Religion in the Workplace Essay

People around the world have a set of beliefs whether they choose to believe in Jesus Christ or not to agnostic and gnostic, everyone has a set of beliefs which they hold on to. However the question arises on how can we practice it outside our homes specifically at work without imposing other people’s rights who may not hold to the same views as one does. How does the view of a utilitarianism, deontology, and relativism tie into this matter, and could we find a balance on both sides to come to a logical conclusion on how things could be run at a workplace. People seem to shy away when it comes to talk about religion and politics for good reason. One cannot come out of the conversation agreeing with the other side so they revert back to relativism which is a go to for some trying to avoid confrontations, but what about our rights to religious practice at work? Where does one draw the line? We were born with the freedom of choice, this includes choosing to believe in what others tell you, to listen to things etc. One can easily choose to leave the room or place, but where it gets troubling is if it takes place during a meeting and the other persons morals are founded strongly on their religious beliefs and they just might either make or break a company based on their decision or performance. Why though do we feel as if we need to have the right to express ourselves? Well as Mosser., K explains â€Å" because religion is such a basic part of a person’s self-conception, someone may feel his or her right to the free expression of religious beliefs is restricted by not being allowed to state them when and where he or she wishes.† A company may reap the blessings of a group or an individual true Christian and still not be biased to that  person only because of the good that is coming out of it. This would result in good for the greatest number of people according to a utilitarianism view. However there is another side to the coin even in the same ethical theory. Rule utilitarianism states that â€Å"allowing the majority’s religious views to be imposed on a minority does not create the greatest good for the greatest number.† (Mosser K.,) This also brings into light that people cannot be forced into something that they do not want to accept. Christianity was never meant to be forced upon people, but over the years it has been twisted to mean something other then what is true though there are those who still hold faithfully to what is right. Even at mandatory work functions one cannot force prayer or religious service on one without possibly violating state laws. Sam Grover explains â€Å" most likely any prayer or religious service that accompanies a mandatory work event or meeting would violate Title VII discrimination laws under the same reason used in Townley.† (Grover, S. 2010) The next question one could ask themselves how much is too much, when someone continuously asks to attend church or has their bible out on their office desk? Harassment has taken place in the workplace when â€Å"an employee is required or coerced to abandon, alter, or adopt a religious practice as a condition of employment† (Grover, S 2010) A person by no means base their decisions on whether a person is of the same beliefs and or style of worship to give them the greatest good even if that particular religion is the biggest in the workplace, and leave the others hanging dry. In an article written by ACLJ it speaks about prayer in the workplace as being legal, stating â€Å"In sum prayer is not illegal, unauthorized, inappropriate, nor improper – and as long as employees pray before or after working hours, or during official breaks, there should be no problem at all.† (ACLJ 2012) So the person cannot make it mandatory for anyone to participate in a religious gathering nor can they hold it against them in terms of gaining a status at a job, and make it into a utilitarian view on them. So what are the outcomes of the utilitarianism over an issue like prayer in the workplace? One can practice their religion on their own personal time as long as it does not conflict with work and can perform their duties while on the job. The greatest good that comes from this view is that all people are protected in some way or form, but we will always have those who have ethical egoism and that is what the greatest number of people are protected from in the laws that are set forth. Using the view of deontology (Golden Rule) it serves as a good foundation and rule of them to treat others. This view however when looked at and studied, that part of scripture is telling the reader not as a reactive approach, but for them to go and do unto others regardless of how they may treat them. Also, the way this view could be used and twisted is if another person from a different very radical belief thinks it is right for them to force it upon other people talking to them about it at work. No one needs to feel the stresses of a job and then put on top of that, dealing with religious views that one apposes. These laws that were put up were not only to protect the people, but also in a way for the religion. This does not in fact mean to keep going up to someone and throwing scripture at them, unless one wants to have a lawsuit against them and the company, but to be able to meet the other person half-way and realize that I might not like them pushing their beliefs down my throat either. Deontology ethics is grounded in the â€Å"Categorical Imperative† by Immanuel Kent states â€Å"The Categorical Imperative simply declares act as if thy action were to become by thy will a universal law by nature.† We should live our lives to help all mankind and that by this we write our own morals. Would we be okay with others adopting our actions and be able to live with what they do to us since we did it first unto them? If we are at a workplace and there are no regulations established on prayers in the workplace and no guidelines whatsoever set in place. Would one put their beliefs out there and start the religious movement at work by their  actions, but be able to handle and live peacefully when another religion that strongly apposes theirs comes into the picture? Is it better to just leave it at home rather than starting something that perhaps one may not be able to handle very well? Relativism works hand in hand with this issue simply because it is used as a means to get out of a discussion and end it at a peaceful ending instead of coming out of it with a reasonable answer. This only adds to the ongoing issue and cannot solve a problem in the workplace, there are those who by their faith need to pray a certain amount of numbers a day which can in turn affect their work and if given special treatment for this may cause some division amongst co-workers. With utilitarianism, deontology and relativism we see different ways on how all this could play out in the end and while trying to figure out the right decision for everyone. The laws are there to protect people from having to conform to something that they do not believe in but at the same time must meet the freedom of choice in the other persons personal views as long as it does not hinder the good standing work order. References Mosser K., Bridgeport Education Inc, 2013 Ethics and Social Responsibility Grover S., FFRF Summer 2010 http://ffrf.org/faq/state-church/item/14007-religion-in-the-workplace ACLJ 2012 http://aclj.org/workplace-rights/religious-expression-workplace http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/deontological-ethics.htm

Buying Behavior

There are many aspects of life that effect a person’s buying behavior. Buying behavior is the decision process and actions of people involved in buying and using products and services. Influences on buying behavior can be classified into three major categories: situational influences, psychological influences, and social influences. Situational influences include physical surroundings and social surroundings. Depending on who is around at a certain time may sway a person’s decision to buy something. Psychological influences include perception, motives, attitudes, personality, and lifestyles.Although these psychological influences are very much internal they still effect people’s actions on the outside. Social influences include roles, family influences, reference groups, social classes, and subcultures. Social influences are perhaps the most distinguishable influences and contribute to buying behavior in many ways. Influences on consumer buying behavior come from all aspects of life and have major impacts on the type, brands, and kinds of products people buy everyday. One of the major psychological influences on buying behavior is lifestyle.A lifestyle is an individual’s pattern of living based on his or her interests, activities, and opinions. A person’s lifestyle is based off what they need, want and do, this in turn effects their buying behavior. It influences what products people need, which brands they prefer, and how and when they shop. A lifestyle develops into a consistent pattern people follow in their lives. An example of how a certain lifestyle affects a persons buying behavior is the new shift in the United States towards a healthy and natural lifestyle.People who want to become healthier will buy healthy foods and maybe even purchase things such as new running shoes or a gym membership. A person who is not concern with following a healthy lifestyle would not have any motives to buy these things. My lifestyle defin es what I spend my money based on my hobbies, opinions, and interests. Every month I pay twenty dollars a month for a gym membership because staying in shape is something that I value. I also shop as stores such as Forever 21 and H&M because they sell trendy clothes for an affordable price.This suits my lifestyle because I like to keep up with the latest fashion without spending all of my income on clothing. I also spend a lot of money on gas for my car because I commute back and fourth to school. I decide to use my money on gas because getting an education is important to me. A major part of my lifestyle is love for animals. I have recently bought a puppy and now must buy things for him such as food, toys, and medicine. The type of lifestyle a person has, has a major impact on what types and brands of products they buy. One of the major social influences on the buying decision process are the roles a person assumes.A role is the actions and activities that a person in a particular position is thought to complete based on expectations of the individual and surrounding persons. People can assume many roles in life and must buy different kinds of product for each role. The most common example of how a persons different roles effect their buying decisions is the clothes that they wear. A person has different clothes that they wear at home, at the club, at the gym, and at work. They must adapt to the role they are assuming at a certain time and their clothing must suit each of these roles.I assume many roles in my life including daughter, student, girlfriend, friend, and worker. As a girlfriend I decide where what do on the weekends and often spend money on going out. As a daughter I buy food, toilet paper, and essential good for everyone’s use in the house. As a student I buy pens, paper, and supplies that make me successful in doing my school work. Buying behavior is very much based on specific roles in life, and because people’s roles are ever cha nging sequentially so is their buying behavior. One of the major social influences on buying behavior is family influence.Family influence is the different influences each family member assumes in the buying decision process. All family members play a role in the families decision to buy something. There are four major roles that family members can play. The gatekeeper collects and controls information about price, quality, and location. They do the research on the best product, brands, and places to shop. The influencer expresses his or her opinion and tries to influence the family’s ultimate buying decision. The decider makes the actual buying choice.They make the final decision on what product will be purchased. However, they do not necessarily make the purchase that role is assumed by the buyer. These various roles show how different family members contribute to the buying behavior of the family as a whole. In my family my brother is the gatekeeper, my mom is the decider, I am the influencer, and my dad is the buyer most of the time. We all are usually the users, which are the household members who consume or use the product. I always help my mom make the grocery list so I can tell her all of the food I want her to buy.Also I have traveled the most out of anyone in my family and often try to influence where we take our family vacations. My mom does not always take my advice but she always takes it into account when making any decisions. An example of me in the role of the influencer is last year when we were planning our family vacation I kept telling my parents how many things there were to do in Bermuda and how much fun it would be for the whole family. We ended up going to Bermuda much to my persuasion. Family influences can also pass on from generation from generation.For example when I moved into my own apartment I always bought Snuggle fabric softener because that’s what my mom always used and I always loved the way my clothes smelt gro wing up. I am now loyal to the Snuggle brand because my mom was always loyal to the brand. Family members can have many direct or indirect influences on buying behavior. Another social entity that affects buying behavior is reference groups. A reference group is a group that a person identities with so powerfully that he or she embraces the values, attitudes, and behavior of other group members.People often look to others in their reference group for â€Å"conspicuous† purchase, or purchases that will be seen by others. They seek out brand patronage, information on products, and brand comparisons from people in their reference group to help them make buying decisions. Reference groups are usually formed with people that are trusted and thus the information given can affect whether a person does or does not buy a product, buys a specific brand, or buys a certain type of product.Buying behavior can be changed to be more in line with actions of other group members once a member is swayed in a specific direction. A reference group in which I belong to is my three best girlfriends. We are always giving each other advice on the best clothes, nail polish, shampoo, and even hairdressers. We all use the same products and are always sharing positive and negative feed back on brands and services. I think that my reference groups has the most influence on my buying behavior because I have such similar wants, needs, and expectations to the other members.Social class is another social influence on buying behavior. Social class is an open group of individuals with similar social rank. In the United States it is made up of three major social classes Upper American, Middle American, and Lower American. People in similar social classes also develop many similar social patterns. They have similar values, belongings, needs, and wants. The fact that people in the same social classes are so similar, they are influenced by each other’s actions. These influences include which brands people buy, where they shop, and what kinds of products they buy.My family falls into the upper middle class. We are careful with money but still spend it on leisure and entertainment. My parents often ask neighbors for advice when buying things such as a new lawn mower, grill, or car. As a result many of the people in the neighborhood all have John Deer lawn mowers and Toyota cars. Another social influence on buying behavior is subculture. A subculture is a group of individuals whose characteristics, values, and behavioral precedents are comparable within the group and different from those in the nearby culture.Some examples of subcultures are college students, teenagers, Latin Americans, and the West Coast. Subcultures influence attitudes, lifestyles, and beliefs. This affects what people in certain subcultures like and do. For example, people from Japanese culture eat raw fish, and their children learn to like raw fish as well; however, not many children in other pl aces of the world eat sushi. A subculture that I am a part of is college students. College students usually have a small budget so we are looking for quantity over quality.We buy cheap alcohol and fast food because we can get a lot of product for less money. Another subculture that I belong to is commuters. Unlike people who live at school I must spend money on gas and leave extra time to get to class. As commuters we look for the cheapest gas stations and the shortest routes to school. Subcultures influence buying decisions because most of its counter parts have very similar motives. There are many factors that influence the buying decision process. Some of these influences are social, some are psychological, and some are situational.When marketers are trying to market their products they need to keep in mind all of these factors. These categories can help marketers discover whom advertisements should be targeted at in order to be the most successful. They also reveal the reasons p eople buy what they buy which gives marketers key information that they can use to change the marketing mix to suit the buyer’s needs and wants. The decision buying process is a complex process that is affected by many interior and exterior pressures.

Media Role in Everyday Life

Analyse the following quote: â€Å" it is because the media are central to our everyday lives that we must study them†¦ as social and cultural as well as political and economic dimensions of the modern world. † (Roger Silverstone, Why Study the Media? 1999. ) criteria understand respond to question construct logical argument key terms/concepts used accurately provide relevant examples where required Reading 1. 1 Why Media Studies is Worthwhile: Bazalgette ‘Media studies is controversial because it is still new and because it deals with things that are not only continuing to change but are also the focus of many anxieties. 2000:5 ‘Newspapers, film, radio, television and, increasingly, computer software and communications networks are generally considered to be immensely popular in ways that are not fully understood and about which there is little consensus. They are consequently blamed for all kinds of social ills, political problems and cultural degeneracy. Ea ch of these media has also, in its time, been seen as the harbinger of apocalyptic change – for better as well as for worse. Similar essay: Disagreement in Natural SciencesBut because the oldest of them – the mass circulation press – has only been in existence for little more than a century, the process of change has been too fast for anyone to arrive at definitive conclusions about what its social, political and cultural effects really are. ‘As much as everyone likes to think they rebel against their parents and teachers, and keep up to date with new ideas and technologies, we are all substantially formed through the frameworks of ideas and thought of earlier generations, and we all find change difficult. ‘ ‘Change almost always provokes strong feelings: excitement, anxiety, tension, fear, anger.The media, conspicuous and changing objects in a world that is itself changing, are a particularly public focus for these kinds of emotion and argument. There is therefore much disagreement about how the media should be understood, regulated and consumed. 2000:6 It is essential to r ecognise that media studies, even as we enter the twenty-first century is still new. ‘†¦. it is a subject still in the process of being formed. Full of disagreements and different claims as to what it is ‘really about'. It is also a hybrid subject: that is to say, the ideas and approaches that it draws upon come from many different sources. The mass circulation press, the cinema, radio, television, digital software and the internet each attracted comment, analysis and speculation from the start (2000:7) Everyone who spoke or wrote about these media was themselves already educated within existing academic disciplines and motivated by particular interests 2000:7 Nevertheless, hybrid disciplines do appear all the time: semiotics, structuralism, sociolinguistics, and many more. Media studies snaps them all up: there can never be too many different ways of analysing just what is really going on in those fleeting images. Those rapt audiences.Those smoke filled boardrooms of owners. Technology and theory 2000:8 – The media themselves change much faster than any theory. In fact it is often changes in the media – even basic technological changes – that impel changes in the academic construction of the subject. As I write this in the late 1990s we have moved into a period of what are profound changes brought about by digital technologies. Until the 1980s the term ‘media' meant what it said (although it was, and still is, widely misused as a singular noun). It refers to numbers of different ways of physically reproducing and carrying meanings.The whole point of a media text is that it moves and flows: the meaning is never ‘there' at a given moment, but in juxtaposition and sequence, in the tension between one moment and another. 2000:8 2000:9 Media studies is thus a catch-all title designating a wide variety of courses, and since these are all embroiled both in developing a coherent theoretical base and in keeping up with technological and institutional developments in the media themselves, does it even make sense to lump them all together? 2000:9 In media studies you are asked about the profit motive.In media studies you are asked this. You are asked to look at cinema and television as industries which employ large numbers of people and to understand how they work, how they are financed and why they produce what they do. 2000:10 In media studies you may be asked to think about films, television programmes or other ‘media texts' in the same way. But you will certainly also b asked to think about how they address you – or other people – as a member of a group: as British, say, or as a black person, or as a man, or even – but how often? – as all three.By asking you to think about texts in this way, and by making you investigate who made, say, a film or programme, and why, and in whose interests, media studies is essentially political. Every investigation of even quite short or trivial texts potentially leads into larger questions about power structures in society and how they are organised. 2000:10 – It is just as ‘political' to be asking questions about who owns this newspaper, who financed this film, and why; or perhaps more interestingly, who wouldn't finance that film and why, or how one kind of television programme is more likely to be made than another.The politics of the media affect our lives as much as the politics of Parliament or Congress, and can be more satisfying to investigate since the evidence is all around you every day. 2000:10 At the same time it is the inclusion of this political dimension that media students often find the most satisfying and worthwhile aspect of the subject. ‘You stop taking things at face value'. You should beware of media courses which render the subject down to a few handy maxims such as ‘the basic function of all media is to sell audiences to advertisers'.To object that this ca n hardly apply to public service broadcasting or a community video workshop is not to deny that these institutions will also have political roles to play and manipulative techniques to use. But it does reassert the principle that there is more than one way to look at any text. A political dimension to critical analysis should add complexity, not simplification 2000:10 So far, I have identified two basic principles that media studies courses are likely to have in common: using economic and political perspectives as key ways of understanding the media.These are the most characteristic differences between media studies and most other subjects. But no course will concentrate on these areas alone. 2000:11 One of the strengths – and also the challenges – of media studies is precisely that it asks you to consider texts from different and often sharply contrasting perspectives. What do you study in media studies? 2000:11 Just what – if anything – constitutes a va lid argument for studying one text, or one group of texts, rather than another? There are five main ways of answering this question? Popularity (2000:12) The emphasis might be on the phenomenon of mass audience pleasure and on understanding and legitimating the enjoyment people derive from these texts or in contrast, the aim of the analysis might be to reveal how audiences are manipulated and deluded by stereotypical or reactionary material Exemplification is an obvious ground for worthiness of study, especially when the aim is to illustrate an aspect of theory, such as genre or representation. Notoriety (2000:12)– is an interesting and useful reason for studying a text that can offer a way in to thinking about social, political and cultural contexts.Texts which are interesting to study in their own right, but whose notoriety reveals much about their conditions of production or consumption, include banned or controversial television documentaries etc ‘Such ‘case s tudies' form the starting point or central exemplar which can illuminate aspects of the media we don't normally think about or see. Turning points and groundbreaking texts could be included in the previous category, but texts can be significant without being notorious, especially in retrospect. Aesthetic value (2000:12-13) s a criterion that many media teachers would deny using as a way of selecting or judging texts. 2000:13 What is it all for? ‘It is also obvious that the media industries themselves are hard to get into and rely increasingly on freelancers, ‘2000:14: that a knowledge of history, politics, economics, accountancy, law – you name it – would be equally useful as a basis for working, as, say, a journalist or editor It is increasingly likely that, whatever job you do or whatever your domestic circumstances, there will be more opportunities for you to engage with the media, and not just as a consumer.Indeed, the field of ‘alternative' and s ubversive media production may be the one that grows fastest over the next few years (who knows? How could you tell? ) as access to technology and circulation systems widens Inside or outside the corporate producers, the new voices will come from the people who are already literate in the new media What media studies can really do is open up your understanding of how things work, how people become informed – or misinformed – and how the myths and ideologies that govern all our lives are created and sustained. Reading 1. Media and Communications: Theoretical traditions 2002:23 The field of Australian media and communications theory and research is in a unique position. On one hand, it is highly derivative†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. this is partly due to general globalisation of ideas today, but also to Australia's past as a British colony and in more recent decades, to its dependence on the United States. On the other hand, in Australia we are able to observe and compare the influences and models emanating from the metropolitan centres of the Northern Hemisphere and to selectively combine and modify them in accordance with our own national reality and place in the world -.. dentify the origins of the major paradigms or schools of thought which have arisen in European and American theory and research as they apply to media and communications; to trace the formative influence they have had on particular styles of work in Australia; and to show how they have become transformed in the process of being adapted to our experience here EUROPE VERSUS AMERICA 2002:23 .. ‘European means heavily interpretive and holistic in scope – that is, taking a macro perspective, looking down on society as a whole. Its sociopolitical stance is critical of society as it exists, and most often specifically Marxist.In its methods, it is deductive in that it applies general principles to the analysis of particular cases By contrast, the American approach is strongly empirical and micro in its scope – at its extreme, its form of knowledge relies on the direction observation of distinct phenomena, preferably controlled and measurable occurrences, like in a laboratory experiment. Its sociopolitical stance is said to be liberal or pluralistic – in other words, it is not aligned with any sector of society which has an interest in changing the world, but in that sense, it is really more conservative 002:24: However ideas do not belong to geographical territories and it is important to appreciate that, even if critical theory has traditionally been weak in the United States, Europe in fact has not only produced the characteristic critical and interpretive schools of thought, but also has a strong tradition of ‘positivism', which is much more aligned with ‘American' empiricism and functionalism (Giddens 1974). Positivism is basically the idea that the methods of natural science can and should be applied to understand and contr ol society and culture, which includes the media.Western Marxism and Ideological Critique 2002:24 In order to understand contemporary media studies, it is crucial to understand the significance of the Frankfurt School and its tradition A critique of the rise of the mass media (mainly the new media of cinema and radio in those days) which has defined one important direction for Marxist criticism ever since 2002:25 This is the ideological critique of the media Reading 1. 3 Self and Experience in a Mediated World Reading 1. 4 New Media and Technological Development A Beginner's Guide to Textual Analysis

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Supply chain management - Essay Example Experts defined SCM as a blend of a variety of procedures that begin from the preliminary stage of the product till the completed utilization of the same creation by the customer. It is a procedure which entail the development, execution, of these plans, and scheming of the product construct with the purpose of providing absolute fulfillment to the customer with regards to the quality of the product, (Wixon, Jim 2000). No innovation retains the fancy of the industry for long. SCM also, like many other new techniques before it, has gone out of fashion with many of the industries, (Davis,1993). This is evident from their inability to verify data pertaining to disruptions or irregularities in supply chains, Failure of Executives to pin point unfavorable actions and reasonably predict their consequences to the business push them into hasty decisions with undesirable consequences, (Gosling, 2003). Needless to say, such actions can be disastrous to the company operating in a competitive en vironment, (Lee, and Billington, 1992). Manufacturing and product delivery costs can mount, inventory may pile up, further adding to the cost, and actual delivery to the consumer get delayed, each of these individually and together can burden the company, (Christy, 1994). Non-availability of relevant SCM data may deny to the organization the ability to respond promptly and successfully to emerging opportunities. 2.0 SCOR – OVERVIEW AND UTILITY TO BUSINESS OPERATIONS Supply Chain Operations reference (SCOR) model has been evolved, tested and certified by the Supply Chain Council, a Non-Profit Organization. The industry has received it well and adopted extensively as a reliable tool for analyzing Supply Chain operations and managing them, (SCC, 1999). It enables its users to compare the various SCM activities and evaluate their performance and relevance to the management objectives. It is hierarchical and structural in nature. As end result it provides the optimal processes and solutions for the organization’s SCM requirements, (Brocke, 2007). SCOR analyses all the elements on the Product Development and Delivery network and keeping the focus on optimum satisfaction of the customer, identifies and brings to light complicated as well as simple supply chains which have specific impacts on the over all outcome of the operations, (Supply-Chain Council, 2005). This ease of analysis helps in interconnecting and showing as sequels the chain of events/operations that hinder production or delivery, and their over-all impact, (VRM 3.0, 2004). Thus it serves as a foundation on which Supply chains can be developed for simple local operations as much as it can serve to build large scale world-wide Projects, (Fox, Chionglo, and Barbuceanu, 1993). SCOR has become handy for enhancing the flexibility of interaction among trading partners and customers, which, in turn has radically impacted the operational economics of the entire Industry. The combination of the adv anced capabilities of I.T. with SCOR has produced very good results, (BEA,2003). Far from the mere connectivity of Supply Chain events, SCOR has now achieved a system of extracting real time data at various levels,

Safeguarding Vulnerable Elderly from Physical Abuse Essay

Safeguarding Vulnerable Elderly from Physical Abuse - Essay Example The elderly old are prone to physical abuse and physical neglect. Physical abuse is defined as any act of violence that may lead to injury, pain, disease or impairment. This kind of abuse may take the form of: pushing, pinching, slapping, force feeding, improper administration of medication, incorrect positioning, etc. Signs of physical abuse may include rope marks, lacerations, bruises, fracture and burns. Physical neglect, on the other hand, is typified by a failure by the caregiver to prevent harm or provide desired living condition for an elderly old. This form of abuse encompasses acts such as failure to provide physical aids e.g. hearing aids and eye glasses, and denying health maintenance care to an elderly person (White, 2000).Reasons why the elderly are vulnerable  Vulnerable elderly old may faces abuse from their relatives, family members or paid care givers. The reasons for their vulnerability are quite varied. Physical abuse of elderly people can happen once or may happ en repeatedly. Sudden outburst by the elderly person might lead the care giver to slap the elderly, an act that is considered abusive. Sometimes the care giver might not know how to handle or support an elderly person. This lack of proper training can lead to injuries (Acierno et al, 2010). Most elderly old are slow in conversation and movement. This may frustrate the care giver resulting in rough handling and annoyance. Hot temper from the care giver might result Family members may find it cumbersome and stressful to care.... Physical abuse is defined as any act of violence that may lead to injury, pain, disease or impairment. This kind of abuse may take the form of: pushing, pinching, slapping, force feeding, improper administration of medication, incorrect positioning, etc. Signs of physical abuse may include rope marks, lacerations, bruises, fracture and burns. Physical neglect, on the other hand, is typified by a failure by the caregiver to prevent harm or provide desired living condition for an elderly old. This form of abuse encompasses acts such as failure to provide physical aids e.g. hearing aids and eye glasses, and denying health maintenance care to an elderly person (White, 2000). Reasons why the elderly are vulnerable Vulnerable elderly old may faces abuse from their relatives, family members or paid care givers. The reasons for their vulnerability are quite varied. Physical abuse of elderly people can happen once or may happen repeatedly. Sudden outburst by the elderly person might lead the care giver to slap the elderly, an act that is considered abusive. Sometimes the care giver might not know how to handle or support an elderly person. This lack of proper training can lead to injuries (Acierno et al, 2010). Most elderly old are slow in conversation and movement. This may frustrate the care giver resulting in rough handling and annoyance. Hot temper from the care giver might result into actual physical harm on the elderly person. In a family setup, abuse may occur due to long-standing hostilities between the elderly person and the family members. Family members may find it cumbersome and stressful to care for the elderly relative. Some of these families may leave the elderly person unattended to, exposing him to suffering. Abuse of the elderly old can also take place in a

Business law corporate personality, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business law corporate personality, - Essay Example The most important concept that flows from the incorporation of a company is that of limited liability whereby the shareholders tend to be liable only to the unpaid amounts of shares and so the company as a separate legal entity is held accountable for its own debts. Corporate personality has been in use for a long period of time but the area of law developed when small businesses used the notion so as to create limited liability. The turning point of corporate personality was the decision of Salomon v Salomon1. In Salomon, a leather merchant incorporated a company and completed the formalities by appointing his family members as shareholders which was a requirement of the Companies Acts at that point in time. In his personal capacity, he appointed himself as managing director and subsequently purchased the sole trading business. The main concern was the over valuation of the business placed by him, but this was mainly due to his confidence in the success of the business. The company subsequently went in to liquidation and a liquidator was appointed by the court who in turn evaluated that the company was a sham and had been used as an instrument to defraud creditors. The Court of Appeal accepted the evaluation of the liquidator, however, the Hou se of Lords reversed the decision stated that the Court of Appeal had used a moralistic approach and went on to say it was irrelevant that some of the shareholders were used merely to fulfill a technicality and so the use of corporate personality could be made by any person who intended to pursue what was his own business and thus the company set up in this case found to be a separate legal entity and not an agent or trustee of the person controlling it.2 The case set a cornerstone for the doctrine of separate legal entity and separated the company from its shareholders. This concept has

Should the government increase the minimum wage Essay

Should the government increase the minimum wage - Essay Example t employers could not afford these federally mandated pay raises and would be forced to lay-off workers and that most persons who make the minimum wage are teenager or temporary workers, not heads of households with a dependent family to support. This discussion examines the benefits of raising the minimum wage not only for those workers who would gain monetarily but to employers as well and the economy as a whole. Currently, the minimum wage stands at $5.15 per hour. Congress recently voted itself another pay raise but killed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour. â€Å"Raising the minimum wage to $7.50 would positively affect the lives of more than eight million workers, including an estimated 760,000 single mothers and 1.8 million parents with children under 18† (Dobbs, 2006). This modest increase would only have put minimum wage earners near the poverty line, about $16,000 for a family of three (Poverty Guidelines, 2006). As a result of the inaction by Congress, these eight million American workers will not be able to provide the most basic needs for their families. In 2002, the U.S. Census reported that approximately 2.6 million full-time, year-round workers were subsisting at wages that placed them below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003, p. 7). The minimum wage has not been raised in seven years, the longest time span since the law first went into eff ect in 1938. This decline in the real value of the minimum wage over the last seven years translates into lower real wages for millions of workers and contributes to the income gap between poor working families and the middle class. Raising the minimum wage would allow those who make minimum salaries to keep up with inflation. It would help those that need it the most such as single mothers and minorities. In addition, it would cause a ‘ripple effect’ in that wages would also increase for those that make just above the minimum. In 1968, a full-time employee who earned

Genetic Engineering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Genetic Engineering - Assignment Example Perhaps the first and most obvious reason that GMO food exhibits a clear and definitive concern to the human population is with regard to the unknown level of impact that GMO necessarily poses to human health. Shockingly, very little independent research has been performed on GMOs to determine the level of impact, if any, that they might have with regard to human health. Moreover, seed company agreements forbid the sale or use of any of their seeds for the process of independent research, all but stymieing any attempt that an independent researcher might make in order to draw a level of inference with regard to whether or not GMOs are harmful, beneficial or neutral. However, the fact that seed manufacturers are so particular about including the caveat that their products cannot be sold or utilised for independent research sheds a level of particular doubt in the mind of the reader with regard to the overall health concerns that use of GMO might present for any society’s food s upply. Moreover, another particular level of the unknown that exists with regard to the use of GMO in food is the fact that many of the GMO food sources currently in the market have been proven to have a built-in resistance to certain types of antibiotics. For instance, Amflora, a type of genetically modified potato, was recently tested by a European committee and found to have a gene specifically built-in to the potato that was predisposed to a type of antibiotic resistance. Although this particular type of genetically modified potato may have little or no effect upon the human being, the mere existence of an antibiotic resistant gene within genetically modified food is able to alert the reader that serious concerns about health may very well exist with regard to genetically modified food. Although genetically modified food is something that holds a great deal of promise it at the same time holds a great

Review performance about "Next to the Normal" Essay

Review performance about "Next to the Normal" - Essay Example Next to Normal takes one through an exhilarating journey of laughter and sorrow as one relates with the challenges of the actors (Brantley, 2009). Diana Goodman is a loving wife and mother who want the best out of her largely dysfunctional family. Their struggles typify the normal suburban neighborhood in an emotional manner, and the actors punctuate this with periodic musical breaks. In addition, Goodman has bipolar disorder, a form of mental illness, which affects the normal functioning of her already disunited family. The plot also explores Natalie’s drug abuse and her isolation from the family. The music and stage decoration is perfect. Through a lively pop/rock score, this intensely moving piece of theatre offers a breathtaking opportunity for the actors to investigate dramatic material and highlight their vocal talents. The timing of the lighting effects is in lieu with the message in the storyline and depicts the right emotion. As the musical starts, the lights go off and reveal Diana Goodman sitting alone, pondering about her future. Similarly, as the musical ends, Natalie, the daughter, walks in and turns on the light when he finds his father seated in darkness. She turns on all the lights in the house and reveals Diana who is visibly hurt, but happy to be alive. Apart from the lighting, the scenic and sound design augments the direction and mood of the musical performed on a three-story set that doubles as a doctor’s office, residence, and school. The actors and actresses do an excellent job in their performance. This is fortified by the numerous applauds and awards the musical has won as it endears itself to the public. Drama Desk Awards awarded Alice Ripley for Outstanding Actress in the musical. Of the eleven nominations in the 2009 Tony Awards, the musical won three, including Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. Similarly, Aaron Tveit won Most Promising

Herbert hoover Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Herbert hoover - Essay Example His contribution to public service and his humanitarian work during the war became the pride of American people back home. He exhorted his people to economize and save food so that more people could be fed during the great famine of Europe and asserted firmly that even enemies (Russian people) would also be extended help in the form of food supply. When a critic inquired if he was not thus helping Bolshevism, Hoover retorted, ‘Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!’ (whitehouse.gov). In 1928, he became a natural choice for the republicans for Presidency and was elected with a big margin. Hoover was basically a commoner and a technocrat who had earned his millions, working in mines in different countries of the world. He was dragged into limelight because of his widespread business contacts across world and as an American, he could help Americans who were trapped in the war that had broken out in the Europe. Prior to becoming President, he had extensively served people in various capacity and therefore, when he became president, welfare of the people became his primary concern, especially farmers. His intrinsic belief that as a representative of the people, it was his duty to promote measures that would facilitate people to improve their socio-economic conditions. It was one of the main reasons that his opponents in Congress were often at loggerheads with him he was quite vocal when he perceived that his good work was being sabotaged by others for their own veste d interests. During his presidency, in 1929, America was hit by the worst economic disaster which resulted in the nastiest ever financial meltdown and long economic depression. The stock market crash had the cascading effect with widespread bankruptcy of businesses and banks resulting in huge number of unemployed people. During this time, Hoover encouraged people to remain optimist and work together to help

Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Diabetes - Essay Example On the other hand, Type-2 diabetes, formerly called adult onset diabetes, occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it makes effectively (ndep.nih.gov). Cases of diabetes have been reported with an ever increasing magnitude within the last two decade. This is in fact the single reason why many researchers have focussed their studies on probable causes of this deadly condition and how it can be minimized. According to the National Diabetes Statistics report, 2014, 29.1 million people or 9.3% of the U.S population have diabetes (cdc.gov). Fast facts of 2012 on Diabetes reports that of all ages, 21.0 million people are diagnosed and 8.1 million or 27.8% are undiagnosed (cdc.gov). However, the Epidemiologic estimation methods reports from various data systems of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention use surveys, fasting glucose or haemoglobin A1C levels, and self-report among survey respondents and by diagnostic codes were used to diagnosis diabetes vary in who they identified as having diabetes or pre-diabetes (cdc.gov). Generally, increased public awareness of the conditions through campaigns as well as enhanced screening hav e all contributed to making diabetes appear as though it is an epidemic. There are several descriptive epidemiological factors that can be considered when it comes to accounting for the differences in diabetes occurrence. One of these factors relates to lifestyle and brings together aspects such as eating habits and physical activities. Essentially, diabetes is linked with consumption of food products with high sugar contents. This has the effect of overpowering the gland responsible for the production of insulin which regulates blood sugar. The case is further worsened when the concerned individual hardly engages in physical activities. It may be argued that white collar jobs that leave people with little time for exercise is increasingly becoming a factor for the high cases of

Mutual Funds Essay Example for Free

Mutual Funds Essay A mutual is a kind of investment-company that combines money from many investors and backers and invests the money in bonds, money-market instruments, stocks, other securities and sometimes even cash. A mutual fund in basic terms is a large group of people who lump their money together for management companies to invest. And, like most things in the world, there are fees and commissions involved. Mutual funds are managed by money managers, who capitalize the fund’s capital and try to produce capital gains and revenue for the fund’s investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is organized and maintained to mimic the investment objectives defined in its catalogue. A mutual fund has many characteristics, which are listed below. Investors and backers purchase shares in the mutual fund from within the fund, or through a broker or fund agent, and cannot buy the shares from other backers on a secondary market such as the NASDAQ stock market or New York Stock Exchange. The amount that investors purchase their mutual funds shares for is the estimated net asset value or NAV per share in addition to any fees that the fund may charge at the time of purpose, such as sales charges, also known as sales loads. Mutual fund shares are convertible, meaning when an investor wants to sale their shares, they sell them back to the mutual fund or to a broker working for the fund at the net asset value less any fees the mutual fund may charge, such as deferred sales loads or reclamation fees. Mutual funds commonly sell their shares on a continuous basis, although some funds will stop selling when, for instance, they reach a certain level of assets under management. The investment portfolio of a mutual fund is typically managed by separate entities known as investment advisors that are registered with the SEC. Furthermore mutual funds themselves are registered with the SEC and subject to SEC regulation. There are many forms of mutual funds, which include index funds, stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds. Each type of mutual fund has a different investment objective, strategy and investment portfolio. Different mutual funds are also subject to different risks, volatility, and fees and expenses. Fees related to a mutual fund reduce returns on fund investments and are an important feature that investors should consider when buying mutual fund shares. Mutual funds come in two main types, categorized by how the fees are charged. The types are load mutual funds and no-load mutual funds. A load mutual fund charges for the shares/units purchased plus an initial transactions fee. The initial transaction fee is typically no more than 9% of the investment fund amount or can also be a standard fee contingent on the mutual fund provider. This fee is added to your purchase as a sales fee. There are a couple different types of load funds out there. Back-end loads mean the fee is charged when you redeem the mutual fund. A front-end load is the opposite of a back-end load and means the fee is charged up front. A no-load fund means investors and backers can buy and redeem the mutual fund units/shares whenever without a commission or sales charge. Some companies such as banks and broker-dealers may charge fees and commissions for the transaction and exchange of mutual funds. Many no-load funds charge a fee if you redeem them early. Most people endorse avoiding load funds altogether and studies have shown that load mutual funds and no load mutual funds offer the same return, however, one charges a commission fee. A 12B-1 fee is the yearly marketing or sharing fee on a mutual fund. The 12B-1 fee is treated as an operational expense and is incorporated in the fund’s expense ratio. The 12B-1 is usually between .25% 1% of a fund’s net assets. The name of the fee comes from a segment of the Investment Company Act of 1940. An electronically traded fund or ETF is a security that follows an index, group of assets or commodity, but trades them like a stock on an exchange. Prices for ETFs change throughout the day when they are bought and sold. Because ETFs are traded like stock, they do not have NAVs calculated everyday. References 1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Information on Mutual Funds. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Retrieved 2011-04-06. 2. Fink, Matthew P. (2008). The Rise of Mutual Funds. Oxford University Press. p. 9.

Life In Relation To Play Our Town English Literature Essay

Life In Relation To Play Our Town English Literature Essay The play Our Town focuses on the day to day life of the American family referring to the intimacy in the personal lives of individuals. It starts with the lifes daily routine and practices that are a necessity. Stage Manager, who happens to be Our Town narrator, goes into each distinct detail outlining the themes, plot and the use of symbols and motifs to put in more emphasis on the idea behind the play. The representation of the deepest aspects of life is further echoed through George Gibbs and Emily Webb as their wedding is being celebrated in Act 2. Our Town makes an attempt to analyse the life in the England New town in the twentieth century, and effects of change in the towns life through industrialization and immigration as show in the mention of Polish Town, in relation to the present life. In wilders conquest to explore the theme of Transience of human life from the day to day perspective, he analyses the stability of the effects of traditions and the steadfast reassurance of our natural environment (James 76). The lives of individuals are taking a transience course in Our Town. This is greatly influenced by how first time passes. It is noted that time seems to pass extremely first for the characters in the play without their realization. Human beings are brought out in the light of being powerless in possessing the ability to control the advancement in time. It is more difficult to understand the nature of human beings in the quest of appreciating how precious transience of life is paramount. In act 1, mainly referred to as Daily Life by the Stage Manager, gives more evidence of the importance and value of the daily routine activities in the life of the people. Wilder gives more important significance to simple acts, which are taken with less attentiveness by the characters as paramount time frame activities. These everyday activities include having breakfast and feeding the chicken. These bring in the effectiveness of the scene in Gibbs and Webbs home set up. Both families are entailed with the responsibility to prepare their children to go to school. Howie Newsome, the local milk man is seen to make appearance in the morning scene throughout the play. This is a direct attribution to everyones daily life, then and a t present. This echoes the aspect outlining continuity of life in the Grovers Corner and in relation to general experiences of human being. The congregational seen in the church during a choir practise session, results into a discussion between Mrs Gibbs, Mrs Webb, Mrs Soames about Simon Stimson who happens to be the renown church organist, with a character of alcoholism. His perceived non conformity nature has made him the subject of gossips in the town. Emily and George come back from school in the evening. George is obligated to seat down and concentrate in the large work load in his schoolwork. On the other hand Emily is elevated as the best student, through her recent performance in her class. The two youths make an arrangement for Emily to provide assistance to George in his academic work. This begins in the afternoon when the school breaks off. George Gibbs and Emily Webbs meet outside Emilys house gate. The first insight of a romantic affair between the two youths can be clearly seen. Subsequent conversations between Emily and her mother put more emphasis in this aspect of affection in her relationship with George. The singing of the choir at the orchestra pit, during the choir practise session, seems to allude to the conversation going on between George and Emily at the open windows. When George returns home, he sits at the window with his Sister Rebecca looking outside. Rebecca has a mental confusion about the Grovers Corner position in relation to the universe and its vastness. She shares her idea with George; out lining her believe that all these are contained in the powers of a supreme God. When night falls Mrs Gibbs fall into a discussion with her husband. She tells her husband that the drinking behaviour of the organist is the worst to be ever witnessed in the town. The commonplaces and activities dwelled on in act 1 puts more emphasis on the rebirth, dawn and commencement of youthful love between Emily and George, and are presumed to end up into marriage. The major significance and clarity of the minor aspects in the inclusive scenes of Act one, are mainly depicted from the predictable and trivial activities that follow each other. Wilder says that, the majority of people tend to live through the first part of their lives without considering, the priceless value of their consequent encounters in their everyday actions. This could be greeting people they meet, pursuing an education, and having breakfast with other members of the family. This first scene demonstrates the connection among people through humanity. Daily life being the important subject that has been addr essed, stereotypes the character of an average family in America. Act two, is focused on George and Emily wedding. This happens after three years. In an attempt to see her fiancà © at their home, he is denied the chance by Emilys parents saying that it is a taboo and bad lack to see the bride to be before the material wedding day. Mrs Webb then goes upstairs to ensure that Emily does not come down to meet George. George remains with his future father in-law Mr Webb. They hold a seemingly awkward discussion about marriage, and the qualities that make up a husband who will be virtuous. Mr Webb tells George of the advice that he was given by his father concerning marriage. Webbs father had told him to treat his wife as his own property, and never to allow himself to oblige or respect the needs of his wife. Webb says, he resolved to doing exactly the opposite of that advice and for sure he has lived happily ever since. In conclusion Mr Webb tells George not to follow the advice from anybody but formulate his own ways of living with his wife amicably. The importance of companionship is another theme that has been emphasised by Wilder. He suggests that, love is meant to be the highest level of creativity for human beings to gain their desired achievements, in relation to the advancement in time factor. As a matter of fact, birth and death are inevitable in an individuals life. However the middle stage joining birth and death is of most importance. This is the desire for friendship, love and consequently, companionship. Human beings have been given the potential to control this aspect of a persons life. The inhabitants of the Grovers Corner take adequate time from their other activities, to ensure that they build connections with one another. This could be either through the ideal chat, shown by the milkman and the small conversations among the neighbours. The most out spoken relationship is that between George and Emily involving romance, followed by courtship that resulted into marriage. This is established as the second stage in the cycle of everyday life in the town. It is where people grow up and develops, then marries one another. This second act is dominated by love and resultant marriage, which is a phenomenon that is natural and move the human race forward. The flow of events is interrupted by being taken back to the end of the junior year In Emily and Georges education. Emily decides to take up against Georges pride. This brings in a heated discussion on their future and the love they share with each other. From school Emily tells George that, the popular status that he is having in the schools society at the moment, is making him feel conceited and more stuck up. This is due to the fact that, George has been appointed the class president, and on the other hand, Emily has been chosen the class secretary and consequently the treasurer. In addition to Georges position, he has also become a famous local star in the baseball arena. George is hurt by these remarks but appreciates for Emilys honesty. The two turn down the argument and catch up on ice-cream and sodas. Over these drinks, George decides to change his previous plan to attend an agriculture school and resolve to stay at Grovers corner with the love of his life, Emily. The wedding day is filled controversies and stress. This is shown by George going to see his fiancà © at their home on the wedding day. George being engrossed in nervousness discloses to his mother that, he is not ready to go into marriage. Emily on the other hand, confronts a similar turmoil. She opens up to her father about her anxiety on the marriage, and wishes she could be dead instead of getting married. Nevertheless, they both overcome their fears and gain composure. They proceed to the aisle for the wedding ceremony. Mrs Soames is evidently happy with this wedding saying it is the best ever to be witnessed. The Stage Manager assumes the duties of the clergyman and weds the two. Although Our Town has enormous and prominent instances of romance, this is just but a mere case in the wide range of bonds relating to human being interactions. Several different relationships have been depicted by Wilder in the quest of establishing clear lines between human interrelations in the community. From Act 1, The Stage Manager is out to establish a relationship with the audience. This creates a strong bond between the characters onstage and the offstage audience. The chatting of the milkman and the paperboy establishes a stronger relationship with the members of the Webbs and Gibbs family. Moreover children prefer walking in pairs or groups from school as it helps them to chat and make play games. An aspect of interrelationship is seen in Mrs Gibbs and Mrs Webb, who are next door neighbours and meet time and again in their yards to gossip on issues affecting them or general talk of the town. Collective pronouns in the play also give an attribute to the desire for human bei ngs to be in a community like form. All these aspects attest the significance of companionship in the community. In Act III, Wilder takes as to a cemetery setting at the Grovers Corner. This reflects on the finality of the three main life stages, these are birth, marriage and death. Eternity is emphasised through the action of survival of Emilys second child, while the mother dies in the process of giving birth. This takes place nine years after the marriage ceremony. She leaves her husband and a four year old son in the land of the living as she proceeds to the land of the dead. This brings in the idea that death exists and it is inevitable. This puts more emphasis on the beauty of life, normal lifes rituals and grieving ceremony, immortality and the consequent eternity. It is clear that each and every person must finally die, however to soften this terror of rites of passage, the inner most quality of eternal life must be conceptualized. The coffin containing Emilys body is brought to the cemetery and descended into the grave then buried. Wilder raises her from those mourning, as a spirit to join her other relatives and folks in the land of the dead. These include her mother in-law, Mrs Gibbs, Simon Stimson, and Mrs Soames. Emily envies the life she has left behind on the earth. She realizes the importance and value of life and understands she should take each single day as it comes and live fully. This nostalgic appreciation of life is not shared by the living characters; this is actually shown by her husband who lies beside her grave (Haberman 106). It is paramount to note that the events unfolding in Our Town directly interrelates with the present day life. This brings in the significance of people appreciating their present life and living it to the fullest.

The Fifth Element: A Critical Analysis

The Fifth Element: A Critical Analysis The Fifth Element is one of the best science fiction movies ever made. What is science fiction? Stories that often tell about science and technology of the future is considered a trademark of science fiction. Science fiction films are also known to include a human element and are often set in the future, in space, on a different world, or in a different universe or dimension altogether. They often will depict dangerous or sinister natures of knowledge and vital issues about the nature of mankind and our place in the whole scheme of things. Science fiction displays the possibility to destroy mankind with Armageddon-like events through technology as well. In the film, The Fifth Element, the Earth is threatened by an evil force every 5000 years. An alien race, the Mondoshawan, have created a weapon to defeat the evil force and safeguard it on Earth in Egypt. The Mondoshawan look like gigantic upright beetles with metal skin and tiny heads. The weapon is four sacred stones representing the elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind with a fifth element that is used in combination with the stones. With the imminent arrival of World War I in 1914, they no longer feel the weapon is safe on Earth and come to take it away, promising to return when the evil force comes back during the course of the 5000-year cycle. In the year 2259, as the Mondoshawan are returning to bring the weapon back to Earth, their ship is shot down on the orders of an agent of the evil force, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg. The Mondoshawan never fully trusted the human race and it was determined that the sacred stones were never on that ship, as it was a decoy. The Earths military was able to gather some cells from the wreckage of the ship, and by using the genetic makeup of those cells, reconstructed a life form. The life form, which is in the shape of a young female human, is the fifth element. Her name is Leeloo. She becomes frightened and escapes from the reconstruction chamber. She runs into Korben Dallas, a recently retired Commander of Earths military, and currently a New York City cab driver. Leeloos undertaking was to find the priest, Vito Cornelius, as he knows of the ancient ritual to set off the weapon against the evil force. President Lister was given this information regarding Cornelius earlier. President Lister recruits Dallas to go and retrieve the sacred stones from the Diva PlavaLaguna who is on another planet. Leeloo and Cornelius have their own plans. Dallas, Leeloo, and Cornelius travel to the other planet. Dallas retrieves the stones with the help of DJ Ruby Rhod. With help of Cornelius and Leeloo, the four of them beat Zorg at his own game for control of the sacred stones. They flee back to Egypt and with only minutes to spare, Korben tells Leeloo what she needs to hear and the love she feels enables her to destroy the evil force from annihilating Earth. The plot may be a standard one; good versus evil with a love story intertwined, but it is a good solid one. The film is based on a story by Luc Besson and he wrote it when he was sixteen years old. Roger Ebert agrees that the plot does sound like something conjured up by a teenager but still remains positive. In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, he states, The Star Wars movies look deep, even philosophical, in comparison, but never mind: We are watching The Fifth Element not to think, but to be delighted (Ebert). This movie is exciting and catches your attention very quickly. The introduction of characters goes seamlessly from one to another. It does, however, have many stereotypes of what one might expect from a science fiction film. Mick LaSalle said in his review of the film in the San Francisco Chronicle, Its an amalgam of every science fiction clichà © about flying cars, evil forces and benevolent outer-space creatures most of them dusted off and made new (LaSalle). Many science fiction films show things in them that may be unbelievable. The beauty is that these things could happen. Flying cars? Sure, that might be possible some day. Aliens coming to destroy the planet? It could happen. The Fifth Element has all of these things. This movie creates a sense of wonder in the viewer. Not only is the viewer wondering what is going to happen next, like any other enjoyable film, the viewer will be anticipating what outrageous thing they are going to show you. In this world, you do believe it and it is true to the life portrayed in the film. This film is well told and the viewers will find themselves rooting for Leeloo, the fifth element. This is high-voltage excitement in a pop culture world. Its big on commercialism and there is a lot of product placement. The film is a bit predictable, by the end, evil is destroyed and the boy gets the girl. But the viewer will have a good journey to the end. The characters themselves are phenomenal. Bruce Willis plays Korben Dallas, the recently retired war hero who now drives a cab in New York City. Korben just cannot get a break. After being plagued with nightmares, he gets mugged on his way to work. He gets into an accident, where the viewer is first introduced to the beautiful Leeloo. Hes involved in a high-speed police chase and after returning home, he is notified that he has been fired. The military comes back into his life to send him on a dangerous mission. He travels with Leeloo to retrieve the sacred stones and must fight the ugly, killer-for-hire Mangalores. He must constantly put up with Ruby Rhod, an annoying DJ. After getting the stones and saving Leeloo from certain death, he must race against the evil force to set up the ancient weapon. In the end, he helps to save Earth and also gets the girl but his trials seem long and by the end, you are cheering that finally, something has gone his way. Leeloo is played by actress Milla Jovovich. Her role in all of this is that she is the fifth element. She tells Korben on their way to meet the Diva to get the sacred stones, Me fifth element supreme being. Me protect you (The Fifth Element). She has regenerated from cells alone to a perfect modelesque being that has flaming red hair with blonde roots. She learns the history of humans from a computer to bring her up to speed on Earths history. She can fight with the best of them, kicking the kung-fu out of some Mangalores. By the time they recover the stones and have made their way to Egypt to set the weapon in place, Leeloo is exhausted and is disillusioned as to why she must help the humans as she has seen the destruction they have done in history. She whimpers of not knowing love and does not realise that Korben has fallen in love with her. Korben must tell her how he really feels and kisses her with passion and she feels the love from him. She is able to make the ancient weapon work and defeats the evil force trying to demolish Earth by blasting it with white light derived from all that is pure and good. Priest Vito Cornelius, played by Ian Holm, is Leeloos contact on Earth. Cornelius takes this role very seriously. When Korben wins two tickets to Fhloston Paradise, his cover to retrieve the sacred stones from the Diva, Cornelius knocks Korben unconscious to steal the tickets for Leeloo and himself to go. When Korben shows up at the airport in time to make the flight, Cornelius stows aboard the plane in a maintenance compartment in order to reach Fhloston. He is a supporting character in this film but really is necessary for the story as he holds a plethora of knowledge that has been passed down to him from the last 5000 years. Under Korbens cover of winning the radio contest, he is bombarded by DJ Ruby Rhod, played fabulously by Chris Tucker. Ruby is simply a combination of Dennis Rodman and Pee-wee Herman, on crack. He speaks in a falsetto voice and gets irritated with Korben because his responses on air are not super green, his favourite catch phrase. Dressed flamboyantly in a leopard print body suit, he is all about using his popularity to his advantage with the ladies. He ends up with Korben in battle with the Mangalores and screams like a little girl every chance he gets. He also flies with Korben, Leeloo, and Cornelius to set up the weapon in the temple. Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg is the bad guy in all of this. Played by Gary Oldman, Zorg is an egotistical munitions dealer who is also the agent of the evil force that threatens Earth. He is relentless in pursuing the sacred stones, hiring the Mangalores to shoot down the Mandoshawan ship before it ever reaches Earth. He bullies Cornelius to try to give him the location of the stones. He puts a bomb on the pleasure cruiser to Fhloston Paradise which eventually kills him in the quest for the sacred stones. The makeup effects were not extraordinary by any measure but the visual effects in The Fifth Element are absolutely breath-taking. In the 23rd century, New York City is crammed full of people and the buildings seemingly shoot up from out of nowhere for miles. But the place they originate from is the garbage. As the author of The Fifth Element, Terry Bisson states, The deepening haze and smog that clung to the ground level of the city mercifully obscured the generations of litter and debris the urban midden that covered the streets to a depth of between twenty and forty feet (Bisson 78). The depth of the garbage problem is shown quite well. During the police chase scene, Korben and Leeloo hide the taxicab in the garbage down by the street level. Theres even a sign from an old company called IBM. In the airport scene, there is garbage piling up against all the walls due to a sanitation strike. It is heaped so high that it covers exits as a Mangalore jumped into a pile and escaped from police. The visual effects are model based as well as computer generated. The flying traffic depicted in this film is amazingly meticulous in detail. The cars are rounder at the edges and somewhat flatter than the cars of today. In the police chase scene, the details of flying the can in between cars, avoiding traffic jams, and even escaping through a train tunnel are wonderfully done. According to filmsite.org, the films most celebrated sequence was, the cab chase with flying cars (filmsite.org). Everything is brightly coloured and moves fast so the viewers attention is caught and remains focused on where the film is going. The costumes for most of the characters are all a little strange and what the film would portray as futuristic. Korben wears normal looking pants but his shirt is fluorescent orange with cut out strips in the back. Leeloos first outfit after regeneration is nothing more than strategically placed white surgical tape. Her second outfit of the film consists of gold pants and a white half-shirt which would look tame enough with the exception of the orange thong suspenders. DJ Ruby Rhods costumes are by far the best. He is originally dressed in a leopard print bodysuit with a huge flared collar with pointy brown boots. His microphone is covered in the same leopard material, the end lights up red when someone speaks into it, and it is about three feet long. His hair is a short blond afro with a cylinder of blond hair sticking out of his forehead. His second outfit is again a body suit; however, this time is completely black and wrapped around the flared collar is a wreath of red roses. The pants are flared out into bellbottoms and completely with black boots. The microphone is the same length but covered in black fabric with a silver tip. His hair is black this time and wrapped up in several little buns all over his head. Jean-Paul Gaultier was the costume designer and he was nominated for a Saturn award in 1998 in the category of Best Costumes (Internet Movie Database). This is absolutely one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The Fifth Element was nominated for an Oscar award in 1998 for Best Effects and Sound Effects Editing and also won a BAFTA award in the category of Best Special Effects (Internet Movie Database). It is a fantastic tale of good versus evil in the far away future. The viewer will enjoy the fabulous special effects and colourful characters as they root on the good guys in the destruction of evil.

A Holographic Interpretation of the Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

A Holographic Interpretation of the Scarlet Letter Comprehension of anything requires a framework already in place in order to place it in out sphere of reference. Especially those that are "fuzzy" or difficult to nail down. The brain and the atom are not fully understood, but by comparing functions, structures, and similar operations to known items or concepts one can obtain a hold on the unknown and even extrapolate unknown processes from known ones. (For example, the brain is similar to a computer. They both have memory, input/output, and similar structures-transistors to synapses.) This technique works with literature and a deeper understanding a grasp of a book's meaning becomes possible. The Scarlet Letter can be viewed through an understanding of the operation and production of holograms. First, an understanding of the holographic process is needed before any comparisons are possible. First and foremost a hologram requires a source of coherent wave- like energy. The second is a recording medium of extremely high resolution to record the microscopic interference patterns of light. The third major requirement is utter stability and freedom from vibrations. As for producing an actual hologram, here is described a two-beam transmission holograph. (So named because viewing it requires shining the same coherent light back through it) The laser is placed on a platform in the sand and a mirror directs the light diagonally across the table. A beamsplitter divides the beam into two parts. One goes to a mirror that directs the light through a spreading lens onto the photographic plate at an angle. The other beam is bounced off a mirror and through a spreading lens onto the object to be holographed. The table is allowed to settle and an exposure made. The light from the first beam, called the reference beam, and the reflected light from the object combine to produce microscopic inte rference patterns through constructive and destructive interference. Since light is a wave, when two coherent beams intersect depending on their phase they either add or subtract strengths forming areas of lightness and darkness that are captured by the photographic plate. After development the hologram is viewed with light from the same laser at the same angle as

Summer Of The Monkeys: Jay Berry And His Conflicts Essay -- essays res

Summer of the Monkeys: Jay Berry and His Conflicts OUTLINE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Topic: Jay Berry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Purpose: To identify the nature of the force of the conflict which Jay Berry encounters, and indicate how they help or hinder Jay Berry the protagonist in Wilson Rawls novel Summer of the Monkeys   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thesis: Before Jay Berry succeeds his goal he encounters many conflicts that both hinder and help him through his amazing adventure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inner Forces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Help- personality traits   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Determination   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Confidence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. Hinder   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Fear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Over confidence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outer Forces   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Help- other people   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Grandpa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Old Rowdy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ... ...ed against Jay Berry. The monkeys hindered Jay Berry with their intellectual abilities and also their physical attributes. Jay Berry did not know what he was going up against when he took on the challenge of catching the escaped circus monkeys. They outsmarted Jay Berry many times making Jay Berry looking like a buffoon. Also the monkeys physical capabilities are far more superior than Jay Berry's, also you will not see Jay Berry jumping from tree to tree. Another outer force that hindered Jay Berry was the environment. The sycamore trees are much too tall for Jay Berry to climb, and the bottoms are very unstable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Summer of the Monkeys written by Wilson Rawls displays many inner and outer forces either help or hindering Jay Berry. In the end Jay Berry was struck by a surprise when the whole family got what they wished for in the magical fairy ring that Daisy found. The peak of Jay Berry's success is when he got a chance to run with Daisy through the fields, and also got his pony and .22. A lesson is to be learned from Jay Berry's wonderful experience, if you do what's best and not just what you want, you might just get both as an even greater reward.

Motivation and Organizational Culture Essay

Motivation and Organizational Culture Assignment In any given business or workplace environment the employees that work there should be the most valued assets. Research has shown that personnel who are happy and taken care of are much more productive than those who are not, therefore establishing a more pleasing work atmosphere. That being said, business leaders and managers alike play an extremely important role in workplace psychology. According to our text, leadership is the process of leading a group and influencing its members to achieve common goals. All managers are leaders (Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter, 2011). In today’s society more managers are leading through empowerment by allowing team members to be involved in the decision making process. More and more employees â€Å"are developing budgets, scheduling workloads, controlling inventories, solving quality problems, and engaging in similar activities that until very recently were viewed exclusively as part of the manager’s job. As mentioned earlier, research has shown that employees who are pleased are far more beneficial than employees who are not. There are many things that managers can do to ensure that their employees feel valued, and remain satisfied. First of all, it is important that managers avoid using intimidation. To intimidate means to make nervous, or instill fear. In some cases an individual can take advantage of their title and turn in to an authoritarian. In a sense this means that the big guys squash the little guys.

Art Analysis: Midsummer Night in Harlem, by Palmer Hayden Essay

‘Midsummer Night in Harlem is an oil painting painted by Palmer Hayden. Palmer C. Hayden was an American painter who depicted African-American life as he saw it, especially during the Harlem Renaissance. The painting Midsummer Night in Harlem appears to depict African American people departing and relaxing after an evening at church in Harlem. This painting shows the energy and positive attitudes of the people through the use of vibrant colors and the happy expressions of the faces. The people in this picture have features that were comparable to the minstrel characters (Wikipedia, 26 July 2013) often depicting Black face. Many have very dark skin with big white eyes and teeth, and are all smiles. All of the people are dressed nicely in dresses for the women and girls, top hats and slacks for the men and boys. It is safe to assume that the people in the picture had just came from church, because in the background you clearly see the church and a handful of people walking out as well as a carload of people driving off. The most prominent line in this art work would be vertical, because it leads the eye up /down and down/up and conveys the activity in the picture. Upon first inspection of this work, my eyes are drawn to the church as focal point, mainly because of the positioning of the church and the use of the vertical line from the moon to the kid at the fire hydrant. This identifies the viewers’ point of view and also shows how the moon is used as the light source, as well as the street light positioned just in front of the church. The illusion of space around the church leading up to the moon in the sky is utilized to draw your eye upward as if to signify that it is nighttime. The illusion of depth is utilized here in many ways by the appearance of distance created from the people by the church in back to the increase of people by the apartment steps in front. Aerial perspective is used in this painting by the lack of visual detail of the people by the church, like their facial features and their clothing. Midsummer Night in Harlem has a distinct unity of composition throughout the entire piece that helps the viewer relate the symbolism of the church and moon in back, to the people nicely dressed and congregating on the apartment steps in front. The forms in this artwork are utilized by the use of many three-dimensional shapes with length, width and depth, like the apartment buildings, the car and the church. Contrast is used throughout the work to help guide your eye from the apartment buildings to the church, and the people. Movement is used in this piece by the use of lines, contrasting shapes and colors to guide the viewers’ eye throughout the composition. In this work of art, our eyes move upward from lines of the little boy by the hydrant up to the people looking out of windows of the apartment. From there, our eyes move to the slight contrast in colors of the church and the moon in the sky. A good amount of balance is created in this art work by the way the colors and shapes are combined in harmony. In this image, Hayden achieves a sense of balance by dividing the image in two sections: the right side is occupied by details of people with distinct features while the left side lacks a great amount of detail in the people and focuses on the church and moon. Midsummer Night in Harlem has a color scheme that is analogous because the colors work in harmony and is very pleasing to the eye. The main colors in this painting are red, brown, white and grey. The value of the colors used in this art work is set to dark while the intensity and brightness is set to medium. For example, the reds, burgundy and brown used in the picture (especially for the apartment buildings and clothing) are warm but appear a little toned down in color. Hayden creates emphasis through color and position throughout this piece. For example the faces of the people ranges in intensity by the dark faces and bright smiles as mentioned earlier. Also the outfits worn by the people demonstrate emphasis in color; some are wearing white while others are in print and color. In conclusion, the painting Midsummer Night in Harlem utilizes a vertical directional line that illustrates that there is some movement in the picture, yet is calming in effect. The main implied shape throughout this art work is a rectangle which also induces a calming effect. The painting has a slight contrast of color with an analogous harmony throughout. The overall illusion of depth and space in this piece provides unity and balance to the composition.

Britian during the First World War and The Social and Welfare

First World War How did women contribute to the war effort? Suffragist and suffragette member took men's places In Jobs when the men went overseas to fight. Hundreds and thousands of women were employed In munitions factories, in the transport system (conductors on buses and trams), employed as laborers on farms, as nurses and in offices a secretaries and receptionists. This was a crucial part of the war effort as it kept the country going. How were civilians affected by the war?During the war the government: Rationed food Civilian land was taken over by the government for food production diluted so people wouldn't get drunk British summertime was also introduced Beer was This was all under the Jurisdiction of the Defense of Realms Act (DORA) which was Introduced by the government In 1914. British summertime was Introduced so there were longer hours meaning that people could work for longer. Under DORA people could not discuss military affairs. How effective was Government propaganda during the war?A form of censorship was adopted in war time Britain, the government only allowed retain things in newspapers to be printed. Soldier's letters from the front were also censored. Posters were published to encourage the civilian morale. What was the attitude of the British people at the end of the war towards Germany and the Paris peace conference? During the war there were millions of deaths of soldiers on the front, and many permanently maimed by the war. The civilians were angry and wanted Germany to pay: a headline from a newspaper was ‘make Germany pay.British Depth study: social and welfare reform What were working and living conditions like for the poor in the 1 sass? Pollution: there was a large amount of pollution in cities due to the amount of coal burnt Overcrowding: large amounts of people were moving into cities to find Jobs, low wages and high rents meant families found the smallest places to live Disease: there were major epidemics all around Londo n due to overcrowding, low standard housing and poor quality water supplies Waste disposal: litter filled the streets along with horse manure. Human waste flowed into sewers and then Into the rivers.The free school meals were not compulsory but by the end of 1914 a large amount of he population were getting one good meal a day The pensions act meant that many of the elderly were kept out of the work house but it was refused to people who had never worked before Many of the Jobs that were in the exchange act were temporary or part time and the amount of Jobs available didn't increased The national insurance act was a good safety net for people who had fallen ill or were unemployed however they had to pay money out of their wages and wasn't enough for the whole family to live on Free medical treatment was only available to the wage earner

Blood Brothers Essay

â€Å"Blood Brothers† is a play about two twins who are separated at birth, they do not only have different parents but have a whole different lifestyle. Eddie lives in a world of luxury and has opportunities to go to university and eventually owning his own business which is more than Mickey could have ever dreamed of. On the other hand Mickey is brought up in a working class family with no qualifications whatsoever, as soon as Mickey thinks he has finally settled down with a job he then finds himself fired and starts turning to crime. Towards the end of the play the differences between Eddie and Mickey begin to show as friction is caused between them. They begin to turn against each other and Linda is stuck in the middle as she has feelings for both Eddie and Mickey, this is when the question is raised asking whether Linda and Eddie have been having an affair. This is then what sends Mickey off the rails and ends up being the cause of the Johnstone twin’s death as Mickey shot Eddie in a rage of anger over Linda. Tension is caused at the end of the play when Mrs Johnstone tells Mickey and Eddie that they are brothers as the audience already knew this they just wanted to know when and how this would be revealed to the twins. Willy Russell wrote Blood Brothers to show how life was in Liverpool in 1980s and how being in a different class separated people. He also refers to the recession and how so many people lost their jobs and the only way for them to earn a living was to turn to crime like Mickey did as he needed money to support Linda and his child, Sammy did not help the situation as he was the one who had persuaded Mickey to earn money in that way. The end of the story is revealed to the audience by the narrator at the very beginning of the play. This builds up tension because people know what is going to happen so they are waiting to find out how it happened and what led up to that scene. Another thing that adds tension to the play is how the narrator keeps on referring back to the devil â€Å"the devils got your number, y’know he’s gonna find y’. Y’know he’s right behind y.† Towards the end of the play the narrator says how close the devil is getting, the devil being the devil inside Mickey when he shoots Eddie down. Mrs Johnstone sings a song about the price that she has to pay â€Å"Living on the never, never, constant as the changing weather never sure who’s at the door or the price I’ll have to pay† This song says that Mrs Johnstone has a price to pay, this could mean that she has to give up her baby in return for the money that Mrs Lyons gave her but the audience know that the price that she will have to pay is the guilt that she will suffer and that both her twins die. The constant weather indicates her life has been up and down like it’s raining when she is sad and sunny when she is happy and that everything changes as fast as the weather. Secondly when she says that she is â€Å"living on the never, never, Constant as the changing weather never sure who’s at the door† this could refer to the people who came to knock on her door to take away her possessions and that living on the never, never could mean that she knows that nothing that she has will stay with her forever. Another thing that indicates this is that when she says â€Å"It’s alright lad †¦ we’re used to it we were in the middle id our tea one night when they came for that table.† This means that she has had her belonging possessed before and because of this she doesn’t really mind when it happens again because it has happened so many times before. Willy Russell has made the audience sympathize with Mrs Johnstone because she has been through a lot in her life. At the beginning of the play she tells us how she got to be in that position in that moment in time. Mrs Johnstone describes her marriage and says â€Å"that I was six weeks overdue† which makes the audience feel sorry for her. It also describes the place of marriage which was at the registry office. â€Å"We got married at the registry and had a do†. This suggests to us the audience that the wedding was nothing too fancy, not too expensive and that the marriage was sudden and unexpected. She got married because she was expecting a baby, in difficult, circumstances to get married in. Soon after the wedding Mrs Johnstone wanted to go out and enjoy herself like she had done before but her husband wouldn’t take her anywhere because he became very conscious of her appearance and felt embarrassed to be seen with her. This is evident due to the fact that sh e gained weight and now perceived herself to be â€Å"twice the size of Marilyn Monroe†. The audience feels sympathetic towards her because she has seven children and low self esteem. This is shown by the fact that she describes herself to look like she is forty two instead of twenty five. This shows the physical strain that Mrs. Johnston has gone through. I understand why she gave her baby away to Mrs Lyons because Mrs Lyons emotionally manipulated Mrs Johnston in this terrible time she is going through. Mrs Lyons attempts to make Mrs Johnstone think positively by saying that â€Å"if he’s with me you’ll still be able to see him each day as you come to work† Mrs Lyons presents Mrs Johnstone with the idea that her son would have a much better life with herself â€Å"if he grew up here as our son†¦ he could have everything†. However this is why she may have done this for the benefit of the baby because she felt that Mrs Lyons could provide for him much better than she ever could and she just wanted him to have a better life. The purpose of the narrator is to explain some of the key action on stage. The narrator also involves the audience by asking them directly, to judge what they see. He reveals that the brothers die at the very start of the play and from then on he constantly reminds the audience of the twin’s fate. He presents the themes of fate, destiny and superstition throughout the play, but at the end he asks the audience to consider if it was social class rather than fate that caused the tragedy. In the play the narrator constantly reminds Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons about the devil â€Å"Y’know the devils got your number, y’know he’s gonna find y’, y’know he’s right behind y’, he’s starin through your windows and he’s creeping down the hall.† This makes the audience realise that when the narrator refers to the devil he means the devil that is going to cause the death of the twins at the end of the play this makes the audience anxious as to when this is all going to happen. In this play Mickey, Eddie, Linda, and Sammy play all sorts of games, I think that the games that they play influence them when they are older for example they play with pretend guns and Sammy says â€Å"It only fires caps. I’m gonna get a real gun soon, I’m gonna get an air gun† This later becomes true as Sammy does get a real gun which is then used to kill someone; both Mickey and Sammy were arrested for this. The arrest is also relevant as the children used to play cops and robbers. â€Å"Come on Eddie, you can have a shot at our target in the park.†This is relevant because Mickey and Eddie practised shooting and in the end Mickey shoots Eddie so the shooting practise came in handy. I think the strongest child was Linda because she stuck up for Mickey no matter what; she stuck up for him when he was getting told of by the teachers and she was able to have the courage to lie to a police officer. Superstition is a big theme in the play and Mrs Johnstone is shown to be superstitious right at the beginning of the play. â€Å"New shoes on the table. Take them off†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .The new shoes on the table could result in the birth of the twins. â€Å"Plural, Mrs Johnstone, mouths to feed, you’re expecting twins.† The narrator uses superstition during the play to imply the loss of money or precious things. â€Å"An’ a spider’s been killed.† A main part in the play is when Mrs Lyons uses Mrs Johnston’s superstitions to stop her from telling Eddie and Mickey that they actually brothers â€Å"They say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, they shall both immediately die.† As Mrs Johnstone is very superstitious she believed every word Mrs Lyons says to her. This superstition later becomes true, as at the end of the play the only reason why the gun got fired was because Mrs Johnstone told the boys that they were actually br others as she thought that it would stop Mickey from shooing Eddie but in the end although it may have been an accident Mickey still fired the gun either over anger or rage over Linda or pure shock to find out that he was a twin. The narrator finishes his speech with the idea of superstitions and whether they are the cause of the traumatic story line and ending. â€Å"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass.† The first sign of tension is when he kids grow up and Sammy causes trouble on the bus as he gets a knife out and starts threatening the conductor to give the bag with all of the fair money in just because he wouldn’t give Sammy a ticket â€Å"Fuck off, now move, you move! Give me the bag† This creates tension because nobody has ever seen that side of Sammy before and even Mickey gets scared and tries to stop him from getting into to deeper trouble â€Å"Sammy, Sammy!† The repetition means that Mickey is really worried and wants to get Sammy’s attention. When both Sammy and Mickey are both fired tension is created when Sammy asks Mickey to help him out with a job, Sammy then produces a gun and says they will go and hold someone up for some money. Mickey is reluctant at first, but wants to be able to buy Linda something nice, and agrees to stand guard. The audience want Mickey to be able to say no to Sammy because they know that it probably won’t end well, because they know that Mickey wants to be able to provide for Linda and his child but he won’t be able to do that behind bars. Meanwhile all this is happening at exactly the same time Edward meets up with Linda, proclaiming his love for her. She explains she has always loved him in a way, but she is now married to Mickey, and very much in love. Willy Russell shows them talking at the same time so the audience can compare what both Linda and Mickey are saying, Mickey gave into temptation and was willing to help Sammy with a job for money whilst Linda had Eddie declaring his love for her but Linda was strong enough to say no because she couldn’t do that to Mickey. At the beginning of the play Mickey and Eddie had a very strong friendship and cared and looked out for each other, when one was sad the other asked why and wanted to help â€Å"Mickey what’s wrong?† Eddie saw that Mickey was upset so he wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help. â€Å"I Thought we were blood brothers† this shows that they were once very close and being blood brothers meant that they always stuck together. As the play went on and the kids grew up into adults the relationship between Mickey and Eddie had changed. Before they were best friends, which had then changed into a university kid and an unemployed man who had nothing to say to each other. When Eddie announced that he had everything he had ever wanted and offered to give Mickey money, Mickey’s jealousy got the better of him â€Å"You, you’re a dickhead†. This indicates that Mickey is angry at Eddie because he has everything including all the money in the world whilst Mickey had no job, no money and hated the thought that his old best friend had everything he didn’t have. Right at the start of the play everyone saw how close Mickey and Linda were but when Mickey was in jail it not only changed him, but it changed his mental health as he became attached to drugs and became insane and mad. â€Å"He said about, about me nerves, an how I get depresses an, I need to take these cos they make me better.† But when Mickey did use these drugs it might have made him feel better but it put a strain on his and Linda’s relationship as they argued all the time which then resulted to Linda turning to Eddie for comfort and supposedly romance. Willy Russell uses ellipses to show pauses or that t he character is being hesitant in sentences to create tension and also to make the reader hang on to the speakers words and waiting for the next instalment. In the final moments of the feel tense as Mickey is running round the town with a gun searching for Eddie and everyone is wondering if he actually will shoot his brother or if he will just threaten him. The confrontation between Eddie and Mickey is very dramatic as Mickey is shouting out the odds and Eddie is denying everything. Then the police come in demanding that Mickey puts down the gun down then when he starts to realise what he is doing he begins to lower the gun, then when Mrs Johnstone comes and announces that they are twin brothers â€Å"Mickey don’t shoot Eddie, he’s your brother, I couldn’t afford to keep both of you. His mother couldn’t have kids so I agreed to give one of you away.† Mickey despairs that he was not the one given away, because then he could have had the life given to Eddie. Mickey, distraught, gestures carelessly with the gun towards Eddie. This sad story ends when the police misinterpret this action and gun Mickey down as he accidentally shoots Eddie, killing him. I think Blood Brothers the musical is a fantastic play, I especially love the way that each song has a meaning and the emotions of the characters in the lyrics. But I thought the end was good as you would have never thought that Mickey would kill Eddie. How the play was set for the narrator to have told the end of the story and the beginning of the play created more and more tension as the play went. I liked the fact that Willy Russell was influenced by Liverpool in 1983, only some of the characters had a Liverpool accent these were Mickey, Sammy, Linda, and Mrs Johnstone these were all the people in lower class and the ones who didn’t have an accent were Eddie, Mrs Lyons and Mr Lyons as they were very well spoken and in upper class. I learnt how social class can get in the way of you want to be friends with because their parents might not approve of you. I think the play might still have a relevance for a modern day audience as some people still rely on their class to get things, for example if Mrs Lyons wasn’t in upper class then Mrs Johnstone would have been able to stand up to her because she wouldn’t have thought that she was so high up. This can make modern day audiences change their mind and know that the times have changed so they can be friends with whoever they want to be. Another thing that the audience would see is how Mrs Lyons gave Mrs Johnstone money for her baby and that still happens today, so they can see that if someone does give their baby away to someone for money then it might not always end in happiness.