Economics Assignment About Technology Essay

During the 1990s, technological advance reduced the cost of computer chips. Explain, with the use supply and demand diagrams, how the following markets are affected in terms of prices and quantities. a)Computers b)Computer software c)Typewriters a) DEMAND- Demand refers to how much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers. The quantity demanded is the amount of a product people are willing to buy at a certain price; the relationship between price and quantity demanded is known as the demand relationship as showed on the graph below. Due to technological advance reducing the cost of computer chips, there is a downward shift on the demand curve. As there is price factor involved, there is a movement in the curve. As the price decreased, the total quantity demand increased. Moreover due to reduce cost in computer chips, the selling price has also been reduced therefore rise in consumers purchasing more computer chips. As the price is less than the equilibrium price there is an excess quantity demanded, which may course a shortage. SUPPLY- The quantity supplied refers to the amount of a certain good producers are willing to supply when receiving a certain price. The correlation between price and how much of a good or service is supplied to the market is known as the supply relationship. In this case, movement to the right of the supply curve as the supply has also increased due to the decrease in cost of computer chips. As the selling price has decreased, the supply has increased because more people are willing and can afford to purchase the computer chip. b) Demand- A computer software falls under a complementary good as it’s jointly consumed with computer chips. As a result, there is an inverse relationship between price changes for computer chips therefore the demand for its complementary good which in this case is computer software will decrease. If the price of computer software increased there would be upward shift on the demand curve therefore lesser quantity demanded as there are fewer people purchasing the product. Supply- as there was an increase in the price, there was a decrease in the supply. c) Type writers in this case would make no changes to the price or the quantity of its products as price reduction on computer-chip has no direct relation to it. The ceteris paribus holds all prices of other goods constant. Therefore, movement along a demand curve only occurs solely in response to changes in the price of computer-chips; that is, its own price. Question 2: After an economics lecture one day, your friend suggests that taxing food would be a good way to raise revenue because the demand for food is quite inelastic. a)In what sense is taxing food is a â€Å"good† way to raise revenue? b)In what sense is it not a â€Å"good way† to raise revenue? a) Food is a need, it is essential to us. Taxing food is a good way to raise revenue because the percentage change in quantity demanded is smaller than the percentage change in price (1 per cent in quantity demanded in response to a 1 per cent change in price). The demand for food is inelastic because the elasticity coefficient is less than 1 and total revenue varies directly with the direction of the price change (as the price of food increases, total revenue also rises). People will have to buy food to survive as most people live a busy life to grow their own crop. b) It is not a good way to raise revenue as people that live an average life or lower would suffer more. As it is they can barely put the food on the dinner table for the family, raising revenue would cause them to struggle even more causing more crimes such as shop lifting. Healthy foods are much dearer than junk foods therefore people will start eating take-away foods which would increase the rate of obesity. With take-way chains like Mc Donald’s promoting cheaper items such as the â€Å"loose change menu† and also advertising new food products regularly, take-way food would be the easier option. Question 3: Most studies of firms’ long run costs have found that average costs decline as firms produce increasingly larger output levels (economies of scale), such as for automobile firms. However, trucking (haulage) firms appear not to experience falling average costs associated with large-scale operations. Why might this be the case? Explain.

Five Characters in a Comic Scene Essay

Analyzing works of arts does not depend solely on the formalistic approach—the style, the aesthetics, or the form. Most of the time, to give a better analysis, one resorts to the use of context and culture. Here, the work is seen through the eyes of the culture from which the work emerged. Thus, in visual art, the use of cultural narratives is considered as important as the formalist way of critiquing any visual material. â€Å"The Judgement of Paris† by Marcantonio Raimondi and the â€Å"Five Characters in a Comic Scene† by Leonardo da Vinci would be now subjected under analysis through the use of cultural narratives. These cultural narratives are the stories in each culture that suggest possible interpretations for paintings. Being ignorant with these narratives may provide the wrong or altered meanings the visual material wants to convey. It is significant that one holds a background on the culture and context of the artist, including the time frame and the visual symbols in the material. â€Å"The Judgement of Paris† and â€Å"Five Characters in a Comic Scene† both depict the same, certain culture—the Greek. While Raimondi’s work was clearly showing a scene from the rich and vast Greek mythology, Da Vinci was portraying his own interpretations regarding comic characters that were part of early Greek theatre. From this point, an analysis could already be drawn regarding the works. It should be noted that the two works are telling about the Greeks, its tradition and culture particularly. Thus, it could be concluded that the artists are aware of how rich their culture was. In fact, the materials are portraying the two of the leading and influential contribution of the Greeks in the world: their mythology and their theatre. â€Å"The Judgement of Paris† shows the high regards of the Greeks for their gods. The work also suggests that Greeks believe in the close interactions of gods with humans to so as to resolve a conflict or to further complicate it. Most of all, the work shows that Greek gods—Hera, Athena, Aphrodite—can perform offerings to a human. This may be opposite to other culture’s religion since gods never steps down from his position to ask a favour from a human. On the other hand, the â€Å"Five Characters in a Comic Scene† suggests a perception on Greek comical characters. The actors in a comedy were using masks to hide and to make their faces funny. However, with the work of Da Vinci, it could be concluded that the painter was trying to interpret Greek comical characters different from the way they look when wearing masks. The use of Da Vinci;s distorted faces of the five characters tell that Greek comedy is not as beautiful as it is perceived. The two works of art certainly show their similarities by sharing under the same culture. However, it should be noted that the two also have their differences. While â€Å"The Judgement of Paris† lies behind a cultural narrative that seems to be a celebratory of the Greek mythology and early religion, the â€Å"Five Characters I a Comic Scene† seems to be connected with a cultural narrative that criticizes the Greek comedy per se. Using cultural narratives of the Greeks, it was able to analyze â€Å"The Judgement of Paris† and â€Å"Five Characters in a Comical Scene†. By having a background in the Greek culture, it was possible to give the two materials a more focused interpretation. Clearly, the analysis shows that cultural narratives are important to get a more in-depth look and meanings from any work of art. References Greek and Roman Comedy. Retrieved on 9 June 2008. http://www. theatrehistory. com/ancient/comedy001. html Paris (mythology) – Paris’ childhood, The Judgment of Paris, Paris and the Trojan War, Paris in the arts. Retrieved on 9 June 2008. http://encyclopedia. stateuniversity. com/pages/16736/Paris-mythology. html

Analysis of Addiction Service

Analysis of Addiction Service Colin O’Rourke Sankalpa Addiction Services Sankalpa is a Sanskrit word meaning idea or notion formed in the heart or mind, a solemn vow or determination to perform and a desire or definite intention. History of the agency The Millennium Carvings program which was established in 1998 and was supported and funded by FAS and the Local Drug Task Force (LDTF). Designed to deliver rehabilitation programs for stabilised or former drug users in the Finglas/ Cabra area it offered holistic programs exploring individual creativity together with therapeutic rehabilitation programs. Millennium Carvings evolved into Sankalpa and continued to create an holistic and therapeutic environment utilising artwork and creativity. This allows clients participate in their own recovery process while addressing some of the complex needs of service users through personal development and group work. The LDTF now ensure Sankalpa adhere to the National Drug Strategy. Agency Ethos ‘A sustainable p athway out of addiction leading towards a culture of recovery in Finglas & Cabra, built by support organizations and service users working in solidarity’ The characteristic spirit underpinning the Sankalpa culture is that of client centered therapeutic environment in a creative, holistic environment, the emphasis being on community. In creating this community that enables the clients to change intrinsically, the realization being that the client understands what motivates them better than the therapist, change comes from within. It is recognised that the relationship between the client and the therapist is of prime importance when evaluating the success of the therapeutic process, and that the cornerstone of recovery is this relationship. Aims Sankalpa aim to respect the dignity and rights of the client in a just and safe environment while understanding that sole responsibility for any addiction is the responsibility of the client that developed it. In doing so it hopes to en hance intrinsic worth in a therapeutic environment that values learning with a view to facilitating the healing process. It is believed that the therapeutic process is assisted by creating a space where drug related harm is minimised and where well organised levels of drug services are made available. Best practice and evidence based interventions are aimed to be utilised as is the support of non medical treatment of pain. Sankalpa aim to promote problem solving and critical thinking with their clients while remaining honest and open minded in their affairs. Objectives To meet their aims Sankalpa deliver quality programs while utilising trained staff who are  focused on achieving the desired outcomes by being part of the continuum of clients’ recovery  and linking and partnering with other agencies to assist in this continuum. Sankalpa support  clients by offering CE schemes to assist with moving on to employment and education. They  offer accredited further education to clients’ presenting with addiction issues or stabilised on  their medication and assist motivated clients in the continuum of recovery by way of the  development and implementation of their therapeutic model. What kind of treatment approach underpins the agency? The Sankalpa therapeutic model is psychosocial, client centered and evidence based. It utilises structured interventions the aim being to reduce or stabilise the harms associated with illicit drug use. The therapeutic work is mainly done in groups and uses Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), Motivational Interviewing (M.I) and Mindfulness. One to one sessions include goal setting, reviews and assessments. It is understood by employees of Sankalpa that access to education and employment that may previously have been out of reach due to social deprivation can be the cornerstone of successful recovery.

The history of the United Nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The history of the United Nations - Essay Example   Some of these countries included United States, china, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia, and France, among others. According to Shaw (N.d, p.1), the main concern of the United Nations has been the human welfare. The United Nations was divided into sub-divisions, which included the general assembly, the Security Council, the economic and social council, the international justice court and the secretariat. In addition, each of these divisions serves a specific task in promoting the United Nation’s goals. The United Nations was formed with several aims; for instance, ensuring that peace prevailed worldwide and developing strong relationships among nations, among others. This essay will discuss the various objectives of the United Nations and whether it lives up to the ideals of its founders to date. The main aim of the United Nations was to ensure that peace prevailed throughout the world, that nations would develop friendly relationships, working toget her to assist people in living better lives through elimination of poverty, illiteracy, and diseases globally. In addition, the UN aims at bringing to a stop environmental degradation, as well as fostering democracy and respect for each other’s rights (United Nations publications, 2000). Therefore, the United Nations is the main organization that assists countries in achieving the above aims. Generally, the UN has several principles that guide its operations; first, member states are expected to obey the United Nations charter.

The Italian Mafia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Italian Mafia - Research Paper Example Additionally, it has vast resources that enable it perform very complex operations while keeping a very low profile. The kind of operation the mafia carries out is highly sSuccession is clearly defined by the family ties and power automatically shifts to the firstborn son once the father dies. However, the members of these mafias protect their wealth and power at all costs even if it means killing anyone who meddles in their business. Additionally, they believe that they have built their empires for a long time and not even the government can take it from them as much as they are committing these crimes. These mafia organizations are not known by anybody; they work mysteriously and one cannot clearly identify who is in the mafia, as most of the people involved run legitimate businesses and are very well respected in the society hence making it very difficult to differentiate them from the other loyal citizens. Furthermore, they have access to government officers and can get any infor mation that they require. Due to this, it makes it very difficult for the government to track these organizations down and bring them to justice. These organizations are so secretive that they even control the marriages of there daughters and closely monitor their husbands. Sometimes the husbands are never introduced into the family business, and they are kept in the dark. One cannot deny the fact that mafia-type organizations are deeply rooted in Italy and have even extended into the government. For instance, the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Giulio Andreotti was charged for associating with mafia organizations. ... clearly identify who is in the mafia, as most of the people involved run legitimate businesses and are very well respected in the society hence making it very difficult to differentiate them from the other loyal citizens. Furthermore, they have access to government officers and can get any information that they require. Due to this, it makes it very difficult for the government to track these organizations down and bring them to justice. These organizations are so secretive that they even control the marriages of there daughters and closely monitor their husbands. Sometimes the husbands are never introduced into the family business, and they are kept in the dark. One cannot deny the fact that mafia-type organizations are deeply rooted in Italy and have even extended into the government. For instance, the former Prime Minister of Italy Mr. Giulio Andreotti was charged for associating with mafia organizations. However, he was acquainted when the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to tie him to the mafia organizations. Consequently, the most recent case is that of the Sicily president who was charged and convicted of associating and providing assistance to mafia organizations. He was sentenced to a five-year jail term in 2008. They fact remain that these mafia organizations spread terror and fear among the people trying to gain power and amerce wealth illegally. Moreover, they work with impunity and have no regard for the law. The mafia organizations aim at marking their territories and area of control. However, other features of mafia organizations include their code of honor for instance the Cosa Nostra mafia has ometra which means the duty of silence. They highly uphold this code and respect it hence making them invisible and hard to track down by

WHAT ARE PROBLEMS FACED BY ASYLUM SEEKERS, NEWCOMERS AND REFUGEES Assignment

WHAT ARE PROBLEMS FACED BY ASYLUM SEEKERS, NEWCOMERS AND REFUGEES ARTISTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM TO PRACTICE ART - Assignment Example The document discusses some of the traditions and laws in the UK that the refugees ride upon. In addition, it presents some of the policies and programs on the practice of art, as well as the challenges they face hitherto. Global activities have significantly affected the influx of refugees and asylums into the United Kingdom. For instance, from the years 2001 to 2005, there was an 85% increase in Afghanistan refugees, leading to a total of about 6% in the year 2006. The decrease coincided with the ‘war on terror’. The ‘United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ has reported a constant annual drop from 2002 in asylums seeking refuge in United Kingdom (Home Office, 2008). The UK has been a place of refuge for people escaping from their countries due to family relations, colonial links and the fairness in the UK’s legal system. In addition, the UK has been known to be friendly to newcomers. However, with the recent claims trying to taint its image, the UK has come up with some policies that deny asylum seekers and refugees access to essential services, but, has not restricted the number of people visiting it. The Labour government has come up with laws that give restri ctions to people going to seek for job opportunities in the UK. Nevertheless, the same law does not restrict the number of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Mostly, people looking for asylums have gone through traumatic experiences in their mother countries; hence, need to find peace in the host country. However, in the UK, the process of applying for asylum takes quite long, from months to sometimes even years. Bearing in mind the kind of experience they underwent in their country, most of them face psychological and mental issues as they await acceptance into the host country, like the UK. The situation makes asylum seekers different from other immigrants (Merli, 2002:

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Indians of the Rio Grande (1528-1536) Essay

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Indians of the Rio Grande (1528-1536) - Essay Example We treated many satisfied patients who firmly believed in our abilities. The natives highly respected us. Women treated us with mats and cooked food for us. The natives would abandon anything that was not blessed by us. As a result, we were supposed to breathe on and bless every share that was bought to us. Moreover, they would seek our advice for all important matters. During our expeditions, other people who feared us and believed firmly in our sacred powers welcomed us. They surrendered all their possessions to us that were distributed to those who were needy of them. During the expedition, we suffered a lot from malnutrition until Castillo and the Negro, left to look for food to a village beneath the river. Good news flowed from here, and the natives came to welcome them with food and water (Barker, pp. 15-20). However, as the natives and the Indians did not get along well, we had to follow the league of the natives, leaving the Indians behind with their food. The natives celebrated our arrival, while we left the next day. The following night, I asked my mates to look for the Christians who were moving away from that part of the country, who nevertheless refused due to the fatigue and weariness. However, I took off with my league in search of Christians. On our journey, we met four Christians who were astonished to see us; I nonetheless, asked them to lead us to their captain Diego de Alcaraz.

Otitis media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Otitis media - Essay Example The document provides guidelines for use in the right diagnosis and the proper treatment of children between ages 2 months to 12 years with symptoms of AOM. The source is just a guideline meant to provide some basis or framework when coming up with clinical conclusions about making correct clinical decisions. The source does not provide full details of evidence and nurses cannot use it as the only source to guide them during management of children with AOM. The source is also an evidence-based guideline compiled by different experts creating a comprehensive report. Even though it lacks the specific research details, it is very helpful since it provides important information for nurses on pain management, observation, antibacterial treatment, and preventive measures. The practical guidelines of the article, supported with adequate reasons, and summaries of findings of the study, makes this article very resourceful and appropriate for this nursing practice situation. Block, S. L. (1997 ). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance, and therapeutic considerations in acute Otitis media. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 16, 449- 456. This source of evidence can be classified as unfiltered resource because its source comes from the research studies of the author. The recommendations and views of the work are typically those of the author and since most of the information in the article particularly in the conclusion part represents views and recommendations of the author, it is certainly un-filtered. The resource nature makes it an evidence summary, because the authors made a summary from existing evidence. The source gives a clear-cut specific evidence of the pathogens that cause Acute Otitis Media (AOM) and the effectiveness of various antibiotics for treatment. Its drawback is that it does not provide a detailed report about other lines of treatment or alternative approach in treating AOM. In such a case, the nurses may miss some important information on treat ment therefore; some more important and relevant research findings should be included. The fact that this resource paper is an evidence summary then the details missing makes it to be less helpful to the nurses. It is therefore not a proper guideline for use by the nurses in such a situation. Kelley, P. E., Friedman, N., Johnson, C. (2007). Ear, nose, and throat. In W. W.Hay, M. J. Levin, J. M. Sondheimer, & R. R. Deterding (Eds.), Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment (18th ed., pp. 459Â ±492). New York: Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill. The source of evidence is an incomprehensive resource because it provides research work of the author. The source gives a comprehensive report on various causes of ear infections, antibiotic resistance in the treatment of AOM and the challenges doctors face when looking for alternative treatment choices. The source therefore addresses specific issues, which nurses can find to very resourceful, relevant, and helpful when dealing with a situation at hand. The author’s recommendations and conclusions will be of great help to the nurses too. The resource falls under the category of summary of evidence since the authors used the actual research work of the author to create the summary. Even though the source is quite narrow and specific, the results and conclusions are very relevant and this makes it appropriate for this nursing practice situation.

What are the main differences between Monoploy and Monopolistic Essay

What are the main differences between Monoploy and Monopolistic Competition market structure - Essay Example A monopoly is a market situation where only one seller exists, producing a product which has no close substitutes. It is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to perfect competition. In practice a monopoly situation can arise when a firm has a dominant position in the market in terms of its market share. For example, British Telecom enjoyed a monopoly until 1988 when the UK office of telecommunication decided to end it. The basis for a monopoly market is the existence of barriers to entry. These are factors that prevent new firms from entering the industry, or even if they do, will force them to close. Barriers can be of various forms.The high fixed cost or setup cost can be the toughest obstacle to tackle. The barrier here is access to capital. Only large firm will be able to fund the necessary investment. An established monopoly is likely to have developed specialized production and marketing skills. It is more likely to be aware of the most efficient techniques and the chea pest suppliers. In most cases, such firms have a major cost advantage because of economies of scale which allows them to operate on a lower cost curve. Advertising and brand names with a high degree of consumer loyalty may also prove a difficult barrier to overcome.The firm’s monopoly position may also be protected by patents and other legal protection such as various forms of licensing or tariffs, which may hinder entrance of local and foreign firms. Aggressive tactics and intimidation may also act as a barrier ... However, another market structure that exists is the monopolistic competition. It is close to the competitive end of the spectrum. It is a situation where a lot numerous firms compete with each other, but where each firm does nevertheless has a certain degree of market power thus the term ‘monopolistic’ competition. In monopolistic competition, there are a large number of sellers and due to this no one seller has a control over the supply of the product in the market. Hence, a single firm cannot influence price or output in the market. In other words, the price and output policies of each seller are independent. The grocery retailing market in the UK is arguably monopolistically competitive. In 1991, there were approximately 62,000 food retailing businesses. All were competing for the same product however, each one attempted to offer something unique and different (Anderton 1995). Each firm in monopolistic competition produces similar, but not identical goods and sells d ifferentiated products which are close substitutes to one another. The product is differentiated in a number of ways such as altering the quality of the product, offering supplementary and other services, changing the location of the firm or promoting the product through advertisements. (Gillespie 2002). Unlike monopoly, there are no barriers to entry or exit in monopolistic competition. Entrance becomes possible due to a lower startup capital or the nature of the product. Moreover, in monopolistic competition, the main form of competition is price. Each firm sets the price arbitrarily, usually reducing the price of the product to gain from higher sales. However, at times firms in this type of market also resort to non price competition such as advertising and promotions to capture

Business Systems Hoosier Burger Essay Example for Free

Business Systems Hoosier Burger Essay Improving Hoosier Burger Bob and Thelma Mellankamp wanted to open their own business. They came across Myrtle’s Family Restaurant and saw a sign that said it was for sale. Bob and Thelma bought the restaurant and their own restaurant was brought to life Hoosier Burger Restaurant. The idea was one that everyone dreams of owning their own business but do not understand all the behind the scenes projects that make a business successful. Yes, they have been in business for over 30 years but even they understand that their dream needs some improvement to continue in the market they are in. Bob and Thelma have discussed the idea of a computer system but do not know where to start so Bob wants to bring in a consultant to address some of their weak areas and make suggestions to improve Hoosier Burger. They inform the consultant on how business is ran. This restaurant is behind the curve when it comes to technology. They still do paper trail on every aspect of the restaurant from deliveries, inventories, and point of sale (Valacich, George, Hoffer, 2009). Even though paper was what many companies started out with, it is no longer an approved way to do business. Paper allows too many human errors to come into play where as an electronic record keeping system eliminates a majority of these errors but as with any data†¦you get out of it what you put into it. All this means that if you put inaccurate data into the system then the data you get from the system will also be inaccurate. Hoosier Burger has learned this lesson oh too well. Especially, since they did not order enough vanilla ice cream to cover their own special so they had to run to the grocery store to try to get enough for the sales they were doing on the special (Valacich et al., 2009). Bob and Thelma agreed that it would be  valuable to purchase an information system to assist them in the areas of inventory management, marketing, customer service, food preparation, and point of sale (Valacich et al.). Now that it has been decided on what needs to be addressed with thi s new information system. The systems development life cycle (SDLC) begins (Valacich et al., 2009). The four main steps of this process are (1) planning and selection, (2) analysis, (3) design, and (4) implementation and operation. The first phase is to plan the system out and then select the appropriate system for job. This situation a good point of sale system would give this company the system they need for daily operations and growth. A good POS covers all aspects of the restaurant from the dining area to the kitchen and even the storage areas. With any system, you have subsystems that are called components. Components by themselves do not make a system but when put together they make a complete system. In the case of Hoosier Burger one of the components of the system would be an inventory log or database. This subsystem would track usages and deliveries to ensure that stocks are maintain at the properly level for daily operation of the business. The project development team that Hoosier Burger selected w as based on the weaknesses of the organization. The focus of the new system will be on ways to improve inventory management, customer service, and management reporting. Any one of these weaknesses could cripple the organization. The team needs to get as much information as possible to ensure that they are building the correct system for this organization. I would use the interview process to get as much information from the staff as possible and I would use questionnaire to customer input. Also, I would gather as many reports and logs that I could for supporting documentation but with the current processes. This type of information may not be readily available or available at all. After gathering this information, the process of developing a system to correct their weaknesses begins. You would also want to find out if the company has any upgrades planned so that you could incorporate that into the system. In this case, they want to expand to delivery services and a drive through operation. These expansions do not require a lot of upgrades to the building so these will go into effect immediately to increase revenue for the company. The diagram figure 1 shows the flow of information for the new system. Fig 1. As you can see from figure, the information system that need is robust in nature but simple. The system analyst now needs to break down the different entities the company needs to store information about. These entities have particular characteristics that require information to be stored. There are rules used when attempting to place an identifier for each entity. The diagram will show the changes and specify the component’s needed for each relationship. In the text, an entity is a person, object, place, concept, or event in the user environment of which an organization wants to store data(Valacich, George, Hoffer, 2009). Person entities are usually your employees but can be your customer. Place entities are basically the location i.e. states, regions, countries. Object entities include the machines you use, buildings your work out of, products you produce, and vehicles. Event entities can be considered sales, renewals, registrations. Concept entities include courses, accounts, or work centers. Hoosier Burger needs the ability to store information about their individual entities. The main entity is the customer that frequents the restaurant on a regular basis. They also need to store information about what products the customer is purchasing. Hoosier Burger also needs the ability to store information about the company itself and place entities which are the businesses that order meals from the company. We will now discuss attributes. Attributes according to the text are named properties or characteristics of entities that are of interest to the organization(Valacich et al., 2009). The following attributes should be used for the customer: customer name, customer address, customer phone number, customer’s number of orders, and customer specific orders. These attributes can also be assigned to the business entity by switching out customer with business. Attributes can also be assigned to the end product such as ingredients, price, and amount sold. Identifying the entities require assigning unique identifying  characteristics for the entity type. For example when dealing the with customer entity, you would use an identifier that is easy to use i.e. Customer ID, Customer Name, Customer Address, and Customer Phone. The key when dealing with identifying items is making it user friendly. Once all of these have been put into place, the system analyst now needs to build three working solutions to this company’s weaknesses. The three solutions as discussed in the text are low, medium, and high level. The difference in the three levels usually equates to cost but it also includes how much effort the user has to put into the system and the type of technology used. Time is money and if your employees are having to spend more time with the system than the customer then Hoosier Burger will lose money. All of these factors come into play when developing a system for an organization. The key to success of Hoosier Burger and the project development team is communication and cooperation. The more time these two entities communicate with each the easier it will be for the project team to address the needs of the customer and customer addresses the needs of the project team. It is a two way street. In the end, the job of the system analyst is to develop a system that addresses the wants and needs of the customer while maintaining within the budget. You do not want to sell the customer a â€Å"Corvette† when a â€Å"Camaro† would have done what is needed. Reference Valacich, J. S., George, J. F., Hoffer, J. A. (2009). Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Social Learning Theory And Tv Children And Young People Essay

Social Learning Theory And Tv Children And Young People Essay Children spend over 1,500 hours watching television in the course of a year; this amount of time spent in front of the television is significant when compared to the amount of hours a child spends in school, which is on average about 900 hours (Herr, 2007). Television impacts the lives of children in todays society with violence being the main message in the majority of shows. TV has become an ongoing controversial issue in which many researchers since the 1950s have conducted research studies. This paper will discuss Banduras social cognitive theory and research conducted within the last ten years in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of TV violence and children. Keywords: TV, violence, Bandura, social learning theory Introduction In todays ever evolving world of technology, television is at the top. While technology develops advancements and evolution, TV has maintained its popular presence. Postman (1985) states that television is our cultures way of knowing about itself and goes on to discuss how TV stages the world becomes the model for how the world is properly to be staged (p. 92). When the picture doesnt reflect reality, this is where issues arise. A child being brought up in this type of reality and never knowing life without a television makes them vulnerable to the negative effects of television. A childs cognitive development not being fully matured enough to understand violent messages that the media portrays becomes another issue that arises. Palmer, Hockett, and Dean (1983), found that for many children who watch TV programs geared for adults are not fully equipped emotionally or cognitively enough. Also it is to be noted that many of these children watch these types of program without adult supervision (p. 290). Difficulty to react emotionally to these types of TV messages is a lack of cognitive development (Potter, 2008, p. TV Violence 458). Potter (2008) further notes that until a child has developed certain knowledge structures, they will lack certain perspectives of how to view the world around them (p. 61). Television broadcasts many meaningful messages such as violence that not only entertains our children but has a huge impact on their lives. TVs popularity on violent programs has become an issue that many researchers have conducted research on since the 1950s. Gerbner states that being brought up around a violent culture develops aggressiveness, as well as, insecurity, anger, mistrust and desensitization in many (Stossel, 1997, p. 91). Many researchers attest that violent television viewing contributes to antisocial behaviors as well as other variable factors. Ongoing debates go on of whether long or short term effects of TV viewing occur, and children are the main focal group that needs special protection from the negative effects of violence on TV (Potter, 2008, p. 62). The TV generations of children are bleak bunch when compared to earlier generations of children who seemed to be more outgoing and playful (McLuhan Fiore, 1967, p. 126). Researchers today state that children who spend more time in front of the television are at a higher level of risk for developing antisocial effects. Just about every household in the United States has at least one television if not more, and with that said many children are being exposed to violent images and programs at a very young age. Flavell and Ross (1981) state that 4 to 6 year olds have little reflective understanding of their moral knowledge and have an intuitive moral competence that they answer questions about moral rules and in how they excuse their transgressions and react to the transgressions of others. (p. 288) The social learning theory was developed by Albert Bandura in 1977 and states that everyday individuals observe the actions of others in ways of being rewarded, ignored, or punished (p. 46). This theory is most relevant theory in criminology. Social learning can take place at age; however, research has shown that social learning is most important during childhood years. With this has come the influential debate on the effects of children and TV violence. Banduras most famous research was based on his Bobo doll experiment that demonstrated social learning theory in that children are more likely to be violent towards a life size doll after watching an adult be violent to the doll on TV. Theory Relevance Banduras social learning theory emphasizes the importance as well as the modeling behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) further notes that Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own action to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviors is learned by observation through modeling; from observing others individuals tend to form ideas of how new behaviors are performed (p.22). Social learning theory further explains behavioral patterns as having been learned through operant conditioning and observation. Social learning theory extends its details by examining human behaviors through interactions within cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences. Components of social learning theory are: Attention Retention Motor Reproduction Motivation The reason why I chose to discuss social learning theory is mainly because of my own research I conducted a few years ago. The results were comparable to many of the other research studies conducted. Further I chose to discuss the social learning theory because I find it fascinating how this ties into criminal justice and may be a factor in why criminals commit crime. It is possible that criminals who commit crime were exposed to negative activities and never were taught right from wrong, leading many of these offenders to commit crime. It is up to the policy-makers to limit the amount of exposure of violence in the media from young children. It has been notes that violence contributes to 61% of TV programs that children view. Children arent the only ones affected by TV violence, adults are exposed to the same amount of violence as well and most arent even aware of it. In most recent technology, parents can restrict certain television shows from their children, and most recent laws now state that television rates must be present to rate the material being shown (e.g. amount of sexual content or violence). It is up to the government to put restrictions on certain types of shows in order to help restrict young views such as children from watching, which in tale can lead these children into an increased life of crime, thinking it is ok do what they see on TV. It is also up to the government to reduce the amount of violence portrayed on TV. Research Support The following will discuss previous studies conducted on television violence and its impact on children. Gerbners research called The Cultural Indicators Project has been noted to be one of the most widely referenced content analysis dealing with TV violence. In 1976, Gerbner and Gross conducted research with the use of a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Their research entailed television programming and its concepts of social reality through a violent profile; which is a set of indicators along with the aspects of the TV world and the concepts of reality that are developed by viewers. In 1995, the Cultural Indicators Project had viewed over 25 years worth of TV programs, their observations consisted of over 3000 programs and 35,000 types of characters from thematic to action heroes (Signorielli, Gerbner, Morgan, 1995). Gerbners study focused mainly on physical, obvious violence, which was the most consistent within the data measuring TV violence (Signorielli, et al., 1995). Other types of research conducted were from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, which focused on new stations that showed real life violence on TV. The Berkeley Media Studies Group focused their research on TV news stations and how they structure the public and policy issue on violence in children (Dorfman, Woodruff, Chavez, Wallack, 1997). Here, researchers conducted over 214 hours worth of local news media in California. The media collected in this study was 1,791 stories related to children, violence, or both. It is to be noted that the research study was done around Halloween in hopes of having a higher rate of news related stories involving children and violence, as well as, any story involving anyone younger than 24 involved in a gang. The results of this study showed that the most frequent topic discussed on the news was in fact violence related (Dorfman, et al., p. 1312); with over 55% of the news stories shown were about children involved in violent acts and about 68% of the violence shown on the news worried children (p. 1314). In todays society, children dont know what it is like to not have a television or TV violence for that matter. Almost every household in the United States 99% has at least one TV in their household, whereas majority owns two or more (Herr, 2007). Bandura (2006) further states that more than half of households in the United States have three or more TVs (as cited in Potter, 2008, p. 5). The Kaiser Family Foundation (2010) conducted a study that found children ranging from ages 8 to 18 watch about 4  ½ hours of TV every day. It is also to be noted that this research found that 71% of these children had TVs in their bedrooms. With high saturation of TV programs, it is evident that there is also high presence of violent programming being watched by these young children. Further, Signorielli (2003) conducted analysis based on a 13 week television program that builds off of research from the Cultural Indicators Project. The results showed no change in level of violence from spring 1993 to fall 2001, where six of the television programs had violence (p. 53). In her study, Signorielli also found that the same amount of violence was being shown but within fewer characters in the TV programs. Therefore, violence on TV in the past 30 years has been found in 60% of TV programs, which breaks down to 4.5 acts per program (p. 54). Glascock (2008) also conducted analysis on children and TV violence, however Glascocks study was based on aggressive behavior (e.g. verbal, physical, and indirect acts of aggressiveness) and TV programs. With 6,599 aggressive acts analyzed, he found that TV programs air approximately 68 acts of aggression every hour (p. 274). Wilson, Smith, Potter, Kunkel, Linz, Colvin, and Donnerstein (2002) conducted a study on the nature as well as the extent of violence on television that mainly targeted children 12 years and younger (p. 5). Their results found that TV programs that targets children had more overall content of violence than non-children related TV shows (p. 29). Further, the results displayed over  ¾ of violent scenes in children shows had some type of humor, whereas  ¼ had aggression displayed in a humorous context (p. 22). With the results of this research Wilson, Colvin, and Smith (2002) wanted to further their research to offenders committing violence. With that said, they discovered that many of the violent offenders (89%) were adults, and children accounted for 4 to 7% based on age. When combined with the 2,500 hours of violent TV programs involved in this study, they discovered that younger offenders view TV violence once every hour and a half, were as adults are engaged 5 times an hour (p. 45). So the research result show that younger offender have a higher chance of being seen as attractive, having less punishment and are more involved in violence that have fewer end result to the victim (p. 53). Christakis and Zimmerman (2007) conducted a five-year observational, longitudinal study that discovered preschoolers; especially boys who view violence on TV do develop subsequent aggressive behavior (p. 996). Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, and Eron (2003) conducted a 15 year longitudinal study that found high significance in both young boys and girls in relations to aggressive behavior after watch violent TV programs. (p. 203). They note that child ranging in ages from 6 to 9 who watch violent programs on TV that displayed aggressive same-sex characters, and had perceptions of TV violence being real had higher rates of aggression as adults (p. 215). In 1960, a man named Leonard Eron surveyed every eight year old in Columbus County, New York. He stated I want to measure child-rearing practices as they relates to aggression. The parents asked such questions as: Had they read Dr. Spock? How often did their child watch TV? What was their childs favorite show? The results of this survey showed that the more aggressive children watched higher amounts of violent TV programs. However, did watching TV make these children more aggressive or were aggressive children watching violent TV programs? The U.S. Surgeon General formed a committee on TV and social behavior and asked Eron to survey the Columbia County children from 1960 (The Education Digest, October 1994). In 1971, Eron found about 500 of the now 19 year olds from the original sample of 875 children. The Correlation between viewing violence at age 8 and how aggressive the individual was at age 19 was higher than the correlation between watching violence at age 8 and behaving aggressively at age 8. Further, Eron once again was asked to further conduct his study in 1981, using 400 of the subjects being studied again, along with 80 of their offsprings (The Education Digest, October 1994). 30 year old men who had been the most aggressive when they were 8 had more arrests for drunk driving and violent crime and were more abusive to their spouses. Of the 600 subjects whose criminal records were reviewed; those who watched violent TV programs when they were 8 had been arrested more often for violent crimes and self reported fights when consuming alcohol. (The Education Digest, October 1994). In 1973, Tannis McBeth Williams studied children in a Canadian town before and after the town got TV; the results found that creativity dropped and that within two years after the town received the arrival of TV the rates of hitting, shoving, and biting among first and second graders had increased by 160%. Further studies discovered, 10 to 15 years after the TV was introduced, murder rates doubled (Newsweek, December, 1995). Bandura (1960) conducted a study on preschoolers and let them watch TV footage of a man hitting a bobo or clown doll. Afterwards, the children who saw the violent footage were more likely to mimic the same motions the adult did to the doll. Further studies have shown that these child also spontaneously would act out towards a man dressed as a clown as well, indicating that TV violence might spill easily into the real world. In another twist, a group of children saw a similar piece of footage of a man hitting a doll but being spanked for the actions. The children who watched this footage were less likely to attack the doll themselves (Newsweek, December, 1995). Discussion Current and past research has shown that many of the children who view violent content on TV at a young age do grow up to be violent. Banduras research with the Bobo doll clearly shows the effects of violence on children. In a study covering from 1982 to 1992, researchers found that for every 10 prime-time male characters who commit violence, 11 were victims. For every 10 female offenders, there were 17 female victims and for every 10 women of color given power, 22 were victimized (Newsweek, December 1995). Research also shows that 10% of violence comes from what we learn as children. Numerous years of research on this subject has proven that the more violence children are brought up around the more they think it is ok. It is also to be noted that this type of research establishes causation, which can determine cause and effect between variable. Not all research on this violence and children are accurate, not all children grow up to be violent offenders either. This is where most of the research becomes weak. There is no evidence or other factors that are tested to prove that TV violence is in fact the only contributor to offenders committing violent acts of crime. Much of these studies have been controlled type studies, and with this, controlled studies can be artificial, or done in a lab type setting which tends to eliminate real life effects on this type of study. It also should be noted that much of the research conducted on this subject have been done in previous years where exposure to TV violence was mild compared to current TV programs. Also, studies conducted in past years had fewer channels to choose from limiting the amount of available violent content. Studies suggest a high correlation between exposure to TV violence and violent behavior. Results of studies should be used to educate the public, parents, children, and programmers. Further, making suggestions on what can be utilized from parents, and criminologist may also help understand better the correlation between the two. Awareness on TV violence needs to be utilized in order to see who is at higher risks of violence. With the use of TV ratings on shows, parents are able to decide what shows there children are allowed to watch and in return reduce the amount of violence young children watch, reducing the effects of young children committing crime. Summary and Conclusions In todays society not many individuals can say they can pass the day without engaging in some sort of use of the television; whether it is used for entertainment or background noise. Signorielli (2006) notes that the television is the most all-encompassing mass medium in the United States and with this Postman (1992) stresses the need for American culture to change its concepts on reality expressed through TV (p. 19). Banduras (1986) social learning theory discussed that individuals are not driven by the inner forces nor are automatically shaped and controlled by external stimuli. However, he further states that human functioning is utilized in a way of modeling a triadic reciprocality, where behavior, personal and cognitive factors as well as environment interact with one another and are the determinates of one another (p. 18). Limitations of the studies discussed throughout this paper have demonstrated both past and present research and has been noted that it is impossible to control the factors such as environment, cognitive, and personal factors. With limitations within the data sets it is to be known that any analysis used from this data can be flawed. Further research needs to include factors such as social class, family communications and issues, parental monitoring, aggression within the family, viewing habits of television from both parents and children and many more. Recommendations for Further Study As television, programming, and audience evolves, research that is conducted also needs to evolve, as well as the types of questions being asked. For example, content analysis cannot focus mainly on certain prime-time TV shows on cable, for there are many more different types and channels on satellite, digital video recording (DVR) as well as live streaming off the internet, which have all changed the individuals viewing habits. With the popularity of news programs and reality shows Glascock (2008) states these types of programs need to be added to the analysis as well. Music television, advertising, public broadcast and even sports have been forgotten as well within this research. It is also to be noted that very little attention has been put on violent vs. nonviolent content on TV. Another factor that is an important variable for this research is how nonviolent programs affect and assist in better understand modeling behaviors in children. Much of Banduras evidence from his social learning theory is highly supported those individuals who view and enjoy TV more than others tend to like or relate to certain characters. Therefore, when these individuals see their character that they relate to act out with use of violence, that individual becomes excepting to that type of violence, leading them to have higher risks of committing crimes themselves. Research studies from the year 2000 to the present need to be investigated and address future research with questions such as: What types of progress and/or new conclusions can be used to identify certain effects that impact children who view violence on television? Has any new understandings or developments emerged within the last ten years that relate to TV violence and aggressive behavior in children and adults? However, many media effects researchers have began to look into studies on prevention and interventions. These types of studies use the social learning approach used in TV violence research and are examining process of comprehension, interpretation, and evaluating types of aggressive acts. Murray (2008) suggests that further researcher needs to involve neurological correlations of viewing TV violence (p. 1223). Many researchers are beginning to worry about addictions and dependency on TV. Researchers such as Anderson, Berkowitz, Donnerstein, Huesmann, Johnson, Linz, Malamuth, Wartella (2003) suggest that more parental monitoring as well as better guidance need to be put in place. Walma van der Molen (2004) go further to discuss the important of families, schools, and children doctors in helping to promote awareness on TV violence and its effects to children, more so on topics of real life violence and its effects (p. 1771). It is to be noted that no one kid is immune to the effects of TV violence, many children who are exposed to violent TV at a young age are at higher risk of committing crimes as young adults as well as adults. Further evidence has shown that any child from any family, city or any other type of background has the risk of learning and behaving more aggressively when exposed to violence on TV. Conclusions Almost everything on television can now be categorized as reality yet all of it is seen as entertainment. With the television making its presence in homes long ago, it has since moved its way into where we work, our schools, on our phones and even in our cars. Leading more of todays children demanding more time spent watching it. Much of the research in this paper supports the notion that constant viewing of violence on TV leads to more acceptance aggression and violent behaviors. Banduras social learning theory further discusses that if individuals have a strong link to a certain character and the character receives rewards, punishments or uses violence, the individual is more likely to act like the character and display the same type of behavior (Nabi Clark, 2008, p. 407). Research has shown time and time again that the lack of punishments and remorse that is displayed leads to a false reality and decreased sensitivity; leading more children to think it is ok to be aggressive and commit crimes and with no guidance from parents children will grow up to think this type of behavior is ok, which will lead many of children to grow up and end up in jail (Caputo, 1993; American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Communications, 1995; Signorielli, Gerbner, Morgan, 1995; Federman, 1996-1998; Peters Blumberg, 2002; Wilson, Colvin Smith, 2002; Potter, 2008; Richmond Wilson, 2008). Decrease sensitivity is desensitization. Many children model and react the same way they see things on TV, leading many children to grow up being insensitive, lazy, and having a lack of concern in emotional situations and these types of attitudes are seen in many of the criminals today. Desensitization can range differently for many individuals, however, the results are the both negative; for an individual will have a decreased amount of emotional reactions from the violent views or will have no regards to the consequences of violent acts they commit. 5,958 young children ages 10 to 24 were murdered in 2006 from gunfire, this is on average a total of 16 children being murdered every day (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). These murder rates are higher than children deaths due to cancer, AIDS/HIV, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia combined (Childrens Defense Fund, 2004, as cited by AAFP.org, 2010). With no proof leading to the reasons why children use guns and kill can only lead to possibilities that violence on TV is in fact a key factor. With many young children in todays society growing up having more antisocial behaviors leads many to believe that the majority of these children will in fact grow up and become criminals or will commit more crimes as a young adult. When paired with the amount of time children are exposed to violence on TV it is easy to see the correlation linked to antisocial behaviors which leads many individuals to commit crime.

A Too-Personal Rant on Fundamental Attribution Error :: Free Essays Online

A Too-Personal Rant on Fundamental Attribution Error It's very easy to misunderstand what other people do. This is, in fact, the basis of a great many human conflicts. I am aware that I do this with some frequency, and am in fact very much in the middle of slandering a particular person presently for attributive reasons. The specifics of the case are illustrative, and the exercise might be helpful to me, too. My first contact with "Bob" was in my freshman seminar class, where I pegged him as a pretentious expletive-deleted. Then, thanks to the devious workings of the Simon's Rock social network, I found myself opposite him in what could aptly be termed a 'bizarre love triangle.' Suddenly, my dislike of him was animated with a fire of jealousy. I literally began keeping a mental catalogue of all the ways I had convicted him of being a "bad person." Even after the immediate motive had passed, I continued keeping track of his legendary misdeeds, gossiping freely. I find myself making statements like, "What do you expect, it's Bob..." I have clearly made the connection between his actions and his personality. I obviously have difficulty putting myself in his shoes, but I will try to do so. Going back to fresh sem, I can see why his arguments stretched out and became increasingly pretentious: they were poor arguments, but he, like so many other people, was unwilling to let them die, probably as a matter of pride. This is an understandable, if not downright familiar, action. More recently, following a certain thesis performance last weekend, Bob was overheard commenting that he 'could have written it in two days', but then later heard complimenting the composer mere hours later. Several factors could possibly have been at work here, too. First off, when he disparaged the composition, he was in front of his girlfriend, whom he has gone to great lengths to impress. No surprise there  ­ boasting is a classic part of courtship.

Money Cant Buy Happiness :: Happiness Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Economists use the term utility to represent a measure of the satisfaction or happiness that individuals get from the consumption of goods and services. Because a higher income allows one to consume more goods and services, we say that utility increases with income. But does greater income and consumption really translate into greater happiness? In this paper, I will be showing how greater income and consumption does not really translate into greater happiness and how marginal utility is diminishing as income gets higher. However, consumption effect tells us that more consumption of good and services will increase happiness. At least to a degree, we see that money can buy happiness. But what, if anything, does research on consumer satisfaction tell us about the relationship between happiness and the concepts of utility and marginal utility? Based on the research, I found that money does not increase the happiness because as income increases the one's behavior of p references or satisfaction changes and will result in diminishing marginal utility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sociologist and psychologist would say based on the definition of marginal utility, when additional satisfaction obtained from consuming one additional unit of a good, the one ¡Ã‚ ¯s happiness will increase as their income rises. And because of consumption effect, people are happier when they consume more goods and services. Studies by psychologists and socialists show that, both within a country and across nations, the happiness level of people increases with the income level, but only slightly. For example, using regional and cultural classifications, the Northern European countries with high incomes score top on happiness, followed by the group of English- speaking US, UK, Australia, and Ireland. Central and South American countries including Brazil come next, followed by the Middle East, the Central European, Southern and Eastern European, the Indian Sub-continent, and Africa which does not, however, come last. Southern and Western Europeans score significan tly lower than Africa. And the last group is East Asia, including the country that leads in income, Japan. Singapore has an income level 82.4 times that of India. Even in terms of purchasing power parity instead of using exchange rate, Singapore is still 16.4 times higher than India in income. However, the happiness scores of both countries are exactly the same, both significantly higher than that of Japan. This is due mainly to the inter group difference between the high-income and high-happiness within either of these two groups.

Comparing How Advertisements Use Language and Presentation to Persuade

In this capitalist society people are persuaded by advertisers to consume products which are not even needed. Companies need people to consume in order for the economy to flourish. People who already have cars which still perform well do not really require the replacement of a further one. Cars are pretty similar to one another; all cars have one principle in their manufacture which is to move from one place to another (transport). The difference which divides the cars in groups is the engine size, colour/finish, gadgetry etc. However, it is these differences which persuade people to consume cars even if there is no need to purchase one. This is the job of companies; they sell so called 'dream cars' which have fancy gadgets and fast engines etc to satisfy the aspiration of the reader and persuade them to purchase the cars, even though their present one is in fine condition. People are persuaded because of peer and social pressure which intentionally makes them believe that neighbouring people are laughing at them because of their cheap car. This belief makes a person reckon that other people are taunting them, which causes people to consume cars which they believe to have a higher standard. This pattern of behaviour is constructed by marketing departments. Advertisers look for their target audience for their advertising campaign. These could be male/female, A-class people, or even retired people. The advertisers look at people's deepest fears and desires which will make the pitch hard to resist and they manipulate and take advantage of people with these fears and desires. There are all sorts of media that can be used to persuade ta... ...heir powerful medium which draws on people's deepest fears and desires. For this reason we must be discerning as consumers and critical of advertisers. There are also implications of such powerful advertising techniques for our society. There are environmental concerns like pollution and stereotypes are reinforced e.g. the 'MGZS' advert is very problematic since it is based on the construct of muscularity and it suggests that men are risk takers (Genetically Modified) and are sexual breeders (Testosterone Fuelled) which is sexist and excludes women from the advert. Similarly in the 'Lexus RX300' advert stereotypes of rich people are reinforced by presenting luxury and hunting which relates to prosperous people. This excludes large sections of the society, not only women but disabled people, ethnic minorities and so on.

Self Ratings of Dependency/Addiction Regarding Drugs, Sex

The purpose of this study â€Å"Self Rating Of dependency/addiction regarding drugs, sex, love, food: male and female college students† was to see if drug addiction and dependencies were related to each other in any type of way. They also wanted to see if they were related to addictions and dependency in other areas such as love, sex, food, ect. Some questions they asked themselves to help conduct the study was â€Å"to what degree do addictions to drugs, sex, love, and food correlate with each other? †, â€Å"Are there meaningful sex differences in the addictions? † so they gathered 9,313 college students to help them come up with an answer.They start off with saying people like to be in control of them self’s not addictions being in control of them. When people have addictions people tend to feel a lack of control and usually when they feel weak in one area they are weak in other areas. These researchers feel that if you feel like you’re the victi m there’s a relationship on being dependent on drugs, sex, love, food and so on. Some other things they thought were just because you’re addicted or dependent on something didn’t necessarily mean you were addicted or dependent to something similar to that.For example; there are so many types of drugs out in the world if someone was addicted or dependent on a certain drug they didn’t have to dependent or addicted to other drugs. In order to get their results they grabbed 9313 students from the U. S and Canada. 3086 were male and 6230 were females. Now what they did was have each professor have their students fill out a long questioner that had questions about; sex differences, drugs and other addictions. After they were done with this they were told to fill out self- ratings.Now self ratings were test that the person who is taking the test decides whether a question†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. They were given fourteen categories. Those categories were; alcohol, amphetamines, barbitures, being in love, chocolate, cocaine, coffee, cigarettes, gambling, having sex, heroin, marijuana, and food in general. And what they were suppose to do with this was on a scale of 0-100 choose a number that best fits with if they ever felt them self’s dependant or addicted to the categories.

Van Sant’s ‘Death’ Trilogy: Gerry, Elephant and Last Days

Gus van Sant's three films, Gerry, Elephant and Last Days, are, in essence, a trilogy, linked by their common structures, compositions, and representations of death. In this paper, I will analyze these similarities and discuss the treatment of each film's central event. Van Sant's early career showed a unique experimentation with story structure and plot devices. In films like My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For, he displayed a freedom of narrative, creating esoteric, poetic pieces that challenged and often bewildered viewers. His career then became more conventional, and he hit somewhat of a lame lowpoint with the film Finding Forrester, a sappy story about a young black teenager whose writing gifts are altruistically recognized by an aging author played by Sean Connery. His next film, however, was completely different than anything he had directed. It starred Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who, along with van Sant, would normally create box office demand with their work. Yet the film was not widely released or widely seen. It was mostly dismissed as an indulgent experimental piece, something created by Hollywood artists bored with their usual work and with easy access to too much funding. Van Sant followed this with a film that premiered at Sundance and, surprisingly, took the top prize. It purported to be a representation of the Columbine killings, even though Columbine was never mentioned, and several liberties were brazenly taken with facts that most people were intimately familiar with. It featured no professional actors; actually, the characters were all essentially playing themselves, even using their real names and shooting in their actual school. The film was much more widely seen, and the unique treatment of time and plot proved to be very similar to his previous work. His most recent film, officially titled Gus van Sant's Last Days, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and attempted to vaguely recreate the death of Kurt Cobain. The thematic elements and structure were by now easily recognizable. The film's first reviews were harsh, but eventually, critics seemed to warm to it, and it was widely praised for its bravery and patience. Van Sant refers to them as a â€Å"news story† trilogy, in that they are all based on real events. Gerry is about two guys who get lost in the desert, and one of them eventually kills the other one. Even if we're unfamiliar with the event, we can picture the sensational headline, probably depicting the event as horrific and the murderer as an animal. Van Sant's portrayal of the event, from the characters losing their way to the actual murder, reveals his intent to fully immerse himself in the event and depict how such an act could occur. When we witness the murder, it appears natural and even compassionate. The circumstances under which the characters are behaving are unusual and extreme, but their intentions and humanity are always recognizable. The next two films are events with which the culture is very familiar. Almost everyone who sees them has a strongly formed emotional impression of the stories. The Columbine massacre and the suicide of Kurt Cobain are two of the most omnipresent cultural events for this generation of Americans, and van Sant chooses to take them on. His intentions are similar to those of his first film in the series; he wants to discover, through the process of filmmaking, how such acts could occur. It is unclear as to whether van Sant intended to create a trilogy, but these films are unmistakably similar in several different ways, including their shooting and editing style, their themes, and their attempt to depict a â€Å"found story†. Common Style Cinematographer Harry Savides shot the trilogy, and his style remains consistent; it can best be described as meditative. Most of the elements and techniques were developed in the process of making Gerry. The shooting period lasted twenty-one days. There were lots of problems during the shoot, and the scenes were always planned and executed on set, in collaboration with the actors, and with very little adherence to a shooting script or written dialogue. During this process, van Sant and Savides developed what would become a signature style for them. They composed very long tracking shots of the characters simply walking through the desert. Some shots were close-ups of their faces as they trudged, always with a definite purpose and determination. Others were long shots of their tiny bodies against the hugeness of the landscape. The most famous shot is the two of them barely moving, close to death, silhouetted against the sunset, still moving slowly towards nothing. Another element they developed is a lack of adherence to any definite sense of time or chronology. The films are edited haphazardly, with several scenes repeated at different points in each film from different perspectives. In Gerry, the two men never find water, yet the sun rises and sets at least eight times during the movie, in very different settings. In Elephant, one hallway encounter between two characters, with another character running by, is seen three times from each characters' perspective, and continually serves as a warning that the killers are about to enter the school. There is no attempt to operate by any logical standards of time or character arc. The focus here is on a creation of atmosphere. The flexible chronology and the long static shots create a strong sense of freedom for the actors to immerse themselves in their characters. In each movie, and especially in Gerry and Last Days, the characters operate in a trance-like state, moving through the world of the film with no attempt to relay an emotion or communicate to anyone in any way. They simply are, and we watch them as voyeurs, knowing in each case that they are moving slowly towards death. The process of close collaboration with the actors is similar for each film as well. The actors are very much a part of the development of the story and their own characters. This trust in the actors to create their own worlds adds a unique element to the trilogy. Common Theme The central theme of the three films is â€Å"young death†. The first death is a compassionate murder; the second deaths are emotionally empty executions; the last is a slow wasting away. They all seem tragic because of the age of the victims and the somewhat easily avoidable circumstances under which the deaths occur. The deaths are also empty of crescendo. There is no sense of narrative closure in the deaths of the central characters, or an attempt to draw moral or dramatic conclusions from the deaths. This treatment of death is similar to the films analyzed by Catherine Russell in her work Narrative Mortality: Death, Closure and New Wave Cinemas. She notes that conventional cinematic narratives â€Å"codified the desire for meaning as a desire for meaningful death, and the desire for ending was formalized as a desire for death.† 1 She claims that new wave films â€Å"consistently split death from closure, and prevent meaning and ending from fitting neatly together.† These films have no plot or story; they end abruptly, with no attempt at coherent explanations. Their focus is on the world of the characters as they hypnotically and obliviously move towards their death. Common Intentions: A ‘Found Story' This refusal to exploit the deaths of the central characters for emotional or dramatic effect highlights van Sant's focus on creating realist cinema. He strives to present each scene as naturally as possible, with no cinematic affectations or even unnecessary camera movements. They wanted no â€Å"moves†. He and Savides make it clear that their intention is to recreate reality on screen. Realist theorist Siegfried Kracauer defines a ‘found story' as one that â€Å"emerges from the filmmaking†. 2 This description aptly describes van Sant's triptych; the process clearly defines the product. An example of this comes from the production of Last Days. Van Sant was in the costume designer's office when a Yellow Pages salesman entered and delivered his pitch. The director envisioned the affect this would have on his drugged-out, detached lead character and threw the two worlds together. The effect was brilliant in that it intensely highlighted the two different worlds that these characters inhabited. It also reveals van Sant's attempts to infuse his films with as much realism as possible, down to the actors who portray the characters. In fact, the actors are usually playing themselves. In Elephant, each character uses their real name and moves around their actual high school, interacting with their actual friends. The scenes are meticulously composed, but the dialogue and relationships, the individual moments, are mostly improvised, providing the audience with a strong sense of voyeurism and recognizable interactions. The affectations occur during editing. The sound design and aforementioned obscure chronology are the clues as to how we interpret the reality that they present. In Elephant, a character that most recognize as the eventual killer walks through the cafeteria drawing up his ‘plan'. He stops and we hear the sound slowly rise and overwhelm the boy, implying his â€Å"special mode of reality†.3 In Last Days, a somewhat bizarre element is employed in one of the final scenes. Blake, the Cobain surrogate, is lying in his garden house, close to death. Suddenly, his spirit emerges from his naked body as an apparition and hovers beside him. This mystical element meshes with the hypnotic, often spiritual mood of the film. At first glance, it seems to stand in stark contrast to the dogmatic realism of the rest of the film. However, the scene effectively illustrates the characters' state, and in this sense, remains consistent with the production's intentions. These common elements all serve the common event in each film: the eventual deaths of the major characters. Gerry Gerry depicts two characters, both ostensibly named Gerry, wandering through the desert looking for â€Å"the thing†. They see tourists with lame visors taking one path, and they decide to take another. They lose their way and spend the film attempting to survive. Each interaction between the characters is infused with purpose and a wry humor. They always have a new plan and never lose their forward-thinking state of mind. They resist despair and anger and seem always to assume that they will make it out ok. The majority of the ninety-minute film consists of the characters moving through the desert, searching always for the way home. There is maybe fifteen minutes of dialogue and, except for the tourists, no other characters. We see them simply walking, moving together, sometimes in what seems to be a competitive state, and other times alone, separately climbing different peaks to get a better view. The desert scenery is beautifully composed, and there are few shots less than a few minutes long. The characters are resisting death. They are slowly succumbing to the elements, fighting thirst and fatigue, never wanting to appear weak to the other. They always keep moving. Once, when they have stopped to rest, one of them comes to the other, tired but satisfied. He says, simply, â€Å"I found the car. I have water. I know the way out.† He is convinced of the truth of this claim, and is extremely disheartened when, after a few minutes of forceful persuasion, he realizes it is an illusion. Eventually, after moving around for what could be days, they lie down, exhausted and in a trance. One is clearly stronger than the other and is capable of continuing; one is finished. They lie next to each other, staring at the sky. Suddenly, the strong one moves on top of the weak one, wrestling him, literally shaking the life out of him. He stabs him and he bleeds, giving in quickly to the loss of consciousness. No emotion is displayed, and the event seems natural and pure. The act is clearly one of compassion for the pain of the weak one, a hastening of the inevitable and a cessation of the pain and agony and waiting. It is an act of euthanasia. However, it is also an act of survival; the strong one is now free to move again and attempt to survive on his own, which he eventually does, seeing the highway before him shortly after the murder. There is no lesson in the death, or any sense of closure. It is simply an act, and it bleeds into the reality of the rest of the film, having no special significance. It comes and passes in the same manner as the rest of the journey. It is a violent act, somewhat selfish, and it occurs in the vague context of an allegorical journey. The film is about being lost and eventually succumbing. However, there is never a sense of panic from the characters, or a sense that they have lost control or even hope. There is an acceptance at one point, when they lie down, and some timid shedding of tears from the weaker Gerry. But the characters admirably remain focused on survival and getting out, on proving their strength against the elements and their own thirst and exhaustion. The stronger character's devotion to this elusive hope eventually saves him, and he finds his way, leaving behind a friend who, all elements aside, he had murdered. He rides away in a car, still in a trance, looking back at the desert. The film is beautiful, and it is essentially a meditation on the struggle to survive. Elephant Elephant is a montage of different students at a public high school. Because the audience knows it is about the Columbine murders, the outcome is a given. Each ‘victim' is introduced with a title card, and we see them in their world, interacting with their friends, with no exposition or context. We know what high school is, and we understand and recognize the basis of the conversations and relationships. Scenes and characters intertwine as new characters are introduced and followed. Various social issues are broached in the context of the characters' lives, issues that have all been mentioned in the context of the killings as an attempt at explanation or blame. The first shot is a weaving car, casually sideswiping a parked car and almost hitting a biker. It creates a reckless and irresponsible tone, depicting apathy towards life and danger. We see that it is a drunken father driving his son to school, and the son demands that his father pull over and let him drive. He is not angry, just exasperated, and the issue of parental carelessness and forced responsibility of the child is depicted. We see the boy being disciplined by the principal and feel pity for him and his circumstances. We are introduced to three popular girls as they flirt with a boy and then eat lunch. They enter the bathroom, awkwardly discuss their body issues, and casually, simultaneously, vomit. The killers are at home, receiving weapons in the mail, which they have ordered over the internet, and practicing with them in the garage. The shy, geeky one, earlier seen picking spitballs out of his hair and plotting in the cafeteria, is playing Beethoven, slyly invoking A Clockwork Orange. The blond, outgoing one, who slyly invokes Eminem, enters his room and plays a generic video game, playing a character wandering through a vast white empty landscape shooting men in suits in the back as they slowly and obliviously walk towards the horizon. Video game violence is thus invoked as a ‘factor'. Later, as they prepare to enter the school for the massacre, the blond one enters the shower with the shy one and says, â€Å"I've never even kissed anyone, have you?†, and they embrace. Another element, repressed homosexuality and a sense of separation, is introduced. These issues are peripheral to the mood of the film. It is amazingly ominous. We see the killers entering the school with their arsenal very early in the film, and are repeatedly reminded of their entrance as other characters pass through the same time period. We never know when the first shots will occur. We know from the news that the library and the cafeteria were the scenes of the massacre, and we repeatedly hover there, watching characters, picturing the chaos about to occur. It is visceral and exciting, and sickening and bizarre. Van Sant, without affectation, makes us fall in love with some of the characters, simply from the purity of their interactions and their lives. He highlights their beauty, and exposes their talents and quirks. Even the killers are presented almost sympathetically, or at least without any attempt to vilify them. We observe their normal lives, at breakfast with their family, practicing the piano and playing games, and their relationship is almost pleasant to watch. We see their psychosis, however, and realize very soon that they are capable of total detachment and extreme violence in retaliation for a vague sense of being underappreciated and emotionally tortured. The killings finally begin, a few scenes after we hear the machine gun being cocked in the library. The geeky girl with the long pants in gym class arrives late for her job in the library, and as she speaks to the boys with their arsenal, they splatter her blood against the books. They turn and randomly shoot into the crowd of scurrying students. The killings are not gruesome or ugly; they are simple and easy. We meditate on the killers' callousness and the painful pointlessness of the act, rather than recoil at the blood and shock of the shootings. We also never see a panicked face or hear a shrill scream; the deaths, as in Gerry, blend with the everyday we have adjusted to seeing. The world does not change because of the acts that occur. The ending is extremely abrupt; the killers meet in the cafeteria, and as the blond brags about his kills, he is ruthlessly shot in the head by the shy one. He is speaking, we hear a shot and see blood, and he falls out of frame. At first, we are not sure if he was shot by another student or a sniper, but when we see the shy one, in the same long shot, moving towards the freezer looking for more victims, we realize. The film ends as he finds a popular couple whom we know and he obviously despises, and tortures them happily, pointing the machine gun at them and reciting eenie meenie miney mo. The film takes place in a single morning, in the span of a few hours. The characters we meet have no thoughts of their fate, wandering through their lives as death approaches in a sedan with a devil hanging from the windshield. Van Sant chooses an extremely familiar event and gets inside what might have happened. What he manages to create is a total sense of normalcy in the high school. There is no sentimentality in this film, this depiction of an event that is so loaded with emotion and sentiment and anger and backlash and blame in our culture. He strips it down and rips away all the sensation, and reveals easy to know people in an easy to know situation about to face something horrific and familiar to us all. His intentions and approach are similar to that of the film United 93, about the September 11th plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. We all know the details, we have all felt the sentiment, but the film attempts to forget all that and show real characters in a real situation, without any sentimental pretensions. It tries to depict how such an event really looked. In Elephant's case, this is done in service of a meditation on the casualness of violent death. Last Days Last Days depicts the deterioration of a rock star, based on the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The first shots are of Blake walking through the woods, urinating in a pond, vomiting, and singing Home on the Range by a fire and a tent. He returns to his house and wanders ghost-like through the halls and rooms, avoiding contact with any of the stragglers in the house, cooking macaroni and cheese and watching a Boyz II Men video. We see the state of his life intimately, and his world becomes recognizable. He is out of it and detached, and has no desire to connect with anyone. He carries around an ominous shotgun in several scenes, and at one point, he mimics shooting two of his friends as they lie in bed. He is in a trance. He literally hovers in some scenes, slowly, slowly, collapsing to the ground and resting, comatose, against the door, falling violently when it is opened and a straggler checks for his pulse. No one in this film wants anything. No one, especially Blake, has any sense of purpose. This is the weakness of the film from a cinematic standpoint. Gerry and Elephant remain fascinating in large part because of the strength of their characters' intentions and purpose. In this world, no one feels anything. The peripheral characters might have intentions relating to a vague sense of hedonism or greed, but that is not near enough to drive the film. This is about a wasting away, a slow, drawn out surrender to death, a suicide. The wallpaper is crumbling, the house is falling apart, no connections are made, and we are witness to a man who is totally numb to the world. It again features the long, static shots of seemingly nothing, zooming in on the television, holding on Blake's lifeless body on the floor. There is a beautiful shot of Blake experimenting with sounds in his studio. The camera slowly moves backward, and we watch for an extremely long time as he moves around the room, haphazardly enjoying himself with his instruments, seemingly at peace, In the end, we see him cowering in the garden room, watching characters come and go, completely alone, and ready for an ending. This is a meditation on decay. Death These films very effectively reveal worlds that simply are. The characters we follow slowly approach their death, one at the hands of his friend, others at the hands of gun-toting teenage psychos, the last, presumably, by his own hand. But, in fitting with the tone of the trilogy, death simply is. It happens just as casually as the taking of a photograph or the preparation of macaroni and cheese. When it happens, nothing is done to signify or indicate any sense of change or profundity. The realism of the films is, to me, something almost euphoric. There is a real beauty in the interactions between the characters, in how recognizable their worlds are, and because of this, the audience receives a gift: there is a chance at a profound understanding of the nature of what happens to them.

The Metaphors of Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes is considered to be one of the best poets that had ever lived, he is also considered a favorite among poetry enthusiast even up to this day.   His works are considered as included to the canons of poetry that are being studied and being used as references in many learning institutions worldwide.   Ted Hughes and his poems popularity didn’t gain worldwide acceptance just because of his highly criticized and controversial marriage to another popular writer, Sylvia Plath.   His poems are just that terrific, in fact, he is considered as the best poet of his generation by many critics.   He has this unique and impeccable grasp of the language that he wields on his poetry.His poetry became known for the resonant language that rings in the subconscious of the readers, vivid and rich imagery that opens the eyes of the readers, the cadence and speech rhythms that keep the readers’ hearts pounding to every beat.   Among these elements of poetry that had made Ted Hughes an immortal in the world of literature is the metaphors, metaphors that simply act like an addictive substance that keeps the audience wanting for more, poem after another.   This may well be the reason why Ted Hughes’ poetry became so widely read.Ted Hughes’ choice and use of metaphorsTed Hughes’ choice and use of metaphors are basically depending on the topic that his poems wish to tackle.   He was quite very fond of using mythology and folklore as metaphors to describe contemporary topics. He also had employed animals and natural phenomena to show how he views human nature and the condition of human living.   She also had some metaphors for her wife Sylvia Plath. Those poems had later received a barrage of criticisms from the supporters of Sylvia Plath (Heptonstall).Ted Hughes is certainly one of the best wielders of metaphors to sharpen his poetry. It just shows that the range of the types of metaphors is of a wide range. It even seems that Ted Hughes can utilize anything as a metaphor.A very notable thing about his use of metaphors is that even though most of the metaphors are items that can be seen everyday and sometimes even taken for granted, the use of the metaphors is still gripping and interesting. It is undeniable that the metaphors that he uses are quite clichà ©s as they were already used by many poets that preceded him. But the admirable fact is that Ted Hughes has this unique talent of transforming clichà ©s into something fresh and interesting.Mythology and folklore as Ted Hughes’ metaphorsTed Hughes has this fascination with the mythological and folkloric. It just shows because of the many poems that he had written that employs the mythological and folkloric as his metaphors. One of the most famous of these poems is entitled â€Å"The Minotaur.† The poem is quite shall I say spooky in tone â€Å"left your mother a dead end had brought you to the horned bellowing grave of your risen father and your own corpse within it.† (Hughes)Other poems that had also displayed Ted Hughes fascination with the mythological and folkloric are: his adaptation of the famous Greek tragedy â€Å"Oedipus Rex† that he had given the title â€Å"Orghast,† and his adaptation of the famous tormented Greek hero Prometheus that he had given a witty and catchy title, â€Å"Prometheus in His Crag.† (Heptonstall) Ted Hughes fascination with the mythological and folkloric just tells us that he is a well-read poet and he has respect and appreciation for those who had written before him.The natural world used as metaphors by Ted HughesTed Hughes is known for being close to nature, actually, his sensitivity towards nature is renowned and admired by other poets. His poems about the natural world became models for aspiring poets for generations.AnimalsTed Hughes is actually considered by many as the poet of animals (Heptonstall). He had written many poems that had utilized anim als as the main metaphors. The number of his poems about animals could cover even cover several anthologies. To discuss them all would exceed the pages allowed for this essay. To name some of the most famous of them we have â€Å"The Jaguar,† â€Å"The Crow Poem,† and his signature poem and most anthologized â€Å"The Thought-Fox.†NatureHe had shown his appreciation for the natural world in his poem â€Å"Pike† which was set in the seaside. Ted Hughes had displayed in a single line his perception of the sea during his writing of this poem â€Å"None grow rich in the sea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hughes) In this poem, Ted Hughes had portrayed the sea as a scary place. But that fear doesn’t mean that he has a literal fear for the ocean like he has some phobia of swimming. That fear means that he respects the sea, with amazement to its duality of sheer power and undeniable beauty.Another example of how Ted Hughes had utilized nature as a metaphor is in his poem entitled â€Å"The Beach.† This poem was suppose to be about her wife Sylvia Plath, about her depression and frustrations on her constant quest for â€Å"true† freedom. Here is an excerpt from the poem â€Å"you crave like oxygen American early summers yourself burnt dark some prophecy mislaid somehow England was so poor† (Hughes)Ted Hughes metaphors for Sylvia PlathTed Hughes and Sylvia Plath’s marriage and relationship is probably the most controversial union in the writing world. Both of them were excellent writers, actually considered the best of their generation, and that fact had initially given us the impression that it was a match made in heaven. Then, the world was shocked when Sylvia Plath had taken her own life. Many blame Ted Hughes and their failed marriage as the main reason why Sylvia Plath had committed suicide. Here is an example of how Ted Hughes had used metaphors, in this case a fox, to describe her failing marriage with Sylvia Plath â€Å"I had grasped that whatever comes with a fox is a test of marriage and proves it a marriage I would not have failed it? But I had failed our marriage had failed.† (Hughes)ConclusionTed Hughes’s grasp of the poetic element called metaphors is definitely undeniable. His strength as a poet is definitely displayed by his wide range of topics that he can use a metaphor. He is able to convey his ideas through the identities of the metaphors that he employs. Through that style, he is able to keep his poems fresh and always interesting to read and hear. Ted Hughes’ use of rich metaphors supplies the readers a link as to what these metaphors has to say. Moreover, since he is quite notorious for always employing metaphors in his poems, the readers are always looking forward to reading and hearing his poetry since they know that metaphors are used as symbols that poetry enthusiasts are always very interested to unearth the hidden meanings.Works CitedHeptonstall, Geof frey.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ted Hughes: New Selected Poems, 1957-1994.†Ã‚  ContemporaryReview  266.n1553  (June 1995):  330(2).  General OneFile.  Gale.  Winter Park HighSchool.  24 Mar. 2008  .Hughes, Ted. Poems