes there is an invisible line between cultures and that the world is not an inclusive place of a multitude of cultures. It seems to believe that culture exists only from one mindset or tradition and what is outside that tradition subscribes to chaos and disorder. First, the idea of separate but equal cultures no longer seems accurate. Cultures are not separate; they are not confined to their own individual museum cases. They exist side by side in the same space. Also, we’ve noticed that there are inequalities between cultures—relations of dominance and subordination. Take, for example, settler colonialism, the system we had in America. Relationships formed in the colonial period and after created inequalities, which a committed anthropologist would have to critique. (Rosaldo) So, from this we can infer that the concept of cultural relativism is a flawed notion and concept because it is based on a flawed premise of exclusiveness and ethnocentricity. In other words, to believe that cultural relativism exists is ridiculous because to claim it exists would mean the subdivision of humanity as opposed to looking at humanity as members as the world as a whole which is the natural order, an order only changed by human intervention designed to suit specific needs. Bibliography Anderson, Kirby. (2004) â€Å"Cultural Relativism. † Retrieved 6 February 2007. http://www. inplainsite. org/html/cultural_relativism_. html Rosaldo, Renaldo. (2000) â€Å"Of Headhunters and Soldiers: Separating Cultural and Ethical Relativism† Retrieved 6 February 2007. http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/ iie/v11n1/relativism. html

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Micromanagement: Leadership and Shelly

Answer to Case of â€Å"Micromanagement† Q1: Is George guilty of micromanaging? Why or why not? Answer: No. George hates micromanaging and even disagrees that he is micromanaging. He thinks â€Å"micromanaging† is an excuse that Shelly threw out to dissemble her incapability, for the reason that a successful manager would never micromanage those employees who are capable enough. In additional, he thought Shelly is not so enthusiastic and hungry-to-learn as the beginning, which costs him a lot of time to correct her mistakes. Therefore, George may be angry rather than guilty.Q2: What influence tactics does George use with Shelly and what is her reaction to those tactics? Give an example to support your response. To what degree do his tactics engender trust with Shelly? Answer: George used 1) Rational persuasion, 2) Ingratiation, 3) Pressure. 1) Rational persuasion. After reading the release draft at the first time, George recommended a new title, and Shelly countered tha t she doesn’t agree. To make Shelly align with him, George used the rational persuasion tactic to analyze the situation logically and give evidence, and argued why he consists to use such a strong title.The reaction of Shelly here is she pursed her lips and nodded slightly, which means she wanted to argue, but gave up and accepted his suggestion reluctantly. Without enough participation from Shelly, George made the decision himself, largely harming the trust between them in this situation. 2) Ingratiation. After persuading Shelly to adopt his suggestion, George tried to encourage Shelly a little bit by flattering her: â€Å"Thanks Shel, you are the best†. Ingratiation tactic was used here.However, Shelly didn’t feel any happiness when hearing this, and she no longer like him as before. Again, the trust was failed to engender. 3) Pressure. This tactic was used many times in this case. For example, George demanded Shelly to do two things on the release. George als o said: â€Å"I count on you to get these things right. † Etc. Shelly had different response on the two situations I mentioned above. In the first case, Shelly accepted George’s suggestion reluctantly. In the second case, Shelly made up her mind nd defended herself by explaining why she wrote it in her way but not George’s way. Obviously, trust was failed to engender again since Shelly didn’t meet George’s expectation, and she was unsatisfied with George as well. Q3: Using our knowledge of the â€Å"full-range of leadership† model presented in class, how would you classify the type of leader behavior used by George to manage Shelly? Be specific and provide an example. Answer: To my understanding, George manages Shelly with the transactional leadership. To be specific, he used Management-by-Exception actively.For example, once George found a mistake on the unfinished release draft, he gave feedbacks and corrections immediately. Then he starte d to follow the case, and tried to monitor and correct Shelly’s mistakes and keep things constructive in an active manner. This is exactly as Rich said, â€Å"when George takes an interest, hands-on isn’t the beginning of it. He’s elbow deep in the stuff. † He thought he was providing guidance and necessary feedbacks to Shelly so that she would improve. This type of leadership behavior is a part of transactional leadership.Q4: The Company in this case is not meeting its goals regarding visibility, leads and sales. Shelly is responsible for this functional area of the business. What should George do to lead her more effectively to meet these business objectives? Answer: George can lead Shelly more effectively in several ways. Firstly, according to the Leader-Member Exchange theory, Shelly belongs to the out-group of George’s team. In this group, the relationship between leader and members is cold and impersonal with formal leader authority and less effective influence on members.Under this tense relationship, eventually, members would be tired off to boss by bad performance and less OCBs. To make it better, George can try to give Shelly more freedom, latitude, and responsibility, give her more support, and try to build trust with Shelly. In return, Shelly would probably generate higher performance and satisfaction, and greater dependability, involvement, and eventually, better OCBs would occur as well. By bringing Shelly from out-group to in-group, Shelly could enhance her performance and meet company’s business objectives more effectively.Secondly, George should learn how to apply efficient transactional leadership on Shelly. Besides the MBE active he uses, he should also use contingent reward and punishment. By using this tactic would help Shelly better meet George’s expectations. In this situation, George should communicate with Shelly and give her clear guidance on what would be rewarded and what would be pun ished, and deliver the promised rewards or punishments every time, therefore, trust would be built between George and Shelly.Thirdly, after effective application of transaction leadership, George should go beyond it and try to upgrade to transformational leadership. Transformational leadership requires more trust, credibility and integrity between George and Shelly. George should empower Shelly at a higher level, trust her and respect her decisions. Besides, George should discuss with Shelly about what are their shared goals and values, deliver the company’s short-term and long-term objectives to Shelly, and let she know how her work and efforts would help company to approach the objectives.Moreover, George should move Shelly to address higher needs besides salary, such as bigger growth opportunity, etc. Also, according to Bass’s theory, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration are some useful methods well implementing transformational leadership. Overall, using transformational leadership would help Shelly to perform beyond George’s expectation, so that their team would finally achieve company’s business objectives more effectively.