12 Angry Men: Conflict & Negotiation

Tutorial (T3/W4) 1. Blackboard Forum Refer to Blackboard, Discussion Board, for the tutorial assignment. i)Assume you’ve been appointed HR Executive (Training & Development) of McPEC (Marine & Offshore Engineering Pte Ltd) in Singapore. McPEC is a privately owned entity and a member of the Entraco Group of Companies. The company is capable of undertaking turnkey engineering, procurement, construction, installation and project management (EPCIM) for onshore and offshore oil and gas projects. McPEC is also an ISO 9001-2000 certified company, which meets the ongoing demand for quality and safety standards of all oil and gas customers. Your immediate superior, Mr Lee, Human Resource Manager, has instructed you to come up with a proposal on how to conduct training for staff who are poor in time management. The following guidelines are given to you: – 20 staff, between the ages of 20 – 40, have been found to be poor in time management by not meeting deadlines for their work – 3 hours of training in time management to be conducted – Training Needs Analysis (TNA) not done Non-training needs not analysed With the knowledge you’ve gained so far from TRGD lectures and notes and with reference to McPEC, answer the following questions: †¢ What are the training objectives? †¢ What are the suitable training methods? †¢ What are the factors that influence transfer of training? Enter your individual answer into Blackboard. This is to be done as homework before coming to the tutorial. ii)Watch the DVD by Julie Morgenstern who’s conducting training in time management. Notice her approach and the points she covers. (Time given: 30 mins) Self-assessment How long it will take 4D’s: delete delegate delay diminishing Time map Transform the theory into practice Draw an applicable map for yourself Rapport Multi task iii)Tutor shall summarize the main points of the video and their relevance to the tutorial assignment. (Time given: 10 mins) iv)What could you learn from the approach taken by Julie? Read the answers of your classmates on Blackboard. What could you learn from the answers of your classmates? Discuss as a group on how you could improve on your earlier individual answer on training in time management? Enter your improved group answer into Blackboard. (Time given: 50 mins) v)Each group is to present the main points of their answer. (Time given: 20 mins) Participation on Blackboard will contribute to your individual class participation mark as follows: – Relevant points for effective time management (20 marks) – Practical examples (20 marks) – Suitable for the Singapore context (10 marks) Total: 50 marks 2. Tutor Consultation Time – CA1

New Jersey Institute of Technology Essay

In this 21st century world, the intellectual society plays an important role for communicating and sharing the information. The power of society helps us to collect data which acts as a bridge to our success and advancement in this world. The generosity of teachers, classmates and friends gave me an insight of NJIT. My passion to pursue my dreams forced me to apply for the NJIT. Ever since my childhood years, my interest in computer systems and business both had put me in a dilemma. With the help of my research, I came forward to NJIT which offers degree in computing and business. My passion would be illuminated with the admission in NJIT. The art learning environment at NJIT is a perfect place which can give me the most comprehensive learning experience possible. The diversified climate will help me communicate and indulge in activities of different culture and ethnicity and travel around the globe with ease and knowledge of different countries. Coming from a middle class family it is very essential for the transportation to be less expensive and comfortable. It is another key point which brought me here to apply for the NJIT. The teachings of the brilliant professors of the NJIT and the advanced technology will provide me a great learning experience and expand my intelligence and ideas about this 21st century world. Admission to the NJIT will be one step further towards the path of my dream. The future is controlled by the step taken by an individual in the present. The information provided to me by the teachers, friends, internet and adding me to the list of the students of NJIT will enrich my experience that will help me to grow into well rounded and a successful person.

Bring Safe Drinking Water to the World Essay

Lack of clean water for drinking affect many people in every continent. Around one-fifth of the population in the world stays in areas of physical scarcity while five hundred million people are said to be approaching this situation. This problem is more serious in Africa than in any other continent. Lack of safe water for drinking is explored in the accompanying paper. In this paper, results of lack of clean drinking water in Africa is assessed more so in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper also explores the impact of water scarcity on stability of Africa and the World. It further evaluates how United Nations have helped solve the problem and ways in which developing countries can ensure they have adequate clean water. Lack of safe water for drinking is a one of the leading problem in the world. It has an impact on over 1.1 billion people all over the world. Safe drinking water is defined by World health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation as water that has microbial, physical and chemical characteristics that meet the guidelines of National standard on quality of drinking water (Campbell, Caldwell, Hopkins, Heaney, Wing, Wilson, et al. 2013). Lack of safe drinking water is looked through a population to water equation treated by hydrologists as 7,700 cubic meters per person. This is the threshold for meeting water requirement for every industrial, agricultural production and the environment. It is said that a threshold of less than 1,000 cubic meters of water represent water scarcity and below 500 cubic meters of water represent a state of absolute scarcity. Inadequate safe drinking water is a major challenge to many countries. It is a major problem for developing countries that are racing forward towards physical limits of expansion of fresh water, expanding urban settlement, commercialization of agriculture and industrial sectors. Fresh water is a crucial resource in development of Africa. It is said that Africa continent has a population of 800 million people. 405 of the total population in Africa lack access to safe drinking water. It is argued that half of people living in rural areas of safe drinking water. It is reported that Sub-Saharan Africa has more water stress than other parts of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa has a population of over 320 million people have no access to quality water. It is said to be the only region in the world that will not be able to meet the 2015 millennium development goal. In 2012, a Conference on ‘’Water Scarcity in Africa: issues and Challenges† was presented with information that by 2030, 255 million to 760 millions in Africa will be staying in areas with high water stress (Barone, 2008). Scarcity of safe drinking water has lead to poor heal in Sub-Saharan Africa. People in water deprived areas use unsafe water that causes spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever, malaria, trachoma, typhus and plague. Scarcity of safe water forces people to respond by storing water in their households. This further increases chances of water contamination and spread of malaria due to mosquitoes. Infected people with waterborne diseases reduce chances of community development and productivity due to lack of strength. Government resources are used to buy medicine for these people. This takes away funds meant for food supply, school fees and other development projects. It is estimated by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council that treatment of diarrhea caused by water contamination in Sub-Saharan Africa takes away 12% of countries’ health budget. Government in the areas channels their energy and part of fund allocated for other expenditures to helping people affected by lack of water at the expense of other essential services like maintaining peace and security in the region. Human Development report suggests that use of water by human is mainly on agriculture and irrigation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural activities account from over 80% of the total water consumption. Majority of people in this region depend on agriculture. In rural areas, 90% of families rely on producing their own food hence water scarcity leads to loss of food security. Conflict arises in this region due to political interferences in irrigated land due to land tenure and ownership problems. Governments in this part of the world lack funds and skilled human resources that can support technology and infrastructure needed for good water management and crop irrigation. Scarcity of safe water makes people use waste water for irrigation. This makes a lot of people to eat food with disease causing organisms. Women in this part of the world are burdened by lack of clean water for drinking. They are the collectors, managers as well as guardian of water in domestic spheres which include household chores such as washing, child rearing and cooking. They spend a considerable amount of time fetching water (Dreibelbis, Winch, Leontsini, Hulland, Ram, Unicomb, et al., 2013). This causes a decrease in the time available for education. Their health is also at risk of skeletal damage caused by carrying heavy loads of water every day over long distances. Loss of potential school days and education prevents the next generation of women from holding professional employments. Access to safe water for drinking will make women in Sub-Saharan Africa increase time allocated to education which will make them take leadership positions. Scarcity of water makes many children in this region drop out of school to help in household chores which are made more intense by lack of water. Increase in population in Africa and lack of safe water for drinking has caused a lot of strain and conflict on relations between communities and between countries.It has been argued that Nile River is a source of conflict in nine countries. Water fro Nile River is the only source of sustaining life in both Sudan and Egypt. Egyptians use military force to make sure they retain control over Nile River because she has no other source of water. This conflict runs from the colonial era when England textile factories depended on Sudan and Egypt agricultural activities. After the colonial era, Egypt continued to create political instability in Ethiopia. It blocked international financing agencies from giving loans to Ethiopia in order to finance projects on the river. The conflict is now real because Ethiopia has now managed to carry out water projects on her own like building hydro-power dams and irrigation programs. Egypt has been reported to issue threats of war to Tanzania and Ethiopia. In 1970s, Egypt armed Somalia separatist rebels in Ethiopia in the Somali invasion. The nine involved states have had agreements and treaties in a bid to control conflict. However, treaties and agreements have resulted to inequitable rights of using water from Nile River between countries. An example is a treaty between Great Britain and Ethiopia, Emperor Menelik II, king of kings of Ethiopia. He agreed with the government of His Britannic Majesty not to construct or permit construction projects across Blue Nile, the Sobat and Lake Tana in 1902. In 1906, an agreement between Britain and Government of Independent state of Congo would not construct or permit any construction of projects over or near Semliki or Isango rivet that would reduce the amount of water entering Lake Albert. In 1925, conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia escalated because Ethiopia opposed earlier agreements (Dreibelbis et al., 2013). The League of Nations demanded Italy and British government give an explanation on sovereignty of Ethiopia on Lake Tana. The League of Nations did not help resolve the conflict because there was no self enforcing and reliable mechanism to protect the property rights of stakeholders which is necessary for international water development to be applied. Due to failure of United Nations to help solve the Nile basin conflict, nine riparian states formed a partnership called Nile Basin Initiative. Its mandate is to develop Nile River in a cooperative way, sharing social-economic benefits that promote regional security and peace. World Bank agreed to support the work of Nile Basin Initiative as a development partner as well as an administrator of multi donor Nile Basin Trust Fund. Disputes have also erupted in Niger River Basin. Disagreements and disputes in this basin are caused by limited access to safe drinking water. The disputes are between communities in Mali, Nigeria, and Niger. River flows and rainfall have reduced from 1970s leading to tension between two communities that live in the basin. The two communities are pastoralists and farmers. Pastoralists are forced by lack of water to travel farther with their herds. On the other hand, farmers expand their cropland to take care of increasing population. This reduces pathways that are available to herder and their livestock. Tension increased due to poor policy decisions. In Lokoga in Nigeria, government started dredging Niger River in early 2009 to increase commercial shipping (Huang, Jacangelo & Schwab, 2011). The government of Nigeria argued that dredging would help reduce flooding but late farmer suffered from floods in 2010. Farmers resulted to building homes and cultivating land away from the river leading to reduction in land available for grazing. This has facilitated conflict between the two communities greatly. New dams rose built by the government of Nigeria raised ecological issues that provoked hard negotiations over sharing of resources equitably in Niger Basin (Loftus, 2009). It was reported that Mali and Niger did not support construction of dams across the river. Navigation of the river was also constrained by the availability of large boats when water is deep enough. Climate change in Niger Basin has caused a high degree of variability in river flows, rainfall and temperature. The international community is doing little in helping the conflicting countries in the Niger Basin resolve the conflict. Scarcity of safe drinking water has also led to a lot of competition in Volta River basin. Volter River basin is said to be one of the poorest part in Africa continent and is shared by six West African states. People in the basin depend on agriculture as their means of livelihood. The population in West Africa is growing at the rate of 3% thus putting pressure on water resources and land. Burkina Faso is increasing agricultural development upstream using surface resources such as water (Okun, 1991). Water development in Burkina Faso has had a negative impact on Akosombo Dam which Ghana depends on for its energy supply. In 1998, low water level caused energy crisis in Ghana which ended up blaming Burkina Faso water project. Low water levels could have been caused by other factors such as unreliable rainfall variability. Peaceful conflict resolutions could be hindered in the future by insufficient communication between Ghana and Burkina Faso (Ram, Kelsey, Miarintsoa, Rakotomalala, Duns ton, & Quick, 2007). Ghana wants to create dams for power generation while Burkina Faso plans to use water for irrigation hence causing conflicts of interest. This conflict received international community recognition which formed a major inter-governmental program to enhance regional cooperation. Green cross water for peace project was put in place to ensure full and also active involvement of representatives of civil societies across the region in generation of basin’s agreement, management policies and principles. Developing countries can learn form developed countries on how to have adequate water supply and sanitation facilities, management of floods, pollution, management of rivers and large dams. Ram et al. (2007) argues that good governance can help address the lack of safe drinking water. He further argues that good governance is essential in procuring loans and aid for water projects form international organizations like world bank, International Monetary Fund, Africa Development bank and from developed countries like Britain, Germany, china, France, united Sates of America and Russia (Rosenberg, 2010). An example of a country that applied good governance to address water problem is South Africa. After Apartheid, the government of South Africa inherited huge problems of access to safe drinking water. It had a population of over 15 million people lacked access to clean water. The government managed to commit itself to high standards and investment subsidies to achieve its goal. From that time South Africa has made good progress to a point where it reached the universal access to improved water source in its urban centers. Similarly, the percentage of people in rural areas with access to clean water increased from sixty six percent to seventy nine percent from 1991 to 2010 (Loftus, 2009). Good governance will help government in developing countries partner with institutions that will help turn all underperforming utilities into good service providers. They would also benefit from the expertise in local, national and international sectors. Research has shown that it is difficult to change processes in water sectors. There has been friction between stakeholder and partners in determining priorities. This led to ambiguities in the role and responsibilities allocation resulting to the high cost of transaction. Just like in developed countries, good governance in developing countries will enable providers and policymakers are accountable to water users. This assists in improving services and enhancing consumer understanding the need for changes and the possible contribution of public private partnership (Ram et al., 2007). Great relationship with international financial institutions will enable developed countries have an adequate supply of safe water. World Bank is known to finance building of infrastructure such as funds to dig boreholes. It usually subsidizes the cost of infrastructure through inter-governmental transfers, donor projects and social development funds (Okun, 1991). Developing countries should consider the use of use Decentralized Mebran Filtration system. This technology provides safe drinking water that is clean. This system employs effective ways of removing surrogate bacteria and parasites from drinking water hat is responsible for contamination of water. This method is affordable to low income countries. Decentralized Mebran Filtration system is appropriate where central municipal water treatment is not possible. It aims to apply integrated bench scale and field scale approach in evaluating sustainability of Decentralized Mebran Filtration system in providing safe drinking water (Huang et al., 2011). Another possible solution is applying desalinization technology. This technology is said to filter salty water through membranes and removing salt through a process of electro dialysis and the reverse osmosis. The technology has worked in over one hundred and thirty countries in Middle East and in North Africa. With this technology, countries that are currently using it produce over six billion gallons of safe drinking water a day. Recycling and filtration should also be encouraged because the two methods are easy and cheap. Conserving water can also be achieved on a smaller scale beginning with improvement in homes (EMD, 2009). Developed countries should explore and exploit underground water. A country like Kenya and Namibia has discovered a 10,000 year old supply of water in underground aquifers. This underground water can satisfy the needs of Namibia for over four hundred years. Researchers argue that throughout Africa, there is twenty times more underground water than volume of surface water. The population of Africa is expected to increase to over two billion in 2050. This implies that countries need to explore other sources of water since traditional sources of fresh water are affected by changes in climate, lack of rainfall and rises in temperature that evaporate lakes and rivers. Other methods that developing countries should encourage their citizens to use include boiling water. It is an efficient method of water sterilization though boiling is costly in terms of fuel use. Another method is solar disinfection by use of ultraviolet radiation. This method is cheap and less damaging. It involves putting water in transparent plastic bottles and exposing it to sunlight for about forty eight hours. This technology cost people nothing by only plastic bottles full of water on corrugated metal roof. Low income countries should also start water projects like water dams and rain catchment systems. These methods are simple and inexpensive. A well close to a village or in a village ensures people do not walk long distances in search of water. It saves time hence making sure there is enough time allocated for other things like learning (Barone, 2008). Campbell et al. (2013) argues that integrated research can help countries achieve adequate supply of safe water for drinking. He attributes the lack of water to fear and inadequate reorganization by communities. He points out that global research can help solve the problem of water scarcity and proper sanitation. This implies that United Nations should put more effort in bringing solutions to water problems. African countries can achieve adequate supply of clean water if they invest in integrated research and funding. They should also put in place policies and infrastructures that attract foreign investments from developed countries such as United States of America, France, China and Russia. Lack of safe water for drinking is a global problem. It affects both developed countries as well as developing countries. United Nations should look for ways to deal with water scarcity and amicable ways of resolving political instabilities resulting from water stress. Developing countries should learn from developed countries on the most appropriate ways of providing clean water. They should maintain good governance and a good environment that can attract foreign investors as well as donors. Through collective effort from all stakeholders, the problem of water can be solved. References Barone, J. (2008). Better Water. Discovery, 29(5), 31-32. Campbell, R. L., Caldwell, D., Hopkins, B., Heaney, C. D., Wing, S., Wilson, S. M., et al. (2013). Integrating Research and Community Organizing to Address Water and Sanitation Concerns in a Community Bordering a Landfill. Journal of Environmental Health, 75(10), 48-50. Dreibelbis, R., Winch, P. J., Leontsini, E., Hulland, K. R., Ram, P. K., Unicomb, L., et al. (2013). The Integrated Behavioural Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: a systematic review of behavioural models and a framework for designing and evaluating behaviour change interventions in infrastructure-restricted settings. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1015. EMD Millipore (2013, September 23). EMD Millipore Donates $30,000 to Charity: Water in Recognition of World Water Week. Pharma Business Week, p. 22. Huang, H., Jacangelo, J. G., & Schwab, K. J. (2011). Decentralized Membrane Filtration System for Sustainable and Safe Drinking Water Supply in Low-Income Countries: Baseline Study. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 137(11), 981-989. Loftus, A. (2009). Rethinking Political Ecologies of Water. Third World Quarterly, 30(5), 953-968. Okun, D. A. (1991). A Water and Sanitation Strategy for the Developing World. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 33(8), 16-43. Ram, P. K., Kelsey, E., Miarintsoa, R. R., Rakotomalala, O., Dunston, C., & Quick, R. E. (2007). Bringing Safe Water to Remote Populations: An Evaluation of a Portable Point-of-Use Intervention in Rural Madagascar. American Journal of Public Health, 97(3), 398-400. Rosenberg, T. (2010). The burden of thirst. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Magazine. Source document

The Increasing Scientific Interest on the Importance of Human Sleep Dissertation

The Increasing Scientific Interest on the Importance of Human Sleep - Dissertation Example Sleep is defined as an altered awareness wherein the human body or the body of the organism that sleeps is in a different physical and psychological state as when it is awake. This can be attributed to the variation of the electrophysiological activity during sleeping as well as during the waking hours.Sleep is one of the most interesting subject matter in the field of scientific and social research. The research had been undertaken to explore the different topics and issues about sleep and ultimately present and discuss the importance of sleep for the human body. Due to the fact that sleeping is part of the daily activity of the human body, it had been given great attention in the medical, scientific and social researchers in the past few years due to the important role that it holds specifically in the proper functioning and health of the body. The main aim of the research then is to explore the meaning and mechanism of sleep so as to have a clearer picture as to why sleep is impor tant in the human existence. The main objective of the study is to define and explore the different aspects of sleep and to present the new advances in the results of the researchers and studies related to the topic. Specifically, there are individual objectives that will serve as the guiding outline of the research which is as follows: 1.To define the meaning of sleep which includes the mechanism and the different stages of sleep 2.To define one of the products of sleeping which is the dream and to discuss the mechanism of how dream works.

Dance assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dance assignment - Essay Example He uses such common terms as â€Å"Yankee† to refer to Americans. This portrays the use of slang in the society at the time, a feature that has persisted to date as well. He describes New York as an ideal society where he once had fan especially at the junction of Broadway and 42nd. The intersection was a famous entertainment hub and a social center for the time. The use of ships as the main means of transport at the time makes the song antique thereby succeeding in placing it strategically in the time (Carter 67). Robert Louis "Bob" Fosse was yet another successful choreographer who influenced the development of the art not only in America but also internationally. He was an innovative and the most successful choreographer of the time. He for example won eight Tony Awards for choreography, an unprecedented achievement at the time. Key among his innovations was Redhead in which he fuses more than five dances to come up with a unique piece. The five included a ballet sequence, a gypsy dance and a cancan among other popular moves of the time. Infusing the more than five dance styles is a complicated process that requires dancers to adopt varying positions at various times during the dance. Dancers move sequentially and in rhythmic patterns. At other times, they move freely as they cover the stage space only to pair up once again. They change to sequential slow moves making twists and turns with their bodies depending with the varying crescendos of the song (Beddow 91). Bob Fosse did not only rep resent the life in the American society at the time but also influenced the cultural norms. His creations were both artistic and innovative. He, therefore, portrays the United States as a liberal society, one that fosters innovations. Bob Fosse and George M. Cohan are two distinct individuals who lived in different times. The differences in the social structure influence the differences in the works of the two. They

Election of 1860 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Election of 1860 - Essay Example A year after John Bolt had attempted a slave revolt in Virginia, the national debate over slavery reached boiling point and a number of Southern states threatened to secede from the Republican Party, which triggered the start of the civil war, just after the outcome of the elections. The Republican Party was advocating for the expansion of the slavery into the western nation. The two opposing sides locked heads up to and after the presidential election. The choice for leadership was not easy either. Some people thought Stephen Douglas was the best candidate. Others thought that John Breckenridge or John Bell was the most suitable candidate for America at that time. However, the presidential elections outcome proved that Lincoln was the most preferred candidate to the electorate despite the fact that only 40% of the votes cast went to him, with 2000 fewer votes going to him. The divide between the North and the South saw Lincoln gunner most of his votes in the North and clinching the leadership without support from the South. It was however Lincoln’s victory that provoked the session crisis that later sparked the war that

Art review Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art review - Term Paper Example id and severe reality for the purpose of fixing into perception of a viewer another real dimension that rather encapsulates hopeful emotion within the realm of humble magic. It is as if to get someone into a scene, typical enough to avoid confusion at attempting to figure its meaning yet as one learns in the process how geometries were simplified in distinct strokes and clever mix of colors by Bluemner, it eventually bears a culminating approach to realize how overwhelming it could get once the essence of each detail is assessed. The artists works in general provide a feel of the museum which enables a basic critic to yield at an aspect where simplicity drives out sophistication though it is in itself sophisticated. In unique terms, the overall idea of Oscar Bluemner possesses a side of complexity that is potentially generous with effortless understanding of a nearly surreal possibility. The Form and Light, Motif in West New Jersey (Beattiestown) is especially captivating to the extent I could automatically relate to the 18th century genre which draws me to engage to what was taking place at the time Bluemner necessitated a moment of thought as from a personal experience, imagination or mode of preference in expressing both his style and passion. As an oil on canvas original released in 1914, the painting depicts a view of life into life, of wonders to unfold out of the mundane attitude toward an ordinary setting or picture in which reality puts in a huge amount of routine. Being the work I chose with great significance compared to the rest of his collection, I believe that it teaches me to moderate on perspective between elegance and its far extreme rustic opposite just like a plausible analogy to the proper way of treating bad from good, in recognition of equivalent worth for both. I am well astonished by Bluemners means of smoothing borders of shapes that altogether produce a dreamy yet adventuresome interpretation of the theme. To a scrutinizing audience,

Manufacturing Planning and Scheduling Techniques Assignment

Manufacturing Planning and Scheduling Techniques - Assignment Example Authentic BMW Light alloy wheels are the consequence of a complicated innovation and style practice – concentrated around the private BMW versions along with the numerous problems. The outcome is a sizable collection of light alloy wheels that satisfy the finest quality criteria and are flawlessly incorporated into the all-around depiction of the BMW they were meant for. Â  Forging is a basic process included in the production process of light alloy wheels. A paired thermo-mechanical form of the analysis of plastic-type deformation and ambiance substitute is personalized in the binding component configuration. With the intention to take into consideration the strain-rate impact on element traits in conjunction with the flow and pressure dependence on high temperature, the inflexible visco-plasticity is commonly employed in the display. An assortment of process scenarios was applied to the display such as punch pace, side perimeter, along with the deepness of the die cavity. Evaluation of a more straightforward and compact style is conducted and matched against the appearance in regards to forging load to verify the genuineness of the structure customized. Following that, various methods with the full-scale item for a 6061 aluminum-alloy wheel are simulated. Material flow, pressure distributions exerted on the die fortification, heat distributions a nd then forging weight are summarized similarly to basic data for process structure and selection of an appropriate press equipment. Â  With this particular method of High-Pressure Die Casting, the alloy in the liquid form is injected at extremely swift speed and significant stress into a steel cast. This equipment consists of two upright platens upon which enhancers are placed which cause the die to be maintained as halves. One platen is installed, whereas, the other may move very well, guaranteeing that the die is going to be exposed and closed.

Present how strategic planning, performance improvement, and Essay

Present how strategic planning, performance improvement, and information systems are interrelated and fundamental to the delivery of quality health care - Essay Example This is because health care organizations are dynamic and thus they experience changes that are rapid, complex, and discontinuous from time to time (Swayne, Duncan, & Ginter, 2006). This makes the people involved in its management to require high degree of leadership skills. The investigations would have the capacity to improve this and thus improve management of these organizations. The issue to be investigated in this research is management of health care organizations. This encompasses issues like strategic planning, operational planning, and tactical planning. Health care organizations face a form of competition that could only be addresses using a systematic fashion (Moseley, 2009). The systematic fashion could be achieved through coordination of strategic planning, operational planning, and tactical planning. Issues that would be investigated by research proposed by this paper will aim at improving these three aspects of management and their coordination. Impact of not investigating this issue would be very great since it would make it difficult to improve management of healthcare organizations. Moreover, it would make improvement of these aspects of management too hard. As a result, health care organizations administrator would be able to use their leadership position and capability to interrelate strategic planning, performance improvement, and information system to provision of quality health care. Therefore, the profitability and survival of health care organizations in their respective markets would be greatly reduced. The research topic, which to be investigated in the proposed research, is improvement of health care organization management. Various specific researches have been undertaken on this research topic. Some of them have been trying to identify the factors that might be hindering proper management of these organizations. Others have been trying to investigate the impact of poor

Corporate Strategy of Halifax and the Bank of Scotland Essay

Corporate Strategy of Halifax and the Bank of Scotland - Essay Example From a building society with a long history of lending to local working people who build their homes, Halifax demutualized in 1997 officially becoming Halifax plc. Shortly before, it merged with the Leeds Permanent Building Society and acquired Clerical Medical Fund Managers, a British life insurance company. When Halifax was listed at the London Stock Exchange in June 1997, more than 7.5 million customers became stockholders of the new bank, and it became the fifth largest company in the UK in terms of market capitalization. The new publicly-listed company continued to expand its consumer base with the acquisition of Birmingham Midshires Building Society in 1999. The Bank of Scotland (BoS) has been one of the two largest banks in Scotland, in competition primarily with the Royal Bank of Scotland. It is considered the oldest surviving bank in the UK. Prior to merging with Halifax in 2001, the BoS had little presence in Wales and England. Its strength was limited in the corporate and business sectors. Prior to the 2001 merger with Halifax, its strategy of trying to reach out to markets outside the UK and to establish a retail or mass consumer presence was at times, erratic. Riding the spate of consolidation and mergers in the late 1990s, the BoS made a bold move to take over National Westminster Bank (NatWest), a much larger bank in from late 1999 to early 2000, but was defeated in the final bid by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The BoS also made forays into the markets outside UK - establishing a presence in Australia, with its purchase of Perth-based Bank of Western Australia, in addition to its presence in the United States, Moscow and Singapo re. It however sold its New Zealand bank asset, the Countrywide Bank of New Zealand to Lloyds TBS in 1998. The Bank of Scotland's attempt to establish a wide presence in retail banking in the United States was characterized by controversy. The deal with Christian preacher Pat Robertson folded after the evangelist's racist and sexist comments about Scotland were scored by civil rights groups. In 2001, the 10.8 billion-pound merger between Halifax and the Bank of Scotland, resulting in Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) was called by the company executives as "the new force in banking" (Burt & Crosby n.y.). As a result, HBOS has now 22 million customers across the UK or two out of five households. Halifax, the consumer champion brought into the table, financial strength and scale, new products and channels and innovation. The Bank of Scotland, the old hand at commercial lending, allowed Halifax shareholders to fulfill its diversification strategies, and offered its lending capability and culture, opportunities in the small-and-medium and corporate markets, enhanced retail opportunities and partnership expertise. The strategic directives of the new company rested in its business balance (retail and commercial lending), leading brands (18 in all), market power (UK's number four financial service company) and management strength. Two strategies underpin HBOS drive to become UK' s fastest growing financial services company: one is through diversification of its services across all markets, and two, offering low rates and fees to ramp up volumes and to further achieve competitive pricing. The diversified strategy of the newly formed HBOS was reflected in five main banking divisions:

Mohammed Daoud Khan Essay Example for Free

Mohammed Daoud Khan Essay The chapter begins where the last left off, Amir was left speechless after Hassan’s criticism. Before Amir could respond to Hassans criticism of his story, gunfire erupted outside. The boys huddled together with Ali until Baba came home. For the first time, Amir saw fear on his fathers face. He was even glad for the violence for a moment, because Baba held him and Hassan close. The events of that night, July 17, 1973, were a precursor to the end of life as Afghanis knew it. What would follow was the Communist coup detat of 1978, followed by the Russian occupation beginning in December of 1979. On that July night, the kings brother, Daoud Khan, had seized Zahir Shahs kingdom while he was away. Afghanistan had gone overnight from a monarchy to a republic. Tired of listening to the radio news, Amir and Hassan went to climb their favourite tree. On the way, a young sociopath named Assef and his friends confronted them. He taunted Hassan for being a Hazara; Assef also had a habit of taunting Ali, whom he called Babalu. He praised Hitler and then said that he wanted to finish what Hitler started and rid Afghanistan of Hazaras. He called Amir and Baba a disgrace to Afghanistan for taking in Hazaras. Just as Assef threatened to punch Amir with his brass knuckles, Hassan pointed his slingshot at the bully and threatened to take out his eye. Assef and his friends retreated, but promised to come back for Amir and Hassan later. On Hassans birthday, Baba summoned him to the house as usual to collect his present. To Hassan, Amir, and Alis shock, Baba had hired a plastic surgeon to correct Hassans harelip. Amir was jealous that Baba was giving Hassan such special attention. The surgery went well and Hassan could finally smile an unbroken smile. Ironically, Amir explains, it was soon after that Hassan stopped smiling for good.

Corporate Social Responsibility and branding Essay Example for Free

Corporate Social Responsibility and branding Essay 1. Introduction In this chapter the background of the thesis will be presented and discussed. Moreover, a literature review, research problem and research questions will be introduced in order to get an understanding of the study purpose. This is followed by the limitations and disposition. 1.1 Background The companies of today are very aware of what the public and other stakeholders demand from the companies ´ way of handle their responsibilities (Burchell, 2008). In order to form a strategy for the protection of their brand image and reputation many companies find themselves engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility activities (Kotler and Lee 2005), from now on abbreviated CSR. The desire of doing well and doing good in the society in which the company is operating have been of increasing interest world wide during the last decade. As a result, corporate reporting on social responsibility initiatives can more often be found in companies ´ marketing strategies (Kotler and Lee, 2005). Even though CSR activities are increasing among today ´s organizations there is still lack of a general universally definition of this concept (Crowther and Capaldi, 2008). But in a broad perspective CSR is understood and described as the way companies integrate social, economic and environmental matters into their internal organization (values, culture, decision making and strategy), which leads to establishment of better society, wealth and better practices within the company (Horrigan, 2010). Considering the breadth of CSR it can subsequently be described in many different names: corporate responsibility, corporate sustainability, corporate accountability, corporate citizenship, sustainable development etc (Benn and Bolton, 2011). In a shorter explanation, CSR can therefore be explained as the relationship between a corporation and its stakeholder (Crowther and Capaldi, 2008). Already in 1972 the American professor in Business Administration, Dow Votaw, stated that the amount pages on social responsibility written in our time would fill up a small library. As it turns out, he was right. CSR is here to stay. The idea of taking responsibility beyond what the law demands has increased since the millennial shift (Borglund, DeGeer and Sweet, 2012). Especially big organizations, both in the public and private sectors, are engaging in these kinds of activities (Burchell, 2008). The benefits of a company ´s usage of CSR activities can lead to a better position in the market and a positive return on investment. On top of that of course the benefits for society, such as improvement of life or a cleaner environment (Kotler and Lee, 2005). On the other hand, many view CSR mainly as a step towards a reputation as a responsible business and as good citizens (Burchell, 2008). Either how, risks by avoiding to use this concept can lead to lack of legitimacy for the organization. Meyer and Rowan (1977) also claim that when having a business it is important to be accepted and to be legitimacy in the environment as well as having effective and structured internal processes to survive. According to Grusch (2006) consumers actively scrutinize the local behavior of international companies. Their out-sourced ventures are also being observed, and information regarding possible bad behavior reaches the ears of the public much more quickly than it used to. Consequently, to the stakeholders awareness and other factors that can have an impact on a companys survival, it is therefore important for companies to establish competitive advantage. Differentiation is a way to secure competitive advantage. By using a differentiation strategy a company ´s key strengths and core competencies builds up, and this is where CSR has an important role for a company ´s brand as it gets differentiate by incorporating it in the corporate image. This kind of action can generate to better brand attitudes and in the long run this will result in brand loyalty (Grant, 2008). 1.2 Literature review 1.3 Problem discussion As stated in the background, CSR is a burning question among today ´s companies. Stakeholders are starting to put more pressure on companies ´ responsibility in the society they are operating in, therefore, in order to get a competitive advantage CSR has become a major tool in their marketing strategy (Kotler and Lee, 2005). A branding law defined by Werther and Chandler (2005) shows that CSR will evoke attitudes towards the brand. Are these attitudes positive it will be lead to positive purchase decision and loyal customers, which give companies competitive advantage (Roper and Fill 2012). In Kotler and Lee ´s book (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility – Doing the most good for your company and your cause, they are describing examples of well-known organizations that have used CSR to increase their brand value. It has therefore been a shift focus in the CSR debate, nowadays it is more a debate of how CSR activities should be used and how effective it can be used as a branding tool, rather than if companies should use this concept or not (Smith, 2003). Based on the debate the question that arises is therefore: in what way should CSR activities be used in order to be effective for a positive attitude towards the brand? Today there are many studies relating to the area of CSR. Research does suggest there is a positive relationship between CSR and consumer attitudes towards brands and companies (Creyer and Ross 1997; Ellen, Mohr and Webb, 2000; Lacey and Kennet-Hensel, 2010). It is also shown in studies that CSR activities influence how the consumer behave when a certain brand appear in their mind (Becker-Olsen et al., 2006; Nhattacharya and Sen, 2004). However, most of these studies are focusing on people and brand perception in developed countries. The literatures were more specialized of how the CSR influences image of the brand in the western world and how the western public persuaded the brand of the CSR activities. When doing literature research, the amount of research studies about CSR in developing countries were of a narrow amount. No study could be found about CSR ´s link to branding in a developing ´s countries perspective, further, about how the locals ´ (employers of the company and the consumer in the developing country) brand perception of CSR activities are. As the real life stories in Kotler and Lee ´s book (2005) showed that CSR has an effective link to the brand. However, most of the organizations were conducting the CSR activities in the country they operated in and the society had a good knowledge of what CSR is. Likewise, a study showed that the brand would be effected and look different if the consumers were aware of CSR of the companies (Boulstridge and Carrigan 2000). So the question that can be asked and discussed is if it will appear an effective link to a company ´s brand in a country that is not developed? A research gap is therefore identified. If we place and conduct a study conducted in a western world in a developing country ´s context, would the outcome be the same? Would there be a similar link between CSR and branding there? 1.4 Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to get a deeper understanding of the link between a company ´s CSR and its branding in a developing country. Based on the purpose the following research questions will be presented: 1. What kind of CSR activities are being used to effectively increase positive attitudes towards the company ´s brand? 2. In what way is a company ´s CSR linked to its brand in the Philippines? 3. And how do these attitudes create value for the brand? 2. Methodology In this chapter the research methodology applied in this thesis will be discussed. A description regarding the method design of the study will be explained in the following order: research design, data collection, validity and reliability and data analysis. 2.1 Research approach There are three type of studies identified by Yin (2003): exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. An exploratory research design tries to define the research question and form the hypothesis. A descriptive research in the other hand, tries to describe a different characteristic of a phenomena that arises. When doing a descriptive case study the data collection is being guided by theories. When conducting the explanatory research design it is about how it explains course of events and relate how things happened (Yin, 2003). According to Yin (2003) this thesis can be seen as a descriptive research as it will focus on describing what impact CSR has on branding. When using a descriptive research the problem is structured and understood, which means that existing literature about the topic of CSR and branding (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2010). And this kind of research is mainly done when a researcher wants to gain an even better knowledge of a specific topic (Gill and Johnson, 2010). Due to the research purpose, which is to investigate how CSR influences on a company ´s brand in the Philippines this research method fits the best among the three other ways. 3.2 Research design I chose case studies method, because it enhances the understanding of what is going on in a particular case and it can involve a detailed investigation (Yin, 2009). This information that is gained from case studies are therefore relevant to answer some of my problem and research questions as I want to investigate companies ´ CSR activities and observe these activities in order to understand its impact on the brand which is the data collection in my first section of the study. By a case study approach observations of a companies ´ activities can be captured, which is in a way impossible to capture through questionnaires and interviews (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010). 3.3.1 The case study In the beginning of March I will travel to the Philippines to carry on an eight weeks field study which will give me the opportunity to study some Swedish/International companies ´ CSR activities and how these activities affect their brand perception by interviewing the consumers and workers in country. The case study will therefore obtain information to fulfill my purpose. The choice of companies: The information obtained will be from companies that use CSR activities in the Philippines. In order to fill the research gap I will be aiming for to study companies with well-known CSR activities. 2.3 Data collection A qualitative method will be used in order to collect the information for this thesis. Regarding to Trost (2005) a qualitative method is described as a method where the interviewer gathers the information on the interviewee ´s feelings, thoughts and experiences. Hence, to the search of a deeper understanding of how CSR affects the brand perception, this qualitative approach fit the purpose of the thesis because it can give me a deep information regarding the employees ´ and consumers opinions and feelings towards CSR in the Philippines and the brand which is the aim of this study. 2.3.1 Qualitative interview design Semi-structures face-to-face-interview. 4.4 Validity in qualitative research â€Å"Descriptive validity refers to the degree to which the actual description holds true† (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010 p. 210). Bias: When interviewing the respondents a â€Å"lifting† description of the brand can appear, because they have been chosen to do this certain interview about the companies’ actions. Language is the basic tool of interviewing, and may especially be important in qualitative interviewing (Kvale, 1989). The interviews will be conducted by me in English and since communication is a very important in order to get the information it can appear some small misunderstanding as English is not my mother language. But by conducting a face to face interview, the body language and face expression will increase the validity of the interviews. REFERENCES Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J. and Armstrong, G. (2004). Principles of Marketing, 4th European edition. New Jersey: FT- Prentice Hall. Burchell, J. 2008. The Corporate Social Responsibility Reader. London and New York: Routledge. Kotler, P. and Lee, N. (2005)  ´Corporate Social Responsibility – Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause ´, Hoboken, New Jersey. Crowther, D. and Capaldi, N. (2008). The ashgate research companion to Corporate Social Responsibility. MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall Suchman, M. C. (1995) Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches. Academy of Management Review, Vol 20;3, p 571-610. Benn, S. and Bolton, D. (2011). Key Concepts in Corporate Social Responsibility. SAGE Publications Ltd: London Werther, W.B. And Chandler, D. (2005)  ´Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility as Global Brand Insurance ´, Business Horizons 48:317-24. Boulstridge, E and Carrigan, M.†Do consumers really care about corporate responsbility? Highlighting the attitude behavior gap.† Journal of communication management, (2000): 359-360 Gill, J and Johnson, P, 2010, Research Methods for Managers 4th Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd Ghauri, P and Gronhaug, K, 2010, Research Methods in Business Studies 4th edition. Pearson Education Limited. Trost, J, 2005, Kvalitativa intervjuer. Studentlitteratur, Lund. Halvorsen, K. (1989). Samhà ¤llsvetenskaplig Metod. Oslo: Studentlitteratur AB Yin, R.K, 2009, Case Study Research – Design and Method. London: SAGE Ellen, P.S., Webb, D.J. Mohr, L.A. (2006). Building corporate associations: consumer attributions for corporate socially responsible programs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34 (2), 147-57. doi: 10.1177/0092070305284976 Creyer, E. H., Ross, W. T., Jr. (1997). The influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: Do consumers really care about business ethics? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), 421–32. doi: 10.1108/07363769710185999

Portrayal Of Homosexual Characters In Disney Film Studies Essay

Portrayal Of Homosexual Characters In Disney Film Studies Essay The Walt Disney Company first appeared in America (and soon after the rest of the world) in the 1920s. 90 years later and it is still going strong and is a corporation to be reckoned with. From their beginnings as a simple animation company, it now covers lots of different genres of film as well as branching out to television companies, theme parks, books, theatre adaptations, cruises and music labels. To date, Disney has produced 49 animated films, 10 live-action, 11 DisneyToon productions, two stop-motion and 10 Pixar films with the hugely anticipated release of Toy Story 3 in June 2010. But concentrating on their main produce, their range of animated films has been experience by everyone from the ages of 1 to 101. Disney is at the forefront of family entertainment as well as a form of escapism (a flying elephant, living toys, mermaids and monsters?!) and a hidden (if not obvious to adults) way to introduce morality to children as early as possible. However, who decides what morals to portray in these very Americanised films? In recent times, Disney films have reflected the social climate with the introduction of the first black protagonist in The Princess and the Frog (2009). So as these films are becoming true to life and educating future generations, has there been an introduction of non-heterosexual characters as well? The Disney Companys first feature length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) was a colossal project which pushed every employee working on the production extremely hard but the results were worth it. The amalgamation of a moral filled story with realistic animation then paved the way for the following Disney films during, what was known as their Golden Age: Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942). The morals contained within these films and all to follow, were seen by conservative Americans as important family values and trusted upon Disney to teach these values to everyone. For more than 50 years Walt Disney Company has represented all that is good and pure and wholesome in our nation. Families flocked to Walk Disney World and Disneyland because they knew that Walt Disney respected and nurtured the traditional American family and its strong moral values. Disney could always be counted on to provide parents and children alike with family-friendly, good-natured entertainment Letter from a coalition of Florida lawmakers, 1995 However, are these morals and values shared by all? And does the way in which they are portrayed actually reflect reality? They are American ideals of conservative family values which support the life storyline of romance, marriage (to someone of the opposite sex) and then children in a parallel world to that of the traditional Anglo-Saxon, Christian American upbringing. Reading further into these ideals are that of the issues of individuality, love and capitalism that are being depicted to all Disney viewers, namely children. These viewers cannot differentiate what is being shown to them as not necessarily the reality of the world (as the world consists of more than just the one religion of Christianity). New generations of children subjected to Disney films are growing up with ideologies from these stories as they have faith in them to contain some element of truth. Not all the storylines can be deemed as promoting negative beliefs though. Disney movies always contain an aspect of the follow your heart love which if regarded as the most important moral, then maybe some people will overlook the American family values shown in favour of love. However, this follow your heart belief can only really exist within some religions as others have strict rulings as to who you can marry and really fall in love with. Throughout film history (up until recently), there were very few storylines which contained a gay or lesbian character as a protagonist. The general film public saw those films, which did include a main gay character, as gay-themed (so not to their tastes) or alternative. In recent years, filmmakers have seen a niche in the market for gay films, although it was in 1896 with The Celluloid Closet that a gay subtext was used within in a film. It would then take some 70 years later before Queer Cinema would come about. Censorship on homosexuality in films came about in Britain in 1912 with the founding of the British Board of Film Censors and in 1934, the Production Code in America was enforced. Within this strict guideline for good taste was that homosexuality or bisexuality must never be represented or even inferred. Slowly though, gay and lesbian characters were brought into films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Clueless (1995) and Billy Elliot (2000). But as previously sa id, only in supporting roles as the gay best friend. When they finally were given the main storylines, the characters were shown to imitate heterosexuality as much as possible to be accepted. This can be seen in Philadelphia (1993) where many believe this to a patronising look at gay life and the yearning to be accepted as normal in a heterosexual world. There are no outrageous scenes of affection between Hanks and his partner within in the film. Queer identity can be related to many different people not just gay and lesbian individuals. The Western world may seem like a land of equality but to those in the minorities, it is not. Studies have shown it is suggested by traditional teachers and career advisors that schoolgirls go into feminine jobs (Apter, 2000) while schoolboys are driven away from jobs seen as traditionally female (Woodward, 2000). Men and womens identities have changed however as equality for women in the workplace is fought more and more showing that females can be the provider that men traditionally were. This leaves the men unsure of their identity in the world but through popular culture and mass media, they can be shown as well as women where they belong in contemporary life. So as society has become accepting of women in the workplace by it being reinforced by popular culture and mass media (but perhaps not by Disney films) that when non-heterosexual characters are introduced, tolerance towards them sho uld improve? With Disney films, the morals and values are chosen so it can be said that capitalism will control how homosexuality is visualised and dealt with. Despite this limited perspective, society is becoming more accommodating of different sexualities although many non-heterosexuals are still facing prejudice and discrimination from older generations and others. America is slightly less open-minded than the UK as a survey by Gallup showed that although homosexuality is tolerated more as an acceptable lifestyle, 42 per cent of the people surveyed felt that homosexuality should be illegal. Contrasting against this is a poll from the same year showing that just 17% of people in England felt less positive towards non-heterosexuals (MORI, 2001). Heteronormativity can be defined as a set of lifestyle rules to which society follows and falls into a specific gender with an outlook of a traditional role in life. Heteronormativity occurs in nearly every film in various ways. It can promote the message of men being the dominating person in a relationship with women following after them being housewives. However it is usually seen to promote that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation and any kind of sexual relationships should only be between a man and a woman. Sometimes it is obvious and other times the viewer does not realise that the story they are watching is promoting heterosexuality and that this is the ideal (or assumed, expected, ordinary and privileged) sexuality. Viewers can recognise that films have hidden meaning and semes such as good vs. evil, rich vs. poor, children vs. adults etc. However it is the seme of heterosexuality vs. homosexuality, which is the problem with films pushing heteronormativity. Films that set up neat systems of good and evil dos and donts are part of the pervasive simple-mindedness that posits heterosexuality and queerdom as irreconcilable opposites which cannot co-exist respectfully. Todd Hayward, The Lyin King Planet Homo 69 (21st Sept 1994, 17) With heterosexuality being the assumed sexuality of society, this only reinforces discrimination and prejudice towards non-heterosexuals. The amount of different heterosexual storylines shown will increase the amount of heteronormativity within the media in general as generations are exposed to it. With heteronormativity shown in most popular culture, it also redefines how homosexuality is perceived. It can be compared to public vs. private, with heterosexuality being public and homosexuality being private therefore something to be hidden. Even before a viewer experiences heteronormativity in a film, the masculine/feminine definitions of gender are promoted first. From this, sexuality, pleasure and identity can then come forth as the storylines and characters develop, which leads to heteronormativity. Obviously it is easy to see that Disney films promote heteronormativity although many people believe Disney films to be sexually free, it can still be a non-sexual part of our lives. Disney films show the traditional domesticity of the roles of men and women against a credible heterosexual backdrop by replacing sex with romance and reinforcing the patriarchal family structure. This can be seen in Bambi (1942) as Bambis character is promoted as the King of the Forest and will take over from his father. It also depicts his forsaking of his dependence on his mother as she is killed during the film. The very over-used storyline of the princess or girl being romanticised by the male character, which then leads to an eventual wedding, is predominant in many Disney films. A comparison of Disney films against other animated films from different companies made during 1990-2005, show that there is a much stronger hetero-romantic storyline in Disney films. Many Disney films have a reference to a hetero-romantic storyline, usually as the main plot but they also contain sexiness (Kazyak and Martin, 2009) as womens bodies are portrayed as curvaceous with semi-revealing costumes. With these hetero-romantic storylines, heterosexuality is glamorised as being special and different from other kinds of relationships. It is shown to have the power to change the world (either by breaking a spell (Beauty and the Beast), belonging to the ideal world (The Little Mermaid), stopping a war (Pocahontas) or changing an old-fashioned law (Aladdin)). These storylines are usually only shown through kissing and no other sexually embodiment. This can reinforce the heteronormativity, as Conservatives believe that any two characters have to be heterosexual unless seen kissing someone of the same sex. For instance, there could be some homosexual affection between Aladdin and the Genie but viewers do not read into this friendship with this outlook. The friendships portrayed in Disney films do not re flect reality as it is unusual for a female character to have a same sex friendship with another character unless they of a maternal nature, whereas in reality, many young girls and women have a female best friend. For males they usually have a comical friend/sidekick which could be said to show reality slightly more. All of this can be shown that Disney endorses heterosexuality within the majority of their films and even tries to influence the thinking that being heterosexual is far more glamorous than being homosexual. With this educating outlook, Disney actually took another step by creating military and educational films during the 1940s. As the Second World War took its toll, Walt Disney knew his company was facing bankruptcy as the profits from Snow White were transferred into the productions for Pinocchio and Fantasia but these did not reach the same high profits. With a strike by animators also, productions were delayed for months. Disney knew he had to keep his company going and believed that his animation films could be used to help the war effort through education and propaganda. Military training films were churned out at an amazing rate and low budgets. The films used the, by now, well-known characters and newly designed mascots to keep the soldiers morales high. Soon they were being made to also keep the spirits high of Americans at home, while their loved ones went overseas to fight. With these films, the federal government and Disney were forming a strong relationship, as the studios were used by army personnel and kept afloat for the duration of the war. The federal government even made it possible for Disney to obtain the chemicals needed to make the films despite its requirement for the making of weapons. The films were hugely popular as they used the traditional animation and moral-driven narrative used for the previous Disney films and this suited the governments needs. Many cartoons started to take on a wartime theme to entertain but also to educate. Disneys public health and education films were, in part, attempts to provide models for domestic life (Cartwright and Goldfarb (1994), 175). Within these educational films, there was the notion that hard work combats illness whereas laziness breeds disease. So as well as supporting heteronormativity within their films, Disney had started to educate not just America but the world, in their ideals. Being practically sponsored by the federal government, the issue was then whose ideals were being portrayed Americ as or what the government wants its country to represent? Even within their films for children, Disney started to become an influential power over everyone who watched their films. Subliminal messaging started to occur in its short films as a humorous way for the animators to disrespect Disney as he refused to share creative credit. However, some of Disneys films from the 1990s started to have questionable sexual subliminal messaging. Some instances of these hidden messages are an erect penis on the cover of The Little Mermaid video as well as an erection in the film (which was actually the characters knee). Others saw the word sex depicted in The Lion King (it says SFX as a credit to the special effects team) whilst others heard someone whispering All good teenagers, take off your clothes in Aladdin. And finally it was thought you could see that Jessica Rabbit wasnt wearing any underwear in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? These supposed messages could be seen as queer readings (not in the non-heterosexual meaning but in the non-standard meaning) as people started to think of Disney as a lewd company with a gay agenda. However these messages are focussed on sex not sexual orientation and really do rely on the viewer knowing to listen or look for them. But when a child likes a film, many will watch it over and over again. And through this repeated viewing, children can begin to understand more and perhaps the innuendoes that were meant only for adults. This is particularly so as it is becoming almost impossible to avoid popular culture and advertising which can broaden a childs mind prematurely. A survey in 2006 of 1,300 UK families showed that seven in 10 children now have their own television in their bedrooms, with more than half of these also owning a DVD player. Similarly, a survey in America released in November 1999 showed that 88% of all US households have two or more televisions, 60 % have three or more and 53% of all children have a television in their bedrooms. With all this access to popular culture, children are growing up with the medias point of view on situations and relationships. With Disney such a presence in childrens lives also, once again whose morals are they growing up with? (EXPECTATIONS OF ENTERTAINMENT PARAGRAPH) Disney films can be a used a form of escapism, not just for children but also for adults. Despite whether its supporting heteronormativity or Americanism, their storylines often show that a good life is possible despite misfortune and difficulty. Even the homosexual culture has adopted this chance of escapism (QUEER READINGS PARAGRAPH) However as the 20th Century progressed, as did the heads of the company. With the passing away of Walt and then his brother Roy Disney, Michael Eisner took charge during the mid 1970s and started to change a few things about the company. Miramax films were brought under the Disney umbrella, which allowed an outlet for (more profitable) R and X-rated films (15 and 18 under the BBFC). This started to threaten the Disney ideals that had been so strongly portrayed in many of its films. Right wing Christian fundamentalists felt it was a betrayal of their trust in a company they had believed in for so long. Various organisations (the American Family Association, the Family Research Council and Morality in Media for example) started to boycott Disney as they thought that the company

James I: The Life of the Shakespearean Patron Essay -- England

On June 19, 1566 in Edinburgh, Scotland, King James Stuart I was born. At the tender age of only thirteen months, young James was crowned king of Scotland. As a descendant of King Henry VII’s Tudor dynasty, and the offspring of Queen Mary of Scots and her second husband, Lord Darnley of England, James I inherited great power and responsibility. Through an impeccable education, James I attempted to resolve personal both personal and governmental issues, as he became a respected and acknowledged patron of the arts. Although he ended England’s war with Spain, strengthened the Church of Scotland, and rehabilitated relations with England, King James I’s flaws were constantly targeted. His inability to handle finances and his obvious homosexuality were also often found offensive. But the king’s love for theatre sparked the most controversy, as it was believed to be James’s biggest weakness. In fact, James I was a king of many inconsistencies. Despite his history of capable rule, he was constantly haunted by the fear of not being affectionate enough to those close to him. As a vigorous hunter, James showcased courage bordering on stupidity as a horseman, but had an overwhelming fear of knives and other drawn weapons. Other than the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, there had never been a legitimate threat to his life or wellbeing. Never the less, James wore unreasonably heavy clothing to protect himself against potential knife attacks. But James’ paranoia and twenty-nine year reign of Scotland did little to prepare himself for the English monarch. England and Scotland, rivals for years, virtually hated each other. This deep-rooted mistrust, along with clashing religious views, severely limited James’ chance of a successful reign. King James ... ...n honor of King James I. Even after being ridiculed for his sexuality and called an incompetent leader, King James I became a respected patron of the arts as he grew intellectual and wise through his reign. King James I was not entirely unsuccessful, but his Scottish background failed to gain him the respect of the English society. Works Cited Andrews, John F. â€Å"James I.† Shakespeare’s World and Work. Vol. 3. Print. Brown, Henry. â€Å"King James I: Shakespeare’s Patron.† Shakespeare-online. J. M. Dent & Sons, 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. . Butler, John. â€Å"James I of England.† Luminarium. N.p., 30 Oct. 2006. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. . Dewar, David. â€Å"James I.† Facts on File. N.p., 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. . Shostak, Elizabeth. â€Å"James I.† Elizabethan World-Biographies. 129. Print.

The Created and Existent Gods in Homer’s Iliad Essay -- Greek, Classic

The ancient Greeks used the gods to explain the extraordinary and unusual events of the world around them. The ancient Greek world accepted these gods as anthropomorphic representations of natural forces and phenomena. Moreover, some gods were seen as actual people whose supernatural abilities gave them control over these natural forces. Homer’s Iliad is a prime example of these two different interpretations of the gods. In this epic, Homer anthropomorphizes some phenomena, thus creating deities in order to explain some of the events of the Trojan War. These created gods are abstract and represent only the single phenomenon that Homer attributes to them. The Olympian gods, on the other hand, are existent deities whose actions go beyond the phenomena attributed to them by the Greeks. Homer, therefore, uses the Olympians to explain numerous phenomena. In Homer’s Iliad, the goddess Strife appears only at times of war. In book 11, Homer says, â€Å"Strife took her stand, raising her high-pitched cry,/ great and terrible, lashing the fighting-fury/ in each Achaean's heart-no stopping them now† (Homer 11.11-13). Strife appears here as a motivator for the Achaean army to continue fighting. Again we see her â€Å"[hurl] down the leveler Hate amidst both sides,/ wading into the onslaught, flooding men with pain† during the battle (Homer, 4.515-516). There are moments, however, when Homer does not anthropomorphize Strife, and plainly uses the word strife, such as when Zeus reprimands Ares: â€Å"Always dear to your heart,/ strife, yes, and battles, the bloody grind of war† (Homer 5.1031-1032). In this instance, Homer does not attribute any human characteristics to Strife, indicating that she is a created deity and not an existent one like the Olympians. ... ...ey were immortal beings in human form with human emotions that affect their actions. It is clear that Homer divides the gods into the created abstract gods, and the existent Olympian gods. The function of one group of gods differs from that of the other. Whereas the abstract gods are present in the Iliad in order to explain the natural forces that are attributed to them, the Olympian gods are characters that represent and explain a whole lot more. Rather than explain only the natural forces attributed to them, these gods also explain the unnatural and more magical occurrences of the war. The Olympian gods are not anthropomorphized concepts that the other gods and warriors can take advantage of. Instead, the Olympians are anthropomorphized beings who are capable of doing much more than the forces attributed to them and whose emotions often affect these actions.

Valentine, by Ann Duffy and First Love by John Clare :: English Literature

Valentine is by Ann Duffy. The first thing that caught my attention was the title â€Å"Valentine†. Usually when you would hear that word your head would be thinking hearts, love, romance, and choclates etc but not in this case. In this poem it describes love as an onion and this is the constant imagery. The poets aim was to use the onion as a symbol of love rather than the everyday, typical gifts. I think the poem might have been written by a male but adapted by a female poet. My reason for saying this is mainly because when you read the poem it sounds as though it’s a male word because it talks about giving gifts which is normally from the man. Never the less it has more deep and emotional feelings in it which makes it sound like a female words. However we will never know for sure. The language that the poet uses whether it’s a male or a female is very powerful and strong because even if don’t enjoy the poem you would still remember parts of it because its so blunt and straight to the point .The poem also uses at some point simile and metaphors which also makes it very affective. In this poem it also constantly compares love to an onion. It uses the same words that can describe love as well as an onion , doesn’t really use sweet and fragile words or phrases that you would normally expect in a love poem but in my opinion having a bit of a change is always a good thing. â€Å"Blind you with tears† The word blind and tears show the nature of love and how love can hurt which leaves you heartbroken and in rivers of tears. However in cooking wise the onion would blind you and make you cry when you cut it, so the poet bought these two things together and joined them up to make his or her point more interesting for the reader. The language makes me feel very moved at some points because its very emotional and descriptive .My favourite verse was the last one because it uses strong words but with passion and a deep full meaning. â€Å"Lethal† Its scent will cling to your fingers, Cling to your knife Lethal means dangerous and I think this would describe love best because in reality love is romantic however if you don’t play it right and don’t abide by the rules then it could turn into a very nasty game. This is why love shouldn’t be messed about in the first place as it not a game in real life it could mess a persons life forever.

Health Issues in the Philippines Essay

Like any other third-world country, the Philippines have been struggling in some health issues and one of it is illegal drug use. A lot of Filipinos are addicted to prohibited drugs. However, the Philippine government has dealt with this issue and although there are still some recorded incidents of drug abuse, the number of drug dependents in the Philippines has gradually decreased. One major health issue in the Philippines, is malnutrition. There have been studies conducted and accordingly, most of the Filipinos that suffer from malnutrition are the poor ones. The Philippine government, thru the Department of Social Welfare and Developments along with the Department of Health has provided projects to help poor Filipinos from starvation. Other health issues in the Philippines are dengue cases, but then, these health concerns are only happening in the rural area of the country. Most of these cases are properly attended to by the Philippine government Health issues in the Philippines The Philippines have been struggling with some healthcare issues, one of the most noticeable being illegal drug use.There are a number of Filipinos who are said to be addicted to prohibited drugs. However, the Philippine governmenthas concentrated on this issue and although there are still some recorded incidents of drug abuse, the number of drug dependents has gradually decreased.Another serious health issue is malnutrition. Unsurprisingly, the poorer citizens are the ones who suffer from thiscondition. The Philippine government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and in conjunction with the Department of Health, has initiated projects to help its poorer citizens who suffer from starvation.Cases of dengue are also notable. However, most of these cases are properly attended to by the Philippine government.

Finding the Leader in You Essay

A conference was held at the Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno on October 22, 2008 with an objective of teaching the audience how to find the leader in them. I should note that this event was the most informative and enlightening conference that I have ever attended. Stephanie Robinson, the first speaker of the conference, is the director of the Nursing Department of Fresno City College. Robinson began her lecture by providing some statistical data regarding numerous topics including how medication errors are taking a toll on the hospital’s financial resources in terms of lawsuits, recovery fees, and other expenses that are associated with those errors. Unfortunately, these errors have caused hospitals to lose large amounts of money, and, in order for them to regain these losses, they started to take every measure necessary to reduce those costs and add it to their profit. The measures that Robinson described included effective scheduling of the staff, preventive measures for medical errors, as well as a good, effective, and standardized patient charting. As a leader, it is the nurse’s responsibility to make sure that they chart every procedure done to and information about the patient. This will protect them against any liability issue that may arise, and to help them have a better charting documentation at the same time. Another way of reducing medication problems is an idea that some of the nurse leaders have come up with, which include e-charting and medication dispensing machines with scanners and barcode technology. This would require nurses to double check their orders and the medications before giving it to the patients. All those statistical data that were presented demonstrated that all the errors committed were preventative, and they could dramatically be reduced if proper safety measures were taken. According to the speaker, education is the most important contributing factor to prevent these extra high costs. As she was saying, we are all living in a digital world where we have access to many resources, yet our busy schedules and everyday problems would not let us research or attend any meetings. Here, the speaker used a very interesting example indicating that we use places such as airports, shopping malls, and even gas stations to provide healthcare and other health related information to people, but we refuse to take some time and provide basic education to our own people at their very own work places. As responsible leaders, it is their duty to provide constant education to their staff. They are also required to observe the activities of their staff at all times. Again as the statistics show, the high number of preventable medical situations such as post operative infections, medication errors, and other complications happens in hospitals settings, and unfortunately these make hospitals look very unsafely and defeats their prime purpose, which is to heal and provide medical care. We can use technology to provide education to our nurses, as well as to help them prevent these types of errors by developing better, more standardized, simple to use medical equipments, electronic order entry and charting, wireless and bar-coding systems, and other numerous ways. Again, she emphasized on the importance of having nurse leaders to provide constant, up-to-date education to help nurses and prevent future medical errors. The second speaker was Pilar De La Cruz-Reyes and she pretty much continued where the last speaker left off by saying that just like any other place, nurses’ scope of practice will be regulated by the hospital and the board of registered nurses. The board defines registered nurses’ role as giving dependent and independent care such as providing safety, comfort, personal hygiene and protection to help patients go through their daily activity. By doing this, we would be able to know any normal and abnormal findings and use our logic to question anything that appears to be abnormal. After attending this conference and having the chance to hear what the speakers had to say, I learned that being a nurse leader is a very important task in terms of providing the best care to patients, as well as the best education to the staff. I also learned that being a nurse automatically makes me a leader and this realization makes me feel obligated and responsible to everything that I do as a nurse. Lastly, I learned that being a patient advocate should always be my priority.

The Era for Stay-at-home Dads Essay

For generations, the gender role stereotype within the family has been the same: the father is a deserved pillar of family, and he has responsibility to be a breadwinner by going out to work to make money rather than staying at home as a homemaker. However, over the past few decades, the conventional gender role stereotypes of family has been largely changed to the point that an increasing number of men choose to be stay-at-home dads instead of being bread-earners. The at-home dad trend is that the father both takes on the role of primary caregiver for children and plays a major part in running the household. Although stay-at-home dads have presented a new perspective on the stereotype of family, some objectors who have satirized the at-home dad phenomenon claim that, despite a new awareness about full-time fathers, stay-at-home fathers are still unacceptable for the majority of general public. Because of this the at-home dad trend has difficulties in replacing the traditional family stereotype of gender roles. Nevertheless, the tendency of the stay-at-home dad is necessary for modern families to follow, being that not only a stay-at-home dad is a helpful decision for children’s education, but also a profitable choice for their wives’ work. What is more, stay-at-home dads make remarkable efforts on marital equality and satisfaction in their marriage and they enjoy their fatherhood a lot. Hence, stay-at-home fathers should be encouraged and understood by the public instead of being ridiculed and prejudiced against. Fathers’ unique parenting style is greatly beneficial for children’s education and makes children become confident, perspicacious, and self-disciplined. Gender role stereotypes in family insists that fathers are not good at educating children compared with mothers, in terms of men do not have the everlasting patience of tutoring and they may more irritable when they are facing naughty children. In fact, fathers’ education approaches are inclined to be more active, practical and strict than mothers (Turner, 2). Stay-at-home dads are the first teachers of their children, they should teach children to deal with various basic problems, not only behavioral, but also emotional. Thanks to stay-at-home fathers’ particular masculine characteristics, they prefer to promote children’s intellectual progress through active playing such as building blocks and doing outside exercises than having inanimate  conversations. Beyond that, stay-at-home dads tend to create practical activities for their children like repairing gadgets and practicing first-aid measures in case children may get into unpredictable troubles in the future. When children come across frustration, stay-at-home fathers give less immediate assistance for children, because they have particular purposes to train their children’s adaptive capacities when children are lost in frustration. In brief, under the guidance of stay-at-home fathers, children will be more brave, intelligent and independent. So, stay-at-home fathers should be trusted completely and given more chances to be involved in children’s education, their particular tutoring has an unexpected and positive effe ct to the children. A stay-at-home dad is a necessary decision to free his partner to devote herself to her own career. Couples are willing to adapt to the brand new family pattern within the stay-at-home dad trend due to the fact that breadwinning mothers and full-time fathers can provide a cost-efficient and profitable life for the family. Orthodox stereotypes of gender roles in family believe that women’s sacred mission is to support their spouses’ careers through concentrating on bringing up children at home. What is more, gender discrimination in the workplace persists that men are more likely to be successful than women in career and this prejudiced verdict deprives women’s working opportunities. However, in recent years, along with the rapid development of economy and society, gender discrimination is not as popular as before. Medved and Rawlins (11) consider that women are perceived to have more potential and are more persevering than men in fierce competition, and they can obtain more unique chances to make their career dreams come true. Meanwhile, in many modern families, women are earning much more than their husbands so that increasing numbers of fathers are pushed to become stay-at-home dads. In addition, most working mothers are anxious about who can take care of their children consider ately and economically. Mothers neither want to hire nurses to take care of children by charging costly and needless expenses nor can they bear to make children unattended and lonely. Therefore, a stay-at-home father is the most appropriate and helpful assistant for his partner to develop her career, as the mother does not need to feel guilty and the family can save a large amount of money. The public should regard stay-at-home fathers as efficient and economic assistants for their wives rather than incapable men, these  selfless fathers make their family more cooperative and economic. Stay-at-home father families promote marital equality and couples benefit from their happy marriage (Schindler Zimmerman, 348). Gender role stereotypes in family regards men as the most authoritative character in the family, while women are submissive followers with their husbands. Obsolete family stereotypes advocate that male chauvinism is a powerful guarantee to maintain the stability and permanence of the family. Therefore, women are in lower status than their husbands in marriage and they feel aggrieved and unfair, because they seem to have tons of housework that never finish es. What is more, women’s spouses are too arrogant to understand their wives’ toilsome dedication for the family. Fortunately, a stay-at-home dad is good for reversing the negative situation of a marriage. Schindler Zimmerman (350) found that leaving a parent at home to take care of children and do housework is a reasonable way to make a stay-at-home parent considerate to their partners. The role reversal of family conveys that stay-at-home dads are householders to perform all household duties so that they can deeply experience their wives’ laborious work at home. Realizing their partners’ incomparable dedication to the families, stay-at-home fathers begin to put their spouses at a high status. Meanwhile, mothers are breadwinners to go to work and they are indeed experiencing the huge pressure on spouses previously in the workplace so that they can comprehend their husbands better. Hence, owing to stay-at-home fathers, marital equality has been rebuilt in which women can be honored and respected by their husbands. In other words, the public should set the stay-at-home dad family as a good example to make more couples enjoy harmonious and sweet marriages. Stay-at-home fath ers enjoy their fatherhood and they cherish the precious time together with their children. An interview record is reported by the New York Amsterdam News that described five girls who are growing up with stay-at-home dads who really enjoy the high quality of life, and their fathers are also willing to be full-time dads due to fatherhood bringing happiness and contentment. Gender role stereotypes in family consider that fathers may get disappointed and bored when they are always staying at home to deal with troublesome children and mundane housework, in view of taking care of children and doing housework are not typical behaviors for men. On the contrary, stay-at-home fathers are proud of becoming caregivers in that  they thoroughly devote themselves to give children satisfactory care and accompany children to have unforgettable childhoods. The majority of ambitious working men who are involved in busy and stressful careers are required to set aside extra hours to complete works so that they have little available time to concern with their children’s growth. Becomi ng stay-at-home dads allows such busy fathers to start new experiences with their children in which they can develop much closer and more trustful relationships with children. Stay-at-home fathers do not need to struggle with contradictory problems like how can they balance the family and the career or what kinds of ways should they use to make up for the absence of fathers’ company like breadwinning fathers do. Moreover, stay-at-home fathers escape from the strong competition in the workplace so that they can recover peace of mind. In a word, stay-at-home dads enjoy the pleasure of fatherhood as they take a more important and active role in bringing up their children. Therefore, the public should know that stay-at-home dads are most willing to witness their children’s growth with delighted and relieved minds, more acceptances for such gentle fathers’ love should be given. The stay-at-home father is an inevitable tendency for modern families which are profoundly influenced by the sustainable economic and social development. Children are the biggest beneficiaries to become strong, self-confident, and wise adults, since they can receive fire-new and high-efficiency education from their fathers. Women in stay-at-home father families are endowed with more fair and respectful treatment in the workplace, and their position in households can be immensely enhanced. Also, couples in stay-at-home father families can harvest more cheerful and enviable marriages. Furthermore, stay-at-home fathers are joyfully intoxicated with witnessing the wonderful growth of children. Gender role stereotypes in family should be updated to adapt the development of society and taken into consideration with a dialectical perspective. What is more, stay-at-home fathers are a potential and vulnerable group which must be encouraged and envisaged by the public rather than being satirized and misunderstood. If people can be tolerant and concerned towards stay-at-home fathers, more families can gain happiness and peace through this family structure. Works Cited Turner, Randell D. â€Å"How Fathers’ Style of Parenting Benefits Their Children’s Development.† Parents as Teachers.org:1-4. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. Medved, Caryn E, Rawlins, William K. â€Å"At-Home Fathers and Breadwinning Mothers: Variations in Constructing Work and Family Lives.† Women & Language. 34.2(2011): 9-39. Print. Schindler Zimmerman, Toni. â€Å"Marital Equality and Satisfaction in Stay-At-Home Mothers and Stay-At-Home Fathers Families.† Contemporary Family Therapy. 22.3(2000): 337-354. Print. Avezzano, Samantha, Lauro, Lucia, Howell, Jack, Robinson, Jah’sway, and Staranko, Shauna. â€Å"Girls with Stay-At-Home Dads Emphasize Quality Time.† The New York Amsterdam News, 8 Feb. 2007: A20. Print.

Attention to Detail Essay

Paying attention to detail is a key part in today’s society not only in the Marine Corps or the military but in civilian life as well. No matter what career or MOS you are in you need to concentrate and focus on attention to detail. Without it one could miss a crucial part or step in the process and mess something up. It could be as small as a document that you can redo or as big as not getting a bolt right on a plane and destroy millions of dollars of equipment and get someone killed. There is a reason we are constantly told to pay attention and don’t get complicit. In the military attention to detail is key and very important and should be a part of everything you do. An example of attention of detail would be to bring canteens and jerry cans to refill canteens but without checking to make sure there is water in them they are useless. Another would be safety rules on the range. You may know them but if you don’t pay attention you could forget to put your weapon back on safe after firing. Also if you forget to tighten a bolt to the right torque it could cause something to go wrong and destroy millions of dollars of equipment and get someone injured in the process or even killed. In civilian life it is important to pay attention to detail for many reasons. If you work in an office or work with documents all day need to make sure each one is accurate and a filled out correctly. Making sure to use capitation where it is needed and using the right forms and formats. It should take time to fill forms out and make sure they are correct reading them over multiple times. If something is messed up with the forms it could cause issues later when the documents are needed. No matter what you do in life attention to detail is key and should be implemented in everything you do. It could mean everything from as small as a form or as big as a plane. You are told to do something a specific way pay attention to every detail and don’t mess anything up.

American Literature Essay

When the English preacher and writer Sidney Smith asked in 1820, â€Å"In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? † little did he suspect that less than two hundred years later the answer in literate quarters would be â€Å"just about everyone. † Indeed, just a few years after Smith posed his inflammatory question, the American writer Samuel Knapp would begin to assemble one of the first histories of American literature as part of a lecture series that he was giving. The course materials offered by American Passages continue in the tradition begun by Knapp in 1829. One goal of this Study Guide is to help you learn to be a literary historian: that is, to introduce you to American literature as it has evolved over time and to stimulate you to make connections between and among texts. Like a literary historian, when you make these connections you are telling a story: the story of how American literature came into being. This Overview outlines four paths (there are many others) by which you can narrate the story of American literature: one based on literary movements and historical change, one based on the American Passages Overview Questions, one based on Contexts, and one based on multiculturalism. TELLING THE STORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE Literary Movements and Historical Change American Passages is organized around sixteen literary movements or â€Å"units. † A literary movement centers around a group of authors that share certain stylistic and thematic concerns. Each unit includes ten authors that are represented either in The Norton Anthology of American Literature or in the Online Archive. Two to four of these authors are discussed in the video, which calls attention to important historical and cultural influences on these authors, defines a genre that they share, and proposes some key thematic parallels. Tracking literary movements can help you see how American literature has changed and evolved over time. In general, people think about literary movements as reacting against earlier modes of writing and earlier movements. For T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 3 example, just as modernism (Units 10–13) is often seen as a response to realism and the Gilded Age (Unit 9), so Romanticism is seen as a response to the Enlightenment (Unit 4). Most of the units focus on one era (see the chart below), but they will often include relevant authors from other eras to help draw out the connections and differences. (Note: The movements in parentheses are not limited to authors/works from the era in question, but they do cover some material from it. ) Century Fifteenth– Seventeenth Eighteenth Era Renaissance American Passages Literary Movements. (1: Native Voices) 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise (3: Utopian Promise) 4: Spirit of Nationalism (7: Slavery and Freedom) 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom (1: Native Voices) 6: Gothic Undercurrents 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism (1: Native Voices) 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Enlightenment Nineteenth Romanticist Nineteenth Realist Twentieth Modernist Twentieth Postmodernist Each unit contains a timeline of historical events along with the dates of key literary texts by the movement’s authors. These timelines are designed to help you make connections between and among the movements, eras, and authors covered in each unit. 4 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Overview Questions The Overview Questions at the start of each unit are tailored from the five American Passages Overview Questions that follow. They are meant to help you focus your viewing and reading and participate in discussion afterward. 1. What is an American? How does literature create conceptions of the American experience and American identity? This two-part question should trigger discussion about issues such as, Who belongs to America? When and how does one become an American? How has the search for identity among American writers changed over time? It can also encourage discussion about the ways in which immigration, colonization, conquest, youth, race, class, and gender affect national identity. 2. What is American literature? What are the distinctive voices and styles in American literature? How do social and political issues influence the American canon? This multi-part question should instigate discussion about the aesthetics and reception of American literature. What is a masterpiece? When is something considered literature, and how is this category culturally and historically dependent? How has the canon of American literature changed and why? How have American writers used language to create art and meaning? What does literature do? This question can also raise the issue of American exceptionalism: Is American literature different from the literature of other nations? 3. How do place and time shape the authors’ works and our understanding of them? This question addresses America as a location and the many ways in which place impacts American literature’s form and content. It can provoke discussion about how regionalism, geography, immigration, the frontier, and borders impact American literature, as well as the role of the vernacular in indicating place. 4. What characteristics of a literary work have made it influential over time? This question can be used to spark discussion about the evolving impact of various pieces of American literature and about how American writers used language both to create art and respond to and call for change. What is the individual’s responsibility to uphold the community’s traditions, and when are individuals compelled to resist them? What is the relationship between the individual and the community? 5. How are American myths created, challenged, and re-imagined through this literature? This question returns to â€Å"What is an American? † But it poses the question at a cultural rather than individual level. What are the myths that make up American culture? What is the American Dream? What are American myths, dreams, and nightmares? How have these changed over time? T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 5 Contexts Another way that connections can be made across and between authors is through the five Contexts in each unit: three longer Core Contexts and two shorter Extended Contexts. The goal of the Contexts is both to help you read American literature in its cultural background and to teach you close-reading skills. Each Context consists of a brief narrative about an event, trend, or idea that had particular resonance for the writers in the unit as well as Americans of their era; questions that connect the Context to the authors in the unit; and a list of related texts and images in the Online Archive. Examples of Contexts include discussions of the concept of the Apocalypse (3: â€Å"Utopian Visions†), the sublime (4: â€Å"Spirit of Nationalism†), and baseball (14: â€Å"Becoming Visible†). The Contexts can be used in conjunction with an author or as stand-alone activities. The Slide Show Tool on the Web site is ideal for doing assignments that draw connections between archive items from a Context and a text you have read. And you can create your own contexts and activities using the Slide Show Tool: these materials can then be e-mailed, viewed online, projected, or printed out on overhead transparencies. Multiculturalism In the past twenty years, the field of American literature has undergone a radical transformation. Just as the mainstream public has begun to understand America as more diverse, so, too, have scholars moved to integrate more texts by women and ethnic minorities into the standard canon of literature taught and studied. These changes can be both exhilarating and disconcerting, as the breadth of American literature appears to be almost limitless. Each of the videos and units has been carefully balanced to pair canonical and noncanonical voices. You may find it helpful, however, to trace the development of American literature according to the rise of different ethnic and minority literatures. The following chart is designed to highlight which literatures are represented in the videos and the units. As the chart indicates, we have set different multicultural literatures in dialogue with one another. Literature African American literature Video Representation. 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation Study Guide Representation 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 6 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Native American literature 1: Native Voices 5: Masculine Heroes 14: Becoming Visible. 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Latino literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Asian American literature 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Jewish American 9: Social Realism literature 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Women’s literature 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Gay and lesbian literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 7 Literature cont’d Working-class literature Video Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Study Guide Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity LITERATURE IN ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT When you study American literature in its cultural context, you enter a multidisciplined and multi-voiced conversation where scholars and critics in different fields examine the same topic but ask very different questions about it. For example, how might a literary critic’s understanding of nineteenthcentury American culture compare to that of a historian of the same era? How can an art historian’s understanding of popular visual metaphors enrich our readings of literature? The materials presented in this section of the Study Guide aim to help you enter that conversation. Below are some suggestions on how to begin. Deep in the heart of the Vatican Museum is an exquisite marble statue from first- or second-century Rome. Over seven feet high, the statue depicts a scene from Virgil’s Aeneid in which Laocoon and his sons are punished for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse. Their bodies are entwined with large, devouring serpents, and Laocoon’s face is turned upward in a dizzying portrait of anguish, his muscles rippling and bending beneath the snake’s strong coils. The emotion in the statue captured the heart and eye of critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who used the work as the starting point for his seminal essay on the relationship between literature and art, â€Å"Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry. † For Lessing, one of the most common errors that students of culture can make is to assume that all aspects of culture develop in tandem with one another. As Lessing points out, each art has its own strengths. For example, literature works well with notions of time and story, and thus is more flexible than visual art in terms of imaginative freedom, whereas painting is a visual medium that can reach greater beauty, although it is static. For Lessing, the mixing of these two modes (temporal and spatial) carries great risk along with rewards. As you study literature in conjunction with any of the fine arts, you may find it helpful to ask whether you agree with Lessing that literature is primarily a temporal art. Consider too the particular 8 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? strengths of the media discussed below. What do they offer that may not be available to writers? What modes do they use that complement our understanding of the literary arts? Fine Arts Albrecht Durer created some of the most disturbing drawings known to humans: they are rife with images of death, the end of the world, and dark creatures that inhabit hell. Images such as The Last Judgement (below) can be found in the Online Archive. In Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), a devout Christian knight is taunted by the Devil and Death, who gleefully shakes a quickly depleting hourglass, mocking the soldier with the passing of time. Perhaps the tension and anxiety in Durer’s print resonated with the American poet Randall Jarrell in his struggle with mental illness. In â€Å"The Knight, Death, and the Devil,† Jarrell opens with a description of the scene: Cowhorn-crowned, shockheaded, cornshucked-bearded, Death is a scarecrow—his death’s-head a teetotum . . . Jarrell’s description is filled with adjectives in much the same way that the print is crowded with detail. The poem is an instance of what critics call ekphrasis: the verbal description of a work of visual art, usually of a painting, photograph, or sculpture but sometimes of an urn, tapestry, or quilt. Ekphrasis attempts to bridge the gap between the verbal and the visual arts. Artists and writers have always influenced one another: sometimes directly as in the case of Durer’s drawing and Jarrell’s poem, and other times indirectly. The Study Guide will help you navigate through these webs of influence. For example, Unit 5 will introduce you to the Hudson River [7995] Albrecht Durer, The Last School, the great American landscape painters Judgement (1510), courtesy of the of the nineteenth century. In the Context focusprint collection of Connecticut ing on these artists, you will learn of the interCollege, New London. connectedness of their visual motifs. In Unit 11, William Carlos Williams, whose poems â€Å"The Dance† and â€Å"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus† were inspired by two paintings by Breughel, will draw your attention to the use of ekphrasis. Williams’s work is a significant example of how multiple traditions in art can influence a writer: in addition to his interest in European art, Williams imitated Chinese landscapes and poetic forms. When you encounter works of fine art, such as paintings, photographs, or sculpture, in the Online Archive or the Study Guide, you may find two tools used by art historians helpful: formal analysis and iconography. Formal L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 9 [3694] Thomas Cole, The Falls of Kaaterskill (1826), courtesy of the Warner Collection of the Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. analysis, like close readings of poems, seeks to describe the nature of the object without reference to the context in which it was created. A formal analysis addresses such questions as Where does the central interest in the work lie? How is the work composed and with what materials? How is lighting or shading used? What does the scene depict? What allusions (mythological, religious, artistic) are found in the work? Once you have described the work of art using formal analysis, you may want to extend your reading by calling attention to the cultural climate in which the work was produced. This is called an iconographic reading. Here the Context sections of the Study Guide will be useful. You may notice, for example, a number of nineteenth-century paintings of ships in the Online Archive. One of the Contexts for Unit 6 argues that these ships can be read as symbols for nineteenth-century America, where it was common to refer to the nation as a â€Å"ship of state. † The glowing light or wrecked hulls in the paintings reflect the artists’ alternating optimism and pessimism about where the young country was headed. Below are two possible readings of Thomas Cole’s painting The Falls of Kaaterskill that employ the tools of formal analysis and iconography. W R I T E R A : F O R M A L A N A L Y S I S In this painting by Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole, the falls that give the painting its name grab our attention. The shock of the white falls against the concentrated brightness of the rocks ensures that the waterfall will be the focus of the work. Even amidst this brightness, however, there is darkness and mystery in the painting, where the falls emerge out of a dark quarry and crash down onto broken tree limbs and staggered rocks. The descent is neither peaceful nor pastoral, unlike the presentation of nature in Cole’s other works, such as the Oxbow. The enormity of the falls compared to the lone human figure that perches above them also adds to the sense of power the falls embody. Barely recognizable as human because it is so minute, the figure still pushes forward as if to embrace the cascade of the water in a painting that explores the tension between the individual and the power of nature. W R I T E R B : I C O N O G R A P H Y I agree with Writer A that this painting is all about the power of nature, but I would argue that it is about a particular kind of power: one that nineteenthcentury thinkers called the â€Å"sublime. † Cole’s portrait of the falls is particularly indebted to the aesthetic ideas formulated by Edmund Burke in the eighteenth century. Burke was interested in categorizing aesthetic responses, and he distinguished the â€Å"sublime† from the â€Å"beautiful. † While the beautiful is calm and harmonious, the sublime is majestic, wild, and even savage. While viewers are soothed by the beautiful, they are overwhelmed, awestruck, and sometimes terrified by the sublime. Often associated with huge, overpowering natural 10 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? phenomena like mountains, waterfalls, or thunderstorms, the â€Å"delightful terror† inspired by sublime visions was supposed to both remind viewers of their own insignificance in the face of nature and divinity and inspire them with a sense of transcendence. Here the miniature figure is the object of our gaze even as he is obliterated by the grandeur of the water. During the nineteenth century, tourists often visited locales such as the Kaaterskill Falls in order to experience the â€Å"delightful terror† that they brought. This experience is also echoed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay â€Å"Nature,† in which he writes of his desire to become a â€Å"transparent eyeball† that will be able to absorb the oversoul that surrounds him. The power that nature holds here is that of the divine: nature is one way we can experience higher realms. How do these readings differ? Which do you find more compelling and why? What uses can you see for formal analysis or iconographic readings? When might you choose one of these strategies over the other? History As historian Ray Kierstead has pointed out, history is not just â€Å"one damn thing after another†: rather, history is a way of telling stories about time or, some might say, making an argument about time. The Greek historian Herodotus is often called the father of history in the western world, as he was one of the first historians to notice patterns in world events. Herodotus saw that the course of empires followed a cyclical pattern of rise and fall: as one empire reaches its peak and self-destructs out of hubris (excessive pride), a new empire or new nations will be born to take its place. Thomas Cole’s five-part series The Course of Empire (1833) mirrors this Herodotean notion of time as his scene moves from savage, to pastoral, to consummation, to devastation, to desolation. This vision of time has been tremendously influential in literature: whenever you read a work written in the pastoral mode (literature that looks back with nostalgia to an era of rural life, lost simplicity, and a time when nature and culture were one), ask yourself whether there is an implicit optimism or pessimism about what follows this lost rural ideal. For example, in Herman Melville’s South Sea novel Typee, we find the narrator in a Tahitian village. He seeks to determine if he has entered a pastoral or savage setting: is he surrounded by savages, or is he plunged in a pastoral bliss? Implicit in both is a suggestion that there are earlier forms of civilization than the United States that the narrator has left behind. Any structural analysis of a work of literature (an analysis that pays attention to how a work is ordered) would do well to consider what notions of history are embedded within. In addition to the structural significance of history, a dialogue between history and literature is crucial because much of the early literature of the United States can also be categorized as historical documents. It is helpful, therefore, to understand the genres of history. Like literature, history is comprised of different genres, or modes. Historian Elizabeth Boone defines the main traditional genres of history as res gestae, geographical, and annals. Res gestae, or â€Å"deeds done,† organizes history through a list of accomplishments. This was a popu- L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 11 lar form of history for the ancient Greeks and Romans; for example, the autobiography of Julius Caesar chronicles his deeds, narrated in the third person. When Hernan Cortes and other explorers wrote accounts of their travels (often in the form of letters to the emperor), Caesar’s autobiography served as their model. Geographical histories use travel through space to shape the narrative: Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative is an example of a geographical history in that it follows her through a sequence of twenty geographic â€Å"removes† into Indian country and back. Annals, by contrast, use time as the organizing principle. Information is catalogued by year or month. Diaries and journals are a good example of this genre. These three genres can also be found in the histories of the Aztecs and Mayans of Mesoamerica and in those of the native communities of the United States and Canada. For example, the migration legend, a popular indigenous form of history, is a geographical history, whereas trickster tales often tell the early history of the world through a series of deeds. Memoirists also mix genres; for example, the first section of William Bradford’s Of Plimouth Plantation is a geographical history, whereas the second half is annals. Today the most common historical genres are intellectual history (the history of ideas), political history (the story of leaders), and diplomatic history (the history of foreign relations). To these categories we might add the newer categories of â€Å"social history† (a history of everyday life) and â€Å"gender history† (which focuses on the construction of gender roles). Finally, history is a crucial tool for understanding literature because literature is written in—and arguably often reflects—a specific historical context. Readers of literary works can deepen their understanding by drawing on the tools of history, that is, the records people leave behind: political (or literary) documents, town records, census data, newspaper stories, captivity narratives, letters, journals, diaries, and the like. Even such objects as tools, graveyards, or trading goods can tell us important information about the nature of everyday life for a community, how it worshipped or what it thought of the relationship between life and death. 12 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Material Culture [6332] Archibald Gunn and Richard Felton Outcault, New York Journal’s Colored Comic Supplement (1896), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZC4-25531]. When you look at an object, it may call up associations from the past. For example, for the first-time viewer the clown figure in the image above may seem innocuous, yet at the end of the nineteenth century his popularity was so intense that it started a newspaper war fierce enough to spawn a whole new term for sensationalist, irresponsible journalism—â€Å"yellow journalism. † Objects such as this comic supplement constitute â€Å"material culture,† the objects of everyday life. In Material Culture Studies in America, Thomas Schlereth provides the following useful definition of material culture: Material culture can be considered to be the totality of artifacts in a culture, the vast universe of objects used by humankind to cope with the physical world, to facilitate social intercourse, to delight our fancy, and to create symbols of meaning. . . . Leland Ferguson argues that material culture includes all â€Å"the things that people leave behind . . . all of the things people make from the physical world—farm tools, ceramics, houses, furniture, toys, buttons, roads, cities. † (2) When we study material culture in conjunction with literature, we wed two notions of â€Å"culture† and explore how they relate. As critic John Storey notes, the first notion of culture is what is often called â€Å"high culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic factors†; and the second is â€Å"lived culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group† (2). In a sense, material culture (as the objects of a lived culture) allows us to see how the prevailing intellectual ideas were played out in the daily lives of people in a particular era. Thus, as Schlereth explains, through studying material culture we can learn about the â€Å"belief systems—the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions—of a particular community or society, usually across time† (3). In reading objects as embedded with meaning, we follow Schlereth’s premise that â€Å"objects made or L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 13 modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patterns of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part† (3). The study of material culture, then, can help us better understand the cultures that produced and consumed the literature we read today. Thomas Schlereth suggests a number of useful models for studying material culture; his â€Å"Art History Paradigm† is particularly noteworthy in that it will help you approach works of â€Å"high art,† such as paintings and sculptures, as well. The â€Å"Art History Paradigm† argues that the interpretive objective of examining the artifact is to â€Å"depict the historical development and intrinsic merit† of it. If you are interested in writing an â€Å"Art History Paradigm† reading of material culture, you might look at an object and ask yourself the following questions, taken from Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about Art. These questions apply to any art object: First, we need to know information about the artifact so we can place it in a historical context. You might ask yourself: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is my first response to the work? When and where was the work made? Where would the work originally have been seen? What purpose did the work serve? In what condition has the work survived? (Barnet 21–22) In addition, if the artifact is a drawing, painting, or advertisement, you might want to ask yourself questions such as these: 1. What is the subject matter? What (if anything) is happening? 2. If the picture is a portrait, how do the furnishings and the background and the angle of the head or the posture of the head and body (as well as the facial expression) contribute to our sense of the subject’s character? 3. If the picture is a still life, does it suggest opulence or want? 4. In a landscape, what is the relation between human beings and nature? Are the figures at ease in nature, or are they dwarfed by it? Are they one with the horizon, or (because the viewpoint is low) do they stand out against the horizon and perhaps seem in touch with the heavens, or at least with open air? If there are woods, are these woods threatening, or are they an inviting place of refuge? If there is a clearing, is the clearing a vulnerable place or is it a place of refuge from ominous woods? Do the natural objects in the landscape somehow reflect the emotions of the figures? (Barnet 22–23; for more questions, see pp. 23–24) Material culture is a rich and varied resource that ranges from kitchen utensils, to advertisements, to farming tools, to clothing. Unpacking the significance of objects that appear in the stories and poems you read may help you better understand characters and their motives. 14 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Architecture Most of the time we read the hidden meanings of buildings without even thinking twice. Consider the buildings below: Above: [9089] Anonymous, Capitol Building at Washington, D. C. (1906), courtesy of Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress [LC-USZ62-121528]. Right: [6889] Anonymous, Facade of the Sam Wah’s Chinese Laundry (c. 1890 –1900), courtesy of the Denver Public Library. Even if we had never seen either of these buildings before, it would not take us long to determine which was a government building and which was a smalltown retail establishment. Our having seen thousands of buildings enables us to understand the purpose of a building from architectural clues. When first seeing a work of architecture, it is helpful to unpack cultural assumptions. You might ask: 1. What is the purpose of this building? Is it public or private? What activities take place within it? 2. What features of the building reflect this purpose? Which of these features are necessary and which are merely conventional? 3. What buildings or building styles does this building allude to? What values are inherent in that allusion? 4. What parts of this building are principally decorative rather than functional? What does the ornament or lack of it say about the status of the owners or the people who work there? 5. What buildings surround this building? How do they affect the way the building is entered? 6. What types of people live or work in this building? How do they interact within the space? What do these findings say about the relative social status of the occupants? How does the building design restrict or encourage that status? 7. How are people supposed to enter and move through the building? What clues does the building give as to how this movement should take place? L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 15 These questions imply two basic assumptions about architecture: (1) architecture reflects and helps establish social status and social relations; and (2) architecture i