Internet gambling Essay Example for Free

Internet gambling Essay Internet gambling represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activities with hundreds of websites providing users the opportunity to place bets on anything, ranging from casino games to sporting events. Billions of dollars in bets are placed each day in these online gambling rings. Thousands of these sites exist and many countries economies benefit from them. Sadly, Americas leaders fail to see the benefits in allowing online gambling to take place on American soil. Whether it be for recreation or as their only source of income, hundreds of thousands of Americans participate in the phenomenon known as online gambling. For the countries (Great Britain, France, and a number of islands in the Caribbean) that host these sites, it means millions of dollars being taxed each year for allowing the gambling sites to exist. President Bush signed into effect in mid-October a bill that outlaws sending credit card payments or other funds to websites involved with online gambling. Consequently, many of the stocks of these corporations are bound to decrease severely, potentially hurting the nations economy. A countless number of college students across America participate in online gambling, a small percentage of those depending solely on the money they make from gambling to pay for their tuition. This new law will leave these people scrambling to find jobs to stay in school. If the job search fails, these students will be forced to go deep into debt by taking out loans or drop out of college altogether, thereby making the United States lose valuable money that these students are paying for their education. Putting internet poker aside for now, online sports wagering has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Before the new bill passed, a person could sign onto a gambling site, enter their handle and password, and have unlimited access to hundreds of betting lines, point spreads, and over/under numbers. One more click and they can place their bets on the game or race of their choice. With the new law, the aforementioned is a part of the distant past. Place a bet over the phone and rest easy. Place the same bet online and face stiff penalties including steep fines and possibly jail time. This simply doesnt make sense. America has tried prohibition before, in the 1920s. Despite the governments best efforts, Americans continued to consume alcohol. Seeing that they were missing out on a huge source of revenue, legislators reversed the law and began taxing the alcohol. This new internet gambling law works in much the same way, forbidding the participation in online gambling to everyone on American soil. However, the internets boundaries stretch further than any government on earth can ever begin to regulate fully. With many people being computer literate these days, it is undoubtedly impossible to stop these people from finding ways around the law. Much like the prohibition law of the 1920s, Americas government is missing out on a huge amount of taxable income. This definitely could help the government pull out of the extreme debt they are in. Prohibiting internet gambling also goes against one of the unalienable rights that America was founded upon: the pursuit of happiness. Gambling has the potential to make people happy, and prohibiting them from participating in it goes against the Declaration of Independence that our founding fathers laid down as rules for Americans to abide by. Although legislators have succeeded in passing a law against internet gambling, it will be found virtually impossible to enforce it. States will begin to grow tired of watching potential tax revenue float over to other countries. The move that makes the most sense for the American government is to legalize internet gambling, tax the income it generates, and increase the economy. After all, abiding by the immortal words spoken by Kenny Rogers in The Gambler, Americans should know when to hold ? em, know when to fold ? em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.

Brain in a Vat Theory by Hilary Putnam | Analysis

Brain in a Vat Theory by Hilary Putnam | Analysis In Hilary Putnams Brain-in-a-vat (BIV) example, a world exists in which brains, a neuroscientist, a supercomputer running simulations of brains contained in a vat, and the vat itself are the only objects. These items have either always existed or appeared completely randomly with each item in the same state (i.e. computers running simulations, brains are in vats, etc.) Understanding this, imagine the following scenario: You are the evil scientist who monitors BIVs and the experiences they receive from the computers. You ensure that all the BIVs connected believe they are living a functional life in Springfield, Illinois. One of your BIVs is code-named The Chancellor. After some time passes, the Chancellor virtually utters the phrase I know I am just a brain-in-a-vat, which he believes to be true, and then continues on with his programmed functions. The BIV scenario Putnam presents is one such argument positing the skeptical hypothesis. Much like the Descartes Evil Genius, the skeptical hypothesis calls into doubt ones knowledge of the external world. While the Evil Genius relies on a supreme deceiving deity, Putnams BIV ponders the effects of a mad scientist using computers to induce illusory perceptions and experiences. Traditional skeptics contend we are unable to discern the BIV hypothesis as false; if we were to grant the BIV premises as true, then our experiences would appear just they presently do (Stanford 2009). Consequently, skeptics maintain that we lack the ability to know anything about the world external to us. Putnam applies his semantic externalism and consequently deems the scenario with the Chancellor impossible. Semantic externalism is a form of externalism where meanings and truth conditions of ones sentences, and the contents of ones intentional mental states, depend upon the character of ones external, causal environment (Stanford 2009). More precisely, he focuses his concern to the first-person sentence, I am a brain-in-a-vat to demonstrate that an instance in which the Chancellor verbally uttered said phrase is necessarily false. Consequently, Putnam deduces that we mustnt be BIVs. I will argue that Putnam misuses the definition of vat in his brain-in-a-vat experiment, thereby decreasing his likelihood of disproving the skeptical hypothesis. In this essay, I will define semantic externalism, followed by Putnams use of it against three different BIV scenarios. If we were to accept semantic externalism, then we would necessarily acknowledge that how we define a term is not the sole factor in deciding what the word means to us. A common example would be the examination of a familiar substance (e.g. water) and how its meaning would remain constant even before encountering it. More precisely, those who adhere to semantic externalism would view the word water as a term ascribed to a substance with a chemical composition of H2O before scientists had discerned the molecules comprising it; however, the composition of this substance we had labeled water did, to some extent, contribute to our meaning (DeRose 102). For Putnam, interaction with things in the world represents the external factor. For example, consider two people who have the same mental states and then start interacting with substances which are cosmetically similar while still composed of different molecules. Perhaps one individual interacts exclusively with Ag (silver), and the other interacts only with ABC, but both learn the word silver to refer to each of their respective substances. As a result, each individual would have the same mental states (desires, beliefs, volitions, etc.), but with differing in what they reference; silver would mean Ag for one, and ABC for the other. In order for Putnam to connect semantic externalism to his BIV experiment, he begins by noting that it is necessary to acknowledge that any articulation of the sentence I am a brain-in-a-vat appears to be self-refuting. More precisely, if we were to maintain this sentence to be true, the sentence would still derive a false conclusion since we couldnt say I am a brain-in-a-vat and know that I am in such a state. Take for example the statement [t]here is no definite statement. If you view this statement as true, it would have to be false because it is a definite statement. If you posited the statement to be false, then the answer is still false. To demonstrate how this relates to Putnams BIVs, first assume that we actually exist in the tangible world (T) just as commonly held, instead of in vats (instance T, where T is the Tangible world.) We have the following: (T1) If I live in a Tangible world, I am not a Brain-in-a-vat. (T2) In instance T, I live in a tangible world. (TC) I am not a Brain-in-a-vat (True)(T1, T2) I am not a BIV. (TC) Next, consider we are now the brains in the vats a different instance (instance BIV). In this instance BIV, an intricate computing system continually feeds us phenomenal experiences. So, we now have the complicated computing system sending us signals for us to construct our experiences. Now we have a different problem in instance BIV: (BIV1)If I am an actual BIV, a computer is sending me phenomenal experiences. (BIV2) I am an actual BIV. (BIV3)A computer is sending me phenomenal experiences. (BIV1, BIV2) (BIV4)If I utter I am a BIV, I am a brain-in-a-vat. (False, BIV3) (BIVC) I am not a brain-in-a-vat (True) (BIV1, BIV2, BIV3, BIV4) Thus, I am not a brain-in-a-vat (BIVC) To clarify, semantic externalism implies that the subject will never interact with the Tangible vats in the world. So, when the Chancellor iterates vat, he does not mean tangible-vats, but instead the origin of these electric impulses. More precisely, when he says vat he means artificial-vats because he actually interacted with a computer program. If the Chancellor was referring to a brain in the instance BIV, that brain would be referring to the electrical impulses sent from the computer in the form of artificial vats. Therefore, we arrive at the following scenario: (BIV1) I am a brain-in-a-vat (False); (BIV1) implies (BIV2) I am not a brain-in-a-vat (True) (BIV1, BIV2) implies we are not brains in vats. Consequently, the notion that I am a brain-in-a-vat appears to be a self-refuting according to Putnam. After Putnam believes he has established this self-refutation, he must form a generic (i.e. universally applicable) argument (U). Hence, the following instance: Iteration of (U1) I am a brain-in-a-vat (false, necessarily); (U2) I am not a brain-in-a-vat (from U1)(true, necessarily) (UC)If I am not a brain-in-a-vat, then we are not brains in vats. We are not brains in vats. (UC) The uttering of I am a brain-in-a-vat must be false since the instance BIV concludes that we are not brains in vats. As a result, we mustnt be brains in vats according to this logic. While on the surface this may seem sound, I intend to show how Putnam may have missed the mark. At first glance, the logic behind the Tangible world instance, the BIV instance, and the Universal instance may seem identical insofar as they each deduce we are not brains in vats; however, each stipulation incorporates a different meaning of the word vat. The vat used in the Universal instance represents an obscure term between the first two mentioned instances (i.e. Tangible world and BIV instance); the Tangible vat represents vats from the tangible world just as we would perceive it today; and the BIV vat stands for the virtual vat that the super phenomenal computer has created for us with its electric signals. Putnams error occurs when he doesnt universalize the vat definition by using the latter sense of the artificial vat throughout instance BIV. While a bit confusing, it seems Putnam considers the instance (BIV1) since the only time it is true is in the latter sense of vat. Putnam also wants to tie this definition to the Tangible world. After all, we all live in the tangible world and would want to believe we are not brains in vats while in the tangible world. Unfortunately, using slightly different definitions during an attempt to prove this conclusion hampers the argument. In other words, his argument is either that (BIV1) implies (BIV2) implies (TC) or that (BIV1) implies (T2) implies (TC); however, these arguments fail to hold true. It is unnecessary to consider both possibilities in depth independently, since they can both be repudiated on the same criteria. Whether going from (BIV2) to (TC), or from (BIV1) to (T2), Putnam makes an observation about BIV-vats, and then uses that to make a claim about Tangible-vats. The true statement, (BIV2) I am a not a brain in a virtual-vat fails to imply Not being brains in tangible-vats. Likewise, (T2) I am not a brain in a tangible-vat being true, fails to follow from (BIV1) I am a brain in an artificial-vat being false. The lack of a constant definition of vat poses one significant stumbling block for Putnam; however, if you maintain a certain degree of what constitutes vat, the argument still remains invalid and runs into other problems which I will not address here. I have attempted to argue that one cannot get to (TC) from (BIV1); however, anyone who subscribes to Putnams argument against brains-in-vats might argue the opposite. It is important to recognize the conditions surrounding the argument. More precisely, Putnam presupposes we live in the natural world. The skeptics main argument is that we lack the knowledge to discern whether or not we exist as brains in vats. We would only be able to differentiate between the instances and the vat usage if we new definitively which instances were being referenced. Semantic externalism lacks the ability to liberate us from a skeptical hypothesis. Putnam fails to show that we can not be Brains in Vats, but he does show that if we were a BIV and uttered the phrase I am a BIV, we would not know it. He fails to cinch a logical loop and all he really shows is that the brain in the vat couldnt know it was a brain-in-a-vat. If Putnams version of semantic externalism is correct, but we are brains in vats, then we lack the ability to discuss the tangible-world. For example, if we assume that we are brains in vats, when I said the worlds tangible-world in the previous sentence, I was actually referring to the artificial world because that is what I have been interacting with. Therefore, provided that the skeptic is correct that we would not know if we were brains in a vat, and also assuming that Putnams semantic externalism is similarly correct, then we simply do lack the knowledge of the meaning of the words in our vocabulary. More precisely, assuming t hat interaction remains critical to gaining understanding and meaning, then it becomes a necessity to know precisely with what we must interact. Hilary Putnam attempted to embrace semantic externalism in hopes of freeing us from skeptics; however, Putnam did illustrate that BIVs wouldnt be able to say or even think they were BIVs, thereby demonstrating a quandary for semantic externalism. Works Cited DeRose, Keith. Responding to Skepticism. Skepticism A Contemporary Reader. New York: Oxford UP, USA, 1999. Print. Putnam, Hilary. Brains in a Vat. Putnam on Brains in a Vat. 2 Mar. 2005. Drexel University. 10 Oct. 2009 . Unknown. Brains in a Vat. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 29 Oct. 2004. SEP. 10 Oct. 2009 . Subway Franchise: SWOT and Management Analysis Subway Franchise: SWOT and Management Analysis Analyze the goals and objectives using the mission statement as the basis. 1.1 Mission Statement of the selected organization To provide the tools and knowledge to allow entrepreneurs to successfully compete in the QSR industry worldwide by consistently offering value to consumers through providing great-tasting food that is good for them and made the way they like it. Goals of the mission statement SUBWAY restaurants goal is to be ranked the number one restaurant by consumers and number one in restaurant country in every market that they serve. Environmental factors which affect the company 2.1 Political effects Monitoring, understanding and adapting to the political environment is absolutely essential for any business, because it significantly affects every business, some of the factors are Constancy of the government Type of Government (democratic, dictatorship, monarchy, etc) The government have Economic policy Available Trade policy Diplomatic actions in nearby countries Furthermore, political context can change for the foreseeable future. 2.2 Economic affects When walking down the Subway restaurant, its impossible to overlook the ever-changing price of food. According to the Food Timeline, in early part of 1990s one Italian herb and cheese bread cost 1pound and 50pence, by 1998, that same Italian herb and cheese bread cost 3 pounds, on average. The entire site of food economics transformed greatly throughout the periods, absent from the agricultural economy of the 1930s to the technological, consumer-driven market. Also this alteration, there are many number of other issues that impact food economics. 2.3 Production and Supply As improvement of technology came to farms, the landlords able to produced more food and transported it to marketplace extra successfully. But still, quick production does not for all time signify good prices. The industrial market is brutal, and maintaining cost of the farms are important. To build up for this, some countries like the United States offer farm subsidies in direct to steady farm manufacture and the food marketplace. in addition, studies continues searching for ways to get better food give ways in the face of an ever-rising population. 2.4 Consumer Demand The tastes of people all over the world revolutionize from time to time, mostly when showing to new civilizations or facts. For example, in the 1980s America began acceptance sushi and other Asian-fusion foods. According to Food Wine Magazine, from 1988-1998 the amount of sushi bars quintupled in the United States. Likewise, with the focus on strong eating, as of 2010 the market for organic foods grew to $14 billion. 2.5 Global warming (ecological) When the crops damage by weather, the price of that loss will increase the prices consumers payment. Scientists learning the matter of global warming for it are predictable lasting impact on food financial side. Spectacular climate changes crash give ways, and hence the food supply. To make up for this, farms on the going ingestion in technological process that help reduce loss. This extra cost for promote also figures into the last price of food. 2.6 Preparation Time Time is money. Another affecting economic factor is food lies in the hands of the cook. In formative range, many cooks must be acquainted with how long it takes to locate and prepare exact items. This particular propensity made fast food and instant mixes more and more popular, particularly in Subway or anywhere people work outside the house. Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, taking into consideration all the environmental factors. SWOT analysis (S)trengths Subway Restaurants is the famous submarine sandwich franchise based in the United States and all over the world having companies in more than seventy two countries enclose over 20,532 restaurants in this planet. The business has been using a number of nontraditional channels for creation of its system physically powerful and the expansion rate of the company has also been rising. Subway has well well-known itself as a brand name in the fast food manufacturing world and having brand respect all over the world. Because of outstanding to its great strategies the company has turn out to be the most important franchise in the world in a very small phase of time. The company has still situated itself in places like hospitals, schools, churches, and famous retail supplies. This creates the start up price of franchises low. Subway is recognized to be companies that provide subs sandwich healthy and that are favored and to a great extent as evaluated to food items exist by other fast-food chains like Sonic Drive and McDonalds. The company has attached with the American Heart Association to add to its figure. The food menu of the Subway repeats the high persist of healthy and fresh food which is quick too. The new decoration of the companionship is an additional issue that provides a fresh feeling pinnacles the customers. Some of the newly introduced products imitate the healthy offering of the company. The marketing and promotional strategies adopted by the company are an example of the positive focus on demand, consumer preferences, trends, modernism and manufactured goods leveraging. These additional add to the potential to the company. The market share and the profits of the company that was outstanding to sandwiches greater than before greatly as a result to the reduced interest of the customer towards the chips and hamburgers due to raise consciousness about healthy foods. (W)eaknesses The adornment and give the impression of being of the franchises is said to be old an outdated. Another crisis with franchises is that the liking intensity of the customers is not the similar across franchises and also some franchises execute very poor. Service obligation is not reliable from store to store. This can supposed to be connected to employees as there is not much incentive and the revenue rate of the staffs is very high. (O)pportunities The company can spend extra money to expand its industry in the international bazaar and also make developments in its adornment and look to give confidence dine-in. By civilizing the customer service satisfaction for the customer can be greater than before, and also the loyal customer base will increase. The company can recover the relation inside and outside the organization by altering its strategys a bit. (T)hreats The company may face serious threats from some of the big fast food connection in the world which comprise brands like Wendys, KFC, and McDonalds etc. These restaurants are extremely older and have huge industrial trustworthy customer base over the years. The present financial recession is an additional threat for the business as it straightly affects the use and expenditure authority of the consumers. The information requirements at each of the levels in the management A large level our workers are serving our Supervisors who are serving our Middle Managers who are serving our Vice Presidents, who are serving the CEO, who is presumably serving the Board and the shareholders/investors. The extraordinary part is, by plan, also everybody has back to their customer or the client is actually supposed to serve the company! If customers are truly our focus, or as a effect, if we must focus on serving our workers so that they will serve our customers, A present fashion in sales organization design is to be buyer centric. The buyer centric sales mock-up puts the buyer at the middle of the sales procedure in an attempt to bring into line customers wants and buying first choices with the method we intend our sales tools and produce value. Adjoin this to our excellence customer service initiatives, the customer is always right announcements, and customer service surveys that were once rare, but now seem to have attached themselves via webpage to the bottom of every major grocer, retailer and restaurant chains receipts in fresh memory. Strategic levels Chief Executive Officer Management level Marketing Managers Finance Managers Production Manager Knowledge level Supervisors Operational level Employees Information systems at each of them to support the major business functions of the organization and strategize its operations giving it the required competitive edge. Examine and recommend IS to facilitate a healthy The information systems need to be reliable, sophisticated and user-friendly for Nestle. IS Information System [application of] effectiveness to focus on goals. An IS collects process stores analysis and disseminates information for a specific purpose Major 6 types of systems executive support systems (ESS) decision support system (DSS) management information system (MIS) knowledge work system (KWS) office automation systems (OAS) transaction processing systems (TPS) ESS / EIS Strategic level Inputs aggregate data (with drill down) processing -Interactive function-Monitoring key performance indicators E.g. sales, costs, profits, growth, share prices, capacity utilization users- Senior managers Characteristic of ESS / EIS expensive to develop executive information system provide timely concise information about organization to top managers provide internal as well as external information economic indices stock and commodity prices industry trends Decision support system (DSS) Management level Inputs low volume data Processing interactive Output decision analysis Users professionals staff Example contract cost analysis, outsourcing decision, pricing, decisions etc à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Key elements for DSS Models base Data base User Interface Business orientation What-if analysis End user makes changes to variables or relationships among variables and observe the resulting changes in the values of others variables Management information system (MIS) Management level Inputs high volume of data Processing simple models Outputs summary reports Users middle managers Example annual budgeting, quarterly sales reports, annual production reports Characteristic of MIS Structured and semi -structured decision Report control oriented Past and present data Internal orientation Lengthy design process Knowledge work system (KWS) Knowledge level Inputs- deign spaces Processing modelling Outputs design graphics Users technical staff Example engineering work station Transaction processing system (TPS) Basic business systems that serve the operational level A computerized system that perform and records the daily routine transaction necessary to the conduct of the business Point of sales system Executive information systems (EIS) Function: monitoring key performance indicators Users: senior manager Expensive to develop b) How information systems can be used to facilitate Customer Relations Management aspects of Nestle. Providing customer feedback forms, so customer can send feedback through URL also that will help to improve the organization Asking about customer requirements in general when customers call for problems automated record system can help to find out a solution in future Take action straight to customer feedback demonstrating how the company pay attentions to its customers heartening a service culture all the way through the association Companies also employ a wide variety of tactics to directly give confidence customer faithfulness through encouragements or special treatment. Some examples are Creating a point system that offers rewards once a customer accumulates a certain number of points supply discount or free-product coupons Running competitions in which regulars may win prizes by towards the inside a drawing Enormous customer service enlarges customer loyalty, forces income and decreases in force charge by using Information System. But, usual customer service applications frequently include only a portion of the information agents need to give great service. Because important information about customers, products and services sits in a huge amount of systems both inside and outside the business firewall, and in several forms such as database records, SaaS applications, text (letters, forms, email and chat messages, IVR scripts, blogs) and even voice recordings (call records). as long as inclusive, combined data access has to date just been too expensive and too complex. In addition, conservative customer service applications are too frequently hard to use, and operate with intolerable data latency rates and response dispensation times. FOCUS ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY The purpose of most well-developed customer relations programs is to turn one-time or occasional customers into loyal buyers. Customer relations specialists distinguish loyalty from satisfaction, noting that its possible for customers to be satisfied but have no particular loyalty. Indeed, one mid-1990s study found that three-quarters of the customers who reported being satisfied with one companys products still bought competitors products as well. The emphasis on loyalty is mostly driven by the bottom line. Keeping existing customers is cheaper than finding new ones, and having a base of loyal customers for one product or service improves sales for the companys other offerings. By some estimates, the amount a company must spend to attract a new customer is five or six times that needed to keep bringing back loyal customers. Repeat customers are also more likely to recommend the company to others and to try out the companys latest products. The financial results are that a small percentage increase in customer loyalty can translate into a significant rise in profits. The opposite of loyalty-customer turnover-can deplete a companys marketing resources and can signal weakness in the firms brand image or competitive position. However, high turnover does not necessarily mean that the companys underlying product or service is at fault. Rather, it may be the customers negative (or simply neutral) experiences and impressions that stand in the way of loyalty. In the late 1990s one executive went so far to suggest that happy customers would even buy bad products from a company they liked, whereas unhappy or indifferent customers might ignore a really good product. TOOLS FOR BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS Strategies for getting better customer relations and developing customer loyalty variety from just opening up communications channels to implementing elaborate point systems that reward loyalty. In order to be efficient, such programs and schemes must be tailored to customer requests and interests. For example, if a company devastates its would-be loyal customers with frequent mailings (or broadcast faxes or e-mail) consisting of unimportant or unappealing offers, it may be turning itself into a irritation instead of hopeful loyalty. 3) Ethical Issues Examine the ethical issues of Information Systems for this organization. Specific DSS benefits Improving individual effectiveness Expediting solving problem Make easy interpersonal statement Promoting training or learning growing managerial control EIS issues EIS Cost Employee Resistance to the EIS Management Resistance to the EIS Who is the user? sponsor for EIS Information Technology (IT) and modern management accounting Information technology has had a dramatic and far-reaching impact on the structure and conduct of business. IT has also been frequently poorly employed at great cost to companies. When implemented well, IT has made it possible for companies to exploit the benefits of: ABC systems E-commerce POS (point-of-sales) information to management and suppliers In many cases, the benefits of IT have been an increase in the accuracy of information and faster decision-making. A review of key IT with reference to business applications Executive Information Systems (EIS/ESS) Designed to provide senior management with easy-to-use information pulled out from internal and external sources Features: flexible, sophisticated, real-time responsiveness Management Information Systems (MIS) Designed to provide summarised information files used for management accounting and reporting purposes (i.e. reporting enabling management to make timely structured decisions for planning, controlling and directing activities) Structured decisions: recurrent and relatively simple decisions addressing repetitive situations in a deterministic environment Features: relatively inflexible, focused on internal processes Enterprise-Wide Resource Planning (ERP) Decision Support Systems (DSS) Individuals may reproduce this material if it is for their own private study use only. Reproduction by any means for any other purpose is prohibited. These course materials are for educational purposes only and so are necessarily simplified and summarised. Always obtain expert advice on any specific issue. Refer to our full terms and conditions of use. No liability for damage arising from use of these notes will be accepted by the ExP Group. Combine data and analytical models to support management decision making on issues which are exposed to significant uncertainty Provide the decision maker with alternatives, evaluating them under a range of possible conditions Expert Systems (ES) A form of DSS consisting of a specialised database and a set of rules on how input data should be correlated and interpreted in order to indicate the best course of action Example: loan application ES Ethical Issues An ethical approach to doing business is not just a matter of personal virtue, but needs to be addressed by policy (and action) at the company level as well. Ethical frameworks are not merely nice to have, but are considered crucial to building long-term professionalism. Their absence can undermine motivation and the sense of purpose a company must have in order to succeed.

Portrayal of Women in Media

Portrayal of Women in Media Are We Seeing Increased Sexualization of Women in Media? Feminists argue that popular media contributes to coerciveness and sexual assault toward women as seen by the dominant presence of violence against women in all forms of media (Linz Malamuth, 1993). Adolescents have been resorting to popular entertainment for information about sex, drugs, alcohol and violence (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1999). Their preference for the more popular and accessible music videos has provides them with such information. Analysis of Music Television (MTV) has shown that men appeared nearly twice as often as women and engaged in significantly more aggressive, dominant behavior and women were shown as engaging in more implicitly sexual and subservient behavior. They were depicted to be frequent objects of explicit, implicit and aggressive advances by men (Sommers-Flanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, Davis, 1993). It is usual for women in these videos to be used as decorative objects, and only a few videos show men and women are treated equally (Vincent, Davis Borus zkowski, 1987). One study of media and sexuality revealed that exposure to MTV among college females was the most powerful predictor of sexual permissiveness (Strouse Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987). Likewise, in video games, a more sexist orientation and graphic violence against women is getting prevalent. Overall, content in various media such as television, video games, music videos communicates that women are to be objectified, sexualized, dominated, assaulted and even killed (Bretthauer, Zimmerman Banning, 2006). Evolving Standards of Women’s Beauty Standards of women’s beauty keep on changing, with more recent standards emphasizing body proportions that are not normally seen on everyday women. Cusumano Thompson (1997) studied standards of women’s beauty in magazines over a 20-year period. In Playboy magazine, the models were considered to epitomize the ideal female body shape. Bust and hip measurements as well as weights of the centerfolds were taken in the span of 20 years (1959-1978) and mean weight of the centerfolds was observed to be signify antly lower than the average female for the same time period. Another observation is a decrease in the centerfolds’ bust and hip measurements as the heights of the models increased over the 20-year period. Consequently, an increase in the number of diet articles was seen in a number of women’s magazines also in the same time span (Cusumano Thompson, 1997). Along with this, there was also a significant increase in the areas of weight loss, beauty, fitness a nd health. Fashion magazines contained more health and fitness articles than traditional magazines. In terms of body measurements, Thompson and Tantleff (1992) found that women’s ideal breast size to be larger than their own current size. On top of that, women’s and men’s concept of the societal ideal breast size was found to be even larger than the women’s ideal size. This implies that media may have promoted images fostering discrepancies between current and ideal perceptions of societal ideal sizes (Thompson Tantleff, 1992). Print Media Sex sells. That is something being propagated by media. Hence in all kinds of media formats, images of alluring ladies showing much of their skin are being presented together with products being sold in the belief that the product will be more saleable. Magazines, in particular, have significantly increased the amount of sexual content not only in exhibiting sexualized women’s images but also offering explicit sexual advice (Kim Ward, 2004). The message being conveyed by contemporary magazines with more a liberated nature is that sexually assertive women are prized creatures and if women want to be considered as such, they should follow the advice in the magazine articles. This is a time when the sexuality of young girls is being presented in an exploitative manner. Sexual agency and desire is highly promoted to them. In magazines like Cosmopolitan, though, women’s sexual agency and aggressiveness are promoted within the confines of a relationship (Durham, 1996). What is ironic is that there is a strong emphasis for women to be sexually active to please men, but not overtly sexual, as they still need to make men feel in control. They are expected to be sexually attractive to men in a way that promotes sexual desirability, but should keep their own desire concealed as they need to be pursued and not to be the predator (Durham, 1996, 1998; Garner et al., 1998). These magazines, then, can be seen as part of a ‘cultural apparatus that purports to assist women to be heterosexually attractive, to be coy, alluring, â€Å"sexy,† and flirtatious, in order to â€Å"find true love† and to â€Å"catch a man,† and then to maintain his interest’ (Overall, 1999, p. 298). Mass media’s dominant representation of women is that they exist for men’s satisfaction of their sexual fantasies (Wood, 1994). Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines encourage women to be as ‘sexual’ as they can be, making them available to satisfy men’s sexual fantasies and desires. Although being able to provide sexual satisfaction for men may be a source of pleasure and power for women, it also reflects that women are reliant on men for their own self-image and power (Machin Thornborrow, 2003). Thus, repeatedly reading articles on how to give pleasure to men may promote women’s insecure sexuality (Farvid Braun, 2006). Sex is promoted as a way to keep a man interested in a woman enough to stay in a relationship. Farvid Braun (2006) observe in Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines that the ability of some women to provide great sex to men is essential in fulfilling not only men’s sexual needs but women’s relational needs as well. Cleo magazine advocates women to leave an impression where it counts†¦ in bed. These magazines project an image of men as potential cheaters and great sex can keep them from straying. That is why women are advocated to learn the art of sexual pleasing to keep their men faithful. Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) conclude that women’s magazines communicate a paradoxical perspective of female sexuality in that women are encouraged to shed their traditional roles and become more independent while they are pressured to find and sexually satisfy a man. Women’s bodies are considered commodities and their independence allows them to use such commodities to their advantage and to maximize their market value (Goldman, Heath Smith, 1991). Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) also note that Cosmopolitan magazine may be the first to recognize women as sexual, at the same time, they are primarily sexual objects whose desire is fulfilled by allowing themselves to be treated as commodities that are sexually available to men and designed to attract men. How Women are Depicted in Advertising Erving Goffman (1979) has studied positioning of women in advertisements and concluded that it mirrored their role in society. Goffman identified the model’s gaze to be important and suggested that women are usually sights to be gazed upon. How the woman is positioned in pictures have accorded meanings. Stereotypical poses such as the model gazing away from the camera and seem o drift off may be categorized as â€Å"licensed withdrawal†. Goffman describes a pattern in which women more often than men are pictured as â€Å"removed psychologically from the social situation at large, leaving them unoriented in it, and presumably, therefore, dependent on the protectiveness and goodwill of others† (Goffman, 1979, p. 57). Gestures suggesting licensed withdrawal are covering the face, sucking or biting fingers, averting one’s head or eyes, shielding oneself behind an object or person, and leaning for support against another person. Contrarily, when the model gazes into the camera, it is an â€Å"engaging gaze† engaging the viewer with a seductive look (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004). Goffman’s category of â€Å"feminine touch† most often depicts women lightly caressing an object while men are depicted as grasping or using an object. Women are portrayed as more likely touching themselves such as resting their fingertips on their chin or neck (Goffman, 1979). Conveying a â€Å"conventionalized expression of sexual availability† (Goffman, 1979, p. 41), women are often pictured reclining on a floor or a bed, or canting a head or knee at an odd angle that can be read as an â€Å"acceptance of subordination, an expression of ingratiation, submissiveness, and appeasement† (1979, p. 46). Other observations of Goffman regarding pictures of women and men together include men positioned as bigger or higher in the frame than women. This communicates differences in social status and dependency of women on men. Also, men are often portrayed as performing a function whereas women are merely decorative (Goffman, 1979). Women’s bodies have been used to sell several advertised products. Walsh-Childers (1996) observed that photos of women in advertising usually focused the reader’s eye on women’s body parts such as the breasts. Soley and Kurzbad (1986) also observed that more and more sexual content became manifest since the mid-1980’s as female nudity and erotic content became commonplace in contemporary U.S. advertising. Ms. Magazine published advertisements that increasingly portrayed women as sex objects in its first 15 years of publication. After it no longer ran such ads, Ms. Magazine upheld a position that explicitly embraced feminist orientation and spurned advertisements which were insulting to women. Ms. magazine â€Å"established itself as an institutional prototype for the appropriate conduct of advertising to women† (Ferguson et al., 1990, p. 41). Still, with this supposed precedent of championing for women in advertising, there persist ads depicting wom en as sex objects (Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink, 2001). Cultural Differences in the Portrayal of Women in Media Women ‘s depiction in media varies depending on their cultural background. Predominantly, women from western cultures are depicted to be more sexually open and less inhibited in showing their bodies and being associated with more sexually-suggestive themes. Frith, Cheng Shaw (2004) contend that in western cultures, women have acquired rights to display their bodies in public without fear of retribution or condemnation. These women have also claimed their right to take pleasure in their bodies. However, in the Middle East and in many parts of Asia, women are expected to dress modestly and demurely (Cheng, 1997). Portraying women as classic beauty types with â€Å"demure† dress across cultures is shared by Eastern and Western cultures. When it comes to portraying women as sensual or sexy beauty types, though, a noticeable difference emerges. More often, such beauty type is used with western models suggesting that advertisers across cultures present western models as more sexually liberated than Asians (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004). The message conveyed is that western models are seen more as sex objects than Asian models. On the other hand, Asian models more likely portray the cute/girl-next-door beauty type (Maynard Taylor, 1999). One outcome of depicting women in such childish manner is diminishing their standing in society as full-fledged adults, thereby pitting them less than their male counterparts. Representations of women as strong, professional and independent individuals may be threatening to men, and since patriarchal ideology is mostly upholded in certain countries, advertisers avoid such portrayal of women (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004). In terms of women’s roles, in Sweden, they are frequently portrayed as professionals while in the US, they are used more as â€Å"decorative† elements. Biswas et al. (1992) reported that sex appeal was used more often in French advertising than in the US. Asian women are usually represented as actively working while US women are seen as relaxing at home. For example, Sengupta (1995) observed that in print advertisement, Japanese women were more likely to be shown as â€Å"cooking, cleaning and doing other household chores† (p. 329). However, in Japanese advertising, when women were portrayed in their professional roles, it is more often as entertainers or actresses (Cooper-Chen, 1995). Maynard Taylor (1999) also observed young Japanese models posed as â€Å"cute† or â€Å"girlish† (smiling and giggling), whereas Western models were posed with more serious expressions depicting a more defiant and independent image. This reflects various portrayals o f women as they are seen in their culture. Swedish society may see women as capable professionals. American culture may view women as embellishments to lives made better by men. They may be the recipients of their men’s compensation for hard work as they are shown enjoying life and occupy themselves in remaining beautiful. In Japan, women are seen as lower class citizens compared to men, and this shows in their advertisements. They are portrayed as domesticated and dependent on their men as compared to American women who are portrayed to e more independent. A model’s â€Å"gaze† in ads communicates various messages to readers. Samovar, Porter Jain (2001) claim that intercultural communication researchers found that in Asian cultures, direct eye contact is considered aggressive and unfeminine. However, in cultures such as Singapore and Taiwan, women models tend to look directly at the camera. This may be credited to prevailing standards of appearing attractive or it may suggest photographic conventions led by women’s liberation movement in Western industrialized countries to depict women as confident and expressing themselves with direct eye contact (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004). Hovland et al. (2005) conducted a study that found many Korean women experiencing dilemmas between the Westernized ideal images of women conveyed in women’s magazines and their own expected traditional roles in their culture. Western values promoted such as competition, freedom, professionalism and individualism challenge traditional Korean values of harmony, obedience and collectivism. This shows how American magazines can be powerful in unsettling readers’ when they read articles that have ideologies that may not agree with their own. It is interesting to note that American contemporary women’s magazines such as Cosmopolitan magazines have such a wide reach that traverses various cultures and locations, so the ideologies they present may be interpreted in various ways. Contemporary American women’s magazines use a limited range of races of its models. These magazines target a market that is predominantly Caucasian and may not expect to target other races . This may be viewed as ethnocentric (Hovland et al., 2005). Ironically, Asian women’s magazines adopt Western images in their advertising. In both American and Asian magazines, the use of Black models is not too frequent and this may be indicative of the adoption of the Western emphasis on the predominance of a White or European beauty standard (Hovland et al., 2005). Increased Sexualization in Popular Modern Music Genres Heavy metal music, described as the overtly violent and sexually explicit segments of rock and roll music (Lynxwiler, 1988) earned the wrath of Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and targeted a media campaign against it (Gore, 1987). The organization portrayed heavy metal music as dangerous to young minds because it emphasized the use of drugs, encouraged adolescent sex, endorsed sexist/ pornographic values, instrumental in delivering occult messages and caused violent, lawless behavior (Markson, 1990). Such claims created much controversy that it received national attention when Congressional hearings were held to determine if indeed heavy metal albums and other forms of popular music must be evaluated for their influence in proliferation of â€Å"porn-rock† in the United States (Gray, 1989). The hearings did not produce great changes however, more and more organizations concerned with â€Å"child victims† such as conservative parental, religious and feminist groups pushed for the regulation of heavy metal music (Bayles, 1994). Still others began their own uprising against rap music (Binder, 1993). Jones (1997) claims, that as a matter of definition, rap and hip-hop music are often used interchangeably. However, Powell (1991) defined hip-hop as the beat of the music and rap as the narrative representation, the talking over the beat. Hence, the use of explicit violence and sexual lyrics may be blamed down to rap. Powell (1991) described â€Å"commercial rap† as hip hop or dance rap. Hardcore rap, or gangster rap is the one that raises much controversy. Researchers have suggested that hip hop and rap music, rooted in Black culture can be tools through which Black youth may negotiate their identities to develop an authentic Black identity (Clay, 2003). They see the music as reflective of their lives and to assert that music relates to empowerment, cultural connection and positive identity development (Sullivan, 2003; Berry, 1994). Critics of hip hop and rap, however, have argued that Black youth may be very susceptible to the influences of hip hop role models who promise money, power and status to men who show disrespect for women (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006). Mahiri and Conner’s (2003) ethnographic study of African American middle school students manifested resistance in the negative images emanating from rap and hiphop. This study suggested the use of rap and hiphop images related to social and gender roles as a point of reference from which participants could verbally evaluate, compare and contrast their own beliefs and attitudes. Adolescents in the study of Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter (2006) believed that certain women can be â€Å"nasty† and may â€Å"choose† to be abused, and that abusive men may be products of their environment. Still, they showed dissatisfaction with the representations of Black men and women in hip hop. Their criticisms revolved around women’s individual behavior and style and how outsiders might stereotype Black men as thugs for emulating hiphop fashion. Such perceptions of gender roles based on hiphop seemed to extend to the participants’ evaluations of women’s and men’s responsibility and choices with regards to real world sexual aggression and violence (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006) The problematic aspects of rap music is usually focused on its most acrimonious strain which is gangsta rap. Narratives in such strain are extremely troubling in their glamorization of violence,, materialism, misogyny and sexual transgression (Mahiri Conner, 2003). However, Dyson (1996) argued that the vulgarity expressed in gangsta rap are strongly linked to dominate cultural constructions of â€Å"the other’ and market-driven strategies for rampant economic and human exploitation. Therefore, Dyson noted, the debate about gangsta rap should be situated in a much broader critique of how these narratives essentially mirror ancient stereotypes of Black identity and sexual proclivity through the society’s circulation of â€Å"brutal images of black men as sexual outlaws and black females as â€Å"ho’s† (1996, p. 178)

The Rape of the Lock Essay example -- The Rape of the Lock Alexander P

The Rape of the Lock Pope's portrayal of Belinda and her society in 'The Rape of the Lock' This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! In 'The Rape of the Lock' Alexander Pope (1688-1744) employs a mock-epic style to satirise the 'beau-monde' (fashionable world, society of the elite) of eighteenth century England. The richness of the poem, however, reveals more than a straightforward satirical attack. Alongside the criticism we can detect Pope's fascination with, and perhaps admiration for, Belinda and the society in which she moves. Pope himself was not part of the 'beau-monde'. He knew the families on which the poem is based but his own parents, though probably comfortably off, were not so rich or of the class one would have to be in to move in Belinda's circle. He associated with learned men and poets, and there can have been little common ground between the company he kept at Will's Coffee House and those who frequented Hampton Court. The incident at the centre of the poem is the Baron's theft of a lock of hair and the ensuing estrangement of two families. The opening lines of the poem introduce the reader to the satirical stance he is taking towards the society portrayed in the poem. What dire Offence from am'rous Causes springs, What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things, [I.1-2] Pope suggests that they are taking a trivial incident too seriously, displaying an exaggerated sense of their own importance. Throughout the poem Pope continues to make this point through his use of the mock-epic style, which itself takes a trivial incident too seriously, and uses disproportionately grand language to describe an unworthy subject. Belinda is belittled earl... ...y men of the age. An affinity between them is revealed by Pope's empathy, fine judgements, and carefully aimed criticisms, and Pope must have been at least a little fascinated by the 'beau-monde' to apply his talents to this poem which, in an ironic way, celebrates Belinda and her world and, as Pope himself suggests in the final couplet of the poem, has preserved them for posterity. This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame, And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name! [V.149-50] References Butt, John (Ed). The Poems of Alexander Pope. A one-volume edition of the Twickenham text with selected annotations. London. Methuen & Co Ltd. 1963. First published in University Paperbacks 1965, Reprinted with corrections 1968. Reprinted 1977 Bibliography Cunningham. The Rape of the Lock. Oxford University Press. 1971 Gordon. A Preface to Pope. Longman. 1976

The Constant Struggle :: English Literature

The Constant Struggle â€Å"To be or not to be, that is the question.† Indeed, this is the question Barbara constantly asks herself, whether or not she has to be a responsible mom to Jodie, or to try and have a life of her own. In the short story â€Å"Over the Hill† by Lynne Schwartz, Barbara is a single mother struggling between the difficult tasks of being a mom and of being a single adult. Barbara faces a dilemma that many other single parents also faces, and that is their desire to date other people because they don’t want to be a single parent for the rest of their lives. However, her responsibility as a single mom doesn’t always allow her to do that. As a result, Barbara is a responsible, fun loving mother torn between her duty to her daughter and her need for adult companionship. Like many other single parents around the world, the income Barbara makes is not always enough to take care of her family. Consequently, being the responsible mom that she is, Barbara is â€Å"taking a short course, one night a week† on bartending along with her friend Pat in hopes of having a supplementary source of money (pg 208). They think that they could â€Å"make a lot of money on the side doing bartending at fancy parties† (pg 208). Barbara hopes that her income working as a â€Å"draftsperson in an architect’s office† in addition to the bartending money she hopes on making will be enough to support her family (pg 208). Although Barbara thinks that â€Å"under certain circumstances abortion might be a good idea†, she did not get an abortion when she was pregnant with Jodie (pg 209). Why didn’t she get an abortion? Barbara didn’t get an abortion because she is a dependable person that takes responsibilities for her own actions, even though she knows that her life would be utterly transformed when she becomes a single mother. Although Barbara feels depressed at the end of the night when she thinks that James isn’t coming over, she still plays her role as the responsible mother and reminds Jodie that she â€Å"should be going to bed,† because she has a â€Å"dentist appointment tomorrow† (pg 217). By trying to make more money, not getting an abortion when she was pregnant with Jodie, and reminding Jodie that she has a dentist appointment the next day even though she’s depressed about James shows just how dedicated and responsible Barbara is to being a mother. In addition to being a responsible mother, Barbara is also very fun loving. She enjoys â€Å"fooling around with shakers and glasses like kids

Discuss the ways in which Steinbeck explores the concept of the ‘American Dream’ is central to the novel Essay

The American Dream was a dream that nearly everyone had throughout the twentieth century. It was hope for a better life and people believed strongly that it would come true. The main characters in ‘Of Mice & Men’ have a dream which was to get a plot of land and live on it and become self-sufficient. The American Dream was not an achievable goal for many people. Steinbeck shows this failure through the characters of Lennie & George. The American dream was a great thing. We first heard about it when Lennie and George were sitting by the river at the beginning of the book. The dream was a hope that every rancher had an opportunity for a better life. Lennie and George, the two main characters, had such a dream, â€Å"Some day were gonna get a little place and a couple of acres†. The idea was to get a piece of land, grow crops and have an improved life there. They also new exactly what they were aiming for and what they wanted. They realised that their imagination should not be set too high for fear of disappointment. The two men also knew that they should not tell other people about the plot of land in case it was snatched from under their noses. This frequently happened then, as so many people were seeking the same desire., â€Å"Well it’s ten acres said George. Got a little win mill. Got a little shack on it and a chicken run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, peaches, cots, nuts, got a few berries.† This shows that Lennie and George had ambition and again, knew what they wanted. It also shows that there were places where the dream had a chance of coming true, and that affordable land was for sale. Lennie and George intended to get the land by working extremely hard for a couple of months. They would earn standard migrant labour workers wages which was of course not very much, as the great depression was around at the time the book was set. The men hoped to save money and put it towards the plot of land, â€Å"Look, if me an Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing we’ll have a hundred bucks†. Sooner or later people started to realise that the American Dream was turning into a nightmare. This is shown in the book by all the travelling and unemployment. Steinbeck shows that people were determined to get a job and willing to travel around to find one, he reinforces this through Lennie and George. At the start of the novel Steinbeck told us that they were walking, so we obviously know that they have had a nomadic life. During their rest they have a conversation about their travels â€Å"The first thing you know is that they are pounding away at some other ranch†. This backs up the fact that people travel around for jobs. We know how Lennie and George frequently lose their jobs, this is due to Lennie constantly getting the pair of them into trouble which jeopardises their current job. Because of this they have to travel from one ranch to another in search of another job. Also you can corroborate the fact that people travelled by George quoting, â€Å"The hell with what I says. You remember about us going into Murray and Ready’s and they give us work cards and bus tickets†. Murray and Ready are a typical work agency that sprung up in America during the Great Depression. In the 1930s the Great Depression spoilt the American Dream, it damaged everything that had a promising future, from buying food to making investments in the stock market. Through out the novel we do not see this very much. It is shown only as a high unemployment rate. George is very passionate about work as he wants to achieve his dream. As you read on through the book George comments on other people in his situation, â€Å"They aint got nothing to look ahead to†. Implying that George is fed up of losing his job to other people. He now knows you should not think about looking ahead to long term ambitions as anything can happen. The rate of unemployment was a serious issue at the time of the book, as the economy was decreasing rapidly. It is shown through various characters such as Carlson, Slim, Lennie, George and many more. We know that they all have been travelling from ranch to ranch in search of jobs during this time, they have started to feel like they do not have a home and don’t belong anywhere. â€Å"Guys like us, they got no family and don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an work up a stake then they go into town and blow their stake†. This was quite normal for young and old men in their quest, not just for the dream, but for survival. Because of that, it made it hard for people to keep a job as other people who were as desperate, came along and accepted less pay to work at the same job, just so they could get some money. The idea of the American Dream was to be happy but just as well as the Great depression, racism also crippled the illusion. The dream was merely for the whites, as many of the blacks were unlawfully discarded from the opportunity or status to achieve it. Steinbeck shows this in the book through a character called Crooks, who was a crippled Negro stable buck and had suffered years of abuse in his life. Although Crooks could read and write, he was very lonely and because he was black, he could not join in with the usual endeavours of other men on the ranch. â€Å"Suppose you had to sit out here and read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it gets dark, but then you got to read books†. This shows he only had books for company. It was still very racist in the 1930’s so there was not much chance of Crooks achieving the dream by himself and certainly no one at that time would try to help. In the course of the book Crooks also tells us about his life in the past, how his father did actually achieve the dream, and how his family was the only coloured family in Soledad, which is where the book was set. â€Å"There wasn’t another coloured family for miles around. And now there aint no coloured man on this ranch†. Crooks felt strongly about this, he was neglected by everyone and still felt as if he was being treated as an unequal by every other man. He wanted so much to be included in the games that everyone participated in. â€Å"Suppose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black†. Because Crooks was being denied these privileges he turned into a bitter man who was equally as malicious as the offenders. This portrays the dream in a bad way, which is unusual as the dream is usually portrayed as being happy and being the provider when it actually created tensions between different races and cultures and caused many tribulations between people. Although Crooks is abused by many people on the ranch there is one person in the book who does not discriminate him because he is black, that person is Lennie. Lennie does not understand or see the racism in the world and he sees everyone as being the same. Crooks feels he can talk to Lennie about many things, â€Å"A guy can talk to you an’ be sure you won’t go blabbin†. Because of this it reassures Crooks and makes him feel better as he knows he can talk to some one instead of read books At first there was a chance of the dream coming true. One reason was because of Candy, willing to give his life savings so he would know that he had somewhere to go after he was incapable of working on the ranch, † Tell you what suppose I went in with you guys thas three hundred and fifty bucks I’d put in†. This endorses the fact that he was willing to put every last coinage that he had, to assist him to have a happy finale to his life. Also Crooks, the negro stable buck, offers to help, â€Å"If you guys would want a hand in work for nothing just his keep†. He did this just so he could have a friendship with someone and feel liked. In addition no one else knew about this certain plot of land, which made it a secret of the group and easy to obtain. We know that the owners needed to get the money fast, â€Å"The ol’ people that owns it is flat bust an’ the ol’ lady needs an operation†. Because of all this Lennie, George and Candy s tood a very good chance of achieving this reverie. The American dream ended due to a series of unfortunate events. Steinbeck shows this through Lennie and George not getting the land. They did not get it because of many things. The main reason for them failing was Lennie. He spoilt the dream for George, as he was constantly getting into trouble and destroying any chance that he had to achieve the dream. After a while other men on the ranch begin to question their past, for example, Slim, â€Å"What happened in Weed†. We know that they have been travelling around and losing jobs, but it was not just because of other men stealing their jobs only to get paid less, it was also Lennie destructively destroying their chances, because of this they, had to move on to another ranch. In the end they had no hope what so ever, of the dream coming true because of Lennie, once again, getting George into trouble, as he was responsible for Lennie, when he unintentionally killed Curly’s wife. If given the chance most men on the farm would attempt the dream even if they thought it was impossible. A good example is Crooks, at one point in the story, he was putting down the fact of any one achieving their goal, â€Å"Jesus I seen it too many time. Too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand†. When Crooks found out that there was a chance of it happening, he decided on trying to get in on it, â€Å"If you guys would want a hand to work for nothing, just his keep, why I’d come an lend a hand†. You can see also that people always put down the achievement of the dream, but they all had a secret burning ambition to get it if the chance came around. Through out the book Steinbeck managed to portray the conditions of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. He also gave us a glimpse of The American Dream that every one pursued and showed us that it was not an easy achievement. Steinbeck has managed to show the different levels of hardship and suffering that people faced during that period of time and also managed to show more hopeless situations of people from a minority. The concept of the American Dream is at the heart of the novel ‘Of Mice & Men’ and therefore allows Steinbeck to make comments on American Society and the time of the Great Depression.

Legal Studies

Thompson-Starr (B) Police Officer, excessive force, qualified immunity. Part One For many years police officers have enjoyed the power of authority over the general public with the motto â€Å"to protect and serve†. If this is the case, then let this become the yardstick that will measure the conduct that police most earnestly proclaim. Police officers are held as the safeguard of the community. They are designed to protect the people from the criminal elements and serve as role models for those who need to understand law and order. But when this breach occurs, when the police believe that they can do whatever they decide without a form of accountability, police brutality is birthed. The case of Solomon v. Auburn Hills Police Department is a prime example of unnecessary police involvement. This case is a result of information, misinformation, direction, and misdirection as to the physical presence of an adult to accompany children to a particular movie in that theatre. To have two beefy police officers arrive to resolve a dispute over a ticket purchase to me appears to have been a waste of valuable police work. Nonetheless, the officers instructed Ms. Solomon to leave, which she refused believing that she had bought tickets in this theatre what was the difference of which show. The management made it clear that the children had to be accompanied and it was obvious that Ms. Solomon was not going to leave her minor children alone to go r-rated and could not leave the r-rated alone to go g-rated. Believing that she resolved it by just selecting one show, the security guards for some reason decided to evict her from the selected show because she did not purchase her ticket for the same movie. The police entered told Solomon she had to leave; again she refused. Officer Miller decided to arrest her for trespassing and grabbed her arm. Solomon pushed the seat backed away from the officer who decided now that she was getting arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer. The police persuaded her to the lobby where the altercation continued with Officer Miller and Raskin grabbing Solomon’s arms and slamming her up against a wall and pushing her face into a display case. This scuffle left Ms. Solomon injured. Ms. Solomon was later taken to the hospital and diagnosed with having a comminuted fracture of her left elbow, several bruises, and was hospitalized because she needed surgery for her fracture, scheduled a second surgery for later, and had to have physical therapy. Solomon later on a plea bargain pleaded guilty to trespass and attempted resisting arrest. The incident as a whole was over reactive, abusive, and dumb on both parties. The use of qualified immunity is designed to protect government officials from those who bring lawsuits against them because they did not agree with the discretionary matter in which the officials interpreted and enforced the law. The police use it to protect themselves if they exhibited excessive force they believed necessary to subdue a criminal. But the nature of the offense also has a bearing on how much force should be used. In this case the district court used the Saucier test to determine if Solomon’s constitutional rights violation was established and was the officer’s action reasonable by a reasonable objective officer’s standard. The court also determined the severity of the crime, if the person is a flight risk, and did their action take place because the police feared for their own safety. Because all of this fell short, the court affirmed the district court’s denial for summary judgment. Of course I agree with the opinion of the district court. If the police are quick to react to any given situation knowing that they are placed in a position to make split second decision, if they are not capable of such reasoning then they should seek another line of work. Police authority comes with knowledge, protection, sound judgment, and containment. It would be unreasonable to believe that police cannot arrest anyone. But is unreasonable is when they take their jobs so seriously that they endanger others by their actions. Because of one woman’s refusal to leave the theatre over a movie ticket, she is arrested, injured, and probably humiliated in front of her children all on the over reaction of two police officers. Although I believe that Officer Raskin should have been party to this since he neither aided nor stopped either party from going any further. Ms. Solomon’s refusal also played a role in causing this incident to spin out of control. She should have thought about her family’s safety first. When security guards arrived and then the police, a bell should have gone off in her head telling her something more was going to happen besides disputing a theatre ticket. Calmly get up out of the seat, return to the lobby, and then try to explain what happened and the rationale. If that failed then leave, the movie theatre made it such drama just to go to the right theatre and who could go where, to me it was not worth it. Thompson-Starr (D) Congress seeking to modify Miranda Rule The Miranda warning is what police must give when they arrest someone and place them into their custody. This warning must state the fact that what they say may be held against them and that they have the right to remain silent, to get an attorney, and to have a free attorney if they cannot afford one. When given properly, any statement made by the defendant during custody cannot be used in a court of law. Mirandize has become synonymous with protection against abusive police and their powers and overzealous prosecutors trying to get a speedy trial. When this rule became law, it was at a time when there was so much establishment protest and unrest that no one was definite on the government’s position of trying to maintain civil obedience. Through it all, the Miranda Warning helped protect the innocent as well as the guilty, key pieces of evidence got tossed because people claim they were not instructed to remain silent or entitled to legal representation. The question of reliability of statements made in police custody cannot be caused by fear, bargaining, physical and mental abuse. The ruling had controversy in the late sixties that Congress decided to create a law that would overrule the Supreme Court’s decision. The case of Dickerson v. United States is an example of the Miranda controversy. Dickerson, indicted for bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery and other charges, revealed some information to the FBI, decided later that he did not want it used at his trial and sought to have it suppressed. Standing on the Miranda warning, Dickerson claimed his rights were not read and was granted motion to suppress. The district court agreed that no Miranda was given but believes there was a gray area under a statute which makes the statements admissible and ruled Dickerson’s statements as voluntary. Congress challenged the Miranda by viewing it as not a constitutional holding and that congress by statute had the last say on its admissibility. The case was reviewed by the Supreme Court. The court acknowledged that custodial police interrogations increased concerns about questionable onfessions, the interrogation process is known for mental deprivation from isolation and pressure. The court further noted that this method only effect those who are weak and cannot withstand any confinement. Constitutional guidelines had been established so that when statements are made they would not violate anyone’s constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment. The court continues to exp lain the necessities of Miranda and the challenges that many judges have to properly interpret the question of coercion versus voluntary. The question of overruling Miranda was put before the court to rule and they determined it be a constitutional rule that congress cannot supersede legislatively and therefore declined to overrule Miranda and reversed the court of appeals decision. From a liberal perspective, many civil liberties group would view this as a victory because the Supreme Court would not tamper with the Miranda ruling. The conservatives would challenge anything they believe affects the strength of the constitution. They believe that once a law has been established and based on constitutional findings, that no Johnny come lately law should easily reverse it. Thompson-Starr (E) Attorney compensation based on contingency fee arrangement A contingency fee is a payment to a lawyer of a percentage of the proceeds his client won in a case. The lawyer would receive nothing if his client does not recover anything. Clients have the right to discharge their attorneys without giving a reason but can be challenged as in the case of Joy Salmon v. Virginia Atkinson. This case covers the discharged attorneys suing under quantum meruit recovery for legal work that they performed while still retained by the client. Quantum meruit, as explained by the Illinois Supreme Court, is based on the implied promise of a recipient of services to pay for the services which are of value to him. The recipient would be unjustly enriched if he were able to retain the services without paying for them. It appears after reading this case, that the appellant wanted to use the appellees to do her legal research and not pay for it. First, she enters into a contract that states she would give the attorneys fifty percent of any recovery awarded plus costs and expenses. This is making the attorneys profit from this lawsuit more than the client. Secondly, after the appellees had drawn up a petition for the appellant to file, the appellate now wanted to think about filing the claim that she originally implement through the attorneys. Then it took her several weeks to decide that she no longer needed their services even though she took the petition with her. To avoid further verbal communication with them, appellant discharges them by a letter. The attorneys notified their ex-client to inform her that she ended an agreement or contract and they are entitled to work done, especially after finding out that the appellant filed her claim pro se. The attorneys took the ex-client to court and the circuit court ruled in favor of the appellees. The appellant filed a motion of judgment notwithstanding the verdict, arguing that because the contingent fee contract specified that no fee can be recovered if there is not any recovery. The appellant continued filing motions hoping that one would be granted. Then appellant finally filed an appeal. On the appeal, appellant argued that appellees should not have been able to collect a quantum meruit fee because there was no recovery and this was written in the contract. The court then oscillated with the California rule versus the New York rule. Under the California rule, attorneys that are discharged are barred from receiving any recovery if the client did not receive any. Under the New York rule, discharged attorneys recovery is not tied into the client’s recovery and therefore can receive compensation for work done prior to their termination. The Supreme Court of Arkansas citing Illinois’s Supreme Court held that the claimant’s recovery should not be linked to a contingency contract, but on quantum meruit, getting what their rightfully deserve. Why shouldn’t the attorneys receive what they rightfully worked on? They did not request to still consider the fifty percent, cost, and expenses. All they wanted was money for the time, research, and hard work they put together to provide a petition that they later presented to the client who ended up taking it with her and stalling them by saying she had to think about a procedure that she initiated over her deceased common law spouse’s estate. If a client would walk into an attorney’s office and hire him to do all the legal research and writing of necessary documents, then later decides they no longer requires their services, I would view as a deceptive means of gaining legal help without paying for it. It is not morally right and now there is a law that shows that there is a remedy if this happens by unscrupulous people. The court in this case did not touch on the right to discharge the attorney, what they focused on was the recovery for work performed.