Analysis of a Dream of China by Ovidia Yu

Task 2: Written Assignment A Dream of China by Ovidia Yu A Dream of China is written by Ovidia Yu, a Singaporean writer during the 1980s. This story talks about a woman who grew up with many stories revolving around China. The stories were told by her father who was from a wealthy family. He and his brother joined the army to fight off the Japanese in Singapore and were disowned by their father for doing so. After the war ended, the narrator’s father decides to stay in China while the brother chose otherwise. For this choice, the father feels extremely guilty throughout the years.Being convinced that China was amazing, the narrator grabs the opportunity to visit China and finds out for herself many things that differ from her father’s stories. According to Oxford Dictionary (2010), criticism is defined as the analysis and judgement of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work. Literary criticism therefore, means judging of literary works for both the good and bad. According to a handout of Twentieth-Century Literary Theories, there are many different kinds of literary criticism which include Formalism, Reader-Response, Sociological, Historicism, Structuralism and Psychoanalytic.Several of the mentioned theories are applicable to this text by Ovidia Yu while the others are not very suitable. One of the literary theories that are applicable to A Dream of China would be Reader-Response Criticism. As the handout describes, reader-response criticism is a critical view that sees the reader’s interaction with the text as central to interpretation. This criticism involves the reader’s elucidation and opinion towards the text because as different readers read it, they will have expectations.From those expectations, there lies a perfect explanation in the back of the reader’s mind. The beauty of it is, nobody has the exact same opinion and that is where variety of interpretations could be established. Collaboratively, these r esponses could be put together to criticise a text completely from the inside out, covering all aspects of the text. My response towards this text will be regarding the theme of the text which is an unnecessary guilt of a father. The narrator’s father’s choice of staying in Singapore after the war is a rational one ecause he has already settled down unlike his brother who was still unmarried then. â€Å"He had a wife and my eldest sister, who was already born,† (p163) perfectly justifies that the father’s choice of staying was a rational one. I believe that any man caught in that situation would make the exact same choice he did as it was the best choice available. Besides that, after the Japanese left Singapore and China, staying in Singapore was a smarter choice as it was much smaller thus, suffered less damage compared to China which is many times bigger and of course, more severely damaged.Furthermore, Singapore remains the trading hub of overseas tra ders which gives the place that much more advantage in its nation’s recovery and growth compared to China. With such advantage in the nation and a weight of responsibility towards the family, I would not see how one father would choose otherwise. This is proven the right choice again by the narrator during her expedition to China when she finally meets her nobly described uncle who turns out to be a ‘drab old man’ (p173), ‘barely tolerated by people’ and ‘children throw names at him’ (p170).All in all, they contribute and directly support the theme ‘unnecessary guilt of a father’. Another suitable literary criticism theory would be historicism. Historicism focuses on a text in relation to the historical and cultural contexts of the period in which it was created and critically evaluated. In the case of this text, it is written in the 1980s. During this time, Singapore has already made great progress with their countryâ€℠¢s development and is far more organised and modernised compared to China then in which some parts still live in extremely poor conditions.The narrator’s father however, settled in Singapore around 1945 as that was the year the Japanese left Singapore. At that point of time, Singapore as mentioned above stands a greater chance of recovering their loss and move on with development of their tiny country whereas China is so vast and was undergoing post-war clashes politically at that time. In 1946, civil war in China erupted yet again. With such circumstances, it is of no doubt that the narrator’s father, who was married and had a family living in a peaceful developing country, chooses to stay.Going back to China at such times would only be asking for trouble. This is also one of the reasons why the father feels guilty. It would be because he let his own brother make the unwise choice without trying to make him stay as stated in (p170) ‘If my father had only given h im a word of warning he would now be in Singapore living in the lap of luxury†¦ ’ In the 80s when the narrator finally visits China, which was then undergoing another reform related to communism of Mao-Zedong, she met her noble uncle who turned out to be dull, arrogant, rude and living in poverty, hated by most of the villagers.Seeing such sight would make anyone compare with their own home, in this case, Singapore, which was far more modernised and civilised where husbands treat their wives as equal in status and power unlike in Sechuan where the narrator’s uncle still ‘swore continuously at his wife’ (p169). Even now, we can still see how staying in Singapore would be the best choice at that time. In this 21st century, Singapore has become one of the most modernised countries competing alongside Japan as well as America.While in mainland China, some parts are much modernised, but many other parts are still, till this day, without electricity and wat er what more to say, education. In conclusion, both theories of literary criticism has their unique own way of approach towards literary works. The choice of theories is still ultimately up to the readers to choose which is most suitable. Without literary criticism, literature would have lost their art form that has been appealing to linguists for centuries, similar to how art would lose its value if nobody cares to analyse and evaluate it. ReferencesOxford (2010) â€Å"criticism†. Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://oxforddictionaries. com/definition/criticism N. A (N. D) Twentieth-Century Literary Theories. Appendix C. Pg 1940-1961. Retrieved 21 March 2012 Gay, Kathlyn. (2008). 21st Century Books. Mao Zedong's China. ISBN 0-8225-7285-0. pg 7. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War Hutchings, Graham. (2001). Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change. Harvard University Press . ISBN 0-674-00658-5. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War March, G. Patrick. (1996). Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-95566-4. pg 205. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War Fairbank, John King. (1994). China: A New History. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-11673-9. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War Zarrow, Peter Gue. (2005). China in War and Revolution, 1895–1949. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-36447-7. pg 338. Retrieved 21 March 2012 from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Chinese_Civil_War

Altering the Landscape of Health Care Essay

The health care field is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States and other countries. The scope of changes suggests a consumer-driven environment and moving away from a provider-driven industry. Changes in technology and communication methods are allowing people to engage directly with their health care provider and not rely solely on the medical provider. We will discuss the modifications taking place in health care, current and potential challenges, and how the health care industry is adjusting to those changes. Modifications in Health Care The modifications taking place in health care involve the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and changes in insurance coverages. A report from Mobile Health 2012 from the Pew Internet & American Life Project states that 45 percent of American adults own a smartphone (Khan, 2014). In addition, the report also states that 53% of smartphone owners use their phones to gain access to health care information (Khan, 2014). With this increase in technology, patients do not have to wait for the next appointment for laboratory results, access real-time data, or health information. They can have access to their medical records anytime they choose, including other methods of communication such as email or social media (Khan, 2014). Through the ACA, patients have choices about choosing health insurance exchanges that benefit their families and themselves, which includes choosing premiums, copays, and deductibles. Individuals have the benefit of choosing cost-effective insurance coverage that is affordable for them which give them direct power and actively engaging in their quality of care. Current and Potential Challenges in Health Care The current and potential challenges facing health care comes from the new mandates under the ACA. Health care employees are under tremendous stress with shortages in the workforce, and instability in the industry (Anderson, 2014). The average health professional’s level of stress is causing job dissatisfaction, burnout, and difficulty retaining quality health care providers (Anderson, 2014). Consumers expect to receive quality care with more choices under the ACA and have the freedom to monitor their health care expenses. Although patients can seek additional health care information through technology, it will take a strong workforce to provide optimum patient care to consumers (Anderson, 2014). The challenge to improve the quality of care without a strong, resilient, growing workforce is undeniable. Many health professionals are seeking other career interests because of the effects of ACA. The mandate that comes under the ACA increases the level of stress on workers, organizations, and the health system is increasing tremendously (Anderson, 2014). The complexity of implementing the rules of the ACA places extreme burden on health providers to fulfill professional obligation, adhere to legal requirements, and still provide quality patient care (Anderson, 2014). Instead of lifting the pressure off of workers it place enormous stress to perform with excellence daily. Another huge challenge in health care is the increase of medical errors because of overworked individuals, which creates fewer optimal outcomes, including patient death and health care disparities (Khan, 2014). The mandate on medical providers to implement electronic health records is creating workforce stress, increased workloads, and burnout among health providers and professionals (Anderson, 2014). In addition, there will be growth in the workforce because of the increase in the number of patients that will be insured under the ACA. Therefore, this will create overwhelming strain on existing medical workers and their ability to accomplish those goals. Solutions to Health Care Challenges The effort to remain competitive in the health care industry requires medical providers, such as physicians, hospitals, physician group practices, and numerous health care companies to integrate and merge businesses (Anderson,  2014). As stated in the article, mergers and acquisitions lower operating costs, but also keep an even distribution of financial safety and increases market share (Anderson, 2014). Consolidations now include many physicians selling their practices to join physician groups and working in hospitals. With these changes taken place, insurers, hospitals, physicians and stakeholders can have an increase in negotiation power (Anderson, 2014). In 2011, there were consolidations that include 432 mergers involving 832 hospitals (Anderson, 2014). As a result, many hospitals are not independent but are now major health care systems throughout the United States. The implementation of the ACA suggests more individuals by law will have to purchase insurance. The health care system is not prepared to handle the large quantity of cases, which will add significant stress among workers. Health care organizations will need an efficient workforce to accommodate the growing population and give patients the quality of care that they deserve (Anderson, 2014). According to Anderson, â€Å"Solutions to the existing problems will require innovation in medical education and training, improved delivery of care, and implementation of policies to retain the existing health care workforce† (Anderson, 2014, p.1). The shift taking place in health care will continue to change along with the implementations under the ACA and the mandate to obtain insurance coverage. Changing the landscape of health care includes the shift to mobile technology and consumer-driven industry. Consumers are more aware of technology that can assist in gaining access to medical information and are seeking alternatives to insurance coverages and reducing costs. Therefore, they are engaging directly with the medical providers and taking ownership of their health information and status. Health care professionals are seeking less stressful working environments, smaller workloads, and even other career paths. The operating costs of the health care system are astronomical and will continue to increase as health care becomes available to more consumers. References Anderson, A. (2014). The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Health Care Workforce. Re trieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/03/the-impact-of-the-afforda ble-care-act-on-the-health-care-workforce Khan, F. (2014). The Shift to Consumer Driven Healthcare. Advance Healthcare Network. Retrie ved from http://healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/The-Shif t-to-Consumer-Driven-Healthcare.aspx

A war between the United States and Iran Essay Example for Free

A war between the United States and Iran Essay ? Preparations for a massive military strike on Iran are in full swing by the United States of America. But will these preparations convert to actual bombing on the ground? Are the two countries going to be embroiled in a war soon? These are the questions that are being asked everywhere, in hushed tones if it is the Pentagon corridors and terrified glances if it is the streets of Tehran. With Iran defying the UN’s call for restraint in its nuclear programme openly, it has only become successful in intensifying the speculations about the war. The issue here is â€Å"Is it inevitable? † Before we get in to the nitty-gritty of the Iranian crisis, let us look into the different causes of the wars that have been raged in the recent future. The twentieth century started with World War I in 1914 and since then, it is interesting to note that the wars have a particular pattern. The causes have always been dependent on three factors: Systemic factors, domestic politics and the role of the Decision maker. Hence, we would also try to view the US-Iran issue through this prism. However, comparing the pre-nuclear wars in a pre-nuclear age with wars in post-nuclear age would be a waste of space. Instead, it would do well if we look into the causes that can trigger a war in the present times where possessing nuclear power is not only a stark reality but also the bone of contention in this particular case. It is the claim by the Iranian government that they are ready to start developing nuclear weapons is what has triggered the whole issue. And ironically, it is the very reason that is playing a deterrent in the war. Remarkable is the fact that it is only America that is concerned with Iran trying to possess the deadly weapon. The first and foremost question that would help us in determining the fate of this discussion would be: Why is America so bothered? America, the self-declared big brother of all the nations on this planet, takes up the â€Å"burden† of maintaining peace on earth. To quote Eisenhower, â€Å"Freedom is indivisible.. †. America takes it as its personal duty to ensure that â€Å"Freedom† is maintained all over the world. If it was â€Å"Communism† that was a threat against â€Å"Freedom† during the cold war, today it is the irresponsible rulers of nations that possess or aspire to possess nuclear weapons that are threatening the â€Å"Freedom† in the world. And when Truman declared that â€Å"We cannot hope to maintain our freedom, if freedom elsewhere is wiped out†, he meant it. However, the reasons why Israeli attack on Palestine killing hundreds of civilians is not wiping out â€Å"Freedom† but North Korea developing nuclear capability is has interesting reasons. History has been witness to this characteristic of America where it deems it is her right to attack any country it wills to protect the attacked country’s â€Å"freedom†. According to Jutta Welders (Pg 37, culture of insecurity), the compelling reason for America to act in this fashion is to maintain its supremacy in the world. An act of aggression under the cloak of â€Å"Freedom fighters† becomes a necessity to project itself as a strong nation which can not only defend itself but protect other countries as well. A bright example would be the Cuban missile crisis. When this â€Å"crisis† occurred, many were of the view that it was quite unnecessary for America to take up such a strong and aggressive tone. However, it did do that and according to Jutta Weldes, it is the compelling reason to showcase its power that led it to act strong. In fact, Jutta Weldes considers the Cuban missile crisis as not a crisis at all. To quote her, â€Å".. crises are social constructions that are forged by state officials in the course of producing and reproducing state identity†. She is of the view that it depends on the social construction that makes us define a situation as â€Å"Crisis†. It depends on how we view a nation that determines whether it is a crisis or not. For example, Iran possessing nukes is such a big issue and is immediately converted into a â€Å"Crisis† whereas an equally notorious state like Pakistan possessing the deadly weapons is not. It has been time and again proved that large number of terrorist activities has their funds traced back to Pakistan. However, Pakistan escaped the whip but Iraq was destroyed in the name of WMDs! The only explanation for this is the prism that US uses to define its foreign policies. Attack the nations that would give it a chance to maintain her supremacy in the world. Attacking Pakistan would back fire as it has the capability to strike back. And attacking Iraq or Iran will definitely be easier as these countries have a notorious reputation which required some policing and also are comparative weaklings. Hence, the systemic reasons for US to wage a war against Iran are quite obvious: a chance to police a nation that has a history of supporting the biggest threat world faces today, that is, terrorism and simultaneously reaffirm its image as the superpower which it seems to be losing to China. If attacking Iran salvages some pride for US, the role of domestic politics in the whole affair plays another important role. US, the strongest nation in the world today, are also the most vulnerable to attacks by various terrorist outfits. After 9/11, it has taken its goal of fighting terrorism quite seriously. However, the path it has chosen to fight it is not very often appreciated. The aftermath of 9/11 saw it attacking Afghanistan and driving out the Taliban ruthlessly. Afghanistan was the target because it sheltered the most dangerous terrorist outfit in the world, Al-Qaeda. Their slogan was a regime change is essential for to â€Å"smoke out† the terrorist and the whole war was essentially to capture one man – Osama Bin Laden. The attack resulted in the killings of thousands of innocent Afghanistan who were already tired by the war torn politics of Taliban. America could never capture the villain. However, it overthrew Taliban and today, a â€Å"democratically† elected government exists in place of it. Is Afghanistan a changed country today? Has America finally left its shores after the war? Both the answers are No! Terrorism has been controlled and yes, America is still â€Å"guarding† Afghanistan with its air raids on civilians. The failure of capturing Osama in Laden was quite frustrating for the Bush administration and it was in search for a new scapegoat. And they found the perfect one in the form of Saddam Hussain. Suddenly, Iraq, the starving nation which was already bogged down by various sanctions and its citizens further troubled by the tyrannic rule of Saddam Hussain finds itself in the line of fire. The reasons given are quite fishy. America is suddenly in possession of confidential information that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussain should be relieved of his responsibility of taking care of them! The reasons were uttered in the same chilling tone of how Iraq, which can’t survive without taking aid from UN, poses the danger of destroying the whole world. The solution that is needed is again a â€Å"Regime Change†. America reasoned introduction of democracy in the country will solve the problem. Thus, despite the worldwide protests that marked the growing contempt against America and the UN Security Council voting against a military attack, America single-handedly went about with its â€Å"war on terrorism†. After 3 years of war, a executed Saddam Hussain, uncountable civilian deaths and threats of civil war ( not to forget the daily suicide attacks by shiities), no one found alleged WMDs. Today, it has been almost accepted that the report on WMD was wrong! The flak US received for the irresponsible behavior is enormous and its image in the middle east has gone for a beating as today, many believe that US is waging war on Islam rather than Terrorists. Its belief that a regime change is the only solution that can solve the problems of the world is quite naive. It proposes the same thing when it comes to Iran. Seymour M. Hersh, in journal â€Å"Fact: Annals of national security† had mentioned his conversation with Patrick Clawson, an Iran expert who is the deputy director for research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and who has been supporter of President Bush, who clearly spoke of regime change the ultimate solution. He said, â€Å"So long as Iran has an Islamic Republic, it will have a nuclear-weapons program, at least clandestinely. The key issue is therefore, how long will the present regime last? † This archaic view that regime change or toppling of government in another country and forcing them to â€Å"democracy† has never worked in bringing the much desired goal of the war – peace. In fact, statistics have shown that the transition period from any kind of rule to democracy has always been bloody and nations become quite war-prone (Democratization and war). The most recent examples are, of course, Afghanistan and Iraq, which are facing gruesome infighting among themselves. So why is America so bent upon making a regime change in those countries? Apart from the apparent reasons of dismantling the network of terrorism, experts are of the view that it is also the question of who controls the oil in the future that has been a major driving force behind the American policy. Middle East is the home for oil throughout the world and it is the control of oil that is US after. With its fast disappearance and soaring prices (reasons partly because the war that US is waging), the control of the oil fields will definitely be beneficial for America. In fact, the one who controls oil in the future is the undisputed king. This goes in line with the policy of US for whom displaying its authority is very important as it seems to be losing the crown to the exponential growth of China. Therefore, attacking Iran is also a desperate attempt by US to reiterate that it is America that is still calling the shots. However, attacking Iran has its own dangers. The most important and the immediate is the image of US in the Islamic world. Its continuous attacks on Islamic nations has made it poised against Islam and has become quite unpopular in the Middle East. If not anything else, America through these attacks is only getting successful in inviting the wrath of the people living there. In a conversation with Seymour M Hersh, Richard Armitrage was echoing the same sentiments – â€Å"What will happen in the other Islamic countries? What ability does Iran have to reach us and touch us globally – that is, terrorism? Will Syria and Lebanon up the pressure on Israel? What does the attack do to our already diminished international standing? And what does this mean for Russia, China and the U. N Security Council? † Yet how many in Washington will consider these questions? According to Seymour, there are people out there who believe it is the way to operate! If domestic politics are reasons enough to wage war, the role of the decision maker is of paramount importance. It is the head who declares wars and in this case Bush has quite a penchant for declaring wars. It is widely believed that Bush will declare war against Iran before leaving the White house. In fact, President Bush believes that â€Å"He must do what no democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do, and that saving Iran is going to be his legacy†. The personal ambition of Bush also seems to make the fear of turning Teheran in to a sea of fire in to reality. Moreover, with the failure of Iraq where they achieved instant victory but not a decisive one, Bush administration is looking out for scapegoats in a large way. Iran with its close proximity with Iraq is believed to be a supplier of arms and ammunitions to the Shiite attackers in the troubled Iraq. Those attacks are not only killing innocent Iraqis but also resulting in the death of hundreds of American troops out there. In short, it is a personal failure for Bush as a president as he forced his military in to war for no reasons. It becomes very important for him to fathom some pride and Iran seems to be a ripe case. One House member told Seymour when speaking of Bush â€Å"The most worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision†. Therefore, you have President Bush waiting to bomb Iran at the slightest pretext. But how can attacking Iran solve the Iraq problem? The strategy that is being followed by the Americans is to start infighting in Iran and force it to take some irresponsible action like an up in the activities along the Iraqi border. The first response to any of American disturbance in Iran is believed to be given across the Iraq border which presently houses many American troops. The white house hopes to take advantage of that situation and make it an excuse to attack Iran. This reason is widely believed to work as the blame of first strike can always be switched to Iran and America will only be fighting for â€Å"Safeguarding† its citizens. Combining the above reasons, America declaring war on Iran seems to be a matter of time. The systemic, domestic politics and decision maker reasons a need for another war. The attack on Iran will accomplish three important factors for America. 1. America is believed to be the favorite target for the terrorists and its war on terrorism is necessary to protect itself as a nation. Moreover, this would give the image of the departing super power the much needed boost. An attack on Iran will give the masculine quality to the nation that it believes will spread â€Å"awe† across the world. 2. The second and more compelling reason for the attack is the role that domestic politics plays in this issue. Attack on Iran will bring about a regime change which will help America post â€Å"Freedom† there. This in other words means another puppet government that would act on the whims of US. This is quite beneficial as this gives it direct control over the oil fields of Iran along with Iraq’s, thanks to the WMD ghosts. So, that means with a single strike, not only do they believe that terrorism and nukes will be taken care of but also the oil fields. 3. The third reason is President Bush. His stint as President of America has mainly been marred by Wars. If in the past it was Afghanistan, now it is Iraq. Apparently, both have them have been failures as there have been no decisive victories. The victories have only been fast as is expected from a war between the super power and a starving nation. Iran war will give him the much needed boost to his image as this war can be a golden opportunity to pass the blame on Iran for the Iraq fiasco. Taking all these reasons into considerations, attack by America on Iran for possessing Nukes is quite imminent. Experts say Iran is still five to ten years away from developing any kind of weapon. However, America is bent upon going ahead with its plans. Therefore, nukes or no nukes, Iran is the golden opportunity to accomplish a lot many tasks. Nuclear disarmament is just one of the small ones. A war between the United States and Iran. (2017, Mar 01).

Week 10 Cis 329 technical paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Week 10 Cis 329 technical paper - Essay Example (Northcutt, 2002) Companies must be cautious of security breaches. They should follow best practices, which include having policies in place to take care of any incidents of security breaches. They should able to detect what information has been mishandled and decide who the proper monitoring authorities are and whom they can report to. Affected clients should also be alerted. The main task is to help advance security of the company’s IT infrastructure after a chain of network security breaches. These breaches comprises of someone getting in to the network who is not authorized , and accredited users being requested for their passwords by anonymous person claiming to work in the companies department. The senior systems administrator in this company will work and be able to bring together a team of systems administrators including other members of the IT (information technology) staff. His/her precise duties are going to vary depending on the area that the institution focuses on. The senior systems administrator will maintain the computer systems of the company, and offer hardware support to personal computers and other peripherals for the office workforces. The position requires that they purchase different parts for the computer network. In addition, training and supervising prospective IT employees falls under the senior administrator’s jo b description. (Northcutt, 2002) Information technology system lapses and breaches of data security may disrupt the Company’s capacity to function in the customary course of operation by potentially triggering delays or termination of customer orders, blocking the manufacture of goods, or causing the unpremeditated disclosure of Company information. Management has engaged in steps to address these concerns for its own systems by executing important network security and in-house controls. (Conti, 2007) Information system security is the practice of defending information from

Assignment 3 international relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assignment 3 international relations - Essay Example Rendition program, an effective counter-terrorism program designed by US government, has been a breakthrough taken to enforce human rights and enhance a safer-political and economic life to its people. This piece of research paper highlights the meaning, rationale and significances of rendition program. This paper presents an analysis of goals and specific objectives of the rendition program and detail how this program has become a threat to people as they are unable to identify a list of human rights that are to be protected. Rendition Program Rendition or extraordinary rendition program refers to the apprehension and extra-judicial transfer of an individual, who has been suspect of terrorism, from one country to another. Hastedt and Guerrier (2010) described the legal perspective and meaning of Rendition Program. It is a practice of handling over an individual or group to another authority. Rendition has been associated with Central Intelligence Agency’s abduction of those w ho have been suspected of being involved in terrorism and handling them over to foreign intelligence agencies where they will be held interrogative (p. 654). United States have allegedly transferred thousands of suspected terrorists to countries that are very known to use quite harsh interrogation and cross-checking, often with torturing. This is described as ‘Torture by proxy’. Concept of rendition is not very new, but it has been traced back to early 1980s when rendition was used to arrest the hijackers of the Achille Lauro, in a way that agents of country were abducting a person suspected of crimes in foreign country and by transporting him to another country (Henner, 2009, p. 407). In 1995, US President Bill Clinton authorized, by a presidential decision directive, the arresting of terrorists in foreign countries. The directive clearly stated that if US did not receive adequate cooperation from a state that harbored a terrorist whose extradition we were seeking, the US would be rightful to take appropriate measures to induce cooperation (Henner, 2009, p. 408). According to this directive, Central Intelligence Agency began detaining of individuals in foreign countries to be tortured or held indefinitely without any legal or rightful recourse. CIA began to detain such individuals in foreign countries for mere torturing and never for trialing them. The above mentioned rendition program, approved by Bill Clinton in 1995, targeted returning suspected Islamic Terrorists to foreign countries where they are demanded for criminal execution and torture as well. CIA has assured that suspects won’t be tortured, in order to be compliant with International Convention Against Torture, and the main purpose behind it, as CIA claimed, was to disrupt terrorist attacks and not to gather information from them (Hastedt and Guerrier, 2010, p. 654). US had mainly two concerns after the incident of 9/11 attack. What to do with high-ranking Al-Qaeda terrorists a nd to catch them to interrogate them are these two major concerns.

French colonisation in popular culture of francophone countries Personal Statement

French colonisation in popular culture of francophone countries - Personal Statement Example With the French culture spreading beyond the national boundaries, one would argue that one of the major implications of the French colonization led to the spread of French language to Africans. Sonnenburg continues to emphasize that the French assumed the African syntax and made it obligatory for the Africans to speak French, a policy referred to as the assimilation process (221). Centuries later, the Francophone countries still use French as their official language. Africans adopted the Frenchman way of living. The mode of dressing changed for the Africans. Regardless of copious protests against the revolution of the Africans to Frenchmen, the French managed to change the Africans. With time, studies indicate that Africans were able to change their lifestyles to French to extent that to be elected in the legislative assembly, Africans had to lead a life similar to that of the Frenchman (220). In the case of Tunisia for example, nearly all the elite and government officials had been assimilated to being Frenchmen. Eradication of the French language and replace it with the indigenous Arabic language was completely tasking for the Tunisians. With French literacy elevated in Tunisia, this is yet another impact on the culture of Francophone colonies of Africa. In a study of colonization and France with its spheres of influence, France ought not to be linked to colonization. France has been associated with education and spread of the same to other generations (223). In one way or another, it would arguable that the French brainwashed their colonies into accepting their language and culture; thus, entire loss of the African identity. As opposed to coercion like other colonial masters, the French managed to influence he colonies into embracing the Frenchman way of living (222). Francophone countries became multicultural societies embodied with a blend of both African culture- in minute forms, and the French culture dominating the way

Modern Political Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Modern Political Theory - Essay Example The understanding of natural law is that it necessarily distinguishes between laws of nature and those that have been artificially created by society, with the latter referring to the positive law. Locke understood that one of the main differentiating features between these is that natural law exists throughout all cultures, while a positive law is experienced only through specific social or governmental designations (Dunn). Another prominent consideration Locke made in regards to natural law was in relation to theological elements. Locke distinguished between religious law and natural law, as natural law is the law that emerges solely through the process of human reason and rationality. One recognizes that whereas natural law reveals itself to the individual through rationality, the religious law implies a divine revelation as the primary substantiation. For instance, while there are elements of the Ten Commandments that are recognized elements of the natural law, there are also ele ments that are not applicable to all humanity. In these regards, Locke’s understanding of natural law in relation to theology was the recognition that while there may be a divine entity that establishes laws that overlap with natural law, they are only considered natural law if they can be determined through human reason (Forde). Notably, Locke believed that when the Bible or religious principles went beyond or conflicted with the natural law they were improperly formulated; as such, Locke chose to interpret the Bible in accord with natural law. To a large extent, Locke’s perspective on natural law in relation to religious law is formulated within the voluntarism and intellectualism debate. While Locke highly emphasizes the importance of rational understanding to the establishment of natural law, he also makes a number of prominent statements that seemingly supports theological perspectives on social obligations. For instance, in the Essay Concerning Human Understandin g Locke argues that laws need have an individual lawgiver. In the Essays on the Law of Nature, Locke argues that individuals have an obligation to abide by their creator (Forde). It seems that for Locke the question of natural law then becomes a voluntarist in regards to the reasons humans should follow natural law, but remains highly rationalistic in the means by which a perspective establishes what constitutes natural law. One must also consider Locke’s understanding of natural law as to whether he believed the predominant elements were rights or duties the individual must follow. It seems to a great degree most theorists believe that Locke’s notion of natural law is that it generally refers to aspects of human rights. In these regards, Locke is believed to have adopted a view of human nature that as motivated by hedonistic impulses. As humans are predominantly motivated by such self-interest the natural need for human self-preservation supersedes any types of duties by which humans might be restricted. Still, other theorists believe that Locke was also concerned with natural law as prescribing moral duties to humanity. To a degree, such a different appear semantic. Consider that argued that some of the core elements of the natural law were life, liberty, and property.

The member of the wedding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The member of the wedding - Essay Example Jasmine and proceeds to try grown up things, like going to a bar and drinking, making a date with a much older military man, and dresses nicely with perfume. It is noticeable that both of these personas – Frankie and F. Jasmine – have the same obsession, which is to leave the town. In the end, Frankie seems to settle into her own identity of who she is in that moment, which is neither a boy, a woman, nor an adult, but is, in fact, an adolescent girl and it is only then that Frankie stops obsessing about leaving the town and settles into the normal life of schoolwork and hanging out with a best friend. Frankie Addams, while ostensibly a tomboy is also confused, as she is perched on the boundaries of childhood and adulthood, as well as straddling the lines between masculinity and femininity, while being subjected to sexuality that is presumably beyond her tender years. The masculine/feminine dichotomy is shown by the fact that Frankie has a boy’s name, and is, by all accounts, a tomboy, yet also puts on Sweet Serenade perfume (White, 1985, p. 89). In one scene, Frankie is cussing like a man, and threatening to shoot every person who said that she â€Å"smelled bad† with a pistol, then John Henry repeats that Frankie smelled like â€Å"a hundred flowers† because of her perfume (McCullers, 1946, pp. 610-611). The feminine side is further shown when Frankie dreams about changing her name to F. Jasmine Addams (McCullers, 1946, p. 616), although this name is still a blend of the masculine and feminine. The Jasmine part is definitively feminine. Yet calling herself à ¢â‚¬Å"F. Jasmine Addams† denotes a certain sound of masculinity. According to Groba (1994), in quoting Simon de Beauvoir, this is to be expected when young girls who rebel against society and refuses to accept the roles that others have thrust upon her, yet does not have the courage to completely repudiate the roles. This leads the young girl to either take flight from reality, as

Visions of Success of Minority Nursing Students Research Paper

Visions of Success of Minority Nursing Students - Research Paper Example o 2001, among the percentage of students graduating in all the nursing programs, the White Americans constituted 45.82%, Hispanics were 19.63%, African American were only 7.76%, and the rest were composed of Filipinos, Asians and other groups (Seago & Spetz, 2005). On the whole, these facts clearly depict that the minority youth’s living standards are worse than the white youth, and that they generally do not chose to adopt the nursing field. This may lead us to the conclusion that the major problem is unavailability of the funds, which hinders the minority students from entering the nursing programs, but that is not true. The hesitation to choose nursing as a career stems from many cultural, racial, as well as biased ideologies possessed by both the students and the academia. On one side, we have minority students, reportedly, considering nursing as a ‘women field,’ and also balking at the idea of studying from a majority white faculty; on the other side, we have NCLEX-RN, allegedly, having ‘white’ influenced exam questions (Seago & Spetz, 2005). No matter what the actuality is, the need for an institution with a culturally accepting attitude, a solid outreach program and a caring faculty cannot be denied. Background and Problem Statement As a part of an investigation carried out to discover the supposed barriers faced by the minority nursing students in central California, seventeen recently graduated registered nurses were thoroughly interviewed (Amaro, Abriam-Yago, & Yoder, 2005). Upon analyzing the result, it was realized that the major perceived barriers by the minority colored youth were the inadequate language competency, insufficient finances and most importantly the biased attitude from the educators. Minority students generally face a lot of... This paper makes the stress that should be towards providing the quality education and other required resources to the students. The college should build networks with other social organizations present within the community to provide the proper help to students in need. This aid can be in the form of counseling and development, financial assistance and advocacy needs. The minority students attending the institution should feel secure and confident every way possible. In the end, it should be remembered that the primary objective is the same as the one set by the American Nurses Association which is to construct a â€Å"diverse workforce† This report makes a conclusion that to determine the effectiveness of the above-mentioned plan, among other approaches, the most useful method will be surveying the teachers and students. To measure the effectiveness of the educators training procedures, it will be hugely constructive to survey the teachers upon completion of the workshops. It will help in determining whether trainees have experienced any change in their outlook or experienced any awareness regarding dealing with minority students. Afterwards, their performance can be measured by surveying their students. The value of outreach program can be determined by interviewing and surveying the high school students. Keeping statistical data of students from different high schools, registering and attending the information sessions, as well as enrolling in the nursing degree will immensely help in providing valuable information to tweak the program. On the whole, the full impact of this plan can be seen by any increase or decr ease in the enrollment of minority students in future semesters.

To what extent can global geopolitics in the period since 1989 be Essay

To what extent can global geopolitics in the period since 1989 be described as a 'clash of civilisations' - Essay Example Between the 1940s and 1989, global citizens were held hostage to recurring conflict between the world’s two largest superpowers which never reached a full militaristic situation as a result of both superpower’s capability to impose mass destruction against the other (Gaddis 56). However, since 1989, many states have developed more technological capacity and economic strength, making powers other than the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc more influential in geopolitics. Since 1989, more geopolitical power spread throughout emerging militaristic and economically-sound states has changed the dynamics of political relationships throughout the world. This essay explores the Gulf War, theory regarding global capitalism and U.S. unipolarity to describe how geopolitics, today, has led to a clash of civilisations. Between 1980 and 1988, Iraq had been engaged in a lengthy war against Iran, sparked by unsettled border disputes between the two nations. Iraq, a once-wealthy and prosperous nation, was witnessing its economic strength diminishing as a result of continuously funding a costly military effort against its rival. During this war, Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, began to fear that if Iran won this conflict, it would create an Iran hegemony that would ultimately threaten national security of Saudi Arabia and its oil-related revenues. Saudi Arabia had loans $26 billion USD to Iraq as a dual effort to ensure that the Shia in Iran would not gain substantial political power. Kuwait, another oil rich nation, had also loaned Iraq $14 billion USD to assist Iraq in its military objectives against Iran. By 1990, Kuwait refused to simply forgive this $14 billion dollar loan even though Iraq was convinced that the eight year-long war had achieved an oppression of Iran’s growing strength (Watson, George, Tsouras and Cyr 61). The Saudis, additionally, placed considerable pressure on Iraq to begin loan

Dorothy and the Tree Essay Example for Free

Dorothy and the Tree Essay Stanley Fish discusses how we in society base our lives off of assumptions. Using the example of Dorothy and the tree, Fish is able to show how with our assumptions, we as people categorize others and things into what we believe to be correct. Whether or not we have actually taken the time to figure out if we are right is irrelevant. He notes that we should just â€Å"keep trying to expand our sense of ‘us’ as far as we can†, so we can avoid judgments and isolating ourselves from the rest of society. Even though Dorothy realizes her mistake, she doesn’t realize that it is not a failure, but her consciousness assuming the classification of things in the world. Fish later on defines thought as the â€Å"structure that at once enables perception†, meaning that within categories things emerge, limiting perception and nothing can allow one to see everything because that is God’s job. Fish uses many Bible allusions to create justification for his assertions. He uses Genesis 1:26, and Paul’s road to Damascus to show that people can be persuaded to change their placement of things in society. Despite all of his valid points, Fish states that it is nearly impossible for one to change just on realizations. He believes it takes practice to accept the fact that there are things that we cannot comprehend because there is no limit on the conceptual trappings of society.

Music, Culture and Value of Music in a Digital Future

Music, Culture and Value of Music in a Digital Future The uses of Music, Culture and the value of ‘free’ Music In a Digital future â€Å"We’ve lost a whole generation of kids, who grew up downloading free music from the web and cannot fathom paying for it† Abstract The past ten years have witnessed an enormous growth of musicology within the music and entertainment industry with questions concerning musical meaning and the extent to which it’s informed by cultural experience and socially derived knowledge. Groundbreaking developments are increasingly encouraging the demand for new products and platforms from consumer markets that have grown up downloading music knowing no better than to find their entertainment through the internet with the illusion that it is free. This dissertation looks at the early forms and purposes of music up to present day, factors threatening the music industry and what has affected it over recent years. The increased use of the internet, cheap software equipment and other technological art forms, have changed the way we sell, listen to and buy new music. I want to investigate what effects will this have on the industry in the future and what does this mean for artists and the way music is created and valued. Introduction Introduction will contextualise the central theme and notion of the work and describe my motivation and intensions. I will focus the introduction on the chapters individually. ‘The industry has been hanging off the edge for some time’ (McQuinvey, J. Date. P.). Chapter 1 – Talk about the development of technological devices related to new formats, and the main purposes of music up until today. Chapter 2 – Talk about the technological developments which have an effect on the way we buy and listen to music. New devices and gadgets are demanding newer ways to attain music and how we consume new music. Chapter 3 – Talk a little about the different types of people using and making music, how this is affecting record labels and what will happen in the future. As the development and discovery of technology grows and grows from early dates to present day, enabling more and more possiblilities†¦. Cultures and social activities are affected by radical technological change†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ‘One of the primary proponents of this categorization was William. F. Ogburn. He argued that in most cases it is the sequence of technology that causes social change’ Over the past however many years, digital downloads have been fought against buy, major labels, causing decades of copyright and pirate copying of music films and entertainment mediums. 2005 onwards†¦ Today in 2008 the subject of digital downloading and the internet is being redefined and recognised by the major record labels hoping to create a future with easy access to new music quickly and cheaply. Starting new web sites for downloads etc. People want faster choices and ways to attain their entertainment. The fast changing cultures within society Growth of music technology Internet sites- Amazon competing with major companies to sell a wider range of products as more and more people are buying online instead of using high street shops and other retailers. Modes and categories inherited from the past no longer seem to fit today’s reality, experienced by a new generation. Chapter 1 – (Progression of early forms of music, formats and purposes) For centuries music has been the biggest form of entertainment within households, pubs, clubs and events ever since the recording of sound, but since the early days of music the purposes and the means to consume music has grown considerably up to the 20th century forcing formats, technology and the music industry to change with time. This chapter will outline the progression of technology associated with music and its means of use in relation to new entertainment. When ‘Bartolomeo Cristofori’ became the inventor of the piano, identified as a stringed keyboard instrument with mechanically operated rebounding hammers, Cristofori’s invention became a success and around 1922, a survey was carried out which shows that the piano was the most popular instrument used in over 25% of the average household. Along with many other musical instruments dated before and after the piano, instruments were used for enjoyment and entertainment and at times for families and friends who would gather together to play and sing songs on special occasions. When the very first phonograph was introduced by Thomas Edison around 1878 and the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company was established. The phonograph would be treated in the same way as a piano or organ as families would again sit around and listen to records or family stories within the home but Edison realised the opportunities he had created with his invention. Edison’s invention enabled the possibilities of using the phonograph to perhaps dictate a letter, dictate books for the blind, make family recordings of their voices, music boxes and toys, clocks that announce the time, and a connection with the telephone company to record conversations. In 1857 Frenchman, Leon Scott de Martinville was the first to have invented his documented phonoautograph machine which was able to record sound waves but only created a visual analogue of the waves, until around 20 years later when Thomas Edison allowed two innovators to re-develop the later phonograph which became the gramophone. The gramophone used disk shaped materials to record onto which produced better recording quality and a longer playback time. American inventor Emile Berliner then created a process which allowed the sound tracing to be etched side-to-side in a spiral onto a zinc disk, this master would then be electroplated to create a negative which would then be used to stamp duplicate copies onto vulcanized rubber (and later shellac), a process which would change the means of music forever, a process now known as the mass reproduction of musical entertainment. The process to record, duplicate and play back music opened endless forms of entertainment and the industry were set to take the world by storm, selling records and making profits to consumers. The gramophone quickly outsold and overtook the phonograph and by the end of World War 1 the disc had become the dominant commercial recording format. A technological development which has had a major impact on music in this century is sound recording. Over the past seventy years the concert audience has been transformed from musical amateurs to a large number of potential buyers. The birth of sound recording started as a mechanical process, and with the exception of the Telegraphone in 1899 this process remained until the 1920s when a group of groundbreaking inventions in the field of electronics revolutionized sound recording and the young recording industry. Sound transducers were introduced such as microphones and loudspeakers and a few various electronic devices were made for the purpose of amplification and modifications of early electrical sound signals resulting in the mixing desk. Inevitably, over time all these components and inventions have had an affect on the way musician’s record music, the uses of music and the growing demands of the music consumers to attain music. These electronic inventions created the means for growth and development within the music industry opening a wide range of possibilities for the recording process. Although many inventions and ideas were yet to be discovered, early music and its uses had progressed from a means of confined entertainment within the household to a possible, world wide product with which Emile Berliner’s early duplication process played a large part when it came to distribution and portability of recorded music. As time passed, increasingly people were able to buy recorded music which would be played on a gramophone wherever it may be. Emile Berliner realized the market wanted a range of music which can be bought, stored and played at any given point, the money earning potential would be high and with the importance of his discoveries, decided to start ‘his very own’ brand of recorded music which up until today, with the changes and the new strains on the industry has been extremely successful with the famous dog and gramophone design of ‘His Masters Voice’ (HMV). Music was now, not only being used just for enjoyment or purely for entertainment but was now, being recorded, duplicated and distributed to consumers around the world who are able to replay music over and over and enjoy their collections when ever and most importantly where ever. The next major progression concerning music which would increase the needs of high quality equipment was the introduction of descriptive and respective music tracks within film. The years 1920-1928 were known to be the golden age of silent movies. Early movies were accompanied by music scores containing pieces usually played by an organist, pianist or an orchestra depending on the class of the theatre. Sound tracks however were introduced to cinema audiences around 1926-1927 even though technology to add sound to film was discovered in 1911 it took another 15 years or so to be introduced and implemented into movie productions. The use of music within film during this particular period was predominantly used to raise the attraction of early movie productions which would change forever after the opening of Pandora’s Box in 1927 and the increase of technical achievements which led Al-Jolson to ad-lib a few spoken words in ‘The Jazz Singer’. Recorded music for films then after became extremely successful within the movie industry and over the next few years Warner Bros. took control of this area (now a multi-billion pound industry) by producing ten all-talking films with accompanied sound tracks and scores leaving the silent movies on the shelf. This production process increasingly outlined the importance of having good quality sound systems to playback the music and sounds on film. Music will always essentially be a huge form of entertainment in many ways but now different music was being used for more reasons than originally supposed. With the on going growth of equipment and technology music became a money making product after the discovery of sound recording, music began to be used to compliment or help describe a visual performance rather than being an individual form of entertainment, it was now coinciding with other art forms and was boosting the popularity and profits of associated productions. With the discovery of magnetic media music will be promoted on a mass worldwide scale and allow the public and potential music buyers to listen to broadcasts over the air. The first radio broadcast which involved music was said to be in 1906 at Brant Rock MA, when Fessenden played his violin, sang a song and read a few verses from a bible into his wireless telephone on Christmas Eve 1906. It was classed as a broadcast because it was designed for more than one listener and was pre-announced rather than a one to one conversation. 1920 saw the first licensed radio broadcast, as Frank Conrad’s company was asked to go on air on a regular basis to send out music to the listeners and would sell radios to pay for the service. Radios were advertised in local newspapers to households and within a few years there were hundreds of stations entertaining thousands of people who had bought or built their own receivers. It was no longer, that an audience had to sit in their own home and manually operate a gramophone, no need to necessarily buy records from HMV and will no longer need to worry about play back time of records as the public could listen to the radio everyday, and tune in to their favorite radio stations free of charge. Growing factors underlined the importance of good quality equipment to further the success of music and the portability of music, which led to new discoveries of early formats and storage devices such as magnetic tape machines, cassettes tapes/players to audio cd’s. After the rubber and shellac records, which were the primary recording medium at the time, a new means for recording came about in 1934/35 when Joseph Begun of Germany built the first magnetic tape machine which was used for mobile radio broadcasting before creating the first consumer tape recorder which provided the ‘3M Company’ with a billion dollar industry. Magnetic tape machines became very popular storage and recording devices in radio stations and recording studios as they offer higher quality recording and longer continuous playback of recorded material, the most beneficial aspect of the invention of tape was its portability. Eventually two track tape machines were introduced which extended recording possibilities within the studio but magnetic tape was never used commercially by consumers until the release of the first compact audio-cassette tape in 1963 by The Phillips Company of the Netherlands. With a cheap and easy recording medium such as the cassette tape combined with a cassette tape player, It could be argued that this sparked the ever destructive and ongoing battle of music piracy. Taperecorders/players were sold with built in radios as standard and by the touch of a button it was possible torecord sounds and music straight from the radio. After Phillips had patented the cassette tape in 1965 and decided to make it free of charge all over the world, companies then started to design new portable recorders and players to compliment the compact size of the cassette tape. One of the popular models of tape players was the Sony Pressman which was a monaural tape recorder released in 1977. The next year in 1978 Sony founder and chief advisor Masaru Ibuka requested the general manger of the Tape Recorder Business Division to start work on a stereo based model of the earlier Sony Pressman which birthed the Sony TPS-L2 headphone stereo Walkman in 1979 that would completely chan ge the way consumers listen to music. Theyll take it everywhere with them, and they wont care about record functions. If we put a playback-only headphone stereo like this on the market, itll be a hit. What made the Sony Walkman such a big hit was the portability that it was offering to its consumers. Ever since the invention of the piano/organ, phonograph, gramophone, record players, wireless recorders and receivers, although, all mediums allowed the consumer to listen to music in various ways, none of which actually enabled the listener to become portable, ‘on the move’ to be able to listen to their material literally wherever they wanted. Recording and listening to music from this point onwards almost became a hobby for a generation of people who would listen to the radio to try and catch their favourite song to record to tape, allowing them to repeatedly replay the material and start a collection of stored music. Many types of storage formats have been introduced by this point but very few which are truly beneficial to the storage and quality of music mediums. After the magnetic media such as: wire, core memory, drum, card, tape, disk and OM disk came many floppy disk formats which played a great part in early computing storage formats. Different versions of optical mediums were introduced ‘optic data disk’ coming before Sony proposed a standard for the compact disk (CD) in 1980 but was followed by formats such as: DVD, HD-DVD, holographic, Blu-ray DVD and developments with OM disks. The introduction of optical mediums saw Sony’s standard CD to hit the very top in high quality recording and storage mediums. CD-R’s are a ‘write once, read many’ optical medium (WORM) which is a recordable version of the CD and holds a high level of compatibility with standard CD readers unlike CD-RW’s which can be overwritten many times but has a lower compatibility level with CD readers and the disks are slightly more expensive. CD’s became the most popular medium of music and data storage due to its capacity and ease of recording but there is one flaw in its design as after a life span of around 2 years it’s possible for the CD’s data to degrade with time showing a coloured dye as a result. CD’s hold a standard capacity of 700Mb where as the introduction of DVD’s upped the capacity to 4.1 GB but was mostly associated with movies projects which contain much larger files. CD’s are still the highest quality recording/storage medium to attain or store music on outside of a computers hard drive but with newer, smaller compressed formats such as MP3 on the market the option of buying a CD compared to a smaller and cheaper alternative looks bleak with time, so we see the CD taking a backseat to let newer recording and storage devices into the scene. Chapter 2 (A demanding society) In today’s society where consumers are demanding faster, cheaper and easier methods of gaining entertainment, they also demand a new outlook towards devices, gadgets and components with which to view or listen to their product. This chapter underlines the changes of which new technology has an effect, they way society and subcultures are shaped by technology and how technology is forced to develop and become more advanced to meet the needs and perceptions of its consumers. In recent years the ‘compact disk’ has ended the forty year reign of the twelve inch LP, with which came consequences for production, distribution and marketing, and in turn disks and tapes have been threatened by technologies which can deliver high quality sound via cable direct to potential consumers, eliminating the need for the already established pattern of product marketing and distribution. Although the invention of the phonograph and gramophones were considered important aspects in creating the a mass market for music and entertainment, â€Å"the record industry has been shaped by the need to cope with its volatile market so its established practices and institutions have been constantly undermined by technological innovations which not only offer new and better ways of doing things but, as we shall see, have generally had the effect of increasing the consumers choice at the expense of the industries ability to control its market†. (Scott, D. Martin, P. 1995 p.209) There are many important connections between technology, musical characteristics and social groups, and as it may be argued that the fundamental coordinates of a musical form are not determined by its social base, but each social group or subculture corresponds to certain acceptable genres. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the idea that the characteristics of a musical form could give life or influence to the social reality of a culture became more and more popular with incorporated sociological categories such as class, ethnicity and importantly age. â€Å"In 1987 John Shepard extended this type of analysis to gender, arguing that different voice types or timbres in popular music gave expression to different kinds of gender identities†. (Clayton, M. Herbert, T. Middleton, R. 2003, p. 7, p. 14) The 1990’s saw different factors concerning the cultural study of music and the analytical evidence with particular social categories such as, class, ethnicity, age, subculture and counterculture. This had been replaced with a more embracing and persistent concern with social identity. With the concept of youth culture, it’s assumed that teenagers share similar leisure interests and pursuits and were involved in some kind of revolt against their parents and elders. The arrival of youth culture is said to be linked with the growth and increased incomes of early working class youths which allowed greater spending power and the means to express their individual interests and styles which caused large markets to develop more interest for the youth culture, most notably resulting in music and fashion. It’s with particular music styles, genres and clothing styles and labels that predominantly place our identities within a culture or subculture, which technology helps shape and create aspirations in a similar way. â€Å"Teenage culture is a contradictory mixture of the authentic and the manufactured: it is an area of self-expression for the young and a lush grazing ground for the commercial providers†. (Hall, S. Whannel, P. 1964, p.) â€Å"The compressed file format known as MP3 is at the centre of debate towards file-sharing and digital downloading and is thought to be downgrading towards the level of audible quality in music. Yet the mp3 is also a cultural artefact, apsychoacoustic technology that literally playsits listeners. Being a container technology type for recorded sound, the mp3 proves that the quality of ‘portability’ is central to the history of auditory representation and shows that digital audio culture works according to logics somewhat dissimilar from digital visual culture†. (Jonathan Sterne, 2006. New Media and Society, Vol. 8, No. 5, 825-842 DOI: 10.1177/1461444806067737) Today’s young generation aren’t so aware of the historical factors and important issues which lead to the advances, demands and uses of audible quality music but more so, on the social aspects of consumption, portability and quantity of music. A spokes person for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, Terrance O’Neill-Joyce, argues that: â€Å"The problem is not with the actual technology of MP3, which he believes is being effectively used by many music producers, but rather the ineffective means of securing remuneration for artists. It’s a case of technology outstripping legislation and a lack of proper commercial framework being established as of yet† (Shuker. 2001 p. 65) MP3 is a technology encoding, recorded sound, so that it takes up less storage space than it would otherwise. The size of an MP3 file makes it practical to transfer high –quality music files over the internet and store them on a computers hard drive, where as CD quality tracks take longer to download and transfer. The MP3 file has become very popular as a way to distribute and access music even though there has been enormous debate over the economic and cultural implications of this new technology. For the typical music consumer the MP3 file is considered a blessing as anyone can access a wide range and varieties of music mostly for free as well as having the option to compile their own albums of single tracks from their favorite artists without having to acquire the whole album itself. For artists and producers the MP3 allows them to distribute their music possibly to a world wide audience without tackling the political processes and mediation of the music industry. For mainstream artists on major record labels the MP3 raises concerns of profit loss from consumers due to illegal downloads which are free of charge and easy to attain. On the other hand for strictly internet distributed music producers and publishers the MP3 opens up many opportunities for smaller, more innovative labels and companies. (Shuker. 2001, Pg 65) Each new medium of technology, communication or entertainment that’s introduced to a mainstream audience creates drastic changes towards the way in which we experience music, this also has implications for how we relate to and consume music. The changes and advances in technological recording equipment open, both constraints and opportunities relating to the organisation process and production of music, while the developments within musical instrumentation allow the emergence of ‘new sounds’. Most important of all, each new recording format or device used for transmission inevitably alters the previously established process of music production and consumption; they also raise questions about authorship and the legal status of music as a property and the ongoing battle with piracy and profit loss. Napster software was introduced in 1999, designed as a search engine, communication portal and file-sharing software that facilitated the sharing process by granting users access to all other Napster and the mp3 files they choose to share. Within a few months, transfers of music files using Napster reached millions per day, and at its peak, it was estimated that as many as sixty million people were using the site. â€Å"Whereas Napster requires users to first log onto a central server to access other users MP3 files, these newer networks allow direct user-to-user (P2P) connections involving multiple file types. These innovations expand the universe of file sharing activity and make it virtually impossibly to track users of the files they choose to share† (Garofalo, 2003 cited in Shuker, 2008 pg, 23) Digital distribution continuously threatened the music business and the control of music by the record companies. This method also lowers manufacturing and distribution costs while putting pressure on marketing and other aspects of the process. With the industry failing to stop illegal downloads and P2P (peer-to-peer) distribution of recorded music over the last five years, record labels have finally decided to adapt their business to suit the way its consumers get hold on their music. It’s becoming more and more apparent that albums and artists are making very little or no money in the music industry because of the lack of physical CD sales as the majority of money spent during the traditional production process goes towards many aspects such as the production, promotion, duplication and distribution of a product. Mainly within the music business P2P technologies are a positive means for consumers and creative artists because all costs of production, promotion, marketing and distribution are dramatically lowered. These new technologies and approaches to digital distribution means old and new artists are able to earn more profits through selling singles and albums through P2P networks as the production process costs a fraction of the album or single. Because they can charge less they earn and sell more which means more artists will benefit financially and the industries broad range of music will receive a wider market to distribute to. â€Å"It is easy to see that we are living in a time of rapid and radical social change, it is much less easy to come to terms with the fact that such change will, without doubt, affect the nature of those academic disciplines that both reflect our society and help to shape it† (Hawkes. 2003. p.7) The growing concern with the music industry today is focused heavily on the affects of digital downloads and the fall of physical album/record sales sold in high street music shops and online stores. The debate continues as sales in the US as well as the UK have fallen due to a number of factors involving the growth of technology and the way we consume our entertainment. According to recent industry researchers, figures show that today’s music industry (UK), has suffered a drop of up to 11% of record sales in 2007, but download sales boosted the singles market by nearly 30% last year as single sales increased from 67m in 2006 to 86.6m in 2007, up 29.3%. Despite there being best-selling albums from artists like Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis, only 138.1 million albums were sold in 2007, compared with 154.7 million in 2006. Amy Winehouses Back to Black was the most popular album of 2007, with 1.85 million copies sold. Leona Lewis debut album Spirit came second, even though it was only released in November. Music industry body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) put the 10.8% fall down to copyright theft and difficult retail conditions. Having the option of album unbundling is also a problem as consumers are able to select which tracks they want to download from each album, this means albums are not being sold as whole units and says a lot to the artists themselves about what their audience wants. Music Industry Analyst Michael McGuire of Gartner Research told Agency France-Press news agency: â€Å"It comes back to consumers being in complete control of their media experience†. Mr McGuire said fans were sending artists a message: â€Å"While you may have put a lot of thought into the sequence of the album, I only like these three songs†. BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: â€Å"The UK market has shown considerable resilience in recent years while global recorded music markets have declined.† Recording companies have a major influence on the music we listen to and shape what’s known as popular music within society. The term ‘popular music’ defies a precise straightforward definition and is usually over looked and the understanding of the term is taken for granted. To fully understand the term popular music it’s necessary to address the general field of popular culture within cultural studies. (See: Studying Popular Music Culture, Tim Wall). In this instance I refer the word popular music from the historical term for popular as the ‘ordinary people’, these days the meaning of the term has expanded, ‘all music is popular music’ meaning ‘music that is popular with someone’. â€Å"Young peoples musical activities whatever their cultural background or social position, rest on a substantial and sophisticated body of knowledge about popular music. Most young people have a clear understanding of its different genres, and an ability to hear and place sounds in terms of their histories, influences and sources. Young musicians and audiences have no hesitation about making and justifying judgements of meaning and value† (Willis. 1990: 59 cited in Shuker. p.98) The music industry is big business, and international multi-billion dollar enterprise historically centred in the United States with the United Kingdom making a significant artistic contribution to the industry and developing trends as well as the emergence of Japanese media technologies playing a major part in the music industry for its commercial designs of gadgets and devices. Recording companies are the most important part of the music industry and fall into two main groups: ‘the major’ international labels and the smaller ‘independent’ labels who’s structures and operating processes take on a similar role, blurring the distinctions between the two. These differences I will try to evaluate later on in chapter 3. The major labels are renowned for sourcing young talent, recording, promoting, marketing and distributing his/her music which has a powerful effect on the popular consumer, cultures and subcultures due to the image associated with that particular genre or style of music which is marketed, but its future is usually determined by the listener themselves. â€Å"For after the commercial power of the record companies has been recognised, after the persuasive sirens of the radio acknowledged, after the recommendations of the music press noted, it is finally those who buy the records, dance to the rhythm and live to the beat who demonstrate, despite the determined conditions of its production, the wider potential of pop† (Chambers, 1985: Introduction cited in Shuker 2001 p.23) Consumers are becoming less influenced by the major record labels with the help from the internet as consumers have more freedom to discover new genres and styles which are delivered in new ways. Record labels will always have a certain level of influence to its popular markets but now its the customer who decides on what they really like and want to listen to without feeling outside of the ‘popular music’ category. â€Å"I think there are many benefits for a musician not being signed to a label. I’ve seen first hand, from my experience at major labels, where they will sign up and coming artists b

Analyzing Realism Of 18th Century Authors

Analyzing Realism Of 18th Century Authors In this essay I will be focusing on two very interesting texts which depict realism in their own ways. I will be analysing Daniel Defoes Moll Flanders and Aphra Behns Oroonoko. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦realism came to be used primarily as the antonym of idealism, and this sense, which is actually a reflection of the position taken by the enemies of the French Realists, has in fact coloured much critical and historical writing about the novel  [1]  . I will be examining the way in which the characters individualism is linked with the claim to truth in both texts; this will help me establish whether the attempts of realism of eighteenth century writers were complex enough to be convincing or not. Moll Flanders on the other hand is obliged to the tradition of a novel which depicts in realistic and humorous detail. Molls life is conveyed in episodes within the text which makes her story seem more realistic. When Defoe began to writeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦he merely allowed his narrative order to flow spontaneously from his own sense of what his protagonist might plausibly do next.  [4]  The dismissal of a conforming plot is stated in both of the texts by the way in which the storylines are presented; the writers choose to write in a biography style which is a method which aims to attract the readers attention. Oroonoko as a character is very different as he is a prince yet at the same time a black slave. The rise of realism tries to have an effect on the readers so they can believe it; this proves to be a huge generic feature in the novel. The title Oroonoko shows how the story claims truth right from the start; there is a claim of reliability of the narrator. The first half of the book contains long passages of descriptions of the landscape which seems to be exotic; this makes the story seem believable as it adds to the reality effect. The background of the novel is illustrated to have a lot of detail, yet at the same time the narrators character doesnt seem developed. The female narrator that is un-named claims she saw Oroonoko like she knew him; this gives the story an appearance of truth. She monitors and tells the story to her audience even though we dont know fully what she looks like or why she is in Surinam. We know of her just as an observer and that she is quite well educated. The book is a good look at some of the contemporary issues in Britain; it focuses on the buying and selling of human beings. Behn forces up to a controversial issue which makes the book very believable and able to connect with the readers, it is a text which argues that en-slaving a prince is wrong. The aspect of individuality in Moll Flanders is an interesting aspect to look at as she is quite one-sided due to her concerns in life of an economic nature. Molls character is expressed in the text through the consciousness of her thoughts and behaviour; she is shown to be completely devoted to material comfort. It is fascinating to note that Defoes protagonist has a very realistic name while the narrator in Behns text doesnt have any name. Moll changes throughout the novel, she is shown to do everything as a necessity. She learns to survive; and is shown to give out her children trying to find them good homes. Her character is believable as she talks about herself and judges herself as a whore; she undergoes the guilt of her bigamy and sex in the text. Moll is revealed to contradict herself in the novel as shell say she feels guilty about something yet does it anyway. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the novel is surely distinguished from other genres and from previous forms of fiction by the amount of attentionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦of its characters and to the detailed presentation of their environment.  [5]  As a female narrator Moll is quite believable; her maternal instincts are shown to keep her alive. She has many children, and subverts the traditional role of a woman in the eighteenth century; the text demonstrates the believability of a woman very vividly. Defoes text is a story which begins with Molls birth; her character is shown to be clever, quick and talented knowing how to survive in a patriarchal society. Defoe had many careers, one which was a professional spy. Moll learns about disguise in the text as she hides other characters identities allowing the concept of realism to come into light. Could she be concealing identities of real people? It could be that she did this in order to add to the believability and documentary sense of the story. We as the readers are presented with the story being told by an old Moll, it is clear to identify the difference between the old and new Moll in the story. Even though we can see this growth, Moll finds it hard to see the transformation and development she has undergone. She is shown to grow older physically yet she forgets countless parts of her life. Moll is deeply fixed in the time process and even though there is not much development in her character, she is influenced by her previous e xperiences. Time contributes to Oroonoko as it reveals a part of the British history. The Surinam parts in the text can be seen as more of a travel story, the narrator doesnt respond to time yet undertakes a role to support Oroonoko throughout the novel. She claims to have power right from the beginning of the text however similar to Moll she is unable to apply her past thoughts. One of the characteristics of realism is a realist point of view in language and text structure. Defoe was a journalist; Moll Flanders reflects this, as it is written in a reporting style. There are no literary devices used in the text so the reader can easily have familiarity with the text. Behns style is very practical along with Defoes. Her narrator tells us the readers what she observes and sees. While we, as readers of the novel, are free to accept the authors words simply as rhetorical verification of her reliability as a narratorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the truth of her statement dominates discussion of the work.  [6]  In both books there is closeness linking the reader and the narrator. The characters which are presented by both Defoe and Behn can be seen as challenging, it is possible that both writers were aware of how difficult it would be to create a convincing character, therefore most probably claimed the truth of the stories in the preface before the stories even began. The narrator figure in Oroonoko can in many ways be seen as an illusive Aphra Behn, she becomes very vivid, and therefore the readers may assume a connection. Behns Oroonoko being a real travel journal shows the reliability of the narrator. If the truth was not stated then the claim to truth at the beginning of the texts would have been perceived as northing more than a literary device which is parallel to Defoes. Behn uses her narrator to raise awareness of the government, politics and male dominance over women as a concerning factor, whereas Moll seems to lack this complexity. It unlikely to analyze Moll as Defoe concentrated more on her actions rather than her personality. In conclusion both Behns Oroonoko and Defoes Moll Flanders illustrate good attempts at realism of eighteenth century writers. Both Behn and Defoe have one thing in common which is the claim of truth of their narratives. Oroonoko is a text which lacks features of a novel however we can see that it has a lot of the criteria of the realistic form above all the narrator figure who reveals a new genre. Oroonoko is written in the first person narrative and by a woman therefore is quite realistic. She has good incentive and qualities, as she wants to give infinite recognition to Oroonokos character. All these qualities support the realism and originality of Behns text. Through this essay I have tackled the question whether Moll Flanders is a convincing text or not. Similar to Oroonoko, it fulfils a lot of the criteria of realism in the novel. Molls own awareness is built up as she is illustrated to be more of an individual character rather than the narrator in Oroonoko who is fictionalized. I do not agree that the attempts of realism of eighteenth century writers are never complex enough to be convincing. I feel that both texts evidently convey very convincing and realistic pieces of writing through the characters, settings and narratives which are presented.

The Magic Barrel :: essays research papers

The Character of Salzman The character of Salzman, throughout the novel becomes increasingly mysterious. His appearance at many different times is extremely awkward. It is also spooky how he has the knowledge of things that he plainly should not be informed of. His character to put it plainly is just weird. Salzman has the typical salesman characteristics in the start of the novel. Instead of selling the products of material possession, he is already weird because he chooses to sell other people. His work is also mysterious. He doesn't simply lie out all he has on the table, but instead sifts through what he has, and shows what he wants. This is evident in his choosing of just a few perspective females out of the "magic barrel." He took the small amount of information that he acquired from a short conversation and said to have weeded out all of the choices that were not fit for Leo. Also, he made Leo wait and go through steps before he agreed to show the pictures of these individuals to him. I t was just plainly weird. In the end of the story is where it becomes increasingly stranger. At the point in which Leo seemed to finally find out some of the secrets about Salzman, when he went to his house and found that it wasn't exactly what he had expected. The "magic barrel" was not there. This was the basis of the story and a main point in what we knew about the mysterious salesman of people. Leo was supposed to be one step closer to finding out what is hidden about Salzman, but instead after he returned to his apartment, he was more shocked by how the man knew exactly where to be at that time. The final sentence or final thought of the novel makes the reader even more confused about the actual character of Salzman. He commences to say a prayer when the man in whom he has been searching for a match for, finally found a female. The Magic Barrel :: essays research papers The Character of Salzman The character of Salzman, throughout the novel becomes increasingly mysterious. His appearance at many different times is extremely awkward. It is also spooky how he has the knowledge of things that he plainly should not be informed of. His character to put it plainly is just weird. Salzman has the typical salesman characteristics in the start of the novel. Instead of selling the products of material possession, he is already weird because he chooses to sell other people. His work is also mysterious. He doesn't simply lie out all he has on the table, but instead sifts through what he has, and shows what he wants. This is evident in his choosing of just a few perspective females out of the "magic barrel." He took the small amount of information that he acquired from a short conversation and said to have weeded out all of the choices that were not fit for Leo. Also, he made Leo wait and go through steps before he agreed to show the pictures of these individuals to him. I t was just plainly weird. In the end of the story is where it becomes increasingly stranger. At the point in which Leo seemed to finally find out some of the secrets about Salzman, when he went to his house and found that it wasn't exactly what he had expected. The "magic barrel" was not there. This was the basis of the story and a main point in what we knew about the mysterious salesman of people. Leo was supposed to be one step closer to finding out what is hidden about Salzman, but instead after he returned to his apartment, he was more shocked by how the man knew exactly where to be at that time. The final sentence or final thought of the novel makes the reader even more confused about the actual character of Salzman. He commences to say a prayer when the man in whom he has been searching for a match for, finally found a female.

Comparison of Once More to the Lake and The Grave :: essays papers

Comparison of Once More to the Lake and The Grave Authors often use details that evoke a response in readers to produce an effective description. Their aim is not simply to tell readers what something looks like but to show them. Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave† and E.B. White’s â€Å"Once More to the Lake† are essays that use subjective language to illustrate the principles of effective description. Porter’s â€Å"The Grave† describes a childish afternoon of rabbit hunting that brings death close enough to be seen and understood, while White’s â€Å"Once More tot he Lake† is a classic essay of persona; reminiscence in which he recreates the lakeside camp he visited with his son. One of the first things readers notice when they read Katherine Anne Porter’s â€Å"The Grave† was her use of vivid details. Miranda’s clothes are described in specific details: She was wearing her summer roughing outfit: â€Å"dark blue overalls, a light blue shirt, a hired man’s hat, and thick brown sandals.† Through her use of detail, Porter creates her dominant impression about Miranda’s feelings on female decorum as shameful. Porter describes Mirandas meeting with â€Å"old women. . . who smoked corn-cob pipes† she met along the road: â€Å"They slanted their gummy old eyes side-ways at the granddaughter and said, â€Å"Ain’t you ashamed of yoself, Missy? It’s aginst the Scriptures to dress like that. Whut yo Pappy thinkin’ about?† By describing Miranda’s reaction to the old women’s’ questioning, Porter conveys the sense of embarrassment Miranda felt. She describes Miranda’s reaction by using a simile: â€Å"with her powerful social sense, which was like a fine set of antennae radiating from every pore of her skin . . . â€Å" Miranda is ashamed because she knew it was rude and ill-bred to shock anyone although she had faith in her father’s judgment and was perfectly comfortable in the clothes. Another example of Porter’s use of specific details is how she describes the dead rabbit. As Miranda’s brother Paul stripped the skin away from the dead animal the â€Å"flayed flesh emerged dark scarlet, sleek, firm.† He slit thin flesh from the center of the ribs to the flanks, and a scarlet bag† appeared. He slit the bag open to find a bundle of baby rabbits, each wrapped in a â€Å"scarlet thin veil.† Paul pulled them off to reveal their true appearance: â€Å"dark grey, their wet down lying in

The Effects of Snowboarding on the Skiing Industry :: essays papers

The Effects of Snowboarding on the Skiing Industry The ski industry has been around since the beginning of the century. Since that time the retailing industry of the ski world has been on a steady increase. At the beginning of this decade the increase began to skyrocket. However, skiing was not the reason for the growth. The reason for the dramatic increase in industry sales in the retail world of skiing was due to snowboarding. By now almost everyone in the country has either seen a snowboard, ridden one, or knows someone who has. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what snowboarding is, and to shed some light on the financial aspects of this new sport. Snowboarding hit the scene in 1972. Jake Burton, at the age of 15, decided that he had enough of skiing and wanted to do something a little different. With a little ingenuity and some of his dads tools he began working on the first snowboard. His project lasted about three weeks and when he was done he decided to take his invention to the slopes and she how it worked. This was almost the end of snowboarding. Every slope Jake went to denied him access, saying that they only allowed skis on the hills. Jake was a very determined kid and this did not stop him. He began hiking every back-country trail he could find and he became quite efficient at snowboarding. At the same time he continued to knock on all the ticket windows at every resort but still had no success. He decided that the only way he could prove his invention was nothing more than a different version of a ski would be to make a video of himself riding down the back country hills. This was no easy task, keep in mind the year is 1972. Jake was determined and he met up with a guy named Craig Kelly who at the time was into video production of skateboarding and skiing. Jake gave the sales pitch and Craig bit hook, line, and sinker. The next week the video was complete and Jake took it to all the resorts with Craig and they pled their case. By this time Jake had made about a dozen more prototypes of his snowboard and all his best friends were riding them. Finally a small mountain, Okemo, said "O.K. Jake you can ride, but only during the week" This was all it took and from then on almost anyone that saw this crazy kid zipping down the hill on a wooden board with both feet strapped to it began to ask questions.

Chemalite Inc.

CHEMALITE, INC.   Financial Report| Period of January, 2003 1 to June 30, 2003 Financial report of Chemalite, Inc. for six months period ended June 30, 2003 is to include cash transaction, income statement and balance sheet. This report will also to include comment on Chemalite, Inc’s actual loss for the period. | In early 2003, Chemalite, Inc. was established by Bennett Alexander to market his invention, Chemalite,. During the first six months, Chemalite, Inc. was preparing for initial production and was still not ready for commercial phase. Chemalite, Inc. as setting up the plant by procuring needed legal entity, place, equipment and inventories. From those preparation activities, Chemalite, Inc. ’s summary of the cash for six months ended June 30, 2003 is: Chemalite, IncCash on June 30, 2003| $ 230,000 | By analyzing income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement of Chemalite, Inc for period of first half of 2003, we find that the actual loss of Chemalite, Inc in that period is $7,500. This means that Mr. Larson’s comment on Chemalite’s loss of $145,000 is wrong, he calculated only cash position from January 2003 to June 2003, and he did not calculate other assets like patent, equipment and inventories. His comment is misleading and can influence other shareholders. My suggestion for Mr. Alexander is to do damage control by presenting this report to other shareholders.