Gender Stereotypes in Gary Winick’s Bride Wars Essay Example for Free

Gender Stereotypes in Gary Winick’s Bride Wars Essay 2009 has not exactly been a fruitful year—so far—for the American filmmaking industry, at least in terms of quality and originality. If the latter part of 2008, as in most years, was marked by the release of some of the most memorable films in history, the first four months of 2009 have mostly made-for-children movies, romantic comedies, and guy-bonding flicks. Bride Wars is a relatively superficial take on women’s obsession with weddings, and is currently ranked at number nine in the list of top-grossing films worldwide. Directed by Gary Winick and starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, Bride Wars narrates the lifelong friendship of Emma and Liv—women in their mid-20s who, as young girls, made plans for almost identical weddings. When they hire the same wedding planner who schedules them both on the same time, day, and venue, the conflict begins and the ‘wars’ take place. A series of impossible schemes hatched by each to hinder the other’s plans ensues, yet ultimately end in happy endings for both. Despite its arguable shallowness and lack of believability, Bride Wars may still be evaluated according to specific themes inherent in the discussion of the female psyche: conforming to cultural and social traditions, particularly in terms of gender roles and expectations. The pivotal scene is revealed at the very beginning of the film, as the young Emma and Liv are shown with their respective mothers at The Plaza Hotel, an upscale location for weddings. They both witness a newly-married couple—the groom looking dashing in a suit and the bride in an exquisite gown—in a moment of utter romance and love; this singular image drives both girls to make a pact to have their own weddings in the same place. But more than the desire to be wed at The Plaza, the most notable element in this scene is the accepted—even expected—notion of marriage, without essentially considering the function of the process as a partnership. By being presented with an image that fully conforms to the traditional concept of women and their social roles, the young girls immediately associate this with their own goals and ambitions. Though later scenes show how they both pursued their individual interests—public relations for Liv and teaching for Emma—it is apparent how getting married is still their priority. The concept of marriage in this film is limited to the actual wedding, with a few flimsy forays into the discussion of sharing a life with another person. That first image set the boundaries of the ideology chosen by the filmmaker, as evidenced by the dreamlike treatment accorded to it; it sends the message of perfection and idealism as befitting women by being a bride. After all the events that had taken place, Emma and Liv kept their friendship and even resulted in Emma marrying Liz’ brother Nate. Unsurprisingly, the last scene proved to be the answer to the first—with the two women meeting after their honeymoons, and revealing that they were both pregnant. It is evident how this scene was meant to provide the punchline to the film, leaving its audience assuming that the same ‘war’ would take place later. However, it also reinforces the established parameters set by weddings, since pregnancy and giving birth is the traditional next step after the union. The happy occasion of revelation and reconnection exhibits the place of childbirth in the context of the female role, yet it fails again to make any argument regarding the personal significance of bearing children. Bride Wars, though peppered with pup culture references and modern concepts, is centuries behind in terms of gender issues and breaking free from stereotypes. Light romances and comedies are not strictly confined to such superficial subjects, which shows why Bride Wars is a film only meant for commercial objectives. How We Think, Speak, and Feel: An Understanding of Human Behavior in Three Films Visitors from another planet are perhaps the best test subjects for the assessment of texts, particularly films. Since cinema is a depiction of human behavior and portrays concepts gleaned from human experience, having extraterrestrials view films—given that they understand the language—will allow them to achieve a sense of what and how humans are. Rather than take them through a historical representation of human life through films, it would be best to introduce them to the inherent traits found in most cultures—through intelligence, language, and psychology. The three films that may be able to communicate these are A Beautiful Mind for intelligence, When Harry Met Sally for language, and Doubt for psychology and its permutations. Ron Howard’s 2001 film A Beautiful Mind is based on the life of gifted scientist and mathematician John Forbes Nash, and narrates his journey into schizophrenia and depression. But the film is also a real-life account of a man given an extraordinary amount of talent, which shows the extent to which the human mind can progress. This information would be essential to the extraterrestrial visitors, for it will let them know how humans think; whether it reveals similarities or not is the ultimate goal of the exercise. Since Nash’s expertise is in numbers and formulas, logic is the knowledge represented in the film, which may be more ‘universal’ compared to politics, economics, or other contextual topics. In the film, Nash is shown as having his own world apart from the people around him, only surrounding himself with equations and other methods pertaining to scientific and explainable phenomena. This is clearly presented in the scene where he writes his formulas on a glass window, consumed by the process and unaffected by his environment. Seeing a human engage in such intellectual activity may inform extraterrestrials of the workings of the human mind, specifically this advanced depiction of thinking processes. On top of that, Nash’s account of seeing UFOs and aliens may appear to be a point of connection with this particular audience, as it shows how human validate their existence. The 2008 film Doubt, directed by John Patrick Shanley, is set in a Catholic Church in New York in 1964. During this time, the notions of faith and religion were primarily dictated by priests—portrayed as almost immortal beings who could do no wrong. However, assumptions about the unusual behavior of Father Flynn, the parish priest, were made by the nuns tasked to care for and educate the children in the school run by the church. The result was doubt in authority and in the general power of organized religion, and eventually in the faith of the nuns in their chosen vocation. Introducing the alien guests to these concepts will acquaint them with the complex values and traditions of humans, which are directly associated with the idea of faith in a Higher Being. The image of Father Flynn is meant to symbolize faith itself, and accusing him of improper behavior—in this case, an illicit relationship with a young boy—shows how humans are capable of acting against established rules. What the aliens may glean from this could be the debate between the human need for something to believe in, whether seen or unseen, and the alternative human quality of logical analysis based on observable phenomena. When Harry Met Sally, released in 1989 and directed by Nora Ephron, is one of the most effective portrayals of the differences between men and women. Language is one of the issues illustrated by the film, and it would benefit the extraterrestrials to see how men and women think and express themselves differently. The film narrates the friendship of Harry and Sally, which eventually ended in romance after years of struggling to keep it platonic. The iconic scene where Harry and Sally are in a restaurant arguing over sexual attitudes of men and women reveals both mindset and language, as their discussion is progressed by their opposing views and the final act of Sally faking an orgasm. Aliens and non-humans will find this portrayal extremely significant, for it almost shows how men and women are of different life forms as well. It also illustrates the mating habits of both men and women, which may be similar to their own. These three films will definitely equip the extraterrestrials with enough information and knowledge to guide them toward a better understanding of human behavior. But while these films tackle some of the basic realities present in most societies all over the world, more complicated concepts—such as war and poverty—can only be understood after fully comprehending the abilities and capacities of humans, since these are effects of a misguided use of innate human traits. References Ephron, N. (Dir. ) (1989). When Harry Met Sally. Columbia Pictures. Howard, R. (Dir. ) (2001). A Beautiful Mind. Universal Pictures. Shanley, J. P. (Dir. ) (2008). Doubt. Miramax Films. Winick, G. (Dir. ) (2009). Bride Wars. 20th Century Fox.

Understanding Abuse Individual Assessment

Understanding Abuse Individual Assessment In day to day life abuse activities are growing rapidly and the measures to prevent them are also getting more specific .The exercise of power by the state on this sector is the most important thing to solve this problem. The government bodies are making different plans, policies to prevent abuse and create a healthier society and the nation. Mckibbin et al (2008) states that range of legislation and policies are designed to protect individual, groups, and vulnerable adults from abuse these are- The Care Standard Act 2000 Confidentiality policy Whistle Blowing Policy Physical Intervention Policy Complaint Procedure in Care Home Confidently and disclosure Trust is an integral part of our ability to provide consistent high standards of care and such it must not be broken. A persons trust is not a right but a special privilege, which means you must exercise care and thought in your handling of confidence. You must never divulge a confidence placed in you by a service user, colleague, relative etc. Only where the nature of the confidence may have a detrimental impact upon the standard of care should consider passing it on and then only to the registered Manager, never anyone else. Due to the nature of the work that is conducted within the home, and the confidentiality of information passes between residents, medical staff and statutory agencies and workers, all staff are required to sign a confidentiality agreement whereby you agree not to disclose any information relating to any resident without first obtaining permission from the resident and their assigned worker. Physical intervention policy Working with people who can behave aggressively has always presented management difficulties for staff. Some of the people that we work for occasionally behave in a way that leaves us no option but to intervene physically for their own or others safety. Every effort must be made to ensure that potentially volatile situations are avoided using non-confrontational approaches aimed at enabling the resident to take responsibility for his/her actions and consequences that follow. As a staff team we work together to reduce risks around violence and look at ways in which we can do this. Primarily, this is done by writing with Care Plans. The Care Plan needs to outline the aims and methods to be used with residents to gain achievements and life goals. When writing Care Plans, Risk Assessments will be a functional part of this process. Both Care Plans and Risk Assessments need to reflect the principles of OBrien and Wolfensberger regarding the provision of normalizing services. Once a comprehensive Care Plan package is in place the staff team are able to work with a clear and defined approach offering consistent care and support to the people we work with. The recording of incidents is a vital process in the safety of the staff. All episodes of violence must be recorded. Staff are made aware of these procedures and the following must always be completed:- Accident Book Incident and Violent Episodes Forms By the correct recording of Violent Episodes (VE) staff can look at the antecedents to behaviours in relation to the consequences. Often it is possible to develop strategies for reducing incidents in relation to this. Incident and Violent Episode Forms give the staff team the opportunity to reflect and access. Feedback and support is given in the form of supervision. All staff receives regular supervision every two to three weeks. This allows staff the opportunity to access their actions and reflect on work practice. When looking at violence toward staff, there are a number of preventive measures that need to be considered and put into practice. These are:- Ensuring the staffing levels is appropriate to the task. If there is a high risk, evaluate whether levels are adequate and if not have the flexibility to have extra staff on one given shift. Rotating high risk jobs thus ensuring the same person is not always at risk. The team should also have the ability to evaluate a task and decide what action if any is necessary. Make sure a senior member of staff on duty can make quick decisions if necessary. Ensuring the whole staff team is aware of particular guidelines, Risk Assessments and Care Plans. Making available the appropriate information for a particular task to be understood so that this can be undertaken with minimal risk. Staff training is essential for all aspects of our jobs and can give staff some of the necessary tools for coping with and lessening violence. This should encourage a more positive body language and this in turn should lessen violent episodes within the service. We clarify with all residents that violent behaviour is not acceptable however we shall not judge or condemn their behaviour. You must acquaint yourself with and abide by all and each of the issues current for the time being of the Companys Using Physical Intervention Policy. The Company revises all such policy and procedural documents on a regular basis responding to changes in contemporary care practice, the needs of the Company and the needs to ensure continued efficiency. The responsibility to maintain awareness of and act upon on-going revision of such documents remains wholly that of the individual staff member. Although these various statements and procedures are not formally expressed terms of your Contract of Employment, compliance is regarded as important by the Company and failure to abide by the same way lead to disciplinary action. Other policies Legislation implements by the Care Standard Act 2000 and the CQC aims to ensure that care home operates in a legal way in the release of care to the customers. Health and Safety at work Act 1974 is to give and preserve safe and healthy working conditions in workplace. Data Protection Act 1998, it is applies confidentiality. Disclosure Act 1998 about abuse and whistle blowing. The Human Rights Act 1998 shows a whole range of rights and freedom of people. DOH (1998) Strengths and weaknesses in current legislation and policies: In every policies and programmes there can be strength and weakness side so it s the important factor to identify which one is strength and weakness factor . We can make our strength more stronger and decrease or eliminate the weakness when we are well known about these factors. Here are some of the strength and weakness factors in current legislation and policies; CRB Check (Adult protection): CRB and POVA will give that the employee (candidate criminal offence report) but it is doing only in the UK. When candidate from abroad did crime there in his back home country, CRB in UK wont show those crimes, in that case its better to check the foreign police clearance certificate as well. Whistle Blowing Policy: Its the way to Improve the legislation practices and is a democratic option to build a healthier policy. But in some cases whistle blowing can create misunderstanding between the staffs and can decrease the motivation and security of the employees and can lead to worse condition as well. Complaint Procedure: It will improve the service at the same time most demented people wont be able to complaint due to their disability Residential Care Home Manager Managers may direct workers directly or they may direct several supervisors who direct the workers. The manager must be familiar with the work of all the groups he/she supervises, but does not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. It is more important for the manager to know how to manage the workers than to know how to do their work well. Annie Phillips (2003) Manager should have sufficient qualification and experience and no bad remark in Criminal record Bureau (CRB) records. (Frances 2004). Customers may be various and to meet the variety of their requirements, as a manager we have to be clear about what exactly each is seeking, what is needed is a way of thinking about the array of customers of residential care home. Social care council The general social care council is responsible for registration of all social care workers. The council regulates their conduct and their training. It will support for the setting and maintaining good practice standards. (Frances 2004). With having higher powers of operation in this sector social care council should be highly responsible for the better conduct and operation of the activities. Care Assistant These group of people are the direct responsible groups who cafà © the target group so they should be well trained, and to be as per the standard set by the council. Workers should free from CRB and required to register with the council and need to be appropriately qualified (minimum NVQ 2) Should be able to give personal care, followed best practice, allow the residents to maintain their dignity, privacy and respected their individuality through out. (Frances 2004) Working practice and strategies used to minimise abuse Answer 3 Approaches To Adult Protection There are many working practices implemented to minimise abuse in Health and Social Care Sectors the practices follows Adams (2007) states that in England, multiagency codes of practice aiming to tackle and prevent abuse of vulnerable adults developed in the light of the publication of the official guidance No Secrets (DOH and Home Office,2000). Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) Adams (2007) states that The protection of vulnerable adults (POVA) scheme was introduced in England and Wales in a phased programme from 2004,as required in the Care Standard Act 2000.This formed a list of persons considered not fitting to with vulnerable adults in England and Wales. People considered harmful to vulnerable adults could be referred by health and social care setting managers or employers of care for enclosure on the inventory These providers also could request for checks alongside the POVA list as part of an application for a CRB disclosure regarding persons apply for vacancies in care work. National minimum Standard were introduced for residential care Under the POVA actions safeguarding adults partnership have been set up from 2005 in each CQC area. Alerts may be triggered by inspectors, sometimes when inspecting or investigating a complaint. Safeguarding inspectors will deal with any safeguarding adults matters arising from this. Where there are concerns about the fitness of the manager of an establishment, registered person, or service or a breach of the Care Standard Act 2000, the CQC could be the main investigating agency. A safeguarding plan should be produced through a case conference, normally reviewed within six months. Complaint Procedures Registered providers of health and social care services are bound by law to produce a complaints procedure, specifying how service users, carers or patients can complain about the services. The procedure normally involves the complaint being investigated or responded to first by the service provider, although if the complaint is made to CQC inspection. The CQC may decide itself to carry out an investigation. Whistle blowing This usually involves a person making public some aspect of a group or organisation which they feel is wrong, dangerous, deficient or otherwise needing putting right through public attention. It is the activity of telling a third party, apart from colleagues or the employer, about malpractice. It will be unusual if any worker in the health and social care services does not come across some aspect of whistle blowing. This can arise directly or indirectly in three major ways, where: You are the whistleblower: you notice practice you feel is not acceptable and you consider telling a third party, outside the line management, about it. A colleague is the whistleblower: you see another person blowing the whistle on practices they consider unacceptable. The whistle is blown about practice involving you: where someone complains about, or blow the whistle on, some practice with which youre connected. Case Conferences Pritchard (1996) states that Case conference is very imp[ortant in to prevent abuse. A case conference brings people together to share their views and to discuss their work.It should be a forum where people can discuss their concerns,vent their feelings and anxieties and support each other. It is also a tool for organising future intervention. In summary the main purposes of a case conference are to: Exchange information in a multi disciplinary forum Assess the cliens situation and the degree of risk Make decidion and recommendation which are to be implemented Participants attending a case conference have several tasks to perform, namely: To give and share information The information given must be accurate.the participants gives factual information about the people they know( victim,abuser,or other important personnel). Obviousely participants voice their concerns,but they must also highlight the strength of a situation not just the negatives. Any gaps in information should always be identified and acknowledged. To assess the level of risk While handling a case of suspected abuse always need to do a risk assesment it is very important in case conference. Decide on registration Few authorities have at risk register for adults.where they do exist conference participants must know what know what the defined criteria are for putting a person name on the register. Co ordinate future intervention This will involve the formulation of a plan,which will state the tasks and responcibilities of everyone who will be involved. The keyworker will be responcible for ensuring that the plan s implemented and reconvening the case conference if there are difficulties in implementing the plan. Following are some suggestion for further improvements in working practices to minimise abuse in health and social care context When any one going to works for health and social care setting thet must check against POVA and CRB. POVA they can check new staffs with the provisional body whether they are free from Abusive offence in the United kingdom but here there is a drawback in case if the new employee is from outer United kingdom it will be harder to find whether the employee had any Abusive offence in their country. So we can ask particular employee to give references and police clearance from their own country. So as employer of the organisation get a full detail of the new employee further more every employee must have a proper relevant training such as Manual handling, Adult protection and many more so as manager of the organisation make sure all the staffs are well trained for the job and the manager must do supervision and appraisal the the employee. Whistle blowing is a good practice and it also got some disadvantages for an example in a residential care home all employees are from a certain country and in this team no one whistle blow about their country people to prevent this the manager always employ different ethnicity employees to the organisation and manager educate their staff about abuse. Communication and working in partnership is very important in minimising/preventing abuse in health and social care if not there are many more cases like Baby P,Victoria Climbie can happen future. 1 identify and review exiting working practice and strategies designed to minimalism abuse in health and social care context As we know abuse is a violation of an individuals human and civil rights by any other person or persons. So these violations should be restricted and some of the strategies to limit the abuse are being implemented everyday. Its very important to identify the practices and strategies to minimise abuse in health and social care sector. Some of the practices and strategies are as follows. Safeguarding vulnerable adults: These special group of people need support from the society and nation and its the responsibility of the nation to protect them and help them to live. Domestic violence: Domestic violence has remained as a chronic problem in social sector. Strong support of family, friends and society are the base for preventing this problem. Government has also made strict rules regarding the domestic violence. Racial harassment: Any type of behaviors that makes you feel distressed, alarmed or afraid can be categorized as harassment. This can include: verbal abuse, such as name-calling, insults or racist jokes vandalism and racist graffiti nuisance phone calls, texts or emails bullying, intimidation and threats Physical abuse or violence. Working practice Verbal and oral communication Communication both with the service provider and user, involved in their care and support is necessary if any potential for harm and abuse is to be minimised. Care must be taken when communicating information, verbally to ensure it remains confidential. For example that is not overheard by others. Written records must be kept in secure place and only accessible to that person who need to know or are responsible for those communications. Use of IT in sharing information between professionals Now days mostly health and social care organisation use computer to keep data about service user. It is important to make sure that data remains protected under the Data Protection Act 1998. Important information specially documents of abuses which are highly sensitive and disclosure of this information can be occurred harm for victims, should be stored by using password. Any kind of data share between professional must be informed individuals before sharing. Anti-oppressive practice In relation to supporting and protecting adult from abuse important information should not be withheld from those who have a right to that information. According to the British Law a person is innocent until it is proved that is guilty and it is important therefore that worker and other do not jump to conclusion or make assumption about a persons guilt. Adult Protection procedures are in place to make sure that no one is treated in oppressive manner which is abuse itself. So before knowing the abuser its not legal to assume them. Anti-discriminatory practice Everybody should take care in avoiding any kind of discriminatory practice when identifying, reporting and acting to protect individual from abuse. Individual legal right is that when investigating any case of abuse involve with them, they should free from any kind of blame and miss judgment. Frame work of assessment The aim of framework of assessment is protecting vulnerable people. There are different types of framework can save people from being abused. To minimise abuse in institutional care recruiting is so important. Proper selection of employee can reduce abuse in many ways, the process of selecting POVA employee can be clarified as follows; Is it a care position set out sub sec. 80(2) (c) of the Care Standard Act? Continue with recruitment/selection process including CRB disclosure where Appropriate Conduct recruitment /selection process including CRB check No Yes Await CRB disclosure and conformation of POVA check. Is it a care position set out sub sec. 80(2) (c) of the Care Standard Act? Yes No Apply for POVA first check as waiting would put provider of care breach of statutory staffing requirements POVA first check shows that a person with the same name and date of birth is on the POBA list Yes No No Do not offer employment in a care position in a care home or with a domiciliary agency No Offer employment subject to CRB disclosure and conformation of the POVA check Await CRB disclosure and final POVA check. Offer (or confirm) employment in a care position in a care home or with a domiciliary care agency Does CRB disclosure indicate that person should not be employed in a care position? Does conformation shows that applicant on the POVA list Strategies Working in partnership with service user Care sector agencies working in partnership is only part of the overall strategy to protect vulnerable adult from abuse. Enabling service users to recognise abuse and knowing how to alert others to this another important strategy. Decision making process and forums Local authority social service departments are responsible for adult protection and has set adult protection forum. If not then the local policy and procedure will describe the decision making process in situation where suspected or actual abuse require investigation. Strategy between professional and within organisation Working in partnership is also crucial, especially when the service user is accessing a number of different services. Effective communication between professional and organisation is important to ensure that the service user is protected. Communicating information about changes, significant event and action ensures that all those involved with supporting the service user are monitoring their well being so that they shouldnt be abused. Effectiveness of policies and strategies Use of IT in sharing information is protective and secure than traditional paper work besides to make quickest service use of technology is also important. Oral communication between care professional is remain confidential which means this information is not overheard by other people. Anti- oppressive practice and anti-discriminatory practice decrease chance of further abuse and frame work of assessment shows how to assess service user or assess employee before entering care work (POVA framework, diagram 1.1) Working in partnership within service user helps to stay closer with service user and give the opportunity to know their needs and demand. Multi agency working is very crucial to protect vulnerable adult from abuse which lacks in only one agency. Implications To do further improvement in care profession to protect vulnerable person from being abused local authority should closely monitor proper implementation of legislation. Care organisation shouldnt send care worker to the work, before making sure that they are skilled enough to work otherwise the same thing will happen what was happened in the case of Victoria climbie and Baby p. Those two children died in their early age under the same authority because of lack of experience of care worker. Conclusion: Abuse has very bad impact in the society. Without preventing abuse activities in the society its very hard to develop and development and civilization may get worst. It should be removed from our society by making sure the proper implementation of rules and legislation. We have to consider that abuse destroys individuals hopes, desires and interest of life and finally leads to a great social problem in the community and a nation. Recommendation Changing individuals mentality is most important to minimize abuse. Besides. working in partnership is also a way to diminish it. Step of government and help of Non Government Organisations (NGOs) is extremely needed to remove it and make it a permanent result. Thus as we know abuse is a social problem and cannot be solved through ones effort only so every members of society should play active roles in preventing abusive activities.

Letter to the Tommy Hilfiger Advertising Manager :: Advertising Marketing Business

Letter to the Tommy Hilfiger Advertising Manager Dear Tommy Hilfiger Advertising Manager, â€Å"Just be you!† I’m sure one experiences a bit of their own nostalgia at the sight of the following phrase; anything from making new friends in preschool to being on a difficult job interview, â€Å"just being yourself† has always been said to be the best way to approach any uncomfortable situation. This is why an ad of yours that I have recently come across has significantly astounded me. The ad that I speak of pictures a flock of sheep standing in front of an American flag (the obvious symbol for Tommy) and, displayed at the bottom, a slogan that reads â€Å"follow the flock†. I was perplexed that a company of your stature and prestige would want anyone to just â€Å"follow the flock†. So I asked myself: â€Å"Would wearing Tommy Hilfiger really make me fit in?† and â€Å"Would I rather wear Tommy Hilfiger and be ‘like the flock’ or would I rather be the individual I have been brought up to be.† If t he intention of the advertisement is to simply have everyone wearing your clothing line, then I suppose your slogan suits this purpose, but being one who was targeted with this ad, I feel that your company should have gone with more of an individualistic approach. Although your ad may be directed toward any number of age groups, it particularly had an effect on me. I have been wearing your clothing line for as far back as I can remember so I had to frown upon the thought that all these years I may have only been â€Å"following the flock† instead of being myself. Being an 18 year old who has recently embarked in my first year college, I have found it difficult enough to stand out among a student body of well over 35,000. With the modern day misconception that the media has for what every man or woman â€Å"should† look like, individualism is something that is not only hard to find, but also hard to keep. So as much as I have marveled over your clothing line for the past decade or so, I can honestly say that I will think twice before buying a pair of your jeans over another.

Jimi Hendrix :: essays research papers

Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist in rock history, revolutionized the sound of rock. In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience rocked the nation with their first album, Are You Experienced?. Hendrix's life was cut short by the tragedy of drugs in 1970, when he was only twenty seven years old. In these three years the sound of rock changed greatly, and Hendrix’s guitar playing was a major influence. Jimi was born in Seattle, Washington on November 27, 1942. As a young boy, whenever the chance came, Jimi would try to play along with his R & B records. However, music was not his life long dream. At first, the army was. In the late 1950’s, Hendrix enlisted in the 101st Airborne Division. After sustaining a back injury during a jump, he received a medical discharge. After his army career came to an abrupt end, he decided to go into the music field. By this time he had become an accomplished guitarist, and was soon to become known as the greatest guitarist ever (Stambler, pg. 290). However, he did not start out at the top. Jimi started out playing as part of the back-up for small time R & B groups. It did not take long before his work was in demand with some of the best known artists in the field, such as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Littler Richard, Wilson Pickett, and King Curtis (Clifford, pg. 181). Using the name Jimmy James, he toured with a bunch of R & B shows, including six months as a member of James Brown’s Famous Flames (Stambler, pg. 290). At the Cafe Wha! in New York, in 1966, Hendrix decided to try singing. Jimi lucked out when a man by the name of Charles â€Å"Chas† Chandler from Eric Burdon's Animals heard him at the club and thought he was sensational. When Chas heard him again later that year, he talked Jimi into moving to England where he would really get the chance to start his career (Stambler, pg. 290). Along with Chas, Hendrix auditioned some musicians to complete the new Hendrix group. They choose Mitch Mitchell, a fantastic drummer, and Noel Redding, one of England's best guitar and bass players (Stambler, pg. 290). In 1966, at the Olympia in Paris, the Experience debuted. One year later, the Experience was breaking attendance records right and left at European clubs. When the Monkees toured England in 1967,

Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907) :: essays research papers

Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907) William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was born June 26, 1824 in Belfast, Ireland, and was part of a large family whose mother died when he was six. His father taught Kelvin and his brothers mathematics to a level beyond that of university courses of the time. Kelvin was somewhat of a genius, and had his first papers published in 1840. These papers contained an argument defending the work of Fourier (Fourier transforms), which at the time was being heavily criticized by British scientists. He proved Fourier’s theories to be right. In 1839 Kelvin wrote an essay which he called " An Essay on the Figure of the Earth." He used this essay as a source and inspiration for ideas all his life and won an award from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Kelvin remained at the University for the rest of his working life. Kelvin first defined the absolute temperature scale in 1847, which was later named after him. In 1851 he published the paper, "On the Dynamical Theory of Heat", and in the same year was elected to the Royal Society. This work contained his ideas and version of the second law of thermodynamics as well as James Joule’s idea of the mechanical equivalent of heat. This idea claimed that heat and motion were combined, which now is taken as second nature. At the time, heat was thought to have been a fluid of some kind. Kelvin also maintained an interest in the age of the sun and calculated values for it. He assumed that the sun produced its radiant energy from the gravitational potential of matter falling into the sun. In collaboration with Hermann von Helmholtz, he calculated and published in 1853 a value of 50 million years. He also had an interest in the age of the earth, and he calculated that the earth was a maximum of 400 million years old. These calculations were based on the rate of cooling of a globe of matter after first solidification occurs ( such as the beginning of the earth). He also calculated that molecular motion stops at -273 degrees Celsius. He called this temperature absolute zero. Kelvin started work in 1854 on the project of laying transatlantic cables. His idea was that electrical current flow was similar to that of heat flow, and by applying ideas on heat flow, helped in the problem of transmitting electrical signals over long distances. In 1866, Kelvin succeeded in laying the first successful transatlantic cable. Kelvin invented the mirror galvanometer which he patented in 1858 as a long

Is Parliamentarism Conducive to Better Political Outcomes Than Presidential Systems? Essay

Is Parliamentarism conducive to better political outcomes than Presidential systems? My interpretation of the question leads me to believe if parliamentary systems are better than presidential systems in deriving better political outcomes. By better political outcomes this implies not only ease of making political decisions but also the manner in which the two systems function and which is better, and whether or not this leads to favourable political outcomes. Issues that I am going to discuss in this essay are going to include the functionality of both systems, the differences between the two systems and whether or not the system provides and facilitates good political outcomes. According to Bagehot â€Å"a Presidential system endows the incumbent with both the ceremonial functions of a head of state and the effective functions of a chief executive.†(Bagehot) In a Presidential system the executive branch exists and resides outside of the legislature. The executive branch does not purpose legislature but have the power to veto them. â€Å"The president has a fixed term in government and it is usually a difficult process trying to eliminate the president.†(Verney) The executive branch controls their cabinet and does not members of the cabinet serve at their will, this means the President can hire or fire anyone from the cabinet. According to Verney â€Å"Parliamentary system, consists of the head of government that are dependent on the confidence of the legislature and can be dismissed by a legislative vote of no confidence.†(Verney) There are two main types of parliamentary democracy which consist of the ‘Westminster system’ and the ‘Consensus system’ but there is also a hybrid of the presidential and parliamentary system which is called the semi-presidential system. The Westminster system derives from the UK and can be found in many of Britain’s ex-colonies such as India and Canada. The Westminster system tends to be a more adversarial style of debating. The consensus system can be found in Germany and Spain and tends to be more consensus style of debating system. Firstly, legislation is always a key factor to answering the question as to which of the following systems is conducive to better political outcomes. Linz argues that â€Å"in a Presidential system both Legislature and the executive can claim legitimacy since both drive their power from the votes of the people in free competition among well-defined alternatives, a conflict is always possible.†(Linz)This occurs because a Presidential system adopts the separation of powers format. Presidential systems usually but not exclusively reside in Federal countries. This allows for a separation of powers between the legislature and executive. This separation can be looked at in different forms, some advantageous and hinders to political outcomes. For example an advantage of having the separation of powers in the Presidential system is that it does not create a dictatorship type of government. The separation of powers means that in the Presidential system the executive as well as the legi slature are can both claim legitimacy, which in turn means that they can both cancel each other out. Presidents cannot impose laws and legislature cannot interfere with presidential powers. In the United States there is a supreme court that decides whether or not the legislature or the President are acting unconstitutional and thus act as a referee in the debating between the two factions of government. The presidential system is seen to be more democratic because of the conflict between the two factions of government. The congress in the US represent the different views of the people in different states and the president represents the US as a whole thus a conflict between the two bodies shows a more democratic process. The Presidential system also has fixed term elections, this is a key argument used by pro-presidential academics, and Horowitz argues that fixed term elections leads to better democratic outcomes. The reason for this thinking is because, â€Å"Fixed terms does not produce winner takes all outcomes as there is conflict between legislature and executive.†(Horowitz) A fixed term also links into the previous mentioned point about reducing the chances of an elective dictatorship as there would eventually have to be a set date for an election and thus if either the executive or the legislature has proven to be unpopular they would get voted out of office. However there are disadvantages to the presidential system in terms of fixed terms and conflicts with legislature. One key disadvantage is that the conflict between the president and the legislature produce political gridlock within the system, â€Å"the separation of powers of a presidential system frequently creates undesirable and long-term political gridlock and political instability whenever the president and the legislative majority are from different parties.†(Linz) Linz â€Å"argues that this inherent political instability can cause democracies to fail, as seen in such cases as Brazil and Chile.†Linz believed that political gridlock can prove to be costly in the forging of governments because it hinders the speed and decisiveness of democracy and thus cause democracies to fail like he mentioned in South America. Also a separation of powers in the presidential system leads both the president and the legislature to become less accountable. Both the executive and the legislature can shift blame upon each other and thus leads to less accountability come election time to the vote rs. Parliamentary systems on the other hand have their government intertwined with the legislature and government is formed form the legislature. In the UK, the Westminster model forms government form the winning party in parliament. So in a parliamentary system there is no separation of powers. The advantages of this are that it reduces the likeliness of political gridlock. Linz argues that â€Å"Parliamentarism imparts flexibility to the political process, presidential makes it rigid.†(Linz). As the government would expect to have backing from their party they have the ability to pass through legislations quicker with less hassle than a presidential system may incur. This is an advantage over the presidential system the executive is often chosen independently from the legislature. If the executive and legislature in such a system include members entirely or predominantly from different political parties, then stalemate can occur. In this form it can be said that Parliamentarism is conductive to better political outcomes than the presidential system. The passing of legislature is an important task for any government as it shows strength and can make or break a government’s reputation. In respect to this I feel that the presidential system may be lacking in terms of being able to pass legislation as it may not be able to react quick enough to changing events or situations, this is where a parliamentary system seems to be more adequate, however a parliamentary system could become gridlocked if there is a minority government with low discipline so the element f political gridlock is not only exclusive to Presidential systems. However the issue of legitimacy in the Presidential systems has the ability to cause numerous problems in the terms of legislation passing. But it can also be argued in the case for support of the Presidential system it can be argued that Prime ministers are constrained to the need of The House of Commons and thus do not act as fast as expected. An example of this is taken from John F. Kennedy work where he states, â€Å"Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain were constrained by the need to maintain the confidence of the Commons.†(Kenned y) In the need for confronting German military build up before the outbreak of the Second World War. Another issue to contend with is how the governments are elected. In a Parliamentary system, the government is elected through the party system and thus the winning party forms government through having a simple majority in the parliament. In the presidential system, the executive is elected by the public and is directly elected. This difference between the two systems is seen in both an advantage and disadvantages. In a presidential system Voters know who they are voting for and accountability resides within the President. Horowitz states â€Å"Voters have a clear choice of Ideology to pick from.†(Horowitz) This means that there is no only the one straight choice and thus it is clear to voters who they are picking and what type of ideology this is going to represent. However a disadvantage of this is that direct election creates a zero-sum game. This is that there is only one winner and all other votes do not amount to anything and thus no coalition can be made with the oppos ition. This is seen has undemocratic and a hindrance to better political outcomes. An example of this is seen with the Bush vs. Gore election of 2000, where Bush won the election by 271 to 266. In such a close competition, where arguably almost half of the country voted against him. It seems undemocratic to have Bush becoming the President; this can lead to the polarisation of politics within that country. This is because when a president wins an election he is the head of state as well as the representative of a nation but he stands for a clearly partisan political option. But Presidential system has one up on its parliamentary counterpart as the â€Å"voters know and are in control of who they are voting for to be president, while in a parliamentary system voters vote for their constituent MP and the party decides who is Prime minister,† (Riggs) this can be seen as hindering democracy and could not be conductive to better political outcomes. However the Parliamentary system can be an advantage because it leads to power sharing and coalitions, thus it is argued makes politics more representative. An example of this is mentioned by Lijphart, â€Å"Parliamentarianism has attractive features for nations that are ethnically, racially, or ideologically divid ed. In a unipersonal presidential system, all executive power is concentrated in the president. In a parliamentary system, with a collegial executive, power is more divided. In the 1989 Lebanese Taif Agreement, in order to give Muslims greater political power, Lebanon moved from a semi-presidential system with a strong president to a system more structurally similar to classical parliamentarianism.†(Lijphart) However it can be argued that a parliamentary form of government leads to the personalisation of power by the prime minister or an ethnic group in the country. As there is no fixed terms is in the Parliamentary style of government it is argued that if a prime minister was to get voted in with a large majority, with the whip system in place, where all party members will obey the party line the government is capable of introducing any legislature, without any issue. This can be seen as being undemocratic as it would lead to an elected dictatorship. This was the case in Nigeria during the 1960s, â€Å"Under the Westminster model, during the 1960s, groups in the North managed to secure a majority in Parliament and began to seize power and excluded everyone else from power. This lead to an ethnic authoritarian rule of the country, and was the main factor for the Nigerian Biafrican War and countless military coups.†(Horowitz) This shows that Parliamentarism is just as harmful as presidential system in stifling democracy. Horowitz makes the comment â€Å"It is possible that Presidential systems helped stifle democracy in Latin America, Parliamentary systems have helped stifle democracy in Africa.†(Horowitz) To conclude, the Presidential system has its advantages to conducive a better political outcome, such as having fixed terms, direct elections and separations of power however these advantages can also act as disadvantages when viewed in another way. The parliamentary system too has its advantages to creating a better political outcomes, its advantages such as likeliness of coalition, being supposedly more representative and being more responsive in creating a stronger government also can be seen as a disadvantage when looked at in a different light. Dahl states â€Å"claims that parliamentarianism is less prone to authoritarian collapse. These scholars point out that since World War II, two-thirds of Third World countries establishing parliamentary governments successfully made the transition to democracy. By contrast, no Third World presidential system successfully made the transition to democracy without experiencing coups and other constitutional breakdowns.† This in effect argues the point that parliamentary systems have been more successful in terms of having peaceful transition from colonialism to democracy but although presidential system may not have had a successful transition to democracy but parliamentary system has not had a 100% success rate and thus we cannot say for definite if it is better than presidential system we can only assume. My research in this essay has led me to believe that the both system are conducive to better political outcomes in their own way, theoretically they are both capable of producing democratically stable countries and environments with better political outcomes, however in practice this is not always the case and thus I feel that my research has led me to be inconclusive and i have to sit on the fence when trying to realise which one cre ates a better system. Bibliography Bagehot W, (1867) The English Constitution, MacMaster University Dahl, R (1989) Democracy and Its Critics- – Yale University Press Horowitz, Donald L. (1990) Comparing Democratic Systems- The Johns Hopkins University Press Kennedy. John F. (1940)- Why England Slept?, Macmillan Lijphart, Arend (1999). Patterns of democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Linz, Juan J. The Perils of Presidentialism – The Johns Hopkins University Press Riggs, Fred. (1988) The Survival of Presidentialism in America International Political Science Review Verney

Benefits of School Uniforms

There are many sides to the debate about school uniforms, but the debate against mandatory school uniforms comes more from the libertarians and groups from the old school guard. The problem with the old school group and civil libertarians reflect an age when school violence and bullying were not as prevalent in the school system as they are today. School age children are consistently being accosted and bullied for designer clothing and gang violence is at an all-time high in many school districts, but, the addition of a mandatory school policy can decrease national and state figures relative to school violence.It is time for children and young adults to be able to attend school and learn without fear of intimidation. By implementing a policy of mandatory school uniforms, less time is spent on social awkwardness where many students who simply cannot afford to wear the latest fashion design and can stop worrying about the gangs around the school who look at what colors of what a studen t wears to initiate bullying practices.First, there is a need to actually define why school administrators and educators are looking to enforcing mandatory school uniforms and the reason why President Clinton, in 1996, during his State of the Union address endorsed uniforms in American schools. In order to do accomplish this, it is important to look at what issues school administrators and educators feel are the impeders of learning and scholarly advancement. Oftentimes students who are continually focused on fashion and attaining the latest â€Å"look† tend to spend far less time in a positive learning situation.â€Å"Distraction leads to poor learning environments† (PSParents) Many advocates of a mandatory school uniform policy point to the increasing instances of violence within the school system and much of that is tied into the student’s appearance itself. There are instances where children are â€Å"inflicting bodily harm on one another because of the nam e brand on a jacket or a pair of jeans; and, in larger cities where gang involvement is prevalent, children are killed because they chose the wrong color to wear to school.The issue is not about civil liberties or freedom of expression but about improving the deteriorating state of the educational environment within our public school system nationwide† (PSParents). Many experts are of the opinion that students that attend schools wearing uniforms actually have higher academic scores. It is also believed that school uniforms can look to improving student attendance and focus intently on studies without worrying about whether they can or their parents can purchase for them the same â€Å"new† style of clothing.The old phrase of â€Å"keeping up with the Jones’† can attest to what many young students where they simply want what their friends are wearing. Many school administrators are of the opinion that students who wear school uniforms behave in a far more appropriate manner within the school atmosphere as uniforms lend to engaging students in appropriate behavior by reducing violence within the system.The most plausible reason for this is that with standardized dress there is less places to hide weapons in where in the fashion standard of students, especially in high school, weapons can be hidden in pockets in waist bands of pants that have shirts laid overtop and in baseball caps. It is this author’s opinion that with less opportunity to hide weapons in clothing and headgear of what student’s are currently wearing can hide weapons that are carried into the school and, if there are no metal detectors present, leaves an undeniable avenue for violent propensities.What has been considered one of the more conscionable reasons for the policy to implemented within the school system is the social preying that occur with many indigent students. Many students come from impoverished family units and if they are unable to afford t he latest trends and this is one of the ways that students look to in an attempt at self-expression and definition. This is a huge factor in a child’s psychological development and if there is a removal of this one barrier that students continually come up against, there is a marked improvement in both academic and social situations.This is really tied into the social outcome factor as when there is only one type of dress needed for school, i. e. uniform, there is a higher instance of affordability amongst families that are simply unable to afford expensive, trendy clothing. The government has also taken an independent and unbiased approach to addressing this issue and it is compelling their overall interpretation of the current school system and it’s tie-in to student safety.The government believes that the â€Å"adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school un iforms include: †¢ decreasing violence and theft — even life-threatening situations — among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers; †¢ helping prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school; †¢ instilling students with discipline; †¢ helping parents and students resist peer pressure;†¢ helping students concentrate on their school work; and †¢ helping school officials recognize intruders who come to the school (Government) There are currently many communities that have decided to adopt school uniform policies, which include: California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia; and, many large school systems include: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St.Louis have school in either a voluntary or mandatory uniform policy in effect. There are many school boards in larg e and small cities that have adopted school uniform policies which include: Long Beach, California Uniforms are mandatory in all elementary and middle schools. Each school in the district determines the uniform its students will wear. There is an opt-out of the program with parental consent. Currently the size of the program, implemented in 1994, includes 58,500 elementary and middle school students.Support for disadvantaged students: Each school must develop an assistance plan for families that cannot afford to buy uniforms. In most cases, graduating students either donate or sell used uniforms to needy families. Results: District officials found that in the year following implementation of the school uniform policy, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent.Less than one percent of the students have elected to opt out of the uniform policy. Dick Van Der Laan of the Long Beach Unified School District explained, â€Å"We can't attribute the improvement exclusively to school uniforms, but we think it's more than coincidental. † According to Long Beach Police Chief William Ellis, â€Å"Schools have fewer reasons to call the police. There's less conflict among students. Students concentrate more on education, not on whose wearing $100 shoes or gang attire. † Richmond, VirginiaThis voluntary uniform policy at Maymont Elementary School for the Arts and Humanities was implemented in 1994 with approximately 262 elementary school students enrolled. Support for disadvantaged students: Responding to parent concerns about the cost of uniforms, the school sought community financial support for the uniform program. Largely as a result of financial donations from businesses and other community leaders, the percentage of students wearing uniforms rose from 30 percent in 1994 -95, the first year of the program, to 85 percent during the current year.Results: Maymont principal Sylvia Richardson identifies many benefits of the uniform program, including improved behavior, an increase in attendance rates and higher student achievement. In the examples shown above, both mandatory and voluntary uniform policies have proven there is a correlation between violent behavior and school uniform policies and there are many variations of the mandatory school uniform policy which can be initiated between the school, the parent and the student. Carl A.Cohn writes that within the Long Beach school system, upon instituting a mandatory school uniform policy over two years prior, â€Å"much of the public school educational establishment reacted skeptically. The school board was told by permissive parents, civil liberties interest groups, timid legislators, and a biased news media that they would not let it happen. The school board initiated this program over 1 ? years ago with a 99 percent compliance rate in the program and a substantial decrease in school crime† (Cohn). ConclusionEither being in favor or not in favor of mandatory school uniforms is a moot point as it is generally those who simply don’t like to have their children conform to a mandatory policy or not, and, not for concrete and convincing reasons that wearing a school uniform decreases their children’s aptitude for learning, decreases their social status, or, even decreases their child’s freedom of expression. Albeit some students, especially those in the higher grade levels often rebel by girls pulling their skirts up above the regulated skirt length, this, is in no way a reflection on safety in school.One piece of evidence that is hard to refute is that studies have found â€Å"that due to increased prevalence of school violence, one in five public school students feels less eager to go to school every day, one in seven feels less inclined to pay attentio n to learning in school, and one in 10 stays home from school or cuts class. In unsafe school environments, teachers cannot teach to their maximum potential, and students cannot learn to their full capability† (Everett and Price).Paliokas and Rist note that â€Å"for many individuals, the appeal of mandatory school uniforms is based on conventional wisdom and an intuitive belief that increased structure results in improved child behavior. Nevertheless, there is not much empirical data to support a cause-and-effect relationship between school uniforms and violence†. Simply put, there are other variables which may, in fact, be a direct or indirect contributor to declines in levels of violence with or without school uniform policies.Paliokas and Rist â€Å"posed several questions that must first be answered before declines in school violence can be specifically attributed to the implementation of school uniform programs: a) was the implementation of the uniform policy onl y one aspect of a comprehensive safety plan that included heightened security and stricter rules? b) were local community-policing programs implemented at the same time? c) was the trend of violence in the school at its peak and ready to decline? d) was there an analysis of the trends of violence within that specific school or school district?e) were the decreases in school violence attributed to the Hawthorne Effect in which short-term attention to and visibility of a problem caused the decline? and, finally f) was parental involvement a crucial factor in the reduction of violence? † (Paliokis and Rist). A large problem with the debate over school uniform policies and putting the emphasis on if implementing said policy was, in fact, in direct relation to curbing school violence is that although many school districts were privy to reduction in violence related to students, could there in fact be mitigating factors relative to the reduction.There is a need to look to finding em pirical evidence in support of a mandatory uniform policy through the gathering of a variety of independent studies including: 1) Investigate parent, teacher, and student perceptions regarding school uniforms and violence prevention. 2) Trend analyses to determine whether any decline in violence represents true change or predictable change in trend within the school and/or school district. 3) Must be statistically control for possible intervening variables associated with violence reduction to determine cause-and-effect relationships between school uniforms and violence reduction.4) Compare the prevalence of violence in schools mandating uniforms with schools mandating dress codes. 5) Obtain data from both experimental groups (those required to wear uniforms) and control groups (those not required to wear uniforms). 6) Examination of how schools mandating uniforms address the issue of providing school uniforms to low-income families. 7) Focus on identifying the means to adequately e valuate the effect of mandatory uniform programs on the prevalence of school violence (Paliokas and Rist)Works Cited Paliokas KL, Rist RC. Do They Reduce Violence — Or Just Make Us Feel Better? Online. http://www. edweek. org/we/vol-15/28rist. h15. April 3, 1996. Cohn CA. Mandatory school uniforms: Long Beach's pioneering experience finds safety and economic benefits. School Admin. 1996; 53(2):22-25. King, K. A. Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary school? 1998. Online http://danenet. wicip. org/ncs/forumuniformseval. htm PSParents. net. Pros of Mandatory School Uniforms.Online at http://psparents. net/ in_support. htm United States Government. School Uniforms: Where They Are and Why They Work? Online http://www. ed. gov/updates/uniforms. html American Psychological Association. Violence and Youth: Psychology's Response, Volume 1: Summary Report of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Assoc iation; 1993:42. Callahan CM, Rivara FP. Urban high school youth and handguns. JAMA. 1992;267:3038-3032.