English Film Review For Cruel Intentions Essays

English Film Review For Cruel Intentions Essays English Film Review For Cruel Intentions Paper English Film Review For Cruel Intentions Paper Paper Topic: Film Sebastian is stuck in each youthful dream. At an age where his hormones are seething crazy he addresses the approach of regarding ladies and love. Day in, day out ladies fall at his feet and he should simply work his craftiness appeal to deny them of their virtue. Being sent to rest by the young ladies he has so relaxed tempted before, Sebastian pinpoints a definitive test the unadulterated, excellent, purebred deans little girl Annette Hargrove (Witherspoon). Becoming aware of Sebastians problematical test, Kathryn recognizes an ideal open door for a bet. On the off chance that Sebastian neglects to bait Annette into his bed, he should leave behind his cherished, inestimable 1956 Jaguar Roadster; then again on the off chance that he triumphs, he will be remunerated with the most tempting award of all Kathryn. In a sub-plot Kathryn takes the guiltless, lovely however stupid Cecile Coldwell (Blair) under the care of her. As Kathryn is the most famous young lady at school just as understudy body president, Mrs Coldwell accepts that her girl is in safe hands yet much to her dismay that behind Kathryns misrepresentation lies the fiend. Kathryn decides to devastate Cecile trying to seek retribution on her ex-accomplice and approaches Sebastian for much required assistance. At first Sebastian battles to associate with Annette on even the most straightforward levels leaving the bet in question. Out of franticness he utilizes evil strategies, and to guarantee his much-anticipated award he should fundamentally entice Annette. Fixated on Kathryn, since the time their folks got hitched he will remain determined to have her. He needs her, pines for her. Coercing another student returns him to the bet, therefore driving him to help Kathryn in her accursed arrangement to obliterate Cecile yet for his own twisted goal to stink devastation on Mrs Coldwell for notice Annette of his notoriety. Joined by her lesser stepsibling Sebastian, they make a whole-world destroying partnership playing a hazardous round of sex and treachery with Ceciles life. Albeit coldblooded, savage and shrewd Sebastian ends up succumbing to the brilliant, excellent, smart Annette as he discovers ground-breaking feelings and a real association with her. Frozen of losing his notoriety for being a lathario he cancels the bet and reveals to Annette everything, a lot to the disappointment and jealousy of Kathryn. Made up for lost time in desire Kathryn chooses to stop the blooming sentiment; on the off chance that she cannot have him nobody can, in this manner the games start. Whats directly with it? Any movie highlighting Sarah Michelle Gellar as a perilous, abhorrent, enticing sex symbol is a positive development. Her electric execution as the oppressive, malicious scoundrel is persuading in spite of the fact that the bashfully raised eyebrow and eccentric mockery become marginally unsurprising and monotonous as the film creates. However in general Gellar sinks her teeth into the Kathryn Merteuil job well and adapts to the situation with a riflemen rifle for a tongue. Incredibly provocative and in complete complexity to the American young lady nearby she plays in her current high schooler show Buffy, Gellar will give crowds worldwide a stun. Returning by and by to British screens, Reese Witherspoon gives another persuading execution as our inside and out most loved American Sweetheart. Witherspoon overflows with appeal and warmth, persuading the crowd of Annettes blamelessness. Playing the casualty in-affection jobs easily fall into place for Witherspoon causing her presentation to appear to be trustworthy and sure. Then again this is throwing at its most secure; Witherspoon does what she can with an honestly constrained content. On top structure however was relative newcomer ultra-smooth Ryan Phillippe. Phillippe is much more tricky than he is appealing, making a restless strain when he shows up on screen. As the film advances you begin to identify with his character in spite of the way that now and again his crudity is more than disgusting, his force makes him retaining to watch. Sparkles fly among Witherspoon and Phillippe as they produce incredible science making a truly intriguing relationship on-screen. Adjusted from the 1982 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuse by Choderlos de Laclos Cruel Intentions isn't the main effective adjustment to come out the Hollywood files. Over 30s may recall the youthful Uma Thurman playing virginal Cecile during the 1990s film nearby Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. Unfeeling Intentions does not have the haziness of the first film, Dangerous Liaisons, however focuses on a more youthful crowd. As opposed to utilizing moderately aged blue-bloods Roger Kumble util izes new, youthful adolescents to communicate the impacts of destroying one another and discovering love. Kumbles snazzy bearing portrays the curved existences of the rich stepsiblings, skilfully introducing the pitiless and unfeeling ways they control their objectives and hoodwink others around them. Pitiless Intentions is the kind of canny filmmaking that hasnt been seen for quite a while. Roger Kumble understands that the plot alone is sufficient permitting Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe to accomplish their best work to date. It would have been simpler to transform the material into a period dramatization instead of a film however luckily Kumble doesnt settle on the simple methodology and we get a convincing and sincerely debilitating war of the genders that once in a while hails as it races for the unavoidable disastrous end. Whats Wrong With It? I dont need to exaggerate how great Cruel Intentions is, yet as an adjustment of Dangerous Liaisons it stands apart from the rest demonstrating the characters in an increasingly touchy light. Coming up short on the much-cherished dark parody there are hardly any giggling chances during the time half of the film. Additionally, we never get the opportunity to meet the stepsiblings guardians however we do realize that Sebastians father is diddling the Vietnamese servant.

Succot The Jewish Holiday Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Succot: The Judaic Holiday Essay, Research Paper Succot: The Judaic Vacation After the Exodus from servitude in Egypt, the moving Jews lived in collapsible safe houses or on the other hand corners, called Succots. They were pitched any place they happened to end for the dull. Today it is known as the Succot the celebration of corners recovering both the antiquated horticultural corners and those of the Exodus. The reap celebration of Thanksgiving, Succot, starts five yearss after Yom Kippur, and halting focuses for eight yearss. The initial two yearss are the most sacred, during which most Jews accomplish non work. The family units build the corners and decorate it with developments, and foliages, organic products, and different plans. The rooftop is secured softly, so the stars and the sky can in any case be seen. Most Judaic family units eat every one of their repasts in the Succot, while some even rest in them. During the Succot celebration, thanks are given for all turning workss by using four workss which are representative of all the rest of. We will compose a custom paper test on Succot The Jewish Holiday Essay Research Paper or on the other hand any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page These four workss other than speak to the Judaic individuals. The Etrog, or the citrous organic product natural product, represents the individuals who are instructed in the Torah and who do great workss. The Lulav, or region of the day of the month thenar, represents the Judaic individuals who have information yet nothing more than a bad memory workss. The Hadas, or myrtle, represents the individuals who do great workss, yet are non instructed. The Aravah, or willow, represents Thursday e individuals who have nothing more than a bad memory workss and no guidance. These workss are hauled around the sanctuary in a radiation while requests are presented for endorsements on the land and product of Israel. In scriptural times, the willow, the thenar, and the Etrog were utilized in embellishing the Succot. At the terminal of the Autum crop, on the fifteenth twenty-four hours of Tishri ( September-October ) Succot is commended. It is accepted that the celebration begun with the antiquated Canaanite celebration after the grape crop at the terminal of the one-year dry season. During this clasp rituals were performed to incourage the downpours. Limbs of natural product trees and evergreens were made into little corners which the early Judaic husbandmans lived during the celebration. The last twenty-four hours of Succot is called Simhat Torah. It implies the # 8220 ; cheering of the Torah. # 8221 ; On this twenty-four hours, the perusing of the Torah is finished, and is so immidiately started again. This represents the way that the review of the Torah has no start and no terminal. Kids are given the honor of being called to peruse the Torah close by their seniors. By and large simply adults are called up to the Torah. In a progression of seven transmissions around the sanctuary, called Hakafot, the rabbi drives the overlap shipping the Torah. The transmission goes seven times around in grant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David.

Word of the Week! Parvenu Richmond Writing

Word of the Week! Parvenu Richmond Writing Unknown Professor Joe Hoyle once again comes to our rescue in the dog days of August. He suggests parvenu and its a fine word I never use. Now, however, I plan to do so! Professor Hoyle writes: The Thought for the Day in the Richmond paper was, We are all snobs of the infinite, parvenus of the Eternal.   James Gibbons Huneker.   The word that caught my attention was parvenus, the plural of parvenu which means, a person of obscure origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity. Though the usage here may be kindly and figurative, usually to be called a parvenu is not flattering. The OED entry notes that term as more derogatory than descriptive. Its a French loan-word dating only back as far as the 1700s. To those we quaintly called the Old Money crowd, when I was an undergraduate at UVA, parvenus drove new Pontiac Trans-Ams or some other gaudy machine, purchased by newly wealthy parents. Two old-money classmates I roomed with in a Summer language institute drove beaters and never had what my mom called folding money.   One could sense their disdain for the flashy, even tacky, new wealth. I never heard them say  nouveau riche, also a French borrowing, but I bet their parents did. The noun and adjectival forms are the same, as is the sense of being a social climber, an upstart.   Parvenus are not typically  ingenues, a term I associate with young innocent women in films and literature. Think of the main character, at least in the start of the novel, in Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie. By the end, Carrie is most certainly a parvenu. Parvenus often, however, are  louche, another Gallic loan word that I adore. Please send us words and metaphors useful in academic writing by e-mailing me (jessid -at- richmond -dot- edu) or leaving a comment below. See all of our Metaphors of the Month  here  and Words of the Week  here. Image of Screaming Chicken 1977 Pontiac from Wikipedia Commons.

The Management Game At Coventry University - 1844 Words

1. Introduction This paper mainly focuses on what I experienced and obtained from the Coventry Management Game took place at Coventry University. The management game provided participants with a variety of opportunities to work as a group with diversity. Accordingly, they were aware of the importance of internationalisation, positive and negative sides of working at the internationally diverse team. Throughout this module, they have learned what are important to do job-hunting such as how to create good CV, how to take job interviews etc. in this report, those what we learned and experienced are explained in more depth dividing into some categories. 2. What is the importance of internationalisation? According to Investopedia, the term†¦show more content†¦Indeed, they kept having dialogues with me not only about tasks and assignments but also a variety of topics, which cultivated our international outlook and an ability to work with a diverse team. In terms of point 4, Hawkins argued in his statistics book about immigration in the UK that â€Å"immigration has grown faster than emigration, leading to an increase in net migration from an annual average of 37,000 in the period 1991 to 1995 to an annual average of 249,000 in the period 2011 to 2015†. (House of Commons 2017) This means more and more people from outside of the UK have been coming into the UK in the past years, and it is easy to find people from different background in the workplace in this country. Thus, people living in the UK should be able to adapt the internationalised society. 3. Which management game I attended and why? I have attended the Coventry Management Game since the first Management Game in Groningen was full though I had hoped to go and join it in. My first thought was Groningen one provided me more international environment as they got participants from a variety of universities around Europe, however, Coventry one gave me an opportunity to know more about my classmates who had not had anything to do with before and it was actually better than I expected. As I am to some extent shy and not good at making new friends, this management game was a fantastic opportunity in that perspective as well/ Therefore, I am overallShow MoreRelatedRed Bull Versus Coca Cola Sport Sponsorship from a Sponsor’s Perspective896 Words   |  4 PagesRED BULL VERSUS COCA COLA SPORT SPONSORSHIP FROM A SPONSOR’S PERSPECTIVE Author: Inken Hillnhagen email: hillnhai@uni.coventry.ac.uk University: Coventry University Faculty: Business School/Sport and Event Management buying the rights. Involved in this money is planning the sponsorship deal, carrying it out and last but not least evaluating the whole process and engagement (Hermanns 2003). 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12 Angry Men Summary of Characters - 1490 Words

Martin Balsam (The Foreman) (Juror 1) Age: Late 30’s Early 40’s Job: Assistant Coach Very simple well organized man, kept things in line. Didn’t have much to say throughout the meeting. He enjoys coaching football seems to be the only time he is at ease is when he was talking about football. He was not faced with much conflict directed at him, but he seemed to keep the peace and didn’t want any problems. 5.5 He’s in a way quiet, he doesn’t have any resentment or say hurtful things to others he seems to be in the middle, and very well organized. John Fiedler (Juror 2) Age: 35-40 Job: Bank Teller Soft spoken. Doesn’t have much to say. He is very quiet at the beginning, doesn’t know what he’s really talking about. Starts to†¦show more content†¦He was the only one at first to say not guilty. He said the boy was not guilty, not knowing if he was right or wrong he wanted to look more into it. Look into the facts, but the real facts. He is very detailed. Did well holding his place, and keeping what he thought was right out, without changing his mind only because he was the only one. He was faced with conflict since the start of the discussion. He did not back off, but attacked in a reasonable way. He got his point across without losing his temper. He caused arguments, but reasonable arguments that were relevant and about the topic he felt was right. 9.9 Very caring, and committed to people. He wanted to know the truth/facts but did not harm any or lose his temper to get it. Joseph Sweeney ( Juror 9) Age: 80’s -- The old man Quiet. Very observant. He kept to himself most of the time. He is very detailed, and gets his point across in a long way but he makes his point and well enough to influence others. He doesn’t say much until he is definitely sure, he is very smart and wise. Was not faced with conflict often. He just backed off and kept quiet and to himself. But yet he still got his point across when he needed to. 9.9 Always seen the other side. Detailed. Didn’t lose his temper, even when under pressure. He knew what he was talking about and cared for the other person. Ed Begley (Juror 10) Age: 70’s -- Garage Owner, and had a cold. Know it all. Well thinks he is. He didn’t wantShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Self Image In 12 Angry Men892 Words   |  4 Pages Title Every single person on this earth is unique unto theirself. Think about it! Each individual has their own personality, agenda and history. Such are the characters portrayed in 12 Angry Men. The movie 12 Angry Men was the first of fourty-three films in the career of director Sidney Lument, who often sought controversial issues (RE). This movie focuses on a jury’s deliberation in a capital murder case, where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence. As the deliberations unfold theRead More12 Angry Men: Compare Contrast1063 Words   |  5 PagesThis essay will compare contrast the protagonist/antagonists relationship with each other and the other jurors in the play and in the movie versions of Reginald Roses 12 Angry Men. There arent any changes made to the key part of the story but yet the minor changes made in making the movie adaptation produce a different picture than what one imagines when reading the drama in the form of a play. First off, the settings in the movie are a great deal more fleshed out. In the play, the scene beginsRead MoreMovie Analysis : 12 Angry Men1639 Words   |  7 Pageswithin a diverse group.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the importance of cooperative communities while providing different aspects of leadership. Movie Summary The movie 12 Angry Men is a depiction of a jury deliberation in the 1950’s involving the trial of a teenager that is accused of murdering his father. These twelve men were brought together by a random selection process to make a unanimous decision. In the beginning, all jurors believed the boy to be guilty without a doubtRead MoreLeadership in 12 Angry Men987 Words   |  4 PagesIn the film 12 Angry Men, a group of twelve jurors are deciding the fate of a young boy accused of murdering his father. Throughout the juries dilleration, one man exhibits all of the qualities of leadership. This man is juror number 8 played by Henry Fonda. Fonda not only exhibits the the 10 qualities of a leader but he uses these qualities to lead the entire jury to a vote of not guilty (Fonda Lumet, 1957). Early on in the film Fonda shows the first quality of leadership vision. Vision canRead MoreComparison Between 12 Angry Men And Dead Poets Society1875 Words   |  8 Pages12 Angry Men and Dead Poets Society Deconstruction In the movies 12 Angry Men and Dead Poets Society, there were many leadership traits that became evident as each movie progressed. . Both movies provide similar, yet different, examples of contingency, transformational, and authentic leadership; as well as Aristotle’s Rhetoric related to persuasion. As a leader you will need to know what kind of leadership trait to employ when dealing with a diverse group of people because if you cannot, you willRead More12 Angry Men Analysis3753 Words   |  16 PagesCBEB 2303 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 12 ANGRY MEN: MOVIE ANALYSIS TABLE OF CONTENT NO | SUBJECT | PAGE | 1 | Synopsis | 1 | 2 | Characters | 2 | 3 | Factor affecting decision making process: * Attitudes * Personality and values * Emotions and moods | 3-44-89-11 | 4 | Other barriers affecting decision making | 11-12 | 5 | Conclusion | 13 | 6 | References | 14 | 1.0 SYNOPSIS/SUMMARY: 12 ANGRY MEN The story is basically about 12 men (jurors) urged by the judge to come to an agreementRead MoreThe Pearl Novel Data Sheet1559 Words   |  7 PagesGreer Sullivan 12-9-14 2 ° The Pearl Novel Data Sheet Author: John Steinbeck Date Published: 1945 Type of Novel: Historical Fiction, Novella Background on History: Steinbeck was inspired to write this novella based off a Mexican folktale that he heard when he visited the country in the early 1940’s. The story was called the Legend of Mechudo. Mechudo was a pearl diver in La Paz and he and his team went out into the bay in order to search for pearls. He was the first diver to dive and he returnedRead MoreFrom Vergil s Georgics, Book I ( Trans1715 Words   |  7 PagesTheseus is put away in confinement. The section is from Plutarch’s Lives, which is a series of biographies of famous men, both Greek and Roman, detailing their common virtues or failings. The beginning of the passage discusses about the views of different authors on Theseus’ abduction of Helen, some being more positive than others. This is Plutarch exploring the influence of character, both good and bad, on the life of Theseus. For the act of abducting a young girl not old enough for marriageRead MoreThe World s Largest Man1035 Words   |  5 PagesThe World s Largest Man Harrison Scott Key 331 Pages Character Identification Harrison, he is the author. His dad who is kinda a angry and violent man. 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Cultural Awareness in an Asymmetric Environment Free Essays

I believe all experienced military leaders, both noncommissioned and commissioned, realize the importance of knowing every facet of the enemy and their environment. Throughout history, we have studied, witnessed and experienced great examples of the use of cultural knowledge during combat operations. Lieutenant Colonel T. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultural Awareness in an Asymmetric Environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now E. Lawrence (of Arabia) of the British Army documented his experiences while living among the Arabic people. He learned about their society and culture in order to improve his military expertise (McFate, 2004). With constantly changing interests, influences and enemy TTPs in today’s asymmetric environment, Soldiers on all levels are often focused on new strategies, equipment and tactics and unintentionally lose focus on the importance of cultural awareness. In today’s contemporary operation environment, cultural understanding and knowledge is a key element to successful counterinsurgency operations. This paper will stress the need for intensifying cultural awareness training in preparation for today’s asymmetric warfare and will emphasize the effectiveness of this principle of war. Cultural Awareness in an Asymmetric Environment Any WWII or Korean War Veteran can probably tell you how the phrase â€Å"combat operations† had a completely different connotation back in their day. Where conflicts of the past may have been focused on manpower, fire superiority and maneuver, today we are focused on variables like sociological demographics, politics and economy. Currently, U. S. forces are engaged in asymmetric warfare where the insurgents are adapting their strategies to avoid the direct fight and attempting to exploit the weaknesses of U. S. forces. The insurgents have the upper-hand; they know the customs, geography, influences and people and are able to maneuver unnoticed. To combat this, we have adjusted our training by implementing cultural familiarization in pre-mobilization training and inserting COIN doctrine into many leadership courses. However I argue that Soldiers on all levels, but especially the junior leaders and tacticians who are often engaged in the midst of the local populace, do not fully understand the value and second/third order effects of properly implementing this principle of warfare. Today, more than ever, we need to focus our training on cultural awareness and employ this knowledge to reverse the trend of the insurgency exploiting our cultural ignorance. Argument Just as a college football coach studies the footage of their opponent’s previous games; we need to study the norms, interests, relationships and socio-political patterns of our operating environment. In the last decade, we have taken measures to emphasize this principle of war but most significantly the publication of FM 3-24 has developed doctrine to defeat counterinsurgents with lessons learned in combat. It teaches the importance of cultural awareness in an asymmetric environment and stresses to avoid imposing our ideology of what we think is normal upon a foreign society (2006, p. 1-15). Today’s COE demands a more robust pre-mobilization training package on the culture, language, geography and anthropology. Training for this principle of warfare has been trivialized to higher-level familiarization of COIN doctrine and lower-level â€Å"check-the-block† pre-mobilization training. We need comprehensive training that involves every Soldier and incorporates advanced studies with scenario based exercises. Sergeant Elkhamri, a U. S. Army translator that spent 18 month with a Special Forces unit in Iraq, explained that the way to increase the Iraqi support in our fight against terrorism is to â€Å"improve the quality and increase the quantity† of pre-mobilization cultural awareness training. He further emphasizes how the we cannot expect deploying Soldiers to get a full understanding of Iraqi culture in a two hour PowerPoint class (2007, p. 110). The Philippine Insurrection The Philippine Insurrection is one of the strongest examples of how the lack of cultural respect and understanding can render significantly negative effects on military operations. From the American stand point, the Philippine Insurrection should have been a quick and easy conflict. Originally, the U. S. deployed with 20,000 troops in order to quickly quell the insurrection. After the realization that the resistance was not going to collapse quickly, troop strength doubled, tripled and finally peaked at 74,000 by the end of the conflict (Wikipedia, 2009) . In short, this stemmed from the U. S. underestimating the importance of cultural understanding by disregarding the Filiopino culture. The U. S. also demostrated that it was their duty to rescue the Filipino people by imposing American democracy upon them. This mindset, which was evident among U. S. military leadership in the Philippines, is sometimes apparent to this day. The Philippine Insurrection is one of the lowest points in U. S. military history. The Filipinos were often described by American military and media as uncivilized, fiendish savages. The U. S. ilitary strategy was executed with no consideration towards the local populace. American Soldiers tortured, mutilated and even decapitated Filipino troops. There were reports of U. S. Soldiers shooting surrendering Filipino troops and burning entire villages to the ground (Wikipedia, 2009). Picture these atrocities happening in America to Americans by a foreign military force. I would bet that we would have an enormous insurgent force of enraged Americans. Human nature dictates that the Philippine people would react the same way, and they did. The insurgency grew as word spread of the atrocities. Agoncillo described how the Filipino troops would exceed American brutality on some prisoners of war. He told stories how ears and noses were cut off and salt applied to the wounds; other reports described captured U. S. Soldiers being buried alive (Wikipedia, 1990). This cause and effect cycle was mutually destructive; in the end, both sides were blatantly breaking the Laws of War. John White was one American that understood the effectiveness of cultural understanding. He was a former American soldier that served as an officer in the Philippine Constabulary and led foreign indigenous troops in combat. His experiences served as a perfect example of the positive effects achieved by applying cultural understanding. In 1928 he wrote a book describing how he built a unified and highly effective combat unit of indigenous people that were both Muslim and Christian. These specialized squads would hunt down the insurgents into their own domain and defeat them in battle. Some of the keys to his success were emphasizing common soldier skills, trusting the integrity of his troops, treating his subordinates and their cultures with respect and adapting proven army methods to the native culture. He became fluent in Spanish and lived among his soldiers and the native people (2009, Dimarco). White was hugely successful in overcoming the insurgency by understanding their culture and adapting his knowledge of combat operations and tactics to fit his operating environment. Operation Iraqi Freedom The roots of the problems we face in Iraq stemmed from the strategic level. McFate, explained how some policy makers misunderstood the tribal nature of the Iraqi culture and assumed that the government would remain stable even after Saddam’s regime was overthrown. Consequentially, without any governmental structure the tribes assumed control and once the Ba’thists lost their power, the tribal network became the backbone of the insurgency. The Iraqi tribal insurgency was born from American cultural ignorance (McFate, 2004, p. 44). Cultural misunderstanding continued to be our weakness with the misinterpretation of certain symbols and gestures. American forces often associated the black flag as the opposite of surrender but among the Shia population it is a religious symbol. Consequently, many Shia who flew the black were shot unnecessarily for displaying their religious beliefs. Another example is how the American signal for stop was often misinterpreted since this gesture means welcome in Iraq; as you can imagine, this resulted in tragedy as well (2004, p. 44). In 2006, Elkhamri witnessed numerous appointments of powerful political figures solely based family-ties and political affiliations. He met Iraqi Commanders who were promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel exclusively for political reasons. Naturally, these shady antics did not go over well with the local populace. With a better under ¬standing of the social-political framework, leaders could prevent these situations and earn the trust and respect of the community (2007, p. 111). Inversely, understanding the culture and society of your COE can positively impact military operations. By recognizing that pre-existing social structures were key to political stabilization, British Brigadier Andrew Kennett implemented historical lessons learned by adjusting to local cultures and understanding the inner workings of the tribal hierarchy. He learned that the most important element of the Iraqi society is the tribe and their supporters and observed the tribal relationship between currency and loyalty. Knowing this, he appointed tribal leaders to the local councils and gave them money to distribute. By doing this, he empower the sheiks and gained favor with the local tribes (McFate, 2007, p. 45). General Odierno understood how the structure of any insurgency always mirrors the structure of the indigenous society; with this notion he tasked two junior intelligence analysts to construct a chart in order to locate Saddam. By identifying, depicting and tracking key figures’ nterrelationships, social status, and last-known locations, this intelligence led the 4th ID troops directly to Saddam Hussein (McFate, 2007, p. 45). This turning point in the war stemmed from the leadership’s knowledge of the Iraqi society and culture. Counter Argument There are some that believe cultural understanding is over rated and over emphasized. In some military subcultures, hardened emotions and apathy towards your enemies’ culture and interests correlates to strength, courage and fearlessness. Some argue that the Warrior Ethos contradicts with cultural understanding and COIN doctrine. Many years ago, my friend SSG Delagarza jokingly said, â€Å"My definition of hearts and minds is two in the heart, one in the mind† and yes, we all laughed because that was part of being in that subculture. There are situations where this hardened mindset is essential to mission success, but just as we need to select the right weaponry for each planned target, we need to select the proper approach for each military operation and situation. Selecting the proper weaponry and the proper approach is a key decision that is based on thorough analysis of every aspect of your enemy and AO. Cultural knowledge of your enemy goes hand in hand with the strategy and tactics used to defeat them. A former commander and one of the hardest Rangers I ever met used to always tell us, â€Å"You got to be hard AND smart. † It was a simple little phrase that we usually ignored but it’s always stuck with me. Now that I have grown as an NCO and leader, I realize what he was saying. There are times to use your brawn by showing overwhelming aggression and firepower but there are also times to use your intellect by employing the most efficient methods to handle a situation. As a young first sergeant I learned the hard way. There were times my hard charging methods of demanding battalion staff NCOs to â€Å"do their job and fix the problem† may have worked, but in due course I realized that I was destroying critical relationships and losing all rapport with supporting elements. The secondary effects were evident by the lack willing support from these same staff sections for months to follow. Ironically, the trickle-down effect eventually affected the ones I was so adamantly fighting for, my Soldiers. Conclusion I believe the U. S. will always overcome any military adversary with our verwhelming land, sea and air superiority, advanced intelligence, technology, weaponry and training but at what cost? In today’s asymmetric environment, direct action may not always be the best option. The finesse of properly executed cultural diplomacy may be an effective force multiplier. There is a significant need to train every Soldier on effectively implementing cultural understanding, especially at the lowest level. With an advanced understanding of our COE’s culture, society, geography and anthropology we could achieve success swiftly, efficiently and most importantly with considerably less casualties. References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War http://louisdimarco.com/Occupations/Reviewbulletsandbolos.pdf How to cite Cultural Awareness in an Asymmetric Environment, Essay examples

Management Planning at Walmart Essay Example

Management Planning at Walmart Paper Successful corporations in today’s business world must be able to employ different levels of planning in order to achieve goals put in place by senior management. Wal-Mart has many different levels of management planning in place to follow through on its goals and objectives. There are many factors that influence Wal-Mart’s strategic, tactical, operational and contingency planning. Although Wal-Mart has been a very successful corporation throughout its existence, it has had to absorb the impact of legal issues, ethics, and corporate responsibility in its management planning. In Wal-Mart’s strategic planning stage, they are highly regarded as visionaries. One thing that Wal-Mart prides themselves in is the fact that they develop planning processes that enable the company to understand where they want to go, how they want to get there, and what things they must focus on along the way to drive the plan. One thing that has never lost focus is Wal-Mart’s drive to always make sure that they are first and foremost a value driven company. The only way that Wal-Mart would continue to push the value button was by leveraging the size of the company to force vendors for better costs of goods. This enabled them to maintain its image as value driven. Along the way, Wal-Mart became more tactical as well. Part of their tactical planning was to figure out how to get customers to buy more once they were in the store. Wal-Mart never really had a problem attracting the consumer in the store. So they came up with a solution that would ensure better inventory management as well as improved supply chain management. We will write a custom essay sample on Management Planning at Walmart specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Management Planning at Walmart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Management Planning at Walmart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In other words, they wanted to make sure that they improved the way that goods made it to store shelves so that the consumer bought them. This affected their entire distribution channels as the entire system would need to be revamped. Along with this tactic, they reduced the amount of items that they carried that were deemed as not returning on their investment. The results have had a significant impact to their bottom line. Wal-Mart has also had many legal and ethical issues over the past several years. As the company’s sales have soared, analysts say, it appears to have become the nation’s most popular private-sector target for lawsuits (Richard Willing, 2001). Lawsuits range from age and gender discrimination, employees not being compensated properly for overtime work, safety in stores parking lots, hiring outside contractors that use illegal immigrants to provide services, among many others. So as the company has become such a powerful force in the retail industry, it has become a large target for legal issues brought forth against them. Ethical issues have also brought forth lawsuits at Wal-Mart. Accusations of favoritism in the work place including non-promotions of females to upper level positions, non-promotion of employees with college degrees, and accusations of being anti-union. All this indicates is that it puts Wal-Mart at the front of news reports that they engage in unethical activities. Corporate responsibility also affects management planning at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has a very good reputation for being corporate responsible. Examples include their philosophy that they operate globally but always give back locally. In 2007, Wal-Mart gave 296 million dollars to charitable organizations across the United States. If you include donations from employees and customers, Wal-Mart gave away 470 million dollars globally. Areas in the communities that benefited from these donations include education, hunger relief, environmental sustainability, healthcare, disaster relief, military outreach, Salvation Army, among many others. Wal-Mart also has a green goal. It claims that their environmental goal is to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain our natural resources and the environment(Wal-Mart website 2008). Conclusion Wal-Mart is certainly credited with changing the retail world as we know it with its low prices and big stores with huge selections but it has come at a price. They have struggled with issues that question the ethics as a company and legal issues that question how they manage people. These issues will continue to hurt their organization unless a complete change in management thinking and actions are changed. As a socially responsible organization, their management planning in this area is second to none. Lets hope they take the same effort in improving their image when it comes to ethics and legal issues. References Willing, R. (2001, August 13). Lawsuits a Volume Business at Wal-Mart. USA Today Retrieved April 28th, 2008 from: http://www. usatoday. com/news/nation/2001/08/14/walmart- usat. htm Sustainability- Wal-Mart website(2008). Retrieved April 28th, 2008 from: http://walmartstores. com/Sustainability/

Sierra Leone and South Africa Essay Example

Sierra Leone and South Africa Essay Example Sierra Leone and South Africa Essay Sierra Leone and South Africa Essay There is no doubt on the potential of the diamond industry to provide benefits and elevate economic and social status of Sierra Leone and South Africa. However, just like in any other industries, problems arise. Perhaps the greatest problem the diamond industry faced was the issue on conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds started in the war in Angola in 1992. Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA or Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola, focused his attention to the vast diamond fields of Angola to find new ways to finance his army and expand his smuggling business (The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists 4).By 1993, Savimbi had the largest diamond smuggling network in the world. And among his associates was South Africa’s De Decker Diamonds, a company that admitted selling diamonds to De Beers. This pattern of laundering diamonds was replicated in other countries especially Sierra Leone (Diamond Facts. Org, The Facts). In 1998, because of the brutal conflict in Sierra Leone, the United Nations started investigating about conflict diamonds and the UN Security Council began imposing sanctions on diamond transactions of countries in conflict.This brought the attention of the global diamond community to the issue of conflict diamonds (ICIJ 4). In 2000, Global Witness, a nongovernmental organization based in London, introduced the term blood diamond to further highlight the issue on conflict diamonds (ICIJ 4). Meanwhile, South Africa initiated the Kimberly Process, a certification scheme to stop the flow of conflict diamonds, in response to the highlighted attention on conflict diamonds and also to protect the country’s diamond industry (ICIJ 5).The issue took on greater implications when, in 2001, media reports provided evidences connecting conflict diamonds to the Al Qaeda attack on the United States (ICIJ 4). Because of the extent and magnitude covered by the issue on conflict diamonds, efforts to control and eliminate this problem through the Kimberly Process required the cooperation of not only South Africa but the entire global community. The United Nations, the international diamond industry and nongovernmental organizations including Partnership Africa Canada, Amnesty International and Global Witness were among the participants.For the first time, a global industry joined forces with governments, the United Nations, and social organizations to deal with a humanitarian issue (Diamond Facts. Org, The Facts). The Kimberly Process was initiated in May 2000. By December 2000, a unanimous vote by all the members of the United Nations General Assembly to support the Kimberly process was passed (ICIJ 4). By January 2003, the K imberly Process Certification Scheme was accepted and made into national law by 52 governments.As of August 2007, membership of the Kimberly Process totaled 74 countries, including Sierra Leone, thus guaranteeing a 99% conflict-free global rough diamond production (Diamond Facts. Org, The Facts). The Kimberly Process presented an international structure where diamonds’ origins are identified and recorded under the backing of the World Diamond Council (ICIJ 5). Rough diamonds crossing international border must come with a government-validated Kimberly Process Certificate and should be enclosed in tamper-resistant containers.Every certificate should be resistant to faking, uniquely numbered and must contain description of shipment contents. Only members of the Kimberly Process are allowed to import and export rough diamonds and should exclusively deal Kimberly-certified diamonds. Contents of the shipment should be checked with the Kimberly Certificate by the importing countryâ €™s customs. It is illegal to export or import uncertified rough diamonds. Confiscation or rejection of parcels and possibly criminal case will be imposed to violators of the procedures (Rapaport 4).The success of the Kimberly Process will be gauged not only on how many of the conflict diamonds are prevented from moving into the international market but also in its effectiveness in checking the proliferation of conflict diamonds from the source of the diamonds itself. In South Africa, though this country was never implicated in the production of conflict diamonds, there were rumors in 2002 that the country was a major laundering center for illicit diamonds especially in Kimberly. This was largely due to sudden resurgence of new diamond discoveries in areas already regarded for years as dry in terms of diamond production.Local diggers suddenly started turning up harvests comparable to a small mine’s production where it used to have only a few carats a month (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists 1). Another reason why the rumor came up was the relative ease by which diamonds were dealt with in the Kimberly Diamond Exchange. Simple invoices were considered adequate for dealers to sell diamonds. No consideration for the origin of the diamond was needed to deal the precious stone. As long as dealers supplying diamonds to the Kimberly Diamond Exchange provide invoices, it is considered legal.Added to this predicament is the difficulty in proving or disproving the origin of the diamond. Although investigations were conducted in Kimberly, there have been no charges filed against anyone dealing in conflict diamonds (ICIJ 2). Possibly the most efficient fuel for the rumor is the government regulatory board’s ineptness to do their duty resulting to laundering of illicit diamonds (ICIJ 3). Monitoring and regulating South Africa’s diamond mining and exportation is supposed to be the South African Diamond Board’s responsibili ty (ICIJ 3).The board neglected their duties when Chris Potgeiter, a shareholder and main contributor in the De Beers exchange Center, declared diamond sales worth $40 million from areas bought from De Beers in 1997. But the areas in question contained no such wealth as described from De Beers’ prospecting notes (ICIJ 3). In Addition, during the period from 1999 to 2001, there were reports that diamond buyers or bourses dealt $360 to $490 million worth of diamonds to the United States. But those diamonds were not examined by the South African Diamond Board which suggested that illicit diamonds were being laundered through the bourse (ICIJ 7).Where diamond authorities were concerned, more often than not, De Beers was most likely connected with the actions of the agencies concerned because of its status in the diamond industry. It is common knowledge that De Beers was the sole entity that started the diamond industry in South Africa. Its influence grew as the industry expanded through time. People in key positions in South African diamond institutions were most likely have direct or indirect link to De Beers. For this reason, doubts emerged whether De Beers was honest on its claim that the company was never touched by conflict diamonds (ICIJ 5).Among the arguments presented, the most intriguing was the cozy relationship between the South African Diamond Board and De Beers. The members of the board and head of various committees were close to the company (ICIJ 8). Allegedly, De Beers used their political influence for the benefit of the company. Benny Steinmetz, one of the most favored sightholders or the elite dealers of De Beers, was influential in South African politics. Steinmetz had connections with South African member of Congress Tokyo Sexwale who, in turn, was a business partner of De Beers (ICIJ 6).Other circumstances that questioned the integrity of De Beers were focused on the diamonds that De Beers purchased from Angola during this country†™s war until its end in 1998 (ICIJ 6). De Beers’ obscured operating procedures made it almost impossible to determine that source of diamond once these diamonds were mixed in its vault and thus made the allegation impossible to prove (ICIJ 6). When the Kimberly process was formed, it was headed by Abbey Chikane of the South African Diamond Board. Chikane had a close relationship with De Beers (ICIJ 8).Because of this situation, speculations on De Beers’ real motives in being active in the Kimberly process erupted. The general assumption was that De Beers was using the Kimberly process to secure hold on the diamond industry because of the growing competition (ICIJ 7). Moreover, the report of the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the US Congress, that the Kimberly process was essentially flawed, provided further doubt on the effectiveness of the Kimberly Process to address the problem of conflict diamonds (ICIJ 5).

What Simple Random Sampling Is and How to Do It

What Simple Random Sampling Is and How to Do It Simple random sampling is the most basic and common type of  sampling method  used in quantitative social science research and in scientific research generally.  The main benefit of the simple random sample is that each member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen for the study. This means that it guarantees that the sample chosen is representative of the population and that the sample is selected in an unbiased way. In turn, the statistical conclusions drawn from the analysis of the sample will ​be valid.​ There are multiple ways of creating a simple random sample. These include the lottery method, using a random number table, using a computer, and sampling with or without replacement. Lottery Method of Sampling The lottery method of creating a simple random sample is exactly what it sounds like. A researcher randomly picks numbers, with each number corresponding to a subject or item, in order to create the sample. To create a sample this way, the researcher must ensure that the numbers are well mixed before selecting the sample population. Using a Random Number Table One of the most convenient ways of creating a simple random sample is to use a random number table. These are commonly found at the back of textbooks on the topics of statistics or research methods. Most random number tables will have as many as 10,000 random numbers. These will be composed of integers between zero and nine and arranged in groups of five. These tables are carefully created to ensure that each number is equally probable, so using it is a way to produce a random sample required for valid research outcomes. To create a simple random sample using a random number table just follow these steps. Number each member of the population 1 to N.Determine the population size and sample size.Select a starting point on the random number table. (The best way to do this is to close your eyes and point randomly onto the page. Whichever number your finger is touching is the number you start with.)Choose a direction in which to read (up to down, left to right, or right to left).Select the first n numbers (however many numbers are in your sample) whose last X digits are between 0 and N. For instance, if N is a 3 digit number, then X would be 3. Put another way, if your population contained 350 people, you would use numbers from the table whose last 3 digits were between 0 and 350. If the number on the table was 23957, you would not use it because the last 3 digits (957) is greater than 350. You would skip this number and move to the next one. If the number is 84301, you would use it and you would select the person in the population who is assigned the number 301.Continue this way through t he table until you have selected your entire sample, whatever your n is. The numbers you selected then correspond to the numbers assigned to the members of your population, and those selected become your sample. Using a Computer In practice, the lottery method of selecting a random sample can be quite burdensome if done by hand. Typically, the population being studied is large and choosing a random sample by hand would be very time-consuming. Instead, there are several computer programs that can assign numbers and select n random numbers quickly and easily. Many can be found online for free. Sampling With Replacement Sampling with replacement is a method of random sampling in which members or items of the population can be chosen more than once for inclusion in the sample. Let’s say we have 100 names each written on a piece of paper. All of those pieces of paper are put into a bowl and mixed up. The researcher picks a name from the bowl, records the information to include that person in the sample, then puts the name back in the bowl, mixes up the names, and selects another piece of paper. The person that was just sampled has the same chance of being selected again. This is known as sampling with replacement. Sampling Without Replacement Sampling without replacement is a method of random sampling in which members or items of the population can only be selected one time for inclusion in the sample. Using the same example above, let’s say we put the 100 pieces of paper in a bowl, mix them up, and randomly select one name to include in the sample. This time, however, we record the information to include that person in the sample and then set that piece of paper aside rather than putting it back into the bowl. Here, each element of the population can only be selected one time.

Substance requirement in global tax planning Research Paper

Substance requirement in global tax planning - Research Paper Example As tax planning possibilities increase for companies, particularly holding companies, the research paper agreed with Jourdan (2009) who found that â€Å"concerned states are eagerly trying to protect their tax base by developing anti-tax-avoidance legislation – often in ways that disregard the character of the activity conducted.† It is based on this recurring development that the research makes a very strong advocacy to companies to adapt radical means and measures of ensuring that the payment of taxes does not become a hitch to their financial growth. Part from the setting up of holding companies to be used in qualifying for tax exemptions, the research therefore concludes that companies could rather use re-basement of their assets. Some of the key findings made from the research paper on tax strategizing are given in the bullet points below: The key advantage associated with substance in international tax planning is that it helps the multinational company in better tracking its true financial assets with or without tax reliefs The use of claiming treaty benefit is one of the safest legal means of gaining legitimate reliefs from taxes.

War On Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

War On Drugs - Essay Example Its initiation was aimed at taking a firm stand on drugs because of the effect that drug abuse has had on society. The problem comes about when prisons become overcrowded as facilities, and supervisory staff is not enough. This, in turn, leads the government to injecting more resources to correctional organizations at the expense of other pressing issues such as healthcare and education programs. Conversely, such organizations may be ignored causing prison facilities to be strained and prison staff over-worked without earning any extra income; this is usually the more common scenario (Yahoo! Inc, 2007). Pinpointing the Source In order to rectify this problem, which essentially is an inflated budget, it is vital to pinpoint the source of the overall problem of drug abuse in the society. Questions such as which are the most common illicit drugs, where do the drugs come from, who distributes them, what are the loopholes that enable this distribution persist, how else can persons be dete rred to participate in drug trade. This breakdown allows specific solutions to be arrived at; without having to call for harsh punishment directly, which translates to serving longer terms in prison. The government should consider the fact that rehabilitation through imprisonment is not a solution for drug traffickers; because what instead happens is that they interact with much worse criminals and get further inclined to a criminal lifestyle. Moreover, having a criminal record prevents them from getting legitimate jobs thereby, leading them back to drug trade (Yahoo! Inc, 2007).In some states, the war on drugs has kept use of government resources at bay by seizing assets from drug traffickers. ... Inc, 2007). In some states, the war on drugs has kept use of government resources at bay by seizing assets from drug traffickers. This has been viewed as a self-financing method but in reality resources gained from asset forfeiture end up being transferred to other departments with scarce resources. In addition, police agencies have been noted to seize assets from innocent persons with the aim of acquiring resources for financing their departments. The resources amassed from asset seizures end up diverting focus from actual crime fighting. There needs to be a shift in thinking whereby drug prohibition has proven not to be effective in alleviating drug trade. Over time, the argument for drug prohibition has been that there is a relationship between drug trafficking and other violent crimes such as car theft and robbery. Therefore, if drugs are prohibited, the law is better enforced as such crimes are prevented (Benson, 2009). However, this has been proven ineffective as prisons have b ecome overcrowded and most states have had to call for release of petty offenders. This has proven quite risky, as individuals who are viewed as petty offenders may have considered graduating to higher crimes because of interacting with serious offenders. Either way, the petty offenders arrested for drug trade are released back into society without any assurance that they have been rehabilitated. The issue then becomes identifying a way of effectively rehabilitating drug traffickers where incarceration is not an option. Another issue is the stringent laws on parolees as most of them will inevitably violate them and end up stuck in the vicious recycle of the prison system (Romaine, 2011).

Scene Analysis Of America Beauty Film Studies Essay

Scene Analysis Of America Beauty Film Studies Essay American Beauty is a film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in the year 2000. The film is about Lester Burnham , who is searching for happiness. Lester Burnham is an ordinary-looking man in his forties. Lester is in a loveless marriage because his wife, Carolyn Burnham, who thinks that success is the most important thing in life, neglects him due to her obsession to her real estate career. In the film, Lester often mentions that Carolyn doesnt acknowledge him. Lesters daughter, Jane Burnham, is emotionally distant from her father, and often claims how pathetic she thinks Lester is. In the beginning of the film, Lester was told that he was in danger of losing his job. All these factors dramatically culminate into feelings of desperation and vulnerability for him. This begins to change as Lester is introduced to his daughters friend, Angela Hayes. Lester overhears a conversation between Jane and Angela, where Angela states that she would have sex with him if he would star t working-out and building up his body. The thought of having a teenage girl finding Lester hot, excites Lester thus beginning Lesters change throughout the movie (American Beauty, motion picture, 2000). I will be analysing two scenes of this film which I found to be the most significant in terms of how it helped me shape my interpretation of and emotional response to the film. Both scenes involve major turn of events in the film regarding Lester Burnham and I found that the cinematographic qualities of the scenes played a major part in contributing to the movies overall meaning. According to Richard Barsam, cinematography is the process of capturing moving images on film or some other medium (Barsam 2007, p.140). Barsam states that, Although cinematography might seem to exist solely to please our eyes with beautiful images, it is in fact an intricate language that can contribute to a movies overall meaning as much as the story, mise-en-scene, and acting do (Barsam 2007, p.140). This means that the use of the different aspects of cinematography such as lighting, framing, camera angles can help contribute to interpreting the meaning of the film itself. The two cinematographic elements which are mainly used in the scenes include composition and camera movement. Barsam states that the composition element refers to the arrangement of visual elements within a shot (Barsam 2007, p.161). There can be numerous visual elements within a shot. Some of the elements include lighting, shot compositions (long-shot, medium-shot, close-up), and dynamic compositions. Barsam points out that a key component of composition is lighting. The lighting shapes the way the movie looks and helps tell the story (Barsam 2007, p.148). Among its properties are its source, quality, direction and style. Barsam states that the different properties of lighting work together with other elements to determine the overall mood and meaning of a scene (Barsam 2007, p.154). According to Barsam, the second cinematographic element, camera movement, can change the way we see the images because any movement of the camera modifies the different elements of framing. These elements include camera angle, level, height, types of shots and scale (Barsam 2007, p.176). The moving camera opens up cinematic space, and thus filmmakers use it to achieve many effects. Barsam points out that the moving camera leads the viewers eye, or focuses the viewers attention and, by moving into the scene, helps create the illusion of depth in the flat screen image. (Barsam 2007, p.176) The first scene I will be analysing is the scene where Lester first spots Angela. In this scene, Lester and Carolyn decided to support Jane at her school where she was performing a dance at half-time. This scene is significant because it shows how Lester begins to rebel against who he is, as a result of Angelas sexuality. The scene begins with Lester and Carolyn arriving at the basketball game right before Janes performance. Then as the performance begins, almost immediately into the dance routine, Angela is given an upward position in the frame elevated with dynamic composition. It is dynamic composition because there is movement within the fixed frame (Barsam 2007, p.161). By giving Angela an upward position within the frame, it suggests that Lester is taking notice of her. And as the scene continues, Angela has gotten Lesters full attention. Angela is shown moving towards the camera in another dynamic composition shot complemented by the camera zooming in on her. This enhances Ang elas presence and this also gave me an idea as to the degree of attention Lester is giving Angela due to her sexuality. The scene continues with a static composition shot of Lester. According to Barsam, a static composition shot is where there is no movement within the frame, unlike a dynamic composition where there is movement (Barsam 2007, p.161). The camera then begins to zoom in on Lester. As the camera zooms in, the crowd is eliminated and only Lester is shown in the frame. Furthermore, Lesters eyes appears to be bigger than they actually are because of the way the camera is focusing on them. This makes Lester look as though he is drooling over something he desires. At this point, the camera performs a point of view shot showing what Lesters eyes are fixated on, and that is Angela. This again displays the degree of enchantment that Angela has placed over Lester. In Lesters mind, only Angela and himself exists at that moment, and everyone else is filtered out as they are not of any importance to Lester. The scene then concludes with a shot-reverse-shot of Angela and Lester. A shot-reverse-shot is where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other (Yale Film Studies Program 2002). This allowed me to see that in Lesters fantasy, Angela is dancing erotically just for him, giving each other the same amount of attention. Because of the fact the Lester is desiring a girl that is his daughters age, it should be noted that Angela and Lester are never shown in the same frame in the scene as this suggests that there is some barrier in between them. Another technical element which I found that added to the effectiveness of the scene, was the lighting. In the point of view shot from Lesters perspective that showed that he was fixated on Angela, Angela was shown by herself in the frame. And as mentioned above, this is to point out that Lester only has his attention on Angela. The lighting used complemented the shot as the lighting helped to focus my attention on Lesters enlarged eyes and this showed me that he was being enchanted by what he was seeing. Another way the lighting was used in the scene was when Angela was shown alone in the frame and the background in the shot became a lot darker. At the same time, a bright light shined on Angela from above. The lighting in this shot is high contrast and low key. It is high contrast because the difference between the light and darkness is clear. Barsam states that low key lighting is when little or no fill light is used, the ratio between bright illumination and deep shadow is very high (Barsam 2007, p.152). This is shown in the shot because Angelas shadow can be seen behind her and shadows can be seen on the rest of Lesters face, excluding his eyes. I found that lighting contributed quite a lot in this scene. Firstly, I felt that the light shining solely on Angela portrays Angela as the object of Lesters attention. Barsam states that lighting thrown down on a character from above can be used for many different effects, (ie: vulnerability) (Barsam 2007, p.153). In the case of this scene, the light may be portraying the innocence and purity of Angela as she was a virgin throughout the entire film and as light can sometimes be affiliated with good and darkness with bad. The darkness in the background may represent her fake personality where she lies about her sexual experience to the people around her. The darkness surrounding Lester during the close up shots of him may be representing the sexual thoughts he fantasizes about in the scene. And thus the darkness surrounds him throughout the shots of him paying full attention to Angela. The second scene I will be analysing, is the scene towards the end of the film when Lesters fantasies and dreams are about to become reality. This scene is significant because it shows the second turn of events which transforms Lester again, but this time back to the mature person he once was, and also making him realize what it really meant to make him happy. This scene also makes use of composition and camera movement. The scene begins with Lester moving close towards Angela who is lying on the couch. The camera pans right while following Lester. I found this to build up suspense to what would happen next. And as the camera moves to the right, it moves back down. This is a dynamic shot with downward movement. Dynamic because of the movement within the frame and downward movement because the camera moves in a downward movement. According to Barsam, this downward movement implies a negative action (Barsam 2007, p.177). In this case, the negative action is Lesters sexual tendencies towards Angela who is a teenager. Barsam also mentions that the downward movement implies the loss of something (Barsam 2007, p.177). In this case, the loss is of Angelas virginity. The next shot is of Angela appearing at a 45 degree angle in the frame. This is known as a Dutch-angle shot. According to Barsam, a Dutch-angle shot is when the camera is tilted from its normal horizontal and vertical position so that it is no longer straight, giving the viewer the impression that the world in the frame is out of balance (Barsam 2007, p.174). The Dutch-angle accentuates the unnatural nature of the actions in the frame. In this case, it is of the unnatural reaction of Angela, who is about to have a sexual experience for the first time. As the scene continues, the camera pans from left to right and right to left following Lesters hands as they go up and down Angelas body. I found that this intensified the erotic feeling of the scene. In the next shot, the camera moves to a dynamic crane shot, showing Lesters hands unbuttoning Angelas shirt. According to Barsam, a crane shot is a shot made from a camera mounted onto an elevating arm that, in turn, is mounted on a vehicle capable of moving by its own power resulting in it being more flexible due to the freedom of horizontal and vertical movement. The shot is then followed by a shot-reverse shot of Angela and Lester looking at one another. In the scene, Angela was given the low angle shot, looking up at Lester. Barsam states that a low-angle shot is made with the camera below the action and typically places the observer in the position of feeling helpless in the presence of a superior force (Barsam 2007, 171). In other words, a low-angle shot emphasizes anxiety, fear and vulnerability. The fact that Angela is looking up at Lester also implies that Lester is in control. However, I noticed during the crane shots, Angelas position in the frame is always higher than Les ters. In a way, this implies that she is pure and innocent because good elements are usually given a higher position over bad elements (eg: Heaven up, Hell down). In the next shot, Angela reveals to Lester that she is a virgin. At this point, the shot goes back to Lester, who is in a Dutch-angle shot smiles and asks if Angela was kidding. The reason for the Dutch-angle shot is because Lester has realized what he was doing was unnatural. After this shot, is the second major turning point in Lesters transformation, where he finally realizes after all this while, that being lustful for a teenager wasnt what it meant to be happy. The lighting technique used in this scene seemed to portray the light and darkness symbolic meaning that was mentioned above. Throughout the entire scene, there was always a light shining down on Angela but Lester was always kept in darkness. And with composition of Angelas white shirt and the soft light shining on it emphasizing the white colour of the shirt, the light represents purity and innocence because Angela is a virgin. Whereas, the darkness that surrounds Lester, and the minimal lighting shining on his hands as he moves his hands up and down Angelas body represents the impurity of his actions. The lighting used throughout this scene was low contrast and low key. Low contrast because the lighting used was dim and rather gray. In the final shots of the scene, the lighting used were low contrast and low key as well because that implies a sense of mystery. As a viewer, although Lester had come to realize what it meant to achieve happiness, there was something which kept me wondering what would happen. And true enough, the film ended with Lester getting killed. Throughout the film, there were many more cinematographic elements used which emphasized the personalities and characteristics of each character such as high-angle shots, the use of short-focal-length lenses and Long takes. However, because I interpreted the movie as Lesters transformations through being reborn, I found that the cinematographic qualities used in the two scenes I analysed to be the most significant in my interpretation of and emotional response to American Beauty.

Nutrition Final Paper Essay

Question 1 (3 pts): Clients will often approach the RD, bewildered as to how to select, plan, and prepare a healthy diet for themselves or their families. Using yourself as an example, discuss the six basic principles of diet planning and how they apply to your dietary intake. Answer 1: Preparing and eating health meals for me and my family can be difficult with our busy schedule, but it starts with a plan. Using the 6 principles of diet planning I start with adequacy. I accomplish this by writing out a grocery list of all the things my family will need for the week. I also shop weekly because we prefer fresh fruit and vegetables. Next, I make sure we have an even balance of foods. I write out meal plans for the week to make sure my family has an even items of food and also a variety of foods. This can be very challenging with young picky kids, because my son would just eat fruit and oatmeal all day long if I let him. Variety is really hard in the Parker home because of the limited food choices do to my husband intolerance to red meats and dairy products. I also struggle because my favorite food list consists of about 10 different kinds of foods. We don’t really have problems with the nutrient density because we only eat lean proteins such as fish, turkey, and chicken. My husband cannot tolerate fatty food so we don’t fry, and we enjoy a fixed variety of fruits and vegetables. I do not pay attention to calorie content unless it is a prepackaged food you heat up or add water to, but I do make sure what I’m putting into my families bodies is enough to keep them going for the day. Moderation is the last of the principles and a big one in my house. When cooking we do not add extra salt for taste nor do we consume foods with high trans fat, saturated fat,or cholesterol. Water is also the most consumed beverage. Soda has no home in my pantry, but we do elect for juices that are not made from concentrate. Question 2 (2 pts): Discuss the key recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 and differentiate these guidelines from the Canadian Guidelines for Healthy Eating. Do you have a preference as to which one you would use with clients? Answer 2: The dietary guidelines for Americans in 2010 have 4 main points. Starting with balancing calories to manage weight. With in this section it talks about how to maintain calorie control,intake,and balance. Also, is talks about physical activity and keeping active to maintain a healthy weight. In the Canadian guidelines it has in own section for keeping active and doing it in accordance to your body weight, but it really doesn’t touch on calorie balance or intake. Next, the American guidelines touches on foods to reduce from your diet. Focuses limiting sodium, saturated, mono and poly saturated,cholesterol ,trans fats,added sugars,refined grains,and alcohol. Whereas Canadian guidelines really just focus a lot on salt intake, alcohol, and caffeine. Next American guidelines talks about food to increase. Included in this list is fruits, vegetables, fat free dairy, lean proteins, seafood, and foods that have more vitamins within them. The Canadian guidelines emphasis consuming a variety of complex carbs and foods from the earth. Also, incorporating low fat dairy products as part of a daly routine. Although, both will guide the average person to a healthier lifestyle I would refer my clients to the American guidelines because it goes in to more depth of how to live healthier. Question 3 (3 pts): MyPyramid is a popular graphic source for nutrition information. In fact, it is so popular that it has been duplicated as a graphic for exercise information, vegetarian diets, etc. Given its popularity, it would appear that MyPyramid is the best pictorial to teach consumers nutritional information. Would you agree or disagree? Why? After you have stated your own personal argument, consider the other perspective and discuss why someone would take this perspective. Answer 3: I believe MyPyramid is a great way to teach consumers nutritional information, but I disagree that’s it is the best way. The people who need these guidelines the most are most likely ones who do not take the time to get on the Internet and use the tools that MyPyramid has to offer. I don’t think it properly educates people on the right food choices in each group. Education on nutrient density is a lacking component when using MyPyramid. I also believe that the MyPyramid is lacking in teaching balance of healthy foods. It seems like they stress certain foods more than others and thus creating unhealthy habits for individuals not properly understanding their nutrition needs. Question 4 (3 pts) : Food manufacturing and technology continue to grow in sophistication. While one can certainly debate about the pros and cons of such growth, there is no doubt that consumers are often confused about the different labels given to the different types of processed foods! (a) In a few sentences, describe each of the following: fortified, refined, enriched, whole grain, and textured vegetable protein. (b) What are your thoughts on how these types of foods fit into the diet of the American consumer? Question 4 a) Refined foods are highly processed that have been stripped of their original nutrient content such as white flour and white pasta. Enriched foods add vitamins and minerals to replace the ones lost in the refining process. Fortified foods add vitamins and nutrients in addition to the ones found before the refining process. Question 5 (3 pts): To fully gain command of their dietary intake, consumers should know how to read food labels. Many find reading food labels very confusing. Why do you personally believe that consumers find food labels hard to read? Describe how you, if you were an RD, would educate your client on reading a food label. What do you think would be your priority point of education for your client? Question 6 (5 pts): As noted in your readings, describing a vegetarian diet is somewhat like describing a typical American diet; there are many varieties. Please describe the types of vegetarian diets one might come into contact with and provide a short synopsis on the food plan that would be followed. Question 7 (3 pts): Discuss the rationale why consumers/clients select to pursue a vegetarian dietary plan as well as the health benefits of following a vegetarian diet. Question 8 (3 pts): Discuss nutrients that an RD should be careful to assess for and discuss with a client pursuing a vegetarian program to ensure that their dietary plan allows for sufficient quantities of that nutrient.

Discourses of Conformity in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s...

Throughout the novel ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ written by Ken Kesey, and the poem ‘Advice to Young Ladies’ crafted by A.D. Hope, there is evidence to suggest that the discourses represented by the characters in the novel and poem unveil the ways discourses of conformity underpin the characters’ actions, perceptions and motives, as well as inviting and silencing beliefs, attitudes and values. The author and poet are able to strongly convey their beliefs to the reader from their personal experiences. The four dominant discourses that both the novel and poem share and represents: conformity, sexuality and religious. These will be analysed and compared. The dominant discourse of conformity is characterised predominantly by†¦show more content†¦Kesey uses several symbolic references that lead the readers to believe that McMurphy symbolised Christ to the men in the hospital. These extracts examplify how McMurphy develops as a Christ figure. The novel depicts how the religious discourse positions and privileges the character. The poem, â€Å"Advice to Young Ladies†, crafted by A.D. Hope, does contain similar dominant discourse of conformity in Kesey’s novel. Although it foregrounds a particular viewpoint similar to the one presented in Kesey’s novel, the representations of religious and sexuality supports the conformity discourse. Postumia is not conformed to the Vestal Virgin as she is thought to talk too witty for her age. This can be demonstrated by: ‘Too witty for a young girl, her eyes, her walk. Too lively, her clothes too smart to be demure.’(Line 7-8) The poet positions readers to see Postumia’s smartness as a threat for men and her life being torn from her. A religious discourse can be used to explain this phenomenon. Hope portrays to the reader is that back then, men were superior and women were made invisible. Females did not have the right to use intelligence or even the right to express themselves. Hope portrays that men were superior then women. Femal es did not have the right to use intelligence or even the right to express themselves. An example of this can be demonstrated in line 47: â€Å"Than whose how, in their folly not less blind, Trusted the servile womb to breed free men.† This challenges