Monday, September 30, 2019

Beauty Advertisement Analysis Essay

Advertisement or adverts for short is a form of communication for marketing and very often it is used to either coax, encourage and manipulate the audience – spectators, listeners, readers or a group of specified and targeted group to support the product or service at hand. Not only is it common but also convenient and efficient. There are a few approaches a company would want to promote or advertise their product or service. One of the many common and conventional methods of advertising can include billboards, printed flyers, web banners, web popups, magazines, newspapers and even human billboards. Before planning the advert, the product seller should weigh out and consider the three factors that would play a huge role in forming an effective advertisement. The three dimensions are cognitive, affective and behavioral information. Cognitive information would heavily involve about the already existing knowledge. Affective information on the other hand, focuses of the emotions of the individuals and behavioral information focuses on the reaction after reading, hearing or watching the advertisement. There are two ways for the individual to process the information given in the advertisement – systematic and superficial information processing. Systematic information processing is where the information attained is being scrutinized and analyzed while superficial information processing is where the information that is attained requires no in depth reading into the information and just coming up with an impression with the details on the advert. For this advertisement analysis, a beauty advert is selected and it would be critically analyzed to see if the ad is effective and appealing to the masses. To help analyze the advertisement various types of heuristics are being used. The different types of heuristics are, emotions – direct and indirect, attractiveness, familiarity, expertise, message-length, consensus, scarcity and consistency. These will be used to discuss and critique the advertisement. Emotions Emotions are one of the main factors when discussing persuassion. There are two types of emotion – direct and indirect. A direct emotion requires a superficial processing and it is based on a classical conditioning. Hence or this advert that focuses on a beauty product, one of the many common emotion that it would trigger would be curiosity. The indirect emotions that would be triggered from the advert, would be feelings of gratefulness or displeasure. At a glance, the advert may intrigue the audience by providing a more conventional method to resolve the problem at hand for the face or skin while the other feeling that would be evoked in the individual would be doubtful and weariness as there are various beauty products in the market that does not justify the purposes of the product. Attractiveness In general, every individual would be very prone to be attracted to someone who is attractive and likeable. Many adverts would usually have an attractive display or an appealing model to promote their products and services. The audience would be more drawn to the advert despite the product and content that is given. A famous celebrity, who is well known and liked, is being used as a model for the beauty product. A more attractive attribute of an individual would allow a much better start for an interaction between the audience and advertisement. With an appealing model, the beauty product that is being advertised would have a high chance of being likeable and interesting which would decrease the probability for the product to be turned down. Familiarity According to Zajonc (1968) individuals favor products and services that they have been regularly exposed to. Very often, the people or audience would be much more drawn to the product or services that they are able to relate to or if the product is considered to be recognizable to them. When familiarity is established between in advertisement and audience, the audience would feel the sense of belonging (Monin, 2003). Adverts that The advertisement that is used is familiar and also established a bond of belonging with the audience. The word natural and the attractive model that is being used for the advert is familiar to the audience – women – as we have an already formed perception of what beautiful looks like – flawless and natural looking skin. Which is what the model is showing off. That aside, it would also able to identify for individuals who are looking for a solution to their facial problems. Expertise Most often, individuals are easily influenced by the behavior of the experts or those who has the upper hand. The credibility of the source is important when an individual is weighing out their options. The individuals need to be assured that the product or services that is offered is trustworthy and competent as this would allow the individual to form a fast perception of the product or service. Advertisements would usually include pictures of an authority figure or include information that is factual. This advert however does not show or establish any from of specific and clear expertise and authority. Message-Length An advertisement with a long message length would be believed and seen as useful as more information is provided. The informative ad would be more appealing as it offers vital information about the product and services at hand. However this would only be useful and effective if the audience were to use a systematic information processing. For this advert, very short information is given but however, the information is direct and clear. But message length does not play a huge role when an attractive model is being used and it would be able to also entice the same reaction as an advert that is informative. According to Chaiken (1980), individuals would rarely check the validity of the message that is give but instead to the readily information given that would be analyzed. Therefore, in conclusion, information processing plays a major and important role when advertisements are at play. Like information processing, heuristics also influences decision-making. Hence, information processing and heuristics would commonly complement and work together when the audience has to make a choice. Thus when making a choice, the individual has to look for more options and weigh out the advantage and disadvantage, this is where the advertisements would play a major role and what heuristic that is being used would also be taken into consideration.

Homework 6a Operations

Justin Prater Chapter 6A 3, 4, 9, and 14 3) a. b. Cycle time = production time per day/required output per day = [(8 hour/day)(3600 seconds/hour)]/240 units per day = 120 seconds per unit c. Work station| Task| Task time| Idle time| I| AD| 6050| 10| II| BC| 8020| 20| III| EF| 9030| 0| IV| GH| 3060| 30| d. Efficiency = Task time / [# stations X avg. cycle time) = = . 875 or 87. 5% 4) a. A B F C D E G 30 35 15 65 H 30 35 40 25 A B F C D E G 30 35 15 65 H 30 35 40 25 b. What is the workstation cycle time? Cycle time = production time per day/required output per day Cycle time = 27000 / 360 = 75 seconds. . Calculate this balance line using the largest number of following tasks. Use the longest task time as a secondary criterion. 275 / 75 = 3. 66 There should be a minimum of 4 work stations Work station| Task| Task time| Idle time| I| ACE| 303015| 0| II| BD| 3535| 5| III| F| 65| 10| IV| GH| 4025| 10| d. What is the efficiency of your balance line? 91. 7% 9. A B F C D E G 20 7 15 10 H 20 2 2 16 8 A B F C D E G 20 7 15 10 H 20 22 16 8 a. Cycle time = production time per day/required output per day Cycle time = 25200 / 750 = 33. 6 seconds. b. What is the theoretical number of workstations? workstations = sum of task times / cycle time 118 / 34 = 3. 5 There is a minimum number of 4 workstations. c. Draw the precedence diagram d. Balance the line using sequential restrictions and the longest-operating time rule. Work station| Task| Task time| Idle time| Feasible Rem. T. | Tasks w/ most foll| Task w/ longest t. | | I| AB| 207| 147| B| B| B| | II| DF| 2210| 122| F| F| F| | III| C| 20| 14| | | | | IV| EG| 1516| 193| G| G| G| | V| H| 8| 26| | | | | e. What is the efficiency of the line balanced as in d? Efficiency = Sum of task times / (# workstations X Cycle time) = 118 / (5 X 34) = . 70Efficiency = 70% f. Suppose that demand rose from 750 to 800 units per day. What would you do? Show any amounts or calculations. New cycle time = 25200/800 = 31. 2 seconds Reduce cycle time t o 31 seconds and work 62-3 minute overtimes. g. Suppose that demand rose from 750 to 1000 units per day. What would you do? Show any amounts or calculations. New cycle time = 25200/1000 = 25. 2 seconds 1. 89 hours overtime; may be better to rebalance. 14) Develop two alternative layouts. What is the efficiency of your layouts? A B F C D E G 1 1 3 1 H 2 1 1 2 1 I A B F C D E G 1 1 3 1 H 2 1 1 2 1 I Cycle time = 4 minutesWhat is the theoretical number of workstations? # workstations = sum of task times / cycle time 13 / 4 = 3. 25 Work station| Task| Task time| Idle time| Feasible Rem. T. | Tasks w/ most foll| Task w/ longest t. | | I| ABC| 11 2 | 32 0| B,F C,D| B C,D | B,F C| | IIIIIIV| DEFGHI| 131121| 303203| EGH| EGH| EGH| | Work station| Task| Task time| Idle time| Feasible Rem. T. | Tasks w/ most foll| Task w/ longest t. | | I| AFG| 11 1 | 32 1| B,F G| B G | B,F G| | IIIIIIV| BCDEHI| 311321| 313021| C,DEI| C,DEI| C,DEI| |

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Linguistics and Language Essay

?Write about the 2 theories of 1st language acquisition and choose which most tenableand provide examples and relevant literature one you find Michelle In this essay, I will explain as well as compare two theories of first language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. I will explore the differences between them in such categories as the role of the learner, the role of the environment and as well as their strengths and weaknesses. I will then state and explain which one I find more tenable with examples of relevant literature. Role of the Learner Behaviorism, credited to B. F. Skinner in the 1950s, states that the learner knows nothing to start with, he is an empty slate [o1] to be taught. The learner is passive and learns by positive-negative reinforcement, only repeating what he hears. Innatism, credited to Noam Chomsky in 1965, states that the learner is wired from birth for language. The learner is equipped with a LAD, a language acquisition device. This device allows the learner to discover the rules of his language, any language. Role of the Environment Behaviorism states that the role of the environment is key and vital to the learning process. The environment is the active agent while the learner is the passive agent. The environment produces the necessary language input for the learner. It is up to the environment to give positive and negative reinforcement for the learner. Innatism states that the role of the environment is minimal because it only acts as the trigger for learning. It is also thought the environment is flawed and can’t be relied upon to always give perfect information. Therefore, it is up to the learner to find the rules of the language[o2] . Strengths There are a few strengths to support the behaviorism theory. It is easy to monitor the learners’ performance. This is how parents (as teachers) usually teach their children, through nurturing which puts emphasis on the role of the environment. This theory can also explain why learners have the ability to memorize. On the other hand, there are several strengths of the innatism theory. A learner cannot memorize all the possible different language and grammar combinations that he learns through the environment. The LAD helps the learner to generalize rules and make his own creative use of the language. A child will resist using an irregular form because of over-generalizing, and he will create his own form of a word according to the rules that he has internalized. And these rules don’t necessarily conform to adult grammar rules which include many exceptions. By applying these internalized and generalized rules, a child is able to acquire a language at a fast pace. [o3] Weaknesses The Behaviorism theory only accounts for the performance of the learner, and not on his competence. The learner is passive, so this theory does not focus on the learner’s mind and knowledge. It also does not explain why children acquire a language so quickly even if they are exposed to different environments. In addition, this theory also doesn’t offer an explanation of why children over-generalize rules such as the simple past tense of irregular verbs even though they hear irregular forms in the environment. There are also several weaknesses to the Innatism theory. One of the first weaknesses is that it demands the existence of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), its existence is difficult to prove and is immeasurable. This theory also doesn’t take into account different kinds of learners, just ideal learners with ideal grammar. The environment plays a minor role in this theory, so it doesn’t take into account the social aspect of the learner. My Opinion Looking at the two of these theories, I find the Innatism theory the most tenable. In my own experience with my children and students, the learners do not always model my behavior. This usually occurs with irregular patterns, particularly past tense verbs. This is similar to the â€Å"wug† test where a child will form a past tense of a verb that he has never heard before by applying the general grammar rules that he has learned. This behavior cannot be memorized and must be driven by an internal structure. Another reason to support this theory is that learners with impaired intelligence have been able to learn the structure of language. It has also been proven that American Sign Language which is taught to the deaf also has its own language structure. In addition, the creation of Creole languages supports the theory. As a Creole develops, grammar and structure are built in. The LAD would account for the formation of these languages as well as for creative uses of language by a learner. Conclusion In this essay I have explained two theories of language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. In doing so, I have explained the different roles of the learner as well as the environment. I have also explored strengths and weaknesses of each theory and why I support the innatism theory over the behaviorism theory[o4] . [o1]Good one, I forgot this in my essay [o2]Do you think you should mention poverty of stimulus here? [o3]ording? [o4]Well done Michelle. Do you think you should include UG and CPH in your essay? I think UG is an important part of Innatism, what do you think? __________________________________________________________________ David One theory of first language acquisition is Universal Grammar, set forth by Chomsky in 1959 as a response to Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior. Whereas the latter theory, proposed that the learning of language is through the acquisition of habits, which are positively or negatively reinforced, Chomsky posited that humans come into the world with an innate language faculty in their mind, or a universal grammar. Universal grammar is built off of two propositions, that all languages are governed by a set of universal principles, and that the mind is equipped with parameters which are set intuitively by the child according to the language input they receive. UG researchers have found a number of universal principles. One of the more prominent principles is structure dependency. Structure dependency states that all sentences regardless of the language are built off of propositions that carry both a noun and a verb phrase; in other words, every sentence in every language must have at least a subject and a verb (Chomsky, 1959). One parameter setting that is contained in the LAD is the head setting. Some languages such as English are head first, other languages such as Japanese are head last. Various arguments have been used to support the existence of universal grammar. Chomsky (1959) has proposed the poverty of the stimulus argument, positing that the input children receive cannot account for what they produce, and therefore, children must have an innate facility. He argues that the input is marred in two ways; first it contains a hodgepodge of performance slips, and secondly, it does not contain any negative evidence. How do children acquire language when they don’t know what they can’t say, or how do they learn to speak correctly when the input they here is at times in correct? They do so, according to Chomsky, through this innate capacity. Jackendoff (1994) offers another argument in support of universal grammar, the argument from expressive variety. Jackendoff argues that given that languages are recursive, there is simply no way of storing all of the possible sentences one can create in one’s mind. In other words, sentences don’t come from habits, but rather from creative expression. Universal grammar has had a lot of capital in language acquisition theory, although it has been critiqued on some fronts. Connectionists, particularly, N. Ellis (2006) has argued that language acquisition is not due to an innate faculty and the creative expression of humans, but equates it to a usage-based approach where children learning piecemeal frequently reoccurring chunks of language. Another argument against the innate language faculty is that UG researchers have claimed that only humans have access to syntax, yet this has been found not to be true. Certain animals, such as the humpback whale and songbirds have been found to possess a recursive syntax, suggesting that syntax and language may have evolved from lower order primates. Whereas universal grammar begins with language from the inside, Sociocultural theory, another prominent first language acquisition, posits language acquisition begins from the outside. Vygotsky, the founder of sociocultural theory, argues that language is a psychological tool, which children acquire and learn to manipulate as they interact with their environment and with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978). Children first learn language as they interact with their parents. Parents use caretaker speech, which makes it easier for the child to understand and grasp a hold on the concepts of the language. As the child begins to understand and produce simple utterances, they are able to use the language to mediate their psychological functioning (Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky argues that children begin learning language by first learning single words, which are pure meaning. As they develop their language skills, and engage in social speech, single word sentences are augmented through incorporation of non-meaningful elements, such as function  words, and the child’s thoughts and words begin to develop more sense meanings. For instance, where the word ‘cat’ for the 1 or two year old child could have served as an exemplar for all cats, by the time the child is nine, and having undergone a variety of experiences related to cat, they have imbibed the word with their own unique senses. Thus syntax and word senses expand, the more a child learns. Now, whereas social speech began from one and developed into many, inner speech, the speech that goes on inside of our heads becomes more and more truncated. Vygotsky argues, contrary to Piaget, that egocentric speech does not ‘disappear’ rather it becomes internalized as inner speech. And this inner speech is something that could not be understood by anybody but the person who is thinking it. Vygotsky suggests that just as people who have known each other for many years, and who have had a large amount of experiences together exhibit language tendencies of shortened syntax because of their historical shared experience, a person’s inner speech also exhibits this characteristic, but even more so; the stuff of thought is nothing but psychological predicates (Vygotsky, 1978). One of the primary ways humans learn anything, according to Vygotsky, is through the zone of proximal development. This concept explains that what a person can do today with assistance, they can do tomorrow by themselves (Vygotsky, 1978). Applied to first language acquisition, the child may receive help from an expert, such as their parents, who point at objects and say their name, for example, cat. After seeing this, the child may repeat ‘cat’ immediately after. The next day, as the child sees the cat, it says the word ‘cat’ without needing to be told by their parents. The closer an expert is able to gauge one’s ZPD, the more optimal the learning environment becomes. __________________________________________________________ Laleh Innatism Chomsky (1959) opposed Skinner’s (1957) behaviorist viewpoint in language acquisition, who claimed that language acquisition takes place through habit formation and stimulus-response. Skinner, believed that as a child acquires language, he internalizes a finite set of responses to stimuli. Chomsky on the other hand, believes that language acquisition is rule governed and that children construct their own rules, which may not comply with adult rules. Chomsky maintains that languages consist of an infinite number of sentences and cannot be learned through habit formation. Language is too complex to be learned in such a short amount of time (Chomsky, 1959). He believes that every human is born with an innate language learning capacity, which is embedded in the language acquisition device (LAD). Chomsky believes that all language share grammatical structures. This is called universal grammar (UG). Proof of UG includes poverty of stimulus, which explains how children acquire the language despite their limited exposure and incorrect input they may receive. Another evidence for UG that languages are recursive, (Jackendoff, 1994). It is impossible to know all the possible combinations; however, they are learned by children. According to UG, there must be some sort of innate capacity that provides the additional information. The fact that children are resistant to correction once again proves that language is developed through an innate capacity. According to Chomsky (1959), all languages share principles, which are invariable across languages. For example, noun phrases and verb phrases. This is called structure dependency. All languages have verbs and nouns. What distinguishes languages from each other according to Chomsky, are parameters, which are language specific. For example, some languages are head first, and some are head last. In relation to UG, Eric Lenneberg (1967) introduced the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), which is a window of language learning opportunity before puberty. Proponents of CPH believe after this period, language learning becomes a much more difficult task and adults tend to rely on other mechanisms such as problem solving skills, reasoning, and deductive instruction to learn a language. Evidence of the CP is for example abused children, who despite being removed from the environment where they were deprived of social contact, were not able to learn the language. There have been many criticisms to Chomsky’s UG, for example, the LAD cannot be located and is immeasurable. Also, Chomsky’s theories overlook the effects of social contact and the environment on language learning. Social interactionist Vygotsky (1978) was a strong proponent of the social interaction hypothesis. He believed that learning takes place through social interaction, and give and take of information with caregivers, parents, or peers. According to  Vygotsky, children begin with external speech, which could consist of one word only, but have the meaning of a whole sentence. Gradually, as the child grows older, he develops more complex and longer sentences and associates more meaning with his words. A child also engages in private speech (similar to adults), which is usually meant for problem solving or thinking out loud, but is not meant for sharing although articulated. Vygotsky believes that as the child develops more linguistic skills, this private speech becomes internalized and turns into inner speech, which is pure meaning, and does not consist of subjects; it is predicated. On the contrary, Piaget (1955) believed that inner speech simply disappears. Vygotsky also proposes the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is the distance between what a child can do without help, and what he can do when scaffolding or support is provided. When a child receives the right scaffolding, he will eventually be able to perform the task on his own. __________________________________________ Karen Innatism Noam Chomsky (1959) introduces Innatism as a rebuttal to B. F. Skinner (1957) and his Behaviorist Theory. In direct opposition to the environment being the active participant in language learning, Chomsky flips behaviorism on its head and presents the learner as having a primary role while environment becomes secondary. Within the Universal Grammar Theory (UG), Noam Chomsky (1959) presents a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is responsible for the language learning process. Purely biological, language is filtered through the innate LAD that is structured with principles that are unchanging and parameters that vary according to the language being learned. Proofs to support this theory are many. Syntax and the head-first/head-last parameter are two such proofs. As a child learns language, they hold to one of only two possibilities in any given language – head-first and head-last – and language is formed through recursion and syntactic movement that follow a pattern within a particular language. This shows that language is rule-governed and that the LAD is programmed with language foundations from which a child can develop. That children are resistant to correction follows this same thought as they develop language through the LAD. Language is not linked to intelligence as we see in brain damaged adults who are completely coherent in language skills and others who are cognitively normal but cannot speak correctly. Stroke victims also show that, depending on the area of the brain that is affected, intelligence and speech are not linked. Broca’s and Wernicke’s Aphasias show that certain areas of the brain affect speech while intelligence remains unaffected. As evidenced by the Gopnik family, genetic impairments have also proven that a glitch in the UG can be passed down from one generation to another, thus proving that the LAD is indeed biological (Jackendoff, 113). Eric Lenneberg’s Critical Period Hypothesis (1967) and the cases of â€Å"wild children† are yet further evidence. Lenneberg holds that the LAD becomes dormant or ineffective after a certain age – around the age of 12 – and this is why children acquire language so much more quickly than adults who are attempting the same. Through these studies of particular children who did not learn language and who were void of contact with language as a whole, it shows that the younger the child, the more fully they were able to learn language. Once a child was passed the age of 12 or so, they were unable to acquire proper language skills. The younger children were not only able to learn more adequately but then went on to continue in the language learning process as a normal adult would. As many proofs as there are for Chomsky’s UG and the LAD, criticisms are plentiful as well. First and foremost, where is the evidence that a device like LAD exists? It certainly has not been located in the brain, therefore, it remains immeasurable and some have serious doubt as to its legitimacy. This theory also limits the role of the environment and gives no account for the social context of the language learning process. It idealizes the speaker and the grammar itself to a certain degree and packages the entire process a bit too neatly. Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piaget’s (1955) work in cognitive development is foundational on many levels. Watching his own children, nature, and certain study groups of young children, Piaget introduces a theory that is completely developmental. As a child is ready and developed (both biologically and cognitively), they are able to assimilate, accommodate and adapt new experiences. Underlying in this theory is reasoning and logic. The role of the environment is minimal and the learner is vital but only as they are cognitively developed and ready for new experiences. A child will not learn what they are not cognitively developed to receive at that point no matter what the instruction. Piaget holds to the notion of children developing schema. As a new experience is received and they are biologically and cognitively ready to receive it, they will develop new schema to fit into the framework of schema that they already have developed. This theory also relies heavily on egocentric and socialized speech with each one serving a different function. Egocentric speech is what is used (mainly by children) when words and thoughts are spoken out loud but the one speaking is only dealing with their own thoughts and ideas. Socialized speech is a shift away from egocentric speech where one simply derives pleasure from speaking to being a way of exchanging their ideas or opinions. Although Piaget’s work and theory is critical, it neither accounts for the child’s behavior as a whole nor for the cognitive development after the stage of ‘formal operation’ is reached. It offers vast insight into the developmental process of a child but little instruction on attaining language skills. It was also based solely on a Western model and is therefore quite limiting. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Input & Output Hypotheses As a result of older models of language teaching where attention was given to language grammar, Krashen (1981) places his focus on communication input. He contends that if the learner is given a chance to absorb the language, they will be better equipped to acquire it. Rather than forcing output immediately, Krashen holds to a silent period where learners have the privilege of just listening to language before attempting it†¦much like a young child would in learning their mother tongue. Comprehensible input (i + 1) is the formula that Krashen holds to for optimal language learning for second language learners (SLLs). This states that if a SLL is offered input that is only slightly beyond what they already know, acquisition will take place. He also makes a differentiation between language learning and language acquisition, claiming that acquisition is what is needed for the language learning process. Criticisms of Krashen’s hypothesis are that input alone cannot account for acquisition and that some grammatical forms cannot be learned without being taught. Swain (1985) introduces her Output Hypothesis in contrast to Krashen and claims that no matter the input, if the output is unintelligible, acquisition has not truly occurred. It is the output that forces learners to grapple with the grammatical processing and figure out what works. Through output, a learner can realize their problem areas, can experiment with new areas they are unsure of, and gives them the chance to analyze problems they are having in their language learning process. CONCLUSION As we can see in first and second language acquisition, there is not simply one way to which theorists hold in the process of learning or acquiring language. In looking at how one acquires their mother tongue, however, insights can be made into second language acquisition as well. In fact, it is through first language acquisition theories that other theories can spring from to delve into how second language acquisition occurs. These insights become helpful in the classroom and give the teacher foundational aspects that they can build off of. Pass| 7. 5. -8. 5 (David)

To what extent are writers also detectives in the novels you have studied?

The crime and the detective novel and their conventions have changed considerably over the last century. As societies have changed, these genres have adapted and branched out to meet the needs of writers attempting to express new concerns. Edgar Allen Poe's detective novel, The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) follows conventions we would now consider to be traditional in mystery writing. Bearing a close resemblance to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, we find a detective who relies on reasoning and deduction to solve a mystery that to all intensive purposes appears unsolvable; a locked room mystery such as Doyle's The Speckled Band (1892). In America, between the world wars, emerged the ‘hard-boiled' private eye novel, featuring tough private investigators, often themselves outcasts from society. Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett are examples of authors from this school of detective fiction. After the Second World War there was increasingly a feeling that literary fiction was an inadequate means of accurately describing the horrors of the modern world. ‘New journalism' emerged, a term coined by Tom Wolfe to describe non-fiction novels by authors such as Truman Capote. His true crime novel, In Cold Blood (1965) is one of the texts that will be examined in this essay. Later in the century literature became more preoccupied with issues of alienation as a result of city living and capitalist expansion. Postmodern concerns were expressed in detective metafiction, such a Paul Auster's New York Trilogy (1987). This novel will also be examined. Lastly, this essay will look at James Ellroy's My Dark Places (1996). Ellroy himself has described this as an â€Å"investigative autobiography†, but it also contains elements of the police procedural novel, which came into being in 1940's America. This sub-genre deals with the more detailed elements of police detection, in comparison to that of the private eye. The extent to which writers are also detectives in these three texts varies greatly. The fact that they are all very different in terms of the sub-genres of detective or crime fiction makes direct comparison difficult. Therefore this essay concentrates on each in turn, drawing together the main arguments in the conclusion. I have tried to give equal attention to each text, but the fact that each story in Paul Auster's New York Trilogy can stand alone as an individual piece of writing has made this difficult. In New York Trilogy, the distinction between writer and detective is particularly indistinct. This is complicated by the fact that Auster continually subverts the conventions of the detective genre that are expected by the reader. For instance, in a detective novel there is generally an expectation on the reader's part that a crime has been committed, and that the mystery surrounding this crime will be solved thereby restoring the social order. In the first story of the novel, City of Glass, no crime takes place. The central character, I will for now call Quinn (this term as I will later explain is also problematic), accepts a surveillance job, which only becomes a mystery when his employers, Virginia and the young Peter Stillman disappear. Rather than providing a solution to this mystery the novel instead throws up more questions and leaves the reader increasingly confused. It is with this central character, Quinn, that the distinction between writer and detective first becomes unclear. Quinn is an author of detective fiction. He has created the character Max Work, a private eye, under the pen name of William Wilson. At this stage Quinn has already to some extent become a detective. For Quinn the roles of, â€Å"the writer and detective are interchangeable†1. Both the writer and the detective must look out in to the world and search for thoughts or clues that will enable them to make sense of events. They must both be observant and aware of details. Quinn appears to exist only through the existence of Max Work, â€Å"If he lived now in the world at all, it was only at one remove, through the imaginary person of Max Work. â€Å"2. He even finds himself imagining what Max Work would have said to the stranger on the phone after receiving the first call. Perhaps this is why the next time he answers the phone to the stranger he finds himself taking on the identity of the unknown detective, Paul Auster. Surely this is not an action one would expect from the uncomfortable writer Quinn, but one that could be easily identified with the confident private eye Max Work. From this moment on, Quinn the writer has also taken on the physical duties of the detective. Adding to the complication, by taking on the identity of an unknown and apparently non-existent detective named Paul Auster, Quinn also takes on the identity of an existing writer Paul Auster, who agrees to cash the checks paid to Quinn by the Stillmans. At this point Quinn (as his name suggests3) has five identities. Three of these are writers and two are detectives. As a detective, Quinn finds that the thought processes in which he must engage are not dissimilar to those of a writer. As â€Å"Dupin says in Poe†¦ ‘An identification of the reasoner's intellect with that of his opponent'†4is necessary. In this case Stillman senior is the opponent. This is similar to the process in which Quinn must put himself in the fictional Max Work's place in order to determine what course of action he might take in order to make him appear realistic to the reader. In the second story of the trilogy, Ghosts, the reader is introduced to Blue, a professional rather than sham detective. A man named White hires him to watch a man called Black, and to make weekly reports on his movements. In contrast to the first story in which the writer becomes detective, in this we see the detective become writer. Faced with very little understanding of the case he has embarked upon, Blue finds himself making up stories in order to bring some meaning to the position he is in, â€Å"Murder plots, for instance, and kidnapping schemes for giant ransoms. As the days go on he realise there is no end to the stories he can tell. â€Å"5. Blue is hardly restricted in the number of theories he can advance because he possesses only a small number of facts they have to meet. The detective becomes a writer in his attempt to reconstruct a possible crime. This can be seen in any number of detective or crime novels, including In Cold Blood and My Dark Places. According to Peter Huhn in his article ‘The Detective as Reader: Narrativity and Reading Concepts in Detective Fiction', †¦ he text of the novel can be said to have two authors (at least): the criminal (who wrote the original mystery story [by committing the crime]) and the detective (who writes the reconstruction of the first story). As a detective, Blue has never previously had difficulty with writing reports. It is only when he sits down to write his first report on Black that he encounters a writers struggle to find a way of adequately expressing events. Before, action has always held â€Å"forth over interpretation†7 in his reports. As he feels pulled towards interpreting events he becomes more a writer than detective. In one report he even includes a completely fictitious observation, that he believes Black is ill and may die. The incident in the Algonquin Hotel, in which Blue approaches Black under the guise of a life insurance salesman named Snow, the reader is made aware that perhaps Black is also a private detective (unless he is lying). If we take this to be the case then it could be considered that Black the private detective is also a writer, in that his actions determine those of Blue. Blue must follow him wherever he goes, is trapped by Black's routine and so Black is, in effect, writing Blue's life. Conversely then, the same must be true for Blue. If Black really is a private detective, as Blue is, then Black must follow Blue, becoming trapped in his routine. Blue is therefore the writer of Black's life. In the third story, The Locked Room, the central character, an un-named author is a writer who turns detective in an attempt to locate his childhood friend Fanshawe. Until Fanshawe contacts the narrator in a letter, he has been presumed dead. Initially, the process of detection begins under a pretext of writing a biography of Fanshawe's life. As a writer of a biography, one is expected to stick to facts, as is a detective. However, as this biography would be written under the illusion that Fanshawe is dead it would actually in effect be a work of invention rather than accurate reconstruction. The narrator tells us, â€Å"The book was a work of fiction. Even though it was based on facts, it could tell nothing but lies. â€Å"8. Thus, in this story, the central character even through the process of detection remains, in essence, a writer. The extent to which writer is also detective in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood must be looked at in a very different way due to the type of crime novel it is. Tom Wolfe has as I have mentioned, described it as ‘New journalism'. Capote himself, however, distances his novel from this school of writing. He views his work as â€Å"creative journalism† as opposed to for instance, a â€Å"documentary novel†9. The distinction for Capote is that to be a good creative journalist a writer must have experience in writing fiction so that he has the necessary knowledge of fictional writing techniques. Writers trained in journalism for example would not possess the skills needed to write a creative journalistic piece, but are more suited to writing documentary novels. Capote's distinction is relevant to the question because it gives us an insight into the extent in which In Cold Blood was created as a compelling true crime novel, largely based on fact (by a writer), in comparison to the extent in which a crime and it's effects was accurately reconstructed and completely based on fact (as a detective would attempt to do). In order to determine the real extent to which Capote as author of this novel was also a detective a number of issues need to be addressed. To begin with the opinion that in researching and writing In Cold Blood Capote was in fact acting as a detective will be examined. The research Capote undertook in writing this non-fiction novel was indeed extremely thorough. He arrived in Holcomb in November 1959, the same month of the murders and a month before Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested. He was therefore present during the time in which the initial police investigation was taking place. He conducted hundreds of interviews with residents of Holcomb, and other individuals who had come into contact with the two murderers. Some of these interviews, as he told George Plimpton in an interview for the New York Times in 1966, went on for three years. Capote also undertook â€Å"months of comparative research on murder, murderers, the criminal mentality,† as well as interviewing, â€Å"quite a number of murderers† in order to gain a perspective on Smith and Perry10. In his interviewing of Smith and Perry after their arrest, he acted to a great extent as a detective is expected to. As the men were kept apart following their arrest, Capote was able to cross-reference their interview answers in order to determine fact from fiction, â€Å"I would keep crossing their stories, and what correlated, what checked out identically, was the truth†11. In Cold Blood has been widely accepted as an extremely accurate portrayal of the Clutter murders and the following investigation. However, the opinion that In Cold Blood was as much a work of fiction as of fact needs to be considered. Within this novel there are several instances in which Capote could be said to have used artistic licence. The clearest example of this is the last scene of the novel in which Detective Alvin Dewey meets murdered Nancy Clutter's childhood friend at the graveyard in Holcomb, four years after the family's deaths, ‘And nice to have seen you, Sue. Good luck,' he called to her as she disappeared down the path, a pretty girl in a hurry, her smooth hair swinging, shining – just such a young woman as Nancy might have been. 12 We know this to be an utterly fictitious scene because, according to Dewey's biographer Gerald Clarke, Dewey never met Susan Kidwell until the executions of Smith and Hickock in 196513. According to Capote, however, the meeting at the graveyard took place the previous May, in 1964. In the novel, the reader also cannot escape a feeling that Capote is somewhat biased towards Perry Smith. As a writer, personal opinions and feelings are perfectly acceptable inclusions in a reconstruction, but as a detective they are not. Of course this bias may arise directly from Capote's observations of the two men, and of factual, psychological evidence. In which case this would be a fair assessment. However, it has been suggested by some that this bias arises from Capote's feelings for Perry Smith and the relationship they developed whilst Capote was conducting his research. Ned Rorem, referring to a dinner conversation with Truman Capote in 1963, said of Capote â€Å"he seemed clearly in love with him [Perry]. It must be remembered however that this is just speculation. In Cold Blood has also been seen as a polemic against capital punishment and the American justice system. By indicating in the novel that Perry Smith was in a â€Å"psychological cul-de-sac†15 at the time he committed the murders he insinuates that the death penalty was an unjust sentence. With regard to Capote's attack on the justice system, his criticism can clearly be seen in his account of the jury selection for the trial, The airport employee, a middle-aged man named N. L. Dunnan, said, when asked his opinion of capital punishment, ‘Ordinarily I'm against it. But in this case no' – a declaration which, to some who heard it, seemed clearly indicative of prejudice. Dunnan was nevertheless selected as a juror. 16 If this is indeed a polemic, it must be the case that opinions and facts in opposition to Capote's argument would have been left out. This would make him more writer than detective. He himself confessed that, I make my own comment by what I choose to tell and how I choose to tell it. It is true that an author is more in control of fictional characters because he do [sic] anything he wants with them as long as they stay credible. But in the nonfiction novel one can also manipulate. 17 Ellroy's My Dark Places is also a true crime novel containing, as I have mentioned, elements of autobiography and of the police procedural. Unlike In Cold Blood, in which the reader is aware of the culprits' identities from the beginning, it is more of a ‘whodunit' in that the reader does not know who the murderer is. Through the process of detection, and with the help of a homicide detective named Bill Stoner, Ellroy retraces the initial investigation into his mother's murder in the hope of finally solving it. As in New York Trilogy, however, the reader is denied the solution and restoration of order generally expected from (and often desired in) a detective novel. The novel is written in four parts, and the extent to which Ellroy is both writer and detective varies with each one. The first part, ‘The Redhead' is Ellroy's reconstruction of the original investigation. Although true crime, this section reads as a police procedural novel, involving meticulous detail of each piece of evidence and information collected at the time. Ellroy has had to take on the role of detective in this section in order to reconstruct events as they happened at the time, 1958, thirty-five years before his own investigation. Unlike a fictional police procedural, in which the reader expects at least a portion of the evidence to be significant in solving the case, in the end it proves to be useless. It is Ellroy's inclusion of this irrelevant information that increases the extent to which he is also detective. Rather than using it as a plot device, he has included it for the purposes of accuracy. This section is also largely devoid of emotion, regardless of the significance of the case to Ellroy. The title, ‘The Redhead' is an example of this emotional absence; it provides a superficial physical description of Ellroy's mother with no real clue as to her identity. Ellroy himself, as narrator, is absent. He appears only as a character in the drama, the murdered woman's son. Unlike the last section in the novel, Ellroy does not appear as a detective. The second part of the text, ‘The Kid in the Picture', is autobiographical. It traces Ellroy's personal involvement in crime, such as going on â€Å"righteous burglary†18 runs, and his development as a writer of crime fiction. In this section Ellroy is clearly writer rather than detective. This is made even more evident as he mentions novels written by him during this period, such as L. A. Confidential – which he describes as a novel â€Å"all about me and L. A. crime†19. The third part of the novel, ‘Stoner', introduces the reader to the detective Bill Stoner, the man who will eventually aid Ellroy in the search for his mother's killer. This section is a biography of Stoner's life and cases as a homicide and later as an unsolved crime detective. Ellroy himself is again absent from this section. As a writer he would had to have investigated the events in Stoner's life that are mentioned here. Thus, in writing this section Ellroy has had to, in effect, engage in detection. The other way in which Ellroy could be seen to also be a detective in this part is the language he employs. Much of the information we are given reads as would a police report. As Blue in New York Trilogy is accustomed to writing reports in which â€Å"action holds forth over interpretation†20, we see Ellroy writing in the same manner. This can be seen in the following extract, The Soto guys let her in. Karen verbally attacked John's common-law wife and ran out of the apartment. The wife chased her. They traded insults on the sidewalk until 2:00 in the morning. John Soto ran down. He made his wife go upstairs. The whole of this section is written in the same manner. In contrast to In Cold Blood there is no emotion or interpretation, only facts. For this reason, as Ellroy's novel also deals with true crime, it could be said that Ellroy is a detective to a greater extent than Capote because he sticks more rigidly to the facts. The fact that the reader finishes this novel with a sense of dissatisfaction (as the case is not solved) could also add credence to this idea. This is because as a self-consciously literary exercise, rather than accurate detection, In Cold Blood manages to create a sense of suspense even though the reader knows who has been killed and who committed the crime. Ellroy instead recounts facts as they were rather than attempting to satisfy readers' expectations. Conversely, if we are talking about conventional detective literature, we could say that Ellroy is less of a detective (in the traditional manner) for the very reason that he fails to solve the crime, thereby failing to restore social order. The final section, ‘Geneva Hilliker', is that in which Ellroy is most evidently a detective as well as writer. This section of the novel details Ellroy's own investigation. It follows his collation of evidence, false leads followed and the final (if unsatisfying) resolution to Ellroy's story. Even if the reader does not find out who killed Geneva Hilliker, they, as Ellroy does, find out about her and her life. For Ellroy this provides some closure, as we would expect from a crime novel. It is not conventional to the genre but does resolve some of the questions Ellroy hoped to answer when he embarked on the investigation, thus consolidating his position as detective (however temporarily). In each of these novels, writers have to a considerable extent also been detectives. It is difficult to determine whether this is truer in any of the texts than in the others due to the different ways in which this has been the case. In My Dark Places and In Cold Blood, the authors of the novels have also carried out acts of detection in the research carried out for those novels. In New York Trilogy we see characters that happen to be either writers or detectives exchanging these roles. It may be said that any author is to some extent a detective, whether they are researching a factual book, or writing a fictional novel in order to discover something about the world in which they live. As Quinn believes, â€Å"the writer and detective are interchangeable†21.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Which Has Exerted a Bigger Effect on War: the End of the Cold War, or Globalization?

Back in human history, there could be found more than 14, 400 records of wars that have occurred in the past, by taking the lives of billions and affecting the social and political order worldwide. Wars in the contemporary world have gradually been changing in form, mainly due to globalization, by overlapping in different spheres of brutal conflicts and small but extremely dangerous organizations like terrorism and insurgencies. Nevertheless, their true nature and intentions have managed to preserve through ages, as a general norm of social behavior, involving extreme violence, desire for power and manipulation, as well as conflicts established on the basis of religious or ethnic issues. In addition, the end of the cold war had a great impact on the global socio-political picture by establishing a completely new image of international relations, forms of external associations and a strong push for a military affair progress.Could Cold War Have Been Avoided? To understand the nature of war, its influence on current affairs, as well as the impact of globalization on war matters, I would first provide a general definition of â€Å"war†, by presenting some theoretical approaches. Eventually I would concentrate on the impact of the post-cold period and finally, conclude with the affect of globalization. War and theoretical approaches: Scholars have always provided quite contradictory definitions for a â€Å"war†. Indeed defining â€Å"war† could be a complicated task. This is due to the fact that even if the nature of a war remains constant, it always reflects the particular time and place in which it occurs. In other words, the current time, situation, the initial core of the problem, as well as, the level of violence and particular actors would greatly influence and define the type of conflict. Thus, establishing a general idea of a ‘war’ might end to be quite inaccurate. Nevertheless, I would try to present the main general definitions, based on different theoretical approaches. Quincy Wright, for xample, describes war as a â€Å"conflict among political groups, especially sovereign states, carried on by armed forces of considerable magnitude, for a considerable period of time†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 213) Judging by his statement, we could conclude that it’s a realist approach, emphasizing on the power of the state and the highest level of sovereignty that possesses. Another approach of defining war is the definition of Hedly Bulls claiming that war is an â€Å"organized violence, carried by political units against each other†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 14) This definition could be accepted as inappropriate because not every single action of violence is defined as a war. In addition, war could involve and other internal actors except political ones like citizens for example (religious, racial conflicts). A third approach by Clausewitz explains war as â€Å"an act of force intended to compel our opponents to fulfill our will†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 214) This definition is more liberal based as it stresses more on the power and affect of globalization than on the state sovereignty. Even though all of these definitions seem to differ in terms of theory, we could generalize some common characteristics between them, which are organized violence, state or non-state actors, as well as military force and manipulation. To get a better understanding on the definitions, the change of warfare, as well as the impact of globalization and post-cold war period, I would like to summarize and stress on two well known theories: Realism and Liberalism. Realism, first of all, stresses on the power of the state and its sovereignty, representing it as the main actor on the world stage. It also expresses world politics as a ‘self-help system’ and a ‘struggle for power’ between states (Baylis, 2008, p. 5), trying to dominate and maximize their national interests. In addition, globalization is not important and does not affect political world. Liberalism, on the contrary, emphasizes on the effectiveness of democracy, underlying that states are not the only main actors. Transnational actors, international corporations and organizations (like terrorism) are also playing a key role in defining warfare and its evolving. Also, liberalists admit the importance of globalization, economic and environmental issues. Considering the current international affairs, as well as the decline power of state actors, we could assume that the Liberal theory quite successfully matches with the recent socio-political events. Thus, I would further analyze the change of warfare from the perspectives of the Liberal approach. Post-cold war period: The fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, resulting in the end of the Cold War, put a new evolution in the structure of the international relations and the international system. That indeed brought some influential domestic attributes like democracy system in some post-communist states. In addition, the number of wars sharply declined but not and their crucial brutality. A lot of ex-Soviet Union members, as well as some eastern European countries like former Yugoslavia experienced tremendous crisis. Many states disintegrated, which led to bloody civil wars and insurgencies. Another great factor was the new system of democracy that former communist states had to accept. Some states indeed benefited from that but for others that turned out to be a vast and sudden change resulting in more economic crisis and chaos in the population. In addition, this led to the active participation of world organizations like the United Nations, as well as NATO and EU in preserving the peace and avoiding any brutal conflicts that could follow. Such intervention and anti-conflict actions influenced not only the warfare but human morals, as well. People’s understanding of politics, economics became more globally based, not just state-isolated. A state problem eventually turned out to be a global problem, like the war in former Yugoslavia, 9/11 and the current affairs in Egypt. The post-cold war period gave the first strong push of a massive globalization. Indeed, globalization has always existed in human history and has always been an inevitable process; nevertheless no one has particularly mentioned it before the end of the Cold War. Another great change that affected the warfare was the absolute hegemony power that the USA gained. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the international system changed from a phase of ‘bipolarity’ into a phase of ‘unipolarity’. Thus, USA’s global influence speeded up even more the going on process of globalization, turning it in to â€Å"Americanization†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 13)USA was surely outstanding in terms of military power and technical innovations; nevertheless it did nothing to prevent the up-coming events of organized violence and particularly terrorism. A good example is the 9/11 event and the Iraq War in 2003. Even though USA had a magnificent superiority in terms of weaponry, technical and communication technology, the responding asymmetric attacks that followed, as well as the terroristic actions in London and Madrid proved the dramatic changes that have occurred in terms of warfare. Globalization: The revolution in military affairs that followed in the 1991, right after Gulf War, built a new image and form of the contemporary warfare. With the vast development of technology, communication, Internet and media, war was eventually converted into a new form of a war conflict, unfamiliar for the old Westphalian Order ideas. The primary Westphalian characteristics of a territoriality, fixed boarders, self-determination and states as only key-actors completely contradict with the contemporary current global affairs. And indeed, Globalization is more than just interconnectedness. It involves much more than cooperation and international relations between states. It eventually dissolves the state boarders, turning the world into a â€Å"shared social space†, (Baylis, 2008, p. 18) as well as, placing the economical and political activities into a completely new transnational global scale. Another important factor of globalization is the â€Å"time-space compression†. (Baylis, 2008, p. 18) Nowadays, any power or military actions could be exercised from a distance and fulfilled for a relatively short period of time. Globalization has broken any possible barriers involving distance, space or time with the help of Internet, communication and media. These factors have resulted in an entire new generation of warfare. In such a new era of innovation and high technology, new non-state actors have managed to transform both cyber place and media into a real battlefield. From one hand, this has led to the creation of highly effective and complex weaponry machinery, ensuring better protection and momentum responds to military actions. On the contrary though, that also leads to terrorism, organized crimes, violence as well as, weapons of mass destruction. With the ability of producing and exporting such powerful technology, the safety of humans and the brutality of contemporary warfare are surely not on the way of declining. Another negative consequence of globalization results in the different economical level of the world countries and the continuous growing gap between them. Indeed globalization is useful and helpful for powers like Japan, USA and Russia but other countries like Sierra Leone or Eritrea definitely lack the benefits of globalization. This creates poverty, eventually crisis, which could lead to civil wars and more bloody violence. In the past decade, 95% of the armed conflicts have occurred within states rather than between them. Such new wars take place in states where the economy is extremely poor or even collapsing. Conclusion: Many of the characteristics of warfare mentioned above are not new features of war conflicts. They have been existing for a long time since early human history. That includes religious or ethnic confrontations, or any other kind of conflicts performed with extreme brutality. What really empowered the contemporary warfare and made it so massively destructive is globalization. It is the human ability and necessity to protect or manipulate, to defend themselves or just to apply control over a state of civilians. It is hard yet to predict what other crucial impacts globalization would have on humanity and eventually on warfare. Whatever the reason though, wars would never stop to exist and they would be always a human norm of a social behavior, that would adopt according to the current environment and current period of time. References: Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (eds.) (2008). The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, Oxford: Oxford University Press (4th ed.) Boyer, P. (2001). The Oxford Companion to United States History. Post–Cold War Era. Retrieved January 29, 2011 from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-PostColdWarEra.html Encyclopedia of the new American Nation. Cultural Relations and Policies – Globalization and the cold war. Retrieved January 29, 2011 from:

Philosphical Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosphical Approaches - Essay Example It is very important to leave out bias, prejudice, personal factors, and opinions from ethical decision making in such cases (Guy, 1990). Ethical decision making requires a good sense of morals and a neutral viewpoint. While it is very difficult for a person to remain neutral in several situations, an ethical decision maker or a judge has to keep his/her mind clear of preconceived notions. An ethical dilemma may arise when a decision has to be made on moralistic grounds between two opposing situations. While both parties may be right in their own regard, it is up to the decision maker to reach a fair, unbiased, altruistic conclusion (Trevino, 1986). Several tools are available to decision makers to derive their decision such as references, proof, investigations, objective opinions of others, etc. However, the method to be chosen is reliant upon the decision maker’s preference and his/her comfort level with the chosen method (Robert, 2007). In regard to ethical decision making, there are three philosophical approached to guide the behavior of the decision maker. The first approach is the intuitionist approach. This approach relies on intuition alone and is basically reliant upon the decision maker’s own sense of morals and standards of ethical behavior. The decision maker alone is responsible for deciding what is right and wrong according to his/ her judgment and intuition. This is the most subjective approach amongst the three as the basis of an ethical decision relies upon whether the decision maker himself feels that he has made an ethical and moralistic judgment. This may also be criticized as being an unethica l approach to decision making as everyone’s norms and sense of morality may differ. However, this approach is used and is considered to be one of the most phenomenal approaches to ethical decision making (Guy, 1990). The next is the deontological

Friday, September 27, 2019

Critical Assessments of Two Archaeology Articles Essay

Critical Assessments of Two Archaeology Articles - Essay Example The study that Churchill makes on the adaptive possibilities is intended to narrow the many theories that exist on discovering why there is an equafinality of agents that might be given value for the production of adapted traits within Neanderthals. The argument within the paper contends that without discovering ways in which to evaluate the various hypotheses there is nothing preventing the equal consideration of those hypotheses that are ‘untenable’. In other words, some hypotheses are so ridiculous that there must be a way to dispute them, but without a methodology for verifying hypotheses that have some validity, there is no recourse to dispute any hypothesis. Therefore, it appears that the main focus of the paper is to find a way to evaluate hypotheses on agents of traits through exploration of one specific trait. Churchill (2008) suggests that â€Å"The study of the flow of energy through the Neanderthal’s world holds the promise of a solution to some of th e conundrums that exist in functional morphology or adaptive studies of these archaic humans† (p. 115). ... However, through further exploration, the idea was refuted, thus providing for an assessment that suggested that perhaps Neanderthals had less of a capacity to tolerate cold temperatures than did humans. In addition, the nature of the energy required to heat the bodies that they had developed was such that the high levels of calories were needed to make it function properly and that during the time of year when food was most difficult to obtain, higher levels of calories would be needed in order to supported additional efficiency in maintaining body temperature. The primary purpose of the paper was to find and use methods of research that could verify suppositions about the adaptive agents that provided for the development of traits in Neanderthals. In working with multiple levels of biologically sound and rational discovery, Churchill manages to make a reasonable discussion about the topic, even if a firm conclusion was not possible. The problem that exists within this concept is th at another researcher may find ways in which to manipulate data to support his or her hypothesis while ignoring the variations that would refute it. The purpose of the paper brings to light the problem without genuinely discovering a responsive solution. Works Cited Churchill, S. E. Bioenergetic Perspectives on Neanderthal Thermoregulatory and Activity Budget: A Review. pp. 113–134. Found in K. Harvati and T. Harrison (eds.), Neanderthals Revisited: New Approaches and Perspectives. New York: Springer, 2008. Print. Clients Name Name of Professor Name of Class Date Skin Deep: A Critical Assessment Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin discuss the development

Risk Management Plan in Hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Risk Management Plan in Hospital - Essay Example Increased stakeholder confidence and trust Improved corporate and clinical governance Issues Legal requirements Malpractice and avoiding them Medical record Rights of patients Patient safety Definitions Identification and analysis of practices, incidents, and situations in a hospital that can cause financial risks for the hospital and medical staff and to develop strategies that aim to eliminate, avoid, or minimize risks. Aims To manage risks to staff and medical staff. To manage risks to service quality To manage risks to efficient services To manage risks to quality of services To manage risks to safety of patients, caregivers, and visitors To manage risks of failure to meet national and local prioritised governmental targets To manage risks to the hospital reputationStep 1: Communicate and Consult Communication and consultation with internal and external stakeholders in all steps of the process. Communication and consultation necessary to Establish the context Identify risks Analyse risks Evaluate risks Treat risks Stakeholder Identification Chairperson Quality Management System Committee Approves integrated risk management plan Carries out risk management activities through communication with all medical committees Clinic, Departmental Heads, and Directors Risk management within Departments Ensures staff risk management education, processes, and policies Ensures staff support and compliance with risk management plan Medical and Hospital Staff Members Responsible for acquiring and maintenance of knowledge and practice skills for safe care of patients Responsible for delivery of patient, carer, and family education regarding safety in care Responsible for errors leading to risk and perceived risks once identified Patients and...In this assignment, a risk management plan in the hospital setting will be worked out based on the learning module and material. A seven-step guide to risk management approach will be utilised and a risk management plan will be developed according to AS/ANZ 4360:2004 as described in HB436:2004. Different departments, people, equipment, facilities and functions make up an organization. This is also applicable in a hospital. Integration of these diverse components are possible through leadership skills which consists of communication and consultation. Management of healthcare associated risks are best accomplished through teamwork and through basic understanding of the problems. Changes required must be continuously managed, and this should address new risks that are continuously presented in the hospital environment. Evidence from risk management literature indicates that adequate risk management involves development of system improvement. Approaches based on embedded p lanning cycle of plan, do, check, then act are needed to implement in an organised and stepwise fashion. Identification and analysis of practices, incidents, and situations in a hospital that can cause financial risks for the hospital and medical staff and to develop strategies that aim to eliminate, avoid, or minimize risks. The infection control nurse or the staff epidemiologist may provide information on patient infection and also may help the risk manager to understand protocols on

Thursday, September 26, 2019

W5D 590 Colin Powell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W5D 590 Colin Powell - Essay Example Powell, the role of the leader is to create the most suitable environment for the followers and let everyone to contribute the common business goal with all their best (Karissa, 2013). To best bring the leader’s view about the organizational goal can be done through collaboration, an effective part of which is communication that creates unity without consensus. Here loyalty means to give one’s honest opinion and if the decision is been made, give no chances for the debate (Johnson, et al., 2008). The importance of truth-telling and safety where people are able to tell the truth create the atmosphere of unity and lead to the high performance of the corporate culture. Another view on how leader sees meeting of organizational goals is through creating a winning team (Schawbel, 2012), which is able to give business everything it needs. Here people should be trained in order to get connected to the common strategy, and have certain equipment to achieve the goals. There is al so philosophy of leadership which Powell shared with hundreds of business students. The central consideration about leadership is about getting people to make the most out of them, which is possible by creating conditions of trust, absence of fear or anger and constant presence of optimism. He also states (Stanford GSB Staff, 2005) that effective leaders are not born; instead they are capable to learn from their experience. Johnson, et al., (2008). The New leadership challenge: removing the emotional barriers to sustainable performance in a flat world, Ivey Business Journal, Retrieved from http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-new-leadership-challenge-removing-the-emotional-barriers-to-sustainable-performance-in-a-flat-world/ Karissa, R., (2013). AIA 2013: Top Ten Lessons of Leadership by General Colin Powell, Architecture News Daily, Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/392879/aia-2013-top-ten-lessons-of-leadership-by-general-colin-powell/ Schawbel, D., (2012). A Conversation

Rooms Devision Operations Management Assignment - 1

Rooms Devision Operations Management - Assignment Example Front office is the departments found in an office that have direct and first contact with the customers. The department is sub divided into various segments. They include the marketing department, the sales department, service department that we as well have the receptionists. It is very important to highlight that the front office is therefore the department that welcomes and receives the guests and visitors to the accommodation or rather hospitality facility. The staff shows their warm and good reception by meeting the guests, greeting them, and discussing with them in depth about the reservation arrangements. The check in systems as well as the check outs is as well factors that the department conducts as they get into the rooms and as they leave the rooms. The staff there again ensures the provision of the key to the guests and ensures that proper security is accorded to the guests, the department as well has accounting and communication department that passes information and se ttles accounts (Sue 2001). The front office offers very crucial services that are considered to be very crucial to the customers and the actions that are done have massive consequences to the accommodation facility. ... This department issues the keys to the guests and takes them top the various rooms that they have allocated to them (Michael 2010). Communication The front office department has the messengers and the communication facilities that facilitate the easier passing of information among the employees and the guests. Information among the staff could be on the consultation of the availability of the bed space and any other service needed that would be for the satisfaction of the customers taste and for their well being. The guests can as well use the communication department in making advance reservations and making of other service orders while they are in the premises (Sue 2001). Security It is important to note that the font office has the security department. The security department is concerned on the safety and security of the guests, the property of the guests, the staff employed by the accommodation or hotel organization and also the facilities that belong to the organization. Secur ity is another crucial factor that is quite sensitive and should always be put into consideration by the management of any hospitality firm (Ahmed 2012). Sales and Marketing It is very normal that any institution that is business oriented has its main target as making profit. For a business to make profit there must be proper sales and marketing done. This is therefore the reason for the creation of the sales and marketing department. The sales and marketing service that the accommodation organization does is based on various factors. The quality of the service that is offered by the organization is a very crucial factor that markets an organization. Sales and marketing service as well can

Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets Essay

Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets changed the organisation and delivery of public services - Essay Example This has in turn led to emergence of new management tactics in the public sector. Public services differ from other services provided by private sector in various ways. Private organizations produce goods and services for sale with an aim of making profit and hence are not available to people who cannot afford them. On the other hand, the aim of the government is to provide the essential services to all citizens especially those who can’t afford. It does not aim at making profit by providing the services (Flynn, 2007). The public services also help the other members of society indirectly due to trickling effect of benefits from those who consume the services such as education. As opposed to private services which are acquired individually depending on affordability, public services are paid collectively through taxes and some can’t be offered in isolation. Some public services though are subject to charges such as leisure facilities, care for the elderly, and some drugs . The people accountable for ensuring the citizens get the services are the politicians who represent the needs of the electorate. The facilities used to provide the services are publicly owned although the government can rent private facilities to be able to provide the services. The government through public sector reforms has been engaging the services of private organizations in order to offer efficient services. There has also been need to provide high quality services and minimise costs therefore, the government employs the management tactics of the private sector to achieve the reforms needed (Hoggett, 1991). The organization and delivery of public services has therefore changed tremendously over time. One of the services affected by these changes is the provision of long term care for the elderly which will be discussed throughout the paper. Public Administration to New Public Management Traditionally, public administration dominated the public sector management. Organizatio n and delivery of services was controlled by the central government through public service employees. The services were funded by revenue collected from taxation, in essence citizens pay for the services indirectly but the provision of the services does not depend on how much individuals contribute as tax; services are offered equally to all. Bureaucratic controls were evident in administration and provision of services. The politicians elected by the people determine what is to be offered to the electorates through the budgetary process. They also determine the bureaux to supply the services as they are selected to lead ministries and make legislations for local authorities on services to carry out (Flynn, 2007). The organization and delivery of care services for the elderly were controlled centrally by the Department of Health through the regional health authorities. The department organized purchasing and provision of care for the elderly and the disabled (Brereton & Vasoodaven, 2010). The public enterprises followed strict procedures regulated by law. The work of the managers of these enterprises was to implement national policies. The management policies were geared towards ensuring trusted workers and development teams who in turn would promote public service values. Customer (citizens) satisfaction would

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Sexual abuse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sexual abuse - Research Paper Example As such, sexual abuse comes in many different forms and can effect a variety of people. Rape and sexual assault, which are non-consensual, forced sexual behaviors, are the most common forms of sexual abuse and can be found in schools, homes, workplaces, on the streets, and even in churches. Rape is the act of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with them; sexual assault covers a much broader category of behaviors, including flashing, indecent exposure, and torture of another in a sexual fashion. Inappropriately touching or fondling someone else is also a commonly seen type of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse can also be a verbal matter. When some says sexually suggestive statements to anybody, whether to a child or another adult, and the other person disapproves or is offended by what was said, it constitutes as sexual abuse. Calling someone a derogatory name, especially those that specify a gender or a crude sexual suggestion, is called sexual harassment, which is also consi dered to be a type of sexual abuse. ... Other occurrences of child sexual abuse also include forcing a child to look at pornography or using a child to produce what is known as child pornography. When a child is pressured, or even simply just asked, to engage in any sort of sexual activity, they are being subjected to sexual abuse. Since all children are under the age of eighteen are considered to be under the age of consent, even if a sixteen-year-old were to give an adult permission to engage in sexual acts, that adult can still be held responsible for child sexual abuse. The consequences on the victim of sexual abuse can be devastating and permanent, especially if the victim was sexually abused as a child, as the ramifications can continue well into adulthood. When a child is sexually abused, they face many identity issues, such as feeling guilty or blaming themselves about the abuse, which are very common responses if the child was sexually abused by a close family friend or a relative. Sexually abused children have th e ability of developing post-traumatic stress disorder or borderline personality disorder as they enter adulthood; furthermore, â€Å"victims of child sex abuse are over six times more likely to attempt suicide and eight times more likely to repeatedly attempt suicide (Dinwiddie & Heath).† Many teenage victims of sexual abuse become depressed and resort to self-injury as a physical outlet to cope with the feelings associated with the abuse. Additional ramifications of child sexual abuse on the victim as they enter adulthood include alcoholism, anxiety, and antisocial behavior. They become paranoid and develop trust issues that often lead them to experiencing further abuse. Similarly, many victims can also become prone to future

The Fashion Industry and the Role of the Media in Shapin Dissertation

The Fashion Industry and the Role of the Media in Shapin - Dissertation Example The study "The Fashion Industry and the Role of the Media in Shapin" concerns the fashion and media and analyzes the Changing Perception of a Woman’s Physical Image. After World War I, with the popularity of fashion magazines, print media, television and the internet, the popular media has presented the perceived ‘ideal’ image of a woman. This mostly unrealistic perception, being pushed on to the people, has had a negative effect on the women’s own perception of their physical image often putting health on a lower priority or even contradicting healthy routines in favor of attaining such physical attire. The complicated perceptions of one’s own physical image make one concerned about this aspect. Research on this self perception has found discontent among women showing their body dissatisfaction and at a higher rate than males. Such false projections, which have nothing to do with a real drive to get a better appearance, put individuals at a risk of disturbance and discontent. The idealized thinness and prejudiced height, hair and weight projected by the media as being ‘attractive’ influences the masses and makes women match those descriptions which is not only destruction of originality but also dangerous for health the way it gets commercialized, rather littered, and then picked by the adolescents. The wrong message of ‘standards for acceptability’ that the models from fashion industry and the media send do not actually define the beauty; in fact, the repeated pushing of such image on the women.... ? that the models from fashion industry and the media send do not actually define the beauty (Dittmar & Howard, 2004; Thompson & Stice, 2001); in fact, the repeated pushing of such image on the women population puts a conflict between the actual standards and the depicted standard making a woman choose to be unhealthy in order to achieve that standard (Dittmar & Howard, 2004, p. 478). This has been found in previous research to have direct proportion to the time of exposure to such commercial propaganda (Schooler et al. 2004). Many times, the sole purpose of such depictions and portrayal is to create an artificial need of the products, which are not actually needed, and then to sell them to that audience. 2.0 Purpose of research The purpose of this research is to evaluate the change in perception of a woman’s physical image in the eyes of the population in general and in the eyes of woman herself. Researching on why and how these perceptions have changed over this period of ti me, which can safely be regarded as an era of contemporary change in this respect, can provide us with useful results that actually provide some insight on how the fashion and show business industry has driven this. Addressing everlasting concern over weight and appearance in a non issue approach can help minimize the prejudice on being slimmer from as young as 6 years old (Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002). The dissatisfaction, which is one of the major issues in a woman’s teenage due to perception of one’s own physical image (Schwitzer, Bergholz, Dore, & Salimi, 1998; Stice & Whitenton, 2002), is a topic that needs special attention to guard young girls from further worsening their health situation in fear of weight gain (Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002; Field et al., 1999). What you think of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

It is a film review using book how to read literature like a Essay

It is a film review using book how to read literature like a professor-Foster Thomas - Essay Example According to Foster, acts of vampire can be symbolic and can include exploitations, evil, selfishness, using other people to get what one wants, refusing to respect other peoples autonomy and placing ones needs above others. According to Foster, flight symbolically means escape, freedom, returning home or the flight of the imagination. Flight includes the use of flying images such as birds. In the movie, violence is evident when Lord Voldemort killed Harry’s parents though he failed in killing Harry when he was just a year old. The attack by Voldemort also left a lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry’s forehead which produced stabbing pains whenever Voldemort felt any strong emotions. Violence in this movie was caused by a Lord Voldemort, a character who caused stabbing effects on Harry. Foster believes that this kind of violence is symbolic in action, which shows the connection between Harry and the Sorcerer-Harry had become a wizard. Geography is another theme evident in the film. Family is a very important theme in the movie. This is evident when Harry misses his family that he never knew and hates the Dursleys; the one he is stuck with. Blood relationship matters a lot. The Dursleys feed Harry, but they do not love him and do not treat him well. Harry later meets Hogwarts who nurtures and cares for him, hence becoming a family. Foster believes that this type of geography matters in the film represents love, security, family and home. Harry went to Hogwarts with the main aim of making friends and hence forming a family. By making friends, both Harry and Hogwarts learned on how to work together, they learned from each other and even accomplished more that what each of them would have done on their own. Love is evident when Harry finds a room that contained the Mirror of Erised from the restricted section of information in the Library, which showed him of his parents as well as several of his parent’s ance stors.

Events Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Events Strategy - Essay Example To do these, Nokia forged tie ups with partners which include Microsoft Communicator Mobile, towards the enhancement of unified communications proposition (Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia Debuts 2010). As a result, new applications for new handsets have been released, initially available to certain models such as E72 and E52. On top of these, there are also new features that aim at achieving customer convenience – the touch screen feature similar to Iphone, mobile internet browsing using the latest technologies, development of Ovi maps, among others. These consumer-friendly features are what drive the company to further work on its Marketing, Advertising and Promotional activities to reach the target market. Half of the job is to continue developing the brand, while half is to continue developing the market reach through advertisements and events. Nokia was a paper and rubber business back in the 1800s, eventually transforming into a cable and electronic business during the first decades of the 1900s. In 1979, it focused on the mobile phone making business (Story of Nokia 2010). However, it was in 1992 that they made a strategic decision to focus on Telecommunications by launching its 2100 series which sold approximately 300% more than the target (Nokia History 2010). Nokia remains to be the world’s top selling handset manufacturer with market share of 35% versus over ten competitor brands during the first quarter of 2010. However, this reflects a decline of 1.2% from last year’s sales, presumably from the decline in sales of their high end phones. What constitutes the current market share is the presence of its mid end phones that offers both benefits and cost efficiency (Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 17% In First Quarter 2010). As such, with the continuous product development of the other handset manufacturers, Nokia is pressured to maintain market stature as the leading company. Nokia

Monday, September 23, 2019

Reflection Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection Journal - Essay Example it comes to understanding corporal social responsibility and corporate citizenship, I must find the elusive answers on how the two concepts relate to the business and society fields. The society fields in this case entails business ethics, stakeholder management, sustainability and growth delivery. This paper gives a personal reflection on corporate social responsibility and corporate citizenship. It is true that corporate social responsibility of an organization is driven by philanthropic aspects such as the commitment to promote or improve the livelihoods of workers and people in a given community. The philanthropic aspects are summarized as a pyramid of corporal social responsibility through moral management of the stakeholders of the organization. However, over years the corporate executives have faced challenges in implementing corporate social responsibility to the society. According to Caroll (1991, p. 40), the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectations have become unattainable in the society and might be considered as a pyramid. This is because the organizations only give credit to ethical and philanthropic functions. However, all the four aspects require close attention since they play various roles in ensuring the organization gives corporal social responsibility is achieved in the society. For the organization to achieve its objectives of reaching out to the society, it should implement the four aspects in the following ways. One of the major aspects to be considered should be the philanthropic responsibilities. Therefore, I propose that each executive member should encourage corporate social responsibility by being a good corporate citizen that contributes resources to the community. Secondly, the executives should adopt ethical responsibilities that consider one to be ethical and bear the responsibility to do the right things and avoid any harm to the society. Also, one should have the legal responsibility of obeying the laws provided

Evaluating Performance of Starbucks Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evaluating Performance of Starbucks - Case Study Example These ideas are closely connected with concepts of growth, achievements and satisfaction which help Starbucks to increase productivity and ensure stable market position. Motivational principles are based on equity theory. The theory is based on idea that "people need to feel that there is a fair balance between inputs and outputs" (Equity Theory 2007). The core of the staff works full-time in the organization while next to them or with them are employees on temporary assignments, part-time workers, and people working in joint venture settings. The result may therefore be individuals working together whose allegiances and concerns may involve differences that are highly important to Starbucks. Relationships, views, and expectations among those who are all part of one group-or who view themselves as part of the same company or as "insiders"-are different from the types of relationships and communication patterns that develop among those who view themselves as belonging to different gro ups. The aim of HR is to motivate both part-time and full-time employees and level possible differences. Equity has a great impact on satisfaction and achievements of employees. Starbucks provides provide financial and other resources for developing and implementing career programs for full-time and part-time employees, particularly programs emphasizing personal growth. They provide recognition of the frequently temporary nature of contemporary work settings while at the same time encouraging positive relationships between individuals and organizations over the long run. To achieve growth, Starbucks develops skills in the employees not previously realized and thus eventually prove beneficial to the individual and the organization. Starbucks uses such strategies as financial rewards and recognition to motivate and inspire employees of all ranks and positions. These accounts are linked to individual work patterns and individual work behavior in a more immediate manner. These plans foc us on health and welfare benefits as much as if not more than pay and pension concerns.). Equity theory can be seen as a strategy for achieving organizational growth and success rather than as a fixed cost of doing business. Also, these motivational strategies support high performance teams and influence cohesiveness and friendly atmosphere, cooperation with the workers, managers, and leaders, personal commitment and high productivity (Robbins, 2004).

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Critical summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Critical summary - Essay Example This trend towards political despotism led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming dynasty had an all-powerful emperor with no real role for their regional aristocracy. The dynasty experienced administrative paralysis due to debilitating court factionalism and decline in imperial leadership. If a regional branch of government is not taken seriously, problems like peasant rebellion and invasion are likely to occur. This leads to the fall of any government. Constant invasion by the rebel army led by Li zicheng made emperor Weizong hang himself signifying the end of the Ming Dynasty. This section examines the management problems of dynasties. It, therefore, connects to other parts of the chapter that addresses the rise and fall of other Chinese dynasties. Generally governments that their despotism continues unabated usually oppress their subjects. Governments, therefore, need to be considerate of their subjects, they need to serve them equally to gain their trust and support for them to rule for a long period of time. The governments, therefore, needs to identify the possible fundamental reasons for failures to ensure that they  take a direction  that best suits their subjects to enhance their

The Beach Essay Example for Free

The Beach Essay The beaches of Panama City is very nice, but overly crowded. The sand inhabited beach, relaxation in the sun, and fun times. Ah, you’ve arrived to one of your favorite places on Earth, the beach, the magnificent place that God created for relaxation and fun. The beautiful ocean right in front of you. The sand in between your toes, and the blissful sounds of the waves splashing against the shore line. You look around to see the yellow beam of sun shining down on you creating a sense of warmth and happiness throughout your body. You look around to see the different types of people, adults, children, teenagers. The adults are thrilled to be away from their overwhelming everyday lives and are finally able to relax. The children are all exceptionally thrilled about their time at the beach, with their beach toys and friends. The teenagers are thrilled to get to chill, and hang out at the beach, and to get away from their scheduled lives of school and sports etc. The sand surrounding the clear aqua ocean is being occupied by many beach towels, umbrellas and chairs. Children are sprinting in the sand and screaming at the top of their lungs as they splash in the water playfully, teens are creating conversation with new friends they’ve just met. You can hear the different types of people squealing at one another in the midst of playing and what not. You look around trying to figure out which fine dining establishment is sending the amazing smells of fresh seafood your way, hoping that maybe tonight you’ll be able to go chow down on your favorite foods. Beach shops prepare for their day of excited travelers bustling in and out of their small seafront shops. Opening their doors, they bring out all of the beach merchandise hoping to sell to the ongoing tourists. As the day comes to a fault there are still activities to be had, crabbing and night walks on the beaches. Some like to watch the sunsets that turns the sea a burnt shade of orange, and the skies a faint color of orange and a mixture of blue which sometimes can result in a pretty cotton candy color. If there are clouds in the sky, it gives a stunning grayish cast that can be quite interesting to look at. The beach is a wonderful place for relaxation, fun in the sun and an overall good time!

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Example for Free

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Chris Brown and Usher are two contemporary hit music performers. Both men display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each artist came from poor families. Each artist has made it to the top of the Top 40 music charts, more than once. Each artist has had the opportunity to work closely with Michael Jackson and has been tagged as potentially being the next â€Å"King of Pop. † Chris Brown and Usher, through their music have entertained hundreds of thousands of faithful fans. Though Chris Brown and Usher share similar music backgrounds, each has a unique music style which gives to us, the fans, the gift of their exquisite talent, with all of its strengths and joys. Tragedy struck both of their lives on June 28, 2009, upon learning of the death of Michael Jackson. Each of them described Jackson’s death as tragic and untimely. Chris Brown related this experience during the BET Music Awards on June 29, 2009. Usher expressed himself in his last CD released entitled â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond. † Although both expressed the great loss of Michael Jackson, the way that each depicted the incident was distinct. Chris Brown emotionally let loose on the stage at the 2009 BET Awards. He was very emotional and expressed his mourning with long comments, always keeping his tense present. Chris also chose words that were sure to get an emotional response from the fans that he and Michael Jackson have shared for the last several years. For example, when talking about how Michael Jackson invited him to the Neverland Ranch when he was just getting started in the industry, Chris Brown said, â€Å"I was just beginning to get materials together for my 2006 self-titled debut release, when I got a call from Michael Jackson expressing interest in my work. He invited me to the Neverland Ranch and helped me organize what became my first certified platinum album. † An illustration of more words from Chris Brown in reference to Michael Jackson can be found in the August, 2009 edition of Rolling Stones Magazine. He speaks of losing one of the mentors of his music career and speculation from the media that he could be the next â€Å"King of Pop. † The style and choice of words Chris Brown used made the reader aware that he was in mourning, but was indeed ready to step up to the plate to replace Michael Jackson as the â€Å"King of Pop. † Usher expressed his emotion in a more â€Å"unemotional† tone via â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond,† his latest CD release and on a limited edition DVD that was included in the first 100,00 copies of the CD sold. Usher used past tense, which told his fans that while he was mourning Michael Jackson and that Jackson was the King of Pop, that reign was gone, but not forgotten. His words were free of the severity of the loss. The words came off as harsh to his many fans. Instead of trying to elicit a particular emotional response, Usher was mourning in his own way, somewhat cold and detached. He didn’t even show up for the Michael Jackson Tribute at the 2009 BET Music Awards, claiming that he was too torn up over the loss. For instance, having given an account of his history with Michael Jackson on the DVD, he said, â€Å"I felt like I had lost my own life for just a moment in time. † The viewer felt his pain for a moment in time, however, the brevity of the emotion made his fans wonder about the sincerity of the emotion. Chris Brown, on the other hand, openly expressed himself over the loss of Michael Jackson with true sincerity, Usher explains, â€Å"he felt like he lost his life for a moment of time,† moving on like it was a sad moment, but eager to claim the title of â€Å"King of Pop,† as speculated by media. Chris Brown wanted the fans to feel with him. Usher wanted the fans to grieve for just a moment and move on to the next chapter. They achieved their objectives by directing the fan’s attention to a specific style of expressing their emotions, one more open, and the other, more cold. The emotional focus of Chris Brown’s response to the death of Michael Jackson was sincere. As I watched him mourn on national television and then read his story in the Rolling Stones Magazine, I felt like I lost one of my best friends, too. I looked back at my first concert experience, which was Michael Jackson’s Thriller Tour, and got teary-eyed. Chris Brown never let go of his love for the King of Pop and was never really concerned about replacing Michael Jackson as the new King of Pop. On the other hand, Usher’s mourning is short-lived. It was clear that Usher was going to step up to take the thrown of King of Pop the day after Michael Jackson died. He concentrated less on the mourning of Michael Jackson and more on the idea of being the next King. It would be impossible not to address the ways in which both men studied under Michael Jackson at one time or another. Chris Brown got some good training from Michael Jackson prior to the release of his very first CD. Usher was semi-discovered by Michael Jackson’s people and spent a lot of time at the Neverland Ranch with Michael Jackson. My most powerful emotional response throughout watching both of these celebrities mourn their mentor was one of incredible sorrow. When I look at both Chris and Usher’s overall reaction to the death of Michael Jackson, I felt the tremendous weight that sadness and despair can fold around a heart. I wanted to offer comfort to them both, however, by the end of the mourning period, I only wanted to comfort Chris Brown. It was obvious that Chris Brown’s wound was still cut open and bleeding. Chris Brown and Usher are extremely good recording artists. From each we receive a rare gift. As Chris Brown showed on the stage at the 2009 BET Music Awards, he was really torn over the loss of Michael Jackson. Usher showed us that he had ulterior motive.