Feminist Criticism on Erin Brockovich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feminist Criticism on Erin Brockovich - Essay Example As the report diclares rhetorical criticism centers on the nature of a critical enquiry which is being made. Feminist criticism assumes importance because it is an examination of how existing gender roles are reinforced or challenged through the medium of film. According to Newman (1933), the medium of film is like a mirror that reflects society’s values and beliefs, its hopes and aspirations. The portrayal of gender roles through the medium has a powerful impact and influence upon viewers and can change the way they perceive or embody society delinerated gender roles. According to the research findings female sexuality is the gender artifact in the film. Brokovich wears nine inch heels, tight mini skirts and eye popping low cut blouses that reinforce the society stereotype of â€Å"tart.† Why is this element of sexuality so important in the film? Because of all the connotations that go along with it. The implied promiscuity of the main character could have proved to be a distraction from the important social and political message in the film. But the film is geared to explode the stereotype, through its emphasis on the character’s right to self expression in a manner that satisfies her rather than conforming to society’s expectations of her. The character of Masry, Brokovich’s lawyer who could have negotiated a good settlement in her car accident is dismissive in his attitude because of the male perspective from which he views her – as a sexually promiscuous woman who basically deserves nothing better.

Interrelationship between Psychology and Biology Essay Example for Free

Interrelationship between Psychology and Biology Essay Of late Psychologists have shown a keen interest in Biology, which even today is considered a completely different discipline of study by many. However the fact is that both these disciplines are interconnected. Sickness of the mind affects body and vice versa. According to Nidamboor, â€Å"Stress, depression, and other psychological factors make us vulnerable to many diseases. This is so because the relation between mind and health is balanced not only by our own behavior but also by our biological connections. There are links between our brain and the immune system, which sometimes work in opposite directions.† (para. 5) As a result if we are suffering from a biological disease then it affects are behavior, emotions and interactions with others. In order to get to the crux of behavioral problems it is very important for the psychologists to have a fair idea of the biological history of a person. This approach would positively affect the diagnosis and the psychological treatmments that an individual is undergoing. Psychological problems like anxiety disorders, personality disorders, depressive disorders and behavioral disorders have their roots in the biological problems that one is facing. For example if a person is handicapped he might suffer from bouts of depression due to his inability to be normal as others. Similarly if a person is too fat or too thin then too his emotional well being is affected by his biological body structure. He might indulge in inappropriate eating behaviors and might suffer from a feeling of worthlessness and low self esteem. Hence it is extremely imperative for psychologists to get thorough knowledge about a client’s status of biological wellbeing. Since there is an extraordinary link between our minds and bodies imbalance of either would affect the other and perhaps this is why psychologists are so concerned with biology. References Nidamboor, R. (2009). How psychology affects biology. Retrieved April 25, 2009 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.mydigitalfc.com/2009/how-psychology-affects-biology

The Major Themes of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart D

The two major themes of Heart of Darkness are the conflict between â€Å"reality† and â€Å"darkness,† and the idea of restraint and whether or not it is necessary. Conrad’s passage describing the restraint of the hungry cannibals exemplifies both themes:   It describes how reality shapes human behavior, and contrasts the characters of Kurtz and Marlow.   â€Å"Reality,† as it is used here, is defined as â€Å"that which is civilized.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conrad emphasizes the idea of what is real versus what is â€Å"dark,† what is civilized versus what is primitive, what colonizes versus what is colonized, repeatedly throughout Heart of Darkness.   As stated above, â€Å"real,† in this case, contains all the implications of a civilized society:   clothing which covers a person’s sexual organs, restraint from gluttony, a constant reliance on clocks as dictators of action, etc.   The cannibals in the aforementioned passage face a horrendous conflict between what is real and what is â€Å"dark,† or, in their case, what is natural and what must be restrained.   Marlow cannot fathom how these â€Å"big powerful men, with not much capacity to weigh the consequences† could restrain their desires to consume him and the pilgrims:   â€Å"Restraint!   What possible restraint?   Was it superstition, disgust, patience, fear – or some kind of primitive honor?   N o fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out.†Ã‚   The â€Å"darkness† these men restrain is the part of every person that wants fulfillment, the Id in psychoanalytic terms, the part almost every orthodox religion looks down upon.   Along with every civilized society, one which requires some form of government, the citizens are expected to restrain, to a certain extent, their most basic desires.   This theme can be taken a step farther, and c... ...ssage describing the cannibals exemplifies both.   The cannibals are practicing a sort of enigmatic restraint that keeps them from fulfilling a basic human need; on a second level, they are facing the issue of what is reality (what is civilized) versus what is natural.   Although there is no concrete evidence that these peoples are cannibalistic, the natural solution to their hunger is to eat, and they do not.   Marlow, the character symbolic of the reality of civilization, practices this restraint, a sort of religious emulation of what he has seen of civilized peoples up to this point.   Kurtz, on the other hand, has abandoned his restraint, has stepped into the â€Å"darkness† so to speak.   â€Å"The horror! The horror!† he utters on his deathbed, perhaps expressing contempt at his own actions, perhaps at all existence.   Perhaps at the reality and restraints of civilization.  

China’s Terra-Cotta Army

In March of 1974, while drilling a well, a work brigade of farmers discovered a subterranean chamber nearby the royal tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor of China (Encyclopedia Britannica). The superstitious old women of the village believed that the digging would disturb the Earth God. Therefore, due to these spiritual beliefs, they did not report the discovery right away. Eventually, archeologists came to Xi’an in droves to study and extend the digs. This led to the uncovering of three vast pits to the east of the burial tomb. In these pits, chariots, weapons and over 7,000 terracotta soldiers and horses were unearthed (Roberts p. 25). After extensive research, historians and archeologists concluded these terracotta soldiers were buried there to protect Emperor Qin (pronounced Chin) and his underground kingdom in the afterlife. Ying Zheng was born in 260 BC. He was a member of the Qin Dynasty and ascended to the throne in 247 BC at the age of thirteen. The Qin rule became the most powerful during the Warring States Period, a hectic, brutal, and unsafe time in Chinese history where the seven states were at constant war with one another. After conquering the rival states, King Zheng, ruling over a now unified state he called China, renamed himself Qin Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor (Man p. 28). Under Emperor Qin’s rule, China, which is a derivative of his name, was ruled by strict law. He was a cruel ruler who readily killed or banished those who opposed him or his ideology. He is notorious for burning virtually all the books that remained from previous regimes and burnt over 460 alchemists because they failed to provide him a life prolonging elixir. After many attempts on his life were made, including one from his own mother, Emperor Qin ruled with a schizophrenic mind (China’ First Emperor). â€Å"It was perhaps his insatiable desire for security in an uncertain world that drove him on. † (Man p. 28) Emperor Qin undertook many projects in his organization of China. He is accredited for connecting existing farming walls to defend his kingdom from outside barbarians creating the first adaptation of the Great Wall of China. He constructed an extensive network of roads and canals for travel and trade throughout his empire. Perhaps the two key changes that ensured the unity of Chinese culture were the standardization of currency and the written script (China’s First Emperor). One of his projects was the construction of his mausoleum at Mount Li, which took 700,000 workers an estimated 11 years to finish. It is believed to contain a model of his empire and includes rivers of mercury and booby traps, as well as many buried treasures and sacrificial objects. It is speculated that in order to guard its secrets, the workers who constructed it were also entombed. This is said to be one of the last examples of mass human sacrifice in Chinese history. Although the location of the emperor’s tomb has long been known, it has yet to be excavated (Roberts p. 25). Another of his projects, which was unknown until the 1974 discovery, was the three vast pits containing the terracotta army. The first pit measures 252 yards long, 68 yards wide and 16 feet deep. There are over 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses, of which 1,000 have been unearthed. The soldiers were assembled from separately kiln-fired sections of terracotta; the lower halves of the bodies are made of solid terracotta clay and the upper halves are hollow. The warriors vary in height ranging from 5’8† to 6 1/2’ tall. They were given individually detailed faces which were believed to be based on the faces of the Emperor’s actual soldiers. However, it has since been proved that all the soldiers are based on ten basic designs (Travel China Guide). The figures are assembled into a well-organized battle array composed of the infantry and cavalry. The vanguard bowmen include 210 foot soldiers divided equally into three lines. The cavalry and war chariot follow close in line, forming the main body of the battle formation. The foot soldiers are alternated with the chariots drawn by horses, lined into 38 columns. On both the northern and southern sides of the war formation stand 180 warriors which serve as flank guards. The rear guards are on the western end, with two lines facing east and another facing west. Some soldiers are armed with battle robe, and some are equipped with armor. The war formation is elaborately set in a line and is poised as if prepared for battle at any moment (Travel China Guide). The second pit is the most spectacular of the three. The combat formations are more complex, and the units of armed soldiers are more complete. There are over 80 war chariots, about 1,300 terracotta warriors and horses, and thousands of bronze weapons. It is here where the terracotta general, the kneeling archer and the warrior with a saddled horse were discovered (Travel China Guide). The third pit is believed by experts to be the command center for all the groups in the other two pits. The unearthed artifacts include 68 terracotta warriors, four horses and one chariot all arranged in a unique layout. Upon entering the pit, there is a passageway where the 68 warrior figures stand orderly along the two sides (Travel China Guide). During the excavation and repair work on the terracotta warrior figures, experts discovered many names carved or printed on the bodies of these figures. So far 87 different names have been recognized. They were found hidden in such places as the hips or under the arms of the terracotta warrior statues. Further research has shown that these 87 people were the master craftsmen, and that these craftsmen had assistants of their own. In all, it is estimated that about a thousand people participated in the making of the terracotta warriors (Travel China Guide). The compound was declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1987. After more than two decades of work on the site, archaeologists in the 1990’s anticipated that it would take many more years, perhaps several generations, to unearth the remainder of the tomb complex. In 1978, the former French president, Jacques Chirac visited the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses. He called the Qin warriors â€Å"the eighth wonder of the world†. From then on, the Qin terracotta warriors became famous all over the world. In the years since its discovery, the tomb of the terracotta warriors has become one of China's most important tourist destinations, drawing thousands of visitors to Xi'an each year (Encyclopedia Britannica). Emperor Qin’s terracotta army is a remarkable demonstration of the First Emperor's ambition to rule, not only in his lifetime but also in his afterlife.

Bankruptcy Among Young People Because of Credit Card Essay

Consumer credit can be defined as a debt that someone incurs for the purpose of purchasing a good or service. Common forms of consumer credit include credit cards, store cards, motor (auto) finance, personal loans (installment loans), consumer lines of credit, retail loans (retail installment loans) and mortgages. The spread of credit card ownership and usage across developing Asia Pacific countries has been overwhelming. A review of literature on credit card reveals that most studies have been undertaken in developed country settings. Credit cards were first issued in the USA in the early twentieth century. Since then, they have become a major system for exchange of transactions (or payments) that stimulates household and personal spending even in many developing countries of the world (Watkins, 2000). In Malaysia, cards were first introduced in the mid-1970s. At the early stage, credit cards were only issued to professionals or those considered successful businesspersons by card issuing companies. By the end of 1970s, an estimated 20,000 cards were issued. During that time, owning a credit card was considered a symbol of prestige. However, with the passage of time, eligibility criteria for obtaining credit cards have been increasingly relaxed. As a result, the number of cardholders reached to about three million by the turn of the last century. One of the fastest ways to bankruptcy is the misuse of credit cards. One of the more common reasons that people end up filing for bankruptcy is due to too much credit card debt. Credit cards are so often too seductive because they offer the ability to buy what we want now. We can then pay it off later, using very small and affordable monthly payments. Credit cards offer a way for us to make attractive purchases that we might not be able to make otherwise. Suddenly, it seems as though we can afford anything we want. The low monthly payments seem reasonable and easy to fulfill. That is one of the biggest problems associated with credit cards. It is easy to forget about the high rate of interest that we are paying instead we consider the low minimum payments we make each month and count that our self is lucky. We can continue for years, making minimum payments each month and building up credit card debt. However, one day something may happen. We could have our hours cut at work, or maybe our minimum payment will be increased. We might have a costly hospital stay, or our home may be struck by a natural disaster not covered by our home insurance. Suddenly, our credit card payments do not seem as affordable as we once did. After looking at our situation, it dawns on us how much credit card debt that we have. The only way out of our financial mess may seem like bankruptcy. An article from New Straits Times Online dated 14 November 2011 has highlighted the issue of easy cash turns many into bankrupts. Easy cash here means credit card. Credit card is a familiar type of open-end credit. The term credit card is used to cover a variety of types of cards, some of which actually do not involve credit. In general, a credit card is a plastic card printed with an account number and identifying the holder as a person who has entered into revolving credit agreement with a lender. From the article it states that Malaysian youth are becoming increasingly reckless with spending, thanks in no small measure to the convenience offered by credit cards. An average of 41 Malaysians are declared bankrupt daily, with the majority failing to repay their car purchase loans. BANKRUPTCY STATISTICS BASED ON CREDIT CARD DEBTS IN MALAYSIA The Department of Insolvency Malaysia (MDL) had restructured 80,348 bankruptcy cases from 2005 to May 2010 categorized as following: 31,950 cases – Malay 26,805 cases – Chinese 7,661 cases – Indians 13,932 cases – Others Some of the cases involved in different type of loans that caused the bankruptcy: 19,380 cases for failing to settle hire purchase loans 9,464 cases for failing to settle personal loans 8,786 cases for failing to settle business loans 6,022 cases for failing to settle housing loans 4,417 cases for failing to settle credit card debts 4,291 cases for failing to settle corporate loans 3,726 stood as guarantors CAUSES OF BANKRUPTCY The proliferation of credit cardholders has brought an indiscriminate spending by users with many side effects. Many Malaysian consumers seem to display excessive buying behavior, commonly known as ‘‘compulsive buying.’’ Easy availability of credit and compulsive buying has led to many adverse consequences such as addiction to shopping and excessive debt. Another noteworthy feature of card users in Malaysia is that they use the card to grant loans for themselves. It is easier to obtain credit cards in Malaysia rather than applying for personal loans, which requires the applicant to comply with more formalities like providing guarantors or collaterals. It was reported that outstanding debts from credit card holders amounted to RM15.719 billion by the year March 2009 (RM or Ringgit Malaysia is the local currency, 3.40 RM was approximately equal to 1 USD at the time of study). By the year 2009 outstanding credit card debts accounted for 1.35 percent of the total loans outstanding or 11.41 percent of the total consumer credit (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2009). On a more serious note, 6.43 percent of the outstanding debts had to be converted to non-performing loans. An alarming increase in the number of credit card holders seeking bankruptcy proceedings over the years was also reported. Shopaholic is one of the causes of bankruptcy among young people because of credit card. On average, 41 are declared bankrupt every day, mostly due to credit card debts, while every weekend, about five million peoples throng the 300-odd shopping complexes in the country. These habits are among the shocking revelations on why Malaysian consumers cannot cope with the rising cost of living. Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) discovered that many of those declared bankrupt due to credit card debts were below 40 years old. Another cause of bankruptcy is poor financi al management skills. Article from New Straits Times states that 10 million of credit cards had been issued but only 30 per cent of card holders is able to meet the monthly repayments. From the article, Chief executive officer of FOMCA Datuk Paul Selvaraj said it is because of the convenience of credit cards that people seem to prefer using them rather than cash. He also said that credit card holders do not  feel the immediate pinch of emptying their wallets when they make a purchase. It was reported that those who used credit cards were more inclined to spend 17 per cent more compared with those who used cash. Besides that failing to repay credit card debts is also the cause of bankruptcy. This is because credit card interest rate for outstanding balance is very high. Banks require consumers to pay only the minimum which is 5% or RM50 (whichever higher) of total outstanding balance (debt). If they only make minimum payment, it takes about 2 years to clear all the outstanding balance providing that there is no new spending. On top of high interest rate, consumers are also subjected to finance charges if they do not make full payments every month. This means, if they make partial payment, minimum payment or do not make payment on or before the payment due date, finance charges will be imposed from the day the transaction is posted to the card account. The relationship between psychographic variables, attitude development and credit card usage by cardholders in Malaysia. HOW TO OVERCOME A total of 87,583 individuals were declared bankrupt up to October this year, with 4,651 or 5.1% of them due to unpaid credit card debts. In light of this, the government will be discussing with Bank Negara on finding a solution to the problem of high interest rates imposed on credit card users, resulting in many being unable to settle their outstanding balance. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said a solution was necessary as the number of credit card users declared bankrupt was worrying with the majority of them being young people (The Sun Daily, 15 December 2010). One way to overcome credit card debt is consumers have to have full payments prior to due date. They will enjoy interest-free period for retail transactions for 20 days on retail transactions. Cash advance, balance transfer and installment payment plan programs are excluded from interest-free period. Consumers also subjected to late payment charges minimum of RM5 or 1% of total outstanding balance, whichever is higher, up to RM50 if they fail to make payments before due date. If you have problem  to settle your credit card debt, the best solutions is to cut the card and stop using it. Second way to overcome credit card debt is pay more than the minimum payment. Always pay more than the minimum amount that you owe. If you can afford to do it, double or triple the minimum payment. This will help you get rid of credit card debt more quickly. If you have multiple credit cards, you might want to concentrate the bulk of the money you have available to paying one off at a time. The credit card you should focus on first is the one with the highest annual percentage rate. Pay this card off and then move on to the next highest one and so forth. This not only gets rid of the worst credit card debt (i.e. the one with the highest interest rate), but it gives you a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind, knowing that you have one less payment to worry about. Third way to overcome credit card debt is treat a credit card like a debit card. The biggest fallacy of credit cards is that they are ‘additional money’ to be spent each month. The typical household sees the monthly credit card bill as just another bill to spend money paying off. Worse, many people see ‘responsible’ credit card use as paying the minimum or slightly more each month. Using a checkbook to balance your finances or free financial software such as Mint.com or paid software such as Quicken can help you balance finances and ensure there will be enough money each month to pay off the credit card bills. Every time you make a purchase with a credit card, treat it like a debit card and deduct that money spent out of checking or savings accounts. Software can do that automatically when linked to the accounts, but a checkbook or simple pen and paper works the same way. Next, set alerts to avoid missed or late payments. A missed or late credit card payment can put even the most responsible credit card user over the edge and into debt. Interest rates get raised and high fees will tack on finance charges to the bill. Set up free e-mail or text message alerts from your credit card issuer’s online account management site. If your credit card issuer does not offer online account access, consider finding a new credit card company. Many late fees and missed payments are due to using regular postal mail to keep up with bills and make payments. Online payments are time stamped and come with an e-mail record of statements and payments. Another way to overcome credit card debt is do not spend money that we do not have. This tried and true financial tip holds true for credit cards as well. Credit cards can be an excellent financial  tool to establish and build credit. They can also allow responsible users to earn rewards such as cash back or points. Credit cards also act as interest free loans in a pinch with grace periods ranging from 20-30 days for users who can pay the balance off when the bill comes due. Spending on a credit card should adjust according to one’s financial situation. Responsible credit card use starts with spending less than one has in their bank account month to month. Besides that you must try not to rack up your credit card bill. If you can avoid it, do not use your credit card at all, as this will just put you deeper into debt. Try to pay cash for what you need and eliminate the things that you want (even if only temporarily). The horrible thing about credit card debt is that it is so easy for your debt to increase. Write down a list of expenses is also a way to overcome credit debt. It is very beneficial to know exactly where your money is going each month. Money seems to disappear before you even get your hands on it. Writing down a list of where your money goes will get you thinking about certain areas where you can save money. You can change your money habits by taking the time to understand where it is going. When you look at your list (and you should include what you are paying in credit card debt), you will probably be motivated to do what you can to try to hold on to more of your money. Lastly, pay down your credit card debt before you put money in a savings account. Your credit card interest rate is exponentially higher than what you gain from a savings account at a bank. Get rid of the credit card debt first, otherwise it will keep growing. CONCLUSION In conclusion, those who want to avoid bankruptcy do their best to avoid credit card debt to begin with. Bankruptcy can damage your credit score and cause other financial problems. On top of that, the financial strain can begin to take its toll on your relationships. Avoiding bankruptcy requires careful financial planning. We should create a budget and track our spending. Live within our means so that we are not acquiring debt. Each month, pay off our credit cards bill. We can use credit cards as part of our financial spending plan but we need to be careful to avoid carrying a balance. Besides that, we must set aside money for emergencies. That way, if  unexpected expenses come up, we won’t be as devastating. Being debt free and having some savings built up and can go a long way toward helping us to stay away from bankruptcy and providing us with some of the cash flow we need. With careful financial planning, credit cards can be a helpful tool, rather than a path to bankrupt cy. Do not let something so useful become our downfall. The problem with credit card debt is that it is very easy to get into but hard to get out. (Some people associate it with a bad marriage, and it is really similar to it). To get into a credit card debt is even easier than any other debt, because the plastic is just there in out wallet all the time, as an easy solution, and we tend to use it as a â€Å"quick fix. Credit card debt reduction is although a different story, to get out of credit card debt you needs discipline and planning to reduce your outgoings and change your attitude towards your spending. Getting to a stage when you realize that you must eliminate your credit card debt before it gets out of control is kind of scary experience. When you realize that you need to find a solution because there is no other way out, and you cannot carry on piling up interest on your debt. You can start reduce credit card debt with preventing it from increasing and paying off the capital or getting a lower interest credit scheme, therefore reducing your total credit card debt (credit plus monthly interest). Other than following the step by step instructions of your credit card debt consolidation plan, there are more methods to eliminate credit card debt. You can always seek assistance either at your own credit card company or an independent credit card debt specialist. Your credit card company wants their money back, so most of the times they are ready to compromise, give you a lower APR or freeze the interest if you agree a credit card debt consolidation plan. You must remember if you are not confident enough to negotiate a deal with your credit card company, there are many companies who are willing to support you and also offer free credit card debt consolidation consultation. REFERENCES Books: 1. Vickie L. Bajtelsmit with Linda Rastelli, (2008), Personal Finance, Wiley Pathways. 2. Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly, (2009), Personal Finance in Your 20s &30s, Alpha Books. 3. Curtis E. Arnold, (2008), How You Can Profit From Credit Cards, FT Press. Journals: 1. A study of financial awareness among youths, Joyce K.H. Nga, Lisa H.L. Yong and Rathakrishnan D. Sellappan. 2. Malaysian consumers’ credit card usage behavior, Zafar U. Ahmed, Ishak Ismail, M. Sadiq Sohail, Ibrahim Tabsh and Hasbalaila Alias. 3. The influence of image consciousness, materialism and compulsive spending on credit card usage intentions among youthJoyce, K.H. Nga, Lisa H.L. Yong and Rathakrishnan Sellappan. Web: 1. http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/easy-cash-turns-many-into-bankrupts-1.5518 2. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/23/nation/12361423&sec=nation 3. http://voices.yahoo.com/credit-card-debt-one-cause-bankruptcy-7101354.html?cat=3 ARTICLE

Cultural Theory Essay Australian Tourism Essay Example

Cultural Theory Essay Australian Tourism Essay Example Cultural Theory Essay Australian Tourism Essay Cultural Theory Essay Australian Tourism Essay The Australian tourism advertisement that was released earlier this year, complete with the tagline â€Å"So where the bloody hell are you? † was one of the most controversial government-funded ads in recent memory. The advertisement was created and funded by Tourism Australia and screened on domestic television in dozens of countries around the world. The release of the ad prompted considerable worldwide discussion: it was initially banned from British television by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre, due to the ad’s use of the word ‘bloody’ and its perceived connotation as a profanity (â€Å"Brits ban ‘bloody hell’ TV ad†). I have chosen to analyse this advertisement because it is a recent, controversial text filled with many complex images that portray what it means to be Australian. The advertisement portrays the following Australian locales: outback pub; secluded beach; ocean-side saltwater pool; kangaroo-inhabited golf course; open patio house; remote offshore tropical island; Uluru, Australia’s center; Sydney Harbour; barren desert (refer to appendix for a full description). The implied negative consequence of ignoring the advertisement is that potential tourists will be unable to visit and experience the beauty of the Australian landscape. Australia is portrayed in multiple ways by this text. As it is a tourism advertisement, its purpose is to convince foreigners to visit our country. According to the representations of Australian culture that are put forth by this text, we Australians value alcohol (primarily beer); engage in physical activity, no matter the age; frequent our many beaches; appreciate our native fauna; value family life; respect our indigenous citizens, and are generally sociable people. Each of these depictions of what Australians represent and value are tied to the process of ideology. The term ‘ideology’ is rooted in the work of Marx. He argued that the dominant ideas and viewpoints in society were that of the ruling class (â€Å"Questions of Culture and Ideology†). Althusser submits that there are two sides to ideology: one that consists of the actual living conditions of people’s lives, which is not false; and a set of meanings which misrepresent class and power within society, which is thus false. As many of the scenes and situations depicted in the focus text are irregular and stereotypical, the advertisement is ideologically constructed to depict Australian culture in a particular light. Ideology can be thought of as a sophisticated filter, through which our worldview is perceived (â€Å"Ideology†). Personal ideologies and societal ideologies may differ: whereas a society, by and large, may subscribe to ideologies of peace, democracy and justice, an individual may hold opposing viewpoints and thus, opposing ideologies. Within our focus text, Australian ideological values such as equality, respect and the importance of family are prevalent. The Australian tourism ad is one that is rife with complex imagery, whose purpose is to represent Australia. Semiotics, the study of signs, refers to the way in which particular images, text or objects can be used to create messages, which are often a part of a larger system of signs. For example, a green light is generally interpreted as a sign to ‘go’, within the larger context of a traffic light-controlled motor vehicle intersection. Once isolated and taken out of that context, the green light makes little sense. Consider an example from the text; the casual manner of the man who tells us â€Å"Bill’s on his way down to open the front gate† ironically suggests that this is a petty task, until the shot of a vehicle driving across a vast landscape conveys the message that such a seemingly simple task is, in fact, quite an ordeal. When discussing semiotics, ‘myth’ refers to a sign or series of signs that depicts one term within a system as indicative of all other terms. Furthermore, the simplification of signs known as ‘indifferentiation’– the refusal of difference (Thwaites 68) – perpetuates myths by silencing all non-dominant terms or voices. For example, within the focus text, the producers are guilty of mythic indifferentiation by suggesting that the only place that Aboriginals have within Australian culture is as an entertainment source for non-Aboriginals. Though it is unfair to write the advertisement off as largely mythic in its semiotic construction and thus not indicative of wider Australian culture, I have, for the purpose of this essay, ntertained the thought. A ‘metonym’ refers to the association between terms, either in part or whole. Thus, the scene in the bar metonymically suggests that all Australian men work hard and enjoy a cold beer – served by a woman, no less – at the end of a day’s work. The choice of an attractive young woman in a bikini to represent beach culture m etonymically invokes sex. The purpose of this sign is to physically attract foreigners to Australia through the use of a sexually attractive woman. Whether or not this specific sign is aimed at a particular sex is irrelevant: the woman in the bikini nonetheless represents happiness, health and virility. These traits are exhibited by a majority of the Australians in the ad, and are thus metonymically indicative of the rest of the Australian society. The very idea that all Australians are happy and healthy is, of course, ridiculous. For example, it is estimated that half of Australia’s population is overweight (â€Å"About Overweight and Obesity†) and approximately one in twenty Australians is currently living with depression (â€Å"Understanding Depression†). Imagine if you were a European and saw an ad on television that portrayed Australians as they are in reality: for example, if the beautiful blonde bikini girl was replaced with an overweight man with a disgusting smoker’s cough. While this may more closely mirror reality, it would be an extremely poor marketing decision. The signs that appear in this text are all carefully chosen for the purpose of appearing attractive to an overseas market. The producers’ attempt at political correctness in regard to the Aboriginal people largely misses the mark. While their native musical instruments of rhythm sticks and didgeridoo, and the spiritual icon of Uluru are well-represented and tasteful, the final scene featuring Aboriginal people dancing and the quoted line, â€Å"And we’ve been practicing for over forty thousand years† invokes a connotation that effectively reduces the entire Aboriginal people to little more than a tourist attraction, assumedly for the rich, white Europeans that the advertisement is largely aimed at. While it is highly unlikely that the producers of the text intended for this to be the denotation (or ‘preferred reading’, Thwaites 62) of the scene, the fact that it can be easily read in this manner, as derogatory toward the Aboriginal people, is demonstrative of the many different ways in which signs can be read. The Australians that speak in the advertisement use short, simple sentences to convey their messages. The language is constructed in this manner for two reasons: firstly, because it was broadcast in countries where English might not be prevalent, and thus the producers wanted to simplify the language as much as possible; in addition, they attempted to capture the manner in which an ordinary Australian speaks, which is something that they achieved well. Furthermore, the one word that caused quite a stir, â€Å"bloody†, is not even worth batting an eyelid at, as an Australian living in Australia. Tourism Australia’s Manager of Strategic Insights, Lawrence Franklin, suggests that the use of the word â€Å"tapped into real perceptions of the irreverent, self effacing nature of Australians† (â€Å"Bloody hell, does research work? †). While the word was apparently politically incorrect enough within other cultures for them to attempt to ban the advertisement, the colloquialism is so institutionalised within our society that the so-called â€Å"great Australian adjective† is well and truly a part of our vernacular, endorsed far and wide, from the average citizen right up to our Prime Minister (â€Å"Australia’s Bonzer†). The inclusion of golf as the choice of sport to portray Australian-ness is a strange one. The creators of this text clearly wished to send out a particular image of Australian sport; instead of showing scenes from a popular team sport for which Australia is well known, such as rugby league or cricket, the producers chose to show the financially exclusive sport of golf. This sign attempts to convey a message of sophistication. I suppose that golf is more of an internationally recognised sport than the other two mentioned, and the producers decided to make a safe bet on a commonly played game, rather than alienate their audience by displaying an unfamiliar sport. Tourism Australia’s â€Å"So where the bloody hell are you? † television advertisement is an undoubtedly well-produced, well-researched product that adequately represents a majority of Australia’s culture, people and values. When analysed using semiotics, ideology and ordinariness, it is exposed to be a rich text that provides many points of discussion. While it is next to impossible to coherently convey everything that it means to be an Australian within a one-minute audio-visual presentation, the ad was, overall, fair in its depiction of the Australian way of life. References and Works Consulted â€Å"About Overweight and Obesity. † Australian Government Department of Health and Aging. 30 September 2002. 1 June 2006. health. gov. au/internet/wcms/publishing. nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-hlthwt-obesity. htm â€Å"Australias bonzer. So why the bloody hell arent you guys here? † Times Online. 4 February 2006. 31 May 2006. timesonline. co. uk/article/0,,3-2055531,00. html â€Å"Bloody hell, does research work? † Australian Market Social Research Society. April 2006. 29 May 2006. mrsa. com. au/index. cfm? a=detailid=2095eid=121 â€Å"Brits ban ‘bloody hell’ TV ad. † Sydney Morning Herald Online. 9 March 2006. 30 May 2006. smh. com. au/news/national/brits-ban-bloody-hell-tv-ad/2006/03/ 09/1141701625132. html Barker, Chris. â€Å"Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. † Questions of Culture and Ideology. Ch. 3 pp. 57-87. Ideology. † Elana Starr. 31 May 2006. http://www89. homepage. villanova. edu/elana. starr/pages/ideology-cinema. htm Thwaites, Tony, Lloyd Davis and Warwick Mules. â€Å"Introducing cultural and media studies: a semiotic approach. † Interaction of Signs. Ch. 3 pp. 48-74. Altheide, David L. â€Å"Media Hegemony: A Failure of Perspective. † Public Opinion Quarterly 48. 2 (1984). â€Å"Understanding Depression. † BeyondBlue: The National Depression Initiative. 24 November 2005. 31 May 2006. beyondblue. org. au/index. aspx? link_id=7. 246tmp=FileStreamfid=263

How to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children… and Your CEO

How to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children†¦ and Your CEO How to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children and Your CEO How to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children and Your CEO By Michael Sonia asked us for tips on writing effective office emails, especially when addressing medical doctors, CEOs, your elders (those older than you), and your juniors (those younger than you). Should your salutation be, Dear Bill, Dear Dr. Williams, Mr. Ramirez: or Hi Bob? If youre as old as me, you were never taught in school how to address email messages, because email hadnt been invented yet. But you were taught something about etiquette and respect. Still, customs and expectations change, and depending on the circumstance, any of those salutations might be correct. Here are some general principles (with an American slant) for salutations in letters or emails, following on our article How to Format a US Business Letter. Honor your addressees. In a day of spam and junk mail, its a privilege for someone else to be willing to read your correspondence. You need to believe that. Dont be proud or lazy when you write a letter or email. Choose a salutation that will make your recipient feel honored. If you are writing to a superior or an elder, you would generally begin your email with Dear Mr. Jones or Mr. Jones,. Email is inherently less formal than a paper letter, so Mr. Jones: (with a colon) is less common. Match the formality of your addressees. If youre replying to an email from one of your peers (someone who isnt a person of authority), you can often take your cue from how the sender addressed you. Since publicists often greet me in emails with, Hi Michael, I always reply to them with, Hi Vijay or Hi Amanda. Dont make your addressees feel old. My parents, who were raised in the Old South (USA), taught me to address older people as Sir and Maam, to use Mr. or Mrs. and to never call older people by their first names. So what does that mean? That when you call me Sir, you probably think Im old!Of course, Americans are less formal than other nationalities. In many other cultures, age is rightfully respected, and its an honor to be treated as older. But American peers (people of your own age or position) might consider Mr. or Mrs. overly formal. Children enjoy feeling older. As a child, I was tickled to receive letters from my grandmother (born before 1900) addressed to Master Michael Moser. But usually, you address those younger than yourself by their first name. Pay attention to the email signature. It will include titles that your recipient wants you to note. If his email signature, at the end of his message, says, Richard McManus, MD, it means hes reminding you that hes a medical doctor, so make sure you call him, Dr. Manus. If it says, Brig. Gen. Robert Watson USAF (Ret.), call him, General Watson. People spend years of hard work earning such titles, and dont cast them off lightly. Abbreviations for other doctorates include PhD and LLD call them all Dr. The initials DD mean Doctor of Divinity and you sometimes address their bearers as Rev. (short for Reverend) instead of Dr (short for Doctor). Other military abbreviations include Col. (Colonel), Maj. (Major), and Lt. (Lieutenant). Treat them dearly, if you think they would appreciate it. I was taught in school to begin all letters with Dear. Thats especially appropriate if you want to communicate warmth or affection. For some business emails, such as those to strangers or adversaries, the salutation Dear is not credible. They know that you dont feel affection for them, and they dont feel affection for you. On the other hand, calling someone Dear can help build warmth and affection, and sometimes can help defuse an angry exchange. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetUsing "zeitgeist" Coherently

Disambiguation - Definition and Examples in Language Studies

Disambiguation s in Language Studies In linguistics, the process of determining which sense of a word is being used in a particular context. In computational linguistics, this discriminative process is called word-sense disambiguation (WSD). Examples and Observations: It so happens that our communication, in different languages alike, allows the same word form to be used to mean different things in individual communicative transactions. The consequence is that one has to figure out, in a particular transaction, the intended meaning of a given word among its potentially associated senses. While the ambiguities arising from such multiple form-meaning associations are at the lexical level, they often have to be resolved by means of a larger context from the discourse embedding the word. Hence the different senses of the word service could only be told apart if one could look beyond the word itself, as in contrasting the players service at Wimbledon with the waiters service in Sheraton. This process of identifying word meanings in a discourse is generally known as word sense disambiguation (WSD).(Oi Yee Kwong, New Perspectives on Computational and Cognitive Strategies for Word Sense Disambiguation. Springer, 2013) Lexical Disambiguation and Word-Sense Disambiguation (WSD) Lexical disambiguation in its broadest definition is nothing less than determining the meaning of every word in context, which appears to be a largely unconscious process in people. As a computational problem, it is often described as AI-complete, that is, a problem whose solution presupposes a solution to complete natural-language understanding or common-sense reasoning (Ide and VÃ ©ronis 1998).In the field of computational linguistics, the problem is generally called word sense disambiguation (WSD) and is defined as the problem of computationally determining which sense of a word is activated by the use of the word in a particular context. WSD is essentially a task of classification: word senses are the classes, the context provides the evidence, and each occurrence of a word is assigned to one or more of its possible classes based on the evidence. This is the traditional and common characterization of WSD that sees it as an explicit process of disambiguation with respect to a fix ed inventory of word senses. Words are assumed to have a finite and discrete set of senses from a dictionary, a lexical knowledge base, or an ontology (in the latter, senses correspond to concepts that a word lexicalizes). Application-specific inventories can also be used. For instance, in a machine translation (MT) setting, one can treat word translations as word senses, an approach that is becoming increasingly feasible because of the availability of large multi-lingual parallel corpora that can serve as training data. The fixed inventory of traditional WSD reduces the complexity of the problem, but alternative fields exist . . ..(Eneko Agirre and Philip Edmonds, Introduction. Word Sense Disambiguation: Algorithms and Applications. Springer, 2007) Homonymy and Disambiguation Lexical disambiguation is well suited particularly for cases of homonymy, for instance, an occurrence of bass must be mapped onto either of the lexical items bass1 or bass2, depending on the intended meaning. Lexical disambiguation implies a cognitive choice and is a task that inhibits comprehension processes. It should be distinguished from processes that lead to a differentiation of word senses. The former task is accomplished fairly reliably also without much contextual information while the latter is not (cf. Veronis 1998, 2001). It has also been shown that homonymous words, which require disambiguation, slow down lexical access, while polysemous words, which activate a multiplicity of word senses, speed up lexical access (Rodd e.a. 2002).However, both the productive modification of semantic values and the straightforward choice between lexically different items have in common that they require additional non-lexical information.(Peter Bosch, Productivity, Polysemy, and Predicate Indexicality. Logic, Language, and Computation: 6th International Tbilisi Symposium on Logic, Language, and Computation, ed. by Balder D. ten Cate and Henk W. Zeevat. Springer, 2007) Lexical Category Disambiguation and the Principle of Likelihood Corley and Crocker (2000) present a broad-coverage model of lexical category disambiguation based on the Principle of Likelihood. Specifically, they suggest that for a sentence consisting of words w0 . . . wn, the sentence processor adopts the most likely part-of-speech sequence t0 . . . tn. More specifically, their model exploits two simple probabilities: (i) the conditional probability of word wi given a particular part of speech ti, and (ii) the probability of ti given the previous part of speech ti-1. As each word of the sentence is encountered, the system assigns it that part-of-speech ti, which maximizes the product of these two probabilities. This model capitalizes on the insight that many syntactic ambiguities have a lexical basis (MacDonald et al., 1994), as in (3): (3) The warehouse prices/makes are cheaper than the rest. These sentences are temporarily ambiguous between a reading in which prices or makes is the main verb or part of a compound noun. After being trained on a large corpus, the model predicts the most likely part of speech for prices, correctly accounting for the fact that people understand price as a noun but makes as a verb (see Crocker Corley, 2002, and references cited therein). Not only does the model account for a range of disambiguation preferences rooted in lexical category ambiguity, it also explains why, in general, people are highly accurate in resolving such ambiguities.(Matthew W. Crocker, Rational Models of Comprehension: Addressing the Performance Paradox. Twenty-First Century Psycholinguistics: Four Cornerstones, ed. by Anne Cutler. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005) Also Known As: lexical disambiguation

The giver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The giver - Essay Example For instance, to add a love angle to the movie, the age of Jonas is elated to 18 years instead to 12 which transform the lens through which the society is viewed. Furthermore, there are significant contrasts in the ending of both the book and the novel, which accrued enough criticism. However, these are the apparent contrasts while many other inherent contrasts will be revealed in the paper. Therefore, the paper aims at exploring how the gist and theme of the books and its movie adaptation have been kept intact whilst adding various contrasts to both. The first contrast which changes the entire outlook of movie from what the movie had predicted is that the movie leaves out the essence of the Jonas character by readily jumping to the part where he is being prepared to receive the memory. In the book, there are chapters (around nine) dedicated to breathe in the look and feel of the utopian community where the rules and laws are explained over how deeply they impact Jonas. However, the movie simplifies this aspect by stating that rules and customs in the utopian community are somewhat strict. Therefore, the book tends to explicate the principles regarding classless society, government control, respect for elders, and conformity to values with more intensity. In instances where Jonas seems to deviate by the rules, the sense of shame can be sensed by the readers, an element missing in the movie. Furthermore, the movie also deviates from the essence of what comprises a perfect or an imperfect society, since the movie puts the entire bu rden of imperfection with respect to the sameness of the community on the elders. In other words, the movie merely leaves an impact where the audience tends to view the elders as the villains of the story i.e. the reasons behind the utopian community being flawed. However, in the book, one can feel the impact of belief systems and the inherent values where the joys and

Prevent crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prevent crime - Essay Example Other than the mentioned, the police are important in maintaining law and order. For instance, during public gatherings, the police should balance the right of the public to assemble with the need to ensure that other citizens can move about freely. When it comes to crime prevention, individuals commitment and participation in crime prevention tremendously help in preventing some of the criminal activities such as theft. Citizens help in creating a safe and nurturing the local environment by observing and reporting any suspicious criminal activities to the police. Because of this, the police should be in good terms with the local citizens so as to acquire important information which they might not have. In a nutshell, crime prevention is a communal responsibility between citizens and the police. Therefore, I fully agree that the police should work hand in hand with the locals to reduce crime rates. It is therefore important for all the security department to alias with citizens in curbing any form of criminal

Technology, Globalization and Chang Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Technology, Globalization and Chang - Assignment Example Others argue that there are advocates of a stiff principle that calls for change and avoidance on the grounds that it may finally lead to unexpected, unfavorable, environmental impacts. In some situations where productivity increases as a result of technology like the case of DuPont Company, exceed human activity growth, and outpace the stress on environment. In other cases, the forces of technology and environment do balance. An example of such is the saturating demands for raw materials in developed countries. Moreover, there are cases where the increase in environmental stresses surpasses advances in production (Alden, 2004). Richard Mullin observes that those people who are educated do not expect more from science since science has does not have the ability to deliver much. Basing his arguments from Aristotle’s teachings on ethics, he asserts that scientific judgment ought to be certain or otherwise, they will not be regarded as scientific. These remarks come after the realization that CFC was destroying environmental ozone layer. Therefore, DuPont managers have been unable to develop scientific knowledge since there is much uncertainty and disagreement between managers at the company. For instance, an example of uncertainty includes human made chemicals such as CFC (Benedict, 1991). The case of CFC shows that the management decisions were not certain and that the issue of harm was not certain to them. The case of CFC shows how technology may at times be abused because it is in existence but mostly, either its application or lack of application is an outcome of the same equipment that makes the other decisions in our societies. In this context primordial elements of the environment will illustrate the roles of technology and how it is applied both in creating problems to the environment and how it creates remedies for the same problems. It is significant to ask ethical questions regarding if the

Rediscovering the Link between Traditional and Modern Shamanism Research Paper

Rediscovering the Link between Traditional and Modern Shamanism - Research Paper Example Since the rituals of the shaman are very specific and distinctive it is difficult to identify which one deserves restoration. Shamanism is flexible and open, which allowed an interaction between, for instance, Buddhism and shamanism in Mongolia (Witzel 2011: 44). Hence it would nowadays be hard to identify whether the practices of a shaman in Mongolia are inspired by centuries-old Buddhist rituals or whether Buddhist practices are rooted in shamanic beliefs. This paper analyzes the changes that traditional shamanism went through in order to adapt to contemporary needs, and the impossibility of restoring the pure, original form of shamanism. Contemporary Shamanism The 20th-century shamans in Japan or Siberia embrace the belief that they are merely a rough version of past events. The shaman has evolved and thus has his/her advocates and their needs. Shamanism in post-Reformation Europe appears to thrive in its neo-shamanic form because people can create an interpretation of supernatura l occurrences which are difficult to understand or explain in the perspective of the Protestant church (Jakobsen 1999: 209). Likewise, as stated in the accounts of Laura Kendall, shamanism attracts mostly Korean housewives. Contemporary shamanism thus has gone through transformations which have matched it to the users’ needs and focuses on prophecy and the family. ... Coercion of individuals by several shamans is common in all shamanic cultures. A number of scholars, such as Hahm Pyong-choon, emphasize this point since shamanism is threatened by the exact causes of neo-shamanism’s success in the Western world. Apparently, the current threats to shamanism are major perils to its survival. Worldwide occurrences, especially industrialization, urbanization, modernization, technological and scientific progress, the powerful spread of Christianity, and westernization have all created serious threats (Meadows 2011: 105). As the heightening of individualism and disintegration of the family persist shamanism will undoubtedly be threatened further. The dissimilarity between neo-shamanism and contemporary Korean shamanism is that in the latter the bond to the deceased family members and their impact on the lives of the living is the emphasis. The core element is the family. In neo-shamanism the person focuses on those who need attention and it is thus better adapted to contemporary Western urban culture (Gallagher 2006: 82). In South America, certain healers still perform some of the healing methods of the earlier shamans but it is a quite special challenge that shamans have to face in an urban environment. Nowadays, healers act in response to immorality in urban areas, to issues of drug addiction, domestic violence, child abuse, family disintegration, and prostitution. The morality of the healer, his spiritual defenses and his capacity to change the spirit domain for the benefit of his audiences is similar to early Amazonian practices (Adlam & Holyoak 2005: 531). His healing practices definitely are different from those of the mainstream medical procedures offered, for a fee, in urban areas. The urban

Discuss the importance of national culture in a business environment Essay

Discuss the importance of national culture in a business environment and illustrate its impact on conflict in international business communication - Essay Example Understanding cultural differences is the key to successful international business communications. (Zachry. P.1) Professor Geert Hofstede identifies five ‘independent dimensions’ (p.1) of cultural differences. The significance of Hofstede’s independent dimensions is a method of avoiding misunderstanding and conflict in international business negotiations. Gary Emmons in his article The New International Style of Management, suggests that the new corporate culture may be sufficient to overcome the difficulties arising out of national cultural barriers. (p.2). A new and increasing global style of business management might transcend anticipated conflicts resulting from cultural barriers. Cultural dimensions impacting cross-national business communications are: High-versus low-context cultures, monochromic versus polychromic time, silent language, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Maruyama’s epistemological types. In high context cultures such as China and Japan, communications are conducted in an implicit manner. In low-context cultures such as the United States and many European nations, communications are conducted in an explicit manner. (Tung p.5) In many high context cultures, gift giving is prevalent and a failure to understand this aspect of the culture is liable to lead to a misconceived implication of impropriety. Moreover, when engaging in the gift exchange cultural mode with high-context cultures it is important to avoid gifts which imply bad luck or ill will. This very simple failure to understand the nature of high-context culture communication modes can lead to serious conflicts in international business communications. (Tung p.6) Cultures operating on monochromic time (m-time) believe in performing one function at a time. On the other hand, cultures operating in polychromic time (p-time) function while performing several different tasks. P-time cultures have a propensity for mixing business with

Rediscovering the Link between Traditional and Modern Shamanism Research Paper

Rediscovering the Link between Traditional and Modern Shamanism - Research Paper Example Since the rituals of the shaman are very specific and distinctive it is difficult to identify which one deserves restoration. Shamanism is flexible and open, which allowed an interaction between, for instance, Buddhism and shamanism in Mongolia (Witzel 2011: 44). Hence it would nowadays be hard to identify whether the practices of a shaman in Mongolia are inspired by centuries-old Buddhist rituals or whether Buddhist practices are rooted in shamanic beliefs. This paper analyzes the changes that traditional shamanism went through in order to adapt to contemporary needs, and the impossibility of restoring the pure, original form of shamanism. Contemporary Shamanism The 20th-century shamans in Japan or Siberia embrace the belief that they are merely a rough version of past events. The shaman has evolved and thus has his/her advocates and their needs. Shamanism in post-Reformation Europe appears to thrive in its neo-shamanic form because people can create an interpretation of supernatura l occurrences which are difficult to understand or explain in the perspective of the Protestant church (Jakobsen 1999: 209). Likewise, as stated in the accounts of Laura Kendall, shamanism attracts mostly Korean housewives. Contemporary shamanism thus has gone through transformations which have matched it to the users’ needs and focuses on prophecy and the family. ... Coercion of individuals by several shamans is common in all shamanic cultures. A number of scholars, such as Hahm Pyong-choon, emphasize this point since shamanism is threatened by the exact causes of neo-shamanism’s success in the Western world. Apparently, the current threats to shamanism are major perils to its survival. Worldwide occurrences, especially industrialization, urbanization, modernization, technological and scientific progress, the powerful spread of Christianity, and westernization have all created serious threats (Meadows 2011: 105). As the heightening of individualism and disintegration of the family persist shamanism will undoubtedly be threatened further. The dissimilarity between neo-shamanism and contemporary Korean shamanism is that in the latter the bond to the deceased family members and their impact on the lives of the living is the emphasis. The core element is the family. In neo-shamanism the person focuses on those who need attention and it is thus better adapted to contemporary Western urban culture (Gallagher 2006: 82). In South America, certain healers still perform some of the healing methods of the earlier shamans but it is a quite special challenge that shamans have to face in an urban environment. Nowadays, healers act in response to immorality in urban areas, to issues of drug addiction, domestic violence, child abuse, family disintegration, and prostitution. The morality of the healer, his spiritual defenses and his capacity to change the spirit domain for the benefit of his audiences is similar to early Amazonian practices (Adlam & Holyoak 2005: 531). His healing practices definitely are different from those of the mainstream medical procedures offered, for a fee, in urban areas. The urban

The performance appraisal methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The performance appraisal methods - Essay Example Some might think that this is just a tool to reward the employees and hence they would not care much about the performance appraisal methods that are in place within an organization. Others might just not think about these performance appraisal methods which essentially kills the idea of having these performance appraisal methods in the first place. What is needed however is a collective vision to respect the performance appraisal methods so that there is immense importance tied up with them and the end results are exactly similar to what were expected out of these performance appraisal methods in the first place.  If turnovers are managed properly within the organizations, this would mean that the employees are being handled in a fair enough way. This would also implicate for their understanding that the organization is serious about keeping a balance between the two – the hiring regimes and the firing mechanisms that are in place. This is an imperative understanding becaus e how long the employees would want to stay is directly proportional to how long the organization would like to keep them within their folds. Also the fact that they have been looked after well, given the resources that are required at their ends, allocated work tasks in accordance with their skill set and the like are some of the most salient factors behind managing the turnover in an appropriate capacity (Looise, 2011). These ensure that the company is taken in a nice stead around the industry and people respect it across the board.

Christian and Hopefuls escape from Doubting Castle Essay Example for Free

Christian and Hopefuls escape from Doubting Castle Essay Write a critical analysis of the extract (Christian and Hopefuls escape from Doubting Castle) discussing the characteristic features of Bunyans Style. Bunyan uses allegory and symbolism throughout Part one. This symbolism is used very effectively in this extract; we can see the powerful images that relate to the spiritual nature of the characters. Doubt is powerful and Bunyan emphasises the danger and trappings of doubt through dramatic phraseology and strong physical images: A very dark Dungeon, nasty and stinking to the Spirit of these two men. Bunyans dramatization of these events reflects also on the escape from the castle. Bunyan epitomises the ultimate despair in order to generate the joy and delight produced in the escape. This allows the reader to view the hope and joy that is present in the promises of God: there to condole their misery, and to mourn under their distress. And the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out Bunyan also implements the use of dynamic verbs such as flew this makes the reader aware of the ease with which doubt is broken. The discovery of the key of promise, which frees Christian and Hopeful from Doubting Castle; shows the reader the hope that remains even in the toughest of situations. Bunyan tries to make the reader aware of the danger of doubt through symbolism. This allows the reader to be cautious of doubt in his or her own life. This is typical of Bunyan, as his work tends to guide to correction, encourage and to issue caution: Thats good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try. Christians realisation of foolishness has the effect of reinforcing the promise of Hope. Bunyans representation of this in the form of a speech allows Christian to persuade the reader to correct their foolish ways: What a Fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? Bunyans use of rhetorical questioning through Christians speech have the effect of encouraging the reader to question themselves. They also challenge the institution of doubt. Throughout part one we see the use of dialogue to encourage or reassure the characters. In this extract we can also view this as Hopeful speaks to Christian and questions his doubt over the situation: ; My brother, said he, rememberest thou not how valiant thou hast been heretofore? This has the effect of not only giving reassurance and encouragement to the characters but also to the reader. The use of pausing ensures that it is well understood. Bunyan uses imagery to create Giant Despair, a large and imposing figure this has the effect of showing the powerful and controlling nature of doubt. However Bunyan also recreates the image of the giant to facilitate the ideas and concepts he wishes. As the escape progresses the reader sees that the large and powerful image is not all that is seems and indeed it eventually leads to its own downfall. Bunyan uses this situation to warn and encourage the reader. It allows them to see that even though trials engulf they never actually succeed. Giant Despair, who, hastily rising to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail, for his fits took him again, so he could by no means go after them. Bunyan uses the Giants wife, Mrs Diffidence, to show the lack of direction that doubt has. It is created by the person and has no power. This has the effect of showing the reader that there is nothing that is worth doubt it is a formality and should be regarded as such. This dramatic characterisation helps to indicate that hope is important and in the setting of this journey it is hope that eventually conquers the situation. Bunyan shows the despondency and discouraging nature of the castle through Hopefuls speech however he also corrects their self-indulgence later in the speech with desire for patience and reliance on God from Hopeful: Also cut off the bread and water from my mouth, and with thee I mourn the light. But let us exercise a little more patience; remember.. The use of such dialogue relates also with Bunyans reliance on the bible as these descriptions may have also linked with the spiritual needs of a Christian. Bunyan uses the very low nature and despair created by doubt and allows the reader to see that hope was always present even if it was not always obvious to the characters. Bunyans use of dialogue extends beyond the pilgrims to the Giant and his wife, Mrs Diffidence. Then he asked her also what he had best to do further to them. So she asked him what they were, whence they came, and whither they were bound; and he told her. Then she counselled him that when he arose in the morning he should beat them without any mercy. This gives insight to the reader and creates dramatic irony, as the reader is aware of the weakness of the trials. One of Bunyans aims when writing The Pilgrims Progress was the instruction of Christians and throughout this extract we can see the encouragement and warnings that he provides and the way in which his writing reflects the authorial intention of the didactic purpose. Hopeful relates the experience of doubting castle to some of the earlier events in the book such as; the meeting with Apollyon and the valley of the Shadow of death. This has the effect of providing a link between the episodes of the dream, it helps to emphasise the representation of a journey and creates a development within the characters. Bunyan combines many different techniques and forms in the extract but the most effective of these is the dialogue between the pilgrims and also between their tormentors. Then, with a grim and surly voice, he bid them awake; and asked them whence they were, and what they did in his grounds. They told him they were pilgrims, and that they had lost their way. This speech allows the reader to be aware of the characters thoughts and emotions; and to immediately identify the characters motives. This also has the effect of furthering Bunyans didactic purpose. The combination of the many effects within The Pilgrims Progress allows it to be enjoyable to all and make it still appreciated from a literary perspective.

Study of Rail Structure: Risk Analysis and Failure Mode

Study of Rail Structure: Risk Analysis and Failure Mode Study of Rail Structure:  Risk Analysis and Failure Mode Avoidance In this case study, a brief overview of railway structure is discussed. Defects related to rail failure are considered essential to frame out the correct maintenance strategy. As it is closely associated with safety of passenger and cargo transportation, hence it retains high risk in terms of human lives and cost of resources. There will always be some risk associated with collisions and derailments but it can be reduced by eradication of the root causes. Exposure and amendment of rail defects are major issues for all rail companies around the world. There are challenges to the infrastructure maintenance individuals to perform effective inspection and cost effective rectification decisions. If addressed properly these can reduce potential risk of rail breaks and derailments. Risk assessment and Failure mode avoidance has become a vital constraint for the organisations to decide a cost effective and improved solution that could meet the financial constraints regarding inspection, renewal and replacement of rails and wheels. This study aims to reduce costs and risks related to rail operation by effective approaches. The issues and challenges related to rail maintenance are outlined. The maintenance strategy followed by most railway companies is also defined. Large Railways infrastructures are the prime manner of transportation in several countries. Improved and better safety measurements are continuously presented but still could not be considered as incidents proof. There will always be some risk related with derailments and other occurrences such as major disruption to services, which can furthered be minimised by detailed examination of the root causes. Some of the causes require improvement in skill and efficiency, for example human error, and some may be improved by optimization of inspection regularity. Therefore, a appropriate thorough study of the defects which develop both on the rolling stock and rail infrastructure is vital to frame out the correct maintenance approach. European Union spends around à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 2 billion every year for maintenance and repairing of broken rails (European Commission Cordis, 2017). It is understood that the consequential cost due to derailment decreases with rise in inspection, lubrication an d grinding charges. Risk in railways could be expressed in terms of cost, loss of human lives, infrastructure unavailability, traffic delay and environmental impact which may be caused due to derailment of a train carrying hazardous material. In this report, different kinds of rail defects and maintenance procedures followed are  described. Different risk assessment and failure mode avoidance methods and tools have been discussed briefly in this report. Some of the issues and challenges related to rail  maintenance are also addressed with an aim to reduce the total cost and risks associated with rail operations. Rails are longitudinal steel members that accommodate wheel loads and distribute these loads over the sleepers or supports, guiding the train wheels evenly and continuously. It is one of the most important components of the track structure. Usually a flat bottom rail  is used in conventional railway track, which can be separated into 3 parts: rail head, rail web  and rail foot. Many standards are used for rail profiles. (Kumar, 2007) Figure 1 shows the 2 common rail profiles. Figure 1: Flat bottom and Bullhead rail profiles The rails must possess sufficient stiffness so that they can act as beams and transfer the concentrated wheel loads to the spaced sleeper supports without excessive deflection between supports. (Ernest and John, 1994) Due to economic pressure, there is a world-wide trend to increase axle loads, traffic density  and speed to reduce the operating cost and increase the efficiency of railways. Axle loads  around the world have increased in general from 22.5 to 32.5 Tonnes in last ten years (Allen, 1999). This has led to increased rate of defect formation in rails. Some of the common defects are described in the following sections. 4.1. Shelling Shelling is a defect caused by loss of material initiated by subsurface fatigue. Shelling normally takes place at the gauge corner of high rails in curves. An elliptical shell like crack propagates in the subsurface parallel to the rail surface. When these cracks emerge on the surface, they cause the metal to come out from the crack area. It is generally eliminated by grinding. (Kumar, 2007) Figure 2: Shelling caused by Head Checks 4.2. Head Checks In the crown area, the contact stresses are generally low as it has greater profile radius in  comparison to the gauge side of rail. However, high contact stresses are produced on the high rails gauge corner, which usually has curve radius from 1000 to 1500 m. Head  checks are known to occur in tighter ((IHHA, 2001). If head checks are not controlled, they can cause a rail break. Grinding is the most common practice to remove head checks. Severe head checks need rail section replacement. 4.3. Squats Unlike shelling, squats appear in crown area of straight rail sections. They are surface  initiated defects formed by RCF. A squat is formed by two cracks, a leading crack and a  trailing crack. Both these cracks propagate in opposite direction. These defects could be prevented by grinding. (Kumar, 2007) 4.4. Spalling Spalling occurs, when the surface initiated crack development path is intersected by other similar shallow cracks on the rail head area, a shallow chip of rail material falls out. Spalling is more common in cold climates as rail stiffness increases. Figure 3: Gauge Corner Spalling in rails 4.5. Tache Ovale Tache Ovale is a subsurface defect formed around 10-15 mm below the rail head surface (see Figure 4). This is caused by hydrogen accumulation during manufacturing of rail or when poor welding is done in rails. Thermal and residual stresses also contribute to form this defect. Figure 4: Tache Ovale 4.6. Plastic Flow and Tongue Lipping Plastic flow occurs in rail head area, the depth of which may be up to 15 mm. Plastic flow  occurs on the field side of the low rail due to overloading. Tongue lipping is also a form of plastic deformation, but it is initiated by surface cracks. These cracks partially separate a layer of material from the bulk of rail. (IHHA, 2001) 4.7. Bolt Hole Crack Bolt holes appear in the rail web often starting from the fastening point of fishplates. But  these become weak points to resist crack initiation. These cracks have a very high potential to cause rail break and needs urgent replacement. 4.8. Longitudinal Vertical Crack This is a manufacturing defect, which usually appears in the rail web and may extend in rail  head also. If this crack is intersected by some other crack, it may lead to an early rail  fracture. Odds of sudden fracture due to this become predominant in cold climate. Figure 5: Longitudinal vertical crack 4.9. Transverse Crack Transverse crack is mostly developed in the cross-sectional area of defective weld joints. A  welding defect may be due to variation in weld material or rail manufacturing defect. Figure 6 shows a Transverse crack develops from the centre of the rail head or the rail foot. Use of clean steel and deeper hardening of rail head may avoid its formation. (Kumar, 2007) Figure 6: Transverse crack 4.10. Buckling Lateral buckling in rails is a very common defect in which the rail bulges out on its either side  due to expansion. As the temperature rises, longitudinal expansion in rail takes place. 4.11. Corrugation Corrugation is a rail flaw consisting of the wave-like wearing of the rail tread visualized as  peaks and valleys, in other words, it is a periodic irregularity of the rail surface (IHHA, 2001),  see Figure 7. Figure 7: Corrugation in rails Rail corrugations are the result of a damage mechanism, such as wear etc. Rail corrugations do not pose risk of immediate derailment, but they may be responsible for loosening of rail fastenings, ballast deterioration, increase in noise and vibration level leading to passenger discomfort, etc. Two main types of corrugations which generally occur in rails are: Short pitch corrugations Long pitch corrugation Tables below show the percentage and type of defect detection by different rail infrastructure  companies. Railway First Second Third Fourth Rail track (1999/2000) Squats 21.7% Vertical/transverse 20.1% Horizontal/longitudinal 12.5% Bolt holes 9.6% SNCF (1999) Squats 23.4% Internal fatigue 11.5% Shells 8.4% Thermite welds 4.7% HSPC (1999) Thermite welds 31.5% Wheel burns 17.2% Horizontal split webs 13.3% Bolt holes 11.3% NS (1997) Insulated Joints 59.4% Transverse defects 18% Thermite welds 15% Fatigue Failure 5.2% DB (1996) Thermite welds 29% Sudden fracture 18% Fatigue Failure 16% Electric bonds 4.0 % Banverket (1998) Transverse fracture 55.1% Welded joint 32.7% Horizontal defect 6.1% Vertical split 2.0% HH1 (1999) Vertical split heads 34.7% Thermite welds 20.3% Detail fractures 13.1% Bolt holes 12.2% HH2 (1999) Transverse defects 23.6% Thermite welds 15.5% Wheel burns 13.2% Shells 9.6% Table 1: Causes of defective rails (Source: Kumar, 2007) Rail breaks and derailments can cost the rail players in terms of loss of revenue, property, environmental damage or even loss of life. Estimation of these costs and analysis of risks are important in deciding effective maintenance strategies. In simple terms, risk can be defined as the chance or probability of loss, damage or injury. (Reddy, 2004) 5.1. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) FMEA is a step-by-step procedure for systematic evaluation of the severity of potential failure modes in a system. This process was originally developed in the 1960s, to analyse the safety of aircrafts, but has been since applied to several other fields, including nuclear power plants and the military. (Villemeur, 1992-A) Figure 8: Schematic representation of the FMEA. (Source: Villemeur, 1992-A). 5.2. Risk Priority Number (RPN) Risk priority number (RPN) is a methodology for analysing the risk associated with potential  problems identified during (FMEA) (for details refer Reliasoft, 2005). Assigning RPN requires the analysis team to rate each potential problem per three rating scales: Severity Occurrence Detection After the ratings, have been assigned the RPN for each issue is calculated as mentioned below, RPN = Severity x Occurrence x Detection Rail maintenance issues can be broadly classified into: Inspection issues Issues related to rail wear, RCF and rail welding Rectification and replacement issues 6.1. Rail Inspection Issues The effectiveness of rail inspection depends on the efficiency and accuracy of the inspecting  equipment. It also depends on the skill and experience of inspectors. Error in inspection is an important issue and its reduction is a big challenge. This mainly depends on the technological limitations of the inspection equipment and the skill level of the rail inspectors. Figure 9: Rail inspection issues (Source: Kumar, 2007) 6.2. Issues related to Rail Wear, RCF and Rail Welding Figure 11 outlines the rail maintenance issues. The following sections briefly describe some  of these issues. Figure 10: Rail maintenance issues (Source: Kumar, 2007) 6.2.1. Rail Wear Issues Wear occurs due to interaction of rail and wheel. It includes mild and severe wear. Mild wear takes place slowly but severe wear is often much faster. Severe wear is predominant in curves and occurs dry conditions. Lubrication techniques are used to prevent such wears. Four commonly used techniques which are followed for rail-wheel lubrication are: Top of rail lubricators Wheel flange lubricators Wayside lubricators On board lubricators 6.2.2. Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) Issues In the late 1990s RCF accounted for about 60% of defects found by East Japan Railways, while in France (SNCF) and UK (Railtrack) the figures were about 25% and 15%,  respectively. RCF is a major future concern as business demands for higher speed; higher axle loads, higher traffic density and higher tractive forces increase (see Cannon et al, 2003). Rail grinding removes surface metal from the rail head. It is done mainly with intensions to control RCF defects and rail wear. Rail grinding became increasingly recognized for controlling RCF defects from 1980 onwards, prior to that it was mainly focused on corrugation removal. 6.2.3. Rail Welding Issues Small imperfection in welds can cause cracks to initiate. A defect free weld requires skilled  workforce, better weld material along with improved welding techniques and equipment. 6.3. Other Issues affecting Rail Wear, RCF and Rail Welding Risk and cost are analysed by rail infrastructure operators in maintenance decisions. It covers rail lubrication, rail grinding and rail weld. Other important issues are: Rail material Rail traffic density and axle load Track geometry In Conclusion, first a brief overview of rail structure is discussed. Then, diverse range of rail defects and degradation processes have been studied. From the literature analyses done, it is interpreted that there is a need for better ways to monitor and predict rail defects over a period based on operational conditions and maintenance tactics. A good knowledge of risk along with an idea of the methods used for risk analysis is also required. Hence, before improvement of any model or any empirical relationship associated with risk and failure, there should first be a familiarity with risk management tools and failure mode avoidance. This study focuses on some such tools. Also, the issues and challenges related to rail maintenance are discoursed. The aim is to reduce risks related to rail operation that leads to failure mode, by effective decisions associated to rail inspection, grinding, rectifications lubrications, and rail replacements. Some of the challenges in this area include development of cost effective maintenance decisions, reliability and availability of logistics support, which include availability of capable equipment, skilled personnel and availability of rail track. 8.1. References Allen, R., (1999) Finding best practice at the wheel/rail interface, International Railway  Journal, Volume 6, pp. 48-50. European Commission Cordis (2017) AutoScan Rail inspection. Available from: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/203338_en.html sighted: [February 2017] Cannon, D. F., Edel, K.O., Grassie, S. L. and Sawley, K. (2003) Rail defects: an overview,  Fatigue Fracture of Engineering Materials Structures, Volume 26, October 2003, pp.  865-886. Ernest, T. S. and John, M. W. (1994) Track Geometry and Substructure Management,  Thomas Telfold. IHHA (2001) Guidelines to best practices for heavy haul railway operations: wheel and rail  interface issues, International Heavy Haul Association, May 2001, Virginia, USA. KUMAR, S. (2007). Study of Rail Breaks: Associated Risks and Maintenance Strategies. Lulea Railway Research Center (JVTC)  MIL-STD-1629A, (1980) Military Standard Procedures for Performing a Failure Mode,  Effects and Criticality Analysis, Department of Defence, USA. Available from: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/risk/e-guidelines/RBDM/html/vol4/Volume4/Toolspec_Rec/FMEA/MIL-STD-1629A.pdf sighted: [February 2017] Reddy, V. (2004) Modelling and Analysis of Rail Grinding Lubrication Strategies for  Controlling Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) and Rail Wear, Master Thesis, Queensland  University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Reliasoft (2005) Examining risk priority numbers in FEMA, Reliability Edge, volume 4,  issue1. Available from: http://www.reliasoft.com/newsletter/2q2003/rpns.htm sighted: [February 2017] VILLEMEUR, Alain (1992-A, 1992-B). Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety Assessment, A: Vol. 1: Methods and Technique. B Vol.2: Assessment, Hardware, Software and Human Factors: John Wiley Sons. 8.2. Figures: Figure 1: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Rail_profile.svg/800px-Rail_profile.svg.png?1487817217791 Figure 2: http://www.ndt.net/article/v07n06/thomas/fig3.jpg Figure 3: http://www.railwayexpertwitness.com/images/inspect9-300.jpg Figure 4: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229632336/figure/fig8/AS:[emailprotected]/Figure-1-Tache-ovale-or-kidney-rail-failure.png Figure 5: http://www.ndt.net/article/0698/schub/fig1.gif Figure 6: http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/imfile/09192.jpg Figure 7: http://railmeasurement.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/corrugation-track1.jpg Figure 8: VILLEMEUR, Alain (1992-A, 1992-B). Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety Assessment, A: Vol. 1: Methods and Technique. B Vol.2: Assessment, Hardware, Software and Human Factors: John Wiley Sons. Figure 9 and 10: KUMAR, S. (2007). Study of Rail Breaks: Associated Risks and Maintenance Strategies. Lulea Railway Research Center (JVTC)

Cuba in the Cold War Essay -- Bay of Pigs invasion

On April 17, 1961 one of the greatest foreign policy mistakes of the Cold War was made, the attempted invasion of the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. The failed invasion happened under the administration of John F. Kennedy and caused the deaths and imprisonment of over 1500 Cuban exiles fighting to over throw the rule of Fidel Castro. The aftermath caused much larger impacts towards United States foreign policy. The invasion made the United States look imperialistic to the rest of the world and allowed the Soviet Union to portray America as an aggressive and hostile country to its neighbors, which in turn allowed the Soviet Union to aid Cuba even more for future affairs. The Bay of Pigs also caused President Kennedy to distrust many of his advisers from the CIA for misinforming him. The CIA led him to believe the invasion would be over quickly and successfully after Kennedy had only been in office for three months. This distrust of his advisers certainly affected how Kennedy acted in future cri ses involving both Cuba and the USSR. This of course leads the question did the Kennedy Administration act appropriately for the Bay of Pigs invasion and how did the outcome affect United States foreign policy with Cuba and USSR? Fidel Castro was a growing issue towards the US. Castro was the communist prime minister of Cuba. He rose to power through the Cuban Revolution in 1953 and ruled Cuba under communist philosophies. Fidel Castro was also threat to the United States national security because of his affiliation with the Soviet Union and his alliance with Nikita Khrushchev. There was rising tensions between the US and Castro's government because American owned oil companies which were operating in Cuban territory refused to produce crude oil for t... ...r, 2011. Walsh, Daniel C. "An Air War With Cuba; The United States Radio Campaign Against Castro." Reference & Research Book News, October 7, 2012. Accessed March 15, 2014. Academic OneFile /Gale (A304010214). Wood, Jeff. "Cuba Missile Crisis." In Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History. Accessed February 11, 2014. American History Online (DACH0151). Prados, John. "The Perfect Failure." MHQ: The Quarterly Journal 19, no. 3 (Spring 2007): 82-92. Endnotes "Cuban Missile Crisis," in Encyclopedia of American Foreign "Fidel Castro," Hastedt, "Political Aspects of the Bay of Pigs," Kreiser, "JFK: Trials, Triumph and Tragedy," The New York Times "Overview John F. Kennedy," Rasenberger, Brilliant Disaster Walsh, "An Air War With," Wood, "Cuba Missile Crisis," in Disasters, Accidents, and Crises Prados, "The Perfect Failure," [Page #]. â€Æ'

Drug Violence Essay

According to the article, â€Å"The Drugs/Violence Nexus: A Tripartite Conceptual Framework†, author Paul Goldstein argues that there are three ways in which drugs and violence are related. Goldstein’s models for the relationship between drugs and violence are the psychopharmacological model, economic compulsive model, and the systemic violence model. The psychopharmacological model, â€Å"suggests that some individuals, as a result of short or long term ingestion of specific substances, may become excitable, irrational, and may exhibit violent behavior† (pg. 278). In this model, violence occurs due to a withdrawal or the lack of availability of the preferred drug. The economic compulsive model argues that crime occurs due to the necessity to continue a prolonged addiction of a particular dug. Paul Goldstein states that, â€Å"Economically compulsive actors are not primarily motivated by impulses to act out violently †¦ rather, their primary motivation is to obtain money to purchase drugs† (pg. 279). The final model regarding systemic violence â€Å"refers to the traditionally aggressive patterns of interaction within the system of drug distribution and use† (pg. 280). In this model, individuals within the system or hierarchy are prone to violence in the form of disputes, robberies, and punishments due to the illegality of the drug. In my own opinion, I see drug violence occurring due to the simple processes of an industry or market. Due to the fact that drugs are illegal and in such high demand, the market itself works to create tension and violence. I agree with Goldstein and his economic compulsive model, but argue that the prices and availability are so high due to such a large demand of illegal substances. Without the demand, prices would drop, availability would rise, and the amount of violence would be reduced as well. There are many costs related to the close relationship between drugs and violence. For one, the drug consumption and distribution from gangs is becoming more violent and increasingly prevalent. Due the illegality and potential profit, gangs became systemically involved in the distribution of drugs and the violence that comes along with it (pg. 267). Within the system of drug distribution, gangs have both financial and personnel costs. The financial costs arise from competition and all the resources used to gain the upper hand. The personnel costs mainly come about due to gang wars and the enforcement of the law. One final cost comes at the expense of the community, where neighborhoods involved with drug distribution are more likely to be surrounded by illicit activities and violence. According to Paul Goldstein, â€Å"Previous research indicates that the most common victims of this form of drug related violence are people residing in the same neighborhoods as the offender† (pg. 279). As I stated before, there many reasons responsible for the violence and crime associated with drugs. The first and most obvious is the fact that drug use and the distribution of drugs are illegal. The second aspect of violence comes from the prohibition and interest groups that continue to inflict harsh penalties on drug use. The third and final reason is that both drugs and crime share common causes (O’Brien Lecture). This final reason is the most important because it points to the fact that the U.S has turned into a drug culture, not for one particular reason, but rather the relationship between drugs and violence. Although drugs and violence have been increasingly prevalent in U.S society lately, there are a few solutions or steps we can take to reduce the amount. In a perfect world, I would suggest a reduced role of politico-moral entrepreneurs in order to lessen the prohibition measures, which create so much of the tension. But unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world, so instead I suggest changing the drug laws to reduce the amount of trafficking and availability of the drug. Once again, with less restrictions and more availability the gangs and drug lords would have much less of a demand; and thus less violence. According to the article, â€Å"The Social Construction of Drug Scares†, author Craig Reinarman states that there are three main elements to a drug scare. They are the kernel of truth, media magnification, and politico-moral entrepreneurs (pg. 43). A kernel of truth refers to the fact that, â€Å"in virtually all cultures and historical epochs, there has been sufficient ingestion of consciousness-altering chemicals† (pg. 43). That is, the kernel of truth looks at the big picture and views drug use as a natural occurrence through out history. Media magnification argues that, â€Å"The media dramatize drug problems, as they do other problems, in the course of their routine news-generating and sales-promoting procedures† (pg. 43). This points to how the mass media takes small cases of re-occurring drug use and turns it into an ‘epidemic’ or drug scare. The media thus acts as a promoter for the inflation of the kernel of truth and how it should be interpreted. The final element to a drug scare are the politico-moral entrepreneurs, who’s personal interests outweigh societies’ when it comes to the regulation of drugs. According to Craig Reinarman, â€Å"political elites typically find [that] drugs †¦ allow them to deflect attention from other more systematic sources of public problems† (pg. 44). In this case, politico-moral entrepreneurs have the power to alter the thought process of an entire culture in relation to drugs (ex. Ronald Regan). When it comes to the public reaction of drug scares, the mass media and politico-moral entrepreneurs are the most influential (pg. 45). They shape the public ideals and beliefs about drugs, as well as, advocate towards a temperance culture. The media tries to present conscious-altering chemicals as a ‘loss of self-self control’. Because the U.S. developed from a temperance culture, â€Å"self-control was both central to religious world views and a characterological necessity for economic survival and success in the capitalist market† (pg. 45). Thus, the general public essentially responds to drug scares however the media portrays it to be. A good example of the media’s bias and influential impact on drug scares can be seen in the case of salvia divinorium in the United States. Although many medical researchers believe that salvia can be used as a medicinal substance, the government is in the process of banning the drug for all social/recreational use (O’Brien Lecture). In this case, the media’s magnification of salvia as a drug scare has led to an ‘all or nothing’ attitude regarding the drug. Instead of regulating and suppressing the negative attributes of the drug, we have been led to believe that the drug is pure evil (O’Brien Lecture). In order to reduce the frequency of drug scares in our culture, we must first reduce the factual/selection bias of the mass media.