Thursday, November 28, 2019

An introduction to social psychology Essays - Psychology, Behavior

An introduction to social psychology Why do people do what they do? Why do they do things that don't seem to make sense? Why do people change what they do depending on social context? How do social arrangements influence judgment and decision-making? How does risk make sense? These are the questions that preoccupy the social psychology of risk. Social psychology is the study of human social behavior, with an emphasis on how people think towards each other and how they relate to each other under the influence of social arrangements. As the mind is the axis around which social behavior pivots, social psychologists tend to study the relationship between the human mind(s) and social behaviors. Social psychology is the study of how people's thoughts, feelings, values, decisions, judgments and behaviors can be influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presenceof others. The growth in interest in social psychology accelerated after the Second World War. Some of the most well-known research in Social Psychology include: Herbert Simon on Bounded Rationality (1947) Solomon Asch on Groupthink (1951) Muzafer Sherif In-Group/Out-Groupness (1954) Leon Festinger on Cognitive Dissonance (1956) Stanley Milgram Obedience to Authority (1961) Alber Bandura on Social Learning (1961) Darley and Latane on the Bystander Effect (1964-68) Philip Zimbardo on Evil and Power (1971). The social psychology of risk The social psychology of risk is the application of the principles of social psychology to risk. The foundation of this discipline was established in Australia by Dr Robert Long (2012, 2013, 2014, 2014a) and emerged out of his postgraduate studies in fundamentalism and occupational health and safety. Social psychology of risk is interested in how social arrangements affect decision-making and judgment's in risk. What this means is that all social relationships, social settings, discourse and organizing affect human judgment and decision-making in risk. Long suggests that without a social psychological understanding of risk, people will be less risk intelligent, more visually and spatially illiterate, and less able to make sense of risk. The nature of risk All risk involves a degree of uncertainty and subjective attribution. Risk, according to Standards Australia (AS/NZS ISO 31000, 2009), is the effect of uncertainty on objectives'. In early times risk was most associated with understanding and predicting the weather, navigation and primitive notions of insurance. Whilst we have moved on' from these associations, unfortunately we have been strongly influenced by reductionism, what is commonly known as the Newtownian/Cartesian worldview. Risk is not objective - rather, the perception, amplification, attenuation and attribution of risk are conditioned by social psychological factors. Slovic (2000, 2010) has shown that perception of risk varies according to life experience, cognitive bias, heuristics, memory, visual and special literacy, expertise, attribution, framing, priming and anchoring. In other words, risk is a human constructed sense of meaning associated with uncertainty, probability and context. For example,one person's risk is another person's opportunity. When reading through the many resources and programs about risk, one could be forgiven for thinking that compliance would be much easier if it didn't involve people. I often get amused by approaches to risk that spend most of the time focusing on objects, as if judgments made around those objects are irrelevant. It is as if the object itself is value laden and dangerous. The fixation on objects I recently did some work for a mining organization who asked for help in developing a more mature approach to leadership in risk at work. I looked through the tools they were using to think about risk and everything in their checklists involved the observation of objects. Looking out for things' is of limited value if one can't imagine or focus on how humans respond to each other and those objects in that environment. Social arrangements give us meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Social arrangements also determine the way we make decisions and judgment's. Risk is not an engineering problem but a social psychological problem. An engineering approach to risk tends to have its training and focus on objects. Whilst it is great to observe what engineers think and construct, it is not the core focus of that discipline to understand human organizing, collective mindfulness and he collective unconscious in response to objects. The social psychology of risk helps us understand the following questions: Why do humans not obey procedures? Why are people non-compliant? How is human perception limited? Why

Sunday, November 24, 2019

3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure

3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure 3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure 3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure By Mark Nichol In each of the sentences below, an action or result is described in comparison or contrast to another, but the phrasing that expresses the parallel between the two phenomena is faulty. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and revisions illustrate solutions. 1. The statue was vandalized in a similar fashion as another statue in Monterey last year. The middle portion of this sentence presents a flawed comparison- â€Å"similar . . . as† is not valid phrasing; to repair the damage, relocate fashion so that it precedes similar and proceed to thoroughly express the comparison: â€Å"The statue was vandalized in a fashion similar to that of another act of vandalization in Monterey last year.† (Alternatively, rephrase as follows: â€Å"The damage was similar to that which occurred in another act of vandalization in Monterey last year.†) 2. U.S. federal regulators are increasingly issuing and enforcing rules in ways that differ from other countries. Here, issuance and enforcement of rules in one nation is compared to other nations themselves rather than to these processes as they occur in other nations; the statement should be reworded to indicate this additional layer of detail: â€Å"U.S. federal regulators are increasingly issuing and enforcing rules in ways that differ from approaches in other countries.† 3. Referring to the United States, his country’s treaty ally but which has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments. In this sentence, the phrase â€Å"one that† better corresponds with the phrase that precedes but than the pronoun which: â€Å"Referring to the United States, his country’s treaty ally but one that has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments.† For a more closely parallel counterpoint, retain which but apply it to the corresponding phrase as well: â€Å"Referring to the United States, which is his country’s treaty ally but which has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs Enquire50 Idioms About Roads and PathsHow Do You Fare?

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Assessment and treatment options for substance abuse and dependence Essay

Assessment and treatment options for substance abuse and dependence clients - Essay Example Alcohol and chemical abuse, for example, have been estimated to co-occur in one third of the psychiatric disturbances presented in therapy (Doweiko, 2006). Doweiko cautioned that mental health practitioners need to be cognizant of individuals presenting with concurrent diagnoses. Students do experience crises in their lives and the extent to which they seek counseling services will be determined by their knowledge of the existence and purpose of such services, their belief in the competence of such services, and their assurance of mutual confidentiality. Such efforts are possible only through extensive outreach and public relations activities and programs, and through counselors' reputation of being concerned, effective professionals. There appears to be less stigma attached to counseling now than has been the case in past decades. The shift from traditional to modern culture may be seen as one reason for this change (Axelson, 1993). Traditional culture (before the Industrial Revolution) emphasized personal direction through collaborative family bonds, whereas modern culture focuses on individual improvement minus family attachment.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Visual Depictions of Bodies in Nazi Ideology Term Paper

Visual Depictions of Bodies in Nazi Ideology - Term Paper Example The physical effects of starvation of the body include body wasting, susceptibility to disease and eventually death. Starvation physically transforms its victims. Jews were the victims of Nazis food policies. If a body is starved, it will compensate for lack of calorie intake by consuming body fat. Bodies experience rapid weight loss where even their clothing becomes too big for their bodies. One of the articles which record the effects of starvation to bodies of the Jews was Oskar Rosenfeld Ghetto diaries. However, a sign of physical transformation of ghetto inhabitants was an advertisement recorded in the chronicle stating, â€Å"Men’s Collars Taken in a barber shop at 13 Lutomierska Street†. In his Ghetto diaries, Rosenfeld further observed that in the beginning, the abdomen gets loose and eventually sags. A description of victims of starvation in the Divine Comedy as quoted by Piero Camporesi in his work Bread of Dreams similarly took note of the sagging, empty stom ach of the starving further observing how on victims of hunger, â€Å"The flesh becomes thin, and remains attached to the bones like a spider-web.† The Nazis were aware of the murderous effects of their food policies, and they allowed those policies to continue, resulting in the mass execution of the Jews in the ghettos. Nazi ideologues including Himmler, food distribution bureaucrats, regular and special police, among others all played a role in implementing the slow process of extermination of the Jewish people through man-made famine.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Redesign an Open-Space Office to Improve Productivity Research Paper - 2

Redesign an Open-Space Office to Improve Productivity - Research Paper Example A study published in the journal of Environment & Behavior recently showed a negative correlation between noise and cognitive performance. This effectively means distractions such as noise which are common in open office settings lead to a reduction in performance of workers. Another negative aspect associated with open office is lack of confidentiality in the work place. This can be evident and prevalent especially if there are customers coming in and requiring discussions involving private information. This can be a real challenge in the setting of an open space office where many workers are working simultaneously and therefore private discussions can’t be achieved effectively. Some customers may also feel uncomfortable discussing their queries in offices where other people are likely to listen to and get to hear their private information intended just for particular officers. A research done at the California University established that over a half of people working in offices are not satisfied with open offices mainly because of the limited amount of privacy. As such the issue of privacy has become a major complaint among office workers subjected to the open plan kind of working

Friday, November 15, 2019

Alternate History In Watchmen

Alternate History In Watchmen The film, Watchmen presents a story within an alternate version of history. How do the filmmakers set out this alternate history, and what messages are the filmmakers trying to portray with the way this alternate history plays itself out as compared to the way our real history has played out? Alternate history has always been an important literary device in the fiction genre. Authors and filmmakers from all over the world use it to enhance their medium. Alan Moores V for Vendetta and Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds are examples of what has come before and now; the Watchmen can be placed in the same class. The definition of an alternative history is: A genre of fiction in which the author speculates on how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had had a different outcome (Collins English Dictionary-2011). Moore did this in V for Vendetta by creating Britain as a fascist Big Brother state in the 1980s that is led to revolution by a masked vigilante. Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds created an alternate history by leading some Jewish soldiers on a Nazi killing spree, including the violent execution of Adolf Hitler. This paper will explore how the filmmakers of the Watchmen set out to plan and create an alternate modern history using real world events. It will also look at the message the filmmakers are trying to portray through this false history rather that of historical reality. To truly answer these questions, first the history and plot of Watchmen must be explained further; then it is necessary to explore critical examples of the alternative history and how they support the plot of the film; and finally, reviewing the production elements and screenplay which brought this alternative history to life on screen. Watchmen takes place in an alternate history of 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and features the Doomsday Clock charting the USAs tension with the Soviet Union and predicts how far the human race is away from nuclear holocaust, which is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. The story starts when a character named The Comedian is assassinated by being thrown out of his apartment window. One of the characters, Rorschach, sets out to discover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting support group, The Watchmen a not so super group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers, Doctor Manhattan Rorschach finds a wide-ranging and truly disturbing conspiracy theory with links to all of their past and terrible consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity and protect it from its self-destructing behavior. The film is a adaptation of the twelve part comic book series (1986-1987) written by Alan Moore. The comic has left a huge legacy that Moore could never imagine. Watchmen was the only graphic novel to appear on Times 2005 All-TIME 100 Greatest Novels list. Watchmen is a 2009 Hollywood comic book film directed by Zack Snyder and the screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse. On March the 6, 2009 the film was released. In its opening weekend in America alone the film grossed $55,214,334 million dollars, and a further  £3,243,001 here in the United Kingdom (IMDB, 2011). It unfortunately came out to mixed reviews and a short cinema run. Many film magazines could not quite make up their minds whether they liked it or not. The Wall-Street Journal described the Watchmen film as, the spiritual equivalent of being whacked on the skull for 163 minutes. The reverence is inert, the violence noxious, the mythology murky, the tone grandiose, the texture glutinous. (Joe Morgenstern, 2009) The filmmakers showed this alternate version of history through many different means. One scene in the film where this is most evident is the opening title sequence. The sequence uses a time-line of popular historical events from the 1930s to 1985 where the story begins. This scene is where the audience is first exposed to the alternate historical world of the Watchmen. In the Watchmen Film Companion, director, Zack Snyder said, Storyboards where essential to helping the crew create the world of the Watchmen (Snyder, 2009). This was made up of vignettes not touched upon often in the graphic novel or created for the film. The sequence of historical events was designed to make the audience re-imagine the past and to get them to see the world through what Snyder calls a Watchmen lens. Zacks title treatment very cleverly brings a lot of the books texture of the film, while also providing the audience with an opportunity to get up to speed with the world of Watchmen.'(Loyd Levin, 2009) Another article in The Watchmen Film Companion described the title sequence as a research project. A section of the scene consists of recreating the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The alternate version of history here is that the character The Comedian rather than Lee Harvey Oswald shoots Kennedy. Snyder and Hayter sifted through many conspiracy theory web sites and hundreds of historical and political documents from the JFK Records act of 1992 to study the fine detail of the day; Such as the positions of the motorcade (Snyder, 2009). This allowed Snyder and his team to effectively plan a believable alternative to the known history of the Kennedy assassination. They did this in order to present us with a statement about growing corruption within the USA government especially the military branch. This has connections to the story because The Comedian was hired after the assassination to intervene with Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam and carry out Black-Ops missions by order of Richard Nix on. The next example in the title sequence of the Watchmen alternate history they set out in the film is a change to the famous Times Square Kiss photo. Instead of the historically correct photograph of the sailor kissing the female nurse in Times Square, we see a superhero from the novel called Silhouette, who walks up and kisses the nurse. This of course would not happen in the nineteen-forties. This is because homosexuality was reviled and not accepted in public places. Also at this time homosexuality was illegal in America. After watching the title sequence the audience is well acquainted with the Watchmen world, therefore making it one of the most important scenes in the whole film. The scene effectively and concisely brings us up to date with all the important events in the Watchmen universe. One of the differences between reality and the films is comic books compared to our comic books. In our reality our comic books have always been mainly themed with superheroes, where as in the Watchmen reality their comic books are themed with pirates as the heroes. We have always been used to superheroes in our comic books because they let us escape into a fictional version of our daily lives. In the film superheroes are already a well-integrated part in society within the Watchmen universe. So in the graphic novel and the directors cut of Watchmen there is a comic within the comic called Tales of The Black Freighter. The comic in the film and book is being read by a young teenager boy named Bernard at the New Frontiersman newspaper stall. The story revolves around pirates being the superheroes of the the Watchmen reality. This gives readers and viewers the chance to see another small part of the Watchmen world. Black Freighter as mentioned above is a comic book about pirates but it also serves as a metaphor for war. This is due to the subject matter of being left alone to your own thoughts after being subjected to horrific acts and desperation caused by killing and isolation. There is one principle difference in this area between the film and the graphic novel. In the novel, the dialogue from the newspaper stalls owner, also named Bernard, is a spoken narrative that parallels directly with the written narrative of the Black Freighter, where as the animated Black Freighter film in the directors cut only uses the dialogue from the Black Freighter comic book story line. The filmmakers included this sub plot only into the directors cut because they needed to cut down on the running time for the theatrical release. Black Freighter was released as a separate DVD a month after the film was released in the United Kingdom. The art department used this comic as a prop to help aid in the scene transitions within the film. Now to look at another reason the alternate history in the Watchmen works so well is because of the production elements in the film. Part of the charm of Watchmen is the detail the novel goes into to create the alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon leads the United States to victory in Vietnam and continues his fascist hold over the White House. The book includes intermittent documents and testimony relating the history of the masked hero movement leading up to the action taking place within the comic frames. There are fictional biographies, scientific records,and photographs. The production designer had this to say, The parallel universe has been set up so beautifully. It really puts the audience square into a new kind of history. By the time you get to the end of it, even reading it on the storyboards, you start questioning, Which part of that was real again? (Alex McDowell, 2009) Luckily, the important attention to detail has not been lost on the art department for Watchmen, like the newsreel video mock-up and, now, images from The New Frontiersman the fictional newspaper of the alternate universe. The filmmakers not only did this for the fans of the comic, but to take that alternate history one step closer to reality. This allows for audiences to be captivated. The filmmakers are trying to prove a point that the world has descended into chaos. They want us to feel connected but yet detached from this odd world. One example the art department used as a focal feature in the film demonstrates this effectively. It is a campaign propaganda poster for Richard Nixons fifth term. The photo of Nixon has devil horns and Mickey Mouse ears drawn on it. Also a small swastika is drawn in on the bottom left hand corner. This type of image when seen by the public can hold strong feelings, as many people still remember Nixon. So it can be unsettling for some people as they are taken into this alternate history. In the book Easily Led: History of Propaganda by Oliver Thomson, he explains that when people add to a propaganda message it then becomes art and the will of the people (Thomson, 1999). This is what the filmmakers set out to do. They wanted us to have a political figure that was disliked and forced from office and easily remembered. It allowed for the filmmakers and art department once again to show the civil unrest and deep changes to history in the story. This is a reflection on our own reality as at the time we had assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan, Soviets shot down a Korean airliner and Reagan also announced a series of defense plans called Star Wars in 1983. All of these real life current events are used to support the movies cold war theme. The role of Richard Nixon is supported by an extremely well crafted screenplay. Screenwriters David Hayter and Alex Tse cleverly blend the real Nixon history with a believable alternative history. In reality the United States of America has a fixed allocation of two terms for their presidents. This provides the country with the ability to never become a dictatorship and to have new governments with new ideas always changing hands. In the world of the Watchmen, however, this is different. In the story, when the United States goes to war with Vietnam, America wins. The government sends over the only superhero with powers, Doctor Manhattan, and to assist him The Comedian. The filmmakers give us strong images of the two characters burning down entire fields and villages. The audience is also told that quickly after Dr. Manhattan becomes involved, the high ranking Vietcong decide to surrender to him in person. We are faced with The Comedian violently killing Vietnamese natives and the mot her of his child for what he describes as the fun of it(Moore, 1986). This allowed the filmmakers to truly change the course of modern history. They tried to tell us that if in fact America had won the war the world might have been worse off than better. One reason for this is because in the alternative history story, Nixon repealed the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, so there is no longer a fixed term on a President after the Vietnam War. This means America has turned into something modeling totalitarian dictatorship. In reality, of course, Nixon is the only American President who was forced to resign the presidency following the Watergate scandal. Nixon was blamed for being a staunch conservative who undermined his advisers on several occasions, such as in 1971 when he started the U.S. War on Drugs and ignoring the Shafer Commission Report in 1972. When Nixon took office he was also disliked by the growing left for escalating the Vietnam war in 1971. The filmmakers do not stop there when it comes to alternate history. They make it so Vietnam becomes the 51st state to join the United States. The filmmakers where trying to convey a message of a country thats becoming power mad. Its almost a metaphor for what if the left wing lost in the 1960s and 1970s. Its as if the filmmakers are trying to put forward a point about our own modern liberal cultures and how we could be making the same mistakes in Iraq war and the war on Afghanistan. Another example of how the screenplay was essential to the telling of the story was because the writers had to complete draft after draft to convince the studio that the original graphic novel of the Watchmen would make a better script.When the studio had me come in to read the screenplay I was shocked. They wanted it done in a modern setting and to have a comment on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I said why? So we met up, tore the thing to shreds and went back to the drawing board.'(Zack Snyder, 2010) This quote is discussing the idea that the studio wanted a modern updated version of the Watchmen, mainly because the audience of 2009 could identify better with the current state of affairs and to take away some of the Cold War apocalyptic tensions from the 1980s. Some studio executives thought this would be a better idea since most of the target audiences for Snyders films wont have been born during the Cold War era. Luckily the film stuck closely with the comic and allowed for the message of the book to be conveyed easily through the movie. The filmmakers are trying to put across the message that no matter who wins or loses the world will always keep changing and war keeps us ripped apart and mentally impoverished. In conclusion as you can see by exploring the history, plot and art department as to how and why the filmmakers set out on creating the alternate history of the Watchmen. It also talked about how the Richard Nixon and the Vietnam war alternate history sent the world into turbulence. Also it discussed the opening title sequence and how it set the historical tone for the whole film. The film itself on a entertainment level is wonderful. But when you sit down and study this amazing film you can not help but be astonished by the amazing level of detail and work that Snyder and his team put into creating the alternate history. These examples have shown that the alternate history in Watchmen is the key to proving the filmmakers point, such as what Quentin Tarantino and Alan Moore achieved through alternate histories. Watchmens creators point was that nothing in the world can ever be safe and no matter what happens human beings are self destructing by nature. Snyder accomplished this message by concentrating on the little things such as alternate branding, propaganda, media and the alteration of major historical events. The alternate historical events help to shape the story and the audiences feelings and the message they conceived the film to be about. The Watchmen film worked because of the level of detail mentioned above. If the film did not have the same care and attention that it did the alternate history would have muddled the plot and many political messages the story is famous for. This film stands alone because nothing has been done like it before thus it stands out from the crowd. The crew set out to make a film that challenged peoples ideas of comic book films and to tell a narrative of, what if? Despite differing opinions and little critical acclaim, the crew created a story from alternate history successfully and still managed to get their point across, something that has been lacking from most modern Hollywood comic book blockbusters.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

George of the Jungle :: Art

George of the Jungle The film â€Å"George of the Jungle†, directed by Sam Weisman is a romantic comedy and parody. In other words, it fully rips off Tarzan and makes a classic story seem stupid. In the beginning of the film the audience is shown a short cartoon about how George came to be in the jungle. When he was a baby George was flying over the jungle in a plane when it crashed. The passengers never found him and so apes raised him. Then the scene it cut to the present when a woman called Ursula came to the jungle as a tourist. She meets her materialist fiance Lyle Vanderbrute unexpectedly who wants to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. Lyle drags Ursula to see the apes but then a lion traps them. This is when George appears and saves Ursula by owning the lion in wrestling. Then George carries her off, takes care of her and goes back to the city with her. Then George’s friend, an educated ape, is kidnapped by poachers and George races back to save him. Ursula realises she loves George and goes after George, helps him bash the poachers and lives with him happily ever after in the jungle. This film is extremely good, if the audience were three–year–olds. It has an extraordinarily shallow and predictable plot and the gags and jokes are simply not funny. The actions of the characters are overtly exaggerated and very unrealistic. And the depth of the characters is about that of paper cuttings. This movie is designed to be viewed by people with the IQ of under fifty points. And frankly, I feel insulted at being made to watch this poor excuse of a study subject. There are, however, silly moments in the film. Like when we see a picture of a powerful, godlike human swinging through the jungle. The narrator has built up our expectation of greatness then, suddenly. The â€Å"hero† slams into a tree. This provides the audience with a laugh – the first time, but then, as if the scriptwriter ran out of ideas, they keep doing it again and again and again†¦ I was trying not to chuck things at the television and video recorder after the fifth time. I mean, its good making the viewers laugh – it’s a comedy, after all. But if I could I would slap the film crew each around the face and say: â€Å"Look people, if you can’t think of more than one gag for a comedy, try doing a serious film instead embarrassing yourselves in front of millions of people and corrupting their minds!† George of the Jungle :: Art George of the Jungle The film â€Å"George of the Jungle†, directed by Sam Weisman is a romantic comedy and parody. In other words, it fully rips off Tarzan and makes a classic story seem stupid. In the beginning of the film the audience is shown a short cartoon about how George came to be in the jungle. When he was a baby George was flying over the jungle in a plane when it crashed. The passengers never found him and so apes raised him. Then the scene it cut to the present when a woman called Ursula came to the jungle as a tourist. She meets her materialist fiance Lyle Vanderbrute unexpectedly who wants to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. Lyle drags Ursula to see the apes but then a lion traps them. This is when George appears and saves Ursula by owning the lion in wrestling. Then George carries her off, takes care of her and goes back to the city with her. Then George’s friend, an educated ape, is kidnapped by poachers and George races back to save him. Ursula realises she loves George and goes after George, helps him bash the poachers and lives with him happily ever after in the jungle. This film is extremely good, if the audience were three–year–olds. It has an extraordinarily shallow and predictable plot and the gags and jokes are simply not funny. The actions of the characters are overtly exaggerated and very unrealistic. And the depth of the characters is about that of paper cuttings. This movie is designed to be viewed by people with the IQ of under fifty points. And frankly, I feel insulted at being made to watch this poor excuse of a study subject. There are, however, silly moments in the film. Like when we see a picture of a powerful, godlike human swinging through the jungle. The narrator has built up our expectation of greatness then, suddenly. The â€Å"hero† slams into a tree. This provides the audience with a laugh – the first time, but then, as if the scriptwriter ran out of ideas, they keep doing it again and again and again†¦ I was trying not to chuck things at the television and video recorder after the fifth time. I mean, its good making the viewers laugh – it’s a comedy, after all. But if I could I would slap the film crew each around the face and say: â€Å"Look people, if you can’t think of more than one gag for a comedy, try doing a serious film instead embarrassing yourselves in front of millions of people and corrupting their minds!†

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Stereotypes: Perception and Globally Connected World

Persuasive Essay: Stereotypes exist because they are grounded in truth The term stereotype has been derived from the Greek words â€Å"stereos† and â€Å"typos† meaning solid and impression respectively. Hence stereotype means â€Å"solid impression† (Henry George). Nowadays this term refers to generalizations or assumptions that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group based on an image of what people in that group are like. For example, black people are considered stronger than white people, Americans are considered friendly, tolerant but arrogant. Clearly these are assumptions and generalizations which are not applicable to everyone. If we just assume what a person is like and don’t judge them individually we are likely to make errors in estimating their characters (Stereotypes). There has been a lot of debate on this topic that stereotypes exist because they are grounded in truth. Although supporters of this view base their argument on the inherent nature of the people and how these stereotypes didn’t just come out of nowhere they fail to take into account the other side. Media, educational institutes and science can show why such stereotypes exist and that they are not based on truth. One of the dominant reasons of majority’s belief in stereotypes is the existence of an influential media that shapes the perceptions of this globally connected world. It indoctrinates the dominant views of the society into the minds of people. An example would be the Muslims image as seen in the west today. This stereotype regarding this that all Muslims are terrorists became prevalent in the west after the 9/11 incident and the media is directly responsible for this. After this incident a number of movies have been made which portrayed Muslims as terrorists and considering the amount of people who watch these movies, it becomes evident that such a stereotype is likely to be engrained in their minds. Besides, there are several other stereotypes promoted by media which have plagued the human society. Cartoon movies thoroughly enjoyed by children are full of stereotypes. For example the movie Cinderella reinforces the evil character of stepmother as is generally perceived. In Lady and the tramp, Siamese cats negatively portray Asians with heavy voices and odd accents, Arabs are shown as thieves and bad people as in the famous movie Aladdin

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Title VII †History And Impact

on that day in Philadelphia in July of 1776. This is a simple phrase that should be an easy mantra to live by, yet some 229 years later the debate on this very concept continues. Irreversibly set in motion by years of struggles that have gone on since the end of slavery, federal protections of minorities and women have galvanized the nation. From the Civil Rights Act of 1866, to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, equality for all men and women has created opportunities for many to live the American dream. This essay reviews the history of Title VII, its evolution and impact on the American workplace, describes who is covered by these protections, and briefly reviews what policies companies should avoid in doing business. History and evolution of Title VII Title VII was preceded by the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Title VII was part of the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. This act applies to all employees and potential employees. These laws came about mainly to stop discrimination against black people in America. The protections for women were added at the end in an effort to keep the bill from passing, but this [no comma before "but" the following is not a stand-alone clause] strategy backfired and the entire bill became law. Since Title VII was passed, other laws have followed to protect more employees including the disabled. The laws protect employees, but do not cover independent contractors. Title VII is the only act whereby a citizen can file a charge and have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handle the case free of charge. A plaintiff can sue for compensatory damages, where the compensation is based upon what the employee lost due to the discrimination. There are also punitive damages, where the emp loyer is punished for the discrimination (Employment Law, 2003). Title VII affects companies that have 15 or more employees. T... Free Essays on Title VII – History And Impact Free Essays on Title VII – History And Impact â€Å"All men are created equal.† Thomas Jefferson wrote these words on that day in Philadelphia in July of 1776. This is a simple phrase that should be an easy mantra to live by, yet some 229 years later the debate on this very concept continues. Irreversibly set in motion by years of struggles that have gone on since the end of slavery, federal protections of minorities and women have galvanized the nation. From the Civil Rights Act of 1866, to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, equality for all men and women has created opportunities for many to live the American dream. This essay reviews the history of Title VII, its evolution and impact on the American workplace, describes who is covered by these protections, and briefly reviews what policies companies should avoid in doing business. History and evolution of Title VII Title VII was preceded by the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Title VII was part of the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. This act applies to all employees and potential employees. These laws came about mainly to stop discrimination against black people in America. The protections for women were added at the end in an effort to keep the bill from passing, but this [no comma before "but" the following is not a stand-alone clause] strategy backfired and the entire bill became law. Since Title VII was passed, other laws have followed to protect more employees including the disabled. The laws protect employees, but do not cover independent contractors. Title VII is the only act whereby a citizen can file a charge and have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handle the case free of charge. A plaintiff can sue for compensatory damages, where the compensation is based upon what the employee lost due to the discrimination. There are also punitive damages, where the emp loyer is punished for the discrimination (Employment Law, 2003). Title VII affects companies that have 15 or more employees. T...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Analysis of Advertisements in Magazines

Analysis of Advertisements in Magazines Introduction Advertisement forms have changed over the years with each period suited to fit the target audience. Technological developments in print have improved the quality of magazine advertisements and increased target audience market coverage.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Advertisements in Magazines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although technological improvements with online versions of magazines have improved, the print version has maintained a significant market share and demand. Magazines have narrowed their target audience with considerations such as gender, race, age, education levels among others which however do not prohibit those not targeted from accessing the magazines. The advertisements in the magazines, articles discussed, and cover pages fit the magazines’ target audience. Magazine publications have a rich history of fashion, beauty, celebrity, recipes among other topical issues in the generation of the target audience. Women have many issues surrounding them and hence women magazines have existed over the years. Since these magazines have existed over several decades, it is important to analyze them with comparisons between the times in terms of objectives, changes and differences, target audience, messages and images covered. Analysis of Magazine Advertisements The women magazines in the market all are different in their target audience though covering similar issues. The years of origin, background and purposes also differ and change over time to accommodate generational changes (Hough-Yates 112). This analysis shall focus on Shape magazine, Marie Claire magazine and New Idea magazine. Shape Magazine Just as the name suggests, Shape Magazine is a women magazine that focuses on their fitness to attain the shape presumed to be preferable for the period of discussion. It is written in English language and its origin dates back to 1981 by Weider publi cations. This analysis shall involve the years 1983 and 2010 for Shape Magazine. Shape Magazine in 1983 Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The 1980s decade was characterized by a pop culture and music which influenced the dancing style of the time. It is during this period that the concept of aerobics was introduced from the dance halls to the gym. Health fitness of the time was based on keeping fit. Gyms were beginning to increase though not as much. Celebrity fitness formed the basis of fitness magazine advertisements. Shape magazine in 1983 targeted women of all years into fitness though it did not have age-specific articles. The products advertised at the time were mainly swim suits, fitness and gym wears. The magazine did not emphasize on diet though dietary articles were present. The messages were based on maintenance of fit bodies, encouragement of aerobics, and use of celebrity fitness to influence women into fitness programs. The images mainly included women in swim suits to reveal the shapely bodies with the focus of celebrities of the time (Gough-Yates 208). Shape Magazine in 2010 The fitness culture increased in the 2010 period with issues of weight loss, style and beauty, health and increase dietary consciousness. Shape magazine still targets women in the 2010 year with its base on their fitness and has a sexual appeal, which is, encouraging fitness as a way of being sexy. The implicit messages in the magazine do provide direct and increased scope coverage of fitness issues. It allows the responses of the audience and then carries out research on such issues and publishes them. Fitness for shape magazines are based more on losing weight as a way of being fit and sexy such as obtaining a flat stomach, increased advice on healthy eating and dieting, increased coverage of women celebrities work outs, lifestyles and advice, different article s on losing of weight and how to attain a perfect shape faster, videos on work outs and other beauty and style issues.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Advertisements in Magazines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The products advertised in Shape magazine are very many and fall into the category of the article discussed including fitness gadgets, dietary books, work out programs, beauty products, dieting products, slimming products, weight management mechanisms and evaluation products among others. The images are more on expert advice on weight related issues; they include celebrities and have a sexual appeal added to them. Shape magazine is similar to that of 1983 in the target audience, images especially cover images with swim suits although those of 1983 emphasize on the sexual appeal and include more celebrities. Shape magazine in 2010 further increases the scope of fitness coverage, increases articles on diet and health as well as emphasizes on weight loss. Marie Claire Magazine This is a fashion magazine that dates back to 1937, written in the English language and dominated more in the US, Australia and UK and in other languages for other nations though it was published earlier in France. The target audience of the magazine is specific to the country with that of US targeting women in the world. The magazine from its origin has been addressing issues in the world affecting women with information on beauty, fashion and health. The magazine has maintained the objective of providing its readers with information substantial enough on the changing and new looks and the fashionable styles of the time. This analysis shall compare 1930s and 2008. Marie Claire Magazine in 1938 The magazine was issued on a weekly basis in France and based its topics affecting the women with the target on the middle class women. The issues included the discrimination of women, how to be home keepers, and the social environment since women were expected to be conservative and feminine taking their place in the home (Gough- Yates, 157). Divorce was prohibited at the time and issues could not be openly discussed.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More During this time, the images were of the fashionable hats and were captured to show only that with the concept of beauty being confined, conservative and more on the hair styles. The magazine included the trends of fashion based on women of high class such as the queen. The products advertised were not much and included the same hats, hair beauty and beauty products especially the lipsticks while the distributing systems were minimal. Marie Claire in 2008 The magazine is published on a monthly basis and the theme issues addressed target the ordinary woman. The magazine provides up to date information on fashion with changes in fashion trends. Unlike in the 1930s, the fashion trends represented change within short time with the introduction of fashion themes in the earlier years. The issues discussed in the magazine are more liberal and range from health, family matters, marriage, celebrity styles, fitness, health, beauty and other concerns such as legal matters, financial issues, relationships and careers among others (Gauntlett 314). The images are of high quality and represent the modern woman permeating to all ages capturing all fashion trends in sports wear, make up, clothes for different occasions including fashion during pregnancy, work, party among others, celebrity styles, hair styles and fashion expert advice services. Other than fashion, the magazine is inclined to women beauty, fitness and health. The magazines carries forth massive advertisements touching on the issues discussed such clothes, beauty products, hair products, services, health matters, fitness and fitness products, family related products, tours and travel advertisements, fashion stores among others. The stories represent issues faced by women with emphasis on confidence and justice and more inclination to providing celebrity styles (Gough-Yates 134). New Idea Magazine This is a weekly published magazine in Australia targeting the women. It dates back to 1902 with coverage of issues and news around and affecting celebrities, recipes and competitions. This analysis shall focus on 1982 and 2010. New Idea Magazine in 1982 In this period, the magazine focused on issues surrounding celebrities, fashion and beauty trend with emphasis on celebrities’ lifestyles, cooking recipes of the time, health issues, art work and competitions. The products were mainly representing the items used by celebrities of the times and of high costs and quality. The images used were mainly of people of high profile and fitted into the high quality of the times (Gauntlett 217). New Idea Magazine in 2010 The magazine is still published weekly in Australia with the target still being women. The magazine mainly covers celebrity stories, events and lifestyles, topical issues, cooking recipes of the modern times and still includes competitions and special offers. The magazine is closely related to that at the 1980s only the application to the times differs and the wider coverage where the audience are able to provide their comments on the blog through electronic media. Conclusion The target audience for the magazines discussed has not really changed over the time. The magazines however such as Mari Claire has increased its content scope in fashion with more liberalism, the Shape magazine has maintained its focus but increased coverage with more emphasis on diet and weight loss and focus on the body shape. The new idea magazine has not differed from its earlier publications both in content or coverage but just in use of electronic media. The relevance of the women magazines has proved to thus permeate and maintain relevance with applications to the trends in the times. Gauntlett, David. Media, gender and Identity: An introduction. London: Routledge Publications, 2008. Gough-Yates, Anna. Understanding Women’s Magazines. London: Routledge Publications, 2002.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Disorders of Red Cells Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Disorders of Red Cells - Case Study Example It is quite clear that the patient is anemic. Usual signs and symptoms of anemia are lower hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, and reduced blood cell count causing fatigue, shortness of breath, hypotension, dizziness, headaches, and irritability. The condition eventually leads to tachycardia (the heart rate exceeding normal range) and tachypnea (breathing rate over 20) in due course of time. The hematocrit indicates about the volume of red blood cells in proportion to the total blood volume (total of plasma and red blood cells) and for women, it has to be between 36 and 48% (Eckman, 2013). The laboratory reading of the patients hematocrit has been shown 32% that is certainly less than the normal level. Moreover, the patients blood smear test reveals microcytic and hypochromic cells in her blood. This gives an indication of Microcytic Hypochromic Anemia in the patient. Usually, iron deficiency is the cause of hypochromic microcytic anemia. Microcytic Hypochromic anemia results when "a r educed amount of iron is delivered to the marrow erythroid precursors" (Eckman, 2013). Usually, efficient recycling of iron or a good balance maintained between losses and absorption keeps iron deficiency in control. It is estimated that a menstruating female loses approximately 2.0 mg of iron per day (Eckman, 2013). Ms. A’s age is 26 years and being in menstruating age, her iron losses are likely to be around 2.0 mg of iron per day. Her intake of iron appears to be not adequate enough to maintain losses or otherwise, the underlying cause of low hemoglobin lies somewhere else. Ms. As reticulocyte count (immature blood cells) makes up a higher percentage of the blood count and that appears to be due to low hemoglobin in red blood cells. A reticulocyte count is a blood test that reveals how fast bone marrow makes and releases red blood cells into the  blood.  

Friday, November 1, 2019

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Paper Essay

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Paper - Essay Example The audit opinion resulting from verification of financial statements provides a reasonable assurance that the statements give a true and fair value in accordance with the frameworks of financial reporting; therefore, Mobitech Accessories Ltd. does not expect auditors to produce absolute assurance by detecting all aspects of errors and fraud. Types of audits that organizations can perform include statutory, internal, external, and compulsory audits. Various standards, Acts, and boards have been initiated to guide the auditing function. Generally Accepted Auditing Standards provides a basis for performing and judging the quality of audits (Catty, 2012). The general requirements of GAAS include maintenance of independence in audit matters, adequate technical training, and proficiency for audit performance, and exercising professional care during audit performance and report preparation. Mobitech Accessories Ltd enables auditors to obtain sufficient understanding of the enterprise and allows auditors to access sufficient evidence by performing audit procedures in accordance with GAAS. GAAS also require the auditor to express an opinion regarding the financial statements; an opinion can be qualified, unqualified or disclaimer (Huault & Richard, 2012). Mobitech Accessories Ltd auditors usually state reasons in the report where they cannot express an overall opinion. GAAS provide assumptions, principles, and constraints to achieve basic objectives and implement fundamental qualities (Huault & Richard, 2012). The accounting entity assumption assumes that the business entity is a being and separate and distinct from its owners and managers. The going concern assumption assumes that the business will remain in operation indefinitely. The historical cost principle requires companies to report their liabilities and assets based on costs of acquisition rather than fair market value. The principle of revenue