Franklin roosevelt was NOT a good president Essay

Franklin roosevelt was NOT a good president - Essay Example y through the tough times, and probably set the USA on the path of global prominence and almost predominance in foreign affairs, through guiding it to defeat the fascist Germany, Japan and Italy as he main dominant powers of the early 20th century (Miller Center, n.p.). Nevertheless, Franklin Roosevelt was not a president without his own faults, and for this reason, he has been regarded as one of the failing presidents in the history of the USA presidents. Despite his popularity and fame as a president, Franklin Roosevelt did not do any good in respecting the constitution or democracy, but sought to weaken the opposition by the Republicans through trying to strengthen the Democratic Party by all means, so it could remain the permanent majority party in the USA (Garraty, 907). In addition, his policies for the Great Depression are still questionable as to whether they helped end it or they in fact prolonged it unnecessarily. Thus, regardless of his ability to give hope to a very depre ssed and demoralized nation when he took over as the president in 1932, Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency was not a good. First, President Franklin Roosevelt could circumvent the constitution in order to suit his interests, regardless of the costs such actions could bring to the nation. Thus, after the Bureau of the Budget was established in 1921 to constitutionally control the budget of all government departments, President Franklin Roosevelt found it a useful tool that he would use to cultivate his interests in order to achieve his New Deal program (Powell, 72). Consequently, despite the fact that the bureau had been established under treasury, he took the liberty offered in law to appoint 6 more staff to the bureau, so that he could have a controlling power in its budgeting functions (Billington, 42). Thus, through the support of his appointees to the bureau, Franklin Roosevelt was able to reduce funding to other departments of the governments that he found necessary, so that he

Econometrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Econometrics - Essay Example d) Assume that you run a regression with 223 observations. The dependent variable is ‘annual salary’ and there are 3 independent variables ‘work experience in years’, ‘education duration in years’ and ‘number of employees in company’. The regression yields following result for the variable ‘number of employees in company’: e) A researcher wants to find out whether age has an effect on how happy people are. The researcher runs a regression with the dependent variable ‘happiness score’ (0 to 10 with 10 being extremely satisfied) and the independent variable ‘age’ (in years). The modelling results show that age is not significant. You also have a look at the residual plot (shown below). Please explain why the residual plot indicates that the regression generated by the researcher is misleading. Discuss what relationship you expect between age and happiness. Outline how you could work this into the initial regression model and hence, improve it (10 marks). From the analysis of the residual below it can be observed that the residua are symmetrical. The residual also have constant variance. This means that the assumption of constant variance is fulfilled. We therefore expect a significant relationship between the age and happiness. To improve the initial regression model, we would ensure that other variables that influence the happiness are introduced into the regression model. f) You want to know whether people with higher incomes are happier. Your friend has run a survey in their company and run a regression on the data. The dependent variable is ‘happiness score’ (0 to 10 with 10 being extremely satisfied). There is only one independent variable: ‘monthly income’ (in  £). Your friend sends you the gretl output of the regression via email. Unfortunately, the file got corrupted and only the critical F-value is legible (see below). Using this output, show that ‘monthly income’ is indeed highly significant (provide

Animal Testing Essay Example for Free

Animal Testing Essay Abdulrahman.Bahjat AUIS August 5, 2013 We are at war, and we will do what we need to win (joey-gruber.tripod). There is much debate over whether animal testing should be allowed or not. Some people think that it is not essential to sacrifice animals for human benefit because they are being abused and tortured severely during experiments. Those People who stand against animal testing claim that humans eliminate many lives on Earth in order to safe humans lives, So there is no justice because even animals have the right to live on earth, yet these people do not consider the truth that animals are being used in the food industry. Many organizations such as (PETA), which is the biggest organization against animal testing, think that animal testing is one of the most disturbing experiments ever, and it should be banned. However, these organizations absolutely do not look at the big picture because animal testing uses only common pests to test on, improves health and medicine, and ensures the safety of cosmetic products for the human use. Many organizations claim that animal testing reduces animals numbers and lead them to face extinction. In addition, these people say that through animal testing humans destroy the lives of many organisms. However, researchers use only pests in their experiments to test on. Animal testing gives humans more benefit by decreasing the pests to humans. 60% of all animals are mice and 20% are rats and guinea pigs and rabbits are 10% all together(PETA). This claim comes from an organization which is surprisingly stands against animal testing. The statistic above shows that animal testing does not damage animals on our planet. Many diseases are being transmitted to humans by these pests like rats. One of the most historically dangerous rat-borne diseases is the bubonic plague, also called â€Å"Black Plague,† and its variants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. fleas transported on rats are considered responsible for this plague during the Middle Ages, which killed millions(Orkin). It is really obvious that many people know what happened during the Middle Ages when Black Plague spread over London. It was one of the historical diseases that killed thousands of people, so we can avoid such these devastating diseases by reducing rats numbers simultaneously with getting benefit to our race. Many people think that animal testing does not  improve human health and medicine, and it is only used to develop silly things, such as toiletries. Also, those people think that humans cannot ensure the safety of drugs through animal testing because they say that humans do not have completely similar body to animals. However, those people do not know the fact that is the major pro for animal testing is helping researchers in creating drugs and treatments to improve human health and medicine. Animal testing is very essential to many scientific communities. In fact, there are many people who stand against animal testing for cosmetic products, but still support animal testing for medicine function. Many medical treatments, especially for cancer and HIV drugs are being found through animal testing (About Animal Testing). These diseases that I listed above are the most severe diseases that humans ever known because they have been suffered from, but through animal testing scientists are making great progress to figure out drugs that can end the tragedy of these diseases. Animal testing helps to ensure the safety of drugs and many other substances humans (About Animal Testing). Basically, drugs can carry a great danger to humans if they are used without any assurance of its safety. This means that through animal testing we can prevent the potential danger of drugs simultaneously with saving many human lives. Furthermore, some people think that we cannot ensure the safety of cosmetic products for human uses because humans and animals do not have completely similarities outside structure between them which may lead to many mistakes after using these products. However, those people do not look at the details which are the ones that matter. When scientists use animals to test on, they really do not care about the external structure, but they really care about the common organs and physical traits. Through animal testing we can test even the first toilet paper in order to know whether these products are safe for human use. Researchers often work with animal models that have biological systems similar to that of a human(Amprogress). This is why scientists use animals as models to test on because the common similarities that humans and animals have. It is really an inevitable fact that even if humans find out new methods of testing, companies will restore animal testing on new products to ensure full safety of any product (cosmeticproduct-europe). Animal testing is an irreplaceable, and without it we can rarely achieve full safety insurance. It is really important to test all cosmetic products  on animals because these products are usually chemical products that carry danger with them. In conclusion, I think that animal testing is really needed to improve the quality of societies, and that can be achieved by the results and discoveries of animal testing. Animal testing is a great way to find out how a living body reacts to different products which can help us to find out whether these products are safe to be used by humans, so if humans want to develop their communities, animal testing cannot be avoided. Cited Work: 1-Joey Gruber Tripod, http://joey-gruber.tripod.com/id2.html# 2-Peta, http://www.peta.org/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=statistics 3-Orkin, http://www.orkin.com/rodents/rats/rat-borne-diseases/ 4-About animal testing, http://www.aboutanimaltesting.co.uk/using-animals-testing-pros-versus-cons.html 5- Amprogress, http://www.amprogress.org/AnimalResearchFAQ 6- Cosmeticproduct-europe, http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Formulation-Science/L-Oreal-animal-testing-alternatives-vital-but-ensuring-product-safety-is-a-MUST

Leadership Case Study: Oticon

Leadership Case Study: Oticon A range of materials have detailed the various approaches to leadership, development of leadership and its management competency structure in a number of organizations. The information provided here is intended to communicate to the readers and markers whether or not actions, activities, and behaviors of Oticon and its President meet entrepreneurial texts. This paper also shows the different kinds of strategies adopted by a leader to help maximize the success of a business. Leadership as a complex process that concerns the extent to which a set of standards, qualities and or competencies can capture the nature that makes some leaders and organizations thrive and others unproductive (Burns, 1978). In Oticon, the political, structural, and cultural obstacles that are present in many organizations have not been a problem or hindrance to the company in obtaining its set objectives. Oticon has been able to meet its objectives because the leaders are aware of these hindrances and have come up with appropriate solutions to overcome them completely (Hofstede, 1977). Leadership style is the manner of directing, implementation of plans, and motivation of individuals in an organization. There are a number of theories that have been discussed to show their effectiveness in the organization. Power in Oticons leadership style has been streamlined to all managers. They have shown that change is good, but one should take note of the power source which greatly impacts the growth of the business and attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Power in this case leads us to understanding the importance of leadership roles in the organization. In the conclusion, we see the appropriateness of the leadership style used in Oticon Company (Yukl, 1989). Managing versus leading Leadership ensures that the organization and all the stakeholders do the right thing. It has the authority to set direction, make decisions, and create different policies. They also have the responsibility of ensuring that the organization is well managed, resources available are associated with expectations, and that they are operating within the legal and ethical boundaries stipulated. Management on the other hand, assures that the staff and volunteers of that organization follow to the latter the direction that has been set by the boards of directors and do things right. This is achieved through the use of strategic plans that relate to the operational plans which are later presented to the board to explain to them how well the operational plans have been implemented. The management ensures that the board understands the presented data (Vroom and Yetton, 1973). Lars Kolind displays to his managers and staff certain emotions which have enabled most of them understand and fully accommodate the feelings of others. His high emotional intelligence (EI) has vastly contributed to his role of instilling change in others working in his organization. For those with anger, enjoyment, love, and sadness while working, he has motivated them which have seen to the growth of the business. In the case study, we see that before using the disorganized organization strategy the profits obtained were very low. However, when Oticon started using it, more profits were obtained in a very short period of time. This was achieved by considering the emotional intelligence of its workers who were not sure of how effective the leadership style would help the organization obtain its objectives effectively. These attributes do transfer to leaders outside the business sphere for example, if one is always angry and sad, no one will be able to freely socialize with him/her f or fear of being assaulted. Those filled with fear cannot be able to do anything for their own not even engaging in any business. Leadership functions Effective leadership of change means that, when the leader uses new methods of administration to achieve the desired goals, the staff and managers should accept and implement them fully. The contingency or situational school of thought indicates that the style to be used is dependent on factors such as the situation, the people, the task, the organization, and other variables of the environment (Fiedler, 1967). Fielders contingency model is a theory under the situational school of thought that clearly postulates that managers do not have a single way that can be described as best for leading the organization. Situations will be the ones creating the different style requirements for managers. The best solution accorded for a managerial situation is conditional on the factors that encroach on the situation. For example, in Oticon, repetitive mechanical tasks have become a norm to the workers (dynamic environment), thus a more flexible, participative leadership style has been used. The leader-member relation is good because both the managers and employees relate with each other on a regular basis. The task is unstructured, but the power position is still maintained (Sims and Lorenzi, 1992) Variables of the environment can be measured by using favorable or unfavorable terms depending on the task oriented style. Managers do reshape their environmental variables to suit their leadership styles. Leader-member relations are the amount of devotion, reliability, and employee support received by the leaders. In an unfavorable relationship, the task is unstructured and the leader has possession of limited authority. Position power is measured with the amount of authority the manager sees that has been given to him or her by the organization for the sole purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing those subordinates who fail to adhere to the rules and regulations stipulated. Positioning of power of managers depends on decreasing the favorable and increasing the unfavorable power of decision making of the employees of the organization (Clegg, 1975). Relationship-motivated style builds interpersonal relations and extends extra help for team work development in the organization. The task- motivated style leader has delight and fulfillment in accomplishment of the task at hand. Oticon Company sees to it that the satisfaction of the customer has been achieved; the company has established a good image which has seen to the increase of the sales record, and has outperformed its competitors. Leadership theories have developed from Great Man and Trait theories to Transformational leadership. These early theories focused mainly on the characteristics and behaviors of leaders who have achieved success, while the modern theories put into consideration the role of followers and the contextual nature of those leading an organization (Hersey and Blanchard, 1977). Transformational leaders have displayed behaviors that are linked to five basic styles of transformation: Idealized behaviors (living on ones ideals), Inspirational motivation where leaders inspire others, Intellectual stimulation where others are being stimulated, Individualized considerations that deals with coaching and development of individuals, Idealized attributes which include respecting, trusting, and having faith in others. These leaders are proactive in many unique ways. They optimize on development which includes the maturation of ability, motivation, attitudes, and values of the organization (Likert, 1961). Transformational leadership is the approach taken by most leaders in creating a shared vision, develop and coach employees who will become future leaders, encourage innovation in others in the organization, and act with high ethical standards and integrity (Bass Avolio 1994). Dispersed leadership is an informal, emergent, or dispersed leadership where the leaders role has been dissociated from the organizational hierarchy. At all levels of the organizations, individuals have been given the power to exert leadership influence over their workmates hence influence the leadership of the organization. Oticon is a good example. The tasks of the managers have been restructured. A charismatic leader is based on self-belief where people follow others whom they admire (Gordon, 1998). This method of leadership is not a good way of conceptualizing leaders since there are those who dont have the charisma of attracting individuals but are admired. Leaders do not perform their roles. Their concent ration drifts to pleasing individuals at the expense of attaining the organizational goals. Leaders functions from the above with regard to change addresses the need for the leaders to inspire employees rather than direct them, involve them in decision making rather than divide, encourage diversity and challenging methods rather than accept the old routine that was being used, encouraging employees to think widely, trust in the projects they come up with and support them, and commitment of the leaders in ensuring that their projects are carried out effectively by the organization by providing them with the resources they require are just a few of the functions (Bass, 1985). Leadership Roles Oticon Company is different from other existing companies since they instilled change in the workplace for the better by using a different kind of leadership style in leading and managing the organization. In creating a vision for the organization, I will bear in mind the objectives of the organization which are of importance when stipulating the vision. If one does not put it into consideration, the goals and objectives of the organization may not be attained in time. Teams have managed to access shared information that has helped in lifting the performance of the organization, but in places like banks and hospitals, such freedom has been minimized to the leaders only since this will bring about confusion in the organization as it deals with very sensitive matters (Daft, 2002). Substantive actions and results of management concerning changing the decision making patterns are the decisions that largely result from external constraints and power-dependence. Symbolic action (expressive) is where management uses symbols and political language in legitimizing and rationalizing the policies and decisions of the organization. The effect of symbolic action is participatory decision-making that reflects the occurrence taking place in the current world (Bennis and Goldsmith, 1997). Oticon Company workers should be given training and education programs that relate to substantial change that is bound to come their way in the next financial year if need arises. Many organizations that try to impose change on the organization end up failing to meet the targets they intend to achieve since the workers are against the form of change being imposed on them. The structure of the organization was changed and needed to be communicated to the workers so that they can be aware of how activities are being conducted in the new organization (Byrd, 1987). By communicating to the workers, the leaders were presenting them with the new responsibilities accorded to them by the President of the Company. Redesigning of the jobs enabled the organization to have a high quality of work performance since the needs and capabilities of the employees were fully met. Face-to-face dialogue of the management (Campbell, 1970) and employee made communication effective and thus they related on a very common ground that enabled them to exchange ideas and information easily without being distorted at any given time. Not specifying the workstations made it possible for all the workers to mingle and get to know each other well, this contributed greatly to the cohesion that existed among them (Belbin,1993). The idea of projects made employees more active in the activities of the company and thus they aimed at maximizing profits and satisfying the customers whom they served. Developmental change has been able to reinforce the need for incremental change orientation process because it is people oriented (empathetic). The leader determined that the maturity level of the employees in relation to the task to be accomplished increased greatly thus reduction of the task behavior by the leader had changed and relationship behavior was increased (Bergmann, Hurson, Russ-Eft, 1999). Conclusion Emphasis has been made on the key points of change in leadership as part of the set management functions stipulated, and these functions can be traced back to the works of many philosophers. The functions of leaders in the traditional society have changed due to the shift that has occurred in the sources of personal power (Bunce, 1981). Technology was an attribute associated with the growth of an organization, but it is not the case. The one factor that contributes to an organizations growth and expansion is effective leadership skills used. Emotional intelligence has also been discussed widely. Theories have also been cited to show how the Company uses the leadership style to manage and lead its employees effectively. Leadership roles and functions are also seen to be changing with time bearing in mind that if a leader wants to achieve effectiveness in his work, then change of leadership should be looked into. Several skills and attributes that are desired by most leaders are very essential. Strategic and operational, traditional management and leadership styles have been discussed to show how they have managed to embrace the various skills available for an effective change in a leader to emerge (Kreisberg, 1992). Leadership style effectiveness can be adopted at different levels as discussed depending on the change itself. We are now conversant with the approach to take when situations arise and the type of leadership style to adopt. Can the Concept of Realism be Plausibly Applied to film? Can the Concept of Realism be Plausibly Applied to film? Realism is arguably the most important concept within film theory. Since its inception, film has generally been concerned primarily with facsimileing real life events for the audience via photographing and camera techniques. In the process, the aim of film from its early days has been to realise both fictional and non‑fictional events. As Ellis (1998:38) explains, the essence of cinema has always maintained an ongoing and deep‑seated relationship with both visual and aesthetic reality. â€Å"Cinema as a photographic medium instantly poses its images and sounds as recorded phenomena, whose construction occurred in another time and place. Yet though the figures, objects and places represented are absent from the space in which the viewing takes place, they are also (and astoundingly) present.† It is important not to confuse cinematic realism with the realistic and naturalistic dramatic output of theatres. Though the two have often collaborated and interchanged over the past one hundred years, the reality inherent in plays is inevitably different to the reality inherent in films. Theatre by nature, with its long pauses, set changes and asides to the audience, is inexorably less realistic than cinema where the division of scenes and the pace of the plot are subject to the whim and the taste of the film‑maker. Moreover, whereas realism is a difficult term for theatre analysts to digest dictated entirely by the skills of the actor (Styan, 1983:1) the film‑maker is able to use scenery, music, lighting and architectural design in order to re‑create a particular context or feeling. For the purpose of analysis, the following account of realism and films must adopt a dualistic approach. One the one hand, the essay must seek to define realism within film theory, especially with regards to conceptualising the different kinds of realism prevalent in cinema. On the other hand, it must necessarily look at examples of realism in action to show how film‑makers are able to apply theory to practice in a seamless transition. A conclusion will be sought that attempts to show that the realism is the most important paradigm in not only in film but in all serious artistic and creative endeavours. Although realism in film theory would appear to be a straightforward concept, roughly adhering to the Greek idea of memesis (imitation), the history of film has coincided with the history of modern western philosophical tradition, which since the middle of the nineteenth century has sought to rebel against the classical notions of the romantic movement in fiction and in painting (Stam, 2000:15). This signals that realism is a relatively recent phenomenon in western artistic ideology. As such, it would be naà ¯ve to presume that it has not been (and will not continue to be) the subject of vast theoretical changes. The following is therefore a brief overview of the variations of realism in film that have been witnessed throughout the past century. Early films could not hope to achieve realism on camera until the advent of sound. With this development, film was in possession of sight, sound and context to aid its replication of real life. This facilitated the classical era of American film with classical realism used as a staple part of the Hollywood diet in the films of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The aim was to create spatial and temporal continuity. Classical realist films achieved this via the utilisation of conventional devices for denoting the passing of time, editing devices and the adoption of a strict etiquette with regards to changing from scene to scene (such as camera close‑ups.) It is important to note that this classical ideal of film theory did not seek to exactly replicate real‑life scenes so much as present â€Å"an optical illusion of truth.† (Stam, 2000:143). This, it was hoped, would result in the production of a transparent kind of film, removing all traces of the physical and technical construction of the movie in the process. Yet, by definition, classical realism in films could not bequeath an overly elaborate plot. Rather, the concept of classical realism is concerned with episodic construction in order to convey the naturalism of the movie. â€Å"The structure of the realist film, one that attempts to look at the world objectively, differs from that of the usual narrative film in either being very simple or episodic†¦ Each episode or sequence of the film suggests random occurrences that are typical and representative of the people or environment portrayed.† (Wead and Lellis, 1981:325) Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) is a prime example of this classical early Hollywood realism in action. The movie concentrates on portraying the realism of the American crime era in a way that had not been attempted beforehand. Whereas previous productions had tended to sway towards the stereotypical view of the underworld, Angels with Dirty Faces looks to a depicting a classical realist film with characters that are believable with a plot that rests solely on the human element of the complex world of the American gangster rather than the more idealistic, impressionist view that had hitherto been championed by Hollywood impresarios. The American model of realism has been applied with equal vitality to European cinema where the depiction of another kind of reality has been achieved, particularly since the end of the Second World War. This is not surprising as artistic realism cannot thrive in a climate of oppression and authoritarianism like that which characterised mainland Europe during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. The life span, for instance, of leftist film‑maker Brecht was directly related to German politics at the time. In addition, it is surely no coincidence that the heyday of French poetic realism in mainstream French cinema (where Jean Renoir stands out as the most prominent realist film‑maker of his day) came in the late 1930’s, just before the collaborationist Vichy regime strangled the creative life out of all of the national arts. It is an important point and one that should be remembered throughout the remainder of the discussion: realism is directly affected by t he social and political context in which it is expressed. Moreover, when this expression is denied by law it likewise affects the vision of realism that a film‑maker wishes to convey. Post‑war incarnations of realism were reflective of the mood (certainly in Europe) in the immediate aftermath of fighting. Indeed, after this point, cinema was increasingly seen as the vehicle through which to transport real life to the viewer. This was a highly significant factor in the realism and neo‑realism of the time. It is worth remembering that cinema was partly responsible for the unprecedented carnage of the previous decades with the fascists in particular using film as a means of propaganda to seduce the people into acquiescence. Thus, neo‑realist film‑makers of the post‑war era such as Orson Welles and Roberto Rossellini wished to seduce the audience back into seeing cinema for the positive medium that it is, not the tool of despotic politics it had hitherto come to represent. â€Å"In spite of conflicts of style, neo-realism tends to give back to the cinema a sense of the ambiguity of reality.† (Bazin, 1997:69) In the UK, the concept of realism has been applied to film with arguably greater frequency and arguably a more accurate result than in any other comparable western country. British cinematic realism differs from the American and European models of realism in its strict representation of social reality, bequeathing the cinematic concept of social realism. Certainly, with its bleak architecture and temperamental weather, Britain provides the realist film‑maker with the raw materials for accurately depicting the social realties of modern life. These films are consequently oppressive with a strong focus on the human element. In this sense, British social realism can be seen to be apolitical, though it can also be argued that this can never really be the case. Regardless of such theories, social realism is a highly useful means of understanding the value of realism in movies. The late 1950’s and early 1960’s witnessed a spate of such social‑realist films. Room at the Top (1959), Look back in Anger (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) are all testimony to the introspective path that British film had taken in the post‑war years. Part of the impetus behind this change in direction can be attributed to the domestic artistic world being opened up to younger film‑makers of varying degrees of social class who wished to portray British life as they saw it as opposed to British life as viewed through the eyes of the traditional socio‑political elite. This ‘kitchen sink’ realism was superseded by a more urbanised, radical realism in British film in the last decade of the twentieth century. The major difference between the two is the way in which the realism of the 1990’s was so much more pessimistic in its outlook than the realism of the m iddle of the century. No one film‑maker better represents this slip into melodrama than Ken Loach the architect of â€Å"documentary realism†. (Hill, 2000:182) At this point, mention must be made of the alternatives to realism as a dominant film theory. While European and North American cinema continues to view realism in all of its forms as a highly useful means of social and cultural expressionism, the movies that tend to make by far the most money at the box office continue to be the typical Hollywood blockbuster. These films are defined as cinematic escapism: the diametric opposite to films that rely on depicting realism to tell a story. Blockbusters are increasingly divorced from the social realties of the day with science fiction movies being a luminous example of the way in which cinema and realism are often at odds with one another; an uneasy alliance between make‑believe and the movies that has served to make Hollywood cinema the most profitable industry in the USA. In terms of consumption, it would appear to be that it is not the films of realism that are the most important partners in film; rather it is the non‑real ism, escapist films that appeal to the most broad‑based conception of the public audience. Indeed, focusing on the viewer and the audience asks further questions as to the ultimate validity of realism in films. Although the actor, the director and the producer may all feel that they have collaborated in making a truly realistic film, their judgement is in the end irrelevant. Movies may be made by film‑makers, but the final verdict on its artistic (as well as commercial) success always resides with the audience. As such, it is surely the viewer and the audience who must state whether or not a film is realistic. This, of course, â€Å"involves readerly or spectatorial belief, a realism of subjective response, rooted less in mimic accuracy than in a strong desire to believe on the spectator’s part.† (Stam, Burgoyne and Flitterman‑Lewis, 1998:185) Therefore, in the final analysis, each and every viewer will have a different opinion with regards to whether a film was on the whole realistic or not. No two viewpoints are ever likely to be the same. This is surely the defining reason why films are made: to encourage divisions of opinion and cultural debate on matters that are of relevance to the society in which the audience lives. Only films that are rooted in the concept of realism are able to achieve this kind of debate, which is in itself testimony to their ultimate value to the artistic community. Those films which seek to transport the audience away from reality are generally more concerned with the enormous commercial impact of films in the modern era, not with inciting intellectual debate. Serious film‑makers, on the other hand, will always tend to be attracted to the inherent realism afforded by the technology of film and it is for this reason that it is surely the most fundamental paradigm not only of film‑ making but also of any artistic endeavour that truly seeks to engage its audience in any meaningful way. BIBLIOGRAPHY Braudy, L. and Cohen, M. (Eds.) (1999) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, J. (1998) Visible Fictions: Cinema: Television: Video London: Routledge Lay, S. (2002) British Social Realism: from Documentary to Brit Grit London: Wallflower Lehman, P. (Ed.) (1997) Defining Cinema London: Athlone Murphy, R. (Ed.) (2000) British Cinema of the 90s London: BFI Stam, R., Burgoyne, R. and Flitterman‑Lewis, S. (1998) New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics: Structuralism, Post‑Structuralism and Beyond London: Routledge Stam, R. (2000) Film Theory: An Introduction London: Blackwell Styan, J.L. (1983) Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, Volume 1: Realism and Naturalism Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wead, G. and Lellis, G. (1981) Film: Form and Function Boston: Houghton Mifflin Selected Articles Bazin, A. (1997) The Evolution of the Language of Cinema, in, Lehman, P. (Ed.) Defining Cinema London: Athlone Hill, J. (2000) Representations of the Working Class, in, Murphy, R. (Ed.) British Cinema of the 90s London: BFI

Young Males, Modern Society, and Drug Use Essay -- Essays Papers

Young Males, Modern Society, and Drug Use To understand the use of drugs by young men and to review the literature in a coherent framework it is necessary to begin with an understanding of the term 'gender'. Gender is said to mean more than just male or female. Rather it is a description of the traits and attributes which society ascribes to each sex. Gender is distinguished from sex in that sex refers to biology, whereas gender refers to the cultural meanings and social constructs that are superimposed on the biological differences between the sexes. That is, gender is socially constructed. It transforms female to mean 'feminine' and male to mean 'masculine', and by so doing it defines our expectations of both male and female behavior in everyday life. Most research up until the 1980s was based on male perceptions and male constructs of drug use, which by its very nature, neglected female drug use (Davey, 1994; Sargent, 1992; Temple-Smith & Hamilton, 1991). Some studies ignored women entirely; others included women but ignored gender, simply combining men and women in the analysis. Authors of many studies thus generalized from male subjects to 'people'. As Henderson (1993) says "It is a familiar sentiment by now that the literature on drugs is limited when it comes to the subject of gender and drug use. All too often studies have ignored gender as a factor in drug use and extrapolated from the male experience." (p. 127). It is important, therefore, to acknowledge that historically, gender has been a 'blindspot' in much of the research on drug use and abuse (Lammers & Schippers, 1991). The influence of male gender has not been considered, despite the fact that males have mostly been the subjects of the studies. As Broom (... ..., S. (1997). Youth violence and the limits of moral panic. Youth Studies Australia, 16(1), 25-30. Vogel-Sprott, M., & Chipperfield, B. (1987). Family history of problem drinking among young male social drinkers: Behavioral effects of alcohol. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 48(5), 430-436. Waldron, I. (1991). Patterns and causes of gender differences in smoking. Social Science and Medicine, 32(9), 989-1005. Waldron, J. (1997). Changing gender roles and gender differences in health behavior. In D.S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of health behavior research 1: Personal and social determinants (pp. 303-328). New York: Plenum Press. Walpole, S. (1995). Gender equity in education: A view from outside the classroom. In Proceedings of the Promoting Gender Equity Conference (pp. 5-11). Canberra: Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

David Herbert Lawrence :: Essays Papers

David Herbert Lawrence Born on the eleventh day of September in 1885, David Herbert Lawrence was the fourth child of an illiterate coal miner. Lawrence was raised in a small mining town of Eastwood, Nottingham by his mother who happened to be a school a teacher. Threw his childhood David Herbert shared a very close relationship with his mother. Lawrence first started his education in a grammar school, which he had won a scholarship to, and later attended Nottingham University College. When he finished college, Lawrence decided to move to Croydin, just south of London to began his teaching career. While teaching in Croydin he encountered a guy by the name of Ford Madone (Ford’s English Review) which was a good connection for his writing career. In 1912 feeling that he could support himself with his writing, Lawrence left teaching. A couple a months later his mother died and he found out that he was suffering from an illness known as tuberculosis something he would spend the rest of his life with. Also during this year he eloped with Frieda Von Richthofen the daughter of his college professor. Their first years were chronicled in poems called Look. His elopement was the first of Lawrence’s many flights from ill health and social censure. The next step in his life involved him traveling to Venice to a sanitarium in attempt to relief himself of tuberculosis, which turned out to be a big failure. One of the first novels Lawrence wrote was The White Peacock, which would be elaborated upon later works. Lawrence was not only a novelist, he also wrote short stories, plays, poems and travel journalism. Lawrence was a very active short story writer. Two of his first short stories were â€Å"Persian Officers† and â€Å"The Odours of Chrysanthemums.† His short stories were superior to his novels. In 1922 he completed a collection of stories before he decided to travel to America. In a lot of his work he displays nature through birds, beast and flowers. Though Lawrence’s short stories are different from his novels, they displayed his style and structure. Lawrence is also an emotional writer, which might be considered undisciplined to some. In 1928 Lawrence wrote an interesting novel called Lady Chaterley’s Lover which was privately printed. David Herbert Lawrence :: Essays Papers David Herbert Lawrence Born on the eleventh day of September in 1885, David Herbert Lawrence was the fourth child of an illiterate coal miner. Lawrence was raised in a small mining town of Eastwood, Nottingham by his mother who happened to be a school a teacher. Threw his childhood David Herbert shared a very close relationship with his mother. Lawrence first started his education in a grammar school, which he had won a scholarship to, and later attended Nottingham University College. When he finished college, Lawrence decided to move to Croydin, just south of London to began his teaching career. While teaching in Croydin he encountered a guy by the name of Ford Madone (Ford’s English Review) which was a good connection for his writing career. In 1912 feeling that he could support himself with his writing, Lawrence left teaching. A couple a months later his mother died and he found out that he was suffering from an illness known as tuberculosis something he would spend the rest of his life with. Also during this year he eloped with Frieda Von Richthofen the daughter of his college professor. Their first years were chronicled in poems called Look. His elopement was the first of Lawrence’s many flights from ill health and social censure. The next step in his life involved him traveling to Venice to a sanitarium in attempt to relief himself of tuberculosis, which turned out to be a big failure. One of the first novels Lawrence wrote was The White Peacock, which would be elaborated upon later works. Lawrence was not only a novelist, he also wrote short stories, plays, poems and travel journalism. Lawrence was a very active short story writer. Two of his first short stories were â€Å"Persian Officers† and â€Å"The Odours of Chrysanthemums.† His short stories were superior to his novels. In 1922 he completed a collection of stories before he decided to travel to America. In a lot of his work he displays nature through birds, beast and flowers. Though Lawrence’s short stories are different from his novels, they displayed his style and structure. Lawrence is also an emotional writer, which might be considered undisciplined to some. In 1928 Lawrence wrote an interesting novel called Lady Chaterley’s Lover which was privately printed.

Mankiller: a chief and her people

This book is the autobiography of the former Chief of the Cherokee Nation, unfolding her personal story, the history of her people, and the dawning of the Native American Civil Rights struggle. The book is a quest to reclaim and preserve Native American values and to examine her own role as a woman of two cultures and leader of a sovereign nation. Basically the book is a mix of autobiography, traditional tales, and a lengthy history of the Cherokee. Mankiller's chronicle of her people churns with energy, whether she's raking the federal government over the coals or celebrating past Cherokee leaders like Sequoyah. It is dual story of Chief Mankiller's life and a compact history of crucial and poignant episodes in Cherokee history. This contemporary account of the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation describes the development of a modern-day leader. A tale of personal triumphs and tragedies, it begins with a childhood spent on an allotment farm in Mankiller Flats, Oklahoma, and moves through teenage years in the 1960s as an â€Å"urban Indian,† a near brush with death, and a life of solid accomplishment in service and tribal leadership rooted in Cherokee culture. The mid section of the book is purely historical and the interaction of Cherokee and African American history is fascinating and a reoccurring theme. The average Americans are taught very little about the native peoples, this book is a must read for those who wish to know the Native American life. Wilma Mankiller's story is profoundly interwoven with the history of the Cherokee. Once the Cherokee lived in Tennessee and across the South, by the early 1800's white settlers were pushing them out of their native lands. Some left willingly and established new bases in Arkansas, only to be moved later. In the 1830's two-thirds of the Cherokee Nation were finally rounded up and forced to travel, mostly by foot, on a march now called the Trail of Tears. Those who survived the difficult march were placed on a reservation in Indian Territory. Once there, they were again neglected, the result was a confusion that resulted would greatly affect Mankiller's early life. The book traces her family saga, when they move out in 1950s from rural Oklahoma to San Francisco in a government relocation project. The federal government came up with a policy of â€Å"termination† of tribes to mainstream Native Americans. This policy was trumped up as a â€Å"wonderful opportunity for Indian families to get great jobs, obtain good education for their kids, and, once and for all, leave poverty behind.† In truth, the program gave the government the perfect chance to take Indian people away from their culture and open up the vast Oklahoma territory to white landowners. Wilama is vocal and does not hesitates to vehemently express her views â€Å"In my view, Oklahoma statehood was a very dark page†¦.the harm heaped on our people †¦was tremendous†¦.For the Cherokee Nation and the other of the Five Tribes, statehood meant only the heartbreaking conclusion to decades spent fighting attempts to transform Indian Territory into a white commonwealth.† It was a traumatic change for the 11 year-old Wilma and her 10 brothers and sisters. This sudden shift from traditional life brought her face-to-face with bias, racism and poverty. In spite of this, the Mankiller family had a strength to survive, which came through sheer will alone. Mankiller's father Charley and other relatives helped with the construction of the Mankiller's first real family home. The house was made of rough lumber and had only four rooms described as a â€Å"little bitty house with too many people living there†. There was no electricity in the house, and the family had to use wood, coal, oil, and natural gas to cook and heat the house. Due to the fact that the house also did not have running water, they had to bring water up from a spring for cooking and washing purposes, and use an outhouse to go to the bathroom. Though the home lacked some luxuries, Mankiller looks back on her time there with pleasant memories. However, some memories were not as pleasant as the pride in a family home. To obtain the money needed for basic necessities, Mankiller's parents and older siblings used to go out and cut timber to sell as railroad ties. To further supplement the family's income, Charley Mankiller and his oldest son went every year to help harvest broomcorn, generally working every day from dawn to sunset. And her family's strength and perseverance paid off. Mankiller attested to her family's strength when she stated, â€Å"even though we were poor, I cannot remember ever being hungry as a little girl. Somehow, we always had food on our tables.† Mankiller would feel no different from others until the family was relocated to San Francisco, California. That metropolitan setting opened her eyes to many injustices that existed in society and led the way for her focus on activism. As a child, Mankiller had her doubts about the relocation. These doubts were realized when the Mankiller family arrived in San Francisco and discovered that the situation was not as portrayed. Mankiller and her family had left behind â€Å"the sounds of roosters, owls, crickets.† The Native Americans are in love with their land and cannot think of selling or misusing it, as Supposedly Chief Seattle said in the 1850s â€Å"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land. Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people.† The 1969 Indian occupation of Alcatraz, which she supported strongly proved a turning point in her life. She became an activist in Indian affairs, eventually leaving her husband and returning with her two daughters to her old home. Surviving a debilitating automobile accident and a kidney transplant, she continues to lead her people. In this inspiring story, Mankiller offers herself as a valuable role model–for women as well as Native Americans. Wilama is a tribal woman to the core, who loves her traditions and culture intensely and proud to be a Native American. She unfolds the wrongs of the White Americans settlers, when Native Americans spiritual beliefs and practices were considered ignorance. She explains that to be a Native American means holding a different perspective of the world. She enlightens the readers, that the culture, values and traditions of native people are more than crafts and carvings. The Natives   respect for the wisdom of their elders, concept of family responsibilities, concern for the environment and willingness to share – all of these values makes   Native American culture endurable in the course of time. On personal level the book is an autobiography overcoming the difficulties and problems, however it moves beyond personal woes and traces the history of the Cherokees. The tale revolves around her own battle against devastating personal illnesses–including kidney disease and myasthenia gravis- -evokes praise and admiration for over coming her odyssey of life. The text is filled with her â€Å"innate love of all people’’. Despite talk of   â€Å"spirituality† very little spirituality can found in the book. It is a   story of survival, told with honesty and eloquence, teaching the readers, the lesson of endurance and strength in the wake of crisis. Reference: â€Å"The 2005-06 chairwoman of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, an independent center at the law school, Mankiller is also serving as a visiting professor in the Ethnic Studies department through the end of this month. The speech opened with a ceremonial welcome by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Honor Guard and a traditional song performed by the Eagle Beak Singers. Mankiller was introduced by University President Dave Frohnmayer, who said it was an â€Å"honor to welcome a woman, a leader, a person who understands the relationship between knowledge and morality.† Mankiller began by mentioning the difficulties of having an informed dialogue on Native American issues. Mankiller deconstructed many stereotypes about Native Americans and reiterated the necessity of doing so†. Oregon Daily   Emerald, November 13, 2005 â€Å"Contemporary Native women of the United States and Canada, politically active in Indigenous rights movements for the past thirty years, variously articulate a reluctance to affiliate with white feminist movements of North America. Despite differences in tribal affiliation, regional location, urban or reservation background, academic or community setting, and pro- or antifeminist ideology, many Native women academics and grassroots activists alike invoke models of preconquest, egalitarian societies to theorize contemporary social and political praxes. Such academics as Paula Gunn Allen, Rayna Green, and Patricia Monture-Angus, as well as Native activists Wilma Mankiller, Mary Brave Bird, and Yet Si Blue (Janet McCloud) have problematized the reformative role white feminism can play for Indigenous groups, arguing that non-Native women's participation in various forms of Western imperialism have often made them complicit in the oppression of Native peoples† Revision and Resistance: The Politics of Native Women's Motherwork, Lisa J. Ude, Frontiers – A Journal of Women's Studies ,2001 The key to reaching this goal is ownership. Service must never be done for others but with them. Before she became Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Wilma Mankiller attracted national attention through her work with self-help community-service projects in isolated Cherokee communities. The most dramatic of these involved the tiny community of Bell, where local Cherokee designed and carried out a project that became a catalyst for bringing their community together. The project could have been done for the people (the approach usually taken by government agencies) rather than by the people. But that wasn't what Mankiller had in mind. Kappan.P   Service-Learning and Multicultural/Multiethnic Perspectives from Diversity to Equity (2005) She has shown in her typically exuberant way that not only can Native Americans learn a lot from the whites, but that whites can learn from native people. Understanding the interconnectedness of all things, many whites are beginning to understand the value of native wisdom, culture and spirituality. Spirituality is then key to the public and private life of Wilma Mankiller who has indeed become known not only for her community leadership but also for her spiritual presence. A woman rabbi who is the head of a large synagogue in New York commented that Mankiller was a significant spiritual force in the nation. Her book also details her social and political involvement in American Indian and women's issues and her return to her northeast Oklahoma roots. Since then, Mankiller worked on many community development programs designed to provide jobs and/or homes to Native American people. In 1991, she was reelected as chief. Power Source, Wilma Mankiller former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Mankiller attributes her understanding of her people’s history partially to her own families forced removal, as part of the government's Indian relocation policy, to California when she was a young girl. Her concern for Native American issues was ignited in 1969 when she watched a group of university students with AIM (American Indian Movement) occupy Alcatraz Island in order to attract attention to the issues affecting their tribes. Shortly afterwards, she began working in preschool and adult education programs in the Pit River Tribe of California. Women History Project In this spiritually moving autobiography, Wilma Mankiller not only tells her personal story, but honors and recounts the complex history of the Cherokees. Her book becomes the quest to reclaim and preserve the great Native American values that form the foundation of our nation. She details the dawning of the Native American civil rights struggle and how the genesis of that movement mirrored her own search for meaning and balance as a woman of two cultures and as the head of state for a sovereign nation of native people. Four Winds Indians Books (2005)             .