Book of mormons review

We entered the Prince of Wales Theatre in the Westminster area of London on a beautiful evening on the 27th of April. The show was sold out but the lines were Incredibly manageable. There was a bit of electricity In the air. I tried to gauge what it was but couldn't put my finger on It. Was it Just anticipation? Maybe it was the beautiful weather that made people lively. After grabbing a quick cocktail to get ready for the show, the signal came to take your seat. The show was ready to start! The show began. From the very beginning, it was obvious that the producer's were going to pull out all of the comedic stops.The bludgeoning of the Mormon faith began in earnest and you got a quick feeling that there could be some cringing moments In the play. I found myself looking around at the audience during the first act to see what was happening on people's faces. I saw shock and awe. I saw older women in their seventies laughing to the core at some of the more raunchy material. Some of the audience members appeared conflicted in how they should respond. Here was a play making direct attacks on a large religion and mixing In sex, nasty language and blasphemy to entertain the audience.Is it k to laugh? Evidently, most people felt like it was perfectly fine because the first part of the play was non-stop laughter, great music and fabulous acting. Every character had his/her own personality and grew Into their roles, I felt Like the first part of the play was over before in no time. The second half of the play picked up where the first half left fifth surprise and honeybees. There was a small period at the beginning of the second part where the play did slow down a little bit. The scene was a little slow and the music was not as lively as other music pieces.It did pick back up and the second part of the play need with several twists that were unexpected and that really brought all of the themes of the play back together for what was a fantastic ending. The Prince of Wales Theatre was a beautiful venue with the expected perks of a venue named after royalty. The sound was of the highest quality. The seats were The producers decided on a very simple set. While there were a few special effects, the majority of the play was staged on Just a few sets that were role on and off the stage by the actors. No incredible electronics to manage set logistics.Just old- fashioned stage set changing. The lighting was satisfactory. There was not a lot of opportunity to mix the lighting effects up. Now to the performers. The primary characters were the Elders who were part of the Mormon mission. The main character, Elder Price played by Gavin Creel, performed well throughout most of the show but seemed to fizzle a bit toward the end. Elder Cunningham, played by Jarred Greener, seemed to be an odd choice for the role but really developed the character throughout the play and sold most of the audience by the time the show ended. The lead Elder, Elder McKinley was played by Stephen Sheffield.He was steady and consistent throughout and really added some surprising comic relief. While I wont go through all of the characters, the tribal characters all had unique roles and managed them to perfection. I have to say that I walked away from the play with an embedded grin on my face. I was totally shocked by the extreme sarcasm displayed and the total dismantling of a faith and its beliefs. I walked away scratching my head at the Mormon faith, its origins and its validity. That is quite an accomplishment! I would highly recommend everyone to see the play and to enjoy an evening of fun and laughter.

Intercultural Communication in Social Networking Sites Essay

The contemporary society is characterized by influx of various high-end technological devices. Products that offer convenience to people are developed and invented for the benefit of humankind. By the turn of the decade, web browsing or web surfing has been popular and has become the latest trend in gaining and acquiring information. One of the benefits of computers and internet is the inception of fast and convenient form of communication. People communicate to express their feelings and ideas. Communication is defined as the process of transmitting messages and information in an attempt to achieve understanding. The whole process of communication requires various skills such as speaking, listening, analyzing, and evaluating the message. Communication has been a part of the human lifestyle since the early years and takes place communication in various places such as in school, community and in workplace environment. As such, communication is an integral part of the human lifestyle as almost all of human activities require communication. Communication indeed plays a vital role in the society in terms of achieving understanding, harmony, collaboration and cooperation among people (Bergeson, n. d. ). The popularity of computers and internet has allowed various sites to emerge. Different sites that provide different services can be searched in the World Wide Web. One of which is the social networking sites (SNS). Social networking sites play a big role in communication utilizing the computer and the internet. Social networking sites are becoming so popular, especially to students. Almost every student has their personal accounts in various social networking sites in order to connect with their friends. Social networking sites affect the relationships of people as it allows convenient and constant communication with our peers. Social networking sites are so vast and diverse, thus allowing people to meet friends locally and internationally. As such, international students make use of social networking sites to gain more friends back at home and in their present location. In this line, the paper aims to probe into the utilization and influence and of social networking among international students in terms of their acculturation and intercultural communication. This paper will examine how international students make use of social networking sites as a form adaptation to the culture of their host country. Social Networking Sites (SNS) Social Networking entails forming of individuals into specific groups, like in the neighborhood and the cliques in school. However, social networking is also popular online. Unlike the school and the neighborhood which are consisted of only few individuals, the internet is populated with millions of people worldwide who are looking for other internet users to develop friendship and relationship, to acquire first-hand information or to find professional opportunities (What is Social Networking. com, 2009). Social networking sites are so popular in today’s society, thus resulting to the formation of websites serving as an online community of internet users. Depending on the nature of the social networking site, many of these online communities share some commonality such as political views, religion or hobbies. Once a person is granted a personal account in a SNS, he or she can begin to socialize. The socialization in these sites allows a person to view other members’ profile and contact them (What is Social Networking. com, 2009). Some of the most popular social networking sites today are Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Hi5 and Bebo. These sites encourage students to join the online community chat with their friends, organizing outside meetings and acquire information (Thelwall, 2008). Social networking sites have been proven to be an effective way in self-expression and making relationships with other people. The features of the social networking websites allow members to share pictures, files and clips to other members of the online community. The social networking sites help people to find old and new friends and connect with them. One of the benefits of social networking sites is that it updates people about their friends and relatives located in distant places and those whom they have not seen for a long time. It also enables individuals to meet people that share the same interest like theirs (â€Å"Social Networking Sites Commonly Used†, 2009). The diversity of people in the online community allows a person to make friends with people from different country with different ethnicity. The socialization with foreign users will help people to learn few things about the culture and traditions of other people (What is Social Networking. om, 2009). The demand on the social networking sites make these types of sites to grow in numbers. There are also some social networking sites that employ open membership and do not have a specific commonality among their members. This kind of website allows anyone to become a member, regardless of their hobbies, beliefs and views (What is Social Networking. com, 2009). Despite the advantages rendered by the SNS to its members, it also poses some disadvantages. Data phishing, wherein people can obtain personal and important information from another person, is one of the dangers within online communities. In addition, computer viruses can spread through these online communities. Thus, extreme caution is needed in engaging in social networking sites. Security is an important aspect in a social networking site and one of the qualities that the user should find in an online community. SNS should be able to provide options in terms of the security and privacy of the users. They should also provide the service of reporting or blocking of nuisance users. Moreover, a social networking site must be able provide a searching tool for people to find friends and expand relationships (TopTenREVIEWS, 2009). International Students and SNS Many students seek quality and international higher education to foreign countries. The number of non-U. S. students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States during the 2007-2008 academic year jumped by seven percent with a total of 623,805 students. In today’s competitive global environment, international education has become the latest trend in the society to acquire global competence. According to the data presented by Open Doors, the United States is still the premier destination for international students (Thomas, 2008). In a short span of time, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have become popular by accumulating tens of millions of members that are mostly composed of teenagers, specifically students. International students are also the members of social networking sites. However, international students make use of these sites significantly. One of the uses of social networking sites to international students is to contact friends and relatives from their country of origin and to make new friends in their host country. International students in the United States face a number of challenges in relation to the adjustment to their new cultural environment. They are more likely to experience stress during the process of cross-cultural adaptation, which is referred to as acculturative stress. In a study conducted within a group Chinese international students in a university in the United States, it is found out that students who experienced less acculturative stress are reported to be receiving higher amounts of emotional and informational support from online ethnic social groups. Moreover, international students who have less interpersonal social network tend to receive more emotional and informational support from online groups (Ye, 2004). Online social networking helps international students to cope with their present environment and to make things and situations more tolerable. International students find support and help from other international student members of the online community. Moreover, some international students find friends in their host country to help them adapt more easily in their present cultural environment. This particular action of people is described in a theory in intercultural communication, specifically the cross-cultural adaptation. This theory was developed by Young Kim in 1977. The theory states that â€Å"immigrants and aliens in foreign countries who participated in networks of the host country would be more likely to become acculturated than immigrants who were involved only in immigrant communication networks† (â€Å"Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory†, 2001). This means that international students that participate in the social networking sites and having more friends from their host country are more likely to adapt easily in their environment. Moreover, online communication and interaction with the friends in the host country will help one to learn more about the culture, traditions and language of the cultural environment. The theory further stresses that the immigrants will be more likely to become accustomed to the culture of the host country if they engage or participate in the communication networks rather than not engaging in the networks of the country (â€Å"Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory†, 2001). Communication networks pertain to mass media in the host country. Internet is a form of mass media. If an alien in the country participate in the social networks and interact with people from the host country, they are more likely to acculturate than those who did not choose to engage in such communication networks. Moreover, social networking sites have become the new trend in communication among friends in the country. Thus, interacting and communicating with friends from the host country constantly will help more in using and practicing mastery of their language. Learning the language is one of the difficulties experienced by the international students and because they have difficulty in using the language, they manage poorly in their subjects. Constant communication will help to adapt on the language utilized in one’s present cultural environment. Conclusion Today’s digital society is characterized with the extensive use of computers and the internet. The popularity of internet and web browsing brought about the emergence of various websites offering various information and services. Most significantly, it brought the emergence of the social networking sites that are popular among the youngsters and students. In a short span of time, the demand for social networking site has significantly increased. Students are the main users of social networking sites which provide them with different features that enable students to send and share pictures with other online members. In addition, this has also become the new trend in online communication. International students are constantly arriving at the country in search of higher quality education. The number of international students is increasing in various universities and colleges in the United States. Thus, international students make use of social networking sites significantly in order to allow them to communicate with friends both from their country of origin and host country. Most importantly, social networking sites aid international students to acculturate or adapt more easily to the cultural environment of their host country. Moreover, it helps them to acquire facility on the language used and helps them to communicate with other people interpersonally. Constant communication and interaction with other people from their present cultural environment helps them to adapt on the culture and language of the host country. Personally, I think that social networking sites have revolutionized our relationships with other people. Through the social networking sites, we are updated and informed about our family and friends. Also, we can easily communicate with them even if they are located in distant places. Social networking sites also let people know other people from foreign countries and know about their own culture and language. I think that social networking sites are beneficial to individuals, especially to those who live in a foreign country. They can easily gain knowledge in their present cultural environment if they participate in communication networks like the social networking sites. Moreover, they gain friends and networks that will be an advantage to them as they go through their lives in a foreign land.

Chapter 32 Ap World History Outline Essay

A. Postcolonial Crises and Asian Economic Expansion, 1975–1990 I. Revolutions, Depressions, and Democratic Reform in Latin America 1. The success of the Cuban Revolution both energized the revolutionary left throughout Latin America and led the United States to organize its political and military allies in Latin America in a struggle to defeat communism. 2. In Brazil a coup in 1964 brought in a military government whose combination of dictatorship, use of death squads to eliminate opposition, and use of tax and tariff policies to encourage industrialization through import substitution came to be known as the â€Å"Brazilian Solution.† Elements of the â€Å"Brazilian Solution† were applied in Chile byte government of Augusto Pinochet, whose CIA-assisted coup overthrew the socialist Allende government in 1973 and in Argentina by a military regime that seized power in1974. 3. Despite reverses in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, revolutionary movements persisted elsewhe re. In Nicaragua the Cuban-backed Sandinista movement overthrew the government of Anastasia Somoza and ruled until it was defeated in free elections in1990. In El Salvador the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) fought guerrilla war against the military regime until declining popular support in the 1990s led the rebels to negotiate an end to the armed conflict and transform themselves into a political party. 4. The military dictatorships established in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina all came to an end between 1983 and 1990. All three regimes were undermined by reports of kidnapping, torture, and corruption; the Argentine regime also suffered from its invasion of the Falkland Islands and consequent military defeat by Britain. 5. By the end of the 1980s oil-importing nations like Brazil were in economic trouble because they had borrowed heavily to pay the high oil prices engineered by OPEC. The oil-exporting nations such as Mexico faced crises because they had borrowed heav ily when oil prices were high and rising in the 1970s, but found themselves unable to keep up with their debt payments when the price of oil fell in the 1980s. 6. In 1991 Latin America was more dominated by the United States than it had been in1975. This may be seen in the United States’ use of military force to intervene in Grenada in 1983 and in Panama in 1989. II. Islamic Revolutions in Iran and Afghanistan See more: what is essay format 1. Crises in Iran and Afghanistan threatened to involve the superpowers; the United States reacted to these crises with restraint, but the Soviet Union took a bolder and ultimately disastrous course. 2. In Iran, American backing and the corruption and inefficiency of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi’s regime stimulated popular resentment. In 1979 street demonstrations and strikes toppled the Shah and brought a Shi’ite cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to power. The overthrow of an ally and the establishment of an anti-western Islamic republic in Iran were blows to American prestige, but the United States was unable to do anything about it. 3. In the fall of 1980 Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Iran to topple the Islamic Republic. The United States supported Iran at first, but then in 1986 tilted toward Iraq. 4. The Soviet Union faced a more serious problem when it sent its army into Afghanistan in 1978 in order to support a newly established communist regime against a hodgepodge of local, religiously inspired guerilla bands that controlled much of the countryside. The Soviet Union’s struggle against the American-backed guerillas was so costly and caused so much domestic discontent that the Soviet leaders withdrew their troops in 1989 and left the rebel groups to fight with each other for control of Afghanistan. III. Asian Transformation 1. The Japanese economy grew at a faster rate than that of any other major developed country in the 1970s and 1980s, and Japanese average income outstripped that of the United States in the 1990s. This economic growth was associated with an industrial economy in which keiretsu (alliances of firms) received government assistance in the form of tariffs and import regulations that inhibited foreign competition. 2. The Japanese model of close cooperation between government and industry was imitated by a small number of Asian states, most notably by South Korea, in which four giant corporations led the way in developing heavy industries and consumer industries. Hong Kong and Singapore also developed modern industrial and commercial economies. All of these newly industrialized economies shared certain characteristics: discipline and hard-working labor forces, investment in education, high rates of personal savings, export strategies, government sponsorship and protection, and the ability t o begin their industrialization with the latest technology. 3. In China after 1978 the regime of Deng Xiaoping carried out successful economic reforms that allowed private enterprise and foreign investment to exist alongside the inefficient state-owned enterprises and which allowed individuals and families to contract agricultural land and farm it as they liked. At the same time, the command economy remained in place and China resisted political reform, notably when the Communist Party crushed the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. B. The End of the Bipolar World, 1989–1991 I. Crisis in the Soviet Union 1. During the presidency of Ronald Reagan the Soviet Union’s economy was strained by the attempt to match massive U.S. spending on armaments, such as a space-based missile protection system. The Soviet Union’s obsolete industrial plants, its inefficient planned economy, its declining standard of living, and its unpopular war with Afghanistan fuel dean underground current of protest. 2. When Mikhail Gorbachev took over the leadership in 1985 he tried to address the problems of the Soviet Union by introducing a policy of political openness (glasnost) and economic reform (perestroika). II. The Collapse of the Socialist Bloc 1. Events in Eastern Europe were very important in forcing change on the Soviet Union. The activities of the Solidarity labor union in Poland, the emerging alliances between nationalist and religious opponents of the communist regimes, and the economic weakness of the communist states themselves led to the fall of communist governments across Eastern Europe in 1989 and to the reunification of Germany in 1990. 20. The weakness of the central government and the rise of nationalism led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in September 1991. Ethnic and religious divisions also led to the dismemberment of Yugoslavia in 1991 and the division of the Czech Republic in 1992. III. The Persian Gulf War, 1990–1991 1. Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 in an attempt to gain control of Kuwait’s oil fields. Saudi Arabia felt threatened by Iraq’s action and helped to draw the United States into award in which American forces led a coalition that drove Iraq out of Kuwait but left Saddam Hussein in power. 2. The Persian Gulf War restored the United States’ confidence in its military capability while demonstrating that Russia—Iraq’s former ally—was impotent. Cather Challenge of Population Growth I. Demographic Transition 1. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1850 and 1914, and while some Europeans saw this as a blessing, Thomas Malthus argued that unchecked population growth would outstrip food production. In the years immediately following World War I Malthus’s views were dismissed as Europe and other industrial societies experienced demographic transition to lower fertility rates. 2. The demographic transition did not occur in the Third World, where some leaders actively promoted large families until the economic shocks of the 1970s and 1980sconvinced the governments of developing countries to abandon the pronatalist policy. 3. World population exploded in the twentieth century, with most of the growth taking place in the poorest nations due to high fertility rates and declining mortality rates. Tithe Industrialized Nations 1. In the developed industrial nations of Western Europe and Japan at the beginning of the twenty-first century, higher levels of female education and employment, the material values of consumer culture, and access to contraception and abortion have combined to produce low fertility levels. Low fertility levels combined with improved life expectancy will lead to an increasing number of retirees who will rely on a relatively smaller number of working adults to pay for their social services. 2. In Russia and the other former socialist nations, current birthrates are lower than death rates and life expectancy has declined. III.The Developing Nations 1. In the twenty-first century the industrialized nations will continue to fall behind the developing nations as a percentage of world population; at current rates, 95 percent of all future population growth will be in developing regions, particularly in Africa and in the Muslim countries. 2. In Asia, the populations of China and India continued to grow despite government efforts to reduce family size. It is not clear whether or not the nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America will experience the demographic transition seen in the industrialized countries, but fertility rates have fallen in the developing world where women have had access to education and employment outside the home. IV. Old and Young Populations 1. Demographic pyramids generated by demographers illustrate the different age distributions in nations in different stages of economic development. 2. The developed nations face aging populations and will have to rely on immigration or increased use of technology (including robots) in order to maintain industrial and agricultural production at levels sufficient to support their relatively high standards of living and their generous social welfare programs. 3. The developing nations have relatively young and rapidly growing populations but face the problem of providing their people with education and jobs while struggling with shortages of investment capital and poor transportation and communications networks. D. Unequal Development and the Movement of Peoples I. The Problem of Growing Inequality 1. Since 1945 global economic productivity has created unprecedented levels of material abundance. At the same time, the industrialized nations of the Northern Home to enjoy a larger share of the world’s wealth than they did a century ago; the majority of the world lives in poverty. 2. Regional inequalities within nations have also grown in both the industrial countries and in the developing nations. II. Internal Migration: the Growth of Cities 1. Migration from rural areas to urban centers in the developing world increased threefold from 1925 to 1950 and accelerated rapidly after 1950. 2. Migrants to the cities generally enjoyed higher incomes and better standards of living than they would have had in the countryside, but as the scale of rural to urban migration grew, these benefits became more elusive. Migration placed impossible burdens on basic services and led to burgeoning slums, shantytowns, and crime in the cities of the developing world. III. Global Migration 1. Migration from the developing world to the developed nations increased substantially after 1960, leading to an increase in racial and ethnic tensions in the host nations. Immigrants from the developing nations brought the host nations the same benefits that the migration of Europeans brought to the Americas a century before. 2. Immigrant communities in Europe and the United States are made up of young adults and tend to have fertility rates higher than the rates of the host populations. In the long run this will lead to increases in the Muslim population in Europe and in the Asian and Latin American populations in the United States, and to cultural conflicts over the definitions of citizenship and nationality. E. Technological and Environmental Change I. New Technologies and the World Economy 1. New technologies developed during World War II increased productivity, reduced labor requirements, and improved the flow of information when they were applied to industry in the postwar period. The application and development of technology was spurred by pent-up demand for consumer goods. 2. Improvements in existing technologies accounted for much of the world’s productivity increases during the 1950s and 1960s. The improvement and widespread application of the computer was particularly significant as it transformed office work and manufacturing. 3. Transnational corporations became the primary agents of these technological changes. In the post-World War II years transnational corporations with multinational ownership and management became increasingly powerful and were able to escape the controls imposed by national governments by shifting or threatening to shift production from one country to another. II. Conserving and Sharing Resources 1. In the 1960s, environmental activists and political leaders began warning about the environmental consequences of population growth, industrialization, and the expansion of agriculture onto marginal lands. Environmental degradation was a problem in both the developed and developing countries; it was especially severe in the former Soviet Union. In attempting to address environmental issues, the industrialized countries faced a contradiction between environmental protection and the desire to maintain rates of economic growth that depended on the profligate consumption of goods and resources. 2. In the developing world population growth led to extreme environmental pressure as forests were felled and marginal land developed in order to expand food production. This led to erosion and water pollution. III. Responding to Environmental Threats 1. The governments of the United States, the European Community, and Japan took a number of initiatives to preserve and protect the environment in the 1970s. Environmental awareness spread by means of the media and grassroots political movements, and most nations in the developed world enforced strict antipollution laws and sponsored massive recycling efforts. 2. These efforts, many of them made possible by new technology, produced significant results. But in the developing world, population pressures and weak governments were major obstacles to effective environmental policies.

COMMERCIAL LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

COMMERCIAL LAW - Essay Example The ways that are used to launder money include using the financial systems or services that cover up the tracks or sources from where the money is being transferred. Whereas, some countries may only consider money laundering when being used in a crime in that administration is being cheated on. The amount of money laundered every year is in billions, posing a policy threat and concerns for the governments. Many governments release the amount of money laundered each year either all around the world or only within their economy. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) in 1996 stated that about 2.3 percent of the global economy consisted laundered money. Therefore, FATF (Financial Action Task Force) is an organization set up to fight money laundering. FATF does not publish the exact figures of money laundered each year because it is impossible to estimate the right amount. Governments and other International bodies have made measurements in order to prevent and combat money laundering2. Financial institutions like IMF and FATF have made efforts to detect these sources and the transactions involving laundered money. International large scale criminal organizations and activities such as drug wars are the main benefactors of money laundering. Issues related to money laundering have existed as long as these international criminal organizations and activities have existed. It has been understood recently that anti-money laundering legislations have been the reason for the drop in both these acts of crime because these acts usually require transmission of funds that have untraceable sources. METHODS The process of money laundering consists of basic three steps are3: 1. Placement 2. Layering 3. Integration PLACEMENT: This is the process of introducing the cash within the financial system through some illicit means. LAYERING: This step consists of covering the tracks or camouflaging the illegal source. INTEGRATION: It is the acquiring the money generated from illegal sour ces from the transactions carried out by illegal funds. To chase away any kind of further suspicions, money launderers convert form of their dirty money into various types such as: 1. Smurfing is a method of breaking the money into smaller deposits of money or purchasing bearer instruments such as money orders and the depositing them into further smaller amounts. 2. Cash smuggling in bulk and then depositing it into offshore banks with greater chances of hiding money. 3. Depositing cash into the accounts of business that involves greater amounts of cash such as strip clubs, casinos, tanning spas etc. 4. Trading money by using over-value invoices to cover the movement of money. 5. Buying controlling interest in a bank that has less rigorous money- laundering legislations and then moving the money without having the bank scrutinize it. 6. Buying gambling chips from the casinos then cashing it after playing for a while in the form of a check or get a receipt proving it as a gambling wi n or spending the money in gambling with the higher odds then showing the wins while hiding the losses. 7. Through paying black salaries to the unregistered employees of a company and black cash is used to pay them. 8. Fictional loans 9. Hiding the money at home or other places 10. Tax evasion and also that legalize unreported assets in tax havens. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN UK Anti-money launderi

House of Lords Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

House of Lords - Essay Example Today, the House's jurisdiction is limited to the hearing of appeals from the lower courts that are technically addressed to the Queen-in-Parliament. By constitutional convention these judges known as Lords of Appeal or Lords of Law hear the appeals. For several years we have heard of the deafening calls for reform and change in the highest court of this land which separates them from the second house of Parliament. The recent calls moved for the removal of the Lords of Appeal from the legislature which received full support and endorsement from the government on March 21, 2005 leading us all to believe that the Constitutional Reform Act, 20052, as a new system will reflect the independence of the judiciary from both the legislature and the executive. According to Thoroton3, the Judicial Committee would continue to exist and to undertake its work for various Commonwealth and overseas and dependent territory jurisdictions4. This has however created a constant stir that allows us to se e how the Lords have fared in the last 25 years in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities which concerns every citizen in the society as a whole. Undeniably, the continuing dissatisfaction over the last 30 years on the performance of the House of Lords, has put into question their credibility and independence. Certain motivational factors that may have affected this change has created furor especially in their capacity to handle cases and effectively carry out their function. We try to entertain these motivational factors as the basis for this study that aims to look into the important aspect of their decision-making. More importantly we will look into the ratio and length of judgment in comparison with their collective judgments rendered that would reflect their capacity to handle a fair trial. Methodology Based on the total number of cases, we used the common method of random sampling to arrive at and identify at least 5 cases per year as a basis from this evaluation from 1975-2000. Theoretical Framework The emergence of the constitutional reform act has set to obtain the government's motivation for the reform act. Clearly it has set to remove the Law Lords' ability to act as both a government minister and a judge. According to the House Common Bill of Rights5, this is motivated in part by concerns that the historical admixture of legislative, judicial, and executive power, may not be in conformance with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights. Robertson 1998 has analyzed and branded concentrates on the arguments the Law Lords use in justifying their decisions, and is concerned as much with the legal methodology as with the substance of their decisions. Very close attention is paid to the different approaches and styles of their judicial argument. Munday6 has also explained the certain application of coming to one single realization among 5 judges to arrive at 1 conclusion and gives a lot of room for unfair judgment. Robertson7 has expressed that Law Lords enjoy and fully utilise far more discretion in their judgments than is normally admitted, and that much depends on exactly which judges happen to hear a case. Data Interpretation and Analysis In a convention, it was decided that the office of Senior Law Lord was automatically assumed

Empress Wu Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Empress Wu - Essay Example Her thirst and quest for power made her do the unthinkable from murdering her own daughter and son. Empress Wu Zhao was born in Wenshui part of the Shanxi Province in 624 A.D. Her father Wu Shihuo was a rich merchant who educated her daughter well. The education the Empress received at a young age was very pivotal for her political shrewdness and prowess (Woo 5). During the time of her birth, China was under the rule of the Tang dynasty which accorded women more freedom compared to the earlier dynasties. The Emperor at the time Tai Tzong had encouraged cultural awareness in which the women were allowed to be economically independent and were well enlightened in the fields of philosophy, social ethics and culture. The power of female sexuality was at that time widely recognized in medieval china; the ladies of the Sui and Early Tang dynasty elite were relatively independent. They could ride horses, henpeck their husbands and they took charge when their men were away for herdsmen or military duty (Will 128). Due to this, Emperor Wu was adequately educated in the disciplines of music , writing, reading, and Chinese classics. By the time she was thirteen years old, Empress Wu not only recognized her womanly beauty, but she also appreciated her intelligence and wit. Due to her intelligence, Empress Wu was soon recruited to the court of Emperor Tai as a concubine and she doubled up as a secretary in the Imperial Study. She obviously took her chance to study more about official documents and politics. The rest is history. Empress Wu held power for more than a century in one guise or another, firstly she ruled as a consort; the favored wife of Emperor Gaozong, then secondly as the ruler behind the throne of her youngest son and finally herself until her death. She ruled with sheer ruthlessness and decisiveness as she stabilized the Tang dynasty when it seemed to be crumbling and

Strategic Human Resource Management Research Paper

Strategic Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that strategic human resource management (SHRM) is gaining interest as it is said to improve productivity as well as the efficiency of organizations. Practices of strategic human resources management improve the capability of organizations in attaining their mission. Productivity increases from the dispersion of technological improvements which are presently being included in the private as well as public sector organizations. Productivity in the future increases from the way of making use of such technologies by the people (Escola Nacional de Administracao Publica, 2010). Human resources are being considered by organizations to be an exclusive asset which facilitates in offering a constant competitive advantage. The continuous alterations in the environment of business witnessed by the organizations have augmented the significance of controlling human resources (Devanna & Et. Al., 1981; Wright, 1998). Strategic human resource management cons iders people as assets and not costs (Abuqayyas, 2007). Therefore, it can be said that SHRM of an organization plays a crucial role in achieving its success. Nowadays, it is a common practice for organizations to appoint a professional organization or association of human resource through whom the recruiting is done in a particular organization. This makes the process of selection easy and saves time for the organization. People working in such professional organizations possess a lot of expertise in their field and thus are capable of making the appropriate selection. There are particular associations of management who even offer direction in locating the measures of selection for particular situations (Gatewood & Et. Al., 2010). The professional firms assist the organizations to find professionals who are experienced and executives at the top level. The professional firms are kept hold of in order to look for the best-qualified executive accessible for particular positions. This i s carried out only on the basis of an assignment given by the company who is in search of a particular kind of individual. These professional firms do not work for individuals but for organizations. They also offer a higher degree of privacy for job seekers as well as for the employing companies. The quality of these firms is to a large extent reviewed based on the ethical ways of managing the information collected by them in the course of their working operations with the clients.  

Patient education handout on schizophrenia Essay

Patient education handout on schizophrenia - Essay Example Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by alterations in an â€Å"individual’s perceptions, thoughts, affect and behavior†. One unfortunate aspect concerning the definition and diagnosis of schizophrenia is the fact that it is likely to differ among individuals. Depending on their particular circumstances surrounding the individual diagnosed, the symptoms may exhibit themselves in a great many number of ways. Like in other countries across the world, schizophrenia is a major health problem in the United States which affects a great number of individuals and requires a great deal of time and money devoted to its treatment. Thankfully, with the advent of modern medical science, psychiatrists have developed effective medications and evolved appropriate strategies for treating schizophrenia. Therefore, with suitable and timely intervention as well as the application of the correct pharmaceutical regimen, the disease can oftentimes be effectively treated; alth ough not cured.McGlashan & Fenton (1991), as quoted in Chapter 13 of the book entitled, Psychological Disorders, define the five different and unique types of schizophrenia. These include: (a) Disorganized, (b) Catatonic, (c) Paranoid, (d) Undifferentiated and (e) Residual.Patients who suffer from disorganized schizophrenia may exhibit symptoms such as illogical thinking or speech that lacks coherence and/or emotional hypersensitivity to stimuli that would otherwise have little to no impact on an individual who is not afflicted with schizophrenia

Natural disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Natural disasters - Essay Example Earthquakes manifest themselves on the surface of the earth by shaking and at times displacing the ground. There is a long history of seismic activity and earthquakes in Japan .Japan is a region characterized by high seismicity due to its location which is near main tectonic plate borders and is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Geologically the Japanese islands are as a consequence of many big oceanic movements taking place more than hundreds of millions of years ago. Originally Japan was attached to the Eurasian continent’s eastern coast. Since the Eurasian plates were less deep than the subducting plates, Japan was pulled eastwards forming the Sea of japan about fifteen million years ago (Smits,2014). Whereas on 23 August 416, an earthquake is mentioned in Yamato(present day Nara the Prefecture) initial earthquake to be dependably recorded occurred on28 May,599 in Nara prefecture ,during Empress Suiko’s reign, damaging buildings through the entire Yamato province. Several other historical accounts of earthquakes occurrences exist and with the creation of Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee in 1892, systematic collation of all available data was conducted and in 1899 published. The committee was suspended in 1923 after the occurrence of the Kanto earthquake and in 1925 and the Earthquake Research Institute superseded it (Clancey, 2006). The Kanto earthquake that occurred in 1923 is one of the deadliest in the history of Japan claiming about 105,385 deaths, whereas the Tohuku earthquake in 2011 is the costliest (USD 235 billion) and strongest earthquake on record. It is also the most costly natural disaster to occur globally to date. There are numerous other earthquakes that have occurred and have been recorded in the history of Japan. Nevertheless, the Tohuku earthquake of 11th march 2011 is the strongest in

Abolition in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abolition in the US - Essay Example The origins of abolitionist movement in the US can be traced back to the late 18th century: the American and French revolutions that occurred at that time separated by only a decade played the key role in its onset and further development. Both revolutions strongly relied on the concepts of equality between people and their right to live free and the protestant Christian morality (Wood, 1998; Doyle, 2002). Therefore, advocates of the early abolitionist movement believed it was wrong to maintain the artificial inferiority of non-white groups promoting the ideas of emancipation.While the earliest form of abolitionism in the US were rather mild and did not achieve any significant results except for the 1808's abolition of the slave trade with Africa, the later stage of the abolitionist movement that emerged in the 1830s was more powerful and called for an immediate end to slavery. The basic ideas underlying this later movement remained exactly the same as at the earliest stage: the comm on nature and origins of all human beings, the natural right to freedom, and the immorality of forced labor (Temperley, 1980). These ideas are vividly illustrated by one of the most famous artifacts of that epoch, namely the Wedgwood medallion featuring a kneeling chained slave and a slogan "Am I not a man and a brother"

Transcendental Deduction Essay Example for Free

Transcendental Deduction Essay Kant’s Transcendental Deduction of the categories of the analytic concepts presents an analysis of the mental activities as well as the analysis of knowledge and self.   Kant discussed these mental activities using two sets of terms such as manifold representations and intuition as well as understanding and sensibility (p.76).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Representation to him means the various concepts pulling together into unity and can be given in an intuition that is merely sensible.   For Kant, intuition means a perception or knowledge (a priore) or insight.    Kant associated knowledge to intuition and also to perception (p.82).   He said, â€Å"The pure concepts of understanding even when they are applied to a priori intuition provide knowledge only to the extent that these are priori intuition, and through them, the concept of understanding is applied also.   He further noted that â€Å"empirical intuition serves only for the possibility of empirical knowledge. Sensible on the other hand, means either having or demonstrating sound reason and judgment or able to be perceived through the senses.   Synthesis is the result of combination, a process of combining different ideas, influences or objects into a new whole.   In view of transcendental deduction of Kant, the combination of concepts is act of â€Å"active department† of understanding which disguised it from the passive department which he called sensibility.   He concludes this statement that â€Å"all combining is an action of the understanding whether or not we are conscious of it† (p.75).   Kant further discussed the understanding self using another set of terminology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The â€Å"I think† which refers to that something was represented that could not be thought at all; He introduced three bits of terminology in order for us to grasp of the self-awareness (p76), that is expressed in the representation â€Å"I think.†Ã‚   These three bits about self-awareness according to Kant are: (1) the pure self-awareness which presupposed by all thought and intuition; (2) the basic self-awareness which is the self-consciousness that produces the representation of the â€Å"I think;† (3) Transcendental which is the unity of self-awareness. Clarifying the Aim of Transcendental Deduction of the Categories of the Analytical Concepts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant’s aim of transcendental deduction is to seek to generalize what he has said about self-awareness to all conceptual thinking.   The author pointed out that what Kant must have meant is that, â€Å"a property combines with other properties† or that a â€Å"representation of a property combines with the representation.†Ã‚   This according to him, Kant infers about analysis is being possible if there has previously been synthesis. In the discussion of analytic concept, Kant used such terms as I, I think, I can, I couldn’t do it.   He said that each of this representation is accompanied with consciousness that when combined with different representation can on finally say â€Å"I can† that means he is now aware of the intended action or he calls it â€Å"self-awareness.   In his discussion of synthesis, he said that it is an act of the mind.   Here, what he meant is act of mentally combining distinct intentional representations. Important Argumentative Elements      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first argumentative element about transcendental deduction is that, our concept about an object is associated with self awareness.   The mind must have representations of that concept to make it pure concept.   In my own interpretation, this representation could be experiences that connect representation of concept, since self has one identity.   Therefore, all other perception must be belonging to one consciousness or attributing to one identity in which the central grip is the self-employed knowledge. In this sense, we can conclude that the self identifies object based on consciousness and awareness.   Usually, the experiences help shape the self’s concept of things.   Kant emphasize that there must be a unity of consciousness and self-awareness which underlies the relations of representations to an object, which makes their objective validity and consequently their status as an item of knowledge (p.78).   What he meant by this is that the unity of self consciousness and the synthetic unity of self awareness are the bases for all uses of the understanding and it has nothing to do with any sensible intuition. Kant also emphasized that â€Å"understanding must related through more understanding to objects of intuition (p.83).   In other words, concepts that are not sensible cannot be transformed to reality and cannot be understood.   An act of the understanding results from self-awareness that leads to thinking something that is necessary condition not only for our identity as experiencing minds, but also for anything that is to be an object of sensible intuition (p.83).   These forms of thought of thoughts must come to have objective reality.   In my idea, Kant is discussing these matters for us to understand how our thoughts are formed and come into reality.   The object is self-awareness and self-consciousness of our actions, thoughts, and words. On of the argumentative elements in Kant’s discussion of deduction of pure concepts of understanding that I find is his statement about the multiplicity of intuition which he labeled synthesis.   He said that it reminds us that we cannot represent to ourselves anything as combined in the object unless we ourselves have previously combined it.   I find this statement somehow contradicting in a sense that synthesis is natural work of the mind which we may not be conscious how it is working. He said synthesis is â€Å"mind self activity† (p.75), and can only be carried out by mind itself.   In this case, it appears that we have no control of this activity.   If what he meant is that we can be aware of all these intuition pure concept and synthesis.   Then, we can guide our thoughts towards right expression of reality.   If this is the case, the expression of self-awareness and self-consciousness would have high effect.   But since this is a mental act, it can only be carried out by the mind itself which we are not conscious.   There I would say that it certainly cannot represent to us anything. Kant presented another interesting discussion of the pure concept and forms of thoughts.   He said that â€Å"pure concept of understanding is related through mere understanding to objects of intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible† (p.103). Here, Kant relates pure concept of understanding with intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible regardless of the nature of those objects whether they are corrupt or bad character.   He pointed out that because of this application; the intuition become a form of thoughts convey us information about determinate object.   What quite interesting in this is that, he said that pure concept of understanding is related to intuition which is sensible.   The pure concept to intuition is mere forms of thoughts with no determinate object related to intuition which is sensible. Thus, the discussion centers on how our mental faculties are working in so far as to have self-awareness which must be the basis of all these.   Kant pointed out that there is in us a certain basic form of a priori sensible intuition that depends on our passive faculty representation.   What he meant is that we have intuition of space and time which is also the pure intuition.   But this intuition according to Kant is either pure intuition or empirical intuition.   The pure intuition is about space and time while empirical those sensations that immediately represent to us as real in space and time.   Kant noted that â€Å"thing in space and time are given as perception† (p.82). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant’s discussion of transcendental deductions was quite very difficult to understand.   But in so far as my understanding is concerned, Kant presented a detailed discussion of how our mental faculties are working towards a formation of thoughts about the self from what he calls manifold representation.   He said that we have basically a priori knowledge yet it needs to be combined to the manifold representations which he calls this combination as synthesis or synthetic unity.   This according to Kant leads to self awareness or self consciousness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kant also discussed pure concept of knowledge which according to him is related to understanding objects of intuition.   Here he discussed that before a concept becomes a thought it has to be identified with intuition of any kinds as long as it is sensible.   In other words, a concept that is identified with sensibility can be concrete and can be grasped.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But what is important in this discussion is the aim of this presentation.   Kant was able to clarify to us how our mental faculties are working towards the making of mere thoughts and concepts to become words and pure concepts of knowledge to express consciousness and awareness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would say that knowing all these, must help us to be more careful of our self-expression as well as of our attitude in dealing with others.   The transcendental deductions has helped us know our selves, therefore it must help us too in expressing our own selves in the everyday events and circumstances of our lives.

Would Theodicy work Essay Example for Free

Would Theodicy work Essay A. J Ayer argues that human actions are so because of already preexisting factors in their lives but not as a result of their own free will. He maps these already existing factors such as feelings and past experiences which he calls casual laws as the one that makes people to be who they are. He defends his argument of on the basis that determinism and freewill co-exist in relation when a human behavior is being executed. His definition of free will is that it is the absence of any constraint and thus argues that although people usually are compelled to behave in a certain manner by these casual laws, they remain responsible for their actions since they are not constrained to the choices (Ayer). Theodicy How should evil be viewed in the presence on an omnipotent God who is all good? Could the evil-that which is not good- be from the same God that is all good? How could the all good God ‘create’ if not create then ‘allow’ evil? One could question if it is not him who has created evil, then do his creatures have the potential to create evil? If so, did He create this potential of creating evil in them? If He did why didn’t he create the absolute power in them not to do evil? People are considered to be doing evil based on the choices that they make. The argument is based on the presence of free will on human beings, that is one is absolutely free (without external compulsion) to act in a certain manner. But Ayer does not see it all in this light. He believes that determinism and free will are compatible. To him free will can only be regarded as free if ones actions could have been different and thus because of the chosen cause of action, one is held responsible for his/her actions. He also pointed out that the agent could have been bound to act otherwise if the action motivators were different. But the conditions being as they were for him or her, then the individual acted as he/she did. His argument is that if there happens to be any causal determinism, then it is not possible for the action to be driven by free will. He believes that ones free will is acknowledged, it remains no longer to be free will since to his view, free will should be in the unconscious. He gives an example such as, when one says â€Å"I’m acting on free will†, the person ceases to be acting on free will. He identifies this situation as one which has now already been determined. He views that people’s use of the term free will is on ordinary sense. He believes that the term freedom needs not to be linked to the meaning and term causality but to constraints. An example is when a man does take some actions at gun point not because they want but because they have been compelled to do it, (Ayer). Another example is that of Kleptomaniac who are not free agents. Unlike a regular thief would do, their minds do not let them decide to steal. Ayer yet gives another example of compulsion neurosis. He says if in such an instance he happens to wake up and walk around the room whether he wants it or not or he has been compelled by someone to do so, then he would not be acting freely. But Ayer argues that if he did it on his own, then it would be free action. For him he held that when it comes to constraints, some generalizations could be made on human behavior, (Hick). He holds that suffering as a child affects ones behavior as an adult. But if this behavior happens to be altered by something that happens in the course of life, then the person is not acting under constraint. An example he gives is a man who decides to forever avoid serious relationship because of having been cheated by a woman in a previous relationship. In this instance the man is conditioned by fear of being hurt and thus is not acting on free will. But the man in question would not agree that his decision is not on free will because he believes that the choice he made was not the only one. This is Ayer’s definition of free will, that is choosing to do something where there were other possibilities of choice even though there could have been a possibility of casual laws. A clear observation of Ayers argument on determinism and free will is that he has attempted to turn free will into that which is not. It should be noted that free will is not simply defined as lack of constraint. A choice that has been made by the virtual of causal necessity cannot be regarded to be more free than the one that is made under logical necessity. Out of this erroneous definition of freewill, Ayer could not be held right on his argument of moral responsibility. Peoples actions are products of numerous causal laws and are thus still being compelled to act in certain manner unlike his view of people being held responsible for their actions because they have acted on free will, (Hick). Conclusion Its common to ask if God is the author of sin and evil in our world. The view of a God who created moral beings and at the same time left them to this probationary economy with the absolute knowledge that they will absolutely fall may seam to be one that could justify theodicy. If the all good God cannot create evil, then the only way that the evil can be looked at it is that is a predestination of a greater glorious good. The attainment of the perceived good may not be because that God is lacking in power to have it without evil but it could be because the glorious end requires sin itself. If this is the case then, the argument that God is the author of sin cannot hold for this reason that if the evil does take place because of his permission, it is not because it the end of the process but rather a part of a process towards the real ‘end’ -omnipotent and ‘all goodness’- which in short is back to God. God cannot thus be the author of evil but rather evil can be regarded as the part of that process that is towards all good. If God permits it then, it is not to the denial of Himself, the all good, but an affirmation that He is all good since everything, even evil leads all back to Him.

Cinematography in film

Cinematography in film Chose a sequence from any one of the films listed in the module guide’s filmography and analyse the functions of the cinematography (including lighting), editing and sound. Cinematography refers to the visual creative techniques of a film, consisting of lighting, sound and composition. Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Psycho [Alfred Hitchcock, 1960, USA] practices exquisite cinematography techniques to construct suspense and tremor to the spectators from his use of framing, lighting, camera movement, editing as well as sound. Film critic Roger Ebert states that a prevalent element among Hitchcock’s films, is the guilt of the regular person in a criminal situation [Ebert, 1998]. However in this scenario the key character Marion Crane [Janet Leigh] flees with stolen cash, nevertheless still fitting the Hitchcock mould of an innocent crime. EDITING Hitchcock practises some remarkable camera techniques to make sequences more effective, the notorious shower scene is a vital element and illustrates Hitchcock’s adoration for visuality. Adopting editing and sound as a cinematic guidance to stimulate the audience both visually and emotionally to create a horrific, suspense led murder scene. However spectators never actually witness the knife cutting into the woman’s flesh, we just assume it through the use of sound FX, hand motions, a tension building soundtrack and editing; The filmic makes the murder scene more realistic and suspense driven creating tension between the spectators. As a result by exposing the horrific continuous violence without truly presenting any, leaving it up to the spectator’s imagination. Fast editing countenances for an even more vicious stance to the scene, notwithstanding the insignificant amount of blood. Hasty editing of multiple shots signify the knife’s sharp cuts, plentiful as the squelching soundtrack rupture the spectators eardrums while perhaps representing a scream or a fowl shriek. Some of the possessed shots are high and medium angle shots to conceal the spectators from seeing the killers face. The combination of the shots makes the sequence seem longer, more subjective and more uncontrolled and violent oppose to the images being exposed alone or using a wide angle shot In this scene the woman’s nudity represents one of two concepts; vulnerability as she has nothing to protect her body i.e. clothes also within western society nudity is looked upon as exceedingly private therefore we as spectators are interfering on her private moment voyeurism. CAMERA TECHNIQUES In many Hitchcock movies the leading lady is usually a blonde and attractive, essentially there to create sex appeal in this case this is clear with the woman being naked. Other than sex appeal and representation of the male gaze, nudity also carries other connotations appropriate in this case the woman is in fatal danger. The low angle shot of the showerhead from the woman POV resembles an eye, its observant presence could suggest a ‘big brothers watching you’ feeling as it watches her washing herself, cleansing herself of the impurity of her prior actions; meanwhile her posture implies almost sexual enjoyment. Nonetheless, she is being so sensual that it supports Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze as it displays a woman being sexualized and delicate at the same time. She is about to be penetrated by a knife. Given the period of this film, censors restricted sex and nudity. As such, water perhaps symbolically used to express sexual desire and orgasms, while the wom an is cleansing plays into Hitchcock’s theme of guilt [Leighmediaasfilm, 2011]. However in the parlor scene camera angles play a vital role in revealing to the spectator about Norman Bates character with Hitchcock directing the scene in terms of contrasts. We get the woman sitting comfortably in her seat, leaning slightly forward; Hitchcock purposely arranged the camera near eye level perhaps to give the spectators the idea as to how two people may see each other while sitting and talking, however Hitchcock shoots the man from an abnormal low angle, suggesting that he is twisted and askew. SOUND Bernard Herman composed the movies intense soundtrack incorporating a fast cutting squelching soundtrack Hitchcock created an intense impression of slaughter, violence and nudity while remaining to display very little. However the infamous scene begins with the sound FX of running water perhaps to imply to the spectators that everything is fine. It also becomes significantly clear that the woman is going to have difficulty in hearing anything else as the sound of the water is overpowering the other diegetic sounds. A figuration slowly appears behind the shower curtain the suspense of the scene become more intense, only when the curtain is pushed aside that the spectators comprehend what is about to occur, suspense enhanced by the shrieking high pitched squelching soundtrack. The soundtrack in this scene in particular is dark and sinister, accompanying the knife movements to her skin also including tearing sounds. Perhaps this signifies the agony of the knife to her skin through the high pitched violin instruments within the soundtrack, it has a discordant quality to it possibly to signify the knife’s sharpness again creating tension. Tension is also created as the camera is represented as the knife’s movements, being drawn away and reversed. After the woman has been slaughtered, the soundtrack reaches its crescendo and transforms from a high pitched squelching to a low pitched distressing sound. LIGHTING The parlour scene uses camera angles, lighting, dialogue and sound FX to portray the characters in a certain light. They are precisely positioned according to the light source in order to accentuate their aims and intensions within the scene as well as their characteristics. The woman is located close yet relatively behind the lamp, with her face being well lit; perhaps signifying that she is a beaming with warmth and renovation despite her recent escapades. The lighting around her also suggests a gentleness around her also signifying she is redeemable. Although Hitchcock purposely positioned the man away from any type of light source and into a dark shadowy corner. This has the effect of a strict rift between light and shadow also represented across his face, also indicating the clash of his double personality [murderer/son]. He is also engrossed in low key lighting which suggests something is being hidden or kept in the dark and further results in piercing pointed shadows portentou sly on the wall and ceiling beyond him. MISE EN SCENE The black and white look of the film gave it a crisp classic feel while remaining to embody the spirit of an old film noir and further accentuates the theme of good vs evil, this is also illustrated by the sharp distinction of light and dark. Black and white costume is also exploited greatly within the film, for example at the beginning of the movie the woman is seen wearing white lingerie perhaps suggesting her innocents and purity, then later she’s in black lingerie after she’s stolen the money. The mise-en-scene reveals the woman surrounded by simple objects that make her appear to be a sympathetic character. Before her is a jug of milk rather than a glass and small snacks prepared by the man Norman, meanwhile as the woman ingests none of the milk it is in fact the shape of the jug that holds the visual signs. Colour plays a huge role in the mise-en-scene the jug is white, shiny and elegant perhaps signifying her innocent and pure goodness. Also her hunched curved posture and curly hairstyle adds to the sense that she is or ultimately will be a victim. However the man on the other hand is engrossed in lines of shadows across his face and body, many of which are set at angles creating a sense of emulation and danger rather than conformity. In one shot behind the man’s shoulder there is a dark chest of some sort with shadowy lines perhaps a distinction to the curved lamp, as well as the fact that the woman is wearing light clothes and the man is wearing dark clothing. Moreover one of the most significant visually stimulating feature into the man’s twisted mind, is the stuffed birds positioned around the walls, table and chest in the room, this also implies the dark facets of his character; he is a predator. The birds also create a sense of fear and fright within the parlour, as the hover around him. References Leighmediaasfilm.blogspot.co.uk, (2011). AS Film Studies 2012-2013: Voyeurism The Male Gaze (the shower scene). [online] Available at: http://leighmediaasfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/voyeurism-male-gaze-shower-scene.html [Accessed 9 Jul. 2014]. Psycho. (1960). [DVD] USA: Alfred Hitchcock.

The Power President George W. Bush’s Speech On 9/11/01 -- Public Speak

The Power President George W. Bush’s Speech On 9/11/01 No one will forget the day we saw planes crash into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and perish into Shanksville, Pennsylvania’s countryside. On September 11, 2001 terror struck the heart of every American citizen. We did not know who was responsible for this mass murder and why anyone would do such a thing. Over 3,000 people died that gruesome day. 2,654 people were killed at the World Trade Center, 125 at the Pentagon, and 265 on the four airplanes the crashed. The country was in a state of turmoil and disbelief. That evening President George W. Bush gave a moving speech to console and unify our nation after the brutal attacks. After talking about Kenneth Burke’s pentad in class I felt that the "act" of President Bush’s speech was to address the citizens of the United States of America. The "scene" was September 11, 2001 in the United States of America. The "agent" was President George W. Bush. The "agency" was a televised speech. The "purpose" was to empower and unify the United States of America. I felt the r... The Power President George W. Bush’s Speech On 9/11/01 -- Public Speak The Power President George W. Bush’s Speech On 9/11/01 No one will forget the day we saw planes crash into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and perish into Shanksville, Pennsylvania’s countryside. On September 11, 2001 terror struck the heart of every American citizen. We did not know who was responsible for this mass murder and why anyone would do such a thing. Over 3,000 people died that gruesome day. 2,654 people were killed at the World Trade Center, 125 at the Pentagon, and 265 on the four airplanes the crashed. The country was in a state of turmoil and disbelief. That evening President George W. Bush gave a moving speech to console and unify our nation after the brutal attacks. After talking about Kenneth Burke’s pentad in class I felt that the "act" of President Bush’s speech was to address the citizens of the United States of America. The "scene" was September 11, 2001 in the United States of America. The "agent" was President George W. Bush. The "agency" was a televised speech. The "purpose" was to empower and unify the United States of America. I felt the r...

The Searching Game :: Internet Computers Essays

The Searching Game In today's ever increasingly technological world, the Internet is playing a crucial role. This network has the capability to store and make public a wealth of information. Organizing this information and making it easily accessible is a daunting job, but there are many Internet search engines out there that are trying to do just that. A few of the more popular search engines includeYahoo, AltaVista, and Lycos. In comparing these, the most important criteria would be the effectiveness in obtaining information. However, these web sites also have many added perks to keep users on the page. One thing can be certain, web search engines are a much needed service. The First Impression The first time one surfs on to a site's homepage is a critical stage. The page must convey to the user that it is useful, yet not too complicated. These web sites have different approaches to the first impression. One of the first things that jumps out to a user is the page layout. This would include colors, graphics, and the general layout of the links on the page. Yahoo's homepage does not contain a lot of color. It consists of a simple blue background with the traditional blue links. There are a few graphics and the page is sectioned off into different areas. This may be so as not to distract the user and give the impression that Yahoo is a simple, yet effective search engine. Lycos' homepage is also on a simple white background. This page has a few more colors and graphics present to draw the users attention to certain things. One thing that is noticeable is that the search box is outlined with a bold blue. This box is the most important part to a search engine, so it seems only fitting that it be highlighted. AltaVista's web page used a bold color combination for the homepage. The search box is also highlighted here, but this time with a bright yellow. The header is a deep blue which compliments the yellow search box as well as the yellow side bar. Although aesthetics is important for all web sites, they must also be functional. The most important part of a search engine is the search box. For these three search engines, this is always located at the top of the page, for easy access. Some sites bring more attention to this than the others, but it is usually the focal point of the page.

The Neverending Story Essay -- Literary Analysis, Michael Ende

Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story is a timeless tale of adventure, imagination, and self-discovery. The story revolves around Bastian Balthazar Bux, an innocent but awkward, socially outcast, and greatly misunderstood pre-teen boy of a widowered father who finds himself metaphorically and literally lost within the pages of a magical book entitled The Neverending Story. Inside the book, Bastian discovers a terrible affliction has befallen the enchanting land of Fantastica, a mystic world full of rock creatures, purple buffaloes, and wind giants (to name a few). The malevolent force he finds is slowly and sporadically consuming Fantastica and all of its inhabitants. It is called the Nothing, and it threatens to destroy the world of Fantastica forever unless someone is able to find the one who will give the Childlike Empress a new name. The Childlike Empress, also known as the Golden-Eyed Commander of Wishes, is an aloof, seemingly omnipotent, and mysterious girl that rules Fantastica. She is the fabric which holds Fantastica together, and in essence she is Fantastica. Her desire for a new name (which she claims wills save the world) leads a brave young warrior on an arduous journey to find someone who can give her a new moniker. That warrior’s name is Atreyu. Atreyu is a strong and persevering hunter turned adventurer whose quest begins upon receipt of a message from the Childlike Empress to locate the giver of her new name. Though he does not fully understand his mission or final destination, Atreyu resolves himself to fulfill the request of the Childlike Empress. Bastian also resolves himself to see Atreyu’s story to the end, but he eventually realizes that Atreyu is not the only one on a mission from the empress an... ...an is tested by the empress to give her a new name. The examples continue to follow both parts of the novel and both heroes, though all are in disorder according to Propp’s sequence. Regardless, at least twenty-four of Propp’s thirty-one functions are present in Ende’s novel. CONCLUSION The myth motifs discussed are but a few of the many to be found in Ende’s novel, though I would argue that the mythological parallels came second to his writing an engaging story. Rather than a cookie-cutter myth comparison, The Neverending Story is a fantastic journey through imagination. Only when examined and pulled apart do the intricate mythological relationships reveal themselves. I still wonder if the foundations of myth lurk in the subconscious minds of story tellers like Michael Ende, or are the relationships found in his and others’ stories entirely coincidental?

All in the Family Essay

Throughout one’s life, things are going to grow and change, yet one thing will always remain the same, one’s family. This social unit, whether it be related by blood or the love that comes from a family will always remain strong. While taking a look at two narratives, we will discuss the lessons learned, family functions, extended family, and the impressions that are made upon the readers of these stories. Taking a look at these powerful narratives, we as readers see many lessons that are learned throughout these pieces of writing. Taking a look at the narrative, An Indian Story by Roger Jack, this non-nuclear family shows us the readers, the lesion of who can and could be considered family. This important lesson shows how although his Aunt Greta is not immediate family like his father would be; she becomes immediate in his time of need. â€Å"My home and academic life improved a lot after I had moved in with Aunt Greta† (Jack 53). This improvement of life for these characters shows how this social network made of defined characters were able to adapt and transform to the ever-changing needs and circumstances of its â€Å"family† members. Moving on to the much different narrative entitled, Looking for Work by Gary Soto were we take a look at a nuclear family that is much different. The life of a Mexican American boy who strives for nothing less than for his family to be â€Å"perfect† like he sees on TV. His longing for the, â€Å"Father looks on in his suit. The mother, decked out in earrings and a pearl necklace, cuts into her steak and blushes. Their conversation so politely clipped† (Soto 29). These constant strives to be perfect and rich consumed most of his time. Yet by the end of this narrative, he would finally learn the most important lesson of all, his family is who they are. Much like Gary Soto in his story, Looking for Work I learned the same exact lesson. Although my family may have been crazy and somewhat embarrassing they are who they are and there was nothing I could do about it. My family was always going to be there for me no matter what and I couldn’t love them more for that. Throughout these two narratives, everyone experienced the presence of family in some form or another and I have to say, I don’t know what I would do without mine. While reading these stories I found a few similarities between the families in the stories and my own family that really stood out to me. First, the importance of 3family in general. I cannot stress enough how important my family is to me; yet when I was a child, much like the boys in these stories, I did not realize it. Another similarity I shared with these stories was how close I was to my grandma like Roger Jack was to his Aunt Greta. This warmed my heart because I love my grandma and so many instances throughout that narrative reminded me of my grandma and I. Much like when Roger stated, â€Å"I walked to Aunt Greta’s and asked if I could move in with her since I had already spent so much time with her anyway† (Jack 53). Yet one way in which my family is different from the families in these narrative is that I was blessed to have a mom and a dad growing up and I could not be more thankful for that. Growing up is an important time in any child’s life. Whether it is like the boys in these narratives or anyone else; that is a time for you to grow and shape into an individual. I believe that the environment I grew up in was a good thing for me and it shaped my entire worldview. I grew up with great yet strict parents, a loving, caring, hard working mom and housewife, and a tough, hard working, funny father. Together they taught me to work for everything I have because later in life nothing was going to be handed to me. I was taught a great work ethic and good morals from the very beginning. I believe that because of those teachings by my great parents, I am the person I am today. Extended family most definitely differed between the two narratives yet the importance was there. As with my extended family, we are very close, especially with my mom’s mom Erna. I always grew up with her right across the street and I loved every minute of it! She was always there for me and I always had fun whenever I was with her. I remember her cooking for me and us gardening together. Although the dictionary considers grandparents extended family, I do not. My grandma was so close to my family, especially my mom and I that to me she is immediate family. The importance of extended family and family in general to me is practically my life. I would do anything for them just as they would for me. I am so grateful to have such a close immediate and an extended family in my life. Looking at both narratives, there was one that made a more powerful impression upon me as a reader. Looking for Work by Gary Soto really stood out to me for one reason, the lesson. I believe in the fact that your family is who they are and there is nothing that you can do about it besides accept them. I love how Gary realized at the end that his family was not going to be like the family on Father Knows Best and that was ok. I think that made such an impression on me because I was the same way when I was little, I hated when my parents would make jokes and be silly but as I was growing up I grew to love it. My family is who they are and I love them for it! I wouldn’t trade my family for anything in the world and by the end of the story Gary seemed to feel the same way. In the beginning, Gary would be so frustrated when his siblings would wear bathing suits to dinner, when he had specifically asked them to dress up. Yet towards the end of the story such change took over Gary. â€Å"That evening at dinner we all sat down in our bathing suits to eat our beans, laughing and chewing loudly† (Soto 29). This quote is a prime example of the change that underwent the main character and showed the point in which he accepted everyone at that table for who they were, family. Works Cited Jack, Roger. â€Å"An Indian Story.† Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 52-61. Print. Soto, Gary. â€Å"Looking for Work.† Ed. Robert Cullen and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 26-31. Print.

Constructivist Approach to Grammer Teaching

? A ‘’Constructivist Approach’’ in grammar teaching helps inexperienced teachers understand the learning and teaching of aspect,a core grammatical concept. ?   The Constructivists’ approach to grammar involves teaching grammar in context. This simply means that grammar is taught using the students’ own writing as models. ? The constructivists’ approach helps students understand that evaluating grammar in their writing is a part of the revision process. Instructors using the constructivist’s approach teach grammar using one or a combination of the following methods: Mini-lessons Grammar journals One-on-one conferences Peer group activities MINI-LESSONS ? Mini-lessons are â€Å"teaching moments† inspired by student work. They are designed to be brief . (5-10 minutes) ? They address student writing needs in context as they arise. This technique provides students with additional opportunities to discuss their own writing as well as the writing of their peers. GRAMMaR JOURNALS ? A Grammar Journal is a notebook in which students keep records of sentences they have written that contain grammatical errors. ? Sentences are obtained from student work submitted to instructors. (Teachers can guide students to these errors without correcting them by placing a dot in the margin where the error occurs. ) After identifying the errors themselves, students then copy problematic sentences in their journals and rewrite the sentences, making alternative stylistic choices to improve each sentence. ? To take full advantage of their choices, students can rewrite their improved sentences several different ways. ? Students who do not have significant grammar problems can use the Grammar Journals to recognize their range of stylistic choices. ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCES ? During one-on-one conferences, instructors may require students to bring their Grammar Journals They discuss some of the editing choices they have made in their editing journals and to monitor students’ progress in identifying and correcting grammatical errors identified as problematic in their work. ? PEER GROUPSMini-lessons can often be used as a group activity. ? The group activity provides students with the opportunity to â€Å"talk out† the rationale for the grammatical choices they have made. ? . This strategy is successful because students engage in dialogue with their peers about their writing ? This approach reinforces the concept of learning communities.

History of Movie Theaters in Louisiana and the Surrounding Area Essay

When we think of the history of the traditional, American movie going, a number of images come to mind: the mighty organ accompanying a movie palace’s silent-era feature, the Iconic searchlights proclaiming a Golden Age Hollywood premiere, teenagers cruising at the local drive in, an audience of otherwise sensibly attired adults wearing cardboard, and young adults carrying five dollar bills to the Cineplex at the end of the mall in order to see the latest sequel. But while these iconic, even stereotypical, images suggest something of the truth behind the American movie theater’s history, they also omit much of the social reality that has co-existed along with these instances of the mainstream filmgoing experience. While Hollywood features and first-run urban theaters may have greater single importance than any other mode of exhibition, a number of other important alternatives have fleshed out audiences’ encounters with film. One such alternative, with a fascinating yet understudied history all its own, was the Black movie house circuit that existed in the United States from (at least) 1907 until the 1970’s (Crafton 412). With the project in mind of examining the cultural, social, and economic history of Black film theaters. I will discuss in this essay the development of Black film theaters in Austin, Texas, focusing especially on that city’s longest standing and most prominent â€Å"show†, the Harlem Theater. Although movies came to the Texas capital before the turn of the century and all-movie theaters began to proliferate there during America’s post-1905 nickelodeon boom, the first recorded â€Å"colored† film theater – the Dixie-Dale – opened in Austin in 1920 under the management of Joseph Trammell. I found no other details about Trammell or the Dixie-Dale, but it is recorded that after two years the theater was renamed the Lincoln and managed by A. C. Lawson until it closed in 1928 or 1929. Austin also supported a second Black movie house in the 1920s. The Lyric, which opened in 1922, just one block east of the downtown Lincoln, was owned and operated by Dr. Everett H. Givens, a practicing dentist (with an office next door) who would become Austin’s most prominent Black civic leader from the 1930s until his death in 1962. For reasons unclear at this point, Dr. Givens’ Lyric, which changed its name to the Dunbar when A. C. Lawson took over its management in 1929, survived the Lincoln by a few years, closing in 1931. Whether the fist Black film theaters in Austin closed due to the Depression, the cost of converting to sound, or some other reason, is impossible to judge given the paucity of data available about these enterprises. However, placing the existence of the Lincoln and the Lyric in the contexts of both African American life in Austin and the concurrent national Black film theater scene enhances a historical understanding of these two houses both as business and as entertainment venues. From a national perspective, we know that the motion picture theater, with its roots in the Jim Crow era, had always been subject to racial segregation. Sometimes Black patrons were restricted to balconies or other special sections of the theater, but Black-only theaters were common in the United States from at least 1910, a year when a Black newspaper in Washington wrote matter-of-factly that â€Å"there are separate motion picture theaters among the whites and blacks in this country†(Washington Bee 4). Although at the turn of the century â€Å"there was hardly a theater for colored people in the entire United States† (Negro Yearbook, 24), by 1925, there were at least 425 Black theaters (of all types), virtually all of which offered films â€Å"in whole or part. Of these, nearly half were, like the Lyric and possibly the Lincoln, Black-owned (Negro Yearbook, 379). But ownership of Black movie houses, in contrast to the first-run, White theaters of the day, was not done by regional or national chains, nor by affiliated circuits; because houses operated independently, the dynamics of local conditions of affected theaters like the Lincoln as much as national structure did. Historically, social and economic conditions changed greatly for Austin’s Black movie houses appeared. During and after Reconstruction, Black neighborhoods had existed in several locations around Austin: Clarksville in west Austin, Kincheonville to the south, Gregoryville in East Austin, Masontown in the southeast. Horse’s Pasture and Wheatville to the north, and so on (Austin American-Statesman, D41). Compared to other towns of the time, particularly in the South, race relations were fairly calm, albeit within the practice of institutionalized racism. The town boasted â€Å"three colleges and institutions for colored people,† maintained some neighborhoods (such as Masontown) that were racially integrated among Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Asians, and in general obtained a reputation as a town without the major problems of racial violence that plagued most American communities. But during the ‘teens segregation patterns began to develop’ (Freeman). In 1919 a White representative of the young NAACp was beaten by a White mob in the middle of downtown, and in the 1920s â€Å"the city of Austin created a ‘Negro district’ in East Austin†¦ inducing blacks to move there† by implementing though zoning laws elsewhere (Austin American-Statesman, D41). So it was that the majority of Austin’s African American population (which has consistently remained at just below 20 percent of Austin’s total) became concentrated in an area east of downtown and between 12th Street to the north and 7th Street to the south. Not surprisingly, then, both of Austin’s silent-era Black theaters were built on East 6th Street, near the racial dividing line of East Avenue, within the only downtown shopping and dining district that served Black patrons, yet away from the White theater district on the city’s main thoroughfare of Congress Avenue. I could uncover little information, however, that would indicate the nature or reception of these early movie houses. Longtime Austin resident I. C. Jones recalled visiting the Lincoln as a child, where he remembers a piano player accompanying the motion picture entertainment. Lonnie Bell, who wrote for the Black press in Austin for 50 years, indicates that in the 1920s both the Lyric and the â€Å"Lawson Lincoln Theater† were among the very few venues for Black entertainment in the city and so â€Å"did well before the Great Depression in ’29. † (10)Other information about Everett Givens also indicates that he made the Lyric/Dunbar into a focal point for the Black community, viewing the theater as a civic improvement projects as much as a business investment. Flachmeier 32) That these two movie houses were well received an supported by the Black community can also be inferred from the fact that a 1940 account of Austin history prepared by students at Tiltson College (a Black institution) referred to the era of 1905 to 1929 as a time when â€Å"privately owned amusement centers were developed† by Blacks – even though no other Black amusements of second were instituted during this period (Brewer 34). As I mentioned earlier , the cause for these theaters’ demise cannot be established absolutely, but several factors undoubtedly offer reasonable explanations. Bell’s assertion that it was the economic devastation of the Depression that closed the Lincoln and Dunbar makes logical economic sense. Black theater owners, like even the big-time operators, would have been hit hard as the US economy collapsed. Moreover, inasmuch as movie tickets are purchased with â€Å"disposable† income, Black patrons would have been especially likely to curtail their moviegoing since even before the Depression Blacks in Austin earned only one-half the wage of White workers. More specifically, both houses in Austin would have found it even more difficult to cope with the hard times if they attempted to make the costly transition to sound technology in the late twenties or early thirties. The Dallas Film Board o Trade’s statistics on Texas theaters indicate that many theaters, especially independently operated ones, closed in the early thirties, having no sound. (In Austin, two of the five White houses, the Crescent and Star, also went out of business in 1929 to 1931. Furthermore, one-third of Texas’ 30 â€Å"colored theaters† were listed as â€Å"closed, no sound† by the mid-1930s. Other factors may have led to the closure of the Lincoln and Dunbar, but, given the theaters’ dependence on the patron-age of a small, economically marginalized population, in the midst of a severe depression their failure is not surprising. But the history of Black film theaters in Austin did not end with the closing of the Dunbar in 1931. In that same year, real estate was purchased and construction begun on a new movie house that would serve as the hub of Black filmgoing in Austin for the next 40 years. The Harlem Theater, which opened on October 5, 1935 (Green 9), distinguished itself from the earlier theaters – and all subsequent ones – by being located in the heart of East Austin, at 1800 E. 12 Street, where it could better attract Black moviegoers. However, before discussing the reasons for the Harlem’s longevity, I point out that although it was Austin’s only exclusively Black theater, it was not without its competitor for Black audiences. All accounts of Austin in the 1930s and forties agree that the Ritz Theater was the only other house that admitted Black patrons on a regular basis, though customers there were limited to balcony seating and made to use a separate entrance. The Ritz, located on the same block of East 6th street where the Lincoln operated, opened in 1930 under White management, showing a variety of second-run Hollywood films. Manager J. J. Hegman (and his son after him) maintained the segregated seating policy until the Ritz’s closing in the early 1960s. More prominent Austin houses, such as those first-run members of the prestigious Interstate Theater Fircuit (the Paramount, Texas, State and Queen), advertised â€Å"colored midnight shows† from time to time as part of the chain’s overall marketing scheme (1942 Yearbook). Thus, while there was some competition for the Black filmgoing audience, segregated, White-managed theaters did not attempt to offer African Americans the filmgoing experience and environment of an all-Black house like the Harlem; however, the Ritz balcony and special events at other White movie establishments did continue to cultivate and maintain Black filmgoing in the Depression, when no Black Austin theaters were open. Harlem were filled by Black employees with the single exception of the projectionists. But for a small neighborhood theater like the Harlem, any sort of product differentiation whether it was with films, live acts, or ambience would have failed to produce enough box offices for the theater’s survival. As with any theater, the bulk of the profit came not from fifteen and twenty-five cent admissions, but from concessions. On this count, the Harlem again distinguished itself as unique among Austin theaters. In addition to the usual popcorn, candy and soft drink sales, the Harlem Theater operated a confectionery. When the Harlem opened in the midst of America’s Depression in late 1935, the theater soon established itself as one of Austin’s most visible and stable Black-owned businesses. In film industry terms, the Harlem’s success was small. With only 14,000 African American residents in 1935, Austin’s marketplace for Black films was extremely limited, and the theater never expanded nor led to a chain of others. But, through a combination of strategic location, product differentiation, managerial conservatism, and diversification, the Harlem Theater was able to become a profitable local business in the midst of an industry whose structure tended to favor national giants. Like the Lyric before it, the Harlem was established by a middle-class, Black Austin native who had been educated at Tillotson College and operated successfully in other local business before embarking on a risky career in the amusement industry. But George F. Jones, who was already in his forties when he opened the Harlem, also had some experience in programming films for Black audiences. His older brother Evie had purchased an Edison projector in the ‘teens and traveled to tent shows in the South and Black churches in Philadelphia showing â€Å"church movies† (that is, filmed passion plays) to all-Black audiences. After college, five years as a postal clerk, and ten years as a bookkeeper. George F.  Jones himself had worked as the head of Prairie View, Texas’ Auditorium (a film theater) while employed as a clerk at Prairie View State College (1925-35) (Brewer 7). With his wife, Sadie, a Prairie View graduate and educator, Jones was active in the Austin real estate market and their â€Å"co-partnership† became known for â€Å"accumulating valuable real estate holdings. † For the last two decades of his life Jones devoted most of his efforts to managing the Harlem, setting up residence next door to the corner theater upon his return to Austin from Prairie View. While his establishment may not have been unique for its time (there were more than three or four hundred Black theaters in the country), the Harlem was remarkable for being only one of seven US theaters owned and operated by Blacks (The Early Days in East Austin, D42). As an experienced theater manager, real estate buyer, and member of Austin’s African American community. George Jones no doubt realized the importance of the theater’s strategic location in determining its success at attracting movegoers. East 12th Street was essentially the Main Street of East Austin (Early Days in East Austin, D42). The area around the Harlem represented a microcosm of African American life: it was both a quiet neighborhood of residences, churches, grocers, drug stores beauty shops, and cafes, and a place to be â€Å"going up on the cuts† – a street where the action and entertainment were, in the form of taverns, beer joints, and (a block away) the Cotton Club and Paradise Inn for music and dancing. The Harlem was also part of â€Å"The End,† that area around 12th and Chicon Streets (one block away) where Austin’s streetcars, until their cessation in 1940, stopped and turned back toward downtown. In essence, those factors which determined that White theaters were centrally located along Congers Avenue – transportation proximity, pedestrian traffic, shopping convenience, high visibility – similarly made East 12th the choice location for a successful Black movie house.