Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale Essay - 1724 Words

Envision a society where a woman’s sole purpose for being alive is her functioning uterus. If that woman fails to bear a child she can be killed. If that woman disregards the law she can be tortured, or even terminated. In the dystopian future of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale women’s bodies are used as political instruments. Because if the harmful pollution in the United States, a new Constitution has been made to address and correct the decline in birth rates. To do this the government has created Handmaids. Handmaids â€Å"are placed in the households of [army] Commanders whose Wives can no longer bear† babies anymore (Cameron 299). The future of the Republic of Gilead depends on the Handmaids ability to have a baby. The Handmaids are kept under strict surveillance and must follow a strict set of rules due to the fact that it is very hard to find women who can conceive. Without the Handmaids, the Republic of Gilead would come to an end, and yet the women (especially the Handmaids) have absolutely no power. Handmaids are not allowed to spend money, read, or write. The government has organized the women of Gilead by color. They have also had the Handmaids names changed to their Commander’s first name. This method robs them of their individuality. Due to this, the women are constantly looking for ways to have power. The government most importantly has control over women’s bodies by an event called the Ceremony. The Ceremony is a huge part of the RepublicShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1357 Words   |  6 PagesOxford definition: â€Å"the advocacy of women s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes† (Oxford dictionary). In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood explores feminism through the themes of women’s bodies as political tools, the dynamics of rape culture and the society of complacency. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939, at the beginning of WWII, growing up in a time of fear. In the autumn of 1984, when she began writing The Handmaid’s Tale, she was living in West Berlin. The BerlinRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1249 Words   |  5 PagesDystopian Research Essay: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood In the words of Erika Gottlieb With control of the past comes domination of the future. A dystopia reflects and discusses major tendencies in contemporary society. The Handmaid s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. The novel follows its protagonist Offred as she lives in a society focused on physical and spiritual oppression of the female identity. Within The Handmaid s Tale it is evident that through the explorationRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1060 Words   |  5 Pagesideologies that select groups of people are to be subjugated. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood plays on this idea dramatically: the novel describes the oppression of women in a totalitarian theocracy. Stripped of rights, fertile women become sex objects for the politically elite. These women, called the Handmaids, are forced to cover themselves and exist for the sole purpose of providing children. The Handmaid’s Tale highlights the issue of sexism while also providing a cruel insight into theRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1659 Words   |  7 Pagesbook The Handmaid s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the foremost theme is identity, due to the fact that the city where the entire novel takes place in, the city known as the Republic of Gilead, often shortened to Gilead, strips fertile women of their identities. Gilead is a society that demands the women who are able to have offspring be stripped of all the identity and rights. By demeaning these women, they no longer view themselves as an individual, but rather as a group- the group of Handmaids. It isRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1237 Words   |  5 Pages The display of a dystopian society is distinctively shown in The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Featuring the Republic of Gilead, women are categorized by their differing statuses and readers get an insight into this twisted society through the lenses of the narrator; Offred. Categorized as a handmaid, Offred’s sole purpose in living is to simply and continuously play the role of a child-bearing vessel. That being the case, there is a persistent notion that is relatively brought up by thoseRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1548 Words   |  7 PagesIn Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, The theme of gender, sexuality, and desire reigns throughout the novel as it follows the life of Offred and other characters. Attwood begins the novel with Offred, a first person narrator who feels as if she is misplaced when she is describing her sleeping scenery at the decaying school gymnasium. The narrator, Offred, explains how for her job she is assigned to a married Commander’s house where she is obligated to have sex with him on a daily basis, so thatRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale, By Margaret Atwood1629 Words   |  7 Pages Atwood s novel, The Handmaid s Tale depicts a not too futuristic society of Gilead, a society that overthrows the U.S. Government and institutes a totalitarian regime that seems to persecute women specifically. Told from the main character s point of view, Offred, explains the Gilead regime and its patriarchal views on some women, known as the handmaids, to a purely procreational function. The story is set the present tense in Gilead but frequently shifts to flashbacks in her time at the RedRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1540 Words   |  7 Pages Name: Nicole. Zeng Assignment: Summative written essay Date:11 May, 2015. Teacher: Dr. Strong. Handmaid’s Tale The literary masterpiece The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is a story not unlike a cold fire; hope peeking through the miserable and meaningless world in which the protagonist gets trapped. The society depicts the discrimination towards femininity, blaming women for their low birth rate and taking away the right from the females to be educated ,forbidding them from readingRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1256 Words   |  6 Pageshappened to Jews in Germany, slaves during Christopher Columbus’s days, slaves in the early 1900s in America, etc. When people systematically oppress one another, it leads to internal oppression of the oppressed. This is evident in Margaret Atwood’s book, The Handmaid’s Tale. This dystopian fiction book is about a young girl, Offred, who lives in Gilead, a dystopian society. Radical feminists complained about their old lifestyles, so in Gilead laws and rules are much different. For example, men cannotRead More The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1667 Words   |  7 Pagesrhetorical devices and figurative language, that he or she is using. The Handmaid’s Tale, which is written by Margaret Atwood, is the novel that the author uses several different devices and techniques to convey her attitude and her points of view by running the story with a narrator Offred, whose social status in the Republic of Gilead is Handmaid and who is belongings of the Commander. Atwood creates her novel The Handmaid’s Tale to be more powerful tones by using imagery to make a visibleness, hyperbole

Essay on Hypnosis To Stop Smoking - 1956 Words

Hypnosis To Stop Smoking The premise of my essay is that women have a better success rate than men when using hypnosis for cessation of cigarette smoking. Each year 440,000 people die of diseases caused by smoking, that is about 20 percent of all deaths in the United States. The number of women dying from lung cancer has shown a dramatic increase while the number of men dying from lung cancer has shown a gradual reduction. This reflects the increase in smoking among women after the Second World War. In Scotland and the United States, death in women from lung cancer now exceed those from breast cancer. Smoking related heart disease and stroke occur in both men and women. Smoking is linked with poor reproductive health†¦show more content†¦Men are also likely to cite workplace restrictions as a trigger for trying to stop smoking. The barriers to stopping smoking reflect the different ‘bonds’ men and women have with their cigarettes. For men, alcohol plays an important part, with three times as many men as women stating they started smoking again while drinking alcohol. Stress and fears of weight gain feature more strongly in women than in men Hypnosis can be great for cessation of cigarette smoking depending on the individual. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness and heightened awareness that allows an individual to tune into and develop his subconscious processes. It is a natural process that we have all experienced. It is the state of mind that we find ourselves in when we are daydreaming; absorbed in a book, or movie, music; when we are just about to fall asleep or upon just awakening when we can remember our dreams. Hypnosis can also be thought of as a special relationship that one has with his subconscious. Trust and acceptance allows the individual to accept appropriate suggestions by both himself and his hypnotist aimed at helping him to achieve his worthwhile goals. It is a tool that the hypnotist uses to help him maximize his natural gifts, and his goals. The predominant school of thought on hypnosis is that it is a way to access ones subconscious mind directly. Normally, one is only aware of the thought processes in the conscious mind. This involvesShow MoreRelatedShould We Stop Smoking?848 Words   |  4 PagesDo you want to stop smoking but find it a little difficult to do on your own? Maybe you’ve tried other methods to stop smoking, but you keep going back to using cigarettes. It’s easy to beat yourself but there may be a deeper cause. Sometimes no matter how good our efforts, our subconscious mind can majorly hinder our efforts. But not to worry, there is a solution. If you’re ready to learn about some techniques that can help you quit smoking once and for all, then read on. Who’s Choice Is It? FirstRead MoreBusiness Evaluation Of The Business Idea Of Making An Application Essay1647 Words   |  7 Pagesencourage people to quit smoking. The Business Idea is having a great and positive scope in the present and also in the future because of the rising number of smart phone users. It would be extensively used by those who are willing and determined to quit smoking. If this idea of making an application is successful then it would be really good for all because smoking not only affects those who smoke but also those who do not i.e. Second Hand Smoke. Business Idea Smoking is biggest cause for deathsRead MoreThe Use Of Hypnosis, A Natural State Of Mind1171 Words   |  5 PagesModern hypnosis has been utilized for many centuries to promote self-confidence, change bad ingrained habits, lose weight successfully with modern weight loss programs, stop smoking, successfully deal with behavioral problems in children, improving memory, and cope with our deepest anxieties , fears and phobias. A basic question asked by many is, what do the terms hypnosis hypnotherapy mean? Hypnosis is a state of mind characterized by relaxed brain waves and a hyper-suggestible state, in whichRead MorePersonal Narrative I Quit Smoking Essay664 Words   |  3 PagesPersonal Narrative I Quit Smoking Everyone was starting to notice that I had a problem. My wife would ask, Are you O.K.? as I hacked and coughed every morning. My friends would joke about how I would run short of breath just from walking to the car. My wallet was really talking to me! Somehow I managed to lose five or six dollars a day somewhere between home and the convenience store. But the only voice I would heed had to come from within myself. Finally one day it did. I had beenRead More Hypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? Essay2299 Words   |  10 PagesHypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? â€Å"And now, when I snap my fingers, you will never smoke again! †Could there be something more useful to hypnosis than just magical entertainment? Are there applications for hypnosis in the medical realm? Hypnotherapists now advocate hypnosis as a near panacea, claiming it can help one lose weight, stop smoking, improve memory, improve athletic ability, reduce stress, build self-confidence, overcome phobias, find lost articles, and even manageRead MoreHypnosis Hs1632 Words   |  7 Pages English 1st Hypnosis Let’s face that although America is a powerful 1st world country dominant over others, it too endures several challenges amongst the people that are living in it and some of the hardest challenges can be prevented by a simple treatment known as hypnosis. America is ranked number one in the charts for obesity amongst other countries, the Center for Disease Control estimatedRead MoreHow to Quit Smoking872 Words   |  4 PagesJustin Malachowski How to Quit Smoking * Introduction According to the National Cancer Institute, â€Å"Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 443,000 deaths each year, including approximately 49,400 deaths due to exposure to secondhand smoke.† I am sure everyone in here knows someone who smokes or you yourself may smoke. This speech will give you the knowledge you need to know to help you or your loved ones stop smoking. I myself have been a smoker for the past three years. I recently quit onRead MoreSigmund Freud : The Father Of Psychoanalysis1420 Words   |  6 Pagesclinic and as a locum in a local asylum led to an increased interest in clinical work. Sigmund started smoking tobacco at age 24, initially he smoked cigarettes, but soon after he started smoking cigars. He believed they could increase the capacity to work and that he could exercise self-control in moderating the amount of his smoking. Despite warnings from Wilhelm Fliess, he continued smoking and eventually developing buccal cancer. Freud suggested to Fliess in 1897 that addictions, including thatRead MoreCase Study- Quit Smoking Essay2215 Words   |  9 PagesSTUDY TITLE- Quit Smoking ABSTRACT H (Pseudonym) is a 32 years old male nurse working on a children’s ward as a temporary bank nurse at the local hospital. He heard of me through a member of our local community whereupon he phoned me towards the end of April 2012, with a long history of smoking up to 40 cigarettes daily, wishing for help to Quit Smoking due to the total ban on Smoking introduced at the hospital and other issues relating to smoking. I could notRead MoreQuit Smoking Case Study Essay4989 Words   |  20 Pages Case study- Quit Smoking A young adult man met his primary care physician for the first time, during which his prior military history came to light. The young man recalled the anxiety he experienced when he received his military orders for deployment to Iraq. Prior to the notice of deployment, he smoked cigarettes only occasionally, maybe 1 or 2 cigarettes a day. As the time for deployment approached, he started smoking more cigarettes and by the time he arrived in Iraq was up to a full pack

Half Dead Essay Example For Students

Half Dead Essay While both poems deal with the subject of immigrants in Britain and race, they do this in a very different way using different effects and techniques to achieve a different feeling in each poem. Page 3 – U0388700 Both Agard and Zephaniah are of Caribbean roots and are proud to be as this is clear to see in their poetry. Agard was born in Guyana in 1949 and immigrated to Britain in 1977, whilst Zephaniah was actually born in Birmingham, England in 1958 to Jamaican parents. Both men are referred to as dub-poets and are well known figures in contemporary English Literature. References Agard, J. Listen Mr Oxford Don cited in Making Sense of the Arts – Resource Booklet 1, (2011) Milton Keynes, The Open University, p 21. Zephaniah, B. (1992) City Psalms, Newcastle, Bloodaxe Books cited in Making Sense of the Arts – Resource Booklet 1, (2011) Milton Keynes, The Open University, p15. Word Count for Task 1 = 864 Task 2 Write no more than 200 words in total for this task, which covers the past, present and future. Past: give at least one example of a way in which your learning skills have improved during this module. I have very much enjoyed this module and feel I have improved my abilities to use the study diamond in relation to different pieces of the Arts. I also feel my note taking skills have improved a lot throughout this module. Present: give at least one example of a strength and at least one example of a weakness in your learning skills. I feel a strength of mine is that I am able to pick out key points in a text, especially in the poetry section and relate these to the points of the study diamond. I struggled with the History chapter of the book and didn’t fully understand the analysis of the primary and secondary sources. Page 4 – U0388700 Future: give at least one example of a way in which you could improve a specific skill in future. I would like to try and improve my skill of being able to select relevant evidence from a resource and applying this to the argument I am trying to make. I feel I would be able to improve this by further analysing the resource and also by researching any contextual information about that resource. Word Count for Task 2 = 150

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Persuasive Essay Edgar Allen Poe is one of the greatest poets. Hes scary, weird, and wrote some insane tales. Virtually all of Edgar Allen Poes stories concerned themes of human perversity and involve the technique of ratiocination. Most critics believe that The Fall of the House of Usher reflects both characteristics. I agree, in this short story a man comes to visit his friend Roderick. Roderick and his sister are very ill. Their house is falling apart and this man has come to try to fix it, but that is not what happens. Human perversity is basically explained as human will and human corruption. Edgar uses this clearly all through his tale, One that sticks out in my mind is when Roderick Usher buries his sister,, Madeline, in the walls of the house. You can tell she struggled to get out as there was blood on her robe and she was not dead at the time he buried her. I consider this to be human will.Poe also uses corruption in this tale. The idea that Madeline came back to life to take revenge on her brother is corrupted. Then when the Usher House falls down on both Ushers giving Roderick just enough time to get out. This is not so much corruption, but if you look at it in a different way. it could also be human will. Another form of corruption in this story is that all of the Ushers were descendants of each other, which means they were inbreeds. The second characteristic that Edgar uses is Ratiocination, which means explanation of justification. In the Fall of the House of Usher, Poe uses explanation a t the beginning. He tells about the Ushers lives, their illnesses and their family. He explains also about the Fissure in the wall of the Usher mansion. How if just a little more it would collapse and how it had been neglected for so long. In conclusion I feel Edgar uses both characteristics, human perversity and ratiocination in the short story, The Fall of the House of Usher. We will write a custom essay on The Fall Of The House Of Usher Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now

Free Essays on Stepping Motor

Construction Stepping motors are electromagnetic, rotary, incremental devices which convert digital pulses into mechanical rotation. The amount of rotation is directly proportional to the number of pulses and the speed of rotation is relative to the frequency of those pulses. Stepping motors are simple to drive in an open loop Static or holding torque - displacement characteristic The characteristic of static (holding) torque - displacement is best explained using an electro-magnet and a single pole rotor (fig. 12). In the example the electro-magnet represents the motor stator and is energized with it's north pole facing the rotor Figure 12 Curve illustrating static torque verses rotor position Assuming there are no frictional or static loads on the rotor, fig. 11 illustrates how the restoring torque varies with rotor position as it is deflected from it's stable point. As the rotor moves away from it's stable position, the torque steadily increases until it reaches a maximum. This maximum value is called the holding torque and represents the maximum load that can be applied to the shaft without causing continuous rotation. If, the shaft is deflected beyond this point, the torque will fall until it is again at zero. However, this zero point is unstable and the torque reverses immediately beyond it back to the stable point. A pendulum (fig. 13) can also be used to demonstrate the effects we observe. Figure 13 Pendulum effect of static torque verses rotor position Depending on the number of phases, the cycle in figures 11 and 12 would be equivalent to the following number of full steps: 2 phase 4 steps 3 phase 6 steps 5 phase 10 steps The torque required to deflect the shaft by a given angle can be calculated using the formula: Although this static torque characteristic is not a great deal of use on it's own, it does explain some of the effects we observe. For example, it dictates ... Free Essays on Stepping Motor Free Essays on Stepping Motor Construction Stepping motors are electromagnetic, rotary, incremental devices which convert digital pulses into mechanical rotation. The amount of rotation is directly proportional to the number of pulses and the speed of rotation is relative to the frequency of those pulses. Stepping motors are simple to drive in an open loop Static or holding torque - displacement characteristic The characteristic of static (holding) torque - displacement is best explained using an electro-magnet and a single pole rotor (fig. 12). In the example the electro-magnet represents the motor stator and is energized with it's north pole facing the rotor Figure 12 Curve illustrating static torque verses rotor position Assuming there are no frictional or static loads on the rotor, fig. 11 illustrates how the restoring torque varies with rotor position as it is deflected from it's stable point. As the rotor moves away from it's stable position, the torque steadily increases until it reaches a maximum. This maximum value is called the holding torque and represents the maximum load that can be applied to the shaft without causing continuous rotation. If, the shaft is deflected beyond this point, the torque will fall until it is again at zero. However, this zero point is unstable and the torque reverses immediately beyond it back to the stable point. A pendulum (fig. 13) can also be used to demonstrate the effects we observe. Figure 13 Pendulum effect of static torque verses rotor position Depending on the number of phases, the cycle in figures 11 and 12 would be equivalent to the following number of full steps: 2 phase 4 steps 3 phase 6 steps 5 phase 10 steps The torque required to deflect the shaft by a given angle can be calculated using the formula: Although this static torque characteristic is not a great deal of use on it's own, it does explain some of the effects we observe. For example, it dictates ...

Profile of The Beatles

Profile of The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock group that  shaped not only music but also an entire generation. With 20 songs that hit #1 on Billboards Hot 100 chart, the Beatles had a large  number of ultra-popular songs, including Hey Jude, Cant Buy Me Love, Help!, and Hard Days Night. The Beatles  style and innovative music set the standard for all musicians to follow. Dates: 1957 1970 Members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr (stage name of Richard Starkey) Also Known As Quarry Men, Johnny and the Moondogs, Silver Beetles, Beatals John and Paul Meet John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met on July 6, 1957, at a fete (fair) sponsored by St. Peters Parish Church in Woolton (a suburb of Liverpool), England. Although John was only 16, he had already formed a band called the Quarry Men, who were performing at the fete. Mutual friends introduced them after the show and Paul, who had just turned 15, wowed John with his guitar playing and ability to remember lyrics. Within a week of meeting, Paul had become part of the band. George, Stu, and Pete Join the Band In early 1958, Paul recognized talent in his friend George Harrison and the band asked him to join them. However, since John, Paul, and George all played guitars, they were still looking for someone to play bass guitar and/or the drums. In 1959, Stu Sutcliffe, an art student who couldnt play a lick, filled the position of bass guitarist and in 1960, Pete Best, who was popular with the girls, became the drummer. In the summer of 1960, the band was offered a two-month gig in Hamburg, Germany. Re-naming the Band It was also in 1960 that the Stu suggested a new name for the band. In honor of Buddy Hollys band, the Crickets- of whom Stu was a huge fan- he recommended the name of The Beetles. John changed the spelling of the name to Beatles as a pun for beat music, another name for rock n roll. In 1961, back in Hamburg, Stu quit the band and went back to studying art, so Paul took up the bass guitar. When the band (now only four members) returned to Liverpool, they had fans. The Beatles Sign a Record Contract In the fall of 1961, the Beatles signed a manager, Brian Epstein. Epstein succeeded in getting the band a record contract in March 1962. After hearing a few sample songs, George Martin, the producer, decided he liked the music but was even more enchanted with the boys witty humor. Martin signed the band to a one-year record contract but recommended a studio drummer for all recordings. John, Paul, and George used this as an excuse to fire Best and replace him with Ringo Starr. In September 1962, the Beatles recorded their first single. On one side of the record was the song Love Me Do and on the flip side, P.S. I Love You. Their first single was a success but it was their second, with the song Please Please Me, that made them their first number-one hit. By early 1963, their fame began to soar. After quickly recording a long album, the Beatles spent much of 1963 touring. The Beatles Go to America Although Beatlemania had overtaken Great Britain, the Beatles still had the challenge of the United States. Despite already having achieved one number-one hit in the U.S. and had been greeted by 5,000 screaming fans when they arrived at the New York airport, it was the Beatles February 9, 1964, appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that ensured Beatlemania in America. Movies By 1964, the Beatles were making movies. Their first film, A Hard Days Night portrayed an average day in the life of the Beatles, most of which was running from chasing girls. The Beatles followed this with four additional movies: Help! (1965), Magical Mystery Tour (1967), Yellow Submarine (animated, 1968), and Let It Be (1970). The Beatles Start to Change By 1966, the Beatles were growing weary of their popularity. Plus, John caused an uproar when he was quoted as saying, Were more popular than Jesus now. The group, tired and worn out, decided to end their touring and solely record albums. About this same time, the Beatles began to shift to psychedelic influences. They started using marijuana and LSD and learning about Eastern thought. These influences shaped their Sgt. Pepper album. In August 1967, the Beatles received the terrible news of the sudden death of their manager, Brian Epstein, from an overdose. The Beatles never rebounded as a group after Epsteins death. The Beatles Break Up Many people blame Johns obsession with Yoko Ono and/or Pauls new love, Linda Eastman, as the reason for the bands break up. However, the band members had been growing apart for years. On August 20, 1969, the Beatles recorded together for the very last time and in 1970 the group officially dissolved. John, Paul, George, and Ringo went their separate ways. Unfortunately, John Lennons life was cut short when a deranged fan shot him on December 8, 1980. George Harrison died on November 29, 2001, from a long battle with throat cancer.

The Public Interest Defence in UK Copyright Law and the impact of Essay

The Public Interest Defence in UK Copyright Law and the impact of Ashdown v Telegraph Group - Essay Example According to Hugues, the Copy right act itself does not define 'fair dealing', the interpretation of which must be judged on the merits of the individual case, allowing the courts the freedom to "tailor their decisions to the facts which are placed before them without having to work their way around an impractical definition". According to Guangyong, the last defence to copyright infringement is termed 'public interest', which is "a newer and less well-developed defence in the copyright field compared with others, whereby the work is deemed important for wider distribution and fair dealing is not applicable". In Hyde Park v. Yelland , Jacob J., "assumed that it may well be that balancing the 'freedom of expression' conferred by Article 10 of the ECHR and the 'right to respect for private life' conferred by Article 8 will involve the judges in just the same or a similar sort of exercise as is involved in judging whether there is a public interest defence" (Sutti) Sutti goes on to say that" commentators were surprised when the Court of Appeal of Hyde Park v. Yelland reversed the decision of Jacob J. denying the possibility of a public interest defence in an action for a copyright infringement." Taking the above as precedent, the first time that the English courts "fully addressed the issue of the impact of the HRA on copyright law was in the case of Ashdown v Telegraph Group Lt, which involved important issues of freedom of expression of the press and the right of the public to receive information of legitimate public interest."(Walker) In this case, The Sunday Telegraph reproduced the minute of a private meeting between Ashdown, a prominent politician, and the Prime Minister. Ashdown sued the newspaper for breach of copyright. The newspaper argued that the provision of the Copyright Act 1988 should be interpreted in context with the Human Rights Act 1998 section 3 (1) The Court of Appeal was receptive in principle to the human rights defence: "now that the Human Rights Act is in force, there is the clearest public interest in giving effect to the right of freedom of expression in those rare cases where this right trumps the rights conferred by the Copyright Act". (Griffit hs) But the appeal was decided against the appellant on the basis of fair dealing: the newspaper's activities were not fair because it had taken "too much" of Mr Ashdown's "work product". - this narrow interpretation of Laddie was to lead to criticisms of inflexibility (Griffiths) Sir Morrit assumed " the importance of the right of property and stressed the right of every natural or legal person to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. He continued: "intellectual property rights in general and copyright in particular constitute a restriction on the exercise of the right of freedom of expression. Thus Article 10 is engaged"." (Sutti) According to Walker, the right to freedom of expression was cited in the newspaper's argument that the Act was incapable of satisfying the requirement of being 'necessary in a democratic society'. At first instance this argument was rejected with Morritt V-C stating that, "The provisions of the Act alone can and do satisfy the 3rd requirement of article 10(2) as well. The needs of a democratic soci

Marxist Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marxist Archaeology - Essay Example In other words, Archaeology should have Marxism embedded in it. According to them, pre-Marxian anthropology is absolute zero. So it is necessary that Marxism be incorporated in the science, according to the author. Marxist archaeologists and anthropologists declare that Marx was highly intellectual. His theories were wonderful. No doubt, there are loopholes in them as well. Some of his theories were unclear and obsolete. Even then, Human sciences and Social sciences have to adopt contributions of Marxism. Otherwise they cannot exist. At the same time Marx also must modify his principles based on modern social sciences. Some feel that Marxism and anthropology/archaeology cannot go together. Social Sciences consist of Functionalism, Structuralism and Phenomenology. The outward appearance does not make a man. It may not be real. Nobody should be carried away by surface form. Marx agrees with this when he says that "All sciences would be superfluous if outward appearance and essence of things directly coincided." Structural Marxism had a unifying perspective in 1976. Even western archaeologists were impressed by Marxian principles, which in fact are the pillars of methodological development.

Financial Polynominal Essay Example for Free

Financial Polynominal Essay For this assignment the following in instructions are to complete and review the example of how complete the mat required for the assignment. To solve the problem 90 on page 304 of Elementary and Intermediate Algebra and to be sure that all steps of the squaring of the binominal and multiplication along with any simplification that might be used. Evaluate the polynomial resulting from step 1 using: P= $200 and R=10%, and Also with P=5670 and R= 3.5% Complete problem 70 on 311 page on Elementary and Intermediate Algebra show all steps of the division then incorporate words like foil, like terms, descending order, dividend, and divisor. Problem #1 P (1+r/2)2 P [(1+r/2)*(1+ r/2)] P [1 + r/2 +r/2 + r2 /4] P (1+ r + r2/4) Let P + $200 and R = 10% Convert 10% to a decimal which is 10/100 = .1 200* (1 + .1 + .12 /4) 200 + (200* .1) + (200 * .01/4) = 200+ 20+ .5 = 220.5 So you would make 20.5 dollars in the first year and the second year your total account balance would be $ 243.10 Problem #2 Let P = 5670 and r = 3.5 % Convert 3.5 % to a decimal 35/1000 = .035 P (1 + r +r2 /4) 5670* (1 + .035 + .03/4 52) 5670 + (5670 * .035) + (5670 * .00123/4) = 5670 + 198.45+1.74 = 5870.19 Problem #3 In this problem we follow the rules of normal division and exponents division Since the exponent in the divisor -3 xs is positive we will subtract on x from x 3 and that will become x2. So, now that we have 32 the process is the same with the entire exponent in the equation. (-933 +32- 15) / (-3x) (-93/-3x) + (3x/-3x) – (15x/-3x) 32 –x +5 This equation cannot be Foil, because it is a quadratic equation.

Free Ulysses Essays: Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus :: Joyce Ulysses Essays

Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus of Ulysses Though I realize that Ulysses is a masterful paradigm of innovative techniques (or so the faculty of the university would have one believe) - it is the conflicting natures of Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus which I find of primary (if not sole) interest. Dedalus is a disillusioned, Jesuit trained academic with literary aspirations. His academic pursuits have led to a symbolic burning of his wings (his emotional detachment) as he rose to "the enlightenment of the Sun." He tolerates neither the abusive Buck Mulligan nor the condescending Oxonian Haines (the coinhabitants of Martello Tower) and feigns interest in the citizenry of Dublin. Buck Mulligan is a cynical man of action. He mocks Dedalus' beliefs and intellectual prowess. Whereas Dedalus fears water (perhaps symbolizing baptism) - Mulligan once saved a drowning man. Mulligan "plunges into life" while Stephen meekly questions existence and his place in reality. Mulligan can ingratiate himself to the "peasantry" (see the encounter with the unpaid Milk woman) while Dedalus broods on Irish history and appears the elitist. Stephen has been "blinded by the Sun" and lives in a shapeless world. His feelings of guilt (primarily concerning his mother's hideous death and the abandonment of his sisters to poverty) coupled with his sense of estrangement necessitates a continuous introspection as recourse. His relentless pursuit of absolute truths (a concept dear to the Aristotelian Jesuits) clarifies little and fuels his discontent. As a teacher he is uncaring - oblivious to the inadequacies of his students. As an employee he is held in light regard. "You were not born to be a teacher, I think...To learn one must be humble" states the schoolmaster, Mr.Deasy (35). His literary views are scorned by his contemporaries and he is not considered a poet of any promise. Yet Dedalus is a hero of a different ilk. Stephen is a sincere "thinker" and as such is diametrically opposed to Mulligan - "the man of action." He considers the import of his actions and grieves his perceived sins - Mulligan hides in cynicism.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 37

The next morning found them al back at the boardinghouse. After the previous night's rain, the sunshine had a fresh quality to it, and everything felt bright and damp and clean, despite the smel of smoke that permeated the boardinghouse and the charred remains of the garage that could be glimpsed through the windows of the den. Elena sat on the couch, leaning against Stefan. He traced the burn lines, nearly entirely faded, on the back of her hand. â€Å"How do they feel, heroine?† he asked. â€Å"They hardly hurt at al , thanks to Damon.† Damon, on the other side of Stefan, gave her a brief, blinding smile but said nothing. They were al being careful of one another, Elena thought. She felt – and she thought everyone else probably did, too like the day looked: shining and freshly washed, but slightly fragile. There was a lot of quiet murmuring back and forth, exchanged smiles, comfortable pauses. It was like they had completed a long journey or a difficult task together, and now it was time to rest. Celia, dressed in pale linen trousers and a silk dove-gray top, elegant and poised as always, cleared her throat. â€Å"I'm leaving today,† she said when they al looked up at her. Her bags sat neatly on the floor beside her feet. â€Å"There's a train to Boston in forty-five minutes, if someone wil drive me to the station.† â€Å"Of course I'l take you,† Alaric said promptly, getting to his feet. Elena glanced at Meredith, but Meredith was frowning at Celia in concern. â€Å"You don't have to go, you know,† she told her. â€Å"We'd al like it if you stayed.† Celia shrugged expressively and gave a little sigh. â€Å"Thank you, but it is time I get going. Despite the fact that we destroyed a priceless rare book and I wil probably never be al owed on the Dalcrest campus again, I wouldn't have missed this whole experience for the world.† Meredith grinned at her and raised one eyebrow. â€Å"Even the brushes with death?† Celia raised an eyebrow of her own. â€Å"Was there a part that wasn't a brush with death?† They laughed, and Elena was grateful to see that the tension between them had evaporated. â€Å"We'l be glad to have you anytime you want to come back, dear,† Mrs. Flowers said to Celia earnestly. â€Å"I wil always have a room for you.† â€Å"Thank you,† Celia said, looking touched. â€Å"I hope I can come back and see you al again someday.† She and Alaric left the room, and soon the rest of them heard the sounds of the outside door shutting and a car starting up. â€Å"Good-bye, Celia,† Bonnie chirped. â€Å"She turned out to be okay in the end, though, didn't she?† She went on without waiting for an answer. â€Å"What are we going to do today? We need to have an adventure before summer ends.† â€Å"You haven't had enough adventure yet?† Matt asked her disbelievingly from where he was sprawled on a rocking chair in the corner. â€Å"I mean a fun, summery kind of adventure,† she said. â€Å"Not al doom and gloom and battles to the death, but fun-in-thesun stuff. Do you realize we've got only about three weeks before it's time to start school again? If we don't want our only real memories of this summer in Fel ‘s Church to be one disastrous picnic and a horrific battle with a phantom, we'd better get started. I vote we go out to the county fair today. Come on!† she urged them, bouncing in her seat. â€Å"Rol er coasters! Fun houses! Fried dough! Cotton candy! Damon can win me a big stuffed animal and take me through the Tunnel of Love! It'l be an adventure!† She fluttered her eyelashes at Damon flirtatiously, but he didn't take her up on her teasing. In fact, he was gazing down into his lap with a strained expression. â€Å"You've done very wel , children,† said Mrs. Flowers approvingly. â€Å"You certainly deserve some time to relax.† No one answered. Damon's tense silence was fil ing the room, drawing everyone's eyes to him. Final y, Stefan cleared his throat. â€Å"Damon?† he asked cautiously. Damon clenched his jaw and raised his eyes to meet theirs. Elena frowned. Was that guilt on Damon's face? Damon didn't do guilt – remorse wasn't one of his many qualities. â€Å"Listen,† he said abruptly. â€Å"I realized†¦ while I was making my way back from the Dark Dimension†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped again. Elena exchanged an anxious glance with Stefan. Again, stammering and having trouble finding the words to say what he wanted to say were not typical of Damon. Damon shook his head and col ected himself. â€Å"While I was remembering who I was, while I was barely alive again, and then while I was getting ready to come back to Fel ‘s Church, and everything was so painful and difficult,† he said, â€Å"al I could think of was how we – how Elena – had moved heaven and earth to find Stefan. She wouldn't give up her hunt, no matter what obstacles she faced. I'd helped her – I'd risked everything to do so – and we were successful. We found Stefan and we brought him home, safe and sound. But when it was my turn to be lost, you al left me on that moon alone.† â€Å"But Damon,† said Elena, reaching out to him, â€Å"we thought you were dead.† â€Å"And we did try to move heaven and earth to save you,† Bonnie said earnestly, her big brown eyes fil ing with tears. â€Å"You know that. Elena tried everything to bribe the Guardians to get you back. She almost went crazy with grief. They just kept saying that when a vampire died, he or she was gone for good.† â€Å"I know that now,† Damon said. â€Å"I'm not angry anymore. I haven't been angry about it for what seems like ages. That's not why I'm tel ing you this.† He glanced guiltily at Elena. â€Å"I need to apologize to al of you.† There was a tiny col ective gasp. Damon just didn't apologize. Ever. Elena frowned. â€Å"What for?† Damon shrugged, and the ghost of a smirk passed over his face. â€Å"What not for, my princess.† He sobered. â€Å"The truth is, I didn't deserve saving. I've done terrible things to you al as a vampire, and even when I became human again. I fought Meredith; I endangered Bonnie in the Dark Dimension. I endangered al of you.† He looked around the room. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said to everyone, a note of sincerity and regret in his voice. Bonnie's lips trembled; then she threw her arms around Damon. â€Å"I forgive you!† Damon smiled and awkwardly patted her hair. He exchanged a solemn nod with Meredith that seemed to indicate that she also forgave him – this time. â€Å"Damon,† said Matt, shaking his head. â€Å"Are you sure you're not possessed? You seem a little†¦ off. You're never polite to any of us but Elena.† â€Å"Wel ,† said Damon, looking relieved at having gotten the confession off his chest, â€Å"don't get used to it. Matt.† Matt looked so startled and pleased that Damon had cal ed him the right name for a change, instead of â€Å"Mutt† or nothing at al , that Damon might as wel have given him a present. Elena saw Stefan give his brother a sly, affectionate nudge, and Damon elbowed him back. No, she wouldn't get used to it. Damon, temporarily drained of his jealousies and resentments, was as beautiful and intriguing as ever, but a heck of a lot easier to get along with. It wouldn't last, but she could enjoy it for now. She took a moment to real y look at them, the Salvatore brothers. The vampires she loved. Stefan with his soft dark curls and sea green eyes, his long limbs and the sensitive curve of his mouth that she always longed to kiss. Sweetness and solidity and a sorrow she'd had a hand in lightening. Damon, leather and silk and fine chiseled features. Mercurial and devastating. She loved them both. She couldn't be sorry, couldn't be anything other than sincerely, whol y grateful for the fat e that had thrown them in her path. But it wouldn't be easy. She couldn't imagine what would happen when this new comfort and friendliness between the brothers, between al of them, ended. She didn't doubt that it would dissolve. Irritations and jealousies were just a part of life, and they would build up again. She squeezed Stefan's hand in hers and smiled past him at Damon, whose dark eyes warmed. Inwardly, she sighed a little, then smiled more widely. Bonnie was right: Col ege was just around the corner, a whole new adventure. Until then, they should take their pleasures where they could find them. â€Å"Cotton candy?† she said. â€Å"I can't remember the last time I had cotton candy. I'm definitely up for Bonnie's idea of adventure.† Stefan brushed his lips against hers in a kiss that was as sweet and light as cotton candy itself, and she leaned into the comfort of his arms. It couldn't last. Elena knew it. But she was very happy. Stefan was himself again, not angry or fearful or grieving, but himself, the one she loved. And Damon was alive, and safe, and with them. Al her friends were around her. She was truly home at last.

Cargill vs. Intra Strata Assurance Corporation

1. Whether petitioner is doing or transacting business in the Philippines in contemplation of the law and established jurisprudence; 2. Whether respondent is estopped from invoking the defense that petitioner has no legal capacity to sue in the Philippines; Facts: Petitioner Cargill, Inc. (petitioner) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America.Petitioner and Northern Mindanao Corporation (NMC) executed a contract dated 16 August 1989 whereby NMC agreed to sell to petitioner 20,000 to 24,000 metric tons of molasses, to be delivered from 1 January to 30 June 1990at the price of $44 per metric ton. In compliance with the terms of the third amendment of the contract, respondent Intra Strata Assurance Corporation (respondent) issued on 10 October 1990 a performance bond in the sum of P11,287,500 to guarantee NMC’s delivery of the 10,500 tons of molasses, and a surety bond in the sum of P9,978,125 to guarantee the repaym ent of down payment as provided in the contract.NMC was only able to deliver 219. 551 metric tons of molasses out of the agreed 10,500 metric tons. Thus, petitioner sent demand letters to respondent claiming payment under the performance and surety bonds. When respondent refused to pay, petitioner filed on 12 April 1991 a complaint for sum of money against NMC and respondent. Petitioner, NMC, and respondent entered into a compromise agreement, which the trial court approved in its Decision dated 13 December 1991. However, NMC still failed to comply with its obligation under the compromise agreement.Hence, trial proceeded and judgment was rendered in favour of plaintiff ordering defendant INTRA STRATA ASSURANCE CORPORATION to solidarily pay plaintiff the total amount of SIXTEEN MILLION NINE HUNDRED NINETY-THREE THOUSAND AND TWO HUNDRED PESOS (P16,993,200. 00), Philippine Currency, with interest at the legal rate from October 10, 1990 until fully paid, plus attorney’s fees and the costs of the suit. On appeal,the Court of Appeals held that petitioner does not have the capacity to file this suit since it is a foreign corporation doing business in the Philippines without the requisite license.The Court of Appeals held that petitioners purchases of molasses were in pursuance of its basic business and not just mere isolated and incidental transactions. Ruling: To be doing or transacting business in the Philippines for purposes of Section 133 of the Corporation Code, the foreign corporation must actually transact business in the Philippines, that is, perform specific business transactions within the Philippine territory on a continuing basis in its own name and for its own account.Actual transaction of business within the Philippine territory is an essential requisite for the Philippines to acquire jurisdiction over a foreign corporation and thus require the foreign corporation to secure a Philippine business license. If a foreign corporation does not transact such kind of business in the Philippines, even if it exports its products to the Philippines, the Philippines has no jurisdiction to require such foreign corporation to secure a Philippine business license.Santiago Cua, Jr. , et al. vs. Miguel Ocampo Tan, et al. /Santiago Cua, Sr. , et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G. R. No. 181455-56/G. R. No. 182008, December 4, 2009. Issue: Whether derivative suit is proper? Facts: Complainants, PRCI stockholders, have opposed the issuance and approval of the questioned resolutions during the board stockholders’ (sic) meetings, and prior resort to intra-corporate remedies were futile.Complainants asked for copies of the pertinent documents pertaining to the questioned transactions which the board has declined to furnish, thus they instituted the derivative suit in the name of the corporation. They are questioning the acts of the majority of the board of directors believing that the herein petitioners have committed a wrong against the corporation and seeking a nullification of the questioned board resolutions on the ground of wastage of the corporate assets.Ruling: It is well settled in this jurisdiction that where corporate directors are guilty of a breach of trust — not of mere error of judgment or abuse of discretion — and intracorporate remedy is futile or useless, a stockholder may institute a suit in behalf of himself and other stockholders and for the benefit of the corporation, to bring about a redress of the wrong inflicted directly upon the corporation and indirectly upon the stockholders.WPP Marketing Communications, Inc. et al. vs. Jocelyn M. Galera/Jocelyn M. Galera Vs. WPP Marketing Communications, Inc. et al. , Issue: Whether the NLRC has jurisdiction over the dispute? Ruling: Galera being an employee, then the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC have jurisdiction over the present case. Article 217 of the Labor Code provides: Jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters and the Commission. (a) Except as oth erwise provided under this Code, the Labor Arbiters shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide x x x the following cases involving all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural: 1. Unfair labor practice cases; 2. Termination disputes; 3. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those cases that workers may file involving wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment; 4.Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages arising from the employer-employee relations; 5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of this Code, including questions involving the legality of strikes and lockouts; 6. Except claims for Employees Compensation, Social Security, Medicare and other maternity benefits, all other claims, arising from employer-employee relations, including those of persons in domestic or household service, involving an amount exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000. 0) regardless of whether accomp anied with a claim for reinstatement. (b) The Commission shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor Arbiters. (c) Cases arising from the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies shall be disposed of by the Labor Arbiter by referring the same to the grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration as may be provided in said agreements.In contrast, Section 5. 2 of Republic Act No. 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code, states: The Commission’s jurisdiction over all cases enumerated under Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 902-A is hereby transferred to the courts of general jurisdiction or the appropriate Regional Trial Court: Provided, That the Supreme Court in the exercise of its authority may designate the Regional Trial Court branches that shall exercise jurisdiction over these cases.The Commission shall retain jurisdiction over pending cases in volving intra-corporate disputes submitted for final resolution which should be resolved within one year from the enactment of this Code. The Commission shall retain jurisdiction over pending suspension of payments/rehabilitation cases filed as of 30 June 2000 until finally disposed. The pertinent portions of Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 02-A, mentioned above, states: b) Controversies arising out of intra-corporate or partnership relations, between and among stockholders, members or associates; between any or all of them and the corporation, partnership or association of which they are stockholders, members or associates, respectively; and between such corporation, partnership or association and the state insofar as it concerns their individual franchise or right to exist as such entity; c) Controversies in the election or appointments of directors, trustees, officers or managers of such corporations, partnerships or associations.Facts: Galera, worked in the Philippines with out a proper work permit but now wants to claim employee’s benefits under Philippine labor laws. Leslie Okol vs. Slimmers World International, et al. , G. R. No. 160146, December 11, 2009. Issue: The issue revolves mainly on whether petitioner was an employee or a corporate officer of Slimmers World. Ruling: Section 25 of the Corporation Code enumerates corporate officers as the president, secretary, treasurer and such other officers as may be provided for in the by-laws.In Tabang v. NLRC, the Supreme Court held that an â€Å"office† is created by the charter of the corporation and the officer is elected by the directors or stockholders. On the other hand, an â€Å"employee† usually occupies no office and generally is employed not by action of the directors or stockholders but by the managing officer of the corporation who also determines the compensation to be paid to such employee.Facts: Okol filed a complaint with the Arbitration branch of the NLRC against Sl immers World, Behavior Modifications, Inc. and Moy for illegal suspension, illegal dismissal, unpaid commissions, damages and attorney’s fees, with prayer for reinstatement and payment of backwages. The labor arbiter ruled that Okol was the vice-president of Slimmers World at the time of her dismissal. Since it involved a corporate officer, the dispute was an intra-corporate controversy falling outside the jurisdiction of the Arbitration branch.

Civil Rights Movement essayEssay Writing Service

Civil Rights Movement essayEssay Writing Service Civil Rights Movement essay Civil Rights Movement essayThe development of the Civil Rights movement was closely intertwined with the rise of the African American and feminist movement which struggled for rights and liberties of oppressed social groups, including African Americans and women respectively. In this regard, the creation of the NCAAP and the rise of the feminist movement in the first half of the 20th century were the major steps toward the transformation of the Civil Rights movement from localized movement occurring within racial minorities with occasional manifestations of feminism in different parts of the US to the large scale Civil Rights movement as a well-organized struggle of oppressed social groups against discrimination.The creation of the NCAAP was one of the first attempts of African Americans to launch the organized struggle against their oppression by the white majority. The NCAAP has proved that African Americans were capable to self-organization and the development of their community. However, what was even more important the NCAAP became one of the major public organizations that represented interests of racial minorities that contributed to the rise of the public consciousness and awareness of white Americans that a large part of the US population, African Americans, had considerable problems and were discriminated.Similarly, the emergence of feminism contributed to the steady change of the attitude of Americans to the position of women in the society because they held the inferior position compared to men. However, if Americans took such position for granted in the past, the rise of the feminist movement, especially after World War II, had changed the attitude of Americans to women.

The Post-War Economic Boom After WWII

The Post-War Economic Boom After WWII Many Americans feared that the end of World War II and the subsequent drop in military spending might bring back the hard times of the Great Depression. But instead, pent-up consumer demand fueled exceptionally strong economic growth in the post-war period. The automobile industry successfully converted back to producing cars, and new industries such as aviation and electronics grew by leaps and bounds. A housing boom, stimulated in part by easily affordable mortgages for returning members of the military, added to the expansion. The nations gross national product rose from about $200,000 million in 1940 to $300,000 million in 1950 and to more than $500,000 million in 1960. At the same time, the jump in post-war births, known as the baby boom, increased the number of consumers. More and more Americans joined the middle class. The Military Industrial Complex The need to produce war supplies had given rise to a huge military-industrial complex (a term coined by Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as the U.S. president from 1953 through 1961). It did not disappear with the wars end. As the Iron Curtain descended across Europe and the United States found itself embroiled in a ​Cold War with the Soviet Union, the government maintained substantial fighting capacity and invested in sophisticated weapons such as the hydrogen bomb. Economic aid flowed to war-ravaged European countries under the Marshall Plan, which also helped maintain markets for numerous U.S. goods. And the government itself recognized its central role in economic affairs. The Employment Act of 1946 stated as government policy to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power. The United States also recognized during the post-war period the need to restructure international monetary arrangements, spearheading the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - institutions designed to ensure an open, capitalist international economy. Business, meanwhile, entered a period marked by consolidation. Firms merged to create huge, diversified conglomerates. International Telephone and Telegraph, for instance, bought Sheraton Hotels, Continental Banking, Hartford Fire Insurance, Avis Rent-a-Car, and other companies. Changes in the American Workforce The American workforce also changed significantly. During the 1950s, the number of workers providing services grew until it equaled and then surpassed the number who produced goods. And by 1956, a majority of U.S. workers held white-collar rather than blue-collar jobs. At the same time, labor unions won long-term employment contracts and other benefits for their members. Farmers, on the other hand, faced tough times. Gains in productivity led to agricultural overproduction, as farming became a big business. Small family farms found it increasingly difficult to compete, and more and more farmers left the land. As a result, the number of people employed in the farm sector, which in 1947 stood at 7.9 million, began a continuing decline; by 1998, U.S. farms employed only 3.4 million people. Other Americans moved, too. Growing demand for single-family homes and the widespread ownership of cars led many Americans to migrate from central cities to suburbs. Coupled with technological innovations such as the invention of air conditioning, the migration spurred the development of Sun Belt cities such as Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Phoenix in the southern and southwestern states. As new, federally-sponsored highways created better access to the suburbs, business patterns began to change as well. Shopping centers multiplied, rising from eight at the end of World War II to 3,840 in 1960. Many industries soon followed, leaving cities for less crowded sites. Source This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

How does new technology help the Arts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

How does new technology help the Arts - Essay Example As a result, interactions between artists and technologists determined the impact of the computer (digital) technology on creative process. Today many artists and digital media specialists agree that technology helps the arts. They point out at the context of the digital society we now live in and how it influences the ways the art gets created, marketed, produced, supported, preserved, distributed, as well as transformed. This paper explores how new technology and digital media help the arts. Objectives The objectives of this research paper were as follows: Provide an overview of contemporary knowledge on the topic of the impact of technology on the arts and on the topic of how technology helps the arts. Determine how new technologies affect the arts in a positive way The paper was intended to provide response to the following question: What positive impacts and what opportunities has technology created/ is creating for the arts, artists, the public, etc? Approach and Methodology It was determined to focus the paper on modern, in particular digital technologies and shape the scope of the research with emphasis on the arts. It was reinforced that the paper should provide information with reference to various arts, various art disciplines, and various art practices if possible. Also, it was reinforced that the research should concentrate on how technology influences creation, production and different ways in which artworks reach the general public. Throughout the research, the author reviewed English-language material and researched publicly-released data from UK and international sources; synthesized information. B. ARTS AND TECHNOLOGIES: LOGICS OF HYBRIDIZATION The hybridization of technology and the arts, as it has been assumed in modern studies, began in the 15th century with the invention of printing and distribution. Connection of the literary tradition with distributive power of the printing technology changed the whole European civilization. The value of cultural hybridization as the fundamental logic of cultural change has been convincingly demonstrated in the research by Marshall McLuhan (McLuhan, 1962; McLuhan, 2001). In particular, using an example of the distribution of the press, McLuhan demonstrates the decisive role of this technology in the cultural dynamics of the period between the 15t and 19th centuries. In the scholarly terminology, the printing technology may be described as the first level of the hybrid of technology and art. In its essence, the printing technology does not define the aesthetic content of art work distribution, yet its use can well have an impact on the artistic content which is being distributed (here: the literature in its broadest meaning), transforming the form of distribution in purely independent art (for example, graphic design, fonts). It may then stimulate the expansion of the variety of literary forms, available in printed format. In addition, the advent of printing marked a fundamental shi ft from the ancient ‘techno’ and technology - which were about the finesse and skill of a human working with his hand to deliver the product of creativity - to technology which became the logics of self-alienated production. This way it may well be thought to be a harbinger of the machine age (Benjamin, 2008). At the end of the 19th - at the beginning of the 20th century art’s hybridization with technology shifted to a new level in the aesthetics of cinema. Cinema evolved as a

Western Culture. Wal-Mart in Germany and Carrefour in South Korea Essay

Western Culture. Wal-Mart in Germany and Carrefour in South Korea - Essay Example However these multinational corporations through the imposition of their own culture on the international societies fail to gain a wider acceptance in such markets. Thus in the subsequent period Wal-Mart and Carrefour both had to gain retreat from international markets like Germany and South Korea respectively. (Culture at Wal-Mart, p.68; Jung-a, 2006). Wal-Mart in Germany The retail giant, Wal-Mart based in Arkansas in United States had expanded its operations to gain access to international markets like Germany. However during 2006 the multinational retail company unfortunately had to wind up its operations from the country owing to a cultural conflict. The problem with Wal-Mart operating in Germany was that it failed to adjust its operational practices based on the existing culture of the German society. The sales staffs at Wal-Mart were trained to gain nearness to the customer by pitching sales standing at a ten-foot distance to them. These people endeavored to maintain eye conta cts with the customers while demonstrating their product and shared greetings and smile with them. However the German people not used to such cultural paradigms misunderstood them, which created the main problem. Further the staffs at Wal-Mart also helped the food and grocery marketers with their stuffed bags. These practices were dramatically assumed to be erroneous by the German population to which the management of the company paid little attention. German people who came face to face with operation staffs at Wal-Mart busy in conducting gossips and romances totally shunned such relationships for which they started developing a negative attitude towards the company. However the management of Wal-Mart did little to change the operational practices and in rendering training to the staff in behave in a likely manner with the customers. They only recruited German managers to help reduce the cultural gap. However unfortunately such action taken by the company in gaining customer attent ion also failed to generate any positive responses. The company, which was also surpassed by the German retailers in terms of sales and revenue gradually, quit its operations from the country during 2006 (Culture at Wal-Mart, p.68). Carrefour in South Korea

Hawaiin Punch Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hawaiin Punch - Case Study Example The marketing division plans on using social media so as to change from child centered focus to the actual purchaser (mothers). The company plans to reach to the Hispanic mothers, African American mothers as well as the multicultural and urban children. Through social media, the company can market its innovated brands. The new brands developed by the company were inspired by Hispanic flavors which also attracted the non Hispanic households. Since the new flavors were solely sold through the finished goods network, social media can be employed to increase their awareness on the end users as well as well as the indirect users. Currently the Company’s sales stand at $66, 262,410 realized through analog and print media. Through employment of social media, the soft drink company can later on evaluate the impact of social media from its sales volume. Social media advertising has the advantage of causing longer shelf time effect at lower costs. The company incurs extra allowances on payment of shelf space on new flavors with varied package sizes to the retailers. The allowance prices for the juice drink aisle and juice ranged from $15,000 to $250,000 per SKU for supermarket space. The amounts rise to $2.8 million allowance-cost per SKU for a national supermarket distribution shelf space. Based on the U.S per capita beverage consumption, the carbonated soft drinks consumption in 2004 were a solid 52.3 gallons which constitutes 28.7% market share. In 2004, the Hawaiian Punch producing Company made a profit of $66,262,410 which was majorly realized through analog and print advertising. Currently the product has a 94% brand recognition in the USA which is an exemplary figure in reference to its market share. In 2004, the company incurred 78% expense in cost of goods sold which was significantly contributed by its huge advertisement costs. The company has bears an enormous task in evaluating its brand equity, its direct consumers and trade consumers.

Media Essays Media Fiction Fact

Media Essays Media Fiction Fact Media Fiction Fact ‘Media portrayals of law, be they fiction or fact, are inevitably distortions of reality’. Discuss with reference to the module’s readings and, if relevant, illustrate with specific examples drawn from the seminars Introduction ‘I think we can say that the public’s attitude to the criminal justice system is greatly, probably dominantly, affected and influenced by what they read in newspapers, hear on radio, watch on television and, now of course, see on the internet. In other words the media’. As the noted legal journalist, Marcel Berlins explains, the media has become a powerful and significant source of legal information and a means by which individual perceptions about the law are formed and shaped. The concern however, is that the media is also capable of persuading people to adopt and endorse notions about the legal system that are based on ‘misconceptions, false facts or prejudice’. By using various images and sounds the media is able to influence the public’s reaction to legal issues, and convince the public to accept the media’s distorted perspective. The question then becomes whether all media representations are a distortion of reality or whether the media is also capable of accurately portraying the law. Information and representations become distorted when they are presented in a manner that is misleading and inconsistent with their original form. The case of Caesar Barber is a clear illustration of media’s ability to present the law in a manner that falls within the definition of distortion. Caesar Barber commenced a class action lawsuit against various fast food restaurants for failing to inform the public about the harmful risks associated with the consumption of fast food. Although, the aim of the lawsuit was to raise public awareness and attempt to make large corporations legally accountable for their ‘pervasive deceptions’, the media, in an attempt to attract readers, used various tactics to undermine the importance and socio-legal implications of the case. Various newspapers and reputable journalists used catchy phrases, humorous pictures and witty headlines to give the story an entertainment quality and create market value. According to some commentators, the media must resort to these theatrical antics and dramatic techniques in order to retain its ‘mass appeal’. As Margaret Thornton notes, the media are forced to present distorted images of the legal system in order to secure ratings and retain its power and influence over the public: ‘Accurate portrayals, such as the American TV series, Paper Chase, which was located in a law school, have had to be withdrawn because of their unpopularity. Similarly, the exploration and explication of legal doctrine are considered to be too dull and complex for popular media’. Thus, as a business, the media responds to market pressures by employing various tactics to attract consumers including using misleading headlines and false images to incite emotional responses. It is precisely because the media picks and chooses what to focus on, that they inevitably misrepresent the law and blur the line between fact and fiction. Events are defined as being fictitious if they are untrue, imaginary or based on a false belief. Although the term ‘fiction’ is usually equated with the imagination, fictitious events can include real people and experiences, but are primarily viewed as a form of entertainment. In contrast, a fact is usually equated with truth and reality and is defined in law as ‘a thing that is indisputably the case’ or ‘the truth about events as opposed to interpretation’. The distinction between fact and fiction is fading as reality is becoming more fictionalized through the media’s use of narrative devices such as metaphors. It is the media’s ability to present their version of the story in a realistic manner that makes it difficult for the public to discern the truth. Although there is strong support for the argument that ‘media portrayals of the law, be they fiction or fact, are inevitably distortions of reality’, the real issue is whether this is indeed a cause for concern. Many media critics are concerned that the media will inevitably undermine the public’s confidence in the judiciary, lawyers and the legal system. This anxiety is founded on the idea that the media is the chief or sole source of legal information, and that audiences are incapable of resisting media influences in formulating their opinions about the law. The aim of this paper therefore, will be to explore the relationship between the media and the law, and examine the ways in which the media distorts the law through representations of reality based on fact and fiction. The last part of the paper will be devoted to examining whether or not the media’s ability to misrepresent the law is indeed as problematic and worrisome as it first appears. Relationship between the media and the law The media and the law are inextricably linked in a number of ways. Firstly, the media is the subject of legal discourse. Lawyers, judges and policy makers are constantly involved in the regulation of different forms of media such as the radio, television, newspapers, and the internet. Media regulation has become an important legal issue and attempts have been made to develop rules restricting media content and to determine who should have control over the production of media forms. Secondly, the law and media are connected through media communications about the law and legal events. Whether it is an advertisement for a law firm, a reality courtroom programme, a newspaper article on a current legal event, or an internet blog on a controversial legal issue, the media is a constant source of legal information. Although the law is probably most visible in highly institutionalized places such as the courts, law firms and police stations, it is also present through media representations of crime and justice. It is through media portrayals of law that the relationship between the law and media manifests itself. As Sheila Brown states, ‘By depicting the processes of law and justice within the dramatic conventions of reality TV, courtroom soap opera, the voyeurism of human interest, and the aesthetics of visuality, media culture and the law sometimes appear to become indivisible domains’. The relationship between the media and the law is further strengthened by the fact that both are present in our everyday lived experience. A common sense approach to understanding the concept of the ‘everyday life’ suggests that it is ‘the routine act of conducting one’s day-to-day existence’. Based on this view, the everyday is simply a representation of individual experiences that impact on the formation of one’s opinions and identity. Since the everyday life is interwoven into human experience it is both patently obvious and hidden because it is often ‘taken-for-granted’. As Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns note, quoting from Schutz and Luckmann’s Structures of the Life World, ‘The world of everyday life is consequently man’s fundamental and paramount reality†¦It is the unexamined ground of everything given in my experience†¦the taken-for-granted frame in which all the problems which I must overcome are placed’. The law is representative of the everyday life because it is an integral part of our daily routine and plays a significant role in various aspects of our life such as our family, career, community and education. From filing for divorce, to claiming sexual harassment in the workplace, or to suffering an injury at the hands of a drunk driver we encounter the law on a daily basis in its various shapes and forms. It is precisely because the law is an integral part of our every day experience that it becomes a dominant source of knowledge that ‘helps shape experiences, interpretations, and understandings of social life’. However, because the law is a component of one’s daily routine and habits, people are generally unaware of the law’s influence over their daily experiences and conceptions of social life. The same principle can be said to apply to the media. Like the law, the media penetrates our daily lives, helps formulate our understanding of social reality, and its influence and power in shaping individual perceptions of the world is frequently ignored. Thus, the media are often viewed as both entertainers and an ‘agents of socialization’ who play a significant role in shaping the public’s understanding of the law and legal processes. As a dominant source of legal information, the media is often viewed as the primary means by which the law is able to become a part of the everyday life. The media educates the public about lawyers, judges and criminals and provides its own perspective on what the law is and how it works. It is the media’s ability to ‘teach us about ‘the law’’ that has led legal scholars to critically examine the relationship between the media and the law. The concern is that the media’s use of sensationalized headlines not only misinforms the public by presenting distorted images of legal reality but also undermines the public’s confidence in the legal system. Media distorts legal reality On January 25, 2007, one of the BBC news headlines read, ‘Risk of suffering crime ‘rises’: The risk of becoming a victim of crime in England and Wales is rising for the first time since 1995, figures suggest’. Anyone reading this headline would automatically be under the impression that, according to official figures, crime is on the rise and is a serious issue in England. The problem with this headline and other newspaper reports about crime is that it does not accurately reflect the reality of criminal behaviour. Statistical evidence produced and gathered by the Home Office indicates that contrary to the BBC report, ‘violent crime has fallen or remained stable since 1995’. Furthermore, any rises in crime can be attributed to procedural disparities arising from the number of crimes reported and recorded by the police in any particular year. Although the text of the BBC article makes reference to these findings, noting that the increase in crime is still lower than the total percent recorded in 1995, this information is contained further down in the text of the article. Thus, the large number of readers who merely skim newspaper headlines will be misled into thinking that the general level of crime in England is increasing. This suggests that what the media chooses to focus on can give rise to public misconceptions about the criminal justice system. The question then is if the media has such a large impact on people’s perceptions about the law, then why do they insist on distorting representations of crime? People generally use their spare time to engage in activities that are both relaxing and fun and that help them unwind from the stresses of everyday life. During these leisurely moments, people generally watch television, listen to the radio, surf the internet, or read the newspaper. In this way, the media is often viewed as a pastime, as both a source of entertainment and a means by which one is able to distract oneself from the complexities of life. As McQuail states, ‘The media are often sought out precisely as an alternative to and an escape from reality’. What people seem to forget during their leisurely pursuits is that the media is still a business, whose primary goal is to sell the product of entertainment and information to its consumers. The media is subject to various market pressures and as such its principle objective is to generate profits by using a variety of techniques to attract consumers. Since the media’s principle objective is to sell its product, the media is not focused on representing a true pattern of what is going on in the world. As was seen with the BBC news headline, the media use various marketing tools such as sensationalized headlines to attract its audience. Events are only reported in the media if they resonate with the public and attract viewers. As is noted by McQuail, â€Å"The simple fact that the mass media are generally oriented to the interest of their audiences as ‘consumers’ of information and entertainment can easily account for most of the evidence of reality distortion†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. A clear example of media distortion is the fact that the press only concentrates on a small number of criminal offences which include serious crimes such as murder and sexual assault or celebrity crimes. As is noted by Thornton, ‘The dramatic potential of criminal litigation is overwhelmingly preferred, in which everything is biased and distorted for dramatic effect. Within the crime show genre itself, violent crimes are disproportionately over represented’. Although these types of cases matter, they often leave the viewer with misconceptions regarding the general level of crime. The recent British Crime Survey indicates that in 2006/2007 the total number of domestic burglary crimes reported by the police was 292.3 thousand compared to the 19.2 thousand reports of crime that constitute serious violence against the person such as homicide or serious wounding. Although the threat of being a victim of burglary is higher than that of homicide, the media tend to focus its reports on violent crimes because the seriousness of these types of offences triggers an emotional response in the viewer thereby increasing media productivity and profits. This type of slanted reporting leads the public to grossly overestimate the amount of serious violent crimes, in relation to all other crimes. As Berlins notes in his lecture, ‘I suppose what I’m saying is that the media, in its totality, does probably irreversibly convey a distorted view of the state of crime and punishment, that therefore in turn, the public, which takes much of its information as well as its attitudes from the media, holds misguided views on the subject’. Thus, while the media only reports that which will give rise to public emotion, the public, who view the media as a primary source of legal information, uses these reports to formulate their own views about the criminal justice system. The danger is that this type of reporting will erode the public’s confidence in the legal system. As Garapon notes, ‘by placing us under the jurisdiction of the emotions, the media are in fact distancing us from the jurisdiction of the law’. Public confidence in the legal system and the judiciary is an important issue. A lack of confidence in state institutions, and in particular the court system, may lead to a form of vigilante justice. For instance, when Sarah Payne, an eight-year old girl, was sexually assaulted and murdered, the News of the World’s tabloid made a plea for the public endorsement of a law that would allow the public access to a sex offender registry. After the tabloid ran this report, vigilante groups began attacking the homes of families they mistakenly believed were pedophiles. Thus, if the public, through media portrayals, is under the impression that violent crime is on the rise or that the courts and police are not doing enough to keep criminals out of society, then they may attempt to take justice into their own hands. A regular pattern across all research in this area suggests that the majority of the public does not have confidence in the courts particularly in relation to sentencing. Mike Hough and Julian Roberts conducted a study on the sentencing trends in Britain and found that ‘judgesreceived significantly more negative evaluations than any othergroup of criminal justice professionals. The public systematicallyunder-estimate the severity of sentencing patterns, and thisis significantly related to attitudes to sentencers’. This lack of confidence appears to emanate from a significant lack of knowledge about how the system works and the levels of sentencing. Since public opinion about the legal system is influenced by media reports about crime, it would follow that the public’s ignorance about the judiciary and sentencing is substantially based on media representations which are largely inaccurate. However, not all media portrayals of the law are entirely unfounded or inaccurate. As Berlins notes, ‘I don’t want to give the impression that most people get most of their information and opinions from bad fiction on the telly. After all, television also gives us some very good, informative, sober documentaries’. However, Berlins goes on to state that while there are accurately depicted representations of crime and justice in the media, viewers tend to not be interested in these shows and they are usually ‘withdrawn because of their unpopularity’. The Media distorts the law regardless if they represent the facts or fictions The issue then is whether the media is incapable of producing legal narratives that are based on facts and not fiction. Recently, the L.A. Times, a predominant American newspaper, released the story of Mychal Bell’s guilty plea in the ‘Jena Six’ case. In the ‘Jena Six’ case, six black teenagers, including Mychal Bell, were accused of assaulting Justin Baker, a white teenager, at their highschool in Jena, Louisiana. The media claimed that the assault resulted from a racially-motivated incident at the highschool, where three white students hung nooses from a tree that black students were allegedly prohibited from sitting under. Mychal Bell was the only member of the ‘Jena Six’ group who was charged with attempted murder. Bell’s charges were subsequently reduced and after pleading guilty to a second-degree battery charge he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The public viewed Bell’s prosecution as being ‘excessive and racially discriminatory’ particularly in comparison to the way white offenders were treated in similar offences. The L.A. Times’ coverage of Bell’s guilty plea sensationalized the issue of racism while at the same time omitting relevant facts relating to Bell’s sentence. Although the L.A. Times story appears to set out the true facts of the story in relation to Bell’s sentence, they overlook the fact that Bell had a previous criminal record. Previous convictions on an offenders record is considered an aggravating factor that the court will take into account when determining an appropriate sentence. Thus, as one commentator notes, the L.A. Times, in addressing the issue of whether the sentence was excessive and racially-motivated, should have noted that information concerning Bell’s previous convictions was a factor in the sentencing decision: This is a story about whether a criminal prosecution of young black males for a violent crime was too harsh. Any responsible story addressing that topic would fully describe the perpetrators’ criminal histories especially histories of similar behavior. This information is absolutely vital to assessing whether his treatment at the hands of law enforcement was unnecessarily harsh and by not mentioning his priors, the paper implies to most rational readers that he has no criminal history at all. Assuming the aim of the L.A. Times report was simply to inform readers of recent developments in the ‘Jena Six’ case, this example demonstrates that by focusing on certain facts, at the exclusion of others, the media is able to create a fictional reality which substantiates its own hasty judgments. A local reporter in Jena, Louisiana, commented on the media’s coverage of ‘Jena Six’ and highlighted several myths reported by the media noting: ‘The media got most of the basics wrong. In fact, I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts, and journalists abdicated their solemn duty to investigate every claim because they were seduced by a powerfully appealing but false narrative of racial injustice’. Among the number of facts the media neglected to report was that evidence given by both witnesses and defendants showed that the noose incident, which took place three months prior to the assault of Justin Baker, was not only a prank against a group of white not black students, but was also unrelated to the attack. Thus, the media, by picking which facts to report and by drawing unsubstantiated correlations between various facts, have presented a distorted picture of this case. Although, the facts presented by the media in the Jena Six case are in and of themselves true, the manner in which they are presented leads to a blurring of the line between fact and fiction. It is for these reasons that the media is generally charged with presenting a ‘flawed and distorted version of the law’. As Richard Nobles and David Schiff note, ‘the media misreads law for its own purposes. This misreading has the capacity to generate what, within the media itself, are described as ‘crises of confidence in the administration of justice’. Distinguishing between fact and fiction has become a difficult task for media consumers. Fictional events are becoming more realistic through various television programs that dramatize the law and the judicial system such as Ally McBeal and People’s Court (UK). These television shows impose a conceptual ‘reality’ that viewers can identify with. How then is it possible for a viewer of these types of programmes to be able to distinguish between fact and fiction when the real object of these shows is to provide neither? According to J. Street, the distinction between fact and fiction is not one that can be discerned by simply watching these shows but is rather a skill that must be learned. The idea that the line between fact and fiction is becoming more and more difficult to discern is not something that is recent or that has emerged with the introduction of reality TV. The media has always used various tools to impose a certain amount of ‘fictionalization’ on ‘real’ issues. In addition to using sensationalized headlines and twisting facts by playing on words, the media also uses metaphors as ‘an expression of categories of reality’. Metaphors are used in media crime reporting in order to present complex legal issues in a clear and straightforward manner that makes them more ‘real’ and easy for an audience to relate to. Metaphors such as ‘justice is blind’, ‘war on terror’, ‘cold-blooded murderer’, ‘lawyers are leeches’ and ‘if it doesn’t fit you must acquit’ are used by the media to represent a particular angle on a legal story by relating that perspective to human experience. For example, the metaphor ‘lawyers are leeches’ will impress upon anyone who has had a negative experience with a lawyer or who has had to pay an excessive amount for legal representation. The media is able, through the use of these metaphors to paint a certain picture for the viewer that they are able to connect with because the ‘values and emotions’ attached to these metaphors resonate with the everyday. As Brown notes, ‘What gives such metaphors their resonance is not actually their ‘distortion’ of reality; it is their proximity to experience’. Metaphors, however, can also distort representations of the truth in crime reporting. For example, the metaphor ‘justice is blind’ is used to signify the fact that the judiciary is an impartial and independent body whose job is to apply the law equally and fairly to all persons regardless of class, race or gender. However, what is lost in this metaphor is that justice is not always adversarial and can be achieved through alternative methods to dispute resolution such as mediation and negotiation. Nevertheless, even if the media generates a fictional story, by using metaphors ‘taken from the real world’ the media is able to connect with the public. As a result, metaphors do not necessarily have to be accurate in order for the media to be able to unite with the public through common experience. Another way the media is able to connect with the public in disseminating information about the law is by turning ‘readers or viewers into judges, providing them with all the material necessary for them to make the judgments themselves’. The facts, legal issues and judgments surrounding court-room type shows are introduced to the viewer as the media sees it and as such, there is no room for mediation, argument or debate. The media trial is presented in a story-like fashion like any good novelist, the media tailors the sequence of events and uses characters, imagery, and symbolism to guide its viewers into reaching a pre-determined judgment. By setting the stage and employing various theatrical tools, the media falsely leads its viewers into believing that the outcome of the media trial corresponds with their own opinions about the law and justice. Although the media is able to provide instantaneous justice, by compressing the complexities of a legal proceeding into a 30 minute clip, the media ignores the fact that ‘a trial is an extremely complex and sophisticated device’ and that just and fair decisions are reached only through careful consideration of all the facts, evidence and testimony. Thus, media trials have the ability to undermine the role of the judiciary and the public’s faith in the legal system, by impressing upon its viewers the belief that justice is easily ascertained without deliberation. Garapon elaborates on this point stating, ‘The trial is able to control the way in which the facts are presented, proved and interpreted. On the television, however, a ‘construction of reality’ is implicit and thus directly experienced and thus escapes both examination and discussion’. Hence, as Garapon further notes in ‘preferring seduction to reasoned argument’, the media are able to display a version of the truth ‘at the expense of truth itself’. Although the media’s main role is to entertain, the media is viewed by the public as a major distributor of legal information. Since the media uses various dramatic techniques to relate information regarding the law to its viewers, the public is generally unaware that the media simply has no regard for whether or not the information they are relaying is true or accurate. It is in this way that the distinction between fact and fiction becomes harder for the public to discern. The public adopts the media’s conception of legal reality and as a result views the law in a negative light and loses confidence in the criminal justice system. This is not to suggest that all media content is based on false assumptions or inaccurate facts, but more often then not accounts of the law are misapprehensions of the truth. Is there a valid reason for concern over distorted media portrayals of the law? All research in respect of the effect media has on popular conceptions of the law suggests that media portrayals of the law, whether they are based on fact or fiction, present a distorted version of legal reality. As noted earlier, the media’s power to distort the law and present fictions as legal truths causes anxiety in the legal community. Again, the concern is that media misrepresentations about the law may destroy the public’s faith in the legal system. The administration of justice and the independence of the judiciary are important values that safeguard the fundamental rights of every individual in society. Without these principles, justice, fairness and equality would cease to exist and society would revert back to a state of war where everyone fends for themselves. The media, as the voice of public opinion, ought to be troubled by the role they play and the influence they have in undermining the public’s confidence in the legal system. This is particularly so when examining the media’s power over the public from an effects-based approach. The effects model suggests that media users are like sponges in that they simply absorb media content without any reflection or analysis. This is disconcerting given that some researchers have suggested that information from the media and other sources are absorbed into the mind and filed into ‘bins’ and that when making ‘heuristic judgments’, people extract the information from these bins and ‘often fail to consider that the information extracted could be from fictitious sources’. Based on this approach, individuals who have not learned to decipher between fact and fiction, are in danger of formulating erroneous beliefs about the law that are based on stereotypes, half-truths and clichà ©s. On the other hand, it can be argued that because viewers and readers are generally ‘media-savvy’ they are cognizant of the media’s power to mislead and as such do not rely on media generated content about the law when making value judgments about the legal system. As Lieve Gies notes, ‘Most individuals are sufficiently ‘media-savvy’ to be aware that newspapers and television cannot always be regarded as the most reliable or authoritative sources of knowledge. People are capable of detecting the media’s deceptions and distortions, which means that they are not prepared to put all their eggs in the media’s basket’. Thus, instead of ‘simply absorbing the televised message like a sponge’, viewers and readers are able to ‘decode’ media communications and attach entirely new and different meanings to the media text. The idea that media users are capable of scrutinizing media content and are actively engaged in the construction of their own reality is based on the active audience approach to understanding media effects on the law. According to the active audience approach, media users are not merely cultural ‘dopes’ who submit to the media’s power without reflection and examination. A concern raised by advocates of the active audience approach is that media effects studies overlook the fact that audiences are able to maintain their own independence and views when engaging the media. Instead, research in this area generally starts from the presumption that ‘the media is to blame’. As is noted by David Gauntlett, ‘The problem with much media effects research, however, is that researchers have jumped straight to the second stage investigating the media and its possible ‘effects’ without even bothering with the first one, namely checking whether any notable suspects have in fact been affected’. Stuart Hall’s analysis of the media further suggests that any content received by viewers and readers through various media forms is hollow and meaningless until the viewer or reader ‘deciphers the text and assigns meaning to it’. Hall’s reception analysis model suggests that readers and viewers consciously refuse to give into media influences and instead attach their own set of values to the information being conveyed through media texts. However, as Gies points out, ‘The potential blind spot in reception analysis is that it may still end up giving the media too much preponderance and ignore other influential sources of knowledge’. Nevertheless, the thrust of the argument in both the active audience approach and the reception analysis model is that the media’s powers to shape one’s understanding of the law will vary depending on the meaning that one attaches to media messages which is dependent on one’s cultural perspective one’s class, race and gender. As is noted by Gies, ‘In constructionist analyses of media culture, it is the socio-cultural background of people, and not the media products they consume, which is seen as a more reliable predictor of how they construct social meaning’. For instance, in Canada, the majority of the images presented on the television depict a Western conception of reality. Since Canada is an ethically and culturally diverse country there are many citizens who have differing cultural perspectives and identities. It is therefore dif