Popularity of Soccer

Soccer — or football, as it is called by the rest of the world outside the United States — is surely the most popular sport in the world. Every four years, the world championship of soccer, the World Cup, is watched by literally billions all over the world, beating out the United States professional football's Superbowl by far. It is estimated that 1. 7 billion television viewers watched the World Cup final between France and Brazil in July of 1998. And it is also a genuine world championship, involving teams from 32 countries in the final rounds, unlike the much more parochial and misnamed World Series in American baseball (that doesn't even involve Japan or Cuba, two baseball hotbeds). But although soccer has become an important sport in the American sports scene, it will never make inroads into the hearts and markets of American sports the way that football, basketball, hockey, baseball, and even tennis and golf have done. There are many reasons for this. The biggest reason for soccer's failure as a mass appeal sport in the United States is that it doesn't conform easily to the demands of television. Basketball succeeds enormously in America because it regularly schedules what it calls â€Å"television time-outs† as well as the time-outs that the teams themselves call to re-group, not to mention half-times and, on the professional level, quarter breaks. Those time-outs in the action are ideally made for television commercials. And television coverage is the lifeblood of American sports. College basketball lives for a game scheduled on CBS or ESPN (highly recruited high school players are more likely to go to a team that regularly gets national television exposure), and we could even say that television coverage has dictated the pace and feel of American football. Anyone who has attended a live football game knows how commercial time-outs slow the game and sometimes, at its most exciting moments, disrupt the flow of events. There is no serious objection, however, because without television, football knows that it simply wouldn't remain in the homes and hearts of Americans. Also, without those advertising dollars, the teams couldn't afford the sky-high salaries of their high-priced superstars. Soccer, on the other hand, except for its half-time break, has no time-outs; except for half-time, it is constant run, run, run, run, back and forth, back and forth, relentlessly, with only a few seconds of relaxation when a goal is scored, and that can happen seldom, sometimes never. The best that commercial television coverage can hope for is an injury time-out, and in soccer that happens only with decapitation or disembowelment. Second, Americans love their violence, and soccer doesn't deliver on this score the way that American football and hockey do. There are brief moments, spurts of violence, yes, but fans can't expect the full-time menu of bone-crushing carnage that American football and hockey can deliver minute after minute, game after game. In soccer, players are actually singled out and warned — shamed, with embarrassingly silly â€Å"yellow cards,† for acts of violence and duplicity that would be smiled at in most American sports other than tennis and golf. Third, it is just too difficult to score in soccer. America loves its football games with scores like 49 to 35 and a professional basketball game with scores below 100 is regarded as a defensive bore. In soccer, on the other hand, scores like 2 to 1, even 1 to 0, are commonplace and apparently desirable; games scoreless at the end of regulation time happen all the time. (In the 515 games played in the final phase in the history of the World Cup games through 1994, only 1584 goals have been scored. That's three a game! And if there is no resolution at the end of overtime, the teams resort to a shoot-out that has more to do with luck than with real soccer skills. Worse yet, it is possible for a team to dominate in terms of sheer talent and â€Å"shots-on-goal† and still lose the game by virtue of a momentary lapse in defensive attention, a stroke of bad luck, and the opponent's break-away goal. Things like that can happen, too, in baseball, but the problem somehow evens out over baseball's very long season of daily games. In soccer, it just isn't fair. Soccer authorities should consider making the goal smaller and doing away with the goalie to make scoring easier. And the business of starting over after each goal, in the middle of the field, has to be reconsidered. It's too much like the center-jump after each goal in the basketball game of yesteryear. It seems unlikely that Americans will ever fully comprehend or appreciate a sport in which players are not allowed to use their arms and hands. Although the footwork of soccer players is a magnificent skill to behold, most American fans are perplexed by straitjacketed soccer players' inability and unwillingness to â€Å"pick up the darn ball and run with it! † The inability to use substitutes (unless the player to be substituted for is lying dead or maimed on the field of play) is also bewildering to Americans, who glorify the â€Å"sixth man† in basketball and a baseball game in which virtually the entire roster (including an otherwise unemployable old man called â€Å"the designated hitter†) is deployed on the field at one time or another. Finally, the field in soccer is enormous. Considerably larger than the American football field, the soccer field could contain at least a dozen basketball courts. Americans like their action condensed, in a small field of vision — ten enormous sweaty people bouncing off one another and moving rapidly through a space the size of a medium-sized bedroom, twenty-two even larger people in bulky uniforms converging on a small, oddly shaped ball. In soccer, on the other hand, there is a premium on â€Å"spreading out,† not infringing upon the force field occupied by a team-mate, so that fancy foot-passing is possible. This spreading out across the vast meadow of the soccer playing field does not lend itself, again, to close get-down-and-dirty television scrutiny. Soccer is a great sport and it certainly deserves the increased attention and popularity it is getting on all levels. But — primarily, again, because it does not lend itself to television — it will never make it big in the United States the way these other sports have, not until it changes some of its fundamental strategies.

A Few Good Men

You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS A Few Good Men is a film that was released in 1992, a time when the United States was between military conflicts in the Persian Gulf and Kosovo. The film investigates the notions of absolute power, particularly in the military. Along with that, it also is about the legal investigation into the mysterious death of a marine at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. At the film’s climax, Col. Nathan Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson, is cross-examined by JAG lawyer, Lt. Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise. Accused of playing a role in the torture and death of a marine, Jessup is put in a position where he has to defend his actions and articulate his role of importance in the preservation of American freedom. The audience in the film which Jessup is trying to convince that he is absolved of any wrong doing is a jury made up of military officers. It is this group of people who decide the fate of Jessup. Through and interesting mixture of ethos, logos and pathos, Jessup employs a short, but well-rendered monologue to appeal to the jurors. When establishing a sense of ethos with his audience, Jessup does so simply by stating his name. As a Colonel in the United States Marine Corp. , his audience, also made up of military personnel would recognize that he is a high-ranking officer whose words and character should carry prestige. He also establishes ethos with a series of rhetorical questions: â€Å"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? When using rhetorical questions referring to whether or not Kaffee or his partner Weinburg would be up for the task of doing his job, Jessup is also asking these questions of the jurors. The strategy is to get one to ask one’s self if they could handle the tremendous responsibility that comes along with Col. Jessup’s role of defending America’s freedom at Guantanamo Bay. Chances are that given these questions, the members of the jury would recognize, if anything, that Jessup’s job and title are demanding and that he is a man of honor. Similarly, when Jessup states, â€Å"We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. † What he his doing is attempting to persuade his audience by using the inclusive pronoun â€Å"we† and the exclusive â€Å"you. † By â€Å"we† Jessup is implying we the true members of the United States military, we who protect the freedoms of our country and we who live by the credo: honor, code and loyalty. â€Å"You,† on the other hand, is referring to Kaffee who has the gaul to challenge Jessup’s role in a marine’s death. By implementing a we/you dialogue, Jessup is trying to appeal to his sense of credibility with the audience. Jessup also refers to the marine’s death as â€Å"tragic. † Using this type of word is important. By calling the death â€Å"tragic† his is exhibiting to his audience, the jury, that he is sympathetic to the loss of life—even when he is being accused of causing it. Showing his audience that he can be compassionate is also a way of establishing ethos with the jury Along with ethos, Jessup uses a good amount of emotional appeal, or pathos, in this monologue. The first line, for example, is â€Å"You can’t handle the truth! † This type of emotionally charged declaration is meant to inspire the emotions of the jury. By having established that he is not a man who will be pushed around on the witness stand, that he is a person who will fight back against his accusers, Jessup opens with an emotionally-loaded punch. Soon after, Jessup refers to his interrogator a â€Å"son. † While this may seem like a casual and unremarkable word, it is not. By calling Kaffee â€Å"son,† Jessup is again showing his contempt for the people who have the nerve to question his authority. In short, it is an insult. Using diminutive language to refer to someone who is in most regards Jessup’s peer emphasizes that while both people in this scene are men, Jessup holds rank over Kaffee. Jessup’s use of the word â€Å"son† to mark Kaffee is an attempt to persuade the jury’s view of the lawyer. In fact, may members of the audience probably out-ranked Kaffee. If they would see him also in this light, they would side with Jessup. Finally, toward the end of the monologue, Jessup states, â€Å"Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to. Listening to the words spoken, these lines are the most emotionally impactful. Jessup personally attacks Kaffee’s assertion that he felt he was entitled to the truth. By this and the previous examples, Jessup uses pathos to try to persuade his audience. Effectively, he is exhibiting his anger and passion to the audience, the jury, to counter act any argument or evidence presented against him. By trying to appeal to the emotions of the jury, Jessup hopes he can â€Å"out-bully† his opponent. While ethos and pathos are evident in Jessup’s monologue, he appeal to the audience’s intellect, or logos, is also present. While logos is most commonly exhibited through the usage of statistical data, expert testimony and survey findings, Jessup appeals to the jury’s sense of logos by constructing logical arguments. In the middle of Jessup’s monologue, he states, â€Å" I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. † Here, Jessup is appealing to his jury’s sense of logic. He is accusing Kaffee of engaging in hypocritical behavior. Jessup sees himself as almost a god-like figure, someone who â€Å"provides† America with safety and freedom with his actions. In Kaffee, he sees a beneficiary of that freedom who questions his authority. By trying to make Kaffee look like a hypocrite, he is attempting to persuade his audience with a logical argument. Jessup is effectively saying, â€Å"all of your luxuries and freedoms are granted to you by me†¦ who are you to bite the hand that feeds you? In trying to make the jury see this logical argument, Jessup hopes he can persuade them to see things his way. Through an interesting mix of appeals to credibility, emotions and intellect, Jessup tried to persuade the jury to understand his point of view. By using his military clout, choosing aggressive language and constructing logical arguments, Jessup defended his actions to the jury. Though it is at times effective, it was all for naught as moments after delivering this monologue, he succumbs to all the pathos built up in his speech and admits he is guilty.

Baldrige Criterion

To many people, strategic planning is something meant only for big businesses, but it is equally applicable to any type of business entity or organization. Strategic planning is matching the strengths of an organization to available opportunities. To do this effectively, an organization need to collect, screen, and analyze information about its environment. The organization also needs to have a clear understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and develop a clear mission, goals, and objectives (Wikipedia, n. . ). Acquiring this understanding often involves more work than expected. The organization must realistically assess its current state and device a plan of action to successfully make it better. So how does an organization gauge how well they are doing in term of matching their strengths to available opportunities? A self-assessment using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence can help an organization achieve high performance and move toward performance excellence (Balbridge. om). Even if the organization isn’t ready to apply for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Baldrige criteria are a framework for evaluating any organization’s processes, their impact on results, and its progress toward goals and objectives. The Baldrige criterion consists of seven key categories/indicators of success. One of these categories is strategic planning and it contains ten questions that are not routinely asked on how an organization can function more efficiently. In the case of University California, Berkeley’s and University of Colorado, Boulder’s campus-wide IT strategic plan, this paper will address some of these questions as they relate to Balbridge’s criteria for assessing strategic planning. The questions I will cover are: describe how the organization sets its strategic objectives into action plans, what the organization’s action plans are, and how the organization is able to project future performance on these key performance indicators or measures. In addition, this paper will also describe the following: how each university used the strategic planning process to address their needs, what are the university’s current strategic objectives, and the goals for each objective and the timetable for achieving these objectives. First of all, one of Baldridge’s criteria in strategic planning is answering the question of the organization’s current strategic objectives, the goals for each, and the timetable for achieving them. The following are the objectives for UC Basic IT resources that are adequately supported and refreshed in order to carry out their research, teaching and learning, and administrative work. 2. Seamless, integrated, immediate, and continuous self-service access to information and services. 3. Robust technology tools to support collaboration. 4. Access to tools and data/information that enable community members to develop their own integrated solutions. The UC-Bolder defined their strategic objectives as the following: 1. Universally available wireless network including all campus buildings and strategic open common spaces as well as access to a campus VPN. 2. Faculty purchase and renewal program allowing all faculties a significant subsidy for a new computer every several years. 3. Free antivirus and encryption to protect data as well as access to a variety of major software licenses. 4. Integrated email, calendaring, and scheduling (Exchange). 5. Accessible and multi-layered IT support including both centralized and dedicated IT personnel. 6. Classroom and online IT training. Although I did not go in depth about their objectives and timetables, clearly in each report, both universities exclusively defined what their IT strategic plans and objectives are for their future success. Charles McNamara (n. d. ), a leading strategic planning advisor, stated that goals should be designed and worded as much as possible to be specific, measurable, acceptable to those working to achieve the goals, realistic, timely, extending the capabilities of those working to achieve the goals, and rewarding to them, as well. By clearly defining what their goals and needs are, both universities mirrored the Baldrige criteria for strategic planning. Secondly, one of the ten questions asked in Baldridge criteria for strategic planning is how do you ensure that financial, human, and other resources are available to support the accomplishment of your action plans? In other words, how do the universities convert their strategic objectives into action plans through resource allocations? UC Boulder satisfied that question by having approximately 300 employees in the Information Technology Services. In addition, UC Boulder has also clearly defined how they will allocate their IT resources to ensure they meet their strategic goals. According to the website UC Boulder’s IT allocation is as follows: 1. Campus programs and projects (28%) 2. Academic technologies and spaces (25%) 3. Support, operations, and services (including network and telephony) (42%) 4. Administration amp; support (5%) With UC Berkeley, however, it paints a different picture. UC Berkeley did have an IT allocation but they used the generic term â€Å"resources† throughout their strategic plan and were not at all defined as compared to UC Boulder. Their means of resource support simply stated: â€Å"Researchers and research support staff across disciplines require a minimum level of research support with technical compatibility to facilitate research and the sharing of data, and to avoid significant reinvestment and training for each new research initiative. † By far UC Berkeley does not meet Baldridge criteria by not specifically allocating their resources. With goals and objectives clearly defined by both universities, a plan of action must take place. According to McNamara (n. d. ), action planning is carefully laying out how the strategic goals will be accomplished. Action planning often includes specifying objectives, or specific results, with each strategic goal. Therefore, reaching a strategic goal typically involves accomplishing a set of objectives along the way in that sense, an objective is still a goal, but on a smaller scale. Often, each objective is associated with a tactic, which is one of the methods needed to reach an objective. Therefore, implementing a strategy typically involves implementing a set of tactics along the way in that sense, a tactic is still a strategy, but on a smaller scale. He added that action planning also includes specifying responsibilities and timelines with each objective, or who needs to do what and by when. It should also include methods to monitor and evaluate the plan, which includes knowing how the organization will know who has done what and by when. With that said each university’s plan needs to address adapting and evolving with new and emerging technology to stay in accordance with the Baldrige criteria. UC Berkeley acknowledges how new technology will affect their strategic plan with the following statement in their plan, â€Å"New and emerging technology solution-building capabilities. They attempt to address new technologies in their 2030 plan, but unlike UC Berkeley, they do not address it specifically. UC Boulder’s attempt at planning for emerging technologies: â€Å"Flagship 2030; not only will advancements in research computing across campus help facilitate growth and excellence in research, the open, collaborative, and flexible spirit in which such advancements are pursued will help ensure research computing resources allow for new approaches to research, scholarly, and creative work, and bolster structural support for research and creative programs across campus. Last but not least, the Baldrige criterion asks the question. â€Å"What are your key performance measures or indicators for tracking the achievement and effectiveness of your action plans? † I have read both the universities report in its entirety but I did not find any mention of how each university would measure the successfulness of their strategic plan. It is kind of odd to me that they didn’t mention any indicators or measurement. Is this a common practice among the IT community to not take into account the importance of measuring the effectiveness of their IT strategies? When discussing measuring for effectiveness of the IT plan at UC Berkeley, Mr. Jack McCredie explains, â€Å"It is much more of a description of an end state that we are working for. We are more goal oriented, not number oriented, in our process. One UC Berkeley goal was to wire the campus, not count the number of nodes that are actually installed. Our board doesn’t seem to require particular dashboard numbers that say we are 38 percent of the way to accomplishing our goal.    Clearly in my opinion, both of the universities failed one area of the Baldridge criteria and are not showing any efforts and thoughts into establishing proper measures of effectiveness into their plans. In conclusion, in comparing the strategic IT plans of UC Berkeley and the University of Colorado at Boulder, similarities and differences become quickly evident. When Baldridge criteria for strategic planning are taken into account, in conjunction with comparing each strategic plan, the variation in d epth of commitment clearly shows. In my opinion, each universities IT strategic plan is not superior over the other as both have faults and missing some key ingredients in successfully attaining IT strategic planning superiority. As Charles McNamara stated, â€Å"A frequent complaint about strategic plans is that they are merely to-do lists of what to accomplish over the next few years. Or, others complain that strategic planning never seems to come in handy when the organization is faced with having to make a difficult, major decision. Or, other complains that strategic planning really doesnt help the organization face the future. These complaints arise because organizations fail to conduct a thorough strategic analysis as part of their strategic planning process. Instead, planners decide to plan only from what they know now. This makes the planning process much less strategic and a lot more guesswork. Strategic analysis is the heart of the strategic planning process and should not be ignored.

Case study Q1 and Q2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Q1 and Q2 - Case Study Example According to the data on fig.18.1 in this article, the market share between 2000-2012 shows progressive growth which clearly indicates competitive performance. The increase in share price means accumulate working capital of mass magnitude which helps it smoothly manage its widely dispersed market across the world. Besides, share prices are an indicator of investor confidence and general better overall performance. The financial and operation performance of Starbucks in table 18.1 in the article indicates significant upward trend in balance sheet from 2005 towards 2011. The meaning behind this is a strong and large asset base which explains overall desirable performance. Considering the wide geographical dispersion of Starbuck stores, the financial report indicates a sustainable future. Ranking by chain stores and market size put Starbuck ahead of the pack at 10789 followed by Horton with a gap of more than 1000 stores as shown in fig.18.3. It is worth to infer that Starbuck is doing well in the industry in terms of market size, financial gain and global presence. The success of Starbuck has come as result of creative and critical thinking of its management team. In regard to its significantly competitive market environment, strategic measures have put it through an upward growth. Historical background of the firm exhibit is as having started on an unstable ground until Schultz took over as the Chief Executive officer. Survival in the coffee industry has come far for this firm mainly as a result of realizing diversity of human tastes and customer care. At the centre of its success is diversity in its coffee brand. The cultural and economic uniqueness of its global market requires that it differentiate its product to meet their individual tastes and preferences. In this regard, Starbuck has differentiated its coffee brand into various tastes. Besides, it reframed its business model and marketing approaches. This included licensing retailers to

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Structure, Culture, Define, & Estimate - Essay Example According to the report findings  members contribute wholesomely to the project hence making it a success. The knowledge and needs of stakeholders are ingrained into WBS, allowing members to understand their place within the project. In addition, WBS portrays significant aspects of project, ensuring that all members align to tasks and processes being administered.  According to the paper it is clear that additional information required to help the project manager, Nicolette, is derived from previous events and plans within the industry . In using the previous WBS events, some adverse past issues can be eliminated since they become lessons in the current project. Learning and adoption of best practice becomes the norm. Information on how soccer events organized by other clubs in the area exists. The contacts of their project managers need to be obtained. The project manager will have a wider understanding about project expectations by liaising with them. People within the club and committee with past tournament project involvement, can assist in defining requirements and other project management issues. Nicolette can contact Chelsea football club to get access to professional referees and additional coaching on club leadership.  The project manager is able to map out requirements and individual tasks in order to complete the whole process. Identification of these tasks and requirements allows the project manager to accurately estimate and identify costs.

Common Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Common Assessment - Research Paper Example The company has been a subject of criticism for its products mainly due to the fact that they are causing high levels of obesity to the customers. In an effort to curb this recent challenge that it has been subject to mainly in the western countries, McDonald’s Corporation has introduced healthier items in its menu which are inclusive of: fruits, salads and wraps. The fast food restaurant as has already been preempted has operations in markets globally hence it is fairly distributed in very many countries. In regard to this paper though, the main attention will be placed in India, France, England and China as a critical analysis and comparison is carried out on the marketing mix that the company employs mainly in the identified countries. McDonald’s Corporation’s 4P’s Marketing Mix McDonald’s forms part of the brands that are best known worldwide hence its main aim in marketing is to continue building stronger its brand in international markets by b eing a perfect listener of its customers. It is important though to take note of the fact that McDonald’s faces stiff competition from other fast food restaurants hence the need for a very competitive and effective marketing mix so s to continue emerging as the best in the diverse markets. Having identified the target customers that it is dealing with, McDonald’s comes out strongly to create a marketing mix that optimally appeals specifically to the target group (Kurtz 2010). The four main tools of marketing that are used in marketing mix are: product, price, promotion and place. In order to come up with the perfect marketing mix that optimally works for the benefit of the company basic questions are answered by the marketing department at McDonald’s. The questions whose answers determine the type of marketing mix to be used are: which products are well received in the market; what prices are the consumers willing to pay for the desired products; what television programs, newspapers are and advertising journals are mostly red and viewed by the consumers and which restaurants are mostly visited. This then offers the basis for identification of specific marketing goals of the company. With the marketing goals available, then the marketing mix (which is the focal interest point of this paper) can then be formed. Just as it is the case in other companies, the marketing mix of McDonald’s involves the four Ps which are exclusively analyzed in the following part in reference to McDonald’s. In regard to the ‘Product’ McDonald’s places more emphasis on efforts targeted at developing a menu which has what the customers do want. This is determined in McDonald’s using market research which is a very active department in the company given the fact that the requirements of the customers do change over time very rapidly. The fashionable foods today may be highly disregarded by the customers the next day (Kurtz 201 0). In an effort to keep up with the pressure that is created by the ever changing wants of the customers, McDonald’s has literally changed the old products with new products and it is still continuing to do so as to remain competitive in the market. In regard to its products, McDonald’s is very keen in knowing the fact that during the life cycle of a product in the market, changes do occur. Investment is therefore injected in the product depending on the stage at which it is in the market. It is due to this approach that at a given time, McDonald’

American Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

American Foreign Policy - Essay Example Seeking to explore the effects of the end of the Cold War on the foreign of policy of the United States, this essay will address the changes caused by this tumultuous event on the international geopolitical system. Has American state self-interest changed following the collapse of bipolarity? What motivates US foreign policy in this New World Order? During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a bitter confrontation pitting two opposite poles in the international order against one another. In this period of bipolarity, state behavior was mediated by concerns regarding the stability of the international system as well as the state interest and behavior of the other major power. Today, the United States operates in a unipolar world and is the world’s hegemonic state. State behavior is less constrained as it was during the Cold War but US state interest today reflects power conditions and the maintenance of overall system stability which promotes the supreme status of the United States in the international system. Power is a â€Å"hard† issue and a primary concern for survival; so called â€Å"soft issues† like human rights and democracy are far less salient. In the anarchic world of international affairs, hard or core issues always supersede soft issues and are integral to defini ng state interest and behavior. What is the state of the international system following the end of the Cold War? In an article entitled â€Å"Soft Balancing in the Age of U.S. Primacy†, T.V. Paul addressed the issue of hegemonic power and stability in the post-Cold War period and explores the means through which other powers have attempted to counteract the global supremacy of the United States. As the world’s hegemonic power, the United States has, in the Cold War period, resorted to unilateralism and expansive military might. The systemic level response, according to this article has been a variety of soft-power strategies by

Reading research literature Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading research literature - Coursework Example Yes. The author indicated that the aim of this research was to identify some of the non-linear decision making process caregiver articulates when it comes to decision making to people with heart failure in which the members of the family can’t take it anymore. This journal has been written using scientific terms correctly and this confirms that the journal is peer-reviewed. In addition, the journal also has got the editorial board. In consideration of this statement â€Å"Heart failure (HF) is a major cardiovascular problem and the number of people living with HF continues to climb. Throughout the illness continuum, patients and their family caregivers are involved in decision making. As the illness worsens and patients can no longer make decisions, decision making becomes the responsibility of their caregivers who may have little preparation for the role† we articulate that this journal is peer reviewed. No. the author is trying to give ways possible ways and the importance of caregivers in our society and therefore his line of interest is to pass an information rather than gainig financial from the results of this study. This study indicates that a number of patients with heart failure suffers a lot especially at that point that their members can’t take it more. 90 percent of the total population usually lives the burden to caregivers who in turn tries to help this people at their level best. The strengths of this sample is that it has tried to find ways in which the position of a caregiver should be taken into account though possessing one important weakness in that it does not account all area pertaining the subject. Yes and simply because heart failure (HF) is a major cardiovascular problem and the number of people living with HF and this issue requires special attention to both practitioners and medical fraternity as a whole. The following questions pertain to: Schwarz, K., Mion, P., Hudock, D., &Litman, G. (2008). Telemonitoring of heart

Message in the music paper This Train Don't Stop by Elton John Essay

Message in the music paper This Train Don't Stop by Elton John - Essay Example He therefore in a way connotes that he has evolved into a new world where he shall provide his fans with a complete different taste. He asserts that he has â€Å"put one over† on his listeners as a presumption that he has finally realized the inadequacy of the music he was giving them previously. Elton has encoded the message in the song in a symbolic manner as in poetry so that the receivers can keenly decode the whole information to deduce the meaning. The channel of communication in this case relates to all the devices and avenues through which the fans will get to hear the song including radio, internet and television. The feedback on the other hand refers to the output from the receivers as a consequence of absorbing the message in the song. Elton is very keen in keeping track of all the ethical standards expected of him as a songwriter and this is reflected in his careful selection of the words he uses. In a way, Elton appears to be learning how to cope with the str esses and challenges of living with drugs in a life of public fame and limelight. The concept of the train is an interesting analogy that gives the song its melancholy and sad tone as a show of frustration the writer seems to put across. The train won’t stop aspect of the song is a sad reality that Elton could no longer control his addiction to drugs and had abandoned his earlier joys of life in pursuit of satisfying the urge of drugs. It pains for Elton to realize that he was a special being in the past yet he does not hold presently own his earlier self. On deeper scrutiny, much of the lyrics seem to depict the image of a person reflecting upon their life, challenges and all the issues they have encountered in the course on their live. These realities are contrasted to the present

Health Promotion throughout the Human Lifespan Essay

Health Promotion throughout the Human Lifespan - Essay Example Despite this claims, Canadians have time and again misused alcohol, thus leading to health risks. This paper will examine strategies of promoting health throughout the lifespan of alcohol abusers. Alcohol Related Health Problems Abuse of alcohol result major health risks such cancer among other societal problems such as drunken driver accidents, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, criminal activities, and even family problems. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder describes a wide range of health concerns that come because of prenatal abuse and misuse of alcohol. Disabilities resulting from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorder include alcohol related Neurodevelopment Disorder. Health problems such as cancer have come up as a result of alcohol consumptions. Consumption of alcohol in risky amounts has been proved to increase risks for individuals developing cancers such as those of the, liver, gastrointestinal tract, breast, pharynx, mouth, larynx, and the esophagus. However, alcohol consumption in moderate amounts is proved to reduce the risk of developing cancer. Alcohol consumers, who take meals alongside alcohol, have a lower risk of developing cancer of the throat, mouth and the digestive system. ... Generally, adolescents and young adults are the most vulnerable to misuse of alcohol and heavy drinking. Many accidents caused by adolescent and young adult drunken drivers have been a major cause of deaths in many countries (Galanter, American Medical Society on Alcoholism, Research Society on Alcoholism (U.S.) and National Council on Alcoholism, 2005, P.2). In addition, alcohol consumption is said to cause impairment, thus making drivers more prone to accidents and injuries that come out to be severe in most cases. Accident risk potential as a result of impairment caused by alcohol varies between women and men. In addition to accidents, misuse of alcohol also causes high blood pressure, weakening of the immune system, osteoporosis, obesity, and even neurological disorders. Risks of high blood pressure are substantially increased by more and more consumption of alcohol. Moreover, heavy consumption of alcohol weakens the immune system and thus individuals have a higher potential of b eing infected, falling sick, and recovering from illness slowly. Studies claim that alcohol is a major health issue when misused, as it results in individual health problems, societal issues, cognitive and physical impairment. Alcohol Neurological disorders resulting from alcohol consumption include dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, which results in memory loss, and cognitive impairment. In most cases, alcohol affects physical performance of an individual, as it adversely inhibits span of attention, coordination of activities, and the time with which an individual reacts to stimulus. Alcohol also causes poor judgment, and in many circumstances, results in destruction of social relationships and communicative behavior

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Theodore White is one of the most sought after history writers about the inner details on presidential issues that covered the American history. The political background of different issues that covered the inner cases of the president’s life, during and after their administration in the US is something that is one of the most important features of the writings of this particular author. One of the most important written works of White is that of the book entitled Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. This reading naturally focuses on the process on how Richard Nixon failed to bring the American society at the brim of its dreams. Summary and Content In his first State of the Union Message, the 37th president of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, placed â€Å"first priority† on world peace and a â€Å"just† settlement of the war in Vietnam. But his major preoccupation was the state of America. Commenting on his speech, the New York Times said: â€Å"His picture was of a nation robbed of its natural heritage by human and industrial carelessness, cheated of the dividends of economic growth by inflation, poorly served by a proliferating Federal apparatus, and threatened by crime and the growth in population. † Nixon’s theme was best expressed perhaps in a rhetorical question. â€Å"In the next ten years we shall increase our wealth by 50 percent,† he said. â€Å"The profound question is—does this mean that we will be 50 percent richer in a real sense, 50 percent better off, 50 percent happier? † Does the record of the past ten years provide a sound basis for answering, Yes? The majority of the nation’s peoples who live in metropolitan areas choked by traffic, suffocated by smog, poisoned by water, deafened by noise and terrorized by crime see little reason for great optimism. After reelection, American president Richard M. Nixon pledged to work to end â€Å"the whole era of permissiveness† in the United States. He declared: â€Å"We have passed through a very great spiritual crisis in this country,† and says that the Vietnam war was â€Å"only part of the problem. † It was also reported that Mr. Nixon intends to restructure the Federal government. Many believe that the moves the president intends to make could increase his power while diminishing that of the Cabinet. A domestic crisis exists in the United States. In 1968 Richard Nixon at the climax of his presidential campaign adopted the slogan, â€Å"Bring Us Together. † Now, a year and a half later, says a news report from Washington, D. C. , â€Å"Americans are so torn apart, so savage toward each other, that the president and Mrs. Nixon, obviously for safety reasons, were prevailed on to cancel trips around the country. † â€Å"The country,† said Mayor Lindsay of New York, â€Å"is virtually on the edge of a spiritual—and perhaps even a physical—breakdown. † Historian Arnold Toynbee commented: â€Å"The American people seem to be moving rapidly towards civil war: middle-aged noncombatants against young men subject to the draft; the affluent against the poor; white against black, students against the National Guard . .The decision on the American home-front is going to decide the fate of the world, and the rest of us can do nothing about it. We have no say, but we, too, are going to be victims of America’s domestic agony. † Overall Critique It could not be denied that with the written work of White, it could be observed that he was able to decipher the different elements of the Nixon administration that has placed it in a situation that has caused it to fail in giving America the rightful dream that they want to realize. It could be observed that through this written work, it is not that hard to understand how the Nixon administration set a sample to the coming administrations as to what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided to be able to come up with the most effective policies that are made to make the entire society succeed towards its realization of the future truth of it dreams’ fulfillments. Furthermore, this book also notes the implication of the Nixon administration towards the exploration of American politics as per noted and recognized as an important part of the American society. There’s a lot of hypocrisy . . . and so forth in political life,† said former U. S. President Richard Nixon in a recent TV interview. â€Å"It’s necessary in order to get into office and in order to retain office. † In speaking about political campaigning, he said: â€Å"As a candidate, you have to dissemble, you have to recognize that you can’t say what you think about an individual because you may have to use him or need him sometime in the future. † He felt that when a politician or a president says something he does not believe, it should not be viewed as lying; it is just a part of politics. References: Theodore H. White. (1975). Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. Scribner; 1st edition.

Effects on Relationships Among Adolescents Essay Example for Free

Effects on Relationships Among Adolescents Essay Chyril Lou T. Caià ±a February 6, 2013 BSAC-I-ACA 9:21AM Area Exposure I interviewed a woman whose age is 43, single, from Isla Puntod Balulang. She survived the Sendong tragedy with the help of God as well as other people around her. She has many relatives as well as cousins who survived the sending tragedy and luckily no one died in her family when the tragedy occurred. The basic information she gave was that because of the hanging bridge many of her cousins as well as herself survived the occurring tragedy while her clothes as well as the others were already wet and dirty. The tragedy started at about 9:00 in the evening she said when water levels were increasing up to the calves and were at a safety zone at 2:00 AM and there she and the group of survivors were taken to Xavier heights for immediate recovery as well as shelter. Her life before the tragedy was easier she said as well as the way she will cope up in order to forget the tragedy is to work hard and start a new life with the blessings God gave her as well as the help that was given to her as well. She also said that if it had not been for the dog that was scratching her face she would’ve been dead because she was asleep sadly the dog died in the tragedy that saved her. Now that I have heard her story as well as understood what she experienced I now have the insight that the cause of grief and sadness is not because of God but the way we act according to our ways as people living right now because we people take for granted what God has given as such as nature and the living things living in and with nature. We people corrupt because of greed and other vices and sins and because of this some suffer and if not all of us. While it is unbecoming for us to be more and more undisciplined because of today’s present situation as well as continuing distress and poverty of our country’s people we must shed light to the truth in order of us to be saved as well as learn how to become more humanly as well as more understanding and caring for each individuals needs as well as our environment by starting to be more aware of what will happen if we don’t pick up our trashes and garbage’s and recycle them properly. For it has been stated in Isaiah 45:7† I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.† What it means for me is that this correlates to God’s people being obedient thus God rewards them with prosperity and blessings as well as if the people as disobeying God’s commands as well as his teachings then God will give way to disasters and strife if we disobey and continue with our disobedience with him. For we people are the stewards of God’s creation and we must do what we can to save ourselves as well as the world.

The Development Of British Horror Films Film Studies Essay

The Development Of British Horror Films Film Studies Essay One aspect of the argument is that British horror developed around certain themes and key moments, the effect of imported horror will also be considered, in light of industrial cultural and social elements. It will also argue that the amount of development that took place did not develop or evolve enough to enable the genre to survive the 1970s foreign onslaught. The main thrust of the essay will consider the cultural and social background, including cinema audience and some industrial aspects. These are often linked as fuller employment generally leads to more disposable income for leisure purposes. Horror films are exploitation movies made for commercial gain not artistic endeavour, therefore winning formulae are often milked dry and copied by others . Prior to the advent of television, video tape, DVDs and more recently digital downloads, which provide an additional source of income, the product was made to be watched once and (discounting possible re-runs on minor circuits, or as part of double bills) expected to make its returns on the first release, and therefore needed to appeal to the target audience necessitating constant development and evolution. The investigation took the form of viewing cinematic texts to determine central themes in light of period conventions and audience. Various literate texts were also consulted to review the validity of the conclusions reached . It became apparent during the investigation that a key factor of British horror was its tendency towards being insular and local, unlike American and European horror which tended to lay great swathes of population and/or country to waste. A common element of the genre involved innocents, generally outsiders, being drawn into, or stumbling upon, a web of deceit, corruption and exploitation. This local theme was also a financial consideration, as it enabled production costs to be controlled and kept to a minimum as British horror was generally produced by cost conscious independent companies or studios. In a similar vein to the interpretation of the horror film, assessing the development of horror is by nature quite personal as aptly summarised by Dilys Powell: one mans frisson is another mans guffaw . Therefore, in order to minimise bias a large cross section of texts were consulted in order to present a balanced view . Horror has changed over the years as alien invaders, mad scientists and spectral creatures, challenging to both the individual and society, have gradually been superseded by killers and sadistic scientists, both often psychotic. British horror has classic attributes such as blood, death, the afterlife, a fear of the unknown and tends to be constructed around themes of Science-fiction, Gothic, Occult, Psychological, Historical / Mythological, or Medical . These attributes, combined with a local, claustrophobic, insular setting usually manifest as innocents being drawn into danger in a variety of imaginative ways, such as: location, being drawn into cultic rituals, or falling prey to outside influence . With the exception of psychological horror, the evil in the above is generally personified and usually recognisable. This is not normally the case with psychological horror, which often concerns the evil within where a normal facade hides a murderous psychotic nature. The 1950s saw increasing prosperity and the evolution of a youth culture with its own music, meeting places, high employment and disposable income along with a rebellious streak that challenged authority. This new youth culture saw the emergence of movements such as Beatniks and Teddy Boys, the latter associated with violence and racism, seen as being commensurate with the rising levels of upheaval in 1950s society . There were definitive attitudes to gender and roles, with men being seen as brave and women as helpless, this attitude would prevail until well into the 1970s. Increasing cinema admission prices, gritty realistic films and horror, which played on the new X certificate introduced in 1951, did not make for family viewing and consequently sounded the death toll for the family cinema outing. This was partially responsible for instigating the decline in cinema attendance that would continue in succeeding decades . This change in film production values made television an acceptable alternative to the older generation who stayed at home, happily sacrificing the shared audience experience of cinema viewing. They were replaced by the younger, more rebellious audience that demanded different films, a pattern that is still prevalent today. The British film industry struggled for finance, leading to a reliance on American backers who were tempted by lower production costs, funding and allowances put in place by the British government to try and bolster the ailing industry . In order to secure some of this finance many companies entered into joint productions with other parties, e.g. Hammer and Robert Lippert who distributed Hammers films in America. A requirement of this type of deal was often the use of known, though fading, American actors in lead roles to generate American interest. The V2 rocket and the atom bomb heralded the space and nuclear age, resulting in a welter of science fiction films. These involved alien invasions or creatures created by exposure to or feeding on radiation which supplanted the classic creatures of Americas first horror cycle which had begun with Dracula (1931) but had ran its course by the end of the 1940s. British production companies were not slow to jump on what they saw as a lucrative, potentially low cost, bandwagon. Hammer entered the fray with a mix of science fiction and gothic elements in The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) , set against the stark, scarred landscape of WWII and maintaining its local feel. This also commented on the changing nature of society as it emerged from the privations and horrors of war during the prosperous 1950s. The production was in line with their safe bet policy , on release it was vilified by the critics but loved by the audience. Audience surveys revealed that the horror element was responsible for the films success which resulted in Hammer embarking on their very successful gothic horrors, beginning with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) which contained amorality, graphic violence and gore in glorious colour assuaging the audiences senses within the boundaries of prevailing censorship. Colour enabled them to dispense with the moody shadowy world of monochrome horrors, which rather than the crafted tension to assault the audiences imagination with unseen horror. This allowed more direct depictions of violence, gore and smouldering sexuality requiring little imagination and virtually dispensing with the need to spend time on characterisations. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) heralded a new period in the history of horror that was not fully realised until well into the 1960s, as it combined dangerous science with blood, gore and sex. Apart from disregarding the proper order of things by usurping God and indulging in immoral activities it also replaced the more familiar happy restoration of order with death, sowing seeds of doubt that the evil had truly been eradicated. Thus was born the quintessentially British brand of gothic artificial horror, set in an ambiguous somewhat mythological past, but still incorporating the brave men and helpless women gender definitions of the decade and the dominance of the male. This was a monumental step in the development of British horror as it pushed the boundaries of censorship, providing the cinema audience with a new viewing experience that was depicted with the deadly seriousness which would become a trademark of many British horrors. These first steps, resulting in some two decades of British domination of horror, were quite a gamble as major Cinema chains such as Rank and ABC were reluctant to screen British horror, or X, films until 1960 and 1956 respectively confining their release to the more minor circuits. A further gamble involved finance and co-production as Hammer stood their ground in refusing to cast American actors in the lead roles, much to the consternation of their American partners . This re-definition of horror encouraged other producers including Amicus, AIP (American International Pictures), Anglo Amalgamated, Tigon and Tyburn to jump on the bandwagon Hammer had set rolling resulting in British horror rampaging through national and international Cinema until the mid-1970s. This depiction of horror was so new that there was no template to work to, it would generally fall to Hammer to develop it by trial and error with others following their lead. This was a double edged sword as in the early days it enabled British horror to steal a march on world horror but by the late 1960s the lack of further development on Hammers part for various reasons, especially finance, would eventually result in a stale and outdated commodity that did not suit the audience. The portrayal of science in the 1930s and 1940s was populated with overzealous, totally committed, scientists whose work to benefit man had unfortunate side effects. By the 1950s and beyond the image of science had become more sinister and threatening as the power of mass destruction and side effects, which could result in mutants and monsters, invaded public consciousness. The mystique and charm of the earlier mad scientists was rapidly being replaced by the cold, calculating, although often charming, scientists who would stop at nothing to achieve their goal. Horror in the late 1950s and early 1960s was not all gothic. Regal/Triads The Flesh and the Fiends (1958) journeyed into medical horror while Columbia/Sabres Night of The Demon (aka Curse of The Demon) (1957) conformed more to the prevailing moral standards along with a more sedate blend of occult and psychological horror combined with a reserved approach to violence and sex. This was similar to the subtle RKO horrors that had provided a counterpoint to Universals contemporary gothic, providing an alternative to gothic horror. Psychological horror such as Insignias Cat Girl (1957) was also beginning to make its presence felt, but it would not become more prevalent until the 1960s, promoted in part by censorship issues and the success of Shamleys Psycho (1960). Even considering the gore, violence, sexuality, eventual nudity and lesbianism British horror generally operated within a moral framework, focusing on the struggle between the spirit and the flesh, science and superstition, good and evil and using symbols of Christian belief, crucifixes and bibles, as weapons rather than contemplation and prayer until its demise in the 1970s. The late 1950s and 1960s would see the look of the inhabitants of 1930s and 1940s horror such as vampires, werewolves, zombies and psychotic scientists updated for the modern audience. The 1960s saw the advent of protest marches, the seeds of Womens Liberation, the Hippie movements free love and living culture all of which were seen as challenges authority . Society saw violence on the increase as the mods and rockers indulged in pitched battles at coastal resorts and the Skinhead and National Front doctrines and practices of racist violence. The cinema audience was also changing as the first phase of the baby boomers who, like the previous young generation had their own music, high levels of employment and disposable income joined their ranks. As with the previous decade this new section of the audience expected different types of film more in line with their standards and values. British film finance, along with the rest of the entertainment industry, would experience another boom and bust decade. In the case of film this would be closely linked with American finance, which reached an estimated 90% by 1967 . Americas determination to dominate the film industry and maximise profits led to them reducing the quantity of output to finance blockbusters, which would ultimately prove detrimental to their industry. This enabled British companies to fill a niche as this reduction in output resulted in a shortage of product for the cinema, leaving the door open for the independent producer. This fact was not lost on British based companies such as Anglo Amalgamated and Independent Artists who, as AIP had been doing in America since the 1950s, put their house in order to fill the gap in horror production which could, to a large extent, be accomplished with low budget productions. The closing of the 1950s and the dawning of the 1960s saw developments in sadistic violence with offerings such as Herman Cohens Horrors of The Black Museum (1959) which, along with Anglo Amalgamateds Circus of Horrors (1960) and Peeping Tom (1960) , formed a trilogy often termed sadian, but more properly Selwynian , movies. The first of these updated Grand Guingol theatre with its catalogue of gruesome crimes while the second turned to medical horror with a sadistic, megalomaniac plastic surgeon murdering his creations when they challenged his authority. Unlike the first two which can be seen as more violent takes on conventional themes the third film was a new development that centre staged the psychotic killer, the human monster hiding behind a faà §ade of normality. This was a comment on the paranoid fear of communism, perceived as the enemy within that had been growing since the mid-1940s. The films contemporary setting would lead to it being vilified by critic and public alike, with a general reaction of repulsion and disgust. Not only did it reflect the violence that society was more aware of due to news reports and the exposure of the seedy world of Soho (tolerated but swept under the carpet) it also portrayed the taboo subject of mental instability in the community. Unlike other movies it struc k home as its style implicated the audience in the voyeuristic pleasure that was derived by the killer, making them feel a part of the crime. This was not the unreal, detached, gothic horror they were used to viewing, this was more realistic and the vitriolic reaction that ensued would lead to the censor taking a harsh stand for the next four years . This tightening of censorship would in effect almost bring the development of horror to a halt from which it would never fully recover. There is not much doubt that had this not been the case it would have rightly assumed the mantle of father of the slasher/stalk and slash movie, bestowed on Psycho (1960), that would come to dominate 1970s American horror. The censors stand, combined with Psychos (1960) success, saw many production companies turn to developing the low budget psychological horror such as Hammers Maniac (1963) concerning a psychotic killer and Compton/Teklis Repulsion (1965) which traced a womans descent into madness culminating in violence. Despite this Hammer still continued to try and develop the horror theme by exploring new ideas such as sadistic violence in The Stranglers of Bombay (1960), veiled lesbianism in The Brides of Dracula (1960), Voodoo in The Plague of The Zombies (1965) and science fiction with The Damned (1963). Apart from the lesbian theme, which they would not re-visit until the 1970s, they did not pursue these ideas any further. This may have been for several reasons but it coincided with a time that they were concentrating more on their psychological horrors which were likely to be more lucrative. In doing this they missed out on future survival opportunities as the discarded themes eventually gained prominence in the late 1960s into the 1970s. They did challenge the accepted 1950s gender convention in The Gorgon (1964) giving a nod of recognition to Womens Lib by making a strong woman the central character (and the monster), something they would not repeat until the 1970s, beginning with Countess Dracula (1970) but that Tigon would pursue with The Blood Beast Terror (1968) albeit not with great commercial success. In general there was a lack of development due to lack of audience appeal as demonstrated by the commercial failure of Danzigers The Tell Tale Heart (1960). This was an attempt to enter Edgar Allen Poe territory and a challenge to the extremely cost conscious AIP who had cornered the Poe market in America. AIP in turn ventured into Britain in 1965 to continue their successful Poe series with a story of obsession / possession in The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) and also take excursions into horror themes that had been experimented with by British companies such as Voodoo in The Oblong Box (1969) and medical horror in Scream and Scream Again (1969), the latter being a joint production with Amicus. 1964 saw Amicus enter the frame who, with the exception of single features like The Deadly Bees (1966), concentrated more on the portmanteau format. This enabled them to incorporate several themes within a single framework, linked by a central thread, which would have a wider audience appeal. Their tongue in cheek approach and contemporary settings were very different to the period horrors of the time, allowing them in effect to incorporate more gore, so much so that they stole a march on Hammer as Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (1965) got a release on the horror shy ABC circuit. Apart from The Skull (1965) which chillingly charted possession and a descent into madness, they also incorporated Voodoo elements in the majority of their portmanteaus. Amicus did not really add to the genres development, as much of their material was taken from the American EC comics and partially Anglicised for the British audience. A further development was the depiction of some parts of societys willingness to accept extreme violence, both to subdue strong women to mens will and also as an acceptable means of restoring order. This was the subject of Tigons Witchfinder General (1968) which also challenged the current moral framework of British horror as the defeat of evil did not produce a clear winner and only resulted in madness. This is an important moment in horror as good does not really triumph, an idea that would re-surface in George Romeros horrors. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw British horror under attack from a resurgence of American horror which would eventually come to dominate the market. George Romeros Night of The Living Dead (1968) took the slow moving, brainless zombies of American Securities White Zombie (1932) and the British Plague of the Zombies (1965) endowing them with more fluid movement and a hunting instinct with a craving for human flesh. Just as Hammers The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) had redefined horror in the 1950s he laid the seeds of a new type of horror, where the line between human and monster became blurred as infected humans themselves became the monster. More chillingly, these zombies were not Voodoo creations, but victims of an unseen infection that could spread uncontrolled and had no motive of any sort. The true horror, the disease, cannot be reasoned with or eradicated and was not personified as was the case with gothic horror. This change in American horror was not taken on board by the British producers, who were probably under the opinion that they were almost unassailable and were happy to rely on the old guard. Where this was not possible they came to expect too much of younger talent that they had to turn to in order to minimise costs, who had not been given the guidance, nurturing and development it needed. Not only would they struggle with their basic product, but more importantly they were no longer a source of new ideas, consequently resulting in their loss of audience. The British studios would carry on remaking the same scenario over and over again either little realising or refusing to accept the fact that the audience found it old fashioned and stale. This was something that would really come home to roost as the end of the Hays code in 1969 gave American producers the freedom to depict things and scenarios that had previously been the province of British and European producers meaning that Am erican money could be invested in their own horror productions. The 1970s saw great changes in the social and economic sense. Britains 1960s sexual revolution accelerated as women demanded more and more equality and sexual satisfaction via the Womens Liberation Movement. Continuing aspects of the hippies freedom culture were counteracted in part by the Punk Rock movement of the late 1970s. The full employment enjoyed in the 1950s and 1960s began to disappear as 1971 saw 1 million unemployed which, combined with price rises and higher inflation, would culminate in industrial unrest . This resulted in less disposable income for leisure, which became a factor in the further decline of cinema audiences. Another major factor of the decline was the lack of investment in cinemas fabric, which had become shabby and undermined the quality viewing experience that the audience had come to expect along with cinema closures . Financial problems once more plagued the British Film Industry and the boom and bust pattern of the early 1970s was similar to that of the 1960s. By the early 1970s American studios had withdrawn the majority of their finance to try and prop up their own ailing film industry, the aftermath of their blockbuster phase. The period following the release of The Exorcist (1973), which had reinvigorated the general publics interest in horror, proved difficult for British Horror. It struggled as it failed to adapt to the mix of innovative special effects and brutal violence of films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).More importantly, as in The Night of The Living Dead (1968), this horror was contemporary not gothic, which had formed the backbone of British horror. The British horror industry reacted by fragmenting in many directions instead of developing their own generic product. They attempted, generally unsuccessfully, to ape the American satanic worship / possession based output, usually with low budget offerings such as Unicapital/Ranks I Dont Want to Be Born (1975) and Monumentals Satans Slave (1976) and some bigger budgeted affairs like Hammer/ Terra-Filmkunsts To the Devil a Daughter (1976). Although the latter incorporated the current satanic vogue it sacrificed its quintessential British style and placed an American actor in a lead role, a last gasp attempt that could only result in box office failure. British horror would not learn the necessary adaptation techniques until a younger breed of filmmaker emerged in the 1980s and beyond. By the mid to late 1970s the popularity of British horror was in decline which, to a large extent, was the fault of the production companies. Instead of trying to develop the more traditional forms of British horror to suit the changing, diminishing audience they, as in the 1960s, basically sat back on their laurels. There were some half-hearted attempts to transplant Dracula in the modern world as with Hammer/Warners Dracula AD72 (1972) but all it did was confine him to a gothic setting in a modern world that was more related to the previous decade in language and style. Hammer had become a shadow of itself, desperately trying to engineer the survival of its particular brand of gothic horror by spicing it up even more with sex and violence. Amicus was no different as they found that their more tongue in cheek approach was not compatible with the developing product of possession, gory, psychotic and often sadistic violence, sex and nudity. This enabled smaller companies such as Benmar and K-L Productions to come to the fore with a fresh approach ranging from zombie bikers in Psychomania (1972) to cannibalistic descendants in Death Line (aka Raw Meat) (1972). Even the return to science-fiction with TCF/Brandywines Alien (1979), which harked back to the Quatermass series of the 1950s with its mix of gothic type settings and horror, was short lived and was not really picked up as providing the shot in the arm or development lifeline that British horror desperately needed at the time. The relaxation of censorship and the desperate fight for finance and box office returns pulled the horror film towards sexploitation with films like Noteworthys Horror Hospital (1973), and the incorporation of more nudity and graphic violence in Gothic based fare of Hammer/AIPs The Vampire Lovers (1970), the first of the Karnstein Trilogy which played on the viewer being attracted to the lesbian act in a voyeuristic way. The lesbian vampire not only intruded on society, with her unnatural desires capable of undermining its authority, but also intruded into male dominated sexual territory as the erotic act of drawing blood emphasised what society deemed an unnatural sexual, non-procreative, pleasurable practice, further compounded by it depleting the victims body of blood, possibly affecting menstruation and a direct challenge to human reproduction. The theme was continued with Essay/Fox-Ranks Vampyres (1974) with the added twist that the lesbian couple used a bisexual relationship to satisfy some of their desires and need for nourishment. This formed a part of the 1970s movement that saw female sexuality become more aggressive as sex driven vampires and witches which, coupled with other offerings of invasion, bodily or otherwise, by supernatural beings or alien life-forms posed a threat to the secular world and highlighted what was being viewed by many as the decline of the males dominant role in society. It is worth noting that 1970s America saw pornographic films like Deep Throat (1972) make the transition from the adult into main stream, a further indication of the changing tastes of the cinema audience and giving a nod to the feminist movement as it showed a woman willing to take charge in satisfying her needs, rather than be a pawn to mens desires. More importantly the relaxation of censorship opened the door for the adult soft core pornography and sexploitation producers such as Pete Walker , Antony Balch and Tony Tenser to enter mainstream horror. They brought their extensive experience of making films on shoestring budgets and distribution networks to bear. They were happy to provide offerings of sadism and sex in films like Heritages The House of Whipcord (1974), which commented on societys view that girls who were just out for a good time should reap just punishment. They attacked established religion by having a murdering, non-celibate, Roman Catholic priest in The House of Mortal Sin (aka The Confessional) (1975). They also offered large doses of sex and horror in a combination of schlock and art-house style and stomach churning sadism in productions like The Secret of Sex (aka Bizarre) (1970) and mad surgeon horror, tinged with a perverse sexual desire in Horror Hospital (1973) generally appealing to an audience that had, or would, embrace the sexploitation market. Although operating in the blood soaked and grotty end of the market with their mix of sex and violence, which presaged the future American domination of the market, that had been so frowned upon by the censor in the 1950s, 1960s and part of the 1970s, they toyed with acc epted scenarios and added more chills in contemporary settings. It was not all sex and gore as Tyburn desperately tried to return to the gothic style that had once been a successful mainstay of British horror. Although they opted for higher budgets with films like The Ghoul (1975) and The Legend of the Werewolf (1976) they were doomed to box office failure, as they could not generate audience interest considering the prevailing contemporary horror climate with their efforts almost destroying the company. Films from the more recognised horror producers such as AIP and Hammer were laced with more sex and violence as they, like the sexploitation producers, challenged peoples beliefs as well as commenting on societys attitude that almost anything goes in the 1970s, especially in the search for truth or the restoration of order. This determination to Americanise, or even orientalise British horror as with Hammer/Shaws Kung Fu based The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) robbed it of its quintessentially British touch, often resulting in pleasing neither one market nor the other. By the late 1970s the torrent of early independent 1970s horror, that had one eye firmly focussed on the American market, had slowed to a trickle eventually becoming a downward spiral that by the 1980s would prove almost terminal and it was becoming crystal clear that British horror would never again see the heady dominating days of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1978 onwards the horror film had moved on again as Gothic had had its day, partially the fault of the producers as their sequels which were remakes of the original offered little re-imagination, being replaced by the stalk and slash movie in the form of Halloween (1978) and Friday 13th (1980) to satisfy audience requirement for more gore and psychotic, senseless violence. The films of the 1970s had really become a combination of sex and violence which also set out to challenge the accepted sanctity religious beliefs as in Tigon/Chiltons Blood On Satans Claw (aka The Devils Skin) (1970) where the leader of the coven tries to seduce the local priest and also included a violent, graphic rape scene. This theme of gratuitous nudity, sex and violence would be a factor in many British horror films of the 1970s, a good demonstration of this gratuity are the opening sequences of AIPs Cry of the Banshee (1970) and in challenging conventional beliefs British Lions The Wicker Man (1973) wit h its survival of strong pagan beliefs involving animal and human sacrifice being depicted as the only course of action due to the failure of science. It can be seen above that the changes in the 1950s and 1970s were the most influential in British horror development. The 1950s saw the emergence of productions that not only pleased the audience but in doing so pushed against the existing boundaries of censorship and making full use of the adults only X certificate introduced by the BBFC in 1951. There is no doubt that this would have continued into the 1960s but for two crucial events. The first being the vitriolic reception to Peeping Tom (1960) which put the censor on the back foot, in a harsh clampdown until 1964. The other was the success of Psycho (1960) which had a two-fold effect. Firstly it was seen as the father of the slasher movie, which would gain prominence in the 1970s, secondly it provided a life line to British producers, who were having difficulties with finance and the censor in the early part of the decade, enabling them to realise revenue by developing their low budget psychological thrillers, which would be made in monochrome to reduce the effect of gore and be more acceptable to the censor. It also emerged that the development and production of British horror was subject Boom Bust cycles which occurred in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s due to their dependence on foreign investment. Also there was a continuously changing and declining, due to the proffered viewing experience and lack of investment in cinema fabric, audience that by the 1970s it had failed to evolve with. The most costly event in the development of British horror was its failure to monitor and adapt to changing audiences and looking to the future by developing new talent during the good times to enable them to keep up with changing trends. Many of the producers stuck with the old guard and virtually remaking the same film again and again with little imagination and the odd tweak to their characters behaviour, mistakenly believing that drenching it in more violence, nudity, sex and lesbianism would save the day. Even these embellishments could not hide the same old formula from the audience. They had not realised that they were heading towards times of the rejection of religious beliefs and acts of faith. The religious symbols from the 1950s-1970s defe

Students Death Raises Concerns about Weapons Essay -- Journalism Viol

Student's Death Raises Concerns about Weapons Brett Schweinberg, a 19-year-old Emerson student and Brookline resident, never imagined that a night intended for so much celebration in Boston could end so tragically. Schweinberg was one of an estimated 80,000 revelers who flooded the streets of Kenmore Square and the Fenway Park neighborhood in the early hours of Oct. 21, following the Boston Red Sox’s ALCS victory over the New York Yankees. â€Å"It was really a happy, fun, cheering crowd,† Schweinberg said. â€Å"It was a Mardi Gras parade with no route and no floats. It wasn’t a violent affair, and it certainly wasn’t a riot.† However, the vibrant atmosphere quickly dissipated when members of the BPD, some mounted on horseback and some armed with less-lethal FN-303 launchers, took action to quell and disperse the crowd. Schweinberg, who was watching the crowd from the beams of Fenway Park’s left field wall, sustained two injuries when he was hit with pellets from the compressed air rifle. Far worse for Schweinberg, however, was witnessing fellow Emerson student and journalism major, 21-year-old Victoria Snelgrove, suffer a fatal wound to the eye shortly thereafter. â€Å"She dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. She started bleeding profusely out of the face,† Schweinberg said. Several hours later, Snelgrove was pronounced dead at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her tragic death has cast a wave of criticism on the BPD’s decision to use one of the newest less-lethal technologies – a weapon the BPD had never used in a field situation– on a mostly college-aged crowd. The FN-303s were purchased by the BPD last summer for the specific purpose of controlling potential protests at the Democratic National Conven... ...joined together to form The Campaign to Ban Less-Lethal Weapons and circulate a petition with the goal of imparting a ban within the city. The petition states that: â€Å"First, these weapons must be re-classified as lethal. This is not only accurate, but it ensures that these weapons are used only in situations that would otherwise justify the use of lethal force.† Other conditions stated in the petition include independent testing for all weapons and additional training for law enforcement officials according to weapon manufacturer specifications. However, Terrill thinks there is little possibility that the FN-303 will be used by the BPD again. â€Å"In a city stung by one incident, regardless of what the science or research shows afterwards, city officials are usually very reluctant to use that weapon or permit a public policy where it would be used again.†

Glass Menagerie :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laura and Her Ways   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laura is a woman who has reached the body of a full adult, but she has yet to gain the brain and thought process of an adult. Laura is a woman that lives in her own dream world, and is not motivated by what is going on in the real world. She is a woman that fails to grow mentally as she does physically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laura is very shy around people, especially around strangers or someone she likes such as Jim. Jim is a friend of Laura’s brother who is invited to dinner one night. Laura had a crush on him in high school, but she is still shy around him. When Jim talks to Laura during the night he is at dinner she does not fully respond to Jim’s friendly questions and his gentle talk, rather she replies slowly and does not fully respond. Laura says that â€Å"I know, but I did, and I-â€Å" (608), then Jim has to finish where Laura left off by saying, â€Å"you mean you were shy with people (609).† Laura said that wanted Jim’s autograph in High School because he was in a play called The Pirates of Penzance but didn’t get it because â€Å"you were always surrounded by your own friends so much that I never had a chance.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laura lives in her dream world all day and feels that what she does is important. Laura responds to Jim questioning about what she has done since High School by saying â€Å"My glass collection takes a good deal of time...(610)† Laura feels as if the glass animals that she has are real, â€Å"he stays on the shelf with some horses...and they all seem to get together (611).†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Laura is very concerned about others opinion about her. The reason that she drops out of High School is that she had a brace and felt that it was very loud and everyone heard it. Jim tells her that he didn’t â€Å"hear any clumping† and Laura responds by saying, â€Å"it sounded like thunder.

Investigation of the Polar Dinosaur Essays -- Exploratory Essays Resea

Investigation of the Polar Dinosaur Today we know through the evidence of fossils that dinosaur and other large reptiles once lived on every continent on earth. If you were a paleontologist in charge of finding fossils where would you look first? In the search for evidence the icy continent of Antarctica would be perhaps the last continent you would think to search. However, during the last twenty years a remarkable number of prehistoric fossils have been found in regions close to the South Pole. Beginning in 1960 with an expedition lead by a man named Spitzbergen, fossilized footprints from non-avian dinosaur showed the region once had a drastically different climate. In the years that followed more fossilized remains were collected in costly expeditions, often to remote areas near the north and South Pole. However, each find can present unique information about physiological adaptations various forms of life made to polar latitude temperatures during the Mesozoic era. An article â€Å"Polar Dinosaurs† by Thomas H. Rich in Science, published in February of 2002, explores the fossil evidence and presents the following ideas about the environment and the types of creatures who lived and adapted to the seasonal conditions present at these polar latitudes. The ice fields of the North Slope of Alaska we know today are thought to have had temperatures ranging from 13-2 degrees Celsius during the Cretaceous period. This hypothesis is based on evidence from flowering plants, and leaf fossils found from the late Cretaceous found in the region. So life around the poles existed in a climate similar to that of Portland, Oregon, which has a mean temperature of 12 degrees, and may have gotten as cold as Alberta Canada’s average of ... ...uld have probably been impossible for life in the Antarctic where a large seaway eventually developed cutting southeastern Australia from Antarctica. The investigation of polar dinosaurs continues with the excavation of a new site in northern Alaska near the Colville River. Paleontologists have discovered a huge, 100 km, slab of rock that spans the last 40 million years of the Mesozoic era. Exploration of this site through tunneling is believed to present a more extensive record of polar dinosaurs as they were over the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. (1) Works Cited 1) Rich, T.H., P. Vickers-Rich & R.A. Gangloff, February 2002, Polar Dinosaurs. Science 295:979-980. 2) Mayell, Hillary, Researchers Melt Polar Dinosaur Mysteries, National Geographic, Febuary 2002, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0225_0225_polardinos.html

Reaction Paperâ€Nonfiction Essay

When reading I came across some interesting non-fiction story and letter written by well known authors. They were all good but there was two that I had the most reaction to. When I came across these two letters I felt like I had a connection with the author. The letter Salvation by Langston Huge, when I read could relate to it cause I to come from a christen background, and in the story by Lam about his mother I felt like keeping family tradition should always remain I a person life. So I thought it would be good to explain my reaction in detail by stating the strategies, themes and what makes these non-fiction stories. In the story â€Å"Who Will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone† by Andrew Lam, the author Lam give the reader a personal account of his life. While at a birthday party for his mother who was turning seventy, he overheard his mother ask his aunt, â€Å"Who will light the incense we I’m gone†? This was a traditional thing that see did, the light of the incense was done to acknowledged the dead, and to talk to them and ask for help from them. He then struggles with himself wondering why he doesn’t feel the need to want to continue this life long tradition. When looking through this story I found out that Lam used biographic strategy to help the read fully understand his point of view. With this strategy lam was able to give the reader an indebt description of what it was like for him growing up, as a young Americanized Vietnamese man. He make mention that his mom often ask him to speak their native tongue, when he was a teen. His response was â€Å"what good is it to speak it? It not like I’m going to use it when I move out.† At end of the story the read is left with mixed emotion, will he every commit to his families tradition and start to light the incense or will he continue to live his life the same he always has. When reading the story â€Å"Salvation† by Langston Hughes I thing that he also used the strategy biographic criticism, which he uses to explain to the reader how he feels about h is childhood conversion. As he goes through his story he used this strategy as a base in which to convey to the reader the problem he had growing up. In the story he was twelve and was participating in his aunt’s church revival. It was the last day of the revival, which meant that the youth of the church was to be saved. During the days leading up to this event, his aunt tells him that to be saved he will see a light and Jesus appear and then he will be saved. He and the other youth was brought to the front of the church, Langston never saw Jesus and was pleasured to be saved. He explains to the reader that he was not sure what he was feeling. At the end of this story he explains that this event that he went through was a lonely one. He is then seen crying and his aunt again blames it on him being saved but Hughes says it was because he lied to God and to his aunt. This form of writing is seen throughout the whole story. The fact that is a form of biography show the reader a part of himself that otherwise would not been seen. While reading â€Å"Who Will light The Incense When Mother Gone† by Andrew Lam, I had several different type of felling. The way lam tell the story about mother and his family traditions, made think and try to relate to both him and his mother. In some way I could relate to Lam, I the youngest of five and in some sense my family had some tradition. Although are way wasn’t as intense as Lam and his family. It was too driven by religion. I grow up in a christen family with my father being a preacher. So I would have to attend church almost three times a day. During the summer I would go to church base camps. It was like a routine every year. As I grown older I started to form my own idea about life, and with this new found freedom I was able to pick what church I wanted to attend on Sunday, I also didn’t have to go at all. So as I stop going my d Dad would pressure even more to live the life he wanted. Even now I go to church, but I often thing it is because I was told to. On the other hand I can understand where is mother is coming from. I think that Lam’s mother only want to preserve what little bit of her legacy, and when she is gone she knows that there is no hope of that. Every sense she moved from Vietnamese her kid had become Americanized and is slowly losing all touch of their heritage. She just wants to know that not all things from her pass will we erased. As for the theme of from â€Å"Salvation† by Langston Hughes, the reaction I had was very personal. I have never been in that type of situation, I have been in places where people was in a sense forced to life changing decision. Like Langston I too attended week long revival, like Langston I was told what to look for and what feeling to expect while attending church. I was a little upset to see the way he was treated in this essay. As a preacher son I to know a lot about religion, and what I read was not the correct approach. To force you believes on any one like that is to me morally incorrect. He was told what to feel and see and he failed to see that, so he didn’t want to get up, like the other kids. I think that he should have just told his aunt how he felt and it would had saved him a lot of grieve. In these stories one most consider that they are non-fiction, simply for the reason that they are realistic account of the author’s lives. Both stories are narrated by the authors themselves, the authors write about certain events conflicts that they both went through at a young age. They then used their creative writing skill to get the reader interested with the subject they were writing on. Although based on a fact or actual experience, both writers have to use their imagination to rewrite their experiences, to make the feelings or ideas that were needed to convey to the readers. The authors have used their skills and styles to capture the audience imagination as the stories go on. Since the reader had not experienced what the author was going through, the authors were challenged to bring the reader into their lives when they were just young men. This was done to help the reader to understand the ages and, mental state of the two authors. On the other hand the reader must also use some sense of imagination to recreate the scenes in the stories.

Influence of Women on American History Through the Civil War

The Influence of Women on the Founding of America and Through 1877 Kelley Swatsenbarg Wayland Baptist University – San Antonio Center Mr. Thomas Gaj May 4, 2010 The Influence of Women on the Founding of America and Through 1877 Throughout the many years of history, women have always had some kind of influence over man. Whether it be coercing him, tricking him, or demanding of him, they changed the actions of men. Sometimes it has been completely unintentional; sometimes intentional. Sometimes it has been covertly; sometimes overtly. Sometimes it has been the mothers of great men making decisions about their upbringing; sometimes it has been the choices made by female leaders or leaders wives. The United States in no different; women have been influencing, directly or indirectly, the decision and actions of the men in America starting from the choice to fund Christopher Columbus’s misguided exploration. Famous foreign rulers have influence America, from the beginning of the history of the United States. The first, of course, is the famous Isabella, Queen of Spain, who convinced King Ferdinand to finance Christopher Columbus’s exploration to find a route to Asia by traveling west. Then Elizabeth, Queen of England, decided to try to colonize the Americas to get tax revenue thus causing great numbers of Englishmen to colonize the United States. Some women did what they could within the confines of their traditionally established role of nurturer and were involved in the medical field. Two examples are Susie King Taylor and Mary Edwards Walker. Susie King Taylor traveled with her husband who was in E Company 33rd United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. She was a former slave who became their nurse, laundress, cook, teacher, and even comforted the sick soldiers even on their deathbed. Mary Edwards Walker was also a Union nurse during Civil War who finally won a commission in the army as a surgeon, and was the only woman to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor. Dorthea Dix helped organize the Union Army Corp of Nurses and was appointed superintendent of the Union nurses. There was the teacher, Clara Barton, now a famous humanitarian, who, after the outbreak of the Civil War, remained in contact with many former students in the New England Volunteer Regiment that went south. Their mothers gave her gifts for their sons as they thought that she, as a nurse, would be able to get packages to them. She realized that these were not gifts, but rather necessities like soap; from this she created the American Red Cross. She was also a Union nurse who bravely stayed to help surgeons under fire when all the male assistants fled. Some women personally aided soldiers and the underprivileged. One such woman was Margaret Corbin who traveled with her husband to take care of him during the war, doing woman’s work, but was in a battle with her husband. When he died in battle, she took over the cannon; she was wounded and later received the first retired disability pension for a woman. Some women created inspiration in various forms of literature to give hope to the men of this nation. One was Ethel Lynn Beers who wrote poetry and published a poem she'd titled â€Å"The Picket Guard. † The poem was adapted to music and sung by soldiers on both sides in the Civil War. Another woman of inspiration is Lydia Maria Child who wrote An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans_ _that was a key to persuading many Americans of the need for abolition of slavery. Some women were acclaimed worldwide, like Catherine Maria Sedgwick, who wrote numerous historical sketches and biographies. Her writing is considered to be completely American in both thought and feeling; it captured the all of the characterx and manners of New England. Another American author was Mercy Otis Warren, the wife of politician, James Warren; the couple had a close friendship with Abigail and John Adams. John encouraged her to write the history of the American Revolution. Ironically, he ostracized her and her husband because of candid accounts of atrocities against women and children during the war. By far the most famous writer to influence politics was Harriet Beecher Stowe who became a celebrity when she published Tom's Cabin in 1851 depicting the atrocious lives of black slaves in the South. In 1852 she was introduced to President Abraham Lincoln who greeted her â€Å"So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War! † Other women created patriotic symbols which would inspire generations of Americans. Betsy Ross, operated an upholstery shop, became legendary for making the first stars-and-stripes at the request of George Washington which was adopted as the national flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. Another example of a woman who inspired is Julia Ward Howe, a famous writer who wrote the celebrated Battle Hymn of the Republic. Many women inspired men through their patriotic activities. One great patriot that inspired Georgia was their most famous female patriot of the Revolutionary War, Nancy Hart, whose steadfast endeavors get rid of British and their sympathizers. However the most famous heroic female patriot, in spite of her flaws, is Dolly Madison, the wife of James Madison and acting first lady for Thomas Jefferson. She could have influence them in their politics, but she inspired the masses with her patriot deeds. During her husband’s tenure as president, the British attacked Washington, D. C. She had the foresight to save not only the silver but also secret documents and a portrait of George Washington which would have likely been destroyed. Another patriot was Molly Pitcher, originally named Mary Ludwig Hays. During the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, she was with her husband on the front lines. Seeing that the soldiers were thirsty, she made her way through ferocious fighting to carry pitchers of water to the artillery gunners, and she even took over her husband’s job as rammer when her husband was wounded and could no longer man the gun mission. Sometimes women invented machines or assisting others in their endeavors to invent. For example, Martha Coston developed an elaborate system of flares called Night Signals that allowed ships to transmit nocturnal messages which was later purchased by the U. S. Navy. Also, Mary Walton patented a method of deflecting smoke stack emissions through water tanks later adapted the system for use on locomotives and invented a noise reduction system for elevated railroads. On the other hand Catharine (Kitty) Littlefield Greene helped Eli Whitney set up his workshop and was among the few people to see his first prototype of the cotton gin. At the time it was able to remove the seed, but the cotton fibers kept getting stuck in the mechanisms. Kitty simply suggested sweeping the fibers off and the rest, shall we say, is history. Some women have taken steps out of the boundaries of the traditional role by being the first woman to surpass a man in a particular field. Among these was Lady Deborah Moody who, because of lack of religious freedom, led a group of followers to the Dutch colony of New Netherland where she founded the settlement of Gravesend in Brooklyn. Also because of views about standard religions, Mary Baker Eddy founded Christian Science as well as the six time Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. Still other women inspired men to think of women as more equal by making the same achievements as men. First there was Mary Katherine Goddard, the first woman publisher who was asked by the signers of the Declaration of Independence to print the first official copies of the document. There was also Margaret Fuller, the first female foreign correspondent. In medicine, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate from medical school, and Sarah Hackett Stevenson was the first female member of the American Medical Association. Sometimes women influence men by political activism like Harriett Delille who campaigned for children’s labor rights or Ester Deberdt Reed who formed a women’s organization that collected $300,000 for Washington’s army. Still others campaigned for workers’ rights like Sarah Bagley who fought for a ten-hour workday. Of course now the laws state that a workday must be no longer than eight hours a day or forty hours per week, but we would not have progressed to where we are without her protesting. Others spoke out for women’s rights like Susan B. Anthony, Isabella Stowe Beecher, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, just to name a few. Yet others spoke out against slavery like Abby Folsom, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Maria Stewart, and Truth Sojourner. Victoria Woodhull took activism a step further when she became a politician and was the first women to campaign for president of the United States in 1872. Sometimes their influence has simply been by virtue of the fact that they were married to famous men and they have influenced their husbands’ actions. Martha Washington, as we all know, was the wife of President George Washington. She was the first first-lady forming the model for all first ladies to come with her abilities to balance managing a plantation, arranging state dinners and function, visiting troops, and maintaining her relationship with George by supporting and advising him. Abigail Smith Adams was the wife of Samuel Adam and mother of John Quincy Adams who would later become president. She was his confidant, counselor, and advisor sharing her political views with him and even warning him about future problems including women’s rights. Their son, John Quincy Adams married Louisa Adams. Louisa, the only first lady not born in America, is reputed to have made many social calls to help him get elected. Deborah Read Franklin was the common law wife of Benjamin Franklin. She also took over his responsibilities as owner of a printing business and as postmaster while he was away on diplomatic affairs. On the other hand, Elizabeth Schuler Hamilton spent her entire life dedicated to memorializing her husband’s heritage. She even ensured a brass plaque was placed on their son’s grave in Sacramento, California dedicated to Alexander’s patriotism. Sarah Livingston Jay would pass valuable information, and gossip, to her husband, John Jay which helped him while he was secretary of foreign affairs – this position was also the head of Congress and thereby the de-facto head of state. Mary White Morris and her husband Robert Morris were close friends of John and Sally Jay, often having many a long political discussion. While Rebecca Ann Felton, the husband of William Felton, helped him write his speeches while he served as a congressman between 1875 thru 1881. Still other women were simply involved with activities which have influenced domestic politics like, Irene Sanford Emerson who was sued by a former slave, Dred Scott. Mr. Scott traveled with Mr. Emerson while he was in the army stationed in the North; he claimed he had been emancipated as a result of having lived with his master in the free state of Illinois. The court ruled in favor of Mrs. Emerson; Mr. Scott appealed to the Supreme Court where the decision was upheld, but it set the precedence that blacks had a legal right to file suit in a civil court, as previously blacks were considered property and therefore, like a chair, could not litigate. There were also many Native American women who assisted and acted as diplomats for the settlers and colonists. One was Mary Musgrove, an American Indian interpreter, diplomat, and businesswoman. She was raised by Colonists and, because she knew both languages well, she interpreted for James Oglethorpe when he founded the colony of Georgia. She also inherited land from her Native American mother, as their tradition was to pass property down the matriarchal line. The English refused to accept the legality of her property ownership and she took them to court. They negotiated and came to a compromise; some of the land was sold by the British with her receiving the proceeds. Then there was Pocahontas, Native American princess who helped the Jamestown settlers by bringing them food and warning them of her father’s attacks. She was held prisoner by the settlers in an effort to force her father into a peace agreement, but he refused; she eventually converted her to Christianity and married John Rolfe. Because of her position as wife of John Rolfe and daughter of an Indian chief, she was able to maintain peace between the two communities. Sacajawea was another Native American who influenced American politics. She was married to a French man, Toussaint Charbonneau, the guide hired by Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. Sacajawea went with her husband and interpreted with the Native American Indians. She would translate to Charbonneau in French and he would translate to Lewis and Clark into English. During her trip she gave birth to a son, and, all the while taking care of him, guided the explorers trough Indian lands, protected them from Indian attacks, kept valuable items from being lost–her husband was a klutz, and even found them food to supplement their all-meat diet. Other women covertly did the jobs of men such as Deborah Champion, a teenage girl who bought parcels, messages and pay to General George Washington when soldiers could not. Some other messengers were Behethland Moore and Sybil Ogden Ludington, dubbed the â€Å"female Paul Revere† (she rode about twice as far as he did on his famous ride). Still other women, like Harriet Tubman–a conductor on the Underground Railroad, acted secrectly. The history of the world abounds with famous female spies like Pauline Cushman, a Union spy, became a camp follower of the Confederate army. She was discover, tried in a military court, and sentenced to hang; they delayed her sentence due to her health and she was rescued by Union forces. Upon her return North, President Lincoln made her an honorary major. Elizabeth Van Lew was a famous and effective Union spy. She entered the Confederate Libby Prison on the pretense of humanitarian reasons, and, since the guards thought she was harmless and crazy, she gained information about the strength and disposition of the troops. As her work continued, she devised a way to send coded messages inside eggs. Belle Boyd used her feminine wiles to gain secrets and trap Union soldiers. Others posed as soldiers and fought in war. During the Civil War, Ann Clarke dressed as a man in the Confederate army. She was wounded, taken prisoner, and later released. Prudence Wright gathered a women’s troop and dressed in husbands’ uniforms to defend their city from the British. They captured a British spy and turned him over to the Colonial Army. Deborah Sampson Gannet dressed as man in order to fight in Revolution; her husband received land and was granted the pension of a soldier. During her career she was wounded several times and caught a fever which nearly took her life. If it were not for the fever she would have remained a soldier longer, but a doctor finally discovered her secret, but he did not publicly release the fact, instead he sent her to General George Washington who immediately discharged her. Then there was the famous story of Sarah Emma Edmonds who enlisted in the Union army as Frank Thompson, a male nurse. She effectively guarded her secret for many years even taking on disguises of men and women, blacks and whites to spy. She left the army for medical treatment in an area where she was unknown, when she did this, Frank Thompson was viewed as a deserter. Afterwards, she fought to be recognized for her achievements, and, with a special act of Congress, she was honorably discharged and given a pension. The Confederacy had plenty of female spies too. Included in this number is Antonia Ford who passed along to Confederate J. E. B. Stuart information on Union troop activity. Rose O’Neal Greenhow was such a successful spy that she was imprisoned twice, and then exiled to the Confederate states. She was to tour Britain and France as a propagandist for the Confederate cause; her memoirs were published with a wide sale throughout the British Isles. She obtained more and more sympathy for the South. There was also the case of Loreta Janeta Velazquez who enlisted in disguise and served at Manassas/Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh under the name Lieutenant Harry T. Buford. She also claims to have served as a spy and worked working as a double agent for the Confederacy in the service of the U. S. Secret Service. To this day no one can determine if in fact any of these accounts are true,, although a newspaper report mentions a Lieutenant Bensford arrested when it was disclosed â€Å"he† was actually a woman giving her name as Alice Williams. Even in Colonial times America was full of willing female spies and messengers such as Dicey Langston was a teenage colonial spy who forded a river, up to her shoulders, to get details of British troop movement to the colonial army. And then there was Emily Geiger a messenger for General Greene in the Colonial army. Coming from the direction of Greene's army, she was suspected and confined to a room. The officer sent for a woman to search her for papers. She sought to destroy the letter; once the door was shut, she ate up the letter, piece by piece. Lydia Darragh was a mortician and would watch British troops from the window of her house. She sent messages about their activities through one of her sons and then to another soldier to get information to Washington’s Army. British officer Major Andre commandeered her house, but allowed the family to stay in the house. She could then listen in on their plotting and send word of their plans. Others’ influences were merely accidental like Peggy O’Neale Eaton, married Senator John Eaton in 1828 during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Many gossiped about her colorful past and seeming infidelity with her first husband, when she married Eaton, she shunned by cabinet members’ wives due to her assumed sordid past. The behavior of the ladies towards her and the influence upon their husbands created such a disaster that the cabinet fell apart–Jackson fired them all. An unintentional influence on men’s actions was Betsy Loring who was General Howe’s mistress; although she was the wife a loyalist, she distracted General Howe by â€Å"entertaining† and distracting him from battles with General Washington. The United States of America owes an enormous debt to Mary Ball Washington. She set the example of solid morals and religious opinions, and even read to her children aloud. We need to thank her for one incidentally decision that she made regarding the future of her son. When George was fourteen years old, his half-brother Lawrence obtained a midshipman’s warrant for him in the English naval service. George was already packed and ready to go, but his mother refused to give her consent at the last minute. So, because of an inadvertent decision, George Washington became the Father of Our Country and our first President instead of an English naval officer. In conclusion, in all nations, including the United States, women have been influencing, either directly or indirectly, the decision and actions of the men. Regardless of whether we believe that changes women have made are good or bad, they have helped define this great nation of ours, and, as the French say, â€Å"Viva la difference. Collins, G. (2003). America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Roberts, C. (2004_) Founding Mothers: the Women Who Raised Our Nation. _ New York: HarperCollins Publishers Roberts, C. (2008). Ladies of Liberty: the Women Who Shaped Our Nation. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Taylor, S. K. (2004). The Diary of Susie King Taylor, Civil War nurse. Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark books Zall, P. M. (1991). Founding Mothers: Profiles of Ten Wives of America’s Founding Fathers. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books