Double Consciousness and Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

Zora Neale Hurston novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a very important piece of literature written in the late 30’s which told the story of a woman and her struggle and quest as a black person, a woman and most importantly, a human being with unique goals and desires. The story followed an ambitious woman and her quest for self-realization and self-discovery together with her experiences as wives and partners of numerous men. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, a black thinker who lived in almost the same era as Zora Neale Hurston, the author of the novel had introduced an important theoretical model and concept that will be useful for the analysis and interpretation of any reader of Their Eyes Watching God’s. Du Bois’ concept on double consciousness became a very important perspective and lenses in seeing Hurston work. In this paper, we are going to argue that in the majority of the novel, Du Bois theory on double consciousness dictated much of the affairs and events in the novel of Hurston. Influenced by this particular framework, the novel became a very important derivative of this Du Bois’ particular idea that encroached not only on his original conception of double consciousness but also its development and occurrence on numerous areas and topics that diversified from its original idea. The Novel The novel started with the controversial return of Janie in the town she formerly hailed with her former husband. She was confident and at the same time aloof for many of the town people that saw her. Different gossips had spread with her return, mostly negative and against her experiences and characters. At the same time, these accusations are untrue. The only person who talked to her was her old friend in the name of Pheoby Watson. With her conversation with Pheoby, the story of Janie and her struggle and quest was told and revealed (Hurston 8-9). Reading the story, one cannot oversee the kind of language or voice wherein the story was written. The kind of language that was used gave a very unique distinction with the story. The novel was enveloped with an active voice that gave much life reading it. In short, the novel or the story was told rather than being written. The use of a colorful and trendy black language is widespread in the whole story. The statement like, â€Å"Dat’s what Ah say ‘bout dese ole women runnin’ after young boys† is common on the entirety of the novel (Hurston 5). In many cases and speeches, the use of proper English both in writing and speech was disregarded. This kind of telling the story had tried to mirror the black culture that it is trying to tell. The entire novel is a recollection of the events in the life of Janie. Set in the past, she tried to refresh the memories and experiences of her former affairs and relationships to different men that managed to transform her to what she is at present. Her affairs that mostly end in a tragedy had managed to mold Janie to a kind of person that is strong and firmly grounded inside. Her story of numerous conflicts with herself and the men that she related, together with the environment and the other people around her had managed to release her from the dilemma of having two consciousness circling her thoughts and actions in the past. Double Consciousness Du Bois double consciousness is explained as being caught up in two worlds. More particularly described as the dilemma of the Black people living in a white world in the western culture, the blacks were forced by the society in general to have a dream and aspiration in accordance to the white’s vision. This is happening at the same time with his vision to retain his blackness, the vision and goals that were enveloped on being a black (McWhorther 1, 14). However, this specific kind of interpreting double consciousness can be expounded to more general terms. As what is done in Hurston’s novel, this theory on double consciousness was no longer exclusive on a black person quest for identity in a white men’s world. Rather, the theory had shown that double consciousness can also manifest in one’s quest for the realization of his sex and gender. More importantly, double consciousness was used for a person’s quest for the discovery of his or her humanity. Janie, the central character in the novel had shown the numerous issues that are revolving on her character. First is the double consciousness that arose out of her grandmother’s pragmatism. Her marriage for Logan in the earlier part of the novel was largely based on her grandmother’s idea on what the basis of the marriage should be. For her grandmother, the most important criterion that she must consider in choosing her husband is the security that the man can gave to him. This means both economic and physical security. It is important to note that this idea is made possible by her grandmother’s experience of discrimination and oppression (Hubert 20-21). On the other hand, this kind of idea of pragmatic marriage conflicted with Janie’s desire for a marriage that is based on love, commitment, adventures and passion. Though she followed her grandmother’s request at first, she soon followed this innate and suppressed dream of hers by leaving her first husband in the name of Logan (Hurston 30). Another notable part of the story that discussed Janie’s quest against double consciousness is her relationship with Jody. Jody, a man who was obsessed with his power tried to isolate and suppressed Janie’s innate passion in relating to people. As stated, â€Å"He’s uh whirlwind among breezes . . . he’s de wind and we’se de grass. We bend whichever way he blows† (Hurston 60). These statements only describe how domineering Jody was not only to his wife but also to his people. With her relationship with Jody, much of Janie’s attitudes, desires and wants were pushed into background because of his power domineering husband (Hurston 59-60). The situation in Janie holding a speech in the town meeting is a good example of Jody’s domination. The town requested for the wife of the mayor to make some speeches. However, Jody prevented her wife to make a speech, saying it is inappropriate for a woman to do such things. Janie did not react loudly on her husband’s action (Hubert 29-30). However, emotions piled inside her which will explode and shall make her not to love her husband in the near future. Again, this is another case of the double consciousness that happened with Janie. Jody wanted to suppress almost all of her association in the rest of the population. However, deep inside Janie, she has a desire to live and associate with the population, no matter what her husband think of them. The falling ill of Jody and his death also posed a double consciousness in the case of Janie. With the death of the mayor, the rest of the town expected the widow to mourn and grieve for a period of time. However for Janie, she did not felt to grieve or mourn for the death of her husband. Deep inside her, she felt she was freed from the chains that her husband chained on him. For her, it is not the time for sadness but rather a moment for celebration Nevertheless, she still repressed these positive emotions on public and tried to be perceived to be mourning (Hurston 105-106). Again, this is a conflict of what the society expected to be her action and what she want to do for and by herself. Clearly, this is another notable instance of double consciousness that the novel had shown to us. Conclusion Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel that corresponded much of the idea of Du Bois in relation to double consciousness. However, Hurston writing had managed to expound the usual definition of Dubois on double consciousness. Rather than being stacked on a black person’s journey of self-realization and self-discovery in the land of the whites, Hurston had provided us a more diverse use of Du Bois’ theory. She tried to teach us that in many cases, there is a conflict between what the society, the environment and the people around and ourselves. The societies where we belong continuously provide expectations and limitation to each one of us. However, in many cases, what we want to aspire and what we want to do does not correspond what the society expect from us. From here, a conflict develops which later became a dilemma that we have to figure out to solve. The concept of double consciousness is a very important concept that we must all ponder and figure out. Every one of us that is caught in the web of these dilemmas is hold back in the pursuit of our dreams and happiness. Unless we managed to break free from the issues and dilemma that double consciousness had bear to us and act on our own desires and intentions, we cannot really realize and actualize ourselves towards our real happiness. Works Cited Hubert, Christopher. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their eyes were watching God. Research & Education Association. 2001. Web. Accessed 16 May 2010. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia. 1937. Print. Accessed 16 May 2010. McWhorter, John. Double Consciousness in Black America. CATO Policy Report Vol. XXV No. 2. March April 2003. Print. Accessed 16 May 2010.

Middle Ages educations

Education is acquiring or imparting new knowledge and also an art of teaching. Middle Ages educations have different experience from Greek education. Education in the Middle Ages most of the people were unable to read and write and showing lack of culture but some of the children who belongs to the upper class were educated. The Monks taught the poor children on how to read and write a little. Grammar schools where built for the middle class boys, and they worked long hours in the grammar school and the boys were beaten with rods or twigs as their form of discipline. Middle age education is unfortunate for the reason that popular educational history books continue to repeat errors and misstatements. During the middle age period monks were the teacher for learning to read and write Latin at the school for boys. Latin is the major language used by the church and bible. Literacy and learning were increasing and by 15th century students began to learn grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. At that time one-third of the population started to learn on how to read and write. During the Middle Ages, which were on the 5th to the 15th century, Christianity particularly Roman Catholic Church operated the parishes, monastery and chapels at the elementary level. Schools in monasteries and cathedrals offered secondary education while much of the teaching in these schools was directed at learning Latin, the old Roman language used by the church in its ceremonies and teachings. The church provided some limited opportunities for the education of women in religious communities of convents (History 2). The Greek Gods were much more down-to-earth and much less awesome than the remote gods of the East. Because they were furnish with human qualities and represented aspects of the physical world, such as the sun, the moon, and the sea (Greek ). In Greek education ancient Greece girls learned skills from their mothers like weaving and only boys went to school at the age of seven. Girls learned athletics and dancing for them to become fit and healthy mothers of more soldiers. And those who belong to a rich family were accompanied by a slave and most of the time if they commit mistakes they were beaten. Discipline was very severe; In Sparta children were treated very harshly. At the age of 7 boys were removed from their families and sent to live in barracks. They were treated severely to turn them into brave soldiers. They were deliberately kept short of food so they would have to steal-teaching them to stealth and cunning. They were whipped for many offenses. ( Lambert). The boys from Sparta became military cadets and learned the arts of war and joined the state militia which is a standing reserve force available for duty in time of emergency in which also they served until they reached the age of sixty. Sparta also provided training for girls who went beyond the domestic arts, they are not forced to leave home like the boys but they have same training that of the boys. During the middle age education they used the classical learning for Christian used. There were two traditions of classical literature and philosophy which separated the classical world and were brought together in union by the church rearranged into another educational method that would be the standard of learning. The union of the literary and scientific world views in Christ was the contribution of Medieval Christianity. Their system which is called as the Trivium, make the foundation of the seven liberal arts program which became universal throughout the Middle Ages. In this period the Hebrew people continued to teach their children the ways of God and rejecting pagan culture. At the end of Middle Ages, natural knowledge became powerful and philosophy being discredited, where the connection between the theology and the sciences were separated. And man started to work out and draw closer to life that is religion independent. At the early 18th century charity schools were built in many towns and called as Blue Coat Schools based on the color of children’s uniforms. Boys from rich families were sent to grammar schools and the girls still went to school but learning embroidery and music were more important for them. Until to the 19th century girls from upper class were taught by a governess. But the punishment in this period were still brutal, they included beatings and only less able pupils were humiliated by being forced to wear a â€Å"dunce’s cap†. In the early period, like those in Europe, consisted of one room where one teacher taught pupils from ages six to thirteen and sometimes older. The free education for all children were successfully implemented, educators focus their attention on how to attain quality education. In particular, significant in shaping new directions has been introduced which involves development of intellectual skills, engaging in new diversity of human communities and global culture.   The teacher-centered to learner-centered education instruction is highly emphasized and its new approaches to teaching and learning. There is a shift of teaching to a learning theoretical framework of instruction which is one process of transformation which is indeed the central point of great change during the contemporary times. The quality of education has been changing and improved. Although applications of techniques and theories where highly been practiced and exposure of students in facing the reality and its capacity to resolve and exercise leadership and responsibility. Organized teaching techniques and theory applications were being practiced and realized. Teaching skills were improved as well as the student’s performance in each field. In contemporary education, learning strategies were given stress and reducing the into which degree of the others. Works Cited â€Å"Tim Lambert.† A Brief History of Education. 1 April 2008 http://www.localhistories.org/education.html. â€Å" Ancient Greek Education.†1 April 2008 http://www.crystalinks.com/greekeducation.html â€Å"Hugh Graham Ph.D.† June 1993.Popular Education During the Middle Ages. 1 April 2008 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=903—–popular   

An Essay

Even though Romans is not a complete worldview r a Christian worldview it certainly directs us in the right way of how we should view the world. What does Romans inform us regarding Creation When we look at Romans chapter 8: 19-25, believe here Paul is talking about Adam and Jesus. Everybody thinks that God knows everything going to happen, and the truth is I believe he knows. The one thing I really believe that God knows everything, but he does give us free choice and maybe just one time he's hoping he doesn't know that were going to, and maybe instead of choosing the wrong we would choose Him.The curse is Adam when he first mined not just for his self but also for every birth from then on. Jesus then comes as the sacrificial sheep. One man to curse all of mankind and one man to save all Of mankind. Natural Creation There is no doubt about finding God's creation in Romans. In chapter 1:20-21 proves of his existence and power, verse 20 states that since the creation of the world God' s invisible quality -his eternal power and divine nature. God has no doubt that this is his creation and God is always made himself available to us. God created verse man and woman to have a natural relationship, which man and woman.Man started to make idols out of gold, of birds and animals and reptiles. Man's heart was not in the right place for the creator it was for sinful lust, since their heart was not right with God and instead had all this unnatural lusts God let it happen. Men started having sex with men and even their women was having sex with other women. Their acts were unnatural from one God one God wanted of the most one man one woman until the end of time. Sins in Roman Sin is mention several times in Romans, Paul tells us that we all have sin and we all fall short of the glory of God.Paul also explained to us that through the away no one will be saved, but the law lets us recognize what sin is. 6:23 tells us that that the punishment for sin is death. Whereas if we el ect to serve Jesus, we are promised eternal life. This is a condition that cannot be fixed by any man, that only Jesus dying on the cross for us was the only way we as mortal humans and sinful by nature could be saved. Salvation In Romans Paul talked to us about salvation and the only way that we could ever be saved with salvation was through Jesus dying on the cross for us.We know that Jesus was a descendent of David, and the one thing that he as supposed to do was to be the sacrificial sheep for our sins. So without Jesus we would never found salvation because we were not covered under the first covenant, but under the new covenant we were accepted because Jesus gave his life for us. So this was the nature and mission of Jesus Christ and justification by faith is believing and Jesus the son of God. Because of our faith and our believe Christ the moment that we accepted Jesus we were given the Holy Spirit which would sanctify us and give us empowerment to do the things that Jesus d id himself.Eschatology In Romans 5:20 we see were Paul is saying that because of the law being added was so that basically trespasses might increase. You would think of Paul is against on is that we have no hope, but he is also that were sin increases grace will increase also. God has new mercies for us every day in new Hope always be there no matter what we've done we can go and repented God because Jesus made a way for us to live that one day we may have eternal life. When we look at Romans 8:18-25 Paul is telling us that we should not compare are suffering to the glory that will be ours when the time moms.The glory Will be greater than any suffering we have ever been subject to. Romans 13:11-14 Paul is telling us that our Christian worldview and the obedience that we have Jesus through our faith one day we will be victorious against Satan, death and sin Ethics In Romans 8:8-21 we will find that Paul bases the ethics on love. In verse eight Paul is telling us that no matter what w e do we need to do it cheerfully, delicately and we need to show mercy follows is all up in nine telling us that love must be since. That anything evil we should hate, we should cling to what is good.And the next versus is instructed how we should, and we should never commit adultery we should always respect with love. Chapter 8 sums up the things that we should do we love and not be afraid to do them. Theology There are several verses in here were Paul talks about God even though his letter is non-about God its more about justification. When we look at 1:17 here Paul is trying to tell us that there is a righteousness that is revealed from God. Paul states it is from first to last the righteousness will live by faith.

Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze Essay

Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze how Confucian ideals are ever present to all levels of Ch - Essay Example According to Confucius, society could become stable only when the five basic relationships are being fulfilled which are, the relation of Love (among father and son), relationship of righteousness (among emperor and minister), relationship of virtuous demeanor (among husband and wife), relationship of order (among elder and younger) and relationship of faithfulness (among friends).If we closely administer these virtues, we see that out of the five, three occur in the family system. He was the great devotee of the family system and it is also the basis of today’s family system in China (Spence pp134-139). The family system has an extended impact on the whole town, city and society of China. The order is strictly followed as, for instance, younger has to obey the elder whether the elder is from his family or from outside the family. Even today, Chinese people pay special respect to their elders (Spence pp 74-96). The death of woman Wang is a piece of literature that provides a h igh exposure to Chinese norms, society and cultural values back in the seventeenth century. According to Spence, the obligation of the people to the government is very high. To support the government, they have to pay taxes. Even when there were natural calamities, the people of the village had to pay taxes. The rule of the emperor is to be judged by the virtue and it is not hereditary. According to Confucius, the ruler must rule wisely and with moral attitudes. The ruler should be just in his working and virtue must be his core conduct. If the society is being ruled by a wise and just leader and ruler, the society is harmonized, stable and flourishing and it cultivates moral and ethical values. When the government understood the condition of the village, firstly they divided the tax in installments and later on forgave the taxes to be paid. But it was too late (Spence pp 33-58). The modern Chinese society is prospering mainly due to the autonomy that their political system provides . Chinese production market, for instance, is growing at a remarkable pace. The government provides the basic necessities to their citizens at low costs. The rulers, hence, are following the principles of Confucius wisely and with high moral attitude. Conscious considered woman as morally and intellectually defective. He was the strong opponent of women subordination. Regardless of this fact, the principles he provided were significantly influential in maintaining harmony, peace and stability in an economy. In ‘the story of woman Wang’ women are portrayed as liable to perform household chores. As a widow, they are given high value and respect if they remain loyal to their husbands even after he passes away. Women are severely punished, in Spence’s accounts, if they use their right to freely move around, choose their partners or try to change their lives. They are punished and eventually killed by one or the other men in Chinese society of 17th century. However, t he modern Chinese society regards female counterparts as respectful, loveable and respectful yet free to make choices. The Chinese society and the business market is an open case of female participation except households. The households and other family related issues, however, still work under women supervision and women are still held responsible for household works. Filial Piety is yet another value of Confucius. Confucius is also heard of saying â€Å"

Empirical analysis of determinants of audit fees in China Essay

Empirical analysis of determinants of audit fees in China - Essay Example However, financial information about some of the listed companies was missing for which the Chinese database RESSET was used as the supplementary source. Apart from this, annual report of some of the companies was also checked. The data that are considered for the study are of 2011. For the analysis of the collected data SPSS, statistical software has been used. The first section is based on the analysis of the whole data set that comprises of data of the listed companies of both Shenzhen and Shanghai. The second section analyses the data of the two cities separately. 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of whole sample The Table 1 given below shows the statistics for the audit fees with respect to the other variables. As the table shows that the minimum audit fees is ?1.00 million, whereas the maximum is ?3.51 million. This reveals that there is a huge difference between the audit fees of the two cities. However, the average audit fees in these two cities are ?3.51 million. This huge differen ce can be due to the factors like characteristics of the area and financial position of the company, which are located at the various places of the two cities. ... The minimum inventory ratio is 0 while the maximum is .94. The average inventory ratio is 0.18. The inventory ratio depicts a huge difference between the maximum and minimum levels. Some of the organizations are seen to have no inventories at all while some other companies are having a high level of inventory with them. This ratio helps in determining the fact whether the organization is making optimum utilization of resources. Therefore, a high inventory ratio is not good for the organization (Barthwal, 2007; Anupindi et al., 2008). Accounts receivables is the claim that is paid in cash and in exchange for the product and services that are provided by the company. The position of accounts receivable in comparison to the total assets of the firm is shown by the accounts receivable ratio. It signifies the complexity of the organization (Jiambalvo, 2009; 2007; Weil, 2012). The table 1 shows that the accounts receivable ratio ranges between the minimum value of 00 and the maximum value of 0.60. The average account receivable ratio is 0.93. The intangibles ratio of the firm is another factor, which is considered to affect the auditor’s fees. When the intangible assets are compared to the total asset, it is seen that the ratio is at a minimum level of 00 and the maximum level of 0.67. The average intangible ratio is 0.05. This reveals that some of the companies do not have any type of intangible assets while some others have. The current ratio is another factor that may affect the audit fees. The current ratio is calculated by dividing the current assets by the current liabilities (Lasher, 2013; Pratt, 2010; Gibson, 2012). The minimum current ratio is 0.11 and the maximum is 204.74. This signifies that there exists a huge

To Live Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

To Live - Movie Review Example The script of the movie is intentionally divided into several distinct parts which cover different periods of time. There are 4 decades represented in the movie. The 40-s are characterized by the civil war and revolution in China. They are changed by the 50-s and building communist industrial China. Cultural Revolution enters the country in 1960-s. The end of the movie covers a period after all these events. All these historical events are showed with the help of fiction story integrated in the narrative. It is a story of Fugui, a former landowner and a person who has to live. The story begins in 1940-s, which Chinese civil war unexpectedly changes lives of all people in the state. Fugui has already lost everything; his addiction to bargaining ruined his family and left his without a tile above his head. He manages to cope with poverty and his hard work brings his wife Jiazhen back to him. He is again inspired to live; he wants to ask for credit from the landowner who won his family mansion, but he gets a set of shadow puppets instead. The war enters his life accidentally; during one of the performances of his shadow puppet theater, the knife stubs the curtain and all actors are taken to the nationalist army. Fugui is adaptable to any change in his life; he happens to entertain people in the army by his performances. Eventually he misses the major attack and finds out that nationalists have been killed; only he and his puppet theater partner Chunsheng survive. They try to run away, but the Red Army catches them. They entertain people here again and get back homes alive. On the battlefield, Fugui says the most important words: â€Å"I want to live. There is nothing like family†. Having survived the war, Fugui’s family has a new challenge – to survive the building of Communism. They become very poor; his wife delivers boiled water to people to earn for living. Their daughter

Earth Hour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Earth Hour - Essay Example This is a major event that requires a lot of planning. This is a project. It is a sequence of unique but connected activities, the aim of which s to accomplish a goal within a specific time period, within the budget and in accordance with specification (Wysocki, 2009, p. 2). It is a temporary undertaking (Schwalbe, 2009, p. 39). Like any project it is a cycle planning, which includes initiation, planning, execution and closure. Project Review The project involves a day long session consisting of two presentations, entertainment, tea and lunch. The event requires the use of volunteers which will be recruited by sending letters to organisations that are normally supportive of and by posting flyers at libraries, transportation centers and other public places. It also involves researching themes, venues, and entertainment that embrace environmental protection. Motivation for Project The world needs us and so we need to stop destroying it by playing our part in the preservation of the env ironment. The alarming rates of extinction of animals, deteriorating forests, and increased pollutants in the air are all the outcome of pollution. This menace arose at the cost of our luxuries. Excessive burning of fossil fuels has resulted in the increased emissions of green house gases and has also resulted in the augmentation of different diseases. Serious steps need to be taken now or otherwise it may be too late. Reducing our luxuries is one of the most important things. The burden placed on our natural resources has also resulted in an imbalance which has in turn resulted in drastic changes in the environment. The concept of Earth Hour came out of an initiative which started off in Sydney in 2004 and then celebrated for the first time in 2007 (UNEP, 2009). It was being run by the name of â€Å"The Big Flick†. Then this concept started spreading and this year 147 countries participated in saving energy on 31 March for one hour. Since it is quite a good effort the number of countries that have participated have been increasing over time and so is the duration of Earth Hour. Furthermore, this campaign has gone beyond just connecting people and bringing them together in one place. There is now a good motive behind it as people tend to want to have good reasons for doing and supporting something. They expect that it will result in good outcomes. This is usually the only way that it can lead to a positive response. Events need to be properly conceptualized so that people might be aware of the reasons as well as the circumstances they will face if they do not support it. We are now in the process of arranging an event the purpose in very simple words is preserving our planet. Our purpose here is to motivate people towards saving the environment and contributing to its preservation. Earth Hour has resulted in the saving of energy by shutting off lights for a short while and we want to broaden the perspective. The event is being held in Brisbane capital o f Queensland, the third populous county within Australia. The basic motive of our event will be making people aware of the possible hazards, the alarming increase in the population, and our usage of fossil fuels. We will try our best through the workshops and activities to create the realization in people that they should play their part in controlling the use of energy. The people themselves will put a stop to the extravagant use of the fossil fuels which has undoubtedly increased

Law of Trusts Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law of Trusts - Coursework Example In this case the testator in transferring property to his wife expressed a wish that she did was as right for their children with regards to disposing of the property.4 The only difference between Adam’s transfer and the transfer of property in Re Adams is that Adam’s words were more specific and contains more certainty relative to his intentions to create a trust. However, since, Alfred’s request came after he had already transferred the property to Barbara, Alfred did not create a trust as a declaration of trust can only occur upon or prior to the transfer of the property in question. In any event, a request is insufficient to constitute certainty of intention.5 Once Alfred transferred the property to Barbara he no longer had any authority over the property.6 As for Barbara, it is entirely doubtful that she intended to create a trust as she merely agreed with Alfred and can therefore be said to be acting on a moral obligation which is not sufficient enough to e stablish intention to create a trust.7 Certainty of objects refers to the certainty with which the beneficiary of a trust can be identified.8 At the end of the day, it must be possible to state with some degree of certainty that a particular beneficiary is the intended object of the trust.9 In a fixed trust such as the one contemplated by Alfred, the identity of the beneficiary is expressed so that the trustee does not have a discretion to determine who is and should be included in the category of entitled beneficiaries. The important thing in both discretionary and fixed trusts is that there is someone that can be identified with a degree of reasonable certainty that is entitled to the benefits of the trusts.10 There is no question that certainty of object is established in this particular case as it is clear that Chloe is the intended beneficiary. With respect to certainty of subject, the trust property must be identifiable. At the end of the day, the trustee must be put in a posi tion to know what property transferred to him by the donor is applicable to the trust.11 There must be certainty as to what portion of the property must be shared or distributed among the identifiable beneficiaries.12 There is no uncertainty with respect to the division of the property in question. The intended disposition is for Chloe to be able to live in the house as long as she needs to. However, there are two main problems with certainty of subject. First, it is not binding on Barbara and therefore not binding on David. The three certainties are fluid and if certainty of intention is not found to exist, certainty of object will therefore be inconsequential. Secondly, the intended trust deals with the disposition of an equitable interest in land and thus there are certain formal requirements that must be observed in order for the trust to be valid and enforceable. Pursuant to Section 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925, where a trust is declared in â€Å"land or interest t herein†

Soldiers Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Soldiers Journal - Essay Example In the absence of training, the soldier is just like any other person. Based on this, training continued to be part of our integral camping at the Shai-Hills Military Center when we were on peace keeping mission to Afghanistan. Thursday, 3rd March 2010, was to be a specialized training regime for the infantry in which I belonged. I term the training specialized because we were to receive dedicated training on self protection against enemies who may use indigenous forms of weapons. It would be noted that the part of the world where we went for the military camping is not as advanced as other parts of the world where sophisticated modern weapons of mass destruction are used. These are people who normally use medieval weapons. But it would be foolish on the part of any commander to underestimate the power of medieval weapons. For this reason, our commander arranged us for a special training on how to defend ourselves against the use of medieval weapons. The training program was with a r esourced person who was a military personnel and an anthropologist. He took us through the basic defense technique regarding the use of medieval weapons and how to protect ourselves against sudden attacks. It was indeed a very useful day as it was a giant step against getting any of us get attacked defenselessly. Saturday, 19th March 2010 Social Outing All work and no play, they say makes jack a doll boy. This means that it is always good to wine off after some hard season of tough brainy drills. Who says we do not have funny at the military camp? Without these fun-filled moments, we would have each burst out with stress. On 12th March 2010, there was a special social outing section arranged for the soldiers in my infantry. There was one peculiar thing that made this day very special to me. This was because the day presented those of us at the lower rank to easily mingle with our superior officers. In this military service, such form of socialization does not happen easily because o f bureaucratic discipline and respect for authority (DeVries, 2012). Personally, it was an opportunity for me to learn more about our commander in terms of how he started off as a young soldier and how he had risen through the ranks to the level he currently found himself. Opportunity for the interaction came when the junior officers engaged the commanders in several social activities including sports and games. Some of the activities included the playing of chess, soccer, basketball, hide and seek, and table tennis. After the major activities, where was an open forum where we freely asked our officers about their social life. Monday, 20th March 2010 War Field ‘Wahala’ In military terms, ‘walaha’ means trouble. I have therefore tagged the heading as war field ‘walaha’ to stand for a very serious encounter I had with an enemy on 20th March 2010. Before I even proceed, I must say that I thank God for keeping my life up till now because it was a v ery dangerous encounter with the enemy. Simply put, it was an unannounced attack on us at our camp. As soldiers on peace keeping, we try as much as possible not to be combative against the civilian or rebel soldiers. All that it is for us to do is to ensure peace between the two sides in the war (Gravett, 2003). But it was like a group of civilians did not appreciate this effort and wanted to take the law into their own hands. Their complain was that we were being too lenient with the rebels and so they came to attack as unawares and this started a battle between they and us. As predicted by our officers, these people came with medieval weapons such as bow, arrows, spears and even slings. There is no denying the fact that they showed mastery over these medieval weapons and could have been very deadly

The Use of DDT in Malaria Vector Control Article

The Use of DDT in Malaria Vector Control - Article Example As DDT is mainly used in indoors, it eventually generates the risks of deterioration of human health by a certain degree. This can be owing to the reason that direct exposure of this pesticide can damage the health of humans. Also, it can also be identified that there exist no such substitutes of DDT in order to prevent human health from severe diseases such as malaria. The other significant toxicology data which can be taken into concern in order to make the decision concerning the use of DDT in malaria vector control is that DDT is also responsible for causing various severe complexities. These complexities might comprise early pregnancy loss, fertility loss, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, diabetes, pyrethroids and neurodevelopmental deficits among others. By taking into concern the aforesaid toxicology data, it can be ascertained that DDT indeed imposes serious health hazards to the humans which is a major cause of concern. It can be viewed in this regard that due to the seriousness of this issue, countries such as the United States is strongly working upon to develop appropriate alternative pesticide in order to reduce the health hazards and provide health-related benefits to the humans. But relating to the case of Africa which has a record of occurring the disease i.e. malaria, World Health Organization has allowed indoor use of DDT. But the main dilemma concerning this factor is that DDT also acts as a strong deterrent to fight against malaria as well as vector control... It can be viewed in this regard that due to the seriousness of this issue, countries such as the United States is strongly working upon to develop appropriate alternative pesticide in order to reduce the health hazards and provide health related benefits to the humans. But relating to the case of Africa which has a record of occurring the disease i.e. malaria, World Health Organization (WHO) has allowed indoor use of DDT. But the main dilemma concerning this factor is that DDT also acts as a strong deterrent to fight against malaria as well as vector control and at the same time, it poses serious chronic health hazards to the humans (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, â€Å"DDT, DDE, AND DDD†). However, a decision of creating an alternative pesticide is needed to be taken which may help in resolving this particular issue by a certain degree (Berg, â€Å"Global Status of DDT and Its Alternatives for Use in Vector Control to Prevent Disease†). 2. USE THE FO UR PHASES OF THE DISPOSITION OF A TOXIC COMPOUND TO ASSESS THE TOXICITY OF DDT The four phases have been described hereunder. Absorption-DDT mainly gets absorbed in the human body when the pesticide is exposed to the skin and lung. Ingestion also happens due to DDT which enters into the human body causing deterioration in the health of human beings at large. Distribution-If DDT is able to enter the human body, then it is circulated/distributed to the entire body parts in a fast way. It also contains high amount of fat which quickly spreads into the body imposing adverse effect upon human’s health. Metabolism-The metabolism phase or process of DDT primarily include certain effective processes that encompass dechlorination, dehydrochlorination, oxidation,

Multinational Corporations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Multinational Corporations - Essay Example Globalization-brought about by advancement in technology, transport, and communication- has made it possible for multinational corporations to spread very fast. MNC have both negative and positive impacts on developing countries. Below I have discussed the impacts starting with positive impacts and lastly negative impacts. Employment It is a common thing in developing countries for the governments to actively seek for foreign investors. Multinational corporations provide both direct and indirect employments to developing countries which is a major challenge in these countries. Banking and telecommunication companies are some of the most common companies which have developed over large regions. Due to the size of these companies they create more job opportunities. Creating these job opportunities also account for increased domestic expenditure and income. These companies introduce new technologies to the employees and sometimes even provide training to their employees. This reduces th e cost of the government in training its citizens. Taxation revenues One of the major challenges facing developing countries is provision of social amenities to their citizens. This is due to poverty and lack of enough revenues for the government to provide such amenities as education and health services. Lack of basic education for these countries is one major cause of why they lag behind in terms of development. Poor health services contribute to high mortality rates especially to children under the age of five years. Foreign companies seeking to invest in these developing countries have always been welcomed so that they can help these countries add on to their revenues. Taxation adds to the domestic economy of the country where MNCs have invested. Due to this investment there is a direct flow of capital in the host country. Where these corporations are producing companies, they may save the host country’s revenue in terms of import. The companies may produce products that were previously imported to an extent of transforming them into exports. This will in turn earn the host country more revenue. Another source of revenue for the host country’s government is the money taxed directly from the salaries of workers. Previously we saw that multinational corporations provide employment to citizens of the host nations. The government earns revenue from salaries of all its workers in the country. From this discussion it is clear that presence of multinational corporations in a country has a significant impact on the host nation. Growth and efficiency Capital is a basic need of production; however, this is a rare commodity in underdeveloped and developing countries. MNCs offer foreign direct investment (FDI) to these countries. Developing countries may have enough natural resources available in their countries but lack resources in terms of capital and equipment. In mining, for example, most developing countries cannot afford the machinery required lea ve alone the capital. This is the opportunity for large MNCs specialized in the field to chip in. The host nations in this case have got no choice but to enter into partnership with the company. Another long term advantage to the host nation is improvement in technology. Most developing countries lack the technology needed in many industries. Introduction of foreign technology into these countries is always an advantage. The machinery and structures built, in the long run, will belong to the host nation. Sometimes the new technology is transferred the

The Execution of the Rosenbergs Essay Example for Free

The Execution of the Rosenbergs Essay During the Cold War, Americans lived in a society where the tension between the Soviet Union was at its peak in history. It was a time when the hatred against communism and the idea of nationalism were growing exponentially. Meanwhile, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested for the accusations of helping the Soviets create the atomic bomb, which was the United States’ only advantage over the Soviets. Their arrest eventually led to the first ever execution of espionage in United States history. However, the justification of their execution is still being debated to this day. Did the Rosenbergs deserve such a harsh sentence or was it a misjudgment driven by the fear of communism? The political and social aspects of society certainly directed the fear of communism to overshadow the innocence of the Rosenbergs, making them the most controversial spies in American history. During World War II, many countries including the Soviet Union were skeptical about the existence of the atomic bomb. However, after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the strength of the atomic bomb became well-known. It was clear that as long as the United States had this weapon, no country would challenge them. This weapon was one of the few advantages the United States had against the Soviet Union going into the Cold War. It was as if the atomic bombs were the United States’ shield and armor against the Soviet Union’s attacks. Meanwhile, the power of communism was steadily rising in Eastern Europe and along with that, the American’s fear of communism was growing in parallel. â€Å"Communists were demonized; demons had no souls; no love in their hearts† (Garber/Walkowitz 25). The situation called for the â€Å"blueprint† of the atomic bomb to be safely put away from the communists. The U. S. overnment feared that the Soviet spies might get their hands on the secret information. However, it was only a matter of time that the Soviet Union would â€Å"somehow† develop its own atomic bomb†¦ Eventually on August 29th 1949, news was reported that the Soviets have successfully tested an atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. Americans were shocked, furious, and frightened. â€Å"When news came that the Soviets tested a bomb, years before it was expected, there were indeed many demagogic calls, in the media and on the stump, to find and severely punish, even execute, the thieves, the traitors† (Cohen 49). The American people did not stop to think once that the Soviet Union could have created the atomic bomb with their own power and technology. Most people just assumed that it was done through a work of spies that sold the secret information for money. Therefore, the government did not waste any time to find the person who was responsible for passing information about the atomic bomb. The growing fear of communism eventually reached its peak and the government was started taking actions to prevent any acts of espionage. After months of investigation by the FBI, Julius Rosenberg was called for questioning. He has previously been in communist groups and there were confessions from the Soviet spies that he was responsible for sending couriers and information from Los Alamos, where the Manhattan project was run. His wife, Ethel Rosenberg, was not accused at first because there was no proof of her activity in any illegal acts. She was only as a full time worker as a secretary and a mother of two kids. However, she was later called for questioning when her brother, David Greenglass, was also arrested for espionage. As the investigation went on, the media was starting to heat up and draw national attention to the Rosenbergs. The Rosenbergs were to be remembered the biggest scandal makers in U. S. history. As the fear of the Soviet Union grew after their development of the atomic bomb, the U. S. government was not going to let the investigation go smoothly. After multiple confessions from Soviet spies that Julius Rosenberg was responsible, he was sent to jail. A few months later, the FBI also arrested Ethel Rosenberg with the idea that she might have helped out her husband. The Rosenbergs were eventually both arrested and sent to court under Judge Kaufman. However, there were not enough evidence going into court that the Rosenbergs were legitimately guilty. â€Å"No documents linking the Rosenbergs with espionage were produced, despite a thorough search of their home by FBI agents, who placed in evidence only a collection can for the Spanish Refugee Appeal, licensed by the City of New York, found in their home† (Rosenberg 15). For this reason, the trial took a very long period of time. The only evidences going against the Rosenbergs were that David Greenglass and other Soviet spies have confessed to the Rosenbergs’ involvement in espionage. But even if there were any acts of espionage by the Rosenbergs, it was later revealed that none of the information that was passed by Julius Rosenberg was even useful in the development of the atomic bomb. If any information that was passed off was not useful, why punish or even kill that person? The trial was just a vicious circle between a couple of American civilians and a political bully that was blinded by war. If there was so much more supporting evidences for the Rosenbergs’ evidence, why did the United States government kept containing the Rosenbergs? It was all because the U. S. government did not want to seem weak in the eyes of the Soviet Union. Neither country wanted to show any weakness and lose the fight like in a boxing match where neither fighter wants to show their signs of fatigue and injury. Both countries tried to look stronger and richer than the other. â€Å"In turning down Ethels emotional appeals, Eisenhower said repeatedly that we could not appear weak† (Cohen 50). The Cold War was changing a lot of people’s views. Even President Eisenhower’s mentality shows how much he has lost the patience and the value of human beings because of the intensity of the war. Eventually on April 4th 1951, the Rosenbergs were sentenced to execution by Judge Kaufman. The final words of Judge Kaufman were cold and unsympathetic. â€Å"Your crime is worse than murder, for you put into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but what that millions more innocent people may pay the price of your treason. Indeed, by your betrayal, you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country† (Wexley 67). In an important case like this, it is essential for the judge to consider all the evidence that is brought up in the case, but instead, Judge Kaufman ignored the evidences that supported the Rosenbergs. The judge was under too much control of President Eisenhower and the American government. Also, many believe that blaming the Rosenbergs for the cause and deaths of the Korean War was way over the top. A crime in that type of scale cannot be proven in court, which makes this trial a â€Å"scandal† more than an actual â€Å"crime†. And yet the Judge stated the â€Å"unproven crime† in the final sentence and considered it in the Rosenbergs’ execution. Judge Kaufman blamed them for the Korean War, and President Eisenhower held them responsible for the slaughter in any possible future nuclear war with the Soviet Union. These extreme accusations were never authenticated and, while there is no law requiring, they should have been† (Root 292). There was simply no proof that the Rosenbergs were responsible for all these tragedies. Although they were Americans with communist views, they were only a small percentage of the communist population in the United States during that time period. Also, the United States being involved in the Korean War was solely the government’s decision. Having to say that a future nuclear war is entirely their fault is too much of an overstatement to make on two innocent civilians who were just sentenced to death. Looking back fifty years from now, the media was also very biased and reported false information about the Rosenbergs that had significant impact on the ruling of the death sentence. â€Å"It is imperative that the true facts be known to all. Sadly, the information in the press and other mass media is not the truth, but instead is a distorted, truncated, myopic aberration of our case. It is clear that the primary use being made of our case is to coerce political dissident, and to secure conformity† (Rosenberg 132). That was a quote taken from an actual letter written by Ethel Rosenberg to her husband right before their execution. Telling from the tone of the letter, the Rosenbergs were despaired from the way the media was reporting false information and making the trial even harder for them. The media has always been an key factor on political and social issues. Because of the growing fear of communism, the media did not want to promote communism and espionage in any way to the public. As a result, the Rosenbergs were once again victims of the biased society and its false reporting media. The media was not the only influence on the social bias against the Rosenbergs. Many books were published to summon up the American’s anger against the Rosenbergs at that time. For example, there was the book, â€Å"Betrayers: the Rosenberg Case – a reappraisal of an American crisis† and â€Å"The Rosenberg Case: Fact and Fiction†, which was published on the same year of the execution. One of the quotes from the book was â€Å"Yes. The Rosenbergs’ case is ended, but the evil that they did is endless† ( Fineberg 148). If the evil that they did is endless like the author said in his book, there would certainly have been a nuclear war or a World War III by today, in the year 2008. However, that is not the case. The Soviet Union was surely to develop the atomic bomb with its own resources and power but all the blame went to the Rosenbergs in this state of affairs. The Rosenbergs were though not all alone through the fight in trial and against the coercion by the politicians. Soon after the death sentence by Judge Kaufman, countries all over the world protested the sentence. â€Å"Seemingly overnight, the whole world rose in protest against the death sentences that had been imposed on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. By then end of the year, there were pro-Rosenberg committees in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, and of course- Eastern Europe. † ( Radosh/Milton 347) Powerful leaders were forming organizations and committees to convince the United States to set the Rosenbergs free. Also, there were famous individuals who were protesting against the death sentence. Even the main creator of the atomic bomb, Albert Einstein, believed that the United States government was killing innocent lives in the fight against the Soviet Union. â€Å"An appeal for executive clemency was sent to the White house, supported by many prominent Americans, including scientist Albert Einstein, Dr. Harold C. Urey and more than 3,000 clergymen of 26 denominations† (Rosenberg 18). This would have had significant support for the Rosenbergs in trial but the media was once again preventing it from happening. These protests were not broadcasted to the public because of the biased media. However, the protests did not end there. Millions of petitions from all over the world were being sent to the White house. The world believed that the Rosenbergs should not end up being â€Å"political victims† of the meaningless war. â€Å"Millions of people view the refusal of the courts to grant the Rosenbergs relief as an affirmation of our insistence after nearly two years in the death hours that we are political victims of the Cold War† (Rosenberg 126). Despite all these protests and petitions, the government stuck to their belief that the Rosenbergs deserved the death sentence. But why were the allies of the United States protesting against the United States? Why was the United States not listening to anyone but themselves? Once again, the political leaders of the United States were too blinded by their focus to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Realistically, would the Rosenbergs have received the death sentence if they did not live during the Cold War era? They would have certainly received a much lighter sentence if they lived in today’s time period. This was the thought of Dorothy Thompson, a former journalist of Times magazine. Dorothy Thompson has once stated that: â€Å"The death sentence†¦ depressed me†¦ in 1944 we were not at war with the Soviet Union†¦. Indeed, it is unlikely that had they ( the Rosenbergs) been tried in 1944 they would have received any such sentence† (Rosenberg 9). 1944 was certainly that time in history where any act of espionage was not forgiven by society. If anyone was suspected to be a spy, they would be immediately called to questioning. Historians refer to this period as almost like the â€Å"witch hunt† era in Salem driven by â€Å"McCarthyism,† a strong idea of anti-communism that was popular at the time. The â€Å"massive witch hunt† eventually led to the Rosenbergs, which shows that the social aspects during the Cold War era had a biased impact on the ruling of the trial. Behind all the accusations, there was an individual who made the scandal even more controversial. His name was Klaus Fuchs and he was one of the main nuclear scientists that developed the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project. It is still believed to this day that Klaus Fuchs sold important secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviets for money. Even history books are being written over again about his betrayal. â€Å"In England, Klaus Fuchs, the German-born scientist who provided the Soviets with far more accurate and useful information on the atomic bomb than anything that might have come from the Rosenbergs, got only 14 years† (Cohen 48). For someone who obviously provided more information to the Soviet Union, it is certainly not fair that Klaus Fuchs only received 14 years in prison. How did this happen? We can see that Klaus Fuchs was ruled a lighter sentence because he was trialed in England. Although England was our closest ally, they did not see any justification that Klaus Fuchs should receive a sentence of anything more than 14 years. Therefore, just because the Rosenbergs were trialed in the United States, they had to end their lives. 14 years in prison and being electrocuted to death is definitely a huge difference; one is given a second chance to live and one is put to death. For a certainty, the Rosenbergs would have received a much lighter sentence in England. It is an embarrassment of the court to say that the only justification for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s death is that they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Another huge controversy of the scandal is the death of Ethel Rosenberg. The reason the scandal is called â€Å"the Rosenbergs Case† is because both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for being accused of committing the same crime. However, years after the execution, there were a lot of speculations to why Ethel had to suffer the consequences for something her husband was caught doing. It was later revealed that the FBI was using her as a â€Å"lever† to force Julius Rosenberg to confess to his acts of espionage. â€Å"Hoovers biographer suggests that the Director now regretted the strategy of using Ethel as a lever to induce Julius to confess, and thought that it would be terrible public relations to execute a mother of two young children† (Aiuto 5). It became obvious that Ethel Rosenberg did not commit any crime or spied for the Soviet Union. She was only caught up in the accusation because her brother, David Greenglass, and her husband, Julius Rosenberg, were both spies in the past. The FBI saw her as a useful â€Å"tool† to threaten her husband also they arrested her along with him. Because of the FBI’s cruel and brainless strategy, a mother of two sons had to rot in jail and die on the electric chair. â€Å"Julius went to his death pale, shaken, but quietly. Ethels execution was to follow, and she walked calmly to the electric chair, gently kissed one of the prison matrons on the cheek, and was electrocuted. However, Ethel was not dead after the first jolt. She had to be electrocuted a second time† (Aiuto 11). According to this article, Ethel had to be electrocuted â€Å"twice† before she was killed. The irony of her second electrocution will forever remembered as a symbolism to her evident innocence. Being the first ones in American history to be executed for espionage, the Rosenbergs did not deserve the death sentence. Although they were communists living in the United States, there was no significant evidence that they were responsible for the Soviet Union’s ownership of the atomic bomb. They were unfortunate to live in the time period of anti-communism and in the country that was in war with a communist state. In political aspects, the government was only interested in using the Rosenbergs to scare the Soviets and display its strength and power. In social aspects, the media constantly reported false information and the people of America were too biased to believe that the accused communist spies deserved anything less than the death penalty. Many factors played against the trial of the Rosenbergs that led to the unfair trial of the Rosenbergs case but they will be remembered as those who were innocent victims of the Cold War’s political and social defeciency.

The Transmission Model Of Communications

The Transmission Model Of Communications Most professionals need a few theories to back up their thinking and also to help give substance to their recommendations. A few theories and models give us a concrete and rational foundation for decision-making. These are especially helpful when thinking about how to tackle an issue and how to work out what is going on. They are useful too when devising plans and writing communications strategies, explaining concepts to colleagues and clients or giving focus when we need direction. These are my ten top theories, the ones I have found most useful in over thirty years as a practitioner, consultant and lecturer. Theory One Shannon and Weaver the transmission model of communications One of the oldest and simplest theories about communications came from Shannon and Weaver (1949). But Shannon and Weaver were not PR professionals; they worked for Bell Telephone Labs in the USA. Shannon and Weaver were focused on issues about accuracy and efficiency in telephony. Their model is both simple to understand and generally applicable and this originally made it attractive to not only people working in PR and communications but also academics who have since developed more sophisticated models and theories to explain the process of human and organisational communications. Shannon and Weavers original model often called the transmission model consisted of five sequential elements: An information source, that produces a message. A transmitter, that encodes the message into signals A channel, that carries the signals, which have been adapted to allow transmission A receiver, that decodes the message from the signal A destination, where the message arrives. They also included a sixth element, noise, defined as any interference with the message travelling along the channel that could change or impair the signal and so change the original message into something different from that intended. This transmission model, which has been around for a long time, is somewhat simplistic. But it does serve as a reminder to practitioners about the basic processes involved in communications and in PR. Its also the basis for social scientist and guru on propaganda Harold Lasswells explanation of communications as being Who says What to Whom in What Channel with What Effect Shannon and Weaver argued that there are three problems when thinking about communications: The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted? The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning conveyed? The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect behaviour? They assumed that sorting out the technical problems would largely solve the semantic and effectiveness problems (and that really is simplistic). You can see that there are a few problems with this model. It is linear and one-way there is no engagement with the receiver. The sender is called the information source it is not a complex sender. The receiver appears to be a passive and accepting, a simple and willing absorber of information, hardly a critical interpreter of what he or she is exposed to. There is no way to assess whether the receiver has accurately picked up the message and then believed it or acted upon it. There is no consideration of the context of meaning (is this teacher to parent, politician to floating voter?). Nor to when in terms of time the communication takes place. But then again this theory was devised by and for telecommunications engineers. Consequently this simple model cannot reflect the complex psychology of the human being or the physiology of the human brain. Nor does it accommodate the existing relationships between sender and receiver, or the infinite ways a message can be encoded in term s of words and pictures. Also it does not allow for the unique characteristics of the multiple channels that could be use d to get the message across and that affect how a message will be seen and interpreted. So theor y one is a useful start point. Theory Two James Carey transportation/communications links http://wyolife.com/Thank%20US/morse%20telegraph.jpg Invention and technology have a huge part to play in the development of corporate communications. James Carey was an American academic and journalism specialist. In his book Communication As Culture (1989) Carey discussed the development of the telegraph and its understated role in future developments in communication. The non-electric telegraph was invented by Claude Chappe in 1794 and was a visual system using semaphore, a flag-based alphabet, and depending on a line of sight for communication. The optical telegraph was subsequently replaced by the electric telegraph, the invention of Samuel Morse. Morse proved that signals could be transmitted by wire and, to facilitate this developed the Morse Code. The first news dispatched by electric telegraph was in May 1844. The death knell for the electric telegraph came with the invention of the telephone in 1877. So before the nineteenth century the movement of information was more or less the same as the transport of goods or people and both were described as communication. Before the telegraph (and the telephone) most decisions particularly business and political decisions were made face to face. Carey argued that the telegraph permitted for the first time the effective separation of communication from transportation. So after the telegraph, as soon as messages could travel faster than the people, horses or trains that delivered them, everything changed, in terms of how humans communicated across distances and over time. Geography became irrelevant, enabling communities to move away from the local, towards the national, and international or global. The telegraph allowed people from one side of the world to communicate almost instantaneously with someone on the other side of the world. How quaint this seems in todays digital world but this helps us look at the origins of modern communication. Because this shows to some extent where plain English came from. The short brief telegraph demanded a prose style that Carey noted was more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦lean and unadorned. Think of a tweetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. So all those years ago it was the simple old telegraph that first called for the plainest of writing and, as a knock-on effect, changed the way news was written. At the same time style became more objective because these words would be read by individuals of many different beliefs and opinions, from many different communities, regions and countries. Technological advances continue to have a huge impact on how we practice communications on what messages work, on how we encode our message, on what channels to use so that the receiver sees and hears it accurately and so on. The meaning of the message comes from the process listeners, readers and/or viewers go through when they make sense of what they see, hear and feel. Meaning is not extracted from but constructed by the message. Its clear that, while we dont need to be technician, everyone working in the field of communications must keep abreast of developments in technology because you can bet your bottom dollar they will have an impact of professional communications practice. Theory Three Grunig and Hunts Four Models for Public Relations Managing Public Relations written by Grunig and Hunt (1984) highlighted four models for how organizations can chose to practice public relations. The four models developed more or less chronologically through the twentieth century. This is the most often cited theory of public relations and these theories are still relevant, taught as part of graduate, post-graduate and vocational qualifications across the UK and overseas. The Four Models Press agent model one way communication where an organization tells an audience what it wants it to believe. Little or no research to determine audiences needs interests or inclinations to agree with the organisations objectives. This is the simple, original, historic model for PR with the focus on getting favourable coverage (ie publicity) for your organization, cause, celebrity, brand via the media. One -way transfer of information No feedback Little or no research Information is not always accurate all publicity is good publicity Public information model a journalists approach to public relations, offers truthful accurate information about an organisation leaving our damaging or harmful information. This model developed pretty much as a reaction to attacks on large corporations and government agencies by investigative journalists. The leaders of these institutions needed more than simple propaganda peddled by press agents to counter the attacks on them in the media. So they hired their own journalists to act as public relations practitioners, and press handouts were written and distributed to give their point of view and explain actions. This is also the model where essential information is provided to the people and persuasion or attitude change is not essential. Examples might be letting people know about the weather, about road traffic, or internally about new appointments and soon. The approach is very much lets get the facts out. One way transfer of information Some evaluation on effectiveness Little or no research about the audience(s) Used most often by government Truthful and accurate Two-way asymmetrical model emphasises a change in attitudes or behaviours in the audience only in accordance with the objectives and goals of the organisation. Persuasive communication really has its origins here. In 1917 during World War 1 US President Woodrow Wilson set up The Creel Committee (AKA CPI Committee on Public Information). Committee members included the so-called founder of modern public relations practice, social scientist Edward Bernays. Communications took a more scientific approach that made the practice two-way with practitioners both seeking information from and giving information to publics. Theories introduced by Bernays were those of propaganda, persuasion, and the engineering of consent. This model is clearly at work when attempts are made to influence publics to adopt a preferred point of view or behaviour. Research provides input into the process (for example research into why people buy a new car help manufacturers create motivating relevant messages). Scientific persuasion Two-way transfer of information Research done to persuade audience(s) Messages created to persuade Model slanted in favour of organization The two-way symmetrical model uses research to better understand the audience and to resolve disputes. Each party the sender and receiver is willing to alter messages and even behaviours to accommodate the others needs. The two-way symmetrical model makes use of research and other forms of two-way communication. Unlike the two-way asymmetrical model, however, it uses research to facilitate understanding and communication rather than to identify messages most likely to motivate or persuade publics. A good example might be management and workforce in a consultation process enabling a change of policies and practices resulting in higher productivity and better pay and conditions. This model includes ideas and principles like telling the truth, interpreting the client and public to one another and management understanding the viewpoints of employees and neighbours as well as employees and neighbours understanding the viewpoints of management. It is perhaps a communications ideal as many organisations are unwilling to go all the way and engage so fully with audiences as they wish to retain the concept of control. It could be argued that modern technology and digital communications is forcing even the most reluctant organisation to have to consider this model seriously to maintain a competitive or an ethical position that enhances reputation. Behaviour change on both sides Research done to understand, not manipulate, the audience Strategies include consultation, bargaining, negotiation , discussion, compromise Best model of communication? http://tidforlivet.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/tabell.png https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-qrP8QTX1pntp2PDG49Arn7yQl4bz7PSt6BFE7pbAqlZ4n3tcxIQdRmfCN0hYH985zk07Gtd4DRscOzI7sF6HSOelbtlvtKElpSEzvQqonAQGA2Aw72UQtUX3YWpnpAWGZZLmLF73Ow/s400/Ethical_Influence.png http://www.derekchristensen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/cialdini-influence-chart.png Theory Four Robert Cialdini and Influence Arguably one of the key tasks of corporate communications is to influence others to comply with what you want; which may be to understand an issue, engage in debate, prefer or like or support your point of view, or behave a different way. Robert Cialdini, Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University has made influence his lifes work. Having observed extensively how influence works by studying compliance professionals (people skilled in getting others to do what they want them to do salespeople, fundraisers, recruiters, advertisers and so on) he published, in 1984, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. I was given this book when I worked in the advertising industry and I go back to these ideas time and time again. Cialdini arrived at what he called his six weapons of influence and we can see these six principles at work in many successful PR and communications programmes. But do take care influence in the wrong hands becomes manipulation. There are many examples when this thinking has been used for evil ends. Use these strategies for good, not to persuade people to do things that are wrong. Examine your conscience and apply this thinking ethically 1. Reciprocity People generally aim to return a compliment. They invite people to come to dinner having been invited themselves; they pay back debts; they treat others as they are treated. Its youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. This leads us to feel obliged to offer concessions or discounts to others if they have offered them to us first because we feel uncomfortable if we feel indebted to them. For example youll giving money to a fundraiser who has given you a little badge or sticker; a free tasting of a new food product in-store may make you buy a pack; you might decide to buy more from a supplier if they have offered you preferential terms first. You can sometimes use this principle by simply reminding the other person of how you have helped them in the past. Key thing is to give a service, information or a concession. Your target will then be primed to return the favour. To use reciprocity ethically to influence others, identify objectives, and consider wha t you want the target to do. You can then identify what you can give to them in return. 2. Commitment and Consistency Once weve committed to something, were then more inclined to go through with it because, says Cialdini, we human beings have an innate desire to be consistent. For example people who sign a petition supporting a new community facility are more likely to donate money to that cause when asked later. Get peoples commitment early on, either verbally or in writing. For example, if the communications programme is building support for the building of a new supermarket, communicate early on with stakeholders, and take their comments and views into account. 3. Social Proof This principle relies on peoples sense of safety in numbers because people tend to follow similar others. For example, were more likely put some money into a dish for staff tips if theres money already in that dish, well buy a product if lots of others have done so and provide testimonials that its good and and were more likely to support a policy if support seems high already. The assumption is that if lots of other people are doing something, then it must be OK, safe to do, good, right to do too. Were more likely to be influenced if we feel uncertain and, another key factor, is whether those people already behaving a certain way are like us in terms of lifetsage and lifestyle. Internally you could use social proof when trying to get support for a new project by getting the support from influential people in your organisation whose opinions others respect. And if you are selling a product, say how many people use it and get them to recommend it on social networking sites. 4 Liking Were more likely to be influenced by people we like. And people are more likely to buy from people like themselves, from friends, and from people they know and respect. Likability comes in many forms people might be similar or familiar to us, they might give us compliments, or we may just simply trust them.. Put in the time and effort needed to build trust and rapport with clients and people you work with, and behave with consistency. Develop your emptional intelligence together with active listening skils. But dont try too hard to be liked by others people can always spot a phoney. Companies that use sales agents from within the community employ the liking principle extensively and with huge success. 5. Authority We feel a sense of duty or obligation to people in positions of authority. This is why advertisers of pharmaceutical products employ doctors to front their campaigns, and why most of us will do most things that our manager requests. Job titles, uniforms, and even accessories like cars or gadgets can lend an air of authority, and can persuade us to accept what these people say. 6. Scarcity This principle says that things are more attractive when their availability is limited, or when we stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on favorable terms. For instance, we might buy something immediately if were told that its the last one, or that a special offer will soon expire. Authority Here you can use both your own authority, and the authority of others, as influencers. When you use your own authority, be careful not to use it negatively. Our article onFrench and Ravens Five Forms of Power has more on different sources of power, and explains how you can use power and authority positively. To use authority, get support from influential and powerful people, and ask for their help in backing the idea. (Use Influence Maps to help you network with people who can help.) If youre marketing a product or service, highlight well-known and respected customers, use comments from industry experts, and talk about impressive research or statistics. Things like well-produced brochures, professional presentations, impressive offices, and smart clothing can also lend authority. Scarcity With this principle, people need to know that theyre missing out if they dont act quickly. If youre selling a product, limit the availability of stock, set a closing date for the offer, or create special editions of products. This principle can be trickier to apply within your organization if youre trying to influence others to support your ideas or projects. You can, however, use urgency to get support for your ideas. For example, you can highlight the possible urgent consequences of the problem that your idea helps to solve. http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/top460grey.png Tip: Remember that these are just six ways that you can influence others. Use these principles alongside other tools such as the Rhetorical Triangle, Monroes Motivated Sequence, Win-Win Negotiation, the Persuasion Tools Model, and the Minority Influence Strategy. You can also use Stakeholder Analysis and Management to build support for your ideas and projects. http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/bottom460grey.png Resisting Influence You can also use this tool when others are trying to influence you. In these situations, bear the following points in mind: Before accepting a free gift or a discounted service, or before agreeing to hear confidential information, ask yourself whether youre going to feel obliged to give the same or more in return. Should you decline, so that you dont feel indebted? Before agreeing to a course of action, even at a very preliminary level, think about the consequences of your decision. Will you feel so invested in this new course of action that you wont want to change your mind? Though everyone else is pursuing a particular route or buying a product, it may not be right for you. Avoid falling victim to the herd mentality. You might decide that its best to go against the trend. When you feel tempted to buy a product or sign up for a service, ask yourself whether youve fallen under the spell of a particularly likable salesperson. Is the salesperson similar to you, familiar to you, or extremely complimentary? Carefully note your reaction to authority figures. Has the person youre negotiating with triggered your respect for authority? Are you making your choice because you want to, or are you swayed by an expert opinion? And does this person genuinely have the authority he is implying, or is he merely using the symbols of that authority? Before you fall for a sales pitch claiming that a product is running out of stock or that a discount deal is soon to expire, think again. Do you really want or need the product now, or has its lack of availability caught your attention? http://www.mindtools.com/images/box/top460grey.png Key Points The Six Principles of Influence were created by Robert Cialdini, and published in his 1984 book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. The principles are: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. You can use the six principles whenever you want to influence or persuade others. However, its also useful to use them with other tools. And, by knowing about the principles, you can become resistant to people who try to use them to manipulate you. You also need to make sure that you dont misuse these principles avoid using them to deceive or mislead people, and make sure that you use them for peoples good, rather than to disadvantage them. Theory Five Patrick Jackson and others the people change ladder Patrick Jackson was a public relations practitioner working in the US he and others considered the steps communicators has to go though in order to effect behaviour change Build awareness eg publicity, advertising, face to face communications Develop a latent readiness an inclination to make change during which opinions begin to form Trigger a desire to change via a natural or planned event Utilise an intermediate behaviour during which an individual begins to investigate new behaviours Changing behaviours and adopting the new behaviour Theory Six Mendelsohns Three Assumptions for Success Mendelsohn (1973) believed campaigns often failed because campaign designers overpromised, assumed the public would automatically receive and enthusiastically accept their messages, and blanketed the public with messages not properly targeted and likely to be ignored or misinterpreted. His Three Assumptions are still a touchstone for communications planning 1.Target your messages 2. Assume your target public is uninterested in your messages. 3. Set reasonable, midrange goals and objectives. Theory Seven Hierarchy of effects theory of persuasion This is a sequential representation of how advertising in particular influences a consumers decision to purchase or not a product or service. The hierarchy-of-effects theory is used to set up a structured series of message objectives with the aim of building on each successive step until the sale is achieved. Although this model is often used to plan advertising campaign it is a useful one to look at in relation to PR campaigns as often these too require a stepped approach. This thinking informs AMECs communications objectives funnel (see section on measurement and evaluation) Step 1 Exposure. Some PR programmes get no further than this just putting the message out. But just placing a message in an environment cannot guarantee it is seen or acknowledged. Step 2 Attention Even paid-for placed advertising will fail if the audience is not paying attention. A PR message must be capable of attracting attention and cutting through the noise of daily life. Complex messages have to capture even higher levels of attention, especially with attention spans diminishing as they are. Creativity, presentation and encoding are key elements at this stage. Carefully selected culturally specific and acceptable multi-sensory PR and communications techniques, using symbols, colours and music, are used to grab peoples attention and wake them up. Some aspects of attention are controlled by the potential receiver and some are involuntary responses to sensory cues. A sudden noise, for example, can get someones attention (essentially a human response mechanism to ensure quick responses to danger.) Conversely something amusing will draw attention because the receiver enjoys seeing it. Advertising practitioners may use physiological triggers like fast cut video to get and retain attention. But this is exhausting process requiring high levels of mental processing. So sometimes even though attention is gained, the desired message is lost in term sof being able to remember wht that was all about. Step 3 Involvement/Engagement Although research indicates people pay attention to sudden changes in sounds or visual effects, its true too that they stop paying attention if a message seems irrelevant, uninteresting, or distasteful. Messages that are relevant keep people interested and make them primed to absorb the information. This is essentially saying that communications needs to answer the question Whats in it for me? Once that is demonstrated, techniques like storytelling, examples and case histories and the use of novel content keeps the receiver engaged and interested. Step 4 Comprehension Keeping the receivers attention does not ensure he or she will understand the message. Step 5 Skill acquisition (learning how). Well-intentioned people may be unable to follow through on an idea if they lack the skills to do so. Potential voters without transportation to the polls will not vote; intended nonsmokers will not quit smoking without social support; interested restaurant patrons will not come if they cannot afford it; parents interested in a civic betterment program will not attend a meeting if they do not have child care. An effective campaign anticipates the target publics needs to provide the help they require. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), for example, found, through a Burke Marketing survey, that many people had a passive attitude about fire, many believed they had much more time to escape than they really do, and only 16% had developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. As a result, NFPAs 1998 Fire Safety Week promotion focused on teaching students about fire escape planning and practice, with incentives to encourage them to part icipate in a documented practice drill with their families. Although the Silver Anvil Award-winning campaign generated an enormous amount of publicity, the most dramatic result was that at least 25 lives were saved as a direct result of the families participation in the promotion. Step6 Persuasion (attitude change). Although McGuire listed this step following skills acquisition, attitude change often precedes skill development. People who lack the skills to follow through on an idea may tune out the details, figuring it is not relevant for them. Attitude change is another of the necessary but often insufficient steps in the persuasion process. Sometimes, however, attitude change is all that is necessary, particularly if the goal of a campaign is to increase a publics satisfaction with an organization in order to avoid negative consequences such as lawsuits, strikes, or boycotts. Usually, however, a campaign has an outcome behavior in mind. In that case, remember that people often have attitudes inconsistent with their behaviors. Many smokers believe smoking is a bad thing but still smoke. Many nonvoters say voting is important and they intend to vote, but they still fail to show up on election day. Step 7 Storing the new position in memory emory storage. This step is important because people receive multiple messages from multiple sources all day, every day. For them to act on your message, they need to remember it when the appropriate time comes to buy a ticket, make a telephone call, fill out a form, or attend an event. They need to be able to store the important information about your message in their memory, which may not be easy if other messages received simultaneously demand their attention. Key elements of messages, therefore, need to be communicated in ways that make them stand out for easy memorization. Step 8. Information retrieval. Simply storing information does not ensure that it will be retrieved at the appropriate time. People might remember your special event on the correct day but forget the location. Reminders or memory devices such as slogans, jingles, and refrigerator magnets can help. Step 9. Motivation (decision). This is an important step that many campaign designers forget in their own enthusiasm for their campaign goals.Remember Mendelsohns (1973) admonition that people may not be interested in the campaign? They need reasons to follow through. The benefits need to outweigh the costs. In addition, the benefits must seem realistic and should be easily obtained. The more effort required on the part of the message recipients the less likely it is that they will make that effort. If the message recipients believe a proposed behavior is easy, will have major personal benefits, or is critically important, they are more likely to act. The challenge for the program planner is to discover what will motivate the target audience successfully, an issue addressed later in this chapter. Elgin DDB of Seattle, when asked to help reduce Puget Sound curbside disposal of grass clippings by 5%, realized motivation would be an important focus. Focus groups and phone surveys indica ted that the target group, male homeowners aged 25 to 65, had an interest in grass-cycling but needed the proper tools to make it easy and practical. As a result, they arranged to recycle consumers old polluting gas mowers for free at a special event and sell Torro and Ryobi mulch mowers at below the normal retail price, with an additional rebate. With a goal of selling 3,000 mowers, they sold 5,000. They hoped to remove 1,500 gas mowers from the market and ended up recycling approximately 2,600. And, as for their original goal of reducing curbside disposal of grass clippings by 5%? They more than tripled the target amount, reducing grass clippings by 17%, winning a 1999 Silver Anvil Award. 10. Behavior. Success often is measured in terms of behaviors such as sales or attendance figures. Marketing experts, however, know that getting someones business once does not guarantee long-term success. One study (Building Customer, 1996) found that keeping customers loyal can boost profits up to 80%. As a result, the program planner needs to do everything possible to ensure that behavior attempts

The Borat Rodeo Scene Analysis Film Studies Essay

The Borat Rodeo Scene Analysis Film Studies Essay The movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. is a Mockumentary about a Kazakhstan state television reporter named Borat brings his broken English and chauvinism to America to make a documentary about life in the U.S. of A. Upbeat and naive, Borat and his producer Azamat come to America to find out what makes America great. What he finds is a hodgepodge of gracious, bewildered, angry, and racist people. The movie gives us a unique view of an outsider looking in on our society. Borats journey starts out in New York as he interviews various people for his state television station and becomes a quest across the country to be with his true love Pamela Anderson in California. As he crosses across the country Borats travels are filled with hilarious interviews and crazy antics. For my paper, I am going to examine a specific scene in the film in which Borat makes a stop in Salem, Virginia for a rodeo during his quest to be with Pamela Anderson in California. I think this scene is definitely one of the funniest and politically incorrect scenes in the movie. The scene begins as the camera pans over a crowd full of people who seem to be conservative WASPSs getting ready to see the rodeo. Borat, as he wears an American flag cowboy outfit, is conversing with Bobby Rowe, the general manager of the Imperial Rodeo. Rowe is telling Borat that he looks like a terrorist Muslim and that he should shave his mustache so that he will look like an Italian and not be so conspicuo us. He tells Borat that he will never be accepted looking like a Muslim because everyone will look at him and wonder what kind of bomb he has strapped to him. Rowe continues to display his hatred of the Middle East saying he cannot wait until the US wins the war and have all those damn son of the butts hangin from the gallows and not until then will the American people accept Borats diversity. Rowe then begins to talk about gays and tells Borat to stay away from them; Borat explains to Rowe that they hang gays is his country and Rowe replies thats what we are trying to get done here and then he gives Borat a high five. After his talk with Rowe, Borat is asked to sing the National Anthem to start off the rodeo. When he gets to the middle of the arena, he begins speaking to the crowd regarding the war on terror. He began by saying, My name is Borat, I come from Kazakhstan. Can I say firstà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we support your war of terror! The crowd cheers and applauds Borat as he praises A merican patriotism, he then goes on to say, May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman, and child in Iraq! At this point, the crowd erupts in agreement. After his speech, Borat quickly tells the audience he is going to sing the Kazakhstan National Anthem to the tune of Americas national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. At first, the crowd is reverently waiting to hear him sing, but as he begins to sing the Kazakhstan National Anthem the crowd begins to get in an uproar of disapproval. Because of the random lyrics in the song, the crowd did not know whether Borat was serious or joking by singing a song that was so degrading to the United States in their own country. The crowd was so shocked when they heard the lyrics, Kazakhstan is the greatest country in the world!, that a horse carrying a cowgirl with an American flag fell down as the arena exploded in boos. This scene contained many principles that made it humorous. To begin, the main purpose of this movie was to make fun the arrogance of our nation and prove that while America thinks it is the best country in the world, we are still fallible. Disparaging humor was the probably one of the most prevalent types of humor used throughout the movie and especially in this scene. Ferguson and Ford describe disparaging humor as remarks that are intended to elicit amusement through the denigration, derogation, or belittlement of a given audience (2008). What made this scene so funny was to see how racist and ignorant Bobby Rowe was as Borat roused him on during their conversation. The fact that someone would say that we should hang all the gays, or that we want to kill all the people in Iraq is so outrageous that it is very funny to laugh at and see how ignorant some people actually are. This humor is successful because, Rowe had the audacity to clearly belittle Borat, the people of Kazakhstan, and the rest of the Middle East while he knew he was being filmed because it gave him a sense of superiority. Critchley supports this point as he states that, we laugh from feelings of superiority over other people (2002). The crowd of spectators in the rodeo arena also displayed disparaging humor when the crowd begins to cheer as Borat talks about killing all the people in Iraq including women and children and drinking their blood. Under the psychoanalytic theory, Ferguson and Ford article explain that It provides the humorist with a relatively benign means of expressing and satisfying unconscious, socially unacceptable impulses(2008). Borat was able to egg on the crowd and Rowe to say and applaud views that are a racist and unacceptable to our society. In addition, the Incongruity Theory of humor was also used throughout the scene. Critchley explains, Humor is produced by the experience of a felt incongruity between what we know or expect to be the case, and what actually happens in the joke, gag, or jest (2002). For example, one would not have expected to see Borat dressed as an American flag themed cowboy or give an outrageous speech about George Bush drinking the blood of every Iraqi. Additionally, his pronunciation and word use also made it humorous. For example, Borat announces to the rodeo fans, we support your war of terror, instead of the typical wording, the war on terror. Also when Borat was announced to sing the United States National Anthem, it was unexpected and humorous that he randomly decides to instead sing the Kazakhstans National Anthem to the music of the Star Spangled Banner. Finally the Relief Theory of humor also was prevalent in this scene. The scene starts out showing the rodeo crowd, cowboys, bulls and a cowgirl on a horse holding an American flag. As Borat is sings Kazakhstans National Anthem to the music of the Star Spangled Banner and the stunned crowd begins to boo in outrage to what they are hearing and the cowgirl holding the American flag suddenly just falls down. Critchley tells us that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦laughter is explained as a release of pent-upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ energy where the energy that is released and discharged in laughter provides pleasure (2002). To make sure this movie was humorous to its viewers, Sacha Cohen, the creator of Borat, made sure to present this movie to an American audience who shares the same set of cultural symbols, norms, and expectations. This enabled moviegoers to relate to the outrageous antics that Borat does continuously throughout the movie. By exposing Americans to some of the reasons why other countries criticize or mock the United States, it eventually lets Americans realize their own ideological shortcomings. The movie also allows Americans to look at their culture from an outside foreigner perspective since Borats character was a person from a completely different country and culture. Cohen intentionally exposes Americas weaknesses as a political message to an American audience in hopes of influencing American society. By depicting how the United States has sense of superiority, Cohen does a superb job in showing how prevalent prejudice and racism is still alive in parts of the United States against other countries custom and cultures. This movie invites viewers to reconsider many issues regarding world politics by shedding light on popular controversial American ideology. By applying humor to serious subjects, it is easier for the viewer to digest. The movie accomplished its purpose by displaying how Americans are continually intolerant and racist towards other countries. By addressing these serious issues in a humorous way, the movie allows the viewer to digest more easily and remember the message that Cohen wanted to get across. In conclusion, I found this movie to be extremely funny. However, I can understand how some people may have been affected by Cohens sense of humor and found the movie to be insulting. Borat was my favorite movie to watch and analyze for this class. Having seen the movie when it first came to the theaters, and then watching it again for a class assignment definitely gave me a different prospective of the movie. I was able to see the movie with a more critical eye and appreciate the different styles of humor that were utilized throughout the film.