Film Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Film Analysis - Essay Example This is because, from the film, the freedom aspects of people living in the slum environment and communities raise the planning concerns in the movie. The freedom that is experienced in the slum regions is not something to be happy of, due to dense population; this is because it makes the population to be close physically (Linklater & Kim, 64). The densely populated areas in the urban setting make the development process of such regions to be minimal; this has an amicable influence on the development process. The issues behind planning in Before Sunset shows the stance of the public; where individual interest is the main agenda. The planning politics finds its roots with the water related issues and the welfare of the people around the site. The United States environment fits will the desires of the citizens. Analysis of Before Sunset involves the rapid integration of both speed and time. The shape of the city is prescribed in such a way that people and pedestrians can freely move from one location to the other and choose the location where the want to live and work. The building and the firm also move freely within the city and likewise they chose where to localize. From the film, it is evident that there are two bodies that utilized the land. The residence and the businesses. The land belonged to the property owners who rented them to highest bidders. From the film, it is evident that one of the challenges that the city faces is the open space. Cities need to consider in improving the current open spaces by adding to the open space amount. In the film majority of the city was densely populated where the green space ration and the center resident were favorable. Therefore, it is crucial to understand that while the challenge of open space need to be handled at individual level, cities need to consider this in their planning at the scale of metropolitan cities. The two elements of time

Project Management Project Essay Example for Free

Project Management Project Essay Question 1 South American Adventures Unlimited SA Adventures Unlimited was formed four years ago by Michael and Jill Rodriguez. Michael was a trained geologist, while Jill had a master’s degree in Spanish. They were both avid outdoor enthusiasts and fell in love while trekking across the Andes in Chile. Upon graduation they seized upon the idea of starting their own specialized tour business that would focus on organizing and leading â€Å"high-end† adventure trips in South America. Their first trip was a three-week excursion across Ecuador and Peru. The trip was a resounding success, and they became convinced that they could make a livelihood doing something they both enjoyed. After the first year, Adventures Unlimited began to slowly expand the size and scope of the business. The Rodriguezes’ strategy was a simple one. They recruited experienced, reliable people who shared their passion for South America and the outdoors. They helped these people organize specific trips and advertised the excursion over the Internet and in travel magazines. Adventures Unlimited has grown from offering 4 trips a year to having 16 different excursions scheduled, including trips to Central America. They now had an administrative support staff of three people and a relatively stable group of five trip planners/guides whom they hired on a trip-by-trip contract basis. The company enjoyed a high level of repeat business and often used their customers’ suggestions to organize future trips. Although the Rodriguezes were pleased with the success of their venture, they were beginning to encounter problems that worried them about the future. A couple of the tours went over budget because of unanticipated costs, which eroded that year’s profit. In one case, they had to refund 30 percent of the tour fee because a group was stranded five days in Blanco Puente after missing a train connection. They were also having a hard time maintaining the high level of customer satisfaction to which they were accustomed. Customers were beginning to complain about the quality of the accommodations and the price of the tours. One group, unfortunately, was struck by a bad case of food poisoning. Finally, the Rodriguezes were having a hard time tracking costs across projects and typically did not know how well they did until after their taxes were prepared. This made it difficult to plan future excursions. The Rodriguezes shared these concerns around the family dinner table. Among the members in attendance was Michael’s younger brother, Mario, a student at a nearby university. After dinner, Mario approached Michael and Jill and suggested that they look into what business people called â€Å"project management. He had been briefly exposed to project management in his Business Operations class and felt that it might apply to their tour business. 1. To what extent does project management apply to Adventures Unlimited? Or, in other words, is this company managing projects? Explain your answer. Answer in a short paragraph (no more than 100 words) using font size 12. Question 2 Answer question #1 on page 147 in the exercises section. Question 3 Pg. 192 Optical Disk Preinst allation Project Draw the network diagram A – Complete the following table with information from the network diagram:

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Applied to Teaching Techno

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Applied to Teaching Technology Erik Erikson believed that individual development takes place in a social context. He believed that development is a lifelong process. His theory contains eight stages of development that occur at different points in an individual’s life. At each stage, the individual has, what he coined as, a developmental crisis. Developmental crises are issues in the stage that must be dealt with in order to move on to the next stage. Each stage offers an outcome as to what will happen if the crisis is not resolved. Incomplete development of one stage can effect later development. Erikson’s developmental model can be used to determine when it is appropriate for an individual to learn how to use computers. The model can also help determine what computer skills are appropriate for each stage. Erikson’s first stage of development is trust versus mistrust. This stage occurs from birth until about one year. During the first year of life infants rely on others for their basic needs. Infants must learn to rely and trust their caregivers to provide for them. If the infant’s needs are met, then the he or she will develop a secure attachment to the caregivers and learn to trust his or her environment. If the infants do not pass this stage, then they will likely mistrust others and the things in their environment. The infant will either view the world as supportive or unsupportive. For successful completion of this stage, parents should aid in the developmental process by responding consistently to the needs of the infant. During this stage of development, teaching computers is not a possibility. Children in this stage have not yet reached the ability t... ...Longitudinal analysis of midlife generativity, intergenerational roles, and caregiving. Psychology and Aging, 17, 161-168. Sharey, J., Son, L., Kuehne, V., Hauser, S., & Vaillant, G. (1987). The role of parenting in men's psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of early adulthood infertility and midlife generativity. Developmental Psychology, 23, 593-603. Smart Solutions Partners, LLC Enterprises. (2003). Smart solutions. Retrieved Mar 7, 2004 from http://www.sspdirect.com. Sternberg, R. & Williams, W. (2002). Educational Psychology. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Too old for computers? (1999). Retrieved Mar 7 2004, from http://web.pdx.edu/~psu01435/tooold.html. Zucker, A., Ostrove, J., and Stewart, A. (2002). College-educated women's personality development in adulthood: Perceptions and age differences. Psychology and Aging, 17, 236-244.

Triple X :: Movie Film Essays

Triple X Original Budget $50,000,000, or the annual per capita income of 250,000 people in Nepal. Who owns it: Sony Number of Sony plugs: about a half dozen, if you include Tony Hawk, who is more or less owned by Sony Number of total plugs: enough to make my ass hurt. Twice. Length: 2:04 or long enough to make you seriously wander what the hell is point to go on living. Before sitting down and spending 2 hours of my life to watch "Triple X", I had previously heard a few friends, acquaintances, and others describe the action movies of Vin Diesel, including "Triple X" as "cool", "sexy", "fun", "good", and, perhaps above all, "exciting" (ok, Pitch Black is almost watchable). If you happen to be one of these individuals, I would like to kindly ask that in the future, you actually take the time to watch a movie before speaking positively about it to me. It is pure intellectual dishonesty to do otherwise, which is what obviously happened regarding "Triple X", a movie which could only be spoken positively of by those who haven't seen it. Or, as a friend of mine commented, "Triple X" acts as a good retard test, because if you really do like this movie, you're retarded. The movie has some problems. These include plot, acting, script, dialogue, and pacing. But we will forgive all those. This is a mindless action movie after all, and being a bad movie is par for the action genre course. "Triple X" isn't just a bad movie, it is a *terrible* action flick, ranking in wretchedness with the likes of Rambo III. Why? Several reasons follow, in no particular order. Middle class skate/punk/psuedo-rebel/"extreme"/hardcore-straightedge/wanker niche market This movie tries so hard to hit this target audience I actually felt like someone was trying to molest a child while watching this. This movie might score the highest corporate plug per scene ratio of any movie I've ever seen. And, unlike say Austin Powers, it does it completely straight-forward, even writing in plugs at key parts (insofar as they can exist) of the movie directly into the dialogue. Most notably here is the "Stop thinking secret agent and start think playstation" (at least something very close to that) towards the end of the movie when he picks up the random heat seeking bazooka which, when fired, targets *the heat from a burning cigarette* as opposed to the collected body heat of Diesel and company.

Over Population In India

CIA World Fact book reported India as second in rank for the most populated country as of July 2003 survey. The country possesses 170 million hectares of land and has the ability to produce high quantity of crop yields. In 1999, India was reported as second to the highest producer of both rice and wheat. However, the government cannot sustain the biological needs of their countrymen due to their increasing population.In the same year, 53% of its population particularly children at the age of 5 years old was malnourished and 37% experienced lack of supply for fresh water. 5% of the population was reported below average in the poverty line. Almost 15 million people in Bombay consider sidewalks as their beds. The unstoppable increase in population made the problems worse because each day new babies were born and their needs are not being met. Both arguments must be addressed because no matter how good the government is, if the population is too large, shortage of basic needs will challe nge the country. Lowering the population is one attempt to solve the problem.It is by examining the birth rates to death rates. If the death rates exceed birth rates, the population is decreasing. Decrease in birthrates and increase in death rates is ways to lower the growth rates. Since the focus of their government is how to improve quality life, lowering the birth rates is a more acceptable option. But this solution brought discrimination for women. They prefer to have male babies because they considered women as producers of life.Deprivation in foods, health services, education and abortion of female fetuses ranged. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi started forced vasectomies. The government recently considered the use of injection and birth control methods, which later on proved that have negative side effects. Financial and Political supports must need to happen. Help people feel that they can be agents of change and not source of dilemmas.

Definition and Examples of Adages in English

Definition and Examples of Adages in English An adage is an ancient saying or maxim, brief and sometimes mysterious, that has become accepted as conventional wisdom. In classical rhetoric, an adage is also known as a rhetorical proverb or  paroemia. An adage- such as The early bird gets the worm- is a condensed and memorable expression. Often its a type of metaphor.It is sometimes claimed that the  expression old adage  is redundant, say the editors of the American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style,inasmuch as a saying must have a certain tradition behind it to count as an adage in the first place. But the word adage  [from the Latin for I say] is first recorded in the phrase old adage, showing that this redundancy is itself very old. Pronunciation:  AD-ij Examples Know thyself.Alls well that ends well.Out of nothing, nothing can come.Art lies in concealing the art.From flowers, bees make honey and spiders poison.A stitch in time saves nine.Not quantity, but quality.Make haste slowly.Physician, heal thyself.Respect thyself, if thou wouldst be respected by others.The people reign, the elite rule.Knowledge equals power.Love conquers all.If you want peace, prepare for war.Who will guard the guards?What hurts us instructs us.Whom the gods destroy they first make mad.Give your child to a slave, and instead of one slave you will have two.A great city is a great solitude.Carpe diem. (Seize the day.)Be mindful of dying.Better late than never.The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Adages and Cultural Values [C]onsider the cultural values that adages, or common sayings, express. What is meant by the American saying, Every man for himself? Does it reflect the idea that men, and not women, are the standard? Does it reflect individualism as a value? What is meant by The early bird catches the worm?Distinct values are expressed in adages from other cultures. What values are expressed in the Mexican proverb, He who lives a hurried life will soon die? How is this view of time different from dominant views of time in the United States? In Africa, two popular adages are The child has no owner and It takes a whole village to raise a child, and in China a common saying is No need to know the person, only the family (Samovar Porter, 2000). A Japanese adage states that it is the nail that sticks out that gets hammered down (Gudykunst Lee, 2002). What values are expressed by these sayings? How are they different from mainstream Western values and the language that embodies them?(Julia T. Wood, Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, 7th ed. Wadsworth, 2013) Tools of Persuasion As indirect tools of persuasion, adages are understandably attractive to people who judge direct confrontation and criticism inappropriate in many contexts.(Ann Fienup-Riordan, Wise Words of the Yupik People. University of Nebraska Press, 2005) Age as a Part of Adage Dictionaries (with a single exception) affirm in one way or another that an adage is a long-established saying; therefore the old [in the expression old adage] is redundant. Incidentally, an expression that someone thought up yesterday is not an adage. To put it another wayand this is obviousage is a part of adage. (Theodore M. Bernstein, The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. Simon Schuster, 1965) Safire on Adages Those of us who enjoy living in synonymy know that an adage is not quite as graven in collective wisdom as a proverb or a maxim; it is not as legalistic as a dictum or as scientific as an axiom or as sentimental as a homily or as corny as a saw, nor as formalized as a motto, but it is more rooted in tradition than an observation. (William Safire, Spread the Word. Times Books, 1999) The Adagia (Adages) of Desiderius Erasmus (1500; rev. 1508 and 1536) Erasmus was an avid collector of proverbs and aphorisms. He compiled all the expressions he could find in the works of the classical Greek and Latin authors he loved, and provided a brief history and explication for each one. When I considered the important contributions made to elegance and richness of style by brilliant aphorisms, apt metaphors, proverbs, and similar figures of speech, I made up my mind to collect the largest possible supply of such things. he wrote. So in addition to Know thyself, readers of Erasmuss Adages are treated to pithy accounts of the origins of such expressions as to leave no stone unturned, to cry crocodile tears, no sooner said than done, clothes make the man, and everyone thinks his own fart smells sweet. Erasmus added to and revised the book throughout his life, and by the time he died in 1536 he had collected and explained 4,151 proverbs. Erasmus intended the book to be a Bartletts Familiar Quotations for 16th-century after-dinner speakers: a resource for writers and public orators who wanted to spice up their speeches with well-placed quotes from the classics. (James Geary, The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism. Bloomsbury USA, 2005) Many hands make light work.Put the cart before the horseWalk the tightropeCall a spade a spadeBetween friends all is common.To die laughingLike father, like sonThe project of the Adages, like many manuals published in the 16th century, was to harvest all possible vestiges of antiquity and put them at the disposal of scholars. In this particular case, Erasmus sought to collect and explain proverbs, aphorisms, ï ¬ gurative expressions, all sorts of more or less enigmatic sayings. . . . An adage is like a bud that contains the latent promise of a flower, an enigmatic expression, a mystery to unravel. The ancients veiled their messages, deposited clues to their culture in their language; they wrote in code. The modern reader breaks the code, opens the coffers, takes out the secrets and publishes them, even at the risk of altering their force. The author of Adages [Erasmus] acted as an intermediary, made a profession of displaying and multiplying. So it was normal that his book, both cornucopia and organ of distribution, would operate with centrifugal dynamics. (Michel Jeanneret, Perpetual Motion: Transforming Shapes in the Renaissance from Da Vinci to Montaigne, 1997. Translated by Nidra Poller. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001) The Lighter Side of Adages: George Burns and Gracie Allen Special Agent Timothy McGee: I think its time you get back on that horse.Special Agent Ziva David: Youre getting a pony?Special Agent Timothy McGee: Its an adage.Special Agent Ziva David: I am not familiar with that breed.(Sean Murray and Cote de Pablo in Identity Crisis. NCIS, 2007)

Causes and Effects of Land Pollution Essays

Causes and Effects of Land Pollution Essays Causes and Effects of Land Pollution Paper Causes and Effects of Land Pollution Paper Essay Topic: Water pollution Land pollution is one of the gravest kinds of pollutions. Say so because we do not realize when and how we pollute land due to different things we do and decisions we take. We realize the air is getting polluted when we step out of our houses and take a deep breath. We know when our actions cause water pollution, for we can see for ourselves the quality of the water worsening. Similarly noise, light, visual pollution can all be monitored, because we can all see or sense these kinds of pollution. However, land pollution is a hard one to get since we do not understand and we cannot empowered which of our actions cause destruction of land. What is Land Pollution? When the anthropogenic effects Of development adversely affect land (especially in turns of quality of land), it can be termed as land pollution. This brings us to an important question what counts as an adverse effect? The answer is simple anything that reduces the productivity and potential of a piece of land. Here, productivity and potential refers to prospective uses of a piece of land for any of the different purposes for which land is used; including infrastructure, housing, services, agriculture, forestry, etc. If any of the effects of human development reduce the potential of a piece of land to be used for any good purpose, it amounts to land pollution. Causes of Land Pollution Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc. Many of these are unavoidable; however, definitely the severity of these actions in terms of the effects they have on the land can be reduced by taking appropriate and adequate corrective measure. For example, the amount of litter produced can be hugely reduced if we all strictly say NO to plastic. The key here is to conduct a thorough EIA Environmental Impact Assessment. Misuse of Land mainly refers to felling of trees to clear land for agriculture, as well as processes like desertification and land conversion. Desertification is when anthropogenic effects of human development and / or other actions converts a piece of (essentially) fertile land into desert-land or drywall. Isnt that a scary thought? Land once converted to desert-land can never be reclaimed by any amount of corrective measures. This is also a serious issue because t does not only affect the land, but also the overall biodiversity of a place, specially when land is cleared for agriculture. A lot Of indigenous flora and fauna is lost in the process. Inefficient Use of Land surprised? Does inefficient use of land count as a cause of land pollution? Yes. Why? Due to the consequences of inefficient use of land. Inefficient use of land as such is not going to cause land pollution. However, inefficient use of land amounts to wastage, and hence shortage of land; and it is precisely during such conditions that man has to resort to assure such as deforestation and others to meet his needs. It is an important, albeit an indirect cause of land pollution that is often largely neglected. Soil Pollution is when the top-most soil layer of land is destroyed or polluted. Soil pollution is again another cause of land pollution that affects not only the land, but also a lot of other things such as forest cover of a region, productivity of land in terms of agriculture, grazing etc. Soil pollution is also caused by wrong agricultural practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This causes non-biodegradable chemicals to enter and accumulate in the food-chain a process often referred to as pontification Oaf pollutant. Land Conversion is the process whereby a piece of land is converted from its indigenous form to a form used for either agriculture or infrastructure. Land conversion is especially a growing problem that we possibly do not have a good or a good enough solution for. The best way to avoid land conversion is to make efficient use of the available land. Using a piece of land to its maximum potential is the key to eliminate many of the causes of land elution. Other key causes of land pollution include arbitration, improper waste disposal, industrial activities, nuclear research, chemicals released by all sorts of he. Y industries, coal-fired power plants, metals production industries, etc. Effects of Land Pollution Effects on Climate Land pollution can affect the general environment of the Earth. Land pollutions leads to loss in the forest cover of Earth. This is in turn going to affect the amount of rain. Less rains mean lesser vegetation. The effect of all different kinds of pollution will eventually lead to problems like acid rains, roundhouse effect, global warming. All of these problems have already initiated and need to be curbed before the situation runs out of control. Extinction of Species One of the major causes Of concern is the extinction Of species. Species are pushed towards endangerment and extinction primarily by two processes. Habitat fragmentation is the fragmentation of the natural habitat of an organism; cause primarily by urban sprawl. Habitat destruction, on the other hand, is when land clearing adversely affects animals special such that their natural habitat is lost. Both the actions can cause some species to go extinct ND others to become invasive. Pontification Pontification is the process in which certain non-biodegradable substances go on accumulating in the food-chain (in one or more species). The most common example is of metallurgy in fish and mercury in eagles. Not only does pontification put the particular species at risk, it puts all the species above and below it at risk, and ultimately affects the food pyramid. Effects on Biodiversity Species extinction and pontification is going to overthrow the balance of nature very significantly. The main reason for this is disturbance created in he food chain. TO give you a very simple example on account Of pontification of mercury in eagles, they might go extinct in the subsequent years. However, we know eagles prey on snakes. Less (or no) eagles will then result in more number of snakes! As you may have realized, land pollution is indeed going to affect a lot more things than we though it will. Hence, I leave you with some corrective measure you can take on a personal level to reduce land pollution. Encourage organic farming buy organic food. Proper garbage disposal separate your garbage before you give it to the airbag collector; and strictly say NO to plastic. Encourage recycling buy recycled products, notebooks, paper, etc. Restrict use of herbicides and pesticides they are not only used in farm, but in your own backyard as well. If we reduce our contribution to garbage and litter, therein itself we will be able to significantly reduce land pollution and probably curb it entirely in the near future. Also do realize this isnt only about land pollution; it is about all kinds of pollution. We need to take steps to prevent damaging our Earth. We have no other place to go.

Seven-Colored Flower essays

Seven-Colored Flower essays In a beautiful small town, there was a girl called Melody. People in the town called her Dream Girl, because she always thought about something impossible. Every day, she sat beside the window and had her day-dreaming. One day, Melody sat beside the window and began her day-dreaming as usual. It was a sunny day. The birds were singing on the tree outside the window, and the flowers were dancing toward the sun. Melody was dreaming her fantasy ice cream castle, and she was thinking that she could live inside. Isnt it the best life in the world? Suddenly, a bright light came into Melodys room through the window, and a fairy appeared. While the fairy was smiling to Melody, Melody looked amazed. Hello, I am a dream fairy. Nice to meet you, Melody. How do you know my name? I never know you. Melody wondered. Well, it doesnt matter. I know you have a lot of dreams, so I come and help you to make your dreams come true, said the fairy with smile. Really? Melody became excited. Yes, my girl. Then, the fairy showed a seven-colored flower to Melody. This flower has seven different color petals, and they can make seven of your dreams come true. You can only use seven times, after that, the flower will fade. I see, but can this flower really make my dreams come true? Yes. Then the fairy disappeared. Melody held the flower in her hands and watched it over and over. To make sure the flower could work, she picked up one red petal and said, Seven-color flower, I want an ice cream castle. Just after she said this, a huge and colorful castle appeared outside her room. Melody was so excited and could not wait to run outside. This ice cream castle looked amazing! The roof was made of chocolate ice cream, and the wall was made of vanilla ice cream. Melody walked into the castle a...

Contract Investment Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract Investment Strategies - Essay Example Hedging can be considered a source of financing for post-loss investment opportunities. Hedging has other dimensions besides financing the post-loss investment; it addresses the asset substitution and under investment problems, reduces the probability of insolvency, permits more effective managerial compensation contracts, and may help reduce tax liabilities when tax functions are convex. In nutshell hedging, is 1 - Taking a position in a futures market opposite to a position held in the cash market to minimize the risk of financial loss from an adverse price change. 2 - A purchase or sale of futures as a temporary substitute for a cash transaction which will occur later. (http://www.cme.com/edu/ai/trdwthr/weatherbackground11784.html) For example, let us take the example of a hedger. A soybean grower must plan production based on some idea of a market price. There are, however, no guarantee against the decline of soybean prices once planting has begun. If prices drops once production is under way, future sale proceeds of soybeans may not be enough to cover the production cost, thus putting in jeopardy the financial health of the grower. Hedging can protect the farmer against this type of price uncertainty. Very similar is the case of weather derivatives. Weather derivatives cover low-risk, high probability events, while weather, insurance typically covers high-risk, low-probability events, as defined in highly tailored or customized policies. For example, a company might use a weather derivative to hedge against a winter that forecasters thought would be 5 Fahrenheit warmer than the historical average (a low risk, high probability event) since the company knows its revenues would be affected by that kind of weath er. However, the same company would most likely purchase an insurance policy for protection against damages caused by a flood or hurricane (high-risk, low-probability events.) (http://www.cme.com/edu/ai/trdwthr/weatherbackground11784.html) In the example of the soybean grower, by locking in a floor price through the purchase of a soybean put option, the grower would for example, at least know that no matter where the future market price of Soybeans is at harvest time, He/she will be able to sell the soybeans at the strike price. Of course, to establish this future price floor, the grower must pay a premium to purchase the put options, but this cost can be priced into production at the outset like any other cost of production. An owner of an asset will loose mosey when the price of the asset falls. Value of a put option rises when the asset price falls. What happens to the value of a portfolio containing both the asset and the put when the asset price falls Clearly, the answer depends on the ratio of assets to options in the portfolio. If the ratio is equal to zero, the value rises, whereas if the ratio is infinity, the value falls. Somewhere between these two extremes is a ratio at which a small movement in the asset does not results in any movement in the value of the portfolio. Such a portfolio is risk free. The reduction of risk by taking advantage of such correlations between the asset and the option price movements is called hedging. This is the one example how options are used in hedging. Call options can also be used for hedging. When using put options to hedge, various strike prices exist for an option on a specific stock index and for a specific expiration date. For example, put options on the

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE 2004 TSUNAMI Research Paper

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE 2004 TSUNAMI - Research Paper Example In that terrible event, it was realized that the corporate world is indeed made up of real citizens and that business is never emotionless. This arose out of the many supplies that actually came from the corporate world as small organizations and global multinationals were almost competing in their donations towards the affected people. In the analysis of the physical and economic impact of the tsunami, many issues begin to emerge. The effect of the tsunami was indeed much greater than initially presumed and some of those effects continue to be felt to this day. In the same vein, there are certainly many lessons to be learnt from the economic impact of the tsunami more than the mere short term effects on the affected countries. Physical facts The tsunami began with a seismic shift on the floor of the Indian Ocean on the 26th December 2004 off the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The whole shift set off a giant tidal wave that destroyed and swept houses and other structures on the beac hes wherever if reached. On the Richter scale, the oceanic earthquake measured 9.0 which was certainly a strong force. In less than three weeks later, the number of people who had been confirmed dead from the effects of the tsunami had reached 165,000. More deaths were later realized from water borne diseases, malnutrition and other effects that arose later. In the end, the estimated death toll was over 300,000 (Allen 45). The countries that were physically affected by the tsunami were Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Maldives, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Myanmar, Seychelles and Bangladesh. Economic impacts of the Tsunami In the face of the tsunami, the immediate direct economic impact was the radical reduction in the consumption and business activity in the affected areas. Many people were greatly affected and they totally had to rely on food donations that mainly came from the corporate bodies. The economic effect of this phenomenon was, therefore, the reduced purchasing power which certainly affected organizations which mainly relied on the Asian markets. The most affected country was Indonesia which experienced a lot of costs in the reconstruction process given that the tsunami had greatly destroyed the costal infrastructure of that country. It was estimated that in the most affected area of Aceh, the government would need over $4 billion in the next five years in order to assist in the reconstruction process given that the area was totally flattened by the great waves. Figures from the International Labor Organization (ILO) reveal that more than 1 million jobs were lost as consequence of the tsunami in Indonesia (Askew 56). In Sri Lanka, the economy was enjoying a relatively high economic growth rate and peaceful times following the end of the 2 year civil unrest in the country. Just like Indonesia, the country was faced with a hefty reconstruction bill considering that its destroyed infrastructure was certainly the most advanced in the whole affected area. The Asian Development Bank estimated the amount to be used in the reconstruction process to be over $1.5 billion (Karan 65). Most importantly, the greatest challenge in the Indonesian case was the long-term effect of the tsunami on the critical tourism industry which contributes greatly to the economy of the country. It was actually realized that tourism, which accounted up to 4.6% of the country’s GDP prior to the tsunami, was greatly affected given that most tourists had to avoid the area for several months that followed the event (Murty 65). Moreover, the tourism infrastructure was totally destroyed and this created the need for reconstruction before

Globalisation and Tourism and the impact on local and indigenous Essay

Globalisation and Tourism and the impact on local and indigenous cultures - Essay Example It is about establishing interconnected relations throughout the world. Through globalization one can eliminate the barriers that persist within nations, develop healthy trade, bridges communication errors and shares resources. One of the disadvantages of globalization is that it has increased crime level interstate. Los Angeles is one of the most densely polluted countries of the world. Pollution has literally damaged the entire city in such a way that its impact is very obvious. Tourism is an essential part of Los Angeles economy. Los Angeles is one of those countries that are a major tourist attraction, Los Angeles has the honour of housing the home of all legendary actors that is Hollywood. From amazing shopping malls to Hollywood and an amazing blend of various restaurants, Los Angeles offers everything that a tourist wants during vacations. While travelling the quality and the atmosphere of the environment go hand in hand. The environment is made up of natural as well as manmad e things which together build up the tourism in a state. The relation between tourism and environment tends to get very tangling at times. The effects of tourism are very controversial. At times they can be helpful in generating revenue for the state resulting in a fruitful economy and on the contrary it can damage and dent the city's environmental condition resulting in a disaster which can damage countries natural resources. Tourism leads to the development of the place with the construction of roads, parks, malls, resorts, restaurants, hotel, golf courses, airports etc. which eventually build up the infrastructure of a place. "The notion of a tourism system is extremely important when we start to consider the notion of impacts. If we are to evaluate the effects of tourism trips, we need not only to examine where in the system immediate impacts occur, but also to consider if there are system-wide effects that contribute to change in the broader environment. In the case of maritime ship emissions, for example, nitrogen oxide( NOx) have both local and global effects on atmospheric pollution. In the Los Angeles – Long Beach area of California, which is both the United States busiest port and the country's most polluted area, oceangoing vessels are among the largest source of NOx, emitting more NOx than all power plants and refineries in the region's air basin combined. This is significant because as well as being a green house gas (GHG) that contribute to global warming and climate change. NOx reacts with other volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere to produce ozone/smog. Particulates from marine vessels also create significant cancer risks, with an estimated more than 700 premature deaths caused in the Los Angeles area annually by these emissions as of 2008. Because of their often localized nature, the effects of NOx are not just felt in ports, but also along shipping transit routes. For example, Santa Barbara county in California, which has no co mmercial port, estimates by 2020, 67 percent of its NOx inventory will come from shipping traffic transiting the Californian coast." (Scott, 45). This particularly deals with the marine emission that has damaged Los Angeles brutally. This text

Film Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Film Theory - Essay Example Guy does not accept the deal, but Bruno kills the wife anyway; and he stalks Guy for payback. Auteur Theory The auteur theory of film criticism views the director as the master story teller. Each film is compared within a body of work as well as on its own merits. The two main distinctions are the director is either structuring the film to interpret a theme or to present a style, a performance. â€Å"The purpose of criticism thus becomes to uncover behind the superficial contrasts of subject and treatment a hard core of basic and often recondite motifs. The pattern formed by these motifs†¦ is what gives an authors work its particular structure, both defining it internally and distinguishing one body of work from another.† Nowell-Smith quoted (Wollen, 532) The underlying doubt regarding the validity of this theory questions the level of control the director has over the film. Certainly screenwriters, producers, actors and cameramen (Wollen, 540) have some degree of input i n the creative process. This collaboration of talent suggests the director can more easily structure the film through motif and patterns of motif than present a styled performance. In other words, the director is not simply a shepherd leading actors through a script; he is an artist bringing context to the film using his signature style. â€Å"In feature films, the director is God; in documentary films, God is the director.† Sir Alfred Hitchcock The most obvious example of Hitchcock’s quote involves the director’s shot of Bruno choking Guy’s wife to death. Bruno begins to choke her, knocking off her glasses. The shot then changes and the audience observes her death through her own lenses. The glasses were so thick and prominent, they defined her view. A more subtle, but major, example occurred when Guy had a tennis match the day Bruno was to return to the scene of the crime and plant Guy’s lighter as evidence. Bruno delayed his departure to coincid e with nightfall; Hitchcock views evil as operating in the dark. Guy honors his commitment to play the tournament; he changes his style to win early. This strategy backfires and the match goes five sets, losing valuable time for Guy. But because he is the protagonist and a good person, Guy takes time to shake hands with his opponent and thank the chair umpire before a hurried departure. While Guy uses his best effort to win, he could have lost quickly, but he is honorable. Bruno drops the lighter down a sewer grate. The race to recover the lighter more quickly than Guy can win his match ensues. Neither contestant knows the competition exists, but the director plays God with their lives. As Guy tries nobly to win quickly and graciously, Bruno fishes his hand in a storm sewer for his talisman of control. The merry-go-round (carousel) scene allows Hitchcock to turn an icon of childhood pleasure into a menacing deathtrap. Guy and Bruno fight for control of the lighter. The operator is s hot and falls on the speed control lever sending the carousel spinning much too fast. Bruno shoves a child off a horse and Guy takes time to save the boy. Bruno knocks Guy down and they wrestle under the horses’ galloping hooves. A maintenance man crawls under the deck to get to the controls, but stops the machine too fast. Bruno is trapped in the wreckage, lighter in hand. Guy tries to persuade Bruno to confess, but Bruno stays evil to his death. In these scenes, Hitchcock demonstrates his theme of good is polite and brave, evil is manipulative, rude and a bully. He shows he

CaseStudy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CaseStudy - Case Study Example The firm is not upgrading its technology soon enough because it is lacking managers that have both business and IT knowledge. The company is heading towards loss of business in future because business and IT departments are both blaming each other. No one is ready to accept responsibility of the problem. First recommendation is to assign a liaison officer between business and IT departments. His job would be to make sure that both departments are on the same page and he would help in facilitating communication between the two departments. The liaison officer should also have an IT and business background. Second recommendation is to set specific goals and objectives for both departments. It is essential that both departments are made responsible for their actions and this will help improve their performance. Both departments are currently blaming each other for their own shortcomings and this will be avoided by setting specific goals for each of them. The goals set should also be measurable so that blame game within the organization is

Film Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Film Theory - Essay Example Guy does not accept the deal, but Bruno kills the wife anyway; and he stalks Guy for payback. Auteur Theory The auteur theory of film criticism views the director as the master story teller. Each film is compared within a body of work as well as on its own merits. The two main distinctions are the director is either structuring the film to interpret a theme or to present a style, a performance. â€Å"The purpose of criticism thus becomes to uncover behind the superficial contrasts of subject and treatment a hard core of basic and often recondite motifs. The pattern formed by these motifs†¦ is what gives an authors work its particular structure, both defining it internally and distinguishing one body of work from another.† Nowell-Smith quoted (Wollen, 532) The underlying doubt regarding the validity of this theory questions the level of control the director has over the film. Certainly screenwriters, producers, actors and cameramen (Wollen, 540) have some degree of input i n the creative process. This collaboration of talent suggests the director can more easily structure the film through motif and patterns of motif than present a styled performance. In other words, the director is not simply a shepherd leading actors through a script; he is an artist bringing context to the film using his signature style. â€Å"In feature films, the director is God; in documentary films, God is the director.† Sir Alfred Hitchcock The most obvious example of Hitchcock’s quote involves the director’s shot of Bruno choking Guy’s wife to death. Bruno begins to choke her, knocking off her glasses. The shot then changes and the audience observes her death through her own lenses. The glasses were so thick and prominent, they defined her view. A more subtle, but major, example occurred when Guy had a tennis match the day Bruno was to return to the scene of the crime and plant Guy’s lighter as evidence. Bruno delayed his departure to coincid e with nightfall; Hitchcock views evil as operating in the dark. Guy honors his commitment to play the tournament; he changes his style to win early. This strategy backfires and the match goes five sets, losing valuable time for Guy. But because he is the protagonist and a good person, Guy takes time to shake hands with his opponent and thank the chair umpire before a hurried departure. While Guy uses his best effort to win, he could have lost quickly, but he is honorable. Bruno drops the lighter down a sewer grate. The race to recover the lighter more quickly than Guy can win his match ensues. Neither contestant knows the competition exists, but the director plays God with their lives. As Guy tries nobly to win quickly and graciously, Bruno fishes his hand in a storm sewer for his talisman of control. The merry-go-round (carousel) scene allows Hitchcock to turn an icon of childhood pleasure into a menacing deathtrap. Guy and Bruno fight for control of the lighter. The operator is s hot and falls on the speed control lever sending the carousel spinning much too fast. Bruno shoves a child off a horse and Guy takes time to save the boy. Bruno knocks Guy down and they wrestle under the horses’ galloping hooves. A maintenance man crawls under the deck to get to the controls, but stops the machine too fast. Bruno is trapped in the wreckage, lighter in hand. Guy tries to persuade Bruno to confess, but Bruno stays evil to his death. In these scenes, Hitchcock demonstrates his theme of good is polite and brave, evil is manipulative, rude and a bully. He shows he

International Expansion into an emerging market Essay

International Expansion into an emerging market - Essay Example Formulation of strategy is sometimes defined as establishing, a proper firm environment fit. The business environment (external) has broadly two components viz, business opportunities and threats to business. The external forces (Macro) are generally; more uncontrollable than the micro forces (internal) when the macro environment is uncontrollable, the success of a company/ organization depends on its adaptability to the environment. A report (quoted in Hill, 2003, pg 491) by Ravenscraft and Scherer concluded that over 75% of acquisitions fail. Two of the main reasons are a (Hill, 2003, pg 492) "clash between the cultures of the acquiring and acquired firm"and secondly, a failure to (Hill, 2003, pg 492) "realize synergies by integrating the operations" of the two companies. Important macro environment factors include economic environment, political and regulatory environment, social/cultural environment, demographic environment, technological environment natural environment and globa l environment. The common beliefs and value systems shape the major activities of that society and structure people's perceptions of the world (Sanyal, 2001). So planning any activity other than native country, companies need to analyze these factors also. Identification of the threats and opportunities in the environment and the strengths and weaknesses of the firm is the cornerstone of business policy formulation; it is these factors which determine the course/courses of action to ensure the survival and /or growth of an organization. The environment might present many opportunities, but a company might not have the strengths to exploit all the opportunities. Similarly; sometimes an organization will not have the strength to meet the environmental threats. If an organization, thus finds that it will not have the competence to survive in a particular business for which an organization is most competent. Global restructuring of manufacturing industries is the crux of globalization. FDI inflows into developing countries in recent years have been seen into manufacturing. One major channel through which inflows of foreign capital, of foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular, affects labour markets in developing countries (Fischer, 2003). Indian economic reforms: The economic liberalization is ushered in India in 1991 drastically changed the business environment. The liberalization, by substantially expanding the scope of private enterprise and removing the entry and growth restrictions, has given a substantial leeway to private enterprise to decide the portfolio strategy. Changes in the business environment across the world may change the industrial scenario of nations. The environmental opportunities and threats should be evaluated in the light of the strength and weaknesses of

My philosophy in nursing Essay Example for Free

My philosophy in nursing Essay My philosophy in nursing is to uphold the dignity of my patients during their vulnerable time of need, care for the patients physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally; current beliefs and values that I try to uphold throughout my life. According to Chitty, philosophy is defined as the study of the principles underlying conduct, thought, and the nature of the universe (p. 318). To determine my philosophy of nursing care I had to reevaluate my beliefs and values. see more:my philosophy of life My values are learned from my personal growth, involvement with family and friends, and respecting others beliefs and opinions. My beliefs are that modern medicine is a great way of healing through research and technology. I believe patients mental and physical health needs should be evaluated and treated if necessary by a healthcare team and support groups. As part of the team, I will care for the patients and their families during distressed times. I will work as an advocate to carry out, to the best of my knowledge and skills, the essential care to provide the best experience in healthcare that each patient and family deserves. I believe nursing care needs to be holistic, nourishing the whole person,  that is, the body, mind and spirit (Chitty, 2007 p. 312); I think that is what defines us as nurses in the healthcare field. It is the nurses responsibility to incorporate our knowledge, skills and available resources, so we can improve our patients quality of life. The American Nurses Association, ANA, defines nursing as the protection, promotion, optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury (Lance, 2007, p. 11). I try to incorporate these elements into my nursing practice; practicing my profession with care, compassion, and humanity. Being able to relate to people of different cultures and backgrounds will allow me to connect with a greater variety of patients and families. I come from an area where there are people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic status, and different spiritual beliefs and we all get along. We spend time together and their families are accepting. These experiences were needed to give me the knowledge to provide heightened nursing care to patients and their families. I believe in the importance of continuing education in nursing. To continue giving proficient patient care, it is important to remain educated on current research and evidence based practice, keeping licensures and certifications current. According to Randell, Tate and Lougheed, it is important to reflect what we do as nurses so we keep learning (p. 62). This allows patients to receive high quality nursing care. I will strive to apply my nursing philosophy to my nursing practice by continuing to reevaluate my beliefs and values as I grow in my profession and as a person. I will continue my education aiming to advance in my nursing practice, but continuing to remember nursings holistic point of view. This will allow me to care for my patients and their families more effectively. I will maintain my own physical, mental and emotional health, so I can continue giving the best care I am capable of to people in need. REFERENCESTC REFERENCES Chitty, K. K. (2007). Professional Nursing Concepts Challenges (5th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Inc. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from University of Phoenix Library. Lance, K. (2007). Nurse life care planning. _Virginia Nurses Today,_ 52 (2), 11. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Ebscohost database. Randell, C. E., Tate B., Lougheed M. (2007). Emancipatory teaching-learning philosophy and practice education in acute care: navigating tensions. _Journal of Nursing,_ 46 (2), 62. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from EBSCOhost database.

Cyrus the Great: Leadership

Cyrus the Great: Leadership Introduction The word Cyrus is derived from Ancient Greek. This word comes from Old Persian originally from Kurosh meaning to bestow care or the Sun. In the Bible, he is known as simply Koresh. In the Quran, he is known as Zol-qarnain (Arabic: Ø °Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ). Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Archaemenian dynasty and the Persian Empire. Cyrus military victories eventually put him in possession of the largest empire in the world at that time. Also we can say that he was an extraordinarily humane ruler for that time. Surely he has achieved his greatness not by words but by hard and difficult choices, actions, and sacrifices. His strategy towards the people of his empire was one of lenience and understanding, as reflected in his agreement of the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple in 538 BC. Biography Cyrus the Great was born in about 590 BC, in the province of Persis (nowadays called Fars), in southwest of Iran. Cyrus was the grandson of Astyages, king of the Medes. Before Cyruss birth, Astyages had dreamed that his grandson would someday overthrow him. The king ordered that the boy infant be killed promptly after his birth. However, the official entrusted with the job of killing the infant had no heart for such a bloody deed, and instead handed him over to a shepherd and his wife with instructions that they put the child to death. But they, too, were unwilling to kill the boy, and instead reared him as their own. Ultimately, when the child grew up, he indeed caused the kings downfall. Cyrus conquered the Lydian Empire in Asia Minor, which was ruled by King Croesus, a wealthy man. By 546 BC Cyrus had conquered the Lydian Empire and Croesus became his prisoner. After several campaigns, Cyrus conquered eastern Iran and incorporated it into his empire. However Cyrus the Great overthrew three great empires, Babylonians, Medes, and Lydians and united most of the ancient Middle East into one state, extending from India to the Mediterranean Sea. Cyrus became the first Achaemenian Emperor of Persia, and had the title of King of Babylon-King of the Land. No one has accurate information from the personal beliefs of Cyrus the Great. But based on current evidence we can say that Religion of Cyrus the Great was Zoroastrian that is the dedication to ethical and moral excellence which is based on three simple fundamental principles: GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS and GOOD DEEDS Cyrus was eventually killed in a battle with the Massagetae tribes in Central Asia, east of the Caspian Sea in 530 BC. His body was buried at Pasargadae, the Old Persian capital. The Persian Empire thrived in peace and prosperity for two hundred years. Cyrus The Great position in the world leadership in his era I think that Cyrus the Great had an authentic leadership. He achieves highest position among all world leaders throughout the human history because of the following reasons: He had high moral and ethical values. He created Persian Empire based on moral principles. Expanded the Ethical Empire to include all men who wish to join it. Freedoms of religion, job, and place of residency; being advocate of freedom of choice 2500 years ago is highly venerable. He was tolerant of local religions and local customs. In the Bible (e.g., Ezra 1:1-4), Cyrus is famous for freeing the Jewish captives in Babylonia and allowing them to return to their homeland. His name occurs twenty two times in the Bible. Organization of a Constitution and Judicial system based on high ethical values. Created Gold and Silver coins for trading. Ordered all Governors to treat the people as their own children, and no one could be executed for a first time crime. Slavery was not allowed. The Old Persian culture did not accept the concept of slavery. He liked to consult with other leaders from different ethnic backgrounds. He had immense military ability and he was a great statesman. Cyrus the Great had a Major influence on the thinking of Aristotle and Alexander the Great, and the Roman Empire form of government. He was moderate and respectful toward his defeated opponents, and if they were popular leaders among their people, he would let them continue with their positions. Traits of Cyrus the Great and establishment of his ethical Persian Empire some 2500 years ago and continued existence of Achaemenid rule for 200 years indicate a successful leadership based on moral principles. Cyrus the Great had a lot of respect for ethical values. Unquestionably, his moral values and leadership skills affected his highly successful and respected situation throughout his empire era and among all people under his government. To prove this fact, one can say about The First Declaration of Human Rights decree by Cyrus the Great inscribed on a clay cylinder in cuneiform discovered in 1879 by Hormoz Rasam in Babol and now in The British Museum. This is the text of the clay cylinder: . .When my soldiers in great numbers peacefully entered Babylon I did not allow anyone to terrorize the people I kept in view the needs of people and all its sanctuaries to promote their well-being I freed all the slaves I put an end to their misfortune and slavery (referred to 42,000 slaveries in the Babylon in that time). Characteristic of Cyrus The Great Intelligent Cyrus the great was intelligent because he utilized his opportunities in an exceptional way. His establishment of the biggest empire in the world is in fact an antiquity. Also, he innovated new strategies and new structures of ruling over his conquered lands. He used different strategies in different situations. Military ability and Statesman Cyrus had immense military abilities and he was very clever in commanding and conducting wars. But that was only one side facet of this great man. Great trait of Cyrus was the gentle character of his rule. He was very tolerant of local religions and local customs, and he was disinclined to the extreme brutality and cruelty, which characterized so many other conquerors. Tactic of war of Cyrus is demonstrated in his war with the Lydian king Croesus. Pacific He did not change the institution of the kingdoms he incorporated into the Persian Empire, and allowed all the people to live in peace and harmony. Cyrus is admired as a liberator rather than a conqueror, because he respected the customs and religions of each part of his vast empire. Innovation Cyrus established post system and post office for fast data transfer across the empire. Also, Cyrus had influence in the urban planning and buildings of that time including Persepolis. His great innovation was to divide the huge empire into more or less independent provinces called satrapies. Wisdom and Toleration Cyrus was welcomed into Babylon as a liberator by the population. It is important to note that his military were given strict orders not to plunder or in any way harm the citizens. It is a testament to his leadership that these orders were fully obeyed. It also shows the tight control he had over his army. After the victory of Babylon, the Babylonians were instructed to rebuild their temple, destroyed almost seven decades ago by Nebuchandrezzer II. Cyrus exhorted them to pray to their god and offer sacrifices. Religious freedom and justice became a hallmark of the Persian Empire. Modernity Terminology Its not exaggeration if we call some of his works was really compatible with the modernity terminology. To name a few is what he has done about the slavery. Other Keys of Success Consult with other leaders Although Cyrus the Great was a genius he would consult with other leaders from different ethnic background to come up with a better solution for their problems. Effective Organization Cyrus organized his empire in such a way to be to be divided into different provinces or Satrapies. He reduced the 3-month time it took to get messages by horse from Susa to Sardis to less than 2-weeks with the construction of the Royal Road. Cyrus sent imperial agents into each province to observe conditions and report back to him. Perhaps his greatest administrative innovation was the adoption of Aramaic as the official administrative language of the empire, given the diverse ethnic makeup of the provinces. The leadership qualities of Cyrus resulted in an empire that endured for centuries, even after many outside invasions. His methods were reportedly copied by future rulers that read the accounts of his kingship recorded by ancient historians. Leadership in the post-modern world can look to the life of Cyrus and apply many of his principles to 21st-Century problems. Level of Leadership Level 5 Leaders To know why he is an effective leader, it may suffice to mention that all his commanders obeyed him as they trusted him. Meanwhile, there are many historical facts that he influenced other great leaders in his era and even after his death these influences continued to exist and inspire great leaders of the world. He was an executive leader, as he used to be in the most front line of any battle, also he was involving in valuable Persian architecture and moreover he was writing all orders about the other religious treatments and last but not least he was totally involved in political structures of his Empire. Sources: Leadership Traits of Cyrus the Great (-08-28Aug 28, 2009);Michael Streich. http://near-eastern-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/leadership_traits_of_cyrus_the_great Cyrus the Great http://faculty.mdc.edu/jmcnair/Joe12pages/cyrus_the_great.htm From Wikipedia: Cyrus the Great http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great Biography of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian empire http://www.essortment.com/all/biographycyrus_rcof.htm. Cyrus The Great The Father Liberator (1999); Shapour Suren-Pahlav http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/History/hakhamaneshian/Cyrus-the-great/cyrus_the_great.htm Telecommuting: the advantages and disadvantages Telecommuting: the advantages and disadvantages Introduction Many authors have tried to define telecommuting in one clear definition. The definitions differ from telecommuting is working from home (Mokhtarian, 1991) to definitions including time, places and used tools descriptions. This paper will demonstrate that telecommuting is a working arrangement that provides employees the opportunity to work from other places then the employers office for at least a part of their normal work schedule, using technology to interact with colleagues, supervisors and other professional contacts. Despite the still growing popularity of telecommuting, there are as many advantages as well disadvantages for both employee and employer. This paper discusses some of the major advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting for both the employer and the employee. As this paper point out, as a result of more control over work-schedule, the decreased traveling time and costs, and an changed working environment, telecommuting can contribute to an increased job satisfaction for the telecommuter. Disadvantages however include possible dangers as overworking and overeating, and the reduction of professional relationships with colleagues and supervisors. This reduction can lead to a decreasing change of promotion. For the employer, the increase of job satisfaction means in general a higher productivity, and a lower staff turnover. Telecommuting can also reduce the costs of hiring, leasing of buying real estate to provide offices and the possibility to hire professional labor worldwide. However, also employers have to take into account some major disadvantages. The reduced face-to-face interaction, necessary to value an employer and the possible unbalance in a team when only a few functions lend them for telecommuting. Despite the many advantages of telecommuting, its success is strongly dependent on the function, company regulations and management, and the telecommuter self if telecommuting will be a success. Advantages for the employee A first major advantage of telecommuting is the reduction of traveling time and costs as a result of the possibility to work from home or other central working spaces in the neighbourhood (Mokhtarian, 1991). Some companies establish teleworkcenters and remote offices as alternative locations for their telecommuting workers. However in most cases the home of the telecommuter will become the working-place (Mokhtarian, 1991) (Gajendran Harrison, 2007). The reduction of travelling time and costs as a result of work from home can contribute to an increased job satisfaction. Another advantage of telecommuting is the possibility to adjust working hours to personal needs. If for instance the telecommuter has a family at home and arrange to telecommute from home, the telecommuter has no travelling time, can work with the family in the neighbourhood, and due the face the work schedule is flexible, is possible to create more quality time with the family. Therefore, telecommuting can contribute to an improved family relationship. A major overall advantage of telecommuting is the increase in job satisfaction. Research has shown that the changes caused by telecommuting in the previous section, often result in a higher job satisfaction. This is a result of the fact the telecommuter has increased control over the location, timing and means of completing the work (Gajendran Harrison, 2007). To conclude the advantages as stated before; telecommuting seems to contribute to improvement of work and personal relationships by the utilizing the flexibility of the telecommuting concept. As a result of telecommuting the job satisfaction of the employee can be increased. Disadvantages for the employee The following paragraph will discuss the disadvantages for the employee. The first important disadvantages is the reduction of the availability of resources. Telecommuting reduces the access to resources found only at employers office. An example of a resource that not can be accessed from home are for instance accounting-records, that normally contains physical papers like invoices and work orders. Depending on the job one has, it can be important to access those archives to get collect information (Green, Là ³pez, Wysocki, Kepner, 2003). Reduction of availability of resources and date can impact the productivity due the fact essential data is not available. Matters that occur because of a lack of regulation can be pointed out as a second disadvantage. It can cause the potential danger to over-work, over-eat and under-exercise, the so called desk-potato  or  fridge  factor  syndrome (Fortier, 1999).. Those symptoms can occur because pause times are no longer pre-set and the temptation of eating is for some no longer in control. The risks of overworking and overeating cannot be underestimated and therefor have to take in account by telecommuter and as well by the employer. Another disadvantage of telecommuting, concerning professional relationships, is the lack of personal contact with colleagues and supervisors. Because telecommuting reduces the face-to-face communication, different theories make similar predictions about quality and frequency of interaction, implying mainly negative impacts on interpersonal relationships for telecommuters. In a regular office setting, it is possible to provide direct input in solving problems on every scale. It is also possible to directly receive feedback when a certain situations take place. Even the distractions by colleagues can be important moments to reinforce relationships. Face-to-face interactions with colleagues provide access to informal networks and create opportunities for job relevant interactions. Spatial distance from others at work likely translates into personal distance; for telecommuters this might mean becoming out of sight, out of mind. Face-to-face communication is considered the medium with th e highest social presence and very important in personal and professional relationships. (Gajendran Harrison, 2007). Personal face-to-face interaction is essential in job and professional relationship developments, reducing those moments can influence both developments negatively. Advantages for the employer The following paragraph will discuss the advantage for the employer. For the employer there are advantages concerning the changed the work environment. For example, if telecommuting days are flexible and if that result in a lower presence of employers evenly spread over the week, business require less office-space and less parking for employees. Instead of leasing new office space or expanding existing office buildings, it is vastly less expensive to provide telecommuters with their own communication tools to work from their own homes (Green, Là ³pez, Wysocki, Kepner, 2003) (HongGirl, Bongsik, Kunihiko, 2007). Some companies opt to create central working offices outside of the city instead of using expensive office space in the centre. The employer can hire less expensive office-space together with other telecommute supporting companies and with that reduce costs. With telecommuting work is no longer time or place bounded. This results in another major advantage of telecommuting that it can create the possibility to hire professional labor from over the whole world, including those with health problems and disabilities. (Green, Là ³pez, Wysocki, Kepner, 2003). Disadvantages for the employer The following paragraphs will discuss the disadvantages of telecommuting for the employer. The first major disadvantages for the employer can be the fact telecommuting creates a physical distance between the employee and their colleagues and supervisors. Normally in an office setting the supervisor is able to supervise the employees directly. A potential disadvantage of telecommuting is the impact on professional relationships due to reduced direct interaction and the possibility to interact face-to-face. According to Management today, (as cited in Green, Là ³pez, Wysicki Kepner, 2003. p 4 ) It is imperative to understand that telecommunication is an alternative option and not a substitute for person-to-person contact associated with traditional business settings. When it comes to understanding, research has suggested that 75 percent of communication is non-verbal (Management Today, 2000). As the source above stated, personal contact cannot be replaced by forms of indirect contact, because 75 percent of communication is non-verbal and it is therefore very important to see the other when communicate. Another disadvantages for employers and especially a challenge for managers is overcome the possible jealousy from co-workers who cannot telecommute due the function they have (Gajendran Harrison, 2007). Equally employees with different visible benefits can cause separation within a team, it is for the manager to deal with those differences and overcome problems cause by it. A unbalance in a team caused by telecommuting is a disadvantage that shows also the importance to consider the consequence in larger perspective. Conditions for telecommuting According to Green, Là ³pez, Wysocki, and Kepner (2003), not all jobs lend themselves to telecommuting. For instance, jobs that involve direct management, face-to-face contact with customers, frequent meetings, manufacturing and warehousing of goods, purchasing, and facility management are not suitable for telecommuting operations. Jobs that do lend themselves to telecommuting include for example systems and information managers, writers, computer programmers, auditing reports, data entry. The reason why those jobs lend themselves for telecommuting is that they are mainly done with a computer and involve normally no frequent interaction with intern or extern parties. According to the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation as cited in Green, Là ³pez, Wysocki, Kepner (2003) successful telecommuters are self-starters who can do a good job with minimal supervision. They know how to organize their work and time, and are able to work well with tele-managers. In addition, telecommuters have low socialization needs and good communication skills. Factors of decreased supervision, (informal) communication with colleagues and managers, lack of time structure guidelines has to be conquer to become a good telecommuter. For the employer there are also conditions for successful telecommuting. First it is important to develop effective telecommuting business policies which provide guidelines for telecommuting. Second, plan for technical equipment and support for the telecommuting network, this is important because it all comes down to the technical equipment. After that is been done, select and properly train telecommuters and prepare managers for telecommuting supervision. This is important because it is not like regular supervising. A company has to accomplice several conditions before it can introduce telecommuting Analysis Analyzing these advantages and disadvantages, it can be stated that the possible benefits as result of introducing telecommuting is at least questionable. As the condition section pointed out, telecommuting is strongly dependent of the telecommuter, the company and the function. However, the telecommuter can be flexible with his or her work-schedule to meet personal needs, has needed less travelling time and costs, and can change the working environment which can result in a higher job satisfaction, the disadvantages can be underestimated. The telecommuter has to challenge difficulties that occurs by the lack of regulations, and the reduced face-to-face contact with colleagues and supervisors. Especially the reduction of face-to-face contact can lead to a smaller change of promotion. For the employer, the reduction of needed office and parking space, the possibility to hire professional labour around the world, and the possible increased productivity as result of the increased job satisfaction, are reasons to consider the support of telecommuting. It is on the other hand very important to take into account that the personal interaction with the employees is essential in a professional relationship. Reducing that interaction can lead to out of sight, out of mind and can cause a struggle in the relationship with the employee. Besides this it is recommend to overview the potential group of telecommuters, as stated before. When a potential group contains team members but not include the whole team, it is possible that teams will become unbalanced. It is therefore necessary to take the possible consequence of introducing telecommuting into account before it is implemented. Conclusion Companies consider supporting the concept of telecommuting have to take many challenges into account. Despite telecommuting can increase job satisfaction and productivity, the reduced personal face-to-face interaction and the possible consequence of that are significant disadvantages that overweight the advantages on general basis. The statement out of sight, out of mind support this. Changing ones workplace from a conventional office to a home or an alternate location is likely to alter the frequency, the quality, and, by definition, the modality of interaction one has with other organization members. Telecommuting therefore has the potential to degrade the quality of the manager-subordinate relationship (Cooper Kurland, 2002) (Gajendran Harrison, 2007). If providing a telecommuting structure is be considered, it is important to overthink the possible impact for telecommuters as well for non-telecommuters. If a company decides to support telecommuting, it is essential to set clear guidelines and limitations for telecommuters and for supervisors. To conclude, telecommuting cannot replace normal work arrangements, it can only be added to meet employees needs. Reference list Cooper, C., Kurland, N. (2002). Telecommuting, professional isolation, and employee development in public and private organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior 23, 511-532. DOI: 10.1002/job.145 Fortier, B. (1999) About telework, retrieved on March 27, 2011, from Innovisions Canada: http://www.ivc.ca/part2.html Gajendran, D., Harrison, R. (2007). The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown About Telecommuting: Meta-Analysis of Psycological Mediators and Individual Consequences. Journal of Applied Psychological, 92, 1524-1541. Green, K., Là ³pez, M., Wysocki, A., Kepner, K. (2003). Telecommuting as a true workplace alternative1. Gainesville, FL, United States: Department of Food and Resource Economics, University Florida. Retrieved from: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr021 HongGirl, L., Bongsik, S., Kunihiko, H. (2007). Telework vs. central work: A comparative view of knowledge accessibility. Decision Support Systems, 687-700. doi:10.1016/j.dss.2006.11.007 Kossek, E., Lautsch, B., Eaton, S. (2006). Telecommuting, control and boundary management; correlates of policy use and practice, job control, and work-family effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 347-367. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.07.00 Mokhtarian, P. (1991). Defining telecommuting. Davis, California, US: Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis. Retrieved from: http://www.its.ucdavis.edu/publications/1991/UCD-ITS-RR-91-04.pdf University Zuyd Academic Skills. Assessment form for written papers Date à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Student à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Assessorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Max Score Actual Score Format Title page has all appropriate information and correctly formatted Paper has Times New Roman 12 Pt Text double space 5 Mechanics Punctuation: full stops, commas, semicolons, quotation marks Capitalisation Spelling 5 Introduction The introduction starts with a general statement, surprising statistic, direct question, strong quote, historical setting or general statement. There is a clear thesis/problem statement. There is an outline/overview paragraph at the end of the introduction. 10 Body Paragraphing Each paragraph: discusses a new point and has a clear topic sentence. has appropriate supporting material: facts, examples, quotes, paraphrased or summarised information. has unity. has coherence. has linking within and/or beyond paragraphs. 30 Conclusion sums up the paper, refers back to thesis and has a clear conclusion and leaves the reader with the writers final thoughts on the topic. contains no new information. 10 Style and Tone The style and the tone are appropriate. The paper contains appropriate hedging language to qualify strong statements. 5 Vocabulary, terminology, wordiness Text contains accurate vocabulary, terminology and is not too wordy. 5

Modern Criticism of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin Essay -- Uncle Toms Cabi

Modern Criticism of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin It is extremely difficult for the modern reader to understand and appreciate Uncle Tom’s Cabin because Harriet Beecher Stowe was writing for an audience very different from us. We don’t share the cultural values and myths of Stowe’s time, so her novel doesn’t affect us the way it affected its original readers. For this reason, Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been heavily scrutinized by the modern critic. However, the aspects of the novel that are criticized now are the same aspects that held so much appeal for its original audience. Many people condemn Uncle Tom’s Cabin simply because it is a sentimental novel. This genre appeals to the reader’s emotions in order to enact social change. While popular during Stowe’s time, the sentimental novel is now scorned by many members of the academy, such as Baldwin: â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a very bad novel, having, in its self-righteous, virtuous sentimentality, much in common with Little Women† (496). Some modern readers are repulsed by Stowe’s desire to reform society, but that is because in our times the purpose of literature is to represent the world, not change it. Because the modern critic finds it hard to identify with Stowe’s genuine desire to improve society, he sees it as an example of her self-righteousness. Because the sentimental novel appeals to the reader’s emotions, many of its scenes may strike the modern reader as overly dramatic. Baldwin claims "the ostentatious parading of excessive and spurious emotion, is the mark of dishonesty, the inability to feel; the wet eyes of the sentimentalist betray his aversion to experience, his fear of life, his arid heart; and it is always, therefore, the signal of secret and violent inhumani... ...lture. Most twenty-first century readers are annoyed by the novel’s sentimentality, the religious undertones, and the martyr figures, among other things, but these same qualities that we dislike are what appealed to the novel’s original audience. Being outsiders, it is hard for us to accept Stowe’s message that love must conquer social injustices. However, one must wonder if her own contemporaries accepted this message, since Stowe would have seen the Civil War as forcing change within society without eliminating the prejudices that produced it. Bibliography Baldwin, James. â€Å"Everybody’s Protest Novel.† Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New York: W.W. Norton & Company; 1994. 495-501. Tompkins, Jane. â€Å"Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History.† Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New York: Norton; 1994. 501-522. Modern Criticism of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin Essay -- Uncle Toms Cabi Modern Criticism of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin It is extremely difficult for the modern reader to understand and appreciate Uncle Tom’s Cabin because Harriet Beecher Stowe was writing for an audience very different from us. We don’t share the cultural values and myths of Stowe’s time, so her novel doesn’t affect us the way it affected its original readers. For this reason, Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been heavily scrutinized by the modern critic. However, the aspects of the novel that are criticized now are the same aspects that held so much appeal for its original audience. Many people condemn Uncle Tom’s Cabin simply because it is a sentimental novel. This genre appeals to the reader’s emotions in order to enact social change. While popular during Stowe’s time, the sentimental novel is now scorned by many members of the academy, such as Baldwin: â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a very bad novel, having, in its self-righteous, virtuous sentimentality, much in common with Little Women† (496). Some modern readers are repulsed by Stowe’s desire to reform society, but that is because in our times the purpose of literature is to represent the world, not change it. Because the modern critic finds it hard to identify with Stowe’s genuine desire to improve society, he sees it as an example of her self-righteousness. Because the sentimental novel appeals to the reader’s emotions, many of its scenes may strike the modern reader as overly dramatic. Baldwin claims "the ostentatious parading of excessive and spurious emotion, is the mark of dishonesty, the inability to feel; the wet eyes of the sentimentalist betray his aversion to experience, his fear of life, his arid heart; and it is always, therefore, the signal of secret and violent inhumani... ...lture. Most twenty-first century readers are annoyed by the novel’s sentimentality, the religious undertones, and the martyr figures, among other things, but these same qualities that we dislike are what appealed to the novel’s original audience. Being outsiders, it is hard for us to accept Stowe’s message that love must conquer social injustices. However, one must wonder if her own contemporaries accepted this message, since Stowe would have seen the Civil War as forcing change within society without eliminating the prejudices that produced it. Bibliography Baldwin, James. â€Å"Everybody’s Protest Novel.† Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New York: W.W. Norton & Company; 1994. 495-501. Tompkins, Jane. â€Å"Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History.† Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New York: Norton; 1994. 501-522.

Relating The Odyssey to our Lives :: Homer

Getting somewhere is not just the destination, but even more so the journey. The goals are our destination and obstacle and temptations litter the voyage. Like Odysseus, achieving these goals is not a cinch. Obstacles must be faced or avoided, and temptations should be resisted. Our entire lives we all try to accomplish our own personal goals. Like Odysseus, we all have long-term and short-term goals to realize. In life, we all want something we long for and will work relentlessly until we reach that objective, like Odysseus’ ambition to reach his wife and son in Ithaca. Of course we all have minor, transitory goals such as building a house or finishing an essay. Some instances of Odysseus’ secondary goals are him escaping the Cyclopes and keeping his men from eating the lotuses. Personal goals, however, will manage to be interrupted in one way or another. On our journeys we all must resist, or give into, temptations that may hinder our ascent to our goal. All people give into temptation at least once in their lives. One time that Odysseus gave into temptation was when he listened to the Sirens’ songs. We don’t always collapse into temptation, like when Odysseus wanted so badly to kill the suitors but forced himself to wait for the right time. Another time Odysseus defied temptation was when he refused to reveal himself to the people but ceased expose himself until he felt it was the right time. Temptation is not the only thing to obstruct our expedition. We all face obstacles in our life like Odysseus did. A common obstacle in life is a person that you clash and don’t get along with. A good analogy for this in Odysseus’ quest was when he had to evade the Cyclops. Also, people don’t always evade the people and problems that get in their way, but face them. One case of this is when Odysseus had to confront Antinous. Relating The Odyssey to our Lives :: Homer Getting somewhere is not just the destination, but even more so the journey. The goals are our destination and obstacle and temptations litter the voyage. Like Odysseus, achieving these goals is not a cinch. Obstacles must be faced or avoided, and temptations should be resisted. Our entire lives we all try to accomplish our own personal goals. Like Odysseus, we all have long-term and short-term goals to realize. In life, we all want something we long for and will work relentlessly until we reach that objective, like Odysseus’ ambition to reach his wife and son in Ithaca. Of course we all have minor, transitory goals such as building a house or finishing an essay. Some instances of Odysseus’ secondary goals are him escaping the Cyclopes and keeping his men from eating the lotuses. Personal goals, however, will manage to be interrupted in one way or another. On our journeys we all must resist, or give into, temptations that may hinder our ascent to our goal. All people give into temptation at least once in their lives. One time that Odysseus gave into temptation was when he listened to the Sirens’ songs. We don’t always collapse into temptation, like when Odysseus wanted so badly to kill the suitors but forced himself to wait for the right time. Another time Odysseus defied temptation was when he refused to reveal himself to the people but ceased expose himself until he felt it was the right time. Temptation is not the only thing to obstruct our expedition. We all face obstacles in our life like Odysseus did. A common obstacle in life is a person that you clash and don’t get along with. A good analogy for this in Odysseus’ quest was when he had to evade the Cyclops. Also, people don’t always evade the people and problems that get in their way, but face them. One case of this is when Odysseus had to confront Antinous.

How Do Narrative and Genre Features Create Meaning Essay

As film audiences we have an expectation of particular conventions, which certain film genres work with and if these expectations are met, then viewing pleasure is certified. This is a result of our understanding of generic conventions, which derives from past experiences with films we have seen. The film industry understands this, but is however, constantly attempting to ? extend’ these genres sometimes for artistic reasons and sometimes to secure financial revenue. The narrative of a film is the sequence of events which are organised in a structure to tell and develop a plot. It is just as important in function as the genre is, with regard to securing audiences and satisfying their expectations and audiences will have particular anticipations for a narrative’s different segments. By this we can observe that a film producer is dependent at least partly on the satisfaction of the film’s target audience for the proceeds at the box office. This essay will discuss how a 10-minute sequence from James Wan’s ? Saw’ (2004), uses many conventions from a few different genres and it considers how the narrative ties in with this. The film in itself illustrates so many of the conventional rules attached to a thriller, that we have learnt to accept as ? normal’. I would describe this sequence as a pastiche as it is not only thrillerish but there are also elements of detective genre. These are all traits within a horror movie. The clip begins with what we believe is detective Tapp carrying out surveillance on Dr. Gordon’s house. He is filming their bedroom window and talking, but to whom we have no knowledge. As the camera moves from the television screen to a side wall, the frame reveals a compilation of images, of who we assume to be Dr. Gordon. It also shows that he has perhaps been recording phone calls from within Dr. Gordon’s household. The mise-en-scene (stacks of empty coffee cups and take away trays) illustrates that detective Tapp has been there for quite some time, and it is now evident that he is in fact alone. Suddenly, we are confronted with a wall plastered in a mass of newspaper clippings. We realise that this is not official police work, it could be stalking. This convention of the obsessed detective is a usual element of thriller films as well as in crime films. A cross fade is the utilised for the introduction of the next frame. Fades are usually employed to suggest a flashback or for the use of moving forward in time, but in this case we consider that it is a flashback, though we are still uncertain. This car scene involves Dr. Gordon being taken home by detective Tapp. Unlike others, this film concentrates solely on the plot and the characters and the director ensures this through the way there is never or rarely any background situations which might distract the audience. Everything excluding the characters is darkened out, leaving the audience nothing to observe but them and their conversation. The next scene reveals Tapp at his desk, watching evidence from the ? jigsaw case’, we can see that his desk lamp is focused on a mound of file work which may be more significant than the ? jigsaw case’, – work which he evidently does not see as priority. Detective Tapp’s back is turned to this mound of work and he is focused on the television screen, scrutinizing the video tape. Also, the mise-en-scene shows only a few newspaper clippings on the side of his work space in this scene, which might be suggesting this is the beginning of his ? stalking’ behaviour. With one desk lamp on in the entire room it is evident that all of his other colleagues are going or have already gone home. This type of behaviour (working over hours when everyone else has left) is suggestive of reclusive characters with little or no social or family life, having nothing but work to look forward to and these characters are usually found in crime-thriller movies or psychological-thriller movies. This ? work obsessed’ character is reinforced when his work colleagues invite him to accompany them and he declines without even removing his gaze from the television screen. The character of Tapp is played by the actor Danny Glover, frequently associated with the action-crime-thriller sequel films ? Lethal Weapon’. In these films he also plays a detective officer often involved in action, so it comes as no surprise that we have expectation of the narrative to place him in a place of police action. Again, the background is dark, suggesting that nothing else matters to this character, including his partner, Sing, who remains behind. Sing’s demeanour implies that Tapps behaviour is possibly recent and unusual, transpiring only, through the ? jigsaw case’. The frame illustrating half of the light on Sing may bring connotations that he is in half a mind about Tapp, he is unsure about what has happened to him and why. After noticing something about the evidence, Tapp hurriedly beckons Sing back. In this scene we see Sing under a more (although not much more) prominent light in contrast to before. Tapp is still the one mostly saturated in light, he is the one with the information and we see that as Sing learns and gains more information, the light shed on him also increases. The snapshots that the clip uses of the derelict warehouses, remind us of a stalker ? the way that detective Tapp stalks Dr. Gordon and the way ? jigsaw’ stalks his victims. This type of stalking behaviour again, links in with the conventions of the thriller genre. The next frame portrays both Tapp and Sing looking onto a map, both saturated in an equal amount of light. They are just as important as each other here; they need each other to make a break through. This is reflected in their names, Tapp and Sing ? when combined unified it creates rhythm and music, an outcome. This convention of crime/detective partners having a connection between their names, and their names revealing traits of their characters when they are together, is usually found in detective-thriller/action genre films, e. g. in the action ? crime-thriller ? Lethal Weapon’ the main characters are called ? Martin Riggs and ? Roger Murtauth’. The way that the first letters of their names are arranged, mirrors the way that the characters work in opposite ways (M. R. as oppose to R. M). On the car journey to the derelict factory, everything in the background is darkened out, thus creating the feeling of suspense and mystery. Also, with barely any street lighting, it could be proposed that this road is not popularly accessed by the public, signifying there could be danger here. These are all generic conventions of a thriller film. The mise-en-scene mainly supplies us with dark and dull colours, i. e. black and metal grey, which run throughout the film, connotating mystery, a cold and possibly even pain and depressing feelings, which create the theme for the entire movie. As the two detectives ascend the stairs, they are entering darkness; again a sign that they don’t know what is ahead of them. The use of a handheld camera panning the scene allows for a sense of first hand experience to take place, again correlated with thriller films, i. e. ; ? The Blair Witch Project’. As they approach the ? workspace’ of this scene, we notice how lighting is positioned over specific areas, where there are ?projects’ developing. Each of these are covered by a red cloth. To some, i. e. the police characters and some audiences, the colour red would have connotations of danger. In this case, the colour red signifies passion. The red cloth is used by ? jigsaw’ to signify passion for the projects that he has covered in the cloth. One main theme can be found in all of the characters in this clip ? they are all deeply passionate and devoted to their work. Conventions of a horror genre can be found in the next upcoming scene. Here we witness the detectives discover a seemingly insignificant man entrapped in a death contraption and we soon after determine when ? jigsaw’ returns, that this merely a ? test run’ for a later purpose. Sinisterly, ? jigsaw’ wears a cloak with a strip of the same cloth that he has used to cover his projects, he is truly devoted to this work and the matching cloak almost makes it seem like this is his ? team’. As the detectives leap out of their hiding places and confront him, ? jigsaw’ stamps the contraption to a start, leaving the detectives panicking and him in control of the situation. Again, by using a hand-held camera with an over the shoulder shot behind the ? jigsaw’, the audience sees the ? jigsaw’ as the largest figure and therefore the dominant party in this scene; consequently the detectives literally look small in this scene, clueless under the grasp of this psycho. This hand-held camera technique also delivers a sense of panic to the audience. Subsequently, fast editing shots build suspense and panic, leading to the peak where one person on each side of the room manages to escape ? the victim escapes his death, and ? jigsaw’ escapes the detectives, one a split second after the other. For that minute split second we have the high hope that the detectives have gained control of this situation. Our hopes are sunk however as Tapp is slashed across the throat and ? jigsaw’ escapes. This is an expectation that audiences have become acquired with in thriller movie narratives. This film delivers many expectations as well as offering new interweaves that may never have been supplied to a thriller audience before. In this next frame which shows Sing running along a corridor, two main genres come into place; horror and action thriller. The frame shows conventions of horror films through its use of the green coloured steam coming from the mouldy pipes along this gory corridor. The narrative of a police officer chasing a criminal is typical of an action thriller film. The scene where Sing is trying to protrude through the cobwebs to get to ?jigsaw’ as he lays ? dead’ on the floor is significant. This barricade of cobwebs is an illusion to cover the trip-wire which will be the cause of Sings death. This illusion is a reminder that nothing is as it may seem, a principle of psychological-thriller films. As Sing collapses dying, ? jigsaw’ rises, obviously still alive – another illusion. The last scene of this clip begins with a close up of the scar on Tapps neck, gained when he was slashed by ? jigsaw’. At this instant, our prior belief’s that this was all a flashback are confirmed. A scar takes time to heal and where Tapp’s physical scars have healed, his mental scars have not. We see him frantically talking to a framed picture of Sing, as well as talking to himself. A framed picture usually contains family or friends – people who are close to you, and so, it is reinforced to us that Sing was his only family. Tapp blames himself for the death of Sing, perhaps why, although he has already been discharged from the force, he feels he needs to close this case as he owes it to Sing. Word count: 1,927.