Racism in Disney Movies

Anastasia Trus WRTG 3020 Professor Pat Sullivan 30 March 2010 Racism in Disney During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media â€Å"are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,† such as racism. Giroux 32). Racist scenes in Disney movies are often identified as simply being â€Å"symbols of the time† when the films were produced. Furthermore, Disney racism is often passed over as simple humor, or as a simple guide to children's understanding of cultures. These explanations of racism in the films are incomplete because they fail to take into account the fact that the primary audience members of Disney films are not old enough to see the movies as relics of a different time and place. This is not to say that Disney films indoctrinate children with racist tendencies; nevertheless, racist scenes in still-popular films cast a blanket of insensitivity over the subject of racism. Disney’s reputation of being racially insensitive has never been more evident than in the time leading up to the release of its latest movie Princess and the Frog. Nearly everything about this film has caused a storm of criticism both from the public and from people within the film industry itself. It is curious that people are so enraged and concerned with this movie, when they ignore potentially more offensive racist elements in other films. If one analyzes society’s response to Princess and the Frog as a single phenomenon, then it does seem a bit odd that a children’s film could start such a heated social debate; however, after taking into account Disney’s history with racism and racial insensitivity, it is not surprising at all that the first black Disney princess would be such a controversial figure. Bombarded with accusations of anti-Semitism and racism, in the 1940’s Walt Disney was an avid supporter of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a â€Å"red-scare† anti-Semitic industry group that wanted to blacklist artists (Alan 12). Perhaps this is one of the reasons Disney’s past is filled with questionable cinematic material. Fantasia was released in 1940, the third theatrical full-length animation, as shown in Disney's canon of animated films. The original version of Disney's classic â€Å"Fantasia† (1940) features a character called Sunflower, a little black centaur handmaiden. Sunflower is an extremely insulting caricature, and a bluntly racist stereotype of the â€Å"servile grinning nigger† variety (Walker 22). In a featured scene during â€Å"The Pastoral Symphony† elegant white centaurs frolick through the woods and are waited on by Sunflower. She is noticeably smaller than the other centaurs—ostensibly because she is half-donkey instead of half-horse, but more likely to exaggerate her inferiority—and has a darker complexion. Her sole function in the film is to eagerly polish and shine the hooves of the tall, sexy Aryan centaur women who glare down their petite noses at this pathetic servant. Such scenes were later censored in the film due to the characters being considered â€Å"ethnically offensive during the civil rights movement† (Walker 26).? In addition to reinforcing the stereotype of blacks as inferior beings, the scene from the â€Å"Pastoral Symphony† also furthers racism by supporting segregation. Throughout the film the female Aryan centaurs pair up with the males of their â€Å"race,† leaving Sunflower alone and separated from the group. Rather than correcting the racism within the scene, Disney later chose to eliminate it from the film – as if it never happened. When the racial climate of America changed in the 60s, the portrayal of such insulting stereotypes in movies and television became politically incorrect, and Disney (fearing accusations of racism) deleted Sunflower from Fantasia for the theatrical re-release of the film. Her troubling presence was simply cropped out of the movie even though you can still see the Aryans she used to pamper. Eliminating Sunflower from the movie may have been intended as harmless and as an attempt to be politically correct; however, it is cinematic decisions such as this that contributed to Disney’s reputation of being insensitive to issues of race. It was insulting enough for Disney to include the smiling servant stereotype to begin with, but to make matters worse, they started denying Sunflower's existence with the Fantasia re-release in 1960. How does that possibly make things better? A few angered African American communities said, â€Å"No, you misunderstand. In our perfect, Fantasia world, Africans aren't servants. They don't fucking exist† (Weinman 64). A contemporary film critic said, â€Å"What's fun though is that Disney says they never had such a character! We're all delusional† (Brunette 123). Maybe it was â€Å"acceptable† in the past to portray characters that had such blatant racist features; nevertheless, it is strange to deny its existence to audiences who had already seen the original version. This is how we deal with our ugly past: we deny it, trivialize it, gloss over it with pretty distractions and wishful thinking. Doing so, we deny ourselves a glimpse of the compelling reality of naked history. The well-meaning rush to unmake evil deeds by hiding them from the critical eye of modern sensibilities does nothing to honor the people who lived and struggled in those different times (Walker 28). Sunflower’s existence may be news to younger generations of Disney fans, but she has been here all along, and her presence as well as her absence carry great significance, especially in the context of how viewers and critics respond to other potentially racist films. Dumbo, the fourth film in the Disney industry, was made in 1941 and produced by Walt Disney himself. It was originally designed as an economical feature to help generate income after the financial failure of Fantasia. The concerns people had against Disney being anti-Semitic and racist were sill strong, especially after Disney projected his own sense of alienation onto â€Å"others† in Hollywood, namely, Jews, blacks, and union workers. In retaliation against the studio entrepreneurs, who were predominantly Jewish, Disney refused to employ Jews in high-level positions at his studio or as actors in his live-action features. Not until 1969, two years after Disney's death, did a Jewish actor, Buddy Hackett, feature prominently in a Disney film, The Love Bug. Disney Studios also denied black workers even minimal opportunities, as technicians and support personnel. Because Walt Disney was an infamous racist, even for his time, it is not surprising that a film he produced himself would be racist as well. Dumbo is full of racist images and themes. Dumbo’s birth itself speaks to the foundations of racism when the other female elephants single Dumbo out because he looks different with his unusual ears. Considering the fact that â€Å"big-eared elephants are African,† it is especially racist that Dumbo, who is seen as different and even freakish would be associated with Africa (Lugo-Lugo 167). Because Dumbo is different from everyone else, he is ridiculed for it. Just because his ears are bigger than those of a normal elephant, he is ostracized from the rest of the group. He only has one friend (Timothy Mouse), who ironically is also socially shunned because elephants are generally supposed to be scared of mice. This could be seen as another form of racism where someone is ostracized because they are different. Furthermore, in the movie, when it is time to set up the circus in town, it is significant to take note of who performs the hard labor necessary to make the circus function. Not only are the circus animals themselves condemned to build their own chamber of humiliation, but there are also faceless black men working hard at this labor. The faces on these men are featureless, with no eyes, no mouths, and no noses – showing that they possess no individual identities, like a group of invisible men. This is characteristic of the time period because the 1940s were right before the Civil Rights Movement, and although slavery had been abolished, blacks were still segregated and considered as lesser people. The song they sing while working is very appalling: We work all day, we work all night We never learned to read or writeWe're happy-hearted roustabouts When other folks have gone to bed We slave until we're almost dead We're happy-hearted roustabouts We don't know when we get our payAnd when we do, we throw our pay away We get our pay when children say With happy hearts, It's circus day today. The lyrics of this song portray slaves working day and night doing backbreaking labor. However, it says nothing about the system doing something wrong because the slaves seem happy to do the work. The song even mentions that slaves are also satisfied with working for no pay. The lyrics suggest that money was not something they worry about. The lyrics are insulting to the workers, stating that they do not know when they will get paid, but it does not matter because once they do get paid they will just throw their money away. Furthermore, the lyrics construct and laud the image of the passive and content slave whose true payment and fulfillment is watching the joy of (white) children on circus day. Lyrics such as â€Å"we slave until we're almost dead† but, â€Å"we're happy-hearted† are utterly absurd and disgraceful. Slavery was a morally wrong institution and the fact that Disney condoned its practices in Dumbo is horrifying. Another overtly racist element in Dumbo is the characterization and function of the crows. Richard Schickel says, â€Å"There was one distasteful moment in the film. The crows who teach Dumbo to fly are too obviously Negro caricatures† (Shickel 113). Leonardo Maltint, after quoting Schickel, says that critics may be overreacting to the crows: â€Å"There has been considerable controversy over the Black Crow sequence in recent years, most of it unjustified. The crows are undeniably black, but they are black characters, not black stereotypes† (Maltin 56). Even though Maltint makes a valid point, he does not address the fact that the crows in the film are very specifically depicted as poor and uneducated. They also use slang words such as calling each other â€Å"brotha† and speak in southern accents with incorrect grammar. Any one of these characteristics could be ignored as having racial implications; however, by combining them into one character, it is very reasonable, indeed, almost necessary to interpret the crow as a black stereotype. The other big argument for the Black Crow sequence being interpreted as racist is that the leader of the group of crows, towards the end of the movie, is named Jim. Therefore, Jim the Crow can very well be construed as being a reference to the Jim Crow Laws, which were prevalent in the southern United States from 1876-1965 and promoted racism and racial segregation. The crows' racial identities as black are further implied when they perform their song in a jazz style complete with scat stylization. The song â€Å"When I  See an Elephant Fly† is part of the music style generally popular at the time in black communities. As the crows begin humiliating poor Dumbo, Timothy Mouse steps up to defend him with the following comments: â€Å"Suppose you was torn away from your mother when you was just a baby. Nobody to tuck you in at nights. No warm, soft, caressing trunk to snuzzle into. How would you like to be left out alone†¦ in a cold, cruel, heartless world? † What an ironic comment to make to a set of characters who represent African-Americans, who, at the time, would only have been a few generations removed from the time when black slaves were routinely torn away from their families. The mouse continues: â€Å"And why? I ask ya, why? Just because he's got those big ears, they call him a freak. † Finally, Timothy says, â€Å"And on top of that, they made him a clown! Interestingly, Timothy’s reference to the clown points to the time when the white power structure practiced minstrelsy by making clowns of the socially despised blacks. It is important to recognize that Dumbo is racist not because of any single scene or image, but because of the message produced when all the racist scenes and images are combined. Dumbo is a freak with big â€Å"African† ears who must be segregated from the others. Furthermore, the only role he can have in the circus is that of the clown. The crows also point to black stereotypes through color, dialogue, and even name. Finally, the blatant reference to slavery through the figures of the circus workers contributes to an overall feeling of racism in the film. In many ways, analyzing whether one scene is racist is not nearly as important as understanding that racist undertones are present and noticeable in Dumbo whether we as a society want them be or not. It is important to note that not all racism in Disney films is directed at African Americans. One of the most well recognized racist symbols perpetuated by Disney is the portrayal of the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp (1955). Like stereotypical Asians, they are buck-toothed and have slanted eyes, and speak in ridiculously exaggerated accents that bear little, if any, resemblance to actual Thai speech patterns. Their features, along with the banging of a gong at the beginning of their song, could not make the Asian-specific racism any more obvious, â€Å"We are Siamese, if you please. We are Siamese if you don't please! We are former residents of Siam. There are no finer cats than we am. † Goldmark comments: One can hear the confidence and superiority in their voices. Those two cats don't care about anyone but themselves, lacking any kind of empathy. They are sociopaths, prepared to ruin Lady's life because it is fun and it serves them. They are portrayed as cunning and manipulative, giving the widespread idea that all Asians act superior, are cunning and manipulative. (Goldmark 115) In the film, the Siamese cats function not only as a racial stereotype but also as a stereotype of the upper classes in Oriental countries: â€Å"The cats prance around arrogantly in a Hollywood-invented style that is supposed to represent what the audience should assume are mannerisms of aristocratic Siamese or Chinese† (Romalov 46). The ambiguity in the exact ethnicity of the cats is significant because it demonstrates how Disney films tend to combine different ethnicities under the umbrella of one: â€Å"(Disney’s films, like many Hollywood films, often tended to lump ethnic groups together into a kind of undifferentiated mass-Asians, Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, for example Arab and East Indians as another example. ) The cats even roundly sing of their supposed heritage† (Romalov 46). This practice of ethnic â€Å"lumping† is even more obscene in Aladdin where Arabic and Indian cultures are intertwined and assumed to be one and the same. Like Lady and the Tramp, Aladdin attempted to include other races in the film that had not been included in other Disney movies of the past; unfortunately, we see many of the same racist undertones in Aladdin that are present in the film’s predecessors. Perhaps the most controversial and racist part in Aladdin (1992) is a set of lines in the opening song, â€Å"Arabian Nights. † It is one of the most contentious messages found in the film and begins the movie’s â€Å"depiction of Arab culture with a decidedly racist tone† (Giroux 104). An Arab merchant sings the lyrics: â€Å"Oh I come from a land/From a faraway place/Where the caravan camels roam. Where they cut off your ears/If they don’t like your face. /It’s barbaric, but hey, its home. † The message that is given right at the beginning of the film is that the Middle East is a desolate wasteland where the justice system runs on a simple limb-removal policy. The opening song alone s ets a tone that alienates the Arabic community from Western culture: â€Å"One would have to be very naive to believe that Hollywood would dare to use such a song if it did not see Arabs as belonging to an `other' or `alien' culture. Successive themes drive home the view that these creatures are suspicious, lazy, unethical, and violent outsiders. They' most definitely are not like ‘us’†(Shaheen 50). The lyrics to the opening song in Aladdin caused an uproar in Arab countries and the words were later changed to: â€Å"Where it’s flat and immense/ And the heat is intense. † Not only are the lyrics violent, but they are truly an example of the worst kind of racism. Disney distribution president Dick Cook was quoted as saying the change was made after meetings with members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League but that â€Å"it was something we did because we wanted to do it [†¦] In no way would we ever do anything [†¦] insensitive to anyone,† he said (Shaheem 52). Yousef Salem, a former spokesperson for the South Bay Islamic Association, characterizes the film in the following way: â€Å"All of the bad guys have beards and large, bulbous noses, sinister eyes and heavy accents, and they're wielding swords constantly. Aladdin doesn't have a big nose, he has a small nose. He doesn't have a beard or turban. He doesn't have an accent† (Shaheen 56). This portrayal of Arab characters gives people a negative perception of Arabs. Furthermore, the Arab characters are mean whereas those who speak clear English and appear to be Americanized are â€Å"socially accepted†, or the â€Å"heroes† of society. In the first few scenes of the movie we see an Arab merchant, with a thick accent, wearing a turban and who is trying to sell stereotypical middle-eastern products (a vase which contains â€Å"a combination of hookah and coffee maker,† which can also produce â€Å"a million fries†). In addition, the movie shows Jasmine almost loosing her hand for giving a poor little boy an apple from the market stand. That is not accurate for most Middle Easterners who strive to help the poor and the homeless – they would not attempt to cut someone’s hand off for giving an apple to a poor child. These instances show the racist way in which people from the East are portrayed as barbaric. The film could also be considered racist in that it portrays Arab culture as deeply oppressive of women and brutally violent. Princess Jasmine is trapped mercilessly inside her palace home, and the palace guards threaten to cut off her hand at one point in the film. She is also constantly controlled by the men who surround her. Finally, she is the only other woman we see in the film besides the belly dancers in the opening scenes. What does that say in regard to the significance of women in Disney? Of course, Disney does not intend to offend anyone – that would be bad business. Most people who watch the movies are probably caught up in the Disney magic and do not notice these things. Problematically, one way in which Disney creates the magic is by using stereotypes that people respond to without thinking. Aladdin looks â€Å"right† for a hero; Jafar looks â€Å"right† for a villain; Jasmine looks â€Å"right† for a trapped princess. We as consumers do not think about it, but the practices and images we internalize as being â€Å"right† are very dangerous for society. For example, it is especially concerning that the upper class in the film, the royal family, appears white. The Sultan, Jasmine, and Aladdin are all fair-skinned and do not speak with accents, suggesting that they are more â€Å"white† than the other characters in the film. This image perpetuates the white power structure in America, and most viewers are only aware of this on a subconscious level (Shaheem 54). This subconscious awareness of practices such as racism in the media is especially hazardous for our society because if an individual is not perceptive of when she internalizes social evils, than she cannot be perceptive of when she perpetuates them. Even still, the fact remains that regardless of whether we think about it, recognize or denounce it, racism and stereotyping takes place in many Disney films, including the classic 1994 film The Lion King. The first and perhaps most noticeable example of racism in The Lion King mirrors a stereotyping practice seen in Aladdin. Like Jaffar in Aladdin, Scar is arguably one of the darkest colored characters in The Lion King. While the other heroic lions are lighter skinned, Scar is the only one with dark fur and a jet-black mane, reinforcing the stereotype where the darker and more ethnic character is the villain (Twomey 1). Another obvious example of racism in Aladdin, is seen with the hyenas, who are portrayed as stupid and violent, and are comprised of a lower-class animal group that feeds upon the scraps and leftovers of the more dominant, strong, intelligent creatures. This dichotomy is then reinforced by the use of stereotypes, classifying these stupid, low-class hyenas through the use of African-American (Whoopi Goldberg as â€Å"Shenzi†) and Latino (Cheech Marin as â€Å"Banzai†) stereotypes. It has even been said that â€Å"despicable hyena storm troopers speak†¦ in racially coded accents that take on the nuances of the discourse of a decidedly urban, black, and Latino youth† (Byrne 62). The speech patterns and accents of the hyenas present quite a stark contrast compared to the American and British accents of the rest of the cast. The hyenas also serve as an interesting opposition to the thoughtful, strong, and intelligent characters of the rest of the film, who represent the upper class, indeed, mostly â€Å"white† culture. That is not to say all African-Americans are poorly depicted. James Earl Jones voices the role of the powerful and wise â€Å"Mufasa†, and Robert Guillaume voices â€Å"Rafiki,† the wise shaman. Yet even with two of the strongest main characters being voiced by African-Americans, it is hard not to notice the stereotyping Disney seems to be making about Black, Latino, and lower-class culture. It is significant to recognize that The Lion King does not stop with racial stereotypes, but also cruelly targets other underrepresented groups including women and homosexuals. According to the Associated Press, Carolyn Newberger of Harvard University complained in the Boston Globe that â€Å"the good-for-nothing hyenas are urban blacks; the arch-villain's gestures are effeminate, and he speaks in supposed gay cliches† (Twomey 33). The film also furthers gender stereotypes by displaying women as subservient and dependent upon the strength of males. The strong-spirited Nala can be viewed as a counter to this, but just as with the racial stereotyping, one strong female character does not undo the overall statement being made about the weakness of women. It is the combination of Disney’s insensitive treatment of stereotypes targeting not only non-whites, but also women, and other minorities in films such as Aladdin and The Lion King that can help explain the 21st century’s response to The Princess and the Frog. Both before and after The Princess and the Frog was released, many of the film’s critics were very vocal about racism in the movie. Nearly everyone who has an opinion about the film has something different to say – in sum, nearly everything about the film is racist and offensive to someone and needs to be changed. As a starting point in analyzing the public’s critical response to Princess and the Frog, it is important to address all the criticism surrounding the black princess’s name. Many argue that the princess’s original name, Maddy, is to close to he slave term â€Å"mammy†: â€Å"A voice actor’s tongue wouldn’t have to slip very much to say â€Å"mammy† while ordering Maddy to do a chore, and in such a context, the name â€Å"Maddy† seemed both deliberately inappropriately evocative and easy for the audience to mishear† (Kareem 1). Furthermore, others argue that Maddy’s position as chambermaid fo r a spoiled, white girl is demeaning. Just as Disney changed the name of its protagonist to â€Å"Tiana,† they have also changed her from being a maid to being a prospective owner of a restaurant. True it is traditional for fairy tale protagonists to begin their stories with having a low social status, but a black heroine who is a domestic could be legitimately read not as a fairy tale trope but as a reinforcement of real world racial denigration (Kareem 1). Some may claim that it would be historically accurate for a 1920’s black woman to be a maid, but Disney does not even necessarily care about historical accuracy when animating actual history. Another point of heated debate in the film centers on the fact that the black princess ends up with an arguably whiter prince, Naveen (or at least a prince who looks white and is voiced by a Brazilian actor who also looks white). Whatever Naveen's ethnicity is, in her article â€Å"The Word on the â€Å"Princess and the Frog,† Disney’s First Film With a Black Heroine,† Nandra Careem quotes Shannon Prince who raises some interesting points about the problems behind Disney’s choice not to make him African American: Some might argue that portraying interracial marriage in film is good – but why then weren't any of the white princesses given non-white princes to save them from white villains? And since Disney doesn't give white princesses non-white princes, isn't this interracial relationship at the expense of black boys who deserve a hero just as much as black girls deserve a heroine? (Kareem, 1) Prince is not the only critic to take issue with the difference in skin color between the prince and princess. Cultural critic Hensley Jameson comments, â€Å"The prince is lighter than she is. What’s that say about black men? Sure, Boris Kodjoe is fine, and we come in all shades, but to be truly black, a character can’t be any lighter than Denzel Washington (Kareem 1). Originally the prince was explicitly reported as being the jazz-loving monarch of a European country. By giving the prince an olive, but still white, complexion and a Brazilian accent, Disney gets to go forward with their original white hero yet make him ambiguous enough to not be unequivocally criticized as white at the same time. Tiana isn't the problem,† says Angela Bonner Helm at Black Voices: â€Å"Was there any particular reason why her love interest, Prince Naveen of Maldonia, couldn't be black, too? Though America has a â€Å"real-life black man in the highest office of the land with a black wife, Disney obviously doesn't think a black man is worth the title of prince† (Kareem 1). The plot of The Princess and the Frog also follows Disney’s pattern of making their ev il characters more â€Å"ethnic† and darker than their good characters. The central villain in the film is the voodoo master, who is also African American. Elaborating on the presence of voodoo in the film, Careem comments that Disney grossly misrepresented the purpose and reality of voodoo: â€Å"The foundation of voodoo is not charms but monotheistic faith, belief in saints and spirits, and a focus on moral values such as charity and respect for the elderly. People do perform rites for protection and defense, but suffice it to say that voodoo is not about being a magician or a fairy godmother† (Mathews 1). The fact that Disney uses uninformed voodoo stereotypes rather than accurate facts in the film furthers the racist undertones in the film. The final major point of criticism in the film is concerned with the fact that the first black Disney princess spends most of the time in the movie as a frog: â€Å"Why does the black princess have to be a frog the whole time? Are they saying black people should be green instead of black? † wonders Shirley Wilson, a waitress at Rob’s diner who plans to boycott the movie: â€Å"when I watched the film I felt disappointed to learn that the heroine spends a significant chunk of the movie not as a black princess at all but as a frog. After decades of waiting, would it be too much to actually see an hour and a half of a black princess on the screen? † (Matthews 1). Wilson’s response to The Princess and the Frog is especially significant because it demonstrates how many people, even on a non-academic level have serious concerns about issues of race in the film. When addressing the critical response to The Princess and the Frog, it is difficult to ignore the fact that even though it has been over half of a century since the first Disney films were released, racism is still a point of criticism, both in the older films and in the ones being produced today. Furthermore, despite the fact that The Princess and the Frog features the first black Disney Princess, critics are even more upset about racism in the film than they ever were before – even in the case of more overtly racist films. Many of the points raised about racism and racial stereotypes in the film are valid and interesting; nevertheless, one cannot help but notice that they overshadow many of the advances Disney has made in eliminating other equally offensive stereotypes in their films. For example, whereas other Disney films typically lack the mother figure completely and perhaps only reference the mother when explaining the past, The Princess and the Frog includes a mother who is present for the entire film. It may not be obvious to most viewers of The Princess and the Frog, but Disney takes a huge and important step in introducing a mother figure to their film – their past practice of eliminating the mother figure is arguably sexist and offensive to the female identity. Another important change Disney makes in Princess and the Frog centers on the fact that unlike other Disney princesses who dream about meeting a prince, Tiana has realistic dreams and expectations – she wants to be a restaurant owner and works very diligently to achieve her goal. Despite this significant statement about female power, however, most film critics will probably instead choose to focus on the fact that Tiana, as an African American, is limited to owning a restaurant rather than a Fortune 500 company. Works Cited: Alan, Spector J. Cultural Diversity and the US Media. Albany: State Univ. of New York, 1998. Print. Brunette, Libby. Stereotypes and Racism in Children's movies. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002 Byrne, Eleanor, and Martin McQuillan. Deconstructing Disney. London: Pluto, 1999. Print. Giroux, Henry A. â€Å"Are Disney Movies Good for Your Kids? † Rethinking Childhood 10. 2 (2000): 32-115. Print. Goldmark, Daniel. â€Å"Locating America: Revisiting Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. † Social Identities 14 (2008): 101-120. Print. Kareem, Nadra. â€Å"Nadra's Race Relations Blog. Rev. of Race Relations. Web Log post. About. com. 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. . Look Out New World, Here We Come? Race, Racialization, and Sexuality in Four Children's Animated Films by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. † Print. Lugo-Lugo, Carmen, and Mary Bloodsworth-Lugo. â€Å"Look Out New World, Here We Come? Race, Racialization, and Sexuality in Four Children's Animated Films by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. † Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies 9. 2 (2009): 166-78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Mar. 2010. Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films. New York: Disney Editions, 2000. Print. Matthews, Bill. â€Å"Disney's Black Princess Is the Most Racist Thing Ever. † The Peoples News. ThePeoplesNews, 2 June 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. . Robin, Allan. â€Å"European Influences on Early Disney Feature Films. † A Reader in Animation Studies 25. 3 (1997): 42-46. Print. Romalov, Nancy. â€Å"Lady and the Tramps: The Cultural Work of Gypsies in Nancy Drew and Her Foremothers. † The Lion and the Unicorn 18. 1 (1994). Http://muse. jhu. edu/journals. 1 June 1994. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. Schickel, Richard. The Disney Version; the Life, Times, Art, and Commerce of Walt Disney. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968. Print. Shaheen, Jack. â€Å"Aladdin Animated Racism. † Cineaste 20. 1 (1994): 49-52. Print. Twomey, Steve. â€Å"†The Lion King† a Roaring Success Despite Lambasting. † Washington Post 28 July 1994, 46th ed. , sec. B: 4-7. Print. Walker, Janet. â€Å"Disney's Policy? No Black People, Please. † Academic Search Premier. 23 July 1994. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. Weinman, Jamie. â€Å"Zip-a-dee-dee-doo-don't Mention It. † Maclean's 120. 18 (2007): 63-64. Print.

Korean Music Essay

Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times. Two distinct musical cultures exist in Korea today: traditional music (Gugak) and Western music (yangak). Korean Folk music Korean folk music is varied and complex, but all forms maintain a set of rhythms (called Jangdan) and a loosely defined set of melodic modes. Because the folk songs of various areas are categorized under Dongbu folk songs, their vocal styles and modes are limited. Therefore, currently scholars are attempting to categorize the Dongbu folk songs further based on different musical features. These songs are mostly simple and bright. Namdo folk songs are those of Jeolla Province and a part of Chungcheong Province. While the folk songs of other regions are mostly musically simple, the folk songs of the Namdo region, where the famous musical genres pansori and sanjo were created, are rich and dramatic. Some Namdo folk songs are used in pansori or developed by professional singers and are included as part of their repertories. Jeju folk songs are sung on the Jeju Island. They are more abundant in number than any other regional folk songs, and approximately 1600 songs are transmitted today. Jeju folk songs are characterized by their simple and unique melodic lines and rich texts. Pansori Pansori: is a long vocal and percussive music played by one singer and one drummer. In this traditional art form, sometimes rather misleadingly called ‘Korean Opera’, a narrator may play the parts of all the characters in a story, accompanied by a drummer. The lyric tell one of five different stories, but is individualized by each performer, often with updated jokes and audience participation. One of the most famous pansori singers is Park Dongjin (hangul). Many Koreans still enjoy this music. The National Theatre of Korea provides monthly opportunities to experience traditional Korean narrative songs or pansori. Where: National Theatre of Korea, Seoul City Hall, South Korea Pungmul Pungmul: is a Korean folk music tradition that is a form of percussion music that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players, all in constant motion. Samul Nori, originally the name of a group founded in 1978, has become popular as a genre, even overseas. It is based on Pungmul musical rhythmic patterns and uses the same instruments, but is faster and usually played while sitting down. Sanjo  is played without a pause in faster tempos. It is entirely instrumental music, and includes changes in rhythmic and melodic modes during an individual work. The tempos increases in each movement. The general style of the sanjo is marked by slides in slow movements and rhythmic complexity in faster movements. Instruments include the changgo drum set against a melodic instrument, such as the gayageum or ajaeng. ChÃ… ngak  means literally â€Å"right (or correct) music†, and its tradition includes both instrumental and vocal music, which were cultivated mainly by the upper-class literati of the Joseon society. The Yongsan hoesang is the main repertoire of instrumental chongak tradition and the most representative chamber ensemble of Korea. The title is derived from a Korean Buddhist chang with the short text ‘Yongsan hoesang pulbosal,’ which literally means â€Å"Buddha and Bodhisattvas meet at the Spirit Vulture Peak.† The Korean Buddhist music with the texts notated in the fifteenth-century manuscript Taeak Hubo was a vocal work accompanied by an orchestra. Nongak  means â€Å"farmers’ music† and represents an important musical genre which has been developed mainly by peasants in the agricultural society of Korea. The farmers’ music is performed typically in an open area of the village. The organization of nongak varies according to locality and performing groups, and today there are a great n umber of regional styles. Shinawi  means in broadest sense, the shamanistic music of Korea which is performed during a Korean shaman’s ritual dance performance to console and to entertain deities. In this sense of word, the term is almost identical with anoth er term, shinbanggok (lit. ‘spirit chamber music’), which indicated general shamanistic music performed at a folk religious ceremony known as kut. Salp’uri is a dance for soul cleansing and literally means : â€Å"to wash away bad ghosts†. Salpuri’s modern movements represent the shown human hopes and aspirations. Court/Ritual music Korean court music preserved to date can be traced to the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. It is now rare, except for government-sponsored organizations like The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. There are three types of court music. One is called Aak, and is an imported form of Chinese ritual music, and another is a pure Korean form called Hyang-ak; the last is a combination of Korean and Chinese influences, and is called Dang-ak. Aak Aak was brought to Korea in 1116 and was very popular for a time before dying out. It was revived in 1430, based on a reconstruction of older melodies. The music is now highly specialized and uses just two different surviving melodies. Aak is played only at certain very rare concerts, such as the Sacrifice to Confucius in Seoul. Dang-ak Modern dangak, like aak, is rarely practiced. Only two short pieces are known; they are Springtime in Luoyang and Pacing the Void. Hyang-ak By far the most extant form of Korean court music today, hyangak includes a sort of oboe, called a piri and various kinds of stringed instruments.

Charlie Parker

A discussion of the life and works of Jazz musician Charlie Parker and the influence he had in the field. This paper sheds light on important aspects of Charlie Parkers life and times. It introduces a jazz musician who completely transformed this type of music through his talent, originality and improvisation skills. The paper discusses the changes that he brought into jazz styles and also focuses on Parkers influence on society and economy of his days. For this reason, many magazine articles and few books were consulted and research in this paper is appropriately supported by expert views and comments. Charlie Parkers name is synonymous with innovation in jazz music. This is because in his short life of 34 years, the man was able to transform the world of music by introducing new and better tunes and jazz styles that made him immortal. Charlie Parker was born in 1920 in Kansas City but later moved to New York where he found a more intelligent audience that appreciated his alto sax tunes and helped him in discovering new techniques including the famous Bebop. Bebop was probably the greatest achievement of this man and this jazz style became extremely popularly in that era. It is important to understand that this man was not simply a musician but was a legend in himself because not only did he transform Jazz, he also created awareness regarding this type of music. It was because of him that Americans from every social class started taking an interest in this kind of music and thus the man left an indelible mark on the United States and not particularly its one field.

US minority Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

US minority Politics - Essay Example This term usually gets used negatively and gets associated with race based prejudice, discrimination, violence or oppression (Bonilla 63). US politics gets affected by the way citizens have continued to view themselves racially through the years. This in turn affects them socially, economically, and, culturally. Racial theories Racism began way back in the 19th century when many scientists began to believe that human populations got divided into separate races. At this time, the idea of racism had fully matured (Spielberger 59). They used this to justify the belief that some races were less than others and deserved to get differential treatment. This theory got termed as the scientific racism. Scientific racism is a technique or hypotheses used to classify individuals into different phenotypes into discrete races or ethnicities. There is also proof that in the 18th century race existed. It became invented to magnify the differences between people during the American slavery (Egelman 46). They used this to get Africans to function as slaves. Authority at this time got based on reason rather than superstition or religion. The scientific racism got further supported by a German professor who created a science called craniology. This tried to use shape and dimensions of human skulls to measure intelligent ratios. He came up with the conclusion that the shape of the human skull limited his capacity for intelligence. He then placed the European at the top of all the civilized beings (Balogh 105). Another theory of racism is institutional racism. This is the treating certain groups preferentially or withholding benefits to certain groups based on racial characteristics gets institutionalized. It takes into account the belief that humans get divided into separate biological entities called races (Karim and Solomos 78). This causes people to think that inherited physical traits, traits of personality, morality, intellect, and other cultural behavioral features are linke d. Institutional racism gets displayed in nation states that become grounded in the racist ideology. This played a crucial role in colonialist times. It also came into picture in the fascist and Nazi regimes in Europe. The Marxist theory is the most common theory of racism. Racism directed towards African Americans, and other people of color has been the key and continuing feature of the U.S society. Its forms have changed from the obvious maltreatment to indirect inequalities. It is this sector of people that experience the highest rates of life expectancies, infant mortality rates, unemployment, poverty rates and stereotypes in the mass media. This outlines the Marxist theory that states that racism serves the interests of capitalist or employer class. This gets done by dividing black and white workers reducing their potential unity thus bargaining power (Egelman 120). The fact that the colored people in society suffer most injustices of life clearly shows that the Marxist class s ystem still carries through. Much of the social analysis that focuses on the inequalities and injustices in the U.S society has become influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx. There are jobs which get reserved for the whites who control production, capital and continually try to increase their profits. There are also psychological theories, which argue that, racism is a form of prejudice on the extreme. Psychologists also argue that it is an expression of the psychological process

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Final - Essay Example This report will examine how the ministry collected information, the major events that occurred in the ministry, the plans that the ministry has to improve its performance, the challenges that the ministry faced, and recommendations as to how these challenges can be mitigated. The goal of my ministry is to spread useful information to every part of our empire within the shortest time possible. As the minister I aim to facilitate the smooth running of this ministry. I will unite my team and motivate them to work towards achieving this goal. I believe information is vital to the economic growth of our empire. The ministry was involved in collecting information in various fields. I led my team to collect information and analyze it. The collected information, after analysis, was sent to the concerned Parties for necessary action to be expedited. We, as a ministry, ensured that all the necessary information including the texts were handwritten and published in the sense of being made public and distributed in relative numbers. We saw that it was essential for your Excellency to be acquainted with the fact that it is our gratification that all limitations which were formerly advanced in official pronouncements regarding the Christians should be known by all, and this was our mandate as a ministry (Rosenwein 313). We worked hand in hand with other stakeholders including other ministries like the ministry of finance, the ministry of security, and the ministry of the police to collect intelligence information from all over the empire. Our spying team collected information from those people who were spreading propaganda against the leadership in our empire, and those who were spreading negative rumors were punished according to the laws of the land, your Excellency. I ensured that all your speeches were well written and published. All your directives were forwarded by my team to the various departments for necessary actions by various bodies. The

Dance movement therapy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dance movement therapy - Research Paper Example By waiting or first asking the client to attempt an explanation of the content and meaning of the movement statement the therapist can help a further exploration and understanding through a shared dialogue and then possible interpretation by the therapist. Theoretical Orientations The field of dance/movement therapy is based on the belief that healthy functioning depends on the integration of the mind, the body, and the spirit. When there is a lack of such integration, an individual, group, or family may suffer from a variety of psychophysical disorders. Dance/ movement therapy is a form of psychotherapy that utilizes movement as the medium of interaction and intervention promoting change. The following section summarizes the major theoretical orientations within the field of dance/movement therapy. Chace Approach A basic tool for establishing nonverbal relationships used by dance/movement therapists is called mirroring, or attunement. Marian Chace, a major pioneer in the field refle cted, through her own muscular activity, the body movement of her patients. She was able to meet her patients where they were emotionally on a nonverbal, movement level of communication. Marian Chace’s core concepts of working in groups, utilizing rhythmic body action, and communicating through dance and movement are considered fundamental. She states: Dance therapy is the specific use of rhythmic bodily action employed as a tool in the rehabilitation of patients. . . . The dance therapist combines verbal and non-verbal communication to enable a patient to express feeling, to participate in human relationships, to increase personal self-esteem, to develop a more realistic concept of his body image, and through all these to achieve some feeling of relaxation and enjoyment. (Chace, p. 247) Judith Kestenberg calls movement empathy attunement, observing that it involves harmony between movers. Regarding â€Å"complete attunement† (p144) in the mother–infant interact ion, Kestenberg (1999) notes that complete attunement consists of mutual empathy and that â€Å"there is not only a sameness of needs and responses, but also synchronization in rhythms† (p. 161). The experience of attunement requires a process of kinesthetic identification. Muscular tensions felt in one person are also felt in the other. It is not necessary to duplicate the shape of the movement. Visual or touch attunement with a child or adult who is upset can lead to soothing. The degree of tension exhibited by the child or adult can be initially matched and then developed into less intense, more soothing patterns (Loman, 114). An integrated developmental approach draws from psychodynamic, ego psychological, Jungian, and relational models. The approach encompasses a solid movement and body-level understanding of the individual, interpersonal relationships, groups, and family systems throughout the life cycle. The framework for understanding human development, based primaril y on Erik Erikson, Anna Freud, Judith Kestenberg, Jean Baker Miller and colleagues, Margaret Mahler, and Donald Winnicott, fosters awareness of the significant life challenges encountered at each stage of the life cycle. Each stage can be approached from a body–mind–spirit perspective. Object relations theories with their body-movement foundations; provide an understanding of the phases of separation/individuation and the nature of interpersonal rel

Virtual life damage real life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Virtual life damage real life - Essay Example The article argues that a research carried out in 2008 in Americans stated that 28% of Americans confirmed that they were spending less time with their families. This statistics tripled the research carried in 2003 where statistic ranged at 11 percent. This shows that family bonding is diminishing by the day simply because of the advancement of technology (Turner 27). Television sets have cut the bond that the family would have chatting together in the living room (Sorensen 1). Fast foods and home delivery has diminished family meal times and children’s homework and plays have diverted to the internet. These aspects are greatly contributing to families living virtue lives instead of real life. To begin with, family bonding has become the thing of the past because most homes do not have time to share meals (Sorensen 1). Despite the fact that parents are busy, they have opted for the modern virtual ways of replacing their presence in homes through advanced technology. The fridge and the microwave have replaced the parents in the kitchen because they children can acquire stored food in then fridge and warm them in the microwaves. Online food orders have also replaced family meal times because the parents order food for their children over the phone or online which is delivered for the children to eat. All this aspects leads to children having enough privacy to explore other dangerous channels hence parental presence and love is necessary for family bonding. The cell phone and online chat is occupying many commitments that the parent would have had on knowing the children’s welfare due to the availability of cell phones (Sorensen 1). The parents use the cell phones to keep track of where the children are and how they are faring. This cell phone and internet chat replacement deprives the children the much-needed parental love, which leads children to finding replacements elsewhere (Livingstone & Bovill 4). Children are currently living in families wher e they do not find anybody at home to relate to when they are not in school. The idea of such absentee parents is that they will check on their children’s welfare by chatting through the internet or by communicating through the phone (Turner 360). The parents need to understand that spending quality time with them impacts more than modern technologies could offer. Due to lack of family bonding, the children or one of the spouses opts for the internet as the only available alternative. The internet has becomes people favorite because it offers virtue live that people prefer against real life (Voogt & Gerald 357). The isolated individuals and children bond with others by chatting online, which in turn occupies their time, and keep busy. These individuals tend to sink in the virtuous world of the web because it is simpler compared to the real world. This is so because, children pretend to be adults, and adults pretend to be children. More so, women pretend to be men and vice-ver sa, and people give false information about their background, religion and accomplishments. These virtues aspects are the opposite of real life where people meet and socialize physically. The fantasies of the virtuous world lead people to live a fantasy life (Turner 30). Cheating cases have been reported where both men and women are the victims.

Business Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Business Decision Making - Essay Example However, the introduction of internet made it necessary for technology companies to design products which would help people to access this vast space of information. That is when these companies came up with innovations such as smart phones and tablets. Since then the number of people using these products have sky rocketed. With the use of these products people have also craved for other peripherals such as Bluetooth speakers, external headphones, wired speakers, Bluetooth microphones and so on and so forth. It is with regards to these requirements that our company is endeavouring to introduce a Bluetooth enabled speaker which has unmatched quality of sound output and also comes at a very low price. This product is set to compete with the likes of products manufactured by Sony, JBL and Sennheiser. The underlying rationale of this market research plan is to learn about needs and requirements of the target audience. This will help the company’s managers to have a holistic view of the market as well as learn about the expectations of its target market. Moreover the analysts will also be able to make an estimation of the price that should be placed for this particular product. The objective of this market research is to conduct a detailed study of the target market (tablet users in UK) which in turn will help the organizational managers to understand the factors that will serve as a key determinant of the product’s success. In order to conduct this research in an appropriate manner, a mix method approach needs to be adopted where the researcher will be conducting surveys as well as interviews with households in the UK. The higher income households will be interviewed while the households within the lower income range will be included within the survey. The underlying reason behind the application of a mixed method approach is to have a holistic view of the issues that is being researcher. It will enable the researcher to have an in-depth idea about the needs

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Education - Essay Example Day 1- The Literacy Hour began with a copy of a non-fiction text ’Little Red Riding Hood’, by Charles Perrault. A copy of this book was placed on each table and children were expected to independently read the story within 10 minutes. Afterwards the class shared what they read and evaluated the story together as a group. This story provided the children with insight and it acted as a model to facilitate thinking and motivate children to ‘WALT: Write in the genre of a Fairytale’. The story also incorporated word and sentence level work through spelling, vocabulary and grammar (written and spoken). Once this was done, it was followed up with brain-storming of ideas about the key features of a fairytale. One of the most popular forms of the ten stages utilized as a process of learning in the Literacy Hour was the ‘activation of previous knowledge’. I felt this was a crucial and popular stage to implement at the beginning of a lesson, as learners were encouraged to engage in an open discussion. Because they could speak openly to each other, the learners were able to draw upon their own knowledge of the subject matter and bring it into the discussion. The practical teaching methods which were deployed were brainstorming and mind-mapping. These methods were offered as a guide to facilitate the children’s thinking about ‘what they already knew about the text’. During the lesson the format of deploying reading skills was developed and children were motivated into ‘adopting an appropriate strategy’. This activity took place as an independent and shared reading task because the teacher and pupil read the text ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, out loud and with expression. This style of close reading allowed the teacher to ‘describe the careful and sustain interpretation of a brief passage of text ’. The teacher implemented this literacy strategy by closely examining

Normative approach and positive approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Normative approach and positive approach - Essay Example Among various source of income, business needs to maintain everyday transactions, this are known as accounting methods. Accounting theory can be defined as the study, which helps to examine the methodologies of the assumptions, with their frame work in financial accounting principles. By the study on accounting theory helps to understand the review the historical foundations of the accounting practises and the way by which the verification on accounting practises is made and report to the relating regulatory framework which governs the financial statement and also the financial reporting (Evans, 2009, p.67). We also can say that a set of concepts which are interrelated, or descriptions or intensions which help to create a reasonable analysis on the incidents by identifying the relations among the variables that can be described as accounting theory. There is no single proper theory in financial accounting which may govern the process of accounting accurately (Belkaoui, 2004 p.125). T here are differences in approaches, opinions, and values in accounting practise. In the year 2005 Deegan and Unerman stated that to understand the accounting theory a proper methodology is needed to justify the process (Most, 1977, p.56). Nowadays both economics as well as businesses are continuously evolving. Accounting theory is also changing with business and economy. ... For the development of accounting theory several approaches have been made within the last two decades, among which are descriptive, normative, positive, decision making, empirical and welfare ones. However here we concentrate on positive approach and normative approach. Normative theory A normative theory can be defined as a theory, which does not depend on observations, but on the process by which it should be done. According to most of the researchers several different approaches are used in this theory to find a correct opinion about accounting. The formula is used in this method to find out the value what income is based on and not depend on cost. Here the opinions of the theorists are depending upon deductive logic, subjective opinion and inductive methods. On base upon this theory all the other theories are standardized. The other theories tend to give conclusion that some of the accounting rules are better or worse than the others. The normative theories generally depend upon the anecdotal evidence which may not pass the test of academic rigor (Porwal, 2001, p.245). On depending on the personal outlooks, consequent reasoning, and by using of elementary reasoning it aims to approve that there are several accounting practices which are better than others. It helps to understand what ought to be rather than what it actually is. In the part of theory construction the normative approach is likely to depend on the future related answer rather than on its present. That is like here we can find the answer of â€Å"what should be† rather than â€Å"what it is†. According to this theory, the theories will be more feasible and desirable, which does not depend upon the current

Sop Concrete Block Essay Example for Free

Sop Concrete Block Essay

Francisco Jose de Goya Essay Example for Free

Francisco Jose de Goya Essay Francisco Jose de Goya (1746-1828) Yard with Lunatics, 1794 Oil on canvas Goya started discovering art at a young age. He was born to Jose Benito de Goya y Franque, a gilder, and Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador. Francisco spent his childhood in Fuendetodos, Spain then later moved to Zaragoza. He often moved, mastering art along the way. In 1773 Goya married Josefa Bayeu. Over a period of five years he had painted about 42 designs. His popularity began to lead him into an entire world of art. During the middle of his career, Goya often painted for royalty. He had reached his peak of popularity with the noble ones. However between late 1792 and early1793, a serious illness, whose exact nature is not known, left Goya deaf, and he became withdrawn. During his recuperation, he undertook a series of experimental paintings. He turned to more manageable and more personal projects, perhaps inspired by works from abroad that he had seen while in Cadiz. His small pictures of 1793-4 introduce a new era in his art, and it was now that his style began to emerge. Many of his scenes depict bullfighting, intense, haunting themes, reflective of the artists fear of insanity, and his outlook on humanity. Although these themes can be seen in many of his paintings, I believe â€Å"Yard with Lunatics† depicts his style the best. Yard with Lunatics was painted around the time of the French declaration of war on Spain, when Goya’s deafness and fear of mental illness were developing, and he was increasingly complaining of his health. The painting came about in his stage of darkness. This painting is usually compared to â€Å"The Madhouse†, a similar painting by Goya. Goya wrote that the works served to occupy my imagination, tormented as it is by contemplation of my sufferings. The series, he said, consisted of pictures which normally find no place in commissioned works. It has been described as a somber vision of human bodies without human reason and as one of Goyas deeply disturbing visions of sadism and suffering. â€Å"Yard with Lunatics† opposes his previous designs, which depicted the way he wanted the rest of his career to be like. They were full of fantasy and naturalism. However, he had an alternate future. In a 1794 letter to his friend Bernardo de Yriarte, Goya wrote that the painting shows a yard with lunatics, and two of them fighting completely naked while their warder beats them, and others in sacks; (it is a scene I witnessed at Zaragoza). To some art historians, this picture portrays a point in Goyas career where he moves from a world in which there are no shadows to one in which there is no light. Meadows Museum editors quote the agreement: This small but surprisingly powerful work was produced at a most critical juncture of Goya’s long career. In the last months of 1792, the artist suffered a mysterious illness that left him physically debilitated and permanently deaf. While recuperating, he undertook a series of small-scale paintings in which, as he wrote, â€Å"I have succeeded in making observations which ordinarily are not allowed in commissioned works. † Although Goya’s work conveyed how he saw the world at that time, it was also symbolic. Yard with Lunatics as a whole symbolizes the chaotic lifestyle of the world. The fighting naked men are trapped in a hole where psychotics were thrown away and forgotten. The French War probably inspired the chaos in the painting. Peter K. Klein’ argument also corresponds: Towards the eighteenth century, there was a growing interest in and fascination with manifestations of insanity and its relationship with reason, hand, and contemporary medicine considered madness in a rationalistic, enlightened and increasingly scientific way, starting to isolate lunatics as potentially curable patients in special institutions and attempting empirically to classify the various mental diseases. On the other hand, there was a more ambiguous, partly romanticizing and idealizing attitude in literature, philosophy and art, which placed madness next to genius, as a source of creativity and as an opportunity for a deep, more genuine and non-alienated experience of human life. The dark, grey, and green colors symbolize the way Goya pictured his life. His entire world had taken a turn for the worse and his view of his life was altered. Goya was in a very ill state and he could not see the light or goodness in his situation. As a result of this, his paintings represented how he felt on the inside. All in all Francisco Goya’s life experiences, as you can see, contributed to many of his paintings. Although, all of Goya’s work was beautiful and unique, I believe â€Å"Yard with Lunatics† had the most awing affect. To me it was the most fascinating, how Goya portrayed real life situations into a piece of artwork. He included personal complications which others could relate to. This work stands as a captivating image portraying real world situations.

Relations Between EU and BRIC Countries Social Policy Essay

Relations Between EU and BRIC Countries Social Policy Essay BRIC, is an acronym apparent first used in Goldman Sachs investment bank by Jim ONeill in 2001. It contains four largest and fastest growing emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China). (Goldmann Sachs, 2003) All the four countries have some common features, as Havlik et al (2009) state, including large territory and population, low income level but fast economic growth. The four countries encompass over 25% of the worlds land coverage and 40% of the worlds population, and they might become among the four most dominant economies by 2050, as ONeill and Stupnytska (2009) argued, it is now possible that China will become as big as the US by 2027 and the BRICs as big as the G7 by 2032. The power base of these actors is their respective region, but in some circumstances their influence may be global. The relationship between the EU and BRIC countries confronts both challenges and opportunities in the aspect of politic and economy which are the follows. Firstly, EU is the biggest world exporter; in imports it ranked second after the USA, while BRIC countries are among the most potential countries. There exists direct conflict of interest between EU and the BRICS, including the lack of results from the Doha Development Agenda indicates and the disagreement on agricultural liberalization and the fear by EU of the strong competitiveness of the BRICS in this area. Secondly, the consequent return to a system of bilateral agreements and FTAs will mean that large WTO members would be able to strong-arm the small members. Thirdly, problematic that the EU continues to patronizing as a major economic â€Å"old† power. Instead the EU should accept and foster more actively the new leadership roles of the BRICS countries. Fourthly, the EU is still to a large degree defined by its defens ive attitude and the BRIC(S) is to some degree perceived as a threat. Fifthly ,according to Leal-Arcas: â€Å"it is not about what, but how you negotiate†. This points toward that the EU should negotiate on a basic of equality, reciprocity and with mutual respect towards its partners. Last but not least, Strategic Partnership Agreements with the BRIC countries. The following section is divided into four parts according to four BRIC countries. Detailed introductions and discussions about the relationship between EU and each country are shown. Brazil Brazil is the 5th largest country by geographical area and 8th biggest in national population in the world. Its nominal GDP reaches 1.6 billion US dollars, ranking the 8th of the world. (Wilson and Stupnytska, 2007) In terms of the relation with the EU, Brazil established diplomatic relations with the EU IN 1960, and the present relationship is governed by three documents, which are the EC-Brazil framework co-operation agreement (1992), EU-Mercosur Framework Cooperation Agreement (1995) and the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation (2004). Brazil is the EUs main trading partner in Latin America. In 2007, EU good exported to Brazil achieves 21.2 billion Euros and imported from Brazil amount to 32.3 billion. Brazil benefits from close and strong economic and political relations with Europe, with the two sides having several complementarities Russia Russia is the worlds largest country with population of 140.9 million. And its nominal GDP is around US$1,6bn, the 9th in the world. Russia signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU in 1997. The goods it imports from the EU is 105 billion Euros in 2008, and exports to EU account for 173.2 billion Euros, most of which are the energy goods. The relation between Russia and the EU is not easy to be improved because of its contradictory positions among EU members. However, in the may of 2005, the roadmap for common economic space was adopted during the EU-Russia summit. The main issue between the EU and Russia always relates to the energy, gas in particular. India India is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous countryï ¼Å' its nominal GDB reached 1.2 trillion last year India is an important trade partner for the EU and a growing global economic power. It combines a sizable and growing market of more than 1 billion people with a growth rate of between 8 and 10 % one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India was one of the first countries to develop relations with the Union, signing bilateral agreements in 1973ï ¼Å'when the United Kingdom joined. In 1994, the current legislative framework for cooperation, the ‘Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of India on partnership and development was signed which took bilateral relations beyond merely trade and economic cooperation and paved the way for annual EU-India Summits and regular ministerial and expert level meetings. In 2004, the EU-India relationship was ‘upgraded to the level of a ‘Strategic Partnership and 2005 an ‘EU-India Action Plan (revised in 2008) was jointly elaborated to further extend bilateral relations to noneconomic areas (e.g. security policy, education and academic exchanges, cultural cooperation), China China is the most populous state in the world with over 1.3 billion people. At about 9.6 million square kilometers, the PRC is the worlds third largest country by total area In respect of economy, China is the worlds largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. It ranks the third largest economy nominally with the nominal GDP of 4908 billion US dollars. Regarding to the political aspect, China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a member of multilateral organizations as well, including the WTO, APEC, G-20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The first ‘Trade Agreement between China and the European Economic Community (EEC) was concluded in 1978. It was substituted by the ‘EEC-China Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement in 1985, which is still in force now. The EU and China have the worlds second most important trade-and-investment relationship (after the transatlantic relationship). The EU is Chinas biggest trading partner. China is the EUs second biggest trading partner and its biggest source of goods imports. European multinationals have poured investment into China and are prominent in east-Asian supply chains (in which China is usually the last assembly stage before finished products are exported back to the West). Such deep commercial relations lead inexorably to commercial and political tensions, as they do in US-China relations. However, a huge trade deficit of EU is a main problem in relation of China and the EU. Currently, the relation between China and the EU is mainly impacted by the following two main issues. One the EU arms embargo (in force since 1989) and related restrictions on European high-tech exports to China. The other is the anti-dumping launched by EU against China. (Goods refer to Textiles, clothing, footwear, metal manufactures, and various low-tech manufactures) BRIC(S) countries in Financial Crisis The four BRIC nations in total produce 14.6 percent of the worlds gross domestic product, and take up 12.8 percent of the global trade volume. Their contribution to the worlds economic growth amounts to 50 percent in terms of purchasing power parity. Since the first BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, the four countries have become prominent driving forces behind the global economic warm-up. The BRIC countries met for their first official summit on 16th June 2009 in Yekaterinburg of Russia, and the second one is hold at Brasilia of Brazil on 16th April this year. These summits, to some extent, contribute to the worlds recovery for the global financial crisis. For example, one week prior to the second summit, China announced plans to invest a total of $50.1 billion and Russia planned to invest $10 billion. In addition, Brazil offered $10 billion to the International Monetary Fund, which was the first time that Brazil had ever made such a loan. Even in the European Economic Recovery Plan, Commission of the European Communities regards the continuing dialogues with key bilateral partners such as the BRIC countries as an important way to help the EU to recover from the financial crisis. Conclusion Despite of the current world financial crisis, the economic of BRIC countries still experience a considerable increase, which induce lots of new opportunities and numerous challenges as well for the rest of the world, particularly the EU. The BRIC countries have some common features, while each of them has different situations that generate different challenges and opportunities to other countries. Take the EU for example, it requires the EU to adopt different policies to each BRIC countries to generate maximum interest for the EU. References Havlik et al (2009), Peter Havlik1 Roman Stà ¶llinger1 Olga Pindyuk1 Gà ¡bor Hunya1 Bernhard Dachs2 Carolina Lennon1 Marcos Poplawski Ribeiro3 Jayati Ghosh4 Waltraut Urban1 Vasily Astrov1 Edward Christie1 EU and BRICs: Challenges and opportunities for European competitiveness and cooperation Jim ONeill and Anna Stupnytska, 2009, The Long-Term Outlook for the BRICs and N-11 Post Crisis, Goldman Sachs Global Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research Global Economics Paper No: 192 Dominic Wilson and Anna Stupnytska, 2007, The N-11: More Than an Acronym, GS GLOBAL ECONOMIC WEBSITE Economic Research from the GS Institutional Portal at https://portal.gs.com Global Economics Paper No: 153

Atlanta Braves :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people see the Atlanta Braves in different lights, by asking diverse people about them, you will get some vastly dissimilar answers. If you ask any young person who the Atlanta Braves are, you will most likely hear something like this: The best overall baseball team since I’ve been alive. But if you ask an older wiser person who the Atlanta Braves are, here’s the answer you’ll probably get: A baseball team that has come back incredibly from they’re not so grand past, a great story of a worst to first baseball team. However if you go to an informed person, someone who knows all about the Atlanta Braves and ask them the same question, I’m sure you’ll get an answer like this: The Atlanta Braves are a team with rich history, great victories, and superb leadership that has allowed them to capture 12 consecutive division titles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Atlanta Braves’ history is very deep and very interesting, with 3 moves 3 national titles and numerous stadiums, the Braves have been and will be one of the most fascinating teams in baseball.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Braves started in 1876 in Boston, known then as the ‘Red Stockings’. And in 1883 they became then ‘Beaneaters’ and then the now infamous ‘Braves’ in 1912. Then in 1914 the Boston Braves won they’re first national title, by sweeping Philadelphia.† (Atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/history/atl_history_timeline.jsp)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1953, the Braves moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin, and winning the franchise’s 2nd World Series only 4 years later in 1957. (Atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/history/atl_history_timeline.jsp)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves didn’t have the best teams from 1966-1990, no World Series titles, just not up to where they had been in earlier years. In 1990 the braves had the worst record in baseball, and then in 1991, they went from worst to first, and went to the World Series. They went again in 1992, but unfortunately, they lost both times. However, in 1995 the Braves went to the Championship of baseball once again, they represented the National League, and the Cleveland Indians represented the American League. The Series went six games, and in game six the Braves won, beating the Indians, one to nothing, and winning the World Series.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I myself remember that game, I was in my living room with my family watching the game, and David Justice hit a solo home run, the only run of the game. Tom Glavine pitched a great game, I remember being so excited when they won.

Comparing William Blakes The Tyger and The Lamb Essay -- The Tyger Th

Comparing William Blake's â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† William Blake is referred to as many things, including poet, engraver, painter and mystic, but he is probably most famous for his poetry. Blake began writing the poems below in about 1790 whilst living in Lambeth, London. His poetry has a wide range of styles but his most famous poems are those from â€Å"Songs of Innocence† and Song of Experience†. The two sets of poems are designed to show different states or ways of seeing. They are Blake's way of representing the different ways in which people actually experience the world. In â€Å"Songs of Innocence† the language is simple and repetitive, the lines are kept short and the rhymes are obvious. A childlike vision is conveyed through Blake's clever use of voices with their varying perspectives and questions. The poems reveal particular states of being and ways of seeing which the author is not saying are the whole truth. The poems have a joyful quality but they contain a subtle awareness of sorrow. â€Å"Songs of Experience† contrasts strongly with the softness of â€Å"Songs of Innocence†. These poems show how horrible and cruel the world really is under the surface of what we see. Blake has many themes represented in his poems from Song of Experience and Songs of Innocence but they mainly centre on his childhood, the aspects of rural and urban life, his protest against the horrible way of life and a strong disliking to the way the Church was run. These points will be discussed in the next poem analyses. â€Å"The Tyger† and â€Å"The Lamb† are often 2 poems paired together and I think that was Blakes intention, for example line 20 of â€Å"The Tyger† it says â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee?† So these will be the first t... ...oem. There are many harsh words such as â€Å"cold† used to describe the church as it is but when he describes what he wants it to be the feeling of the poem becomes warmer, like that of a poem in Song of Innocence. From these poems I believed that what Blake means by â€Å"Innocence† is that of a simple life where you don’t know about the troubles around you and blissfully go along with life as it hits you. And from this, â€Å"Experience† is what life is really life, it concentrates on the negative sides of things and shows that there is always an improvement to be made. I personally find Blake's poems rather intriguing. At first when you look at one of two poems it is hard to understand the ideas that blake puts forward but after many poem analyses it becomes clear of the difference between Innocence and Experience. Blake must have been a very conscious man.

Shakespeares As You Like It - The Transformation of Rosalind :: Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

As You Like It: The Transformation of Rosalind Many characters undergo a change in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It. Duke Senior goes from being a member of a court to being a member of a forest. Orlando changes from a bitter younger brother to a love-sick young man. But the most obvious transformation undergone, is done by Rosalind. Her change from woman to man, not only alters her mood, candor, and gender, but allows her to be the master of ceremonies. Celia and Rosalind are fairly happy in the court of Celia’s father, Duke Frederick. However, much to her surprise, the Duke banishes Rosalind from his court. Celia, not allowing her beloved cousin to "go it alone", decides to accompany her to where ever she may roam. They decide to search out Rosalind’s father, Duke Senior, in the forest of Arden. Before they depart, Rosalind decides that for both her and Celia’s safety, she will dress herself as a man, saying, "Were it not better, Because that I am more than common tall, That I did suit me all points like a man? A gallant curtal ax upon my thigh, A boar spear in my hand, and- in my hear Lie there what hidden woman’s fear there will- We’ll have a swashing and a martial outside, As many other mannish cowards have That do outface it with their semblances. (1:3 ll. 112-120) At first glance, this transformation is a mere change of clothes and the addition of weapons, but it goes much deeper. To Rosalind, the taking on of a man’s appearance requires certain things. She believes that while dressed as a man, she cannot bring shame to the image of a man. A good example of this is in Act 2, Scene 4, where she says, "I could find in my heart to disgrace my man’s/ apparel and to cry like a woman; but I must comfort/ the weaker

Investigating Financial Control Essay

Task one The three different types of costs are fixed cost, variable cost and total cost. For all of the diverse types of costs there are also dissimilar calculations to work out each type of revenue. Fixed cost does not change no matter how much they produce, even if the business produces 1 or 1,000,000,000 it will always stay the same. Examples of fixed costs are rent, salaries, rates and loan payments. Variable cost change with the level of production. In order to work out the total variable cost you have to times together the quantity and the variable cost. Also, to determine the total cost you have to add the fixed cost and the variable cost. The meaning of Start up cost is the money you need to start up the business. Running cost always varies because of the level of stock changes and you have to pay for workers. In the case of Kiren and Zaiba, salaries are used as a fixed cost because they don’t change with the level of output. Heating and lighting are used as a variable cost because the variable cost change with the level of production. The sum: Fixed cost + variable cost = total cost which is 6,000 in the scenario. The definitions for the following words are: Profit What is left when all costs incurred in making and selling a product are deducted from the revenue gained from that sale. It acts as the reward to the entrepreneur, usually the owner of the business, who has provided the capital. It is usually the net profit after tax which represents the surplus for the owners of the business and is paid as a dividend to shareholders. Profit maximization is seen as one of the major objectives of a business, although it is more likely to be an objective for the investors in a business, than for its managers or employees. It might be for those groups that profit acts as a constraint, while higher sales orhigher wages and salaries are more important objectives Net profit: This is the amount of sales revenue that a business earns less all the costs involved in achieving that revenue, including both direct costs and expenses. The net profit figure represents the figure for profit before taxation or a dividend are further deducted, and shows how successful a business has been in generating profits from its trading activities. Gross profit The figure obtained on the profit and loss account when the cost of goods sold is deducted from the sales revenue of a business, but it does not take into account any of the expenses of running a business such as wages, distribution costs or administration costs. Fixed cost Variable cost Total cost Rent  £800 Heating and lighting  £200 Salaries  £1400 Advertising  £50 Insurance  £210 Administration  £50 Rates  £150 400 CD’s  £2800 Loan repayments  £290 Telephone  £50  £2850  £3150  £6000 Task 2 Kiran & Zaiba analysis: In task two I used excel to work out the break even point, at diverse costs. The fixed costs were the same because I only have done break even for one month. The quantity is going up in one hundreds. I calculated the variable cost by multiplying the quantity by 6 which came out to be going up in six hundreds. I calculated the total cost by adding the fixed cost by the variable cost; in this case it was increasing by six hundred. To calculate the sales revenue, I had to multiple the quantities by 12, which was increasing by 1200. To calculate profit or loss, I subtract sales revenue from total cost. According to the information on my table Kiran & zaiba have to sell 1000 CD’s to break even. Break even is when the cost is 6000 and the quantity is 6. In the following table I have changed the fixed cost to 6950 because the following values increased: the rate increased to  £300 also, the telephone increased to  £100, advertising to  £125 and the lighting and heating increased to  £425. Using the contributing method I will calculate the following data to achieve how much CD’s will be needed to break even. In order to do this I will have to use the following equation 6950 divided by 6. The sum equals 1158. So they will have to sell 1158 to break even. This means that they will have to increase sales. Advantages of break even analysis Disadvantages of break even analysis Break even can be used to predict profit It price suddenly changed it wouldn’t take it in Break even can be used to determine financial needs For example, If petrol prices go up the break even will not show the increase. Keep track of profits and losses. It is a forecast which means that the data is predicted. Gives you ideas for selling prices (if you made a lot of money at that period of time). It helps to calculate profits Helps to make decisions on prices I think that break even is very useful because: It assists you to figure out your profit Helps you by giving you assumptions of prices It is extremely significant in that if you are taking into consideration to applying for a loan. Gives you a clear impression of prices TASK 3 Analysis for cash flow forecast I will now construct the cash flow forecast I have now prepared an annual cash flow forecast using monthly data I have also included the loan in January. The table looks like this for a regular cash flow forecast: image00.png The sales become irregular due to an immense amplify in downloading and sharing music. The irregular cash flow forecast should look like this: image01.png Cash flow forecast is extremely significant and has many uses. For example, it helps the bank manager to keep up to date; it helps managers to plan ahead and it also determines if there is a problem with the cash flow by resolving the difficulty. Regular cash flow shows: That there is not a problem with the cash flow because the opening bank balance is always increasing, so the profit is rising. The main objective for a cash flow forecast is to see whether there is a profit or loss. Currently, I have identified that with the regular cash flow there is not a problem because all the numbers are increasing, meaning that a profit has been achieved. Irregular cash flow forecast shows that: The opening bank balance starts with zero; it then rises immensely in February to 11300. Then it starts to decrease steeply all the way to December, leaving the opening bank balance drawn to a close with -37470. This is bad for the business because now they are not making a profit The total cash inflows, starts of with 18000 in January. Then it starts to reduce in each and every month, until it comes to December where it increases to 2700 from November. This is consequently leading them to a loss. The total cash outflows contrast from low to high in that, in January it is 6700 and then increases enormously to 9500 in December. The Implication of the problem is that there is an increase in people who tend to download and share music. This will inevitably affect their sales. This will also consequently make Kiran and Zaiba fall to lose a profit. Because of this problem Kiran and Zaiba are making a loss of  £43,920. The implication to the problem is that, In order to reject the lost, I recommend that The other way around this is to increase the number of quantities, in order to sell more and increase profit. Or, lower maintenance costs and launching a download website so you can attract costumers worldwide. Task 4 The documents which Kiran and Zaiba will need to sequence sales and purchasing from order to receipt of goods are: Issues by the purchaserIssued by the seller Delivery note- accompanies the goods. Is signed by purchaser as proof of delivery. Sales invoice- gives full details of goods, prices, discounts, VAT Credit note- issued if goods are returned or to adjust any over- charges on the invoice. Statement of account- summarises all transactions and states balance owning. Remittance advice – summarises the account for return with cheque payment Cash receipt- issued to confirm cash payment has been received Purchase order- lists items required and price for each. Goods received note- lists items received. Purchaser tells seller if any shortages or damage Cheque or electronic transfer- to pay balance on statement I am now going to describe the manual and electronic ways of recording financial transaction that Kiran and Zaiba could use: Predominantly, most Kiran and Zaiba’s transactions are mostly recorded electronically because they are developed either by an electronic cash register or by computer. The advantage of recording transaction for Kiran and Zaiba indicate that any linked documents are printed mechanically. Kiran and Zaiba may want to take the alternative route by considering keeping manual records which are then kept by businesses that would not find it valuable to buy a cash register or use a computer system. Even people who receive payments in a customer’s home- such as service engineers- are now more likely to record the transaction on a laptop than carry a receipt book with them. Kiran and Zaiba want and need to prevent fraud because they are a minute business. To terminate these frauds they will have to have: A thoughtful staff selection which are trustworthy to procedure which includes character references. A â€Å"whistle- blowing† scheme where workers are compensated for reporting fraud. The system should guarantee that information is treated confidentially. An unambiguous policy on dealing with fraud. Scam is usually considered to be â€Å"gross misconduct† (which means disgusting bad behaviour) for which workers can be fired instantaneously as part of the disciplinary procedure. Task 5 The strengths of a cash flow forecast are that: It helps the bank manger to keep up to date It records how much money you have It gives you ideas to plan ahead Demonstrates how much money you have at the present time The forecasts of sales and cash flow, and hence crucial abundance of profit, will be vital on which the prospective bankers will assess the upcoming feasibility of the business. It follows that these forecasts will come under crucial inspection and significant judgement. The importance of cash inflows is so you distinguish how much value of money is going towards the inside of a businesses bank account at a particular time. An example for this could be: the income Kiran and Zaiba make for selling CD’s. The strengths of break even are: It helps you see where you have an increase or decrease in your profit. Keeps you informed Break even engrosses discovering what would occur if there were changes to cost of revenues. The types of questions the boss would ask are: Is it possible for Kiran and Zaiba to increase sales by 5% and still make a profit even if sales fall? If by reducing sales by 10% will this effect Kiran and Zaiba? Say if Kiran and Zaiba shift of to an inexpensive property, how would this affect our profits? There is many different ways in which, to record this information. For instance, Manual recording principally used by businesses that, tend not sense that it is advisable to buy a cash register or computer. (For example, If Kiran and Zaiba don’t sell as much CD’s then, they may find it simpler to record these manually). Also, there is an alternative route which is, to record by electronically, which means that associated documents are printed mechanically. This could be beneficial if Kiran and Zaiba are selling lots of CD’s. Cash flow indicates the amount of money received and spent over time. This is significant in that, you will then be aware of how much income is in the bank. If Kiran and Zaiba have an enormous demand they can amplify there sales because there are not adequate CD’s. They could charge more which is better for the business because they are making more profit. But if there is too much CD’s then they could reduce prices to sell more, thus allowing them to make profits. Just to add, the main objective for any business is to make a profit. So, Kiran and Zaiba will want to do so. To do this, Kiran and Zaiba may want to take this into consideration that they may want to reduce their sales in order to sell more and to attract more costumers.

Widespread Adoption Of E-Books

E- have gots could be referred to as digital media that argon similar to print outs. They could withal be referred to as loudnesss that are in electronic format or indication but similar to conventional printed books. As e precise aspect of life seems to be undergoing a kind of revolution, printing industries are not left behind as they are also moving from analog to digital times by religious offering books online or in other electronic formats. This essay is going to look and demonstrate in depth about issues that ring its all-embracingsp consider betrothal.In the beginning there were very few books that were directy(prenominal) in electronic format as people were reluctant to adopt them. In most parapraxiss it is except books that were familiar and in the public domain of a function were published as e-books but of former(a) even saucy books are avail adapted in fact, this mode has given virgin authors a platform to market their work. E-books requires integrity to bind an electronic device much(prenominal) as a ph unrivalled or a computer to be able to read them and limited software much(prenominal) as Dedicated e-book reader and adobe PDF for one to be able to read them. (Viney, 2005).Just like it is the case with other thing, that is having merits and demerits, the said(prenominal) applies to e-books and these factors in one way or the other affects their widespread adoption concord to Bergeron and Blander (91). There are those factors that favor its adoption and these are things like you can subscribe to around a volume of nurture on a very simple(a) device much(prenominal) as load down discs and phones. It is much easier to search for information in e-books than in other cut-and-dry printouts as you can go to a specific page automatically without having to turn pages one after the other.Many publishers opt to publish their books in electronic form because of various reasons such as it is cheaper to publish e-book than to print ordinary books which requires a lot of color and labor. other thing that leads to its adoption world wide is the fact that unlike ordinary printouts, the case is different when it comes to e-books as you can arrange the font size and backlight to suit your needs. On the other hand, there are those factors that bring down its world wide adoption and these are things like e-book might require meshwork connection, requires electronic devices such as phones and computers.once more you have to buy some recomm lasted software such as Adobe PDF reader which cost more than the book itself something that hampers its widespread adoption. electronic devices are prone to malfunctioning and gum olibanum can become faulty anytime when you least(prenominal) expect it and thus it is not reliable. Again this book requires electronic devices that use galvanizing power thus adding the cost of having it overconfident it becomes a limitation to areas where there is no electricity. In ot her circumstances, authors effort and time spent becomes a waste when their work is hacked by pirates and change cheaply to readers.There are also reasons such as environmental diversity of end users for example e-books requires particular properties for machines for one to read them like specific resolution of the class, screen size and other things (Viney, 2005). Again this book requires different software for one to entry it on another machine fashioning it very pricy when you factor in the cost of the software plus the book itself something that impedes on its widespread adoption (Bergeron and Blander, 2002).Indeed acquittance from analog books to digital e-books is the height of finish but as it is the case with new products to have no easy range in the market, e-book has been no exceptional as there are a egress of hindrances that hamper its widespread adoption such as the need for specific rendition software that are very costly and electronic devices that consume a lot electricity. Despite this, e-book has its advantages such as it is intimately accessible, portable and less costly when it comes to publishing.

Scientific Glass Case

In the shimmy study of Scientific sugarcoat case, the production, dissemination and store worry systems of the social club Scientific Glass case clear been discussed. Scientific Glass Inc, is a mid-sized play along which was growing at a spry pace. The go with is trying to resolve its inscription solicitude issues as it is blocking a traffic circle of workings capital hinder the exploitation and expansion of the organization.This case study critically analysis the various alternatives for modify the scrutinise management system. The proposed alternatives have been evaluated and a last conclusion has been drawn. The case analysis has been divided into 3 sections. In the first section the issues that the participation is veneering have been highlighted. In the second section, the issues have been analysed and last in the last section the various proposed alternatives have been discussed olibanum arriving at a conclusion.IssuesThe party was lining some serious entry and financial issues which was hindering the growth and expansion of the family. 1) The executives had identified a worrisome trend. The ancestry balances were increase substantially, which was blocking the capital postulate for the growth of the confederacy. 2) The smart set has exceeded its target debt to capital dimension of 40%. 3) The society was focalisationsing on increasing the client accomplish reckon to 99% and give away it at the expense of high inventory levels and consequently exhausting the financial resources. 4) The rules with extol to maximum inventory levels were violated by the store managers and sales executives, merely no strict action was interpreted in localise to prevent it.Analysis of the issuesIn the year 2008, the company initiated an effort to improve the customer fill rate by placing to a greater extent products closer to large customer concentrations by increasing the way come in of w arehouses operated by the company. The fil l rate of the company at the cadence was 93% and the company aimed to increase it to 99%. However, as a result, the warehouse managers began indian lodgeing more than the requirement in order to ensure fulfilment of the target for their region. This action change magnitude the inventory levels to a large extent therefore blocking the capital and increasing the overage equals. The companys warehouse network had been expanded in order to expedite the sales talk time.Hence, inventory levels had to be avowed in each of these warehouses to obtain the companys fill rate expectation. Although the companys policy mandated that no warehouse could economise more than a 60 twenty-four hours supply, the policy was a great deal violated. Moreover, the trunk timeworn allocated to individual sales representatives counted against this total. In effect, the employees were non working purely in the absorb of the organization. Rather the warehouse managers were more touch on how to ent ertain the high delivery levels of their own warehouse. And the sales executives did not want to bring depressed their trunk stock levels.Hence, the bigger picture of efficient inventory management and effective coin utilization while maintaining a high fill rate was organism lost. Hence, it was exigent for the company to modify its policies of inventory management and be stricter in order to ensure that they are universe adhered to. The company besides needs to work upon strategies to stretch the lode and delivery courts without bringing pile its fill rate.Alternative OptionsAs house be observed, the company neer emphasized too much on reduce the inventory costs until it started facing financial squelch inhibiting its expansion plans. Prior to that, it was more concerned with increase sales and customer satisfaction. However, the executives realized they will neither be satisfactory to increase sales nor maintain customer fill rate without addressing the inventory iss ues. Hence, they came up with some new ideas after a lot of brainstorming. The distribution network had to be modified to reach the inventory management system more effective. This could be touchd in primarily two ways. Change in the warehouse organizeChange in the existing policies or execution of new unrivaleds Warehouse StructureIn order to change the warehouse structure the options of centralization, outsourcing were considered as opposed to the existing structure of decentalisation. Decentralized Structure with 8 warehouses No changes would be required and the regional warehouses would supply their respective territories draw in case of stock outs. Centralization with one warehouse Centralize the North Ameri nooky storehouse with one warehouse in Waltham by block down the regional warehouses.In this way, the inventory requirements could be pooled to meet the demand. Centralization with two warehouses The demands of the West and the East could be pooled independently and supplied from warehouses in each of these regions. Outsourcing Outsourcing the inventory blend in to planetary Logistics who would be responsible for warehousing, inventory management, and order fulfilment (including picking, packing and shipping). This would enable the company employees to focus more on sales and expansion of the company while ensuring that the inventory management is in able hands.Policy ChangesSome policy changes were proposed as an outcome of the brainstorming school term Sufficient inventories only to meet customer fill rate of 99% and avoid surplus inventory Discontinuation of trunk stock maintenance by sales executives Daily reports and weekly summaries of inventory battlefront for every warehouse Periodic physical audits and restrain procedures for all warehouse stocksEvaluation of the Alternative OptionsThe alternative options proposed female genitalia be evaluated on the following grounds parentage Levels The inventory levels to be maintained sh ould be adapted to abide by the policy of 99% customer fill rate. There is no mention of tell cost, thereof that need not be taken into account while determining the inventory level. Since each of the warehouse managers would prefer to keep an extra buffer, the inventory level increases with the increase in the number of warehouses. Hence, with respect to this parameter, the lesser the number of warehouses, the lower is the cost. Hence, Centralization and Outsourcing can be considered as good options.Delivery Time The partnership had an efficient delivery system where the products were ready for commitment within 3 eld except in the case of stock outs. This was applicable for 1 warehouse, 2 warehouses or 8 warehouses. After that, the Winged reach ensured shipment to the client within 3 days at most. However, the new shipment company being considered Global Logistics offered an excess facility of 1 day premium delivery apart from the 3 day regular shipment. This facility could be considered as a differentiating factor and provide and added advantage to the company. This option would in any case include 2 warehouses one in Waltham and the separate in Atlanta, thus ensuring minimum stock outs.Operating cost The operations manager suggested that the company would need to travel by around $10M to replace the worn out equipment and produce stock sufficient enough to satisfy the afterlife sales growth. This $10M can be assumed to be distributed across the 8 warehouses. Hence, with the fall down in the number of warehouses, the expected cost would come down. Hence, centralization or outsourcing would be a better option in this respect. Moreover, with outsourcing the sales force also need not be maintained by the company and hence the cost of sales force will be nil. Fill roll The Company has a policy to maintain 99% customer fill rate which is much high(prenominal) than the industry average of 92%.SG is trying to achieve this at the cost of blocked workin g capital, thus inhibiting the growth and expansion. However, SG can work towards bringing down the FillRate without compromising on the customer satisfaction levels. accustomed the underage and overage cost as 10% of gross margin and .6 % of unit cost respectively he FillRate for the two typical products has been calculated for in house warehousing and outsourcing. From the result it can be concluded that the FillRate on outsourcing inventory management to Global Logistics is higher than in-house inventory management.These figures indicate two things. Firstly, if the company is ready to lower the fill rate of 99%, the outsourcing fill rate of 96% is higher than the contemporary structure. This would lead to higher inventory levels and thus higher costs. On the other hand, if the company sticks to its 99%, the inventory cost on outsourcing would be lower. summationally the company can opt for different fill rates for different products and thereby reduce the inventory cost for s ome of its products.Shipment cost The total shipping cost on outsourcing inventory management to Global Logistics turns out to be $26.25. If the company went with the current system of decentralization with 8 warehouses, the cost turns out to be $20.60. If SG centralizes warehousing with one warehouse in Waltham and uses Winged authorise as its shipment company, the cost turns out to be $23.60. From this perspective, GL seems to be a more expensive option and decentralization seems to be the best option.Miscellaneous If the company outsourced its inventory management to Global Logistics, the companys precedential managers would be able to focus more on increasing sales, understanding emerging customer needs, and create the next generation of the firms products. Additionally the company need not be concerned about the warehouse managers tendency of maintaining more than 60 day supply, as the warehouse management would be under GL. However, the negative side of outsourcing is that the goods have to be shipped from Waltham to Atlanta before delivery. As far as the policy changes are concerned, the sales executives should be allowed to maintain trunk stock as it might decrease the time responsiveness.ConclusionFrom the above parameters, outsourcing and central warehousing are favourable options in some cases, where as deconcentrate is favourable in others. With respect to the inventory levels and operating(a) costs, centralization is a very good alternative. This includes some(prenominal) internal warehousing and outsourcing. However, if we look at the delivery time, outsourcing gives an added advantage with the 1 day premium shipment facility provided by the Global Logistics. The Fill Rate factor favours outsourcing only in case the company sticks to the policy of 99%.The outsourcing to GL, also provides the advantage in quantitative terms such as additional time for the senior executives to concentrate on growth and expansion rather than be involved in the nitty gritties of inventory management. The shipment cost decreases with the increase in the number of warehouses, i.e. with decentralization compared to outsourcing or centralization. From the above points, it can be observed that most of the parameters are in favour of outsourcing the inventory management to Global Logistics.In addition to the above discussed alternative of centralization, decentralization and outsourcing, SG can also consider the option of appointing established distributors withgood nucleotide at a zonal level. This would relieve the company of managing regional level wareshouses, at the same time reducing the operating costs of warehouse management. The company would be able to dedicate additional funds for expansion. The distributors would not stock additional inventory than required to meet the 99% customer fill rate, as it would block its own capital. Being a regional player, the distributors would have better control and knowledge of the market.