Creative Writing (Story beginnings) Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing (Story beginnings) Essay A golden haze encircled the angels head and its torso glowed dazzling white against the drab dreary wall behind. Whats happe she willed her mouth to finish the sentence but it wouldnt obey so she gave up. She fought too against the uplifting force taking her away from the slightly damp pavement but as every ounce of resistance drained out of her limbs, she went limp and was completely at its mercy. The final thought that crossed her mind before it succumbed to the black cloud that eventually engulfed her was that she recognised this angel. * Elizabeth Anne Johnson Lizzie to her friends was a beautiful girl. With endless jet-black locks flowing down her back and striking features, she looked straight off a catwalk. Tonight she was wearing her favourite pale pink mini-dress with manicured nails and dainty heels to match; and with her perfect figure, she was more than able to carry it off. A combination of her stunning looks and the confidence she exuded made every head turn when she walked past a fact of which she was well aware. Lizzie had spent all night in Brightons new trendiest nightspot Heaven. The place was heaving with bodies bouncing to the thundering beats pounding out of the state of the art stereo system. They were puppets dancing to the tune of the headphone-wearing master in the glass booth above. Fluffy white clouds were suspended from the ceiling, in keeping with the paradisiacal theme, and the strobe lighting completed the effect. The drinks were flowing and the atmosphere was electric just how Lizzie liked it and as she cast her chocolate-brown eyes around the dance floor a wave of euphoria swept over her. She felt as though she was perched on top of the world. Already tonight, she had received fifteen requests to buy her a drink a record even by her standards and had accepted only one. This was one more than usual though. She may have seemed like the happy-go-lucky type but appearances can be deceptive and she was quite the opposite. Lizzie, a seasoned partygoer, was extremely cautious, especially after the letters Nevertheless, against her better judgement, she was drawn in by the hypnotic charms of this blonde-haired stranger and felt powerless to resist. His eyes were bottomless pools of baby blue and he had a passive, peaceful presence she trusted him immediately and completely. She began chatting to him and it suddenly dawned on her that she was telling her life story to a total stranger but she pushed the thought out of her mind just as quickly as it had surfaced. Besides with his crisp white shirt, soft voice and wide grin, he seemed harmless enough. Chapter One (2) The sun was playing hide and seek behind the rows of trees as Detective Flynn drove up to the Heaton mansion. He was filled with the giddy excitement of a man about to change his life. He knew how lucky he was to be here and that this case could potentially make or break his career. Flynn was extremely tall and so scrawny one feared he might blow over in a sudden gust of wind. Through the flaming red curtains flopping over his forehead, intense blue eyes peered out inquisitively. As the mansion came into view for the first time he was awestruck. Beyond the wrought iron gates, it stood large and handsome. It was a huge stone structure with countless windows glinting in the afternoon sun and set in acres of sprawling grounds, of which every inch was flawless. The only thing blemishing this perfect watercolour was the black and yellow police tape running the length of the building. The old rusty Ford Escort coughed and spluttered to a halt in the immaculate courtyard and with an almighty heave Flynn managed to force the door open. As he stepped out gravel crunched beneath his feet. He was dressed in a pair of old faded Marks and Sparks jeans and looking around, was suddenly painfully aware of how old and faded they really were. He was also regretting the rest of his wardrobe choice. His slightly off-white shirt had a straight out of the laundry basket look and his black leather loafers hadnt seen a dab of polish sincewell ever. Despite this, John Heaton greeted Flynn with a warm friendly handshake. The two had been at school together and even though their lives had taken extremely different paths, they had remained the best of friends. As he was being introduced to Heatons wife Claudia, the detective couldnt help but notice how much his friend had changed. A nervous and slightly awkward teenager, John Heaton had become a confident self-assured 35 year-old. He now spoke with the eloquence and poise that only a multi-billionaire could. He was dripping with expensive designer labels a far cry from the washed out tee shirts and baggy jeans of his adolescence. Money oozed out of his every pore. One thing, however, had definitely not changed. Observing the dreamy look that descended upon his face as he gazed at his wife, Flynn could tell his old chum was still a sucker for a pretty girl. And this was one pretty girl! 15 years his junior, actress Claudia Gilbert-Heaton was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. Yet, as she tentatively extended her perfectly manicured hand to shake his, Detective Flynn took an instant disliking to her. Her broad smile was almost condescending and didnt reach her eyes, which were icy and distant. Im so pleased to finally meet you, she said, looking him up and down, staring pointedly at the ink stain on his shirt pocket. The disdainful look in her eyes betrayed her words and he could tell she was quite the opposite. The reason for this, he would soon discover Chapter One (3) It screamed at me. Its waving arms taunted me as they jerked up and down and the smiley face was more of a sneering face. At that moment all I wanted to do was shatter it into a thousand pieces but it was so far away and my legs were still sound asleep. I picked a rolled up sock up off the floor and with all the energy I could muster, sat up and launched it. It hit its intended destination with satisfying thud and mercifully, the screaming desisted. Putting the bright yellow, Little Miss Sunshine alarm clock so far out of reach had been a pre-emptive strike by mother against my Sunday morning lie-in. Ha, I thought, shell have to think of something better than that! I managed the beginnings of a triumphant grin before, exhausted from my exertions, I slumped onto the lumpy mattress and slid back into a peaceful slumber. Ten minutes later I heard the sprightly purposeful pounding that could only be her bounding up the stairs. She burst through the door, wearing her mechanical cheery smile. Morning love, sleep well? Why arent you up yet, I heard the alarm go off ages ago? she asked, ruffling my unruly brown curls. She then marched over to the window, with unnatural liveliness considering the time and spread the curtains wide. Oh Mum, its too bright, I mumbled in complaint, raising an arm to shield my bleary eyes from the light. She ignored me. I sometimes think you wouldnt know an early morning if it came up and bit you on the behind. Now get up, Im sure youve plenty of work to do today and we dont want you falling behind now do we? she chirped, practically, it seemed, in unison with the birds outside. I need sleep, I whined, yearning for some pity. It didnt come. You shouldnt let sleep get in the way of things. Heaven knows I dont; I cant. What would happen if I did? Nothing would get done around here thats what! she tutted and continued with renewed vigour, Goodness, look at the state of this room! Im sure youve forgotten what colour the carpet is! This is not a positive working environment. How on earth can you get anything done in here? She asked and without pausing for an answer, delved into the abyss that was my bedroom floor. She began sorting tidying and organising like an unstoppable whirlwind of efficiency, her neat blonde bob bouncing up and down. I merely lounged on the bed and watched on in amazement. Within minutes she had transformed the cluttered chaotic mess into a tidy, orderly bedroom. When she finished, she stood up, brushed some imaginary specks of dirt from her skirt and staring at my sprawled out figure, flashed me the look. Oh no, I groaned inwardly. It was the I-am-so-disappointed-you-didnt-turn-out-more-like-me look. This look was always followed by a stream of criticisms, of which most, to be fair, were usually quite accurate. I sighed and braced myself for the oncoming tirade. Literary Analysis of Story Beginning (1) When writing my own story opening, I tried to use techniques that would make the reader want to read on. For example, I described the main characters appearance in detail so that the reader would be able to form a mental picture of her. Just from the first few paragraphs, the reader knows that she is a beautiful girl with endless jet black locks and chocolate brown eyes. The effect of this is to make the reader relate to her with empathy rather than objectivity because they feel they know her. I also tried to show her personality was sweet and kind. Her clothes and shoes are powder-pink and dainty. I also mentioned that she seemed like the happy-go-lucky type. I did this so the reader would like her and be affected by anything that may happen to her. I included her full name Elizabeth Anne Johnson so that the reader would feel like they were getting a complete picture of her. However, for the rest of the opening, I referred to her as Lizzie. This created a bond between the reader and the character because she is Lizzie to her friends so the reader feels like her friend. It is written in the 3rd person narrative so the reader can get a full overview of all the events in the story. The narrative structure deviates. This creates suspense, as there is no development of the action in the first paragraph in the rest of the opening. I purposely created a huge contrast between the eerie and spooky first paragraph and the rest of the opening, which seems like an ordinary night out, by using varying degrees of character and event description. In the first paragraph I did not use any description at all and just used non-specific terms like she. This was to create mystery and apprehension. In sharp contrast to this, I fully described character and events in the rest of the story. I began with telling the reader her full name so they felt they were being formally introduced. I then went on to describe her appearance, clothes what she is doing: tonight she was wearing She had spent all night because I did none of this in the first paragraph. I did however make some links. For example, in the first paragraph, the words angel, uplifting and glowed are used. In the rest of the opening, the words Heaven, fluffy white clouds and euphoria are used. This is to create a link between the two parts of the story and establish an ongoing theme of heaven and the supernatural. I also used a sense of vulnerability to link the two main characters. With the girl in the first paragraph it is obvious. I used carefully chosen vocabulary. She willed her mouthit wouldnt obey shows that she isnt even in control of her own body. She fought to against the uplifting forcewas completely at its mercy, her mindsuccumbed to the black cloud that eventually engulfed her. Also the word succumbed is quite passive. However the vulnerability in Lizzies character is subtler. At the end, she is drawn in by the stranger and feels powerless to resist. This links Lizzie and the girl but also the angel and the stranger because they hold the power in the respective relationships. I think the links make the reader want to read on because its like giving them some pieces of a puzzle. They can see some of the picture so they read on so they can find the rest of it. To create further curiosity, the phrase especially after the letters is not explained at any point in the opening, forcing the reader to form their own opinion. The fact that she was extremely cautious especially after the letters makes the letters seem sinister and let the reader know they were a cause for concern. I used ellipsis at the end so show it is an unfinished thought and an unanswered question. I carefully chose vocabulary to foreshadow dramatic events. For example, on top of the world is a well-known phrase, which means in a position of great happiness or success. However I used the phrase perched on top of the world in my story opening. The word perched suggests instability and precariousness so implies that her happiness may be short lived. I also used the progression of time to create effect. The story begins with the girl trying to speak and then finally collapsing she willed her mouth to finish the sentence but it wouldnt obeysuccumbed to the black cloud that was threatening to engulf her and then goes to a lively vibrant scene. I did this so the scene would seem like a flashback or a dream as we know the main character is unconscious. The strobe lighting in the scene adds to the dream-like quality. I tried to create an image of the setting (the club) being beautiful and pure. I did this by calling it heaven and using description like fluffy white clouds. I then used words like heaving with bodies thundering beats and pounding when describing the people and what they are doing to create a contrast. I did this to imply that clubbing itself is innocent enough but the people make it dangerous. I used alliteration in several places for effect. drab dreary wall emphasises how dull and grey the wall in contrast dazzling white of the angel, to to make it stand out more. In bodies all bouncing to the thundering beat, the b sound is repeated to try and mirror the beat of the music. I used the phrases bottomless pools of baby blue and passive, peaceful presence because they are quite soft sounds and I wanted to make the stranger seem calm and therefore contrast with the setting, which is electric. I used a metaphor They were puppets dancing to the tune of the headphone-wearing master in the glass booth above because it emphasises the submissive nature of the clubbers and the idea of a person wielding power over someone else. The issue of power is explored in many different parts of the story. I also used repetition. The word seemed is used at the end the last paragraph. She may have seemed like the happy-go-lucky type but appearances can be deceptive and she was quite the opposite and he seemed harmless enough. This is to suggest that just because the stranger seems harmless he may be quite the opposite and to foreshadow him doing something harmful in the future. I put it in italics both times to add emphasis and draw the readers attention to it. In conclusion, I think the techniques I used were effective because there are unanswered questions right at the beginning, which are never answered and this appeals the curiosity of the reader, making them want to read on.

Media And Ideology Understanding Politics Through Films Media Essay

Media And Ideology Understanding Politics Through Films Media Essay Mass media already became an inevitable dimension in present modern society. It is almost occupying our large time in everyday life. However, just as we are so familiar with the media products, it is particularly easy to overlook the questions which mass media has brought to us. In ordinary life, we are hardly to consider what impact has mass media generated to our life, social relations, politics, culture and other respects, and what the relations of media and other social institutions. Mass media is such a complexity that difficult to clarify it as a whole. Thereby, in this paper, the purpose is to concentrate on one specific media text- film, and to examine how it activates on politics. This paper begins with a brief introduction of media importance within peoples everyday life, who owns media, and the relation between media and government. Then, two relative items will be drawn out: ideology and representation. Ideology as a kind of fundamental theory could explain why media as w ell as film could serve for political dominance. And as for representation, which as an important function of mass media, it provides the possibility for ideology activating on media. In part two, there will be an introduction of the function and effects of film, and then three typical films are cited to interpret why and how those films in Reagan era could affect that time politics. In the last part, there will be a discussion about the effects of the historical films on present society. Media and Ideology Media Importance With the drastic development of high technology and consumption demands, media almost saturates every corner in our ordinary life. The role media playing in modern society is diverse, such as radio, television, magazines, movies, and books are all serving for it. Meanwhile, how many hours in our everyday life are occupied by these items? Probably after you waking up, the first thing is to open television or radio to hear news, and next on the way to work, you might buy a piece of newspaper to browser, during working time you possibly watch magazines or chat with your colleague about this days news, and then, when you lay on the sofa after finishing one days work, the best thing is to enjoy a television show or movies as you like. Why we are so depending on media? The best way to answer it is to invert this question as if without media, what situation our life will be. We will not know what happened around and outside ourselves, do not know say what with friends, and have nothing to d o after returning home. Maybe we will rest much many time to enjoy the beautifully natural views surrounding us, but, who really concern this in such a colorfully consumer society. As a result, the sources of entertainment and perception towards this world from various media means are extremely significant to us in contemporary society. However, apart from enjoying the happiness and amusement that media bring to us, have you thought about who decide or influence media contents in contemporary life? And what impact mass media are bringing about to our life and social relations? In order to clarify these two questions, we should research from the production and contents of media. Firstly, under the promotion of economic profits, the ownership of media has become concentrated (Bagdikian 2000). The key effect of concentration on the media products is homogenization, and to some extent, the government and certain executive access are likely to affect media products (Croteau and Hoynes, 2003). Government influence on media production is a general phenomenon, no matter in totalitarian societies or democratic societies. The distinction is, in democratic societies, the freedom of press and expression is protected by the law, however, this kind of freedom is under the structure which government organized (Croteau and Hoynes, 2003). Just as Bagdikian (2000) said that in the contemporary United State, a country that is intensely advocating democracy, its information system is largely controlled by private interests, rather than government. But normally, private and go vernment interests are consistent, because they are all standing for dominantly capitalistic interests. So this is why many media barons and politicians are both apt to use media to realize their political aims. On the other hand, the mass media similarly helps to witness and improve the regime of American politics, which refers to the media influence on politics. If in order to elaborate this idea, the term of ideology should be depicted here. Ideology and Representation The reason why so many scholars are interested to examine media products to uncover their ideology is ideology is a decidedly complicated term with different implications depending on the context in which it is used (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 159). It has extensive meanings including worldview, belief system, and values, and meanwhile, it also could help somebody define and even form these concepts implied in their own consciousness. In this context, the ideological analysis of certain specific media text is a useful way to understand the fit between the images and words in a specific media text and ways of thinking about, even defining, social and crucial issues (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 160). In addition, the ideology implied in media texts does not naturally exist, but must be given by someone for a certain interests. In the early ideological analysis about media products, there are two important theoretical roots that are still invaluable for contemporary ideological study. One is the early Marxist origin, and the other one is the concept of hegemony. For early Marxists, ideology was used by the dominant class for imposing their ruling worldview and values on the subordinate class, and consequently, ensuring their governing stable and permanent. So, in this discussion, ideology was considered linking with the concept of false consciousness, which was produced by and on the behalf of ruling class, rather than matching ones objective interests (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 164). From this perspective, ideological analysis is associated with political domination, power, and continually to focus on the issue of the ways certain groups fight to have their specific interests accepted as the general interests of a society (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 165). Even in contemporary society, the basic outlines of this early Marxist model are still constructive to analyze social relations, while the concentration has moved away from economic- class relations to the terrain of culture. With this perspective, famous Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsi (1971) has brought about a remarkable study of hegemony, which connecting hegemony to the notions of culture, power, and ideology. Firstly, Gramsi (1971) argued the functions of force and culture or ideology on maintaining power. It is doubtless that force is an effective way to remain state domination, due to it can affect by means of coercion, which require the application of institutions such as the military, police and other state administrative organs. However, in liberal democratic societies, force is not suited to be the primary means of state ruling. Because in modern society, liberalism, civil rights, and human peace are the mainstream. Besides, unreasonable and excessive force control is also the main origin of citizen resistant revolution. And then, in this context, Gramsi (1971) suggests that it is likely to convert the strategy to another terrain- culture, by which also can wield power and even more easily, because it can take place in peoples everyday life, the most important point is through this way people are actively and voluntarily obedient to the ruling. Gramsis theory of hegemony is working through the operation of consent, or we can call it common sense. The operating principle of common sense is the dominant class actively attends to make their worldview and values accepted by all social members (Gramsi 1971). Therefore, if dominant class could turn the idea that is on the behalf of their interests to universal consent, then they are able to achieve the ideological dominant on subordinate class. In this process, an essential notion of natural should be picked up to depict. Generally, when we say something is natural, normally because it is without human process, which is opposite to artificial. Consequently, we will not suspect the reality and legitimacy if something is defined as natural. For example, if it was propagated that homosexuality is a natural principle initially, and then maybe there is little debate of gay and lesbian relationship, due to they are not social problems rather natural order of things. Thus, hegemony operation of culture is going to generate commonsense assumption, and then converting this commonsense assumption to the uncontested level of natural. Schools, religion, and media all can be the efficient sites to help realize this process, because they are where could be controlled by dominant class to produce and reproduce ways of thinking about society. Stuart Hall (1982) has pointed out a crucial analysis of how mass media institutions are coherent with hegemony. First of all, he included media as his concept called the politics of significant, in which media identified has an unique function- representation, which is different from simply reflecting the reality of world, but implies the active work of selecting and presenting, of structuring and shaping; nor merely the transmitting of an already existing meaning, but the more active labor of making things mean (p. 64). Secondly, Hall (1982) explained why media representation is intertwined with ideology and hegemony. Like I mentioned, ideology could underlie certain worldview and values in different contexts, and as for media representation, which has capacity of making things mean, so, media can become the irrecusable approach of generating and propagating ideology. And if further connect this perspective to power and media ownership in the early part, it is clear that dominant c lass could instill its assumption into media, and plus media are places where certain idea could be circularly transmitted to public, in this way, the meanings which are on the interests of dominant power could become consent of every audience of the media. This is why almost every country is willing to regard media institutions as an efficient channel to animate its policy and governing. Film and Politics Film Introduction Many scholars are interested in focusing the ideological analysis of media products on specific medium or specific media texts that are within a specific historical period. The reason is, firstly, the term mass media is such a multiple and plural complexity that it is difficult to perfectly generalize the meanings of abundant media products as a whole; secondly, media texts are usually produced in specific historical context, responding to and helping frame the cultural currents of the day (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 173), so, concentrating on a specific historical media text is more helpful to understand the real meanings and reality represented within a media text under certain historical environment. Film as one of diverse media products, is an efficient media text because it is alive representation of different events, it has the ability to transport the audiences to a number of different times and places by its moving images. In addition, films could through the image representation of a certain time period generating impact on present audiences, to ask them if they were placed in the same situation what they would do (Sachleben, M and Yenerall, K 2004). Besides its unique performing format, film itself also has different types: silent films, black and white films, color films, documentary films and narrative films. The differences of these films are not only confined to the difference of techniques, but also can be seen from the messages transmitted by them. For example, after the color technique has been generally applied to film making, black and white film are still as an important art form existing in film products, a successful instance was Schindlers list made by Spielbe rg in 1993. Generally speaking, the application of black and white photography could help highlight the darkness of film subject on one hand, on the other hand, directors wonder use it to create dramatic effects. For another film type-documentary, which is suited to represent or reconstruct historical events, and helping understand politics. However, there were still a large number of politicians and directors who preferred narrative films to convey and propagate their political aims, due to narrative films is a kind of films that through stories to absorb audiences to follow its plots, and engage audiences to the evolvement of films contents. After understanding the fundamental functions and features of films, it is time to research the contents of films. Film as a media text, of course, it could make things mean, and serve for certain dominant class to transmit a specific way of thinking, worldview, or values. Due to the diversity of film contents, in this section, the research focuses on how films represent and impact politics during a specific historical period. Here, a concept should be clear that this paper is not to define what are political films, but to utilize a series of films during a particular time period to illustrate ideas and topics in politics under certain historical context. The Films In The Reagan Era Before the presidency of Ronald Reagan, American was in a tough condition: the darkness of Vietnam War failure, national threat from Soviet, and the economic decline. Just as Rupert Wilkinson (1984, p. 6) said, the 1980 election came at a post-imperial moment, when Americans were not at all sure what role they wanted or could obtain either for their presidents or for their country in world affairs, in that time Americans were lack of powerful spiritual root and national confidence. However, since Reagans main three political agenda, Americas spiritual strength has restored as well as its renewed responsible world role (Nixon 1992). Another important reason was Reagans own self-confidence did not been defeat by the introspection of the post-Vietnam era, and he even transferred his own self-confidence to the whole country, and accordingly restored the national self-confidence (Cannon 1991). In this respect, Hollywood film industry has played an important role. As we known, Reagan has e ver been a popular film star before he stepped on his political career. Consequently, he extraordinarily understood how influential and pervasive film is on the aspect of transferring and shaping meanings, thereby marginalizing or dismissing other opposite claims. So naturally, within his policies, movie material was a crucial component. Through analysis of the films made in Reagan era, we could comprehend how film represented politics in a specific historical and political setting. Anti-communism In the 1980s, the relationship of America and Soviet has entered the so-called New Cold War period. The international condition in that period, for Soviet Union, they were preparing the coming of new world war against America, and actively taking the preparation of nuclear and arms expansion, and implementing the highly centralization of state management. On the other hand, in the aspect of America, externally, Reagan advocated deploying the overall containment to Soviet Union from the aspects of politics, economic, military, diplomacy and ideology, towards domestic market, he insisted that human values can surpass any worthless technology and mechanization, highlighting the importance of human mind, which could become the best weapon within the competition against outside communism and mechanized devices. Under this kind of political context, there were three extremely popular films during the mid-1980s. The first one was The Star Wars, in which Luke Skywalker was shaped as a good individual, who depended on his own intellectual and mind power to defeat the dark technologized body- the evil Darth Vader. The second one was Rambo, in which portrayed a hardened American soldier character, who relying on his own mind and faith overbears foreign policy. The last one was Terminator, in this film the theme was anti-nuclear and hard-body mythology, it accentuated that humanity was the most powerful weapon that can defeat any enemy. Generalizing the main themes of these three films, we can find that they almost advocate a same idea by different narrative stories, which is consistent with Reaganism, that the mind is the best weapon, and depreciates the machine domination, which is similar with Soviet Unions arms expansion policy. If further anatomize the contents of these three films, we can fi nd that those bad guys in each, such as the technologized Darth Vader, the character of Sergeant Yushin- a Soviet version who also has the strong body as the same as Rambo, and completed mechanized, machine-made Terminator are all the reflections of outside forces which could potentially destroy all freedom of human being, in Reagans ideology are no different from Soviet communists. Then moving into the late-1980s, a new screen character was able to transcribe the Reagans pro-technology militarism at home, which consequently formed a comparison with the external negative feature of the Soviet Union, that was Robcop, a totally computerized, law-enforcement officer, who can eliminate all kinds of criminals. The difference between Robcop and the former mechanized character is, although they are all computer-programmed, their standpoints are different, Robcop was endued new conceptions-humanity and punishing crime. From this image, we can know that Robcop is the endorsement of revived R eagans military, it can eliminate any enemy including communism. Vietnam War Films One prevalent films genre in 1980s was return to Vietnam films, the most typical one is the series of Rambo, which depicts the hardened image of a Vietnam veteran, who returns to Vietnam again a couple of years after the Vietnam War in order to rescue American prisoners who were forgotten by the U. S. government. The research question in this paper is why these films were so popular in that period? And what kind of respond did these movies want from audiences? First of all, it is necessary to clarify the historical context in which these films took place. During the period of 1980s, American people were immersing in a condition called the Vietnam syndrome (Croteau and Hoynes 2003, p. 175), they were shameful of the defeat in Southeast Asia. In essence, the revival of national self-confidence was the primary mission in that time. As a result, the appearance of Rambo stirred up this important task, it through the power of mass media brought the United States citizens returning to the b attlefield of the Vietnam War, and it altered the end of the story. In this renewed battlefield, American soldiers were all good guys and victors, they won the pride, strength and glory for America. It is not difficult to find that these films were just the projection of Reagans political declaration in the 1980s, which called for a kind of redemption for the shame of loss in Vietnam, and helped American citizens move out from the Vietnam syndrome, to re-establish American pride and national image. Indeed, Americans did overcome the Vietnam syndrome in the late 1980s, which can be demonstrated by American peoples active support towards U. S. military action in Iraq, Panama, and the till now the events against terrorism (Croteau and Hoynes 2003). Apart from the impact of reviving American image, according to the statement of Susan Jeffords (1989), the representation of the Vietnam War was also an effective process of remasculinization of American society, which as well as another essential component of Reaganism. Above all, the social precondition of this process was, because of the defeat in Vietnam, the advent of feminism, and the generation gap occurring in American society, the stability of the traditionally social framework-patriarchy has been challenged, so, the primary mechanism for this renegotiation of patriarchal relations is through remasculinization, a revival of the images, abilities, and evaluations of men and masculinity in dominant U. S. culture (Jeffords 1989, in preface). There is the need to define the terms of patriarchy and masculinity referred here, it is relative to the analysis of the films characters in the later paragraphs. As Lerners (1986) conclusion, generally, patriarchy is the institutionalizati on of male dominancy over women, children, and even to the extent with the whole society. As for masculinity, which is a mechanism for the establishment of patriarchy, and is used to refer to the set of images, values, interests, and activities held important to a successful achievement of male adulthood in American cultures (Lerner 1986). Then, what can audiences get from the films returning to the Vietnam War? What meanings do these films represent to American peoples about remasculinization? In part one it is said that the representation of mass media could make new meaning on events, if plus the effect of narrative story, it may generate certain ideological resonance among audiences. The set films Rambo did successfully wield this point to represent the masculine American soldiers images on the screen, and to shape them as the victims of society, government and the war itself, in which even use the comparison between American soldiers unyieldingness with the governments weakness to set off Rambo and Braddocks masculine and heroic images. Following this kind of representation of the Vietnam War, audiences will normally resurrect the confidence and admiration on American soldiers. And consequently, it is largely effective to restore masculinity and male status in that time American society. Civil Rights and Social Justice Within Reagans political revolution, it was not enough to merely depend on hard body to manage a country well. He placed more emphasis on the unity and power of spirit. No matter in what kind of social system, all the dominant classes expect the citizens could enjoy and conform to its established civil rights and social justice, especially under the democratic regimes. In the late-1980s of America, there was another genre of films existing as well as the mid-1980s Vietnam films, which jointly formed the full heroism. There were many representative films in that period, in this section I picked out one of them to examine- Accused (1988), which is grounded in true occurrence that happened in 1983, six men gang- raped a woman on a pool table, and at that time no one of the onlookers stood out to rescue the victim. But after five years, when this crime was represented on the screen, a hero came out, who was the main male character- Kenneth Joyce, helping the victim-Sarah Tobias gain the victory of a justice war. This film from two aspects to indicate the powerful of justice system and the importance of civil rights. Firstly, through the comparison between Joyce with the rapists and onlookers, to enable audiences are easily to prefer and support Joyce, contrarily, to hate the rapists and onlookers, and hope them to be published by the law. Secondly, this film is able to bring audiences to think the questions as same as the characters. For example, besides Joyce, there was another person- Murphy, who also helped Sarah win the court case. In the early part of the film, the situation of Murphy is if she takes this case as a district attorney she maybe have the risk to defy her boss and lose the job, because in the district attorneys office no one is willing to try a case like this. So, at this time, audiences will have suspense whether or not Murphy will take the case for Sarah. Another question is about Joyce and his fraternity brother, who is one of the rapists. Most audiences maybe sustain a question that will Joyce accuse his best friend on the court to help a strange woman. The answer of these two questions is they do help Sarah to win the accusations, and the dynamic connecting them together is the justice system and the faith of defending self-right. It demonstrates the clear answers to audiences that civil rights can be protected no matter in what a tough situation, and in addition, justice and law could beyond any gap which including friendship and self-interest as well. Collectively, this perspective and the hard body image were both just the appeals of Reagans policy, for against the outside force, and shaping the powerfully national character, and turning back to the demotic condition, it relied on the morality and justice to maintain the country stability. Effects of Historical Films Through the demonstration in the former part, it is clear that some popular films are not simply used to entertain the masses, most time they are the representation of certain ideological meanings, political values and working to generate a kind of resonance. Majority material of films originates from real life and history, the main effectiveness of it is a sort of return, but the return possibly brings about different impact on audience in accordance with different era settings. For example, when the American citizens who were just under the period of Cold War and the Vietnam syndrome were watching Rambo, the feeling elevating from their deep heart was pride, excited and self-confident. However, if play these movies at the present, will it work as same as that in last century. So, there is a frequent question like what is the connotation of performing the past films in the context of modern society? And what is the impact on present politics? About this question, Fredric Jameson (1998) has raised a suggestion about contemporary historical films, which he called nostalgia films as well. In his respect, nostalgia films are necessarily based on the recognition by the viewer of pre-existing historical stereotypes, including the various styles of the period, it is thereby reduced to the mere narrative confirmation of those same stereotypes (p. 130). Maybe we can understand his words in this way: in modern society, we already know what events happened in the past, those nostalgia films thereby can do little more than offer the most predictable testimony features (Jameson 1998, p. 130), which means the collective perception and historical lessons that already existing in our mind. In a word, the function of this kind of historical films is apart from momentously political effectiveness, but concentrates on the pure application of visual images to represent the history by variously narrative story, in this process, the reality of history is substituted by symbolic images, the impact of the films of past genre for the present maybe more foregrounds a kind of propagation by means of abundant images (Boorstin 1961). According to this perspective, what the meanings of representation of history in contemporary films exactly is. The film genre relating with The Holocaust was a typical form of representation of history in the present society. It is effective to understand the question about historical films for contemporary people. The movies about the Holocaust mainly put weight on visual images and narrative truth to represent the horror of the Nazis final solution, and the innocent of victims (Hornstein and Jacobowitz, 2003). The contents of most these kind films generally emphasize two categories: one is to create a narrative story happened in the Holocaust or Auschwitz, and the other is the representation of a true historical story told by a survival who was witnessing the terrible disaster, in this way, the effects generating from these films are relative to absence and memory. For most people in present society, they are lack of the consciousness of the Holocaust, so, the representation of the Holocaust could offset this block of absence in their idea. And for majority viewers, what they get from these films are mainly a sort of ethical shock and moral education. Just as many scholars, in their reaches of the representation of the Holocaust, they all emphasize the term of memory, or we can say the Holocaust memory, which is a kind of memory cannot be forgotten (Apel, 2002; Adorno, 1995; Novik, 2000; Flinkelstein, 2003). However, among the various critique of the representation of the Holocaust, the statement of Flinkelstein (2003) is a little bit different from that of Jameson about the question of the historical films effects. Flinkelstein (2003) regards Holocaust memory as an indispensable ideological weapon, due to it not only effects on morality, but also has significant political meanings. It helps the United States successfully cast itself as a victim state. To sum up, maybe the statement of Jameson is a bit of passive, which is too focus on the passive effects of visual images of historical films to overlook the affects of films on ideology and the audience agency, by which could produce and instill a kind of worldview and social values among the present society (Hall et al., 1980). The various images here are consistent with that voiced by Debord (1995), which express the world autonomously, and mediate spectacle between people in todays consumer society. However, films are made by people and influenced by dominant culture, it therefore naturally serves for the interests of dominant power (Williams, 1980). For instance, the representation of Holocaust could arouse peoples consciousness of human rights and eagerness of racial equality, which is simultaneously acting on present political event anti-terrorism. As a result, maybe we can say that the effects of historical films in contemporary society are depending on the transmission of i deological propaganda to meet the political demands. Conclusion This paper is through the examination of films, which is one component of mass media, to elaborate that media is not a simple channel to provide entertainment for audiences, it also could transfer and generate certain ideological meanings in different contexts, and consequently produces a kind of impact on the social relations or ideological resonance among viewers. And in this process, representation has played an important role. The reason is that, representation as one fundamental function of media not only could reflect the world, but also be able to make things have new meanings, thereby, this capacity naturally has media served for politics and makes certain political ideas underlying films contents so as to achieve another effects of media, which is apart from providing amusement, but referring to a more broad domain including politics, culture and social relations. However, as we known, ideology has different implications relying on the different contexts it is used. Such as the films made in Reagan era most probably has different effects on that time people and present audiences. For contemporary society, the historical films have double effects, one is to remind the memory of present people and to commemorate certain historical events, the other one is to affect contemporary politics by means of the ideology embedded in those films.

Auteur Analysis Of Tyler Perry Film Studies Essay

Auteur Analysis Of Tyler Perry Film Studies Essay Tyler Perry, a 42 year old self proclaimed writer actor and director to the urban circuit has single handedly changed the direction of mass media in general. My gearing more to a specific audience that main stream holly wood has not quite caught up with .I will discuss the themes Mr. Perry is drawn to along with his signature style and similarities between three different films that he has written and produced. The films I will use for reference will be as follows The family that preys I can do bad all by myself and For colored girls. All films deal with black and white women alike in struggle of some sort. The signature style of this director would best be described as black feminism but also empowerment. The definition of black feminism is the rejected idea of a single unified gender oppression that is experienced evenly by all women but rather is dictated by the color of your skin .Also the empowerment aspect is very bold in his movies because usually by the end of these films his main character is better because of the journey she has taken. I can do bad all by myself is a film that deals with three sibling whos alcoholic aunt Amy refuses to take care of them but has no choice since her mother has since passed away. Aunt Amy is living off of her married boyfriend and works nights in a local club singing well known songs. Tyler Perry often draw music into most of his films but specifically music of African American culture such as RB , black church spirituals and rarely rap music. Both of the other two movies I have noted have RB music as well as dramatic scores included this is definitely a signature style of Perry. Also most of the elements placed in front of the camera are simple or modest. Most character are easily relatable and down to earth. The film For colored girls directly relates to the previous motion picture I have mentioned, because it to deals with black females playing the leading roles all with varying levels of issues. The first main character Juanita is so in love that she allows herself to be hurt by a man who continues to love and her and leave her. The second main character crystal and her children are being abused by her post traumatic stress disordered boyfriend who she refuses to marry but is scared to leave behind. A young girl who becomes unexpectedly impregnated and a woman who is raped by a man she allows to take her out dinner with. Another way this corresponds to the above mentioned work is because the element of flash back is used in both films. In this movie flash back is used when the young girl is becomes pregnant reminisces about the illegal abortionist she has gone to see to end that childs life. In I can do bad all by myself Amy the immature aunt has a flash back of what it must have been like when her mother passed away. Supposedly of a brain aneurism on the local metro bus. Another similar between the two movies are the themes which are both drama. the family that preys is a film about yet another women of color who is semmingly successful but has a dark secret. The secret being the infedility to her husband a construction worker who dreams of opening his own business but her affair is not with just anyone but with her boss who is also her husband boss and she works with in the firm he works as a construction worker building new business platforms. Again we find a woman who is in a troubled position and does not know exactly what to do to get out of it, but is better for journey. A recurring aspect to all three films would have to be Tylers use of available lighting in I can do bad all by myself the sun rises on the morning of the day that Amy opens the door to find that her niece and two nephews have been stealing and caught by the lovable character Madea who Tyler Perry plays him self as we know he is an actor also. The family that preys uses available light in most if not all scenes one in particular as charlotte and Alice t ake a road trip and stop in a quaint town for ice cream just to enjoy the surrounding views. Finally For colored girls captures the use of lighting by using a lot of windows with in Jos office and aides an aspect of dominance because she has the quintessential corner office with a view . Drama is great theme to use because it usually draws the movie goers in with an assortment of twist and turns that the characters go through. Also it is one of the most relatable characteristics to life as people live it. Who can honestly say they have never been lied to, hurt or deceived? Although Tyler Perry is often met with criticism and praise he continues to produce films on topics dealing with comedy and or drama. Criticisms because he is assumed to only use stereotypical topics within the black community such as rape violence alcoholism lack of money or success and infidelity. Praised because he has single employed more black actors since 2005 than any other black cinematographer to date .but are these topics and storylines really racially motivated? Would they be any less valid if only white people played these roles? Perrys childhood was not that of a perfect one he once attempted suicide to escape is fathers beatings .At age 16 he had his name legally changed for Emmitt to Tyler to distance himself from his fathers. After production of the film Precious was finished Tyler reviewed the movie and was then compelled to tell his story, having been molested as a child by his friends mother at he age of ten and by three other men previous to this . I believe this is the reason Tyler chooses the subject matter that he portrays in his movies because he has first hand been the one to live it in some various scenes an example would be in the movie I can do bad all by myself Amys boyfriend who is actually married to another person engages in inappropriate behavior with her niece by secretly hitting on her. Overall Tyler Perrys signature style is that of a realist. Real people with real issues that find there ways through life. He deals with adult subject matter that sometimes includes comedy that can sometimes entertain young adults or teenagers. All three movies have countless similarities but I hope that have named enough to suffice. Although Perry receives a lot of criticism for his movies I for one respect him for having a idea and creating a plat form to express it .What better than the realm of cinema which is completely of your own expression and ideas but together not with one picture but many and if a picture is worth a thousand words then Tyler Perrys films are worth a million.

Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMs) Essay -- Performance

Table Of Contents  · Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..1  · Balanced Scorecard System (BSC)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.1-2  · Implementation of Balanced Scorecard in SMEs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Strategy Destination†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Perspectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3-4 Measures †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5-6  · Challenges faced and possible recommendations for overcoming it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7-8  · Limitations of BSC†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8-10  · Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......10  · References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10-12 2 | P a g e Introduction The progression of the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been recognized for the success of widespread development purposes which includes poverty mitigation, advancement of democratic societies and economic development. (Henriques n.d). For sustainable and completive environment it is necessary for organizations to measure the how the organizations function.. The introduction of Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMs) has been identified as the effective strategy implementation which measures past actions effectively through investigation and analysis of appropriate data which translates into a diverse pattern of strategic decisions. Traditional organization performance measurement systems analyses the financial aspect. Due to globalisation, competition has increased both in the local and international markets. This gives a clear view of organizational capacity in today’s business markets. Besides in order to succeed in this dynamic environment, it is essential for companies to associate with SPMs to the organisational strategy. Organizations must monitor whether customer satisfaction is met and whether the cost is under control. SPMS improves development but creates a significant ri... ...bi d/117/Default.aspx 12 | P a g e Senge P (1990). ‘The Fifth Discipline’, Doubleday Currency, US Senge P, Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B, Roth G, Kleiner A (1999). ‘The Dance of Change; Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations’, Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd., UK Kotter J (1996). ‘Leading Change’, Harvard Business School Press, US Henrik, V. Andersen, G. Michael, S. 2000. The Balanced Scorecard vs. The EFQM business excellent model. Which is better strategic management tool?. 2GC limited. pp 1-16. Wu, C., Zhao, J., Xia, L. & Zhu, Z. 2008, "Impact of Internal Factors on Information Technology Adoption: An Empirical Investigation of Chinese Firms", Tsinghua Science & Technology, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 318-322. Yuen, C.Y.T. (2002), "Marketing in SME's", Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, MSc dissertation, .

Government Restrictions on Encryption within the United States and Around the World :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Government Restrictions on Encryption within the United States and Around the World Introduction In today's society with the increased use of computers, internet, and wireless communications, the need for safety and security has risen dramatically. The internet has become the number one communication medium and is more accessible than ever. Through the internet, vast amount of information is being transmitted between computers. At times, some of the information transmitted can be intercepted illegally, such as personal information and private messages. The percentage of information that is illegally intercepted has been dramatically reduced due to the use of encryption software technology, which was once used by the United States military and government. This technology has given businesses and private users the sense of security in transmitting information through the internet as well as to maintain national security. The use of encryption has been a topic of discussion for the past 20 years. The U.S government has attempted several times to regulate encryption because they fel t that it was a matter of national security that they should have control of the technology and protect us from vulnerability if software is shared or sold to other countries. The effort of encryption regulation by the U.S. was unsuccessful and today there are least restrictions on the use and export of encryption technology. The introduction of encryption regulation in the United States has made a global impact. Other countries, such as China, Russia, and others around the world, have implemented encryption regulations to due to the influence of the U.S. but have restrictions that are far more stringent and harsh. The strong regulations by these countries are creating conflict among private users and foreign companies that export encryption software to these countries. This argument and debate continues between the government, businesses, and encryption companies. The question is should the government have the right to monitor and regulate encryption and what ethical questions does it raise? Background and History of Encryption What is encryption? Encryption is a technological technique that protects and secures the transfer of plain text information between two sources through the use of the internet. This is done by rearranging the text using a mathematical algorithm that renovates the message into an indecipherable form, which can only be unlocked and translated with a use of a key. The strength of the encryption key is measured by its length, which is determined by the number of bits and by the type of encryption program.

A merger between Kennecott and Carborundum Essay

In 1968, Kennecott Copper Corporation made a hasty decision when it purchased Peabody Coal Company. In the years preceding the acquisition, Kennecott had experienced wide swings in its profitability, which it was looking to offset by diversification. Investing in another company in a different industry was an intelligent decision; however, Peabody was the wrong company to do this with. Although Peabody had been profitable and stable over the past few years leading up to the acquisition, the internal rate of return related to the investment was not high enough to justify a purchase of the company. Peabody’s cost of debt was .038. This was calculated by assuming a 40% tax rate and .095 rate on debt (Exhibit 3). There was a .095 interest rate on notes payable due June 30, 1998; therefore, we assumed the rate of debt at the time of purchase would have been similar. Also, Peabody’s cost of equity was .1397. This was calculated by using a risk-free rate of .055, which was the rate of the 90-day T-bill in 1968. A beta of 1 was assumed and a .082 market risk premium was used. The latter figure was determined by taking the average returns on the short-term T-Bill rate from 1951-1975. This rate was used because we know Peabody was a short-term investment and the years 1951-1975 give a more accurate reflection of the market return than using the figure from 1926-1987. Furthermore, the weight of debt and equity were .35 and .65 respectively. These figures were used because we are told that approximately 65% of Kennecott’s net worth was tied up in Peabody. These figures gave a weighted average cost of capital of 9.70%. The IRR for this purchased was calculated by using $621.5 million as the initial investment. This figure was determined as a result of Kennecott giving Peabody $285 million in cash, assuming $36.5 million in liabilities, and taking on a reserved payment of $300 million. Also, the figures used to determine IRR came from the figures given under cash flow from operation for the 8 years preceding the Peabody acquisition. This gave us an IRR of 6.8% (Exhibit 3), which is less than the WACC. When the IRR of a project is less than the WACC, the project should not be accepted. Likewise, after Peabody was acquired, it under-performed for several years until Kennecott sold it. Because of its underperformance, Kennecott had to sell Peabody for less than it paid for it. After being forced to sell Peabody, Kennecott had a large amount of cash on hand, which it did not know what to do with. Instead of giving the money back to its investors in the form of dividends or repurchasing shares of Kennecott stock that was trading below book value of the firm, Kennecott once again chose to diversify by investing in another company. This time Kennecott tendered an offer to Carborundum, a company that produced abrasives and ceramics used in the high-technology industry. Kennecott is correct in its decision that it must do something with its excess cash. By doing nothing, it will be vulnerable to a takeover; however, we do not believe diversification is the most prudent form of action. Kennecott is simply reacting to low and unstable copper prices, which have drastically hurt its bottom line. Furthermore, there are no obvious synergies connected with this deal. During an acquisition, the company being acquired should provide a greater value to the acquiring firm, than to any other firm. Because there are no synergies and the fact that the $66 tender is over $31 greater than Carborundum’s book value, the acquisition should not be made. Similarly, when discovering the terminal value, we took the total capital for 1976 and divided it by the net profit (Exhibit 1). We then took this figure, which was 10.68, and used it as our multiplier. We multiplied the projected net incomes for the next 10-years by 10.68 (Exhibit 2) to discover the firms terminal value. Finally we added the firm’s projected terminal value in 1977 to its net present value, which we calculated to be ($1.05 Million). This was achieved by discounting the cash flow each year by the IRR. So for year 1 the formula was (410)/1.054 giving (389). We discounted through 1987 (Exhibit 4). The large initial investment is what hurt Kennecott. They paid too much for a company they knew little about. This gave us a firm value of $ 409.06 million in 1977. At the time of the tender there were 8 million outstanding shares. At $66 per share, Kennecott was paying $528 million for a firm with a value of only $409.6 million. Obviously, it does not make sense to acq uire this firm. Like wise, Kennecott was ignoring its responsibility to its shareholders. Making this acquisition would dilute shareholder value. This was most evident in the actions of one investor who took the time to file a suit against Kennecott. This investor also believed the tender offer was too high. We feel Kennecott would best benefit from a stock repurchase. At the time of the Carborundum tender offer, Kennecott’s stock was trading at $28 per share, which was $14.50 less than its book value. By not partaking in a stock repurchase, it appears as if Kennecott does not believe it can turn its own operations around. If it cannot fix its own business, it should not be expanding. Kennecott must take an inward look at itself and discover where its problems lie. Until this is done, it should put ambitions of expanding on hold.

Com 220 Prison Overcrowding Harms Everyone

Prison Overcrowding Harms Everyone March 18, 2009 Com 220 Axia College of University of Phoenix Did you know that the USA with 5% of the world's population has 25% of its prisoners, making it the world's no#1 jailer? The most recent statistics from the Department of Justice states that 1 out of every 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 has been jailed. Most likely, every person in the USA has either been incarcerated or knows someone who was. At the start of 2008, 2,319,258 adults were being held in prison or jail and this number keeps growing. Because of the immense population of inmates, most facilities are overcrowded. To make room for all these inmates, correction departments have resorted to housing prisoners in tents, hallways, and gymnasiums. Below is a picture from USA Today of inmates being housed in a gymnasium. Locking up so many people in these overcrowded conditions creates serious emotional, physical, and mental problems for inmates and causes prisons to be even more dangerous. Due to these conditions, the prisoner winds up worst upon release than when they came in. (Smolowe and Blackman 1994) In addition to the overcrowding problem, there is a huge financial strain to keep these facilities operating. To incarcerate only California’s prisoners, it costs more than $7. 6 million dollars a day. While funding for education and public assistance decreases, the prison budget maintains growth. One would think that for all the important resources we take money away from to invest in prisons, we would see some positive results, but unfortunately the USA has the highest crime rate in the world. Locking up so many people causes serious overcrowding problems making rehabilitation next to impossible. Overcrowded prisons harm the rest of the population by breaking apart families, spreading diseases, and wasting valuable resources on a system that is not reducing the crime rate. (Clark 1994) The overcrowded prisons have a negative and dangerous impact on its residents’ physical well-being. Deadly and infectious diseases like HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculoses commonly exist in America’s prisons. With very few doctors available, many prisoners are not even aware that they are infected and go untreated. Every year, more than 1. 5 million inmates are released back into the society, infected. Once released, they spread these deadly diseases to their families and communities. As long as prisons remain understaffed, inmates and the rest of society will suffer. (USA Today) Insufficient staffing makes it impossible for prisoners to go through a detailed screening process. The monitoring, screening, and managing of vulnerable or problematic inmates are rarely maintained. Many times dangerous and mentally ill prisoners, untreated and undiagnosed, are put into the main population where they have a negative effect on other inmates as well as themselves. Prisoners are no longer put into facilities that best match their needs; instead they are squeezed into whichever facility has room. This environment is conducive to violence. Many times prisoners are assaulted and even raped by others because staff is not readily available to control the situation. Besides an increased chance of being victimized, research has shown that understaffed jails have more suicides than ones that are properly proportioned. (Haney 3-4) Overcrowding has created a dangerous atmosphere that has forced staff to focus on keeping order rather than worrying about meeting prisoners’ basic needs. Overcrowding has caused many staff members to fear for their personal safety and to look at prisoners with disdain. They are equipped with many lethal and non-lethal weapons to keep them safe and in some jurisdictions rifles and shotguns are carried inside cell blocks. In California, armed guards are kept inside housing units and authorized to respond to inmate disturbances with lethal force. Even while theses inmates sleep, they are kept under gun surveillance. (Haney 11) Education and work programs conducive to rehabilitation are being done away with to pay for room for more prisoners. These programs are necessary because the majority of prisoners are illiterate. A study conducted back in 1992 concluded that about 70% of prisoners were functionally illiterate or illiterate. The Bureau of Justice reported that in the 1990’s, 40% of the prisoners had no job assignments at all, that 40% had menial prison duties like laundry, and only 7% were involved in some type of industry program. This means that little is being done to help prisoners make a smooth transition back into society. Once released, prisoners will have a record that any future job prospects will frown upon. Without any kind of job training it is unlikely that ex-convicts will ever get hired. Many times, released prisoners who are faced with this dilemma, go right back to prison because they resort back to the same illegal practices of receiving money that got them arrested in the first place. When programs are taken away, it tends to increases the violence and frustration amongst inmates. (Haney 5, 7-8) Many people find it hard to sympathize for inmates who are victims of violence, bad health care, or rape because the victims are criminals and many people believe they deserve to be punished. I have heard many people make light of the current prison conditions by telling jokes about Bubba violating men in the shower that drop the soap. What many people do not realize is that it is not just hard core rapists and murderers populating the prisons, in fact, about half of the prison population is serving time for non-violent crimes. Now-a-days one can be incarcerated for certain motor-vehicle infractions and there have been numerous occasions of innocent people being incarcerated. The following chart depicts the types of crimes prisoners were serving time for, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics for 2005. USA Today NID) (Haney 4) Mandatory sentencing is a major contributing factor to the prison overcrowding problem and should be eliminated. Aaron Clarence is a perfect example of why mandatory sentencing should be done away with. Aaron was a 22 year-old college student when he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a first-time nonviolent drug conviction. The local U. S. attorney charged Aaron with dealing crack cocaine, drugs that he never even touched. What did he do? He accepted $1,500 to introduce a couple of drug dealers and one of the dealers robbed the other. Aaron was pulled out of class months later and charged because one of the dealers claimed Aaron was a big-time drug dealer. No other evidence besides the testimony of the dealer, who benefitted by getting a reduced sentence for his testimony was given. Aaron is spending the rest of his life in prison. (Saunders 2004) The conservative approach to crime, investing in new prisons and jailing our way to a lower crime rate is not working. Now is the time that we realize that this approach is unaffordable and does not decrease the crime rate. Now is the time that different strategies to reduce over crowdedness are looked into. Barbara Flicker argues that a more thorough screening process to determine who to incarcerate or not, needs to be implemented at each stage. The prosecutor, judges, jail administrators, and probation officers should use other resources besides prisons like: unconditional release, third-party custody, a treatment center, bail, probation supervision, electronic surveillance, or work-release programs for non-violent and lesser crimes. Now is time that we stopped punishing all the different types of crimes that are out there by the same method. Many times drug offenders are locked up in the same facilities as pedophiles and are serving more time than them. (1990) (Smolowe and Blackman 1994) The current prison system is in desperate need of change. Prisons are supposed to be a deterrent to crime but this not the outcome. Now is the time that people realize that what goes on in prison affects everyone in society. About 95% of prisoners will be released back into society at one point. We need to ask ourselves, â€Å"Do we want these people released back into our communities without any kind of rehabilitation or worse off than they started out? Are people being sentenced to life for committing a misdemeanor fair? Is it right to deprive money from schools and the community to finance a system that does not work? † If your answer to these questions is no, then now is the time for action. Discussing the situation is the first step. Many people openly discuss the school system and other facilities that our tax dollars contribute to, and overlook the prison system which takes much more money to run. Many people are unaware of the overcrowded conditions or mandatory sentencing until someone they care about is affected. People need to be made aware in order for change to happen. Read about outrageous prison sentences like Aaron Clarence’s that have been handed out. Write to a local politician explaining concerns about the problems in our current prison system. If nothing is done, and this lock-them-up trend continues, half the adult population will experience the inside of a prison or jail. (Will 1998) Reference Page Clark, C. S. (1994, February 4). Prison Overcrowding. CQ Researcher, 4, 97-120. Retrieved March 6, 2009 From CQ Researcher Online Flicker, B. (1990 February). To Jail or Not to Jail. ABA Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2009. From Business Source Campus Database. Haney, Craig. Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional Reactions. Retrieved February 13, 2009. From http://prisoncommission. org/statement/haney. craig. pdf. Rising prison problems begin to trickle into society. (nid) USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2009. From Master FILE Premier Database Smolowe, J. , & Blackman, A. (1994 February 7)†¦and throw away the key. (cover story). Time. 143(6). 54. Retrieved February 13, 2009. From Master FILE Premier Database. Saunders, D. (2004 November 28) Free Clarence Aaron. The San Francisco Chronicle (CA) retrieved March 5, 2008 from http://www. ovember. org/Blakely/Saunders11-28- 04. html. Will G. (1998 July 20) A jail break for geriatrics. Newsweek p. 70. Retrieved February 13, 2009. From Master FILE Premier Database. Peer Review Checklist* What is the main point of this paper? | The main point of the paper is the overcrowding of the prison system. | What is the greatest strength of this paper? | The greatest strength of t his paper is all the information provided. The statistics give the reader a chance to actually absorb numbers. | What material does not seem to fit the main point of the paper or does not seem to be appropriate for the audience? I think that all the information fit well into the paper. The statistics were there to represent the prisoners; you provided detailed information on what all the overcrowding did to the staff and others in the prison. You showed cause and affect of what the overcrowding did to the prison system. | Has the author sufficiently addressed counterarguments? Explain your answer. | I think the author sufficiently addressed the counterarguments represented in the paper. I would of like to of seen if there was any suggestions to fixing the problem though. | Where should the author add more details or examples? Explain your answer. | Suggestions on what they could do to fix the problem. Also a few updated statistics. The statistic from 1992 is little old. I would of liked to know if the prisoners are more alliterate now or then. | Where is the writing unclear or vague? | I found the writing to be clear. I did not find it unclear or vague. | What is your favorite part of this piece of writing? | I enjoyed the whole paper. I did not find myself liking one part better than the other. I enjoyed the whole paper. | What other comments can you provide for the author? I found the paper extremely informative. There was a large amount of information that I was not aware of. I would have to suggest that some of the paragraphs like the opener seem to be really long and there is a lot of information in them. I think if you broke them into smaller paragraphs it would make the information stronger for the reader. | *Adapted from Reinking, J. A. , Hart, A. W. , & Von der Osten, R. (2003). Strategies for su ccessful writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook (6th ed. ). Boston: Prentice-Hall/Pearson Custom Publishing.