Amusement Park Essay Example

Amusement Park Paper Amusement parks INTRODUCTION Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, usually providing attractions meant to cater specifically to certain age groups, as well as some that are aimed towards all ages. Amusement parks evolved in Europe from fairs and pleasure gardens which were created for peoples recreation. The oldest amusement park in the world (opened 1 583) is Bakken, at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. In the United States, worlds fairs and expositions were another influence on development of the amusement park industry. Most amusement parks have a fixed location, as compared to traveling funfairs and carnivals. These temporary types of amusement parks are usually present for a few days or weeks per year, such as funfairs in the United Kingdom, and carnivals (temporarily set up in a vacant lot or parking lots) and fairs (temporarily operated in a fair ground) in the United States. The temporary nature of these fairs helps to convey the feeling that people are in a different place or time. In common language, theme park is often used as a synonym for the term amusement park. A theme park is actually a distinct style of amusement park, for a theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific or central themes. A plurality of themes is not required to be considered a Theme park. We will write a custom essay sample on Amusement Park specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Amusement Park specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Amusement Park specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Despite the long history of amusement parks, where many parks have traditionally incorporated themes into the evolving design and operation of the park, qualifying a park as a theme park, the first park built with the original intension of promoting a specific (or xclusive set of) theme(s), Santa Claus Land (currently known as Holiday World Splashin Safari) located in Santa Claus, Indiana, did not open until 1946. Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, built around the concept of encapsulating multiple theme parks into a single amusement park is often mistakenly noted as the first themed amusement park. ADMISSION PRICES AND ADMISSION POLICIES Amusement parks collect much of their revenue from admission fees paid by guests attending the park. Other revenue sources include parking fees, food and beverage sales and souvenirs. Practically all amusement parks operate using one of two dmission principles Pay-as-you-go In this format, a guest enters the park at little or no charge. The guest must then purchase rides individually, either at the attractions entrance or by purchasing ride tickets (or a similar exchange method, like a token). The cost of the attraction is often ride a carousel but four tickets to ride a roller coaster. The park may allow guests to purchase unlimited admissions to all attractions within the park. A wristband or pass is then shown at the attraction entrance to gain admission. Disneyland opened in 1955 using the pay-as-you-go format. Initially, guests paid the ride admission fees at he attractions. Within a short time, the problems of handling such large amounts of coins led to the development of a ticket system that, while now out of use, is still part of the amusement-park lexicon. In this new format, guests purchased ticket books that contained a number of tickets, labeled A, B and C. Rides and attractions using an A-ticket were generally simple, with B-tickets and C-tickets used for the larger, more popular rides. Later, the D-ticket was added, then finally the now- famous E-ticket, which was used on the biggest and most elaborate rides, like Space Mountain. Smaller tickets could be traded up for use on larger rides (i. e. , two or three A-tickets would equal a single a-ticket). Disneyland, as well as the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, abandoned this practice in 1982. The advantages of pay-as-you-go include the following: guests pay for only what they choose to experience attraction costs can be changed easily to encourage use or capitalize on popularity The disadvantages of pay-as-you-go include the following: guests may get tired of spending money almost continuously guests may not spend as much on food or souvenirs Pay-one-price An amusement park using the pay-one-price format will charge guests a single, large admission fee. The guest is then entitled to use all or more often almost all of the attractions in the park as often as they wish during their visit. The park usually has some attractions that are not included in the admission charge; these are called up- charge attractions and can include bungee Jumping or go-kart tracks or games of skill. However, the majority of the parks attractions are included in the admission cost. The pay-one-price ticket was first used by George Tilyou at Steeplechase Park, Coney Island in 1897. The entrance fee was $0. 25 for entrance to the 15-acre (61,000 m2) park and visitors could enjoy all of the attractions as much as they wanted. When Angus Wynne, founder of Six Flags Over Texas, first visited Disneyland in 1959, he noted that parks pay-as-you-go format as a reason to make his park pay-one-price. He thought that a family would be more likely to visit his park if they knew, up front, how much it would cost to attend. The advantages of pay-one-price include: Guests can more easily budget their visit. uests may be more likely to experience an attraction theyve already paid for lower osts for the park operators, since ticket-takers are not needed at each attractions The disadvantages of pay-one-price include: guests will often be paying for attractions that they do not ride or visit guests who are simply coming Just to be with their families will have to pay anyway Todays modern theme parks typically charge a single admission fee for admission and unlimited use of attrac tions, rides, and shows, whereas most modern amusement parks offer free RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS Mechanized thrill machines are what makes an amusement park out of a pastoral, relaxing picnic grove or retreat. Earliest rides include the carousel which was originally developed as a way of practicing and then showing-off expertise at tournament skills such as riding and spearing the ring. By the 19th century, carousels were common in parks around the world. Another such ride which shaped the future of the amusement park was the roller coaster. Beginning as a winter sport in 17th century Russia, these gravity driven railroads were the beginning of the search for even more thrilling amusement park rides. The Columbian Exposition of 1893 was a particular fertile testing ground for amusement rides. The Ferris wheel is the most recognized product of the fair. Many rides are set round a theme. A park contains a mixture of attractions which can be divided into several categories. Thrill rides There is a core set of thrill rides which most amusement parks have, including the enterprise, tilt-a-whirl, the gravitron, chairswing, swinging inverter ship, twister, and the top spin. However, there is constant innovation, with new variations on ways to spin and throw passengers around appearing in an effort to keep attracting customers. e. g. thunder @ Essel world Roller coasters, such as the Behemoth, at Canadas Wonderland, have fast and steep drops from high altitudes. Since the late 19th century, amusement parks have featured roller coasters. Roller coasters feature steep drops, sharp curves, and inversions. Roller coasters may be the most attractive aspect of a park, but many people come for other reasons. Amusement parks generally have anywhere from two to seven coasters, depending on space and budget. As of 2012, the record for the most coasters in one park is held by Six Flags Magic Mountain and Cedar Point with 17; Canadas Wonderland with 16; Kings Island and Kings Dominion with 14. Train rides Amusement park trains have had long and varied history in American amusement parks as well as overseas. According to various websites and historians, the earliest park trains werent really trains†they were trolleys. The earliest park trains were mostly custom built. Some of the most common manufacturers were: Allan Herschfield Cagney Brothers Chance Rides (C. P. Huntington Train) Amusement parks with water resources generally feature a few water rides, such as the log flume, bumper boats, rapids and rowing boats. Such rides are usually gentler and shorter than roller coasters and many are suitable for all ages. Water rides are especially popular on hot days. Dark rides Overlapping with both train rides and water rides, dark rides are enclosed attractions in which patrons travel in guided vehicles along a predetermined path, through an array of illuminated scenes which may include lighting effects, animation, other special effects, music and recorded dialogue. Transport rides Transport rides are used to take large amounts of guests from one area in the park to another. They usually cost extra, even in parks where rides are free. They are generally popular as they offer an alternative to walking. Transport rides include chairlifts, monorails, and train rides. Dippin Dots, an ice cream stand that appears at several amusement parks in the United States. Amusement parks generate a portion of their income through the sale of food and drink to their patrons. Food is routinely sold through food booths, push carts and indoor restaurants. The offerings vary as widely as the amusement parks themselves, and range from common fast food items, like hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, candy apples, donuts and local street foods up to full-service gourmet dishes. Amusement parks with exotic themes may include pecialty items or delicacies related to the parks theme. Many restaurants and food stands are operated by the amusement parks themselves, while others are branches of regional or national chains. The first challenge for theme parks managers is to integrate the elements in the park itself with all the elements defining the theme park environment in the theme park development plan. For example, theme parks cannot function without transportation possibilities to bring the visitor to the park, or food supply or accommodation to support the visitors stay. Another characteristic of theme parks is that their demand is highly seasonal. For theme park planners seasonality effects mean that they need to plan the facilities in such a way that whatever season or number of visitors in the park, the visitor experiences in the park are optimal. Also, when demand for rides, activities and facilities fluctuates during the day this can cause problems for the park, such as congestion and time specific peaks at the rides, activities and facilities. For theme park managers, capacity planning and routing is therefore an important task to deal with these problems. For example, to optimize the visitor streams in the park and to minimize waiting times at the activities. Another characteristic is the fact that theme parks face high fixed costs and low variable costs. This means that the costs per visitor in the low season, when there are only few visitors in the park, are much higher than in the high season, especially if the quality of the visitor experience has to be maintained. Furthermore, each year parks require high investments to add new exciting attractions to their product to attract the required level of visitors. At the demand side, theme park planners may rely on marketers to actively try and manipulate tourist demand, by price differentiation across seasons, special rates for early ookings and bundling of services and visits over time or with other tourist facilities in the region. Similar to other tourist attractions, theme parks first and foremost provide enjoyment to their customers. This implies that theme park managers face especially strong demands from customers for new and exciting Innovations in their services. Special strategies need to be devised to deal with tourist variety seeking. Also typically a diverse number of services within a park is required to promote repeat visits and to cater for different members of visitors groups as seniors and hildren) and for different segments in the tourist population at large. This has important implications for theme park planning in terms of location and type of activities that should be introduced and supported. Detailed consumer information often is essential to meet these consumers requirements. The costumers requirements place special demands on theme park planners in terms of meeting environmental standards imposed through (inter)national regulations and local communities, by increasing demands in terms of landscaping and design, and financial responsibilities in terms of managing large areas of land which need to be ought, leased or rented depending on the organizations financial management strategy. skills in terms of combining creative and commercial abilities. Theme park design is crucial in determining the success of a park. In terms of design, several different levels can be distinguished. First, rides, activities and exhibits have to be designed attractively and effectively both in terms of initial appeal and usage. Second, landscaping and urban designs are required to integrate the different single facilities into a whole based on the selected theme for the park. And finally, activities and ervices need to be arranged that can support and increase consumer experiences of the physical elements in the park. Meeting consumer demand must be done however without compromising environmental and socio-cultural objectives. Because the theme product is consumed and produced at the same time, the service must be right the first time. Therefore, adequate theme park planning is highly critical for optimizing the delivery of the theme park product to the consumer. The final challenges facing theme park planners are created by the theme park market. There is a growing competition in the theme park market, with an ever ncreasing number of parks and many parks expanding their activities. Even more so, the tourist demand market is facing demographic changes in the form of agreeing population, economic changes that lead to tighter family time budgets because of an increasing number of double earner households, and the introduction of new technologies such as multimedia entertainment that compete directly with the traditional theme park market. Knowledge of potential market origins, and interests, habits and other travel characteristics of the population is a necessary but not sufficient condition to plan the several components of the supply side. It is important for the parks to know how consumers think, and what makes them visit or not visit attractions, and when they want to visit a park. Also, for theme park planners, an estimate of peak visitor volume is essential to the planning of every feature of the theme park, parking, attractions, exhibits, toilet facilities, tour guidance, food services and souvenir sales. It can be concluded that the challenges theme park planners face ask for planning methods that can integrate the different components in the planning processes within and across various levels of planning. 2. It helps in rejuvenating . Adds value to the holiday 4. It is an enjoyable experience for all the members of the family 5. It helps to add an entertainment element to the business, educational tours etc. 6. Creates a huge revenue source 7. It caters to the all the age groups 8. It generates employment opportunities in the economy 9. It boosts the tourism and hospitality industry SWOT Analysis of Walt Disney Company Strengths Weaknesses Experience in the entertainment business (over 80 years), Tourist attraction, Strong reputation and brand name, Wide companys product range- different types of attractions and products, Disneys ttractions adjusted to changes in visitors preferences, Familiarity, Qualified and educated employees, Large work force, Many changes in top-management, High operating costs, Different culture, High price for tickets, Design duplication, Cultural imperialism, Visitor Spending European visitors not spend as much as American visitors, Opportunities Threats Highly diversified product and service, Positive government attitudes, Large group of loyal clients, Expansion on foreign markets, Over saturated markets, Increasing number of serious and actively operating competitors, which address their ffer to the same segment of clients (e. g. Six Flags) Bigger elasticity of competitors in adapting to particular segment of clients thanks to the smaller volume of sales, Increasingly competitors offer, which is perceived by clients and retailers as a wider and better available, CONCLUSION In a nutshell, theme parks will be a tendency for the tourism in the future. We need to maintain those advantages and convert those disadvantages. In order to boost the development of tourism and hospitality, we ought to boost the development of theme parks, and make theme parks our big hitter, and an important part of the newly- risen industry, and make great contribution to tourism. Amusement parks need to cater to the changing demands of the consumers since consumers want innovations. consumed and produced at the same time, the service must be right the first time. It helps to de stress and helps to rejuvenate the tourists and also creates huge profits and also generates employment opportunities. It caters to all age groups. The challenges theme park planners face ask for planning methods that can integrate the different components in the planning processes within and across various levels of planning.

More Words Derived from Pend

More Words Derived from Pend More Words Derived from Pend More Words Derived from Pend By Mark Nichol A previous post lists words stemming from the Latin verb pendere, meaning â€Å"weigh,† and containing the root pend. This follow-up adds disguised words that have the same derivation. A painter was originally a chain or rope that secures an anchor; the sense shifted to that of a line used to secure or tow a boat. Penchant, from an Old French verb, pencher, meaning â€Å"incline,† means â€Å"liking,† and its synonym propensity comes directly from Latin (propendere). Poise, from pensum, the Latin noun form of pendere, refers to bearing, carriage, or composure, or to equilibrium; in scientific contexts, the word refers to a unit of viscosity. As a verb, it means â€Å"balance† or â€Å"brace.† A counterpoise is an equivalent opposing force or power, or a state of balance, or, as a verb, the word is synonymous with counterbalance. The verb compensate, meaning â€Å"make up for† or â€Å"pay,† and its adjectival form compensatory and the noun compensation, are based on pendere, as is recompense, which in verb form means â€Å"give something in return for† or â€Å"pay for† and as a noun is synonymous with compensation. To dispense is to administer, distribute, or share out, or to exempt; dispensation is the act of doing so. â€Å"Dispense with,† however, means â€Å"do without† or â€Å"set aside.† A dispensary, meanwhile, is a location for giving out medicine or medical treatment. The noun pension refers to money a company or government gives to a person who has retired after working for the entity. As a verb, it describes making this payment or dismissing an employee after awarding such a payment. Pension, or pensione (from the Italian word spelled thus) also describes room-and-board accommodations in Europe, or a boardinghouse or hotel that offers them; this use stems from the sense of payment for accommodations. The adjective pensive means â€Å"thoughtful,† in the sense of â€Å"weighing† a thought; the adverbial form is pensively, and pensiveness is the quality of being in deep thought. An unexpectedly related word is pansy (by way of the Middle French word pensà ©e, meaning â€Å"thought†), so called because the flower was a symbol of thought. Unfortunately, it also became a slur for an effeminate or gay male. Another word not easily detected as being in the pendere family is avoirdupois, the name for the ounce/pound/ton system of weight measurement as well as a word describing heaviness or weight; it can also serve as an adjective when referring to the weight system. (Its Old French forebear, avoir de pois, means â€Å"goods of weight.†) Another foreign-born term descended from pendere is peso, the word for the basic currency of some former Spanish colonies, as well as a former Spanish coin. Finally, span, which as a noun and a verb refers in various contexts to length, ultimately derives from pendere, as does the British English term spanner, which refers to what in American English is generally called an adjustable wrench (sometimes called a crescent wrench, after the Crescent tool brand). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toes225 Foreign Phrases to Inspire YouWhen to Spell Out Numbers

Macroeconomic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macroeconomic Analysis - Essay Example In the short run there would be relatively high rates of unemployment due to reduced money supply in an economy (Piros, 2013). Borrowing of funds will be quiet expensive as the rates of interest would be hiked to discourage the general public from holding more funds as the population remains relatively low decreasing the demand. Since the central bank offering more interest at present, the general public will have desire to invest in the feds proposal and limit other wants as it would be profitable to hold the government securities than to hold money (Mariathasan, 2010). The population in the nation is relatively low with little income at their disposal and with an increasing levels of unemployment, an increase in supply to any public commodity will not yield profits rather losses. Even if the feds invests the money for the improvement of the society, in the short run the economy will have to bear with increasing rates of inflation due to the reduced circulation of money Due to the economic changes above, I would advise my uncle not to invest in the shops and houses as it would be relatively expensive as the rates of construction will be relatively high due to the high interest rates (Mariathasan, 2010) Furthermore, the demand for the commodities will be highly reduced due to the decrease of money that circulates in the economy leaving consumers with relatively small amounts to spend on utilities like new housing. Housing construction are investment that is majorly determined by the population of the country. A small population will make the venture unattractive while taking a much longer time to recover its cost which will only results in holding capital that would have been otherwise invested elsewhere like in the government securities which would bring instant income in the present and the future. The economy will also

Does the influence of fashion editors, who has the power to manipulate Essay

Does the influence of fashion editors, who has the power to manipulate the collections of fashion designers - Essay Example There are almost too many to name individually, really. But we are fans of Versace dresses and Vera Wang wedding gowns, Chanel perfume, Gucci purses, Yves St. Laurent and Ralph Lauren clothing, Karl Lagerfeld’s unusual fashion, and Emporio Armani suits and sunglasses. The last five years in fashion has seen a radical shift from impractical to more practical clothing—at least in stores. On the runways, it’s a different story, as emaciated models walk the catwalk, pose, turn, and leave. Fashion editors can be a dime a dozen these days with all the magazines out there churning out content, but their staying power has remained in the sense that they do all of the necessary vetting for the fashion industry. III. The Pros Two pros of fashion editors follow. First of all, fashion will be predictably selected if just one editor is manipulating the collections. This means that every piece of clothing in a collection which is featured in the magazine is carefully chosen wi th delicate care. This is to ensure that the high-quality standards of the fashion industry are being met, according to the editor’s interest. ... One has to start somewhere. If a new designer’s line does not cater to the whimsy of the fashion editor, the piece on the new designer’s line might not get written, published, or shot—at all. The second worry about how fashion editors manipulate the industry is that fashion designers will not be able to succeed without being screened by an industry expert. Since the fashion world can be very picky about what it likes, the fashion editor serves as a kind of gatekeeper. Who is â€Å"in† (or popular) at the time is what en vogue, and if a type of fashion has been labeled a failure or unpopular, it could significantly damage that designer’s sales or marketing strategy. V. Anna Wintour, â€Å"The September Issue,† and â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada† Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, was something of a legend in the fashion world because of the way she could make or break a fashion collection. She was always searching for the newest and latest design or trend. â€Å"Wintour wanted a hipper, younger Leadership, and twenty-three-year-old Cleave, an Oxford graduate with a degree in art, was given the youth page beat—the same with-it demographic that Anna later targeted, likely on her father’s advice, when she first became a fashion editor.†1 Ms. Wintour was such the stuff of legend, that her figure was immortalized in â€Å"The September Issue,† and next, likened unto that of fashion editor Miranda Priestly in Lauren Weisberger’s break-out fashion chick lit novel, The Devil Wears Prada. There was a lot of patronizing that went on behind the scenes at fashion magazines, and Ms. Priestly was no stranger to that atmosphere. In the fashion industry, particularly around editors, there is a

Describe rehearsal, exercise, and maintenance of business continuity Assignment

Describe rehearsal, exercise, and maintenance of business continuity - Assignment Example Unique case studies where DR and BC have flourished and become beneficial include the Electric Company, bank, and automotive case studies (Disasterrecovery.Org, n.d.). The situation of the electric company involved instability in the WAN connection that was probably because of an unpredictable ISP service. In response, the company used an alternative FatPipe WARP before getting a larger replacement for the ISP carrier. This was a brilliant idea in the sense that the business continued to operate with a weaker internet connection before the company enhanced its internet strength. The beneficiaries of this plan included the customers and the organization itself. Concerning the European bank, a similar problem was evident when it experienced redundancy in North American VPN. The bank put concerted efforts to rectify the mistake by installing new MPVPN. Surprisingly, the problem was solved and the customers benefited from the disaster recovery in the sense that the bank improved the efficiency of its services (Disasterrecovery.Org, n.d.). Although the two scenarios were unique and unrelated, it is notable that the approach to risk management was very different for both cases. The Electric Company was more credible and practical in its approach in that it acted on mitigation as well as maintenance measures. It means that the European bank has a rather unfortunate disaster recovery approach because customers must have suffered inconveniences at the time of replacements. Consequently, the Electric Company delivered more benefits to its customers because of a proper Business Continuity Plan. On the other hand, the European bank did not have a well-planned recovery procedure (Disasterrecovery.Org,

Journalism: News Access And Source Power

Journalism: News Access And Source Power In the study of mass communication, there has been a continuous debate about the more or less powerful effects of the media on the public. This power is not restricted to the influence of the media on their audiences, but also involves the role of the media within the broader framework of the social, cultural, political or economic power structures of society. Ideally, a media system suitable for a democracy ought to provide its readers with some coherent sense of the broader social forces that affect the conditions of everyday life. However, it is difficult to find anyone who even remotely approaches this ideal (Gamson et al, 1992). The overwhelming conclusion is that the media generally operate in ways that promote apathy, cynicism and quiescence, rather than active citizenship and participation. This essay will explore the evidence that is offered that suggests why the nature of source/media relations matters in environmental issues and non-governmental organisations. It will also look at why communications and media researchers continue to investigate the topic and why source/media relations are important. Media discourse analysis has traditionally focused on the news product. These studies have not only yielded important insights into the structure (Bell 1991, 1998), function (Jaworski, Fitzgerald and Morris, 2003; Khalil, 2006) and effect (Fairclough, 1995; van Dijk, 1998) of media language, but have also described micro level aspects such as the mechanics of turn-taking, repair and pause length in news interviews (Clayman and Heritage, 2002). Recently, however, the scope of media discourse analysis has started to broaden to include the complex discursive practices that lie at the heart of the news production process. Additionally, with the advent of new technologies, crucial ingredients of the news production process are now being opened up to researchers, with corporate websites parading massive press release archives and internet based news agencies and e-mail distribution services spreading breaking news in real time to whoever is interested in it (Geert, 1999). News access and news selection are the yin and yang of news production studies (Geert, 1999). Cottle (2000b) distinguishes the sociological and a culturalist paradigm in theories of news access. While the former investigates news access in terms of strategic and definitional power, examining patterns of news access, routines of news production and processes of source intervention the latter theorises news access in terms of cultural and ritual power, [sensitive], to the symbolic role of news actors and how they perform/enact within the conventions and textual structures of news representation ritual, story, narrative (pp. 28-9). News sociology has a long standing tradition. Early, seminal studies of deviance (Becker, 1963), newsworthiness (Galtung and Ruge, 1973), news management (Schudson, 1978), hegemony (Hall et al, 1978) paved the way for political economy views of corporate control (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) and mediatisation (Thompson, 1995) on the one hand, and social constructionist approaches to news production (Gitlin, 1980) on the other. The classic newsroom ethnographies of the 1970s and 1980s (Tunstall, 1971; Tuchman, 1972, 1978; Gans, 1979; Golding and Elliot, 1979; Fishman, 1980; Erickson, Baranek and Chan, 1987) crystallised a radical moment in the historical development of news study. Taken together these studies forced attention to the structural and institutional forces at play in newsrooms, focusing on how news is an organisational and bureaucratic accomplishment of routine (Cottle, 2000a, p. 21). For example, Tuchman (1972) sees source dependence as a strategic ritual, borne out of a pro fessional ideology allowing journalists to frame their work as objective accounts of news events. According to Geert (1999), while this early generation of social scientists drove home the importance of professional routines, norms and settings of news production, other scholars have pointed to theoretical blind spots. With new technologies being introduced in newsrooms (Pavlik, 2000), come new concepts of journalistic practice (Carlson, 2007), leading to questions of continued theoretical validity and calls for updating newsroom ethnography (Cottle, 2000a; Zelizer, 2004). Schudson (2005) has warned against the dangers of a reductionist or determinist approach to the media in which the news production process is seen as the direct result of underlying economic and political forces. Such an approach does not account for the agency of journalists as social actors, which, given in todays changing news ecology, is especially pressing. Indeed, it could be argued that, from an analytical point of view, media sociology has largely disregarded journalistic agency in favour of organisatio nal and institutional levels of analysis. Recently, however, some scholars have pointed their attention to alternative theories of cultural production, most prominently, Bourdieus field theory (Couldry, 2003; Benson, 2006; Hesmondhalgh, 2006; Neveu, 2007). In contradistinction of grand sociological debates, cultural and anthropological studies of news production such as Peterson (2001) and Stà ¥hlberg (2002) apply notions of social mediation, cultural production and reflexivity in analysing the situated practices of media production and consumption. This burgeoning field which has come to be identified as media anthropology (Askew and Wilk, 2002; Ginsburg, Abulughod and Larkin, 2002; Peterson, 2003; Rothenbuhler and Coman, 2005; Boyer and Hannerz, 2006) theorises the ethnography of media production as an emergent effort, to talk about the agency of media producers within a cultural system while still recognising their embeddedness in larger structures of power, (Peterson, 2003, p. 164). van Dijk (1990) notes that a brief conceptual analysis is needed in order to specify what notions of power are involved in such an approach to the role of the news media. Social power as van Dijk explains is summarily defined as a social relation between groups or institutions, involving the control by a (more) powerful group or institution (and its members) of the actions and the minds of (the members) a less powerful group. Such power generally presupposes privileged access to socially valued resources, such as force, wealth, income, knowledge or status. van Dijk goes on to explain that media power is generally symbolic and persuasive, the sense that the media primarily have the potential to control to some extent the minds of readers or viewers, but not directly their actions. Except in cases of physical, coercive force, the control of action, which is usually the ultimate aim of the exercise of power, is generally indirect, whereas the control of intentions, plans, knowledge, bel iefs or opinions that is mental representations that monitor overt activities is presupposed. Also, van Dijk (1990) notes that given the presence of other sources of information, and because the media usually lack access to the sanctions that other such as legal or bureaucratic-institutions may apply in cases on noncompliance, mind control by the media can never be complete. On the contrary, psychological and sociological evidence suggests that despite the pervasive symbolic power of the media, the audience will generally retain a minimum of autonomy and independence and engage more or less actively, instead of purely passively, in the use of the means of mass communication. In other words, whatever the symbolic power of the news media, at least some media users will generally be able to resist such persuasion. Another notion in the analysis of media power is that of access. According to van Dijk (1990), it has been shown that power is generally based on special access to valued social resources. Thus, controlling the means of mass communication is one of the crucial conditions of social power in contemporary information societies. Indeed, besides economic or other social conditions of power, social groups may be attributed social power by their active or passive access to various forms of public, other influential or consequential discourse, such as those of the mass media, scholarship or political and corporate decision making (p. 12). Although ordinary people may make use of the news media, they generally have no direct influence on news content, nor are they usually the major news actors of news reports (van Dijk, 1990). Elite groups or institutions, on the other hand, may be defined by their broader range and scope of patterns of access to public or other important discourses and communicative events. Leading politicians, managers, scholars or other professionals have more or less controlled access to many different forms of text and talk, such as meetings, reports, press conferences or press releases. This is especially true for their access to media discourse. Journalist will seek to interview them, ask their opinion, and thus introduce them as major news actors or speakers in news reports. If such elites are able to control these patterns of media access, they are by definition more powerful than the media. On the other hand, those media that are able to control access to elite discourse, in such a way that elites become dependent on them in order to exercise their own power, may in turn play their own role in the power structure. In other words, major news media may themselves be institutions of power and dominance, with respect not only to the public at large, but also to other elite institutions. (van Dijk, 1990, p. 12). For some areas like risk and the environment as well as issues like trade unions which are non-governmental organisations, media discourse is to a significant extent, a discourse dependent upon the voices of official experts. Environmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, industry, scientists, and government offer their own particular competing accounts of the reality of the situation. Issues concerning differential access to the news media are crucial when considering who comes to define the event. Accordingly, the following examines news/source media relations as it relates to 1) environmental issues and 2) non-governmental and the various news sources involved in influencing the symbolic representation of public issues. News/Source Media Relations and Environmental Issues Over recent decades a growing environmental promotion industry has emerged, alongside an increasing emphasis upon environmental advocacy. A number of information crises (eg. The Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989) have forced sections of industry to take a more proactive approach to environmental communications as potent imagery has directed contradicted assurances that environment protection is not compromised by their activities (Anderson, 1991). At the same time, the public exhibit a growing sense of distrust of scientists (Beck, 1992). The sense of distrust has partly emerged from news media formats that favour confrontational dialogue among experts and offer the public little means of evaluating opposing viewpoints. There has been a tendency to display the debates in dramatic, sensational headlines rather than a considered approach that furthers public understanding of the issues (Anderson, 1991). The sheer complexity of many environmental issues acts as a major constraint, particula rly considering that relatively few journalists reporting on these matters possess a scientific background (Anderson, 1997; Nelkin, 1995; Peters, 1995). The news media possess a great responsibility in relaying scientific issues to the public, since they contribute a major source of information about science within our society (Adam, 1991). Through their mediation, interpretation and translation of otherwise in accessible knowledge into a publicly accessible form, news workers are not only prime sources of public information but also the principal social; theorists of contemporary industrial societies. As such, they carry a heavy burden, a responsibility they are poorly equipped to provide and that does not sit comfortably with their own self-perception. That is their understanding of themselves as harbingers of news, disseminators of matter of human interest and providers of a critical perspective on the more shady aspects of socio-political and socio-economic life (p. 125). Routine news media reporting of environmental issues is often mediated through the expert as the voice of authority. However, it is important to note the ways in which the news media present certain expert voices as being self-evidently authoritative whilst competing views are frequently portrayed as non-credible, irrational and partisan. This can have the effect of discouraging critical thinking and the brushing aside of lay views. However, as Beck (1992) observes there are some grounds for optimism since the media also potentially play a part of opening up the critique of science and exposing conflicts of opinion and ideological standpoints. At the same time research suggests that while official news sources may not automatically enjoy the most statistically prominent level of news coverage, they are far more likely to appear in news formats where they enjoy a larger degree of editorial control. Also they tend to provide analytical knowledge as opposed to subjective/experiential kn owledge (Cottle, 1999). It has been frequently observed that the news media representation of environmental issues is pre-occupied with bad news. Much environmental coverage is centred on events rather than issues (Hansen, 1990, 1999; Molotch and Lester, 1975; Singer and Endreny, 1987). This partly reflects the fact that much news coverage is based on a 24 hour cycle and especially applies to television news (Anderson, 1997). This orientation towards events may encourage audience members to place blame upon particular companies or individuals within a company, rather than see this in terms of broader structural problems. One such example is the Exxon Valdez disaster with event-centred coverage. Coverage of the oil spill tended to be framed around the allegation that it was caused by the drunken state of the Captain, Joseph Hazelwood. This played down other possible angles concerning cutbacks in maritime safety standards or the oil industrys poor capacity to clean up large oil spills in areas such as the Pri nce William Sound (Dyer et al, 1991; Hannigan, 1995). News media representations of the environment are also influenced by socio-political and cultural factors. Particular issues or events that capture attention tend to be mediagenic and can be easily situated within the established institutional framework. Often these resonate with deeply held cultural beliefs and values that operate at a powerful symbolic level. Another key aspect of news discourse, which particularly applies to television, is the reliance upon strong visual images to capture the audiences interest. In many cases the availability and quality of pictures becomes a central factor affecting broadcasters judgements about the news worthiness of a given environmental issue and is especially salient for short news bulletins. Political agendas and the perceived importance that politicians place upon particular issues also influence news values. Routine reporting on environmental issues is to a significant extent based around the voices of official experts, particularly indivi duals within government departments who are more likely to gain extended news actor entry through, for example, appearing in live interviews (Cottle, 1999). Since the late 1970s environmental pressure groups in countries such as Britain and the United States (US) have become increasingly in their approaches to the news media. Particularly, they have become more adept at packaging their material in media friendly ways. Some groups have enjoyed some notable successes in manipulating news values to their own ends, but this has imposed significant constraints in terms of how they have been able to frame issues (Gramson and Modigliani, 1989). Issue sponsors, such as environmental pressure groups, play a key role in communicating environmental affairs. These competing sources have differing levels of information subsidies in terms of resources such as cost and time, which affects how far the media rely upon them on as routine basis. Ericson et al (1989) note: News is a product of transactions between journalists and their sources. The primary source of reality for news is not what is displayed or what happens in the real world. The reality of news is embedded in the nature and type of social and cultural relations that develop between journalists and their sources (p. 189). Many studies of environmental reporting have found a tendency for official sources to gain the most privileged access to the media (Anderson, 1997). Molotch and Lesters (1975) seminal study of the press coverage of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill found that federal officials and industry spokespersons gained more access to the media, compared with local officials or conservationists. However, they note that initially an accident may bypass the usual routine bias towards official frames due to its unexpected nature. This suggests that non-routine environmental reporting may, in some instances, open up new channels to groups who may often be marginalised within the media. This was found to be the case in the United Kingdom (UK) national press coverage of the seal plague a virus, which killed a large number of common seals of the Norfolk coast in the UK during the summer of 1988 (Anderson, 1991, 1997). The way in which the seal plague came to serve as an icon for an environment in crisis s hares some striking similarities to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The seal plague, with its emotive, visual appeal came to mark an issue threshold for environmental issues in the late 1980s. This was strongly linked to the cultural and political climate at the time. It generated much media coverage and one national mid market newspaper The Daily Mail launched a sustained campaign Save our Seals, which ran over several months. As such it can be seen that the reporting of environmental issues within the news media cannot be divorced from socio-political values regarding the environment. News/Source Media Relations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Just like environmental issues seek the piece of the pie when it comes to the media, NGOs also seek to have their stories told in the media. However, in discussing news/source media relations, it must be noted that over generalising when discussing NGOs must be avoided. As Deacon (2001) notes the relative importance of profile, resource and motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. Additionally, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. Deacon address source/media relations as it relates to three types of NGOs namely, trade unions, the voluntary sector and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). He points out the first broad acceptance that these disparate groups, organisations and movements have proliferated in many political systems over recent decades, and in doing so have assumed greater social and po litical significance (Deacon, 2001, p. 8). However, where there is disagreement is whether these represent positive developments. Some commentators construe them as revitalising pluralist democracy, or challenging centuries of elite control. Others see this change as more of a mixed blessing. In Berrys assessment interest groups are no less a threat than they are an expression of freedom (1984, p. 2). The second point of consensus relates to the reasons for the proliferation of these organisations. Various commentators point to, on the one hand, the widening of educational opportunities and concomitant rise of sophisticated citizenry (Mazzolena and Schultz, 1999), and on the other, emergent environmental, material, social and ideological conflicts both within, and between, advanced capitalist nation states (Blumler and Gurevitch, 1996, p. 126-7) These have produced a shift away from party-based politics, towards other forms of political engagements and the rise of issue politics. Th irdly, theorists from all perspectives acknowledge variation in these processes across different political systems, due to historical, cultural, structural and political factors (Eyerman and Jamison, 1991, p. 36). Additionally most accept that the influence of specific types of interest groups/pressure groups/social movements/ or NGOs tend to fluctuate over time (Deacon, 2001). The final point of agreement is that public communications are now integral to the operations of these political sources, and that the media have particular significance. Blumler (1989) labels this as the emergence of a media-centric model of pressure group activity. Deacon (1991) explains as the social and political roles of many NGOs expand so do the pressure and expectations upon them which in turn create a range of specific communications imperatives to do with establishing a political presence and attracting resources among others. For some NGOs, increased investment in strategic communication represents a defensive response to harsh political realities, in which they can no longer assume their views will have political resonance. Additionally, as a consequence of broader political, social and fiscal uncertainties, a diverse range of private and public institutions are becoming ever more concerned with image maintenance and achieving a prominent and positive public presence. In this new and competitive promotional environment (Wernik, 1991), media engagement has become a significant prerequisite for effective political engagement, particularly for those without direct access to the levers of political and economic power (McNair, 1998, p. 156 ). In what Blumler and Gurevitch label a communication dependent society certain organisations and institutions enjoy distinct competitive advantages in promoting their views and values. In particular, those with the greatest material resources at their disposal most notably state and big business can launch and sustain the most expensive and extensive paid media access. However, free media access can disrupt this market logic, providing opportunities for the resource-poor agencies to achieve levels of national and international exposure that even the best resource could not fund directly. Additionally there are also other considerations such as profile, resource and issue to be taken into account. However, as Deacon (2001) points out these various communications considerations will not apply uniformly across NGOs. For example, the precise blend of resource, profile and issue motives will vary depending on a range of factors, some of which will be highly context specific. The relative importance of profile, resource and issue motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. However, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. For example, Deacon highlights that most quangos receive direct statutory funding, they will tend to place less emphasis on financial resourcing motives than voluntary organisations, where dependency on public and corporate giving is high, and their financial state is generally more parlous. On another level, trade unions will tend to be more comfortable with open issue campaigning than voluntary organisa tions and quangos, partly because of their primary political function, but also because they are not bound by conventions and regulations governing neutral public management and non-party-political charitable activity. Davis (1995) suggests that the salience of communications media strategies can also depend upon the nature and political context of the matter at hand. They are most crucial in policy struggles that are highly ideological and involve (at least for one participant) non-material, non-distributive goods: Policy battles that range over intangible goals and values, such as the abortion issue, tend to evolve into virulently zero sum affairs. Such zero-sum politics, because of the heated struggle for competitive advantage that often marks it, relies heavily on pre-decisional, communication oriented efforts to frame or construct issues (p. 28). Another significant factor can be the relationship between an organisation and the dominant institutions of state. In an influential categorisation, Grant suggests that pressure groups can be placed along a continuum that reflects their relationship to government. However as Deacon (1991), warns if media prominence can deliver advantages to NGOs, there are associated risks. The most obvious of which is receiving negative and hostile treatment, which can compromise an organisations reputation. In this respect some NGOs are more valuable than others. A trade union for instance, that can depend on the complete solidarity of its members has less immediate grounds for fearing the spate of media opprobrium than a charity that is entirely dependent upon public donations. On a less obvious level, there is the possibility that courting media attention, and playing the media game, can have an effect upon organisations core values. Miller (1997) suggests that this can be particularly threatening for radical organisations, there The suspicion within the organisation that newly visible spokespersons might become infatuated with their own celebrity and have sold out is never far from the surface. But this observation about the potentially corrupting influence of media logic also applies to organisations operating in the political mainstream. Blumler (1989) terms the risk of spurious amplification, a process by which inflammatory rhetoric and extravagant demands to make stories more arresting, distort what groups stand for, (p. 352). Until recently, evaluations of media coverage of trade union sector in the UK tended to fall into two camps the critical research position which enjoyed considerable theoretical dominance during the 1970s and the revisionist critique which emerged during the 1980s (Manning, 1998). More recently a third position has started to form which conforms to what Curran (1997) labels a radical pluralist perspective. The latter negotiates a position between the extremes of critical outrage and revisionist sanguinity (Manning, 1998; Davies, 1999; Negrine 1996). Although these studies also analyse the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of news coverage of industrial disputes, their main contribution has been to go beyond the texts to investigate the dynamics of news production directly by examining the links between journalistic practices and trade unions communications strategies. Such insights have been largely absent from most critical and revisionist accounts (Cottle, 1993). The value of this new perspective is illustrated by Davies (1999) case study of media reporting of the British governments proposal in 1992 for privatising the postal service. These plans were strongly opposed by the Union of Communication Workers (UCW), who instituted a carefully orchestrated public relations (PR) campaign against the privatisation programme. Davies content analysis revealed that although UCW sources came to be treated more positively or neutrally that either government or management sources as the dispute unfolded, the union received considerably less coverage than their political opponents. These results suggest that the recruitment of mainstream, media support to the anti-privatisation cause was due to elite divisions within the party of government and the vehemence of public antipathy. The union benefitted from wider political developments, it did not instigate them. However, by linking analysis of media reporting to an analysis of the unions communication strat egy, Davies shows the error of this interpretation. The unions PR strategy played a key role in galvanising public, party political, professional and expert opinion against the privatisation proposals, which in turn had significant effect on media framing. In particular, by commissioning polls and lobbying influential opinion leaders, the union bypassed the need for institutional legitimacy and direct access. Instead they gained a voice by using the legitimacy and access possessed by other sources: the public, economic experts, politicians and assorted neutral user groups, (p. 182). Mannings research also provides an overview of contemporary trends in media relations and identifies two ideals of union structure. On the one hand, there are unions where press and publicity functions are marginalised and rigidly trapped within a civil society service style hierarchy , and on the other, organisations that permit a higher degree of integration for their media and PR operations with their organisational leadership. These differences can in part be explained by the dilemma of incorporation unions have had to confront in their response to the harsh political realities they face. In this period of his research, Manning found a stubborn residue of suspicion within certain unions towards the media that readily characterised journalists as inevitable class enemies, working at the behest of state and capitalist interests. Thus, the embrace of promotionalism in this context is not an act of assertion, but of defence: attempting to avoid marginalisation in a changing political and economic context (Deacon, 2001). It is also clear from Mannings work that journalists perceptions of the political role and characteristics of trade unions frames their utilisation as news sources, and helps account for the predominant emphasis on their collective rather than constructive roles. A distinction developed by Peter Golding and Deacon (1994), identifies trade unions as advocates by jour nalists. As news discourse is inherently conflictive this can enhance their news value in political disputes. However, this clear perception of unions political role prevents their deployment as arbiters in news coverage. Therefore, to influence the terms of media debate at this level, Davies demonstrates in his case study, that trade unions often have to recruit the support of external experts to validate their arguments. Additionally, for such a strategy to work, it is often necessary to maintain a degree of public dissociation between the union and the expert, for fear that any links may erode the perceived authoritativeness of the latters proclamations. This trend contrasts with common strategies deployed within the voluntary sector, where publicists strive to encourage a situation of association between the work of a voluntary organisation and the views of significant public figures. The main studies thus far into reporting of the voluntary sector suggests that there is limited but indulgent treatment, based on an antiquated impression of the sector. As Brindle (1999) notes It is as if the media do not want the sector to grow up. Coverage remains very much stuck in the 1950s charity time warp of good cause fundraising, lifeboats, guide dogs and helping sick children. Even on the broadsheet national newspapers, there is a clear antipathy to stories that treat the leading charities as the big businesses they have become, (p. 44). Looking at trends in media reporting towards communications and media strategies in the sector, Deacon notes an increasing emphasis on public communication similar to that noted in the union sector is eviden t. However, the embrace of promotionalism appears more uneven. As Davies suggests, it is tempting to simply conclude that in free media just as in paid media, financial resources deliver insurmountable competitive advantages to those who hath. The fact that the media

Essay --

Inspector Muggins leaned back in his chair and took a long puff of his cigar, with the joyous air of a man who is paid to do nothing but sit in his office and do nothing but waste away the day. Which is exactly what Muggins did. The town Muggins lived in was a quiet one, so he never actually did any work. So when the phone rang it came to him as a suprise. So much of a surprise, in fact, that Muggins fell off his chair. The first thing that appeared above the Inspector’s desk was a shiny, bald head, followed by a pair of beady, piercing eyes, and then a most amazing ginger handlebar moustache, which was finely treated and rather oily. This moustache bristled angrily, and rose a couple of feet as Muggins stood up and brushed himself off. The phone kept ringing, until Muggins picked up the receiver. He was greeted by a voice, which suggested that the caller was very stressed, and slightly hysterical. â€Å"Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?† â€Å"Inspector Muggins, Police Department† Replied the Inspector, in a practiced, professional calm. â€Å"Quick! A†¦ a murder! !† â€Å"I see. Just stay calm ma’am, I’ll be right over† â€Å"Yes, Inspector. Thank you, Inspector† There was a click and the line went dead. Muggins picked up his nametag, took one last swig of whisky, threw on his overcoat, and strode out the door. There was a grey fog descending over the town which was accompanied by a grey drizzle. Muggins frowned at the sky, and picked up the pace a bit. A thin ray of sunlight caught Muggins’ nametag. â€Å"Bill Muggins† it read. â€Å"Chief Inspector, Caldwood Police Station†. Bill halted outside a particularly Enormous house, painted a gleaming white, which looked a bit dull through the drizzle. Bill walked up the never ending maze of a garden path, ... ...ontinued to talk.. â€Å"I’m going to kill you, Bill. And I’m going to enjoy it.† â€Å"Wh†¦ why did you kill Paul?† â€Å"Why? Because I hated everything about him he had the looks, the money, there wasn’t one thing he didnt have. And what did I have? I had nothing i was the runt of the litter and I was through with it. IM DONE!!† He roared the last words. â€Å"I can’t let you turn me in, Bill. I can’t. I don’t want to go to jail, and it would wreck the whole feeling of revenge. That’s why I’m going to kill you. Bill’s whole body froze as the cold, black gun muzzle touched his neck. He tried to scream but nothing came out he couldn’t do anything he was done for.. All people heard was a bang and a thud. When they came to see what happened, all they saw was a body, with blood flowing from a hole in his neck. And, off in the forest behind the house, Spencer Dawson began to laugh.

“Don Juan” is a digressive satire

â€Å"Don Juan† is a digressive satire aimed at mocking the traditional characteristics of literary Romanticism and is atypical of Byron’s earlier poetry. The structure of the poem’s stanzas are written in eight line iambic pentameter, where the final two lines form a couplet and are often used to deliver a comedic punch line. At times the language is idiomatic and Byron often employs slang, which contradicts the traditional formality of Romantic poetry and further defines the poem’s satirical nature.The poem’s most striking feature, however, is that Byron employs his stream of consciousness throughout the poem, interjecting his cynical sense of humor upon the reader. â€Å"Don Juan†, as depicted by Lord Byron is not a character of permanent values; he is an individual of permanent interests to whom self-aggrandizement is a cardinal virtue. A poet is the master-feeler and he can not avoid the effects of two elements in his writing.Firstly, th e period to which he belongs; secondly the conditions of the society and the ‘standard of life’ and the ‘standard of living’ of people, as it prevailed at a given time. Simplicity and innocence of rural life, beauty and nature, fascinate the poet. His emotional chords respond quickly and he finds it difficult to tolerate or accept the abuses of society, against which he hits back in his own style, with sharp witticisms. He knows pen is mightier than the sword, and he uses his latent literary genius, to strike at the right time.A poet like Byron had the capacity to worship the positive qualities and attack the negative tendencies humanity in a disarming style. It is but strange that how he could maintain and nurture the intimate feelings or romanticism, considering the tough stages that he went through in his real life. The love-feeling remained intact in spite of the vicissitudes in his personal life. Is it one of the vagaries of Nature that The Romantic Er a (1776-1830) and the Industrial Revolution happened at the same time!Powerful and unexpected changes took place, drastic modifications occurred in the life of the common man during this period, the old values had to be shunted out, whether one liked that process or not, commercial angle replaced many unselfish virtues of human beings, and the poets of the era responded well to those changed circumstances. As described by Graham Hough about Lord Byron, â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it is rather a picture of society-and Juan is there to show the way the natural man might live in. † To Byron, beauty is not renunciation; it is participation, what if an element of selfishness is involved in the process!He is fascinated by the grandeur of richness and the beauty that encompasses it rather than the dullness of poverty-ridden virtues. He is not a tragic-type of lover; he adores dynamic love, the variations in love, and considers the hurdles as jokes. Let us move away for a while from Lord Byr on’s ‘Don Juan’ to an allegory, to understand him better. ‘The full moon is shining in the sky. It is full moon day. Seeing the beauty of the moon, a tempest rises in the ocean beneath. The ocean, in an effort to reach the moon, sends the roaring waves (love thoughts) one after another.But alas! Can the waves reach the moon howsoever big they may be? Can the moon ever come down to the Earth (the reciprocal feelings) whatever be the intensity of the wish? ’—in such a situation, Byron would still believe in the fructification of the love, by taking the help of twinkling stars in the sky. He is thoroughly convinced about the human fascination with external beauty and he is vocal about its open exhibition, like the ocean and the moon. They enjoy the struggle and won’t mind others witnessing and experiencing the beauty of the struggle.Byron’s poems are deeply affected by thoughts of recollection of his own past, poor and not glorious, and his subsequent accomplishments, that took him to great heights and material welfare. He is candid and open about the virtues of wealth and the status-gains involved in the process. Enjoy them, he declares a jovial mood through his poems. He is not willing to keep morality on the high pedestal. Just as trials and tribulations are part of the life, so are comforts and luxuries and status. Why a human being should shy away from them? Byron doesn’t believe in the bifacial strategies and a show off as for morality.â€Å"Lord Byron reflects most of the characteristics of the Romantic Era such as the focus on emotions over reason, human nature and nature. He uses many historical references and poetic devices to emphasize the themes. The themes of human shallowness and artificial focus on wealth and beauty are conveyed through comparisons with nature and each other. The unexplored realm of human feelings that directly affect the humans’ actions is displayed through the m ultiple deeds of the characters. † (Lord Byron's†¦. ) Lord Byron is at the height of his satire and attacks the foundations of the society through his potshots at the institution of marriage.â€Å"As a Romantic, Lord Byron talks extensively about love and human nature. The poem greatly exposes loveless marriages and the mirage of expectations in the society of marriage being the ultimate nest of eternal love. According to Andrew Sanders, the recognized literature critique, â€Å"Juan’s adventures and misadventures, and the narrator’s worldly-wise commentary on them, served to debunk a series of received ideas and perceptions ranging from the fidelity in love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The perception of love and misunderstanding of feelings is evident in this excerpt: â€Å"The love and marriage rarely combine, Although they both are born in the same clime;Marriage from love, like vinegar from wine – A sad, sour, sober beverage – by time It sharpn’ d from its high celestial flavor Down to a very homely household savor. † (Lord Byron, Canto III, 5, lines 35- 41) Compare this to the traditional mind-set of the people as for the institution of marriage. ‘.. Marriage of two individuals means to flow together harmoniously. Two distinct individuals, two different personalities, born, bred and brought up in two different sets of circumstances, try to come together from the day of marriage, to find a common identity, a common goal, and to be precise, a common all!’ Byron moved from one woman to another, poor or rich, married or unmarried, like a monkey that would jump easily from one branch of a tree to another. He would forget the earlier relationship easily, and had no psychological problems about termination of the earlier intimate bond. Considering the time to which be belonged the satire of Byron is too strong to accept even by the yardsticks of beliefs of the 21st century. The literary dagger used by him is to o sharp. It wounds, hurts and sometimes kills, without actually killing!(The human values) â€Å"And finally, the thing Juan is best known for: both Byron and Juan seemed irresistible to women. Byron had numerous affairs with women from all walks of life, from ordinary housewives to rich countesses. Juan scored even better: not even sultanas or the Czarina could escape his spell. † (Don Juan†¦. ) Love, platonic love and carnal love were one and the same for Don Juan. He changed his ‘loves’ as the Nature would change the seasons. He lived the life of a butterfly that goes from flower to flower to enjoy the beauty of hues and to suck honey. ’ If the flowers won’t mind, why the butterfly should mind?’ seems to be the question of Lord Byron. Don Juan did not believe in deep planning about his future life. He lived life as it came and thought of crossing the bridge, when he arrived at that spot. He did condemn the society for its fixed values , but seemed to pity the people, and how they were caught in the cob-web of procedures, customs, traditions and thought very sincerely about their love-life. How they stretched extra to make the love-life work, fearing the backlash and criticism from the moral guardians of the society. Personally he scoffed them by his writings and actions!

Kenneth Branagh and Much Ado About Nothing essays

Kenneth Branagh and Much Ado About Nothing essays Much Ado About Nothing is perhaps William Shakespeare's most depressing comedy. Although it is ultimately uplifting, throughout the play there are themes that are also prevalent in such devastating tragedies as Romeo and Juliet and Othello. Trickery, deceit, and death are woven throughout this smartly written comedy; these themes stray from the typical heartening tone used in the rest of his light comedies. Kenneth Branagh took advantage of his artistic license as a director, through integrating concepts of resolution and optimism throughout the movie. Without any physical theatrical elements, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is not an entirely lighthearted play. Branagh exercised his right as a creator when he diminished the heavier elements to appease his modern audience. In his film, Branagh softened Shakespeare's overtones of darkness by editing text and weakening the power of the antagonist, Don John. The antagonist of any story should be able to live up to his title – that is, he should be the catalyst for all major conflicts. In this case, the characters of Don John the Bastard and his followers – namely Conrade and Borachio, establish the unpleasant themes throughout Much Ado About Nothing, but not as thoroughly as the script suggests. Shakespeare's text provides all that is necessary to portray these characters as the miserable troublemakers they are, but Branagh's film does not delve into their complexities. In fact, the film ignored much of the evil from Don John and his crowd. Don John is not a man of many words, as he states in his introduction, so the few lines he does have become more important. Branagh chose to replace a large portion of the dialogue with action in the film. While this decision added dramatic effect and shortened lengthy scenes, it directly prevented further character development for the villains. Although the dialogue between Don John an d his conspirators was mostly expository, lines that wou...

Sand - Terminology, Composition, Shape, and More

Sand - Terminology, Composition, Shape, and More Sand is everywhere; in fact sand is the very symbol of ubiquity. Lets learn a little more about sand. Sand Terminology Technically, sand is merely a size category. Sand is particulate matter thats larger than silt and smaller than gravel. Different specialists set different limits for sand: Engineers call sand anything between 0.074 and 2 millimeter, or between a U.S. standard #200 sieve and a #10 sieve.Soil scientists classify grains between 0.05 and 2 mm as sand, or between sieves #270 and #10.Sedimentologists put sand between 0.062 mm (1/16 mm) and 2 mm on the Wentworth scale, or 4 to –1 units on the phi scale, or between seives #230 and #10. In some other nations a metric definition is used instead, between 0.1 and 1 mm. In the field, unless you carry a comparator with you to check against a printed grid, sand is anything big enough to feel between the fingers and smaller than a matchhead. From a geological viewpoint, sand is anything small enough to be carried by the wind but big enough that it doesnt stay in the air, roughly 0.06 to 1.5 millimeters. It indicates a vigorous environment. Sand Composition and Shape Most sand is made of quartz or its microcrystalline cousin chalcedony, because that common mineral is resistant to weathering. The farther from its source rock a sand is, the closer it is to pure quartz. But many dirty sands contain feldspar grains, tiny bits of rock (lithics), or dark minerals like ilmenite and magnetite. In a few places, black basalt lava breaks down into black sand, which is almost pure lithics. In even fewer places, green olivine is concentrated to form green sand beaches. The famous White Sands of New Mexico are made of gypsum, eroded from large deposits in the area. And the white sands of many tropical islands are a calcite sand formed from coral fragments or from tiny skeletons of planktonic sea life. The look of a sand grain under the magnifier can tell you something about it. Sharp, clear sand grains are freshly broken and have not been carried far from their rock source. Rounded, frosted grains have been scrubbed long and gently, or perhaps recycled from older sandstones. All of these attributes are the delight of sand collectors around the world. Easy to collect and display (a little glass vial is all you need) and easy to trade with others, sand makes a great hobby. Sand Landforms Another thing that matters to geologists is what the sand makes- dunes, sandbars, beaches. Dunes are found on Mars and Venus as well as Earth. Wind builds them and sweeps them across the landscape, moving a meter or two per year. They are eolian landforms, formed by air movement. Have a look at a desert dune field. Beaches and riverbeds are not always sandy, but those that are have a variety of different landforms built of sand: bars and spits and ripples. My favorite of these is the tombolo. Sand Sounds Sand also makes music. I dont mean the squeaking that beach sand sometimes does when you walk on it, but the humming, booming or roaring sounds that large desert dunes produce when sand tumbles down their sides. Sounding sand, as the geologist calls it, accounts for some eerie legends of the deep desert. The loudest singing dunes are in western China at Mingshashan, although there are American sites like the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert, where I have made a dune sing. You can hear sound files of singing sand at Caltechs Booming Sand Dunes research group site. Scientists from this group claim to have solved the mystery in an August 2007 paper in Geophysical Review Letters. But surely they have not explained away its wonder. The Beauty and Sport of Sand Thats enough about the geology of sand, because the more I poke around the Web the more I feel like getting out to the desert, or the river, or the beach. Geo-photographers love dunes. But there are other ways to love dunes besides looking at them. Sandboarders are a hardy bunch of people who treat dunes like big waves. I cant imagine this sport growing into a big-money thing like skiing- for one thing, the lift lines would have to be moved every year- but it does have its own journal, Sandboard Magazine. And when youve perused a few articles, you may come to give sandboarders more respect than the sand miners, offroaders and 4WD drivers who threaten their beloved dunes. And how could I ignore the simple, universal joy of just playing with sand? Kids do it by nature, and a few continue to be sand sculptors after they grow up, like the Earth artist Jim Denevan. Another group of pros on the world circuit of sand-castle contests build the palaces shown at Sand World. The village of Nima, Japan, may be the place that takes sand the most seriously. It hosts a Sand Museum. Among other things there is, not an hourglass, but a yearglass . . . The townspeople gather on New Years Eve and turn it over. PS: The next grade of sediment, in terms of fineness, is silt. Deposits of silt have their own special name: loess. See the Sediment and Soil list for more links about the subject.

Usability Testing and Heuristic Evaluation Essay

Usability Testing and Heuristic Evaluation - Essay Example Usability Testing and Heuristic Evaluation Learnability affects how fast a user can learn and use the system after undergoing a certain amount and duration of training. Efficiency affects the amount of tasks a user can perform in a set amount of time. Meanwhile, memorability enables a user to use the system after a period of inactivity without having to relearn its operation. Low error rate refers to the number of problems encountered by the user and the ease of correcting such errors. Lastly, satisfaction generally refers to the overall user perception of the system serving its intended purpose. Usability Testing The term usability testing has been generally referred to as any method used to evaluate a system or product. For the purpose of clarification, the term usability testing shall be used in this paper as a distinct empirical method of system evaluation with the goal of identifying usability issues and developing recommendation on how address such issues. Rubin and Chisnell described usability testing as a process of r ecruiting people as test participants to evaluate the system based on a series of usability guidelines. Test participants are normally composed of individuals whose profiles represent the target user audience. The inclusion of test participants based on real world parameters is what makes usability testing unique among other usability assessment methods. In this method, test participants are selected from the target user audience and are asked to perform specific tasks using a prototype of the system. During the duration of the test, user performance and reactions to the product are observed and recorded by a facilitator (Fiset, 2009). In essence, usability testing is a research tool which originated from conventional experimental methodology. The range of usability tests that can be performed is significantly broad, allowing the developer to tailor-fit approaches according to the test objectives, time constraints, and resources available (Rubin & Chisnell, 2008). Since it originate d from conventional approaches for controlled experiments, usability testing follows formal methods which include: (1) hypothesis formulation; (2) random sampling of participants; (3) utilization of experimental controls; (4) utilization of controlled groups; and (4) composition of sample size to determine statistical differences between groups (Rubin & Chisnell, 2008). Fiset (2009) outlined the following basic steps in conducting usability assessments: (1) definition of test objectives; (2) enumeration of tasks; (3) developing a prototype or mock-up of the system; (4) performing a preliminary validation test on prototype; (5) recruiting test participants; (6) preparing forms, venue, and equipment; (7) determining level of confidentiality of acquired data; (8) conducting the test proper; (9) filling out of evaluation questionnaire; (10) analysis and consolidation of results; (11) writing down of recommendations. The objectives of the usability test are normally determined by the pha se of system development the test will be carried out. Initial usability tests usually involve performing specific tasks based on the system design. As development progresses, additional objectives may be added such as identification of number errors, gauging user satisfaction, measuring time spent completing a

The Arab-Israeli Conflict Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Arab-Israeli Conflict - Assignment Example The importance of the Middle East can hardly be overstated. Spread across North Africa, Asia Minor and Near Asia, the term Middle East' refers to 22 countries. In geographic terms, these countries are the doorways to Africa and Asia. In economic terms, they are the world's largest repositories of oil and natural gas, holding the majority of the world's known reserves of natural energy. Further, in economic terms, the Arab Middle East represents a valuable source of investment capital which has the potential to significantly contribute to the economy of any nation it is even partially diverted to. In political terms, the Arab Middle East has, officially, been the voice of moderate Islam - a force which the Western world can no longer afford to ignore or dismiss as inconsequential, considering that it is the world's second largest religion and it is fastest growing one. At the present moment, the West and the Arab Middle East are engaged in a conflict which, to date... In other words, the protraction and continued intensification of the Arab-Israeli conflict have negatively impacted on the West and on Middle East-West relationships. The West and the international community cannot afford the continued alienation of the Arab Middle East. From the strategic perspective, they can not afford it from the economic, political or security standpoints. At the same time, the international community cannot compromise on the issue of the survival of the State of Israel or on its right to security. The implication here is that the international community has to devise an approach to the conflict which is founded upon international law.