Critical Thinking Essay

The four keys to a sound decision making are recognizing that the person is actually facing a very important decision. Then it would be followed by consideration of the possible alternatives. After doing so, one will need to evaluate these alternatives and would finally need to act with discipline to be able to choose the best possible alternative. Such decision making process was present in my life during my fourth year in high school wherein I would have to finally pick a college course. My parents want me to become an ordinary businessman. I, on the other hand would want to enter the military school. I weigh between the two alternatives of which would be my best choice. I believe that doing something that I have no enthusiasm would not likely to benefit me. In the end, I chose to persuade my parents into letting me go to the military school instead of the other way around. Knowing what alternative it is that one really wants and believes to be the best. Having an alternative that is proven to work and that would yield more benefit than the other/s is the one alternative that shall be chosen. In my case, I chose what I really want over the alternative of following the advice or the wants of my parents. It serves me well and I am happy that I made such decision. 7. Briefly describe the early decision making years (2-11 years of age) and the adolescent decision making years (12-17 years of age). Now review in your mind your recollections about your life as an adolescent. Ask yourself the following questions .a. Can you identify some ways in which you were influenced by the media as an adolescent? Elaborate. In the adolescence years, most of my decisions were roughly based on how I want others to treat me and see me. Since the adolescence period is a time wherein individuals try to find themselves and create their own identity advertisements have been really influential. One of the things that I remember about being influenced by the media was through promotions of white and lean is handsome or beautiful. As far as I can remember there have been television advertisements that promote being good looking in the concept of having more muscles. Television shows mostly have leading actors who are muscularly built and dressed ruggedly. The view on how to measure success was also influenced by the media. I grew up reading articles about rugs to riches stories and what have inspired this people. I tried to imitate their actions, nevertheless, as far as my character is concerned, I am different person in a different neighborhood with a different capability and attitude in life; although, those stories had got stuck in mind up until today. b. Can you identify one bad habit you formed as a result of poor adolescent decision-making? Elaborate. One bad habit that have formed in me resulting from a poor adolescent decision making would be attempting to rebel from my parents. During those years I felt as if my whole world is being so much manipulated by my parents. I guess, that’s how people usually think when parents started being over protective during those years when everyone else is trying to have a good time. As a usual adolescent I tried to sleep over, drink alcohol, and skip classes, smoke cigarette and marijuana. Those kinds of things seem to be the natural things to do. Then here comes my parents shouting at me telling me to straighten my life or else I would not be receiving anything from them. I felt so sick about how they treat me. It seems like I am still a little baby who cannot decide on his own. Thus, I have decided to run away from home. After a week, I have seen what life is without my parents. I mean, at first it is an overwhelming sense of freedom and success. Afterwards you will find everything lousy. Your life would seem to have no direction and you will realize, â€Å"I should have listened†. c. To what extent did your decisions during adolescence reflect an attempt on your part to gain recognition and acceptance from other adolescents? My decisions during my adolescence reflected my attempts on gaining recognition and acceptance from my peers when I run away from home just to go with them on a road trip. My parents have been so against my friends, since they are the kind of people who indulged on so much smoke and liquor. Disobeying my parents and prioritizing my friends over my studies have been my best attempt for them to accept me. They lived their lives that way and I believed that time that in order for me to have friends, I must try to be like them. It did work, but I then understand that I should just be myself and real good friends would stick with me. 8. The text lists seven steps to sound problem solving. Identify a situation from your own experience where you have applied those steps. List how you applied each and how they impacted your ability to solve that particular problem. I have been able to apply the seven steps of problem solving in my life during my stay hear in Iraq. My goal in being here in Iraq is to serve my country. However, there have been several issues that seem to denote that I am doing something that is wrong. Since, there are so many people who believe that soldiers in Iraq are unnecessary or that soldiers in Iraq are being used by the American government to express its hegemonic capacities. It is not that I do not have faith or trust to the government of America but since I, as a soldier have experience seeing people cursing us on behalf of the American government, I decided to make some research regarding the views of people especially of those who are residing here in Iraq about the American government and how they see it as a threat and why. Depending on the various information and opinion that I have collected in the internet and through other people I have inferred that generally the people with a communist or Marxist background and those who have an affinity or sympathy with the actions and principles of the Jemai Islamia view the United States government as a modern colonizer. I decided that in short term I could talk people out of such idea by presenting them with logical explanation. However, I figured out it would be dangerous since peoples beliefs and philosophy is deeply embedded in their consciousness; a consciousness that was formed by experience and constant reinforcement of ideological beliefs. It would be hard to talk to them and convince them to believe other wise. A long term action I could do is to create blogs or article in the internet that would voice out the interest and opinion of the people who are actually involved in the rehabilitation of Iraq in order to explain better about what is the need for soldiers and America to continue supporting the Iraqi government. In order to do this I have talk about some of my friends and sort of interview them regarding the matter. They believe that it is a good idea to create articles that would voice out our side of the issue. This article would better be available to other people who would like to know a holistic view of the story. The strategy that I decided to apply is to send emails to my friends and relatives to view a discussion panel on the internet. This panel would be focused on the war in Iraq and would generate the views from different people. However, it would be hard to promote the site. So I am still thinking of other strategy. One of my fellow soldier decided that we should create a book that would reflect our experiences here in Iraq. I guess that will be a better alternative. But it would take a long time from now since we don’t have enough time and resources to do a book at the present moment. 9. Provide a personal example for each of the two forms of irrational problem solving. Discuss how these were irrational and what you might have done differently? Thinking irrationally follows from not being able to reason out, it is doing something out of sheer habit or false belief. Egocentric thinking or solving a problem based on selfish or self-centered view often results to negative effect. As when a person is thinking only of personal wants, such wants may not be the same wants that other people like. If so, one would be imposing his wants and others might hate him for that. Also, in problem solving when a person acts according to his emotions he would not think about other people and would only think about a solution that has personal bias. Such solution may not be good for a long term or for a group of individuals and thus, it is more likely to fail than to succeed. If a person is jealous, the person would not think about the reason why things happened, instead the person would view things in accordance to how the person feels things are going. There are certain decisions that might not have been done if jealousy was set aside. Another irrational problem solving is doing what you are told without critically examining the reasons for a certain action. For instance you are told that you should go to church and believe in Christ since you are a child. If you would just believe what others tell you and not think about them in a more critical manner. When you have a problem regarding your religion or someone offered you a counter argument, such things might ruin or shatter your faith, since you cannot reason it out. References Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking. 2nd ed. Person Prentice Hall. Richardson, B. (2006). Theme of the Month: The Tyranny of the â€Å"Fifth Constraint†: Taking Your Thinking Off Autopilot . allPM. com. Retrieved on November 24, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://allpm. com/modules. php? op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1580&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.

Lady Macbeth, the three witches and Macbeth Essay

The play was set in 1040 in Scotland; it deals with the issues in his life that is still relevant today in order to fulfil his emission. Macbeth starts out as a national hero and co leader of the Scottish army, he quickly gains popularity. Until one day he receives a prophecy, which turns him on an evil rampage. Where he sets off in a killing spree to try and become king. However he has doubts and maybe even some regrets about his choices. It seems to mess with hiss head for example after he killed Duncan he keeps seeing what he thinks is his ghost, is he sane? Other characters include Lady Macbeth, the three witches, Banquo, Duncan, Malcolm and Mac duff. In total there are 32 characters. Lady Macbeth is a very strong minded character. She can be very ruthless at times; she is very supportive of her husband but can also push him into things. She has a strong influence on him when committing several murders. She knows what needs to be done to get the job done. This would be very different from the typical Shakespearian woman who would have been very quiet and little power over their husbands her opening soliloquy introduces her as a very strong character that will stand up and fight for what she believes in. If it had not been for lady Macbeth the murder of Duncan may not have went ahead as it was mainly her who put him up to it. She also went back for the daggers that he used to murder him so this stopped him getting caught, this shows that she doesn’t want any harm to come to her husband and she clearly must love him. However what she had turned Macbeth into would be his down fall. She had turned him into something he had never wanted to become, a cold blooded murder. Back in Shakespearian people were very scared and believed fully in the supernatural. They would have heard stories of these sorts of things so when they heard of the three witches telling prophecies they would have been wary. The appearance and strange characteristics of the witches also added an effect. Their clothing added a 3rd dimension to their character, the way they are descried â€Å"the ripped old dirty rags†. Their skinny bodies, cold withered faces add to the disturbing image. All in all not the sort of people you want to meet in a dark alley. When they told Macbeth that he would become king if he killed Duncan, this had a very strong influence on Macbeth. If it had not been for them he would have never thought twice about killing him. The help of the witches soon led to many regrets â€Å"neither man nor woman can harm him† said the witches. The witches may have liked him all along; this is why they told him their predictions. Macbeth’s character changes dramatically through the play, so also do peoples views of him. In the beginning he is introduced as a highly respected general, a hero! Soon becomes easily scared and persuaded into bad things. I think this show how the pursuit for power can destroy your life. Macbeth had a great position and lots of respect but it wasn’t enough. He gave every thing he had to pursue being king and look here it got him, committed terrible deeds and the people just lost all respect for him.

Classroom Management-Routines and Procedures Essay

The following in-class activities are in the specialized area K-8. The first in-class activity is the use of centers. In this activity student are able to pick their center that they would like to participate in. Students are given a 20-minute center time that is split into two 10-minute sessions. This allows the students to stay interested in the activity. Types of centers that the students can choose from are: Reading Center, Write the Room, Money Center, Art Center, Listening Center, Pattern Block Center, Puppet Center, Computer Center, or Poetry Center. While students are seated, the teacher reminds the students of center procedures. The children have previously been instructed how to utilize each center. The teacher will choose a stick with the child’s name on it, to determine who gets to pick first and there after. They are reminded that no more than 2-3 people can be at each center, and because of this should be thinking of another center in case the center they first c hoose is full. Students will remain in there seats until everyone has picked a center. The children will hear a bell and are asked to stop what they are doing, clean up their center, and go to their desk where the teacher will now assign them to a different center. During this activity one of my behavioral expectations will be that students are quiet during their center time. Quiet doesn’t mean that the student can’t talk, but they must whisper to their fellow center members if they need too. Center time is still learning time and I want each student to respect that. Students are told that should they break that rule, a warning will be given and then if broken again, they will have to go to their seat until it is time to switch centers. The second expected behavior is that the students stay at his/her center, until they are told to switch. The students are not permitted to roam around the room and visit with classmates at other centers. It is important to maintain a structured, well-balanced classroom environment where students carry over my behavioral expectations from activity to activity. The second in-class activity is the morning meeting board. This activity is done first thing every morning. During this activity we discuss what our schedule for the day will be, take our lunch count, practice our days of the week, months of the year, what the temperature for that day is, daily smart board activities, and many other repetitive activities we do on a daily basis. This activity requires students to be on the floor in front of the meeting board facing me. The morning meeting board requires individual student answers and a high level of engagement. Students are required to sit in an assigned seating area on the floor and remain there until meeting board is over. During this activity one of my behavioral expectation is that there is no talking. Children are not allowed to talk, as it is a distraction to the learning process. Children are told that they are not allowed to talk unless their name is called to answer a question or a group response is needed. The no talking rule, fixes the need for a child to blurt out the answer when it is not their turn. The next behavioral expectation is that students will keep their hands and feet to themselves. It is very tempting to distract your classmate while seated on the floor close to each other. By implementing this expectation, students are learning self-control and the skill of accountability. Students are expected to be able to stay in their assigned area and engage in the activity with little or no distractions. There are many opportunities to take students on the adventure of learning outside the classroom. The first activity is a school wide assembly that would require K-12 students to meet in the gymnasium. The assembly is in an environment that is energetic and fun. The students listen to music by the band, watch or participate in a fun activity with older students, and listen to administration lecture about upcoming events and other important information. This atmosphere will bring out many different behaviors from my students. It is important that I allow them to have a fun, positive experience but with expectations on how they need to behave. My first expectation is that the students will remain in their seats and not move around. With the energy that this assembly will bring, students will need to stay seated so that they are not distracting the other students or those who are putting on the assembly. Students will also be expected to not visit or talk with their classmates during the assembly, as it is a classroom rule to sit quietly while others are speaking. Setting these expectations and explaining why I have them is important for the student to understand. The next out-of-class activity is a field trip to a pumpkin patch. This field trip is a fun, hands on learning experience. The pumpkin patch has a petting zoo, zip line, corn maze, tractor rides, train rides, face painting, pedal tractor racetrack, and many engaging activities. This activity can also bring out an array of different behaviors in children, which the teacher must be mindful of. On field trips there are teacher helpers like volunteers/parents, who go along to help keep a watchful eye on the students. Students are split into small groups and are teamed up with a teacher helper. Teacher helpers are given instructions as to what I expect from my students. One of my behavioral expectations is that the students remain in their group at all times. Students are told that they will not be able to roam about the pumpkin patch without their group and their teacher helper. They are told that the teacher helper will be the one who decides when to move on to the next activity. My next behavioral expectation is that the students respect the property of the pumpkin patch and those who work there. This is already one of our classroom rules and they will be expected to follow it even though we are not in school. A teacher must try to always be one step ahead of their students when it comes to how students will behave in situations. It is extremely important that students always know what is expected of them. A teacher may continually have the child recite the rules over and over, but that doesn’t mean they understand what it means. A teacher may think that the classroom rules are clear and concise, but to a few students they many not be. The first way a teacher can evaluate what her students understand about those expectations, is through discussion. The teacher must state the rule and then explain what it means. The teacher’s explanation should provide examples and scenarios that the student can understand. Allowing the children to give examples that they can relate to, can also help evaluate their understand of the expectation. Another way to evaluate is through role-playing. Children are given scenarios on how to break the rules or follow the rules and then they act it out. The class audience can then determine what rule is broken and how it could have been prevented. The students may also act out how it looks to follow the rule. The teacher can then explain what consequence would be given if rules are not followed. This is fun for the students and allows the teacher to see who is or doesn’t understand the expectations.

Article Analysis for Sony Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Analysis for Sony - Research Paper Example This study, thus, digs into the affiliation’s prospects and summarizes various pertinent underpinnings to identify the diverse implications associated with the affiliation. Moreover, it critiques the various effects of restructuring on the case of Sony to enhance the rationale behind them choosing to constantly restructure when it appears to be detrimental to its business prospects. Statement of the problem Sony is apparently the most popular firm in the Japanese and global arena of electronics market. Its aptitude to ingeniously link administration capabilities with the general innovative design has been widely renowned. Additionally, most of its top management and administration personnel have been overtly powerful and influential to its past prospects and successes. Regardless of the truth that most of these personnel were overtly aware of market transformations that would implicate on their affiliations’ business, they could not bear the contemporary upsurge implica ting on the worldwide economy. Since, it is, particularly, not invulnerable to the waves of revolution in the international economy, Sony has been on the rough ride in its business ventures and prospects to the present, unless a rectification measure is duly take to curtail the down surge in profitability and unfavourable market transformation (Robert, 1999). ... This turned out to implicate negatively on the R and D operations, a prospect that elicit significant losses in the outcome. Thus, this critical study concentrates on the Sony Corporation, a communication and electronic multinational affiliation that has been under numerous business restructuring initiatives to enable it fit into the market. Research Questions and Hypothesis With regard to this critical study, it is pertinent to note that various hypothetical prospects have been in utilization, research queries that enhance the reader’s ability to comprehend the actual conceptual underpinnings that relate to the critical study of Sony, a multinational giant in the electronics market whose prospects to restructure have elicited various detrimental implications in the market and also within its intrinsic organizational model. These hypotheses and queries encompass the need to comprehend the rationale behind the restructuring prospects of immensely coveted multinational affiliati ons, Sony Corporation being the major case in this study. Furthermore, the critique includes theoretical applications that seek to evaluate the repercussions and cost effectiveness of the constant restructuring of large international affiliation, Sony being the major. Additionally, the study aims to find out the implication of frequent transformations in an affiliation structure in response to alterations in within the business environment. In such a query, we seek to expound on the changes that implicated on Sony prospects, in terms of profitability and resultant performance. Eventually, the last hypothetical concern surrounds a critical study of the initiatives by multinational corporations within the electronics business challenges and the respective response (Robert, 1999). Review of the

International Management Ethica and Values Essay

International Management Ethica and Values - Essay Example Ethics establishes have certain characteristics since it involves learning the right and wrong. Most ethical decisions have multiple alternatives unlike the legal decisions. Ethical decisions also have mixed outcomes unlike legal decisions that have certain outlines for disobedience. The consequences of the ethical decisions are uncertain unlike in legal decisions whereby the outcome of the legal decision making is known in advance. There are certain decisions that are both unethical but legal for instance betraying the trust of a friend is not illegal, but many people may consider it unethical. An example of decisions that are legal but unethical include a stockbroker recommending a buy option of a particular stock that he has adequate information that prices may likely go down in the future. Another legal but unethical decision is when a mechanic refuses to recommend installing an expensive machine even though he is aware the overall costs of production will decline. Examples of et hical but illegal decisions include writing a post-dated cheque after the client or customer agrees for delivery in next paycheck in the bank. Conflict of interest occurs when the individual has vested private interests whether in employment or discharging professional services. The self interest should appear to influence the objective discharge of the duties. The interest may be personal interest or financial interest. Conflict of interest occurs when there is a convergence between individual relationships and his professional or official responsibilities to the organization. Some areas of conflict of interest include accepting bribery, using the company’s property for self purposes and utilizing the employer’s confidential information for private purposes. In managing the conflict of interests, organizations should establish a code of conduct and policy that guides all employees in the

Globalization, Multinational Organisations and Cultural Aspects Assignment

Globalization, Multinational Organisations and Cultural Aspects - Assignment Example The concept of globalization gained momentum in the 1990’s with the onset of internet. The advance in information technology which has transformed the way of communication and advancements in the transportation system along with a whole battery of other factors have played a pivotal role in the spread of globalization. The concept of globalization has entered almost in all areas of our lives be it business, language, education, culture, lifestyle and other psychological and social behavior patterns. This proliferation of globalization has totally changed the concept of business, and its role not only in defining the respective economies, but also shaping cultural, political and social values. It is argued that we are fast losing our unique identity. Global identity has transcends all geographic boundaries and has defined mass behavior and consumption patterns. The growth of Multinational organizations which was first restricted to a few countries in the post modern era has tra nscends all geographical boundaries and resulted in globalization; globalization of businesses, economies, societies and even to some extent, globalization of human capital. This paper aims at studying the nature of globalization and its impact on the economy, politics, cultural and social values. Is global perspective sensitive to cultural diversity and social inequalities? What are the role and behavior of multinational organizations and their implications with special reference to cultural dimensions? What is Globalization? The term globalization can be traced back to 1960’s but it became the buzz word only in the 1990’s. By the end of the first decade of the twenty first century there are millions of references available in virtual and physical form making it the most contested topic. Globalization is argued as the most contested concept that refers to the shrinkage of time and space. Manfred Steger defined globalization as â€Å"A social condition characterized b y tight global economic, political, cultural and environmental interconnections and flows that make most of the currently existing borders and boundaries irrelevant.† There can be many different social manifestations of globalization. One perspective can be about individualism, competition and capitalism while other can be about cooperation and communal norms. It gives globalization an indeterminate character. The term globalization refers to a social process that transforms our present social identity that is bounded with nationality into a global identity. What we observe today is global cities like New York, London, and Tokyo etc that has transcended regional, local and national boundaries. This global imagery is growing people’s perception of belonging to a global community (Steger, 2009). What we are experiencing right now is a period of global change. People all around the globe are affected by common economic, political and social and environmental changes. Hence globalization has economic, social and environmental dimensions. These global changes include increased competition, fluctuating interest rates, advancements in technology, ecological and climate changes, the fall of communism, rise of China, and the growing ethnic

EM670 Week 1 Conf Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EM670 Week 1 Conf - Assignment Example Again, this is because the positions are at a point where the holder will have to provide leadership to other people who are below them. The other common trait among the jobs was the coordination skills of the holder. This shows that the positions will require the holder to have good coordination skills to be able to carry out the functions of the office that the holder is managing. Together with this trait, the jobs also required that the aspiring candidate be able to have very good independent decision making skills that will make it possible for the person to make sound and strategic decisions alone, without having to consult all the time. This trait and that of coordination skills seemed to complement each other in that they both have to be there for each to benefit the job holder. According to Jacobson (2001), it is important to match traits and skill because having the right trait may not automatically mean that the person will manage the job. The skills required for the jobs were also common in that they all revolved around the management of human resource. However, for the different counties, job descriptions differed in terms of the level at which the candidates skills in personnel management were. For instance, some of the job descriptions in other places required that the aspiring job holder will have to have skills at the executive level while others required the skill to be at the management and operational level such as recruitment. The other common trait between the job descriptions is development of policies and procedures. The job descriptions all seemed to have this skill as a central requirement for the candidates who will hold the position. This means that all EM jobs may need a person who not only has the ability to conceptualize ideas and policies, but whose knowledge of federal law and regulations are very high (James, 2006). This is because policy development is very much dependent on this knowledge of federal laws

The language of health informatic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The language of health informatic - Essay Example ts or characteristics of the database includes the ability for it to have a simple decoding formula whereby all parties on the system can easily decode data that are put in the system and use these data in a way and manner that best meets their needs. Again, the data ought to be highly accessible. Accessibility in this case would touch on the need to ensure that the programming is designed at the level and standard of the user’s information technology knowledge. Finally, it is important to structure the database in such a way that even though it can be accessed easily, it cannot be easily penetrated by intruders. That is security should be a key factor. Database would be found to include among other things, personal data that touches on name, age, gender, religion and insurance information of patient (Gillespie et al, 2009). This is followed with patient profile, which includes data on aspects of the patient daily life including occupation, education, marital status, children, hobbies, worries, needs, patterns and habits (Tune and Salzman, 2012). Furthermore, the database looks at medical history of the patient as well as physical examination and laboratory data. When it comes to these areas, chief complaints, area of present illness, past medical history and medication are clearly spelt out on the database. The database could therefore be said to be an electronic system that makes the identification of the patient easier for the practitioner. Indeed, it is worth stressing the point that having a database that merely spells out and possesses the characteristics and medical data above is not enough. Rather, these data must be presented and handled in such a way that it represents the best form of utilization for the health practitioner. It is in such regard that the need to have a uniform coding and standardization of the data becomes important. In a multi-facility regional hospital such as this one, data that are uniformly coded in a single system would bring a

Discrimination in the Workforce Problem-Resolution Essay

Discrimination in the Workforce Problem-Resolution - Essay Example Now let us see what may be the goal to be formulated by the leader to achieve a better result where the problem of discrimination arises. AIM/GOAL The best way to combat workplace discrimination is to prevent it from happening in the first place. So the first and foremost aim or goal should be always ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Henry Kissinger US diplomat & scholar; national security advisor 1969-1975; Secretary of State 1973-1977; Nobel Prize in Peace 1973 3Solution for the discrimination of the workforce revolving around the elimination of the so called discrimination of work force in the workplace. OBJECTIVE It is vital for any organization to formulate the objectives to attain the above said goals.The desired objectives should be, 1. To achieve a change in someone's life and to improve their life opportunities, 2. To keep an accelerate quality of life for someone as long as possible in the face of infirmity and adversity, 3. To keep people safe from harm and harming themselves to others. (2) To achieve these objectives which are aim to eradicate the discrimination of workforce in the workplace some strategies must be brought in. STRATEGIES 1. To educate and make the leaders and the workers aware of their rights and...But the employer or leader is the sole and prime body to prevent such inactivity right before the outburst of the crisis for the well being of his dependents and also for the benefit of the company. As Henry Kissinger (1) the task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. So for a leader it is import display varied leadership styles according to the demands of the diverse situations. To prevent the problems like discrimination of workforce and safe guard the interest of the employees the leader has to acquire the tactics like vision, strategy, communication, buy-in, motivation, empowerment etc. Besides he has to plan an overall goal to achieve the thriving end and also he must have precise objectives to gain this goal. Now let us see what may be the goal to be formulated by the leader to achieve a better result where the problem of discrimination arises. 3. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),(2004) in Annual Federal Sector EXCEL Program for Government Employees, Managers, and Union Officials from August 30 to September 2, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. disability. A strong prevention program helps employers comply with the law and breaks down barriers to employment opportunities.

Critical Paper Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Paper - Movie Review Example Through this, the complex conflict and relationship between modernity, tradition and human emotions between the western and eastern, aspects of the globe will be highlighted. The 1994 released movie â€Å"To live† directed by Gong Li and Zhang Yimou is a film that is basically about an experience of a family during a particularly challenging and hard time, it also helps bring out the journey of the Chinese people towards their revolutionary stage( Zhang, Wr and Lu Wei 2). The more pronounced theme is that of change and divergent ways of coping with it. This aspect is similar with the other two films like in Wedding Banquet the main character figured out a strategic way of sorting his problem and in the Eat Drink Man Woman Chef Chu, found alternatives to his problems through food as elaborately brought out. The change theme was introduced both on societal and individual level. The difference in the change is on the fact that on the individual level it was influenced by the indi vidual own doing namely Xu Fugui, which if compared by other two was not due to their own actions. The film also shows the changes on a societal level that were happening on the Chinese society and various ideologies and political systems that were initially imposed on the Chinese people. This is also seen in the film Eat Drink Man Woman where there had to be a specific order to marriage and in Wedding Banquet the society expects some things to be common like in choice of marriage partners. With the societal changes consequently happening, all the characters in the three films experience effects that correspond to their lives. In this context, the societal changes that are happening and the individuals involved no longer have, any control over the issues for it was already the external factors that influence and operate and affect their individuals lives (Chan 1). The 1993 film the Wedding Banquet, which is about a Taiwanese immigrant man that is gay and marries a mainland Chinese w oman to get her a green card and to placate his parents. Although with his parents arrival in the United States his plan backfires since they decided to help with the wedding banquets planning (Wu, and Lixing 1344). The story combines so many issues of today and it is a great example of modern day life namely; cross-cultural life, sexuality, modernity/tradition, younger generations vs. old school parents, gay couples and multi-racial couples, love and family values, immigrants and gay Asian Americans. This themes discussed above correspond well with the other two films, since they all discuss societal current issues since, they directly bringing out the very different and distinct cultures in the film concurrently namely; the 90’s representation of the gay couples and Asian American. The film also uses the theme of change to bring out and comment on groupings and social stereotypes without blatantly doing so (Bishop, John, Haiyong and Lester 4). There is a similarity in the t heme of change in the other two films since they all discuss societal change. They embrace of sexuality by discussing gay relationship, revelation and change from the traditional Chinese cultures and a more entailed analysis of family issues and solutions derived as the families find adequate solutions on how they break from traditional and societal norms. The films help bring out the change theme by adequately capturing

Sino-Japanese relations Essay Example for Free

Sino-Japanese relations Essay Sino-Japanese relations are destined to have a profound impact on Southeast Asia. After all, as noted by Stephen Leong, For Asia to be secure, Japan and China have to be getting along† Otherwise the security architecture of Asia will change. China, Japan and the US may not enjoy the most comfortable of partnerships, considering each nation’s competitive streak and occasional differences over trade, global governance and security issues. But the partnership works and is improving, with the potential for resolving many regional and global problems, explains Morton Abramowitz, former US ambassador and senior fellow at the Century Foundation. In analyzing major issues confronting the three nations, Abramowitz also offers specific recommendations: Japan and the US should refrain from forming â€Å"values† alliances against China; China should end opposition to a seat on the UN Security Council for Japan; and East Asia should form more consultative forums for planning and integration. Ongoing integration and consultation can only improve the relationship, according to Abramowitz, creating a multilateral policymaking model for the century ahead. China grows rapidly, deriving significant clout and thereby assuming a new world role. Despite a recent leadership transition, Chinese leaders remain preoccupied with mitigating massive distortions of growth, ensuring a successful Olympics and preventing regime change. Its military modernization arouses American. Yet China continues to be out of step with the political morality of leading countries. China has a long way to go in exercising international leadership. Japan is a major world economic player, but wants to be a â€Å"normal† nation without its postwar defense limitations. It remains fearful of China’s competition, even as both economies become more entwined. Japan and China have one major concrete dispute – maritime claims. The US and Japan each value their alliance, influence in Southeast Asia –but the absence of which was clear when most East seat. In recent years, China has increased its assertiveness in pursuing territorial claims in the South China Sea. This development can most likely be traced to Chinas need to find sources of oil since China switched from being an oil-exporting nation to an oil-importing nation a few years ago. While Southeast Asian nations have essentially agreed to disagree by postponing resolution of their territorial disputes, China continues to insist on its rights to drill for oil on these islands. These actions exemplify the need to establish a multilateral resource development regime whose prerequisite for admission could be the resolution of territorial disputes. . 6Devout Muslims, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines, saw themselves marginalized by secular (Indonesian) or Christian (Filipino) governments. This produced a sense of victimization that meshed with the message from Osama bin Laden and others. Money from the Persian Gulf (particularly Saudi Arabia) has flowed into Southeast Asia, propagating a strict, doctrinaire version of Islam through schools and mosques. Mujahideen were indoctrinated into a militant jihadist returned to Southeast Asia ripe for recruitment into local terrorist organizations dedicated to the destruction of non- Muslim communities, Western influence, and secular governments. There are three types of international terrorist groups- al Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), whose agenda includes attacks on U. S. interests and the establishment of a pan-Islamic caliphate; and traditional Muslim separatists, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern Philippines and the Pattani National Liberation Front in southern Thailand, that seek a separate Muslim state. One of the questions affecting the security future of Southeast Asia is whether the predominantly Muslim societies in the region can find a way to neutralize and absorb the militants into a moderate body politic. The picture is greatly complicated by linkages between groups including JI and al Qaeda, between Abu Sayyaf and al Qaeda, and between JI and the MILF. Further complications arise from alleged links between elements of the Indonesian 8 military and Laskar Jihad and another similar group, the Islamic Defenders Front. In short, terrorism in Southeast Asia would depict interactive networks with multiple agendas. The October 2002 bombings in Bali forced Jakarta to acknowledge the reality.

Rights and Obligations of the State Essay Example for Free

Rights and Obligations of the State Essay Nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, or history. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government. State commonly refers to either the present condition of a system or entity, or to a governed entity government is the system by which a state or community is governed. Rights and Obligations of the State Article 1 is all about national territory Article 2 Declaration of Principles and State Policies Article 3 Bill of rights Article 4 all about citizenship Article 5 Suffrage(Right to vote) Article 6 Legislative Department Article 7 Executive Department Article 8 Judicial Department Article 9 -Common Provision(Section 1-8 -Civil Service Commission (Section 1-16) -Commission on Audit (Section 1-4) Article 10 Local Government Article 11 Accountability of public officers Article 12 National Economy Fransistory Provisions D. Parens Patriae Literally, this means father of the country. This doctrine has been defined as the inherent power and authority of the state to provide protection to the persons property of the person. Non Sui Juris = Persons who are those who lack the legal capacity to act on his own behalf. E. Doctrine of State Immunity = The immunity of the state from suit, known as the doctrine of sovereign immunity or non-suability of the state, is expressly provided in Article XVI of the 19987 Constitution. F. Fundamental Powers of the State There are three fundamental and inherent power of the state. 1. Police Power = is the power of the for promoting public welfare by restraining and regulating the use of liberty and property. 2. Power of Taxation = is the power by which the state raises revenue to defray the necessary expenses of government. 3. Power of eminent domain = is the power of the state to acquire private property for public purpose payment of just compensation.

A Reality Check In Contemporary Indian Media Media Essay

A Reality Check In Contemporary Indian Media Media Essay The paper discusses the evolution of the Gatekeeping Model over the years and examines how the traditional roles of gatekeeping have witnessed a change. From editors and reporters, the news and information is now being filtered by corporate houses, sponsors, advertisers, politicians and in case of the social media, the audience themselves. The research also offers an overview of the trend of cross media ownership in India and how the sponsors are influencing the information carried where corporatization of the media has affected the flow of news. Besides, it also studies the idea of gatekeeping in India in the context of social networking where the users themselves are gatekeepers. The paper suggests that the traditional methods of gatekeeping have decayed and hence it should be understood in novel contexts keeping in mind the rapid growth of new technologies and different ways of mass communication. Keywords: Gatekeeping, Advertisers, Social media, Indian media. Which news is more valuable? Twenty one persons killed and dozens injured in train collision or The speeding train kills seven elephants. Most people would say both are equally important but the people who are actually involved in the process of news selection and placement will be holding a different view. One of the news stories will be given more value than the other and so would be placed accordingly in the news paper. One of them might take a position on the front page while the other might have to be satisfied by being on some inside page. Most of the times, the stories with comparatively less value might not even get a chance to be published if the space on the page is not enough. Everyday numerous events take place that need reporting but not all of them can be published in a news paper or be flashed on a TV screen or announced on a radio set. The idea of gatekeeping seems logical at first since there is a limitation of time and space in publications and channels and very sim ply put, not everything can be shown or published. Thus, some kind of filtration is but natural. However, there are conscious processes involved which decide what has to be transmitted and what has to be withheld. The earliest concept of gatekeeping has assigned this conscious role to the editors of media houses. Traditionally, such decisions were based on the principles of news value and making such decisions used to be the major task of a gatekeeper which was taken up by the editor of a news paper. Every story that used to enter the newsroom had to go through the scrutiny of the editor and only after the editor approves, it was allowed to be published. Hence, it can be said that an editor used to have the final say in what is to be sent to the readers and what not. Editor was the sole authority holding the gate through which the stories pass. The traditional theories and models on gatekeeping also laid emphasis on the importance of the role of an editor in the paradigm of news communication. The famous model of gate keeping given by D.M. White(1950) focused only on the role of an editor as the man who made decisions. However, his theory was criticized when the other factors influencing the decision started gaining recognition. The editors started losing their say in the news selection process as the media got locked into the power structure, and consequently as acting largely in tandem with the dominant institutions in society. The media thus reproduced the viewpoints of dominant institutions not as one among a number of alternative perspectives, but as the central and obvious or natural perspective (Curran et al, 1982). The element of biasness affects the information that is received by the reader. The editor is required to keep in mind a number of things other than the news value principles for letting a story be published. The flow of information is being regulated by the gatekeepers who are not directly involved in the news gathering process but are the managers and the owners of the media firms or the advertisers or other stake holders. Money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and dominant private interests to get their messages across to the public (Herman and Chomsky, 1988). The political affiliation of a media outlet determines the ideology it would stand for and hence the gatekeeping will be done accordingly. The gatekeeper moulds the stories in a way that satisfy the interest of a political leader or a group and so changing the angle and slant of the real truth. Mass media content is influenced by media workers socialization and attitudes. Their professional training, personal and political attitudes and affiliations lead them to produce a social reality (Riaz, 2008). To a certain level, gatekeeping is very important for communication planning but as the news media has been overpowered by the top tier of corporate, it is becoming more of a negative term. Commercial advertising is the principal source of revenue for media and is very important for ensuring the survival of the media houses. In fact, the biggest regulators of the flow of information are the commercial organizations providing financial support to the media outlets in the form of advertisements. This has not only changed the nature of flow of news but also the entire set up of a news paper. Twenty five years ago, we could never imagine that first page of a newspaper in India would be full page advertisement. The news paper today looks more of a product catalogue than a news journal. On one hand, the globalization and liberalization provides a better scope of mediating while on the other it has given rise to commercialization of news. The profit making motive of the owners and publishers has led to backroom negotiation and encouraged payola which further leads to withholding of information and possibilities and hence preventing the readers from realizing the importance of truth in order to create the desired effect in the society. This can be easily related to agenda-setting. The gatekeeping today, is a vital part of the agenda-setting function of media as it is vastly used as a helping tool by the agenda setters. According to the agenda-setting theory, because of the fact of paying attention to some issues and neglecting and ignoring some others, the mass media will have an effect on public opinion (Riaz, 2008). For example, while watching a cricket match on television, one cannot watch the action taking place in the whole ground and also the spectators present in the pavilion from every angle at the same time. Even though today the information is coming from all corners, newspapers still remains as the top most trusted source in India and so the editorial decisions made in the dark without proper justification is not only an irresponsible act but also a corrupt practice. Keeping the gate is a serious responsibility and if the gatekeepers integrity is lost, the news paper too will loose its integrity. The gatekeeper has the power to forward the selected news items to the consumers. Therefore, the gatekeeper must have a moral justification of selecting a news story over the other because with power comes the accountability. News comes from the people and goes back to them. People are the ultimate source and the consumers of information. Hence, it is very important to ensure that the interests of the people are met. But the commercialization of media has led to conscious manipulations in sending back to the public what they are interested in and what can be discussed.Gatekeeping today can be called as one of the barriers to communication because the gatekeepers decide the nature of thoughts that will be created in the minds of the people and dictate what is worthy of the attention of the receiver. Here, one can raise an eyebrow and can ask for ones right to information. There has been numerous instances where biased gatekeeping created false or skewed notion of an institution, event or an individual. These will be discussed later in the paper.    Gatekeepers of news and information: The theoretical underpinning The gatekeepers model has been the bedrock of many communication studies in India and abroad and it has been the most debated theory as well. Communication scholars like Wilbur Schramm have outlined the basic tenets of the process of communication. A message is sent by a sender to a receiver through a channel and the receiver gives feedback making the communication process a dynamic and continuous one. However, the gatekeepers model has been seminal in the sense that it has identified influences of the institutional roles of editors on the information, especially information in news form, being passed on to readers, listeners and viewers. The evolution of the Gatekeepers theory has been charted by Chris Roberts, a Doctoral student at The University of South Carolina in a paper titled Communication Theory and Methodology Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication presented in August 2005 at Communication Theory and Methodology Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication San Antonio, Texas. Roberts has termed the concept as the vanilla ice cream of mass communication theory. He says- this is so since it may not be everyones favourite, but nearly everyone can tolerate it and while it may have an unremarkable flavour, it serves as a building block for other theory and methodological approaches. In post-war America in 1947, it was Prussian scholar Kurt Lewin who coined the term gatekeeping. He concluded in a study of sweetbreads on Iowa housewives that they are the gatekeepers who control what food enters the channels that ultimately bring it from the garden or super market into the household and onto the dining-room table. Each channel is walled into sections surrounded by gates the decision-making points that determine whether the food will enter the channel to start with, or move to the next section. But there are forces which exert pressure along the way to accept or reject food. He however added that the theory holds not only for food channels but also for the travelling of a news item through certain communication channels in a groupà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Lewin, 1947). It was in the same year 1947 that David Manning White decided to observe how an editor of a newspaper chooses or leaves out news. Aided by a telegraph wire editor Mr Gates for his study on a newspaper titled The Peoria Star, White proposed the flow of communication in 1950 which was later integrated into Lewins theory(Figure-I). The theory was published in Journalism Quarterly, 27. FIGURE I http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Media,%20Culture%20and%20Society/gatekeeping.doc/gatekeeping-1.gif White suggested that a news source has several items some of which are filtered by the organizations editors who act as gatekeepers. The news that thus reaches the audience is selected consciously. However, editors can also publish only what is provided to them by the sources like news wires. This aspect was elaborated by Dr Walter Gieber in 1956 whose dissertation at the University of Wisconsin expanded Whites early study to 16 wire editors. Where Gieber differed from other scholars was that he gave equal importance to the processes surrounding the agents who act as gatekeepers. Chris Roberts outlines that in Giebers theory, these gatekeepers are passive and reactive, unable to do much to influence the copy they receive. A very key factor in the news flow process was overlooked by White which is the organizational influences like work culture, work routines and story deadlines which were also noted by Gieber. The Westley-MacLean model (Figure-II) introduced the idea of gatekeeper C and feedback between the three centres. According to them, C filters some component of the message which is being sent to B. But feedback between the sender and receiver remains all throughout. FIGURE II http://communicationtheory.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/westley-and-macLean%E2%80%99s-model-of-communication-diagram.jpg (Available at: http://communicationtheory.org/westley-and-maclean%E2%80%99s-model-of-communication/) Here, X1 and X2 are news items which reach the client A (media house, reporter) who passes it on to audience B. There is the intervention of C, a gatekeeper who can also receive some news directly (X3, X4). Westley and MacLean have suggested that communication begins when receivers start to give feedback (f) according to their own surroundings. This model was applicable for both interpersonal and mass communication and identified the very important element of feedback despite the presence of a gatekeeper. If we take an example from India, a newspaper reporter might get news and the editor might edit it before publishing. But whatever information reaches the audience is acted upon by them- the thriving Letters to the Editor section, especially in the Hindi press, being a good example of that. But if one talks about gatekeeping, it should be kept in mind that it is not only about the selection and presentation of news but also about gathering of news from various sources. J T McNelly(1959) focused not on editors but also on reporters, who according to him were the first of the multiple gatekeepers(Figure-III). According to him, news can be modified in different ways and by different authorities. FIGURE III C:UserssargamDesktopDocs n FilesThird SemDev CommShowcases-McNelly-and-News-Flow-4.jpg Available at http://www.alanmachinwork.net/Showcases The scenario in contemporary Indian media industry In terms of investment in men and machinery, the Indian media industry has become a corporate structure both in operation and management. And it has witnessed a definite transformation from a mission to a profession. Commercialization of media is almost complete and all sorts of manipulations are being used as are done in the case of product marketing. This has tremendous impact on gatekeeping functions also. It has given rise to many gatekeepers of news and information apart from traditional gatekeeper like editors. Today, there are different powerful gatekeepers who influence the media and their coverage because of either their economic clout or influence. Broadly speaking, the gatekeeping scenario in the Indian media has undergone a change due to three key factors, viz., Cross-media ownership, Corporatization of media, Popularization of social media. Gatekeeping in cross media ownership situation Post the reforms of 1991, the Indian economy has opened up many sectors for private entrepreneurial interest. Since the last two decades of liberalization, the phenomenon of concentration of wealth has been marring the economy. A 2009 study India 2039 an affluent society in one generation funded by the Asian Development Bank has shown that a handful of 50 people (50 billionaires in a country of more than 120 crore) controlled wealth equivalent to 20 per cent of Indias Gross Domestic Product(Available at: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/ai/rti/international/laws_papers/india/india_2039_an_affluent_society_in_one_generation.pdf). The corporate world has been able to carve its own huge space in the economic domain of the country in a short span of time. This space has also in a sense intruded into the media in a hegemonic manner. Both in the print and electronic media, the corporate sector has become an investor and a power to reckon with. Quoting a research conducted by Dilip Mandal and R. Anuradha, that has been published in Media Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2011), Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, (member of the committee set up by the Press Council of India to check ethical and legal violations by the media) has elaborated how the boards of directors of a number of media companies now include (or have included in the past) representatives of big corporate entities that are advertisers(Guha Thakurta, Media Ownership Trends in India, The Hoot, July 3, 2012). The board of Jagran Publications has had the Managing Director (MD) of Pantaloon Retail, Kishore Biyani, McDonald Indias MD Vikram Bakshi, and leather-maker Mirza Internationals MD Rashid Mirza; besides the CEO of media consulting firm Lodestar Universal India, Shashidhar Sinha, and the chairman of the real estate firm JLL Meghraj, Anuj Puri. The board of directors of HT Media, publishers of Hindustan Times and Hindustan, has included the former chairman of Ernst You ng K. N. Memani and the chairman of ITC Limited Y C Deveshwar. Joint MD of Bharti Enterprise Rajan Bharti and MD of Anika International Anil Vig are a part of the TV Todays Board of Directors. The board of directors of DB Corp (that publishes the daily, Dainik Bhaskar) includes the head of Piramal Enterprises Group, Ajay Piramal, the MD of Warburg Pincus, Nitin Malhan, and the executive chairman of advertising firm Ogilvy Mather, Piyush Pandey. NDTVs Board of Directors has Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO of the countrys biggest business processing outsourcing company GenPact as a member of its board of directors. The idea behind giving such details is to show the constant overlapping of corporate and citizens interests. News and information published/broadcast was traditionally meant to inform, awaken or entertain people which now has become a tool for publicity, public relation, relationship management and veiled advertising for the corporate firms. They do so through having an i nterest in media houses via investment and ownership. As Guha Thakurta has said, Instead of media houses relying on advertisers to fund quality journalism, the relationship becomes insidiously reversed. Advertisers and corporate units begin to rely on news outlets to further their interests. In 2003, Bennett Coleman Company Limited (publishers of the Times of India and the Economic Times, among other publications) started a paid content service, which enabled them to charge advertisers for coverage of product launches or celebrity-related events. Radiagate and the control of information by the corporate media In late 2010, Open magazine published records of leaked telephonic conversation between corporate lobbyist Nira Radia and influential media persons, politicians and corporate houses which seem to point to a nexus between the three sectors in the appointment of ministers and in important corporate deals. Among the mainstream newspapers in India, newspapers The Hindu and The Pioneer were one of the first to publish the records and carry the story. However, a highly conscious process of selection went into the coverage of what came to be known as Radiagate. Many news publications and news channels did not carry the story at first and the tapes leaked were also allegedly selective. In an article Media ethics: Why we need both panic and a pinch of salt (Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 48, Dated December 04, 2010), Shoma Chaudhary has pointed out how the media is under immense pressure while reporting a story. She says that one of the most damaging symptoms in Indian media today is its slav ish relationship with corporate power. Political misconduct is often brought to book, corporate crime almost never. Big business has its tentacles everywhere. Almost all the premier publications and channels The Times of India, Times Now, The Economic Times, CNBC etc come across as compromised in differing percentages, she has stressed. Therefore, even if the editors and reporters wish to play out the role of gatekeepers, they have corporate concerns in mind since the private sector has become a major source of revenue for the media houses. Prominent media houses have a diverse set of people with varying financial interests investing in them and thus proving to be a huge financial support which is how the corporate sector can also be considered a gatekeeper- a force that controls or influences the selection and consequent flow of information. Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu Business Line, Rasheeda Bhagat has discussed the media blackout of the issue pointing out that the TV cha nnels (employing journalists allegedly involved in the scandal) remained silent on the issue for long. (Those Living In Glass Houses, The Hindu Business Line, November 23, 2010). Though the print and electronic media tried to control the information, the traditional role of gatekeeping by the editors or even the new role of gatekeeping by the corporate sector eventually failed when it came to Radiagate. This was due to the alternative of social media which proved to be a powerful tool in mounting pressure on the government to start investigating in the 2G scandal. Face book and Twitter helped people to access opinions of fellow citizens and thinkers while the leaked tapes were also available online on video-sharing websites like YouTube. Advertorials have been another form of corporate intrusion into the business of news and information. They are actually advertisements furthering the commercial interests of a corporate house, a firm or an organisation presented in the manner of a piece of news or an editorial. Bart Pattyn (Media Ethics: Opening Social Dialogue, 2000) says that advertorials employ a language not directly persuasive but more oriented at conveying information about the product. Generally, the editor has no role to play while an advertorial is being carried since it is the advertising department of the media house which decides in this matter. While it is not illegal or unethical to publish or carry them, many experts feel that the concept of advertorials has made media houses compromise on their ethics since they try to avoid conflict of interest between them and the sponsors. The level of investment that the advertisers and sponsors have achieved indicates that they have become the main source of reve nue for media houses. However, Professor J. J. Soundararaj (Try Advertorial to Overcome the Challenges of Commercial Clutter, Excel International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies, Vol.1 Issue 2, November 2011) points out that advertorials are costly. Hence not all firms can afford them. Thus, it is the financially sound organisations that use this method of promotion. Hence, this can be another example of how the corporate sector is acting as a gatekeeper and controlling and selecting what information should reach an audience. Politicians as gatekeepers Several politicians in India today run a news channel or publication. Commenting on this trend, journalist Archna Shukla studies the case of Piccadilly Group, owned by Kartikeya Sharma which manages Hindi newspaper Aaj Samaj and runs news channels under the name of India News. (We also make TV news, The Indian Express, August 19, 2012). Sharma is the son of Congress leader Shri Vinod Sharma. It is said that Sharma senior took a vow to launch his own newspaper and TV channel after he felt that it was media activism that led to his son Manu Sharmas conviction in the Jessica Lal murder case of 1999, Shukla says. In the South India, AIADMKs J Jayalalitha owns Jaya TV while rival DMKs M Karunanidhi owns Kalaignar TV and his nephew Kalanidhi Maran owns Sun TV. Mediapersons have pointed out how they give favourable coverage to the political parties of their owners. Election Commission officials have said that they do not receive complaints about paid news in Tamil Nadu since the party affiliations are already clear. Even if the channels are not owned directly by the politicians, the evil of paid news has hit the Indian media showing how anyone with money can be a gatekeeper. Guha Thakurta has pointed out that many candidates have fixed rates in case they want a newspaper to impart favourable coverage during elections. There have been instances when even the government and its machinery have controlled the flow of information for safety and strategic purposes. Gatekeeping of information can also be beneficial in instances where the media goes overboard with reportage. During the coverage of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, the editors at first went ahead with the complete coverage focusing only on Nariman House and Trident Hotel, completely sidelining the attack on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Television channels broadcast gory images and were also in competition with each other for exclusive footage which interfered with the ongoing army operations. The government and military authorities had to finally intervene to urge the media for a balance and controlled coverage. People as gatekeepers: The rise of social media It is very interesting to note that in areas untouched by technology (like many villages), the tradition of sitting together to discuss the days happenings is strong. Here, the better read people in the village or those who own a radio or television set can gatekeep and let out selective information to fellow villagers. Hence, the audience itself doubles up as a gatekeeper. The same phenomenon can be noticed in areas completely engulfed by technology. India has been witnessing a growing craze for social networking with more than 50 million Indians registered on leading networking site Facebook. The very idea of social media activities like chatting, posting and blogging is the concept of Freedom rather freedom from censorship. A blog is a free platform where people or bloggers themselves are gatekeepers who control information and decide what their fellow netizens will read. A tweet by a celebrity (as a note on social networking site Twitter is called) can be read by anybody followin g the celebrity. The followers can also comment on the tweets and there have been instances of uncontrollable and harsh commenting on scams and scandals on Twitter. Commenting on the social media scenario today, noted filmmaker Shekhar Kapur says: As Newspaper and Media empires fade, Gatekeepers as we know them, are being replaced by Platformers that enable communities to share ideas, thoughts, knowledge, news, between themselves at an unprecedented speeds, letting them transact   and exchange even real goods and services between themselves. Communities will now reject Gate Keepers that thrive on a system that tries to control that flow. Social networking has become a rage precisely because of the free flow of information it allows on an immediate basis. There is no editing authority which can delete or control what a user writes on several websites. As a result, one can also come across inappropriate content online showing how people themselves have the power to gatekeep and decide what can be filtered. In the wake of the recent misuse of social networking websites by groups trying to spread rumours regarding dangers to lives of the residents of the north-eastern states in India, Union Minister for Information Technology Kapil Sibal has called for some regulation to avoid such instances. As a result, a few websites have agreed to share user information with the government authorities. Conclusion The concept of gatekeeping in India has undergone a transformation due to the trend of cross-media ownership, corporatization of the media and increasing popularity of social networking websites. Consequently, the traditional role of gatekeeping by the editors or reporters are now being performed by sponsors and advertisers who influence content selection due to their economic clout and politicians who own news entities or have significant financial holdings in them. A platform where the audience itself can gatekeep is the arena of social networking where the absence of strong censorship allows users to generate the desired content and share it with fellow users. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Orkut and others. The Indian authorities have recently called for some kind of regulation in this arena to prevent the misuse of this platform. Disregarding the older concept of gatekeeping, it is now recognized that gatekeeping is exercised at almost every stage in the whole process communicating news. Earlier, due to the lack of space and time the editors used to leave out or ignore so many things but today, in the era of information over flow, the gatekeeping starts from the very first stage i.e. from the place of origin of event. The sources give some information and leave some and so the people who are the source of events act as a gatekeeper; a reporter is a gatekeeper as she might not send the full information to the newsroom or might send biased information and the chain goes on and stops back with the people as the consumers of the news by choosing what to consume and what to leave. So, the earlier notion of editors as the only gatekeeper is no more true. Some exogenous factors like pressure groups and flak (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) are also keeping the gates and mark their presence by pressurizing the media outlet s to stop certain information from being conveyed to the citizens. For an example, Salman Rushdies Satanic Verses received the highest level of criticism by the religious pressure group accusing Rushdie for blasphemy. This not just banned the readers to read this book but also did not allow Rushdie to openly address the public. Not allowing people equal access to information is also a form of gatekeeping. This creates information gap and disparity between the haves and the haves-not of knowledge. In a democratic set up like India, everyone should have the right to equal access to information. For example, the Internet service providers including both private and government provide higher speed at higher prices. Therefore, somebody who cannot afford higher prices cannot have the information. Similarly, the uploading speed provided is much less than the downloading speeds. This again acts as a gate for the citizen journalists who wish to share some important piece of information they have with the world. The power of gatekeepers seems to diminish in a modern information society. The Internet defies the whole notion of a gate and challenges the idea that journalists (or anyone else) can or should limit what passes through it (Shoemaker et al, 2001). The statement is an eye opener for many, who have still not r ealized the power of internet to control the information at various levels, and which is indeed proving out to be real in the current scenario. As after its unparalleled debut in the information sector, it has set a bench mark for its competition, and in a very short span, the internet became one of the most viewed and dependable source and controller of information, with a global consumer base at its disposal, and hence a very powerful gatekeeper.

The Crucible and Why Reputation is Important :: Essay on The Crucible

Many people believe that teenagers are reckless, rude, and untruthful human beings. It seems that teenagers are always under the pressure to â€Å"look cool,† and not do anything embarrassing. Reputation means a great deal to many high schoolers, because it seems that you only get one chance to make a good impression. In the Crucible, Abigail and the other girls fear that their reputation will be destroyed if the would be known as witches. Teenagers today have so much pressure on themselves. They have to get good grades, to get into their choice of college. They also are under the pressure to have and keep a good reputation, just as Abigail and the girls of Salem had to keep theirs. We have all experienced a time during our teenage years when our parents told us not to do something, but we did it anyways, because we thought that we could outsmart our parents and not get into trouble. In the Crucible, the following quote â€Å"She made me do it! She made Betty do it!† Abigail is blaming Tituba, for them dancing in the forest, and told everyone that Tituba was with the Devil and that she was a witch. This shows that Abigail and the girls did no want to get in trouble, or confess for dancing in the forest. So they came up with the idea of saying that it was witchcraft and that they were forced upon their own will. In today’s society teenagers are faced with the same type of pressure. When on person gets in trouble, they tend to point the finger at someone else, for mainly one reason: so they do not get into trouble for their wrong doings. In the Salem Witch Trials the girls of Salem told a lie, so they would not get into trouble for dancing in the forest. In the end this caused them to hurt the lives of many men and women who were wrongly accused, because of false accusations. A good reputation is hard to achieve and even harder to keep. Teenagers take their reputation very seriously. One accusation or wrong action can see like the end of the world. Some teenagers believe that if they can blame someone else, then their problems will disappear. But that belief is misinterpreted. Anything that goes around comes around. Power is a very strapping word. The Crucible and Why Reputation is Important :: Essay on The Crucible Many people believe that teenagers are reckless, rude, and untruthful human beings. It seems that teenagers are always under the pressure to â€Å"look cool,† and not do anything embarrassing. Reputation means a great deal to many high schoolers, because it seems that you only get one chance to make a good impression. In the Crucible, Abigail and the other girls fear that their reputation will be destroyed if the would be known as witches. Teenagers today have so much pressure on themselves. They have to get good grades, to get into their choice of college. They also are under the pressure to have and keep a good reputation, just as Abigail and the girls of Salem had to keep theirs. We have all experienced a time during our teenage years when our parents told us not to do something, but we did it anyways, because we thought that we could outsmart our parents and not get into trouble. In the Crucible, the following quote â€Å"She made me do it! She made Betty do it!† Abigail is blaming Tituba, for them dancing in the forest, and told everyone that Tituba was with the Devil and that she was a witch. This shows that Abigail and the girls did no want to get in trouble, or confess for dancing in the forest. So they came up with the idea of saying that it was witchcraft and that they were forced upon their own will. In today’s society teenagers are faced with the same type of pressure. When on person gets in trouble, they tend to point the finger at someone else, for mainly one reason: so they do not get into trouble for their wrong doings. In the Salem Witch Trials the girls of Salem told a lie, so they would not get into trouble for dancing in the forest. In the end this caused them to hurt the lives of many men and women who were wrongly accused, because of false accusations. A good reputation is hard to achieve and even harder to keep. Teenagers take their reputation very seriously. One accusation or wrong action can see like the end of the world. Some teenagers believe that if they can blame someone else, then their problems will disappear. But that belief is misinterpreted. Anything that goes around comes around. Power is a very strapping word.

The Immigrant Experience: The Anguish of Becoming American Essay

The Immigrant Experience: The Anguish of Becoming American Immigration from the Early 1990's still affects America today. The people who came to America from different countries brought their traditions, their families, and their culture. These three things stuck with them through thick and thin and are still thriving parts of what America is today. Many immigrants came with literally nothing in their pockets and had to work their way to success. The Immigrant Experience by Thomas Wheeler tells the story of nine different immigrants' trials and tribulations of coming and living in America. Each immigrant went through different experiences of becoming American but they also had their similarities. Four things that attributed to the assimilation of the immigrants are: language, money, religion, and ambition. Each immigrant experienced their individual trials, but they still all had several similarities. Almost all of the immigrants in this book came to America without being able to speak English, except for the immigrant from London. Alan Pryce-Jones came to America able to speak English and this put him at an advantage over the other immigrants because he could communicate with Americans. Also, he came to America after he established his writing in Europe. He came with money and wisdom which set him far above the other immigrants. The immigrants who couldn't speak English had to take classes and settle for low paying jobs because they could not communicate with their bosses. If they weren't working for someone else, they entrepreneured their own business. William Alfred, the Irish immigrant, was raised by a grandmother who owned her own business. This made it a little easier for him to find a job, and bring in money. J... ...America and living here made them American. But, they all brought over their own traditions and culture that still affect families today. Americans all have the outer candy coatings, but each peanut inside is different. The peanuts make the M & M's what they are. The outer appearance is the same but the inward structure is not. The peanuts do not affect the way the M & M looks but they sure do affect the way they taste. Next time you go to eat an M & M think about what America is. Is it a group of people who are all the same and have conformed to each other so that you cannot distinguish one from another? Or is America like a bowl of peanut M & M's where you can see how every one is similar but each individual is different on the inside? They may look American. They may act American. They may very well be American, but they cannot neglect their ancestry roots.

Terrorism †Wake Up America! :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Terrorism – Wake Up America! America, wake up! That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then. It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years. America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized / right sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission doomed from the start. Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more. Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more. Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber. The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

On Translation of English Proverbs Essay

Abstractï ¼Å¡Proverbs, which derive from life are the condensation and embodiment of the language and culture of a nation. Proverb is a form of literature,its terseness and depth is the result of sand washing from rough sea and discarding the dross and selecting the essential in the course of language culture development. The proverb has the bright characteristic of a nation. Because of the differences of religious beliefs, habits and customs, fables and myth and culture and art, English proverbs and Chinese proverbs carry on the different national cultural characteristics and information. In translation,these cultural elements are the main difficulties and they form  the influencing factor of the translation of English proverbs.This essay uses some typical examples to state four factors through analyzing, comparing and concluding from the point of geographical environment, customs, religious beliefs and historical culture. In order to present an adequate translation of a proverb, we can use four translation methods flexibly: literal translation, free translation, substitution translation and literal translation combined with free translation. Key words: English proverb influencing factor translation method æ µâ€¦Ã¨ °Ë†Ã¨â€¹ ±Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã§Å¡â€žÃ§ ¿ »Ã¨ ¯â€˜ Ã¥ ­ ¦ 生ï ¼Å¡Ã©Æ' Ã¦â„¢â€œÃ¦â€" ° ä ¸â€œ ä ¸Å¡Ã¯ ¼Å¡Ã¨â€¹ ± è ¯ ­ æÅ'‡å ¯ ¼ è€ Ã¥ ¸Ë†Ã¯ ¼Å¡Ã¨ µ µÃ¤ ¸ ¹Ã¤ ¸ ¹ 摘è ¦ Ã¯ ¼Å¡Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¦  ¥Ã¦ º Ã¤ ºÅ½Ã§â€Å¸Ã¦ ´ »Ã¯ ¼Å'æ˜ ¯Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¤ ¸ ªÃ¦ °â€˜Ã¦â€" Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ ¨â‚¬Ã¥â€™Å'æâ€"‡åÅ'â€"çš„é «ËœÃ¥ º ¦Ã¦ µâ€œÃ§ ¼ ©Ã¥â€™Å'集ä ¸ ­Ã¤ ½â€œÃ§Å½ °Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§ § Ã¦â€"‡å ­ ¦Ã¥ ½ ¢Ã¥ ¼ Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦ ´â€"ç »Æ'å’Å'æ · ±Ã¥Ë† »Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¤ ¸ ªÃ¦ °â€˜Ã¦â€" Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥â€¦ ¶Ã¦ ¼ «Ã©â€¢ ¿Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ ¨â‚¬Ã¦â€"‡å ­â€"Ã¥ â€˜Ã¥ ±â€¢Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¦ µ ªÃ¦ ·ËœÃ¦ ²â„¢Ã¯ ¼Å'åŽ »Ã§ ²â€"Ã¥ â€"ç ² ¾Ã§Å¡â€žÃ§ »â€œÃ¦Å¾Å"ï ¼Å'è °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¥â€¦ ·Ã¦Å"‰é ²Å"明的æ °â€˜Ã¦â€" Ã§â€° ¹Ã¦â‚¬ §Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ§â€ ±Ã¤ ºÅ½Ã¤ ¸ Ã¥ Å'çš„å ®â€"æ•™ä ¿ ¡Ã¤ » °Ã¯ ¼Å'é £Å½Ã¤ ¿â€"ä ¹  Ã¦Æ' ¯Ã¯ ¼Å'Ã¥ ¯â€œÃ¨ ¨â‚¬Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã¨ ¯ Ã¤ » ¥Ã¥ Å Ã¦â€"‡å ­ ¦Ã¨â€° ºÃ¦Å" ¯Ã¨ ¯ ¸Ã¥ ¤Å¡Ã¦â€" ¹Ã©  ¢Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥ · ®Ã¥ ¼â€šÃ¯ ¼Å'è‹ ±Ã¯ ¼Å'æ ±â€°Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¦â€° ¿Ã¨ ½ ½Ã§ â‚¬Ã¤ ¸ Ã¥ Å'çš„æ °â€˜Ã¦â€" Ã¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"ç‰ ¹Ã¨â€° ²Ã¥â€™Å'ä ¸ Ã¥ Å'çš„æâ€"‡åÅ'â€"ä ¿ ¡Ã¦  ¯Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¥Å" ¨Ã § ¿ »Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¯ ¼Å'è ¿â„¢Ã¤ ºâ€ºÃ¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"å›  Ã§ ´  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¤ ¸ »Ã¨ ¦ Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥â€º °Ã©Å¡ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¤ »â€"ä » ¬Ã¦Å¾â€žÃ¦Ë† Ã¤ ºâ€ Ã¥ ½ ±Ã¥â€œ Ã¨â€¹ ±Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã§ ¿ »Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥â€º  Ã§ ´  Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¦Å" ¬Ã¦â€"‡å€ŸåŠ ©Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¤ ºâ€ºÃ¥â€¦ ¸Ã¥Å¾â€¹Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¤ ¾â€¹Ã¥ ­ Ã¯ ¼Å'ä »Å½Ã¥Å" °Ã§ â€ Ã§Å½ ¯Ã¥ ¢Æ'〠Ã© £Å½Ã¤ ¿â€"ä ¹  Ã¦Æ' ¯Ã£â‚¬ Ã¥ ®â€"æ•™ä ¿ ¡Ã¤ » °Ã£â‚¬ Ã¥Å½â€ Ã¥  ²Ã¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"æâ€" ¹Ã©  ¢Ã¥Ë†â€ Ã¦Å¾ Ã¥â€ºâ€ºÃ§ § Ã¥ ½ ±Ã¥â€œ Ã¥â€º  Ã§ ´  Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¤ ¸ ºÃ¤ ºâ€ Ã¥ ¿  Ã¥ ®Å¾Ã£â‚¬ Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã© ¡ ºÃ¥Å" °Ã¥â€  Ã§Å½ °Ã¨â€¹ ±Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¥Å½Å¸Ã¨ °Å¡,Ã¥  ¯Ã¤ » ¥Ã§  µÃ¦ ´ »Ã¨ ¿ Ã§â€ ¨Ã¥â€ºâ€ºÃ§ § Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã¦ ³â€¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¦Å" ¬Ã¦â€"‡è ® ¨Ã¨ ® ºÃ¤ ºâ€ Ã§â€º ´Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã£â‚¬ Ã¦â€ž Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã£â‚¬ Ã¥ Å'ä ¹â€°Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¥ ¥â€"ç” ¨Ã¦ ³â€¢Ã£â‚¬ Ã§â€º ´Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã¥â€™Å'æ„ Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã§â€º ¸Ã§ »â€œÃ¥ Ë†Ã¨ ¿â„¢Ã¥â€ºâ€ºÃ§ § Ã§ ¿ »Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¦ ³â€¢Ã£â‚¬â€š å… ³Ã©â€ ®Ã¨ ¯ : è‹ ±Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ °Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ­ Ã¥ ½ ±Ã¥â€œ Ã¥â€º  Ã§ ´   ç ¿ »Ã¨ ¯â€˜Ã¦Å â‚¬Ã¥ · §

Keats’ attitude towards women Essay

Q- Keats wrote that he struggled to settle his mind on women, by turns adoring them as angels and reviling them as whores. Discuss Keats’s attitude to women in at least three poems in light of this opinion. Keats once wrote in a letter to Fanny Brawne â€Å"You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often ‘to reason against the reasons of my Love’- I can do that no more†. The quote, from John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, ostensibly encapsulates Keats’ attitude towards women. Through the variation of female characters presented in his work, from the evil seductress in La Belle Dame Sans Merci to chaste pure Madeline from The Eve of St. Agnes, Keats cultivates the impression of being simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the opposite sex, enthralled by their sensuality yet wary of their seemingly alien nature. This repulsion is depicted quite clearly in La Belle Dame Sans Merci or ‘The Beautiful Woman Without Pity’. Keats’ allusion to the medieval romance by French poet Alain Chartier immediately transports the reader into a fairy tale setting. The poem adopts the form of a folk ballad, yet merely mimics traditional love ballads as Keats’ female protagonist is depicted as having a far darker purpose. The contrast between the traditional ballad form and the cruel titular woman creates an ominous tone that continues into the first stanza of the poem. The poem consists of two speakers, the first of which hails the ‘palely loitering’ knight and asks ‘O what can ail thee’. The eeriness of the poem is reinforced when the unknown speaker asks a second time, ‘O what can ail thee, knight at arms’, the repetition of the question creating a ghostly refrain. The alliteration of the ‘L’ sound in ‘palely loitering’ creates a sense of listlessness that is furthered through the bleak landscape where ‘the sedge has wither’d from the lake, and no birds sing’. From this the reader can infer that the knight is a desolate emotional state, which is echoed, by his surroundings. Keats’s use of pathetic fallacy is furthered when the first speaker remarks that the ‘harvest’s done’ thus leaving the knight in a literal winter as well as a figurative one. As knights are often held as paragons of courage and power, Keats makes the reader aware that something preternaturally powerful must be at work. This preternatural being is ‘full beautiful-a faery’s child’, a tempestuous seductress who enthrals the hapless knight. So besotted is he, that he thinks nothing of following her to her ‘elfin grot’ where she ‘lulled’ him asleep. On the one hand, the verb ‘lulled’ can be seen as a treacherous attempt to secure the knight’s affections and allay his suspicions about La Belle’s otherworldly nature, on the other it can be viewed as a calming gesture, that has been misconstrued by the knight like every other aspect of the ethereal woman. Alluding to medieval mythology, Keats paints La Belle as a succubus, a femme fatale able to suck the life from the chivalrous knight through dreams. We, as the reader are only offered the descriptions and opinions of the knight-at-arms, and know nothing of this lady save for his presentation of her. As such, feminist critics could argue that unkind depiction of her character stems from the inversion of patriarchal values depicted in the poem. The knight is not a helpless victim of fancy, for it was he who first approached La Belle, and it was he who made her ‘a garland for her head, and bracelets too, and fragrant zone’. These objects, seemingly tokens of their courtship can be seen not only to decorate but to bind, enslave and enclose. La Belle Dame Sans Merci deviates from popular literacy tropes by depicting a lovelorn male in a state of decline and anguish after being rejected by the cruel female who is the object of his desires. However, instead of creating a female character to be applauded, Keats turns La Belle’s rejection of the knight into a rejection of morality itself. La Belle is never fully described, a longhaired faceless beauty who enslaves the knight with her feminine wiles. As such, La Belle can be seen to represent all women, an idea that is furthered when Keats speaks of ‘pale kings and princess too, pale warriors, death-pale they were all’. The repetition of the sickly adjective ‘pale’ in conjunction with the paradigms of masculinity found in kings, princes, and warriors furthers the idea of female sexuality corrupting the values of men, thus assuring their downfall. Keats creates a direct parallel to the malevolent succubus in La Belle Dame Sans Merci through male protagonist Porphyro from his poem The Eve of Saint Agnes. ‘St. Agnes Eve- Ah, bitter chill it was! The owl for all his feathers was a-cold; the hare limped trembling through the frozen grass, and silent were the flock in woolly fold’. Just like La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Keats through use of natural imagery depicts a desolate surrounding. However, in this case the frozen countryside is the result of a natural winter and not the spells of a cruel enchantress. This idea is further through the listing of animals; the ‘owl’, ‘hare’ and ‘flock’ are vastly different from the birdless wasteland. Keats conjures in the reader the vision of a harsh winter through use of adjectives ‘cold’, ‘frozen’ and ‘chill’. The depressed nature of this bleak landscape is broken by ‘Music’s golden tongue’ and ‘silver snarling trumpets’. The verb ‘snarling’ conjures in the reader images of savage dogs or wolves and is a startling contrast to the muffled snow covered outside world. The harsh ‘Ar’ sound in ‘snarling’ creates a growling effect and effectively conveys the ferocity and fervour of the music being played. Keats’ use of precious metals gold and silver simultaneously emphasise the value of the music, and livens the frozen world female protagonist Madeline lives in. Discussing the presentation of Madeline, critic Bateman states that ‘she’s no Fanny Brawne, she’s timid and subdued’. Paraded in front on numerous gentry who hold no appeal to her, Madeline longs to escape from the public eye and anxiously awaits the ‘hallowed hour’ of St. Agnes Eve. The adjective ‘hallowed’ holds within it highly religious connotations that encapsulates the sacred nature of St. Agnes Night. The use of religious imagery is prevalent throughout the poem, and is expressed quite exquisitely through Madeline. Madeline is a paragon of virtue, a virgin so pious that she ‘seemed a splendid angel†¦save wings for heaven’. Surrounded by the light of the ‘wintry moon’ Madeline is transformed into an ethereal being, one with no  match on earth. Far from evoking Diana, goddess of the moon and chastity, the scintillating moonlight throws â€Å"warm gules† on Madeline’s breast thus drawing attention to her body as ‘she knelt, so pure a thing, free from mortal taint’. The noun ‘taint’ suggests contamination, a polluting stain that cannot be removed. After the touch of a man, Madeline will no longer be pure, and as such loose that which makes her heavenly. Through use of ‘aged creature’ Angela, Keats creates a counterpart to female protagonist Angela. The noun ‘creature’ brings to mind something other, an alien entity that lacks humanity. Far past the age where she can enjoy the innocent and puerile rituals of St. Agnes eve, Angela is depicted as everything that Madeline is not. Old, frail and feeble, she is constantly shaking due to her ‘palsied’ state and seems prone to fits of forgetfulness, reminding Porphyro that he she cannot trust her ‘dizzy head’. She lacks any strength of character and is easily manipulated by Porphyro, thus enabling him to carry out his seduction on Madeline. One the one hand, the constant listing of physical and mental deficiencies allows Keats to create a strong contrast to thriving Madeline, on the other hand, Keats can be seen as conforming to overused stereotypes- the pious young virgin and the feeble elderly crone. As such, his female characters become a flat â€Å"2D† portrayal, lacking any real depth of personality. Jack Stillinger states â€Å"regardless of the extent to which Keats identified with his hero, he introduced enough overtones of evil to make Porphyro’s actions wrong within the structure of the poem†. On the one hand this statement can be held true, with Porphyro’s actions revealing him to be a ‘cruel man’ and ‘impious’ and on the other, Porphyro’s actions take on a romantic light, and any indiscretions made can be seen to be the actions of a lovesick fool. Mirroring La Belle’s presentation as a succubus, Keats once again draws on medieval mythology. This time however, the male not the female entertains supernatural elements. As such, Porphyro becomes an incubus. Like succubae, an incubus holds power over the opposite sex, and often carries out their seductions through dreams. Unlike La Belle however, Keats does not demonise Porphyro for his sexual  nature and portrays his fantasies of possessing Madeline in a romantic light. Despite their similar situations, the difference in the presentation of La Belle and Porphyro truly illustrates Keats’ attitudes towards women. Keats wrote about empathetic identification, claiming â€Å"if a sparrow come before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the Gravel†. Keats is able to identify with the sparrow, yet seems unable to create female characters who are not enticing femme fettle’s like Lamia and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, or vapid feeble characters like Madeline and Angela. Keats’ treatment and depiction of his written characters is highly similar to his treatment of Fanny Brawne, finding in her aspects of that which disgusted him in La Belle Dame Sans Merci and enchanted him in The Eve of St. Agnes. In a letter to her he wrote â€Å"I cannot live without you, and not just you but chaste you; virtuous you.† As such, that which drew Porphyro to Madeline also drew Keats to Miss Brawne. Keats however, also echoes the obsessive yearning of the knight from La Belle Dame Sans Merci, writing to Fanny â€Å"you are to me an object intensely desirable.† This desire is shown most strongly in Ode To Fanny, one of the last poems Keats wrote after suffering his first lung haemorrhage. As Keats drifted closer towards death, his infatuation with Fanny became something of an obsession with critic Richardson claiming that Keats â€Å"had transfigured Fanny in his imagination, his passion creating in her the beauty which for him became the truth†. Keats ascribes Fanny with miraculous healing abilities, imploringly asking her to ‘let my spirit blood! O ease my heart.’ Bloodletting was an ancient practice said to relive the body of ill humours and cure maladies. Is this case however, it is not Keats’ blood that is causing his ailments but his damaged soul. Only Fanny can cure his heartache, making him entirely dependant on her. Throughout the ode, Keats is intensely focused on Fanny’s virginity, painfully aware that he will never be able to claim her sexually. Keats calls her his ‘silver moon’ and asks that she stay ‘unravished’ by another’s ‘amorous burn’. Through mentioning moonlight, Keats invokes Artemis, Greek Goddess of chastity entreating Fanny to remain pure. The long vowel sounds  in ‘amorous burn’ speak of consuming passion while the verb ‘burn’ contains connotations of fiery lust, thus furthering the idea of Keats’ fixation with Fanny’s sexuality. Whilst the colour silver is typically linked to purity and the moon, it will also tarnishes over time thus loosing its lustre. Keats knows that Fanny, like the silver, will one day no longer be pure, yet he still asks that no other ‘with a rude hand break the sacramental cake’. The use of the religious metaphor ‘sacramental cake’ to r ather crudely refer to the hymen, reduces Fanny to nothing more than a body for a man to sate himself in. Keats discounts her worth as a person in favour of highlighting her worth as a sexual object meant only for the pleasure of men. Keats employs the use of simplistic rhyme when stating ‘must not a woman be, a feather on the sea’. The juvenile rhyme scheme brings to mind that of a nursery rhyme, an idea that is corroborated by the equally infantile rhythm. Seemingly scornful of her emotions, and rather unable to comprehend that women are able to know their own minds, Keats wrote to Fanny â€Å"you do not feel as I do- you do not know what it is to love†. It is perhaps this view that nurtures Keats’ distrust and envy which prompts his rather hyperbolic proclamation ‘may my eyes close, Love! On their last repose’. The use of the rather clichà ©d â€Å"I would die without your love† conjures in the reader images of powerful emotional manipulation. The reader has to question if Keats is really in love with Fanny like he claims, or if his obsessive infatuation has created an idealised image of what love is, and projected it on the object of his affections. Despite what other characteristic or personality aspects they may possess, Keats paints women as seductresses, entrapping the hearts of unsuspecting men. In regards to the women he writes about, even pure chaste Madeline is presented as having ensnared poor Porphyro. Whilst some of this can be excused due to oppressive patriarchal paradigms that presented women as objects to be obtained, the vast majority of the unfair presentation stems from Keats’ own feelings and opinions. Keats is seemingly unable to view women as fully autonomous human beings, and treats even Fanny as a succubus that has enthralled him, yet even so he elevates her into an ideal. The paradoxical nature of their relationship- characterised by both love and  loathing can be seen to be reflected in his attitudes towards women, leaving him simultaneously enchanted and repelled. Bibliography http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/papers/lilith/labelle.html http://www.keatsian.co.uk/keats-poetry-belle.php http://www.mibba.com/Reviews/Book/4500/John-Keats-La-Belle-Dame-sans-Merci/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetry_ccea/loveanddeath/labelledamesanmerci/revision/1/ http://www.englweb.umd.edu/englfac/JRudy/Keats-letters.pdf http://www1.umassd.edu/corridors/bestessay259.html http://literarism.blogspot.co.nz/2011/03/eve-of-st-agnes-keats.html http://research.library.mun.ca/353/3/sensuous_embodiment.pdf Richardson, Joanna. Fanny Brawne: A Biography. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons, 1952. Print.