Foreshadowing and Dramatic Irony in Death and the Maiden Essay

Foreshadowing is the warning or the indication that something else is going to happen later on in the story. In Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman uses this literary device to the maximum, exploring all the different ways he can make the reader predict or foresee what’s going to happen next. However, Dorfman also takes on the audience’s ideas and implements dramatic irony, giving the plot a twist of events and making the audience question themselves and their own theories as to why the character acts that way or why the author set things as they are. Dorfman takes the idea of dramatic irony when referring to the characters and their roles in the play. The greatest contrast in the play is between Paulina and Gerardo. Paulina Salas, a forty year old woman, waits for her husband late at night when she sees a car come towards her house. At first, Paulina is presented as the typical housewife, scared, insecure, loyal and loving towards her husband, who might even feel inferior, since she feels safer and secure when she has the gun. There is, however, an understatement, between the roles Paulina and her husband, Gerardo Escobar, play. First he calls her ‘Poor little love’ (Act 1, Scene 1, p. 4) and continues to see her as his little, dependant, fragile, used woman, that can only do what women at the time were supposed to do; housework. Yet, during their conversations she only gives him sharp, short responses, most of the time seeming even a bit harsh: GERARDO: I’m really not in the mood for arguing, but we had agreed that†¦ PAULINA: You were supposed to do it. I take care of the house, and you take care of- GERARDO: You don’t want help but afterward you†¦ PAULINA: -the car at least. GERARDO: †¦afterward you complain. PAULINA: I never complain. GERARDO: This is an absurd discussion. What’re we fighting about? I’ve already forgotten what we†¦ PAULINA: We’re not fighting, darling. You accused me of not fixing your spare†¦ (Death and the Maiden, Act 1, Scene 1) This conversation shapes the idea of gender roles in the play, and how later on she becomes ‘in-charge’ and Gerardo becomes the ‘wife’, she wants to be in control, wants to have authority, but in a more passive-aggressive manner. In addition, one can also argue about Paulina’s love-hate  relationship with Gerardo, as she is clearly very emotionally attached to him, yet seems as though she treats him with a sort of disrespect or harsh manner. Paulina’s strange relationship also brings the audience to question this woman’s sense of judgment, and maybe even her past. Ironically, later she refers to him as ‘my little man’, contrasting with how he called her, and making sure that Gerardo knows that he is her husband, and she’s in charge. Furthermore, Dorfman shows the dramatic irony in the gender roles once Paulina finds out about Doctor Miranda and gets the gun. At the beginning of the play, the gun was a sign of safety and security, and by the climax, she uses the gun to manipulate Roberto and Gerardo to do what she wants, and what she thinks is ‘fair’. GERARDO: Paulina, I’m asking you to please give me that gun. PAULINA: No. GERARDO: While you point it at me, there is no possible dialogue. PAULINA: On the contrary, as soon as I stop pointing it at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If it put it down, you’ll use your strength to win the argument. (Death and the Maiden, Act 1, scene 4, pgs- 24-25) Paulina knows that without the gun, she is hopeless. Her own husband won’t listen to her, and they think she’s completely crazy. All she wants is justice and to make things even between her presumable rapist, Dr. Miranda, and her. However, the ‘strength’ she’s is referring to is open to the audience’s interpretation. It might have something to do with his metaphorical strength, his job as a lawyer, is to bring out justice and put things back the way they were; the way things have always been done. A more farfetched idea is that it could be a reference to his physical strength, since men are generally stronger than women, which relates to the fact that Paulina was raped and tortured, making reference to sort of, in a way, daring him to physically win over her. In conclusion, Ariel Dorfman uses foreshadowing to help the audience shape their own ideas and theories regarding the play, yet uses dramatic irony to, in a way, twist the plot to sort of give it an interesting turn of events, like the gender roles in Death and the Maiden? and give the audience something they hadn’t thought of, hence, the irony.

Chinese Cinderella Essay

The most persuasive and intriguing aspect of an author’s stylistic choices are within the schemes, tropes, diction and syntax. Adeline Yen Mah, author of Chinese Cinderella, paints an authentic picture of her childhood in twentieth-century China; Mah’s childhood, fraught with painful memories and bad luck, accentuates her strength and courage and ultimate triumph over despair. Mah’s stylistic choices and appeal to pathos aggrandizes the overall effectiveness of her book, Chinese Cinderella. A worldwide bestseller that has been translated into eighteen different languages, Chinese Cinderella has a wide, varied audience. The style and effectiveness are heavily dependent on the writer’s diction; Mah carefully chooses words that convey the quiet tragicness of her situation and the cultural aspect. One of the most predominant aspect of the Chinese culture is the names- Mah could write about her grandmother, grandmother and stepmother, but instead chose instead to write about her Ye Ye, Nai Nai and Niang. Choosing to write using the Chinese words creates a compelling, permeating story: â€Å"Besides Father and Niang, we lived without Grandfather Ye Ye, Grandmother Nai Nai and Aunt Baba in a big house in the French concession of Tianjin, a port city on the northeast coast of China† (Mah 5). Removing the names disturbs the authenticity of the piece and upsets the overall meaning; so much of the story is derived from the culture and time period. Culture is a significant element in the writing, but Adeline Yen Mah’s personal experience is the most essential aspect. Mah begins as a young Chinese girl growing up in Shanghai. Mah utilizes syntax to convey the juvenile tone; simply constructed sentences create a childish perspective while maintaining an intelligent insight: â€Å"Next day, there was a grand funeral. Nai Nai’s coffin was draped with white sheets and placed on a hearse pulled by four men. We all dressed in white robes with white headbands for the boys and white ribbons for the girls† (Mah 20). While describing scenes and occasions so simply may seem less interesting, the simple, clean sentences actually paint a clear image in one’s mind. The strong, clean sentences keep the story from seeming too pitiful- Mah does not need verbiage to write well. If excessively descriptive, long sentences are employed the effectiveness of the writing would decrease, â€Å"Later, I saw Big Sister and Niang walking toward the balcony and talking privately just before she and Samuel left for their honeymoon. Was she able to explain it all away? I hoped so. I only wished I could have helped her more† (Mah 89). Straightforward observations create an innocent perspective. Verbiage would hinder her child-like persona- if she writes to sound like the settled, distinguished writer and doctor she is, her novel, in which she is a young Chinese girl, would be considerably less qualified. Through the syntax and diction, Mah appeals to her most compelling appeal, emotion. Her story is tragic- an unloved daughter, Mah suffers cosmic misfortune after cosmic misfortune. Syntax provides the youthful insight, diction provides the cultural aspect, and Mah’s life provides the emotionally evocative story, â€Å"Though a fascinating variation on the classic Cinderella story, with a monstrously hateful villain and a smart, plucky heroine, the book is also rife with simplistic caricatures and shallow melodrama. Yet the daily contempt Yen Mah encountered as a child often touches the heart† (Cruz). Mah eloquently details the tragic events of her past, and as a result, appeals to pathos strongly throughout the entire book. Mah’s stylistic choices and appeal to pathos aggrandizes the overall effectiveness of her book, Chinese Cinderella. The appeal to pathos is the greatest weapon in Mah’s arsenal, and she uses diction and syntax as her bullets. Strong, simple sentences and poignant, culturally related diction â€Å"Verges on soap-opera theatrics, Yen Mah remains true to her sympathetic nature† (Cruz). The elegance and skill of Mah are evident in her writing.

What are acid rains?

What are acid rains? â€Å"Acid rain is another side-effect of civilization. As soon as acid rain was discovered and understood, it was attributed to human action.† (Jurgen Stock, Arthur R. Upgren, p.4)Acid rain can be called any atmospheric precipitate (rain, snow, smog, rain with snows, etc) which has the following characteristics: the increased level of acids (mainly sulphuric acid); and the hydrogenous index of pH is less than average index of rain water (average pH for rain water is 5.6), mainly it is rain with pH

Principles of accounting 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Principles of accounting 1 - Essay Example Recently, the standards and principles of GAAP have been transited to IFRS with the aim of having a single set of accounting principles with universal applicability. It provides the rules along with regulations in compliance with which, financial statements and reports should be prepared. The accounting standards and principles that are included in the IFRS are universally identified, which implies that every entity, on a global context, must evaluate and represent their accounting information in accordance with the determined rules and regulations of IFRS (Needles, Powers and Crosson 24-25). The essay thus intends to discuss the advantages that can be acquired from a single set of accounting principle. Moreover, the discussion henceforth reveals the disadvantages attached with multiple accounting principles on a global context. The discussion also emphasizes on detailing the accounting standards adopted by IFRS for universal applicability, further detailing the accounting principles that business units operating in United Arab Emirates (UAE) adopts. ADVANTAGES OF IFRS 3 The accounting principles and standards adopted and implemented under the GAAP form the common set of standards and principles developed for recording financial transactions and information in an appropriate manner by publicly listed companies worldwide. Additionally, ‘International Financial Reporting Standards’ (IFRS) have formulated accounting standards and principles, which are adopted as common accounting practices in all the countries. It is identified in this regard that GAAP and IFRS are two different sets in relation to accounting principles that are used in different countries. Both the GAAP and IFRS work with a common objective of guiding companies through a set of common accounting principles on a global context. The accounting principles are principally based on the notion that financial reports with common objectives act as the tool to ensure that financial informatio n are evaluated and recorded in a transparent manner. Moreover, the management team and employees of a company entrusted with the responsibility of analyzing and preparing financial reports is likely to develop accounting reports in a simple and consistent manner. The recording of financial information under a single set of accounting principles can further facilitate in providing better information to worldwide investors along with creditors so that the stakeholders are able to acquire reliable and appropriate information (Wong, â€Å"The Trend of IFRS Conversion: What you need to know about the transition from GAAP to IFRS†). It is worth mentioning in this regard that the principles of GAAP have certain rules along with regulations that lack completeness in relation to several circumstances. In this regard, a single set of accounting principles is developed by the IASB with the objective of developing a transparent procedure of recording and communicating accounting informa tion in order to minimize accounting frauds and misrepresentation of financial statement assisting users, such as the employees of companies, to obtain adequate in relation to the employment benefits they are entitled with. Furthermore, a single set of accounting standards and practices on a global context will facilitate business organizations of different countries to compare their financial performances in an impartial manner providing significant information about the performances of a company

Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures Research Paper

Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures - Research Paper Example Arranged marriage should not be confused with forced marriage in which one party is forced to get married to another. Arranged marriages are the responsibilities of older family members, parents, matchmaking agents or trusted parties. In some cultures, courting is not prevalent. Spouses are brought together by their parents. In this case, it is the responsibility of the parent to see to it that his or her child passes the marital rites. This way, the adult children see it as a norm. The people who are responsible for the arrangement marriages might be subjective to emotional infatuation and come up with illogical decisions. In either case, intra-generational relationships supersede marital relationships. Following the partners sharing some factors, it is believed that some form of understanding develops between the couple and the relationship lasts. Discussion Arranged marriages are practiced in China and India with the sole aim of maintaining the social caste. Families bring the chi ldren together so that they may keep the family ties strong. In India, arranged marriages, though discouraged, are widely practiced. The parents see it as their personal responsibility to ensure that their children pass their marital rites. The legal age for marriages in India is 18 for females and 21 for males. However, through arranged marriages, family members marry their girls as early as 15 but the marriages consummated after the ages of 18 (Seymour and Seymour 132). In China, arranged marriages are practiced at a low rate because the pace of technology in the country does not allow for conservation of some cultural practices. Females are supposed to marry at the age of 21 and 23 for males. This means that the parents can only seek for suitors for the children at the right age. However, in China, people are given the right to choose their partners and it is only after they have made their choices that the parents can intervene in wedding preparations (Fox 191). Similarities Arr anged marriages are common in the Chinese and Indian cultures. These two cultures share a number of factors they put into consideration when coming up with the best match. Among the major factors is that of religion. In both cultures, it is believed that the preference should be given to the people sharing same spiritual and religious beliefs. Culture and caste is also another most common factor considered in both cultures. When picking on the matches, food habits, language, and region are considered so that the couple shares the same culture (Fox 182). The reputation of each party together with that of the family and friends that directly affect the reputation of the party is considered. One can have a good reputation but fail to be selected because of the bad reputation of his or her friends or family members. Dowry is an extremely important factor for both cultures, thus, a match would be selected from people sharing the same social class. A lady from a wealthy family background would have a match selected from a gentleman with a similar family background (Reaves 4). Vocation is another factor considered in both cultures. However, the location of the man matters more than that of the woman. The man has to provide for the family and as a result, he should be with a substantial amount of income.  

Law 2105 TORT LLB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law 2105 TORT LLB - Essay Example It should be noted that, it does not necessarily mean that suffering a loss, such as the one’s mentioned above, will warrant a remedy from the law. This is because; the Law of Tort requires that a claimant must be able to show that the tort caused them a loss and that the person who is committing the tort owed them a duty of care2. Therefore, the Law of Tort is concerned mostly with involuntary responsibilities that the law imposes on persons. There are various torts including tort of negligence and that of nuisance. However, this paper will focus on the tort of negligence, which is a tort that covers various situations in which a person is considered to have, negligently, caused harm or damage to others. By studying the case of Smith v Littlewoods Organization Ltd [1987] 1 All ER 710 and that Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, with special attention on relevant case laws, this paper will attempt to critically analyze and study the circumstances under which a failure to take action may result in a claim, in negligence. Discussion The Tort of Negligence is a very significant tort in law that takes care of various cases, in which persons cause harm or damage to others that result in loss. ... Therefore, people are not just responsible for loss, damage or harm that they cause intentionally, bust are also responsible for their failure to act reasonably as they would be expected to-this is what is referred to as negligence-and it will result in negligence4. Simply, the tort of negligence expects that people ensure that their actions do not result in harm to others. For a failure to take action result in a claim of negligence, a duty of care must be owed to the claimant by the defendant as it was in the Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 case, in which the judge, in his determination, argued that every person owed, his or her neighbor-someone with whom it is foreseen that, ones omissions or actions would injure-a duty of care5. It is imperative that every person takes reasonable care so as to avoid omissions or acts that can foreseeably result in reasonable injury to another. This was referred to as the ‘neighbor principle,’ which was coined by Lord Atkins6. Unle ss duty of care for another has been already duly established, such as the duty owed to employees by their employers or manufacturers to the consumers, then, failure to take action cannot result in a claim of negligence. However, there have been problems of establishing the existence of owed a duty of care as was with the case of Caparo Industries v Dickman (1990). This resulted in the need for development of a tool, coined by the House of Lords, referred to as the three-stage test. This test helps in determining the existence of duty of care-which is a requirement for a failure to act to be deemed a claim of negligence-based the nature of the loss, relationship between the defendant of whom the duty of care is

Cheating and Integrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cheating and Integrity - Essay Example Due to modern technology, people all over the globe can share and access different information. This sharing of information allows an area for everyone to manipulate these information and use them for individual convenience. Moreover, this situation eventually leads to cheating, an unethical behavior that causes the decline of the society. According to Lee (2009), cheating in school may simply be an extension of what is happening in the society. Recent studies on the various negative situations in the society have shifted its focus from the corporate standards to the academic standards for which the leaders of businesses and the political leaders of the next generation will son arise. There were significant findings that the scholars found necessary considering the inclusion of the study of ethics in the schools’ curriculum. Students’ exposure to various ethical standards, especially in the academic community may strengthen their resistance to unethical behaviors due to a higher priority to integrity. Exposing the students to the different unethical behaviors and decisions early on may affect their attitudes towards committing one in the future (Smyth et al, 2009). Cheating in the Classroom Cheating comes in different styles and forms. Gerdeman (2000) identified the different manifestation of cheating inside the classroom, specifically in the community colleges or universities such as cheating on exams, plagiarism, falsifying bibliographies, taking credit for someone else's work, receiving improper help from others, and facilitating cheating by others. In addition, Nath and Lavaglia (2009) further includes stealing a test and fabricating academic documents are but among other forms of cheating inside the classroom. In a study conducted by Volpe (2008) (p. 7) on the attitudes and behaviors of the faculty with regards to cheating, it was found that members in the academe underestimate the amount of cheating in the classroom. This result is an irony to students' self-reported rate of students who cheat. This discrepancy between the instructors and the students is a reflection of how diversified professionals and students are in their perception about cheating. As a result, this also leads t the argument that the student may see cheating as a minor offense instead of a high-risk factor affecting the integrity of the institution and the society as well. Taking the issue too lightly by the instructors greatly influences the perception of students towards cheating. There are, on the other hand different factors that initiate cheating. The need to graduate or to get a good grade is the most common factor that encourages students to cheat. Marital status is also another factor such that married students are more likely to cheat than the non-married students. Sorority and fraternity memberships also increase the chances of students cheating such that they wanted to spend more time with their friends than studying. Age is another factor in cheating whereas younger students cheat more than older ones. Finally, the students' major in the university affects their probability of cheating (Nath & Lavaglia, 2009). As common cheating may be in the classroom, studies also provide results that show that students have varying affections in relation to this issue. In a study conducted by Firmin et al (2009), diverse emotions have been observed from the respondents who were witnesses to peer cheating in completing their tests. Such varying emotions were classified as hostility, anxiety and empathy. Some respondents thought the act as unfair, while some felt annoyed and frustrated. There were those who felt responsible for being a witness to such

Discussing posters from WWI, WWII and revolutions (Russian) Essay

Discussing posters from WWI, WWII and revolutions (Russian) - Essay Example Thus, fundementally, the presence of social problems don't always ignite a war; it's the inability of the governing body to contain these issues that ignites it. Then again, it will take more fuel for wars to actually begin and sustain itself. This is where propaganda comes in. Looking at the two major wars in history - World War I and World War II, you would find countless of various forms of propaganda urging the people to support these wars. It could take take form of a compelling speech, a passionate hymn or an intruging poster, which will essentially get the people's support or sympathy. When used right, propaganda can be a very powerful fuel that would drive the success of a war or a revolution. Of course, that would depend on which side you're looking at. In the course of history, you would find external wars between countries, and internal wars within a specific region. Different ways and styles of propaganda had been used for these battles. World War I erupted in the year 1914. Years of power struggle and policy conflicts between the world's super powers - The Triple Entente and Triple Alliance powers - led to one of the deadliest conflicts in history. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by the Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip was the breaking point. This triggered Austro-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia and a whole series of events leading to the spread of conflict worldwide (Marshall, p 1). Looking into the history of World War I, you would find various reasons why it even began. Depending on which side you're studying, you'll find different propaganda's making the other side as the evil enemy. Countries involved in the war used propaganda to raise people's support and morale. Externally, it was also used to gain allies. The involvement of US in World War I is one example of how propaganda worked externally among countries. Initially, the US had made a bold stand to stay out of the war. However, the sleeping super power had been put under pressure by its allies. At the same time, Germany had attacked U.S. naval ships. The tipping point was when the British governement revealed to the U.S. the Zimmerman telegram, which was a proposal of Berlin to Mexico to join the war as Germany's ally against the U.S. All these compounding events led to the participation of America three years after the war started. During the war-torn years, various propaganda materials came out in America to reinforce the decision why the country joined the war in the first place. An independent agency, called Committee on Public Information, was established specifcially to influence public opinion regarding the US intervention in WWI. Since 'propaganda' has such a bad image for the Americans, the committee's leader, George Creel, defined their activities as "not propaganda as the Germans defined it, but propaganda in the true sense of the word, meaning the 'propagation of faith' (Crumm, 19). Under this group, America's most famous illustrators such as James Montgomery Flagg, Joseph Pennell, and Louis D. Fancer had gathered together to create some of WWI's most compelling and influential images. The most popular propaganda poster was of Uncle Sam - personification of US - which encouraged

Why do women only make up 6.5% of consultant surgeons in the UK Essay

Why do women only make up 6.5% of consultant surgeons in the UK - Essay Example The idea of such a work is to find out the reasons for this, so some solutions may be suggested in order to change the present scenario. Feminine has always been regarded to have less status and power and has always been subordinate.. Perhaps due to this reason, although these sex differences in earnings, occupations, and work in the United Kingdom have decreased over the past few decades, sharp differences still persist. Like in any other profession, the women now constitute a large force in terms of number and quality in the medical profession. However, there is a certain pattern of their choices of discipline, especially when the numbers of female professionals in different specialities are considered. The greatest convergence between women and men has occurred in labor force participation (Buyske, 2005). Yet despite this increased participation-and this may help to explain the slower progress with respect to wages and occupational segregation-women, on average, devote far more time than men to housework. One medical profession is surgery, or more specifically general surgery, where particularly male predominance has been observed. As of now, as statistic indicate only 6.5% of the consultant surgeons in the United Kingdom are women. ... In this work, the answers to these questions will be attempted to be found out through evidence from literature. Broadly speaking, this research covers two areas of inquiry. The first attempts to understand the sources of sex differences in labor markets in the context of surgery as a profession without resorting to explanations based on labor market discrimination. The dominant focus would be on how family economic decision making regarding the allocation of time and human capital investment may generate the observed differences between women and men in occupations, participation, and nonmarket work. The second area of concern could be existing discrimination and male predominance that might have led to a situation where female doctors are comparatively less interested in pursuing a career in, otherwise, exciting surgery. History of Women in Medicine Historically, women doctors are simultaneously a part of medicine and have been placed outside it, and their presence in large numbers is actually a destabilizing one. Surgery as a medical profession had always been seen as a symbol of masculinity, and that rests on an opposition between women and medicine. The century long history of medicine suggests that for long western culture was patriarchal in that it did marginalise women in the profession, reluctant to accept them on the same platform, and women as doctors have faced major hostility from the so called social dominance of masculinity. In fact, for quite some time, women were banned from joining surgery. Male Oriented Power and Privilege It had been previously conventional that medical power and privilege were male oriented; the operations and status

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Essay

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Essay Example In addition, there is a young Muslim man named Tariq who is having problems with finding his place in the world after the September 11 attacks have led to his discrimination due to his background. There is also Mr and Mrs Prichett, an older couple who have a strained marriage, a young woman called Uma whose parents live in India, and finally the manager of the visa office named Mangalam and his assistant Malathi. Although they are complete strangers at the beginning of the story, their lives are suddenly brought together when an earthquake occurs and they are trapped in the consulate building, which collapses and leaves some of them wounded. Cameron immediately takes charge of the situation by swiftly treating the injuries of those who have been wounded, ensuring that everybody remains calm, and beginning to make a plan to ensure that they all survive until they are rescued. However, as the conditions begin to worsen, some of this group begins to turn on one another due to the panic that is brought on by these conditions. To prevent any escalation in the conflict among them, Uma suggests that they all share something very amazing that has ever happened in their lives, which they have never shared with anyone. Perhaps the suggestion of hers was motivated by the fact that she was very curious about the people around her as it is stated that â€Å"she had always been†¦ interested - quite unnecessarily, some would say - in the secrets of strangers.† (Divakaruni 3). No matter what her intentions are, Uma’s suggestion makes everyone to calm down and when â€Å"Cameron switched off both flashlights†¦Uma sensed a new alertness in her companions, a shrugging off of things they couldn’t control they were ready to listen to one another† (Divakaruni 70). While each of them tells their story, they come to understand each other from very different perspectives from the ones they had of each other in the beginning. There develops a depth of understanding between them which is completely unbiased by their appearance or perceived backgrounds. Previously, they had viewed each other according to stereotype and an example of this was the belief that Cameron’s black skin made him violent just because the stereotype of African Americans is one of violence. Furthermore, others are fearful of Tariq because they think he is a terrorist just because his beard is unkempt. In this story, a sense of urgency is developed through the characters telling stories of the one event that affected their lives. This sense of urgency is brought about due to the uncertainty, which they have about their lives being saved in time before they are drowned by either the flooding water or the lack of supplies to keep them alive. The characters seem to have an attitude of having nothing to lose when they tell their stories as if it is essential that they share these stories about a specific event that happened in their lives before they face their prospective deaths if they are not rescued. They reveal some of their most thoughts concerning these events, as if by telling them to others, it will help prolong their lives for a little while longer, â€Å"When had it happened? Looking back, I could not point to one special time and say, There! That is what is amazing. We can change completely and not recognize it†¦.think terrible events have made us into stone. But love slips in like a chisel – and suddenly it is an ax, breaking us into pieces from the inside† (Divakaruni 90). The thing that makes One Amazing Thing a great story is the fact that the author has taken many stories and woven them together to make one story with all the characters in the other stories brought together into one main story. During the first

Christian vocation coursework Essay Example for Free

Christian vocation coursework Essay Describe how a Christian may follow the call to discipleship through daily life and work Vocation is the idea that people get a call from god to do a certain job this can also be said about being called into Christianity by god, it may not be an actual call or a big flash of light but just s feeling that you have created by god. ‘Vocation’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘to be called’. Some Christians may say that they were called to Christianity and so were all Christians. For example Jesus was called by god, he heard his voice when he was baptised by John. Discipleship is another term used my Christians used to mean following Jesus like his disciples did, living a Christian lifestyle and helping others also apply to discipleship. Christians follow Jesus by following his examples like his love, service and compassion towards others. Someone who has chosen to follow Jesus should be living a caring helpful life, possibly in a caring profession such as a doctor, nurse or teacher. Any job can be a vocation, some Christians say god has a plan for everyone and he may call you to a job that isn’t related to Christianity at all. St. Paul said in Colossians 3:23 â€Å"whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the lord, not for men.† Possibly meaning that god has called everyone to their jobs because he knows its right for them so work for him and do the job well. A Christian may choose his or her job just simply because they want to do the job although this want or urge to do a job could be put down to god. I don’t think there are any jobs unsuitable for Christians, Jesus loved everyone anyway even if they were a sinner he did not commend what they did but he still loved them. I do not think your religion should constrain your job opportunities. A Christian may serve god in an ordinary job by obeying the 10 commandments in their job and generally being caring and helpful. Christians can put Christian teachings into their family lives by following Paul’s teachings and the 10 commandments. Paul’s teachings say, â€Å"A wife, must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the lord. A husband must love his wife and not abuse her. Children must always obey their parents. This pleases the lord. Parents, don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up. (a)(ii) Explain why some Christians join communities and take vows or poverty, chastity and obedience. Christian communities are a group of Christians who live together. A convent is where a group of female Christians would live also known as nuns and male Christians or monks would live in a monastery. A contemplative order is focusing your life on god, in prayer and everyday life. An example of a contemplative community is the poor clares. The normal day in the poor clares community may consist of many things, gardening, housework, cooking, cleaning, helping the elderly and sick, praying or working in the shop; making candles, encaustic wax cards, as well as cards created and printed on a computer, turning wood and knitting garment on their knitting machine. The nuns do this type of work involving their hands because it leaves their minds free to focus on god and pray. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 how â€Å"no one can serve two masters†, â€Å"you cannot serve both god any money† so the nuns in the poor clare community decide to â€Å"serve god† and his people and help them rather than work for money. An active order is doing something about what you believe in, for example if you want to be one of Jesus’ disciples you would follow in his footsteps and his examples and help people maybe by helping out at a hospital or a school. People or monasteries and convents today are living like the first Christians as recorded in the book of acts because the first Christians lived out alone in the desert, Christians live in s slightly similar way today. They have no possessions, they cannot have sex and they dedicate their time to thinking if they are contemplative, as you would alone in a desert, or doing things to help others. Living in a Christian community would help a Christian to follow their call to discipleship because of the vows they take when they join, they have to do things in a similar way to Jesus therefore helping to follow their call to discipleship. Some Christians may say joining a Christian community is a vocation because whatever they do as a job or joining a community is a vocation. God has a plan for them and they follow it via vocation. Some Christians believe that god want them to live in a religious community rather than an ordinary one because its better for them and other who they would be helping. A vow is an oath or promise you make. Nuns and monks take vows when they join a religious community; they take a vow of poverty so they are not tied down by possessions and money and can focus on god. Christ was poor to make us rich so they follow in his footsteps and enforce discipleship. They also take a vow of chastity, which means they must remain celibate so they can devote themselves to god as Jesus did. Also a relationship with someone from the opposite sex will get in the way of god and praying; St. Paul advises Christians to be celibate so they can â€Å"be devoted to the lord†. Obedience is the third vow they take, by this vow they give to God their freewill. They must be obedient to their abbot or abbess. Again showing their discipleship, because Jesus was obedient until the point of death on the cross for god. It is important for Christians to make these vows in front of a community because then there is witnesses so you cant get out of the commitment and also if you are doubtful they can remind you about them. (a)(iii) Explain the purpose and practice of one particular religious community. The poor Clares are a religious community for women who want to dedicate their lives to god. They originated in 1212 by St Francis and St Clare in Assisi in Italy. The poor clares are a contemplative community. The contemplative community of nuns started as a way of being united with god and to follow Jesus. The aims of the poor Clare community are mostly â€Å"to pray for the world and the Church†, to live a life through their prayers, dedicated to god and â€Å"to live out the Gospel command of love† which means to live their lives as god wanted helping others and loving them. The normal day in the poor clares community may consist of many things, gardening, housework, cooking, cleaning, helping the elderly and sick, praying or working in the shop; making candles, encaustic wax cards, as well as cards created and printed on a computer, turning wood and knitting garment on their knitting machine. The nuns do this type of work involving their hands because it leaves their minds free to focus on god and pray. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 how â€Å"no one can serve two masters†, â€Å"you cannot serve both god any money† so the nuns in the poor clare community decide to â€Å"serve god† and his people and help them rather than work for money. Their timetable is shown below 5.00 Rise 5.45 Readings – a morning invitation to prayer composed of some psalms and two readings, one from Scripture and one from a Christian teacher or saint. These nourish our spirits for the day ahead. A quick breakfast followed by time for personal prayer, reading, study until 7.30 7.30 Morning Prayer, the Prayer of Praise to God followed by Spiritual reading 8.30 Holy Mass followed by a short Office and then work until 11.50 11.50 A short Prayer written by Francis of Assisi and Scripture reading 12.30 Dinner; some free time until 2.15 2.15 back to work with a tea break at 3.30 and a short prayer together in the refectory at 4.00 to sanctify our work 5.50 Evening prayer 6.30 Supper followed by an hour of personal prayer time until 8.15 8.15 Compline or Night Prayer, which closes the day. The poor clares take three vows as a sign of their commitment and consecration to God. The vow of chastity allows the nuns to focus their love on god, they give god their bodies and souls and their right to marry. They also take the vow of poverty so they are not tied down by possessions and money and can focus on god. Christ was poor to make us rich so they follow in his footsteps and enforce discipleship. Obedience is the third vow they take, by this vow they give to God their freewill. Again showing their discipleship, because Jesus was obedient until the point of death on the cross for god. (b) â€Å"Christians should lead active rather than contemplative lives.† Contemplative means to life your life dedicated to god through prayer, to live a contemplative life. An example of a contemplative community is the poor clares. a day in the poor clares community may consist of things such as , gardening, housework, cooking, cleaning, helping the elderly and sick, praying or working in the shop; making candles, encaustic wax cards, as well as cards created and printed on a computer, turning wood and knitting garment on their knitting machine. The nuns do this type of work involving their hands because it leaves their minds free to focus on god and pray. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 how â€Å"no one can serve two masters†, â€Å"you cannot serve both god any money† so the nuns in the poor clare community decide to â€Å"serve god† and his people and help them rather than work for money. Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk; he took a vow of silence amongst other vows his writings have had a big influence on many Christians. He took part in many social protests even though he had to be silent; he took part in such protests as the struggle for racial equality in the USA and the struggle against nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War. An active life for a Christian is doing something about what you believe in, for example a Christian can help follow their path to discipleship by following Jesus and helping others by helping people at hospitals, nursing homes, schools etc. ‘ordinary’ Christians can lead active lives by living in a Christian lifestyle and helping others also apply to discipleship. Christians follow Jesus by following his examples like his love, service and compassion towards others so do this in your everyday life and work and you will be living an active life. ‘Extra-ordinary’ Christian could do many great things for example Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement he was a Baptist minister, and had a huge impact on the people of America. his most influential and well-known speech is the I Have A Dream speech. In 1964, he became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. he spoke out against injustices against black people of america, they were not allowed to vote, not allowed in the same places as white people and got half the pay. Martin luther king changed this Another example of a ‘extra-ordinary’ active christian was Mother Teresa (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997), she was born a roman catholic nun, she won the nobel peace prize in 1979. she was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service. By the early 1970s, Mother Teresa had become an international celebrity. Her fame can be partly attributed to the 1969 documentary ‘Something Beautiful for God’. In 1982, at the height of the siege in Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children trapped in a front line hospital by negotioating a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas. Mother Teresa inspired a wide variety of commemorations. Besides receiving numerous honors during her lifetime, she has also been memorialized through museums, been named patroness of various churches, and had various structures and roads named after her. In conclusion living an active life is far more beneficial to others and is more noticeable, living a contemplative life is good if you believe prayers work and they really were helping. Christians serve god in many different ways some more subtle than others. However it is to be taken into consideration that active Christians do pray and contemplate and contemplative Christians do work and help others. In my opinion active Christians are making a more valuable contribution to the world because I do not believe that prayers do anything and even if god doesn’t exist active Christians are still doing something good for the world

Texas Lottery and Education Funding Essay Example for Free

Texas Lottery and Education Funding Essay Texans believe that participating in the Texas Lottery helps the Texas Education Foundation but little do they know; how much money actually goes to the Texas Education Foundation. The effect of the Texas Lottery is causing more of a negative impact on Texans than the Education Foundation is benefiting. The Texas Lottery negatively impacts the people that play the lottery and the programs that are supposed to benefit from the proceeds. Because of the big dream of winning, the lottery has taken a toll on Texans. â€Å"People believe that the Texas Lottery is their only chance to strike it rich† (Buckland, 2010). There is not near enough money going towards the Texas Education Foundation. When the lottery first started, the Texas Education Foundation was promised to benefit much more than they are now. Since 1996, the money raised for the Texas Education Foundation paid for two weeks of schooling but today it has plummeted greatly to only paying close to three days of schooling (Dexheimer, 2010). The outcome of the lottery is not what was projected. The current cash flow does not match the projections for the education fund as when the lottery was first initiated. â€Å"Last year, the lottery sold nearly $700 million more tickets than in 1998 – and gave schools $160 million less† (Dexheimer, 2010). The Texas Lottery is negatively impacting the poor and uneducated population. The Texas Lottery demographic studies provide contradictory information concerning the games and the profits benefiting the Texas Education Foundation, and prey on the poor (Turner, 2012). Statistics show the difference in average money gambled between the educated and uneducated population. â€Å"College graduates spent a median ten dollars a month; those without high school diplomas, $25† (Turner, 2012). This research proves the negative social impact of the Texas Lottery. â€Å"In one of the most depressing, ever perpetuating social economic trends, new research from the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty shows that poor people continue to spend about nine percent of their annual income on lottery tickets† (Buckland, 2010). Texans believe that the Lottery is benefiting the Education Foundation but in reality the Texas Education Foundation is not receiving their fair share of proceeds. Therefore, the Texas Lottery advertisement has been misleading to the public. In a nut shell, the Texas Lottery is not delivering the benefits that were promised for Texans. According to the Texas Lottery in 1992, approximately 27 cents of every dollar the organization earned went to support Texas Education, but then in 1997, the Texas Legislature stepped in and made a difference by dedicating Texas Lottery Funds to the Texas Foundation School Fund and the Texas Lottery funded 13 billion dollars just within that year of change. (Hood,2011). History In 1991, before the lottery was approved by Governor Ann Richards in a televised address, she told voters that they had to choose between a huge tax bill or the lottery, if they wanted good schools. Then The Robin Hood Plan was proposed in 1993. This plan was endorsed by the State to offer court mandated fair school funding for the schools in district. Similar to the tale of Robin Hood, the law collected property tax money from wealthy schools and redistributed the funding to poor schools attempting to balance all school districts in Texas. This plan ended up falling through because the Texas Supreme Court found that the majority of school districts were being taxed the maximum rate, which the Texas Constitution prohibits.(Heines and Tinsley, 1997). In 1997, the lottery funds were placed in a general fund that was distributed to public education, health, public safety and human services. â€Å"There is no question that the Texas Lottery is the most successful state lottery in the co untry and is contributing more than a billion dollars a year to state coffers† (Heines Tinsley 1997). This was the year where the State Representative Richard Raymond and D Benavides law makers believed that the lottery funds should be dedicated to education. Texans voted for a constitutional amendment that allowed funds of the lottery to be dedicated to education funding. But the Texas Legislature examined Lottery funds of other states including California and Florida who had dedicated lottery money to the education and discovered that these states had less money for education. Critics from this era believed that states without lotteries collected fewer taxes than the states with lotteries. (Heines Tinsley 1997). In 2009, a great amount of the stimulus funds were designated for education spending. The 91 billion dollars that was supported by this fund did not cover the total federal spending on education of the years 2008 to 2009 which summed up to be 667 billion dollars. An estimation of 570 billion dollars was not supported by the total education bill of federal spending. It costs an estimated 35 billion dollars to cover kindergarten through twelfth grade on a yearly basis. (Voice,2011). â€Å"Texas law says lottery proceeds are supposed to go toward education† (Oberg 2011). The lottery has only given one billion dollars every year to Texas Schools since 1998, but since lottery sales have become greater, the lottery has not been giving more money to the Texas schools. Even with the lottery earnings increasing the amount of money applied towards the Education Fund has not shown the difference of cash increase. One of the reasons why education is not benefiting is because the Lottery Managers are making the jackpots too large. So much so it is more than they can manage to afford. Sixty-two percent of money raised by the Lottery pays for the winners’ prizes. They also have to use ten percent of the money to run the lottery’s game and use more expenses to maintain the lottery program. After all of the money already mentioned is paid out, the little bit of money that is left is given to the Education Fund. (Work, 2011). In the years that the Texas Lottery has been contributing to the Education Fund, studies now show the truth on really how much is actually funding the schools. People can now be more informed on how the lottery distributes their funds and have an understanding of how much taxes public schools are being funded. With the Texas Lottery being in affect for many years it will never catch up to the economic growth of school finances. With each year school finances increases; the lottery should consider matching the percentage rate of education funding distributed from the lottery. If they cannot match the financial increases then the Texas Lottery should not be supported by Texans. As a result, The Texas Lottery has become a negative impact on the poor and uneducated and has not provided the dividends that were expected for all Texans. References Buckland, Jason. â€Å"How Lottery Tickets Ravage Low Income Families,† MSN MONEY, May 28, 2010. http://www.everydaymoney.ca/2010/05/how-lottery-tickets-ravage-lowincome-families.html Dexheimer, Eric. â€Å"A Different Game than State was Sold Two Decades Ago,† AMERICAN STATESMAN-STAFF, September 7, 2010. http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/texas-lottery-a-different-game-than-state-was-so-1/nRxZd/\ Heines, Vivienne and Tinsley, Anna M. â€Å" Most Texans think lottery is good way for state to raise money† Harte-Hanks Communications, February 24, 1997. http://www.texnews.com/texas97/texpoll022497.html Hood, Rebecca. â€Å"I Wonder: Texas Lottery and Education,† KVUE.COM, April 4, 2011. http://www.kvue.com/news/local/I-Wonder-Texas-Lottery-and-education-119036764.html Oberg, Ted. â€Å"How Much of your Lottery ticket is helping education† ABC 13 News, May 18, 2011. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/in_focusid=8136388 Turner, Allan. â€Å"Texas Lottery Proved Popular Last Year,† HOUSTON CHRONICLE, January 18, 2012. http://www.chron.com/news/texas-lottery/article/Texas-Lottery-proved-popular-last-year-2591258.php Voice â€Å"Getting Educated† The Daily Hurricane, March 28,2011. http://dailyhurricane.com/2011/03/gambling-with-our-chidrens-education-and-our-future.html Work, Ann. â€Å"Schools get $1 billion from lottery† Times Record News, April 28,2011 http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2011/apr/28/schools-get-1-billion-from-lottery/?print=1. Bibliography BUCKLAND, JASON. â€Å"How Lottery Tickets Ravage Low Income Families,† MSN MONEY, May 28, 2010. http://www.everydaymoney.ca. (11/19/2012). DEXHEIMER, ERIC. â€Å"A Different Game than State was Sold Two Decades Ago,† AMERICAN STATESMAN-STAFF, September 7, 2010. http//www.statesman.com. (11/19/2012). HEINES, VIVIENNE and TINSLEY M. ANNA. â€Å"Most Texans Think Lottery is Good Way for State to Raise Money† HARTE-HANKS COMMUNICATIONS, February 24,1997. http://www.texnews.com. (11/19/2012) HOOD, REBECCA. â€Å"I Wonder: Texas Lottery and Education,† KVUE.COM, April 4, 2011. http://www.kvue.com. (11/19/2012). OBERG,TED. â€Å"How Much of Your Lottery Ticket is Helping Education,† ABC 13 NEWS, May, 18, 2011. http://abclocal.go.com. (11/19/2012). TURNER, ALLAN. â€Å"Texas Lottery Proved Popular Last Year,† HOUSTON CHRONICLE, January 18, 2012. http://www.chron.com.(11/19/2012). VOICE. â€Å"Getting Educated,† THE DAILY HURRICANE, March 28,2011. http://dailyhurricane.com. (11/19/2012). WORK, ANN. â€Å"Schools Get $1 Billion from Lottery,† TIMES RECORD NEWS, April 28, 2011. http://www.timesrecordnews.com. (11/19/2012) Work Cited 1.Jason Buckland. â€Å"How Lottery Tickets Ravage Low Income Families,† MSN MONEY, May 28, 2010. 2. Eric Dexheimer. â€Å"A Different Game than State was Sold Two Decades Ago,† AMERICAN STATESMAN-STAFF, September 7, 2010. 3.Eric Dexheimer, Pg. 1. 4.Allan Turner. â€Å"Texas Lottery Proved Popular Last Year,† HOUSTON CHRONICLE, January 18, 2012. 5. Allan Turner, Pg. 1. 6. Jason Buckland. Pg.1. 7.Rebecca Hood. â€Å"I Wonder: Texas Lottery and Education,† KVUE.COM, April 4, 2011. 8. Vivienne Heines and Anna M. Tinsley â€Å" Most Texans Think Lottery is Good Way for State to Raise Money† HARTE-HANKS COMMUNICATIONS, February 24, 1997. 9. Voice â€Å"Getting Educated† THE DAILY HURRICANE, March 28,2011. 10. Vivienne Heines and Anna M. Tinsley, Pg. 1. 11. Voice, Pg. 1. 12. Ted Oberg â€Å"How Much of your Lottery ticket is helping education† ABC 13 News, May 18, 2011. 13. Ann Work â€Å"Schools get $1 billion from lottery† Times Record News, April 28,2011.

Louis Vuitton Commercial Analysis

Louis Vuitton Commercial Analysis The Louis Vuitton commercial describes a wide range of visuals from India, China and France (Duncan 2008) that captures the real essence of travel and the journey through life while trying to simultaneously explore the true meaning of the word journey. The visuals are backed by textual messages aimed at answering What is a Journey? (Paris 2008) against a soulful musical score. The commercial in itself seeks to sell the Louis Vuitton brand across 13 nations rather than a particular collection (Duncan 2008). The fact that only the monogram is shown in the advertisement bears testimony to the same. With regard to the target audience, the commercial targets all young lovers of luxury and travel in particular and lovers of life in general. Most of the travelers in the video are young people although the local crowd is made up of people of all ages. The commercial sought to capture beautiful moments that travel with one beyond physical journey. The goal was to connect Louis Vuittons brand passion in assisting its clients to achieve true pleasure and luxury during journeys in particular and across life in general in accordance with brand values of luxury and travel. The advertisement is 90 seconds in direction to allow it to convey the true and rich essence of travel as a process of both discovery and self-discovery as per the head of communications at Louis Vuitton, Antoine Arnault (Brent 2008). Through a combination of visuals, musical score and subtitles, the video effectively communicates the same and reveals the brands passion for providing luxury to its customers as they journey through life. The Journey commercial by Louis Vuitton relies on the use of numerous visual techniques including slow motion, special effects, selective focus through telephoto lenses, blurring, silhouetting, lens flare and superimposition. The commercial is a visual marvel created by Bruno Aveillan (Duncan 2008). According to the Louis Vuitton press release the advertisement captures those quintessential travel moments where our senses and sense of awe are surpassed by the absolute beauty of a place, of a moment (Duncan 2008). The same is essentially true of most visuals in the commercial. The visuals endeavor to evoke a sense of awe and a sense of serenity in the viewer through depiction of the passion and art of travel (Duncan 2008) using a range of visual tools and techniques. One can see a whole range of close-ups to provide emphasis on the feelings of travelers when witnessing a moment that surpasses expectations and their love for travel. Most of the frames use shallow depth of field or focu s on a small area of frame to guide viewers attention to the specific object or person of interest (Brown 2012, 61). For instance, in an over the shoulder shot of a traveler dressed in white, the focus is entirely on him with the rest of the frame blurred out. In addition to a foreground, mid-ground and background, some frames rely on the use of glass as one of the planes, which, in turn, allows one to see reflections of objects that are not a part of the frame as a fourth layer. Most of the camera angles are at eye level with little psychological manipulation of the viewer on that front. Selective blurring seems to be enhanced in post production and special effects work. The insertion of certain reflections can seem to be the result of special effects. The camera is positioned in many frames to create lens flare which again curtails proper viewing of some visual content while serving as an aesthetic and pleasing visual technique. Lastly, slow motion towards the end of the commercia l is another classic technique used to enhance the beauty of a momemt (Brown 2012, 73). The commercial does not depict many visuals of Louis Vuitton products merely showing the famous logo and the classic LV design. Through the choice of visuals, the brand effectively takes the viewer back to its history establishing itself as a luxury travel brand (Lindstrom 2005, 125). The visuals span three nations namely, India, China and France enabling the advertisement to attain global appeal in consonance with its purpose of serving as an effective global ad campaign. In terms of motif, the commercial uses certain signs and symbols to reinforce its textual content. The first is the use of light, especially sunlight. As a signifier, the light usually connotes wisdom, knowledge and power. The use of sun, the source of all life, foreshadows the answer to the question raised by the commercial. In the beginning, the characters are in darkness, like the viewer deciphering the answer to the query p osed by the advertisement. The characters become progressively more lit as the commercial progresses. A second signifier is the use of mist, haze, fog and even blurring, all of which signify a sense of mystery. This can suggest the sense of intrigue one experiences during travel along with the viewer lack of clarity about where the commercial will take him at its onset. A third important sign is water again a sign of sustenance and life and a sign of purity. The first subconscious reader response to water helps to make the answer, that the journey is life, more meaningful. The second response connects to the purity of the moments of awe during travel and the true passion for travel. The characters are themselves dressed and positioned in ways that clearly segregates them from the environment establishing them as outsiders. Moreover, they are more glamorous than others in their environment reinforcing the luxury value of the brand. In totality, the choice of visuals helps to establis h a sense of beauty attached to travel and a true love for traveling. Visuals capture ones bliss during moments that surpass awe while journeying, and the need to treat life as ones most fascinating journey. The aural technique used in the Louis Vuitton commercial is background score or music. The score for the commercial was composed by the famous music director Gustavo-Santaolalla (Terrazas 2008). Since the commercial was part of a set of advertisements catering to global television marketing for the brand, it can be analyzed on two fronts. First is its connection to the type of musical score the brand has used in the past for its marketing. Second is the subconscious impact it has on the viewer since color and music are two aspects that influence at a deeper subconscious level. Louis Vuitton commercials in the past have commonly relied on specifically composed Louis Vuitton signature music (Lindstrom 2005, 125) and this commercial is no different. As a result, the score does not have any prior emotional connotations attached to it, allowing the makers to influence consumer perceptions from scratch. The music is slow and subtle in congruence with the slowness and serenity of the visual s. The dominant instrument throughout the score is a string instrument with chimes and other wind sounds supplementing it. The commercial begins with a subtle wind instrument immediately evoking a sense of mystery and drawing the viewer into the commercial from its onset. Slow chimes are often associated with feelings of pleasantness (Meyer 2008, 87). The string instrument then strikes an even deeper emotional connect through louder and isolated notes. The same rhythm repeats throughout the advertisement further reinforcing the Conduplicatio journey and an attempt to decipher its true meaning throughout the advertisement. Moreover, the repetition helps to remember the advertisement even after viewing, through production of deep memory traces that play a crucial role in consumer decision-making (Wells 1997, 241). In addition to music, the absence of diegetic sounds also draws viewer attention to the commercial. Sounds such as a books pages turning due to the winds, kids shouting as t hey run, the sound of water splashing are all absent from the commercial though some of the visuals are in close up. This lack of sound also makes one pay attention to what is being shown in the advertisement. In totality, the soothing nature of the musical score coupled with its repetitive rhythm reinforces the nature of visual content and brings the viewer into an introspective mood. The lack of diegetic sounds further make one notice the visuals by not reinforcing their content. A third dominant facet of the commercial is the use of subtitles that appear across the duration of the commercial. The commercial begins by raising the question, What is a Journey? It then begins to add one layer of meaning over another to fully answer the question and terminates with the disclosure that journey is life itself (Paris 2008). The advertisement, however, ends with another question Where will life take you? (Paris 2008). The word journey is used throughout the video as a Conduplicatio or a repeated keyword pulling out important ideas from sentences and reinforcing them in other sentences (Farnsworth 2011, 7). The process of repetition enhances the probability that viewer attention will be centered towards the repeated word at some stage of viewing (Wells 1997, 241). The word life again finds a similar usage as it is repeated in the final two phrases of the commercial. The words journey and life are the prime takeaways of a viewer from the video. These two signifiers are aimed at signifying the Louis Vuittons passion for enabling its consumers to discover places and themselves as they traverse the journey of life. Overall, the advertisement uses emotional transfer to link the brand with emotions one experiences upon viewing the commercial (Kenny 2005, 72). The attempt is to evoke ones passion in living and traveling and directly transfer it to a passion for making Louis Vuitton brand a lifetime partner along ones journeys. This transfer is achieved through a combination of subtitles, visuals and musical score. The subtitles immediately encourage the viewer to ponder upon the meaning of a journey. The visuals strive to capture those moments during travel that extend well beyond their physical existence in the minds of the travelers. They depict the blissful state one finds oneself in when witnessing such moments and that such moments are not confined to vacation destinations alone. The musical score reinforces a sense of tranquility and awe experienced during these moments. The emotional transfer attempt becomes most visible through the final two subtitles Where will life take you? and Louis Vu itton (Paris 2008). The remainder of the commercial evokes feelings of awe and love for life. These can then be transferred to a love for a luxurious and enriched life that Louis Vuitton can help one achieve. The duration of the commercial is just apt for exploring the meaning of a journey. The advertisement effectively communicates the passion of Louis Vuitton for providing its consumers with a luxurious lifestyle along their journey of life.

Tom Jones - Structure Essay -- essays research papers fc

English Literature I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The formal well-organized structure of The History of Tom Jones contributes greatly to the intricate plot inside, and the novel as an overall piece of work. Henry Fielding contrived the blueprint of the book in its many clearly separated segments extremely well, making it equally as important as the plot. Tom Jones is deliberately and clearly divided into its separate parts. Through these parts he is capable of paralleling two types of stories in one single novel, along with bringing forth symmetries and balances in the division, and in the setting and plot.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Broken down, Tom Jones consists of 18 books each introduced with an opening essay. This 18 book format imitates the standard form of an epic. â€Å"Its 18 books-the total number alludes to the number of books in†¦a moralized continuation of Homer’s Odyssey, and thus marks Fielding’s novel, too, as a journey novel in the Odysseyan tradition-are arranged in a system of complex symmetries in accordance with ancient epic practice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brooks-Davies). These 18 books are then broken further into 3 sections to reflect the 3 major parts of Tom’s journey. This structure specifically allows for balance and symmetry to occur.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reading through Tom Jones once, one draws lines between a few seemingly related details. Upon a closer examination, it is discovered that these relations are made Page 2 intentionally and purposefully. The 18 books are grouped into the 3 parts of the journey: the first grouping of 6 books take place at home in the country, the second grouping on the road, and the last grouping in London (Brooks-Davies). This setup or format allows for two forms of story to be brought into one genre. Tom Jones is generally regarded as a comedy, but inside of this it is also the standard epic journey novel and a romance at the same time. First, we’ll look at Tom’s journey. It consists of 3 parts that correspond the 3 sections in the book. â€Å"†¦three sets of six books deal respectively with Tom’s upbringing in the country and expulsion by his Uncle Allworthy; his journey to London; and his experiences in London and return home,† (Brooks-Davies). The first part (Books I-VI) taking place at home in the country. This sets up the journey. Tom finds a home with Mr. Allworthy, grows up, and is banished fro... ... Coleridge called Tom Jones â€Å"one of the most perfect plots ever planned,† (Bender). Henry Fielding’s high level of structure and wonderful organization added greatly to the intricate plot inside, and the overall piece of writing. He keeps numerous and structured plots and subplots going at once, and makes them collide in fascinating ways. Dorothy Van Ghent put it perfectly when she said, â€Å"We may think of Tom Jones as a complex architectural figure, a Palladian palace perhaps†¦The structure is all out in the light of intelligibility; air circulates around and over it and through it.† Page 7 Works Cited Bender, John. â€Å"Tom Jones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  FortuneCity. 14 November 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Brooks-Davies, Douglas. â€Å"Tom Jones: Overview† in Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D.L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991. Ghent, Dorothy Van. â€Å"On ‘Tom Jones’,† in her The English Novel: Form and Function. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1953, pp. 65-81. Hartwick, Cynthia. â€Å"Tom Jones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LikesBooks: Review of Tom Jones. 14 November 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  .

Addisons Disease Essay -- Disorder Endocrine System

Addison’s disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Addison’s disease is a disorder of the endocrine system. It is a hormonal disorder that can strike anyone, any gender at any age. Addison’s disease has also been called Adrenal Insufficiency (hypocortisolism) because the root of the disease is in the adrenal gland not producing enough of the hormone cortisol, or sometimes not enough of the hormone aldosterone to satisfy the body’s needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cortisol is in the class of hormones called glucocorticoids and affects almost every organ in the body. One of the most important functions of cortisol is to help regulate the body’s response to stress. Cortisol is also responsible for other necessary functions including: helping to maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular functions, helping to slow the immune system’s inflammatory response, helping to balance the effects of insulin in breaking down sugars for energy, helping to regulate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and helping to maintain proper arousal of sense of well being. The amount of cortisol is precisely balanced and regulated by the brain’s hypothalamus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aldosterone is in a class of hormones called mineralocorticoids which is also produced by the adrenal glands. The main functions of aldosterone are to help to maintain blood pressure and helping the kidneys retain needed sodium and excrete unwanted potassium to maintain the balance of water and salt in the body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When adrenal insufficiency occurs, there are many s... Addison's Disease Essay -- Disorder Endocrine System Addison’s disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Addison’s disease is a disorder of the endocrine system. It is a hormonal disorder that can strike anyone, any gender at any age. Addison’s disease has also been called Adrenal Insufficiency (hypocortisolism) because the root of the disease is in the adrenal gland not producing enough of the hormone cortisol, or sometimes not enough of the hormone aldosterone to satisfy the body’s needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cortisol is in the class of hormones called glucocorticoids and affects almost every organ in the body. One of the most important functions of cortisol is to help regulate the body’s response to stress. Cortisol is also responsible for other necessary functions including: helping to maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular functions, helping to slow the immune system’s inflammatory response, helping to balance the effects of insulin in breaking down sugars for energy, helping to regulate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and helping to maintain proper arousal of sense of well being. The amount of cortisol is precisely balanced and regulated by the brain’s hypothalamus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aldosterone is in a class of hormones called mineralocorticoids which is also produced by the adrenal glands. The main functions of aldosterone are to help to maintain blood pressure and helping the kidneys retain needed sodium and excrete unwanted potassium to maintain the balance of water and salt in the body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When adrenal insufficiency occurs, there are many s...

Content Teaching - Research Paper :: essays research papers

Section A – Survey Results  multiple choice By asking students about their situation in school, linked to the teaching-style of their teachers, I found out in which way students are influenced by the way their teachers try to submit the knowledge to them. The survey was supposed to indirectly find out how effective the current teaching-style of the teachers is. For that, the following statements were evaluated by the students (The numbers in parentheses display how much the surveyed students agreed with the statements  â€Å"Counting Mechanism† on page 3): -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Teachers should base teaching more on contents† (5 points) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The way teachers teach is keeping the student’s attention† (1.5 points) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Teachers stay focused in the topic† (-1 point) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Teachers have a way of teaching that is the right way of learning for me as an individual† (-2 points) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If I would be a teacher I would give less time in class to work on homework† (-18 points) As we can see, the only point where the surveyed students agree is, that they would not reduce the homework in class, even though I think most students just handled the statement as â€Å"Students should have less time for homework in class.† In my opinion they didn’t really think about a situation where they would be teachers but only amount the situation they want to be in as students. All other results vary so much that the difference between the surveyed students is so big that they almost even each other out which shows us they all have different needs. Counting mechanism:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  25 ½ points for strong agreement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  17 points for agreement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0 points for â€Å"don’t care†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -17 points for disagreement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -25 ½ for strong disagreement Accordingly, the highest score for each question can be 25 ½ if all 17 surveyed people indicated a strong agreement and -25 ½ if all 17 surveyed people indicated a strong disagreement. Section B – Survey Results  open-ended The answers to the open-ended questions show that most students don’t really focus on the actual teaching but more on the material environment they are in, like â€Å"Air-Conditioning† or the school building. Most of the questions were answered that way so that I’m just going to consider a couple questions and answers which apply to the topic. The most important thing teachers have to do different is†¦ †¦lesson plans †¦explaining assignments The way that makes me understand the content the best is†¦ †¦interaction with the lesson plans †¦clear visual aids Teachers focus too much on†¦ †¦tests and lecturing †¦discipline Teachers neglect†¦ †¦interaction with kids who are struggling

When the Levees Broke Rhetorical Analysis

Chase Caldwell Professor Gwaltney English 1102 14 March 2013 When The Levees Broke Rhetorical Analysis Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana on the morning of August 29, 2005. The storm produced sustained winds of up 125 mph when it hit that morning. On that same day Katrina caused 53 different levee breaches in greater New Orleans, spilling the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into the city and flooding an overwhelming majority of New Orleans.The floodwaters destroyed countless homes and lives along the way. Some estimates of the cost of Katrina were up in the 200 billions but according to Kimberly Amadeo, â€Å"The actual cost of Hurricane Katrina's damage was between $96-$125 billion, with $40-$66 billion in insured losses. † This statistic makes Katrina one of the most expensive natural disasters to ever hit the United States. Money wasn’t the only thing that was lost; the storm killed roughly 1,500 people in Louisiana alone.Floodwaters stayed in New Orleans for weeks leaving many people stranded and fighting for their lives. Post-Katrina New Orleans was a war zone with looting, shootings, robbery, and people desperately needing help from the government. Help was slow to arriving though. People went days and days without food or any kind of help at all. Many people died from all sorts of different causes. Deaths ranged from heat exhaustion in attics to drowning in the street and even in the victims own home.The majority of citizens of New Orleans’ ninth ward feel like the government did not take the right measures in getting help to the victims of the storm and they also feel like the destruction altogether could have been avoided had the levees been built correctly. The story of New Orleans and the failing levees is right up one filmmaker’s alley. Spike Lee is known to make movies that examine race relations and political issues. The story of New Orleans during Katrina touches on both of these subjects immensely. Thus, When t he Levees Broke was born.The documentary is a heart-wrenching medley of eyewitness accounts, video news footage, and photographs of the destruction that mix together in a way that shows Lee’s dissatisfaction with what happened during Katrina. Lee was legitimately upset about what happened in New Orleans during Katrina and even toys with the idea that the U. S. government blew up the levees to rid New Orleans of poor blacks. Needless to say, Lee will not hesitate to tell anyone what he believes and is the center of many different controversies in Hollywood. His personality is best described as that of a ticking time bomb.His feelings for the people of the ninth ward coupled with his outspokenness on political affairs and race relations were the driving force behind When The Levees Broke. Lee’s intended audience is really anyone who takes the time to watch his work. He really wanted to get the story out to the public and that is exactly what he did, he let the world see exactly what was happening in New Orleans without any sugar coating. Lee does not hesitate to put a floating, swollen dead body on screen just to let the viewers know the grotesque reality of what happened.Lee uses this documentary to voice his opinion against how the government handled Katrina. He felt that the government did not do what it should have done during this time and he shows his disappointment with the federal government through the movie. Lee conveys a huge array of arguments in this film from the government blowing up the levees to George Bush not caring about black people. Throughout all of these arguments his barebones, central argument is that the federal government did not fulfill its duty to the people of New Orleans during the Katrina catastrophe.Lee conveys this argument in a number of different ways. For instance, he conveys the argument by interviewing a multitude of people that lived through Katrina and has them explain their unrest and disappointment in the government on camera. He also shows photographs of posters and paintings that read things like â€Å"Where’s Fema? † and â€Å"Fuck Bush†. These tactics make it quite easy to see that Lee is upset with the Government. He uses a number of appeals to get his argument across. He mostly uses pathos by using horrific eyewitness accounts and gruesome photographs to stab at the audience’s emotions.The audience cannot help but feel terrible for the people who had to go through this. One of the worst feelings is watching someone cry over their lost home or hear an account of someone who comes home to their dead mother. Lee undoubtedly does a good job of evoking emotion from the audience. Lee interviews a melting pot of people in this documentary. It seems like there is an interviewee from almost every walk of life. In fact HBO explored just how many people Lee interviewed: Lee and his team selected close to 100 people from diverse backgrounds and representing a w ide range of opinions to nterview, including Governor Kathleen Blanco; Mayor Ray Nagin; residents Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, Kimberly Polk, Shelton â€Å"Shakespeare† Alexander and Rev. Williams; activists Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte; CNN's Soledad O'Brien; and musicians Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Kanye West. This works in his favor and adds to the ethos of the film. Since he is getting the opinions of a number of different people it shows more of the bigger picture and does not focus on only one person or one group of people.Diversity and unifying people under their disappointment with the government is a key part of his argument. This shows that he is not the only person that feels this way about the government, in fact everyone in the movie feels the same as he does. This can cause some speculation. Spike’s argument is not perfect. There are multiple flaws in the argument that can cause it to be discredited. For one, the opinions of his interviewees ar e so one-sided that the audience does not see a single glimpse of the other side of the spectrum.Not one person in the film seems satisfied with how the government handled the situation. In a way this discredits Spike Lee’s argument because it seems as if he is only showing you what he wants to show you. He shows you nothing good that the government did or people that are satisfied with how the government helped. The audience only sees the people who are disgruntled by Katrina who just want more and more help. It is hard to believe that there is not a single person in New Orleans who was not satisfied with the help that they received from the government.Mr. Lee simply does not show the satisfied citizens of NOLA. If he had shown these people then his argument would be much stronger. Also, Lee does evoke emotion in the audience but after a while it just becomes too much. After 4 hours of seeing wreckage and dead bodies you almost grow tired of feeling sorry for people. The fir st time you see a destroyed home or a dead body you want to cry for the victims but after hours and hours of seeing the same thing you become used to seeing it.Spike lee definitely evokes emotion but he should have done so more in moderation so the audience would not tire of feeling sorrow for the victims. Lee’s background as an outspoken critic that really just seems to love controversy also discredits his argument. It is as if Lee could be making this film to just stir up controversy in Hollywood because that is what he seems to love to do. He has had countless run-ins with almost every director in the business from Tarantino to Tyler Perry. He imply loves controversy so why would he not take this story and blow it up and make a huge controversy out of it? It would not be out of character for him to do so. That is why his argument can be somewhat discredited by his background. It is not unlikely that Lee took this story and made it a huge ordeal just to stir up controversy in Washington and against Bush, whom he does not support. The story is really just a perfect opportunity to pin people against Bush. His background, one-sidedness, and excess of pathos all hurt his argument greatly.When the Levees Broke is a Spike Lee documentary that tells the story of the destruction that Katrina and a failed levee system had on New Orleans, Louisiana. The creator uses the film in an attempt to argue that the federal government did not do its part to help the people of New Orleans after the disaster. However, he fails at arguing that point due to his one-sidedness and his personal background. During the film, interviewees all agree on the consensus that the government did not help out how they should have but no one thinks that they did a good job of helping out.This just shows that Lee is only showing the audience what he wants them to see. If he had shown both sides of this argument and disproved the opposing side his argument would have been much stronger. Also , Lee’s personal identity as one who loves controversy discredits his argument in that it appears to be just another one of his critiques. He has so many critiques of things that this argument really just gets lost in the sea of them all. Works Cited Amadeo, Kimberly. About. com. The New York Times Company. n. d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. HBO. com. n. p. n. d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

A Study on Accenture and an Analysis of its Ethical Culture Essay

The current paper intends to make an in-depth investigation and analysis of the ethical culture and performance of a large organization which can be a prospective employer to the members of the workforce. This paper will discuss on Accenture, as a competitive international company, and how it promotes ethical culture with its operations. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Dedicated to delivering innovation, it works in partnership with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Accenture can muster the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance with deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record,. Their â€Å"high performance business† strategy builds on their proficiency in consulting, technology and outsourcing to help clients perform at the highest levels so they can create sustainable value for their customers and shareholders. They discover new business and technology trends and develop solutions to help their clients using the industry’s knowledge, service-offering skill and technology capabilities. Accenture is known for their strengths that distinguishes them in the marketplace. They are known for their extensive industry expertise, broad and continuously evolving service offerings, expertise in transforming business outsourcing, history of innovation and implementation, including their research and development capabilities, on which they spend about $250 million a year, and the commitment of their employee to long-term development and their distinctive management team with such proven experiences. As professionals, we intend to pursue a career in an organization which will not only promise financial stability, but an organization which will guarantee professional and personal growth. An organization which will open us a world of opportunities, where we can harness our skills and discover more of our potentials and where we can find self-worth as being valuable assets for them. Most importantly, we should look for an organization which gives high regard to its environment and looks after the welfare of its people. Moving further along our career paths, one of our priorities is to have a clear layout of what we envision our future to be, one of the biggest concerns are the organizations that we might have the chance to work with, and Accenture has always been one of the top choices of professionals today. Many believe that Accenture works beyond the scope of their nature, with their excellent business performance and their involvement in ethical culture, Accenture is indeed a socially responsible organization. Body: Grounded in a set of founded values, Accenture have long embraced and consistently strived to apply these in their daily work, these core values have served as a range to guide their decision-making at a company and individual level. Together, they have put these values into practice and have constructed a deeply skilled, world-class and globally competitive company. Their steadfast dedication to these values is essential to ensure that they will operate with the highest ethical standards and achieve their vision, which is to become one of the world’s leading companies, bringing constant advancements to improve the world works and lives. These core values are as follows: First is â€Å"stewardship†, wherein they are geared to build a heritage of generations, acting with an owner mentality, developing people in everywhere they go and meeting their commitments to all their stakeholders, both internal and external. Second value is â€Å"best people†, in which they are dedicated to attracting and developing the best talents for the business, stretching their people and harnessing them to develop a â€Å"cam do† attitude. Client value creation† is their third value, in which they are focused in improving their clients’ business performance, creating long-term, win-win relationships and focusing on execution excellence. The next value is â€Å"one global network† which involves the mustering the power of teaming to deliver constantly exceptional service to their clients around the world. Another value is â€Å"respect for individual† in which they are geared to valuing diversity, ensuring an inclusive and interesting environment, and treating people the way they would like to be treated. Lastly but definitely not the least is â€Å"integrity† wherein they are engaged in inspiring trust by taking responsibility, acting ethically, and encouraging honest and open debates. An essential part of their identity is being a good corporate citizen. They support their people’s passion in bringing positive and lasting change to their communities, and they bring their efforts of corporate citizenship to the same principles of high performance that they apply to work with their clients. As a global organization, Accenture believes that they have a role; they have the responsibility to proactively engage with the communities they live and work. Corporate citizenship fosters motivation, employee pride and communal awareness through a methodical framework which, anchored by a strong set of core values and Code of Business Ethics, drives stability and precision across their businesses and workforces. One of Accenture’s policies is flexible working, which allows staff to spend more time at home and allows the company to retain key employees who may otherwise decided against working for Accenture. Accenture continually reviews how the employees are experiencing their flexible working arrangements to guarantee that changeover is as smooth and successful as possible for everyone involved. In line with the Core Value of Best People, Accenture identifies the priceless contribution of all its employees in attaining business objectives and be set to provide an environment which is both conducive and supportive to combining parenthood with a career in the organization. (http://www. wherewomenwanttowork. com) Since the paper intends to discuss Accenture as an organization who adopts ethical culture. We will be discussing what ethical culture in a generalized level is and how it can be achieved by an organization. What is generally referred to as â€Å"ethical culture† is actually a conception that puts together two distinct systems—ethical culture and ethical climate. It is of the essence to take a thoroughly look at both systems in order to fully comprehend â€Å"ethical culture. † Ethical culture looks at how an organization displays and teaches the extent to which it regards its values. Explicitly, the ethical culture of an organization: teaches employees whether doing the right thing matters; makes doing what is right expected; and includes formal ethics program elements, reward and punishment systems, and organizational myths. (ethical culture – executive summary. pdf). Ethical culture takes in the rules, roles, and values that inform ethical conduct. It is the circumstance of conformity behavior, risk managing, business strategy and growth. (http://www. itapintl. com/ethicalculturepractice. htm) An organization has to gauge and assess that culture in a manner that can then lead to realistic steps to closing gaps and reducing risks of unethical, if not criminal conduct, if it needs to manage its corporate culture to sustain ethical standards. The ethics of an organization are the composite of the ethics of its employees and managers. An organization needs to know whether its people embrace the values necessary to move the organization towards its ethical goals. An organization is only as ethical as its leaders. Leaders must not only demonstrate a high degree of personal uprightness, but must also represent the values necessary to create an ethical environment within the organization. Being respected encourages a sense of engagement and willingness to participate in building an ethical culture. Business leaders have thus a heavy accountability, but one for which they are more than ever well suited. Leaders have the command to contour the culture of their organizations. What is needed in the business world is a better perceptive of what ethical culture means and how business leaders can make the most impact. Leaders should work to create a values-based ethics program that also encourages compliance with the law. In addition, they ought to demonstrate their apprehension for the interests of internal and external stakeholders and commit to making the needs of others a business precedence (Trevino, et al. , 1999). Finally, they must remember that ethical leadership requires modeling, coaching, and careful communication. A dynamic ethical culture gives organizations a high degree of comfort that it can bear up challenges to its integrity. Best practices have shown that key attributes such as these point toward a healthy ethical culture: Employees feel a sense of responsibility and accountability for their actions and for the actions of others, employees freely heave issues and concerns without fear of retribution, managers sculpt the behaviors they demand of others, managers correspond the importance of integrity when making complex decisions, leadership understands the pressure points that coerce unethical performance, leadership develops processes to identify and remedy those areas where pressure points occur. h Employees and managers understand why doing the right thing is important for the organization’s long-term feasibility, and they have the strength of mind, audacity and independence to see that the right thing gets done in an ethical culture. An ethical culture supports self-governing thinking employees and managers who make decisions unfailing with the organization’s values. The challenge is shaping how to get to this state, and whether the tools in place to gauge and examine performance of the ethics program are adequate to gauge whether ample advancement is being made. Many organizations have set expectations for ethical behavior and are working towards maintaining a strong â€Å"tone from the top. † However, many of these same organizations really don’t know whether their employees and managers will demonstrate integrity in their actions when they are under pressure, and immediate business objectives loom large in front of them. As the former director of accounting at WorldCom, Buford Yates, Jr. said as he was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the fraud, that when faced with a decision that required moral courage, he takes the easy way out. Corporate culture is made up of collective values of employees and managers that are reflected in their collective actions. Companies must therefore be conscious of the variety of values held by its employees if it is to be able to shape and guide its culture towards supporting the kinds of ethical behaviors needed to reduce the risk of ethics indignities and criminal prosecution. (http://www. workingvalues. com/Risk_WhitePaper. pdf) Culture is different, and is measured differently. An organization’s culture is not something that is created by senior leadership and then rolled out. A culture is an objective depiction of the organization, for better or worse. Culture is the sum total of all of the collective values and behaviors of all of its employees, managers, and leaders. By characterization it can only be calculated by criteria that mirror the individual values of all employees. Therefore, understanding cultural susceptibilities that can lead to ethics issues requires comprehension of what encourages all of the employees and how the innumerable of human behaviors and interactions fit together like puzzle pieces to create a whole picture of the organization. An organization moves towards an ethical culture only if it understands the full range of values and behaviors needed to meet its ethical goals. The â€Å"full-spectrum† organization is one that creates a positive sense of engagement and purpose which drives ethical behavior. A dynamic ethical culture gives organizations a high degree of comfort that it can endure challenges to its integrity. (http://www. workingvalues. com/Risk_WhitePaper. pdf) Most of the organizations have a policy that proscribes retaliation against those who bring forward apprehensions or claims. On the other hand, creating a culture where employees feel secure enough to admit inaccuracies and to raise uncomfortable issues requires more than a policy (Legal Risk Management) and â€Å"code training† (Integrity Risk Management). To truly build up an ethical culture, the organization must be aware of how their managers deal with these issues up and down the line, and how the values they exhibit impact preferred behaviors. The organization must understand the demands its people are under and how they act in response to those pressures. The organization must know how its managers correspond and whether employees have a sense of responsibility and purpose. Determining whether an organization has the capabilities to put in place such a culture requires cautious assessment. Like do employees and managers demonstrate values such as respect? Or do employees feel accountable for their actions and feel that they have a stake in the success of the organization? These factors may well determine the success of â€Å"code training† on fear of retribution. Visibility sets in motion on with corporate executives. Everyone is in a unique position to demonstrate leadership on ethical issues, showing investors and the organization’s employees that ethics and values are inherent in the business. To create a culture of ethics, talk explicitly about ethics and values. Demonstrate values through every decision being made. Make certain that employees know that they can ask for explanation of policies or report possible wrongdoing or transgression without fear of retaliation. Through being an example, managers and employees will be better able to be aware of ethical issues and understand the company’s serious commitment to ethical choices. Good leadership is more than rousing speeches or motivating statements printed at the front of a company’s code of conduct. The employees may listen to what the management says but they will remember what they do. Ethical attitudes can’t be bonded onto the foundation of the organization—they have to be woven in. The management’s example and leadership will help to permeate the corporate culture with good ethical values. Upholding a strong ethical culture is indispensable for acting in accordance with with the laws and regulations, but this alone cannot be the stimulus for ethical culture building. Further than the large impact an organization’s culture has on the bottom line, the development of programs to cultivate ethical conduct must sustain a focal point on fairness, encouragement, and communication at all employee levels. Along these lines, employees must be given the suitable tools and representations to align their behavior with company culture and employ in ethical decision-making. The attitudes, choices, and actions of business leaders take part in a most important role in the creation of an organization’s ethical culture and environment; expectations for employees’ ethical behavior can only be set as high as the organization’s leadership is willing to meet. A leader’s capacity to consistently encourage ethical conduct in an organization is critical to making certain that employees understand how to make â€Å"doing what is right† a priority. (ethical culture – executive summary. pdf).