Writing Your Wrong’s

Most moral filled people have the inner desire to make up for the mistake of their past and this desire is magnified when those mistakes have a negative effect on the lives of others. There is a painful guilt that motivates a person to right his or her wrongs and throughout the redemption process a person's perception of one's self can be completely different from reality. The human psyche may only allow you to see what you want to see and not necessarily the facts or truth. Filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan, portrays this perfectly through the character Malcolm Crowe in the movie The Sixth Sense. Malcolm is a brilliant and successful child psychologist who struggles with his failed attempts to help a former patient and the neglect of his own marriage throughout his career. Driven by guilt, Malcolm pours all of his time and energy into a new patient, Cole Sears, whose symptoms are parallel to those of his very disturbed former patient. Cole is a scared, anxiety stricken, and haunted young boy with a supernatural ability to see and communicate with dead people or ghosts. Due to Malcolm's deep commitment and extensive time spent with Cole, he alienates his wife who seeks comfort and companionship from a male employee. Malcolm's desperate need to help Cole clouds his ability to perceive his true reality. It is through the journey of helping Cole that finally opens Malcolm's eyes to the realization and acceptance of his own death. As a result, he attains closure with his wife, redeems himself for past failures and is able to move on to the afterlife with a sense of inner peace. Malcolm and his wife appear to share a deep love for one another even though she makes a comment early on in the movie that she is runner up to his career. Nonetheless, it is evident they have love and mutual respect for one another. Unfortunately, their happiness is abruptly disrupted when Malcolm is shot by his former patient, a boy whom he could not help. He does this because he feels as though Malcolm failed him and blames him for being a freak. Following the shooting, we see Malcolm try to interact with his wife without success and her repeated failure to respond to him or acknowledge his presence in a room. She appears to ignore him and he views this lack of communication as anger and resentment that stems from marital neglect. This is shown in a scene where his wife is waiting for Malcolm at a restaurant to celebrate their anniversary and he arrives late because he is in a session with Cole- his new patient. His apology is futile and his wife leaves angry and hurt. Malcolm's perception of the situation is inaccurate because of his inability to acknowledge that he is actually dead. Until this is revealed to Malcolm, he will continue to falsely interpret his wife's behavior and actions. This point is proven when we see Malcolm find his wife's bottle of antidepressants and his assumption that her depression is due to marital problems and not grief from his tragic demise. At the suggestion of Cole, Malcom expresses his love to his wife while she sleeps and in that moment his true reality is finally realized – he his dead! It is abundantly clear that Malcolm's sessions and relationship with Cole are paramount in his ability to evolve and eventually say goodbye to his wife and have closure in their marriage. Malcolm believes he is Cole's hired psychologist and desperately wants to help him. His motivation for doing so is fueled by his guilty conscience resulting from his failed attempt to help his former patient who ultimately shot him. Malcolm sees the similarities between the boys and wants the opportunity to get it right. At first, it is unclear if Malcolm can help Cole, but through a bedtime story everything changes. He narrates this to Cole as a bedtime story that revolves around a character named Malcolm, â€Å"Malcolm who works with children and. although he loves his job, he makes a mistake when he is unable to help a young boy. That mistake changed his life forever. He thinks about him all the time and cannot get the boy out of his mind. He then meets a new boy that reminds him of the other boy he was unable to help. This new boy is awesome and Malcolm wants to help him. If he helps this new little boy, it will be like helping the other one too†. From this bedtime story, Cole discerns that Malcolm is talking about himself and this makes Cole more open towards accepting Malcolm's help. This breakthrough with Cole is the turning point in their relationship. Malcolm suggests that Cole help the ghosts that haunt him. This proves to be therapeutic and we begin to see spiritual growth and improved quality of life for Cole, which directly affects Malcolm. Malcolm's guilt for failing his past patient lessens every day as he witnesses the positive changes in Cole. As a result of Malcolm's persistence and success in helping Cole, he is redeemed and closer to the eternal piece that awaits him. When a person has unresolved conflict or lack of closure in a relationship it can inhibit his or her ability to move on to the afterlife upon their death. Initially, Malcom's perception of his mortality is suppressed by the desire for redemption and marital peace. His extreme guilt over the inability to help his former patient and his decaying marriage hold him prisoner in a purgatory type state. Ultimately, through his gifted ability to help a disturbed child his eyes are opened and his soul is set free. Free from the guilt of failing a boy and his marital shortcomings, but filled with inner peace. This inner peace can be seen when he tells Cole he will see him tomorrow knowing tomorrow will never come and later that evening when he expresses his love and final goodbye to his wife allowing them both to move on. In the end, Malcolm's spirit is free of guilt, redeemed, and living in eternal life. Through his character's portrayal we learn the importance of living a moral, regret free and family filled life. An important lesson much needed by many in our world today. Work CitedThe Sixth Sense. M. Night Shyamalan, Hollywood Pictures, 1999.

How Sassoon Captures the Brutality, Futility and Horror of Trench Warfare Towards His Audiences Essay

â€Å"I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.† – Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was a well known English poet who had gained recognition by writing about his experiences in the trenches as a soldier during WWI. Sassoon uses his experience to express the suffering he had undertaken on the battlefield which were described as brutalising, horrific and an unjustifiable waste of human lives. Thus it is through these practices that allow Sassoon to capture the brutality, futility and horror of trench warfare towards his audiences. Throughout all the works of Sassoon, four poems have stood out to demonstrate these three themes. Brutality being illustrated through ‘Counter Attack’ and ‘Suicide in the Trenches’, ‘ The Hero’ and ‘Does it Matter?’ demonstrating futility whilst ‘‘Counter Attack’ and Ã¢â‚¬Ë œSuicide in the Trenches’ expressing horror. Brutality – the trait of extreme cruelty. ‘Counter Attack’ illustrates brutality through the quote â€Å"And butchered, frantic gestures of the dead,† a hyperbole and metaphor has been used to create this ferocious scene. Juxtaposition has also been used to express the soldiers’ movements’ in contrast to those from the dead. With the use of these techniques it allows the audience to visualise the brutal aftermath of an all too common battle. â€Å"Down, and down, and down, he sank and drowned,† repetition of the word ‘down’ has been employed emphasising the soldiers’ brutal death as well as generating harsh, visual imagery. In ‘Suicide in the Trenches’, the statement â€Å"The hell where youth and laughter go,† juxtaposition is utilised to reveal that war is of horror and viciousness which is comparable to hell in taking away the innocence of soldiers. Also, â€Å"He put a bullet through his brai n,† Sassoon has made this statement extremely direct and clinical giving it a dramatic effect when reading. There is the use of vivid imagery which assists in displaying the brutal reality of men in the trenches where they would commit suicide just to escape war. Futility – the quality of having no useful result, useless/lack of importance or purpose. Within the poem ‘The Hero’, quotes â€Å"And no one seemed to care except that lonely woman with white hair,† and â€Å"We mothers are so proud of our dead soldiers,† emotive language has taken place in these 2 statements enabling the audience to realize how futile war was back then because once the soldiers fought and died, no-one seemed to care that they had given up their lives. â€Å"He thought how ‘Jack’,  cold-footed, useless swine.† A metaphor has been applied to the words ‘cold-footed’ to give an idea that the solider was being compared to a hopeless pig along with the fact he was scared and a coward when going to fight. Thus this portrays futility by describing how the soldier was picked to fight for his country but lacked off – not being useful when needed. Although in the poem, ‘Does it Matter?’ this phrase has been repeated a number of times all through the poem through the utilisation of a rhetorical question inquiring the audience if going to war and fighting for your country really mean anything. As well as, a sarcastic tone has been put in place due to the questions that Sassoon asks his audiences are bizarre, such as, â€Å"Does it matter? – losing your legs?† and â€Å"Does it matter? – losing your sight?† It is through these quotes and techniques that allow Sassoon to emphasise on the theme of futility and how once you fight for your country and come into contact with all sorts of injuries, no one really cares – hence conveying the message it was pointless to go to war and a waste of time. Horror – an intense feeling of fear, sh ock or disgust. In the poem ‘Counter Attack’, the line â€Å"Bullets spat†, personification has been applied to give audiences an unpleasant image of war. Onomatopoeia has been employed to add sound effects along with creating scenery and surroundings of where the soldiers fought. It is with these techniques that the theme horror is generated as audiences would fear where the bullets would hit them – bullets coming from all different directions. Furthermore, â€Å"Wallowed like trodden sand-bags loosely filled,† a simile has been engaged here to compare the soldiers to sand bags that roll loosely when fighting. Consequently, this highlights horror to Sassoon’s audiences as he wanted to fright and remind his audience of how rough the circumstances were of where the soldiers fought. Throughout the poem ‘Suicide in the Trenches’, the line â€Å"Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,† personification is adopted by constructing a lonely and isolated background on top of symbolising fear due to soldiers sleeping by themselves in the trenches and do not know what will happen – if they will wake up dead or alive. â€Å"With crumps and lice and lack of rum,† the word ‘and’ uses repetition when listing the endless, disastrous events that Sassoon went through. Imagery has also been exploited to show the bad conditions of the trenches back then. Therefore, horror has been depicted from the bad conditions Sassoon had to live in as a result  revolting audiences. It is through these works of Sassoon that has given us and insight and understanding of what war was like back then. Through the numerous techniques used by Sassoon it has allowed us, as an audience to understand and empathise with Sassoon about the brutalising and horrifying circumstances of war.

Nature in Literature

Nature plays a huge role in many pieces of literature, but especially Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North and Voltaire’s Candide. There is a major difference between the two forms of literature and how nature is incorporated into each. This Japanese form of literature has a much lighter tone than that of the European style of literature. You can see a calmer, more relaxed intention into the nature that is in Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North.On page 413 in Basho’s piece, it says â€Å"As the year gradually came to an end and spring arrived, filling the sky with mist, I longed to cross the Shirakawa Barrier, the most revered of poetic places. † From this section, you can see that Basho gets his inspiration for his literature and poetry from the places that he travels, and this resulted in his linked-verse sequence. Even though Basho had a long, tough journey of travels; the nature takes his breath away. On page 416 of Narrow Road to the Deep No rth, it says â€Å"my body and spirit were tired from the pain of the long journey; my heart overwhelmed by the landscape. †This statement shows that regardless of the struggles, he could find a poetic sense in everything he went through. In Narrow Road to the Deep North, Basho also found religion to accompany the bright nature in his literature of his travels. On page 418, Basho writes, â€Å"the green of pine is dark and dense, the branches and leaves bent by the salty breeze—as if they were deliberately twisted.

GetWrite Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

GetWrite - Coursework Example This is the location where crime and illegal immigration are most likely to intertwine. Accordingly, this is where the study would ideally be centered. In any experiment, it is desirable to partake in some form of random (probability) sampling. In this case, every member of the target population would have an equal chance at being a participant in the study. In order for this study to be truly random, then all persons living along a dangerous border crossing area would have the chance to be in the experiment. Unfortunately, this is not possible due to many restraints (time, money, etc.) and so we are forced to settle for a form of non-probability sampling. Specifically, we will be using convenience sampling, which means we will study the people who are easiest to study along the border area. This is necessary due to the potential hostility in the area, as well as travel restraints. This is certainly a limitation of the experiment, as it makes it much harder to apply the results to the entirety of the target population. It should be noted that the expected link between illegal immigration and crime might not be a simple direct relationship. One recent study identifies the overbearing crackdown on illegal immigration as a cause of more crime by making criminals stay in the areas longer (Hammond,

Reflection for movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflection for movie - Essay Example The Invisible War shows that such an assumption is not only false; it is horribly skewed by the media and the government itself because rape continues to be endemic to the army and unresolved enough to persist up to the present without any definite solutions for its prevention and remediation. The film demonstrates the irony between the image and the reality of female soldiers. The film starts with a patriotic song and testimonies of women, who dreamt of being soldiers, of serving their country and feeling pride in doing so. That is the ideal image. The reality is shattered when all of these women, once idealistic and patriotic, declared that they were all raped, not just once, but many times, in the army. It does not matter if they served in the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Army, or the Air Force. It does not matter where they where during their service. These women, who wanted to serve their country so sincerely and genuinely, were raped not long after starting their services. The U. S. government and the army want to send the image that they are gender-sensitive by hiring women, but they do not protect their rights and interests at all. With rape so pervasive in the army, it is a shame that they even hire women whom they cannot protect. The media and the government are in it, in hiding and undermining the invisible war, because rape continues to rise and prevention and remediation measures are barely accessible to the victims. ... Cioca’s broken jaw from the rape she experienced needs immediate surgery, but one year after her complaint, she does not get the financial support she needs. It is heartbreaking how, as a victim, the government either forgot her or consciously wants to forget about her. I do not want to think about conspiracy- that the government is purposely trying to kill these veteran soldiers who reported about rape that involved their superiors or peers. But when Cioca talked about the medicine that the government gave her, which when combined are lethal and already killed other vets, I am now doubtful of the motives of the government. If the government cared enough for these women, why not give them the therapy and resources they need to move on with their lives, aside from putting their rapists behind bars for their entire lifetime? None of these is happening. Why? The government and the army work together in perpetuating a patriarchal world, where women are still seen as sexual objects , as commodities that can be raped and thrown aside. Instead of offering laws, measures, and controls that will provide justice and support for the victims and that will prevent rape in the army, the government only offers empty promises to those who are raped. Patriarchy is not dead. It is in the government that is blind and deaf to the support and justice needed by raped veteran soldiers. It is in the army that does not provide proactive measures to stop rape and other justice and financial support services and resources for the rape victims. Patriarchy is alive. It must be killed. And we must wage an all-out war against it before another one of our valiant female soldiers get raped. Crying for Women that Others Do Not Cry for in No Woman, No Cry Christy Turlington

Credit Crunch and Shareholders' Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Credit Crunch and Shareholders' Value - Essay Example Banks start charging high interest rates for lending that becomes restrictive and selective. This impacts money (credit) market as mortgages becomes expensive. Stock markets start fluctuating wildly. Savings get reduced affecting pensioners a great deal. Use of credit cards becomes costlier. Foreclosures of mortgages and repossession of mortgaged properties become frequent feature of credit market, and worst the rate of bankruptcy rises. Credit crunch does not necessarily mean a period of recession. It is in fact a voluntary extension or interruption of monetary policy pursued by the federal bank. The success of any monetary policy depends upon attitude of lending institutions. 'Even if Fed increases the level of bank funds during a weak economy, banks may be unwilling to extend credit to some potential borrowers, and the result is credit crunch.'(Jeff Madura, page 93)1. The government some times introduces a sort of restrictive monetary policy that accentuates credit crunch. Jeff Madura (page 93) while explaining the effects of restrictive monetary policy states that 'as the money supply is reduced, and interest rates rise, some potential borrowers may be unable to obtain loans because interest payments would be too high. Thus the effects of restrictive monetary policy are magnified because higher interest rates not only discourage some potential borrowers but also prevent others from obtaining loans. Overall the c redit crunch may partially offset the desired effects of a simulative monetary policy and magnify the restrictive monetary policy.' The prime objective of every company these days is to create and enhance the shareholders' value. Let us first understand the meaning of the term 'shareholders' value' before analyzing the effects of credit crunch on shareholders' value. Shareholder makes investment in order to earn good dividends and capital gains when shareholder happens to sell the investment. In other words a shareholder is concerned about cash flows he receive from the investment and also about the appreciation of the value of investment that will result in after tax future cash flows. Ultimately the value of an investment is related to cash flows from such investment. Cash flows are connected directly to profitability of the firm and thus cash payout can be increased by increasing profitability. 'Since investors value cash payouts, managers increase shareholders value when they increase the present value of the firm's net cash flows, primarily by finding new ways to either increase revenues or reduce costs. Generating more cash or receiving it earlier increases shareholders value. Manipulating the timings of sales or expenses to increase reported earnings, however, will actually decrease shareholders value if it reduces the cash that can ultimately be paid out to shareholders.'(James A. Brickley, Clifford W. Smith, and Jerold L., page 23)2 It can be said that profitability that generates more cash flows in fact add to shareholders value, and vice versa. The focus is on cash payouts or cash flows on investments of shareholders. Also it is clear that profitability or growth of the company, that is ultimately important to generate cash flows, is the vital factor that affects the shareholders' value. Growth of a company is directly related to general upward economic

Comfort Theory in PACU Settings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comfort Theory in PACU Settings - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Ms.Donald writes that in her practical settings, she identifies the individual needs of each patient and implements appropriate nursing interventions which add to the holistic approach of Kolcaba’s theory. Patients have implicit and explicit comfort needs that, when met, strengthen them and motivate them to perform better in therapy, rehabilitation, and learning/adhering to new health regimens. A post-anesthesia patient has certain un-met needs which may hinder his/her recovery. These needs are not met by either the family or the health center but are imperative for the patient’s recovery. This is where Kolcaba’s nursing theory establishes itself. The nursing staff is required to identify the needs and the wants of the patients and comfort the patient in every way possible. Comfort has a different meaning to each being, thus the nursing intervention should also be implemented accordingly. In Ms.Donald’s PACU settings, she interv enes by listening to her patient and reassuring them, in this way she meets the psychospiritual need of her patients. PACU patients have several problems. These patients who have been through complex surgical procedures or other treatments may suffer from physical, pain, nausea, environmental discomfort, homeostatic imbalance on the physical and environmental level while the detractors of their psycho-spirituality maybe feelings of fear, anxiety and other negative attitudes. While environmental and physical ones are relatively easier to trace and address the other comfort forms have to understand properly. Ms.Donald applies the â€Å"coaching† intervention described in the Comfort theory. The Comfort theory suggests that the patient’s wants and needs can be met by anyone and not necessarily the healthcare staff.

Employment law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Employment law - Assignment Example Importantly, the laws are not the same in all the companies rather they differ depending on the cultural, political and economical factors of the countries. The employment law entails the relation between employees, employers, trade unions and the government. The employment law in relation to employees constitutes their rights at work. For instance in the UK Employment law; employment contracts, unfair dismissal, the Working Time Regulations, flexible working rights and equality aspects are outlined. With respect to the law, an employee is able to figure out the rights at work and how to acquire legal advice when discriminated against or unfairly dismissed from work. The UK employment law enables employers to comply with it thus treat their employees fairly and lawfully. Pauls dismissal due to his misbehavior is a controversial issue since other people may support or oppose the act. The employment law of UK outlines the procedure to be followed when an employee is to be sacked. As an HR manager in the store where Paul works, I will effectively advise the General Manager on what to do. This is because Paul has presented an unfair dismiss al claim to his Employment Tribunal Office. The course of action to be taken by the organization should therefore comply with the UK employment law. The organization should have considered Pauls source of the misconduct in order to proceed with the dismissal. A thorough and effective investigation was to be carried out before the dismissal. Therefore, Paul has a right to claim for the unfair dismissal to the local Employment Tribunal Office. The organization should have issued Paul a notice or warning before the dismissal. It did not follow the correct procedure of dismissal despite Paul involving himself into fighting which is considered fair enough for dismissal. According to the UK employment law, the organization should have carried out a proper investigation about Pauls misconduct instead of issuing

Measure and Light Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Measure and Light - Essay Example This can be enjoyed at the simplest level by anyone, even birds are mentioned, but there are also those who understand the science of music – how it works , how it constructs links , how it can be composed. He quotes St Augustine of Hippo from the fourth century C.E. in ‘De musica’1 as saying that this is the science of music, a mathematical science. Music is described as an expression of relationships, a mathematical relationship. Augustine’s claim was that number was needed to prevent chaos within the universe. Because these are mathematical concepts the same principles can be applied in the field of the visual arts. In the mediaeval period it was believed that contemplation of geometry would lead on to thoughts of the divine, pointing to what lies outside our normal fields of vision. Augustine realised that both music and architecture have this aesthetic value. Augustine was aware that architecture uses this science of number, but was aware that not ever y architect was necessarily aware of the rules, even though he could apply them. He considered though that there could be no building of beauty unless the rules were both applied and could be seen to have done so. The whole creative process has to be placed within a framework of mathematical rules, of harmony and proportion. The contemplation of such things were believed to lead to a revelation of God. Mention is made of wave after wave of iconoclasm which aimed to limit this aim of medieval art, but which was never able to fully suppress it. Instead as time passed new styles emerged , ever more fitted to produce the religious experience aimed for . The Wisdom of Solomon is quoted , saying of God ‘Thou hast ordered all things in measure in number and weight ,’ ( Wisdom 11 v 21),2 with the complete creation being seen a heavenly composition, but also an artistic or architectural one. As part of this the buildings were seen as being right in the will of God as they produc e feelings of both awe and reverence of the divine. This, according to Curtius, was the world view of the time. They take the place in western Christianity, of the icon among Orthodox Christians, where ideas about the ultimate take the form of visual beauty. Two important strands of thought are described – the unusual version of Platonism based in Chartres, and from Clairvaux a more spiritual aspect. There was an emphasis upon mathematics and the consequences of such thinking. The word architect is discussed with its two early meanings: that of the simple mason and also the cleric in charge of a building. Then later came the idea of the architect not as a craftsman but as a scientist, a ‘theoreticus’ of his art, who quite deliberately uses scientific principles to achieve what is required. The author points how we must not impose modern ideas of what an architect is upon these medieval builders. We know value great craftsmanship, but such workers were little valu ed in that period, as compared with the theoreticus. Note that link with the word ‘theory ‘. These men were clerics. They did not actually create physical things, climb ladders or use building tools. That was the task of skilled craftspeople. Boethius is mentioned, with his idea that mere carrying out rules to create a work of art if akin to slavery , whereas knowledge of the science from which a work is created is like being a

Compare and contrast the responses of Japan, China, and India to Essay

Compare and contrast the responses of Japan, China, and India to Western Imperialism - Essay Example China sort of made the rules and had the technology and was powerful, so they were able to fend off Western intervention for a long time. But when their defenses finally broke down in the nineteenth century, China collapsed. Japan fended it off almost entirely. That's why Japan is the one area of the Third World that developed. That's striking. The one part of the Third World that wasn't colonized is the one part that's part of the industrialized world. That's not by accident† (Chomsky, 1993). India, China and Japan demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between degree of involvement and colonization and ultimate success. India is the most colonized of the three: It was largely controlled by the British by the 1700s (Keay, 2001; Chomsky, 1993). In the 16th century, it was already dealing with extensive incursions from Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Britain, and the Europeans eventually emerged victorious over Muslim and Hindu kings, with the East India Company ta king much of the country's control until the Sepoy Mutiny brought it under direct control of the crown (Keay, 2001, 250-500). India is a very complex country: A leader of the non-aligned movement, one that tried to balance between Communism and capitalism, Leninism and free markets... (Khilnani, 1999). Nonetheless, it was in many ways uniquely devastated by colonization. It had burgeoning industries of large-scale sophistication, with good quality in crops and shipbuilding and prosperity in many ways comparable to the Europeans (Keay, 2001; Chomsky, 1993). That was consciously destroyed. The result is that â€Å"India's rural landscape looks rather different from that of most tropical ex-colonies† (Keay, 2001, 448). Two crops were developed, indigo and poppy, across the country, and tea and cotton is still grown in Assam and Kerala, but in most areas, small cottages still produce without much capitalization or integration (Keay, 2001, 448-449). Nehru, in a review of Indian de velopment, found a direct correlation between poverty and length of European control: â€Å" When the British first moved into Bengal, it was one of the richest places in the world. The first British merchant warriors described it as a paradise. That area is now Bangladesh and Calcutta—the very symbols of despair and hopelessness† (Chomsky, 1994, 56). Of course, it's an important point to make that at least in India, the native population wasn't simply exterminated, like in North America. India is a growing economy now, but with a billion people, it is still nowhere near as prosperous as countries with one-fifth or less of its population size. In 2009, the United States had $45,989 per capita, the UK had $35,165 and India had $1,134. For comparison, China has $3,744 GDP per capita and Japan $39,738 (World Bank, 2009). Per capita income variation among these three countries is thirty fold: India was totally integrated and is now a Third World country; China resisted to some extent and is a Second World country; and Japan kept the Europeans at bay almost entirely and is a First World country. India was explored because of tea, cotton, indigo, and for the standard reasons for colonization: A market for cheap goods and cheap employment (Keay, 2001). However, unlike many other colonies, India was also colonized to destroy its native industries so as to prevent competition (Chomsky, 1993). Meanwhile, China was not fully colonized, but major efforts were made

Not deciding yet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Not deciding yet - Essay Example In other words, we can also say that the gradual increase in the minimum wage rate will show relatively negative values of the employment rate in the US labor market. The maximum wage rate will result into the highest negative value of the employment rate. These statistics are shown in the research study conducted by the Federal Department, which was conducted to check the implications of the proposal of increase in the minimum wage rate maximum up to $ 9 – 10 / hour. In case of a perfect competition in the market among different firms, all the resources are equally available to all the possible market players. The firms are facing a neck-to-neck competition between each other competitive firm. In this situation, every decision should be taken very carefully because the firm managers will have to compete with many other game players also. Therefore, according to my opinion an increase in the minimum wage rate in case of a perfect competitive market will cause a decrease in the employment rate of that particular labor market. Because if any State or Government is increasing the wage rates then firms or the employers still have other options available to hire the cheap labor from where it is available. In case of a monopolistic competition, all the firms have individual products and services; they are not competing directly with each other just because of the reason that their products are not exactly substitute to each other. In case of a monopoli stic competitive market, the increase the minimum wage rate may also cause an increase in the employment rate just because of the reason that every firm will require certain skills and expertise for their production. They cannot hire any available labor if they are cheap as compare to the home market. The products and services of the firms are not similar to each other therefore; there will be certain set of skills, which is required by any manager of the firm. Therefore, we can predict that in case of a

The importance of the achievements of Mesopotamian Society Essay Example for Free

The importance of the achievements of Mesopotamian Society Essay Through the development of writing, mathematics, metalworking, detailed law codes, and the wheel, Mesopotamians have shown their ingenuity with many different achievements. The world as we know it could not survive without writing. I am writing right now in order to do this paper, and the economy and so much of our lives is dependent on writing. Although it goes hand-in-hand with writing, mathematics is also a very important achievement of the Mesopotamians. Mesopotamians based their math system on sixty, but it is just as important and influential regardless. Metal work is another great achievement of the Mesopotamians; it improved warfare, made better tools, and is very important in life today also. Law codes, although mostly used as a guideline, helped to keep the peace and gave a true sense of authority and respect for the king. The wheel was one of the most influential inventions of all time, despite its simplistic origins as a potters wheel and then later a solid way of pulling a cart easier. Writing is by far the most important achievement of Mesopotamian society. Developing from writing on clay envelopes as a way of keeping business records, writing was first used as a counting method. Later on, Sumerians, who were the first to develop a writing system, realized that it would be easier to simply write these notes on clay rather than on the round envelope. The writing system that began to emerge is called Cuneiform and pushing a reed into a clay tablet produced these Cuneiform symbols. However, before the Cuneiform we know today developed, pictograms were used to represent several different sounds or words. These pictograms gradually became more abstract over time, and developed into a system of triangular shapes and lines. Writing promoted a persons social status, if you knew how to read and write you were someone. The choicest profession in Mesopotamia was to be a scribe, as almost no common people knew how to write, and even kings usually did not know how to write. With writing and the writing profession, schools began to develop to teach their pupils to become scribes. Most scribes worked either for the government or worked as the town scribe. Writing is extremely important today. It has been used in as simplistic things such as writing journals, to much bigger things, such as declaring independence from a mother country. The clearest way of describing the importance of writing is to show that definable history begins with the  development of writing. Mathematics, used mainly for business transactions, arguably changed the world as much as writing did. The Sumerians were also the peoples to develop mathematics. Their math system was based on the number sixty, and this is where we get the sixty seconds in a minute and sixty minutes in an hour. This system of mathematics allowed the peoples of Mesopotamia to do everyday things such as the area of a room or how old a person was. The Sumerian system greatly improved trade, especially while using the barter system. It allowed Mesopotamians to put a value on goods so that it was possible to know the difference between the value of a sheep and a bag of grain, or the difference between the value of a pound of bronze and a pound of clay. The development of mathematics lead to great advancements in architecture as well. Planning and executing the construction of a building required a great deal of math in order to calculate wall size, shape, angle, etc. Today, mathematics is also very important. Students spend years studying the different methods of math to be able to apply it to their everyday lives. Math and numbers are used everywhere everyday from telling someone your phone number to calculating your percent profit at the end of a busy week. Another important advancement of Mesopotamians is their work with metals. Mesopotamians began to branch out from stone tools and use metals such as copper and bronze. This branching out and grasping a new material lead to widespread specialization of work. Blacksmithing became a known occupation, and allowed for the mass producing of metal weaponry (In the ancient near eastern sense). Metal weaponry became the basis for whether or not you would win the war. If you were still using wooden weapons, a city-state that had copper weaponry could wipe you out or defeat you fairly quickly. The same would be true if you were a city-state that was using copper weapons and an enemy using bronze weapons attacked you. The enemy would either destroy or capture your city-state with a fair amount of ease. Metalworkings and trading were not only important to the daily lives of Mesopotamians for tools and such, but for more than a thousand years they were the definitive factor in warfare. With the development for such weaponry, governments had to institute law codes to help to keep the control and the peace amongst their city-state or empire. The most famous of these law codes, though not the only one found, is the Law Code of Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylonia from about 1792 B.C.E to about 1750 B.C.E. This law code has hundreds of laws dealing with simple matters of contracts and other ordinary functions to laws regarding thievery, murder, and mal practice. Hammurabis code, although used as mainly a guideline for Babylonian judges, was presented to the people of Babylonia as a direct command from the Gods indicating that these were the proper behaviors. This caused the peoples to want to follow the laws even more, because they believed that the Gods would curse them if they did not obey. These punishments, however, had different punishments for different classes, showing the different levels of respect that the government had for its people. Most of these laws, however, dealt with criminals in a very strict, eye-for-an-eye, vengeful manner. Law is very important today because it continues to try and keep the peace on the streets and in our country by making people realize that there are consequences to their actions. This is a great achievement for Mesopotamians because it shows their realization that there must be order in the kingdom for the kingdom to survive, and that there also needs to be obedience and distribution of work for a kingdom to advance in status. The wheel is also one of the greatest achievements of Mesopotamians, because it allowed for faster travel, more efficient warfare, and also lead to thousands upon thousands of inventions in the future. The wheel began as part of a potters wheel for making pots, and then gradually the idea began to emerge to use a rolling something, the wheel, for easier ways to pull something in a cart. Before, sleds were used to drag stuff along, but this method was very tedious and slow because it created a lot of friction against the ground. The wheel was then used as a solid circle attached with an axle to a cart that pulled soldiers to and from places during a battle. A dependable, yet slow moving, donkey-like creature often pulled this cart. The idea for spokes in the wheels did not emerge until later, but it allowed for the cart to become a chariot and be pulled by a horse quickly around battlefields. With the initiation of horse-drawn chariots, warfare improved  by allowing soldiers to fight from their chariots, thus decreasing their chance of injury. The improvements of warfare, and the allowance that the development of the wheel has had on technological advances over time are the reasons that the wheel was such an important achievement of the Mesopotamians. The achievements and firsts of Mesopotamian society are great and numerous. These achievements have paved the way for outstanding advancements in technology that allow us to live the lives we live today and to do the things that we are so accustomed to doing, such as typing this paper using this computer with a spinning hard disk a writing system.

From Cinematic Space To Mental Space

From Cinematic Space To Mental Space Space is an the unlimited three dimensional expanse in which all objects exist or it is the interval of distance and time between two points, objects or events.  [1]   The concept of the term space evolved with time. Initially this term strictly had a geometrical meaning evoking the idea of an empty space which is Euclidean, isotropic, or infinite, basically a mathematical concept.  [2]   Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicist usually consider it with time to be a part of the boundless four dimensional continuum known as Space-time.  [3]   According to the Wikipedia information, the concept of space has been discussed throughout history. Plato has discussed about this concept of space in one of his treatise Timaeus, where he reflects on what the Greek called: Chora/ Khora (that is space). Aristotle has dealt with space in Book IV, Delta, in the definition of topos which means place. In a discourse on place (Qawl fi al makan) by the eleventh century Arab Polymath Ibn al _Heythum (Alhazan) discusses geometrical conceptions of place as space qua extension. Aristotelian tradition had held that space and time were those categories which facilitated the naming and the classing of the evidence of the senses. On the other hand, the thinker, Descartes was taken to be important in shaping the concept of space and the key to its matured form. According to most historians of the Western thoughts, he has brought an end to the Aristotelian tradition. As the Cartesian logic evolved, space was considered to be absolute. It became dominant containing both the subject and the object. Science and mathematics has defined this concept of space in their own way respectively and later even the philosophers. Some scholars has studied and analyzed the relationship of time and space. The metaphysicist Immanuel Kant defined space and time as elements of systematic framework that humans use to structure their experience. In his Critique of Pure Reason, he said that space is a subjective pure a priori form of intuition. Therefore its existence depends on the human faculties.  [4]   The Kantian space has revived and revised the old notion of space. Here space is relative, a tool of knowledge, and a means of classifying phenomenon, separated from the empirical sphere. It has a transcendental and ungraspable structure.  [5]   According to Henri Lefebvre, the mathematicians, quite contrary to philosophy, has identified space as Non-Euclidean spaces, curved spaces, x-dimensional spaces( even spaces with an infinity of dimensions), spaces of configuration, abstract spaces , spaces defined by deformations or transformation, by the topology and so on.  [6]   Though the mathematicians has defined and constructed the term spaces, classifying in various ways and measured them, what philosophy did as Leonardo da Vinci had said, is that it helped in the formation of the mental thing that is the mental space. According to Isaac Newton space exists independently and permanently even without the presence of any object in it and therefore it is absolute. On the other hand naturalist philosophers thought that space was a collection of relations between objects given by their distance and direction from one another. The 18th century philosopher and theologian George Berkely attempted to refute the visibility of spatial depth in his essay Towards a new theory of vision. Initially time and space was viewed as independent dimensions. Einsteins discoveries showed that due to relativity of motion, our space and time can be mathematically combined into one object space-time. One can freely move in space but not time. In the middle of the 19th century, psychology first began to study the way space is perceived. Psychologists analyzed the perception of space and were concerned about how the recognition of an objects physical appearance or its interactions is perceived. The philosophy of space and time are inspirations to and central aspect of early analytic philosophy. There are questions related to whether time and space exist independently of the mind and each other. From the theory of logic, space has transcended to nature, practice and theories of social life which unfolds in space.  [7]   The modern field of enquiry has the notion that space has acquired the view of mental thing or mental space. This concept of mental space has no generalization and even no clear account. We hear of different spaces like literary space, ideological spaces, the space of the dream, psychoanalytic topologies etc. Michel Foucault said that knowledge (savoir) is also the space in which the subject may take up a position and speak of the object with which he deals with in his discourse.  [8]   But he neither explained the spaces nor defined their distinctions. The linguist Naom Chomsky has given the idea that a mental space has certain specific properties with orientations and symmetries but completely ignores the gap between linguistic mental space and social space. Lefebvre believed that the modern thinkers had fetishized the philosophico-epistemological notion of space and that the mental realm envelopes the social and physical ones. The quasi-logical presupposition of an identity between mental space (the space of the philosopher and epistemologists) and the real space creates a gulf between the mental sphere on one side and the physical and social spheres on the other. He said that there cannot be a fixed knowledge of space and without it we transfer to a level of discourse-the level of mental space a large portion of the attributes and properties of what is actually social space. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, he said that space was not only read but there existed a code which is architectural, urbanistic and political, with a specific language which is common to all strata of people. He said that anything like leisure, work, play, transportation etc., can be spoken of in the spatial terms in an artists or writers world. Therefore there is an indefinite multitude of space around us. He questions whether space can be nothing more than the passive locus of social relations. In general he talks about three kinds of spaces: 1. The physical space nature, the cosmos. 2. The mental space with its logical and formal abstractions. 3. The social space. What he is concerned with is the logico-epistemological space, the space of social practice, the space occupied by sensory phenomenon, including products of imagination such as projects and projections, symbols and utopias.  [9]   There are certain specializations of space. When we think of a space, we are immediately concerned with what occupies the space and how it does so along with the energy present within the space. Without energy, the physical space has no reality. This space is always associated with time. space considered in isolation is an empty abstraction.  [10]   According to Fred Hoyles theory, space is a product of energy. Henri says that multiplicity of particular spaces, yet diverse are offered by this universe. Apart from the concept of physical space, mental space and social space, he dealt with the minute elements in space like ideal space related to mental space and real space associated with social space These two spaces are in a way related to each other. He said that philosophy has played an important role in the development of the abstract (metaphysical) representations of space, where the Cartesian notion of space became significant due to its homogeneous, isotropic character which helped it to become absolute and infinite and divine. But space is even beyond this. Plato talks about the cosmic space, where the space of the city is a reflection of the Cosmos. Literature too reveals different spaces to us. But the problem is that the space here is enclosed, described, projected, dreamt off and speculated about. When we talk of a particular space, we distinguish it and not isolate it. Various kinds of space comes together to produce a space. In relation of language, Henri questions whether a language follows or accompanies a social space. Many people have explored space in different ways. In his work, George Bastille has played with the space on inner experience on one hand and the space of physical nature on the other and social space. Through Hegelian viewpoint, space is considered to be a product and residue of historical time. Though Hegel had the idea of a concrete universe. Social space is a social product and when produced serves as a tool for thought and action. As said by many thinkers, it is difficult to distinguish social space as distinct from mental space and even physical space. Every society produces a space of its own. The Asiatic mode of production of space is different from the Western mode. There are multitudes of intersection in space. The way certain spaces are represented by the society, lead to the representations of space. Representational spaces on the other hand deals with spaces associated with its images and symbols. These spaces represent something of their own. It overlay the physical space, making symbolic use of its objects. Even though they are abstract, the representations of space, has a role in social and political practice. They have a role to play in the established relations between objects and people, following certain rules. This is not the case of representational spaces. It is filled with symbolic and imaginary elements. According to Henri Lefebvre, a psychoanalyst or anthropologists are students of representational spaces. Childhood memories, dreams are all part of this representational space. The gap between representations of space and representational spaces is culture. Therefore what can be concluded is that the producers of space are related to the representations of space while the users of a space are related to their representational space. Here I conclude that space with its original and represented identity occupies a part of our physical and mental self and even helps in the identification of these self. Each physical space creates a mental space, a space with certain intimate values. A house can be used for the phenomenological study of the intimate values of space.  [11]  All inhabited space bears the essence of the notion of home. Thoughts and experience is not the only thing that sanctions human values. We will deal more with this later in the thesis. After dealing with the basic idea of space with the help of the views and ideas of Henri Lefebvre, I want to connect this idea of the concept of space in dealing with the cinematic space. Cinematic space is the represented space, selected, manipulated and projected as a finite field of vision.  [12]  As Henri Lefebvre has said that it depends on the producers of space. This space is what we see on the screen. This screen space is marked by a frame which acts like the borders in a painting. It is geometric and represents the space that we see on the screen. In this way it divides the screen space into onscreen and off-screen spaces. The frame acts as a window connecting u to the film space and on the other hand separating the space we inhabit from the film space.  [13]  We the spectators look through the frame. According to Gilles Deleuse, the cinematic frame is a relatively closed system Which includes everything which is present in the image ­- sets characters and props framing  [14]  . The frame acts as a system providing us with all the information regarding the image and all these information acts like a data which are known as the elements in the frame. Therefore the frame is inseparable from two tendencies towards saturation or towards rarefaction.  [15]   This image that the frame provides is not just to be seen, it is a message, and it gives us certain information, which are produced by the elements present in the frame (these elements are also some information}. This is how the space produces its own language. He said that the frame is a spatial composition of parallels and diagonals, helping to form equilibrium. the frame is conceived as a dynamic construction in act, which is closely linked to the scene, the image, the characters and the objects which fill it.  [16]   The frame cannot be separated from its rigid geometrical boundaries. It has certain limitations. Like many Western painters this has been explored by many film makers like Griffith, Eisenstein. Deleuze said that light too is a subject of geometrical optic, when it is divided into two parts forming light and shadow.  [17]   They help in the making of this space. The presence of objects inside the frame creates secondary and tertiary frames like for example the house, doors, windows, mirror and even a fence. Therefore a frame is never fixed. A gradual progression takes place which is physical and affects the viewers psychologically. Each object inside the frame has something to say, something to express and therefore have a meaning. Here geometrical divisions in the frame becomes insignificant. The framing angle is also an important characteristic of the frame. Deleuze said the frame is related to an angle of framing. This is because the closed set is itself an optical system which refers to a point of view on the set of parts. Of course the point of view can be or appear to be bizarre or paradoxical: the cinema shows extraordinary points of view at ground level or from high or low, from low to high, etc. but they seem to be subject to a pragmatic rule which is not just valid for the narrative cinema: to avoid falling into an empty aestheticism they must be explained ,they must be revealed as normal and regular either from the point of view of a more comprehensive set which includes the first, or from the point of view of an initially unseen, not given element of the first set. give an example if It is here that the frame becomes an optical system, logically justified. But this justification does not always work. In the conclusion of his essay, Deleuze says that the frame finally determines an out-of-field, in the outline of a larger set which extends it or in the figure of the whole into which it is incorporated.  [18]   In the book Republic, Plato talks about two modes of representation which are distinct and opposed to each other. These two modes are mimesis (imitation) and diegesis (narration). Theatre is related to imitation which shows us something whereas novel tells us a story. Cinema on the other hand incorporates both these characteristics.  [19]   In its early years, cinema followed the theatrical mode of representation. Here the frame is tableaux form, static and faces the audience. Therefore the cinema much influenced by the theatrical stage. The camera is static. The character enters the stage, performs and walks out. The camera does not follow the movement of the characters. Hence just fixed in the centre. Traditional theatrical space is an architectural product, where beyond the proscenium it does not exist for the viewers. Classical narrative cinema has transformed this space into an illusorily continuous cinematic space. The cinematic film space is a figurative construction, resulting from medium specific techniques such as framing, camera movement and editing.  [20]  This space is linked to the codes of renaissance perspective, where the property of centering addresses to the subject whose position the space determines. Classical Hollywood cinema gave lot of importance to the use of space. This graphic space of the image, that we see on-screen acts as the vehicle for the narrative development.  [21]  These films created an illusion of reality where the screen became just a transparent object and the frame became invisible. A powerful three dimensional space is represented through the use of lens, lighting, camera movement and angles and other techniques. The space became as important as the narrative structure. So, what is the basic function of the frame? The frame shows us the image and creates an illusion of reality. We already know that the Classical Hollywood films were highly inspired by visual art and as art has evolved, cinema has also evolved gradually taking inspiration from it. Film studio developed, taking inspiration from the workroom of artists and painters. There is a lot of similarity between classical Hollywood cinema and classical novels. Their style is influenced by the post Renaissance painting. Along with centering, the main aspect of this style is balancing, frontality and depth. Here, in the composition of the image, the subject or the character is always in the centre, with all the attentions, in focus. With the coming of the Renaissance period, human thoughts became anthropocentric. It is no more centered on the religion, god. The importance of man as an individual identity instead turned out to be the thought of the period. There was a highlight on the facial expressions and the human body became the centre of attraction other than the narrative. Like in the paintings, a balance is always maintained in the visual composition of the film. The characters are evenly distributed in the film space. Both these technique helps in the progress of the narration. The use of frontality is an influence of the Greek and Roman theatre. Through this technique the narrative action is addressed to the viewers. The depth is established through the use of lighting mainly 3 point lighting (the key, fill back lighting and etc.) and costumes. Sometimes the set is painted in different colour to create the various depths. I think the use of sound to produce an illusion of depth came much later. By the establishment of depth, the film s tries to portray a perspective which is more or less linear, influenced by the ancient Greek Perspective, where the vision is organized around the static monocular observer, and in his vision all the parallel lines recede in the vanishing point. In this way, a personalized space is achieved, trying to conceal the flatness of the film space. The emergence of this classical narrative logic gives rise to cinematic subjectivity and the isolation of the spectator.  [22]   Classical Hollywood cinema places the spectator in an ideal position of intelligibility.  [23]   A film uses onscreen and off screen space to produce the diegetic world. Cinematic off screen space is different from the theatrical off stage space. The off screen film space has a pro filmic reference. The early films of Lumiere a Melies, had camera pointed at the action and remained static for the duration of the action. The early films acknowledged the space outside the frame, for example the workers leaving the Lumiere factory 1895, showed the people moving through the frame and off the edge. The most important element of the film frame is mise-en-scene, a theatrical term. Both are depended on each other. It means everything which is put into the scene, or what we find in the film space. The frame along with the set design, camera and character movement, lighting and even sound, everything combined together form the mise-en-scene. And this mise-en-scene helps in the formation of the composition. Mise-en-scene can be defined as the articulation of the cinematic space, and it is only concerned about the space.  [24]   On the film set it creates an illusion of the reality or fantasy. The setting of the film is an important aspect of the mise-e-scene. It includes the shapes, designs and color of the film set. Colour also helps in the development of the narrative. It is used as a symbol. A set can be artificially constructed for an indoor shot or manipulated in the outdoor shot. Apart from the design and colour, props play an important role, in the development of the narrative. In the absence of the actors, they even tell a story and which are not possible in a theatre. They express certain mood, and say what is unsaid by the film narrative. the elements of the setting turns into motifs  [25]   Along with the props and costumes, the make up of the actors also furnishes the setting of the narrative. The props and costumes are also used for the film publicity, and they even help to turn certain characters into cult figures. Lighting is another aspect of the mise-en-scene, other than creating the illusion of reality, artificially producing light for an indoor shoot or day for night shoot, light along with colour and sometimes the prop creates the mood of his film. In the shot composition light and shadow works together. It helps in the development of the film space, sometimes maintaining continuity when camera movement takes place within a space. And at other times, different lighting helps to distinguish various spaces used in the film. I must say here that along with lighting sound also plays the same role. Light, colour and sound combined or individually can create suspense, horror, happiness and even loneliness. Light creates texture.Four major features of film lighting can be isolated are: its quality, direction source and colour. Light quality depending on its intensity creates a sharp or a soft image by diffusion. With the use of hard light the shadow becomes bold creating definite contours. Light along with the lens and camera angle can be used to manipulate the shape of an object to enhance a mood. the proper use of light can embellish and dramatize every object -Josef von Sternberg. As earlier film makers used the frontality of the characters to highlight their presence, to give them a central position, similarly light is used to keep certain character at the centre of attention. This technique is also used in theatre. The direction of light in the film space, creates the presence of an off screen space. This idea also developed from the influence of paintings from the Renaissance period. Every light has a point where it is brightest and a point towards which it wanders to lose itself completely.The journey of rays from that central core to the outposts of blackness is the adventure and drama of light.   [26]   Depending on the narrative, the film space is generally lit up by top lighting, backlighting, side lighting, and frontal lighting and under lighting. Backlighting creates a dreamy; fantasy image similarly under lighting is used to create a horror image. Different sources of light works together in the cinematic space to create the mental space of the spectators. Generally during a shoot three point lighting is used with key light (primary), fill light (secondary, softens the shadow) and backlight which highlights the character and separates it from the background thus creating depth. We have already discussed earlier how this method of lighting is use in Classical Hollywood cinema. Along with the direction, the source of the light on the film space creates an impact. For out door shoot during the day, we get the sun light, the sky light and the reflected light from the objects around. The lighting is natural and therefore the look is also natural. This light can be manipulated to give a bluish tone with the use of 85 filter and the light can be further controlled with the use of neutral density filters to avoid over or under exposure of the film. In the case of indoor shooting, it is obvious that artificial light is to be used even to give the reference of a natural source of light. Light is continuously measured and blended to create the ci nematic space. Here I want to say that though the basic reason for the use of lighting in a cinematic space is similar to theatrical space but the technique is different. This is because lighting in the theatrical space is more loud and dramatic whereas in the film space it is subtle. From all the information that I have acquired and the knowledge that I have gained, I therefore say that light is a language through which we can also tell a story. Its use is dynamic and is very important in the cinematic space. Only through light, we can see the film space. Mise-en-scene helps the character to express feelings and thoughts. The movement of the actors, their action, everything gets enhanced by the presence of the mise-en scene. Even acting in the cinematic space is different from the theatre. Cinematic space creates an illusion, where the screen frame acts as the window but the actors never stairs at the window; they do not stare back at the audience, unless and until it is required by the film narrative. So through the presence of the actors, the way they move, talk, behave provides the film with an illusory realistic space. When we take a shot, the space in front of the camera is two dimensional when we take the shot, it remains the same but when the film is projected, and we see it on the screen, we see a three dimensional space and this space is enhanced through certain aspects of the mise-en-scene like colour, balance, size and movement. In a static set the movement of certain objects draws the attention. Colour can enhance certain mood. We know that it is used as a symbol. It can refer to different time space or change of space. The balance in placing the figure is also important. It determines the attention of the viewers. Size work in relation to the movement, colour and balance. The size of the objects creates the illusion of depth, where the objects in the foreground are generally larger in size and the objects in the background are small. The closer the object, it is more in focus. The depth creates a volume in the space. A different plane of the shot gets established due to the use of depth wh ich creates the illusion of space. A film suggests volume by the use of movement, shape and shading.  [27]   Mise-en-scene can control not only what we look at also when we look at it.  [28]   It creates a sense of movement in time. Mise-en-scene helps to compose the film shot in space and time. Inside the film space, therefore it is the mise-en-scene which creates the cinematic space using both the onscreen and off-screen space and it is this cinematic space which creates the illusion of a real world or a fantasy world. The film narrative does not work with space alone but space and time. Time is ever changing and space also keeps evolving. Leaving aside, all the scientific reasons for the evolution of space, what I think that a space evolves with time only with the intervention of a man. It evolves in the imagination of the man. The cinematic space is an example of this space. Other than cinema this space can also be created through literature, music, dance, painting and even food. We prefer more of this cinematic space other than where we belong to, because it incorporates our likes and dislikes, keeping in mind that it is our own creation. In dealing with the space and time in a film, it is necessary to study their unity within a shot and between two shots. It is not possible to visualize time on a screen without any action or movement in the space. Movement in reality is continuous but movement on the screen is discontinuous and is achieved very quickly by a series of still photographs.  [29]   In a film the dimensions of space and time cam be manipulated and this has become easier with the digital techniques. Slow or fast motion is used by changing the film speed. This manipulated space is artificial. From the early years of human civilization, paintings, sculptures have evolved as a language. A visual language, which can preserve itself. It creates its own memory. With the coming of industrialization and modernity, photography became more popular. Its basic function or utility is to freeze a moment, capture it and create a memory. Cinema moves a step ahead. It not only captures a specific a moment, but a period of time  [30]   It is som

Environmentalism in US Politics

Environmentalism in US Politics Environmentalist Gets Down to Earth Over the past few years, environmentalists had yet to find accountable successes in their campaigns, as people seemingly refused to listen to their plans and ideas. For example, environmentalists constantly alert customers about the contents of common goods, yet despite of the excessive and uncontrolled amount of fat and calories that are unhealthy, there is tendency for the customers to ignore the messages. Or the fact that their campaigns to restrict carbon emissions have failed miserably in 2010, regardless of the obvious warning signs of global warming. Challenged with difficulties, environmentalist’s groups are revolutionizing themselves to the new circumstances. Executives have been changed frequently over the past 15 months. Instead of focusing on global problems that do not seem to attract attentions, or that are too difficult to solve at the moment, environmentalists are sharpening their focus into a more transitional and local anxieties. On top of that, they will als o attempt to draw attention to the relationship between lobbyists and elections. Their most noticeable success, which was the discontinuation of Keystone XL pipeline, is being propelled forward again this year by its defenders in the Congress. Things don’t stop there. With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico early in 2010, in addition to the defeat to limit carbon emissions globally, the only objective left to save them from collapsing is to carry on with suspending the scheduled pipeline. In order for their organizations to remain practical, they need young leaders that could effectively communicate with younger generations. One example is Mr. McKibben, founder of 350.org, who successfully conveyed the group’s message to the rest of the populations through the means of mass communications, noticeably the internet, and mass protests. Mr. McKibben commented that young leaders often dismisses losses and are more eager to fight even though lucks aren’t in their fav ors. Michael Brune is one of the leaders that are most praised by Mr.McKibben. Michael Brune became the executive director of Sierra’s Club at the age of 38. He does not concentrate on global warming on a international scale, however, cleverly on a much more local scale. For example, he would point out how local coal plant is contributing to asthma attacks in children, which would raise concerns from local parents, and in effect, supporters for his campaigns. Hydraulic fracturing is also one problem that the local has to face. Strictly speaking, natural gas is one of the cleanest source of energy (or as environmentalists call it, â€Å"greenest†). However, it is not natural gas that is causing problems, but the way it is being collected by companies. Primitive regulations around hydraulic fracturing is producing unsuitable ways to collect gas from underground, which is poisoning the underground water supplies. Politically speaking, environmentalists are predominantly Democrats. However, recent voting expenditures on both parties are quite extraordinary and excessive. Hence, this creates distrusts within the people as succeeded candidates are not obliged to complete their promises. Therefore, seeing how both political parties are sailing towards profits instead common good, people are often divided. Consequently, the goal of environmentalists is to unite people to strive for a more prosperous future for humanity. Drilling Critics Face a Divide Over the Goal of Their Fight Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a controversial matter at the present. It is to extract natural gas by drilling and infusing fluid underground at high pressure. Easier said than done. As mentioned before, natural gas is one of the â€Å"greenest† source of energy available. It is the unregulated ways of extracting the mentioned source that is creating concerns with local and national organizations. Even though there are solutions to the problems, people are undecided as to completely ban the method or enforce on stricter regulations. Of course, there are always two sides to the stories. Needless to say, there are jobs that are involved with fracking, and by banning it, there will be unpredicted consequences. Regulations are similar to laws, which are often different from state to state. It will be very difficult to one simple solution to fix it all. Such that fracking is economically potent, it is emerging as an industry, and a profitable one at that. Landowners are eager to participate to benefit from the process. But the more people come to understand about fracking and how it is practiced, it is difficult to state whether the whole process can be safely handled. Wes Gillingham, program director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, predicted it, â€Å"a disaster for New York State.† The issue is a rather complicated one, such that, the State Department of Environmental Conservation has received 20,800 comments from citizens, which forthrightly exceeds any issues that have ever surfaced. The problem here is the fact that complete banning of the practice is not possible, as any profitable businesses will continue to exist, however, to what extent the government should regulate is questionable. Even though the oppositions see the practice as unethical and endangering to neighborhood, its supporters regard fracking as a cleaner source of energy, which would be on par with renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Environmentalistâ€℠¢s groups themselves are divided, as some regard it as safe and secure while others completely disagree. A possible solution has arisen is to suspend fracking until further studies are completed. The obvious fact is  people do not wish fracking to continue at its state, which is profitably harmful. Chapter 5 Year 2000, Democratic candidate Al Gore received more than 550,000 more votes, but Electoral College decided who win the presidency by a majority. The voting was so that the Florida Electoral College could have given the majority to either George Bush or Al Gore as the next President. It is obvious that when Florida State received too much attention, there will be briberies and cheatings involved. The cheatings could not possibly come from the two candidates themselves, but there were corporations interested in one specific candidate winning. That was the reason why Gore sued Floridas State from having counted the votes manually, and possibly cheated along the way. Gore demanded for a recount, however, Bush prevented from happening. In the end, George Bush won the presidency, yet, it was not clear whether he won by having majority in 537 total votes in Florida or merely on vote on the Supreme Court. Year 2004, Bush easily dominated his opponent. He received 3,500,000 more votes nationwide, and also won a majority of the popular vote in the Electoral College. Bushs victory did not reflect only on his personal achievement, but also on the Republicans new domination. Along with Republicans winning presidency by having both majority in the popular vote and Electoral College, they have dominated the Democratic Party, by having more majorities in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. It is surprising that the United States has one of the lowest rates in turnout in comparison to other industrialized democracies. The rates of turnout reflects upon citizens will of participation and citizens view of the political parties. The United States is a two-party system, whereas other democratic countries have multiparty. The reason is that Democratic and Republican parties have dominated the political systems for a lengthy period of time, and the introduction of any political parties is deemed unnecessary, hence uncovered by any mass media communication, thus, unnoticed by the public. This is noticeably one effect of the media upon the political system. The low rate of turnout indicates the skepticism of the citizens upon the political parties, where they dont trust any of the parties. Some will have to choose the lesser evil of the two, while others decide not to participate. In addition, the turnout was severely suppressed in the South, as voters were required to pay a hi gh fee to vote, took a literacy test as well as a good character test. That was why seventy five percentages of the blacks and poor were eliminated from voting. Political scientist Walter Burnham states that working class citizens dont vote as much the the upper class in society. This can explain by the fact that the working class cannot often sacrifice their time to vote, as voting time is synced with working hours. In addition, their votes dont always matter as candidates can win by having majority in the Electoral College. The upper class citizens vote more often than lower class citizens and they have more chance to influence the outcome through donations to political campaigns. Interestingly enough, the authors of the Constitution never believed in political parties. They condemned political parties as a danger to liberty, and hoped for the government to constantly check and balance the parties. Because of our two party system, there will be diverse and conflicting interests wi thin the same group. For example, in the past, there were people from the Democratic Party that supported the integration and those opposed it. The political parties often ignored the conflicts or any concerns from the citizens, since they will have no choice but to vote for one of the party. The political parties will only response to issues that are beneficial to the elites, since they are the biggest supporters and donors. In a way, the two system party fail to reflect upon the needs of the majority and satisfies a small portion of society. The truth remains that candidates need a lot of money for their political campaigns and ads. For example, in 2004, 91% of the Senate and 96 % of the House of Representatives won their seats because they spent more than their opponents. Candidates dont often have the money readily available, however, these money can come from donations from corporations and firms. These companies often regard these expenditures as investment for their political influence. The truth is, they are. Representative Michael Oxley put it as, it would be difficult to ask people to contribute, and not let us know their opinion. It is hard to conversate with politicians, but with a little bit of money, they might hear us better. It is of course illegal to directly give cash to politicians for political decision, however, contributions are elusive and indirect, thus, making them legal. The benefits of donations can include the motivation for legislator to support a bill and recommendation of amendments to a bill . Seeing how corrosive and elusive these contributions are, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) was introduced in 1974 to control contributions and spending. All receipts and disbursement are required to be made public. But on the other hand, the Political Action Committees was also formed to combat with the FECA. There are basically two kinds of contributions, soft and hard money. Hard money has to be reported, yet, soft money, which is meant for educational and building party purposes, is unregulated and unlimited. In fact, 3/4 of the soft money come from business executives. The solution from the FECA was to increase the amount of hard money contributions per person, from $1000 to $2000. Even though money does not guarantee victory, it means one has not spent enough money to achieve what they desired. Political participation in the U.S is namely open, one can know for certain that it is not free.

Find out what affect the change of concentration in the sucrose solution :: GCSE Biology A2 A-Level Coursework

Find out what affect the change of concentration in the sucrose solution has on the mass of a potato chip. Introduction In this experiment I will be taking five similar potato chips and putting them into different sucrose solutions (each one with a different concentration) and observing the effect that each concentration has on the size of the potato chip. Aim I am doing this investigation in an endeavour to find out what affect the change of concentration in the sucrose solution has on the mass of a potato chip. Background information Ø Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a partially permeable membrane from an area with high concentration to an area with low concentration Ø The opposite of osmosis is active uptake, this is when water moves from an area with a low concentration to an area with low concentration. An example of this would be a root hair cell getting water from its surroundings. Ø Partially permeable membranes have holes in them. These holes are the size of just one water molecule. Ø Water can pass through the membrane in both directions although if there is a higher concentration of water in the solution rather than the potato chip, the potato chip will receive water molecules and will increase in size. Ø Some membranes in plant and animal cells allow only certain particles to pass through them. They are partially (or selectively) permeable. Prediction I predict that as the concentration of the sucrose solution decreases the mass of the potato chip will increase. I think this because a lower sucrose content would mean a higher water content and therefor as osmosis takes place the water in the solution will move from the solution to the potato chip and as a result increasing the mass of the potato chip. I also predict that the concentration of the solution and the mass of the potato chip will be directly proportional to each other. Variables In this investigation I will change the concentration of the solution and I will be keeping the size of the potato and the temperature of the solution the same. Equipment Below is the apparatus that I will be using for my investigation. Ø Stop watch Ø Cutting tile Ø Small knife Ø Measuring cylinder Ø Distilled water Ø sucrose Ø Potatoes Ø Weighing scale Ø Potato cutter Ø Cling film Ø Ruler Method Ø Firstly I will cut five pieces of potato. Ø Then I will peal the potatoes with the knife. Ø After this I will measure and weigh them to ensure that they are equal. Ø Subsequently I will put 40ml of my solution in each of the testubes. Test tube one will have 10ml of distilled water and 30ml of sucrose.

The Prince :: essays research papers

Born in Florence on May 3, 1469, Machiavelli entered government service as a clerk and rose to prominence when the Florentine Republic was proclaimed in 1498. Machiavelli was an upright man, a good citizen, and a good father. He was not by any means a faithful husband but lived in affectionate harmony with his wife, Marietta Corsini (whom he had married in the latter part of 1501), and had five children by her. He loved his native city "more than his own soul," and he was generous, ardent, and basically religious. He was secretary of the ten-man council that conducted the diplomatic negotiations and supervised the military operations of the republic, and his duties included missions to the French king (1504, 1510-11), the Holy See (1506), and the German emperor (1507-8). In the course of his diplomatic missions within Italy he became acquainted with many of the Italian rulers and was able to study their political tactics, particularly those of the ecclesiastic and soldier Cesare Borgia, who was at that time engaged in enlarging his holdings in central Italy. From 1503 to 1506 Machiavelli reorganized the military defense of the republic of Florence. Although mercenary armies were common during this period, he preferred to rely on the conscription of native troops to ensure a permanent and patriotic defense of the commonwealth. In 1512, when the Medici, a Florentine family, regained power in Florence and the republic was dissolved, he was deprived of office and briefly imprisoned for alleged conspiracy against them. After his release he retired to his estate near Florence, where he wrote his most important works. Despite his attempts to gain favor with the Medici rulers, he was never restored to his prominent government position. When the republic was temporarily reinstated in 1527, he was suspected by many republicans of pro-Medici leanings. Machiavelli's methodology involved the empirical observation of human nature and behaviour, which he believed to be changeless. His deep feelings about the degradation and corruption of Italy at his time led him to put his hope into the daring and the violence of a great man who would exercise power ruthlessly but with prudence. Power, Machiavelli apparently believed, legitimized the state, if rationally applied, by a man able to manipulate the people and use the army for his own purposes. In his quest for a "new prince" and a new principle of policy he knew that he was opening "a road as yet untrodden by man.

The Nature of Logic and Perception Essay -- Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihood’s, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment. The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate viewpoints, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve. Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective. It also includes the ability to generate questions, constru...

The Interpersonal Relationships in The Workplace

In recent years the corporate workforce has become more diversified in gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. As a consequence the workforce at most major corporations is now more reflective of the general population than it was in the past. Yet the issue of diversity in the workplace is often not addressed or, in some cases, overlooked by management. Of particular interest is the management of interpersonal relationships of both heterosexual and homosexual employees in the workplace. In a prosperous economic climate, corporations are often forced to compete for qualified employees. Many corporations have attempted to attract such employees by offering benefits that meet their lifestyle needs. Some examples of such benefits are on-site daycare and the recognition of same sex couples in terms of benefits. Benefits of this nature project an image of the corporation that emphasizes acceptance and fairness. These characteristics are highly valued by prospective employees and are one of the primary factors considered when choosing between competing offers. From a management perspective the interpersonal relationships of employees is a delicate issue that requires attention. Management must recognize that the workforce is a diverse ever-changing entity. To that end management must assess the lifestyle needs of the workforce and integrate that into the corporate policy in such a way as to not adversely affect other areas. To accomplish this, management must constantly evaluate and evolve corporate policy to address the issues that will undoubtedly arise. The effective management of interpersonal relationships is intrinsically complex. From an organizational level it requires a corporate policy that defines what it considers a workplace relationship and specifies guidelines regarding what is and is not acceptable behavior. First and second level managers are then required to implement the corporate policy on the frontline. Also of concern is the method, if any, of enforcing such a policy. The complications of workplace relationships are varied. There are obvious cases of problems within the relationship that are directly observable and able to be managed. But there are also cases where complications arise outside of the relationship. An important aspect of the management of interpersonal relationships is the ability to detect and resolve these complications fairly. In discussing the management of interpersonal relationships in the workplace, it is important to clarify what is typically considered a workplace relationship. Most corporations that acknowledge relationships between employees, and subsequently have policies restricting their behavior, define a workplace relationship as that of a legally married heterosexual couple. In recent times some corporations have changed their policy to include same sex partners or spousal equivalents in their definition of a workplace relationship. Regardless of whether or not they are formally recognized by the organization, the majority of issues that face married heterosexual employees in a workplace relationship also apply to heterosexual and same sex partners who are not married. For the purposes of this paper we will consider both married and unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples as a being involved in a workplace relationship. When it comes to workplace relationships, corporations are fearful of all of the associated pitfalls. Generally, an employer will document certain corporate policies pertaining to who can be in a relationship with another employee. Some common restrictions are that managers are prohibited from relationships with their subordinates or that a couple is not supposed to work for the same manager. More often than not, there is an unwritten workplace code that employees should not start relationships from within the same group because of the possible negative consequences. Most corporations will also subject employees to workplace diversity or compliance training where the new employees will learn what is considered appropriate behavior. This usually includes sensitivity training for correctly dealing with diverse employee groups and various sexual harassment issues. Even small companies require these types of policies and training because many types of relationships exist in the work environment, including the introduction of same sex relationships in the workforce. As a result of today's lawsuit prone environment, corporations are more fearful than ever of impropriety by their employees. The training and rules are designed to avoid the costly litigation involved in harassment suits and the requisite problems that evolve from relationships. Corporations realize the importance of stopping such claims and limiting their liability by enforcing these laws. The problem though, as with any corporate decree, is that it is only as strong as the managers who implement the policies. The first step for a corporation is to put the policy into writing. If a corporation does not have a written policy on workplace relationships, all that is left are unwritten rules. Unwritten rules are left up to the manager to determine what is right, wrong, and the enforcement for that part of the organization. This leads to chaos because there are no management mediation techniques, no way for the employees to know they are about to cause organizational friction, and no common implementation from managers. On the other end of the spectrum, a few companies have gone as far as Aerotek, a high-tech temp agency with a strict no-dating-at-work rule. 1 Once the policy is completed, the next step is to communicate the policy to not only the managers, but also the employees. There are several ways the corporation can choose to notify their employees of any policy changes. First, managers need to attend training and orientation classes to learn how to effectively handle any situation and to receive materials on how to correctly disseminate the information to their employees. Managers will need to sit down with their group and spell out the issues. There is danger here in how the manager communicates the policies. If the manager does not respect the policy and the employees notice, the rules will be ineffective in prohibiting problems. In addition, if the employees are used to policies which the corporation does not enforce, the manager may be unable to convince their subordinates of the policy†s importance. Regardless of corporate policies, employees usually know what their managers expect from them. Some managers stick to the rules word for word while most shape the rules to their style and liking. Lower level managers may not recognize the downside risk of certain workplace relationships, specifically those where both employees are in the same work group. It is easy for managers to see decreased productivity but it is impossible to predict future problems. A manager is likely to ignore these relationships if the employees are responsible and don't let their outside lives effect the work life. Some managers even encourage relationships because of the emotional bond that they have formed with their employees. When it does become a problem though, it may be too late to save the group dynamic. Managers have a tendency to trust that their employees will always behave professionally, but when it comes to emotions, work usually takes a backseat. The truth is that over the past 20 years, sexual harassment lawsuits have gone from zero to over 15,000 complaints filed annually with the Federal Equal Opportunity Commission. 1 The costs of inaction are clear. One only needs to look at the problems introduced in the United States White House to see the harm and disruption that can be caused in the workplace. Thus, it is important for the manager to communicate the corporate policies clearly and recognize the possibility of problems. It is also important for the corporation to clearly define the problems associated with workplace relationships so the managers will take the policies more seriously. It is important to note that it is only when the relationship causes work related problems that the manager should act. In addition, once a manager discovers a new relationship within the group, it is important to communicate the corporate policy again to avoid any confusion. Another aspect of corporate workplace relationship policies is relationship contracts. Some companies, to avoid harassment and relationship based litigation, require employees involved in a workplace relationship to declare such status to the human resource department. The human resource department will require the couple to sign a legal contract protecting the company from any problems which may result due to their relationship. The contract will state that in spite of all the risks that you independently and collectively desire to undertake and pursue a mutually consensual social and amorous relationship. If the employees refuse to sign the contract, one or both of the employees may be terminated as a result. The company can promote workplace relationships this way and still protect themselves from future problems. This still does not protect the group from relationship problems which affect the group dynamic. An overlooked segment of corporate policies relates to homosexual employees. It is important for homosexual employees to have a safe, productive, and open work environment. If the corporation does not have a written policy on harassment issues, the homosexual employees will feel like they do not fully belong to the organization. Consequently, homosexual employee's work suffers because of the mistrust, alienation, and emotional conflict about not being able to reveal the truth. It gets much worse when there is a homosexual relationship in the same work group. Not only must they hide their sexual orientation, but also their relationship. When companies have firm written rules about non-traditional relationships and discrimination practices, it makes it easier for the mentioned employees to feel comfortable about who they are and not worry about anything except doing the job. When it comes to homosexual employees, extra policies must be adopted and followed because of the harassment that they are sometimes subjected to in the workplace. The fact is that discrimination and harassment of gays is perfectly legal in most of America. Gays can lose their jobs, homes, kids, and sometimes their lives with little or no recourse available to them. There is no federal protection for gay citizens provided by the U. S. Constitution or Congress. As of the end of 1994, only one-third of the Fortune 1,000 companies had nondiscrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation. Because of this, it is important for corporations, large and small, to create an inclusive environment for all of their employees. Managers must push for and implement the non-discrimination policies for the good of the organization. Management should also recognize that employees cannot be satisfied with their job without first satisfying the environmental and social problems which are inherent for homosexual employees. Written and enforced corporate policies go a long way towards helping satisfy those lower order needs. All corporate policies are ineffective if the company does not follow through with penalties for those who choose not to follow them. Organizations should have formal written guidelines on what a manager should do if such a problem occurs. Once a manager recognizes a problem, the first step should be to discuss the situation in a friendly environment. It is important for the manager not to confront the employee openly when other employees are present or to address the issue in a hostile fashion. The manager needs to explain what they have noticed and what they think the issue could be. The employee should be given a chance to explain what the problem is. Next, the employee must present what they can do to rectify the situation. The employee then needs to be given time to fix the problem. If the problem continues, the manager can try talking to the subordinate again or forward the issue to the human resource department. It is then up to the human resource employees to handle the problem. The human resource department is better at handling these issues because they do not have the emotional attachment component that the manager may have. The human resource department will be intimately familiar with the policy and can better explain the problems and consequences to the employee. A manager might be willing to work out the employee's issues and give a lot of time for them to change but this may cause unwanted group resentment to the special treatment. Managers need to realize that they have many employees and that they cannot give special treatment to any one individual without compensating other subordinates in some similar fashion. A common cause of resentment among heterosexual employees is the topic of same-sex partner benefits. Most heterosexual individuals do not recognize the validity of same-sex partners and do not think they deserve to have similar benefits to that of married couples. A study done in 1993 showed that although 70% of Fortune 1000 companies claimed to not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, just over 5% had domestic partner benefits. For a corporation to be competitive in the workforce and retain homosexual employees and customers, they must be inclusive. Some companies worry that they may suffer a financial loss from the backlash of implementing such a policy, but studies have shown that none of the organizations that have implemented these benefits have suffered a loss of either customers or employees. 2 Many gay and lesbian people take the availability of these benefits as a signal that an employer values diversity, that the employer in fact wants all its people treated fairly and equitably. The cost of partner benefits is not high. First of all, a large number of gays and lesbians are not going to self-identify. In addition, most of those partners are working and are covered elsewhere. Finally, despite the cost of AIDS, the costs of other medical events ? complicated pregnancies for example ? are higher in the traditional family. At the same time, it is important to provide heterosexual employees with domestic partner benefits. This provides an equitable policy for the entire organization. Once the company has a policy regarding workplace relationships, harassment, and benefits, it becomes time for the managers to take this information and decide how this effects their group. The manager is then responsible for implementing the corporate policy. The possible consequences of unproductive workplace relationships are probation, forced reassignment, or termination. As long as the employee works to fix the workplace problems, and there is no harassment involved, termination should not be an issue. More commonly the employee would be reprimanded by the manager and human resources and be allowed to work through the issue. If the employee and their partner are working together in the same group, a preferred solution would be for one of the employees to transfer to another group. A transfer can eliminate a lot of issues which come up when both employees work together and may be the best solution for the company and the workplace relationship. Some company policies will mandate that married employees cannot work under the same manager and one of the employees will be required to transfer. Termination can also become a problem though, even when the employees are in different groups. If the employee is preoccupied about something personal that happens in the relationship and it causes constant and long-term work degradation, termination may be the only solution for the manager and human resources department. These situations can be reduced if the company policies and consequences are spelt out clearly when employees go through initial orientation as well as when a relationship starts. When an organization refuses to stand behind its nondiscrimination policies with real actions, such as inclusive education, domestic partner benefits, and public support, it is counting on an unspoken rule of the workplace to mysteriously take effect. This rule is that all the employees will put business before everything and act as though their own opinions, ideals, and beliefs are checked at the door in consideration of the common good. However, such a reaction is rarely, if ever, the case when homosexual employees are involved, especially when the issue at hand is so volatile. A manager must look at productivity and motivation. If you have a workplace team in which two of the people conflict because one is homophobic and the other is openly and comfortably gay, your challenge is not to change either of their minds. Your challenge is not getting the employees to accept each other but rather a business problem. The employees do not have to learn to like each other but rather how to work together. In situations where the heterosexual employee cannot handle the situation, they will have to transfer or they will most likely end up being terminated. Other corporate policies can involve nepotism. Most corporations will clearly state that a manager cannot hire a relative or spouse to work under them. Most large companies, like Bell Atlantic and Digital Equipment Corporation, will state that an employee can not influence the hiring process in any way. This includes the hiring of outside firms run by a relative regardless of their qualifications. Such nepotistic actions will generally result in the termination or transfer of the newly hired employees and termination of the offending manager. Managers will not always follow corporate policy so it is important for the human resource department to make sure that nothing discriminatory happens. When it comes to work place relationships, some managers can be expected to act against corporate policy or avoid the situation at all costs. By taking the â€Å"don't ask, don't tell† position, the manager can avoid the situation in most cases. Some managers may just ignore that the relationship exists all together to avoid having to deal with it, or possibly losing their employees. These stances probably cause more harm than good because they don't address the possible problems and leave room open for large issues to arise. It is more important to have good communication with your subordinates. When it comes to same sex relationships, managers must put aside any personal beliefs and perceptions about their different employees. Some people may find this very hard to do and will not be able to tactfully deal with these scenarios. In these cases, the manager will most likely project their negative feelings about the employee and create a poor work environment. The manager may create a bad environment in other ways by assigning undesirable job tasks, jobs which they know the employee cannot complete, limiting compensation and career advancement. This is a way for the manager to force the unwanted employees out of the group. Employees need to recognize these situations and report them to the human resource department. A manager also needs to realize when their subordinates are discriminating against one employee and take quick and decisive action. This is where a good discrimination policy can eliminate bad work conditions and remove non-productive employees. Couples working in the same company will experience some unique challenges because of their relationship. Many of the complications will depend on how closely couples work together. Issues such as personal conflict, affection, children, changing jobs, and the sharing of corporate information are all different complications couples will be forced to address. Personal conflict within a relationship can cause problems in the workplace. During a conflict, couples that have easy access to each other during the day can have some performance degradation above and beyond normal anxiety of being in a domestic conflict. Work related interaction is often the reason couples meet one another in the first place, and hence, the initial steps that lead up to a relationship. Once in the work environment, normal business reasons are the initiator of communication, but personal issues become commonplace conversation. When in a conflict, couples end up taking time out of the workday to talk about the issue without notice by others, since interaction for business reasons is necessary. The opposite effect, personal avoidance, is also a result of personal conflict. In one case regarding a couple that worked together closely, conflict within the relationship would impede performance, because they would avoid one another until resolved. These conflicts caused work requiring each other's assistance not to be performed. On the other hand, many couples are able to put their problems completely aside at work, and find no additional issues with working in the same place during conflict. Many couples insist there are only benefits to working together, and are always able to leave their problems at home. Affection in the workplace has many aspects, and various opinions. Public affection in the workplace, such as hand holding, hugging, and kissing is universally avoided during work hours. Such behavior is viewed as inappropriate, and professionalism prevails, at least publicly. However, differences in opinion regarding particular situations exist. Couples handle affection differently in cases where they are outside of the work area during work hours, or in the case where they are on work property, but before the workday starts. Some people say they have no problem kissing or hugging â€Å"goodbye† after lunch or in the parking lot before going their separate ways. Those who participate in such activities generally think nothing of it, even if people that work for the same company were in the same restaurant or vicinity. In only one case did someone say they felt slightly uncomfortable. In this particular instance, for 10 to 15 seconds the couple would hug and kiss goodbye before getting out of the car when returning from lunch. The level of comfort depended on whether other employees could see them. Another point couples address when working at the same company is the effect on children. The majority of parents actually feel it is easier to bring small children to work, because it means they are able to transport the child to their partner's work location very easily when there is a need. However, parents also mention that by working for the same company, both parents had the same standard set of holidays. This means that when a child is off from school, it is more likely that both parents will be expected to be at work, making it more likely the child would be joining them in the work environment. People involved in relationships who look for jobs will often encounter the opportunity to work at the same company. Besides meeting at work, another common way for couples to work for the same company is while looking for jobs in a new geographical area that requires moving. The most interesting data point for couples looking for jobs is that many times employment opportunities for one partner will arise while the other partner is interviewing for a job. This occurs in several different ways. Often the person being interviewed will mention that a condition of accepting the job is dependent upon the ability of their partner to find a job in the same new geographical area. This leads to the interviewer getting information through their human resource department to find positions that the partner could interview for. In this scenario, it is then up to the couple to interview well enough to both receive offers for employment. The advantage gained by the couple that leads to both being employed by the same company is the help they get accessing information about job availability. There are many cases of jobs being offered to both partners. In one case, the interviewer mentioned that they were aware the interviewee had a partner that was looking for a position, and then proceeded to offer the partner a job on the spot without solicitation. Often times, a person will accept a job with a new company with the understanding that their partner will then have a better opportunity of getting a job once they have secured employment for themselves. This is because many companies provide information about job openings to employees first, then turn to publicizing the position. The employee with a partner looking for a job has a time advantage that often leads to partner employment. In addition, the internal employee will often have additional information about desirable skills can make a potential candidate for a position more attractive. Another very interesting issue arising from relationships in the workplace is the information that couples share that would normally not be available to them. This turns out to be a very significant issue. Under normal circumstances, managers in the corporate environment have access to certain metrics and information that are not available to non-management employees. Information such as salaries, benefits, policies, and raises are closely kept secrets by management. Also, certain information between different company divisions is not normally shared. However people in relationships share this information with each other, often breaking the code. These are items that managers need to know in order to prepare for them such as changes in company policy or reorganizations. Many times the information shared would eventually be available to their partner, but just not in the same timeframe. Some information, however, would never be available to the general employee population. Information such as pay scales and special benefits are many times shared only with those who need to know or those who are participating in such programs. Quite often information about special benefits, such as bonuses or company options, are shared with partners. This type of information is specifically not shared with employees who do not participate because company policy forbids it. Managers are trained to keep confidential material to themselves. In addition, managers often have the added incentive of participating in programs that they are told to keep confidential. Certainly, sharing such information with life long partners is necessary to make financial decisions. But in less permanent relationships, the partner who is not a participator in such benefits has information meant only for those chosen to participate, or those trained to keep it confidential. This breach of confidentiality is much more likely to occur, and slip into the ranks of peers who are not managers. A special complication of workplace relationships is dealing with the issue of nepotism. Although a buzzword in the corporate world, nepotism among couples is rarely an issue. Even in situation where people in relationships feel the opportunity for employment was gained through a partner or relative, rarely do couples feel their employment is viewed as nepotistic. In fact, just the opposite was stated. Many people in relationships feel the companies they work for encourage relationships among employees, as long as corporate policy was adhered to. It is difficult to determine whether such a view is accurate, or simply self-justification. Feeling that one's employment is viewed upon as nepotism is more likely amongst relatives. Rarely do the relatives feel it is looked upon negatively by their peers. The diversification of the corporate workforce has changed the way in which management must deal with workplace relationships. Whether formally acknowledged or not, they are a common occurrence in today's corporate environment that must be addressed. The administration and management of employees is, at the very least, complicated by workplace relationships. From an organizational perspective it is advantageous to have a stated, written policy regarding interpersonal relationships in the workplace. To be effective it is important that the corporation properly communicate the policy to the managers and the employees. If properly implemented such a policy will serve to reduce the legal liability of the corporation and explicitly define what is considered a conflict of interest. It should also state what the corporation will tolerate in terms of a workplace relationship and how it will react to complications that arise from it. In most cases it is the responsibility of the frontline manager to enforce this policy. The implementation of corporate policy is usually executed at the frontline management level. It is the responsibility of the frontline manager to recognize the relationship and ensure that it does not become a workplace issue. When problems occur, the frontline manager must enforce the corporate policy based fairly and authoritatively. From the data gathered, it appears this is the area most in need of improvement. In general, workplace relationships seem to be a positive for both the employer and the employee. From the perspective of the people involved in the personal relationship it offers many advantages such as convenience and increased benefits. For the corporation workplace relationships provide committed, career minded employees who are less likely to change jobs as often. But when complications arise, it is important that a policy is in place and management is properly trained to effectively deal with the situation.