The Return: Midnight Chapter 21

Someone was still knocking on Stefan's door. â€Å"It's a woodpecker,†Elena said when she could speak. â€Å"They knock, don't they?† â€Å"On doors inside houses?†Stefan said dazedly. â€Å"Ignore it and it wil go away.† A moment later the knocking resumed. Elena moaned, â€Å"I don't believe this.† Stefan whispered, â€Å"Do you want me to bring you its head? Unattached from its neck, I mean?† Elena considered. As the knocking continued, she was getting more worried and less confused. â€Å"Better see if it is a bird, I guess,†she said. Stefan rol ed away from her, somehow got on his jeans, and went reeling to the door. In spite of herself, Elena pitied whoever was on the other side. The knocking started again. Stefan reached the door and nearly wrenched it off its hinges. â€Å"What the – â€Å"He stopped, suddenly moderating his voice. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers?† â€Å"Yes,†Mrs. Flowers said, deliberately not seeing Elena, who was wearing a sheet and directly in her line of vision. â€Å"It's poor dear Meredith,†Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"She's in such a state, and she says she has to see you now, Stefan.† Elena's mind switched tracks as suddenly and smoothly as a train. Meredith? In a state? Demanding to see Stefan, even if, as Elena was sure she must have, Mrs. Flowers had delicately indicated just how†¦busy Stefan was at the moment? Her mind was Stillsolidly linked with Stefan's. He said, â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers. I'l be down in just a moment.† Elena, who was slipping into her clothes as fast as she could, while crouching on the far side of the bed, added a telepathic suggestion. â€Å"Maybe you could make her a nice cup of tea – I mean, a cup of tea,†Stefan added. â€Å"Yes, dear, what a good idea,†Mrs. Flowers said gently. â€Å"And if you should see Elena, perhaps you could say that dear Meredith is asking for her, too?† â€Å"We wil ,†Stefan said automatical y. Then he turned around and hastily shut the door. Elena gave him time to put his shirt and shoes on, and then they both hurried down to the kitchen, where Meredith was not having a nice cup of tea, but pacing around like a caged leopard. Stefan began, â€Å"What's – â€Å" â€Å"I'l tel you what's wrong, Stefan Salvatore! No – you tel me! You were in my mind before, so you must know. You must have been able to see – to tel – about me.† Elena was Stillmindlocked with Stefan. She felt his dismay. â€Å"To tel what about you?†he asked gently, pul ing out a chair at the kitchen table so Meredith could sit. The very simple act of sitting down, of pausing to respond to civility, seemed to calm Meredith slightly. But StillElena could feel her fear and pain like the taste of a steel sword on her tongue. Meredith accepted a hug and became a little calmer yet. A little more herself and less like a caged animal. But the struggle was so visceral and so clear within her that Elena couldn't bear to leave her, even when Mrs. Flowers deposited four mugs of tea around the table and took another chair Stefan offered. Then Stefan sat down. He knew Elena would stand or sit or share a chair with Meredith, but whatever it was, she would be the one to decide. Mrs. Flowers was gently stirring honey into her mug of tea and then passing the honey along to Stefan who gave it to Elena who put just the little bit that Meredith liked into Meredith's mug and stirred it gently, too. The ordinary, civilized sounds of two spoons quietly clinking seemed to relax Meredith Stillfurther. She took the mug Elena gave her and sipped, then drank thirstily. Elena could feel Stefan's mental sigh of relief as Meredith floated down another few levels. He politely sipped his own tea, which was hot but not burning hot and made from natural y sweet berries and herbs. â€Å"It's good,†Meredith said. She was almost a human now. â€Å"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers.† Elena felt lighter. She relaxed enough to pul over her own cup of tea and squeeze lots of honey in and stir it and take a gulp. Good! Calming down tea! That's chamomile and cucumber, Stefan told her. â€Å"Chamomile and cucumber,†Elena said, nodding wisely, â€Å"for calming down.†And then she blushed, for Mrs. Flowers's bright smile had knowledge in it. Elena hastily drank more tea and watched Meredith have more tea and everything began to feel almost al right. Meredith was completely Meredith now, not some fierce animal. Elena squeezed her friend's hand tightly. There was just one problem. Humans were less frightening than beasts but they could cry. Now Meredith, who never wept, was shaking and tears were dripping into the tea. â€Å"You know what morcillo is, right?†she asked Elena at last. Elena nodded hesitantly. â€Å"We had it sometimes in stew at your house?†she said. â€Å"And for tapas?†Elena had grown up with the blood sausage as a meal or a snack at her friend's house, and she was used to the bite-sized pieces as a delicious food only Mrs. Sulez made. Elena felt Stefan's heart sinking. She looked back and forth from him to Meredith. â€Å"It turns out my mother didn't always make it,†Meredith said, looking at Stefan now. â€Å"And my parents had a very good reason for changing my birthday.† â€Å"Just tel it al ,†Stefan suggested softly. And then Elena felt something she hadn't before. A surge, like a wave – a long gentle swell that spoke right into the center of Meredith's brain. It said: Just tell it and be calm. No anger. No fear. But it wasn't telepathy. Meredith felt the thought in her blood and bones, but didn't hear it with her ears. It was Influence. Before Elena could brain her beloved Stefan with her mug for using Influence on one of her friends, Stefan said, just to her, Meredith's hurting, feeling scared and angry. She has reason to, but she needs peace. I probably won't be able to hold her anyway, but I'll try. Meredith wiped her eyes. â€Å"It turns out that nothing was like what I thought happened – that night when I was three.†She described what her parents had told her, about everything that Klaus had done. Tel ing the story, even quietly, was undoing al the calming influences that had helped Meredith maintain herself. She was beginning to shake again. Before Elena could grab her, she was up and striding around the room. â€Å"He laughed and said that I'd need blood every week – animal blood – or I'd die. I didn't need much. Just a tablespoon or two. And my poor mother didn't want to lose another child. She did what he told her to. But what happens if I have more blood, Stefan? What happens if I drink yours?† Stefan was thinking, desperately trying to see if in al his years of experience he'd come across anything like this. Meanwhile he answered the easy part. â€Å"If you drank enough of my blood you'd become a vampire. But so would anyone. With you – Well, it might take less. So don't let any vampire trick you into blood exchange. Once might be enough.† â€Å"So I'm not a vampire? Now? Not any kind? Are there different kinds?† Stefan answered seriously. â€Å"I've never heard of ‘different kinds'of vampires in my life, except for Old Ones. I can tel you that you don't have a vampire's aura. What about your teeth? Can you make your canines sharp? Usual y it's best to test over human flesh. Not your own.† Elena promptly stuck out her arm, wrist vein-side up. Meredith, eyes closed in concentration, made a great effort, which Elena felt through Stefan. Then Meredith opened her eyes, mouth also open for a dental inspection. Elena stared at her canines. They looked a little bit sharp, but so did anybody's, didn't they? Careful y Elena reached a fingertip in. She touched one of Meredith's canines. Tiny pinch. Startled, Elena pul ed back. She stared at her finger where a very smal drop of blood was well ing up. Everyone watched it, mesmerized. Then Elena's mouth said without pausing to consult her brain, â€Å"You have kitten teeth.† The next moment Meredith had brushed Elena aside and was pacing wildly al around the kitchen. â€Å"I won't be one! I won't be! I'm a hunter-slayer, not a vampire! I'l kill myself if I'm a vampire!†She was deadly serious. Elena felt Stefan feeling it, the quick thrust of the stave between her ribs and into the heart. She would go on the Internet to find the right area. Ironwood and white ash piercing her heart, Stilling it forever†¦sealing off the evil that was Meredith Sulez. Be calm! Be calm! Stefan's Influence flooded into her. Meredith was not calm. â€Å"But before that I have to kil my brother.†She flung down a photograph on Mrs. Flowers's kitchen table. â€Å"It turns out that Klaus or someone has been sending these since Cristian was four – on my real birthday. For years! And in every picture you could see his vampire teeth. Not ‘kitten teeth.'And then they stopped coming when I was about ten. But they had shown him growing up! With pointed teeth! And last year this one came.† Elena leaped for the photo, but it was closer to Stefan and he was faster. He stared in astonishment. â€Å"Growing up?†he said. She could feel how shaken he was – and how envious. No one had given him that option. Elena looked at the pacing Meredith and around at Stefan. â€Å"But it's impossible, isn't it?†she said. â€Å"I thought that if you were bitten, that was it, right? You never got any older – or bigger.† â€Å"That's what I thought too. But Klaus was an Old One and who knows what they can do?†Stefan answered. Damon will be furious when he finds out, Elena told Stefan privately, reaching for the picture even though she'd already seen it through Stefan's eyes. Damon was very bitter about Stefan's height advantage – about anyone's height advantage. Elena brought the picture to Mrs. Flowers and looked at it with her. It showed an extremely handsome boy, with hair that was just Meredith's dark color. He looked like Meredith in his facial structure and olive skin. He was wearing a motorcycle jacket and gloves, but no helmet, and he was laughing merrily with a ful set of very white teeth. You could easily see that the canines were long and pointed. Elena looked back and forth from Meredith to the picture. The only difference she could see was that this boy's eyes seemed lighter. Everything else screamed â€Å"twins.† â€Å"First I kil him,†Meredith repeated tiredly. â€Å"Then I kil myself.†She stumbled back to the table and sat, almost knocking over her chair. Elena hovered near her, snatching two mugs from the table, to prevent Meredith's clumsy arm from sweeping them to the floor. Meredith†¦clumsy! Elena had never seen Meredith ungraceful or clumsy before. It was frightening. Was it somehow due to being – at least partly – a vampire? The kitten teeth? Elena turned apprehensive eyes on Stefan, felt Stefan's own bewilderment. Then both of them, without consultation, turned to look at Mrs. Flowers. She gave them an apologetic little-old-lady smile. â€Å"Gotta kil †¦find him, kil him†¦first,†Meredith was whispering as her dark head lowered to the table, to the pil ow of her arms. â€Å"Find him†¦where? Grandpa†¦where? Cristian†¦my brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena listened silently until there was only soft breathing to be heard. â€Å"You drugged her?†she whispered to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"It was what Ma ma thought best. She's a strong, healthy girl. It won't harm her to sleep from now through the night. Because I'm sorry to tel you, but we have another problem right now.† Elena glanced at Stefan, saw fear dawning on his face, and demanded, â€Å"What?†Absolutely nothing was coming through their link. He'd shut it down. Elena turned to Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm very worried about dear Matt.† â€Å"Matt,†agreed Stefan, looking around the table as if to show that Matt wasn't there. He was trying to protect Elena from the chil s racing through him. At first Elena wasn't alarmed. â€Å"I know where he might be,†she said brightly. She was remembering stories that Matt had told of being in Fel ‘s Church while she and the others had been in the Dark Dimension. â€Å"Dr. Alpert's place. Or out with her, making the rounds of home visits.† Mrs. Flowers shook her head, her expression bleak. â€Å"I'm afraid not, Elena dear. Sophia – Dr. Alpert – cal ed me and told me she was taking Matt's mother, your own family, and several other people with her and escaping Fel ‘s Church entirely. And I don't blame her a bit – but Matt wasn't one of those going. She said he meant to stay and fight. That was around twelve thirty.† Elena's eyes automatical y went to the kitchen clock. Horror shot through her, flipping her stomach and reverberating out to her fingertips. The clock said 4:35 – 4:35 P.M.! But that had to be wrong. She and Stefan had only joined minds a few minutes ago. Meredith's rage hadn't lasted that long. This was impossible! â€Å"That clock – it's not right!†She appealed to Mrs. Flowers, but heard at the same time Stefan's telepathic voice, It's the mind-blending. I didn't want to rush. But I was lost in it too – it's not your fault, Elena! â€Å"It is my fault,†Elena snapped back aloud. â€Å"I never meant to forget about my friends for the entire afternoon! And Matt – Matt would never scare us by keeping us waiting for his cal ! I should have cal ed him! I shouldn't have been – â€Å"She looked at Stefan with unhappy eyes. The only thing burning inside her right now was the shame of failing Matt. â€Å"I did cal his mobile number,†Mrs. Flowers said very gently. â€Å"Ma ma advised me to do so, al the way back at half past twelve. But he didn't answer. I've cal ed every hour since. Ma ma won't say more than that it's time we looked into things directly.† Elena ran to Mrs. Flowers and wept on the soft cambric lacework at the old woman's neck. â€Å"You did our job for us,†she said. â€Å"Thank you. But now we have to go and find him.† She whirled on Stefan. â€Å"Can you put Meredith in the first-floor bedroom? Just take off her shoes and put her on top of the covers. Mrs. Flowers, if you're going to be alone here, we'l leave Saber and Talon to take care of you. Then we'l keep in touch by mobile. And we'l search every house in Fel ‘s Church – but I guess we should go to the thicket first†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Wait, Elena my dear.†Mrs. Flowers had her eyes shut. Elena waited, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. Stefan was just returning from putting Meredith in the front room. Suddenly, Mrs. Flowers smiled, eyes Stillshut. â€Å"Ma ma says she wil do her utmost for you two, since you are so devoted to your friend. She says that Matt is not anywhere in Fel ‘s Church. And she says, take the dog, Saber. The falcon wil watch over Meredith while we are away.†Mrs. Flowers's eyes opened. â€Å"Although we might plaster her window and door with Post-it Notes,†she said, â€Å"just to make sure.† â€Å"No,†Elena said flatly. â€Å"I'm sorry, but I won't leave Meredith and you on your own with only a bird for protection. We'l take you both with us, covered in amulets if you like, and then we can take both animals, too. Back in the Dark Dimension, they worked together when Bloddeuwedd was trying to kil us.† â€Å"Al right,†Stefan said at once, knowing Elena well enough to realize that a half-hour-long argument could ensue and Elena would never be moved an inch from her position. Mrs. Flowers must have known it too, for she rose, also immediately, and went to get ready. Stefan carried Meredith out to her car. Elena gave a tiny whistle for Saber, who was instantly underfoot, seeming bigger than ever, and she raced him up the stairs to Matt's room. It was disappointingly clean – but Elena fished a pair of briefs from between bed and wal . She gave these to Saber to delight in, but found she couldn't stand Still. Final y, she ran up to Stefan's room, snatched her diary from under the mattress, and began scribbling. Dear Diary, I don't know what to do. Matt has disappeared. Damon has taken Bonnie to the Dark Dimension – but is he taking care of her? There's no way to know. We don't have any way to open a Gate ourselves and go after them. I'm afraid Stefan will kill Damon, and if something – anything – has happened to Bonnie, I'll want to kill him too. Oh, God, what a mess! And Meredith†¦of all people, Meredith turns out to have more secrets than all of us combined. All Stefan and I can do is hold each other and pray. We've been fighting Shinichi so long! I feel as if the end is coming soon†¦and I'm afraid. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan's shout came from below. â€Å"We're al ready!† Elena quickly stuffed the diary back under the mattress. She found Saber waiting on the stairs, and fol owed him down, running. Mrs. Flowers had two overcoats covered in amulets. Outside, a long whistle from Stefan was met by an answering keeeeeeee from above and Elena saw a smal dark body circling against the white-streaked August sky. â€Å"She understands,†Stefan said briefly, and took the driver's seat of the car. Elena got into the backseat behind him, and Mrs. Flowers into the front passenger seat. Since Stefan had buckled up Meredith into the middle of the backseat, this left Saber a window to put his panting head through. â€Å"Now,†Stefan said, over the purring of the engine, â€Å"where are we going, exactly?†

Film Noir Elements in the movie Memento Essay

There is yet to be a definition to be created to accurately capture the genre of â€Å"Noir† in film. The concept was first coined by French film critics who â€Å"noticed the trend of how ‘dark’, downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war†(â€Å"Film Noir†). The term ‘noir’ is a French word which literally means â€Å"black† or â€Å"dark†. The connotation attached to the term later on came to be those films which depicted crime, strangeness, cruelty, brutality, violence and similar other attributes. The period for Noir films flourished in the 1940s up to the 1950s, which were aptly called the â€Å"classic noir† period in movies. Later on, from the 1960s up to the current times, other types of â€Å"noir† films were conceptualized like the â€Å"neo-noir† and the â€Å"science fiction noir†, all concepts of which were derived from or echoed the original â€Å"classic noir† genus. â€Å"Memento† is one movie which typifies the â€Å"film noir† genre in that it has numerous elements which categorically makes it as one. Primarily, the existence of a lonely, confused and troubled protagonist (Schoenherr) is there. Add to this the other elements like the black-and-white scenes, the struggle, the seemingly bleak situations, the crimes perpetrated, the underground investigations, the voice-overs of the lead character, evil, paranoia and deception among other things. An interesting feature of this film though is the story unfolding from its end going up to the supposed initial scenes which took place. It is not narrated exactly in a circular motion but rather they are presented in chunks of about 10 minutes each. Aside from this, there is the alternate presentation of the colored and black-and-white formats to add narration and further expound on the sequence of events. Film noir operates on specific social, cultural and historical contexts. In this particular film, the social context used is that of the protagonist becoming a different man after the rape and murder of his wife. Leonard or Lenny loses his memory after he shoots his wife’s rapist and he is shoved and clubbed by the rapist’s companion. His head hits the bathroom mirror, and from then on, he becomes afflicted with Anterograde Amnesia or not being able to retain his short-term memory. Lenny’s memories before the accident are intact and his last memories are of his wife being murdered, hence, his ever- enduring quest to avenge her death. Most people now think of Lenny as a freak for not being able to remember thoughts, names, faces and events which are a regular part of the memory of â€Å"normal† people since he forgets his thoughts and the things he does after 15 minutes or so. However, Lenny struggles to keep his sanity by taking Polaroid pictures and immediately labeling them, writing down his ideas, and tattooing the more important thoughts on his body. Having no family to call his own, he lives in a motel room and is suspicious of everyone. His life’s direction is motivated by vengeance and a major part of the film is spent on this desire to kill. The cultural context of the film is the type of culture that was used in the movie. The setting is sometime during the 2000s in Nevada. It is not shown if the protagonist had a lot of friends before the incident which led to his ‘condition’, but it is presumed that it was probably a case of not wanting to be identified with someone with a stigma of mental illness. The only friend who was identified as someone who knew Lenny immediately after the accident was Teddy, who was the one who helped Lenny to find and kill the original murderer of his wife, and then again Jimmy G. who was also killed by Lenny. As such, it meant that the culture held a discriminating attitude towards this mental illness. Pertaining to historical context, the practice of tattooing as a body art was prevalent from the late 1990s up to the 2000s. This was a period when tattooing was no longer considered as objects of diversion done in prison cells but rather as an art form to express oneself. In the movie, the lead character made use of tattoos on his body to remind himself of essential facts/details which he always wanted to be reminded of. Although not used as an art form, the existence of tattoo parlors in the locality denoted an acceptance of the practice of self-expression, which worked quite well for Lenny. It was also a time when Polaroids were popularly used and Leonard fully exhausted the Polaroids’ capability to assist him in remembering people and places with his depressing mental condition. According to Filmsite. org, â€Å"the primary moods of classic film noir were melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia† (â€Å"Film Noir†). These themes are evident in the seclusion, isolation and omnipresent monologues of the lead character who wanted to establish the links to find meaning in his life. A wide array of emotions ranging from suspicion, confusion, naivete, loneliness, alienation, hatred, and bewilderment among others were efficiently delivered by the lead actor to the viewers who empathized with him in his daily struggle to survive. Noir movies characteristically have a protagonist who is usually reclusive, generally disturbed and commonly pessimistic. The lead character in â€Å"Memento† is not the typical protagonist since he lives his life everyday like a clean new slate. Just like the first part of this movie where a Polaroid picture was being undeveloped, Lenny lived his life always careworn to find out what he had been doing and what he should be doing next. His ultimate aim was to find his wife’s killer, a task which Teddy assists him with. Although he is somewhat of the withdrawn type, Lenny is still enthusiastic about life and is confident that his Polaroids, notes and tattoos are taking him somewhere. Different noir styles were also apparent throughout the film. One is that â€Å"storylines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting† (â€Å"Film Noir†) which connotes the unique presentation customarily associated with noir. Regular films are often presented in a manner where the story unfolds conventionally from beginning to end. The story told backwards and in bits and pieces was a unique way of entrancing the audience into being an active participant in the life of Leonard, trying to come up with his/her own conclusions or links to previous scenes and events. â€Å"Amnesia suffered by the protagonist was a common plot device† (â€Å"Film Noir†) which was obviously the illness which the lead character was afflicted with. This sort of justified the way with which Lenny killed the possible murderers without remorse or guilt since his brain was devoid of any emotions relating to pity and mercy. Furthermore, it is said that â€Å"the protagonists in film noir were normally driven by their past or by human weakness to repeat former mistakes†(â€Å"Film Noir†) which is what happens to Lenny as the film unfolds. It is only later in the movie that it is revealed that Lenny had already killed his wife’s murderer, and Teddy had even taken a Polaroid shot of him after the said killing. It was due to his mental condition that Lenny was not able to remember the incident which Teddy later used to his advantage in getting rid of Jimmy G. who was a drug dealer. The original story of Memento was an idea brought forward by the brother of the movie’s director, Jonathan Nolan in the late 1990s. The storyline was finished after several months and director Christopher Nolan came up with the idea that he wanted to tell the movie backwards, hence the screenplay was manipulated in a way where shot sequences were cut up into small bits. In between the colored takes were the non-colored shots to denote two timelines of what was the past and the present respectively. At some point towards the end of the movie, the black-and-white scene becomes colored specifically when Lenny takes the Polaroid picture of the dead Jimmy G, who was the second murder suspect endorsed by Teddy. This signified the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Leonard, and the true commencement of the story which somehow tragically ends with the death of its instigator, Teddy. The artistry presented in the film being of a different genre is – as previously mentioned — largely seen in the story’s presentation to the viewer. The lead actor was also shown in black-and-white scenes and colored ones which showed contrasting characters – one, the rugged, unshaven, unkempt, menacing and confused character who shoots the gun at Jimmy G. in black-and-white, and the other, the suit-clad formally dressed and more confident Lenny who drives a Jaguar in colored film. This implies that the main character had good and bad traits, although the bad traits were more emphasized but later exposed to be manipulations done by some of the other characters in the plot. One of these characters is Natalie who represents the ‘femme fatale’ element in the movie, and who adds further intricacies to the plot and manipulates Lenny into a mental tug-of-war with Teddy’s statements. The cinematography of the film was excellent as emphasis was done where it was necessary, and accurate illumination was also appropriately achieved. Editing was also good especially in the cuts of the film that had to be fed in several lumps, and in two different formats of color and B&W. Continuity in the film was smooth and flowed effortlessly. The film scoring was suitable and elicited empathy from the viewer in the scenes where dialogues were not really necessary. The closest thing to special effects in the film was the way that the first sequence was presented to the viewer where the Polaroid shot was being undeveloped instead of the other way around. It goes back up to the time Lenny shoots Teddy and the latter was screaming for his life. Acting in the film was superb. Guy Pearce as Leonard was able to deliver all the emotions expected from him and thus elicited the required compassion from the viewer. Teddy, Natalie, Sammy Jankins and all the other actors also did a good job in making the plot more focused on the plight of the main character, thereby allowing Lenny to stand out. The movie â€Å"Memento† has some allusions to significant theories and concepts. One of these is the concept of Cultural Materialism. The most active proponent of Cultural Materialism is Marvin Harris and the premise of this theory is that the social life of a human being is a direct response to problems arising from his earthly existence. Leonard’s actions can be rationalized as a practice of cultural materialism because he is merely responding to his problems instead of taking a proactive role in it. This is due in large part to his illness which he cannot control and which allows him to be manipulated by some shady characters in the film. Existentialism is another concept which is apparent in this movie. The plot evolves around the lead character, Leonard, who tries to find meaning in his existence as he grapples with his affliction rendering him confused and stressed at most times. He tries hard to think and look back but cannot, and this is what leads him to try to devise ways in which he could remember things, events, places and people who have somehow played an important role in his life, after the accident which claimed his short-term memory. Lastly, there is the hint of self-determination as seen in the main character as he tries his best to make decisions without the influence of others. Unfortunately, he was not aware of the subtle approach which was used by the movie’s disreputable characters who were always one step ahead of him in his plans. Still, it was revealed near the movie’s end that Lenny was also utilizing his selective memory to manipulate the situation in such a way as to be able to create and continually re-create his motives for vengeance. Since finding the possible suspects to his wife’s murder was the only impetus which kept him alive, it was a need he had to satiate, and hence, an inspiration which kept him continually in pursuit of. References Schoenherr. Revised 4/11/03. Characteristics of Film Noir. Retrieved from http://history. sandiego. edu/gen/filmnotes/filmnoir. html Film Noir. 2010. Retrieved from http://www. filmsite. org/filmnoir. html Film Reference: Ryder, A. , Tyrer, W. & Ball, C. (Producer) & Nolan, C. (Director). 2001. Memento. United States: New Market Films.

Online Inquiry System

Introduction Now a day, in a highly technological society, human productivity is made more efficient through the development of computer. Now, with the advent of such modernization in prison, one way to globalize the process of research is to realized that technology is advancing at an incredibly fast pace. Computers are not confined to being used for entertainment but its role in prison is also vast. Prison from old French â€Å"prisoun† which means an institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment. Prison is a place where people usually deprived of a range of personal freedoms.It is also organized for the safety of the prisoners and the management and to easily identify the prisoner’s information and the visitor who come and visit their relatives inside, that is why we make this system called Visitors Monitoring and Prisoners Information system. This system is for the Imus Municipal Jail. Statement of the problem * The Imus Municipal Jail lack s in an automated system for visitor’s monitoring. This is a problem causing them to a slow process and losing of data. * Time consuming because they can’t do other tasks. Security problems, records maybe lost due to lack of database. Objectives of the Study To make their system automated for fast use and for security purposes, and make it easier for them to monitor the visitors and prisoners and lessen their task. Time and Place of the Study July 23,2012 3:00 PM. The proponents prepared for the study by composing a letter to conduct a interview for the company at lobby of Cavite State University Imus Campus at July 25 around 1:00 PM at the proponents conducted an interview in Bureau of Imus Municipal Jail.After the proponents conducted an interview August 2,2012 9:32 AM they started constructing the 1st chapter. September 3,2012 4:00PM they start constructing the 2nd chapter of the research paper and then September 26,2012 1:00PM the proponents finish the chapter 3 an d finish the documentation. Normalization Visitor visitor_code|cisitor_name|contact_no. |relationship|address|age Prisoner Inmate_code|inmate_name|relationship|address|case|date_imprisonVisitor_code|inmate_code|control_number|datevisited Visitor_code|inmate_code|control_number|datevisited Employee Date visitor_code inmate_code date_visited remarks time visitor_code inmate_code date_visited remarks time A A Username, visitor_code Username, visitor_code Visitor Visitor If login is correct If login is correct A A No Stop Stop Logout Logout Reschedule visit Reschedule visit If prisoner exist If prisoner exist Check prisoner info Check prisoner info Yes Visit Visit No

External assesment of Snyder's lance inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

External assesment of Snyder's lance inc - Essay Example y has managed to grow that thrive despite the fact that the snack industry is highly competitive is greatly affected by changes in the external climate such as economic and political change. The company was able to survive the recent economic crises which crippled many organizations (Standard & Poors, 45). This paper analyzes the Snyder Lance Inc in terms of its competitors and carries out a SWOT analysis to determine the companies threat, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. The company currently faces market risks that are linked to energy cost, packaging and ingredients. Since the company has to adhere to certain protocol set for the food industry in terms of packaging and ingredients, this is a potential for increase in costs. The company incurs interest on existing debts depending on the US dollar and the Euro rates of exchange (Poole & Daryl, 37). To manage the risk of exposure to changing exchange rates, the company has entered into interest swaps that ensure that there is balance between the variable rate and fixed rate debt. The company is as exposed to risk of losses arising from exchange rate variation through its operations in Canada where it has a subsidiary. Raw materials used in this subsidiary are obtained by the Canadian dollar while the revenue is dominated by the US dollar. The company is also exposed to credit risk associated with its debtors. The company has over the years engaged in offering credit services to her customers. There i s a need to continually evaluate the customer credit standing to prevent the company from getting into bad debts (Slonecker, 138). Increase in amount in the account receivable has the potential of making it impossible to pay dividends on time and repurchase common stock. We are living in an age where the consumers are aware of the company’s responsibility towards the environment and energy consumption. The company is thus required to adopt greener technologies but at the same time ensure that it maintains

Definiton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Definiton - Essay Example This is also a theoretical explanation explaining why employers pay minorities less amounts. Socialization is the process of interaction between members of a given group as they share ideas, concepts, or thoughts with a given environment. Or socialization is the process through which people acquire the language, social skills, value, and knowledge which helps then to conform to the societal norms and values. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a legal provision which prohibits discrimination in all the employment sectors based on race, religion, gender, color, nationality, or pregnancy. Is main aim is to promote fairness and create ‘level the playing field’. Disparate impact occurs when rules and regulations governing all workers in the labor market have a more inhibiting or different effects on a particular group (women and minority) than it impact on the majority. Affirmative action is a policy enacted by a state to increase or create more opportunities to the underrepresented members of the society without considering their color, race, sex, religion, or nationality. Comparable worth – is a job concept with requires that jobs with comparable knowledge, skills, and abilities should be given equal recognition through same salary irrespective of age, sex, gender, color, or race of the employee. Least squares regression analysis is a statistical technique which seeks to investigate the degree of association which exists between the independent and dependent variables using the line of ‘best fit’

You are the judge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

You are the judge - Essay Example Elaine has sued to recover her occupant. The plaintiff is supported by facts and legal rules that include written Promises whereby all employees at-will employees included are guarded by law in the case of unlawful termination. Elaine by her employer wrote the job offer letter; Jerry can be produced in court. The letter stated that Elaine would receive an annual salary of $30,000 and instead she was fired within the stated period. Availability of indirect promises could deter the employer from firing an employee. The court to determine whether the promise exist checks on assurances which could have been made by your employer that there was job continuity, the employment period in question and furthermore if your employer violated a legal practice while firing process in this case jerry did not offer Elaine a warning and reason for termination (Henry 67). In case the employer breached the good faith and fair dealing the termination would definitely be illegal. In situations where an employer terminates and employer so that he/she cannot claim the commission or if an employee is fired then be replaced by another employee who will earn less than the former employee. Elaine was fired and replaced by Kramer, who was less experienced and had low education level than Elaine and definitely, Kramer will work for low pay. An employee must not be fired in case he/she discloses a company’s illegal practice like failure to pay its workers or if he/she becomes a whistleblower discloses the harmful deeds of the company like environmental pollution. Finally, an employer must never fire an employee due to his gender, race, nationality, religion or age. In case of discrimination, an employee can sue the company if he/she if these claims are true (Henry 45). Facts and legal rules that support defendant argument include giving out warning letters and in case of no improvement then termination is justified. The employer must document all corrective records,

Karma Yoga Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Karma Yoga - Article Example Yoga being a Sanskrit word means â€Å"to become one† or â€Å"to unite†. In simpler words, it refers to the guidelines prescribed for union of a human being with the creator of this world. It is believed that such union brings the ultimate peace and happiness, which cannot be described in material words. Since divinity is within the human body and mind, yoga teaches the person to explore this divinity and seek union with it, while wondering within the confines of individual mind. Accordingly, Yoga refers to the techniques and attitudes as well as way of life that can free the human being from bondage of suffering as well as life and death. Indian scriptures are full of such detailed techniques as interpreted by many intellectuals like Ram Krishna Parmahans, Swami Vivekanand in the past as well as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during the present times. According to Indian philosophy, there are mainly three paths, which can take a person to the ultimate goal of self-realization. As different paths of a mountain lead to the peak, the three paths can lead to this goal, either individually or collectively. The three paths are Jnana Yoga that means path of knowledge, Karma Yoga that means path of action without any selfish motives, Bhakhti Yoga that means path of complete surrender through devotion. Baghvad Geeta has summarized all three yogas and their techniques as well as virtues, as spoken by Lord Krishna while delivering sermons to young warrior Arjun in the battlefield. All three yogas are complimentary to each other and a true seeker would need practicing one or the other during the voyage to self-realization. In addition, the Raaja Yoga, that is the path of meditation, also leads to the final goal of self-realization. As Karma means action, Karma Yoga specifies the path of action. Discussing on the importance of action in a life of any seeker, Lord Krishna has clarified in Baghvad Geeta that taking proper action is essential, instead of being

Republican Party vs Democratic Party Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Republican Party vs Democratic Party - Essay Example The current chairman is Mike Duncan, the senate leader is Mitch McConnell and the house leader is John Boehner. As with all parties, this is divided into different sections to manage different platforms. The Republican National Committee promotes the party's campaign activities. Under this, the Republican National Convention is responsible for raising funds and planning future campaign strategies. Following a more conservative point of view relative to the American-Christian point of view, the party stands for more economic freedom including lower tax rates and limited government intervention. National Defense takes top priority and the Republican Party believes its Americas right to act against any threat they perceive is harmful for the country, like attacking Iraq on a vague hunch and without any potential evidence. The sleek and stealthy deer is making good progress. This party stands as the oldest party in America and up until 2004, it was also the largest political party in America as well. It traces its roots back to Thomas Jefferson who was the co-founder with other important personalities back in 1972 (Democratic Vision, 2008). The present chairman of the party is Howard Dean with Harry Reid as the senate leader and Nancy Pelosi (speaker) and Steny Hoyer (Majority Leader) of the House. Structure The promotion of democratic campaign activities is the responsibility of the Democratic National Committee. It supervises the Democratic National Convention during presidential elections. However, the national convention is the one which has ultimate authority once the party is elected and the national committee is the one in authority when it is not elected. Ideology The party supports social liberalism and progressiveness. This is the reason for its being so popular because it draws loyalty of all types of demographic population in America. Throughout its history, the party has brought relief for the common and relatively struggling man like farmers and laborers. Recently though, the voting majority consists of social liberalists who are in the upper middle class and are well aware of their surroundings. These people prefer a more socially free platform of living their lives as opposed to the Republican Party which takes a much more religious approach. They favor moderate to high spending and a less intrusive enterprise system to work freely. The party strongly holds the opinion of the role of the government to completely eliminate poverty through progressive taxation. Works Cited Robert Allen Rutland. The Republicans: From Lincoln to Bush. University of Missouri Press, 1996 DNC Services Corporation. The Democratic Vision. The Democratic

Business Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Proposal - Assignment Example As a company, Samsung is more of a market follower because it does not pioneer any product but only innovates existing products to make it better and cheaper. The classic example is the smartphone industry whereby Samsung was not its pioneer but is able to dominate the market. This demonstrates Samsung’s ability to adapt to market conditions and dominate it. At present, Samsung dominates the smartphone industry seconded by Apple. The industry may be very competitive with several players vying for market share but the majority of the market share is occupied by Samsung and Apple with other players only having a tiny fraction of the market. The two players, Samsung and Apple also dictate the price of the industry. Such, albeit there are several players in the industry, the smartphone industry can still be considered as an oligopoly because only two companies control and dominate the market. Oligopoly is a market structure dominated by few firms (www.economicshelp, nd). The other players such as Sony, Nokia, NEC and Lenovo has very little influence in the market although these companies are introducing their own innovations, they were however not significant enough to reverse the trend in the smartphone industry as dictated by the two major players. One aspect of the smartphone industry that makes it an oligopoly is the huge amount of resources needed to enter in the market. There resources are not only limited in monetary terms but also in human and intellectual resource. These serve as a barrier to entry that only very few firms can join the industry making the market structure as oligopoly. Information about the products are also tightly guarded as industrial advantage and are considered as a competitive advantage honed by research and development. Research and development is one of key characteristics of Samsung that enabled it to dominate the market even if it is just a market follower. The company was not even a significant market player in

In Search of Respect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

In Search of Respect - Essay Example This situation led to the internalization of the Latino community, that demoralizing, impoverishing and inferiority structures cast upon them by the American social, political and economic systems, consequently blaming themselves and not these systems for their poverty. In his book titled â€Å"In Search of Respect†, author Philippe Bourgois details his experiences when residing in East Harlem, a region defined by racial inequality. This has led to the embodiment of a â€Å"street culture of resistance† phrase that uses the peddling of drugs as a lucrative, yet self-deteriorating means of acquiring income and the much publicized and certainly pseudo elusive respect so much desired. The culture of poverty and the street are wrongly cast upon to the families of East Harlem, in that it focuses on the secondary effect, which is self–deteriorating upshots, rather than the structural forces that these Latino communities have to combat every day that make them practice what they do. In unconscious intellectual disciplines, the phrase â€Å"culture of† becomes a code for race or stereotypical excuse projections that are quite useless for understanding how things materialize in various communities. This makes the â€Å"culture of the street† quite a dangerous phrase even though anthropologists that it is one of the physiognomies that set us apart from animals. Rather than that, it would be mu ch more subtle to use the phrase â€Å"risk environment† to help understand how poverty articulates more specifically and precisely with substandard educational institutions, infrastructure, and inaccessibility to decent food, sanitary food sources, decent employment and the public sector services that most middle–class clusters take for granted. Philippe Bourgois, while performing his research, had to develop a respectable rapport in order to try and

Engineering ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Engineering ethics - Assignment Example The National Society of Professional Engineers that is based in the United States of America put forward guidelines to do with Professional Behavior and Standards of Ethics to be upheld by Engineers in 1946. These Rules involving Professional Conduct and Canons of Ethics that were supposed to be followed by Engineers evolved to the current Code of Ethics, implemented in 1964. These appeals eventually resulted to the formation of the Board of Ethical Review in 1954. Cases in engineering that involve ethics are very hard to solve due to the fact that they lack appropriate answers, but the 500 professional engineering consultants and advisors from the Board of Ethical Review have assisted in passing judgment on such cases and also shedding some light to the ethical matters engineers face in a day to day basis. Presently, subornation and administrative dishonesty is being dealt with by a number of professional organizations and commercial groups all over the world.  Nevertheless, different matters have come up, they include:  offshoring,  viable progress, and environmental conservation, that the engineering business is required to deliberate on and look into. When looking into engineering ethics one ethical predicament is the fact that an engineer is required to put forward the name of any engineer going against the engineering Code of Ethics to the proper authority. This is due to the fact that this engineer going against the engineering Code of Ethics or standards may pose a conceivable risk to civilians from a customer or business not adhering to the engineers instructions. Looking at the first ethical standards required by the engineering Code of Ethics, this responsibility supersedes the obligation to a customer and/or employer. An engineer could get into trouble by having their license annulled, even in the case that refusal to report that kind of a threat to the relevant authorities does not lead to any loss of human life or injuries. In most instances, this

Guillermo Financial Analysis Essay Example for Free

Guillermo Financial Analysis Essay Making a sound financial decision is a vital component of the success of a business. The business must conduct market research, description of products, services and marketing strategies, and setting principles for the business’s success. Expenses should be noted prior to writing a financial plan. The goal of a business is to operate on a predefined budget. Ensure there are no undefined or hidden cost that could cause problems later. The business plan helps the business to make day-to-day decisions on its operations. Teamâ€Å"D† will analysis Guillermo’s alternatives and make a recommendation on which alternative will enhance the businesses financial decision. Maintain Current Operational Levels One option available to Guillermo is to make no adjustments to the company’s current operations. This option supports the top concerns of acquisition from a larger firm and spending a large amount of cash on high-tech equipment investments, it does not solve the problem of a shrinking profit margin because of a rise in labor costs. Supporting the option to maintain current operations overlooks potential opportunities that are identified to allow the company to move away from its primary manufacturing role and act as a distributor for the Norwegian competitor. According to the assets, liabilities, and equity information provided by the University of Phoenix, sales growth is slowing to 1% from previous periods. These low profit margins willnot sustain Guillermo in the long-term;they will not improve if there is not a choicemade to adjust to the financial situation. Maintaining current operations does not address the shrinking profit margins. To continue to move Guillermo furniture in a positive direction, Mr. Navallez needs to apply some options already available and within the current operating structure. One option available to Guillermo is expanding the patented flame retardant process already in use within the manufacturing process, by applying a similar coating. This option requires no additional investment because Guillermo owns the equipment as part of the existing manufacturing process. The new coating adds value to the furniture, and makes it more appealing to consumers (University of Phoenix, 2009). The net present value of the project must be calculated in order todetermine ifthis is a strong option. For planning and budgeting purposes, a three-year life cycle is assumed for the coating project with an initial investment cost of $222,705 that is absorbed during the first year of the project. This produces a projected cash flow of $1,733,562, leaving Guillermo with a net income profit of $42,557. Net present value for the three-year project calculates to $197,171. Another option available and immediately implemented is to reduce inventory by quickly turning over products, thus increasing the cash flow. Planning an accurate budget supports the inventory overhead by reducing costs associated with maintaining inventory. The flex budget data shows that Guillermo furniture underestimated June operating expenses by $101,740. If these costs estimates were more closely tied to production costs, a substantial amount of cash would have been available to reinvest in other areas of the business. Closely managing this inventory will make more cash available for expansion in other areas of the company. Last year Guillermo experienced a $3,671 increase in its year-end inventory. Keeping a large amount of inventory on hand ties up cash, which otherwise can be investedin other areas of the business. Guillermo’s option to hold fast and maintain current course is setting the conditions for failure. However, to maintain its current course and improve its financial standing, Mr. Navallez can leverage small opportunities that maximize the financial condition by leveraging the existing patent and reducing inventory. High Tech Business Upgrade Guillermo’s high tech alternative is based off a process currently being used by one of the Norwegian competitors. It will allow the business to increase productivity but will also require a more skilled worker to operate the machinery. In choosing this alternative it predicts that sales will increase by 50% bringing in an increased revenue stream (University of Phoenix, 2009). In assessing this alternative looking at the net present value of future cash flows will help make this decision an easier one by noting the value it brings to the organization. Assuming that Guillermo expects to see a return on the investment within three years, this time period will be used in calculating the NPV. Using the three year time period with an interest rate of 7. 5% and a growth rate of sales at 1. 0403% the NPV can be calculated at $617,178. The firm’s predictions on projected sales has not been the most accurate when looking at historical information. Conducting a sensitivity analysis will further help to determine the value of this alternative using the net income as the adjusted variable. Assuming there will be a best, worst, and most likely outcome to future sales revenue, the projected sales number of $195,564 will act as the most likely outcome. By increasing this number by 10% and decreasing it by 10%, the best case and worst case scenarios can also be calculated respectively. These numbers will show how sensitive the NPV calculations are to the changes in net income. Under the best circumstances high tech alternative yields a net income of $215. 120 while the worst yields $176,008. These numbers translate into net present values of $617,486 under the best circumstances and $616,870 under the worse circumstances. If Guillermo decides to use the alternative funding for the expensive machinery becomes an issue. There are three main ways in which to fund the purchase of this equipment and the additional cost of employee labor. The additional costs can be self-funded if the available cash is available. This will increase the equity in the firm but this will also reduce the leverage the company currently enjoys. The company’s equity can be used to purchase the equipment. This will have the same effect as if Guillermo used personal funds since he is the sole owner of the furniture company. The equipment can be financed through secured debt financing which will increase leverage as well as provide additional tax benefits to the organization. And lastly, Guillermo can lease the equipment. Each of these alternatives provides unique tax benefits as well as pros and cons specific to each of these options. As Guillermo considers this alternative in comparison to other options the cost of maintenance, salvage costs, depreciation costs, and increased labor costs should be factored. These all impact the overall capital budgeting decision faced by Guillermo Furniture. Distribution/Broker Opportunities Guillermo’s second alternative is to become a broker for one of the Norwegian competitors. The company has been looking for channels to distribute in North America as it has chosen not to operate furniture outlets but instead to rely solely on chain distribution (University of Phoenix, 2009). Guillermo’s existing business relationships afford him the opportunity to coordinate a distributor network that generates a new form of revenue for the company. This new stream of income can help offset some of the financial challenges that have emerged as a result of a competitive furniture market and increasing costs. In addition to becoming a broker, Guillermo can also continue offering some of his high end custom products. To determine if becoming a broker is the best option, Guillermo will evaluate the NPV and WACC for the proposed project. To calculate the NPV, Guillermo must consider the investment time period and the discount rate. In this case, Guillermo will review a period of 20 years. When calculating, the need to remove the income tax from the net profit and then re-add the depreciation back in. Next, consider the value of the company’s equipment. For the purpose of this paper, it will be assumed at $100,000,000 with a straight-lined depreciation of $100,000 yearly, over a 10 year period. Once the ten years is complete, the before tax income will increase for the broker option by $100,000. The cash flow will be reduced by 42% since Guillermo will have to pay the taxes on the increase. Since the building will be completely depreciated after 17 years, the net income before taxes will be $50,000. The net present value for the broker option over the 20 year period at 10% will be $4,125,109. 02.

Female Representation in Parliament: Research into the Conservative Party

Female Representation in Parliament: Research into the Conservative Party Female representation in parliament and the Conservative Party and how they engage with women’s issues. Through a recent gendered analysis of the Conservative Party, it has come to fruition that women are still being underrepresented in politics and women’s issues are not being heard. Such research has demonstrated that this may be due to the selection process being biased and political office remaining a masculine field. Women are still representing ‘fewer than one in five MP’s in the UK’ (Russell et al, 2000 :17) and make up just 21.8% of the world’s parliamentarians (Forke & Rickne, 2016). The female absence from politics has suggested that society might be getting its leaders from an excessively narrow area of human talent and that female preferences are underrepresented in political judgments’ (Murray, 2014). Due to this lack of female representation, a number issues such as childcare, women’s pensions and care of the elderly are not being properly addressed. At present, there is a distinct limit in the amount of of research conducted into gender in the conservative party and the House of Commons but a fair portion of the preexisting literature surrounding it all points to gendered inequalities based on old forms of gender norms in parliament. In the following research report I will explain why females are so under represented in parliament and the gender inequality that comes with it as well as explaining what effects the male built establishment in the party has on governmental policies such as childcare. Methodology This analysis uses secondary data that has been collected from the UK data service. The data was originally used by Paul Webb and Sarah Childs (See Webb & Childs, 2009) for ‘an extensive gendered analysis of the contemporary UK Conservative Party’ (Webb & Childs, 2009). The data was collected over the duration of three years in order to assess how far the Conservative Party was assimilating women and their concerns and if women’s issues were being taken seriously (Webb & Childs, 2009). The full dataset consists of 27 face –to- face semi-structured interviews with Conservative Peers and 19 Conservative MP’s. Focus groups were also conducted with 7 groups of floating and unbiased individuals and then six groups of party members. Through the analysis of secondary data I will be assessing the accounts given by several members and nonmembers of the parliamentary group through the dissection of qualitative interviews of two male and female Conservative peers and two male and female Conservative MP’s. Qualitative interviews are particularly useful as a form of research because they ‘access individual’s attitudes and values- things that cannot necessarily be observed in a formal questionnaire’ (Silverman, 2004, 182). In using 4 female and 4 male interview transcripts I was able to access the difference of opinion of why they believe females are being under represented in the Conservative party and the House of Commons and how they think women’s issues could be better dealt with. I also analysed four focus groups, two of which are Conservative Party sympathisers and two of which are groups of party members. Focus groups are particularly useful as a form of secondary research because ‘in focus groups participants are able to bring to the fore issues in relation to a topic that they deem to be important and significant [†¦] because the moderator has to relinquish a certain amount of control to the participants, the issues that concern them can surface’ (Bryman, 2012, 338). I have used focus group data because the data that occurs from the participants interacting with one another can be useful in determining the specific issues related to the topic in question (Bryman, 2012). However, there are certain limitations to this type of research, focus groups produce an extensive amount of data, which can sometimes be difficult to analyse on top of being excessively time consuming. Therefore, developing a strategy to analyse the data which incorporated both what people say and their pattern of interaction can prove to be quite problematic (Bryman, 2012).   Another limitation of focus groups is that sometimes the poor quality of recordings causes them to become inaudible, which affects the transcription and therefore subsequently the data produced, rendering it unreliable (Bryman, 2012). There are also certain limitations to qualitative interviews as interviews do not tell us ‘directly about peoples experiences’ and ‘few researchers believe that in the course of the interview, you are able to get into someone’s head’ (Silverman, 2015, 83). The following report uses thematic analysis from the study of qualitative interviews and focus groups and explores the under representation of women in the Conservative Party and political office, with reference to gender equality in the conservative party and also seeks to explain why women’s exclusion from politics may be due to particular women’s issues such as childcare and care of the elderly which has not been properly addressed by the government. Findings Under representation of women in the Conservative Party Through my analysis of the research data, it came to attention that it has generally been thought that women are severely underrepresented in parliament and in the Conservative party (Russel et al, 2000). Many of the interviewee’s agreed upon the fact that the selection process is still deemed ‘prejudiced and sexist’ and is still run by middle- aged men which makes it harder for females to maneuver. (Russell et al, 2000). For example, women now only represent 9% of the parliamentary party and out of 48 candidates that applied to the Conservative Party, it was found that only seven women out of those candidates were interviewed by the selection panel. This is due, as one male Conservative MP claimed, to the selection panels having certain bigoted views towards females: â€Å"The selection panels are based of white older men who consist of pig headed old guys who turn up wearing Second World War underpants with the attitude that goes with it’. (Male Conservative MP) This can be backed up by Theresa May, a female member of the Conservative party, who in a party conference said ‘looking at its elected representatives you will see a predominantly white male party. Given that we now see an ethnically diverse society, where women play a major role, the conservative party doesn’t look like the people its claiming to represent’. (Theresa May, Party Conference, 2002). This can be further shown when the male MP expressed his amazement at the lack of females in parliament and claimed that even in countries like Rwanda and Pakistan, which are notoriously patriarchal societies, they have more women representatives in their government than Britain does. It has been accepted that in order to get more votes, the Conservative Party needs to obtain more women into the party and therefore makes the selection process more accessible. However, one female conservative peer claims: â€Å"It’s still harder for women to get selected even in spite of the party saying ‘we’d like a woman’†.   (Female Conservative Peer) Females were often subjected to criticism for their personal lives, if they were example said to be divorced. One female MP claimed that women therefore had to ‘cuddle up’ to the selection committee; â€Å"Whose instinct is to prefer a pinstripe identikit candidate with who they wish to spend Friday evenings† (Female Conservative MP) In other literature, it has been suggested that some women have been made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the House of Commons due to the masculine feel of it (Russel et al, 2000). This is further shown in the data studied as a male Conservative MP talks about the aggressive nature of politics and women who feel uncomfortable in the House of Commons are so because women are generally less confrontational than men. The House of Commons is thus seen as less feminized and an unattractive place for women to work in. One Male MP even admitted to the party being unable to change itself and if women weren’t happy with the way things were, then they would have to adapt and change themselves in order to fit in. Gender Equality in the Conservative Party and House of Commons Through the analysis of the focus groups, the theme of equality was an issue that was raised often. Interestingly, both the men and the females agreed upon the fact that: â€Å"I think for any women wanting to get ahead on her own abilities she’s got to be probably twice as qualified as a lot of men† (Focus Group, Male Conservative Member) The participants generally felt that in order for a woman to get ahead they would have to be very self- assured and confident if they wanted to ascertain positions they wanted. In most of the female focus groups it was widely discussed that women were bullied in the House of Commons and that they had to put up with a lot of ‘sexist rubbish’, claiming that the men were always likely to back each other up, but constantly looking for a way to put down the women. The theme of equality is an issue that has been raised in previous literature, as Dillard (2005) claimed that ‘women experience some disadvantage based on their sex or gender roles’ (page number) and Krook & Childs (2010) also claimed that due to inequality, women therefore ‘rarely assume leadership roles and now make up a minority of all top party officials’ (Krook & Childs, 2010, 6). It was also discussed on one floating voter focus group how politicians are out of touch with things like gender equality with one male in the group claiming that he is disappointed by the progress that women have made in terms of equality, and said: â€Å"Politicians often point to a rare example of two successful female politicians to prove that its possible, but in reality it isn’t as easy as that† (Male, Floating Voter Focus Group). When asked what the Conservative Party and the house of Commons should do to get more support of female voters and get more women into parliament, one woman from the floating voter focus group claimed that even if the party did attempt to appeal more to women, it wouldn’t matter because the female voters would know that it was insincere; Interviewer : â€Å" Do you think theres anything the conservative party should be doing to appeal more to women?† Female Respondent: â€Å"If they do we know it’s a lip service. That’s the problem. They think its like we need to speak to women to do whatever it takes, but they shouldn’t even be asking this it should be innate† (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group). Many of the females from the focus groups seemed to think that the ‘glass ceiling’ effect was still in play, with one woman from the floating voter focus group claiming; â€Å"People are saying theres no more sexism but if you actually examine the percentage of people in the highly paid, powerful jobs, the glass ceiling is there and in fact its getting worse†( Female, Floating Voter Focus Group). This is further shown in the literature, in the written report by Webb and Childs after they concluded their research analysis where they found that while ‘42% of women strongly agree that government should make sure that women have an equal chance to succeed, onlu 25% of men do† (Webb & Childs, 2011, 17). Showing that gender inequality is still prevalent in some political parties. How the Conservative Party and the House of Commons engages with womens issues of childcare and the care of the elderly. Through analysing the data, an important theme present was how the Conservative Party engages with women’s issues such as childcare. It was widely discussed how politics is an inhospitable environment for woman who have children and other responsibilities. â€Å"The way politics works often puts off quite a lot of women. Its not very friendly to somebody who has obligations to the family† (Male Conservative MP). This can be seen in reports from other literature of meetings taking place in the House of Commons until very late at night, subsequently making it difficult for women to be there due to family commitments (Russel et al, 2000). Some of the female interviewees all claimed that the unwelcoming environment made it difficult for younger women to get into politics because they are heavily burdened with the responsibility of a full on job and looking after their children. It was discussed how woman are finding it increasingly difficult to juggle both their careers and their personal life, with some interviewees suggesting that the reason why female candidates weren’t selected into the party was due to women being perceived as unable to fully commit to their careers like their male counterparts, one female peer claimed; â€Å"the reason why you end up with middle class white males is because they have previously run a business but women have to think about children† (Female Conservative Peer). This is recognized in other literature as Hymowitz (2005) argues that there has been the general perception that if a woman has a child then she cant be devoted to her job as she could be. Bryson and Heppell (2010) claim that the party has been previously criticized for assuming that women can continue with their roles at home and at work which has put them under huge strain and they have been unable to perform to the best of their ability. They further claim that ‘instead of having it all as liberal feminism seemed to promise, women are instead doing it all† (Bryson & Heppell, 2010, 46). Some female interviewees also complained of being asked how they could cope in the party if they were to have children. Through gender norms it has been believed that the care of the child is up to the mother, but many of the female interviewees expressed their outrage at this policy as one member of the Conservative Party member focus group said: â€Å"women should be able to have the choice to go out to work or staying and rearing children† Female Conservative Party Member, Focus Group. In terms of how the government is concerned with the issue of childcare, many of the female interviewees claimed that the state isn’t putting enough funding into childcare so woman are unable to juggle both their careers and their personal life. One female of the floating voter focus group claimed; â€Å"The child care facilities in London are shocking, they are far too expensive and you need to earn 30,000 to breakeven with childcare†. (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group.) This has meant that many single mothers have had to go onto benefits, because even if they were to secure employment, they still wouldn’t be able to support themselves because of the expensive rate of childcare facilities. There was a strong agreement that childcare shouldn’t be down to the responsibility of the woman, with one woman from the floating voter focus group claiming: â€Å"it shouldn’t be seen as solely the womans responsibility because two people have a child so its both their responsibility and that’s when the whole equality thing sort of breaks down and womens issue become an issue†. (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group.) One floating voter focus group interviewee claimed that womens pensions have subsequently been affected by childcare which is an area that the government has not paid much attention to, claiming that: â€Å"Women are digging in and out of employment in a way much more often than men because your busy with family responsibilities† (Female, Floating Voter Focus Group) As well as the responsibility of the children being put onto women, it is also believed that the care of the elderly is invariably part of their domain too. One female MP claimed that; â€Å"An awful lot of women are tearing their hair out and trying to balance everything, doing two jobs, looking after their children, their home, their elderly relatives. If all those women were actually working to the full extent of their capabilities then the boost to the economy would be significant, statistically significant† (Female Conservative MP). Thus meaning that due to women being under represented in government, there are few voices out there to help put forward the issues that women are facing, such as balancing their careers with their responsibility to their children and other family relatives. Although it was agreed upon that there would be many benefits of having more females in parliament and in the Conservative party as one male MP claimed that woman would have a better understanding of child care policies which could be put in place. The action has not been put in place which leaves women in a very vulnerable position, especially as there is not enough women to defend them on these grounds. Conclusion Overall this research report has demonstrated clearly that both female representation within the Conservative Party and the party’s lack of progressive engagement with women’s issues are clear demonstrations of how unrepresentative British government’s make-up and enforcement currently is. The thematic analysis of Webb and Childs data has allowed an exploration into key political issues that have arguably not been given due academic and political research. It has been shown to be apparent that members of both genders within the Conservative Party acknowledge the inherent unrepresentative nature of the party and that there is little more than plain acceptance of the cultural norms in place to main its patriarchic contour. Given women have often come to feel uncomfortable within the Conservative party, this has transcended into female political participation generally and leaves many holding little desire to engage with politics due to the scarce attention and impact devoted to women’s issues. The above in combination leaves the Conservative party to continue to be perceived as archaic in its views and this in turn prevents women from seeing positive political change or even seeking to lead such change themselves.    Bibliography Transcripts used: M2 Conservative Peer M7 Conservative Peer M8 Conservative MP M9 Conservative MP W5 Conservative Peer W6 Conservative Peer W8 Conservative MP W9 Conservative MP Focus Group 1. Conservative Members Focus Group 2 Conservative Members Floating Voter Focus Group 1 Floating Voter Focus Group 2 Bryman, A. (2012)  Social research methods. 4th edn. New York: Oxford University Press Bryson V & Heppell   T. (2010) ‘Conservatism and Feminism; The Case of the British Conservative Party’. Journal of Political Ideologies. Campbell, S, Childs S & Lovenduski J. (2006)   ‘Womens Equality Guarantees and the Conservative Party’. The Political Quarterly. Childs S, Krook M. (2010). ‘Women, Gender and Politics. A reader’ Oxford University Press. Childs S, Webb P. (2012). ‘Sex, Gender and the Conservative Party. From Iron Lady to Kitten Heels’. Palgrave Macmillan. Chiu & Monroe (2010). Gender Equality in the Academy, the pipeline problem. Cambridge University Press.Volume 43, issue 2. Dillard, A. (2005) ‘Adventures in Conservative Feminism’ Society, March/April Forke & Rickne (2016). The Glass Ceiling in Politics; Formalisation and Empirical Tests. Comparative Political studies. Hymowitz,  C (  2005). Women Internalize Stereotypes of Themselves as Weaker Leaders.  The Wall Street Journal Online. Accessed online, 2nd   May  http://www.careerjournal.com May, T. (2002). Conservative Party Conference Speech. Accessed online, 4th May. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/oct/07/conservatives2002.conservatives1 Murray, R. (2014). Quotas for men: Reframing gender quotas as a means of improving representation for all. American Political Science Review, 108, 520-532 Russel, M. Lovenduski, J, Stephenson M. (2000). ‘Womens Political Participation in the UK’. The British Council, The Constitution Unit. Accessed online, 1st May . http://www.ucl.ac.uk/political-science/publications/unit-publications/89.pdf Silverman, D. (2015).   Interpreting Qualitative Data. Fifth Edition. Sage Publications.

Impact of Debt Servicing on Economic Growth

Impact of Debt Servicing on Economic Growth Abstract The external debt has become a key problem for Pakistan. Pakistan has huge debt to pay, which also entails interest payment on the loan borrowed. It adds burden to the economy of Pakistan. Government through different means try to pay these loans. In this paper we have analyzed the impact of debt servicing on economic growth, i.e. whether debt servicing positively or negatively affect the economic growth. The data collected for this purpose ranges from 1982 to 2008. We have use regression test and find out that debt servicing is positively effecting the growth of Pakistan. Key Words: Debt Servicing, Economic Growth, GDP, Human Capital, Labor Force Introduction Many researchers have focused on the relationship between external debt and growth, and what is the impact of external debt on economy. It also persists to attract considerable interest from economists and policymakers. A large amount of research has been carried out on this topic and substantial literature is also available, but few have conducted research on the impact of debt servicing on economic growth. The conditions and the interest rates on which the loan is provided can vary from donor to donor. Weak economies due to low revenue generation cannot meet their expenses and have to gain loan from international financial institutions or have to issue Treasury bills. Once they obtain loan they utilize it in the development projects and generate revenue, however on maturity, Government does not have to repay only the principal amount of loan but also have to pay amount of interest on it. International Financial Institutions like World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank are the leading donor agencies. They give loan on hard and soft conditions depending upon the credit rating of the country. The discussion is going on for a passage of time, whether debt acquired by the loaner country, helps it in boosting the economic growth or the conditions implied by the donor lowers the economic growth. The higher debt service payments can also have negative effects on the composition of public spending by minimizing the amount of resources available for infrastructure and human capital, which have negative effects on growth. If external debt service is minimized it could increase growth through public investment. (Clemets et al, 2003). (Cholifihani, 2008) discuss the relationship between Public debt service and GDP. He used a production function model which measured GDP as a function of debt service, capital stock, labor and human capital in which all data are represented by constant local currency unit. He comes up with the result that Indonesia faces a debt overhang problem in the long run since increasing the public external debt service slows economic growth. The objective of this research paper is to determine the impact of debt servicing on the economic growth of Pakistan; which needs to be reviewed as these dimensions are not studied before especially in the context of Pakistan. Research study will be carried on the basis of data available of the debt servicing and economic growth. Literature Review Developing countries face the problem of debt-servicing on the economic growth which creates extra burden on the economies. For countries who do not want to print money and have lo generation of tax revenue will opt for borrowing money. Like many other LDCs, Pakistan being one of developing country has accumulated large debt burden and continuously made debt-servicing payments to the lenders which ultimately affects the fiscal position of the country. Debt Borrowing have to speed up the economic growth particularly when domestic financial resources are not enough to meet and need the extra funds. Theory of Economic also states that reasonable levels of loan accelerate economy and beyond a certain level it affects the economy negatively. The key factor is that countries in early years of development have low levels of capital stock and also the investment chances are lower. Many researchers have often argued that borrowing countries if invest the funds into productive development programs, they certainly would enjoy Macroeconomic stability. This results in lowering the debt obligations and increase in the economic growth. (Blavy, 2006) conduct a research over Jamaica, in which he emphasis on channeling the debt into productive investment. He also states that high level of debt is directly related to low level of growth. (Krugman 1988) define debt overhang a situation in which the expected repayment on external debt falls short of contractual value of debt. If a countrys debt level is anticipated to increase the countrys repayment ability with some probability in the future, expected debt service is likely to be a boosting function of the countrys output level. Investment from domestic and foreign investors is depressed which results in slowing of the economic growth. In other words, Krugman hypothesis states that debt overhang is partly due to the burden of foreign debt and that investment will be slow resulting in poor growth performance. The most widely used indicator to express debt is percentage of GNP or debt servicing as a percentage of exports and fiscal deficit for both external and internal (S.P Gupta, 1994). Rising debt limits the ability of a country to finance vital imports and to initiate new development projects. Paper focuses on some countries because of their low per capita income dependence heavily on few primary commodities for export earnings. Most of the projects were designed to improve domestic industry rather than increasing exports directly, concept was that national economies would grow over time and also the export production, and reasonable trends in export prices would allow the debt service obligations (Joshua Greene, 1989). .Most of the low income countries that face the problem of budget deficit have weak domestic structure. They get loan through International Financial Institutions like World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank and through developed countries. IMF providing the debt on certain conditions also asks them to export primary commodities. Due to the excess supply of primary commodities, prices gets low and revenue generated is low, which can cause problems like debt overhang for the debtors nation (Michael, 1998). (William Easterly 2002) states the reasons of poor countries becoming heavily indebted poor countries. He states that Governments who does not change discount rates have to obtain more loans to get debt relief for long term. The major issue faced by the countries while paying debt is the increasing inflation and low growth. Repayment of external debt has shown to entail a tradeoff between growth and inflation (Beatriz et al, 1994). Credibility of the country is also a key factor in obtaining the loan on soft conditions and low interest rates. Countries with the less creditworthiness had to pay large spread on external debt and also have to face harsh conditions for obtaining loans. The increase in debt will add to the country loss of credibility (Gupta, 1994). The credit rationing effect arises, when debtors are not able to repay the debts. Countries increase their interest rates to enhance savings which lead to shorten the saving investment gap, which negatively affect investment and hurts economic growth. (Wijeweera et al, 2005). Like every country Pakistan also took measures to limit the inflationary pressure and to protect the competitiveness of its exports. In fact there is a time frame to work their way through economy, growth can be effected if the effectiveness is not done on time (Afxentiou and Serletis, 1996). Ogunmuyiwa, 2011 carry out a research in Nigeria, in which he measures the relationship between external debt and growth. He comes up with the result that causation between debt and growth in Nigeria is weak and insignificant, and changes in GDP cannot be forecast with changes in external debt Methodology The equation has been adopted by the Indonesian paper, in this equation we will be taking GDP as a function of Human Capital, labor force and Capital stock. Y=A+B1x1+B2x2+B3x3 Y (GDP) = ÃŽ ± + B1 (Human Capital) +B2 (Capital Stock) + B3 (Labor Force) + â‚ ¬ At first, we will be checking the relation of the variables to the GDP. How much they are explaining and are affecting GDP. In Second equation, we will be checking the relationship between GDP and external debt servicing. Equation is; Y=A+B1x1 Y (GDP) = ÃŽ ± + B1 (External Debt Servicing) + â‚ ¬ For this study, we have covered a period of 1982 to 2008. The data has been collected from World Bank Catalog. The variables used in this study are GDP, Capital stock, labor force, human capital and debt servicing. Data sources are taken from key indicators of Asian Development Bank, World Development Indicators published by the World Bank. Almost all monetary units of variables are in US dollars, while labor is expressed by number of people. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a dependent variable, whereas, capital stock, labor force, human capital are determinant factors of GDP (Cholifihani, 2008). Variable of income is represented by real GDP at 2000 constant prices as GDP better reflects the independent productive capacity of the country (Cordella, 2005). Capital stock is represented by real fixed capital stock. GDP and fix capital stock are taken from World Development Indicators (WDI) published by the World Bank. Labor force is defined as employed people. Total people working i.e. employed labor force in jobs are collected from key indicators published by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Human capital in this case is represented by education expenditure per year. Human capital is important as it enhances the economy since this variable includes general skills and ability of labor to do a job. External debt service is defined as Total the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in foreign currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF (World Bank Catalog). Results Model Interpretation Significance R Square Standardized Co-efficient BETA Significance .000 .98 .163 Human Capital .104 Human Capital -.193 Capital Stock .038 Capital Stock 1.014 Labor Force .000 Labor Force In first equation we want to check the effect of all variables on GDP. -47090.6 is a fixed value which will come in each scenario. The coefficient of Human Capital is .163, means that increase in human capital will lead to increase in GDP. In other words it can be said that one unit change in human capital, GDP would also be increased by .163 units. The result is 0.104 which means it is less significant. The coefficient of capital stock is -.193, that if there is an increase in capital stock then GDP would be decreased. In other words we can say that Capital stock does not play a significantly role. The result is 0.00 which means it is negatively significant. The coefficient of labor force is 1.014, meaning if there is increase in labor force then GDP will be increased. The result is 0.00 which means it is positively significant. The R Square tells us about the model fitness. In our case the model is fit i.e. 98.08 %, hence we can conclude that all variables used in this model explain it by 98.08 % and around 2% is not explained by these variables. We can conclude that the other variables which explain the equation are external and are not included. Model Interpretation Significance R Square Standardized Co-efficient BETA Significance .000 .45 .675 Debt Servicing .000 Debt Servicing In the second equation, we have investigated the relationship between external debt servicing and GDP. The R square is 0.455, which means that only 45% is explained by this variable and rest of 55% was explained by external factors. The coefficient of debt servicing is .675 that if there is an increase in debt servicing then GDP would also increase. The result is 0.00 which means it is significant. Limitations The limitation of this study is that data of debt servicing includes only represents external debt servicing and the internal debt servicing was not included due to non availability of data. The result could have given a exact picture of the impact of debt servicing on economic growth if both internal and external debt service would have been added. In start we try to collect data from 1970 to 2008, but data was available from 1982 to 2008. Conclusion The main focus of this study was to analyze the effects of debt servicing on economic growth. Within limited indicators we find out that debt servicing has positively affected the economic growth of Pakistan. Theoretically it is not possible because a big amount form received borrowings is used for debt return and its interest and it should negatively affect the economy But in case of Pakistan the amount of debt circulating in the economy is high. Estimated about 70% of the economy of Pakistan consists of debt. With the passage of time, the debt should have reduced but it has increased. It can be said that the debt should be invested in productive areas rather than wasted on less productive projects.

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay: An Analysis -- Love Song J. Alf

An Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The general fragmentation of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is obvious. The poem seems a perfect example of what Terry Eagleton calls the modern "transition from metaphor to metonymy: unable any longer to totalize his experience in some heroic figure, the bourgeois is forced to let it trickle away into objects related to him by sheer contiguity." Everything in "Prufrock" trickles away into parts related to one another only by contiguity. Spatial progress in the poem is diffident or deferred, a "scuttling" accomplished by a pair of claws disembodied so violently they remain "ragged." In the famous opening, "the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherised upon a table," and the simile makes an equation between being spread out and being etherised that continues elsewhere in the poem when the evening, now a bad patient, "malingers, / Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me." There it "sleeps so peacefully! / Smoothed by long fingers . . . ." This suspe nsion is a rhetorical as well as a spatial and emotional condition. The "streets that follow like a tedious argument / Of insidious intent" lead not to a conclusion but to a question, a question too "overwhelming" even to ask. Phrases like the "muttering retreats / Of restless nights" combine physical blockage, emotional unrest, and rhetorical maundering in an equation that seems to make the human being a combination not of angel and beast but of road-map and Roberts' Rules of Order. In certain lines, metaphor dissolves into metonymy before the reader's eyes. "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes" appears clearly to every reader as a cat, but the cat itself is absent, repr... ...becomes a collection of individual parts, just as the poem's human denizens had been little more than parts: "And I have known the eyes already, known them all"; "And I have known the arms already known them all." The instantaneous movement from part to whole, from eyes, arms, evenings, mornings, to "all," expresses the emptiness between, the gap between dispersed parts and an oppressive whole made of purely serial repetition. The very reduction of human beings to parts of themselves and of time to episodes makes it impossible to conceive of any whole different from this empty, repetitious "an." As Burke says, metonymy substitutes quantity for quality, so that instead of living life Prufrock feels "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. Â   Works Cited Michael North, The Political Aesthetic of Yeats, Eliot, and Pound. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1991.

Educational Philosophies Essay -- Philosophy Education Psychology Essa

Educational Philosophies Many different ideas of the correct educational philosophy exist. Highly acclaimed psychologists and educators developed these varying philosophies. Each of these philosophies have their strengths and weaknesses and have their positives and negatives in different situations. It is our job as educators to sift through this list of philosophies to find our own style and philosophy. We must research the pros and cons of each philosophy and pick and choose which sections of each idea to take out and make our own. Our job is also to familiarize ourselves with the philosophies that we do not agree with. So that we have a clear picture in our minds of what we want and do not want as part of our educational thinking and to have the knowledge to back up these opinions. After reading through different writings on each of these philosophies, I have begun to take on the task of sorting out which I choose to support and which I strongly oppose. Once having a clear idea of which philosophies appeal to me and which do not, I hope to have the groundwork laid to then analyze the philosophies and take from them what I need to develop my own personal philosophy. Sometimes to find out what you are or what you find true, you must first learn what you are not and what you do not find as truth. Therefore, in beginning my search for my own personal philosophy, I began with ruling out the philosophies that I am strongly opposed to. These philosophies are perennialism and behaviorism. Perennialism is a very conservative and inflexible philosophy of education. It is based on the view that reality comes from fundamental fixed truths-especially related to God. It believes that people find truth through reasoning and revelation and that goodness is found in rational thinking. As a result, schools exist to teach reason and God’s will. Students are taught to reason through structured lessons and drills. The teacher’s role is a fountain of knowledge, put in place to regurgitate the wisdom of the past and pass it down to the next generation. To begin with, I find this philosophy extremely outdated since church and state have been separated for quite some time now. Perenialism leaves no room for progression, which seems to be it’s objective. Students in these schools do not learn to think independently. They do not learn creativity or how... ...personal satisfaction. I most identify with this philosophy and strongly agree with the majority of its principles. As stated above, the most important lesson a teacher can teach a child is the importance of learning, the enjoyment of learning and how to learn. Above all, this is the most important lesson. I agree that students are self-motivated if the desire to know something. The job of the teacher is to make the student want to learn, not make the student learn. I agree that self-evaluation and self satisfaction should weigh above grades. Grades should be a measure more for the teacher, not the student. The humanistic philosophy can be effectively applied to literacy mainly with its ideas of choice and desire. Students will be more inclined to write to their best ability and read at a high level if they are the ones choosing the topic to write on or the book to be reading. Humanism parallels with my strongest conviction of teacher and once again I will repeat what I have repeated throughout this entire paper. The goal of literacy learning is to instill a love of reading and writing within them and to give them the tools to continue with that love.

Womens’ Liberation Movement Notes

The Women's Liberation Movement AKA: Women's Lib Feminist Movement or Women's Rights Movement â€Å"Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings† -women fighting male power structure Women, you may be feminist if you: -had lots of choices after high school -had the option of college/grad school -have a career/job and family -plan to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer (professional) -support fair work salary for any work -workplace is free of sexual discrimination -participate in women's sports -go to a woman doctor -vote in any political race -run for any political office intend to use daycare -can get a divorce (custody) -â€Å"You have the choose of wearing jeans and tennis shoes instead of a girdle and heels† â€Å"man is not the enemy here but the fellow victim† -Betty Friedan -If civil rights are denied by somebody, it affects everybody Men, you may be feminist if you: -are in college or have had other opportunities because of mom's good job to cont ribute to income -mom had support services to help raise you/siblings -have a content, stay at home mom -have ever been asked out by a girl (or paid) Understand and Appreciate Art -How is it put together? What do I personally bring? -Where did it come from? (Context) The First Wave of Feminism 1848-1920 -Women's Rights Convention *Seneca Falls, NY: July 19-20, 1848 -19th Amendment *ratified June 26, 1920 *voting day: November 2, 1920 Second Wave of Feminism 1960s-70s State of Women's Rights in 1848 by Custom and/or Law -Economic *could not buy/sell property *could not enter into contracts without husband's consent *actually seen as property -Social *no recourse to spousal abuse *no divorce without husband's consent *few custody rights over kids *could not go out in public alone Educational *denied any education *denied education in math, language *most could not go to college *could not enter the professions (law, engineering) *some women attended â€Å"female seminars† or â €Å"academies† to become teachers; once they were married, however, they were fired -Political *could not serve on a jury *could not testify in a case (too emotional, not trustworthy) *could not vote (not smart, too delicate, â€Å"vote like husband†) Lizzy Borden: acquitted by a jury of 12 men: â€Å"not guilty† of killing her two parents â€Å"Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks.When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. † The Birth of the Women's Movement -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention with their husbands in London; they were denied seats because they were women -The women reunited at a tea party at the McKlintock House in July 1848 (Seneca Falls, NY) and decided on a convention -Stanton mostly wrote the â€Å"The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments† *†We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal† List of Grievances -never exercised the right to vote he made her morally, an irresponsible being -in the eye of the law, married women were â€Å"dead† -denied right to education -denied divorce rights -demeaned to second-class citizens Women's Rights Convention, July 19-20, 1848 -300 men and women gathered at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Seneca Falls, NY -Ratification of their Declaration -Fight over the 11th amendment (suffrage) -Frederick Douglass (great orator, ex-slave, equivalent to Malcolm X) fought for women's rights at the convention: compared value of women as lesser than animals in society Video Clip Notes: Not for Ourselves Alone- Seneca Falls narrations from female historians reflecting -procession of women to Seneca Falls -July 19, only women attended; July 20, open to all (over 300 men and women) -Lucretia's husband was asked to lead (the women were nervous because they never spoke in public) -men decried women of their rights -68 men and women signed their Decl aration -11 new conditions, only 10 were passed; still no right to vote -â€Å"The right to vote is ours. Have it we must, use it we will† -Stanton -â€Å"Without the vote, women would be unable to change the laws that hurt them† -Douglass The Suffrage Movement Susan B. Anthony (died 1906) *Last public words: â€Å"Failure is impossible† *One of four women and 2 modern women to be on money -Carrie Chapman Catt -Alice Paul â€Å"Iron Jawed Angels† (film) -women jailed for fighting for suffrage The End of the First Wave -Ratification of the 19th Amendment, June 29, 1920 Sufragette: women (1920s) who fought for women's rights Video Clip Notes -Interview with Ruth Dyk (98 yrs. old): mom was a suffragette -Interview with Ethel Hall (100 yrs. old) -more than 8 million women voted -14 years for women to vote since Declaration Stanton and Anthony did not get to vote because they died One Step Forward, Two Steps Back -Some improvement -loss of â€Å"steam† -Great Depression (â€Å"Migrant Mother† iconic Great Depression photo taken by Dorothy Lange, 1936) â€Å"We Can Do It! † World War II : The 1940s -women take over â€Å"masculine jobs† to help win the war -â€Å"if you've used an electric mixer in your kitchen, you can learn to run a drill press† -â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† represented a lot of women; iconic poster by J. Howard Miller -6 million women became Rosie's -â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† by the Four Vagabonds (song) Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jane Baker) was a Rosie working with planes, when a photographer saw her and took army photos -Fannie Lou Hamer: sharecropper who became a significant voting rights and civil rights activist Rush to the Altar mid-late 1940s -soldiers come home, women go home, men take back the jobs Marriage rate: 1948- 16. 4%; 2008- 7. 1% Traditional Housewives (Suburbs) 1950s -normalcy after the war -traditional families/sex roles -PhT (Putting Husband Through) and Mrs. degrees (women going to college to find a husband) -the ideal of the housewife â€Å"the feminine mystique† Video Clip Notes: â€Å"Why Study Home Economics† (University of Kansas) -â€Å"I'm going to need to know† -â€Å".. homemaker the rest of my life† -we're going to get married, no choice -Counselor: â€Å"Home Ec training teaches you how to be a better homemaker† Ultimate Goal: Marriage and Family -regardless of education -TV Show â€Å"Leave it to Beaver† portrayed traditional family roles -TV was new in the 50s: what messages were TV shows sending to men and women? -â€Å"Drop the Mop† song (â€Å"Equal jobs and educational opportunities†) The Winds of Discontent (late 50s, early 60s) legal job discrimination -1/3 women working outside of home (low paying jobs, laid off first, â€Å"glass ceiling†) -After WWII, new technology -Airline jobs- as soon as a stewardess got married, she was fired; wasn't the same for pilots (only could be male) -teaching was considered the â€Å"best job† (others were secretaries, but no professions) -Lorena Weeks: Used 1964 legislation to fight the legal discrimination at work *operated switchboards under bad hours and low pay Dissatisfied Housewives -Betty Friedan â€Å"voice of dissatisfied housewives† -Wrote â€Å"The Feminine Mystique† (1953)Video Clip Notes -K. Foley: working wife/mother *frozen opportunities and lack of jobs -Dust Roady: earned college degree in 1950, wanted to be a pilot, denied position and only offered to be a stewardess Video Clip Notes: Eastern Airlines commercial -discriminatory and demeaning towards female (stewardesses) -they were fired at age 32, versus male pilots being fired at age 60 -Friedan challenged the identity of women in her book; â€Å".. cannot find herself in a house† -not all women bought her message, however -Jacqui Ceball â€Å"it wasn't us, it was society†The President's Commiss ion on the Status of Women 1961 -JFK's presidency: women were paid $0. 59 for every $1 men were paid -2008: women were paid $0. 77 for every $1 men were paid -low, unequal pay -poor job opportunities -quotas in professional schools (only a certain number of women) -lack of social services -TV show â€Å"All in the Family† – wage disparity (Archie was the husband) -60s: some nuns got rid of their habits (changes in the church) â€Å"The personal is political† -social restrictions *†men only† and â€Å"women only† public places women were isolated in their own homes- they couldn't meet up and talk -this issue lead to â€Å"Consciousness Raising Groups,† where women could talk about anything in privacy without men or children -battered women's shelters -contraceptive rights, including abortion (Roe V. Wade) -rape laws -Before Second Wave Feminism, issues such as abusive relationships were â€Å"personal problems,† not â€Å"society 's problem† -However, feminists argued that society needs to be involved with solving these problems Video Clip Notes -Women try to enter men's bar â€Å"women are people,† â€Å"start all over† (black and whites, men and women)Video Clip Notes â€Å"Second-Class Citizens† -60s: in some states, women needed husband's cosign to get a credit card -70s: women would not be interrupted during consciousness raising group meetings -women's strike â€Å"don't iron while the strike is hot† The Mid 60s-70s -Civil Rights Act 1964 banned discrimination (race and gender) -National Organization for Women (NOW) 1966 *created by Betty Friedan; still one of the largest poetical organizations for women's rights today *aimed at men too (better for them) *not all feminists of 60s agreed with her (like MLK vs Malcolm X)Miss America Protest 1968 -Guerrilla theatre Video Clip Notes -March on Washington 1963 -led to critical victory for minorities and women: LBJ signs Civi l Rights Act -Lorena Weeks cited the Civil RIghts Act to fight *it took 5 years and an appeal to the Supreme Court, but she got the job she wanted -Women in white robes praying â€Å"Mother, Daughter, Holy Granddaughter† -to feminists: Miss America Pageant was epitome of â€Å"ideal woman† -female protestors threw bras, girdles, makeup, and heels in trash -Shirley Chisholm: equal pay and equal opportunities in stock market: feminismWomen's Liberation: â€Å"I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar† -Helen Reddy -Politics -Legal System -Wall Street -Media -Medicine -Arts -Sports -Pop Culure -ALL AREAS â€Å"The Feminine Mystique,† or Betty, Tina, Mrs. Robinson, and all those other housewives Betty Friedan 1921-2006 -Smith College 1942 -Wife, mother, housewife, writer, feminist leader -â€Å"The Feminist Mystique† -Worked as a journalist in 50s, but got fired when she got pregnant; she then did free-lance magazine work from home How did the Feminist Mystique get sta rted? -â€Å"McCall's† magazine â€Å"women's† magazine that catered to women's issues; asked Friedan to write a piece *Friedan interviewed women she graduated with and asked them â€Å"What has been your experience as a woman? † -The initial title of the article was to be â€Å"The Togetherness Woman† (the happy, ideal, traditional woman) -Smith College's Class of 1942 15th reunion What did McCall's expect to find? -ideal 50s women -high levels of satisfaction and happiness -LIFE Magazine, December 1956: â€Å"ideal American woman†¦white, middle-class, frivolous, spoiled, beautiful, boy crazy.. † Ideal 50s Woman -Feminine -Delicate Not intellectual -Compliant -Content -Him-focused -Family-focused -House-focused Video Clip Notes -Christian Dior set standards for fashion trends during wartime -Hourglass figure, girdles and slim shapes with big bust -â€Å"feminine, sexy† -Contestants had to peel potatoes and make a bed in Miss America Pa geant Barbie -invented in 1959 -commercial doll (doll $3, clothes $1-5) -Mattel International Video Clip Notes: Xerox commercial -first machine in 1959 -take-off on Marilyn Monroe, ditzy secetary -overall message: â€Å"So easy a woman can do it† A Housewife's Day -PTA meetings Shopping -Seeing her friends -In her kitchen What did Friedan's survey actually find? -discontent, unhappy -unexplained fatigue and physical illness -prescription drug use sky rocketed *3 years: 1. 2 million pounds of Miltown (tranquilizer) had been taken by women (mid 50s) -lack of interest in the world or hope for the future -went beyond her college peers She found that for women†¦. -College graduate rates: 60% drop out (PhT) -Marriage rates up, age down (average 20yrs and dropping in late 50s) -Skyrocketing birthrate -Labor Market: 1/3 working; nonprofessional â€Å"jobs† Politics: Congress- more in 40s than in the 50s What did Friedan conclude? -Women suffer from â€Å"the problem that has no name† *The housewife's â€Å"blight† (doctors used these terms, even) -Psychological problem: lack of identity -Trapped in a dilemma *Homemaker lifestyle that was the envy of many but not fulfilling, especially to the educated woman -McCall's denied Friedan's magazine Article (editors were men) What is the Feminine Mystique? -Post WWII ideology that a woman can and should only be fulfilled as a housewife and mother -Resistance: sickness, abnormality Intentionally pervasive throughout society -Fight back against Feminine Mystique is the Women's Lib Movement What did Friedan do? -Wrote â€Å"the Feminine Mystique† (1963) *†scream of pain† -Changed the course of history -Became a pioneer of the Second Wave -Remember: Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer of the First Wave Possible â€Å"Why? † Theories -nation's need to return to pre-war â€Å"normalcy†? -â€Å"Artificial Buoyancy† idea that in society, there are people who feel the y want to be on top, meaning some have to sink to the bottom (men vs. omen) -need for a consumer class with time and desire to shop The Freudian â€Å"Why† Theory -Sigmund Freud: Father of psychology and psychiatry -Anatomy is destiny *Women are anatomically built to be mothers -â€Å"Normal female traits are receptivity and passivity†¦a willingness to accept dependence. † -Freud is a â€Å"male chauvinist pig† -Shulamith Firestone coined this phrase Friedan's Conclusion: All the theories are true -The Feminine Mystique is pervasive in society and it is the result of an intentional conspiracy by the male-dominated society to keep things male-dominated The Stepford Wives Sci-fi book by Ira Levin: men find a way to turn their wives into robots (ideal 50s woman) -Movies: 1975- thriller; 2004- spoof (credits show many different shots to send his message) The Graduate (1967) -#7 American Film Institute: Best movie of all time -Book written by Charles Webb- gradu ated from William College then wrote it -Ann Bancroft (who inspired Professor Loughran to act very young) played â€Å"Mrs. Robinson,† an unhappy housewife -Dustin Hoffman plays â€Å"Benjamin,† a discontent college graduate; actor was originally supposed to be tall and attractive, like Robert Redford -Katharine Ross Music: Simon and Garfunkel wrote the theme song, which was originally supposed to be â€Å"Mrs. Roosevelt† -Director: Mike Nichols Video Clip Notes â€Å"the Graduate† -Scene begins after Ben's graduation party -Mrs. Robinson resorts to alcohol and music -â€Å"Mrs. Robinson you're trying to seduce me† Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) -Comedy of manners: making fun of a certain segment of society -exploring dangers of Feminine Mystique in a humorous way -Making fun of upper, affluent lifestyles of these people Early Days of TV -1939 World Fair -Rapid expansion *Post WWII leisure *Better technology Better programming -Content *news, dram a, variety shows *live broadcast *advertising 1955: Fort Wayne, Indiana -Social Lives -Education -Business -Church TV and Politics -JFK AKA â€Å"TV President† -TV was live in the 60s *death of Lee Harvey Oswald was aired 1950s/60s TV: A Man's World â€Å"Women's lives are so dull†¦ they don't need TV shows† â€Å"women can make decisions in comedies.. † -Norman Felton, MGM Executive Producer -Madelyn Martin, writer for â€Å"Lucy† shows Television's Portrayal of Women (according to Friedan) -boring -jealous -inept -foolish -dependent -weak -silly -spoiled -materialistic â€Å"I Married Joan† (1954 Daytime TV Show) *Joan Davis (like Lucille Ball) *†Mrs. Bradley Stevens† (married to judge_ Marlo Thomas: Arts Hero -Personal Life *Born 1937 *Daughter of Danny Thomas (comedy â€Å"Danny Thomas Show†) *grew up privileged *wife/stepmother Phil Donaghue (precursor to Oprah, similar talk show) *didn't want to get married *saw mistre atment of women firsthand in acting industry *wanted to be an actress, and was concerned about making it on her own Acting -TV Series: That Girl, among others -Film -Theater Writing -Free to Be†¦You and Me (healthier children's book) *books, CDs, and TV specialsOther -Producer -Speaker -Awards: Lucy Award (outstanding women in TV), Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy *same as Sidney Poiter: not about winning, but making a difference That Girl -September 1966 -First show about a single woman -Force behind the show *scripts *clothes -Production aspects -end of season, she had a boyfriend on the show, the producer wanted them to marry but she said â€Å"Hell no! † Making a Difference -Advocate for women's rights *The Ms. Foundation for Women -St. Jude's Children's (Cancer) Research Hospital *Her dad founded this in 1960 Janis wanted what med had- everything Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got. † Janis Joplin: first female rockstar -wanted to be equal with men -she wanted a personal life -From Port Arthur, TX; always wrote letters and kept in touch with her family -Dated musician Country Joe McDonald -Wanted a career, broke with the band â€Å"Big Brother†and went successfully solo -Died of heroine overdose -Made it okay for a woman to create her own kind of beauty -made it possible for women to have any type of career -1995: inducted into Rock ‘n' Roll Hall of Fame -Helped women reach for the starts -inspired female rockstars