Monday, September 30, 2019

After the murder of Duncan Nothing goes Right for Macbeth and his Wife Essay

Shakespeare first showed Macbeth in the court of a newly crowned King James the First. Some people would argue that in places this was written as a piece of flattery for James the first. James was meant to be a descendant of Banquos’ and therefore Shakespeare shows Banquo to be a valiant and heroic character throughout the play. However, Shakespeare had to be careful what he said in the play, as he didn’t want to upset the King. This play could be written as a piece of propaganda or a warning to anybody who went against the King. The play supports the Stuarts doctrine of the â€Å"Divine Right† of kings. This states that kings are appointed by God and therefore going against them is as sinful as going against God himself, the greatest punishment should be put against anybody who does so. This is shown all the way through the play up until the death of Macbeth himself. Macbeth starts the play as a great hero and is well respected by his fellow lords and friends. He has shown himself to be a great warrior and is referred to by some as â€Å"Bellona’s Bridegroom† who helped to save Scotland from invasion by the King of Norway and an attack by MacDonald. Macbeth is highly regarded by the King, who calls Macbeth a â€Å"valiant cousin, worthy gentleman†. Macbeth is rewarded, by the King, the role of Thane of Cawdor after the previous Thane proved to be a traitor and tyrant. However, by the end of the play Macbeth is hated by all and is considered to be a traitor and tyrant. I believe that had Macbeth not have murdered Duncan, he would have carried on his good name and maybe gained the role of King without having to do anything to gain it. We can see that Macbeth starts to suffer from the murder almost directly after when he says that he thinks he hears a voice: Methought I hear a voice cry ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep’, This could be seen as the first part of Macbeths punishment for murdering the king. He has been cursed so that he can no longer sleep because he has murdered the king whilst he sleeps. We can see that this is true because throughout the rest of the play Macbeth does not sleep well again. Macbeth knows now that he will never be forgiven for what he has done and almost immediately regrets his actions and wishes that he could undo it. Macbeth panics after he does the deed and he murders Duncans guards before anyone goes into the room. He thinks that this will be seen as an act of courage and loyalty to the King but doesn’t realise that instead he is getting rid the only other people that could have been blamed for the murder and taken the suspicion away from himself and lady Macbeth. In doing this Macbeth draws suspicion to himself straight away from Macduff who says, â€Å"Wherefore did you so?†. This is the first time we see Macduffs suspicions and they carry on to the very end of the play at which time he goes on to kill Macbeth himself. Macbeth realises Macduff and does not feel safe. Macduff shows the extent of his view of the murder of Duncan by not attending the coronation of Macbeth. Macbeth notices this and his fear grows. After becoming King, Macbeth realises that it does bring him nothing more. He becomes more and more suspicious of Banquo, who is beginning to query Macbeth over the murder of Duncan. Macbeth realises how big of a threat Banquo could be to him and says: To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo Stick deep. Macbeth is constantly tortured by the witches prophecy of the desendants of Banquo becoming King. If it were true then Macbeth would never built a true dynasty. Macbeth hates this thought and we see it plague him all trough the play. We then see Macbeths change. He orders Banquo and Fleance to be murdered. Yet, unlike the first, his wife is not involved and he hires criminals to do it for him instead of doing the deed himself. This, in my opinion, is the first time we see Macbeth going it alone and leaving lady Macbeth out of his plans. Macbeth believes that by killing Banquo and his son he will be preventing the second prophesy from coming true and put his mind at rest. However, the plan is not completely successful and Fleance escapes. Macbeths reacts to this by saying: Then comes my fit again:I had else been perfect Macbeth is saying that if that had not have gone wrong then it would have been perfect but now it has brought back his unsettlement because if Fleance still lives that means that the prophecy may still come true. His feeling of never having any satisfaction of king returns to him. Macbeth then has a banquet with all his lords and ladies and he gives the game away. He sees the ghost of Banquo sitting in a seat and in his shock and panic he begins to shout out in madness excuses for what he has done. Lady Macbeth tries to cover up for him but Macbeth carries on. The lords become ever more suspicious as begin to understand what Macbeth has done. After the lords have gone Macbeth tells his wife what he done to Banqou and I think this is when Lady Macbeth realises what her husband has turned into and what Kingship has brought him and her. After the feast the lords begin to feel that Macbeth is not a worthy king, referring to the feast as the â€Å"tyrants feast†. Lennox refers to the situation as: ‘our suffering country Under a hand accurs’d’ This means that Scotland is under the rule of a hand (Macbeth) which is unworthy or bad. This tells us that Macbeth is growing more and more unpopular within the lords and he has now lost all of the respect and ‘good name’ that they once gave him. Macbeth begins to fall ever more into despair and goes to see the witches for some more advice. They tell him that he is safe and gives a feeling of security. Macbeth now feels better but the witches then rob him of any happiness by reconfirming Banquos descendants becoming king by showing him an image of kings to come who all look like Banquo. Macbeth is now unhappier than ever and we can see the full extent of which being king has brought absolutely no satisfaction whatsoever. Macbeth, in his despair, says: ‘I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go’er. This shows us a gory view of him wading through all of the blood of his victims and to turn back and try and do right would be as hard or ‘tedious’ as it would be to finish off what he has started and to carry on with the murders. Macbeth has by now lost all of his kindness and any compassion that he once had. His lords are slowly deserting him and his wife and him are further apart than ever. From the beginning of the play Macduff has suspected Macbeth of the murder of Duncan and he now has proof enough to flee to England and join Malcolm. Macbeth has now turned bitter and twisted and vows that he will now do whatever he thinks without thinking about the consequences: ‘From this moment The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand.’ Macbeth then decides to do his worse deed yet, he orders the murder of Macduffs wife and child. This shows Macbeths lords openly that he is a true tyrant and nothing but a bloody killer. He now loses even more support when Ross leaves him. Not only does he lose support but he also gives Macduff even more reason for revenge and makes Macduff even more eager to overthrow him. Macbeth now realises that he has lost all his support and that he is hated over all the land and is close to despair. By now Macbeth has lost all human feelings that he once had and even when he learns of his wife’s death he simply shrugs it off saying, â€Å"she would have died hereafter†. All feelings of love or hatred or guilty have now been wiped from him and he is now a bitter and lifeless person. He begins to believe that life has no meaning. When Macbeth learns of Macduffs oncoming he is not afraid and says, â€Å"I will not yield†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ lay on Macduff†, he is saying that he will not retreat but instead will wait for Macduff and take him on. Macbeth is not afraid anymore and now just waits for his fate. Macbeth fights to his death and ends up being killed by Macduff in the final confrontation. We can see Lady Macbeths slow spiral of despair throughout the play to the point of suicide. She started off as an ambitious woman who was in love and who wants nothing but the best for husband. She assists in the murder and tries her hardest to make her husband gain Kingship. At the beginning she was in complete control of her husband and the marriage yet by the end she loses all of this and Macbeth pays no attention whatsoever to her. Being queen gives her absolutely no satisfaction and realises that all of the plans were nothing more than a complete waste of time. I believe that after the murder of Duncan nothing goes right for Macbeth and his wife. It eventually pushes Lady Macbeth to suicide and causes the murder of Macbeth himself. I believe that if they had not carried out the murder then Macbeth would have kept his good name and maybe the witches prophesies would have come true without any encouragement. Macbeth had everything and should have been grateful for it. Lady Macbeth became greedy and should have let her husband do what he wanted to instead of pushing him into the initial murder.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Policy makers and implementers

Between policy makers and policy implementers serve any useful function today in USA?Early donors to the expansion of public administration accredited a policy function for administrators that have often been overlooked yet the politics-administration dichotomy that is a fraction of the conventional archetype frequently incorporates the thoughts of accountability and responsibility– even though the archetype can be articulated in traditions that seem to prohibit these qualities by depicting administration as automatically instrumental–but the stress on a firm dichotomy of politics and administration will not lodge the policy responsibility of administrators that has come to be extensively renowned.There are several motives why the dichotomy design has continued. It is expedient to give details the separation of functions in conditions of entire separation as it is easier to elucidate than a model founded on sharing functions, predominantly because the partition model do es not bound the genuine policy offerings of administrators in practice. At the same moment, the dichotomy idea defends administrators from inquiry and provides the benefit of elected representatives who can pass liability for disliked resolutions to administrators. According to Miller (2000) sees dichotomy as a â€Å"helpful myth† for the reason that it difficult to understand the pressure of administrators to limit efforts by politicians in control to incline the accomplishment of policies and channel paybacks toward themselves. Fractional editions of the dichotomy continue.Researchers view the attempt to disconnect politics from administration as producing a dichotomy and tag the importance on hierarchy, authority, structure, and top-down accountability the Wilsonian ritual in public administration. There has been found reinterpreted dichotomy that allows a policy-making function for the executive but still assists managers oppose the forces of particularism. Recognizing t hat administrators disjointedly form policy behind the scenes resigned policy sway and hierarchy. (Van Riper, 2002)In addition, it should be documented that the notion of the firm dichotomy does have a chronological basis in the United States, yet it was not the normative model anticipated during the naissance period of American public administration. A finishing basis for the determination of the dichotomy is the deficiency of a substitute model. To keep away from slipping back into the observation that public administration commenced in dichotomy but stimulated into broader functions, it is accommodating to have a substitute understanding. There has been an embedded crucial model for political-administrative associations from the start, and this model is imperative for knowing the existing and prospect function of public administration. The complementarity of politics and administration is founded on the principle that elected officials and administrators adhere together in the fr equent pursuit of sound governance.Complementarities involve split fractions, but fractions that approach together in a reciprocally compassionate manner. One supports the other to generate a complete. Complementarity influences interdependence alongside separate functions; conformity along with sovereignty; admiration for political control along with an assurance to form and execute policy in ways that endorse the public concern; reverence to elected incumbents along with obedience to the law and maintain just electoral antagonism; and positive reception of politics along with support for proficient values. The concern is not whether public administrators are â€Å"influential or usurpative† (Friedrich, 2004)–the regular dichotomy against non-dichotomy choices–but how they are both mechanized and donors to the political progression, that is, involved and constitutive.Complementarity involves enduring contact, mutual sway, and mutual reverence between chosen off icials and administrators. Administrators assist to figure policy, and they present it precise content and connotation in the procedure of execution. Chosen officials watch over execution, investigate explicit criticism about reduced recital, and effort to correct troubles with presentation through fine-tuning. Privatization through constricting out breaks the discussion and substitutes it with agreement requirement and fulfillment reports. Paradoxically, constricting out intimately approximates the stipulations of the dichotomy model, as do recital indentures, and highlights an essential restriction in this sort of approach. if not it is aloof for services that can be suitably distinct without ongoing extensive based administrative contribution and properly conveyed without unremitting political omission, the firm separation of policy makers and service deliverers can inferior the superiority of governance.In disparity, with broad relations, the information and values of those who do the continuing job of government harmonize the acquaintance and values of those who eventually set the route for government and make certain that it stays on track. The complementarity of politics and administration clutches that elected officials and administrators–both in ordinary contact with citizens– require and facilitate each other in a corporation for governance. Dividing the cohorts or distorting the association in one way or the other means that a main donation is absent. If one persists to acknowledge the straightforward notion that public administration commenced as disconnect influential body restricted to a contracted sphere of activity, one does damage to the precedent and one dashes the jeopardy of legitimizing a proper dichotomy of policy configuration and constricted service delivery.ReferencesFriedrich, C. J. 2004. Public Policy and the Nature of Administrative Responsibility. Public Policy 1: 1-24.Miller, Gary. 2000. Above Politics: Credible Comm itment and Efficiency in the Design of Public Agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 10(2): 289-327.Van Riper, Paul P. 2002. The Politics-Administration Dichotomy: Concept or Reality? In Politics and Administration: Woodrow Wilson and American Public Administration, edited by Jack Rabin and James S. Bowman, 203-18. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Learning and Advertisement Essay

Q: 1 Does this advertisement informed me? Yes it does. It is advertisement by TAPAL family mixture. I learned from this add that how we live in our family? And how to do respect others. And also tells the importance of a family and relations that are very important for everyone. This advertisement tells that relations and happiness makes a complete home. This is important for every to know how to make a family and how to live in a family especially for girls this is very knowledgeable advertisement. Q:1 b) What did you get from this advertisement? I know from this advertisement about a happy family and the importance of a complete family. And how they live in a joined family with love and care. This advertisement conveys a message to young generation to do respect the elders. Q:1 c) Where you can apply this awareness? I can apply this awareness at my home, to do the respect of my elders and love with my younger’s, and also take care of my family members. And informed my friends that they should also see this advertisement and learn the lesion that how to make a complete home. Q: 2 Does this advertisement claim anything? Yes it does. It claims that TAPAL family mixture is a complete tea, and makes a complete home or family. That’s why most of people who are emotional they targeted to buy this product. Q: 3 Does this advertisement use pressure selling? Yes it does. Because it targeting the emotions of people. Target our family and inspired specially girls who are married and want to beautiful and complete home. Use some sentences that show pressure selling. Q: 4 Does this advertisement fulfill the criteria of business ethics? Yes it does because the language which used in this advertisement is good, which is not cross the limits, and we see this advertisement with our family members. This advertisement shows the positive impact on people. Overall environment of this advertisement is good and we learn so many things from this advertisement, this advertisement shows our culture and spread a message that how to live in a family, and make a happy family. www. youtube. com/watch? v=ekHv1IY9_Bc.

Friday, September 27, 2019

American Superconductor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Superconductor Company - Essay Example They also have to follow the guidelines given by Securities and Exchange Commission. Financial statements are used by all the stakeholders of the company. They are made to provide true and fair view of the financial health of the company. Hence if the statements do not give true and fair view of the financial health of the company statements have to be restated. In this project, restatement of financial statements of the company American Superconductor (AMSC) has been studied. American Superconductor deals in power generation systems. It develop system both mechanical and electrical equipments which are used in wind turbine system. They are also into the business of manufacturing power cables and system of voltage stabilization (American Superconductor-a, 2011). It is quoted in NASDAQ. The current share price is $7.78 (American Superconductor-b, 2011). Its last five years it had grew annually by 27.56% and the revenue grew by 40.22%. In terms of profitability currently its operating margin is 16.23% (American Superconductor-c, 2011). Most of its shares are held by Douglas. They hold about 10797500 shares. Many financial institutions like RCM Capital Management LLC, Columbia Partners LLC Investment Management etc also hold shares of American Superconductor (American Superconductor-d, 2011). The president and chief executive officer of American Superconductor is Dan McGahn (American Superconductor-e, 2011).... The main change which they want to implement is to record its transaction as per cash basis. Previously American Superconductor had recorded some receipts on the basis of receipts of shipments but the payments were still due on those transactions. They had a pile of pending money due from the customers. As a result they had a history of operating losses. Most of the shipments receipts were not ever paid. All these things were increasing the operating loss. This also resulted on incorrect disclosure of revenues. Hence it decided that after 31str of August. AMSC will not consider revenues from certain Chinese customers until they are paid. This excluded Sinovel from whom American Superconductor had not received any amount in the first quarter. As the amount of debtors was increasing, the company was falling short of liquid cash. The new projects were getting delayed because of unavalibility of liquid cash. The company was also suffering because of exchange rate. The company also has ma ny foreign buyers who made the payments at a later date due to which the company had also suffered loss because of exchange rate fluctuations. They had a plan of acquiring the company but because of not having enough funds, the plan was getting delayed. There was also a risk that if they failed to acquire the Switch their share price may decline and there goodwill will also be affected. Therefore they decide to restate the financial statements which will present true and fair view of their revenues, the actual revenues which they can use (Davens, 2011). Impact of Financial Restatement As we it is already discussed that when the financial statements does not give true and fair view of financial health of the company the financial statements need to be restated. The

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example Moreover, this paper will explore the available literature and theories that explain the issues in change and corporate sustainability. Basically, the issue of change management and sustainability is comprehensive and largely a contested concept. The review of academic research on organizational change and sustainability will provide an overview of the strategies and role of the management, as well as individuals in ensuring smooth transition. Notably, change as a process is very complex and depending on the way it is managed, it can produce either positive or negative results. Therefore, it is vital that adequate and relevant literature on change and sustainability is made available to managers. Organizational change and sustainability are global and touches on ecological sustainability, human capital development and management, corporate citizenship, as well as corporate social responsibility. Organisational sustainability is the long-term goal of organisational change and thus, it is highly crucial to determine the most viable change process. In covering literature on organisational change and sustainability, some important issues come up that includes among others human resource management, and strategic and environmental issues. Furthermore, organisational change can be explained as incremental and transformational at the same time. This paper has applied a diversified global perspective with general focus on areas such as organisational values exhibited by both managers and subordinates, organisational social and environmental relation, and finally theories that relate to change and organisational sustainability. Organisational Change and Sustainability Dunphy et al. (2007) studied the theme of change in corporations and how they could be managed as sustainable entities. The paper replicated the comprehensive knowledge in organisational change, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate sustainability. The authors also studied the ways in which corporations can align economic culture with the welfare of the whole society. The paper indicated the power of communication based on the internet to open up societies and therefore facilitate the formation of a corporate community. Furthermore, Dunphy et al. (2007) established that it is through transformational or incremental change process that corporate sustainability is realized. The paper suggests that the size of an organisation has a profound effect on its change and sustainability. They made extensive use of case studies and critical vignettes in order to have a practical perspective of corporate sustainability as a result of change management. Basically, change is inevitable and thus the biggest challenge is how to manage the process in the future. Advanced and rapid technological growth coupled with a growing number of educated labor force and changing political environment contributed much in the increased organisational change needs. According to Guler and David (2008) , the theme of change has become an inseparable feature of the modern organisation. It is also evident that the global social-economic environment is ever changing, and thus organisations are forced to follow suit and keep pace, otherwise there is a greater risk of becoming obsolete in short period of time. However, although many organisations are joining the change ‘bandwagon’, only about 30 percent is attaining the targeted objectives

Autobiographical Paper on Religious Affiliation Essay

Autobiographical Paper on Religious Affiliation - Essay Example I was baptized and grew up in a middle-class Catholic family in New Orleans where I thought almost everyone is Catholic as I grew up, and I never felt that we were a "minority within a minority" (Carey, P. in Phelps, 1997, p.7). I had an uncle who is a Catholic priest, and the way he lived his life as a servant of Christ in the Church had an impact on me. His kindness towards others made me see a bit of how Jesus was when he walked this earth two thousand years ago. His preaching, his life of prayer, and his dedication to his flock drove home the message that there was something, and someone, greater and beyond this life. Of course, my young mind never looked at events from a theological or religious view, because to me he was just my uncle who would visit and shower us with cheer and tell us stories about where he'd been, what he'd done, and the thousand and one things that a priest is supposed to be doing. My parents were a huge influence on my beliefs. The way they cared for me taught me how to love and use my heart and mind to face the mysteries of this world. How they loved each other despite the trials and joys of family life were for me a sign of how God takes care of us. They taught me how to pray, and more importantly, they told me why. Allow me to briefly discuss one case in point: the Trinity as a Family where God is a Father, Jesus is the Son and my brother, and the Holy Spirit is Love. I can never explain fully how there can be three Persons in One God, but I understood as I grew up that maybe God is a family too where everyone loves each other, just as we did in my family. We did things together: prayed at home and went to Sunday Mass; spent time having fun, laughing and talking and enjoying each other's company. Maybe God has been doing it for all eternity, and that is why He is happy and wants us to share in that happiness (Mt. 11: 25-30). My Mom and I also prayed the Holy Rosary at home to honor Mary, the mother of Jesus. Many non-Catholics never understood the Rosary, because they think it is a form of worship, but it is not (Cavendish, 2000). Like people in love who never tire of saying the same things to one another, we Catholics who love the mother of Jesus also do the same. We show her honor, not worship, in the same way I show mom and dad the honor they deserve for being good parents. Novenas and other devotions to the saints are the same thing. We see them as paths to God, the same way that if we want to get a job we ask the help of someone close to us so that we do not have much of a hard time. Going to the saints and to Mary is the same thing. Of course, some people get carried away and give too much time to Mary and the saints that they forget Jesus, but the Catholic Church keeps on reminding us about this danger. So yes, my religious upbringing had a strong impact on my faith, helped by the examples my mom, dad, and uncle showed me that we can be happy doing the good things we enjoy, being men and women of virtue, prayer, and faith (Copeland, 2000). Search for Meaning Hunt et al. (1975) discussed the presence of a religious factor in secular achievement of African-Americans and investigated the presence of Protestant and Catholic

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Organizational Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Organizational Communication - Assignment Example He encouraged them to ask questions or complaints either directly or through a fishbowl kept in the companys cafeteria. He displayed great willingness and enthusiasm to answer questions quickly and on the spot (p. 85). These changes proved to be highly effective because of various factors such as effective leadership headed by the new CEO Jim Sims; a significant boost in employee morale and in the words of one of the technical directors at CTP, development of â€Å"a critical mass of committed people† (p. 86). There is ample evidence which suggests a direct relationship between effective leadership and employee productivity as well as between employee morale and productivity. Furthermore the manner in which a leader behaves and communicates with the followers during challenging periods directly affects their relationship with the employees resulting in improved performance and commitment on the part of the employees (Kasper-Fuehrer and Ashkanasy, 2001; Connell et al., 2003; Costa, 2003; Dirks and Ferrin, 2002; Corbitt and Martz, 2003, Conrad and Poole, 2012). The effectiveness of the new leadership could be observed from the fact that immediately after the new policy (the three rules) was implemented a significant and apparent change in there was a marked improvement in the employee morale, the company was able to hire more employees, secure more contracts, and stabilize the financial position of the company through improved performance (p.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Different Aspects of Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Different Aspects of Employee Relations - Essay Example This raises the issue that at any one time there may be a number of ideologies within an organisation, which underpin the social relations of work (Mannheim 1936, p. 59; 61). While managers and employers may have diverse interests between them, management as a collection of employees is 'structurally dependent' on employers rather than inclined to any collaboration with the workers. Within organisations, managers' ideology, imbued with notions of professional autonomy or managerial prerogative, 'will always be deployed against developments which may lead towards more egalitarian relations in production'(Clegg, Boreham & Dow 1986, p. 169). . Unitarism can be defined as the aim of a team being defined by one common purpose. This perspective focuses on some core issues such as conformity and sharing of goals. They further desire an absence of conflict in a well functioning organization. According to the Kochan's report published in 1982, on the application of a unitary framework for analyzing conflicts in a US organization. The unitarists theorists did not deny that conflicts exist but they attributed this existence of conflict in the organizations workplace to being more interpersonal than structural factors being into play. There ar In, simpler words, unitarists believe in an organization that has a common set of goals. They also believe in forming a conflict free organization. There are certain philosophical foundations to unitarism "then the implication seems to be that unitarism emerges from a contract view of work relationships that would naturally see the ethical justification for HR Decisions. In a deontological view "(Shaw 1999:63) Unitarist theories may in fact make a problem clearer. By having common goals and all working towards the same goals can provide a method of making "two and two equal five rather than three and a half" (Harvey-Jones, 1995: 9). Harvey-Jones has also refereed to the fact that management is an art, not a science. "It is an art because management consists of enlisting the freely given support of disparate groups of people at different time to achieve, by their own free will, an agreed common purpose." (Harvey-Jones, 1995: 6). It is vital that in the end that all the individuals within the organiozation are working towards the same goal i.e success of the organization . A unitarist perspective dominates organizations like IBM , Kodak , Hewlett Packard and 3M . Because this perspective holds that all the individuals within an organization are working towards a common goal it automatically rules out conflict in any form. Further more; often the view presented above is criticized. But in argument to their convictions they say that conflict does not need to exist. But if it has occurred it is because the management of the organizati

Monday, September 23, 2019

Gorbachev's Reforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gorbachev's Reforms - Essay Example Through these structural reforms which were meant to broaden the opportunities for the popular movements and the political parties so as to gain influence, Gorbachev made it easy for the orthodox communists, populist forces and nationalist to go against his wishes and oppose his efforts to revitalize and liberalize the soviet communist. This led to different opinions with some advocating for the liberalizing of the Soviet Union, others wanted the republics to be independent while the rest demanded for the restoration of old ways of the soviet union. These forces from below, top and sideways could not be compromised by Gorbachev leading to the consequent fall the Soviet Union.1 Between the year 1969 and 82 is when the reforms for Soviet Union stalled but generational shift introduced these demand s for the reform. There was change on the relations with the US after Reagan was elected and was against the Soviet Union and further termed it as the evil empire and his initiative to build a strong defense system (star wars) which the Soviet Union could not compete with. The public was not satisfied with the Moscow government because of the war in Afghanistan and the Chernobyl catastrophe gave the Glasnost and Perestroika which were introduced by Gorbachev gain momentum but eventually led to fall of the Soviet Union.2 After many years of stagnation new thinking younger communists emerged and after the death of Chernekno Konstantin made is ease the elected general secretary rise to leadership. Though he was relatively young he introduced a new momentum that advocated for economic and political liberation with better trade relation with the west. By 1866 when Gorbachev was introducing the Glasnost and Perestroika programs, the union was already suffering from supply shortages and inflation due to black market practiced by official economy. The state subsidies and cost of superpower were not proportional to the economy of the soviet and the union was craving for the unmatched western technology.3 One of the radical economic reforms was put in place in May 1988, the cooperative law that allowed the private ownership of manufacturing, retailing and al l other business including the foreign business and this became the soviet scene. A conference convened in 1987 by an economist who was as adviser to Gorbachev concluded that political openness was essential to pressure those who were opposing his economic reforms, the conservatives, to support his initiatives. This resulted to increased freedom of press and speech, many political prisoners were released, and public opinion polls could be conducted without restriction. The government records became accessible and gender studies were introduced. Gorbachev introduced democratization which came had in had with multi party elections in January 1988 in the Soviet Union. This was followed by the CPSU's 19th party conference that reduced the ruling party's control of the government. A legislative body (congress of people's deputies) was approved in December 1988 and the elections to that congress were held the following year in March-April. The first president of the Soviet Union was Gorbachev who was elected on 15th of March 1990. Flow of uncontrollable events made it inevitable to dissolve the Soviet Union despite efforts to by Gorbachev to meet his promises as

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Early Pascal Compilers Essay Example for Free

Early Pascal Compilers Essay The first Pascal compiler was designed in Zurich for the CDC 6000 series mainframe computer family. Niklaus Wirth reports that a first attempt to implement it in Fortran in 1969 was unsuccessful due to Fortrans inadequacy to express complex data structures. The second attempt was formulated in the Pascal language itself and was operational by mid-1970. Many Pascal compilers since have been similarly self-hosting, that is, the compiler is itself written in Pascal, and the compiler is usually capable of recompiling itself when new features are added to the language, or when the compiler is to be ported to a new environment. The GNU Pascal compiler is one notable exception, being written in C. The first successful port of the CDC Pascal compiler to another mainframe was completed by Welsh and Quinn at the Queens University of Belfast (QUB) in 1972. The target was the International Computers Limited 1900 series. This compiler in turn was the parent of the Pascal compiler for the ICS Multum minicomputer. The Multum port was developed – with a view to using Pascal as a systems programming language – by Findlay, Cupples, Cavouras and Davis, working at the Department of Computing Science in Glasgow University. It is thought that Multum Pascal, which was completed in the summer of 1973, may have been the first 16-bit implementation. A completely new compiler was completed by Welsh et al. at QUB in 1977. It offered a source-language diagnostic feature (incorporating profiling, tracing and type-aware formatted postmortem dumps) that was implemented by Findlay and Watt at Glasgow University. This implementation was ported in 1980 to the ICL 2900 series by a team based at Southampton University and Glasgow University. The Standard Pascal Model Implementation was also based on this compiler, having been adapted, by Welsh and Hay at Manchester University in 1984, to check rigorously for conformity to the BSI 6192/ISO 7185 Standard and to generate code for a portable abstract machine. The first Pascal compiler written in North America was constructed at the University of Illinois under Donald B. Gillies for the PDP-11 and generated native machine code.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

What Is Functional Grammar?

What Is Functional Grammar? Functional grammar, as explained by Halliday (1994) is concerned with meanings. Functional grammar looks at language as consisting of units of meanings rather than chunks of forms. These units of meanings are represented in various oral and written texts. In keeping with the idea, functional grammar is interested to analyze language at the text level rather than sentences. Further, Halliday (1994) writes that there are 3 lines of meaning in the clause. (1) the theme functions in the structure of the clause as message (2) the subject functions in the structure of the clause as an exchange (3) the actor functions in the structure of the clause as representation. Giving more explanation about functional grammar, he adds that functional grammar makes extensive use of function labels like actor, process, goal, theme rheme etc. Functional grammar is a new subject in the English Department of State University of Jakarta. It has become a subject in the English Department of State University of Jakarta since 2002. This subject is to be taken by all students to complete their study. Functional grammar consists of functional grammar I and functional grammar 2 with 3 semester credits each. Both functional grammar 1 and functional grammar 2 have similar purpose that is to support the development of ability to speak and write English correctly. (Buku Pedornan Akademik FBS, 2004/2005) 2 As experienced by English Department students in functional grammar classes, the process of learning functional grammar includes the discussion of concepts which is then followed by analyzing text. Texts to be analyzed can be taken from different resources such as newspaper, magazine, advertisement, film or novel. Based on the observation and informal talks with other students done by the researcher,E students often had difficulties when analyzing text. The students felt confused to put the words from text into functional grammar concepts. So far, there was no practice how to apply functional grammar concepts in speaking. Considering the condition, the researcher is interested to conduct a study to identify English Department students perception towards their knowledge, comprehension, and ability to apply functional grammar concepts in analyzing text and speaking. B. Focus of Study The focus of study is identifying English Department students perception towards their knowledge, comprehension, and ability to apply functional grammar concepts in analyzing text and speaking. C. Problem Statement Based on background of the study above, questions addressed are: 1. What is English Department students perception towards their knowledge of functional grammar concepts. 2 What is English Department students perception towards their comprehension of functional grammar concepts 3 What is English Department students perception towards their ability to apply functional grammar concepts in analyzing text. 4 What is English Department students perception towards tieir ability to apply functional grammar concepts in speaking. D. Purpose of Study Based on problem statement, the purpose of this study is to identify English Department students perception towards their knowledge, comprehension, and ability to apply functional grammar concepts in analyzing text and speaking. E. Benefit of Study This study is to give input related to English Department students knowledge, comprehension of functional grammar concepts and their ability to apply the concepts in analyzing text and speaking. 4 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter discusses seven topics relevant to the needs of providing theoretical bases for a study of identifying English Department students perception towards their knowledge, comprehension, and ability to apply functional grammar concepts in analyzing text and speaking. The first topic is traditional grammar, the second topic is functional grammar, the third topic is the differences between traditional grammar and functional grammar, the fourth topic is functional grammar as a subject in the English Department, the fifth topic is Perception, the sixth topic is Ability to Apply, and the seventh topic is Speaking. Traditional Grammar In the discussion about Traditional Grammar, Halliday (1994) explains that traditional grammar has always been the grammar of written language; and traditional grammar has always been a product grammar. While, Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) state that grammar is the structure of language. They further explain that traditional grammar aims at describing the grammar of standards English by comparing the grammar of English with the one of Latin. They state that students learn the name of parts of speech (noons, verbs, prepositions adverbs, adjectives) They also explain that traditional grammar focuses on the rules for producing coect sentences. Still related to traditional grammar, based on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 2O36) ri 1Lng Isrics trad tona1 grammar is a cover name for the collection of 5 concepts and ideas about the structure of language that Western societies have received from ancient Greek and Roman sources. The source also states that the focus of attention of traditional grammar is on the surface structure, not on meaning. So far, traditional grammar has been associated with the use of class labels like noun. verb, adjective, adverb, etc. Traditional grammar is mainly concerned with syntax and some morphology. Traditional grammar focuses on surface structure. Traditional grammar limits the discussion on the sentence level. Functional Grammar In the discussion about Functional Grammar, Halliday (1994) explains that functional grammar is essentially a natural grammar, in the sense that everything in functional grammar can, be explained, ujtimately, by reference to how language is used. He further states that the aim of functional grammar has been to construct a grammar for purposes of text analysis: one that would make it possible to say sensible and useful things about any text spoken and written in modern English. Going into deeper discussion, Halliday (1994) pronoses three lines of meaning in the clause. There are theme, subject and actor. As a working approximation, he defines different strands of meaning as follows: 1. The Theme functions in the structure of the clause as message. 2. The Subject functions in the structure of the clause as an exchange. 3. The Actor functions in the structure of the clause as representation. 6 t While, Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) note that functional grammar attempts to describe language in actual use and focus on text and contexts. They view that functional grammar was developed based on an assumption that language as a resource for making meaning. They also state that functional grammar is concerned tiot only with the structures but also with how those structures construct meaning. Functional grammar starts with the question, how the meanings of this text are realized. On the same view of Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994), and Halliday (1994), Martin, Matthiessen, Painter (1997) describe that functional grammar is a way of looking at grammar as it is used. Functional grammar focuses on the development of grammatical systems as a means for people to interact with each other. 1. Clause as Message Halliday (1994) states that clause as message is a clause which has meaning as a message, a quantum of information. He also claims in all languages the clause has the character of a message: it has some form of organization giving it the status of a communicative event, but there are different ways in which this may be achieved. In the clause as a message, there are theme and rheme. a. THEME Halliday (1994) explains that theme is the element which serves as the point of departure of the message, the part in which the clause is concerned. Furthermore, he states that the theme is put first. 7 Gerot Peter Wignell (1994), talking about theme, note that theme is what the clause is going to be about. They further describe that the theme can be identified as that or those element(s) which come(s) first in the clause. Theme represents the point of departure of this message from the previous one. Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) shortly state that this is what Im talking about. They also said that in terms of looking at a clause as a message, the theme looks backwards, relating to the current message to what has gone before. On the same view about Theme, Martin, Matthiessen, Painter (1997) note that theme is one of two systems that organize the information presented in the clause, the other being that information. Further they also state that theme can be divided into 3 categories. There are ideational / topical theme, interpersonal theme, textual theme. 1. Ideational! Topical theme is language construes human experience. Ideational consists of what there is to argue about. 2. Interpersonal theme is language enacts human relationships. Interpersonal consists of something people can interact with. 3. Textual theme is language creates discourse. Textual consists of word order. Related the clause to its context. b. RHEME Halliday (1994) states that rheme is the remainder of the message, the part in which the theme is developed. He further explains that rheme as a message structure. A clause consists of a Theme accompanied by a Rheme. 8 Still in the discussion about Rheme, Linda Gerot Peter Wigneil (1994) note that rheme is the rest of the clause New information is contained in the rheme They further represent that rheme is This is what Im saying about it. Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) also said that the rheme points both backwards and forwards by picking up on information which is already aailable and adding ti it and by presenting information which was not there before. 2 Clause as Exchange Based on Flalliday (1994), clause as exchange is a clause which has meaning as an exchange, a transaction between speaker and listener. In clause as exchange, there are mood and residu. a. MOOD Mood according to Halliday (1994) refers to the element that realizes the selection of mood in the clause. While, Martin, Matthiessen, Painter (1997) describe that the mood element makes clause negotiable and consists of Finite and Subject. (1). Finite This term, according to Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) state that finite element is one of the small numbers of verbal operators expressing tense, modality and polarity. They further explain that finite element has the function of locating an exchange with reference to the speaker and making a proposition something that can be argued about. 9 Still in the same discussion about finite, Martin, Matthiessen, Painter (1997) refers to the one that makes a clause a negotiable by coding it as positive or negative and by grounding it, either in terms of time (it is! it isnt: it was/it wasnt: it will/it wont) or in terms of modality (it may! it wiIIJ it must, etc). (2). Subject In the discussion about subject, Halliclay (1994) states that subject is the responsible element, but in proposition this means the one on which the validity of the information is made to rest. Not to be different from Halliday (1994), Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) state that subject is that upon which the speaker rests his case in exchanges of information, and the one responsible for insuring that the prescribed action is or is II not carned out in exchanges of goods and services Still n the discussion about subject, Martin, Matthiessen, Painter (1997) stated that subject is the element in terms of which the clause can be negotiated. b. RESIDU Halliday (1994), Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) said that residue consists of functional elements of three kinds: Predicator, Complement and Adjunct. (1). Predicator Halliday (1994) says that predicator occurs in all major clauses, except those that are displayed through ellipsis. Predicator is realized by a verbal group. 10 Still in the same discussion about Predicator, Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) claim that predicator is the verb part of the clause, the bit which tells whats doing, happening or being. (2). complement Halliday (1994) says that a complement is an element within the residue that has the potential of being subject but is not. Complement is realized by a nominal group. Giving more explanation about complement, Linda Gerot Peter Wigneli (1994) state that complement answers the question is/had what, to whom, did to what. (3). Adjunct Adjunct, according to Halliday (1994), and Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) is an element that has not got the potential of being subject. Adjunct is typically realized by an adverbial group or a prepositional phrase. 3. Clause as Representation Halliday (1994) describes that clause as a representation is a clause which has meaning as a representation, the actor is the active participant in that process. He also states that participants related to each process type are as in the table below: a. Processes and Participants Process Participant Material: Actor (doer of the process) processes of Goai (thing affected by the process) 11 doing F Range (thing unaffected by the process) Beneficiary (the one to whom the process is said to take place) Behavioral: Expresses the physiological and psychological behaviors Behave (a conscious being if it is not, the clause is considered to be personification) Behaviour (extends the process) I Mental: processes of sensing Senser (doer of the process that is realised by a human or at least conscious participant) Phenbmenon (what is thought, wanted, perceived or liked / disliked that is realised by a nominal group or embedded clause) Verbal: processes of saying and asking Sayer (doer of the process) Receiver (addressee of the speech) Target (the participant which is the subject of the talk) Verbiage (sums up what is said in one nominal group or embedded clause) Existential: realizes the meaning that something exists Existent .I Carrier (thing described) Attribute (description, it is typically an indefinite nominal group I j Relational: processes of I 12 b. Circumstances The other element that also plays an important part in the experiential meaning is the circumstance. A circumstance is defined as any piece of circumstantial information about the process within its own clause (Halliday 1994). The function is to illuminate the process in some way. Circumstances are realized by adverbial groups, prepositional phrases, and even by nominal groups. Still in the same discussion about Circumstance, Halliday (1994) divides circumstances into 9 categories. There are: (1) Extent (2) Location (3) Manner (4) Cause (5) Contingency (6) Accompaniment (7) Role (8) Matter (9) Angla (1) Extent Extent is expressed in terms of some unit measurements like yards, laps, rounds, and years. The interrogative forms for Extent are: (a) how far? (b) how long? (c) how many? The typical structure is a nominal group with quantifier or indefinite. attributive with an adjective as Head) Relational: processes of being Identifying Identified (that which is to be identified) Identifier (the new identity) 13 (2) Location Location clarifies the location of the expression. The general interrogatives are where? and when?. The typical structure is an adverbial group or prepositional phrase. 3) Manner Manner, another set of categories, is divided into three subcategories. There are: (a) Means (b) Quality (c) Comparison. a. Means Means refers to the means whereby a process takes place, it is typically expressed by a prepositional phrase with the preposition by or with. The interrogative forms are how? and what with? b. Quality Quality is typically expressed by an adverbial group with-ly adverb as Head. It answers the question of how. c. Comparison Comparison is typically expressed by a prepositional phrase started with like or unlike, or an adverbial group of similarity or difference. The interrogative form is what.. .like? (4) Cause The Cause was divided into 3 categories. There are: (a) Reason (b) Purpose (c) Behalf 14 a. Reason Reason represents the reason for which a process takes place what causes it, the interrogative form are why? or how? b. Purpose Purpose represents the purpose for which an action takes place the intention behind it. The interrogative form is what for? c. Behalf Behalf represents ihe entity, typically a person, on whose behalf or for whose sake the action is undertaken who is for. They are expressed by a prepositional phrase with for or with a complex preposition such as for the sake of, in favour on behalf of. The interrogative form is who for? (5) Contingency Contingency comprises 3 subcategories. There are: (a) Condition (b) Concession (c) Expression. a. Condition Condition is expressed by in case of, in the event of. b. Concession Concession is expressed by in spite of or despite. c. Expression Express ion of default has in the absence of, in default of. (6) Accompaniment Accompaniment, another set of circumstantial elements, represents the meanings and, or, not as circumstantial. interrogative forms are and 15 who / what else? It is expressed by prepositional phrase with preposition such as with, without, besides, and instead of. (7) Role Role includes the subcategories of Guise construes the meaning of be the iitterrogative form is what as? and Product with meaning of become, interrogative form is what into?. (8) Matter Matter is expressed by preposition such as about, concerning, with reference to and sometimes simply of. Interrogative form is what about?. (9) Angle Angle is used preposition to, but, like. It is often expressed by a more complex form such as according to, in the view I opinion of, from the standpoint of. From the definitions, it can be concluded that functional grammar makes extensive use of function labels like Actor, Process, Goal, Theme, Rheme and so on. In functional grammar there is no distinction between lexis and gran1mar. Both lexis and grammar are meaning-creating, because functional grammar is concerned with meaning than structure. The Differences between Traditional and Functional Grammar Linda Gerot Peter Wignell (1994) stated that the main difference between traditional grammar and functional grammar is in the unit of analysis. Traditional I 17 in fourth semester. While, functional grammar 2 is to be taken by students in fifth semester. Both functional grammar I and 2 consist of 3 semester credits unit. Both functional grammar 1 and functional grammar 2 are to be taken by students to complete their study. As stated in Buku Pedoman Akademik PBS (2004/2005), Functional grammar I and 2 have purpose that is to support the development of ability to speak and write English correctly. Based on experience and observing in functional grammar classes, analyzing texts is one kind of the process of functional grammar learning. Texts to be analyzed can be taken from authentic material. There are different resources to analyze written texts such as newspaper, magazine, advertisement, etc. While, to analyze spoken texts, the material can be taken from dialogues in the film or novel. Perception Perception has various defmitions from various angles. Bloom (1956) cited by Elliot et all. (2000), says that perception is the process or act of perceiving information and making sense of it. As stated in New Lexicon Webster International Dictionary of English Language Volume 2 (1997) perception is (1) the act of perceiving, apprehension with the mind or the senses; (2) an immediate of intuitive recorition, as of a moral or esthetic quality; (3) the faculty of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving. Meanwhile, in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2000), 18 perception is defined as an idea, a belief or an image you have as a result of how we see and understand something. Still in the discussion about perception, in Winkipedia Encyclopedia, an internet based encyclopedia, perception is a process that involves selecting, organizing, and interpreting stimuli in our environment. Further. HeiTher (2003) explains that perception refers to interpretation of what we take in through our sense. He notes that the way we perceive our environment is what makes us different from other animals and different from each other. From the definitions stated above, the researcher concludes that perception can be thought as each individuals personal theory of reality, through the process of interpreting and attributing meaning to what he/she observed or experienced. Briefly, perception refers to view and feeling. Therefore, two kinds of instruments were used for the data collection. They were questionnaire and interview. Based on the statement of functional grammar purpose, that is to support the development of ability to speak and write English correctly. It means that functional grammar can be applied by English Department students in language skill, speaking in particular. Related to the statement, to measure students perception about their ability to apply functional grammar in analyzing text and speaking can be seen from educational objectives goal of cognitive domain (Bloom Taxonomy) in the third level. The third levels are knowledge. comprehension and application. 19 Ability to Apply In Websters New World Dictionary of American English (1998), ability is a skill, expertness, or talent. Meanwhile in Cambridge International Dictionary (1995) ability is the physical or mental power or skill needed to do something. As stated in Longman Dictionary of English Language and culture (1998) ability is the fact of having the skill, power or other qualities that are needed in order to do something. While, Bloom (1956) cited in Elliot et all. (2000) proposes classification of educational objectives, related to 1: Cognitive Domain. There are 6 major classes: (1) knowledge recalling specific facts, (2) comprehension understanding what is communicated, (3) application generalizing and using abstract information in !concrete situations, (4) analysis breaking problem into subparts and detecting relationships among the parts, (5) synthesis putting together part to form a whole, (6) evaluation using criteria to make judgments. Later these categories were revised, as stated by Arend RI (2004), the last two categories of Blooms Taxonomy that are synthesis and evaluation were revised to become evaluate and create. To be more details, Arend proposes cognitive process categories into the following. (1) remember retrieve relevant knowledge from long-term memory, (2) understand construct from instructional -messages, including oral, written, and graphic communication, (3) apply carry out or use a procedure in a given situation, (4) analyze break material into constituent parts and determine how, parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose, (5,) evaluate make judgment based on criteria and standards, (6) create V 20 put elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganize elements into a new pattern or structure. Based on Blooms Taxonomy, ability to apply occurs after ability to know and to comprehend. Related to the study of identifying English Department students ability to apply functional grammar to improve their speaking ability, the inclusion of ability to know or knowledge and ability to comprehend (comprehension) is therefore considered necessary. Speaking In the discussion about speaking, Broomly (1988) explains that Speaking is an expressive language kill which the speaker symbols to communicate. While, Jones (1989) says speaking is a form of communication that has four elements i.e. speaker, receiver (listener), message and channel (communication tools such as, telephone, Internet, letter, face to face interaction, etc). Still in the discussion about speaking, in communicating, people also produce, sounds, choosing the right form, putting words in the correct order and so forth. This is also supported by W.F. Mackey (in Bygate 1995) who says that in oral expression people not only involve the right sounds, the right pattern of rhythm and intonation but also the choice of words and inflection in the right order to convey the right meaning. When we speak to other people, it means that we express our ideas or our feelings orally. This statement is supported in Webster Dictionary(1998) to speak is to express thoughts opinions or feelings orally.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Defining And Measuring Poverty Sociology Essay

Defining And Measuring Poverty Sociology Essay In this essay I intend to define poverty, explain definitions and measurements of poverty absolute and relative. I will identify groups experiencing poverty, social exclusion and discrimination. I will then discuss the New Right and Social Democrat explanations for poverty, and assess their weakness and strengths. Poverty is about a lack of economic, social, physical, environmental, cultural and political resources that prevent people of all ages from fulfilling their potential. There is, however, not just a only single definition of poverty. The term can be split into two views that are, absolute poverty and relative poverty. Despite the introduction of housing and education acts and other legislation to improve standards of living, poverty is still a reality.   In society today there are still many who have little to sustain their everyday existence, and who survive well below the poverty line.   The arguments surrounding the definition of poverty centre on the two concepts of absolute poverty and relative poverty.   Absolute Poverty is the inability of a citizen to participate fully in the economic terms in the society in which he lives, also is experiencing lack of food, shelter clothing, healthcare care to survive. In many countries, absolute poverty is common people who face absolu te poverty have short life expectancy, poor nutrition and high levels of infant mortality. Continents like, Africa, Asia, and South American are more likely to experience this type of poverty, this may occur because of a complete lack of resources, or unequal distribution of wealth. Relative poverty is measured on poor standards of living relative to the rest of the society. The lack of access to many of the goods and services expected by the rest of the contemporary society. E.g. afford holidays this leads to social exclusion and damaging individuals and families in relative poverty. Relative poverty is used in Britain because in a rich country such this, there should be certain minimum standards below, that no one should be. The British society is becoming more richer ,norms changes and the levels of income and resources that are considerate to be adequate rises , for instance if poor citizens can keep up with the growth in average incomes, they will become more excluded from the opportunities that the rest of the society enjoy. If there is a large numbers of people who fall below the minimum standards, then they are excluded from ordinary patterns. The strength of this approach is that advocate a poverty line which moves in response to changing social expectations and living standards. Peter Townsend argued that income alone is not a satisfactory measure of poverty because households may have a variety of other resources at their disposal. Townsend work was criticised from those on the right, they argued that his research measure inequality rather than poverty, because they see inequality as inevitable, they that the concept of relative poverty in meaningless. Seebohm Rowntree devised a scale in 1901 to determine: the minimum necessities for the maintenance of merely physical efficiency .Rowntrees  measure from Stitt and Grant, 1993, explains the differences between two types of poverty.   Primary Poverty are families whose total incomes were insufficient to maintain physical efficiency and Secondary Poverty are families whose incomes would have been sufficient but for wasteful activity such as poor housekeeping, drunkenness and gambling.   Those who fell below this minimum level were said to be in poverty. This method of defining poverty is known as the budget standard approach, some of which are still in use today in defining poverty.  Ã‚   It is a measurement of absolute poverty, which is the most common way in which people visualise poverty.  Ã‚   In other words looking at what level of income is needed to provide a nutritionally adequate diet and other necessities of life.   This again can be and is debated. It is purely d own to personal perception and opinion upon the subject. This method provides a very clear definition, however it conceals the fact that the minimum level changes continually with time.   There are basically three current definitions of poverty in common usage: absolute poverty, relative poverty and social exclusion. Absolute poverty is defined as the lack of sufficient resources with which to keep body and soul together. Relative poverty defines income or resources in relation to the average. It is concerned with the absence of the material needs to participate fully in accepted daily life. Social exclusion is a new term used by the Government. The Prime Minister described social exclusion as a shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown. The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee. However there are some critics say that absolute definitions of poverty have the merit of give fixed and universal definition which can be used for measuring and comparing poverty in all societies. They can also reveal changes in living standards in a society over time. Rowntree was been criticized by the fixed nature of absolute measurement. Some sociologists that support the relative definition of poverty argue that universal definitions not count since what count as poverty varies from time to time and place. They say that human needs cannot be objectively measured, based in measurement of human nutritional requirements in not possible. 2- physical needs are affected by age , sex, occupation and other social factors. 3- Necessities and essentials varies from time to time and place to place , human needs are culturally defined , reasonable standards of housing, diet, clothing in Britain are different from those in other societies and from Britain a hundreds years ago. In this ideol ogy poverty is relative, it is measured in relation to the standards of a society and place, it is not fixed because circumstances changes over time. The groups more likely to be in poverty are ethnic minorities, disabled, women , lone parents , older people, asylum seekers Ethnic minorities live in low income households, twice the rate for white people. Although they are variations by ethnic groups. Unemployment rates are higher among this group, black people are more likely to be in lows paid jobs. Also are disadvantaged by the way the social security system operates. These group is more concentrated in the inner London normally they are rehoused together in group causing mini ghettos, creating isolation, fear and violence and discrimination .Ethnic minorities such as asylum seekers are discriminated by society, and other groups from ethnic minorities through religion or culture. By the government policies, being refused citizenship, receiving lower payments than other families on benefits. Refugees could be considered by as a sub underclass, Murray. 1994:26. I totally agree with this citation because they live below the poverty line and the minimum standards that Britain says that no one should Governments accept responsibility for ensuring all citi zens receive a minimum income and have access to the highest possible provision in the fields of healthcare , housing education, and personal social services.( Deacon 2000,51) Lone parents also are discriminated specially lone women with children , in these group also can be included elderly women pensioners ,women are likely to experience pay inequalities , mens earning more, Blacks being labeled inferior compared to white men, women the weaker sex Hacker, 1972,51, to tackle this type of discrimination was introduced anti -discrimination acts , such as Race Relations Act (1976, 2000 amended), Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Equal Pay Act 1970. The risk of poverty, inequality and social exclusion is not shared equally.   Some groups in society are more likely than others to find themselves in poverty. Children are at greater risk of poverty than adults in the UK and women are at greater risk than men.   To investigate poverty it is necessary to look at statistics compiled from various sources.   Whilst these statistics give some indication, it cannot completely show the poverty experienced by women and children. Despite compelling reasons, the importance of childhood poverty is not always recognised by policy makers.   They may need a policy that addresses the shorter-term situation whist policies aimed at longer-term changes are implemented. It is therefore not good enough to say that a policy will be beneficial in the long term.   Children who are growing up during that shorter-term period of lack of investment in primary health care or primary education, for example, will lose opportunities that they may not be able to regain later in life. Thus a generation may be facing to live in poverty. The New Right view about poverty is that the welfare state is responsible for causing poverty, Marsland (1996) argue that in a democratic, capitalist society wealth is created by those who are successful in business, and by others who innovate ,have entrepreneurial ideas and start new companies, people work for them , and generate income, they say entrepreneurs are motivated by money , and the government need to support them e.g. free market. They say that taxation should be low , by minimizing the size of government and by keeping expenditure low. Cutting on the provision of state benefits for those unemployed, in a indirect perspective the welfare state cause of poverty , is because discourages the efforts of entrepreneurs to start new companies which create jobs. Established companies pay higher taxes. In a direct point of view they blame the welfare state because they provide free health, financial support for those who dont want to work. People living in benefits increase the ta xes and there is a lost of productivity. They say that just some will be successful , inequality will always occur. The welfare state and the minimum wage protect exploitation from employers This approach was criticized because if they abolished the welfare state poverty was going to increase plus they saw poor people like lazy. Social Democrat view about poverty is that the welfare state is related to the 1940, Crosland (1956) argues that in any society, there will be groups in poverty , thought are not their fault some may be disabled, retired, unable to work because of childcare. Or crisis in the economy and not having enough jobs. For them the welfare state is responsible for these people and have to guarantee a decent standard of living then everyone in poverty is in need. By this the welfare state eliminates poverty with income provided by the state and paid out of general taxation. However the Third way criticized the saying that they kept the same welfare state like in 1940, and was failed to respond to the growth in single parenthood, and the change of women in society, single mothers remain in poverty trap, the state benefits they lost when they start to work, outweighed the income they received, then disempowered them to work. Plus the costs of welfare state increased higher expectations on health care, housing. However there will always exist poverty and inequality , the government will need to reform the welfare state , providing more professional courses given by the European Union , cut council tax, because I think that will make more people to going back to work. Instead of giving incentives for people to still waiting at home or in the bar waiting for the next payment.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

E-mail, Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms: The New Letter? Essay

E-mail, Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms: The New Letter? Personal communication over distance used to be laborious – considerable physical impediments slowed the process. In the 1800’s, an aristocratic gentlemen hand-penned a letter with a quill pen and bottled ink, sealed the envelope with melted wax, and sent a footman to hand-deliver the missive to his faraway love; in the midst of battle, foot-soldiers ran relays across hostile territories, rushing battle plans to waiting troops; news of the California gold rush galloped across America by horseback. Even our modern postal service takes at least a day – with numerous people, and ground and air transportation involved – to move a letter from point A to point B. In years past, knowing a personal letter could take weeks to reach its recipient increased its significance. The writer thoughtfully chose paper, pen and ink, taking time to consider the message. Guided by historically-evolved etiquette and a sense of social propriety, he created an artful object by combining written thoughts with an individualized medium that reflected personal style (Landow 221). Sherry Turkle writes in Virtuality and Its Discontents â€Å"the (letter bears) the trace of the physical body of the person who sen(ds) it† (481). A written letter has meaningful form and content. You know the recipient either personally or by public reputation, and you know their residence or workplace. Enter the personal computer: today, a dude clicks away, instant-messaging his favorite chick; complicated war strategies are instantly e-mailed across secure computer networks; chat rooms create never-ending global cocktail parties. Two PC’s with Internet connections equal instant communication, instant gr... ...igital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 62-74. Bob Dylan Website. www.bobdylan.com. Assessed 1 August 2004 Landow, G. â€Å"Twenty Minutes into the Future, or How Are We Moving Beyond the Book?† 1996. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 214-226. Stevens, M. â€Å"Complex Seeing: A New Form.† 1998. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 418-442. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Trubek, A. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. New York: Longman, 2003 Turkle, S. â€Å"Virtuality and Its Discontents.† 1995. . Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 477-499. E-mail, Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms: The New Letter? Essay E-mail, Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms: The New Letter? Personal communication over distance used to be laborious – considerable physical impediments slowed the process. In the 1800’s, an aristocratic gentlemen hand-penned a letter with a quill pen and bottled ink, sealed the envelope with melted wax, and sent a footman to hand-deliver the missive to his faraway love; in the midst of battle, foot-soldiers ran relays across hostile territories, rushing battle plans to waiting troops; news of the California gold rush galloped across America by horseback. Even our modern postal service takes at least a day – with numerous people, and ground and air transportation involved – to move a letter from point A to point B. In years past, knowing a personal letter could take weeks to reach its recipient increased its significance. The writer thoughtfully chose paper, pen and ink, taking time to consider the message. Guided by historically-evolved etiquette and a sense of social propriety, he created an artful object by combining written thoughts with an individualized medium that reflected personal style (Landow 221). Sherry Turkle writes in Virtuality and Its Discontents â€Å"the (letter bears) the trace of the physical body of the person who sen(ds) it† (481). A written letter has meaningful form and content. You know the recipient either personally or by public reputation, and you know their residence or workplace. Enter the personal computer: today, a dude clicks away, instant-messaging his favorite chick; complicated war strategies are instantly e-mailed across secure computer networks; chat rooms create never-ending global cocktail parties. Two PC’s with Internet connections equal instant communication, instant gr... ...igital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 62-74. Bob Dylan Website. www.bobdylan.com. Assessed 1 August 2004 Landow, G. â€Å"Twenty Minutes into the Future, or How Are We Moving Beyond the Book?† 1996. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 214-226. Stevens, M. â€Å"Complex Seeing: A New Form.† 1998. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 418-442. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Trubek, A. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. New York: Longman, 2003 Turkle, S. â€Å"Virtuality and Its Discontents.† 1995. . Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 477-499.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Diverse Roles of Women in Movies Essay -- Film Essays

The Diverse Roles of Women in Movies In society we have a lot of women actresses. Some tend to play the motherly type, some play the manipulator type and some even play the victims of abusive relationships. No matter what women seem to be coming up in the industry of movies in more ways than before. The three movies I have chosen to analyze in my critique are Heartbreakers, Baby Boy and Stepmom. These three movies all have women in them that either play a major role or the main role. All their roles are very different in character and none of the women in these three movies play a similar role. In the movie Heartbreakers the two main women are Jennifer Love Hewitt (the daughter) and Sigourney Weaver (the mother). These two women act as â€Å"manipulators or conartists† the whole time. The whole point of the movie is for them to make different men (of age and class) to believe that they (as attractive as they are) actually love them for who they are. Throughout the movie they scam all different types of men to basically get them for their money. At one point in time Sigourney Weaver even marries a man who is madly in love with her just for his money and then she divorces him shortly after. The story continues as they use and abuse these men. Then Jennifer Love Hewitt starts to actually like one of the guys she is suppose to be scamming and her mother gives him a test to see if he actually likes her back. She tries to seduce him and she even gives him some sort of intoxicant to make him more susceptible to her. He ends up kissing her mom because he is under the influence and Jennifer sees the whole scene. She later on finds out that her mom was trying to make it seem like this was not the right one for her, but in a... ...s ex-husband. She is such a wonderful lady and the audience feels for her when watching this movie because she faces so many problems with her new step-children. Almost throughout the whole movie they are very cruel to her and sometimes even their own father. The kids cannot grasp the whole divorce situation and they have a lot of anger towards their parents for breaking up their happy home. Most of the anger is taken out on Julia Roberts because the kids see her as the â€Å"other woman† in their Dad’s life. They eventually come to realize she is a very sweet lady and all she wants to do is to get along with them. They accept her as a part of their family and they live happily ever after. Moral of the story: With a little love and understanding any relationship whether between a man and a woman or between a woman and children can eventually work out for the best.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A Cinematographic Vampire’s Tale: Understanding the Symbolism Behind the Horror Icon

Cinema is the place where we as viewers engage in sharing a collective dream. Certainly, horror movies enrich us as viewers with the most dream-like of plots. This is because they open a portal into another world where we are allowed to engage with our nightmares. All over time various horror movies show us how normality is endangered by a monster, but the creature who has haunted the screen like no one is undoubtedly the Vampire. According to Ivan Phillips the figure of the Vampire has drifted and shifted through the pages of newspapers, travel journals, novels, poems, comics, and plays for 300 years, it has haunted cinema and television for almost a hundred, its shadow is creeping into the social, narrative and ludic networks of the digital’. The image of the Vampire is constantly present in the virtual and literature culture of the twenty-first century. Although this being moved from its folkloristic origins in which he appeared in works of J. Sheridan Le Fanu, John Polidor i and Bram Stoker, the vampire still remains an iconic figure in Western Culture. This personage provides paradoxical fascination as it exists ‘at the edges of what is deemed normal, acceptable and safe, the vampire embodies the foreign and the unfamiliar’. Although, the vampire is often seen as a bringer of death, there are numerous metaphorical meanings and readings of this being. Through Marxist discourse the vampire is portrayed as the monster of monopoly capitalism and the agent of foreign ownership. This idea of the ‘bloodsucking capitalist’ is perceived in a negative way the Marxist community. In a xenophobic society this idea of the vampire embodies a general fear of the unfamiliar and may also constitute a racial difference. But the vampire not only represents the non-conformity it also alludes to an illicit desire. According to Jorg Waltje, this being is the embodiment of humanity's ‘hopes and desires: beauty, strength, and immortality’. Although these elements do not express fear in the same way as the vampire's link with death but in the same manner they express an external behaviour which puts at risk society's stability. The vampire hints to a sense of ‘unsettlement’. Through his figure the viewer, in a quite troubled sense, comes face-to-face with the dramatization of humanity. As a creature, the vampire encompasses men's vulnerability and his inability to alter the laws of time. As Sarah Sceats states ‘Vampires represent what we both fear and desire; they evoke a marginal world of darkness, secrecy, vulnerability, excess, and horror. Whatever they are, it is positively Other’. This notion of ‘excess' was also tackled by Omar Calabrese in one of his chapters. According to Calabrese one could only escape from ‘a closed system’ through this notion of excess. The vampire represents this excess as he personifies ‘those aspects excluded or rejected by society, its existence in itself denotes excess’. In addition to this, Calabrese associates this vampiric excess to the exotic erotic which alludes to the scandal and breaks the boundaries of what is socially acceptable. In this sense the vampire's bite is linked with the erotic. Further to this ‘explicit erotic act’ we have an unavoidable act with death. It was Bram Stoker which explored this notion in his novel Dracula. In the scene, where Lucy dies we see an excessive use of the erotic; ‘She seemed like a nightmare of Lucy as she lay there; the pointed teeth, the bloodstained, voluptuous mouth – which it made one shudder to see – the whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy’s sweet purity’. Through this, Bram Stolker illustrates us with an example of how death is linked to the erotic. The notion of ‘excess' is repetitively used and reused by Stolker. In fact, he describes Lucy as a ‘nightmare †¦ hich it made one shudder to see’ As viewers, as film enthusiasts or as junkies of the silver screen, we have grown accustomed to think that nothing happens outside of the frame. Yet this idea seems to crumble to the ground when it comes to Dreyer's, Vampyr. The latter haunts us with ‘a distinctly innerving sense of not knowing where anyon e is, creating a feeling that anything culd be happening beyond the frame, in the ‘blind space' in which the monsoter lurks’. Visually speaking, Vampyr resembles Jean Epstein's La Chute de la Maison de Usher and Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou. Dreyer's horror movie encapsulates ‘clear moments of crossover between the two movements’. Therefore Vampyr distinguished itself from other movies of the same genre because of the various artistic influences which left their imprint. Comparison can also be drawn between more contemporary movies which are not necessarily classified under an artistic movement but which are still relevant to vampire studies. Coppola's movie is separated by decades from its predecessors and is more straight forward in the narration of events. Visual metaphors are central to its filmic structure and the American director’s interpretation is completely submerged in blood, but while this film is heavily conditioned by an erotic element, the scenes of blood in Vampyr are scarce. The ‘spots of blood’ carry psychoanalytic connotations. Barbara Creed states that the manifestation of horror is culturally and socially constructed through the ‘images of blood, vomit, pus. shit etc’. These images emphasize a split between the law of the father and the maternal influence. This division has to be viewed under a pre-Oedipal line of thought. In this stage there is a fierce attachment to the maternal figure. In Dreyer's vampire movie, blood is linked to the maternal entity because Chopin ‘punctuates the flesh and transgresses the sanctity of the body’. Another overwhelming point stated by Creed is that the female vampire does not limit herself to mutating her victims into creatures which are one with the night. Her victims are testimony of the vampire's ability to destabilize ‘traditional gender definitions’. Although lesbian connotations are often attributed to this particular flick, there is no real intimacy between Leon and Chopin. The scene in which Chopin ‘feeds' upon her young prey, does not communicate a sense of desire. The village doctor who is at the service of Chopin, does not coincide with the medical man who represents a positive force in the traditional gothic horror narrative. In Coppola's Dracula, based on Bram Stocker's novel, Van Helsing is an educated individual and an adversary to the malevolent vampire. The doctor ‘sucks' the blood from the living thanks to the transfusion equipment just as Chopin uses fangs. The victim of the doctor's bloodsucking, artificial technique is Gray. He is the character who often looks at the actions taking place by standing behind doors or windows; ‘he is an outsider peering in’. In fact, Gray is removed from the narrative action even as he witnesses the first death. David Bordwell believed that Gray ‘is a curious character’ and he is more of a mediator than a provocateur of action. However, Gray still ‘possesses an active and enunciating gaze’. This male character's progress is often hindered by other characters, by the props and also by buildings. What is so overwhelming about Vampyr is the collision between reality and the supernatural. Everything seems to take place within a dream-like state and the movie is ‘ephemeral, polysemic and shifting, provoking opinion and polarising debate’. The movie afflicts the viewer with dissonance and discomfort, especially when our gaze meet Chopin's stare as Gray is sealed in the coffin. The latter is an artefact which shares an endless tradition with the general notion of vampirism. It is the space where these beings retreat and hide away from the daylight. The coffin is the body-fitting box where Dracula and Count Orlock patiently wait their time to rise while the vessel is sailing. This tomb or repository is ‘the most vampiric of all enclosure’. Gray finds himself trapped in a coffin and at this point in the movie's chronology, ‘the spectatorial gaze is doubly trapped, within the confines of a sealed coffin and the immovable dead body’. As the coffin containing Gray's corpse is being carried away, the procession passes next to Gray's unconscious body. In Vampyr, the element of the doppelganger has a heavy resonation. Vampyr is venerated amongst lovers of the genre even though movie makers throughout those years did not have the present technological resources. Old, B&W, silent movies may seem alien in form and content to younger generations, yet what some of these past flicks embody inextinguishable artistic and human values. We've already drawn remarks on Coppola's remake of Bram Stocker's narrative work into film. Long before the release of this movie, ‘the most haunting of any attempt to dramatize Bram Stocker's novel’ was Murnau's Nosferatu. There is a strong resemblance between Murnau's vampire and the one lurking in the book. What is it that viewers find so terrifying about Nosferatu? Is it the vampire’s appearance and inhuman gestures? Does he embody the general notion that â€Å"we fear whatever we cannot explain or understand through rational thinking†? As consumers, for there is no better way to call genuine movie enthusiasts, we ought to dig deeper and deeper into the sequence of images. Most of the time denotations come with connotations and it is up to us to fish out such hidden meanings. The imagery in Murnau’s movie suggests the concept of repression and ‘the arch is a visual leit motif in the film’. Arches and similar structures try to stop the vampire from emerging. Count Orlock is therefore a repressed force who is also linked to Jonathan via these same arches. In a memorable scene in the movie, the Count emerges from under an arch and Jonathan from another as they meet for the first time. Jonathan is also linked to the menacing creature through the house which stands on the opposite side to his. Count Orlock purchases this house, thus becoming the young man’s reflection. Jonathan is a loving companion to Nina while Nosferatu becomes a ‘demonic alternative husband’. Nosferatu contains numerous references to ‘a number of traditional or cultural elements’. Myths about Persephone and Orpheus also produce an echoing effect through this vampire movie. Nosferatu was not meant to float in its own air bubble, separated from all other influences and ideas. Murnau transfuses into the motion picture ‘the product of a synthesis’. This adaptation of Dracula, which donated to all lovers of the horrific this ‘thin, repulsively bald’ being, dates back to ‘the heyday of expressionist fantasy’. What come into collision are the natural and the fantastic. These two distant realms are central to Nosferatu yet neither dominates the film. The viewer cannot but notice the obsession with filing space and the ‘obrusive sets’. Like Tabu, Nosferatu is primarily set in natural surroundings and both of Murnau’s movies deal with a menace. The latter diffuses into an ordinary world and out of a fantastic, paranormal world. Nosferatu portrays an animal-like being (a mixture between a rat and a human skeleton) who is ‘constantly associated with nature throughout the film’. Even Count Orlok’s movements does not coincide with those of a human being , in fact even his castle ‘is like a natural continuation of the rock’ thus the true protagonist in Nosferatu is Nature which is closely linked with its natural settings. In Nosferatu, Murnau used a sort of trick photography also with expressionist angle shots. As Gilberto Perez Guillermo suggests these specific techniques are used to illustrate a remote, fragmented and bizarre environment. Nosferatu is generally seen from distance and this gives us the impression that the nocturnal creature is merging itself with the surrounding nature. Murnau succeeded into creating an iconic- power image through which he shows Nosferatu as ‘seemingly immensely tall’. In particular the scene where the vampire is standing on the deck of the vessel which is no longer conducted by a human being. Murnau makes also the use of the negative image, this technique is ideal to express ‘mystery, fantasy, and unreality’. This negative image basically involves an X-ray photograph, in this film it was used when Jonathan was being carried into ‘the land of phantoms’ in Count Orlock's weird carriage. The three movies which have been discussed so far are all based on similar, if not identical, themes. In each case the relationship between the female character and the parasite represented by the vampire is at the heart of the movie's plot. Guillermo del Toro took on a different approach and directed a vampire movie which derailed from the norm set up by the previously discussed films. Narrative-wise, Cronos ignores the myth of the Count and focuses on a device that causes transformations to take place within the main character's physique. The Cronos looks like an insect which shares some sort of a mutual parasitic relationship with its victim. Apart from a different take on the blood-sucking creature's myth, Cronos proposes characters which are marked by an ‘implied absence’. Del Toro's movie might ‘represent a nostalgic look at the past’ in the sense that the long-gone years receive a corporeal dimension belonging to the present. The main character in this Mexican Gothic is a perfect illustration of this notion. Jesus Gris is the ‘purveyor of antiques and guardian of the new dawn’ the latter being Aurora. What distinguishes Jesus Gris with Dieter de la Guardia, the dying industrialist who is aware of the Cronos' true nature and powers are there past scars which must be dealt with in modern times. On the one hand the ‘scars’ of Jesus are related to family life while on the other Dieter de la Guardia is at the mercy of an ailing health. Above all else, the Cronos is a ‘fascinating hybrid of science and nature’ and the golden case is said to hold an insect which lives off human blood. In return the creature rejuvenates its bearer and prolongs his life, killing off the threat posed by ‘corruptible, material flesh’. The device is needed by de la Guardia because it surpasses the technology of modern times. Only the Cronos can achieve what technology has failed in. There also lies a fine parallelism between de la Guardia and the angel’s statue. The man’s body is full of holes just like the archangel’s interior which is infested by cockroaches and if the statue reminds us of the divine, the deteriorating human body indicates an inevitable ending. Erotism is a stranger to the film’s plot, yet del Toro’s work delves into universal dreams, such as eternal youth and the conflict between life and death. Jesus caries the device while de la Guardia holds the instructions; Jesus is the unsuspecting individual who comes across an artifact of mysterious powers and who ends owning itself to it. The Cronos dehumanizes him and his need for human blood becomes more prominent as the film unfolds. Just as the insect feeds upon the blood of the device’s holder, the latter ends up developing an appetite for human blood. Viewers have grown accustomed to having a female figure within vampire stories. Whether the woman is a prey, a victim or an object of desire, she has been instrumental to Dracula’s and Vampyr’s storyline. In Cronos, Aurora ‘plays the role of the love interest for which the monster must make his sacrifice’. Transformation and shifting of form does not limit itself to Jesus’ metamorphosis, but it also manifests itself in the relationship between the vampire and the female figure. The erotism is replaced by an ‘innocent, filial love’. Contrasting and comparing characters and plots allows us to point out what is present in one movie and absent in another. Some characters from different filmic works may share the same attributes or characteristics, while others may interpret the same role but in a totally different manner. The so-called â€Å"assistant†, the faithful follower who is at the service of his master, is present in all four films discussed so far. However Angel, the nephew of de la Guardia, is not as submissive as Renfield and the village doctor. Angel’s mode of thinking is simply capitalistic. He yearns for his uncle’s wealth and represents the ‘cynical angel’. In contemporary popular culture the power of the vampire’s bite did not vanish but in some manner it did change. We can see this notion through the creation of diverse pop culture vampires such as Angel and Spike in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). These modern vampires have been ‘desexualized and de-victimized’ because they only obtain and drink blood from butchers. Now the vampire is made more human and this highlights the fact that contemporary vampires have a more mundane appearance. In the new millennium the vampire seemed to have changed from a creature of fear to a creature of ‘sympathy and emulation’. This is made more evident in online discourse about the vampire. As argued by Mary Williamson in her book Lure of the Vampire, in the virtual world the vampire is perceived as a ‘forgivable outcast’ and thus we sympathize with him. In Facebook, a social network used by millions in the world the presence of this being is very strong. Through one particular application called Vampire application we see several imitations of the ‘folkloric tradition of the vampire’. This application is diffused from one user to another via a ‘virtual bite’. During this process a user is sent an invitation to enrol himself to such application, were the user gets to interact with other individuals who share their interest and curiosities about this subject. Users get to fight other vampires, fill their hunger or feed upon weaker vampires. Once cravings for this so called ‘virtual-violence’ are stated by many, users can also send gestures such as hugs to their nearest companions. Feeding and fighting are the highlight of this application were vampires get points and money for doing so which than they can be exchanged for weapons or to improve their senses or powers . In this application placing someone in a suit will result in losing all their fights for two consecutive days, which is quite a deal breaker. This application also embraces violence amongst friends. Some of the many options this application boasts are the way one can attack another throughout the Facebook community. This application is filled with the erotic; this notion solidifies the ‘traditional elements of the transgressive vampire’. At each and every single level the vampire's abilities achieves a new rank and this creates a new type of vampire. As noticed by Mary Williamson in the virtual world this being is not perceived as an ‘outcast’ but rather a fundamental figure through which players communicate. In the online world the vampires have become a part of a different ritual, a social ritual by which relationships and friendships are maintained and expanded’. In this application, what used to frighten about this creature is eliminated and instead it is accepted. In fact, with the loss of penetration of the bite the vampire is ‘de-sexualized and sanitized’. According to C alabrese, the vampire represents only a slight alteration beyond what is socially accepted and thus it represents; the shifting of limits. ‘When confronted by an ‘acceptable’ excess, the limit is simply moved (perhaps to a considerable distance) in order to absorb it’. When in the virtual world, elements like blood and the penetration of the bite are removed ‘the virtual vampire becomes the monster that is us’. In the twentieth century, sympathy for this being has grown bigger. In fact as stated by Williamson, this being has generated new implications and attitudes ‘towards the ‘self ’ in the twentieth century’. There is a great desire to imitate the vampire not as a rebellious figure but rather to imitate a ‘bohemian outsiderdom which locates the individual as the desirable outsider, the sympathetically alienated’. In the virtual context perception of the self becomes ‘fluid and flexible’. As it is no longer linked with the body but it is highly linked with the fulfilment of desires. In this sense identity is constructed as one desires. The virtual identity can be understood through the Lancian psychoanalytic theory. ‘In the online world the virtual identity is not reflected but is rather constructed; the subject is not created in the reflection but rather in the digital composite’. This leads us to do a parallelism between the vampire and the virtual identity. According to Shannon Winnubst, the site represents the mirror reflection in which an individual forms and constructs his ideas about the self. On the other hand the vampire ‘in lacking a mirror reflection, does not even register on the radar of identity-formation: he does not have the necessary condition for the possibility of becoming a subject’. Also Rhonda Wilcox explored this theme using the imaginative Id and the Jungian shadow. According to Wilcox the online body represents the negative aspect of one's personality. In this manner the vampire is portrayed as the doppelganger of the victim before it was biten. Stoker's Lucy and Angel in Buffy are the perfect examples, Stoker’s Lucy from chaste to ripely erotic, or perhaps the souled and soulless incarnations of Angel in Buffy – so too does the virtual body provide opportunity for the vampiric shadow to find form in cyberspace. As stated by Wilcox, the imaginative Id illustrates the unconscious which is repressed and which encourages the pre-vampiric identity to free itself. In this sense online where the personality is fluid the wishes of the Id can be fulfilled as there are no repercussions which constitute some sort of restriction in the corporeal world. When talking about horror movies there is a subtle difference between the onster and the human being. But as indicated in films by Dreyer, Murnau, Coppola and Guillermo del Toro a strong link exists between the two beings. The myth and the vampire have always been subjects of debates. Although there are number of similarities and differences between Vampyr and Nosferatu yet both films show us the vampire as being more than just a b lood sucking, nocturnal creature but it is also the representation of the darkest corners of the human psyche ‘For this is one of the functions of our monsters: to help us constrict our own humanity, to provide guidelines against which we can define ourselves’.