Evaluate the ways in which employee and industrial relation issues are Essay

Evaluate the ways in which employee and industrial relation issues are related to strategic HRM - Essay Example d strategic management of human resource assets could allow a company to outperform the competition therefore it is important to understand how strategic HRM can help a company. Businesses may have access to the same level of technology and the tools for production but access to the right kind of human resources is often far more important. Once recruited, keeping employees engaged becomes a difficult task as individuals have to be motivated and developed according to their needs in order to keep them performing at their peak. Strategic HR management can help a company achieve that by earmarking those individuals who show promise and following a system where the highest performing employees are rewarded as well as promoted while the worst performers are asked to leave the company. GE is one company which uses a system of forced employee ranking based on their performance for the company and that system is an important part of the strategic management of human resources for them (Welch, 2005). The system used by GE is simple. Employees are ranked according to their performance without any ties and then the top 20% are rewarded with training, bonuses, stock options and other rewards. Half of all bonuses and management time is spent with the middle 70% but the bottom ten percent of the pile is simply shown the door at the end of the year. They may be shifted to other departments or other divisions of the firm but they are not retained if their performance does not rise sufficiently (Welch, 2005). Welch (2005) suggests that in terms of strategic HRM, the middle 70% is the most valued asset for a company since they do most of the work. With training and attention, this group can produce many stars for the company in the future. However, for the bottom ten percent, performance evaluation reports, employee performance meetings and a record of the missed targets need to be maintained so that when the time comes for the parting of ways, there is no uneasy surprise for

Education Sector Essay Example for Free

Education Sector Essay The typical Indian classroom was once characterized by students sitting through hour-long teacher monologues. Now, technology is making life easier for both students and educators. Schools are increasingly adopting digital teaching solutions to engage with a generation of pupils well-versed with the likes of PlayStations and iPads, and trying to make the classroom environment more inclusive and participatory. Take Smartclass from Educomp Solutions, one of the first Indian companies in this space. Smartclass is essentially a digital content library of curriculum-mapped, multimedia-rich, 3D content. It also enables teachers to quickly assess how much of a particular lesson students have been able to assimilate during the class. Once a topic is covered, the teacher gives the class a set of questions on a large screen. Each student then answers via a personal answering device or the smart assessment system. The teacher gets the scores right away and based on that, she repeats parts of the lesson that the students dont appear to have grasped. Technology makes the teaching-learning process very easy and interesting, says Harish Arora, a chemistry teacher at the Bal Bharti Public School in New Delhi who has been using Smartclass since 2004. For instance, [earlier] it would easily take me one full lecture to just draw an electromagnetic cell on the blackboard. Though I could explain the cell structure, there was no way I could have managed to show them how it really functions. This is where technology comes to our aid now I can show the students a 3D model of the cell and how it functions. Instead of wasting precious time drawing the diagram on the blackboard, I can invest it in building the conceptual clarity of my students. According to Abhinav Dhar, director for K-12 at Educomp Solutions, more than 12,000 schools across 560 districts in India have adopted Smartclass. More importantly, the number is growing at almost 20 schools a day. On average, in each of these schools eight classrooms are using Smartclass. When we launched Smartclass in 2004 as the first-ever digital classroom program, it was an uphill task convincing schools to adopt it, Dhar notes. These schools had not witnessed any change in a century. It is a completely different scenario now. Private schools across India today see [technology] as an imperative. A digital classroom is set to become the bare-minimum teaching accessory in schools, just like a blackboard is today. Dhar recalls that one major roadblock for Educomps proposition in the early days was on the price front. At US$4,000 (at the exchange rate of Rs. 50 to a U. S. dollar) per classroom, schools found the product very expensive. To get over this hurdle, Educomp quickly decided to make the initial investment and gave the schools an option to pay over a period of three to five years. The strategy worked. Enthused by the market response, in January Educomp launched an upgraded version the Smartclass Class Transformation System with more features, including simulations, mind maps, worksheets, web links, a diagram maker, graphic organizers and assessment tools. Huge Potential According to the Indian Education Sector Outlook Insights on Schooling Segment, a report released by New Delhibased research and consultancy firm Technopak Advisors in May, the total number of schools in India stands at 1. 3 million. Of these, private schools account for 20%. Educomps Dhar points out that only around 10% of the private schools have tapped the potential of multimedia classroom teaching whereas in government schools, it has barely made any inroads. The current market size for digitized school products in private schools is around US$500 million, says Enayet Kabir, associate director for education at Technopak. This is expected to grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 20% to reach the over US$2 billion mark by 2020. However, the market potential then might get as big as US$4 billion [i. e.if the total population of private schools that could adopt multimedia actually adopt it. ] Apart from this, the current market size for ICT [information and communications technology] in government schools is US$750 million. We expect this to grow five times by 2020 due to the current low level of penetration in government schools. Kabir lists Educomp Solutions, Everonn Education, NIIT, Core Education Technologies, ILFS and Compucom as dominant players in this sector. New entrants include HCL Infosystems, Learn Next, Tata Interactive Systems, Mexus Education, S.Chand Harcourt (India) and iDiscoveri Education. Except for S. Chand Harcourt, which is a joint venture between S. Chand and US-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, all the others are Indian firms. A recent trend is that schools in tier two and tier three cities are increasingly adopting the latest technology. Rajesh Shethia, head of sales and marketing at Tata Interactive Systems, which launched Tata ClassEdge in early 2011 and has partnered up with more than 900 schools, says that more than half of the demand for digital classrooms is from tier two and tier three cities. According to Shethia, schools in these smaller cities realize that it is difficult for their students to get as much exposure as students from tier one cities. [So] they proactively subscribe to solutions such as ours, which richly benefit both teachers and students by simplifying the syllabus. Even parents want the best for their wards and are not averse to paying a little extra. They see value in these initiatives by schools to modernize the way teaching is imparted today. Making some back-of-the-envelope calculations Shethia adds: If we consider the top 100,000 private schools in India as the captive market, the potential is approximately two million classrooms of which currently just about 80,000 have been digitized. Srikanth B. Iyer, COO of Pearson Education Services, also sees tremendous potential in the smaller cities. Pearson provides end-to-end education solutions in the K-12 segment. Its multimedia tool, DigitALly, has been adopted in more than 3,000 private schools across India since 2004. DigitALly installations have been growing at three times the market for the past two years, Iyer says. Currently, more than 60% of our customers are from tier two and tier three towns, such as Barpeta (in the state of Assam), Sohagpur (in Madhya Pradesh) and Balia (in Uttar Pradesh). In order to make its offering attractive to the schools, Pearson has devised a monthly payment model under which a school pays around US$2 per student per month. As the price point is affordable, schools across all locations and fee structures find it viable to opt for our solution, Iyer notes. We focus on tier two and tier three towns and cities where penetration is relatively low and desire for adoption of technology is high. HCLs Digischool program, which launched about 18 months ago, has also made a strong beginning, with a client base of more than 2,500 schools. Partnering with State Governments Meanwhile, state governments are also giving a boost to the adoption of technology in schools. Edureach, a divison of Educomp, has partnered with 16 state governments and more than 30 education departments and boards in the country, covering over 36,000 government schools and reaching out to more than 10. 60 million students. Edureach leads the market with 27% of the total schools where ICT projects have been implemented, says Soumya Kanti, president of Edureach. We are looking [to add] 3,000 more schools this fiscal year and 20,000 to 25,000 additional schools in the next five years. As of now, Edureach has created digital learning content in more than 14 regional languages for these projects. In the northern state of Haryana, CORE Education and Technologies is implementing a US$59 million ICT project that aims to benefit 5 million students across 2,622 schools. Five of these schools will be developed as Smart schools. CORE is also implementing ICT projects in the states of Gujarat, Meghalaya, Punjab, Maharashtra and Nagaland. The scope of work in these projects ranges from implementation of computer-aided learning in schools, installing bio-metric devices to monitor attendance of teachers, and setting up computer hardware, software and other allied accessories and equipments. The task has not been an easy one, admits Anshul Sonak, president of CORE. There are several logistical issues. Delivery of equipment to rural areas is a big challenge in itself. There is lack of basic infrastructure either there are no classrooms or there are ones with no windows. Some schools dont even have toilets. Moreover, the power availability in these areas is often poor and we have had to deploy generator sets in many schools. But despite the challenges, educationists are optimistic. Rahul De, professor of quantitative methods and information systems area at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore (IIM-B) believes that ICT can have a huge impact on our education system. He points out that ICT can result in increasing the reach [of education] and in keeping the costs low. With increasing penetration of mobile phones and Internet kiosks, the potential is indeed immense, he adds. A study conducted by De in 2009 on the economic impact of free and open source software (FOSS) in India found that it resulted in significant cost savings. FOSS can play a huge role in education, De notes. In the state of Kerala, it has already had a huge impact in both saving costs and providing state-of-the-art access computing to students in government schools. FOSS has a huge number of packages for school students, many of which can be ported to local languages and used in schools. It is also helping disabled students in a big way, by enabling them to access digital resources using audio-visual aids. Edureachs Kanti adds that a study by the Centre for Multi-Disciplinary Development Research in Dharwad in Karnataka in 2006 revealed significant improvement in student enrolment and attendance, as well as a reduction of student dropouts due to ICT interventions. Yet another study conducted by the Xavier Institute of Management in Bhubaneswar in 2007 revealed that computer-aided education has improved the performance of children in subjects such as English, mathematics and science, which are taught through computers using multimedia-based educational content. All in a Tab In line with this increasing interest in technology for school education, there has been a rush of education-focused tablet computers in the market. The most high-profile of these has been Aakash, which was launched by Kapil Sibal, union minister for human resource development, in October 2011. The Aakash project is part of the ministrys National Mission on Education through Information Communication Technology (NME-ICT). It aims to eliminate digital illiteracy by distributing the Aakash tablets to students across India at subsidized rates. While the project itself has become mired in delays and controversy, it has generated a lot of awareness and interest among students around the educational tablet. Meanwhile, DataWind, the Canada-based firm that partnered with the union government for the Aakash project, has also launched UbiSlate7, the commercial version of Aakash. The opportunity for low-cost tablets in India is huge. In the next two years, it will exceed the size of the computer market in India i. e. 10 million units per year, says Suneet Singh Tuli, president and CEO of DataWind. In April, technology firm HCL Infosystems launched the MyEdu Tab, which is priced at around US$230 for the K-12 version. The device comes preloaded with educational applications and also books from the National Council of Educational Research and Training, a government organization. Anand Ekambaram, senior vice-president and head of learning at HCL Infosystems, is in the process of partnering with more than 30 educational institutes across India for MyEdu Tab. MyEdu Tab has content offline and can be accessed over the cloud. It allows students to learn at their own pace, Ekambaram notes. With a topic revision application and a self-assessment engine, students can evaluate their skills and knowledge on their own. Teachers can upload content, which can be accessed by students and parents for tasks such as homework and progress reports on their respective devices. The parent can monitor the progress of his or her child through the cloud-based ecosystem. Earlier this year, Micromax, a leading Indian handset manufacturer, also launched an edutainment device called Funbook. Micromax has also partnered with Pearson and Everonn to make available relevant content for students. Susha John, director and CEO at Everonn, was upbeat at the launch. Digital learning facilitated through tablets will revolutionize the educational space, John said. Everonn has invested in developing content and services targeted toward tablet audiences. To start with, we will offer our school curriculum-learning modules and at home live tuition products on the Funbook. Students can now have access to good teachers, educational content and a great learning experience anytime, anywhere. At Pearson, Max Gabriel, senior vice-president and chief technology officer, is focusing on K-12 content in English to begin with. We are sitting on a huge repository of existing content. Adding the right level of interactivity and richer experience will be our priority. Meanwhile, Educomp is gearing up to launch content that is device agnostic and can be run on any tablet. But even as schools in India are going through this transformation powered by technology, one key question is how big a role technology will play in the education sector. In an earlier interview with India [emailprotected], S. Sadagopan, founder-director at the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore, pointed out that there are four parts to learning lectures, library, laboratory and life noting that, Technology plays a critical role in all these. Kabir of Technopak adds another perspective. Despite numerous studies on the impact of ICT in education, the outcomes remain difficult to measure and open to much debate. It needs to be understood that technology is only an enabler and a force multiplier and cannot be treated as a panacea. We believe that impressive gains in teaching-learning outcomes are possible only through an integrated approach rather than a piecemeal intervention. Don Huesman, managing director of Whartons innovation group, recommends caution in considering potential investments in educational technologies. These are very exciting times for online and distance education technologies, but there are risks facing parents, educators and policy makers in evaluating the opportunities these new technologies, and their proponents, represent. Huesman points to the recent growth in high-quality, free, online educational courseware offered on websites like the Khan Academy and the Math Forum, as well as the work of the Open Learning Initiative in developing intelligent cognitive tutors and learning analytics. But such technologies, available from a global network of resources, only provide value when understood, chosen and integrated into a local educational community, he says. As an illustration, Huesman offers the example of cyber kiosks, provided in recent years by foundations at no cost to rural communities in India, exacerbating the gender divide in many traditional communities in which young women congregating at public cyber cafes, also frequented by young men, would be considered taboo. Interventions by governments and NGOs must be inclusive of local community concerns and aware of local political complications, Huesman notes. Globalization: Impact on Education by Satish Tandon, September 2005 The principal objective of education has been the development of the whole individual. The minimum level of education that was necessary to achieve this goal in the agrarian society was basic or primary and in the industrial age, secondary. In the present borderless information society, education needs to be able to respond to additional demands of a rapidly globalizing world by raising awareness of environment, peace, cultural and social diversity, increased competitiveness, and the concept of a global village. Such education is to a knowledge or information society what secondary education was to an industrial economy. Education prepares the individual to connect and live in harmony with the environment around him. Globalization has changed the size, nature and quality of that environment. The challenge for higher education, therefore, is to reform, create and develop systems that prepare the individual to work in a borderless economy and live in a global society. In other words, our educational institutions need to produce global citizens. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 allowed liberal democracies to claim victory for the capitalist system and contributed to increasing the pace of globalization that was already under way. As globalization gained momentum, market substituted political ideology as the dominant force guiding national and global policies. What followed next, therefore, does not seem so illogical. National governments everywhere partly in deference to the ascendancy of the market and partly in response to pressure from the private sector to expand their sphere of activities began to relinquish control over the delivery of social goods. Everything began to be viewed as a commodity that could be produced and delivered by the private sector in line with market forces and according to the principles of supply and demand. One by one water, electricity, postal services, health, and now education, have been turned into a commodity. The withdrawal of state from higher education has also been helped by economists, who have had an overly simple way of assessing the return on investments in higher education. The basic problem is that they have measured the return on education exclusively through wage differentials. With reference to someone who has no education, someone who has been to primary school, someone who has completed secondary school, and someone with a university degree, one can ask how much more each earns than the previous. These differences are then compared to the incremental amounts invested in their education to find the return. The results generally suggest that higher education yields a lower return than primary or secondary education and they have been used to justify the skewing of government budgets and development funds away from higher education institutions. The rate of return calculations are flawed because they do not take account of the full range of benefits to those who receive higher education. For example, higher education can enhance health, openness, peace, and social development, and at the same time reduce disease, bigotry and blind nationalism so the private benefits to the individual and to society are not just the direct labour productivity benefits, as the rate of return analysis suggests. Higher education confers benefits above and beyond enhancing the incomes of those who receive it. And many of these benefits take the form of public goods, such as the contribution of higher education to enterprise, leadership, governance, culture, and participatory democracy, and its potential for lifting the disadvantaged out of poverty. These are all vital building blocks for stronger economies and societies and all routes by which the benefit of investment in higher education multiplies throughout society. Liberal democracies have traditionally operated on the principle of separation of activities in the social sphere just as they have on the principle of separation of powers in the political sphere. The private sector had been given a relatively free hand in the production and delivery of economic goods while the state concentrated on the provision of healthcare, education and other infrastructure goods, also known as public goods. Globalization has changed all that. The rapid expansion of the influence of the private sector at the global level necessitated a corresponding expansion in their sphere of activities by diversifying into the production and delivery of public goods that had always been within the purview of the state. The takeover was swift and remarkable in the sense that the effort did not meet much resistance. One of the major consequences of the globalization of education has been commodification and the corporatization of institutions of higher learning. It is said that the for-profit education market in the United States is worth more than $500 billion in revenue for the involved corporates. More than one thousand state schools have been handed over to corporations to be run as businesses. But there is a fundamental problem with the way business models have been applied to the delivery of education and other public goods. Unthinking adoption of the private sector model prevents the development of a meaningful approach to management in the public services in general or to the social services in particular based on their distinctive purposes, conditions and objectives. There is another, more serious, problem with corporatization of education. Corporations operate on the principles of cost reduction and profit maximization. These require introducing standardization and the packaging of product in compact, measurable, byte-like, configuration. Applied to education, these approaches would possibly negate its basic fabric and purpose. Education has always encouraged and represents openness, inquiry, diversity, research and limitless learning. Corporatization of education would make it elitist the one provided by corporations for the masses and the poor who cannot afford going to the traditional institutions of learning, and the other for the rich and the affluent. The delivery of public goods and services is and should remain the primary responsibility of the state. Representative government may not be the ideal or perfect arrangement for governance but it represents the best that is available, and certainly more desirable than the private sector management of public services such as education. If the state relinquishes its control over education and education policy, we run the risk of diminishing it to the status of a packaged for-profit product which it is not. Openness, diversity, scholarship, research and disinterested learning will be its biggest victims.

Ebola: A Deadly Virus :: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Life is a biological internet in which viruses travel like messages, moving at high speed from node to node and from city to city. They are diverse and wild spread in every plane on the surface of the earth. Ironically, such invisible creatures have a substantially enormous effects on human life and health. In most cases, Viruses are harmful and sometimes deadly. One of these deadly viruses is the Ebola virus, a highly contagious, deadly and mysterious microbe, known to be the most lethal virus known to human kind that have caused many devastation. The mere essence of their existence is not to cause harm, they are living organisms who want to reproduce and spread with the help of a host. The Ebola virus, like most viruses, consists of a shell of proteins surrounding genetic material, like RNA and DNA. Once inside the cell, the virus gets hold to the host cell and the virus may enter the cell as it injects its genetic material into the host cell. The virus then uses the host cell's machinery to replicate themselves and make new copies of itself. Each new copy of the virus directs the host cell to make it a protein shell. The new viruses leave the host cell to other cells and repeat the same process over and over again. Although man is not Ebola's natural host, the virus infects people, and the adventure is suicidal as the infected victims struggle with the symptomsThe infected victim staggers, disoriented and exhausted, and collapses in a fever, which is known as the Haemorrhagic fever. The fever is characterized by weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. The victim's eyes turn bright red, and starts vomiting blood. The tongue peels, and the heart muscle becomes soft. Scientists believe that when the victim get in contact with the virus, the virus first triggers a combination of blood clots and hemorrhages. The patient's bloodstream throws clots, and the clots lodge everywhere, especially in the spleen, liver, and brain, then it settle in the victim throat. Bleeding involves the nose, abdomen, and pericardium. Capillary leakage appears to lead to loss of interavascular volume leading the patient to fall in a shock and acute respiratory disorder leaving the patient desperately trying to gasp their breath.The virus kills its victims so quickly, before it even can infect others. The incubation period for the Ebola virus ranges from 2 to 21 days, depending upon the method of infection.

Organizational Conflict in Noahs Ark Preschool Essay -- Interpreting

Conflicts in an organization impact the employees and the organization itself in a variety of ways. It is a constant hindrance in organizational life due to conflicting goals between managers and workers. In definition, conflict is â€Å"the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and interference from one another in achieving those goals† (George 287). While most individuals perceive conflict as being a negative aspect in a working relationship, others believe it â€Å"allows the opportunity to release built-up tension, stimulate critical thinking, and strengthen relationships† (George 287). I extensively observed the conflicts at Noah’s Ark Preschool and found these conflicts to have both positive and negative effects on the organization and its employees. During my evaluation I focused on how conflicts emerged, how they were managed, and in what ways the organization could improve its conflict management skills. The first step in resolving organizational conflict is to consider the typical sources of conflict (Donais). The sources of conflict are infinite, but some are recurrent and persistent. Poor communication skills can stimulate conflict and lead to misunderstandings between employees or between employee and manager. While conducting my interview, I learned the director of Noah’s Ark, Regina, is frequently vague and inconsistent with instructions. One employee described a situation in which Regina allowed the employees to wear shorts one afternoon—which is against dress code— but disciplined them for wearing shorts the next day. In this situation, lack of communication and information from employer to employee caused a misinterpretation of rules the organization routinely abides by. A difference... ...; How Dangerous Can it Be?."  Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Kuehner-Hebert, Katie. "Mismanaging Workplace Conflicts."  www.HREOnline.com. LRP Publications, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. "Association for Conflict Resolution—Giving Voice to the Choices for Quality Conflict Resolution."  Association for Conflict Resolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Segal, Jeanne , and Melinda Smith. "Conflict Resolution Skills."  Turning Conflicts into Opportunities. N.p., 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Burrell, Bonnie. "Collaboration Toolbox || MODULE 1 > Conflict Management."Collaboration Toolbox || MODULE 1 > Conflict Management. N.p., 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Dreu, Carsten K. W. de.. "Productive Conflict: The Importance of Conflict Management and Conflict Issues."  Using conflict in organizations. London: Sage, 1997. . Print.

Ethical and psychological Egoism Essay

Egoism is the theory suggesting that the motivation and goal of a particular action is the self. Egoism in a general context has two variants, normative and descriptive. The concept of the descriptive variant suggests that egoism as a factual description of human affairs and cannot be described any other way (Moseley, 2006). The normative side gives a conception that individuals should be motivated, without consideration to their current state of motivation (Moseley, 2006). The two variants conflict in principle alone which insinuates a debate on the rightness or wrongness of particular human acts throughout history. Ethical Egoism Ethical Egoism is a normative ethical standpoint which implies moral people should act in accordance to their self-interest. Ethical egoism has three formulations; personal, individual and universal (Waller, 2005). Individual ethical egoism stresses that a person should do what is most beneficial to them (Waller, 2005). Personal ethical egoism suggests that actions should be grounded on a person’s own self-interest without concern to what others around him should do, while the concept of universal ethical egoism holds that everyone should act in the basis of their own interests (Waller, 2005). All in all, virtues that suffice an individual’s self-interest is egoistic, otherwise it is non-egoistic (Waller, 2005). The strong version of Ethical egoism suggests that the promotion of an individual’s own good is moral, not promoting one’s own good is deemed as immoral (Moseley, 2006). The weak version still holds that morality is the promotion of one’s own good, however, it does not necessarily mean that it is immoral (Moseley, 2006). There are just implications of conditions that the evasion of personal interest has a possibility to be moral (Moseley, 2006). Psychological Egoism Psychological Egoism, on-the-other-hand, posits that every human action has an underlying selfishness, and even altruistic acts have inner selfish motivations (Hazlitt & Cook, 1991). Psychological Egoism is a form of egoism under the descriptive variant, suggesting how people should go about themselves. The principles of psychological egoism and its assumtive nature are acquainted to several criticisms that are very crucial (Moseley, 2006). The fallacy of Psychological Egoism  The detractors of Psychological Egoism ground its fallacy on the rejection of the notion that the theory is flawless, that it is structured in such a way that it cannot be approved or disapproved (Hazlitt & Cook, 1991). It is evident on the Psychological egoists’ advocacy that altruism is a mere act of acquiring a good feeling for doing altruistic actions. In a broader scenario, the person doing an act, either selfish or unselfish, is doing what interests him or her which makes the act ultimately selfish (Moseley, 2006). In another note, the fallacy of psychological egoism lies in the suggestion that people only do what makes them feel good. In this context, the description of a Psychological Egoist may project an unselfish person (Moseley, 2006). Furthermore, there is confusion in the concept of psychological egoism found in the object of desire and the subsequent results of the fulfillment of that desire (Moseley, 2006). The Difference between Psychological and Ethical Egoism It is of vital importance to distinguish the two from one another since the two forms of egoism conflict in advocacy, motivation and goal. Ethical Egoism per se, postulates that the promotion of an individual’s own good conforms to the standards of morality (Waller, 2005). In contrast to the Psychological Egoist claim that focuses on how people act, not on how they ought to act. The doctrine of motivation for Ethical Egoism lies within self-interest, while Psychological Egoists are motivated by the rational self-interest, even in an act that tends to be altruistic in nature. Self-Interest and Selfishness Self-interest is defined as an agent that stimulates an individual’s concern over a particular issue or matter. Self-interest is the element that governs human action. Selfishness, meanwhile is the devotion to satisfy one’s own end and interest. It is simply an individual’s concern for personal welfare. Philosophically, the two terms may be synonimous to each other as the two terms may refer to the placement of personal needs above others, however, self-interest and selfishness can be deemed independently as self-interest is a subjective element in a person’s perspective which can be directed to the self or for others.

The Executive Branch of US Government

The Executive Branch of US Government The President of the United States is in charge of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The executive branch is empowered by the U.S. Constitution to oversee the implementation and enforcement of all laws passed by the legislative branch in the form of Congress. As one of the foundational elements of a strong central government as envisioned by America’s Founding Fathers, the executive branch dates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Hoping to protect the liberties of individual citizens by preventing the government from abusing its power, the Framers crafted the first three articles of the Constitution to establish three separate branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. The Role of the  President Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states: â€Å"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.†Ã‚   As the head of the executive branch, the President of the United States functions as the head of state representing U.S. foreign policy and as the Commander-in-Chief of all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The president appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Secretaries of the Cabinet agencies, as well as the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. As part of the system of checks and balances, the president’s nominees for these positions require the approval of the Senate. The president also appoints, without the approval of the Senate, more than 300 people to high-level positions within the federal government. The president is elected every four years and chooses his vice president as a running mate. The president is the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces and is essentially the leader of the country. As such, he must deliver a State of the Union address to Congress once each year; may recommend legislation to Congress; may convene Congress; has the power to appoint ambassadors to other nations; can appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal judges; and is expected, with his Cabinet and its agencies, to carry out and enforce the laws of the United States. The president may serve no more than two four year terms. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits any person from being elected president more than twice. The Role of the  Vice President The vice president, who also is a member of the Cabinet, serves as president in the event that the president is unable to do so for any reason or if the president steps down. The vice president also presides over the U.S. Senate and can cast a deciding vote in the event of a tie. Unlike the president, the vice president can serve an unlimited number of four-year terms, even under different presidents. The  Roles of the  Cabinet Agencies The members of the President’s Cabinet serve as advisors to the president. The cabinet members include the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive branch departments. With the exception of the vice president, cabinet members are nominated by the President and must be approved by the Senate. The President’s Cabinet departments are:   The Department of Agriculture, among other functions, ensures that the food Americans consume is safe and regulates the nations vast farming infrastructure.The Department of Commerce helps regulate trade, banking and the economy; among its agencies are the Census Bureau and the Patent and Trademark Office.The Department of Defense, which includes the U.S. Armed Forces, protects the nations security and is headquartered at the Pentagon.The Department of Education is responsible for ensuring equal access to a quality education for all.The Department of Energy keeps the U.S. plugged in, regulating utilities, ensuring the security of power supplies and promoting new technology to conserve energy resources.Health and Human Services help keep Americans healthy; its agencies include the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and the Administration on Aging.The Department of Homeland Security, established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, is charged with preventing terrorist attacks in the U.S. and helping to fight the war on terror and includes the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Housing and Urban Development promotes affordable home-ownership and ensures that no one is discriminated against in the pursuit of that goal.Interior is dedicated to protecting and nurturing natural resources, national parks, and wildlife. Among its agencies are the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.Justice, led by the Attorney General, enforces the nations laws and includes, among other agencies, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).The Department of Labor enforces labor laws and keeps workers safety and rights protected.State is charged with diplomacy; its representatives reflect the United States as part of the world community.The Department of Transportation established the Interstate Highway System and keeps the U.S. transportation infrastructure safe and functioning.Treasury ensures the countrys financial and economic stability, manages federal finances and collects taxes . Veterans Affairs provides medical care for wounded or ill veterans and administers veterans benefits. Phaedra Trethan is a freelance writer and a former copy editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

Homework Example

Homework Example Homework – Coursework Example Homework Q1. The progressive era (1900-1916) was marked with shifts in people’s attitudes, which delineated the role of the government in serving citizens. Theodore Roosevelt, a famous, tough and youthful man during his reign, stretched the President’s power halting Congress rule after many years. He championed for better standards of living for laborers and ensured transparent and fair elections, unlike his predecessors. Contrary to the opinion of Populists and certain Progressives, Theodore viewed giant corporations as essential despite the fact that they promoted economic inequality by making a few people gain more economic power than others. His attitude was that government power was major for winning trust.Q2.Wilson earned the name â€Å"the reluctant progressive† when he frequently blocked or declined to endorse any more progressive reforms claiming his government would never entertain â€Å"special privileges to none†. It is through his failure to s teer more progressive reforms during his reign that handed him the name â€Å"the reluctant progressive.†Q3.Wilson might not be in the minds of many Americans, but he occupies a sure position in the great Presidents’ pantheon. This claim is indeed true. Wilson left America a legacy that would live beyond his lifetime. Despite the fact that he left the White House a bit messed, he changed the fundamental objective of the foreign policy of America transitioning it from isolation to internationalism. Wilson’s prowess in forming a reform party coupled with his knack to direct and marshal public opinion significantly influenced successive presidency. His transitional importance as a leader during his reign makes him to stand tall among great presidents of the nation.

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood John Lloyd Stephens and his traveling companion Frederick Catherwood are probably the most famous couple of Mayan explorers. Their popularity is linked to their best-selling book Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatn, first published in 1841. Incidents of Travel is a series of anecdotal tales about their travel in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras visiting the ruins of many ancient Maya sites. The combination of vivid descriptions by Stephens and the â€Å"romanticized† drawings of Catherwood made the ancient Maya known to a wide audience. Stephens and Catherwood: First Meetings John Lloyd Stephens was an American writer, diplomat, and explorer. Trained in law, in 1834 he went to Europe and visited Egypt and the Near East. At his return, he wrote a series of books about his travels in the Levant. In 1836 Stephens was in London and here he met his future traveling companion Frederick Catherwood, an English artist and architect. Together they planned to travel in Central America and visit the ancient ruins of this region. Stephens was an expert entrepreneur, not a risky adventurer, and he carefully planned the trip following the then-available reports of ruined cities of Mesoamerica written by Alexander von Humbolt, by the Spanish officer Juan Galindo about the cities of Copan and Palenque, and by Captain Antonio del Rio’s report published in London in 1822 with the illustrations by Frederick Waldeck. In 1839 Stephens was appointed by the U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, as ambassador to Central America. He and Catherwood reached Belize (then British Honduras) in October of the same year and for almost a year they traveled across the country, alternating the diplomatic mission of Stephens with their exploring interest. Stephens and Catherwood at Copn Once landed in British Honduras, they visited Copn and spent there few weeks mapping the site, and making drawings. There is a long-standing myth that the ruins of Copn were purchased by the two travelers for 50 dollars. However, they actually only bought the right to draw and map its buildings and carved stones. Catherwoods illustrations of Copan’s site core and carved stones are impressive, even if â€Å"embellished† by a romantic taste. These drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida, an instrument that reproduced the image of the object on a sheet of paper so that an outline could then be traced. At Palenque Stephens and Catherwood moved then to Mexico, anxious to reach Palenque. While in Guatemala they visited the site of Quirigu, and before wending their way towards Palenque, they passed by Tonin in the Chiapas highlands. They arrived at Palenque in May of 1840. At Palenque the two explorers stayed for almost a month, choosing the Palace as their camp base. They measured, mapped and drew many buildings of the ancient city; one especially accurate drawing was their recording of the Temple of the Inscriptions and the Cross Group. While there, Catherwood contracted malaria and in June they left for the Yucatan peninsula. See the Walking Tour of Palenque Stephens and Catherwood in Yucatan While in New York, Stephens made the acquaintance of a rich Mexican landowner, Simon Peon, who had extensive holdings in Yucatan. Among these was the Hacienda Uxmal, a huge farm, on whose lands laid the ruins of the Maya city of Uxmal. The first day, Stephens went to visit the ruins by himself, because Catherwood was still sick, but the following days the artist accompanied the explorer and made some wonderful illustrations of the site buildings and of its elegant Puuc architecture, especially the House of the Nuns, (also called the Nunnery Quadrangle), the House of the Dwarf (or Pyramid of the Magician), and the House of the Governor. Last Travels in Yucatan Because of Catherwood’s health problems, the team decided to return from Central America and arrived in New York on July 31st, 1840, almost ten months after their departure. At home, they had been preceded by their popularity, since most of Stephens travel notes and letters had been published in a magazine. Stephens had also tried to purchase the monuments of many Maya sites with the dream of having them dismantled and shipped to New York where he was planning on opening a Museum of Central America. In 1841, they organized a second expedition to Yucatan, which took place between 1841 and 1842. This last expedition led to the publication of a further book in 1843, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. They are reported to have visited a total of more than 40 Maya ruins. Stephens died of Malaria in 1852, while he was working on the Panama railroad, whereas Catherwood died in 1855 ​when the steamship he was riding in sank. Legacy of Stephens and Catherwood Stephens and Catherwood introduced the ancient Maya to the Western popular imagination, as other explorers and archaeologists had done for the Greeks, Romans and ancient Egypt. Their books and illustrations provide accurate depictions of many Maya sites and a lot of information about the contemporary situation in Central America. They were also among the first to discredit the idea that these ancient cities were built by the Egyptians, the people of Atlantis or the lost Tribe of Israel. However, they didn’t believe that the ancestors of the native Mayans could have built these cities, but that they must have been built by some ancient population now disappeared. Sources Harris, Peter, 2006, Cities of Stone: Stephens and Catherwood in Yucatan, 1839-1842, in Co-Incidents of Travels in Yucatan. Photoarts Journal ( photoarts.com/harris/z.html) accessed online (July-07-2011) Palmquist, Peter E., and Thomas R. Kailbourn, 2000, John Lloyd Stephens (entry), in Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: a Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford University Press, pp. 523-527 Stephens, John Lloyd, and Frederick Catherwood, 1854, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, Arthur Hall, Virtue and Co., London (digitized by Google).

Biology BSc third year biotech project; Manipulating Biomass and PHA Lab Report

Biology BSc third year biotech project; Manipulating Biomass and PHA Production in batch and continuous cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans - Lab Report Example This proves that the product formation is dependent on the substrate concentration. The concentration of the protein present in the given culture was determined using the Bradford assay at an absorbance of 595 nm. These readings are plotted against the standard protein data curve to find the actual concentration of the protein formed at various time intervals. It was found that the concentration of the protein was maximum after 69 hours. The biomass concentration was found after the 96 hours of culture for the different concentrations of the substrate succinate. It is found that the biomass concentration was maximum for the 50mM concentration. As the PHB are found inside the bacteria, if the biomass is higher then the PHB concentration is also found to be higher. Thus indicating that at a succinate substrate concentration of 50mM, the biomass and the PHB concentration was found to be higher. The biomass concentration was determined after the 96 hours culture. The concentration of the acetate varied from 10mM to 50mM. It is found that as the concentration of the acetate was increased, the biomass concentration was also found to increase. If the biomass concentration is higher then the PHB concentration must be also very high. From the graph, it was found that the biomass concentration was maximum after 60 hours and the concentration of the protein was maximum during the third day of the culture. From this graph we can find that the concentration of the protein was maximum after the cells have crossed the log phase. When the growth curve of P.denitrificans was observed in both continuous and anaerobic culture, it was found that the growth was higher in continuous culture. Comparatively the growth was 10 fold higher in the continuous culture When the growth of the bacteria was compared in different concentrations of succinate at aerobic and anaerobic cultures, it was observed that the

Mergers Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mergers - Case Study Example The Tata Group comprises around 90 companies with total turnover of US$22 billion, equivalent of around 3 per cent of India's GDP. Tata Steel has one of the most modern steel making facilities and is also one of the lowest cost producers of steel in the world. It has been rated as the world's best steel company for the past three consecutive years by World Steel Dynamics. World over, Tata Steel currently has a capacity of around 26 million tonnes per annum including its recent takeover of Corus and has the second largest global distribution network in 45 countries. Tata Steel which has also set benchmarks in the fields of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance firmly believes in improving the quality of life of its employees and the communities it serves. Tata Steel aspires to become a 50 Million tonne Steel Company by 2015. It was little hard for TATA Steel to swallow Corus as CSN, a Brazilian company was also in the race. The bidding war between Tata Steel and Brazilian company CSN was riveting and ended in a rapid-fire auction. Initial reactions to the deal are highly diverse and retail investors are completely puzzled by the market reaction. TATA Steel had announced the refinancing of its GBP 3,260 million acquisition bridge facility and revolving facility was provided by ABN AMRO and Deutsche Bank, the financing formalities were finished off by April 2, 2007. Refinancing was also arranged which amounted to GBP 3,170 million and was done by a syndicate led by Citigroup, ABN AMRO and Standard Chartered Bank. This refinancing provides significant benefits and flexibility over the term of the financing to the group. The Refinancing Facility comprises a five year GBP 1670 million amortizing loan which will be syndicated by the joint book runners to relationship banks of Tata Steel and Corus and a seven year minimally amortizing term loan of GBP 1500 million that will be syndicated to institutional investors and banks in the US, Europe and Asia.. The balance amount of the acquisition bridge is being repaid by an additional equity contribution by Tata Steel / Tata Steel Asia which had been previously disclosed on April 17, 2007. The Deal Development On October 20, 2006, Tata Steel announced that it had agreed to pick up a 100% stake in the Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus Group at 455 p. per share in an all cash deal, cumulatively valued at GBP 4.3 billion (USD 8.04 billion). On November 19 2006, the Brazilian steel company CSN launched a counter offer for Corus at 475 pence per share, valuing it at $8.4 billion. On December 11 2006, Tata preemptively upped the offer to 500 pence, which was within hours trumped by CSN's offer of 515 pence per share, valuing the deal at $ 9.6 Billion. The Corus board promptly recommended both the revised offers to its shareholders. On December 19 2006, Corus announced the following: In the light of the competing offers for Corus by Tata Steel UK Limited ("Tata") and CSN Acquisitions Limited ("CSN"), the Company announced on 12 December 2006 that the Corus Directors intended to propose resolutions to shareholders at each of the

FINANCE COURSE ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FINANCE COURSE ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Initiating utilizable financial information is even more complicated in comparison to companies performing at the national level. The MNE s face contrasting practices of accounting between various states and they end up with difficulties in making comparisons. More so, the comparison issue is made hard since they make profits in currencies that are different. Therefore, MNE company groups need to report the accounting operations in consolidated accounts for their global gains and losses. Most recently, the financial aspects have been made more complex by the increasing requirement to do a segmental reporting. (Muchlinski, 1999) First, before the issue of external sources of finance for public MNEs is looked at it is important to note that the internal sources of capital are mostly preferred in the US. The reason for this is that internal financing is considered less costly compared to the external sources. Furthermore, companies may not wish to disclose their information regarding operations to external parties. Lastly, the scenario of asymmetric information places hurdles to a firm’s ability to seek financing externally. (Rugman, 2004) External sources of capital are essential just like internal sources of capital. These may include sources such as Eurodollars, or bank loans. Generally, the sources of funding for MNEs differ due to maturity, geographical sourcing, currency used in the denomination as well as institutional sourcing. External capital sources may either be national or else international. National sources of capital may cater for both short-term and long-term financing. Short-term financing may refer to bridge loans, overdrafts or medium term loans that are discountable. Long-term financing may relate to bonds, long-term loans and equity. International sources may range from international bonds, international equity or even Eurobonds. This study is going to narrow down and discuss

Future for Purchasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Future for Purchasing - Essay Example But the situation changed with the introduction of Information technology, which brought significant changes in the dealings of business operations. The package it provided to an organization to overcome the limitations of traditional purchasing is 'e-purchasing'. Viewing the importance of E-Purchasing the paper tries to bring about some information on e-purchasing but specifically focusing on what an E-Purchasing actually means, how it is carried out and its overall contribution to the business in the next decade. The introduction of information technology has brought dramatic changes in the business operations. In spite of the huge investments were fabricated by the business organizations in the action ability planning arrangement implementations they could not get appropriate advice for authoritative able business decisions. But the placing of 'e' in front of any process or function proved to be the magic formula for the untold success and the rapid returns for the organizations. One such example to give is E-Purchasing. E-Purchasing is considered as the basic component of an e- procurement capability. Through e-purchasing the business organization can automate and extend the manual buying processes right from the creation of the requisition through to payment of the suppliers (Biechler, 1997). Thus the process of using of internet facility by the business organizations for purchasing goods and services is referred to as e-purchasing. E-purchasing essentially involves the buying of goods and services via internet. In other words it can be told as a system using information technology to streamline the purchase of goods and services in order to reduce costs. The internet can perform all the steps required manually for performing the purchasing function including ordering, payment and delivery. To avail this so many online banking services have been introduced by the financial institutions such as electronic bill payment, and funds transfer, so that the business can improve its operational efficiency. In accession to this the business alignment can use e-mail as a accelerated and reliable way to acquaint with suppliers or to acquire and acknowledge to chump queries like quotations, information, acquire orders, assassinate deliveries, and aggregate ante from the customers. The e-business can also make the operations of business effective through the greater use of electronic bookkeeping and records management. Thus the supplies received through internet helps to reduce the storage cost and the space required for the goods in the business organizations and thereby serving the customers faster and more effectively (Chia, 1998). E-purchasing is usually referred to as a user-friendly, Internet-based purchasing arrangement that offers e-purchase adjustment processing and added authoritative functions to the buyers that after-effects in added operational efficiencies and abeyant amount accumulation to the business organizations (Breite, 2001). The e-purchasing ability provides the Business organizati

Objectives Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Objectives Assignment - Essay Example 1. As a result of screening and educating the vulnerable persons and people with pre diabetes, 50% of the Native Americans will adapt to a healthy lifestyle changes, thereby reducing the new incidents of diabetes according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (Affective) 2. As a result of facilitating and encouraging the individuals with family history of diabetes and obese individuals for regular, moderate physical activity, Native Americans will be able to reduce new incidents of diabetes by 50% according to the American Diabetes Association (Klein et al, 259). (Psychomotor) 3. As a result of early detection and professional treatments, American Indians can prevent 70% of the incidents of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic related renal failure according to the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 4. As a result of increasing the availability and the accessibility of professional health care services, Native Americans will be able to prevent complications of diabetes by 50 percent according to the findings of the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 5. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) American Indians will be able to prevent more than 50% of the new incidents of diabetes as a result of reducing body weight and maintaining healthy weight throughout the life. (Psychomotor) 6. According to the American Diabetes Association due to introduction and implementation of national policies related to dietary and lifestyle changes, Native Americans can effectively reduce new incidents of diabetes by 30% (Klein et al, 260). (Cognitive) 7. Considering the findings of the vast number of researches conducted on American Indians for 30 years, American Natives will be able to reduce new incidents by 25% as a result of consumption of low fat and low caloric diet (Yancy et al, 769). (Psychomotor) 8. As a result of the awareness programs

Future for Purchasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Future for Purchasing - Essay Example But the situation changed with the introduction of Information technology, which brought significant changes in the dealings of business operations. The package it provided to an organization to overcome the limitations of traditional purchasing is 'e-purchasing'. Viewing the importance of E-Purchasing the paper tries to bring about some information on e-purchasing but specifically focusing on what an E-Purchasing actually means, how it is carried out and its overall contribution to the business in the next decade. The introduction of information technology has brought dramatic changes in the business operations. In spite of the huge investments were fabricated by the business organizations in the action ability planning arrangement implementations they could not get appropriate advice for authoritative able business decisions. But the placing of 'e' in front of any process or function proved to be the magic formula for the untold success and the rapid returns for the organizations. One such example to give is E-Purchasing. E-Purchasing is considered as the basic component of an e- procurement capability. Through e-purchasing the business organization can automate and extend the manual buying processes right from the creation of the requisition through to payment of the suppliers (Biechler, 1997). Thus the process of using of internet facility by the business organizations for purchasing goods and services is referred to as e-purchasing. E-purchasing essentially involves the buying of goods and services via internet. In other words it can be told as a system using information technology to streamline the purchase of goods and services in order to reduce costs. The internet can perform all the steps required manually for performing the purchasing function including ordering, payment and delivery. To avail this so many online banking services have been introduced by the financial institutions such as electronic bill payment, and funds transfer, so that the business can improve its operational efficiency. In accession to this the business alignment can use e-mail as a accelerated and reliable way to acquaint with suppliers or to acquire and acknowledge to chump queries like quotations, information, acquire orders, assassinate deliveries, and aggregate ante from the customers. The e-business can also make the operations of business effective through the greater use of electronic bookkeeping and records management. Thus the supplies received through internet helps to reduce the storage cost and the space required for the goods in the business organizations and thereby serving the customers faster and more effectively (Chia, 1998). E-purchasing is usually referred to as a user-friendly, Internet-based purchasing arrangement that offers e-purchase adjustment processing and added authoritative functions to the buyers that after-effects in added operational efficiencies and abeyant amount accumulation to the business organizations (Breite, 2001). The e-purchasing ability provides the Business organizati

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Relations - Essay Example Each of these actors behaves in a certain way when they participate in international politics both individually and together. International relations comprises of the study of the behaviour of these actors (Mingst, 2010). There have been many key issues in the last 25 years that have been very significant with respect to international relations. This paper discuses two main issues, namely, armed conflicts and human rights. The paper describes why these issues have been very significant when it comes to international relations. It also identifies the major sub-issues, developments, controversies and problems regarding the issue. The paper also points out how the two issues have been linked to each other in international relations and then proposes possible solutions or resolutions to the issues. Armed Conflicts Armed conflicts across the globe have been one of the most significant issues that have affected the whole world. It has been the most important issue when it comes to Internat ional Relations. ... t of the armed conflicts in the recent times, mainly in the Middle East, have been internal conflicts which have been triggered due to issues of religion, ethnicity, identity and possession (competition) of resources. Mineral and oil wealth has been one of the main reasons for armed conflicts. On the international front, global terrorism has lead to major armed conflicts. One of the most prolonged armed conflicts has been the Israel-Palestine conflict. It will be discussed in detail later. An armed conflict leads to numerous sub-issues and problems. It has a profound effect on the population of the region. It becomes a major hindrance to the development of the region. The resources that could have been invested in the developmental activities such as education, business development, tourism, etc are diverted towards developing armaments. The direct and most immediate impact of armed conflicts are the disruption of food supplies, loss of human life, psychological distress, gender-base d violence, physical injuries, health hazards, etc. The effect that armed conflict has on children is very damaging as it influences their emotional, physical and mental development. These issues and problems become an interest of international politics. Global powers and organizations such as UN are required to resolve the issues and restore world peace. Global economic relations are also affected by armed conflicts as they affect trade, tourism, etc. International relations of numerous countries are affected by armed conflicts as questions of support and interests are raised. An example of this is the troubled alliance between US and Pakistan as a result of differences on support to Afghanistan and Taliban. Hence, armed conflicts anywhere in the world are very sensitive and gas an effect

From dependence to independence Essay Example for Free

From dependence to independence Essay A Taste Of Honey is a twentieth century play set in the 1950s. It is known as a kitchen-sink drama and was written by Shelagh Delaney at the age of 18 and was first performed in May 1958. A kitchen-sink drama originated in the literature in the 1950s and 1960s. Its aim is to create a true picture of the hard life and troubles of the working class life. In A Taste Of Honey the two main characters are always falling out with each other and the people around them. The conditions they live in are cramped and poor in bedsits or flats. An example of a kitchen-sink drama is in Look Back In Anger by John Osborne and Saturday Night And Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe. Plays and dramas in the fifties were performed for the middle and upper classes but then came the debut kitchen-sink drama; Look Back In Anger, which was aimed at the working class. A kitchen-sink drama play uses everyday common language to reflect the lives of the working class people portrayed. A Taste Of Honey is set in Salford, Manchester. It is about the life and relationship between a young girl, Jo, and her mother, Helen. They move around a lot, and have just moved into a shabby one-bedroomed flat in Salford. Helen is a semi-whore who lives off money which has been given to her by her men friends. Helen also drinks a lot. Jo is fifteen years old and she is very talented in an artistic way and enjoys drawing, but she blames her mother, who she refers to as Helen, for disrupting her education. Helen and Jo move into a shabby rented flat in Salford and its very cramped and small. Jo isnt happy but Helen doesnt mind. Jo tries to make the flat look and feel more liveable in by deciding to plant some bulbs. Helens not bothered though, and is happy that at least they have a roof over their heads. She has a what you see is what you get attitude towards life and lives by a day-to-day basis. Helen also uses a lot of sarcasm, for example, when Jo is complaining about the flat, Helen replies, Everything in it is falling apart, its true, and weve no heating- but theres a lovely view of the gasworks. Helen is a single parent and theres no mention of any relatives throughout the play. Single parent families were not accepted in the 1950s and if a couple wasnt married, it was seen as living in sin and frowned upon. A Taste Of Honey is aimed at adults and older teenagers as there is a lot of crude and rude humour and bad language, reflecting their working class lives for example, Helen: Take your bloody money and get out. Peter: Thank you. Helen: You dirty bastard. Also, teenage pregnancies, race and sexuality were big issues in the fifties. Homosexuality was a criminal offence, even if the couple were of a consent age. Many homosexuals were locked up, and underage sex was strongly frowned upon, and abortions were very difficult to obtain. Women had to resort to back-street abortions, which were very dangerous and could be fatal, so thats why there were a lot of teenage pregnancies. In the fifties, there were very few black people and they were given low paid jobs in the service industries and hospitals. These three issues are all part of the story. Jo has a teenage pregnancy, Jimmie is black, and Geof is homosexual. There were no equal opportunities, for example, men got paid more than women in exactly the same jobs. Housing conditions in Salford were poor. Most houses were small, cramped and dirty. Many rented bedsits or flats often shared amenities like bathrooms and toilets, and this is the case in A Taste Of Honey. We share a bathroom with the community and this wallpapers contemporary. What more do you want? In A Taste Of Honey, Jo doesnt call her mother mother. She calls her Helen. This shows that she doesnt have much respect for her mother and wishes to live her own life, and not to be ruled over by someone who is not a good mother figure. I think Jo is lonely, as she hasnt settled down in a school yet so she hasnt had the chance to make any friends. Helen also treats Jo as if she is just something thats there. She refers to Jo as she and her. Wouldnt she get on your nerves? Helen also drinks a lot, and even though Jo isnt treated as a real person, she still wishes her mother would stop. Drink, drink, drink, thats all youre fit for. With Jo wanting Helen to stop drinking, I think this shows that Jo is scared, that if the drinking carries on and Helen gets ill or something happens to her, then Jo will be alone. Helens favourite past-times, which Jo disapproves of, are her drinking habits and sleeping around. Helen is not a good mother and she knows this herself, Have I ever laid claim to being a proper mother? Helen hardly knows her daughter. This is made obvious when Jo decides to have a bath in the morning because its dark outside, and Helen replies, Are you afraid of the dark? whereas in any normal family, the parent would know if their child was afraid of anything with living with them for fifteen years. Jo hates school. She has been moved from school to school and never settled in any of them, so she cant be bothered with it, but she is very talented in drawing. When Helen finds some of Jos drawings, her only reply is, I thought you werent good at anything. Helen starts to encourage Jo by saying its very good, but then her sarcasm returns when she says, I think Ill hang this on the wall somewhere. Now, where will it be least noticeable? When we meet Peter, he enters with a cigar in his mouth. He seems very cocky and seems the sort of person who doesnt really care for other people, as he is self-centred. He keeps telling Jo to go away, and tells Helen to get rid of her, because he just wants Helen for sex. Jo doesnt want to leave the two alone, and keeps interrupting because she is afraid that Peter will get the attention off Helen that Jo has always wanted. Also, Jo knows that Helen will abandon her and go off with new men she meets, as she has done it before. When Helen goes out the room and Jo is left alone with Peter, she starts to question him. Jo sees some photographs in Peters wallet and demands to know who they are of. Can I see the other photos? She then starts to ask why hes marrying Helen and asks if he fancies her. Do you fancy me? I think she asks this because she knows that her mother is beautiful, and she gets lots of attention off men, so Jo wants to see if she could be just like her. Helen is somewhat an idol to Jo, because she always asks people if they think Helen is beautiful, and she wants to be just like her always getting attention from men. Jo, in a way, is jealous of Helen. I think Jo is fairly independent for her age, as she is certain about what she wants to do. She wants to leave school and start working as soon as she can. This shows that she acts older than she really is and is mature for her age. In scene 2, we are introduced to Jos boyfriend. In this part of the play, we know him as Boy, but later on we find out his name is Jimmie. He is a black sailor in the navy and he asks Jo to marry him. Boy is twenty-two, and Jo lies about her age and tells him she is eighteen. He questions her about what Helen will think about him because hes a coloured boy. Boy: She hasnt seen me. Jo: And when she does? Boy: Shell see a coloured boy. I think Boy is worried about meeting Jos mother, as racial prejudice was a big issue in the fifties. Jo tells him, though, that her mother is not prejudice and will not mind, but at the end of the play when Helen finds out that the baby will be black, she starts to get mad. When she finds out, she says, Oh dont be silly Jo. Youll be giving yourself nightmares. She thinks Jo is pulling her leg but she is serious. When she finally realises that it is true, she doesnt care what people will think of Jo, but what people will think of herself. Can you see me wheeling a pram with a Oh my God, Ill have to have a drink. Boy has to go away for six months, and he reassures her hell be back. I think Jo thinks she loves Boy, but doesnt expect him to return, because when he says he is going, Jo says her Hearts broke. Boy offers comfort by saying; You can lie in bed at night and hear my ship passing down the old canal. But when Boy starts to flirt with her in a naughty way, she says, I may as well be naughty while Ive got the chance. Ill probably never see you again. I know it. I dont think that its true love between Jo and Boy, as Jo is young and every time they say they love each other, their replies to one another is always how, and why. Boy: I love you. Jo: How do you know? Whereas if they really did love each other, they wouldnt ask for reasons why. Jos friend Geof, is very considerate and caring. We meet Geof in Act 2, Scene 1 after him and Jo have been to the fairground. Geof is a homosexual and he has been kicked out of his flat by the landlady because of this, so hes been spending time at Jos. By this time, it is summer and Jos pregnancy is obvious. Helen has moved out after marrying Peter and left Jo alone. Geof comes into Jos flat after the fair and is about to go but Jo literally begs him to stay. Geof, dont go. Dont go. Geof! I think Jo is scared to be alone, that she doesnt know what she would do alone with the birth getting nearer. Geof starts looking through Jos drawings and criticises them by saying he doesnt like charcoal and that the drawings are exactly like Jo, with no design, rhythm or purpose. When Geof starts telling Jo that a lot of money will be needed for the baby, she tries to ignore the fact that shes pregnant and tells Geof to shut up, but Geof isnt saying this to worry her, but to get her prepared and face reality. He cares for her and because Helen doesnt know about the pregnancy, Geof thinks she has a right to know that shes going to be a grandmother but Jo objects. Jos relationship with Geof is a love similar to that of a brother and sister, as he is more into looking after her. I think Jo really cares for him too, as she begs him to stay over and she has a laugh with him as well as being flirty at the same time. Jo: Do you like beer? Geof: Yes. Jo: Gin? Geof: Yes. Have you got some? Jo: No, but if I had, Id give it all to you. Id give everything I had to you. When Jo and Geof go to bed, Geof questions Jo about Jimmie. Geof: A black boy? Jo: From darkest Africa! A Prince. She exaggerates as though it was a dream, or a fairytale. Just before they go to bed, Jo laughs and tells Geof, Youre just like a big sister to me. A few months later, Jo and Geof are getting ready for the arrival of the baby and Geofs making a baby gown while Jo wanders about the room. It is not something that the audience would expect a man or brother to be doing. It would more likely be a sister. I think Jo is nervous because the birth is very near and she is restless. She is very excited when the baby kicks, and tells Geof. Jo always seems to flirt with Geof, playfully putting her arms around him, but when Geof is serious about him and Jo, she backs off. Geof: Let me kiss you. Jo: Let go of me. Leave me alone. I think this is where Jo becomes more mature and independent, as she knows what she wants. I think Ive had enough. Im sick of love. But then Jo realises that she cant really cope, that the baby is perhaps more than she can handle and her hormones are getting the better of her. Ill bash its brains out. Ill kill it. I dont want this baby, Geof. I dont want to be a mother. She realises that she wants Jimmie back, she misses him so much, and she wants the real father to her baby. Every Christmas Helen used to go off with some boyfriend or other and leave me all on my own in some sordid digs, but last Christmas I had him. Geof thinks he is only welcome in Jos flat until she finds her next Prince and in my opinion, Geof is hurt. When Helen comes to see Jo with Peter, Peter is prejudiced against Geof and calls him a fruit cake parcel. He is drunk and wants to go to the pub with Helen, and so he starts making his own fun by calling the flat Jo lives in, and calling Jo a slut. Jos attitude towards Geof towards the end of the play changes for the better. From the way they both talk to each other you can see they have both grown up. Jo is more open to Geof about her relationship with Helen. You know I used to try and hold my mothers hands but she always used to pull them away from me. She had so much love for everyone else but none for me. When Jo says that, it actually makes the audience feel sorry for her, and disgusted with Helen, because Jo didnt have a genuine mother figure. She also tells Geof about how Helen got pregnant with her. She tells him about how she was married to a Puritan, but wanted some fun so she had a frolic in a hay loft one afternoon with a daft man. This shows that she feels secure with Geof and more confident with him as she tells him everything that happened and wants him to feel sorry for her and to understand her because she didnt have a good childhood. Jo starts to value Geof, as she realises he cares more than Helen. At the end of the play, Helen tries to hint that she wants Geof to leave so she can move back in. she thinks she could look after Jo better than Geof, even after the months she has missed. There wouldnt be much room for two of us on the couch, would there? The only hint of love from Helen for Jo throughout the play is when Jo is having contractions and Helen strokes her hair, saying everything will be all right. This is the only time in the play when Helen is shown to be supportive of Jo. It shows Jo is independent and has matured, because when Helen doesnt know how to use the stove, Jo tells her, whereas this time last year, it was the other way around. When Geof leaves, and Helen finds out about the baby being black, she says shes going for a drink. This part reflects the beginning, when Helen abandons Jo at Christmas. Unfortunately just when Jo needs her mother the most, she leaves her yet again. When shes out the door, Jo leans against the doorpost, remembering the good times with Geof and smiling to herself, as she recites a rhyme that Geof taught her. This shows that she is now dependant on herself, and knows she can cope by herself, because she was left alone the year before, and knows she can do it again. Jos Taste Of Honey was when she met Jimmie, but in my opinion, I think her Taste Of Honey was the time she spent with Geof, because he taught her a lot of things in life, and throughout the play you can see how she has matured, and adopted a more serious attitude towards life.

The crisis of masculinity

The crisis of masculinity INTRODUCTION My dissertation is concerned with the male hegemony of Hollywood cinema. I will consider briefly the representation of the female but only to support the discussion of male hegemony in regards to spectatorship and representation of the male. I will limit my argument to the â€Å"post feminist† period (post 1970s) because this cinema era is extremely significant as it demonstrates a fundamental change in the representation of the male. I have decided to concentrate on the representation of the male because the discussion of female representation, although not investigated in its entirety, is generally more prevalent. I have chosen to analyze two key films that had major success in the year 1999. I have specifically chosen these films as not only do they reenact a threshold point in societys perception, but both deal heavily with the theme of modern day masculinity. The two different approaches from very different directors- David Fincher, The director of Fight club has a lengthy history of â€Å"mainstream† work whereas Paul Thomas Andersons work history is more â€Å"alternative†. I will argue that in its structure Fight club is highly synonymous with Hollywood in terms of character placement.(male protagonist, passive female). I will look at how Magnolia is more discoursive/melodramatic focusing on coming from a â€Å"female† perspective. I will look at the main characters in each of the films and discuss how both films approach the key aspects of masculinity: Paternity the Phallus. The similar concerns and contrasting nature of the films thus conclude that they serve as great examples for discussion. The dissertation will consider film theory and psycho-analysis however I would like to relate those to cinematic textual systems a term used by to describe mise en scene elements, editing and other cinematic manipulation of the frame for the spectator. Talk about how perspective and cinematography are interlinked, cinematography being vital to â€Å"the gaze†. â€Å"To theorize the gaze is to engage in cinematic textual systems (diegesis, montage, mise-en-scene, intertextuality etc) and the act of viewing, as well as the competing, dynamic and heterogeneous processes involved between the two†. Pg 6 (a) WHY CINEMATOGRAPHY IS IMPORTANT TO DISCUSS. Once we have investigated on a functional level how cinema manipulates the viewers gaze only then can we move forward and expand on this? The very existence of cinema relies on box office profits; cinema conveys the reality of the desire of the spectator, but also notably produces films that display the unconscious fears of the societies that produced them. This is an argument I will discuss at more length in the first chapter. CHAPTERS: Phallocentric perspective/cinematography I will start by engaging with the philosophy which forms the basis of the dissertation. I will also justify the inclusion of cinematography as a valid point in my dissertation by clarifying its relationship with film theory and psychoanalysis. â€Å"Were Designed to be hunters and were in a society of shoppers† Tyler Durder (Fight Club) In the second chapter I will put my discussion in context, explaining briefly the importance of the cinema of this era. â€Å"Fight Club†: I will discuss why I chose the two films I did The two different approaches directors- coming from very different background fightclub is aimed at mainstream whilst magnolia comes from an alternative viewpoint. I will argue that in its structure Fight club is highly synonymous with Hollywood in terms of character placement.(male protagonist, passive neurotic female) â€Å"Magnolia†: I will look at the key characters of the film and analyse how they demonstrate a crisis of masculinity. I will examine the look at how Paul Andersons Magnolia manages to subvert the male hegemony of mainstream films and acts as a critique of the Hollywood cinematic address. PHALLOCENTRIC PERPSEPCTIVE: â€Å"The spectator constructed by the text is taken to be male-regardless of the ‘actual gender of the viewer. He is taken to look through the eyes of the male hero on screen at the on-screen female, so that the viewer in the auditorium can fantasize the pleasure of dominating and possessing her, and thus enjoy the visual pleasure of ‘masculine conquest†. Kenneth Mackinnon Whatever the route of the gaze, the result is the same. She is objectified. And the female object confirms that the male is the proper and sole subject.† (b) pg 126 Since Hollywoods conception the films produced have taken to rather formulaic, standardized conventions to accrue predicted success at the box office. These are seen in its cinematic style, and narrative form. As a result Hollywood has become extremely skilled at satisfying the spectator through manipulation of its address. male hegemony At the beginning of cinema for example, spectators desired to see more and so became the standardization of erotic display to satisfy the spectator interest in voyeurism. Thus this Hollywood address gives us a spectacular insight into the unconscious fears and desires of society. If we look at one particular example â€Å"Metropolis† (1927) Directed by Fritz Lang, this film featured a destructive and powerful female robot. Notably this film came at a time when society had to deal with the increased mechanization, loss of jobs in industries resulted in a perceived loss of male control and power. â€Å"Metropolis† represented the destruction of masculine dominance over science and nature, represented as a female android, the ultimate opposite. The more information gathered by the development in film theory and psychoanalysis the further we can investigate into understanding the reality of the relationship between spectator and cinema and can move forward from male hegemony into creating an alternative cinema one in which both sexes are represented fairly. this can be shown through the deigesis, mise en scene, etc etc. In Laura Mulveys essay â€Å"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema†, she discusses the passive role that women have played in cinema arguing that this passive role supports the male hegemony by encouraging visual pleasure. This visual pleasure is formed by Mulvey identifies three â€Å"looks† or perspectives that occur in film which serve to sexually objectify women. The first is the perspective of the male character on screen and how he perceives the female character. The second is the perspective of the spectator as they see the female character on screen. The third â€Å"look† joins the first two looks together: it is the male audience members perspective of the male character in the film. This third perspective allows the male audience to take the female character as his own personal sex object because he can relate himself, through looking, to the male character in the film. Female body representation has always involved some degree of eroticism fragment a womens body into various body parts. A good example of how editing shot composition and framing can be seen in Martin Scorseses Raging Bull. The main character Jake La Motta becomes entranced by the physical beauty of - by the side of the pool. By the sequence of close ups we are placed into the mental position of Jake to reduce - to a mere object to be gawped at. Here we literally see the â€Å"looks† as Mulvey referred to them shown through the shot juxtapositioning. Although one could argue this section was designed to illuminate us of Jakes disturbed mentality, thus serves as an extreme example; however we do see these looks perpetrating mainstream Hollywood throughout the generations since its beginnings. However self conscious and ironic Hollywood manages to be, it always restricts itself to a formal mise en scene reflecting the dominant ideological concept of the cinema. The alternative cinema provides a space for the birth of cinema which is radical in a both a political sense and an aesthetic sense and thus challenges the basic assumptions of the mainstream film Thus cinematography holds the key to the buried attitudes of gender. The cinema is an epic form that utilizes dramatic elements; this is determined by the technologies of the camera and editing. Even in a spatially and temporally continuous scene (mimicking the theatrical situation, as it were), the camera chooses where to look for us. In a similar way, editing causes us to jump from one place (and time sometimes) to another, whether it be somewhere else in the room, or across town. This jump is a form of narration; it is as if a narrator whispers to us: â€Å"meanwhile, on the other side of the forest†. â€Å"One of the key pleasures cinema allows is identification. The spectator will almost always identify with the character whose look authorizes the point of view shot.† pg 94 Hedges,Inez Vertigo is a prime example whereby everything is seen from the perspective of the main male protagonist, the audience follow his erotic obsession and subsequent despair precisely from his point of view. However the spectator is caught in moral ambiguity toward the latter part of the film as the film reveals the illicit nature of the voyeurism. â€Å"Were Designed to be hunters and were in a society of shoppers† -Tyler Durden â€Å"These violent white male icons grew at a time when working class white males had to contend with increasing economic instability and dislocation, the perception of gains by people of colour at the expense of the white working class and a womens movement that overtly challenged the male hegemony. One way the system allows working clases (of various races) the opportunity for masculine identity validation is through the use of their body as an instrument of power dominance and control.. The threat that women posed as a result of their increased economic independence, destabilizes gender realtions and upsets male identity†. Spectacle of the Male WHAT WAS GOING ON AT THE TIME? Working Class Males had less access to more abstract forms of masculinity validating power (economic power, workplace authority) Fightclub protagonist has loss of authority, in the end he reaffirms his masculinity through physical acts of violence. Susan Faludi went one step further, arguing that films of the 1980s such as Fatal Attraction (1987) and Baby Boom (1987) were part of a wider backlash against womens liberation and womens careers.Yearning for reinstatement of the nuclear family, American Beauty protagonist yearns for realignment of patriarchal structure as does Gaz in full monty his desire to recover his role as breadwinner so that he can reclaim his son from his ex wife. FIGHT CLUB â€Å"It touched a nerve in the male psyche that was debated in newspapers across the world.† The Times MARLA: â€Å"Could be worse, a woman could cut off your penis† Tyler Durden Marla introduces/is the conflict. Neurotic marla is a sexualized woman/object (her flat dildo etc) placed into whore category. she disturbs the house causes cracks in walls leaks, etc. â€Å"What counts is what the heroine provokes or rather what she represents. She is the one or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance† Budd Boetticher TYLER: Tyler and his impulsive nature, represents the Freudian philosophy of the Id. The id is responsible for our basic drives such as food, water, sex and basic impulses. EXPAND Always has his chest on show like the iconic images of the 1980s heroic action movies. The body is shown to acquire battle scars which removes any erotism which may induce the female gaze need to explain.. used as a tool of power to redeem authority. This is the physical manifestation of the ironic rejection of the â€Å"heroes† of the action films of the previous years. He is in control, has the power over Marla and makes the decisions, drives the narrative. PATERNITY: â€Å"Were a generation of men raised by women† Tyler Durden Paternity discussed in the bathroom between the two, father abandoned him EXPAND THE PHALLUS: First introduced to violent action gun in his mouth then to the softer image of sign saying â€Å"Were still men† Bob has larger breasts feminized. The genitals are particularly present in this film from Tyler showing the graphic images of full frontal male nudity of the penis to taking away the statesmens balls thus demasculating him. Balls stand for Male Power the ability to reproduce Testicular cancer meetings also. Dildo in Marlas bedroom representing the fake male the fake man, the substitution of the real penis with a fake one reveals inferiority complex no need for the real man in the modern world. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Primarily the narrative of the film Fight Club is wholly centered on the male our protagonist Jack. We are encouraged as the spectator to emphasize with him, he navigates the shots in the Voice over the use of the word â€Å" we† is used to encourage identification from the spectator. Is there a problem with identification in this film because the spectator identifies with the protagonist Jack who turns out to be Tyler also so when Jack finds out he is Tyler not only do we experience the same surprise as him, the spectator is left feeling removed from identification? Misplaced just as man does in society? The creation of a microcosm in the house new world order fascism back to being real men, almost militarian (thats what they associate with manhood). Use of colour, lighting difference between the house and the flat, how Brad is framed with his chest exposed showing his muscular torso to portray the idealized man Jack wants to be. The decaying house, large empty insde and out (as its on an industrial estate) builds up a representation of the inner vacousness of the protagonist. MAGNOLIA Paul Thomas Andersons LA ensemble film â€Å"Magnolia† disrupts the classic Oedipal patterning common to many mainstream films. The film repeatedly enacts a pronounced degree of male failure and what amounts to an indictment of the system of father rule The men of Magnolia are to some extent all feminized by circumstance or choice: Earl, dying, is in need of care; Phil is a compassionate male nurse; Donnie is gay and wants to give love; Jimmy, because of his illness, is dependent; and Jim is a nurturing representative of the law who loses first his baton and then his gun, the phallic signifier par excellence. Even Frank Mackey, who has closed down his internal feminine, is again a caretaker by the films end. The most recalcitrant male is Stanleys father, Rick. He suggests a barely controlled violence, throwing a chair through the television as Stanley refuses to compete. A crisis in masculinity and male paradigms of power and behavior is posed. Clearly, the film is scrutinizing how to be a man and live as a man in culture. FRANK: This notion is foregrounded by Franks â€Å"Seduce and Destroy† infomercials, which appear during different segments of the film, and his performance of masculinity for the internal diegetic male audience. The excess of language, gestures, and emotion here enact male hysteria. A wielding of language that speaks as a means to recapture and reanimate male power, it suggests a masculinity reasserting itself at the expense of women. Franks misogyny and anger toward women come to seem a projection, a denial of the self-loathing and father-loss that resulted in his becoming his mothers caretaker as she succumbed to cancer. Women seem to be a smokescreen for his pain, something he can latch on to and feed his sense of rage. Frank, played by Cruise at his best in his usual angry young man mode, is aptly named as the teacher of ostensible truth, power and control who with arms nailed to an unseen cross is projected as an illuminated (Lucifer) savior. His crucified humanity, now a loaded shell, a persona with rigid firm ego boundaries of patent masculinity, launches a provocative assault, laced with inexplicable resentment, against Woman. His assumed control and power over his own vulnerability (fear of his undeveloped feminine component generalized as woman) results paradoxically from the rejection by and loss of his father followed by the incessant care of his slowly dying mother whom he was unable to save. PATERNITY: Stanley Spector to his father: â€Å"You need to start being nicer to me† His all-encompassing impotent rage is projected along with his need to control the symbolic Woman who constitutes the loss of his childhood and manhood. Like a fatherless boy of the ghetto, he shuns the excessive identification and nauseating closeness associated with his mother and her powerless circumstance. To acquire her world would only confirm his loss and her power to destroy. To him she only means burden and loss of freedom; thus he abuses Woman in order to maintain control and detachment. Moreover, his loss of masculinity resulting from the inability to control the inevitable suffering and eventual death of his mother lead him to create and identify with what he lacks, a powerful male image. His artificial self-acquired mastery over himself results tragically from lack of opposition since he cannot win the badge of manhood by defeating a foe who is missing or a cause that is inexplicable. The grateful male crowd (representing the incomplete male) is willing to pay Frank to attain his techniques to compensate for its loss and to overcome its incompleteness through the power of maintaining distance and control. But Frank paradoxically eventually finds redemption in what he denied, in the traditional female manner of acquiring power, through interaction with the Other. Frank, the rejected son finally confronts his dying father who is now unable to reply, apologize and expiate his guilt. Without the articulation and acceptance of his fathers sin, Frank cannot forgive or overcome the unknown one, he can only endure his memory. The cathartic release of his tormented repressed anger and simultaneous conflicted fear of another loss of and desire for his missing father is gripping. He faces uncertainty but his acceptance of his past and his anguished self, the veil of his repression and denial of his history is lifted and results in the loosening of his current defences and hi s false self. The painful return from/to his original position confirms that rebirth is painful. He can now join the family of man. The initially compliant game show kid (J. Blackman) alters his condition of bondage by sacrificing the moment of glory by a paradoxical (anorexial) attempt to avoid the game by controlling his body until he loses bladder control. When he realizes that adherence to arbitrary debilitating rules crushes creativity and freedom, he loses his ambition to succeed conventionally by a symbolic Freudian urethral discharge. Both the game and his body are beyond his control. He confronts his parasitic father as an incomplete child (no mother), asking to be treated anew with respect without having to constantly sacrifice himself to earn the love of his father. THE PHALLUS The cop who shows an interest in her, needs no change, only completion by another, but he too demonstrates his universal deficiency by losing the badge of his profession, his gun. This loss of power is later recovered from the sky god and magically saves a life. His stability rests on his identification with the law which he chooses to interpret selectively as a wise judge with the power to render mercy CINEMATOGRAPHY: Magnolia constructs the place of the female subject differently for the process of identification with the spectator. This is done by.. Magnolia systematically rejects mainstream films signifying system. As Fiske notes, soap opera suggests the workings of a feminine aesthetic and thereby posits the audience as female (180). Magnolia subverts the classic masculine gaze and audience address usually associated with film. The masochistic position from which we watch Magnolia is inscribed by the excessive music and by the competition of the musical discourse and the dialogue. This is doubly inscribed, as it were, because it speaks to the condition of the character as opposed to working in counterpoint to the image. For example, â€Å"One† (â€Å"is the loneliest number †) plays while introducing these lonely characters; over a close-up of the victimized and addicted Claudia, we hear â€Å"Save Me† (â€Å"You look like a girl who could use a tourniquet †). Soap operas exemplify such â€Å"double-voiced discourses† in which dominant cultural forms allow women participation (Fiske 192). The predominant use of close-ups and extreme close-ups throughout the film also expresses this excess. â€Å"There are two dramatic points of depature for melodrama. One is coloured by a female protagonists viewpoint which provides a focus for identification. The other examines the family and between the sexes and generations; here, although women play an important part, their point of view is not always analysed and does not initiate the drama† pg 42 Mulvey.L Marcie, the unruly black woman at the edges of the text, shouts what appear to be empty threats, but the danger she evokes is soon realized. The canted camera angles and frenzy of the editing, in addition to her shouting, foreground the level of disorder she represents. Handcuffed to a sofa, she continues to be verbally abusive as Jim investigates. Pulling the sofa from room to room, she becomes comic relief even as her powerful frame suggests a formidable adversary. Jim seems barely a match for Marcie, despite her containment. Jim: â€Å"MARCIE! DO NOT DRAG THAT COUCH ANY FURTHER!† (Anderson 29). Coded as marginal, Marcie wreaks havoc on the established order to which she is subject but in which she has no place, except as the â€Å"return of the repressed.† Jim finds a dead man in her closet. As a black woman existing on the social margins, she is an enigma that Jim and the film refuse to solve. In terms of sex, too, Magnolia exposes the system of male hegemony and power. In most soap operas, the condition of women living under patriarchy is examined to promote a reading that women identify as corresponding to their own reality, which leads to tears. Doane refers to these melodramatic texts as activating the â€Å"tropes of femininity† (183): waiting, watching and self-sacrifice. Through Jimmy and Earl, marriage as a system is also undermined. Not only is Jimmy adulterous, alcoholic, womanizing, and guilty of incest, he has astonishing contempt for his wife. In one of the films most powerful scenes, Rose learns the truth about her marriage, but it is also clear that she has known. Her performance of the dutiful wife, right up to the end, motivates Jimmys contempt. Rose can only face Jimmys molestation of Claudia when her husband breaks with the veneer of mutual respect and love on which their marriage is based. The only women with power in Magnolia are the black women, and when we are with them we are sutured to the position of two of the films key white male characters, Frank and Jim. That we identify with these women anyway, and with their threat to Frank and Jim, speaks to Magnolias feminine positioning of the viewer.† (a) â€Å"Magnolia displaces film narrative to television text and shifts from the normative masculine viewing position to a feminine one. Magnolia is symptomatic of a crisis in masculinity and interrogates cultural texts such as cop shows, quiz shows, and infomercials. Magnolia is a subversive cultural product, an indictment of paradigms of male hegemony and power, and a critique of the media systems of film and television. The films privileging of the soundtrack is unusual. Paul Thomas Anderson conceives the film in relation to one of Aimee Manns songs and envisions her voice as â€Å"another character† in the film (Anderson 204). Her voice does indeed constitute another character to such an extent that at times it upsets the normative hierarchy of discourses that mainstream films espouse. The use of such a counternarrative strategy and the predominance of a strong female voice working against and at times doubling the text also point to Magnolias challenge to the â€Å"male† textual film system and more traditionally â€Å"masculine† narratives. Manns voice is like a commentary on the action, pulling us in to watch the film from a female viewing position. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dillman, Joanne Clark â€Å"Magnolia†: Masquerading as Soap Opera, Journal of Popular Film and Television 33 no3 142-50 Fall 2005 Dines, Gail: Gender, Race and Class in the media Brod,H. (Ed) (1987) The making of masculinities Various, â€Å"The trouble with men: Masculinities in europeon and Hollywood cinema.† Fuery,Patrick (2000) New Developments In Film Theory- Palgrave, New York, â€Å"Male Spectatorship and the Hollywood Love Story†: Mackinnon, Kenneth. Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2003, Carfax Publishing Classical Hollywood Cinema : Film Style Mode of Production to 1960 Bordwell, David.; Staiger, Janet.; Thompson, Kristin Publication: London Taylor Francis Routledge, 1988. FILMOGRAPHY Fight Club () Dir: David Fincher Magnolia (1999) Paul Thomas Anderson Rocky ( 198 200 ) Thelma and Louise (1991)Dir: Ridley Scott