Analysis of American History X Essay

In this assignment, I was challenged to find important historical and cultural connections of the film American History X and analyze the important rhetorical of my findings. I went about choosing American History X by placing a poll on Facebook listing out the films that I had any slight interest in considering for this assignment and American History X won by a landslide. I was actually somewhat disappointed, because I wanted to do The X-Files, but I chose to stick to my promise and go with whatever text won. I watched American History X some years after its release in 1998. Although, I know I must have watched it sometime after I got out of high school because at the time of its release I was 12 years old and with the amount of violence in that film I know I did not watch it with my parents. From the little memory I had of the film from the first time, I could only recall that American History X had a lot to do with white supremacy and racism, that Edward Norton played the lead ro le and that the kid who played in the first Terminator was his brother and was all grown up. I hesitated watching the film again for quite sometime because I knew I would need to dedicate a solid two hours of mental energy towards it. One could argue that I was merely just procrastinating; however, I benefitted from having done so because future class discussions provided a foundation for how I could study the film. After reading about and discussing in class the topic of approaching a text organically, I decided to implement that mentality and view the film as objectively as non-object individual can. It is difficult to say whether it was that approach that ultimately led to my findings in the film, or if I would have discovered them anyway since it was my second time viewing the film. Everyone can appreciate that after the second and third time of watching any film you begin to pick up on things you missed the first time. In either case, I found the movie to be incredibly eye opening and I enjoyed having to research the history surrounding the film and, ultimately, the state of the nation during what was my childhood. American History X is a film that depicts a traditional white family in the mid 1990s, but spot lights the two brothers’ journeys into maturity. The movie focuses on the older brother Derek, played by Edward Norton, and how Derek’s Neo-Nazi associations in his life greatly influence his younger brother Danny, played by Edward Furlong. Fueled by rage of his father’s death, the film opens with a scene of Derek brutally killing three young black men who were attempting to steal his father’s truck. Derek is then sent to prison for 3 years during which time his younger brother Danny begins to follow in Derek’s footsteps with the Neo-Nazi organization. The movie flips between black-and-white scenes of the past and color scenes of the present. The black-and-white flashbacks attempt to illuminate Danny’s perception of Derek’s past life while intermittently presenting how Derek overcame is his own hatred. The color scenes portray the present and highlight the effects the hatred has had on the entire family. Overall, the movie critiques on not only the effects of urban racism and bigotry, but a lso the how minds of young people are so impressionable. The film even succeeds in creating a sense of sympathy for characters that are typically hated, Neo-Nazi racist skinheads, and paints them not as foolish, uneducated racist bigots, but instead as misguided intelligent human beings. On the surface the film discusses racism, violence, and bigotry, but upon closer examination I found a deeper message within the film. Watching it a second time, I realized that this film is really emphasizing the lack of critical thinking skills in young people, particularly in teenagers and young adults and how impressionable their minds are. Then, upon further research related to those very topics it touches on in the film, I discovered that the entire movie itself actually harbors an obscure form of racism that was reflected in many movies throughout the 1990s. Needless to say, even in today’s society we deal with these same issues of racism and intolerance for other people’s beliefs. However, within the most recent years it has evolved to focus more on the gay, lesbian and transgender community. History certainly can be seen as repeating itself as many of the arguments that gays and lesbians make regarding their civil rights and discrimination almost mirror the same arguments made back in the 1960s during the civil right movement. Reverend Dr. Phil Snider made this connection so blatantly clear in his speech that went viral on YouTube that he gave before the Springfield City Council of Missouri just a few weeks ago. In his speech, Dr. Snider cleverly took quotes directly from speeches given by white preachers in favor of racial segregation in the 1950 and 1960s and merely substituted select words and inserted ‘gays and lesbians’ (â€Å"Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech†). I think the twist of his speech highlights the main issues regarding any form of racism and discrimination and they most certainly could be applied to the issues of racism that America faced in the 1990s. The 1990s was saturated with debates over, court cases involving and numerous media outlets centering on the issues of racism and affirmative action. In May of 1992, Newsweek printed an article entitled â€Å"The Crossroads of Shattered Dreams† that summarized the conflicts of racism in the early 90s stating, â€Å"white[s] charge that affirmative action is unfair†¦blacks respond that it was unfair for them to be starved of opportunities by 300 years of slavery and discrimination.† That same year, the verdict of Rodney King’s case outraged the black community and sparked riots lasting six days with over 2,000 people injured and 55 people killed (â€Å"Riots Erupt in Los Angeles†). In March of 1996, the three white law school candidates charged that they were unfairly discriminated against and rejected for entrance into the school for less qualified minorities in the famous case Hopwood v. Texas Law School (â€Å"Hopwood v. University Texas Law School †). Just prior to the release of American History X in 1998, California enacted Proposition 209, which amended the state’s constitution to ban preferential treatment of any persons based on race or gender in public sector education, employment, and contracting (Parker). All of these enormously impactful events and numerous others shaped much of the discrimination that occurred in the 1990s. In fact, sociological research confirms â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects† or predispositions â€Å"linked to social stereotypes and does not so much stem from individual prejudices† (Tomaskovic-Devey). Nevertheless, the culmination of these types of incidents led to a demand for Hollywood to â€Å"headline positive characters of color† (Hughey 549). Producers and directors felt pressure to make-up for their own history of racist filmmaking and, consequently, this also gave rise to the development of a veiled type of racism within films referred to by Hughey himself as the â€Å"cinethetic racism†(550). Cinethetic racism in the 1990s was typically found in films that have a black character whose purpose in the film is to support the white protagonist. Typically this black character, coined the â€Å"magical Negro† by Hughey, was portrayed as the voice of reason, or having some other type wisdom, within the film and who selflessly helps the white character achieve his goals. â€Å"These films rest on friendly, helpful, bend-over-backwards black characters that do not seek to change their own impoverished status, but instead exhibit a primordial, hard-wired desire to use their magical power to correct the wrongs in a white world† (Hughey 556). The concept expressed in this quote is clearly evident in the film American History X during the many scenes of Derek in prison working in the laundry room with Lamont, a friendly black prisoner who attempts to befriend him. Eventually Derek is able let down his guard and the future interactions between them usually consist of Lamo nt humorously explaining how things work within the prison. There is one scene, however, that does somewhat contradict this concept of a â€Å"magical Negro† and, instead, causes Derek to experience a form of guilt. This contradiction is depicted in the scene of Lamont and Derek working in the laundry room and Derek very genuinely asks Lamont why he is in prison. Lamont explains how he was sentenced for assault on a police officer because he accidently dropped a TV on the officer’s foot that he was trying to steal. Derek initially resists and jokingly asks Lamont to tell the truth, but Lamont insists that he did not assault the police officer and only dropped the TV on the officer’s foot. This is the pivotal moment within the movie that shows Derek’s guilt and sympathy for the first time towards a black person. I think this is the most important scene throughout the entire film because it gives the audience exactly what they want: they want to see Derek experience this epiphany and for him to recognize how he has perpetuated discrimination against black people. But it does not take very long for the film to revert right back into the traditional cinethetic racist ways. In Derek’s last interaction with Lamont, the audience learns that during Derek’s stay within prison Lamont was protecting him from further beatings and rape after Derek chose to no longer affiliate with the Neo-Nazis within the prison. That scene ultimately preserves the concept of the â€Å"magical Negro† and that black people have this underlying desire to serve to the needs of white people. I liken this idea of cinethetic racism to what actors refer to the subtext of a script. Normally, the subtext refers to the underlying motives of a particular character, but this concept of cinethetic racism is like the â€Å"subtext† of an entire film. â€Å"Of greatest critical concern is how [magical Negro] films advantageously shore up white supremacist and normative orders while ostensibly posturing as an irreverent challenge to them† (Hughey 553). On the surface it appears to be a film that tries to defeat racism, but ironically there are hidden agendas that completely go against the moral of this story. Just as magical Negros are a disguised form of racism found in American films in the 1990s, there were also disguised forms of racism going on politically throughout the nation, more specifically in California. During the 1990s, racism and civil rights disputes were approaching the heights they reached in the civil rights era of the 1960s. However, after many decades of affirmative action policies attempting to right the wrongs minorities faced and with California experiencing an economic downturn, many whites became less tolerant of minorities receiving preferential treatment through affirmative action programs (Alvarez). Now the whites are claiming they were discriminated against in a form of â€Å"reverse discrimination.† What I find so interesting about the idea of â€Å"reverse discrimination† is that it implies that discrimination only naturally goes in one direction: whites against minorities. And, furthermore, that there will always be a certain level of racism, as if to suggest that there is a threshold for which it is acceptable, but also that it is the responsibility of the majority, white people, to keep it in check. Yet the moment any form of racism or discrimination is felt against whites, it is completely intolerable and demands political action. It was the supporters of Proposition 209 that argued that current affirmative action programs led public employers and universities to reject applicants because of their race, and that Proposition 209 would â€Å"return [us] to the fundamentals of our democracy,† as summarized in an article capturing the main arguments of Proposition 209 entitled â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination.† With in the same article it preached, â€Å"let us not perpetuate the myth that ‘minorities’ and women cannot compete without special preferences†¦vote for fairness not favoritism.† The fairness of Proposition 209 has been hotly debatably ever since it was enacted in 1997, but I think the dinner scene with Derek and his father in American History X most succinctly sums up the mindset of the many supporters of Proposition 209. The scene opens with a dinner table conversation between Derek and his father about the material he is learning for his English class. His father than expresses his distaste for such material with the following monologue: â€Å"All this stuff about making everything equal†¦ it’s not as easy as it looks†¦you gotta trade in great books for black books now? You gotta question these things Derek. We are not just talking about books here, we’re talking about my job. I got two blacks guys on my squad now that got their jobs over a couple of white guys who actually scored higher on the test. Does that make sense? They got their job because they were black not because they were the best? America’s about if you do your best you get the job†¦not this affirmative blacktion crap†¦.it’s nigger bullshit.† This dinner scene perfectly exemplifies the concept that 1) the moment whites feel they are being discriminated they instantly raise the red flag and 2) that â€Å"discrimination is more often the result of organizational practices that have unintentional effects [†¦] and does not so much stem from individual prejudices,† as I stated earlier. Another aspect that I find so interesting about American History X was how writer David McKenna was able to pull directly from real life situations to add dialogue into this screenplay. McKenna and Edward Norton actually rewrote a portion of the script quoting from Governor Pete Wilson’s speech advocating Proposition 209 in 1995 (Goldstein). More importantly, it was used in a scene where Derek is trying to energize a group of young skin heads before they vandalize a grocery store owned by minorities. I find it so ironic that the character of a racist Neo-Nazi was reciting actual words from a speech promoting the removal of affirmative actions polices that were, allegedly, intended to reduce discrimination and increase equality. When I discovered this tidbit of information I was completely blown away. I had no idea how closely this movie reflected real problems going on in society in the 1990s. McKenna’s use of Pete Wilson’s speech is clearly an example of art ref lecting reality, but Pete Wilson’s speech was not the only source from reality in which McKenna got his inspiration. McKenna grew up in Southern California, where the film story takes place, and personally witnessed bigotry and racism (Bruce). From his encounters and extensive research, McKenna decided that the point he tried â€Å"to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist†¦[McKenna] wanted an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost† (Bruce). Personally, I think McKenna succeeded in having that be the main message of the film: the impressionability of a young mind and that all behaviors are learned. The film simultaneously follows Derek’s upbringing and how he becomes involved in the Neo-Nazi organization and how his involvement with that group greatly influenced his younger brother Danny. The dinner scene I detailed above is the key scene from McKenna’s screenplay that supports the idea that racism is a learned behavior stemmed from outside organizational practices. However, despite how well received the movie was and the numerous nominations Edward Norton received for his performance, that is not the original message the director intended. Tony Kaye was the director of American History X and, ironically, he also turned out to be a major competing persuasive force throughout the entire film making process. Kaye battled with directors, producers, writer David McKenna and Edward Norton himself claiming that New Line Cinema never allowed him to create his vision of the film going as far as to take out full page ads in trade magazines bashing the film and even requested to have his name removed from the film entirely and replaced with the pseudonym â€Å"Humpy Dumpty† (Goldstein). In a statement made shortly after the film’s release, Kaye contended that Edward Norton edited a majority of the film in order to increase his screen time in the film and that the producers did not allow Kaye an â€Å"opportunity to present a black voice to provide depth and balance to the film† and furthered that he wanted the film to be an â€Å"homage to free speech and responsibility† (Leinberger). I think the main reason why Kaye’s original vision never made it to the film was because it clashed so much with McKenna’s original message. McKenna wrote the film based off of his personal experience witnessing acts of racisms in Southern California in throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Whereas, Kaye is not only much older than McKenna, but grew up in United Kingdom and had only been living in the United states for a few years before he got involved in the film at all, and, therefore, did not quite have the same outlook for the script (Topel). It should also be noted that this was Kaye’s first feature film and his previous directing experience came from extensive work with TV commercials and music videos (Goldstein). And while McKenna himself may not have been directly involved during the filming process, as most writers are not, I think Edward Norton and the producers all believed in and followed McKenna’s vision because of how much it related to the struggles that America was facing at that time. This is not to suggest that Kaye’s vision for the film was wrong, but that producers have to consider what the audience wants and expects to see. From studying American History X, I have learned how racism evolved in a very peculiar fashion. As racism, specifically towards black people, became less and less accepted by whites over the last 150 years, certain segments of society seemed to find ways to continue a small, but undeniable level of racism since it was no longer socially acceptable among the general population to outwardly express it with for instance, lynching. Racism and discrimination has certainly come a long way over the last sixty years, but it has definitely not been eradicated. In fact, some would argue that now whites are beginning to experience a type of â€Å"reverse discrimination† due unforeseen effects from affirmative action programs. In regards to American films however, one would have to sit down personally with directors and producers of 1990s films to determine if they intentionally created these magical Negro characters in order to perpetuate racism. Aside from the fact that it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever openly admit to that, I personally think that cinethetic racism and the magical Negro were just an unintended consequence of a fad that was going on throughout Hollywood at the time, the fad being to have black people portray certain qualities of wisdom and â€Å"magical powers† within films. In either case, it is very curious that a movie such as America History X meets the qualifications for cinethetic racism. In my opinion, for a film that was intended to enlighten the audience of the problem of racism in America, yet ultimately perpetuated a veiled version of it, could no more flawlessly fit into this concept of cinethetic racism. Also, the argument of whether or not reality reflects art or if art reflects reality is just as frustrating to argue as whether the chicken or the egg came first. But in the case for this film, I would contend that American History X, art, is reflecting reality. In fact, the notion behind cinethetic racism and the magical Negro tie in so neatly with the arguments for Proposition 209 and Gov. Pete Wilson’s speech that it is just uncanny. With a closer look into both, one can see that each share their own masked form of racism veiled as though whites are helping minorities. Art was imitating the subversive racism that was occurring in r eality. As an actor myself, I think it is unfortunate for director Tony Kaye that, for whatever reason, he was not able to get his original vision of the film produced. I think because of the numerous racially historical events that were occurring the 1990s that producing a movie which centered on the freedom of speech around racism as Kaye originally intended, was the last thing any audience wanted to watch in a theatre. All in all, I think film did a fabulous job highlighting historical events and attitudes going on throughout society during the 1990s, despite the fact that the film may be perpetuating racism at a subversive level. Works Cited American History X. Dir. Tony Kaye. Perf. Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. New Line Cinemas, 1998. Film. Alvarez, R. Michael, and Lisa G. Bedolla. â€Å"The Revolution Against Affirmative Action in California: Racism, Economics, and Proposition 209.† State Politics and Policy Quarterly 4.1 (2004): 1-17. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Bruce, David. â€Å"Racism in America=Hating Others.† American History X: A Hollywood Jesus Film Review. HollywoodJesus.com, n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Goldstein, Patrick. â€Å"Courting Trouble.† Edward Norton Information Page. N.p., 13 1998. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School†. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012 . Hughey, Matthew W. â€Å"White Redemption and Black Stereotypes in â€Å"Magical Negro† Films.† Social Problems 56.3 (2009): 543-77. www.jstor.org. University of California Press, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Leinberger, Gisela. â€Å"Film Director Tony Kaye Makes Statement at Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate; Director of ‘American History X’ Speaks to Film’s Issues.† PR News Wire. N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Parker, Beth H. â€Å"The Impact of Proposition 209 on Education, Employment and Contracting.† ERA: Prop 209 Impact. Equal Rights Advocates, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. . Preacher Phil Snider Gives Interesting Gay Rights Speech. Perf. Rev. Dr. Phil Snider. Www.YouTube.com. YouTube, 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Prohibition Against Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by State and Other Public Entities. Initiative Constitutional Amendment..† California’s 1996 General Election Web Site! . N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Riots erupt in Los Angeles.† 2012. The History Channel website. Oct 21 2012 . Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald, and Patricia Warren. â€Å"Explaining and Eliminating Racial Profiling.† Contexts. American Sociological Association, 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. . Topel, Fred. â€Å"Interview with Lake of Fire Filmmaker Tony Kaye.† About.com Oct 21 2012. Whitaker, Mark. â€Å"A Crisis Of Shattered Dreams.† Newsweek. 5 1991: 1. Web. 19 Oct. 2012..

Massey Commission Report

This document is an excerpt from the Massey Commission Report (1951). In the year 1949, a commission was set up to encourage the awareness in arts, social sciences, humanities and letters. The members of the commission were appointed by the federal government by commonly applied to the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, appointed by the federal government with Vincent Massey, the chancellor of the University of Toronto as it head. The other members of the commission included â€Å"Arthur Surveyer, a civil engineer of Montreal; Norman A.M. MacKenzie, president of the University of British Columbia; the Most Rev Georges-Henri Là ©vesque, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Laval U; and Hilda Neatby, professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan† (Kallmann 2006 in The Canadian Encyclopedia). The document does offer some background understanding of the period it was produced in. The document concerns mainly the measure taken to remedy the lack of importance accorded to humanities and social studies in the curriculum, until then in the Canadian educational front. It is known from the previous chapters that the three R’s i.e. Reading Writing and Arithmetic were given the utmost importance in the schools of Canada with sciences in general, being neglected. The document explicates that the lack had been recognized even prior to the formation of the commission, in the establishment of National Research Council for scientific studies.   It seemed to have met with some success too, as indicated by the words â€Å"that the success of National Research Council in encouragement of scientific studies offered an example that should perhaps be followed†. The audience of the document was, obviously, the general public of Canada. The commission conducted research in four major cities of Canada, between the months August 1949 and July 1950. Hundreds of petitions were received and heard in these four cities, and on the basis of these briefs, experts were called in to prepare and include special studies that imparted more knowledge of the sciences. However, the Massy commission has rejected emulation of the National Research Council   Ã‚  in setting up the National Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The document proceeded to give the reason for rejection too, as that â€Å"the implied parallel† between the two was â€Å"misleading.† Furthermore, it held the earlier National Research Council partially responsible for the current crisis, since the scientific studies were â€Å"isolated† into a â€Å"separate body† and also because they were subjected to â€Å"too rigid techniques and methods of organization.† The purpose of the document was to encourage studies in humanities and social sciences, by establishing â€Å"flexible schemes of scholarships and grants† which will aid the Canadian people to have scientific education; and â€Å"international exchanges† especially under world bodies such as the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and importantly â€Å"closer contacts with France and Great Britain†. It has to be remembered that during this period Quebec was given autonomy in cultural issues and hence was successful to a large extent in preserving the French identities and cultural awareness in its population, causing greater divide between itself and other English dominated areas of Canada. It must be said that Massey commission was largely successful in its intent and purpose, because most of the commission’s recommendations were executed by the federal government in the subsequent years, despite opposition from the French provinces. Source: Report Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters, and Sciences 1949-1951. (Ottawa: King’s Printer 1951):376-7 and Kallmann, Helmut – The Canadian Encyclopedia. â€Å"Massey Commission† In The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved on 28 Oct 2006. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC838040      

Social Observation Paper

I decided for my social observation the mall would be a good place to start. I came there on a Friday evening when there should be plenty of people to watch. I also sat in the Barnes and Noble cafe after that to observe. I expected to see a lot of people shopping and conversing. A few things did stand out to me within the few hours I was there. Some things I didn’t expect to see. We are expected to behave a certain way in public determined by our culture as to what is acceptable. Some people stay well within the lines while some might stray outside the norms but never too far typically.Usually the ones to travel to the extremes are adolescents and teenagers. This is what I observed. As I sat in the chair near the entrance to Bergner’s I noticed a couple groups1 of kids, they looked like they were probably in 8th grade or near there. One group totaled six kids and you could tell who the leaders with high status2 were in the group. They displayed achieved status3 and walk ed in the middle typically with couple others following behind trying to keep up and stay in the conversation.I call it achieved status because they had more confidence and walked taller than the others, of course they could be from a rich family but from visual evidence achieved status seems to be the case here. The group seemed playful and was very pushy towards one another. While the leaders looked like they came out on top and were more dominant keeping the others in line, and sometimes ignoring the other members of the group, showing they weren’t impressed by them. Another Group was smaller with only three kids in it.These kids seemed like they had less energy and were more of wandering at a leisurely pace compared to the other group which was moving swiftly. Both groups walked by about three times, apparently they had nothing better to do with their time and weren’t shopping. I’m assuming they were probably dropped off by their parents to hang out at the m all with their friends and maybe get some food at the food court. Another idea is that their parents could be busy shopping and they are just wandering while their parents are busy, I think this is less probable.The larger group was Dominated by all males, which is another thing I didn’t expect. You would think that the group would have at least one or two females in it, statistically speaking. The smaller group was female dominated with two females and a single male in it. I observed the male and he didn’t seem to follow his gender role4. This made me think because I have a gay friend and homosexual men seem to familiarize with females more easily than heterosexual males.Also I noticed a trend that most gay men spent most of their time being raised by their mother with a more distant or even non-existent father figure. It is probably not fair to make assumptions about the lone male in the group, but I’m assuming he fits in this stereotype5. The other thing I no ticed about this group is that they all seemed to be equal; there wasn’t one that put themselves before the others. I also sat in the cafe at Barnes and Noble for a while and observed socialization and interactions. The first people I noticed when I was sitting were a couple walking through the store.The Female had her man by the hand, I noticed her hand was palm down, signifying authority, and was leading him off somewhere, maybe she was in a hurry to get somewhere or had just caught him eying another female. Either way she seemed to be the more dominant one in the relationship, which does not correspond with gender roles or the typical culture6 of ours. The next thing I noticed were the people sitting in the cafe. There were pairs of people everywhere, there were people sitting by themselves reading but there were a lot of groups of two, but never a group more than two.This to me was interesting and I asked why this might be. I came to the conclusion that the coffee shop is a more intimate setting to socialize one on one, also the space was smaller so that could have contributed to the fact too. I noticed an elderly couple, they seemed to comfortable and familiar with each other that they didn’t need to even communicate verbally they could sort of sense what the other wanted and then asked a question. For example I noticed the man shifted his body and glanced toward snack sign, luckily I was within earshot to hear the conversations of the people around me.She knew right away the old man was hungry and asked him if he wanted a cheesecake, Apparently this was one of his favorites cause he said â€Å"heck yeah! †. The couple did not display value7 over one another, but rather value for each other. This was my day out evaluating the interactions and socialization of our local people here in Rockford. I am curious to see what kind of interactions I would see at a market in indo-china and how different that would be to our culture here. It mig ht be so different that I couldn’t understand it.I learned a lot by watching the people and found a few interesting things. Like how groups of teenagers with time can be so full of confidence and have what seems like all the time in the world on their hands. Also on the other side of the spectrum are the seniors I observed that seemed to be content and also have all the time in the world. While it seems for me there are not enough hours in a day to get everything I need done. 1. Groups: a number of people or things that are classed together 2.Status: The economic or social level of an individual 3. Achieved Status: The level of status gained through effort or work 4. Gender Role: The social expectations of a male or female individual 5. Stereotype: an unreliable generalization about all members of a group 6. Culture: the totality of learned socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. 7. Value: a collective conception of what is considered good, de sirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper in a culture.

Horst P Horst Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Horst P Horst - Research Paper Example Horst was born on 14th August, 1906 as the second born son of a protestant Max Bohrmann and Klara Schoeenbrodt. His father was also a shop owner. Horst became prominent in Paris during wars and conflicts in Paris when he published his first in a magazine in 1931 (Horst 6).The following years, Horsts pieces of work comprised double exposures, radical composition, nudity and other unique techniques which produced some iconic fashion photographs like Lisa with Harp and Mainbocher done in 1939. Despite his association with fashion portraits, Horst captured photographs of brightest personalities, pottering with influences ranging from Romanticism to Surrealism. He states that he likes taking photos because of his love for life and he loves photographing people because of his love for humanity (Horst 8). At a time when war was obvious between Germany and America in 1941, Horst was given a task to provide his services despite not being enrolled. It was between 1930s and 1940s that Horst became popular hence being regarded as his best productive years (Horst 12). His excellence at using color transparencies for both fashion and portrait sittings and covers made him popular amongst the photographers (Horst 13). A typical instance is that of war escapism entitled Rita Hayworth picture Cover girl which gave Horst the window to produce the best film-star showcased in seven different portraits of cover girl Sussan Shaw fixed against silk design. Horsts photograph of Loretta Young is an immediate classic portrait presented in the Vogue edition which includes photography master pieces selected by photographer Edward (Horst 15). Photographs taken during the 1950s in Europe distant from studio interference of the Vogue editor, brought about plain-air quality (Horst 19). The photographs extende d from Ian Fleming who was shot at Kitzbeuhel to an essay of a German conductor

Importance of trainning and education. Is it important yes or no why Essay

Importance of trainning and education. Is it important yes or no why - Essay Example This can be achieved only through learning. We also need education to answer all the basic questions we may have about life – how did life originate, what is land, water and air, why is the sky blue, how can we build houses, and so on. Education is required on both personal and professional fronts. In order to acquire a job, we need to be qualified for it and possess an appropriate degree. In personal life, we need to communicate, calculate, reflect on our experiences, know basic manners, etiquette and civic behavior, etc. All this is acquired through education at home, at school/college and everywhere else. In order to apply the learning acquired through education, one needs proper training. For instance, learning how to manufacture a car theoretically does not necessarily enable an individual to actually perform the task. This especially applies to specialized functions that are a part of any profession. Therefore, to be able to have a good professional career, one needs to be trained for the job. Training, however, is not just required for a successful career but also for basic chores that are a part of daily life. Even the very act of speaking, that comes naturally to every individual, is acquired through the education and training that an individual subconsciously acquires in childhood. Innumerable surveys have shown that employers seek well qualified employees. Employers are especially interested in problem-solving and communication skills that include computational skills, good work habits, linguistics skills, money handling, and oral and written communication (Natriello 1). These skills can only be acquired through education. In addition to education, employers place more emphasis on experience especially that acquired through internships or prior employment (Fischer 1). Experience is acquired through training, either on job, or through internships. Employers place more weight on experience because it ensures that a

Is cheating wrong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Is cheating wrong - Essay Example ntage in competitions it is considered to be violation of objective sports rules, because the results under dope aren’t the objective estimation of abilities of the sportsman’s body. That’s why dope-control was invented to make sports results objective, otherwise sports would have become a competition of the best dopes invented. Thinking about such global realms as politics cheating is even worse here. When we face with such thing as ballot-box stuffing on elections we always consider it as an outrage of human’s rights and the main principles of democracy. If a politician wins elections using illegal cheatings than lately his directory can lead to terrible consequences and the entire country can suffer. Any cheating is violation of the objective and moral principles established long time ago. If we start considering cheating as something normal it will mean that we allow people to do whatever they want. And when the forbidden principles become allowed it means that we lose the fringe between good and bad, which itself is very

Analysis paper for History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Analysis paper for History - Essay Example The South had more agricultural products than the North with more farm land. The South had more financial success than the North. Although the taxes were less per person in the North due to the population the North brought in more tax revenues. Congressional representation was more in the North as well. The statistics above are due to the lifestyles of both regions. Southern life revolved around plantations. Slaves, land, and agricultural goods created more revenue for the South. In the South an education was not needed to be a farmer, plantation owner, and so forth. The women also did not work or read in the South as much in the North. In the North, men and women needed education or skills to work. More men labored in the North than in the South. Slaves did the labor in the South, whereas in the North men competed for the jobs. The lifestyles were extremely different. This is reflected in the census data. The major differences between slave states and free states are education, finance, and agriculture. The workers from up North were poorer, but better educated. The slave factor gave more wealth to the Southern states, but also crippled them in the education department. Not having slaves made the Northerners have a higher literacy

How did the successive stages of capitalism change the UK's accounting Essay - 1

How did the successive stages of capitalism change the UK's accounting and financial reporting processes - Essay Example The other is that which supplies his immediate consumption." (Smith, 1776, Web) Revenue in this regard relates to surplus economic production as opposed mere subsistence, but also represents a larger, rational pursuit of this surplus in profit. Yet, it is important to note that Adam Smith does not write specifically of â€Å"capitalism† as a system, but does define the importance of capital in economic relations critically in his analysis. (Novara et al., 2003) In his text â€Å"On Wages† (1817), David Ricardo writes that, "Capital is that part of the wealth of a country which is employed in production, and consists of food, clothing, tools, raw materials, machinery, etc. necessary to give effect to labour." (Ricardo, 1817, Web) Yet, it is Marx who develops capitalism as a system theoretically in his works such as â€Å"Das Kapital† (1867) and others which would inaugurate and define nearly all later intellectual treatment of the subject. (Bryer, 2005) I. A Defin ition of Capitalism In "Wage Labour and Capital" (1849) Marx initiates a fundamental definition of capital: "Capital consists of raw materials, instruments of labour and means of subsistence of all kinds, which are utilized in order to produce new raw materials, new instruments of labour and new means of subsistence... ... ystems, trade, and labor exchanges are found from the early stages of human development historically, but Sombart points to the use of accounting standards as an essential characteristic of capitalism. Through this interpretation, historians can search primary source materials from various societies to determine the degree that accounting records were kept. Where systems of agriculture and early industry involved work relations and paid labor, the development of capitalism historically in the society is evident. Similarly, a community monetary system is essential for the development of marketplace capitalism, as well as the exchange of surpluses in supply and labor. As Basil Yamey writes in "Accounting and the Rise of Capitalism" (1964): "Werner Sombart was largely responsible for the broad thesis that systematic of scientific accounting, identified with the double-entry system, played an important part in releasing, activating or accentuating the 'rationalistic pursuit of profits,' and essential of the capitalist spirit." (Winjum, 1971) III. The Pre-Capitalist Era (4000 BC to 1000AD) In the pre-capitalist era, money systems allowed agriculturalists to trade surplus products in a manner that encouraged the growth of capitalism and forms the basis for economic exchange. Some theorists relate capitalism to a system of political values, as the theory of capitalism developed from within the political context of the 18th Century related to the onset of democracy, liberalism, and modernism historically. This creates the question of whether the political definition of capitalism can be legitimately applied to early commercial, industrial, and agricultural trading activity in England in the pre-historical or feudal period. The development of artisan groups and skilled labor

Objectives of the 1933 Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Objectives of the 1933 Act - Essay Example The second objective is to prohibit, misrepresentations, deceit, and other misguiding activities when selling securities to the citizens (Johnson, 76). The act says that the offered securities sold to the citizens need to undergo registration by filing the statement of registration with SEC. The prospectus is normally files together with the statement of registration. The statement of registration contains the issuer’s property, security’s description, information about the issuer, and the security’s information. Assuming the statement is suspected to be incomplete, the SEC is entitled to disapprove the statement. When any of the material is missing, SEC is allowed to suspend the registration. The agency tends to provide letters of deficiency after the registration documents are reviews (The Securities Act Of 1933). The SEC uses the technique to suggest or require changes of additional information. Additionally, the act has some exemptions which tend to exempt al l secondary trading that involve the sold and bought

Using The Internet In Hospitality And Tourism Industry Research Paper

Using The Internet In Hospitality And Tourism Industry - Research Paper Example Present-day travelers are hyper-interactive, who are texting, tweeting, emailing, communicating with friends via Facebook and commenting on their current or previous travels. The advent of social media and mobile Web means that potential guests for the hospitality industry have continuous access to multi-channel interaction and sharing opinions. Thus hotel websites have to be designed in order to handle this hyper-interactive user. Thus hotel websites can no longer be static brochures with stale and boring context. (Max Starkov). The Holiday Inn hotel is a subsidiary of the IHG group of companies. It is a brand which remains consistent towards the board. Guests at the 1874 Holiday Inn hotels around the world know that they will be treated well and have a certain level of expectations regarding the service. In fact, the idea for the Holiday Inn hotels came into the mind of its founder, Kemmons Wilson when he was disappointed with the consistency of roadside motels during a trip to Washington DC. Consistency is a great advantage when it comes to providing services. The art of total quality management lies with the hospitality greats like Marriott, Hilton and of course Holiday Inn but when it comes to social media policies and the ever-changing world of the internet consistency has a huge downside. Consistency is not the only key feature of the Holiday Inn hotels and resorts. Innovation goes side by side with consistency. Holiday Inn hotels were the first ones to introduce the Holidex reservation system giving its competitors a run for the money. Holiday Inn hotels also initiated the idea for indoor pools, termed Holidromes, turning its hotels into resorts.

DuPont Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

DuPont Case Analysis Essay INTRODUCTION: DuPont was established in the year 1802 by French Chemist, E.I DuPont de Nemours in USA. DuPont became successful by the end of third year and it started exporting back to its continent, Europe. In the span of these 200 years, it had shaped into a global company with variety of enterprises like Chemical, Energy, Science Based and High Technology. It maximized its manufacturing or processing operations in 40 countries and its products were sold in 150 places by the end of 1990. The company’s one third revenue comes from the European market from 1960. There are 50 companies, which employed more than 19,000 people in 14 countries of Europe. The scientists of DuPont developed the synthetic fibres industry by introducing nylon. They were the leading manufacturer of manmade fibres in the world. The most important product of DuPont is â€Å"Carpet Fibre†. This division was setup in Geneva, Switzerland which holds the RD, marketing and production areas. Products were produced in the UK and the sales offices are in Germany, the UK, France, Belgium, Spain, Scandinavia, and Holland. CASE CONTEXT: DuPont’s product nylon carpet fibre is not different from other fibres available in the market; however they were the top players in fibre industry. The parameters like color and texture are the factors that differ in the carpets. The fibre industry has nothing to do with these things. The carpet industry is concerned with these directly and they in turn led to the wholesalers, retailers and in turn to the customers. From the consumers point of view the carpet should be colorful, its texture is important and it should be easily maintained. DuPont has done extensive research on the customers third interest i.e. maintenance and founded the â€Å"Stain Master† that would allow to remove the stains permanently. With this invention, DuPont’s market share increased by 5%. This was first introduced in USA, later on with minor changes it has been launched in Europe. It gave mixed results for the company. DuPont’s decision is that the mills should have certain quality to use the process of stain master. In Germany, many mills felt that they don’t have these standards set by them; hence they didn’t show interest in the product. The UK market and France market reacted positively. Many companied executed the same formulae by giving low quality material at lower prices. This led to the stake of DuPont’s position in the market by 1980. FACTS: DuPont conducted research in the European Industry after the decline of its position in the market. They came to know some important facts: Flow of DuPont’s Fibres: DuPont’s Fibres Carpet Mills Wholesalers Retailers End Users The carpet mills are concentrated in only three countries the UK, France and Belgium. 80-20 rule is applied in European market; 80% of the business is carried but top 20% manufacturers. To stimulate the market, they used the help of Style Books to the wholesalers and retailers. They were not loyal customers to the fibre industry. They focused on the company that provides material at the best price. Retail and Wholesale operations are very different in these countries. In Germany  wholesalers dominated in the UK and Belgium retailers dominated the supply chain. PROBLEM: DuPont concentrated only on the carpet mills and they didn’t make any effort in knowing the end users. They invested money in RD for making innovations in fibres that is to be supplied to the carpet mills. They are least bothered to know about the customers. ALTERNATIVES: DuPont need to concentrate on the techniques that value the customers without affecting the supply chain. As carpet mills are the important customers to DuPont, they need to retain them. â€Å"Creating loyal customers is at the heart of every business†-Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. Identify the â€Å"Customer Benefit† and â€Å"Customer Cost† of the users and provide the product at â€Å"Customer-perceived value† (CPV). Monitor the satisfaction of the customer by conducting surveys. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES: In Europe, there are 60 carpet mills that can level DuPont’s standards; however only 50% of them are using their fibres. Rest of them wandering around for best price. The mills using DuPont’s fibres should be retained and they need to analyze the CPV value and set the â€Å"price† accordingly. The â€Å"place† is also very important for setting the price as European market is fragmented unlike USA market which is having only four players. The customers give least preference to carpets when they are buying house- hold equipments. They are not enjoying or admiring to shop for carpeting as it is just a blanket to protect the floor. Customers spend at least 10 weeks in buying the carpets.52% Customers buy carpets if the existing one is worn out. Repurchase cycle for carpets is 12 years. Customers are not satisfied with the product information. The retailers and wholesalers are not providing full information. They are not providing information on price, color, fitting rooms and quality. If â€Å"product† and â€Å"service† quality is maintained, customers would retain with them only. They didn’t â€Å"promote† their products. RECOMMENDATIONS: Retain the customers by giving them offers that attracts them easily. Provide sample fibres to 50% carpet mills that are not using DuPont’s material and offer a price that satisfy their needs. Provide a portal for the customers to choose their own color and design according to their choices by collaborating with mills. Provide better customer care services by training the retailers and wholesalers. Provide catalogues to the customers for better awareness of the product, whether it is retailer, wholesaler or final end user. PLAN OF ACTION: Identify the customers who are loyal to the company, give them incentives and promote the product brand. Select the location where sales of the company are not up to the mark and apply the alternatives to them i.e. setting price and giving offers to the carpet mills. Later on collaborate with the mills in that location and train the wholesalers and retailers about the product and give them the full information along with the catalogues. Provide better services to the customers by setting a portal where they can choose their own designs and place order to the carpet mills. Implement the above mentioned steps for three months and find the sales growth. Spread the plan if it worked in the selected location, by making minute changes to it according to the location. CONTINGENCY PLAN: Since DuPont is an expert and leading manufacturer in the manmade fibres, it can go for â€Å"VERTICAL INTEGRATION†. Instead of supplying fibres to carpet mills, it can set up a mill and manufacture carpets. It can directly deal with the customers. The above mentioned plan can be executed without the intervention of the mills. The Customer Satisfaction can be monitored and it can get to know the loopholes in the process and thus leading to correction of the mistakes and increasing the sales growth of the company.

Proposed amendment Essay Example for Free

Proposed amendment Essay Brief Presentation of Issue The 9/11 tragedy has led the US Federal Government to enact laws of national security that crosses all boarders. On October 2001, the US Congress has passed into law the US Patriot Act which formulates homeland security measures and combating burdens of the State on vulnerabilities and risks of present and future terrorist threat. The US Patriot Act of 2001 was the first enacted law that legally addresses the strong counter-terrorism measures of the US government that empowers all rules and regulations of the state’s homeland security. All US government agencies were enjoined to formulate a national and international operating guidelines relating to addressing a firmer global counter-terrorism policies and strategic sharing of burdens of information with allied international governments. The timeline of enforcement of the US Patriot Act of 2001 has accounted serious human errors in the conduct of enforcement to which the standard operating procedures constituted by the rules of court have been summarily neglected and to the point of being grossly deviated, specifically in serving search and arrest warrants that is likewise violating the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The issue of encroachment of the rules of court in issuance of search and arrest warrant has become a constitutional concern of the US Congress and the United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights (Leggiere, P. 2004). Framing of An Amendment to Search and Seizure Order The above cited issues has come the proposal to supplement the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights that constitutes the provision on search and seizure. The 4th Amendment may be therefore supplemented with an enabling clause as an Amendment on specific provision that states: â€Å"Constitutional liabilities in the issuance of search and seizure order. † A Brief Resolution of the Proposed Amendment The following proposed resolution formulates and creates the enabling clause of the Amendment: â€Å"Whereas, be it known that the facade of human error in the conduct of search and seizure may infringe the performance and call of duty in safeguarding the national security and protecting the lives of citizenry, and may violate the civil and constitutional rights of every citizens of the state and the immigrants;† â€Å"Whereas, be it further known that deviation and neglect in issuing search and seizure order may not constitutionally uphold the enforcement of such law and jeopardize the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights;† â€Å"Be it resolved, as it is hereby resolve that the proposed amendment shall state the provision of Constitutional liabilities in the issuance of search and seizure order,† that shall egally address the unauthorized and illegal search and seizure prior to the proceedings of proper and appropriate Court of laws. † Thus, the Amendment on â€Å"Constitutional liabilities in the issuance of search and seizure order† seeks to uphold the constitutional right of every state citizen and immigrants and deterrence to commission of human error of conducting authorities. Exploratory Issues to the Amendment The â€Å"constitutional liabilities in the issuance of search and seizure order† emanates an action that supplant the human error, as may be singled out in the performance and call of duty, and the flaws of government directives, authorization and function that engages constitutional liabilities in the conduct of search and seizure. Given the fact that despite the continuing violation of human rights, the human error and flaws of authorities are not given due response by the Court of law due to the absence of fundamental and legal precedents that shall interpret the violation. Likewise, the human error itself defeats 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights wherein the fair trial composes the right of a person to be served with proper procedure prior to prosecution. To cite a relative incident, we can quote the disclosure of Phil Leggiere (2004) who stated in his investigative article, that: â€Å" the US Congress and Senate approve the Military Commissions Act, which authorizes torture and strips non-US citizen detainees (suspected of terrorist ties) of the right of habeas corpus—which includes formal charges, counsel and hearings—and also empowers the US president at his discretion to declare US citizens as enemy combatants and subject to detention without charge or due process†. The above cited disclosure further stated that, in so far as the US Court of law is concerned, the constitutional liability of the US government authority that has been directly involved is still pending for court interpretation and documentation of circumstantial facts. Obviously, the violation boils down to the presumed call of duty and in the name of national security to which the constitutional liability is impeded to surface (Leggiere 2004). Pros and Cons Pros. The primary advantage of adopting the proposed Amendment would enable a legal precedent that shall formally address the constitutional liability of the human error and the fine tuning of the US government authorities in the conduct of enforcement. The Court of law shall then recognize the pleadings of human right violations from the circumstance of complex conduct of search and seizure. The parliamentary procedure and judicial process may use the proposed Amendment as an examining tool on the extent and scope of violations wherein qualification and determination of offense shall be dealt with both civil and criminal punishment. Above all the benefits of the proposed Amendment is the articulation and emphasis of the search and seizure application to which the people, and specifically the victims of mistaken identity, shall be safeguarded from harm of circumstantial neglect, denial and justification of acquiring national security measures. Cons What could be claimed as a disadvantage upon the passage of the proposed Amendment is the dysfunction in covert and strategic operation in homeland security management. The dysfunction could be a vague issue but could be a burden in gathering of intelligence information for suspected terrorists and enemies of the state. However, in today’s application of advanced cyber-technologies, the US authorities may ultimately resort and rely on such expensive tools that may be useful enough for intelligence reconnaissance. Although it is still a common knowledge and understanding that the CIA still rely on the so-called open-source information relative to legal, Para-legal and covert extraction (Elsea, J. K. 2004). At this point of view, the covert extraction of information from sources (which could have been a result of torture), would be employed by the proposed Amendment. In which case, expose’ of information in the open court may bring vulnerability of covert operation. However, in that regard, there may be a venue to contain the inquiry on constitutional liabilities. Conclusion The Bill of Rights represents the people itself in the annals of democratic fundamentals. It is where the Constitution is made to uphold the moral virtues of citizenry and the government that represent them. Without the moral virtues of a constitution, a volatile and fragile democracy negates the human rights. It is therefore a moral obligation of every citizen in various governments to protect and lead into vanguard the proliferation of moral ascendancy for their rights above all the creation of the fundamental law of the land. References American Homepage. The Bill of Rights. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://ahp. gatech. edu/bill_of_rights_1789. html. Bruns, R. A. (1986). A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the United States Constitution. National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives Trust Fund Board, Washington, DC. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www. archives. gov/national-archives- experience/charters/print_friendly. html? page=constitution_history_content. htmltitle=NARA%20%7C%20The%20Constitution%20of%20the%20United%20States%3A%20A%20History. Human Rights Watch (2004). Immigrants’ Rights under Attack in House Bill (H. R. 10). Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www. hrw. org/english/docs/2004/10/06/usdom9469. htm. Jennifer K. Elsea, J. K.(2004). U. S. Treatment of Prisoners in Iraq: Selected Legal Issues. CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www. us. gov/RL32395/pdf. Leggiere, P. (2004). Bill of Rights Under Bush: A Timeline. Mondo Globo Alpha. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://mondoglobo. ning. com/group/questionauthority/forum/topic/show? id=1509099%3ATopic%3A2937. Rapczynski, J. (2000). Search and Seizure. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/2/00. 02. 04. x. html. Rodley, N. S. (1999). The Treatment of Prisoners Under International Law. Oxford Press, 2nd Edition. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://books. google. com/books? id=pOpdOyPn36ECpg=PA3lpg=PA3dq=protocol+on+treatment+of+war+prisonerssource=webots=vmMso_Qs-3sig=C2BMjcTvmC. Yale University (2007). 1996-2007: The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. The Lillian Goldman Law Library in Memory of Sol Goldman, 127 Wall Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www. yale. edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03. htm.

RIM Project Management Challenges

RIM Project Management Challenges HIRAL GOPIYANI 1. What were some of the challenges that RIM faced to protect its intellectual property, and how did RIM handle those challenges? The rising of RIM as the producer of the worlds main image of remote email gadget uncovers much about the arrangement of social conditions in which the organization and innovation created. RIM was one of the main organizations in the multi-billion dollar versatile email   company.In view of RIMs driving business sector position, the industrys development will probably keep on fueling the interest for BlackBerrys on a comparing scale. Moreover, RIM adopted an extraordinary strategy in advertising the BlackBerry. There are numerous challenges RIM confronted to secure its Intellectual Property and also how those difficulties were taken care of. One such case is RIM versus Glenayre Technologies, Inc. This claim, a reaction to a prior suit delivered by Glenayre, demanded that Glenayre outrightly imitated BlackBerry innovation and advertising. Later in 2001, Glenayres underlying 1999 patent suit against RIM was rejected. In mid 2002 RIM and Glenayre consented to drop their outstanding claims and cooperate to build up a remote email gadget that would consolidate Glenayres informing programming. Amid this same time, RIM likewise acquired a U.S. patent called the BlackBerry Single Mailbox Integration patent, which secured innovation that gave clients the capacity to have a solitary email address on both remote and desktop frameworks. In 2002 RIM endured so obliterating a legitimate annihilation that it was requested to pay NTPs lawful bills. An interests court generally maintained the judgment against the organization this year. At same time, BlackBerry clients soared into the millions-yet every step of the way, as opposed to permit the licenses, RIM opposed; and, as it has opposed, the bills was mounted 2. What were some of the industry factors that influenced RIM? Individuals need increasingly savvy highlights in their telephones , however they likewise need it to be an okay telephone with better than average battery life and they especially need their essential applications to fill in as easily as could reasonably be expected. Whats more, obviously, the IT division needs to realize that the security components are in place and they can deal with their organizations viably. In the same way as other innovation items, cell phones need to interoperate with different advances. Many years, the Blackberry was in market in business areas in United States where most of them used blackberry and was their loyal customers. With the invocations of new technologies, Apple iPhones have a trouble some competition to Blackberry along with other android devices. This things were immensely impacted the blackberry organization. At the same time when apple began to gain customers, Blackberry started losing their customers. With new smartphones in market with same technology came in market with more user-friendliness, it impacted RIM. 3. Apply as many TCOs as you can to the RIM. BlackBerry was an outstanding cell phones supplier for business and government in those days. Information encryption of Blackberry is the fundamental reason RIM having those huge markets. BlackBerry additionally gave defensive administration to clients if there should be an occurrence of losing gadgets. BlackBerry phones were considered as securing progression in those days. In beginning of its history, BlackBerry acquired another rush of utilizing cell phones. BlackBerry was one of the suppliers of email and messaging administrations. BlackBerry console was an advancement of innovation. Before the invocation of iPhones iPhones, BlackBerry was the most needed gadget. It turned into a standard telephone for business firms and governments. References: Teska K. (2006, March). The Story Behind the BlackBerry Case. Range Blackberry Research. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.cnet.com: http://www.cnet.com/news/rim-records-employee-calls-to-protect-ip/

The Power of Perspective Essay -- Sociology Personal Narrative Papers

The Power of Perspective All I needed was a bow tie. Everything else was packed, and I was ready for the weekend, except that I needed a new bow tie. I assumed that some store on Boston’s posh Newbury St. would have one, and sure enough I found a store that sold tuxedos and wedding dresses. Upon entering the store, I noticed soothing classical music playing in the background as the few patrons meandered through the thoughtfully arranged display room. The sole operator of the store was busy with a customer, so I waited for some assistance. Being a scruffy college student, I apparently didn’t invoke any sense of urgency in the store clerk. After a few minutes, he asked me if I needed any assistance in a tone that suggested that I had rushed him through his previous sale, and that he didn’t think I would buy anything of significant value. If that was his assumption, I confirmed it when I informed him that all I wanted to buy was a bow tie. He reacted by saying, â€Å"Yo u must be a waiter?† I felt like saying, â€Å"Actually, I own my own tux, and I need a new bow tie for a black tie wedding in Virginia that went $25,000 over its $50,000 flower budget.†, but that would have been obnoxious, so I held my tongue. I’ve waited tables for many summers, so I was doubly insulted that he referred to my being a waiter in a derogatory manner. Walking away from the store, I thought a lot about what had happened. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and I hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, so I looked like your generic college student (Boston is filled with about 100,000). I also only wanted to purchase a bow tie, which leads to two likely conclusions. I either owned my own tuxedo, or I needed it to complete a waite... ...e media’s ever-powerful influence. One of my aunts from Belgium was in recently in the U.S. for business and I was interested to speak with her about the current crisis. She was concerned because she viewed our news coverage as having an American filter, and thought that that might allow the American Government to take advantage of the country’s grief and fears. Now more than ever people have to be careful and try to understand that their perspective can be manipulated by outside forces. To stop the warping effects of groupthink, people have to take a step back from their position and really conduct introspective contemplation. It is very hard for people to try to change their perspectives, because it is part of who they are, but it’s not impossible. People need to be more conscious about how they interpret information, and avoid having a selective memory.

The Many Mothers of Alfred Hitchcock Essay -- essays research papers

When looking at the works of Alfred Hitchcock there are many recurring themes. Wrong man, classic Hitchcock villains, and the use of staircases are just three of the many attributes you see when watching a Hitchcock film. My favorite, however, would have to be Hitchcock’s portrayal of the mother. Whether she is there for comic relief as we see in Shadow of a Doubt, or as the root of all evil as you see in Strangers on a Train and Notorious, the mothers he creates are far from ordinary. Either their naà ¯ve nature or pure hated for others help to link these movies to one another. Notorious, which was produced in 1945 but not released until 1946, has an extraordinary mother figure. She is a skinny frail woman with a heart of lead. She is controlling and evil at heart and seems to be the cause of all trouble yet never gets any of the blame. When they discover that the girl is working for the FBI, the mother takes matters into her own hands and convinces her son to do away with the girl. You never see her saying much, yet you can see what she is thinking as she stares with those vacant eyes of hers. You can actually see the evil which is inside of her with one look in her eyes. She is by far one of the scariest and uncaring mothers we have seen thus far. The mother in Strangers on a Train (produced in 1950, released in 1951) has a slightly less aggressive role. Even though she is less active in what Bruno does now that he is grown, she is still the reason and cause for the way h...

On The Road- A Success? :: essays research papers

"On the Road"- a success? So much open space- mile after mile of cities, towns, Waffle Houses, and a whole lot of whatnot. There's such a feeling of freedom on a road trip, just sticking your head out the window to let the breeze of every place that passes, cover your face. So much is taken in, yet so little, you find it's hard to stop to sleep or feed yourself. You're driving to get somewhere, but that somewhere doesn't matter, all that matters is driving and letting the wind take you. Friends, yell at attractive people as you pass, Or fighting with family, arguing about who's going to eat the last piece of string cheese. It's all about the moment and what you choose to do with it. "On the Road", a novel written by Jack Kerouac, contains many such road trips during a time in life called: the beat generation. It's an extraordinary tale of two young men searching for things they don't even realize until they get to their destinations; and when they reach those destinations all they want to do is driv e†¦. In first reading "On the Road", one might find it a touch absurd and slightly confusing. The writing goes in all directions and who is this Dean guy anyway? Upon reading the novel a second time there's this fascination with all the characters and their actions. The tale unfolds with Salvatore Paradise, called simply: Sal. Sal is a writer, in his thirties, living in New Jersey (his whole life). He becomes obsessed (it seems) with a guy named Dean Moriarty. Dean is an interesting character- a con and a womanizer; he still becomes a guy that readers would want to be pals with. Dean and Sal have an interesting relationship, but for the most part they seem like good friends. After Dean moves out of Sals apartment (after conning his way into it), he moves around, getting married and not really settling down. So this leads to Sal, out of sheer boredom, to pack some things and head out on a road trip, with no car and fifty bucks in his pocket. Off he goes on a wild adventure, comin g to many stops along his way to California. From there the story gets kind of repetitive, with Sal going back and forth across the country and Dean still up to all his craziness.

Reconstruction Era of the United States Essay

92. In 1865 an appointment was held between representatives of an African American community in Savannah, Georgia and Edwin Staunton, Secretary of War, and Major General Sherman concerning topics of the freedman in Georgia. Land was set aside, 40 acres, and a mule that could no longer be used by the Army to establish a community of their own. 1. Black leaders believed that owning land was essential to freedom because by them owning their own land they would be able to support themselves by themselves. 2. Blacks understand their relationship to the national government as the Civil War drew to a close as being dependent upon their freedom. Q: Why 40 acres and a broken down mule? Do you believe they deserved more/less land? Did they not deserve a more useful mule? 93. The committee on behalf of the freedmen sent a letter to Andrew Johnson in 1865 concerning keeping the land, which had been set aside for them after the war, which had been rumored to be given back to the previous owner. 1. It was important for the petitioners to obtain the land on Edisto Island as opposed to land elsewhere in the country because there was a legal agreement made that should be adhered to. 2. The relationship between owning land and freedom to them is not having to rely on anyone else and being able to feel equal to the white men. Q: What similarities does this have to the Native Americans? 94. The Mississippi black code of 1865 was rules and regulations on which African Americans had to adhere to. 1. I think that the state of Mississippi required all black persons to sign yearly labor contracts but not white citizens because the vagrant law only applied to freedmen and it was a way of regulating work for the plantations. 2. The basic rights that were granted to the fomer slaves were the right to marriage, ownership of land, and involvement in the court system but only if it was not dealing in all white cases. The basic rights that were denied to them by the black code were the right to vote, own firearms, and marry/cohabitate/ fornicate outside of their race. Q: Do you feel as though the freedmen were really free since these rules and regulations were bestowed upon them? 95. This was a sharecropping contract between Thomas J. Ross, a land owner, and 8 freedmen. The contract set the rules, regulations, and remunerations for sharecropping Ross’s land. 1. The contract limits the freedom of the laborers in that they are still under the power of the land owner, with essentially the same rules as being a slave except they were getting paid in the crop for their work. 2. The benefits for the freed people of the sharecropping arrangement the security of land to work and half the harvest, the risks of the sharecropping arrangement would have been the chance of little crop and still being dependant on the Whites. Q: Do you feel as though sharecropping as a whole, with the good and the bad, was a good idea? 96. During the Reconstruction period Elizabeth Staunton demanded the idea of equality for women. In her essay she expressed ways that men and women are equal but not seen as being so, she also believed that women should be able to vote. 1. Stanton defined the â€Å"social revolution† the United States underwent after the Civil War as because it went deep down to the very foundation of society. 2. Stanton believed that industrial freedom within the family could be established by first changing the laws and public opinion. Q: How do you think that women felt not having any rights even after the Civil war that once again established freedom for all. 97. Frederick Douglass gave a speech, Composite Nation, in Boston in 1869 concerning rights for Asian-Americans. He condemned anti-Asian discrimination and called for equal rights for all Americans. 1. What Douglas meant by the term â€Å"Composite Nation† was that everyone in the nation came from different places to form one nation. 2. He believed that people should be allowed to move freely from one country to another because he felt as though we were allowed to travel to other countries why couldn’t other races? Q: Do you think that Douglas would have the same views for current times? 98. Robert B. Elliott delivered a speech to Congress in 1864 concerning a bill that he supported, that later became the Civil Rights Act of 1875. 1. Elliot defended the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Bill by saying that the bill would settle the political status forever. 2. Elliott referred to the â€Å"cornerstone speech† of Alexander H. Stephens in making his argument because it showed how much progress had been made. Q: Why did all the states not follow the Civil Rights Bill?

Pay for performance Essay

Motivation, Performance, and Pay Incentives Financial rewards paid to workers whose production exceeds a predetermined standard. Individual Differences Law of individual differences The fact that people differ in personality, abilities, values, and needs. Different people react to different incentives in different ways. Managers should be aware of employee needs and fine-tune the incentives offered to meets their needs. Money is not the only motivator. Employee Preferences for Noncash Incentives Needs and Motivation Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Five increasingly higher-level needs: physiological (food, water, sex) security (a safe environment) social (relationships with others) self-esteem (a sense of personal worth) self-actualization (becoming the desired self) Lower level needs must be satisfied before higher level needs can be addressed or become of interest to the individual. Herzberg’s Hygiene–Motivator theory Hygienes (extrinsic job factors) Inadequate working conditions, salary, and incentive pay can cause dissatisfaction and prevent satisfaction. Motivators (intrinsic job factors) Job enrichment (challenging job, feedback and recognition) addresses higher-level (achievement, self-actualization) needs. The best way to motivate someone is to organize the job so that doing it helps satisfy the person’s higher-level needs. Edward Deci Intrinsically motivated behaviors are motivated by the underlying need for competence and self-determination. Offering an extrinsic reward for an intrinsically-motivated act can conflict with the acting individual’s internal sense of responsibility. Some behaviors are best motivated by job challenge and recognition, others by financial rewards. Instrumentality and Rewards Vroom’s Expectancy Theory A person’s motivation to exert some level of effort is a function of three things: Expectancy: that effort will lead to performance. Have to have the skills to do the job Instrumentality: the connection between performance and the appropriate reward. Goal must be attainable Valence: the value the person places on the reward. Motivation = E x I x V If any factor (E, I, or V) is zero, then there is no motivation to work toward the reward. Employee confidence building and training, accurate appraisals, and knowledge of workers’ desired rewards can increase employee motivation. Types of Incentive Plans Pay-for-performance plans Variable pay (organizational focus) A team or group incentive plan that ties pay to some measure of the firm’s overall profitability. Variable pay (individual focus) Any plan that ties pay to individual productivity or profitability, usually as one-time lump payments. Pay-for-performance plans Individual incentive/recognition programs Sales compensation programs Team/group-based variable pay programs Organizationwide incentive programs Executive incentive compensation programs Individual Incentive Plans Piecework Plans The worker is paid a sum (called a piece rate) for each unit he or she produces. Straight piecework: A fixed sum is paid for each unit the worker produces under an established piece rate standard. An incentive may be paid for exceeding the piece rate standard. Standard hour plan: The worker gets a premium equal to the percent by which his or her work performance exceeds the established standard. Pro and cons of piecework Easily understandable, equitable, and powerful incentives. Employee resistance to changes in standards or work processes affecting output Quality problems caused by an overriding output focus. Employee dissatisfaction when incentives either cannot be earned due to external factors or are withdrawn due to a lack of need for output Merit pay A permanent cumulative salary increase the firm awards to an individual employee based on his or her individual performance. Merit pay options Annual lump-sum merit raises that do not make the raise part of an employee’s base salary. Merit awards tied to both individual and organizational performance. Incentives for professional employees Professional employees are those whose work involves the application of learned knowledge to the solution of the employer’s problems. Lawyers, doctors, economists, and engineers. Decisions can be challenging These individuals are already well paid and are driven to succeed Possible incentives Bonuses, stock options and grants, profit sharing Better vacations, more flexible work hours Improved pension plans Equipment for home offices Recognition-based awards Recognition has a positive impact on performance, either alone or in conjunction with financial rewards. Combining financial rewards with nonfinancial ones produced performance improvement in service firms almost twice the effect of using each reward alone. Day-to-day recognition from supervisors, peers, and team members is important. Online award programs Programs offered by online incentives firms that improve and expedite the awards process. Broader range of awards More immediate rewards Information technology and incentives Enterprise incentive management (EIM) Software that automates the planning, calculation, modeling and management of incentive compensation plans, enabling companies to align their employees with corporate strategy and goals. Incentives for Salespeople Salary plan Straight salaries Best for: prospecting (finding new clients), account servicing, training customer’s salesforce, or participating in national and local trade shows. Commission plan Pay is only a percentage of sales Specialized Combination Plans Commission-plus-drawing-account plan Commissions are paid but a draw on future earnings helps the salesperson to get through low sales periods. Commission-plus-bonus plan Pay is mostly based on commissions. Small bonuses are paid for directed activities like selling slow-moving items. Organizationwide Variable Pay Plans Profit-sharing plans Cash plans Employees receive cash shares of the firm’s profits at regular intervals. The Lincoln incentive system Profits are distributed to employees based on their individual merit rating. Deferred profit-sharing plans A predetermined portion of company profits is placed in each employee’s account under a trustee’s supervision. Organizationwide Variable Pay Plans (cont’d) Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) A corporation annually contributes its own stock—or cash (with a limit of 15%) to be used to purchase the stock—to a trust established for the employees. The trust holds the stock in individual employee accounts and distributes it to employees upon separation from the firm if the employee has worked long enough to earn ownership of the stock. Advantages of ESOPs Employees ESOPs help employees develop a sense of ownership in and commitment to the firm, and help to build teamwork. No taxes on ESOPs are due until employees receive a distribution from the trust, usually at retirement when their tax rate is lower. At-Risk Variable Pay Plans At-risk variable pay plans that put some portion of the employee’s weekly pay at risk. If employees meet or exceed their goals, they earn incentives. If they fail to meet their goals, they forgo some of the pay they would normally have earned. Short-Term Incentives for Managers And Executives Annual bonus Plans that are designed to motivate short-term performance of managers and are tied to company profitability. Eligibility basis: job level, base salary, and impact on profitability Fund size basis : nondeductible formula (net income) or deductible formula (profitability) Individual awards: personal performance/contribution Long-Term Incentives for Managers And Executives Stock option The right to purchase a specific number of shares of company stock at a specific price during a specific period of time. Other Executive Incentives Golden handshake Payments companies make to departing executives in connection with a change in ownership or control of a company. Guaranteed loans to directors Loans provided to buy company stock. A highly risky and now frowned upon practice. Creating an Executive Compensation Plan Define the strategic context for the executive compensation program. Shape each component of the package to focus the manager on achieve the firm’s strategic goals. Create a stock option plan to meet the needs of the executives and the company and its strategy. Check the executive compensation plan for compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements and for tax effectiveness. Install a process for reviewing and evaluating the executive compensation plan whenever a major business change occurs. Why Incentive Plans Fail You get what you pay for. â€Å"Pay is not a motivator.† Rewards rupture relationships. Rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. Implementing Effective Incentive Plans Ask: Is effort clearly instrumental in obtaining the reward? Link the incentive with your strategy. Make sure effort and rewards are directly related. Make the plan easy for employees to understand. Set effective standards. View the standard as a contract with your employees. Get employees’ support for the plan. Use good measurement systems. Emphasize long-term as well as short-term success.

Korea and Ted Talk Ted

â€Å"My escape from North Korea† Summary: Honesty Lee saw her first public execution at age 7. A child growing up In North Korea, the moment affected her, but she didn't understand the government repression going on around her. Lee was very scared on her roundels to save her family from being Jailed. She crossed them through the border but once they got there they got Jailed.Lee spent almost all of her money to free her family from Call but once that happened her family got Jailed again and she was at the lowest point of her life, she said. She was at a loss for what to do next to free her family again. She had no money, had no other options, and was scared for her entire family. Reflection: Lee's story is powerful and a good reminder that getting to freedom is only half the battle. She provided a human story of love, strength, and bravery.She also didn't Ochs the story completely on her, but on the plight of her people and gave thanks to â€Å"strangers† for their lov e and support. It's ironic, however, that we (most in the media and the uninformed demographic of outsiders) see her country as just that†¦ Strangers in a strange place in time. Think you're having a rough life†¦ This woman's journey – hunger, hiding from North Korean and Chinese police, facing death, passing bodies in the river. Eventually, she attempts to save her family ? so courageous.

Candy empathy task Essay

Well, here I am again on the same old ranch full of the same old ranch workers. It wasn’t going to be like this. I nearly got away from it all. Ya see, in all them other I had a dream. Made me feel kinda special, I s’pose, because there ain’t too many guys who hang on to a vision these days. Anyhow, Lennie’s gone now. I gotta say even if he was a crazy bastard that shattered my dream, he was someone to talk to, in fact; he was the one that told me about the dream in the first place. I will miss that crazy bastard. Ways are back to what they were before George and Lennie turned up. The same old people as before. Curley is still as cocky as before except he has a screwed up hand. I heard Curley say to Carlson that if he comes across another girl that he likes his hand is going into that glove again. And the other difference is that my companion is not here. I remember how he used to follow me everywhere even if he was getting a bit old and did not look very attractive like he used to; but that was hardly his fault. Still if it had to be done I would have preferred to do it myself. He was my dog, my companion, my friend. I don’t know how I am going to get through the last few years of my life without him. I shoulda done it myself. They woulda let me leave this ranch but where would I go. I can’t go to the farm on my own can I. The thought of leaving my dog behind, is just too powerful so I’ve decided I’m not going anywhere. My dog jus goes round and round in my head. I mean, Carlson is a fine bloke ‘n’ all but I still regret it. I bet it was that Curley that told him to do it. Bloody ‘hand fulla Vaseline’ guy. From the moment Lennie and Curley met everyone was expecting trouble. I mean, that was all we talked bout at dinner. Those two are a right pair. I mean, a crazy bastard and a golden gloves champion. Yet, it looked like the crazy bastard lost in the end. After all that he did; I mean, crushing Curley’s hand and breaking his wife’s neck. He went and lost the fight. There ain’t nobody that I know of, and if there was I would know, that has done that much damage to Curley. So off he went to find Lennie and put an end to it. Then all I remember was that Carlson’s gun was missing. Rumour has it that George hadda overpower Lennie to get the gun. Then Lennie got shot in a struggle but I gotta feeling that, by the way Slim was quiet, that something is not right. Everyone’s moving on now. George has left. Lennie is dead. Curley’s wife is dead. Curley’s gotta new girlfriend. I nearly hadda new pup from Lulu, Slim’s dog, but jus as I was pickin’ it it made me feel bad inside; made me feel even worse bout my old companion.

A Simulation Of Sustainability In Urban Environments Environmental Sciences Essay

( Parkin et al. 2003 ) Sustainability is frequently symbolised utilizing three over lapping circles ( fig 1 ) , stand foring the three facets of sustainability ( society, economic system and environment ) . However this simple diagram over simplifies the complex interactions which occur between the facets and the big figure of indexs which are used to mensurate our impact. Unless these complex interactions are clearly understood by all the stakeholders it would be impossible to to the full measure the sustainability of any development ( Foxon et al. 2002 ) . A figure of determination support tools have been created to help determination shapers in accomplishing sustainable urban developments. There has been immense attempt and resources put into making DSTs, yet despite this most are seldom used due to either the complexness of their operation or the complexness of their end product ( Isaacs et al. 2007 ) . It is hence believed that there is a demand for new determination support too ls that can cover with the complexness of urban design and which go beyond the proficient orientation of old tools ( Sahota A ; Jeffery 2005 ) to enable a robust appraisal of sustainability within the decision-making procedures. Visual image has been used to help determination devising in a figure of Fieldss including increasing the safety and effectivity of oil boring in the oil and gas industry ( Evans et al. 2002 ) , visualizing medical informations ( Fuchs et al. 1989 ) and battlefield simulations ( Hix et al. 1999 ) . Geographic Information systems are presently the most extensively used visual image platform for determination devising. â€Å" GIS is now a standard point in contrivers ‘ tool kits † ( Drummond A ; Gallic 2008 ) and there are many illustrations its usage in urban planning and determination devising over the last 20 old ages ( Harris A ; Elmes 1993 ; Stevens et Al. 2007 ; States 2000 ; Shiffer 1998 ; Lodha A ; Verma 2000 ) . Traditionally GIS provides the user with a synergistic information researching interface which allows them to cover a figure of different maps onto a 2D surface and allows the user to carry on complex geospatial analysis ( Salter et al. 2009 ) . However it has been shown ( Lowe 2004 ; Lowe 2003 ) that many non-expert stakeholders have great trouble in decoding and understanding scientific shows and maps. Due to its complexness and high acquisition curve GIS requires the user â€Å" to believe like a geographic information scientist † ( Clarke 2001 ) and is still considered to be a hard to utilize, adept tool ( Traynor A ; Williams 1995 ) . Its usage in determination devising has made it hard for non expert stakeholders, particularly the general populace, to take part to the full in be aftering determinations ( Salter et al. 2009 ; Al-Kodmany 2002 ) . Most GIS systems are purely 2D, covering with geospatial informations being draped over a map or other geographical representation. While experts can imagine the ocular impact of a proposed development from this program view it is really hard for person non trained in the usage of GIS to make this. This can take to non-expert stakeholder non to the full understanding the effects of the determinations being made and go forth them with an unintended positive or negative position of the planned development ( Danahy et al. 1999 ) . 3D representations nevertheless allow users to rapidly recognize the spacial context of the determination and besides to orientate their position of the proposed development ( Danahy et al. 1999 ) . Peoples develop the ability to voyage and visually process 3D representations of urban environments on a bomber witting degree throughout their lives as they walk through existent universe metropoliss ( Charters et al. 2002 ) . This sub witting ability means that t he user will non hold to work to visualize the development but can concentrate on the determination, and the effects of the determination, being made. SCITY VT S-City VT ( sustainable metropolis visual image tool ) is a paradigm determination support application that is designed to let a wider scope of stakeholders input into the sustainability planning procedure by leting the stakeholders to compare different scenarios utilizing a usage designed simulation and visual image engine. Figure 1: Visual image techniques used in S-City VT The visual image engine utilises a split screen rendering attack which allows the user, utilizing any of the techniques, to compare two scenarios side by side throughout the life rhythm of the development. A figure of visual image techniques have been used to expose the consequences of the implicit in simulation engine which allows the user to non merely compare the external visual aspect of the different scenarios but besides the comparative sustainability of each scenario. As already discussed traditional GIS does non supply a realistic physical representation of the metropolis or development being studied. CAD system do enable the creative activity of 3D theoretical accounts which provide the user with a realistic representation of the edifices and the developments ( Al-Kodmany 2002 ) , nevertheless CAD systems provide no ability to cover extra informations and supply small context out with the edifice or country being studied. The visual image engine combines GIS and 3D urban theoretical accounts and embeds the 3D theoretical accounts in the environing landscape to contextualise the urban country that is undergoing sustainability appraisal. The ability to visualize portion of the metropolis that is undergoing the development or regeneration within the wider metropolis context is likely to better battle with the communicating tool and convey a greater degree of engagement from all participants in the planning procedure ( Levy 1995 ) Fig 4: 3D representation of proposed development within the city-wide context. The usage engine allows the user to hold synergistic control enabling the user to see the proposed development from any imaginable point of view. This allows the user to go to the full immersed in the proposed development, to a much greater grade than 2D programs, GIS, or rendered 3D stills. As has already been shown ( Isaacs et al. 2010a ) S City VT provides the user with a feasible representation of the existent development. Design to Virtual Reality Blending Fig 5: Overview of the index blending technique The blending technique, as shown in figure 5, merely takes the all the sustainability steps for each index, calculated by the bomber system and ANP theoretical accounts, unite them into a individual value. This valued is so mapped to a individual coloring material graduated table. The coloring material graduated table used can be selected from a figure of color graduated tables known for their discriminating abilities ( Levkowitz A ; Herman 1992 ) these include the het object, magenta, local optimised, and spectral. Using the hot-cold graduated table demonstrated in figure 5 a edifice or floor with high comparative sustainability would look blue while a edifice with low sustainability would look ruddy. This method gives a individual index of sustainability and provides the easiest manner of comparing the comparative sustainability of different options or scenarios. Weaving Fig 6: Overview of the index weaving technique Whilst the blending technique, combines the index values, the weaving technique ( figure 6 ) efforts to continue some of the implicit in information so that the user can still place which indexs or bunch are doing the greatest consequence ( negative or positive ) on the sustainability of the edifice. The coloring material weaving technique ( Hagh-Shenas et al. 2007 ) uses a different coloring material graduated table for each index ( figure 6 ) to try to continue this information. The colors from each graduated table are so indiscriminately weaved into a hodgepodge like texture which is applied to each floor of the edifice. The size of the squares or spots in the weave can besides be changed depending on the user ‘s penchants. A little spot size will give an overall representation of the sustainability, with darker sunglassess stand foring low sustainability and lighter sunglassess stand foring higher sustainability. A larger spot size will let user to place rapidly which colou rs stand out the most, and hence which indexs are holding the greatest impact. Traditional Graphical Techniques Radar graphs, figure 7, let the stakeholder to compare the sustainability of different edifices based on the index values. The form, size, coloring material and point values will be different for each edifice leting a elaborate comparing. Fig7: Comparision of scenarios utilizing traditional radio detection and ranging graphs and coloring material weaving. Parallel coordinates allow the user to compare all index values for all the edifices in a scenario ( fihure 8 ) . Buildings can be selected and their hint in the graph is highlighted. The colors in the graph correspond to those in the blending technique. Fig 8: Parallel co-ordinate graph for sample development. Simple temporal graphs secret plan the all the index values over the life clip of the development. These allow the user to place the interconnectivity of the indexs and to place where and why sudden alterations occur ( figure 9 ) . Fig 9: Index graph demoing alterations in 6 indexs over clip. Real Time Simulation The index patterning involves developing bomber theoretical accounts that define how each of the indexs vary over infinite and clip. The S-City VT application is built utilizing a modular model supplying flexibleness and leting index theoretical accounts to be changed. For the paradigm application six sustainability index theoretical accounts ( credence, lodging proviso, energy efficiency, noise pollution, employment and economic benefit ) have been developed four of which are described below: Energy Efficiency The energy efficiency theoretical account is based on the Nation Calculation Method ( NCM ) which is the industry criterion leting energy efficiency of edifices to be determined ( BRE 2009 ) . The NCM method takes into history a broad scope of factors, including figure of room accesss, Windowss glazing type, exterior building, figure of floors etc, to bring forth a metric depicting the energy efficiency the edifice. A NCM study was developed utilizing the NCM tool, stand foring the typical edifices in the development for a figure of different options including external visual aspect and different mixes of edifice usage. Fig2: Graph demoing temporal alterations in sustainability index due monthly energy fluctuations. This information is input to the energy efficiency theoretical account and attenuated with the temporal energy ingestion informations ( BIS 2009 ) which reflects how the energy usage of the edifices change depending on the clip of twelvemonth. ( fig 2 ) shows how the sustainability index alterations as a map of clip for a 2 different constructing types with different utilizations ( glass, commercial and brick, residential ) . Noise Pollution The noise theoretical account calculates the degrees of traffic noise geting at each edifice and can besides cipher the proportion of people that will happen certain degrees of noise a nuisance. Datas about the jutting traffic flows for the waterfront development were sourced from Dundee metropolis councils Dundee Waterfront Traffic A ; Signing Report ( White Young Green 2007 ) . For each route in the proposed development a noise degree is calculated utilizing its projected hourly traffic flow. Using a map provided in CRT ( 1988 ) , ( equation 1 ) this traffic flow can be transformed into a noise degree which corresponds to how loud, in dBs ( dubnium ( A ) ) , the traffic noise is if the hearer were standing about 10 meters off from the route side. equation 1 A noise degree associated at each edifice based on the traffic volume is calculated based on the shortest distance ( vitamin D ) between the noise beginning ( route ) and the edifice utilizing Euclidean geometry. The sound degree emanating from each route is obtained by rectifying the basic noise degree utilizing equation 2. The equation besides includes the tallness ( H ) of the hearer which is changeless in these computations. ( CRTN 1988 ) equation 2 To find the entire noise degree received by the edifice the corrected noise from each route must be summed over n roads in the development ( equation 3 ) equation 3 Each edifice will now hold a noise degree value stand foring the entire degree of noise associated with that edifices location in relation to the roads and their projected traffic flows. Our sustainability step is achieved by normalizing the noise degree ( 0-100 graduated table as before ) and using a non additive map ( equation 4 ( Highways Agency 1994 ) ) , this calculates the per centum of people that will be bothered by a specific degree of noise. equation 4 Economic Benefit The economic theoretical account utilises a discounted hard currency flow computation to find the worth of a edifices current hard currency flow for a specific point in clip. The computation uses a price reduction rate which allows the hard currency flows to be discounted back to their present worth. equation 5 Where CF = hard currency flow for that twelvemonth. R = price reduction rate for that twelvemonth. t = the twelvemonth. In the equation the capital cost for the building of the first edifice is represented by CF0. Capital costs of subsequent edifices will be discounted to this point clip. e.g. the capital cost of a edifice built two old ages after the initial edifice would be discounted utilizing. Each edifice in the simulation has a site readying and building stage, during this clip the hard currency flow in for that period is taken every bit 0 as the edifice would non yet be sold or rented. The simulation is able to reflect the differences between hard currency flows for rented and sold edifices. Buildings which are sold will take a big income at the point of sale. As the edifice has been sold farther hard currency flows for this edifice will be 0. The price reduction factor will besides use to the sale income so for two edifices of tantamount value, a edifice sold in twelvemonth one will hold a higher present value than constructing sold in twelvemonth 10. As the edifice has been sold the upkeep and care of the edifice will be borne by the purchaser and so it non modelled here. Buildings which are rented will take a smaller income every twelvemonth. Rented edifices may hold a rent free period, to promote renters, and will hold a laic period between rentals, during these tim es the hard currency flow for that period will be 0. A price reduction factor is applied to the annual income to find its present value, once more based on the building twelvemonth of the first building.. Fig 3: PV for a individual edifice, built in twelvemonth 0, demoing differences between leased and sold income with different price reduction rates. The initial cost of the edifices are calculated utilizing the edifice type ( e.g. residential, commercial, retail, societal ) and the cost per square meter for that type of edifice. The income from sale or rent is similarly calculated utilizing the jutting income for that type of edifice. These values were sourced from the SET economic study on the waterfront development ( Buchanan 2006 ) . The maximal and minimal valleies are so mapped onto 0 100 and linearly interpolated. Credence Acceptance corresponds to the credence of possible edifice utilizations within the development. The masterplan for Dundee has been developed and it was possible through treatment with Dundee council to find the possible edifice utilizations which are under reappraisal and included commercial office infinite, retail units, cafe/bar/restaurant and residential infinite. The edifice usage study used a superior system where the participant was asked to rank possible edifice utilizations in order of penchant. If the participant had no penchant between the edifice uses at each rank the proportions chosen at each rank would be equal. To find if this is the instance Friedman trial was performed utilizing SPSS on the average rank of each edifice usage, with the void hypothesis being that the average ranks will be equal. Ranks Mean Rank Commercial 3.37 Retail 2.51 Leisure 1.54 Residential 2.58 Test Statistics a Sample Size 106 Chi-Square 107.264 df 3 Significance. .000 a. Friedman Test The consequences of the Friedman trial show that there is a important difference ( p lt ; 0.001 ) between how the users ranked the different edifice utilizations. Combined with post-hoc analysis of the consequences it is possible to pattern the acceptableness edifice uses in the undermentioned order ; Leisure ( highest ranked ) , Retail A ; Residential ( equal ranked ) and Commercial ( Lowest Ranked ) . To make a sustainability index for the acceptableness of each edifice these rankings are mapped onto a 0-100 graduated table, with Leisure at 100 ( highest sustainability ) , Retail A ; Residential at 50 and Commercial ( lowest sustainability ) at 0. MULTICRITERIA OPINION ANALYSIS One of the jobs with traditional sustainability appraisal is affecting the positions and experiences of a broad scope of stakeholders ( ( Isaacs et al. 2010b ) , . Many of the traditional methods of aggregating index values, such as Multi Attribute Utility Theory ( MAUT ) , lack transparence go forthing the users in a place where they do non to the full understand how the resulting weightings have been derived ( Dodgson et al. 2009 ; Paracchini et Al. 2008 ) . The Analytic Network Process ( ANP ) method uses synergistic web constructions which give a more holistic representation of the overall job ( Saaty 2006 ) . Components of the job are connected, as appropriate, in braces with directed lines imitating the influence of one constituent over another. The constituents in a web may besides be regarded as elements that interact and influence each other in respect to a specific property. ( Saaty 2006 ) . To execute a ANP analysis the determination shaper must place the web through analysis of the job to be solved. The determination shaper must place the bunchs, elements and the relationships and interactions between them ( Bottero et al. 2007 ) . Once the determination shaper has constructed the web to be analysed they must now make a supermatrix depicting the interactions defined in the theoretical account ( Gencer and Gurpinar 2007 ) . The supermatrix is created utilizing the cardinal graduated table and pair-wise method every interaction is described in footings of every component it interacts with ( Saaty 1999 ) . Once this has been completed the normalised eigenvector calculated from the matrix will give the determination shaper the normalised prioritised list of elements. ANP allows cross-cluster interactions every bit good as inter-relationships between elements.. 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