Comparing Oedipus and Minority Report

Sophocles Oedipus the King and Spielberg Minority Report. (Critical Essay) Sutton, nana. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Wheeled publications Many English teachers today pair older, canonical works with recent films that strongly allude to those earlier works–Mrs.. Daylong and The Hours, for example, or Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. One palling teachers might consider Is Sophocles Oedipus the King with Steven Spielberg 2002 film Minority Report. While it would be an exaggeration to call Minority Report a futuristic retelling of the Oedipus story, the film does borrow most of the central elements of Sophocles play.In particular, the play and the film share an emphasis on literal and symbolic vision and blindness, a plot device in which a protagonist is told he will commit a murder in the future, and a thematic concern with fate and free will. Minority Report establishes its emphasis on vision and blindness within the first minute of the film. The first words we hear are †Å"You know how blind I am without them,† spoken by a character named Howard Marks about his glasses. As we hear these words, we see a scissor blade stab through the eye of a face In a magazine photo, as Marks's young son cuts out pictures for a homework project.A few seconds later, we see a close-up of an eyeball. All this Is, of course, reminiscent not only of Oedipus stabbing out his own eyes but also of the many comments about vowels and blindness In Sophocles play, such as Oedipus comment to the plague-ravaged chorus, â€Å"How could I fail to see what longings bring you here? † (142). As in the preceding quotation from Sophocles play, both the film and the play employ images of vision and blindness to refer not only to physical sight but also to seeing as understanding.And in both works, this understanding involves past and future killings. In the film's opening minute, we see images of events that have not yet taken place, but which are being â€Å"seen† by a woman named Ghats, the person whose eye appears in the close-up. Ghats is the most gifted of three â€Å"process†Ã¢â‚¬â€œhumans blessed and cursed with the ability to envision murders before they take place, and thus used to warn the police of the murders so they can be prevented, In a system called â€Å"Presence. In the opening scene, Howard Marks has Just â€Å"seen† that his wife Is having an affair and that he is about to kill her and her lover with the scissors. But the police?led by the elm's protagonist, John Anderson–prevent him from doing so. Similarly, in Oedipus the King, the one character who understands the truth and knows the future at the beginning of the play, Eateries, tells Oedipus, â€Å"You're blind to the corruption of your life† (162).In Minority Report, the linking of physical sight with understanding, specifically of murders, extends far beyond the opening sequence. Later, Ghats, tormented by knowing who murdered her mother an d by the fact that the police have been fooled regarding the murderer's identity, repeatedly shouts, â€Å"Can you see? To John Anderson as she tries to lead him to solve the crime. And when Anderson finally recognizes that his interest In this past crime is the reason he has been set up to be arrested for a future murder, his first words are, â€Å"How could I not have seen TLS? –a line reminiscent of Oedipus statement, shortly after realizing the truth of his situation, that he had been too long â€Å"blind to the ones [he] longed to Report play a role analogous to that of the Oracle at Delphi in Oedipus the King, a similarity made explicit in the film. The process stay in an area referred to as â€Å"the ample,† and early in the film, one character refers to the process collectively as â€Å"the oracle,† and their handlers, the police, as â€Å"the priests. And in both the play and the film, soon enough, the oracle tells the protagonist that he will commi t murder. As a young man, Oedipus was told he would kill his father and have children by his mother (185); early in the film, Anderson is informed by the process that he will murder someone named Leo Crow. Although both protagonists are informed that they will commit murders in the future, both the play and the film are set in worlds erupted by the fact that political leaders have not been detected for murders they committed in the past.In Oedipus the King, Thebes suffers from a plague that can be removed only when the murderer of the previous king is discovered and punished–a murderer who turns out to be the current king, Oedipus. In Minority Report, Washington, DC (and thus implicitly the entire nation, especially since precise is about to go national rather than being limited to DC) is corrupted by the fact that the head of precise, Lamar Burgess, has murdered Ghats's mother to prevent losing Ghats as a precook, unbeknownst to anyone but Ghats.Thus in both works, the prota gonist is doubly a detective: he must discover the truth about the oracle's prediction that he would murder someone, and he must solve the murder that corrupts the political world in which the work is set. In addition, the protagonists of both works receive prophecies not only from seemingly divine oracles, but also from blind mortals. Eateries declares that Oedipus is himself the murderer of the previous king (159) and then adds, correctly, that by the day's end Oedipus will be reduced to blind beggar and will know he is both son and husband to his wife, both brother and father to his children (164).In Minority Report, a sleazy character with grotesque, hollow sockets where his eyes should be sells John Anderson a drug he calls â€Å"Clarity† and then says, â€Å"In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa statement that proves prophetic later in the film when Anderson, possessing only one of his original eyes, is able to outwit others who are â₠¬Å"blind† to the true situation regarding the murder that Burgess committed. The most obvious, and obviously sight-related, really between the two works is the fact that both protagonists voluntarily lose their eyes.And in each case, this loss of eyes largely coincides with the protagonist's ability to â€Å"see† in a deeper sense. Once Oedipus realizes that he did indeed murder his father and marry his mother–once he sees the truth–he stabs out his eyes. In the futuristic world of Minority Report, omnipresent eye scans make hiding virtually impossible, and so Anderson, once he is wanted for the future murder of Leo Crow, has his eyes removed and exchanged for a different pair to evade detection, having en advised by one of the inventors of precise that â€Å"Sometimes in order to see the light you have to risk the dark. It is only through this swapping of eyes–and through retaining at least one of his original eyes in a plastic bag, for use in eye scans for security clearance–that he is eventually able to â€Å"see the light† and solve both mysteries: why he is accused of murdering Leo Crow and how Lamar Burgess murdered Ghats's mother. When we reach the protagonist's encounter with the person he was predicted to kill, both the play and the film are somewhat ambiguous other), as the oracle had said he would, despite every effort he makes to avoid fulfilling this fate.Indeed, his efforts to avoid his fate lead him to precisely the spot where he must be to fulfill it. But critics have long emphasized that the character traits Oedipus displays in the plays present are precisely the ones that would have naturally led him to react as he did when he encountered his father (Knox and Thaliana 598). They have also emphasized that the gods can know the future without causing it (Odds 23). Thus, the killing seems both an expression of inexorable fate and the natural expression of Oedipus character.Similarly, when John And erson finally confronts Leo Crow, he tries to arrest Crow rather than kill him– but Crow, determined to die, grabs for Andersen's gun and is eventually fatally shot, with the film ambiguous as to whether Anderson (accidentally) or Crow (intentionally) pulls the trigger. So, Anderson does not attempt to murder Crow yet plays a role in the man's death. Moreover, the film paradoxically insists that although the future can be accurately predicted, those who know their future have the power to change it.Thus, both works concede considerable power to fate but also leave room for free will. Minority Report alludes to Oedipus the King in smaller ways as well. Early on, a character named Danny Witter repeatedly mentions finding a â€Å"flaw† in Anderson– surely an echo of the concept of â€Å"tragic flaw† in characters like Oedipus. Later, as curiosity leads Anderson toward confronting Leo Crow, whom he has never met but whom he is â€Å"supposed† to murder , Ghats warns him, â€Å"You have a choice. Walk away. Now. † But he refuses, saying, â€Å"l can't. I have to know. I have to find out what happened to my life.

Lucozade Adverts

Lucozade is a product which over the years has totally changed the target audience and its impact on the market. At the start of its production life it was marketed as a drink which helped aid recovery for sick children, so the obvious target market was mothers who would be encouraged by the commercial to buy the drink for their children. However, as time went by this proved unsuccessful. It was time for change and this they did, changing not only image but target market and the different uses for the drink. The first advertisement studied was an original commercial which advertised Lucozade as a drink which aids recovery from illness; aimed to be bought by mothers, and promoted very much as a ‘happy family' drink. However, the slogan ‘Lucozade Aids Recovery' made consumers think it was a drink only for the sick and not intended for healthy people; because of improving social conditions and medical care, fewer people felt the need to buy Lucozade when they were ill, causing as obvious decrease in sales. Another problem was the packaging: it was a unique large glass bottle, but was only suitable for use in the home. Consumers who felt thirsty were unlikely to buy it and drink it on the street, which meant that the brand was only sold in large grocery stores and chemist so limiting its availability and reducing its market share. The drink itself was also a problem as it was then only provided in one flavour and consumers could take it or leave it, so many simply did not like th e taste and bought other soft drinks. A positive side to this advertising, however, was that everybody had heard of Lucozade and it had an excellent reputation, strongly associated with glucose and health. It was sold at a high price compared to production cost which meant that Lucozade made tremendous profit on each bottle sold. There was also no direct competition, not even from supermarkets, who often market their ‘own brand' versions of successful products. The Daley Thompson advertisements were the ‘cure' and saviour of the Lucozade drink in using a top sports superstar to endorse and advertise the product. Thompson was a double Olympic gold winning decathlete in the 1980s, and so was a world renowned sports star and he was British! A totally new advertising campaign was now launched to give Lucozade a new image and enhance its reputation in a modern was that consumers would feel was relevant to them. The image of the children and sickrooms was gone and in came representations of fitness and healthy living, so completely transforming the total target market, as it now promised energy for healthy athletes, not for convalescent children. In addition there would be announcements of new products for example providing new flavours that would give Lucozade a much wider appeal through its advertising. Also the first part of the campaign introduced the single-drink, quarter litre bottle. Sales improved dramatically and the newer, smaller bottle was sold in small shops as well as chemists, so widening its availability. The Daley Thompson advertisement starts with an extreme close-up of a red traffic light which draws attention immediately to the screen, as it then switches to a shot of Daley Thompson slowing down from a run, while it states: ‘8AM Daley Thompson', stops training for a refreshment. Another picture of a red light cross fades to a shot of Daley coming to a standstill: when Daley stops, the viewers stop to focus a shimmering heat on the running track, which is red, the corporate colour of Lucozade. The effect of this dramatic opening is to show the viewer Thompson's total exhaustion, whilst the red colours remind us of the product label. It also has an American style with the traffic lights and intense heat so suggesting what an international superstar Daley Thompson is. It also indicates that if he trains in America, he must be popular whilst it is a country associated with success – as is Thompson, and, by implication, Lucozade The traffic lights turn amber as it goes to a shot of Daley: the clothes he is wearing are grey and dull emphasising that he is exhausted from a long training session. He is depicted with a bottle of Lucozade, flipping it out of out of his bag to show it is portable and will fit into a bag which can be taken anywhere. He drinks it; am extreme close-up follows of the vivid orange Lucozade liquid and bubbles passing through it like the energy building up. There is also an extreme close-up of the bottle with a Royal Seal of Approval indicating that is a high quality product, which is good enough to be royally approved, to remind viewers of the tradition and reputation. The music speeds up and the camera moves in and goes to an extreme close-up of a green light, zooms in and out quickly and moves to a mid-shot of Daley getting ready to sprint; this is in slow-motion which indicates the energy building up and rushing through his body from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. He burst from the block and races down the track towards the camera and audience to fully involve them, stressing how quick he is and it is implied that the Lucozade has fully revitalised him. There is then a variety of shots of his legs pounding down the runway, making the advertisement more explosive and exciting so retaining audience involvement. The shots change quickly to reflect the speed of Lucozade, but it ends with a freeze frame of Daley in motion winning his race. The words ‘Lucozade' and ‘the refreshing glucose drink' appear in the Lucozade ‘font' whilst the voice of Des Lynam is heard saying these words, portraying more celebrity endorsement which gives Lucozade an even better image having been endorsed by two famous sport personalities. Sound is also used to excellent effect in the advertisement as the music is of a heavy metal style, which was popular with teenagers at the time, the band being Iron Maiden with their song ‘Phantom of the Opera', complementing the images perfectly. The music gives the advertisement a racy and modern edge whilst also appealing to a younger audience than the mothers of the older advertisements. Therefore, the advertisement was constructed extremely well and this was reflected in a huge increase in sales, mainly because of the Daley Thompson endorsement. It helped Lucozade become what it is today, a well known and respected top sports drinks used by the worlds best professional and amateur athletes aswell as ordinary people on the street who have been convinced by a series of very powerful advertisements.

Vietnam Piracy History

II. The Prioriry actions requested in 2012: IIPA had hoped that the 2005 passage of the IP Code in Vietnam, revisions to the Criminal Code in 2009, an administrative enforcement Decree (No. 47) also in 2009, and a nationwide judicial reformprocess would lead to steady improvements in copyright protection, allowing a legitimate creative marketplace to emerge in Vietnam. Unfortunately, online and mobile piracy has gotten significantly worse in Vietnam, and end-user piracy of business software remains largely unchecked, among other piracy problems.Increased Internet and mobile penetration and more widely available broadband capacity have led to a severe increase in the trade of illegal copyright files online. Technological advances in Vietnam have outpaced the government’s response to copyright issues, notwithstanding that the Vietnamese have long recognized that piracy in the country is increasingly â€Å"sophisticated† and involves violations of â€Å"most of the object s of the rights†.The Vietnamese Government has taken very few enforcement actions over the years, and no criminal case has ever been brought to address copyright piracy. Because of that, IIPA has launched the priority actions requested in 2012 to reduce the piracy situation in Vietnam: Enforcement: * Devote greater resources and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) Inspectorate and Economic Police manpower to running raids and bringing cases under the Criminal Code through targeted criminal actions,e. . , against online piracy, retail and source piracy,.. * Take effective enforcement measures against notorious infringing sites whose business models are based on providing access to infringing content, including in particular those sites such as Socbay. com, Bamboo. com,†¦ * Enforce Ordinance No. 4 and Decree No. 47 on administrative remedies for copyright infringement, imposing maximum penalties. * Reduce pirated imports from China. Reduce signal theft by removin g illegal content from local cable operators and stopping retransmission of signals from neighboring countries without license. Legislation and Market Access * Issue implementing guidance for the revised Criminal Code so that prosecutions can commence, in line with Vietnam’s BTA obligation, including by confirming that the Code applies to online distributions, and providing detailed interpretations of â€Å"commercial scale† infringements that include those undertaken without a profit motive. Make necessary changes to IP Code and implementing decrees to ensure Vietnam is in full compliance with its BTA and other international obligations, and otherwise facilitate the free exercise of rights by copyright owners. * Expedite the drafting process for, and provide public consultation as to, amendments to the Internet Decree (or circular) on ISP liability that clarifies the secondary liability of ISPs and requires ISPs to take responsibility and cooperate with right holders to combat online infringements both in the hosted and the non-hosted environment. Afford U. S. right holders greater access to the Vietnamese market, by eliminating foreign investment restrictions and other entry barriers with respect to production, importation and distribution of copyright materials whether in the physical or online/mobile marketplaces. * Extend the term of protection for sound recordings to the BTA-compatible term (75 years or more) and otherwise extend copyright term in line with the international trend (life of the author plus 70 years). * Pass optical disc licensing regulation. III.The actual out come of the 2011 decisions (the result in 2012 after applying priority actions requested in 2012) IIPA hopes the issuance and entry into force in 2012 of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) Joint Circular on Stipulations on the Responsibilities for Intermediary Service Providers in the Protection of C opyright and Related Rights on the Internet and Telecommunications Networks will lead to significant reductions in online and mobile piracy in the country, including closures of notorious websites and services built on copyright infringement.The IP Code, Criminal Code, administrative enforcement Ordinances and Decrees, and judicial reform, must all be brought to bear to significantly reduce all forms of piracy, including online and mobile piracy, enterprise end-user piracy of software, physical piracy, and book piracy which remain largely unchecked in Vietnam. And the results after applying priority actions requested in 2012, Piracy Situation and enforcement challenges in Viet Nam are summarized as follows: 1.Internet and Mobile Piracy Causing Severe Damage to Copyright Owners: Increased Internet and mobile penetration and more widely available broadband capacity have led to a severe increase in the trade of illegal copyright files online. Internet penetration continued on an upward path, with reportedly 31. 1 million Internet users according to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Vietnam, with 3G mobile Internet users reaching 16 million (18% of the country’s population).Vietnam ranks 18th in the world, 8th in Asia, and 3rd in Southeast Asia in the total number of Internet users. According to MIC, there are 19 Internet service providers, some 1,064 licensed websites, and 335 social networks operating in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the vast majority of websites dealing in copyright content remain unlicensed, although there are now a few operators of online services providing licensed music (representing, however, only 1% of online music services).The rest are streaming and download sites (50%), forums (21%), video websites (17%), search engines (8%), deeplinking, cyberlocker, and social network sites all being employed to deliver unlicensed copyright content, including music, movies, entertainment and software, and published materials. N ot only the repertoire of VietNam but international and other Asian repertoire such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean music can also be found on these sites. And University networks are increasingly being used for dissemination of infringing content.Specific example for this case is Zing. vn. Zing. vn is one notorious website which was identified by IIPA in its annual notorious markets filing with the U. S. Trade Representative, and USTR placed Zing. vn on its â€Å"Notorious Markets† list. Zing. vn is an online portal service operated by VNG Corporation (previously called VinaGame) in Vietnam. Zing. vn provides various services including an online music portal, social networking, a search engine, instant messaging, movies, karaoke, video and photos. Zing. n, well documented in last year’s IIPA Special 301 report, was proposed by IIPA as a â€Å"notoriousmarket† in its Special 301 out-of-cycle review submission in September 2012, and USTR agreed in its December 20 12 announcement. USTR noted in its announcement, â€Å"In addition to being a social media site, Vietnam-based Zing. vn also includes an infringing deeplinking music portal, which reportedly attracts large numbers of users to the site. † They also indicated, â€Å"We understand that VNG, Zing’s parent company is currently in talks with rights holders to obtain the necessary licenses to transitionZing into an authorized digital music platform. † With rapid increases in mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam, there has also been an increase in mobile piracy over the year. Right holders now face two major challenges in the mobile space: 1) the loading by mobile device vendors of illegal copyright content onto devices at the point of sale; and 2) illegal music channels or â€Å"apps† set up to be accessed on mobile platforms, without any intervention from the authorities to cease such activities.As an example of this phenomenon, sites like Socbay. com offer ille gal downloads of ringtones to mobile phones, but Socbay has now developed a mobile â€Å"app† called Socbay iMedia which provides a variety of unauthorized entertainment content, including, inter alia, music files. This second phenomenon will, if allowed unchecked, threaten the entire online/mobile market for music and other copyright materials into the future and must be addressed. 2.Enterprise End-User Piracy of Software Harms the Software Industry and Stunts the Growth of the IT Sector: The software industry reports a continued high level of software piracy in Vietnam. In 2011, the software piracy rate in Vietnam was 81% (among the highest in the world), representing a commercial value of unlicensed software of US$395 million. 13 This includes widespread unlicensed software use by enterprises in Vietnam, retail piracy, and hard disk loading of unlicensed software. Most leading cities, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da N? ng, and H? Phong are still key software piracy hot spots. The industry also notes the desperate need for legalization of software usage within the Vietnamese government. It has been recognized by some within the Vietnamese government that use of unlicensed commercial software is occurring within government ministries. Some initial discussions on government legalization have commenced between BSA and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), with a focus on legalization procedures and the government avoiding any mandates orpreferences for the purchase of specific types of software. . Physical Piracy Remains Rampant, Including Pirate Imports, Pirate Burned Content, Factory Production, and â€Å"Media Box† Piracy: Evidence of physical piracy, including virtually 100% piracy of home video entertainment, can still be found everywhere in Vietnam, especially in urban areas like Ha Noi, HCM City,†¦ It remains very easy to buy almost imported discs (from China mainly),burned discs or factory discs of any kind of conte nt, and pirated software is readily available at shops on the socalled â€Å"PC streets† or other â€Å"CD-DVD† shops.Vietnamese-sourced pirate products flood the domestic markets and have been found in other markets in recent years in Asia, North America, and even Eastern Europe. For the music industry, with piracy levels still extremely high, financial returns for recorded music sales have dropped so deeply that the companies involved are unable to invest in new albums and artists, choosing to recoup investment through ring tones, ring-back tones, ancillary revenues for personality rights, and music channel licensing. 4. Book and Journal Piracy Severely Harms Publishers:Book and journal publishers continue to suffer from rampant piracy in Vietnam, in the form of illegal reprints and unauthorized photocopies. Bookshops, roadside vendors and copy shops all sell unauthorized copies of bestselling trade books, travel books and academic textbooks, and unlicensed print ove rruns continue to harm foreign publishers. Unauthorized translations produced by university lecturers or professors have been detected, in which the lecturers or professors append their name to the translated textbook.State-sector publishers also have an interest in making sure their licenses (such as those of the Ministry of Youth and the General Publishing House of Ho Chi Minh City) are not misused. 5. Signal Piracy/Pay TV Piracy: Vietnam's Pay-TV sector is one of the fastest developing markets in the Asia Pacific, and is set to rank fourth in the region in growth over the next four years. With 4. 2 million overall connections, and digital systems taking hold (including through Vietnamese Government infusion of capital), signal piracy in Vietnam still holds back the legitimate Pay-TV market, and causes major damages to right holders. Overspill† is also a problem in Vietnam as cable operators capture signals from neighboring countries’ satellite systems. These are ende mic problems which the government should address. A relatively new and dangerous problem in Vietnam involves the operation of websites which steal pay-TV signals and stream them onto the Internet. Several sites have been identified as streaming premium content channels without authorization, mainly focusing on motion pictures or sports content.In general, after applying the above policy, the piracy situation in Vietnam has not improved. One of the reasons for this situation is enforcement challenges. Enforcement updates in Vi? t Nam: Failure to Address Internet and Mobile Device Piracy: Despite notifying the Vietnamese government ofsites involved in piracy of music, movies, software, games, and published works (with reports of growing electronic piracy of textbooks and dictionaries, among other published products), the government has been mainly inactive and disinterested. Notorious piracy site zing. n has been brought to the attention of administrative authorities in Vietnam, but t here has been no response. The problem is further compounded by existing administrative enforcement remedies being rendered ineffective by: * The lack of an effective procedure to deal with online piracy administrative complaints. * A heavy burden on right holders for production of evidence and proof of actual damages. * Continued rudimentary issues related to ability to identify and effectively deal with online infringement cases. * Lack of compliance with administrative ordersCourt Reform Efforts Lacking: The inactivity of the courts in dealing with copyright infringement issues is a major disappointment. There have to date been relatively few civil court actions involving copyright infringement in Vietnam. The main reasons for this are complicated procedures, delays, and a lack of certainty as to the expected outcome. Building IP expertise must be a part of the overall judicial reform effort. Training should be provided to police and prosecutors as they play a very important role in bringing a criminal offense case to the courts.End-User Piracy Enforcement: One relatively bright spot in enforcement seems to be in the area of addressing software piracy. In 2012, more raids were taken with participation of both MCST and the MPS Anti-High Tech Crime Police. Administrative fines remain relatively low, generally, VND50 million (around US$2,400), never reaching the maximum applicable rate of VND500 million (US$24,000). The industry also reports stronger support given to both enforcement and educational campaigns to sensitize the public to the need to use legal software.The presence of the High Tech Police is now seen as essential for the success of raids as they possess technical knowledge which is helpful to achieving effective raids. In addition, there are training courts covered the overview of copyright laws and the value of IP and innovation. There remain no implementing guidelines for the revised Criminal Code, so no software piracy cases have ever been bro ught to Criminal Court. Very Little Enforcement Against Hard Goods Piracy:Though MCST has indicated its recognition of the hard goods piracy problem, it has devoted very few resources to deal with physical piracy across Vietnam. Only a ‘zero tolerance’ campaign, including actions against open and blatant piracy activities of all kinds, with deterrent administrative fines meted out to their maximums, license revocations, shop closures, seizures of pirate imports and pirated product destined for export by Customs, and criminal penalties can result in a significant reduction in piracy in Vietnam.

Cinematography in Apocalypto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cinematography in Apocalypto - Essay Example The cinematographer for the film Apocalypto (2006) was Richard Semler, born in Australia in 1943. Semler had worked with Mel Gibson before while filming Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981). His work covers a wide genre of films, from comedy to action thrillers like Dances with Wolves, Waterworld, Nutty Professor II and The Last Action Hero. Semler had won the Best Cinematography Award for Kevin Costner’s Dancing with Wolves (1991) and won again for Apocalypto (2006). The film is deeply indebted to his brilliant work on capturing images and visuals of a decadent and cruel civilization that is nearing its endpoint even as it entraps and enslaves the lower class to work as slaves. Since the whole of the film is recorded in the Mayan language to accentuate its authenticity, English speaking viewers are forced to rely on the subtitles or just watch intently as the entire visual experience unfolds before their eyes. In the opinion of many a viewer, it is a visceral visual experience that speaks volumes through its cinematography. Evidently, Semler was just the right choice for picturizing this film. He loves ‘vast stretches of barren land, dark thrillers, and musicals’ (http://www.theasc.com/magazine). We see the film and hear and feel it through the eyes of Jaguar Paw played by Richard Youngblood who is in the lead role. About shooting the digital film on a Panasonic Genesis, Semler says: â€Å"it was a big moment for me, realizing we could now do things we never thought we’d be able to do. This is a revolution in cinematography†Ã‚  (Benjamin, 2-3). In digital cinematography, motion pictures are captured digitally, much like digital photography. The cinematographer can then alter shading, color and even speed of movement using the technical software at which some degree of expertise is required. Semler did all this work in a tent set up near to the filming locations in Mexico.

Vendor Managed Inventory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vendor Managed Inventory - Essay Example It is therefore inevitable to discard inventory with low turnover rates because the above fixed costs will have to be paid for whether or not the product has been sold. Asset management is a very important concept in finance. Any businessman should practice better working capital management. The levels of stock, debtors and cash must be balanced appropriately. From the above, for instance, it is practicable to invest $2,500 compared to $10,000 because when the stock is converted into cash, it could have generated some interest. But even though by going with the last option i.e. buying $2500 worth of inventory would be preferable as the approach suffers from one setback. I.e. the purchaser will have to forgive quality discounts by virtue of buying in bulk. However, consistently, we may apply the inventory turnover formula, as its usefulness will depend on how we have cost/valued our inventory. Stock can be valued on FIFO, LIFO or weighted average method. To get a reliable rate, then we must be consistent on how we value of inventory as some methods will over cash them while others will under cash the stock making the resulting conclusions to be misleading. The inclusion of the cost of goods sent to branches is also tricky if those other branches are in foreign states and operate in foreign currencies and yet the financial operators need be reported in reporting entity. Translations will then have to be made for the foreign operation back to the reporting entity's currency. But despite the criticism to this technique, inventory turnover is a very instrumental tool for decision making. One will be able to gauge on where to invest and disinvest in case of a low inventory turnover rate. Ajax Chemical's Existing Inventory A problem would arise when the vendor gives the consumer some money in advance before the products are sold. The products would either fetch low returns or no returns at all. The customer's inventory would again require to be maintained, distinguishing them from the other stock. This would mean additional labor costs. The return on this investment would then be too low for the vendor. May be it could be advisable for the vendor to monitor the sales patterns and know which product have a higher turnover rate that can give full credit on them, for the others with a moderately fair or no turnover rate, he should apportion his credit accordingly. For example, by pegging is as a percentage of the turnover rate. For example, a credit of $2,000 of the product's turnover rate is 100% while on the other hand a credit of $1,400 of the product's turnover rate is 70%. Ignoring of critical stock (Repair Parts) To avoid stock-outs, and make Vendor managed inventory succeed, the vendor must in his premises maintain a buffer/safety stock. Running out of stock is costly and a considerable safety stock need be maintained. But important also is the fact that this buffer stock shouldn't be too high as this would consequently catapult the stockholding costs to higher levels.Vendor managed inventory is a situation whereby a customer enters into a contract/agreement with a vendor for the latter to procure and store goods for him in his premises so that the customer can continue buying from him frequently and a lower

Annunciation of Mary A Significant Image in the Christian Theology Essay

Annunciation of Mary A Significant Image in the Christian Theology - Essay Example This article will discuss in detail  the image of Annunciation of Mary, starting from the story as given in "Protoevangelium of James" and moving on to later time periods. This writing will take a look at this particular picture of Mary as it gradually develops through the ages and represents her gradual rise in the minds and beliefs of Christian theology. It will also focus on the aspect of representing the perpetual virginity of Mary through this image of ‘Annunciation of Mary’ to allay the fears in the minds of the orthodox creed. Early Christian literature that is of the imaginative type and tells us stories of a religious nature are known as the apocryphal gospels. These were first written in the second century and a certain variation of these apocryphal scriptures are known as ‘proto-gospels’ which give us the first pictures of Mary, right from her birth. One of these proto-gospels, known as the â€Å"Protevangelium of James†, is supposedly written by James, son of Joseph, from his first marriage, and dates even prior to that of Luke’s gospel. Here in James gospel, we get a beautiful picture of Mary’s Annunciation with the archangel Gabriel, described by Knight, as, â€Å"And she took the pitcher, and went out to fill it with water. And, behold, a voice saying:  Hail, you who have received  grace; the  Lord is with you;  blessed  are you among  women! And she looked around, on the right hand and on the left, to see whence this voice came. And she went away, tre mbling, to her house, and put down the pitcher; and taking the purple, she sat down on her seat, and drew it out. And, behold, an  angel  of the  Lord  stood before her, saying:  Fear  not,  Mary; for you have found  grace  before the  Lord  of all, and you shall conceive, according to His word. And she hearing, reasoned with herself, saying: Shall I conceive by the  Lord, the living  God?

Policy on Refunds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policy on Refunds - Research Paper Example This should be balanced however with business pragmatism so that the number of refunds will not take its toll on the business bottom line. Before refunding the customer, the business should attempt to replace or repair the unit to keep the sale. If this is unavoidable, the following criteria should be met as a policy; 1. The unit broke down within the manufacturer’s warranty period. It should be established that the malfunction was due to normal use. A brief inquiry as to the circumstance why the unit broke down should be conducted by the frontliners. 2. In cases where customers’ merely had a change of heart with regard to the purchase, there will no refund. If the products are faulty, we will meet our obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act to provide a remedy. To save the sale, a replacement with an extended warranty can be offered to the customer. 3. The business should not bear the cost for the faulty unit as we are mere dealers. All cost with units that has been refunded due to manufacturer’s defect and within warranty should be passed on to the supplier for refund. B. If the business is in the service sector, prepare a policy on how you will charge your clients. Ensure that the policy complies with all relevant legislation and provides for a clear explanation of the service being offered. Include the terms and conditions that will apply to estimates and quotes and make provision for some system of arbitration in case of a dispute. To keep customer’s goodwill and establish a â€Å"service leader† image among our customers, units which are faulty that are within the manufacturer’s warranty should be replaced without cost and inconvenience to the customers. The business however should be careful that the manufacturer’s criteria for replacement are strictly met so that we can pass the cost to them. For units that malfunctioned beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period, could be repaired by our service business unit at a discount to encourage customer retention and cultivate customer goodwill. This will also incre ase our bottom line as the company can still make business for an after sales support that is not covered by the manufacturer. As much as possible, we will avoid absorbing the costs due to refunds as this will burden our expenditures and undermine our competitiveness. It has to be understood that at this point in time, the business is still in its introductory phase and it will be unwise to jack up prices to factor in costs associated with refunds. The business is still in the process of penetrating the market and it has direct competitors with the same product and as such, pricing should be kept to be competitive to remain viable in the industry. C. A breakdown of all the costs that you will incur in acquiring or manufacturing your products or developing your services up to the point of sale (you may, if you wish, focus on one product or service). The costs should be inclusive, including all materials, labour, administration, insurances, rental, electricity, promotion and other exp enses. The nature of the business is retail so the manufacturing overheads will not reflect in our financial statements. Freight and delivery should be shouldered by the supplier also. Our overhead will mainly focus on the operation of the product distribution and upkeep of the outlet

Measurements, Micropipetting, and Sterile Techniques Essay

Measurements, Micropipetting, and Sterile Techniques - Essay Example 7. Reset the numbers in the window to read 020 (fig.). Write 020 and your name on another piece of filter paper. Follow steps 3-5 to transfer this volume of liquid to the filter paper. What volume in ÃŽ ¼l does 020 represent? 8. Now reset the numbers in the window to read 024 (fig.). Write 024 and your name on another piece of filter paper and follow steps 3-6. What volume in ÃŽ ¼l does 024 represent? By this experiment we measured very small volumes of liquids and gels like DNA. Proper pipetting and sterile technique is essential for correct result. If there is any inaccuracy in pipetting or in sterile technique then it may cause poor and incorrect results. By using sterile technique we developed an ideal environment which protects our sample from contamination. If we put our finger on the tip of the pointed end then sample becomes contaminate. Many laboratory experiments based on the microbiology or on the micro chemical protocols and small volume of DNA has to measure with pure cultures which is done with the help of two techniques-Micropipetting and sterile pipetting. These techniques take us towards nearer to the correct results. Use of these techniques is very important for the better result. We can obtain ideal environment by this method ‘Sterile Technique’. This helps us to gain better results. It means that in this process sterile surfaces or sterile media is protected from contamination by microbes. It is very necessary to maintain sterile conditions properly to reduce the probability of contaminating with bacteria and fungus. By using these methods we can measure small volumes also. Small volume

Concert review of the Train and Mat Kearney Show at Ravinia Festival Essay

Concert review of the Train and Mat Kearney Show at Ravinia Festival in Chicago Illinois - Essay Example A unique feature of this venue is that the pavilion itself is already elevated on a natural terrain so that the viewers do not have to crane their necks or push towards the front of the concert in order to have a good look at their performing band. This ease of viewing added greatly to the overall experience as from the concert experiences I have had, it can often be frustrating to attempt to maintain a comfortable distance from the performance while still being able to have good visibility and not being crushed by the crowd. With respect to the concert lighting, the concert fell short. This was not necessarily due to a lack of proper planning but due to the fact that the performance took place outdoors. As such, most lighting displays need adequate indoor facilities in order to project the lights onto the stage instead of from the stage to the stage. Therefore, by nature of the venue, the lighting left something to be desired as the performers were illuminated in what only seemed li ke a two dimensional way. To be fair, in order to achieve proper lighting, it would have been necessary to anchor multiple high powered lights in and around the area that the concert goers were viewing the show. This would have caused further inconvenience due to the hassle of draped power cords and the non visibility that would have been a problem to those seated or standing behind such anchored lights. With rock concerts, the venue has a heavy bearing as to the overall ability of the lighting and sound to mirror the same type of experience that might be available to the concertgoer in an indoor setting. As such, with respect to the overall sound level and equipment used, the organizers were limited with what they could do; instead having to sacrifice by setting up a barrage of speakers on the front lines of the pavilion in order to ensure that the sound was loud enough to reach those at the very back of the concert area. Such a technique is effective, however; it can make the nois e level somewhat unbearable for those that wish to be in the front rows of the concert. This was very much the case as I attempted to get a closer view of the performance I was appalled at the overall noise level that was coming from the very front of the concert. It was uncomfortable in the extreme to spend more than a very few moments in such a setting. This fact helped to somewhat reduce the overall effectiveness of the concert; however, it must be noted that as described earlier, such techniques are just part and parcel of what having an outdoor concert necessarily entails and could not have likely been improved by another band performing under the same conditions. With respect to overall accessibility, the concert also scored well in my perspective. Due to the fact that there was plenty of room to move around, high stage visibility even from areas far removed from the performance and an outdoor setting, individuals, even with disabilities, could easily gain entry, have room to move around, and enjoy the concert without being impeded by the setting. With respect to the actual fashion and style that the performer’s exhibited, it could be described as a very folksy representation of pan-America. Flannel, leather, boots, and cowboy hats

Why has the Britain's membership of the EU been so problematical Essay

Why has the Britain's membership of the EU been so problematical - Essay Example Membership of European Union (EU) with Britain has been a controversial concern. Eurosceptics (people who do not support the sovereignty of the European Union), believe that it would have been better if Britain was put aside outside the economic and political context. Permissions are being sought to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union (Daddow, 2004; Crowson, 2006). Thus, the term can very well be related with the subject i.e. why has the Britain’s membership of the EU been so problematical? Considering this facet, the essay will represent all the major issues that determine the membership of Britain with the EU to be problematical and with full of adversities. A critical evaluation will be made regarding the issues with the aid of analysis of the opinions derived from the different critics. Problems Associated with Britain’s Membership with the EU It has been recognised that the European Commission made a decision to prompt legal action against Britain a s it was found to be restricting the benefits to certain foreign nationals. This factor played a very crucial role in determining Britain’s involvement in European Union to be not up to the mark. Considering the issue of Britain’s membership of the EU, this political debate has been able to raise many eyebrows. This factor can be provided with the maximum amount of weightage owing to the fact that Britain was unable to serve the basic purposes of forming a proper alliance with the EU. Consequently, it can be said that issues relating sovereignty of the EU was in a questionable state having Britain as one of its members (Daddow, 2004; Crowson, 2006). There are other reports suggesting a lack of proper alignment in relation to the performance of membership functions from the part of Britain with the EU. Every country possesses certain basic ideas about their role that they need to play in the world, which forms its identity and helps in the establishment of its relations hip with other countries. The historical era of the British Empire has been able to considerably influence the way in which the British political influence sees its position in Europe. However, all of these factors did not seem to provide an upper hand to Britain in alignment with the EU. It has been recognised that being a powerful body, Britain was finding it very much difficult to adjust its political interest. Moreover, it was also proving to be quite distressful while narrowing its political attention only in Europe. Britain has always been considered as a latecomer in the overall community of EU. Moreover, Britain had to face serious amount of difficulties accommodating it to those rules and policies that were already established from before in the EU region. It faced difficulties because a few of the rules and regulations represented direct conflicts with that of the fundamental principles which bind the entire British Constitution. Thus, it created an uneven situation for Br itain resulting in paving conflicting situations. Bitterness with France along with strong association with America did not seem to be posing a pleasant political scenario for Britain rather it accounted for the emergence of additional issues to Britain. On a different context, it was not only Britain that had to adjust with EU, but EU had also major issues with Britain. It has also been ascertained that Britain joining the EU community specifically for economic purposes seem to pose a great deal of

Hazardous Material Management and Hazard Communication Essay - 7

Hazardous Material Management and Hazard Communication - Essay Example By names, it means the names of both the hazardous chemicals and the other chemicals perceived as not hazardous (McLeod 2009). The availability of spread sheet that has more information such as chemicals name, manufacturer’s name, room number stored and availability of the material safety data sheet that should be available to all the employees when needed. The inventory would be very current if also the chemicals with a higher flammability level are well indicated in the inventory well. The inventories should have spaces for recording the chemicals physical properties it contains, health hazards it can cause this helps to be able to choose the kind of protective wear to use on the chemical( Hoboken 2009). The inventory would be said to be current if it includes the manufacturer’s emergency number. This emergency number helps in getting back to the manufacturer in case of a chemical spill or an unusual reaction of the hazardous chemical. The inventory would be current if it is checked regularly and a different person from the same department crosschecks again. In conclusion, the inventory should be very much current with all the said things above-mentioned (McLeod

Mall Goers Essay Example for Free

Mall Goers Essay Just what goes into â€Å"having fun†? For many people, â€Å"fun† involves getting out of the house, seeing other people, having something interesting to look at, and enjoying a choice of activities, all at a reasonable price. Going out to dinner or to the movies may satisfy some of those desires, but often not all. But an attractive alternative does exist in the form of the free-admission public mall. Teenagers, couples on dates, and the modest family can all be observed having a good time at the mall. Teenagers are drawn to the mall to pass time with pals and to see and be seen by other teens. The guys linger wearing their Nike tennis shoes, graphic T-shirts, name brand jeans, complete with their hat cocked to the side. The girls sashay thru wearing their high-heels shoes, revealing tank tops, with their arms full of bracelets wrapped around shopping bags. Traveling in a gang that resembles a wolf pack, the young thunder cats make the mall their hunting ground. Mall administrators have obviously made a decision to attract all this teenage activity. The kids’ raised voices, loud slang, and occasional shouted obscenities can be heard from as far as half a mall away. They come to â€Å"pick up chic,† to â€Å"meet guys,† and just to â€Å"hang out.† Couples find fun of another sort at the mall. The young lovers are easy to spot because they walk hand in hand, stopping to sneak a quick kiss after every few steps. They first pause at a jewelry store window so that they can gaze at diamond engagement rings and gold wedding bands. Then, they wander into perfume departments in the large mall stores. Finally, they drift away, their arms wrapped around each other’s waist. Then there are the Smiths, who visit the mall on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon for inexpensive recreation. Hearing the music of the trains and video games, the daughter begs to ride in the red cart. Shouting â€Å"I’m Starving!† Jr. drags the family towards the food court, where he detects the seductive odor of pizza. Mom walks to the women’s clothing store, trying on anything she thinks she can fix. Meanwhile, Dad has wandered into the electronics and is testing out all the new technology asking questions on how things work. The Mall provides something special for every member of the family. Sure, some people visit the mall in a brief, short way, just to pick up a specific purchase or two. But many more are shopping for inexpensive recreation. The teenagers, the dating couples, and the simple family all find cheap entertainment at the mall.

Acquire Communicative Competence In Second Language English Language Essay

Acquire Communicative Competence In Second Language English Language Essay Communication is very important to both, children and adults. Regardless of any disabilities, all human being acquire the ability to communicate subconsciously. The topic is chosen as an issue of education due to two main reasons. First, it is within the same topic that the writer chooses as his research scope. Secondly, because it is the most prominent problem that the writer realizes faced by the students in the school that he did his practicum. A child acquires his mother tongue through exposure he receives from the surrounding namely his parents, friends and the societies. The mutes learn the sign language base on a similar purpose to any normal kids, which is to deliver and receive messages. The developmental stages of the acquisition process are best defined through various aspects throughout the childrens ageing process (Lightbrown Spada; 2006). Due to the similar fact on the importance of communication, people are required to master more than only one language. Improvement in technologies, business opportunities, education and many other fields has open more opportunities for the world societies to exchange and share ideas of similar interest. One of the most typical technologies that have increased the needs of learning English as a second language is the enhancement of the internet. This is why learning and mastering a second language becomes crucial. In answering this question which is, what does it means to acquire communicative competence?, it is important to clarify the meaning of all of the important terms included in the question such as the terms acquire, communication, as well as communicative competence. Literally, acquire means to gain something by your own efforts, ability or behavior: She has acquired a good knowledge of English (Oxford Dictionary; 2005). Acquire is best understood when being compared to the word learn where it is a process gone through by learners in formal settings with a well-defined stages according to the appropriate level of difficulties. Acquire on the other hand is a process of automatically empowering a skill or ability through either formal or informal settings. Communication means the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information: Speech is the fastest method of communication between people. (Oxford Dictionary; 2005). It includes process of sending info rmation either verbally through words of spoken mouth or non-verbally through sign language. Communicative competence has been so far considered as a major term in the field of second language acquisition. There is no specific definition yet that can be claimed as the most suitable meaning in defining what does communicative competence means. However, base on various readings, I managed to find the best explanation in defining the meaning of this term. According to George Yule (The study of language; 2006), communicative competence can best be defined as the general ability to use language accurately, appropriately and flexibly. However the degree of such competencies can be measured in three different components. It consists of the grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and the strategic competence. The first component is grammatical competence, which involves the accurate use of words and structures. (George Yule; 2006) Noam Chomsky definition of grammatical competence takes into account phonological competence as part of the components. One good example of this component is learners need to learn and understand the different time references of sets of words such as he takes, he took and he has taken, and to be able to make appropriate time reference when speaking or writing the words. In short, it can be interpreted as the ability to recognize and produce the distinctive grammatical structures of a language and to use them effectively in communication Concentration on grammatical competence only, however will not provide the learner with the ability to interpret or produce second language expressions appropriately. This ability is actually the second component, called sociolinguistic competence. It enables the learner to know when to say Can I have some water? versus Give me some water! according to the social context. Much of the discussion on the pragmatics aspect has to become familiar in the cultural context of the second language if the learner is to develop sociolinguistic competence. (George Yule; 2006) The third component is called strategic competence. This is the ability to organize a message effectively and to compensate, via strategies, for any difficulties. In second language use, learners inevitably experience moments when there is a gap between communicative intent and their ability to express that intent. (George Yule; 2006) The implications might either be good as well as bad. The good thing is when learners try to express themselves using a communication strategy. Example is when a learner use the vocabularies that already known to them in referring to things that they have no idea of its English word such as, a plate to put cigarettes dust that refers to an ashtray. In the worst cases, learners may just stop talking, which is a bad idea in learning a language. In close reference to only the definition provided above, communicative competence can best be defined as being able to automatically and interpret received information accurately with correct grammatical application that reflects the real contextual meaning wished to be conveyed, as well as able to compensate unknown or difficult words into typical, understandable language. There are a few assumptions made by linguists in regards of the nature of verbal communication which I believe may help to further explain the meaning of acquiring a second language communicative competence. The assumptions include that communication is meaning-based, conventional and interactional. (Jack Richards; 1985). Under the meaning-based aspect of communication, most of the examples given are based on people that learn English as their second language. It helps a lot in making my very own assumption in regards of determining the true meaning of acquiring a second language communicative competency. This assumption differentiate English users base on two different needs. The basic survival need and the survival level need. The basic survival need refers to, learners who have active vocabulary of perhaps two hundred words, minimal knowledge of the syntax of English, but in a situation where English is required for simple and basic communicative purposes. The immediate need refer to a core basic referents or things in the real world such as name of things, states, events and attributes using known words. Basic survival requires learner to be able to link words together to make predications, that is, to express propositions. At this level, learning a language is seen as learning how to create propositions. (Jack Richards; 1985) The survival level need implies more than construction of propositions. At this level, learners are usually identified as adult speakers. They use propositions in utterances in a variety of ways such as to ask a question about a proposition, to affirm a proposition, deny or negate a proposition or express an attitude toward a proposition. Speakers immediate need is to work out a way of performing such operations as stating, affirming, denying, or questioning propositions as economically as possible. Here speakers have needs similar to children who are learning their mother tongue as complex utterances are expressed within the limited grammatical system known to the speaker. However, the way they express the need is rather more advance and complex compared to children expression or utterances. By making comparison of both levels, it can be concluded that being able to make propositions alone does not make a second language learner communicatively competence. The skills that learners and speakers of a second language use to express their needs as well to be able to produce accurate utterances and acquire the ability to restructure their existing vocabularies to meet the demand of contextual suitability, is a part of the components of acquiring a second language competency. The next assumption is on the conventional aspect of communication. Under this assumptions, the goals of English language learners change through the acquisition process. It is stated that, as language acquisition proceeds, the learner revises his or her ideas about how propositions are expressed in English. Learners syntax become more complex as his or her knowledge of negation, the auxiliary system, questions, word order, embedding, conjoining and so on expands. (Jack Richards; 1985) At this stage, learners are believed to have gained the grammatical competence. Propositions or utterances made by learners are differentiated into two kinds. The first is a conventional way of making propositions and utterances which is in close context to daily usage and the second is novel utterances. The best way to explain the difference between both types of communication forms is by looking at these two sentences below. Would you mind mailing this letter to me? It is my desire that this letter be mailed by you. (Jack Richards; 1985) The first is an example of a conventional utterance as it is used by native speakers of the language and in close context to real life conversation. The latter is an example of a novel utterance. Even though it is a grammatically correct sentence, it holds no status as a potential utterance within discourse, which is not applicable in daily conversation. This assumption address that, once learners have progressed to the stage where they are beginning to generate novel utterances, they find that many of their utterances fail to conform to pattern of conventional usage, although they are undoubtedly English sentences. (Jack Richards; 1985) This proves that, only a fraction of sentences that could be generated by our grammatical competence are actually ever used in communication. This is because communication is largely consists of the use of language in a more conventional ways. In reference to defining the meaning of acquiring communicative competency, I believe that producing grammatically correct sentences is of ultimate importance because it hinders misunderstanding and increase the intelligibility. The fact that language is conventional has important implications for language teaching as it suggest that language acquisition is better compared to the process of language learning. However, it is also important for learners to practice communicating, verbalizing or delivering their thoughts using sentences which are in close context to the purposes of the communication that takes place so that the intended meanings become clearer and more authentic. The next assumption is on the interactional aspect of communication. Under this assumption it is said that, language is used to keep open the channels of communication between people and to establish a suitable rapport. (Jack Richards; 1985) In any action, each actor provides a field of action for the other actors, and the reciprocity thus established allows the participants to exercise enacting a self or identity, and using strategies to accomplish other interactional ends. (Jack Richards: Goffman: Watson; 1985) In explaining the quoted explanation, it is best to look into the initial stage of conversation between two strangers. To raise a safe topic is a typical strategy in starting a small talk. Topics are carefully chosen so that there is a strong likelihood of mutual agreement. This allows speakers the right to stress his agreement with the hearer, and therefore satisfy the hearers desire to be right or to be corroborated in his opinions. (Jack Richards; 1985) A safe topic is de fined as much of what passes for communication with the purposes of sociability. (Jack Richards: Bolinger: 1975) Examples of safe topics are topics for virtually everyone such as the weather, the beauty of scenery, opinions on the public transportation and many more. (Jack Richards: Brown Levinson: 1978) These are examples of what has been called phatic communion. Basically, there are three main mechanisms of phatic communion namely the speakers repertoire of verbal and visual gestures, speakers stock of canned topics and formulaic utterances and lastly the awareness of taking turns in a conversation. Speakers repertoire of verbal and visual gestures refer to the signals send and receive by speakers which signal interest in what his or her conversational partner is saying. This includes the use colloquial utterances to show agreement as well as disagreement such as mhmm, uh-uh, a-hah, yeah, really? and many more. The importance of colloquial language in terms of addressing appropriate context according to the appropriate social class has been highlighted by Janet Holmes in her book, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. She stated that, there are other strategies besides topic manipulation which have been used in order to capture people most relaxed or vernacular speech style. The second mechanism is the speakers stock of canned topics and formulaic utterances. These are produced at relevant points in discourse, such as the small talk that is required to make brief encounters with acquaintances. (Jack Richards; 1985) From my opinion, I think the terms stock of canned topics and formulaic utterances here refer to the utterances that a speaker says while the conversation takes place either between his or her common friends as well as to strangers. This is the ability to connect topics which is in the similar context with what has been said at the initial stage of the conversation with the purpose of extending the conversation for a longer period. The third mechanism is the awareness of taking turns in a conversation. This refers to the awareness of when to talk and when not to talk, that is, appropriate use of turn-taking conventions. (Jack Richards; 1985) This is a mere fact of practicing politeness in a conventional communication. Being polite is a serious business in any language. It is difficult to learn because it involves understanding not just the language, but also the social and cultural values of the community. In fact it involves a great deal more than superficial politeness routines that parents explicitly teach their children. (Janet Holmes; 2008) The assumption has provided me with another insight towards defining second language communicative competency. It takes into account the credibility as well as the ability of a learner or speaker to speak freely regardless of who the receivers or hearers are. The selection of suitable topics in initiating a conversation, the ability to hold a conversation for quite some times and to show respect towards the other speaker without stereotyping and by not neglecting the affectionate factors such as politeness is also a key element in acquiring a second language competency. To conclude, acquiring a second language communicative competency requires learners to master the basic needs of communication which are the ability to transmit and interpret received information accurately with correct grammatical application that reflects the real contextual meaning as well as able to compensate unknown or difficult words into typical, understandable language. Other than that, learners need to be able to acquire the ability to restructure their existing vocabularies to meet the demand of contextual suitability. Furthermore, it is important for learners to practice to communicate using sentences which are in close context to the purposes of the communication that takes place so that the intended meanings become clearer and more authentic. Learners should also be able to manipulate suitable topics in initiating a conversation and to hold the conversation for quite some times while showing respect towards the other speaker without stereotyping and by not neglecting th e affectionate factors such as politeness. There is a major difference between communicatively competence and speaking competently. I realized that throughout the essay, most of the explanations made were regulated around only two points. First, is in defining the meaning of communicative competence. Second, is elaborating the meaning of acquiring second language communicative competence from the perspective of only verbal communication. I realize that the process of communication is not restricted to only one channel which is speaking. It can also be through other means of sending and receiving messages such as writing, listening and reading. This is considered as a delimitation which I encountered in accomplishing the task. My initial plan was to define the meaning of acquiring communicative competence from the four main components of English language learning which are speaking, listening, reading and writing. However, due to the limited resources, I decided to choose only one part of the second language communicative comp etency aspect.

The Left Hand of Darkness: Gethenian Society Essay -- Ursula K. Le Gui

The Left Hand of Darkness: Gethenian Society Upon finishing the novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin, what stands out the most in my mind is the strange and complex Gethenian society. There are many aspects, some of which we are accustomed to, and others we would never consider a part of our society. There are things we have never heard of, like kemmer and shifgrethor. As well things every society should have like politics and human interaction. Politics are an important part of the Gethenian society. The political structure varies from country to country, the main two countries being Erhenrang and Orgoreyn. Erhenrang has one supreme ruler, King Argaven, and the equivalent of a prime minister, whereas Orgoreyn, is ruled by a group of thirty-three commensals. Both political structures seem to only have a loose authority over their various domains, and both are concerned with what the other is doing, but neither one wants to be overshadowed. They are aware of what is going on in the opposite government, but only release to the public what they want to have known. That is, whatever makes them look better and the other look much worse. The truth is very hard to come by in these political institutions. Gethenians are not an aggressive people. Violence is not a large problem in the Gethenian society. Violent crime is virtually nonexistent, and is never talked about. However when a crime does occur, usually treason, the perpetrator is sentenced to exile if they live in Erhenrang, or can be sent to a voluntary farm if they are from Orgoreyn. Once exiled, the individual has a certain amount of time to get out of the country or they can and will be killed. Furthermore, anyone who aids them by giving them money, g... ...e is considered lesser or even more qualified for one thing. Every person is considered equal. There is however still a hierarchy of money and power. The people who have greater wealth are usually government officials and people close to the king. Otherwise, everyone shares what they have. A Gethenian would take you in a give you all they have to give, no questions asked. These are the main aspects of Gethenian society as I see them. It seems to me similar to ours; some parts better, some parts worse. It is hard for me to imagine a world where there is no division of stronger and weaker sex as it is still so dominant in our society. It would have an overwhelming effect on everything, which Le Guin shows through her explication of the Gethenian society. Works Cited 1. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1969.

Cisco Systems` :: essays research papers

1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship between information systems, Internet Technology and Cisco’s business strategy was quite intriguing. Cisco’s company worked hand in hand directly with the Internet and their IS system was supported by almost 45% by digital means. Their sales were all Internet driven by almost half of their production. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cisco is a digital firm in the many senses, while John Chambers will adamantly defer the fact that their company relies directly on software (digital) it is my opinion that from viewing on the proceedings it appears to all eyes that their structure is almost 75% if not more digital. Their training, applications, update forms, orders and accessibility options are all based through the Internet or some digital means. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cisco’s reliance on information systems and the Internet was a great success until about November 2000 when there was the first 10% decline in sales. By December 15 Chambers realized that his ales were going down the drain. Finally in August 2001 Cisco underwent a makeover that changed the way that they depended upon the Internet and IS. Their forecasts were no longer FULLY based upon this information; rather they were used as in centralizing market analysis and finding new methods of technologies to network their company. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cisco reacted so slowly to the deteriorating economic condition because they had continued to aggressively expand and they had also increased their market shares. What really influenced the way Cisco responded to the economic condition was the decline of 2/3’s in the technological advances in the NASDAQ. While other companies were falling around them Cisco stood strong. They continued to pour themselves heart and soul into their company. Nortel Networks – Cisco’s rival fell largely in the market, and they continued to expand. 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that Chambers and Cisco could/should have done would have been to pull back on their large â€Å"all-out† pushing the production â€Å"buck†. If Chambers had not have pushed the 600 million dollar contracts for orders of unmade parts and materials I believe that the company would have held stronger.

Presumed Innocent

Entertainment has always consisted of law related movies. Legal movies are successful because of public interest in different types of legal cases and scenarios. An example of a successful legal movie is Presumed Innocent. The movie Presumed Innocent was produced in 1990. The movie stars Harrison Ford who plays Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor and right hand man of the district attorney Raymond Horgan. Rusty’s colleague Carolyn Polhemus is found dead in her apartment. She was said to be raped and murdered. Raymond puts Rusty in charge of her investigation.It is later exposed that Rusty has a previous affair with Carolyn Polhemus but made up with his wife. Polhemus dumped Rusty. At this time of the investigation, Horgan is undergoing a political campaign in order to keep his job. It turns out that Horgan loses the election to Nico Della Guardia. Along with Della Guardia comes his deputy, Tommy Molto. Della Guardia and Molto prosecute Rusty for Carolyn’s murder because of his f ormer affair with her. Sandy Stern becomes Rusty’s defense lawyer in the murder trial. The investigation by the defense team leads to the idea that Rusty was framed for Carolyn’s murder.The person of interest for the framing is Molto who wanted Rusty’s job (O’Cain). Della Guardia and Molto immediately gather evidence against Rusty. They find a beer glass with Rusty’s fingerprints on it in Polhemus’ apartment. This piece of evidence causes a lot of controversy throughout the trial. It is revealed that the beer glass is missing from the evidence room. Rusty discovers that Polhemus acquired a bribery file (B file) from Horgan. There was a case involving a man named Leon who paid $1,500 to get his case thrown out of court. It turns out that Polhemus was the one who set up the bribe.Rusty and Stern’s defense is that Della Guardia and Molto set up Rusty as part of a cover-up of a bribery case involving Molto. Stern never allows Rusty to tes tify throughout the trial because it might lead the jury to think he is guilty. The trial ends with Judge Lyttle dismissing the case because of a lack of physical evidence. Rusty is not guilty for the rape and murder of Polhemus. At the end of the movie, Rusty finds a hammer in the basement with blood on it. His wife confesses to killing Polhemus. The legal issues in Presumed Innocent include conflict of interests.Rusty faces a conflict of interest because he had an affair with Polhemus. They were once lovers and very intimate with each other. Then he becomes part of the case that is investigating her death. It was suspenseful while watching the trial knowing that Rusty and Polhemus had a secret affair that only Rusty and his wife knew about. If the news of this affair was brought out into the open the trial might not have been dismissed so easily. Because of the intimacy that Rusty and Polhemus shared at one point, there would be more suspicion towards him being charged for the rap e and death.When a defendant has this type of relationship with a victim usually there is more questioning of the ex-lover due to shared intimacy and possible attachment. Although it turns out that Rusty is not guilty of her death, it seems like he dodged some bullets as the previous affair was never taken into account. There could have been a lot more accusations if the affair was made public. Dismissing the case because of lack of physical evidence seems to be very realistic. It is understandable that without physical proof, Judge Lyttle is not able to make accurate rulings.A part of the movie that was very impressive was basically the last hour when the trial began. The trial felt very serious and real. It was easy to follow the cross examinations and the lawyers were acted out very well. Another aspect of the movie that was impressive was the flashbacks to Rusty and Polhemus’ relationship. It was very interesting to see how their relationship was and how they acted in fro nt of each other. At some points I had emotional connections to Polhemus and I genuinely felt bad about her death.She seemed to be a hard worker and the way she treated the young boy testifying against his mother in the beginning of the movie was touching. She seemed to be very caring and she wanted what was best for the young boy. Watching her interact with him was the first time that I felt very sorry for her vicious death. Another impressive part about the movie is that there was constant suspense as to whether Rusty would be found guilty or not guilty. The trial keeps you curious and anxious to find out the results.The relationships between all of the characters were also impressive especially Polhemus, Judge Lyttle, and Leon. It was shocking to find out that Polhemus set up the bribe for Leon and that Judge who took the money was actually the same Judge in Polhemus’ murder trial. The least impressive part of the movie was the way that it ended. It was clever to end the m ovie with Rusty’s wife confessing to the murder but personally, it seems that justice is not served for Polhemus. Polhemus’ murder went down as an unsolved case but now the viewer knows how it could be solved.It is understandable that the movie ends with a twist but there is no justice for Polhemus. Rusty’s wife gets to be a free woman and bears no legal consequences for murdering Polhemus. His wife would always nag Rusty about his ongoing obsession with Polhemus even though she was dead. Although it is terrible to cheat on a partner, it is not acceptable for Rusty’s wife to kill Polhemus in response to the affair. Any sympathy that I had for Rusty’s wife was dismissed at the end of the movie. There are many positive and negative aspects of the legal system in this movie.An example of a positive aspect acted out by the legal system illustrated in the movie is Judge Lyttle dismissing the case due to lack of clear evidence. It is common knowledge tha t there needs to be evident information to make a judgment but in the movie, Judge Lyttle may have dismissed the case very easily due to other factors. He was influenced by his participation in the missing B-file case. The B-file illustrated that he accepted bribes from Leon and he was probably nervous that the B-file might turn up somewhere. If the file was to show up, his career would be negatively impacted especially because he is a Judge.This example illustrates the corruption that could exist in the legal system that no one would find out about. It seems that Judge Lyttle used his powers to his own advantage to protect himself from being caught. Also, Stern and Horgan knew that Judge Lyttle was accepting bribes from Leon but Horgan was the one who gave the Judge a second chance. Average people may never be aware of this type of corruption that may occur in the legal system. In the beginning of the movie there is also political corruption within the legal system.Horgan puts Rust y in charge of the Polhemus case but then turns against him. Horgan claims that Rusty insisted on handling the case which makes it seem like Rusty might be covering up something. Watching law related movies can teach the public a lot about the legal system. Presumed Innocent illustrates the controversy of conflict of interests and some of the corruption that may take place within an investigation. Work Cited 1. O'Cain, Derek. â€Å"Presumed Innocent (1990) – Plot Summary. †Ã‚  The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Feb. 2012. ;http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0100404/plotsummary;

High School Dropouts Essay

High school dropouts — a growing problem in our society, or is it? After hearing about dropouts heading back to school to receive a diploma on the local news, I often wonder what they were missing out on. I mean, does a dropout really need to head back only to solve a quadratic equation or to write an five paragraph essay on The American Revolution? I’m willing to bet that more than half of parents who’ve graduated from high school don’t even know how to solve a quadratic equation or how The American Revolution came about. It’s really annoying to witness activates telling students to stay in school when some of the activates themselves could not accomplish high school level work. This is why I personally believe that a diploma is nothing more than a piece of paper. Much of society is too focused on whether a person obtained a high school diploma rather than one’s real intellect. That piece of paper determines whether you’re qualified to get a job, which is real disturbing to me since high school level work does not give you work experience. I myself being a high school graduate had somewhat of a difficult time in my first year of college. I’m nineteen years old and I’m sure that I can speak for some people on that. If high school really prepares a student, then why is college considered a challenge? Why are we learning math, history, English, and etc. in college if we’ve already taken the same classes in high school? For example, college algebra is exactly the same as Algebra I & II in high school. When put in perspective, it’s obvious why people regurgitate the same stuff again in college; it’s because high school lacks in preparing a student for the real world. I mean, when you head to college, you have to take at least two years of classes that you’ve already taken in high school before you actually get into your major. Does that itself make a statement that education in high school lacks of doing a good job? I personally think of it like that. This is why it bothers me when a job determines whether a person has a high school diploma, because in reality, many high school graduates have the same intuition as some high school dropouts. In the end, I believe society is too focused on a high school diploma rather than someone’s intelligence. I understand that it’s natural for us to forget some of the material we’ve learned in high school. However, why is it that jobs are more focused on a diploma that was obtained decades ago rather than someone’s current intellect? Why does a dropout really need to head back to school to make it in this world? High school does not prepare you for a certain job. Work experience prepares you for a job. Many high school graduates who apply for a job must gain a certain level of job experience before working anyway. Many of the jobs that require a high school level education can easily be done by a high school dropout. If society can focus less on a trivial diploma and put for attention on one’s ability, then I think this country would be much smarter.

Hotel Rwanda Essay

The film Hotel Rwanda was about Paul Rusesabagina who was the hotel manager of Hotel des Mille Collines. In this film, he was set in a time and an environment where there was so much internal violence and conflict between ethnic groups or communities in Rwanda between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Paul was trying to run his hotel amidst all these controversies and dangers lurking around him, his family and his fellow countrymen. He was well-aware of these hazards being placed right in the middle where he would encounter people from both ethnic communities while being a part of one. This film presented the alarming event that changed and set the country of Rwanda in the map of the world as a place where some of the worst atrocities of mankind had been committed, where around 800,000 people were killed in short span of three months. Amidst these horrifying circumstances, Paul stood up to save not only his family and friends but his fellowmen doing everything he could to save the lives around him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The film showed the burden Paul had to carry as a husband, as a father and as a citizen. Paul was a Hutu but his wife, Tatiana, was actually a Tutsi. Being married to his wife, a Tutsi, Paul would be considered a traitor to the Hutu. The highlighting part of the movie was on the night of the civil war where Paul had to save his family and friends. He then brought them to his hotel. At the same time, more refugees were also arriving at the hotel. Paul left the hotel to seek help and would then talk with the Hutu army general who after some time agreed to go to the hotel. When they arrived, the hotel was already under siege. Paul searched for his family and found them safe hiding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This film was about the Rwandan genocide which happened in 1994. This genocide arose from the conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus. Since the colonial times, there had been tension between the Hutu who happened to be the majority in the country and the Tutsi’s who were the minority.   Belgians were the colonial masters who brought about the problem by empowering the minority Tutsi’s making them the elites of the country. As a result of this, the Hutus continued to be seen as second class citizens in a country where they were the majority in terms of population. The social structure which had been fairly dynamic was divided into two competing and fighting ethnic groups; this resulted in a full blown genocide in Rwanda in April 1994 which saw more than 800,000 people die within a short time most of them being hacked to death (Marko-Stockl, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The movie was very alarming and terrifying seeing how certain communities in a country would fight amongst each other. The most frightening reality was that 800,000 people were killed in just around three (3) months. I personally feel that such events like these would sometimes be influenced by so many factors and circumstances. The reason would largely point out to the historical occurrences that happened in the country especially the influence of the colonial power that took control of the country. The movie was interesting and depicted an inspiring story of love for one’s family and one’s country. It showed that in times of great peril, there were still those who would be courageous enough to stand up, lead and protect those that he could. The movie should be something that would let those in power and those who could do something in times of events like genocide or other heinous and disturbing events to reach out and help. Imagine that people and organizations would discuss in meetings and conferences whether or not to help a country while thousands and thousands of people were dying. I believe that Hotel Rwanda should be seen not just as a mere movie, but a warning and an eye-opener to truths and realities present in the world that would be ignored and set aside. This movie would be a beacon that would stand against apathy and indifference present in the world, in the leaders and in the attitudes of so many people. Work Cited Edith Marko-Stà ¶ckl. The Making of Ethnic Insecurity: A Case Study of the Krajina Serbs. (2004)   

Business Ethics Tyco International Essay

Description of Organization and Product Tyco International Ltd. is a corporation with official headquarters based in Pembroke, Bermuda but the company maintains operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Tyco has grown into a multi-billion dollar company (scattered in over 100 countries) — with revenue of $41.0 billion USD (2006) to boast. Founded in 1960 by Arthur J. Rosenberg, Tyco was birthed when Rosenberg opened a laboratory intended for research and experimental works catered for government use. Incorporated by 1962 as Tyco Laboratories, it shifted its focus to developing scientific materials as well as energy conversion products, which now caters for the commercial sector. Tyco is a manufacturing and service conglomerate which is involved in a variety of products ranging from electronics, fire and security services, healthcare, aerospace, and some industrial products. For instance, its passive and active electronic components are found in computers, aerospace, automobiles, industrial machines, and household appliances among others. Under its fire protection and electronic security operations, it is responsible for designing, manufacturing, and installing products as well as providing services in these areas. Part of Tyco’s Healthcare business involves medical, pharmaceutical, surgical, imaging, and respiratory products. The company also manufactures industrial valves, and fire sprinklers thereby giving services in residential and industrial settings (â€Å"Tyco: Our Business†). It also provides services — consultation on engineering and construction management, including operating services. Through one of its subsidies, the company also has an integrated system used for the tracking and controlling public transportation system, tunnels, and bridges. Furthermore, Tyco is involved in the monitoring of systems of burglar & fire alarms, and on medical alert systems where 24-hour monitoring and response is necessary. Tyco is also engaged in buying steel and resin in the United States, as well as copper, gold, zinc, brass, paper, ink, cotton, wax, chemicals and additives. Other products purchased by the group are foil, copper clad materials, adhesives, and cloth. As of 2005, Tyco is responsible for employing about 247,900 people in its company (â€Å"Company Research: Tyco International Ltd.†). Tyco’s phenomenal growth can be traced back in the late 1980s when the company engaged in a number of acquisitions in some major companies such as ADT, Siemens Electrochemical Components, Thorn Security, and Mueller Company. But it was not until the 1990s and the subsequent years that Tyco became more aggressive in its acquisition strategy under Dennis Kozlowski as CEO. In a span of about eleven years (from 1991 to 2001), Tyco has reportedly acquired 1000 other companies. It was in 1997 that Tyco made the controversial shift of headquarters from Massachusetts to Bermuda, after the company’s acquisition of ADT.   ADT Limited has its origins which can be traced way back in the 1900s in the United Kingdom and by 1980s was restructured under the laws of Bermuda. Although part of the merger, since ADT was incorporated in Bermuda, it was still perceived as a shrewd move to avoid taxes. Shareholder and investors were later informed of this tax advantage. A partial list of Tyco’s products and its brands: AMP for its electronic components and cables RAYCHEM for circuit protection devices Ansul, Total Weather, Skum & Sabo for fire fighting products Kendall, Monoject, Shiley for medical supplies Simplex Grinnell, Wormald for fire sprinklers OpenSky and EDACS for critical communications systems Violation / People Involved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the 1990s, the company continued to show a stable and steady rise in income. But by 1999, rumors of accounting irregularities began to leak with charges directed against Tyco’s top executives: Dennis Kozlowski (former chairman and chief executive), Mark H. Swartz (former chief financial officer), and Mark Belnick (former general counsel). These accusations were vehemently denied by the company’s leadership.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was not until January of 2002 that prosecutors found Kozlowski guilty of tax evasion for his art purchases. Investigators later followed a trail of lavish expenditures, thereby making Kozlowski’s tax evasion scheme a mere ‘tip of the iceberg’.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eight months later, these three men were arrested and tried before the New York State Supreme Court. Kozlowski and Swartz were charged of robbing the company of about $600 million with the aid of Belnick. They were found guilty of treating Tyco as a personal bank account, stealing worth of $170 million through company loans and $430 million worth of fraudulent sales of securities without the company’s shareholders knowledge (â€Å"Three Tyco Execs Indicted for Fraud†). Kozlowski was found guilty of masterminding a series of ethical violations, by misusing corporate funds for relocation and executive loan programs. Since 1996 up to 2002, these two men awarded themselves hundreds of millions of dollars with low or no-interest loans usually from Tyco’s Key Employee Corporate Loan Program (KELP). The company explicitly defined the purpose of the program. Tyco’s KELP was designed to provide loan assistance for Tyco key employees to pay their taxes when investing upon Tyco’s common stock. Of the $270 million that Kozlowski took through KELP loans (from 1997 to 2002), about $29,000,000 only were used for taxes because of the result of the vesting of Tyco stock. The rest of the money were improperly used for self-serving interests such as acquiring luxury apartments and estates, expensive artworks, estate jewelry, a yacht, and spending about $100 million for a lavish party for his second wife. Also, Kozlowski is now notoriously known for owning a gold-laced shower curtain worth $6,000 — a picture for his lavish lifestyle. He also used KELP funds to finance his own personal investments and other business ventures, deliberately violating the program’s purpose. Swartz also misappropriated about $85,000,000 dollars from the company’s KELP loans during these same periods. Following from Kozlowski’s example, he too appropriated only about $13,000,000 dollars to cover taxes as a result from the vesting of Tyco stock. Swartz misappropriated the remaining $72,000,000 dollars for self-serving purposes such as financing his own business investments, and the purchasing of real estate holdings and trusts. Kozlowski and Swartz were also guilty of deceitful acts by deliberately failing to disclose in their annual Director & Officer Questionnaire (â€Å"D&O Questionnaire†), which are given to Tyco’s senior executives, the information of these loans — much less the manner of which how these KELP loans were used. Tyco’s shareholders were deceived by Kozlowski and Swartz’s failure to reveal these important facts on the company’s Form 10-K and proxy statements. The company also has a relocation loan program since 1995, to give assistance to its employees who were affected when it moved its offices to New York City from New Hampshire and later to Florida. Kozlowski and Swartz also enriched themselves by availing of relocation loans and spending it for purposes not covered by the program. Of the $46,000,000 dollars which Kozlowski amassed from the relocation loan, $18,000,000 was spent to buy a waterfront compound in Boca Raton and an estimated $7,000,000 Park Avenue apartment for his previous wife. Swartz spent $6,500,000 to purchase an apartment on New York City’s Upper East Side; $17 M for a waterfront compound also in Boca Raton; and the rest of the funds were used in purposes not authorized by the program. They were also accountable for repeatedly classifying and reclassifying their debts to the company, and even moving on to authorizing transactions by which their millions of dollars of KELP and relocation loans were forgiven and written off the company’s books. They also instructed others to falsify the company’s books and records in order to conceal these violations. Swartz also enriched himself by selling his New Hampshire real estate to a Tyco subsidiary for $305,000, but in which the Tyco subsidiary sold it at a far lower price about two years later from its purchase. Swartz purposely did not disclose this transaction from Tyco’s investors. Both Kozlowski and Swartz abused company perquisites from Tyco — such as causing the company to purchase luxurious apartments and stay in it rent-free and made use of Tyco corporate aircraft in purposes unrelated to the company’s business. The former CEO also misused Tyco’s funds by releasing large amounts of charitable donations in his own name, and all the while failed to disclose and report these facts to investors, as mandated by the federal securities laws. While possessing material information, Swartz engaged in fraudulent sales of Tyco stocks through family business partnerships. Both men lied to Tyco’s auditors by signing management representation letters which avowed the absence of fraudulent acts from significant employees involved in Tyco’s internal control. Belnick, Tyco’s former chief legal officer, amassed millions of dollars from Tyco through similar violations committed by Kozlowski and Swartz (T Newkirk, J Coffman, R Kaplan, D Frohlich, and J Weiner. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). Explanation of the Outcome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The two former top Tyco executives received 8 1/3 to 25 years of prison-sentence after being tried before a New York state court, after it’s first resulted in a mistrial. They were found guilty of siphoning and misappropriating company funds during their stint as Tyco’s top executives. This was considered as one of the biggest ethical violations in a series of white-collar crimes that has tainted and eroded public confidence in the US corporate landscape. As a result, Kozlowski and Swartz served their terms in New York state prison, a case which differs greatly from other convicted corporate executives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other convicted corporate executives such as Adelphia’s John Rigas, or Martha Stewart served their prison sentences in a federal prison. Often dubbed as â€Å"Club Feds† or â€Å"Camp Cupcake†, federal prison conditions could appear like a ‘boarding school’ —- there are no bars and some are even offering facilities like tennis courts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In stark contrast, state prison do not offer such ‘luxuries’ and the gravest issue could boil down even to the inmate’s safety. It usually houses criminals convicted of rape, murder and other violent offenses —- one reason which explains its unsafe condition and which makes tight security a necessity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While others may see this conviction too harsh for a white-collar crime, Kozlowski and Swartz cannot escape their fate since their case began as a state investigation for trying to evade about $1,000,000 dollars worth of tax payment for acquiring expensive artworks by Renoir, Monet and other celebrated painters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, this has come upon the government’s stand of placing stricter measures on its effort of cracking down corruption in the corporate scene (K. Crawford. â€Å"For Kozlowski, An Especially Grim Future†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to a former SEC prosecutor, the sentences for white-collar criminals are getting tougher and judges’ former tendency to give them milder treatment is fast disappearing. While Kozlowski is credited for building up Tyco’s multi-billion dollar industrial empire, which used to give an impressive and illustrious career — rising from being an ordinary employee to become Tyco’s chief executive officer, his crime is also credited as the grandest (so far) in scale and amount of thievery in corporate history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While some would protest about the usefulness of long prison sentences given to white-collar criminals, especially when they are towards the age of retirement. However, there is an inescapable trend among state and federal courts to give longer years of prison-conviction. Whereas in the early 1990s, when such crimes were new and few, a certain convicted salesman received eight years reduction in his 10-year term, an equivalent of 22 months in jail (L. Lazaroff. â€Å"Ex-Tyco Executives Get Up To 25 Years: Kozlowski, Swartz also to pay millions in restitution, fines†). Kozlowski is serving his prison sentence at Midstate Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y., located outside of Syracuse of N.Y.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clearly, there has been a great shift of change. Opinion of the Outcome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the aftermath of the Enron, Adelphia, Tyco and other high profile business scandals which prove that ethical violations can pose a serious and costly risk for a business entity’s ability to grow or thrive. As demonstrated by Kozlowski, Swartz and Belnick —- the collapse of integrity could cost hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars for its company to cover extra expenses such as litigation, fines, damage of company reputation, subsequent loss of client’s trust, decline in sales, and the process for damage-control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While this indictment against Kozlowski and his accomplices seem severe when it received as much punishment as those who commit violent crimes, but given the substantial amount stolen, the consequent loss of wealth due to erosion of public trust, and costly lawsuits — the benefits of giving such harsh convictions would serve as a deterrent for future losses. It is also the government’s responsibility to restore confidence among investors towards corporate entities in order for these institutions to survive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kozlowski’s shot for â€Å"dizzying success† (even using fraudulent and criminal means) was fed in part by Wall Street’s hero worship of ‘rock star’ CEOs. However, in light of a string of corporate scandals, leaders must be emulated for their ability to ‘shepherd’ their company and provide examples of living up to ethical standards themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This outcome also brings the much needed transformation on government (such as the Sarbeans-Oxley Act) and company policies pertaining to how business is conducted by those who serve them. While most of the focus is on the violators, the rippling effects of such crimes could threaten the financial security of millions of the company’s employees and their families.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Companies, in lieu of the scandal, have now placed greater importance of training its employees to make ethical decisions which would cultivate a corporate culture founded on trust and integrity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This case also helped to strengthen greater consciousness for the need to fight corruption in a global scale. The United Nations signed a new treaty in its bid to fight corruption worldwide. This covers not only government officials but is applied to the private sector as well (â€Å"United Nations Convention Against Corruption†). The Organization Today   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rebounding from the moral crises that swept its top executives, along with other companies, there has been greater commitment for transparency among the new management performers in Tyco and other companies. These are corporate leaders who have built a track record of excellent performance and who have been practicing high ethical standards. All efforts are geared toward rebuilding the company’s reputation, public and investor’s trust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Edward D. Breen became Tyco’s new CEO in July 2002, he took a bold step in his sweeping reform to re-establish credibility and faith to the company, which included firing the Board of Directors that hired him.   Of the 500 employees in Tyco’s Princeton, N.J. headquarters, as much as 480 are newly hired since Breen breezed in to Tyco’s management scene.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although at first, Breen found the company in confusion, low morale among its employees, and about to face a cash shortage because of an $11 billion debt due a year after, Tyco has a good foundation due to Tyco’s acquisition of a number of stable businesses (S. Lohr. â€Å"New Strategies Changing Face of Corporate Scandal†). This separates Tyco from much of the companies who suffered the same fate from dishonest dealings by its top executives most of which filed for bankruptcy. Tyco was able to recover from the crisis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to a public announcement made last January 13, 2006, Tyco International is divided into three business segments: Tyco Healthcare, Tyco Electronics, and Tyco Fire & Security, and Tyco Engineered Products & Services (TFS/TEPS). Each has operations separate from each other and possesses their own set of board of directors, executives, and financial structure. By February 6, 2007, Tyco has revenue of $41 billion and currently employing about 250,000 people in different countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite being in the process of splitting into three major companies, Tyco International Ltd. still saw an increase of net earnings of up to 43 % or a profit rise of about $793 million due to great demand especially for its electronics and security devices. Company profit taken from continuing operations is up on 37 cents per share – a performance which proved better than Wall’s Street’s forecasts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Among Tyco’s four divisions, three reported an increase in sales and better operating profits for the first quarter of this year; with its heal-care the only segment which handed in a lower yield in profit due to the company’s restructuring measures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tyco is preparing to push on its health-care and electronics divisions by the second quarter. It is gearing up for more aggressive measures as it sees a favorable global economic environment for this year, being optimistic to avail a rise of 6 to 7 percent in sales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tyco’s shares have even achieved more than 30% over the previous year, twice than the rise of Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Another measure of its success- Tyco’s stock price rose to $33.21 on the New York Stock Exchange from its $8 value just right after the scandal (â€Å"Tyco’s Net Earnings Jump 43%†). References:    â€Å"Tyco: Our Business†. http://www.tyco.com/ â€Å"Company Research: Tyco International Ltd.†. The New York Times. February 16, 2007. http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp?MW=http://marketwatch.nytimes.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=TYC&sid=42806#compinfo â€Å"Three Tyco Execs Indicted for Fraud†. CNN.com/BUSINESS. http://edition.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/asia/09/12/us.tyco/ Newkirk T, Coffman J, Kaplan R, Frohlich D, Weiner J. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaint/complr 17722.htm Crawford, K. â€Å"For Kozlowski, An Especially Grim Future†. CNNMoney.com   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/21/news/newsmakers/prisons_state/ Lazaroff, Leon. â€Å"Ex-Tyco Executives Get Up To 25 Years: Kozlowski, Swartz also to pay millions in restitution, fines. Chicago Tribune. September 20, 2005. â€Å"United Nations Convention Against Corruption†.   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://untreaty.un.org/English/notpubl/Corruption_E.pdf Lohr, S. â€Å"New Strategies Changing Face of Corporate Scandal†. New York Times News Service. June 4, 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050604/news_1b4scandals.html â€Å"Tyco’s Net Earnings Jump 43%†. February 6, 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/06/news/companies/bc.tyco.results.reut/index.htm