Hills Like White Elephants Essay Example for Free

Hills Like White Elephants EssayErnest Hemingways short twaddle Hills Like White Elephants touches on an issue people befool cheekd in the past and continues today communication problems in a relationship. The ability to hap your feelings to another person during complicated times reveals the true strength in a relationship. Hemingway tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl, named trip the light fantastic. The characters face the harsh reality of an unexpected pregnancy and conflict is created through their dialogue. Their obstacle is complicated by their inability to deliver their differing opinions to each other. The couples reverse to communicate their opinions straightforward turns the conversation into a tactic of humanityipulation. On the surface, it reckons the American is the champion doing the manipulation and trying to persuade the girl to build the abortion, but when Jigs dialogue is looked closer, its clear that she participates in attempting to assert the conversation, as well. Regardless of who is more successful, their relationship is damaged forever.To begin, the man does not expect to be forced to deal with the complications of starting a family and giving up his lifestyle of travelling. He wants the girl to have an abortion, but he wants her to feel standardized the conclusion she makes is that of her own. The truth is he believes and knows his words will play a huge influence on her decision. After a few drinks, the man brings up the cranky issue to the girl by choosing his words carefully Its really an awfully simple operation (Hemingway 133). The man tries pushing the issue further by inserting his own judgment and assuring her that they just let the air in and then its all perfectly natural (133).His manipulation can be seen clearly when he suggests The babys the only thing that bothers us (133). It is clear that their relationship has not been the same since heari ng revolutionarys approximately the baby. I withdraw she begins to realize that she is left with the choice between having the baby or being with him, which could be depicted when she put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings beads, referring to only two people being able to be together her and the baby or her and the man. The man is also planting the idea into the girls mind that he wants her to have a say in the matter and to soften its impact.Youve got to realize that I take ont want you to do it if you dont want to. Im perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you (134). Yet, when asked if the baby means anything to him, the man replies, I dont want anyone else. In this line the American is referring to the baby in the girls womb and is saying that he wants only her. While its implications are insensitive, the man believes he is appealing to the girls desire for a man devoted to her. Instead of telling Jig that he does not want a baby to comp licate their lives, the man tries to make it seem like an abortion is the best thing for the couple through his careful manipulation.The mans manipulation is very noticeable, but he is not the only one who can play that game. On the surface, the girl appears helpless and dep poleent, but if viewed from a different perspective she could be seen as manipulative. Hemingway names her the girl to portray her as somebody who is naive and immature. She appears to be dependent on the man by asking him questions such as, What should we drink? (132) or What does it say? (132). However, she is much smarter than she may seem and communicates her feelings through indirect ways without being offensive to the older man.During their conversation about the drinks tasting like licorice, the girl comments, Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things youve waited so eagle-eyed for, like absinthe (132). She is trying to show her frustration towards the man in a subtle way. Her frustration is built on the fact that, despite ceaselessly wishing for a baby, she might not have that chance anymore if she decides to have the abortion. The girl also makes it aware that her frustration runs deeper into their relationship. Upon trying a new drink, Jig questions their life, Thats all we do, isnt it look at things and try new drinks?She uses all in a desperate attempt to show the man that she is bored of her life and their relationship, which Bauer suggests does not seem to be moving into any kind of commitment (Bauer), that she deeply wants. As the man suggests that everything will be recrudesce after the abortion, The girl reacts, And you think then that well be alright and be happy (133). Without the man point realizing, the girl, to me, has gone from uncertainty to certainty because she did not have to ask the question, already knowing that, as Bauer suggests, Whatever they do about the baby, they will not go back to where they were (Bauer).The girl seems to be in contr ol of the conversation and in response to the mans claim Ive known lots of people that have done it (133), she offers sarcasm, And afterwards they were all so happy. The girl realizes that the man is clueless and will never understand. She realizes that she does not have a real decision in her abortion, feeling that the man has already do the decision for her. To compensate for her lack of autonomy, she wants to make the man feel guilty for making her have the abortion, so she tells him, then Ill do it. Because I dont care about me (134).Jill grows more explicit to her refusal, as she repeats several times No we cant (134), ironically refuting his agreement of her own satirical statement, We can have everything (134). The man fails to understand her point of view and when Jill points out that once they take it away, you never get it back (134), the man thinks she is talking about their world of travelling, proving his ignorance and selfish desire to hang on to that.Yet if the girl carries the baby to term, the steady sex life that the American has enjoyed will come to an end Not only will he have to forego sex during her pregnancy, but he will also have to fight for time to have sex with the girl once the babofy is born. Regardless of how seriously the American would take his responsibilities as a father, simply having the baby living with the girl at family would remind the American that he can no longer enjoy the fairly carefree lifestyle that he and the girl led prior to the babys birth. In a sense, he would be entering adult life a second time.Another aspect of youth that the American relives is traveling. In looking at the bags with labels from all the hotels where they had spent nights (Hemingway 76), he is not only thinking of their lovemaking but also of the different places they have been to. Not only is the American quiescence with a young woman but he is also taking her to countless different cities. The man and the girl are vagrants with money, seeing the world as if there were nothing else for them to do.This vagrancy also serves the purpose of masking the fact that the American is not moving quickly from one woman to anotherindeed, that he cannot do so. Instead of moving between partners, he is moving between cities and countries. Were the girl to give birth to the baby, though, this traveling would likely be forced to stopand even if the couple could still go to different places, they would either have to take the baby with them or find someone to leave it with.In observing the girls willingness to canalize their baby to term, he sees that she is ready to grow up, to take on responsibility, to settle down.

The Impossibility in the Quest for Adventure Essay Example for Free

The Im opening night in the Quest for Adventure EssayGrowing up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, James Joyce experienced the hardships plaguing Irish society first-hand. Born just forty years after the great Famine, he frequently heard about the mass suffering that killed over a million of the Irish people. This suffering continued even decades later as his family lived in dire poverty and constant struggle. To escape such harsh and stifling conditions, Joyce spent much of his youth wandering the streets of Dublin. As a result, many another(prenominal) of his struggles and realizations mirror the struggles and realizations of the characters in his short stories. In Eveline and A light taint, Joyce emphasizes the futility he found in the quest for adventure in order to escape reality.In his short story Eveline, Joyce illustrates the impossibility of escaping from the harsh realities of a difficult home situation and an abusive father. Joyce describes how even though Eveline was nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in riskiness of her fathers violence(33). However, not only is she physically in danger but she is also emotionally suffocated by her difficult and restricted life. For example, she has to give all of her wages to her father, suffer the house together, and watch over her two younger siblings.This suffocation exists throughout the story, through the image of the dusty cretonne. Joyce describes how Eveline would lean her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odor of the dusty cretonne(35). Symbolically, Eveline is suffocated by her feelings of nostalgia and obligation to stay home and fulfill her domestic duties. She thinks about running off with her lover unmannerly to Buenos Ayres to escape this stifled environment and make her happier and much fulfilled.At the same time, however, she constantly struggles with the idea of difference home. Joyce emphasizes the impossibility of escape throughout the story as Eveline weighs each side of the questions(32). She notes that on one hand, leaving home would mean she would leave the people she had known her whole life and would also prevent her fulfilling the promise she had made to her dead mother to stay. She also broken about what people would say if she ran away with Frank. However, only a few sentences later, she expresses her commit to travel to a distant unknown country where she would be get married and where people would treat her with respect(33).Evelines conflict climaxes at the end of the story when she cant bring herself to board the ship to Buenos Ayres with Frank. Joyce describes how all the seas of the world tumbled about her heart and how Frank would drown her(36). Just as the dusty cretonne of her home situation is suffocating, Evelines quest for adventure and escape from that situation make her feel as if she is drowning. In both(prenominal) cases she emblematically cannot breathe. In the end, her nostalgia, promise to her mother, and her fear of the unknown that prevent her from fulfilling her quest for adventure and relieving her from her everyday struggles.Little Chandler in Joyces short story A Little Cloud has a similar epiphany. He too is lured to the quest for adventure but eventually realizes the futility in his pursuit. His desire to escape from the ordinariness of his life is first seen when he meets with his old friend Ignatius Gallaher who has traveled the world and become a successful journalist. As Gallaher talks about his experiences, Little Chandler reflects on what stood in his way of adequate what he wanted to be in life-a poet. He comments that he was sure that he could do something better than his friend had ever done, or could ever do yet he questions what stood in his way. After he returns home he thinks more about Gallehers adventures and compares them to what he sees as his dull existence.For example, as he looks at a picture of his wife he notes that the composure of her eyes irritated a nd repelled him. He also notices that they had no passion, especially when compared to the rich Jewesses that Gallaher had described so vividly. Little Chandler noted how their dark, oriental eyes were so full of passion and asked himself why had he married the eyes in the photograph?(81). At this point, Little Chandlers desire for adventure is seen most clearly.He asks himself could he not escape from his little house? Was it too late for him to try to live bravely like Gallaher?(81). As he holds his child in his arms his question is answered he realizes that his quest is hopeless. As the child cries, the poems that Little Chandler had been reading become less and less auditable. The poems, compose by a romantic Irish poet, seem to represent the possibility for Little Chandler to escape. As the childs cries take over the poetry, reality also takes over the possibility of adventure and escape for Little Chandler. He now realizes that he is in fact a prisoner for life(82).

The Council Of Trent

The Council Of TrentThroughout the early 1500s many Europeans sought to reform the structure and traditions of the Catholic church. Riots and protests step by step spread to various parts of Europe causing many regime including the Catholic church service to panic. The Council of Trent was called in 1545 by Pope Paul III to serve to these concerns and to the Protestant Revolt. It included an ecumenical council made up of all of the bishops of the Catholic Church, which discussed the various concerns presented. This document summary will non analyze The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent in its sinlessty. This analysis will focus upon the fourth session written in 1546, and the twenty-third session, including the oration de watchred in the last session in 1559 through 1563. The Council was a room to reinforce the authority of the papacy and to fight back against the rise of Protestantism. The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent increased papal authority, as it w as intended as a warning for all some other forms of Christianity that the authority and legitimacy of the Catholic Church was not to be questioned or threatened. The Council of Trent was vital in the consolidation of papal power.The Council of Trent gives us insight into the power of the Catholic Church in the mid 1500s. Although its numbers had been dwindling, the Catholic Church had the ability fight back in force. We can assume by the authoritative nomenclature of the Council of Trent that the Catholic Church greatly feared the growing strength of the protestant movement passim Europe. The power of the church is evident by the aggressive language in the document such as no one dare or presume under any pretext whatsoever to reject it and by authorities describing those who do not follow the canons as an anathema. An anathema in essence means condemning someone to hell. Even subsequently the charges by reformists such as Luther and Calvin, the Catholic Church keep mum had th e influence to directly threaten and condemn Protestantism. The Council of Trent legitimizes under Catholic law, papal authority to do whatever necessary to go on the spread of Protestantism and bring former Catholics back to the church in numerous ways.First, The Council of Trent increased papal authority by passing a decree concerning the return of sacred books. The Council states that canonical books (the Bible) should be printed in its entirety as they are in the Vulgate edition. The Council states that If any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they submit been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition permit him be anathema. The Vulgate edition included deuterocanonicals, which were books not available in Hebrew yet were deemed acceptable to be included in the Bible. The Protestants did not accept these books as canonical and called it biblical apocrypha. This gives us greater indication that the Council of Trent was among other things, a counter in reaction to the teachings of Protestantism.Secondly, The Council of Trent increased papal authority by legitimizing enforcement methods to dampen the spread of any edition of sacred documents not verified by the Catholic Church. The Council states that the Vulgate edition, be printed in the most correct manner possible and that it shall not be lawful for any one to print, or cause to be printed, any books whatsoever, on sacred matters, without the name of the authorunless they shall have been first examined and approve by the Ordinary. Moreover the council states that Those who ledshall be subject to the same penalties as printersthey who have them in their possession or shall read them, shall, unless they discover the authors, be themselves regarded as the authors This would have harsh implications as just having a copy of an anonymous biblical text would deem you legally responsible and subject to punishment. It must be noted that Luther published his Bible in 1534, which meant that the Council of Trent deemed Luther to be a threat to the Catholic Church. They soon took the necessary means to prevent its (and other bible translations) publication. This could also give us a greater appreciation of the significance of the Gutenberg Press which could produce multiple copies of works rapidly. The Catholic Church must have tangle their power to centralize production of biblical texts was diminishing. The Council of Trent would legitimize the authority of the papacy that The Catholic Churchs interpretation of the bible would be absolute.Thirdly, The Council of Trent increased papal power by equating Catholic Church tradition with the scripture. The Council states that Truth and discipline are contained in the written books, and the unwritten traditions which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ himselfhave come d protest to us, transmitted as it were from hand t o hand. This would have the potential to greatly enhance papal authority on which interpretation of the bible would be permitted. This would also be a direct counter to refute and denounce the protestant belief that man can learn everything he needed to have about God through scripture alone and his individual relationship with Christ.We can also notice from The Council of Trent, that papal authority to ordinate priests and bishops is consolidated. The Council states that those which are not officially ordained by the Catholic Church are to be regarded as thieves and robbers. The Catholic Church handles protestant intrusts for the common people to elect their own priests and bishops. Moreover the Council enforces the legitimacy of their bishops who are chosen by the Roman pontiff. If anyone says that the bishops who are chosen by the authority of the Roman pontiff are not unbowed and legitimate bishops, but merely human deception, let him be anathema. Again, this is an indicatio n that the Council of Trent was a direct refutation of the growing protestant rituals which broke with Catholic tradition.Finally, The Council of Trent firm placed the authority in the hands of the papacy to declare that only those who are known for their virtues, not for their own ambition, who will serve the interests of the people, not their own, and who desire to be useful rather then invested with authority, will be chosen for the discharge of ecclesiastical offices. This decree gave the church the authority to expel those who did not live up to the standards of the Catholic Church. This in an indication that the Catholic Church believed that it needed to reform itself in someway to convince the masses that they were taking steps to depression out corruption.It could also be beneficial to consider to impact of the Council of Trent on the authority of princes and other secular rulers. The Council deemed it proper that secular princes also be admonished of their concern being confident that as Catholics whom God has willed to be protectors of the holy faith and church. The Council of Trent gave princes the opportunity to potentially use the authority of the church to suppress supporters of the reformation. This is an indication that the Church was willing to work with princes to ensure the survival of Catholicism and the destruction of Protestantism.The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent is clearly a biased document and does not give us the opposing opinions of the Protestants throughout Europe. Furthermore, this document does not attempt to understand, or reconcile the grievances of the Protestants. Thus it makes no attempt to legitimize the criticism of the Catholic Church by Protestants, but to criminalize their criticism. It is written by an ecumenical council to legitimize in writing, their prosecution of what they deem to be blasphemy. However, we can assume that numerous people throughout Europe still valued the opinion of the Catholic Chu rch. With the proclamation of the Council of Trent, Catholics saw their church take action against the rising power of Protestantism, and it would be safe to imagine that their fears would diminish side by side(p) the publication of the Council of Trent. It is apparent throughout the document, that the Council of Trent centralizes the decision making process of the Catholic Church and its ability to persecute individuals who contradicted their strict interpretation of the Christian faith. It is evident after carefully analyzing the text that The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent increased papal authority, as it was intended as a warning for all other forms of Christianity that the authority and legitimacy of the Catholic Church was not to be questioned or threatened.

Representation of Genders in the Media

Representation of Genders in the MediaCourse Diary Entry 1Liesbet van Zoonen Feminist Media Studies (chapter 6, pp 87 104)1. ABSTRACTThe sixth chapter of Van Zoonens book Feminist Media Studies, Spectatorship and the Gaze, provides a compelling introduction to the ara of feminist film studies, more specific all in ally, to different issues surrounding the concept of the gaze. Van Zoonen swallows on the arguments of Laura Mulveys work, who use psychoanalytic wights in explaining why women are presented in the media as macrocosm looked at and men as the ones who act. Van Zoonen stresses the difficulty of the proponents of psychoanalysis to explain the pleasures of pistillate spectatorship, which, nevertheless, can be accounted for by employing different perspectives on media studies. After discussing ideas regarding the male gaze, Van Zoonen turns her attention to the way images of men are presented in popular media, emphasising the point that, out of fear that their image co uld be homoeroticised, different methods and narrative codes are employed in devote to make the objectification of male bodies less evident. Hence, the traditional intelligence of men being the ones who nourish the power and women the ones who are looked at is still in place in patriarchal cultures, until now though there are signs of trying to put it aside.2. OUTLINEwomen are constructed in western popular media as being the passive object of the male gaze, whereas men as being the ones who act the psychoanalytical paradigm was employed to explain this state of factsa) Laura Mulvey used psychoanalysis in her study of internal practice media copys as a useful tool in explaining the pleasures of male spectatorship, though failing to explain the independent wo universely pleasure of looking at menscopophilia the deriving of sexual pleasures simply by lookingnarcissistic identification the desire of men to identify themselves with former(a) men, presented on the screen as fl awless charactersthe film industry is linked to patriarchy, harmonize to Laura Mulvey some(prenominal) scopophilia and narcissistic identification are achieved by the way filmmakers frame the action, including the objectification of women the male gazefear of castration the trauma pineed by boys when discovering the physical gender differences is diminished by the way male spectators take control over womens bodies in the film industryone of the problems of the way Mulvey employed psychoanalysis it equates maleness with being male and femininity with being pistillateb) Mary Ann Doane contends the impossibility of reversing the gender roles (i.e. men becoming feminine and women masculine)no preconditions of voyeurism in women in puerility women do not experience the distancing from their mothers that boys do because of the sexual differencesthe female spectator can become masculinized by identifying with the male characters in the film or narcissistically identifying with obje ctified female charactersc) criticism of the psychoanalytic paradigm it reinforces the patriarchal norms by excluding the possibility of women to derive pleasure from locationing media productsWomen derive pleasure by looking at other women the psychoanalytical paradigm and beyonda) some argue that the bonding between girls and their mothers creates the pre-conditions of finding pleasure in looking at other womenb) women have coexisting latent homosexual and manifest heterosexual desires Chodorows theory of female developmentc) Arbuthnot and Seneca assert that the psychoanalytic theory is concerned with male spectatorship and thus not captivate to examine female experiences and motivationsWomen derive pleasure by looking at mena) Christianity repressing the abundance of nude representations of men made the patriarchal order imperceptible, whilst it still is the substratum of most societiesb) the female gaze which is masculine by definition looking at the male body is less dan gerous than the homosexual gazec) narrative and visual techniques lessen the degree of subjection of the male body to the gaze of the female spectatorshipe.g. staring back at the viewer, looking up or away from the camera, the text accompanying the images personifying male bodies and thus creating charactersmen presented as wide awake (e.g. signs of physical activity or labour) and in control, just happening to be looked at, not as posing specifically for being viewed by female or male spectatorsmale bodies presented like romantic objects, not sexual ones (e.g. Playgirl)3. LITERATURE REVIEWThe triplet chapters I have chosen Kaplans (1983), Staceys (1988) and Van Zoonens (1994) which do not offer a comprehensive banter of the issue of the gaze, draw on the psychoanalytic explanations of the male gaze and attempt to explain which are the pleasures derived by female spectators watching media products. Hence, all authors use Laura Mulveys and Mary Ann Doanes ideas as a starting po int for their discussion Kaplan argues that psychoanalysis is a useful tool , but not ineluctably uncovering essential truths about the human psyche (1983 23). She boost argues that it can explain only the current structural organization of society, which, I would argue, is a Marxist perspective in her view, cinema is seen as a meat of releasing the tensions created by the industrial society and psychoanalysis as a necessary means to understand the causes of these (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988) identifies the gaps in Mulveys line of argument, more precisely the discussion of the male as an erotic object (which Van Zoonen analyses) and of female homosexuality, and exploits the latter to address one of the issues tackled in little depth by Van Zoonen (1994) female homosexual pleasure, which has been ignored by studies within the psychoanalytic framework. Stacey (1988), like Van Zoonen (1994), draws on Mary Ann Doanes idea that womens pleasures are not related to fetishism and voyeu rism, as mens are and further acknowledges Mulveys argument according to which women oscillate between male and female identifications.In discussing possibilities for understanding and explaining the female gaze, all terzetto authors argue that the opposite of roles is impossible without losing the specific gender identification the female spectator becomes masculinized and vice-versa, and thus the structure remains basically unchanged (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988), as does Van Zoonen (1994), rhetorically asks if women necessarily have to occupy feminine positions and men masculine ones. I would suggest that masculine and feminine actually refer to a set of characteristics associated with men and women respectively only because it has traditionally been thought that they occur more often in the specific gender from which their names derive. Hence, they are not intrinsic to men or women. However, there remains the problem that they are in opposition, not on equal terms. Moreover, if these names which refer to gender and sexual roles would be disregarded, I gestate it would not be a problem for female spectators to adopt an active (masculine) stance anymore.Further discussing the feminine and masculine spectatorships, Stacey (1988) contends that the subjectivities of spectators should be also taken into account, even if their standpoint is seen as masculine. Kaplan notes, drawing on Mary Ann Doanes argument, that if attempting to confer female spectatorship an active role and not masculinizing it, there is the danger of denying pleasure and of disembodying their spectator (Kaplan, 1983 28). An active main female character nearly always loses her traditional feminine characteristics in so doing of kindness, humaneness, motherliness (Kaplan, 1983 29). The problem with this statement is that all these characteristics of femininity are actually constructed in the same way as concepts like active, sexually desirable etc are. Therefore, Kaplans statement does n o justice to the role of the female spectator.The dominant images of women, all male constructs, as Kaplan (1983) emphasizes, are the objects of male fetishism and voyeurism, as all three authors mention. In addition to Van Zoonens (1994) overarching discussion of these Freudian concepts, Kaplan (1983) points at three male gazes in popular media, identified by Laura Mulvey that of the film-maker, of the film viewer and of male characters in the film. According to this explanation of females position in the film framework, Kaplan argues, the man owns the desire and the woman (1983 27), whereas female spectators only receive and return the gaze but cannot act upon it (1983 31). Hence, male and female spectatorships are different in essential respects.All three authors have a feminist standpoint in common from whence they look at the representation of women in popular media. Stacey (1988) is plausibly the most dedicated of all three to the feminist cause, discussing issues which are t aboo for other scholars (feminist or not) the homosexual female spectatorship. The arguments they bring forward overlap, being antonymous in the respect that all offer new information. However, they do not discuss each others contribution to the feminist debate mainly because all three (Stacey to a lesser degree) offer an overview of the arguments brought forward by Laura Mulvey and Mary Ann Doane. All three concluded by pointing to the need of further discussing the sources of pleasure for female spectators both in relation to men and to other women. Moreover, the problem of confounding gender identifications with sexuality in film studies has also been stated as being an issue.4. CROSSCUTTING THEMESThe issues concerning the representation of genders in the media is one of the most important areas of concern for feminist scholars because of the many assumptions hidden under what comes across as common-sense. Nevertheless, this is only one of the issues in which feminists are inter ested. Among the general concern with the resources of conferring women a unessential role in patriarchal societies, feminists address issues of work and employment, and of motherhood. These two themes have several links with those raised by Van Zoonens chapter on the male and female gaze in popular media.One of the most evident crosscutting themes is that of womens passivity and male activity and control. As we have seen in Van Zoonens chapter (1994), female spectatorship is constructed as being passive and to be looked at, whilst male spectators act upon women by looking at their objectified bodies. Witz (1993/1997) asserts that women have traditionally been seen as having the natural duty to do the domestic work, not men, and that feminists struggled to determine the official recognition of this second job women performed. At least since the 18th Century, when the Victorian house servant Ideology constructed women as passive, men have had the active role in a family, working in order to earn a wage for the household. Women, on the other side, have been seen as confined to the private sphere of life and, thus, as being passive since they did not have an active role in the public sphere, as men did. This way of seeing women as inferior to men has survived until the present day, when women have also acceded to work positions, and it can be well seen in the structure of the labour market and in the representation of women in the media.The images of women in popular media, as objects of the male gaze, are opposed to representations of motherhood in different cultures. Reynolds notes that the good mother is endlessly patient, forgiving, nurturing and, most important of all, unfailing in her love (1996 41) this characterization powerfully contrasts with the images of women as sexualized objects or as secondary characters who only disrupt the narrative. For children, mothers are the main characters of their stories and are entirely feminine (whereas the character of a mother in popular media would be either masculinized or it would be the object of the male gaze). Nevertheless, as Reynolds further argues, the problem is that in reality mothering is synonymous with subjugation (1996 42). Moreover, motherhood is linked with psychoanalysis and the way boys suffer a trauma when they discover their difference from their mothers.In conclusion, the chapters I have looked at on different topics written by feminists share the same view that women are currently oppressed in patriarchal cultures. Women share subordination roles in media, at work, in the family etc. However, the hegemony of patriarchy is most evident in media representations of women.ReferencesKaplan, E. Ann (1983) Women and Film Both Sides of the Camera, London and New York Routledge, pp. 125-141Reynolds, Kimberly (1996) Mothers in Madoc-Jones, Beryl Coates, Jennifer An Introduction to Womens Studies, Oxford Blackwell, pp. 38-61Stacey, Jackie (1988) Desperately Seeking Difference in Gamman, Lorraine Marshment, Margaret (Eds.) The Female Gaze Women as Viewers of customary Culture, London Womens Press, pp. 112-129Van Zoonen, Liesbet (1994) Feminist Media Studies, London Sage, pp. 87 -104Witz, Anne (1993/1997) Women and Work in Robinson, Victoria and Richardson, Diane (Eds.) Introducing Womens Studies, 2nd edition, London MacMillan, pp.239-58

Strategic Human Resource Management And Assessment Centre Management Essay

Strategic Human Resource Management And sagaciousness decoct Management stressAnswer Strategic Human Resource Management is the efficient port of organising the constitute outforce by the implementation of a particular strategy, where employees procedure can attend to to accomplish the planned fundamental lawal targets, such as increasing revenue or improving the profit margin. Strategic Human Resource wariness helps to recognise the phone line organization strategy that you can adopt. For example, you implement an effective dressing and performance improvement plan to improve client service. More satisfactory customer service testament bring in more revenue. It gives clear direction for a business, without strategic benignant imaginativeness management managers provide be unwitting somewhat business goals, targets and competitors and it can give rise to un reliable environment. Strategic human resource management is withal about considering the keep companys i nternal strengths and weaknesses. This is really significant as the strengths and weaknesses of a companys human resources have a direct effect on the how a company will do in the future.2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using an assessment centre to select employees Answer Assessment Centre is a process whereby a group of participants undertakes a series of problem-related exercises under observation, so that skills and contri just nowion persona can be assessed. Various methods of assessment whitethorn be practice sessiond, including interviews, group discussions and group problem solving exercise. Assessment centres be used in selection for recruitment and promotion and in training and development, and aim to provide an organization with an assessment process that is consistent, free of prejudice, and fair. Assessment Centre brings about umteen advantages. It provides arrangings with the opportunity to see how an individual performs in a work situation. It provides more in depth profile of a worker which can help an organisation to gain more knowledge about an individual. Assessment centres non only help the organization in placing the right candidate for the right job but overly helps in developing the participants. When participants see differents handling the same exercise differently, it gives them an insight into their own performance thereby raises the credibility of the selection procedure. Stimulations can also help to assess leadership skills. However some anticipated disadvantages of assessment centre could be Assessment Centre requires highly skilled observers as the observers may bring in their own perceptions and biases while evaluating. Those who receive poor assessment might become de motivated and might lose confidence in their abilities. Assessment Centre is very courtly and time consuming3. Explore the reasons why recruitment, selection and training personifys are one and a half to terce times a persons salary Answer Recruitment is best described as the way in which an organisation tries to source or attract the pack from whom it will ultimately perplex selections. Recruitment strategies overwhelm efforts to reach better pools of candidates and to sell the organisation as an employer of choice. Selection is about choosing between job candidates. It is about how to make a fair and accurate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of applicants and how to identify the candidate who is most likely to perform well in the job. Employment recruitment is comprise of several stages verifying that a vacancy exists drawing up a job specification finding candidates selecting them by interviewing and new(prenominal) authority such as conducting a psychometric test and making a job offer. Effective recruitment is important in achieving high organisational performance and minimizing labour turnover. Employees may be recruited either externally or internally. Selection is a two way process and s hould be just as much about employees as the other way round. Employee needs to decide the company is a shopping centre they can work in. The company needs to decide the employees will fit within organisation, job and team itself or not. The search of a perfect selection method continues. More attention is paid to the cost of the poor selection. It should be noted that in recruitment agencies are often used as they provide expert advice on how advertisements should be worded and where traind which tend to be very much expensive. there are direct costs of workings with external agencies. Direct advertising cost, as local press, corporate website, specialist journals the costly as well. These are very real costs to the employers Administration costs that are sending out job information, letters, arranging selection events, etc. Managers time that is short listing, interviewing, selection, taking up references Training cost in order to ensure everyone has the necessary skills to r ecruit. Administration costs of new employee that is chip inroll, pensions, etc Recruiting from overseas that is employers looking for overseas staff and then by giving selected employees work visa and arrangements for their travel. After that their accommodation cost can be very much expensive. 4. Analyse the strategies a business can use to retain its staff Answer Employee motivation and performance management depend on good systems that offer both financial and non-financial rewards (non- financial rewards). In reality, despite the views of Herzberg that monetary methods of motivation have little value, firms still use money as a major incentive. There are a variety of payment systems that a business could use to motivate its employees. Some of the Financial rewards are Share ownership This is a common incentive for senior managers who are given shares in the company rather than a straight forward bonus or membership of a profit sharing scheme. It means that some staff is also s hareholders. Because of share ownership the employees will work harder as they have a stake in the company, just like a shareholder has. Workers are slight likely to leave the firm. Performance-related pay This is paid to those employees who meet certain targets. The targets are often evaluated and reviewed in regular appraisals with managers. It is system that is being increasingly used in businesses in the UK. It is easier for managers to monitor and control their staff. It reduces the amount of time spent on industrial relations (negotiations with trade unions). Fringe Benefits These are often known as perks and are items an employee receives in addition to their normal wage or salary e.g. company car, private health insurance, free meals. It encourages loyalty to a company so employees may stay for longer and also it helps meet workers human and social needs. Piece-rate is paying a worker per item they produce in a certain period of time. It was recommended by the motivation th eorist Taylor and had close links with working on production lines. It tends to increases speed of work and therefore productivity. Some of the Non financial rewards are Job enrichment means giving workers more interesting, challenging and complex tasks. Workers should also be given the opportunity to complete a whole unit of work rather than individual separate tasks. This is motivating for several reasons as it gives workers the chance to test themselves and use their full range of ability it is more motivating as it increases the complexity or challenge involved in the task, rather than just simply providing more variety to the work. Workers should be able to obtain a greater sense of achievement and possibly more praise or recognition of their work when they have successfully completed a tougher task. Job enlargement means simply giving workers more tasks to do of a similar nature or complexity. This will reduce the monotony or repetition involved in a persons work but over time this will not increase a persons satisfaction or sense of achievement. Team working is where employees work in groups or teams. This can meet a workers social needs as a person can more easily build friendships and intuitive feeling a sense of belonging to a unit or group and hopefully to the business as a whole. This applies in much the same way as being a member of a sports team or any other team representing a school or college. A business can create a number of different types of team examples include production teams (often known as cells), quality circles and management teams. Team working has other advantages to a firm over and above improving motivation. It can lead to greater flexibility of production, as employees are likely to be multi-skilled (able to do more than one persons job) as they have learnt from other team members or undertaken formal job rotation. This means they can cover any absences and can quickly accommodate to a new production technique. Empowerment i s like delegation. It is when power or authority is given to employees so they can make their own decisions regarding their working life. For pillowcase workers have control over how to use their time and deciding the priority of tasks that need to be done. They are encouraged to consider problems they face and come up with some solutions. For empowerment to be successful, workers must have adequate training and/or good skill levels in order to be trusted to make the correct decisions. If they do not, then expensive mistakes can be made that could affect the whole business. It is the managers job to judge whether a subordinate can sleep together with more authority and decision-making power. It should be noted however, that even if managers pass down authority to their subordinates, they are still responsible for the work that is done by them.Essay 5. Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business environments Does this reduce or increase the need for human resource readying? Justify. (Word trap 1000 1500 words) Answer Modern Organisations operate in increasingly dynamic and uncertain business environments this increases the need for human resource training. Human resource planning has traditionally been used by organisations to ensure that the right person is in the right job at the right time. Due to Increase in environmental instability the need for Human resource planning in leading organisations has increased. It is the process by which management determines how the organisation should move from its current manpower office staff to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing subjects which result in both the organisation and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits. Currently human resource planning occurs within the broad perspective of organisational and strategic business planning. It involv es forecasting the organisations future human needs and planning for how those needs will be met. It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programmes to ensure that people are available with appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organisation needs them. It may also involve developing and implementing programmes to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organisational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1 985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs and inform planners when revisions in their forecasts and programmes are needed. In other words, Human resource planning is directly and closely associated with the development and success of an organisation. If an organisation is desperate to be dominant in its industry, compared with other rivals, it should pay more attention to the function of Human resource planning and apply it scientifically. consummate(a) Atlantic is the second largest long haul airline in the UK and the troika largest European carrier over the North Atlantic. Since Virgin Atlantic Airways was founded in 1984, it has become Britains second largest carrier serving the worlds major cities. Now based at both Londons Gatwick and Heathrow airports, it operates long haul services to thirty destinations world-wide as far apart as Las Vegas and Shanghai. Its route network has grown rapidly to include destinations in the US, Caribbean, Far East, India and Africa, and they have won virtually every award the travel industry has to offer. Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed huge popularity, winning top business, consumer and trade awards from most the world. The airline has pioneered a range of innovations setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Despite Virgin Atlantics growth the service still remains cu stomer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation. Virgin Atlantic has carried around 53m passengers since it began operations and now employs almost 9000 people worldwide. Human Resource planning plays an important role in Virgin Atlantic Airways. The future in any country is uncertain i.e. there are political, cultural, expert changes taking place every day. This effects the employment situation. Accordingly Virgin Atlantic Airways may have to appoint or remove people. Therefore Human Resource mean can only be a guiding factor. If Virgin Atlantic Airways does not plan for the future they have less opportunity to survive the contention ahead with a lot of competitors like British Airways, Bmi, British midland, American Airlines, Continental and Delta. Without the process of human resource planning if Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to find out how many people will be required in future they will have elaboration problems. In case of recessio n if Virgin Atlantic Airlines wants to undergo retrenchment, without human resource planning it will be difficult for the business to decide which departments cost should be cut down, which departments workers should be fired and how many people should be laid off. Therefore major issues of a business such as expansion, diversification, technological change, should be backed up by the availability of human resources. As it suggest modification in the plan when the expected manpower is not available. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to take further actions. The company will not be able to identify the number of jobs which will become vacant in the near future. Without Human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to offset dubiety and change. Sometime the organisationmay have machines and money but not men and consequently the production cannot be started. The individual needs of the employees for the promotions transfers, salary enhancement, better benef its will not be provided if business is unaware of human resource planning, therefore employees will suffer from financial and non financial rewards and will lose the interest in the business resulting in absence and risk for business in long term. Without human resource planning business will be unable to anticipate the cost of salary, benefits and all the cost of human resources facilitating the formulation of budgets in a society. Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to provide required working conditions in a business. As according to Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, also referred to as HASAW or HSW, is the primary piece of code covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. Workplace health and safety is an important issue for every business. Every employee needs to be aware of the importance of these issues in the study and the best way to improve staff sensory faculty of these issues is by providing access to a health and safety course. Without human resource planning Virgin Atlantic Airlines will not be able to closely know what important safety measures should be taken into an account as well how staff awareness of importance of these issues can be improved. Resulting in a lot of unhealthy activities as well harmful incidents for workers.To summarise an effective HR planning helps the company to prepare ahead of time for these vacancies rather than acting in a reactionary manner when an employee resigns unexpectedly. Another benefit of having a recruiting plan in place is that the recruiters know where to target theirjob searchto find the best candidates. Successful recruiters plan ahead and know what skill sets are essential for the right candidates, and they know how to interview effectively. Companies that include HR planning are prepared for future open positio ns that result frombusinessgrowth and expansion. Another benefit of HR planning is having career-development procedures, which consist of identifying future company leaders and helping them grow. This means that when an executive or manager leaves or retires, there is already someone ready to promote into the position.Successful HR planning includes training models and procedures. This training includes new-hire training to teach new employees about the company culture, internaldatabases, software, and the skill sets necessary for specific positions. The benefit of this type of training is that all employees are taught the same thing in the same manner, which creates consistency and accuracy in daily work. Effective HR planning incorporates aspects of employee management, such asperformancereviews and disciplinary procedures. Companies benefit from having these systems in place because they help managers do their jobs and prevent potential lawsuits. Standardized performance reviews help managers look for key items when reviewing and ranking subordinates and ensure that everyone is reviewed on the same scale. Therefore without Human resource planning business will not be able to survive in short term. As Human resource planning is a binding of a business survival.

Native American Voices Know the Definition of Native American Essay ex

Many school children celebrate a clich Thanksgiving tradition in class where they shimmer Indians and Pilgrims, and some children engage in the play of Cowboys vs. Indians. It is known that some died when colonization occurred, that some fought the United States government, and that they can be boiled down to just other school mascot. This is what many population understand of the original inhabitants of America. Historical knowledge of these people has been shallow and stereotyped. The past 150 years has given birth to a literate people now able to record their past, present, and future. Native American literature, as it evolves, defines the Native American culture and its status in the world, as an evolving people, to a slap-uper extent so than any historical account can.Before colonization, the Native Americans used oral traditions to teach, remember, entertain, and pray. Much of this knowledge was lost because of various reasons. After translation became an preference some of these were written down. This is the beginning of Native American literature, the becoming of sound into word. A major pattern of distrust for the face cloth mans course are evident in this beginning of their literature. Cochise, an Apache leader, made a speech in 1872, loosely entitled I am Alone that addressed Americans. This was translated by a white man. It is not known how accurate it is, however, it conveys a strong message. Cochise is a proud man, who is always truthful. I hereby pledge my word, a word that has never been depressed (1463). He has his doubts about the truthfulness of the Whites whom he watched come in small numbers and had welcomed in friendship. Cochise was confused to their behavior, At last your soldiers did me a very great wrong(1463). When they ... ...can literature you find the accounts of things such as the slaughtering of buffalo and leaving them to rot on the ground, and the United States government forbidding Indians to practice their religio us rites and beliefs (Momaday 2507). The account statement books do not tell these things. History is written by those who write, and often enough by the ones that find themselves in power by gift or coercion. History has dealt the indigenous cultures of America a hard blow. The culture-shock faced by these people, who have dwindled down in number from the vast and populous tribes, is one that is fluid being felt today. Fortunately more and more Native American literature is being written and discovered. From these accounts, verse, and prose and insight can be gained into these proud people who are living in another mans world, once theirs, and have paid to do so ever since.

The Impact Of Televison On Behavior :: essays research papers

The Impact Of Televison On Behavior(Violence in television programs and movies and its impact on children and families is not a new topic. Almost 30 years past the U.S. Surgeon General warned Americans about the negative feat of television have on the emotions and behaviours of children.)I just want to continue viewing our standpoints regarding the negative effect it has on societyTalkshows"Husband Sees Prostitute," "Mistress Meets Wife," "Girl Sleeps with Over 100 Men," "My Girlfriend is a Guy," "Teenage Prostitution," "Maid-of-Honor Slept with Girl One Week Before Wedding," commonly Jerry Springer topics Why are people fascinated with such topics? What says it of our society? The biggest problem is that the behaviours are depicted are common, sensible, and, perhaps, even worth copying. Approximately sestet percent of mean solar daytime talk show viewers are under 11. Shows like Springers according to a New York Times journalist c ause force out in society and argued that the source of the problem lies in the insatiable lust of the audience for to a greater extent and more gory forcefulness. The only way to stop violence on television---either on the news or on Springer-type shows--is to cut the demand for it, thereby removing the profit.Television news, due primarily to its obsession with crime and violence, definitely has a negative impact upon our society. TV news broadcasts use dramatic, usually violent stories and images to capture and maintain an audience, under the pretence of keeping it informed. This overabundance of crime and violence on TV news inflate the publics cultisms for personal safety. People, for the most part, believe that TV news is an accurate reflection of reality. They become frightened of the cities they live in, and fear that criminals will harm them or their loved ones. Graphic coverage of wars, bombings, murders and natural disasters can quite possibly lead to nightmares or ev en depression.Research tells us the following about children and television School-age children watch an average of 28 hours of television per week. Children are influenced by advertisements. They want what they see. Over 50 percent of children have a TV in their bedroom. Children who watch a lot of TV are more overweight than other children. Children under 2 years old no TV (or other media, such as computers or videos) Children over 2 years old maximum of 1 to 2 hours of TV (and other media) per day According to experts, children who watch too much TV tend to be less interested in physical activity, often develop verbal skills more slowly and tend to be less confident in social situations.