Ana Code of Ethics Summary

Introduction There are nine provisions included in the ANA code of ethics. The provisions can be broken Into three categories. The first category Is the nurse's ethical responsibilities to her patient which is provisions one through three. Second is the nurse's obligation to herself, provisions four through six. The third ethical requirement for nurses Is related to their relationship to the nursing profession, community, nation, and world overall. This focus is summarized in provisions seven through nine [ (AmericanNurses Association, 2013) J. Provisions 1-3 The first three provisions relate to the nurse's responsibility to treat everyone with dignity and respect regardless of that Individual's background, ethnicity, or the nature or severity of their illness, as well as making the patient the primary concern and advocating for them. There Is absolutely no room for discrimination in the nursing profession. â€Å"One of the simplest principles of distributive Justice is that of str ict or radical equality.The principle says that every person should have the same bevel of material goods and services† [ (Mason, Alleviate, & Chaffed, 2012, p. 83) l. The Bible also supports the principle of treating others with dignity and respect as stated in 1 Pet 2:AAA: â€Å"Show proper respect to everyone.

Research science fiction Essay

During the summer I met up with Harinder to start building our website and to get an idea of what it would include and look like. We decided to use the program Dream Weaver since it was more flexible compared to word or Frontpage and it had many features that we could use for our website, such as different backgrounds and texts. Dream weaver enabled us to use Flash MX which has much more effective graphics which we couldn’t get on Front Page such as the flash buttons and 3-d backgrounds all to make our website suit the Sc-Fi theme. We targeted our audience immediately by choosing the theme Science Fiction which appeals to teen and young adult males. We kept the audience involved furthermore by the type of language we chose to use which wasn’t too complicated yet not too patronising. The set up of the page was kept colourful, yet formal, by not having the hyperlinks and pictures all over the page. It would therefore appeal to the younger and older generations of our audience. We also targeted the audience by adding more features to our website like voting and a guest book so they feel welcome and give feed back on what they thought of our website. The strengths and weaknesses of our production are fairly clear. Some of the strengths are that it appeals to a wide range of audiences which means that more people are attracted to our website and it would be popular. Another strength would be the different kinds of features that make up our website, from the different types of flash buttons to the backgrounds, wallpapers and pictures. The weaknesses of our website include the appearance of the homepage; it looks too cluttered at the top then too empty at the bottom. The colours don’t match especially with the different coloured buttons. Another weakness would be that on a page like the picture page all of the links are down on one side of the page and the rest of the page looks empty. We could have avoided this problem by putting more pictures and links on the page. One more weakness I could pick out would probably be that it takes quite a long time to load up the site. This could be put down to the fact that there is a lot of links and features on our webpage which slows down the connection and makes it harder for the computer to find the proxy settings. The responses from our target audience were good. We asked people between the ages of 15-30 years of age what they thought of our website. We got some good responses especially from the younger members of our audiences, such as the layout of the website and the features is good quality. They did offer some improvements, such as it needed more information put into the site. The point came up again that the home page was too cluttered and looked over crowded. The older generation of our audience also thought the site was very effective. Some proposed improvements were that we needed to take more care when writing the movie reviews since there was a lot of spelling mistakes. Also that some of the other pages seemed empty with only a few links on them. It was proposed we should have either not made a links page for the pictures page or made more links and pictures. Another improvement suggested that we should have made our website even more formal if we wanted to aim at a wider range of 25 year olds upward, by not having the colourful buttons or backgrounds but having them black and white. I feel I learnt that we needed to have deadlines between ourselves to get certain things finished and then move on to the next thing instead of going back and finishing off pictures or reviews. You need to have people in your group that you can rely on to have work finished and handed in. Appendix 1. Google – Search Engine 2. Science Fiction Websites- * Sci-fi.com * Sciencefic.com * Science Fiction Movie Reviews Pages * Science Fiction Picture Pages 3. Ask- Search Engine 4. Lycos- Search Engine

Game theory in online game market Essay

In Chinese online game market, there are two normal price strategies, Charging and Free. The Charging means that the customers need to pay for the game. They need to buy the game client or pay for the playing time (for example: RMB30 for 4000minits or RMB90 for 1month). The Free means that the customers can play the basic game for free. And they can buy some items in the shop on the official website or directly in the game store. The two players I picked for this analysis are World of Warcraft from Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.and a new launched online game from Beijing Perfect World Network Technology Co. , Ltd. Blizzard Entertainment is one of the best game producers all over the world. And the World of Warcraft is one of the three most famous game launched by Blizzard Entertainment. In number of simultaneous online players of World of Warcraft reached its peak on 2009 at about 13million players. This number decreased to about 10million in 2012. And now, based on the financial report from Blizzard Entertainment, this number is about 8million. Perfect World is one of the most famous game producers in China. They launched more than 15 online games not only in Chinese market, but also in oversea market such as Europe, North America, Russia and Australia. My topic is about that Perfect World wants to launch a new online game in Chinese market. And then Blizzard Entertainment will decide the price strategy for World of Warcraft. Both the two company has two price strategies, Charging and Free. The World of Warcraft now using the Charging price strategy. Because that when Blizzard Entertainment launched World of Warcraft, it was the best online game in the online game market. Now some of their customers go to play free games. But the World of Warcraft still being seen as has higher quality than any â€Å"Made in China† online games. Perfect World Blizzard EntertainmentPW: Free BE: FreePW: Charging BE: Free PW: Free BE: ChargingPW: Charging BE: Charging In the left top block, both the two company choose Free. In this case, more customers will choose Blizzard Entertainment’s game. At the same price, they will naturally choose the better one. But the Blizzard Entertainment’s profits will decline as they translate from Charging to Free. In the left bottom block, Blizzard Entertainment keep Charging and Perfect World choose Free. This situation is what happened in recent years. Some of their customers go to play free games. The Blizzard Entertainment will lose their customers and profits. In the right top block, Blizzard Entertainment changes its price strategy to Free but Perfect World chooses Charging. In this case, most of customers will choose Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft. Because they can play higher quality game for free. In the right bottom block, both the two company choose Charging. In this situation, both of them will lose their profits. The customers will go to find other free games in the market. So l will evaluate the case as follow: Perfect World Blizzard EntertainmentPW: Free(4) BE: Free(5)PW: Charging(3) BE: Free(10) PW: Free(5) BE: Charging(6)PW: Charging(3) BE: Charging(3) So we can see that no matter Blizzard Entertainment choose Charging or Free, Perfect World will choose Free to get more profits. That means, in this Sequential Game, Perfect World has its domain option to choose Free. After Perfect World make its decision, Blizzard Entertainment will keep Charging to get more profits.

Answers to questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answers to questions - Essay Example In Europe cities, the urban social world is a set of compartments in which most of the people in one compartment encompass no contact with the person in the other compartment. This means that the social life in the region is scrappy. However, advantages of the urban life are weighed against estrangement issues, stress, increased daily costs, and negative social aspects. This comes because of marginalization. From these classical theories, it is clear that people travel to the cities in search of new fortunes, and the social mobility. Industries that provide jobs and exchange in the capital are concentrated in the urban areas, which contribute much into this chief shift from the rural areas. The foreign money flows in a country through the ports and banking systems. In within the urban areas, people move to different within a short period due to proximity to these jobs and other activities. As a result, interaction between these people becomes difficulty since most of the persons are concentrated on their development issues. This has caused a significant stress to these dwellers because they have greater activity in certain areas while their brains are involved negative moods. On the view of the principal division in the social contact, many issues are in the verge of breaking up like the mental illness, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and mood disorders. Therefore, these main shifts and little or no contacts render the social life in cities cold and unemotional (Shannon, Kleniewski & Cross, 1991). 2. Coalition The growth coalition is an organization that ensures a level playing field between the real estate development and the citizen in the urban area. The main aim is to promote a vibrant and a sustainable growth as well as enhancing the relationship. Growth coalition is observed in two dimensions, through the national power structure and the local power structure. The local power structures are land based growth coalitions, which seek to intensify the land us e. These structures are opposed by neighborhoods they raid or pollute, and by environmentalists. However, the land based growth coalition has raised a conflict between the growth elites and the neighbors on the growth conditions of increasing rents. This makes the land based structure to take interest that profit them from the increase of the land use. They see their future as uniting link because of common desires to increase their individual packages. Concentrations in the no decent houses are for h low income earners, which is a pressure to the local growth coalition. These growth coalitions face oppositions when it affects neighborhoods or the environment through the high prices, new open ways, the industrial pollution, noise among other factors. This leaves the poor mostly affected in the growth coalitions. In response to this, we should encourage the liberal regimes to expand their opportunities, employment, and services for the poor without challenging the growth coalitions. This will help to increase the developments. Through empowering, the poor and the minority for affordable housing will help much in the development. Other factors that will step up the growth is by acquiring resources to aid in the local government, promote the traditional growth coalitions, as well as the slashed social services. This growth will promote in generating jobs and tax revenues if properly managed (Shannon,

Ethics andPublic Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethics andPublic Administration - Essay Example The author of the paper "Ethics and Public Administration" assumes that morality defines the way in which one differentiates their intentions, how they arrive at their decisions and choose actions that their consciousness perceives to be right over what is wrong (Kakabadse, Korac-Kakabadse & Kouizmin 2003). Politics, on the other hand, entails the practice of structured control over people on an individual or civic level by those in governance positions. The functions of politics range from making laws to negotiating with opposing political views in order to promote one’s views, to exercising force against enemies (which may include warfare). On the social level, politics is practiced from family units, clans, tribes and societies. On a broader scale, it is inherently present in local governments, institutions, states and international levels (Kakabadse, Korac-Kakabadse & Kouizmin 2003). In view of morality and politics, Machiavelli, an Italian writer, humanist, philosopher, d iplomat and politician of the renaissance period, argued that the requirements of the two are not compatible. Although there are upright, incorruptible politicians, it is common knowledge that most require help from influential individuals or corporate bodies to get past the preliminary stages of elections. However, this help is more often than not to be paid back, which forms the basis of argument of this paper, which will support the argument that the requirements of a moral and political life are incompatible.... When factional conduct is pursued, it always compromises the goal of common welfare which politicians are ideally meant to achieve. Evidently, factions are, therefore, the results of both public and private corruption among the citizens. Machiavelli believed that to avoid the corruption, one had to choose between two sets of virtues. Whoever chose personal morality would have to give up any vision of an unwavering and prosperous society where everyone flourishes on what is rightfully earned. On the other hand, whoever chose politics would have to give up all hopes of quenching personal anxiety. One sees that Machiavelli’s thinking shows that although the ultimate goal of personal morality and politics may be the same, they are driven by entirely different sets of values that contradict each other and may lack rational, achievable solutions (James 2003). After officiating in the Florentine Republic as secretary to the chancery and being responsible for military and diplomatic a ffairs, Machiavelli’s arguments must have been informed by actual experiences. One of his popular writings, The Prince, was done after the recovery of power by the Medici, who were not in power during the time he served as secretary to the chancery. From The Prince, one can draw a picture of Machiavelli’s view of political rule without influence of ethics or morals, where the politicians are completely conscious of the institution of politics in exercising power effectively. Like many political philosophers, Machiavelli believes there is a correlation between authority and moral uprightness. However, he goes further to point out that the relationship is different when it comes to â€Å"legitimate† authority. Exercising political power can

Marketing and globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing and globalisation - Essay Example However, such of re-appropriation mainly came into lime-light in case of Yoga. As a result, blending of the cultural practices of yoga of one place with another presented an inventive look to it, which is highly preferred and accepted by the citizens of modern age. However, by doing so, the cultural traditions and behaviours or attitudes of the individual of diverse culture might also be realised that may prove effective in reducing the rate of conflicts and clashes (Ritzer, 2007, pp. 912-923). Hence, such type of cultural acculturation or re-appropriation helps in enhancement of interpersonal relationships among the citizens of diverse culture and countries thereby improving the intensity of tolerance and frankness among the citizens. According to Howes (2007), values and ideas of consumer culture is extremely difficult to measure or determine. This is because these are hypothetical in nature and may be analysed or evaluated only by their acceptable nature. This means, if the norms or ideas or traditions of any culture is preferred or liked by any immigrant or individual of diverse culture, then it may be calculated by his or her behaviours or attitudes as stated by the theory of consumer acculturation (Howes, 2007, pp. 178-190). As a result of a theory of consumer acculturation, most of the citizens are accepting or preferring the blended forms of technology, cultural practices, products, manufacturing techniques, (Klien, 2000, pp. 223-234) marketing or promotional ideas and many others (Brenkert, 2008, pp. 123-134). For example: Yoga is considered as a rational set of practices develop in order to enhance religious or holy enlightenments. Yoga is performance in order to reduce the idea of ignorance thereby enha ncing the inner confidence and trust. By doing so, the impact of spiritualism enhances that improves the inner morale and buoyancy of the individual. However, in modern age, the concept or

Precis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Precis - Essay Example Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized in order to assist the adults who have terminal illness. This response is sympathetic to patient who is suffering and dying. They deliver themselves when they accept PAS on their own without coercion. When all the systems are in proper working condition, the choice of PAS will come after all other ways of treatment are exhausted and not any one method is able to treat the suffering the patient has. If the patient is in the right mind, he or she is allowed to call for assistance to end their life. This can be interpreted to mean that, a physician is allowed to give medicine prescription that will speed up death. This is only done with the consent of the patient. (1) There are fears that minority and the vulnerable may be forced to sign for the premature death. Safeguards should be put in place to prevent some medical personnel may abuse the legal laws to coerce the handicapped, minority the elderly and all other vulnerable populations sign to their premature deaths being anxious because you know the future carry the pain and death for you can only be put to rest through the PAS . After you die suffering will come to an end and the rising medical bill will be put to a halt. Individual should be allowed to make this decision without being forced by anyone be it the government, religion, or relatives. Out of what they are going through, they will decide on their own. Ethical, any person with terminal illness should be given the right to end his or her life. They should be able to do that with dignity. Quality of life is an important factor to consider in this argument. The religious supporters put forward this argument that life is sacred and belongs to God and it is always better to live than being dead. On the other hand the ethical argument says that life should continue only if the person

The coming of age of caherine sloper in washington square and huck Essay

The coming of age of caherine sloper in washington square and huck finn in hucklberry finn - Essay Example at is central to both the stories is the coming-of-age of the protagonists, and the way in which they realize their inner strength and moral aptitude. Henry James’s position in the literary world is incomparable owing to the diversity of his works and the great volume of his literary works. His mastery of the psychological genre of novel writing and his innovative writing style makes his work distinct from that of other famous masters of the trade. Henry James believed that a piece of written work is good, if it resembles the intelligent conversation of men, and that is one of the reasons for the conversational style of his writing. Henry James employed the stream of consciousness method, where the novel is told from the point of view of a character. Some of the most famous books by him are â€Å"The Portrait of a Lady† â€Å"The Bostonians† and â€Å"Daisy Miller†. He also wrote a large number of short stories and essays in addition to criticisms. Setting is a very important element in his writing, and his characters and themes are seen in relation to their setting, and various eras and periods in time are used as the tools which create obstacles in the life of his characters. â€Å"Washington Square† is one of his early short novels which deals with the future of a young, simple girl is controlled by her authoritarian father, who rejects her young suitor. There ensues a battle of wills, all fought within the elegant townhouse which is their residence, and the story is marked by an unexpected turn of events and an equally surprising ending. James W. Gargano in the essay â€Å"Washington Square: A study in the Growth of the Inner Self† has made a clear critique which puts Catherine Sloper at the centre of all the action in the novel and traces her growth- emotional, spiritual and psychological, while earlier critics had been content to see her as a dull homely girl, much like her father (Gragano, 355,357). But as is typical of all the heroines of James novels

Integrating Security and Usability into the Requirements and Design Research Paper

Integrating Security and Usability into the Requirements and Design Process - Research Paper Example The user interface design of the touch screen register has features that enable it to attain security. First, the new system enforces access controls by requiring that every cashier supplies a matching pair of user-id and password in order to log in to the register. It is not only helpful in preventing non-legitimate access to the register, but also provides a good avenue to introduce role-based authentication. Moreover, it will be possible associating a given cashier with a certain workstation, and in certain instances, it is possible associating a cashier with a certain workgroup. Second, the registers ability to lock after four unsuccessful login attempts is a good strategy to suppress the efforts of brute force attackers and malicious insiders who will constantly use trial and error in a bid to gain unauthorized access to the system. Further, the safety of information stored therein is enhanced by the condition that only the managers can use a keycard to unlock the register follo wing unsuccessful login attempts. Finally, unauthorized access is also prevented by the registers ability to lock if the screen does not get touched for a period of three minutes. The system also features certain security utilities that to some extent collide with the usability. First, the restriction that only the cashier who was authenticated before the system locked will be in a position to unlock it is a feature that prevents the idea of other end-users performing malicious acts on other peoples account profile. Otherwise, new cashiers would need to restart the system. The tool also increases accountability whilst enhancing the systems intention to associate every action with a particular user (Wysocki, 2013).  

Defining Economic Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Defining Economic Justice - Essay Example This includes streamlining of the social order so that every person can access the basic means of existence and that means to improve the situation. It is a central ground between capitalism and communism economic principles, which allow private enterprises to earn a profit while ensuring that everyone remains above poverty line. Paul Heyne was a lecturer of economics who advocated his interests in religion, social issues, justice, and free markets economies. In his ideology, Paul Heyne incorporated joblessness, deficiency, incomes, unsafe jobs, globalization, the rich getting richer while the poor getting poorer, excises,  inadequate public schools, lack of health care, the right to form a union  as the basic guidelines to define economic justice. His main aim is to ensure that everyone remains above poverty line and harmonizes the gap between the rich and the poor. The slogan, â€Å"Production for people, not for profits† goes in line with the ideologies of Paul Theodore Heyne. He claims that economic justice involves the synchronization and balance between input and output. However, three principles contrast with his dogmas of economic justice. These principles are contribution, dispersal, and synchronization. The principle of contribution that was put forth describes how one makes input to the economic process so that they can make a living. The standard advocates for impartial opportunities in the process of gaining access to private property in productive assets as well as parity of opportunity in to engage in fecund work. Paul Heyne thought that the use of his principle would, help bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots’. However, this idea is wrong in that it promotes dependency on those people who work. By using this principle, it means that the individuals’ properties would be divided among the people who have an interest. His ideology advocated for equal results on the output even though the people claiming did no t themselves participate in producing the output. Secondly, Paul Heyne’s creed of economic justice goes against the distributive principle that exists because of the capitalist approach used. This approach requires that the output of an economic system to be shared according to labor and or capital contribution. The distributive justice that we use in the capitalist approach is directly linked to the distributive approach. This is because the distributive approach is like a rewarding mechanism that aims at rewarding every person according to his labor or capital contribution. Conflicting to this approach, Paul Heyne creed was wrong since it aims at rewarding all the society members even though they did not participate in the output creation. His ideology of economic justice may confuse the distributive philosophy in that Paul Heyne’s principle is like a charity work unlike the distributive principle, which is more of a reward mechanism that rewards effort put in an eco nomic system to gain a certain output. Likewise, I do not agree with Paul Heyne’s idea that a free and open market place with the exclusion of the government is the most objective and democratic means for determining the right price, right wages, and the right profits. Paul Heyne ideologies eliminate the government in decision-making. This is very wrong in that the government is a

History II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History II - Essay Example Japanese targeted Pearl Harbor and attacked Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is located on the west of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is under the command of United States Pacific Fleet. Japanese army attacked the Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December 1941. The impact of this attack was massive and began World War II. In the past the Pearl Harbor contained a shallow entrance and it was impossible for the large ships to enter the harbor (Hakim 93). The United States pacific fleet was previously located at the San Diego. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt relocated it and sent it to the Hawaii (Hakim 149). The American invasion in the Hawaii made changes to the harbor and the rules related to it. The main motive of making of Pearl Harbor as narrated by United State is to protect the sailor and other men which are related to whaling industry (Hakim 152). It was decided to make pearl harbor a duty free harbor to increase the trade in the vicinity. By the start of the 1900 to 1908 t he American Navy expanded and improved the services (Hakim 153). On the day of 7th December 1941 Japanese imposed a surprise military attack on the United States Navy at the Pearl Harbor. According to Japanese the imposed military action is to avoid United States Navy to interfere in the Japanese invasion to the other parts of the world (Hoyt 104). The Japanese air strike nearly crushed many of the United States naval ships.

Hr Manuel-Hbm Pharmaceuticals Lahore Essay Example for Free

Hr Manuel-Hbm Pharmaceuticals Lahore Essay There are certain easons behind adapting the employee recommendations intensively. Firstly, current employees know the best about the jobs need to be filled so, they can better recommend person who can better perform the particular jobs. Secondly, current employees will never suggest an applicant unless they make sure that he or she can perform confidently in front of managers. Because sending incapable applicant distort the image of employee who is promoting new applicant. 3. 1. 2. External searches: Other sources of recruitment are newspaper advertisements. This is the most popular method the company uses when it wants to publicly announce about its vacancies. Besides, HBM also use notifications pasting on different locations like walls and polls. The notification carries information of ‘Argent need of medical representative†. This help company to generate wide pool of applicant for the recruitment purpose Recommendations: Our company HBM uses advertisements for recruitment but company should also use the cyberspace method for recruitment. This method will ultimately help company to reduce its recruitment cost. Universities and collages notifications: HBM should use university and collages as sources of recruitment. Company should place information on the universities and collages notice boards and the websites. There company can capture fresh candidates. This method is also a cost effective method and beneficial for the recruitment. 3. 2. Selection phase: Company selection criteria include number of step the candidate has to pass through. 3. 2. 1. Initial screening: At this stage of selection, criterion company see that if candidate is fulfilling the minimum qualification, the candidate who meets the minimum qualification standard is then passed and eligible for the next coming stage. Rests of the candidates are rejected. 3. 2. 2. Completed application: HBM use a simple application form which contains simple questions like Name, Address, Telephone and Other personal information. It may include candidate’s experience, education and other experience certificates. Upon verification, if company finds any information faked, the candidate can be rejected. 3. 2. 3. Employment test: Because HBM’s major workforce is SPO (Sales Promotion Officer), merely SPO’s are required to qualify in the test. This simple test is based on memory the candidate is required to memorize medicine literature then his pronunciation, speaking fluency is checked. The pass candidates proceed for the next stage. In contrast, HBM does not take any test for candidates who are striving for other professions like accountant, storekeeper and security guard. Comprehensive interview: Here directors and zonal sales managers take the comprehensive interview. Applicant’s confidence and its emotional stability are checked here. Almost all candidates, belong to different knowledge background are required to pass through the comprehensive interview in order to check their confidence level. 3. 2. 5. Unconditional Job offers: After the comprehensive interview if applicants perform intelligently, HBM will offer conditional or unconditional job. Recommendations: HBM should use employment test for accountants, storekeepers and other applicants in order to measure applicant’s abilities, communication skills and analytical skills. Depending, which applicant fall in which category that’s how company can fill vacancy with who is better fit for the particular job. SPO’s should also be given test to gauge their selling techniques as they spend most of their time in selling medicine. SPO’s personal grooming should be give significant importance during hiring process. For Accountant position, HBM must take test to make sure their analytical skills 4. Socialization and Orientation Plan: Loneliness and a feeling of isolation are not unusual for new employees-they need special attention to put them at ease. So, the organization must follow the socialization process to update each new employee about the values and norms of working at HBM Pharmaceuticals. 4. 1. Socialization Process: †¢ Pre-arrival stage: The organization will use selection process to inform prospective employees about the organization as a whole. †¢ Encounter stage: If the new employees found the differences between their expectations about job and reality then these employees should be socialized to detach them from their previous assumptions and replace these with the organizations’ pivotal standards. †¢ Metamorphosis stage: Higher management will provide help to recently hired employees in case of any problem they faced during working in the organization. Each individual should be informed about the evaluation process. That is, they’ve gained an understanding of what criteria will be used to measure and appraise their work. A trusted environment should be developed and maintained by the higher management so that each employee should feel comfortable to work with the organization. Socialization of new employees can also be possible through the new-employee orientation process. 4. 2. New-employee Orientation Process: Activities that introduce new employees to the organization and their work units are the part of orientation. 4. 2. 1. The CEO’s Role in Orientation: The CEO as the head of the company’s executive management should participate in the orientation process to encourage new employees to work for this organization and also let the new employees to talk about their concerns. The CEO should visit each regional office at the announced date for at least once in a month to meet collectively with all new employees. 4. 2. 2 HRM’s Role in Orientation: The role of Human Resource Department is very important in the orientation because generally this department is responsible for recruiting and selection process. Currently, as there is no functional HR Department in the HBM Pharmaceuticals, so it is the duty of Director Sales and Zonal Sales Managers (ZSM’s) to play their role by conducting the official gatherings where the new employees will meet with the old employees and their interactions will develop. If the new employee is hire as Regional Sales Manager (RGM) or Zonal Sales Manager (ZSM) then The CEO will be present at the orientation ceremony. If the new employee is hired at other position, except that mentioned above, than the ZSM’s are responsible for orientation. ZSM should offer these new employees what else he/she can do for them in the future. 5. Training and Development Plan: 5. 1. Employee Training: There are two types of training available in HBM Pharmaceuticals: one for the new hiring and the other is for the existing employees. 5. 1. 1. New employees: Training is only available for new hiring as Sales Promotion Officer (SPO). It is mandatory that new employees for all other positions available should be experienced and they should have the skill set required for the specific job. 5. 1. 2. Existing employees: Major portion of job positions in HBM Pharmaceuticals is sales oriented. If the employee at certain level is not fulfilling his/her responsibilities according to the job description then he/she will be offered a training session by his/her immediate officer. In that meeting, problem should be discussed with the targeted employee and try to identify the potential solution for that problem. If the officer recommends then the employee should be sent on training. Training can also be offered in such a case if the existing employee is promoted from one position to other position and the management perceives that training is needed to enhance the skill set and abilities of the employee. 5. 2. Determining training needs: 5. 2. 1. SPO: The job of Sales Promotion Officer is very critical for the organization. Newly hired SPO should be offered 1 month training: to enhance his/her subjective knowledge about the products; to increase communication skills; and to develop the interpersonal skills to work as a team. Existing SPO’s have to fulfill their targets. If any SPO is unable to fulfill his/her target then RSM/ZSM will discuss the matter with him/her at weekly meeting. RSM/ZSM will try to identify and solve the problem. If the SPO can not improve his/her performance after the counseling session then RSM/ZSM can recommend a training session for the particular employee. 5. 2. 2. Office staff: Training will be offered to office staff if working pattern has changed in the organization. For example: by implementing new technology equipment, or the addition of new process in the job description of office staff. 5. 2. 3. RSM/ZSM: These are experienced staff. Their responsibilities are also high because it is their duty to manage a group of subordinates. Managerial level skills are required for that job. If the employee at this position has some problem regarding his/her attitude or leading a team then Director Sales can recommend a training session to enhance their interpersonal skills as well as their leadership skills. 5. 2. 4. The CEO and Director Sales: HBM Pharmaceuticals is a partnership concern and it is owned by two persons: one is CEO and other is Director Sales. So, training is the personal discretion of these two individuals. If they think that through training, they can manage their business more effectively then they can go for a training session. 5. 3. Training Methods: There are several methods which can be used by the management to train their employees according to their needs and the job position. 5. 3. 1. SPO: For new joining SPO’s, it is most appropriate to use â€Å"classroom lectures† to train them because this is the method used to increase their subjective skills. It will also helpful for them to enhance their communication skills. For existing SPO’s to increase their productivity, RSM/ZSM should meet them personally and give them personal support. Due to this meeting, the problem will be solved and along with benefit, SPO’s morale will be increased. 5. 3. 2. RSM/ZSM: Classroom lectures as well as On-the-Job Training Methods are used to train RSM/ZSM. Director Sales will recommend the most appropriate method according to the situation and problem. 5. 4. Employee Development: Employee development focuses more on the employee’s personal growth. Successful employees prepared for positions of greater responsibility have analytical, human, conceptual and specialized skills. 5. 4. 1. Employee Development Methods: There are several methods which are used to develop managerial and non-managerial staff. Appropriate method selection will depends on situation. 5. 4. 2. Developing Office Staff: Job Rotation is the appropriate and recommended method to develop office staff. The concerned authority can choose horizontal or vertical Job Rotation to develop office staff according to the skill set of the staff. 5. 4. 3. Developing SPO to Senior SPO: Job Rotation is a good method to develop the abilities of SPO so that he/she can become Senior SPO. Vertical Job Rotation can be selected for this situation. 5. 4. 4. Developing Senior SPO to RSM: RSM is quite big position for senior SPO. So it is recommended that â€Å"Assistant-to-Position method† should be used to develop senior SPO to RSM. Senior SPO will work as an assistant to RSM to get in depth knowledge of the responsibilities of RSM and he/she can develop himself/herself in a better way according to the new responsibilities. 5. 4. 5. Developing RSM to ZSM: RSM and ZSM both are managerial positions and the position holders are experienced professionals. The only difference is the level of responsibility. ZSM is responsible for the sales of whole zone which is a quite big responsibility. Therefore, it is recommended that â€Å"Assistant-to-Position Method† and â€Å"Lecture courses and Seminars† are used to enhance the decision making skills of RSM and to improve more team management skills. 5. 4. 6. Developing ZSM to Director Sales: In the current organization settings, ZSM can only become Director if he/she became the partner of HBM Pharmaceuticals. It is recommended that the position of Director Sales should not be fixed for Partners and ZSM should be developed to this position on the base of his/her performance. 6. Performance Appraisals: Performance appraisals must convey to employees how well they have performed on established goals. It’s also desirable to have these goals and performance measures mutually set between the employee and the supervisor. 6. 1. Appraisal Methods: There are several methods which are used by management to evaluate employee performance. According to the nature of business of HBM Pharmaceuticals, we are recommending a method called â€Å"Using Achieved Outcomes to Evaluate Employees† or â€Å"Management by Objectives (MBO)†. 6. 1. 1. Management by Objectives (MBO): Four ingredients are common to MBO program: 6. 1. 1. 1. Goal specificity: The objectives in MBO should be concise statements of expected accomplishments. Tangible objectives should be expressed in the statements. 6. 1. 1. 2. Participative Decision Making: Participative decision making should be used by manager and employees, in setting objectives and agrees on how they will be achieved. As the interests of managers and employees are directly linked with stretched objectives and achievement of these objectives then they will definitely put their maximum effort to achieve those objectives. 6. 1. 1. 3. An explicit time period: Each objective has a concise time, too, in which it is to be completed. In our situation, it is 1 month. 6. 1. 1. 4. Performance Feedback: Continuous feedback on performance and goals are recommended. Twice a week meeting should be conducted by ZSM to get performance feedback and to discuss the routine matters with the field staff and to countercheck the performance whether the sales are meting the monthly goal plan. 6. 2. Performance Evaluation Standards and Appraisals: There are different performance evaluation standards for different positions: 6. 2. 1. Office Staff: If the office staff performs their responsibilities according to their Job Description then their salary will be increased by Rs. 500 quarterly. If the employee performance is excellent from consecutive 3 months then a special pay raise can be offered by the Director Sales. 6. 2. 2. SPO: Each SPO has some sales targets given by RSM/ZSM. It is his/her responsibility to fulfill those targets. Performance Appraisal meetings should be conducted at the end of each quarter. Upon the achievement of 80% targets for consecutive 4 months: 30% basic pay rise. Upon the achievement of 80% targets for consecutive 3 months: 20% basic pay rise. 6. 2. 3. RSM/ZSM: Upon the achievement of 80% targets for consecutive 4 months: 30% basic pay rise.

Causes of Film Cult Status: Donnie Darko

Causes of Film Cult Status: Donnie Darko Film Donnie Darko Abstract The following dissertation developed out of an enthusiastic interest in â€Å"Cult† film fandom and, in particular, Donnie Darko (Kelly: 2001). The desire to study the film in depth through a case study into its fandom came from my own curiosity and ambition to decipher and understand the level of fandom that surrounds the film, and how that formulated. Through reviewing and studying other academics work in the field and their own theories on cult films it acknowledged the diverse work when trying to find a solid definition and the complexities that follow the term â€Å"cult†. The research was used as the core of my study whilst examining Donnie Darko throughout the dissertation, using the work as not only a definition for cult but also theories on reception and fandom. .. By looking at the pre release of the film itself and the critical reception that followed an interesting debate is revealed: Was Donnie Darko created to become a â€Å"Cult† film? By conducting a study into the critical and fan reception of Donnie Darko it became apparent of the impact this had on the film’s cult status and also of how the cult fandom communities communicate and operate with each other in the form of dedicated fan web sites and fan message boards. By taking into consideration the various components of Donnie Darko, pre release, distribution, fan and critical reception, the conclusion of how much Donnie Darko can be represented as a Cult film can be found. It is plain to see what impact the internet had on the success of its reception with fans and revivals for re-releases, all of which point to the film being deliberately manufactured to adhere to cult sensibilities. Introduction In contemporary film and media there has always been an interest in fan studies and audience reception but there has been limited work on the specific genre of cult fandom and cult films. The research that is already available on the subject of cult films is inconclusive and does not share a common definition of what cult film is. I believe that it is possible to make a structured framework of what makes a film cult from existing research but there is insufficient study in respect of how cult films can be seen to be deliberately made. It is my hypothesis that film makers now have the knowledge to be able to construct and manipulate their films into gaining a cult audience, and that by researching this it will inform future academic discourse in the area of cult film. This piece of work will endeavour to map out the techniques used to create a cult film and thereby gain a cult audience and from this it will be possible to determine whether or not cult films are a carefully constructed and marketed text. In this dissertation, which takes the form of a case study, the 2001 Richard Kelly film Donnie Darko will be analysed in terms of how it has achieved the perceived status of being branded a cult film. The aim of this will be to define what a cult film is, and what attributes constitute a cult film, whilst looking at levels of fandom and considering whether or not cult is more ordinary than first perceived. The first section of this paper will discuss existing definitions of what cult films are, and also the problems faced when defining them. Having arrived at a solid definition of what a cult film is it will be used as the reference point when considering cult film in terms with Donnie Darko for the rest of the paper. A film’s cult status is not dependant on textual aspects alone and, in the final section of the paper, I will take a look at the reception of Donnie Darko amongst critics and general fans; this is, arguably, the most essential element to consider in terms of understanding how the status of cult film was conferred upon Donnie Darko. By referring to academic journals and contemporary reviews of the film in commercial film magazines and on websites it will be possible to arrive at an idea of how the critics formed the cult idea. Lacking a formal outlet, fan reception is harder to analyse, but by surveying fan communities online in the form of a dedicated fansite and one specifically created forum for Donnie Darko fans, it will be possible to analyse the fandom surrounding the film. Also, through analysis of focus groups of self proclaimed Donnie Darko fans, it will, through their discourse and opinions, be possible to map how cult fans react and use the text, in order to find out whether the film was constructed for this purpose. Literature Review – What Is Cult? When studying Cult Film it is first important to arrive at a robust definition of the term in order to provide clarity throughout this study. â€Å"Cult Film† is a phrase that is often used, in the context of certain films, by film reviewers, critics and the film fans alike, but arriving at an academic definition of what the terms exactly means, and the attributes a film must be seen to have to conform to a notion of a cult framework, is a difficult task. Many theorists have proposed their own notions and definitions of what makes a film cult, each formulating a different variation of what they see as essential to the make-up of a cult film. Some suggest that a â€Å"cult film† is created through its overall consumption, whilst others attribute prominence to other elements that feature within the text themselves. In their work in the area of cult film Jancovich, Stringer, Willis and Reboll also recognise that the term cult has many different meanings and connotations, asserting that â€Å"(Cult) would include entries from such seemingly disparate subgenres as â€Å"bad film†, splatterpunk, â€Å"mondo† films, and sword and sandal epics, Elvis flicks† (Sconce 1995 cited in Jancovich et al 2003:1) the list goes on but the point they are trying to make is that an overwhelmingly large group of films could potentially be considered as cult. In their work they do not set out to completely define the exact characteristics of any specific movies, describing cult films as an â€Å"essentially eclectic category† (Jancovich et al 2003:1) the work also goes on to propose that there is no one single signifier or characteristic that is occupied by every cult film but that they are formed by the viewers and critics via a â€Å"subcultural ideology† (Jancovich:2003:1), and that, in terms of film, this ideology is formed when the audience or even the film maker choose to view the films in opposition to what is thought to be mainstream cinema. An example of this would be Hollywood cinema stories that have a beginning, middle and an end whilst following a set path which leads to a resolved and happy ending in most cases. Jancovich goes on to also describe how film fans claim the title of being a cult fan by suggesting that there are two separate groups. The first set of fans that are ones that can be seen to â€Å"revere specific films as works of true artistic and political independence† (Jancovich et al: 2003:2). Examples of such works would include Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) and more recently Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), these films although having gained much popularity can be perceived as being quite obscure and different. These differences are aesthetically pleasing for certain viewers that consider it cult. The other group of fans he describes are fans that watch films that can be viewed and celebrated for the simple fact that they have not adhered to mainstream cinema, these films, in a lot of cases, do not even have recognisable quality in terms of story or acting but are again enjoyed due to the over-the-top and often clichà ©d acting and effects. An example of this would be Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy in the 1980’s, which included over the top gory scenes and also clichà ©d catchphrases such as when the main character Ash (Bruce Campbell) is confronted by a demon who tells him that he will â€Å"swallow his soul† before Ash replies â€Å"Swallow this† kills the demon with a shotgun blast. Such celebration and viewings of these films, known as cult fandom, came from a direct opposition to main box office Hollywood hits and certain areas of movie fans seemed to crave these over-the-top and unusual films more than the epic blockbuster. This market for alternative films was not left unnoticed by film exhibitors and the emergence of art screenings began to emerge or, as Jancovich put it, they â€Å"turned to wealthy specialist audiences through the creation of art cinemas† (Jancovich et al 2003:3). The creation of such picture houses channeled the fans of these alternative films together and became their first forum to engage with each other. This can be considered a critical step in cult fandom emerging and is pertinent in terms of this study as it can be seen to correspond with the online forums that are now widely available for fans to discuss their passions. A phenomenon which is discussed in detail below. Jancovich et al goes on to touch on the spate of technological advances that have recently begun to have a bearing on whether films gain the status of cult. For example new media outlets such as digital television, art cinemas, VHS, DVDs and most recently the internet that allow higher distribution of films, regardless of the film’s success in the mainstream cinemas. This technological revolution of distribution is described by Jancovich as â€Å"a powerful market force† (Jancovich et al 2003:4). Such a market force means that films that completely failed at the box office and have been written off by critics can nevertheless go on to gain a loyal fan base simply through buzz generated by fans telling each other about the films. A phenomenon which has become increasingly prevalent with the rise of the internet fan bases. Jancovich et al acknowledge a number of problems with the new rise in technology, the first of which being that the wide array of possible ways for the films to be seen now â€Å"threatens distinction and exclusivity†(Jancovich et al 2003) something which cult movies and their fans depend on. This is a particularly interesting notion, as it suggests that although the available media outlets allow fans a base on which to share their film interests on, it can also mean that film makers can market carefully constructed films, which adhere to all the attributes that have made many other cult films successful, directly in order to tap into a specific, pre-identified cult audience. There are examples of films being made for the specific purpose of gaining a cult status or a highly niche audience to form a cult, this warps the notion of what cult film is due to the deliberate attempt to create a fan base rather than one being spontaneously generated. This can lead to films appearing to have the textual elements of a cult film but not have the same following of that of a cult film but, rather, that of a failed mainstream film. A fan base which is essential to the idea of cult. An example of a failed cult film would be I Heart Huckabees (Russel:2004) its confusing, multi level narrative and overall unusualness, whilst seeking a cult market, has not generated any significant fan support, so cannot be considered cult as loyal fan base is a reoccurring element in any cult definition. One film that might been seen to be a successful manufacturing of a cult was The Blair Witch Project, using alternative technology, with the use of the handheld cameras, not seen before in modern Hollywood. This film can be also said to be the first film to properly use the internet as a tool for advertising their film, through a cult medium. h Be that as it may, it is not to say that any film with a fan base will be considered cult. Films such as Star Wars (Lucas) which has perhaps the biggest, obsessive fan base of any film could be perceived as being far too popular in the mainstream to be even considered as cult. This is one of the many difficulties in investigating what a cult film is but despite of this it is still essential to investigate films on many levels to identify and confirm a films cult status.The reception of a film after its release represents perhaps the biggest part in the creation of a cult film and this happens through two groups – The Fans and The Critics. First of all the viewing public play a major part in the cult success of a film and only through fandom can a film achieve a true cult status. Cult films could be labeled through critics calling it so in a review, this can cause a domino effect and influence fans to begin acknowledging the film as having cult status, due to the academic labeling of cult. Critical approval though is not as concrete evidence of a films status, as the slating of a film by a critic could in turn create a higher cult following for that film.Harper and Mendik in their work have put forward a number of characteristics of films that are considered cult after analyzing a number of cult films. They point towards futuristic ideas, the paranormal, scattered and complex narratives, gory violence and events that cannot be explained, this are seen to be essential to being able to put films into a cult category (Harper Mendik 2000:8 to10). This work along with Jancovich et al’s approaches cult film as a type of counter culture. An alternative culture to Hollywood and its principles and practices in terms of film and also counter to the norms of the rest of western society. Although there are many differing views on what a cult film is, this is the definition that will be used and acknowledged throughout the rest of the study and is the template for what will be considered â€Å"Cult†. The definition above is not complete however as , although it does describe what elements the film has to have for the reader of the text to describe it as cult, it does not entirely show what cult fandom is, and as a result it is essential to read the text as what Barry Grant describes as the â€Å"supertext†. What is meant by the â€Å"supertext† is that more than just the text is studied and in relation to cult film its distribution, consumption and reception all play a pivotal role in its cult definition or as Grant himself describes â€Å"Because cult films, by common definition involve some intense devotion on the part of their audience† (Grant 2000:14) It is Grant’s view that the supertext, in the form of a cult film can transport the viewer away from their own reality by using a certain text to escape from their norms as Grant states in his work on The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which he contends that â€Å"it is a fundamentally ambiguous text that can comfortably accommodate opposed readings. Because of its well-known phenomenon of audience participation, the move also is perhaps the clearest demonstration of the cult films supertextual significance† (Grant 2000:19). This view ties in with audience reception theory and the Uses and Gratifications model to be exact. Throughout this study fans’ behavior will be looked at in relation to the Uses and Gratifications (UG) which is a body of approaches underpinned by the basic idea that people use texts and the media to gain specific gratifications out of them or as Blumler and Katz state It presents the use of media in terms of the gratification of social or psychological needs of the individual (Blumler Katz 1974). In their work on UG Jay G Blumler and Elihu Katz put forward four sub-sections when considering in what areas the audience were gaining gratification from media texts; these include surveillance, personal relationships, personal identity and diversion. The element that relates closest to the work on cult film and in particular Grant’s work is the Diversion section, which is described as a media text which allows the user an escape from reality. Also the section on personal identity is relevant to this study as it is described as a person creating their own identity from things they find attractive in the media. These two sub-sections will be considered when studying fans that use Donnie Darko as it demonstrates the cult fan’s relationship to the text as being active and is the closest media theory to the work already studied on cult film. Finally, in considering the phenomenon of online fandom, it is worth noting Matt Hills work on newsgroups which describes online fandom as something separate and new from offline fandom, or as Matt Hills states â€Å"The mediation of ‘new media’ must be addressed rather than treated as an invisible term within the romanticised ‘new’. (Hills 2002:172). This particular study was useful to me in that it was the first to open my eyes into the usefulness of the data online when studying fans. Here Henry Jenkins explains the wealth of data that can be accessed â€Å"the computer net groups allow us to observe self-defined and ongoing interpretive community.. {Whose} discussions occur without direct control or intervention by the researcher, yet in a form that is legitimately open to public scrutiny and analysis† (Jenkins 1995 cited in Hills 2002: 174). I found this quote particularly useful when deciding on methodology and despite having already decided on focus group research to research fans face–to-face it became apparent that the internet also would have a wealth of data to be analysed without any interference from academics, making the data more valid.Overall what I can take from the literature review is the following definition of cult that will be used as a template for the study of Donnie Darko. Having studied many different theories, it is the following template that will be used when considering fans in relation to the film â€Å"A cult film is characterised by its active and lively communal following. Highly committed and rebellious in their appreciation, cult audiences are frequently at odds with cultural conventions.Cult films transgress common notions of good and bad taste, and they challenge genre conventions and coherent storytelling. Among the techniques cult films us are intertextual references, gore, loose ends in storylines, or the creation of a sense of nostalgia† (Cultographies: Cult Definition: Web: Accessed 10/03/08) As it is this definition, combined with the Jancovich’s theory that cult films can be deliberately made in a marketing attempt to gain a cult following, that will be used in relation to fans using Donnie Darko as a supertext to see how film makers can now manipulate a fan base, using new media technology as a base. Project Aims The aim of this study will be to follow the case study of Donnie Darko, it being a contemporary example of a cult film, and map out its reception as a cult film from its early cinema release to the reception of both fans and critics alike of subsequent releases of further editions of the film. By mapping out the film in this way it will become clearer not only how it adheres to the cult formula but also how cult is established or even in some cases manipulated. By studying fans of the film in relation to Grant’s work on the supertext it becomes clear how the film makers have influenced the level of fandom involved and also perhaps most importantly the fans’ contribution. Methodology To maximise the potential for results that hold quality and validity throughout my case study of Donnie Darko a number of different methods are used to gain the evidence I need to conclude this study. The purpose of focus groups in this study is to question fans of Donnie Darko on their level of fanaticism and also to find out how they were influenced by the film to become such a fan. The constitution of the focus groups is derived from personal networks, family and other university goers. My target population has no class, race or gender requirements, targeting the fanatical fans of Donnie Darko and as the film itself when it was released was targeted at teens and tweens the source group is taken from university students and their peer group. Focus groups were determined to be the optimum methodology, representing a practical and relatively inexpensive way to do research due to lack of a budget; the participants can be sought out and assembled quickly. The insights that are needed to make are immediately available, the insights in this case is what makes the film so important to their lives and the reasons behind them buying into the Donnie Darko cult.The benefits of using a focus group rather than just a survey revolve around the degree of interviewing flexibility as; during the focus groups it is possible to play clips from different films and to be able to study body language and interactions between the fans in relation to the enjoyment of different elements of cult films. Arthur Asa Berger describes the usefulness of this particular technique â€Å"The aim of the discussion is not to build a consensus, but just the opposite- to find out what each member of the focus group thinks about the topic under discussion, to elicit from each person in the group his or her descriptions of behavior of interest.†(Berger 1991:91)The contents of the transcripts obtained from these focus groups are then read through and analysed using content analysis trying to draw distinction between a cult films being deliberately manufactured The attendees of the focus groups included five fans of the film that I had considered to be deeply involved with their fandom in regards to Donnie Darko. They were obtained by the sending of emails, Attached at Appendix B, to all students of Bath Spa University, asking them if they consider themselves fans of Donnie Darko and if they did if they would like to take part in a research project that would not take up much of their time. Their anonymity was also assured, as their gender was neither at issue nor who they were. Many replies were received,32 in all, and a response was sent back outlining the intentions of the study, how the findings would be used and what would be required of those willing to participate Potential participants were also sent a set of questions designed to test their level of fandom. These questions were derived from the largest Donnie Darko fan list (website) on the internet and required the respondent to possess a degree of knowledge necessary to being considered a â€Å"true† fan of Donnie Darko. The replies that were considered to most correspond with a high degree of fandom were subsequently selected to take part in the study. During the focus group session a number of set questions, Attached at Appendix A, were asked that were considered essential to my study. These questions were used as they facilitate an analysis of how the film makers attracted this cult market and what elements inspired the fans. The reasoning behind using the interview technique mixed with the focus group rather than questionnaire is that the interviews enabled participants to answer in their own words and language structure in favour of a mark out of 10 on a questionnaire sheet. This affords the findings a richer meaning as well as allowing for the clarification of certain meanings or, as Berger puts it, â€Å"The depth interview, on the other hand, is highly focused. It is conducted to get at matters such as hidden feelings or attitudes and beliefs that respondents may not be aware of or that are only dimly in their consciousness† (Berger 1991:57) The responses that are sought in order to prove the hypothesis that cult films are manufactured to directly gain a cult fan base are ones that relate to the film in terms of the definition of cult previously stated for example enjoyment of the loose plot or the sense of nostalgia that film brings to the viewer. Critical Reception Donnie Darko is firm cult fan favorite and has been named in numerous cult film list including coming 9th in Film Four’s 50 films to see before you die (channel 4: web). The film, set in 1988, takes place in a small town in the USA which is about to witness the end of the world. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a troubled youth who is plagued by visions of a giant rabbit named Frank who warns him of the worlds impending doom. Along with his girlfriend Gretchen (Jena Malone), and other people that help him along the way, he must try to understand the strange happenings at home, at school and his life. It is a struggle against time and life as he gets led closer to the end of the world. Donnie Darko was the debut film of director and writer Richard Kelly. It premiered at 2001 film festivals, generating a high level of â€Å"buzz† and picking up a number of awards; most notably the grand jury prize at the renowned Sundance Film Festival. The film generated a lot of hype arising from this festival buzz, and this hype in turn damaged the commercial success of the film. Film distributors were put off by the film’s multi-genre format and, arriving around the time of the terrorist acts of 9/11, the scenes of plane crashes at the start and end of the film, as one commentator states â€Å"Donnie Darko, a story of death and crashing jets, flopped in the US, not least because it came out just after 9/11† (Danny Leigh: 2004: Web). Because of this the film was considered a box office flop, only being able to amass $110,494(source IMDB) in its first weekend as it was only shown on 58 screens in the whole of the United States and, subsequently, only given a f ew weeks run, it was in danger of slipping off the radar. Under these situations, the press and critics may not have given Donnie Darko the attention and acclaim that is arguably deserved. At the time of release Richard Kelly had not explained that the film was open to interpretation and reviewers seemed at odds with the film, especially with what the film was trying to say or if indeed that the audience was required to create their own meaning. Searching for reviews of Donnie Darko it becomes apparent that few critics were agreed on the films agenda. The British Film Institute’s magazine Sight and Sound wrote that â€Å"(Donnie Darko is) about seemingly inconsequential but secretly connected details, and divine forces that compel characters to actions they dont understand† (Felperin 2002 web) Others do not share this view, with one reviewer deciding that Donnie Darko is merely a general teen movie and that â€Å"Donnie Darko may be the Everest of adolescent angst movies. A smart, emotionally troubled suburban teen wrestles with the usual stuff identity issues, bullies, well-meaning but clueless parents and various school absurdities† (W. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle 2001) and some clearly articulating their confusion, asking â€Å"Is it a horror film? A black comic parable of Generation X angst? A teen drama with a psycho edge? If not, what the hell is it? Looking in my notebook, I see I have scribbled: David Lynch, The X Files, Prozac Nation, My So-Called Life, Ghost World†¦.none of these quite nails the genre, and perhaps more importantly the tone of this very strange movie.† (Bradshaw: 2002 Guardian: Web) The confusion that was exhibited by the film critics can be attributed to the multifaceted and multi genre format that can be seen in most cult films. Donnie Darko’s mix of sci-fi, horror and comedy is reminiscent of other recent cult films such as Starship Troopers and Critters and apparent in reviews of an older cult favourite The Evil Dead which state that â€Å"The influence of The Three Stooges on its comical creative trio of director Raimi, producer Robert Tapert, and lead actor Bruce Campbell gives the film a playful but unsettling feeling† (Glanville 2001: BBC: Web). It is this unusual mix that gives cult films an ingredient that mainstream Hollywood lacks, cult films can be seen to go against these ideologies and critics did not miss this within Donnie Darko from the outset, claiming that â€Å"The product of first-time writer-director Richard Kellys fertile imagination, Donnie Darko is one part 1980s Hollywood teen movie, one part sci-fi flick, with a dollop of David Lynch and a twist of Catcher in the Rye. If you were cynical you might call that cocktail the instant cult classic† (Slater 2002: BBC Web). With reviews such as this the Donnie Darko cult begins to take shape in the public consciousness whilst the fact that the film seems to have been designed as a cult is also recognised by the reviewers. After the critics have their say it is down to the fans to make what they want of the film and whether or not the reviewers have a direct influence on the fans when calling films cult is another issue, but they can be seen reacting to Donnie Darko as they had with numerous cult films to go before it. By looking at Donnie Darko, we are looking at the most contemporary film to become such a cult success and much of the onus has been pointed towards the increase in new media technology and in particular the internet. The internet has enabled large groups of fans in fan communities that can easily support, critique and help each other to come to understand films, especially Donnie Darko. Not only can fans talk to each other about the film, the interest in film can be seen world wide and the buzz created helps spread the word and in turn influencing many sales on DVD â€Å"Following the success at the Pioneer, midnight screenings popped up across the country, fueling domestic DVD sales to more than $10 million† (Burnett: 2004 indiewire Web) these sales have since gradually increased in America and gaining a huge following in the U.K. In much the same way as the critics were split and at odds with each other, the audience also lacked consensus, with some arguing that the plot holes and the general mystery around the film should be celebrated for making the film special and those who did not subscribe to this concept and expected the film to be resolved for them. Such oppositions in taste between fans and critics alike creates the perfect grounds for a cult to form and to be celebrated, this becomes clearer when studying the fan communities themselves. Study Phase 2 Returning to the internet, as represent the primary vehicle and forum for fans to communicate with each other, often in the form of dedicated fan sites. Such sites are created by individual wishing to share their fandom of the film with others and seeking to explain Donnie Darko in their own way. Perhaps the main source of discourse between fans takes place on interactive message boards, an online version of the ‘book club’ model for example. By analysing and describing the audience reception to Donnie Darko, it gives us additional insight into the level and type of fandom that is associated with cult films. More now than ever before, due to technological advances, fans are able to discuss and interpret their views on the film, and even doubters of the film can read the views of fans and be drawn into the mystery of the film. Such debates not only invoke discussion but allow the fans to obtain pleasure from the text and becoming more literate in it. The internet discussion rooms help breed the cult in more ways than the discussion itself. The debates between fans lead on to other events such as the viewing of the film again, evaluating and developing new ideas obtained from reading other fan theories. Subsequent development of their own new ideas to share with other fans is encouraged, not only adding value to their own reading of the text but also boosting the pleasure of the community as a whole. It can be argued that such close inspection and dismantling of the text, leads to the film being used in a way that was not the intention of its author, Richard Kelly, but it is this hardcore following of fans online that have created the success for Donnie Darko and without their keen following and debates the film would not be ascribed cult status. Here it may be pertinent to refer back to the idea of the supertext as we can identify the fans’ reception as showing the commitment and passion required to form the cult of Donnie Darko using the internet as the foundation for the fans personal but maybe imagined affiliation with the film. When searching the internet, on a search engine, typing in â€Å"Donnie Darko Fansite† brings up thousands and thousands of pages and, after reading through many of them, it seeme

The Effects Of Globalisation On McDonalds

The Effects Of Globalisation On McDonalds Globalization has led to movement towards the integration of several different markets. Over the past years we can observe how markets from all over the world have transitioned to function together, being more interrelated and interdependent to each other. The shift towards one world economy was made possible because globalization has brought forward several benefits which enabled the ease of movement of business operations from one country to another. Technology has rapidly advanced over the years which made it much simpler to operate internationally and the increase in the power and importance of global organizations (like World Trade Organization) to discourage trade barriers among countries and promote international business and trade. Globalization has encouraged firms to go global and operate outside their local market. International expansion are done through various ways, firms can export their products and sell in international markets, franchising and licensing involve perm itting a business operation in other markets or allowing production of goods and services in other markets, e-business also helps reach out to customers all around the world. Businesses find it healthy and beneficial to operate in international markets because it can be seen as a method of spreading risk, challenging their way across new competitors and attracting new customers towards the companys goods and services. McDonalds, a well known and valued fast food company would be used as a case of how international business has helped the company achieve their goals and succeed overall. McDonalds was first established in 1940, two brothers Richard McDonald and Maurice McDonald partnered up and opened up a restaurant in California, moved towards self-service drive-in restaurant with a limited menu which consisted of cheeseburgers, milkshakes, pie and the world famous French fries of McDonalds. They differentiated their service by focusing on saving time [their Speedee Service System] to satisfy customers. Later, McDonalds had successfully created a unique brand image which was trademarked. The success of McDonalds outlets in the US has encouraged them to go global. They were able to open restaurants in Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and France. McDonalds main form of expansion was through franchising themselves to different markets. The company was able to successfully open over 30000 outlets aro und the world in more than 120 countries. McDonalds international success has earned them to be ranked 8th in the Top 100 of the Worlds most valuable brands in 2008. Every international business success depends on its approach towards a new market. When it comes to entering new different markets it is very important for any company to analyze the market it wishes to operate in. Here, they will need to study all the aspects that makes the market different from its local market, the competition that exists in that market, as well as the markets macroeconomic environment. A countrys macroeconomic environment can have a great impact on a companys performance. The macroeconomic environment basically consists of four major factors which influences the market function. The first factor is the economic factor of the market. This focuses on the economys well-being, i.e. income level, employment, inflation and how these can influence decision making of international businesses. The second factor focuses on the countrys legislation overview, the rules and regulations that companies may follow if they wish to operate in that market. The third, political fact or mainly sums up to the exercising power of the countrys government. Political status and stability of a country can greatly influence the attractiveness of foreign direct investment into the country. The last factor which has an impact on international business operations is the culture of the market. Culture refers to a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people, -Hofstede. Culture differs from country to country. It is usually determined by the countrys ethnicity, religious views, education, language spoken etc. This factor of macroeconomic environment makes it difficult for international businesses to determine their success in operating in new markets. In the case of McDonalds, the four factors of macroeconomic environment did have an affect McDonalds products and their standard method of operating their fast food restaurants. From the economic factor, McDonalds have positioned their brand as one of the best fast food outlets with the greatest value meals offered. Differences in income levels did not influence McDonalds because they offer their meals at low reasonable prices. For example in Dubai, McDonalds offers the lowest economic prices for their value meals when compared to the other fast food outlets such as Hardees or Burger King. McDonalds is now known to rank the 6th most valuable global brands in 2010. The legal factor of macroeconomic environment did affect the products of McDonalds. Rules and regulations that were followed by every company in a particular market had to be followed by McDonalds too. For example, McDonalds toys which were given in Kids Happy Meals should be approved by safety measures. The labeling of their products such as the green dot which symbolizes suitable for vegetarians is also another example which McDonalds adapts with relation to labeling laws to inform consumers. In Muslim countries, any meat products had to be Halal, McDonalds sandwiches had to adjust to meet religious standards. When it came to promotion, McDonalds advertising also had to be controlled and approved by certain markets like Saudi Arabia. Certain TV Commercials that use attractive female models may be seen as an inappropriate way for McDonalds to advertise in Saudi Arabia. The political factor of macroeconomic environment does not directly affect McDonalds operations but governments in different countries do have control on what products a business is allowed to sell in their markets. Political reasons can affect McDonalds performance internally through taxation etc affecting their pr ofitability. The cultural factor of every market can be used as an advantage for every international business to differentiate their products and adapt to these cultural differences thus valuing their brand image among local consumers. McDonalds operates in over a hundred countries and they have deeply focused on using cultural views to differentiate their products in different markets. McDonalds products respond to local taste and preferences. There are many examples which show us how McDonalds have adjusted to offer differentiated products, having special offers on special occasions and events that are held in different countries. McDonalds had recently introduced a dessert offer during Ramadan in Dubai. This was the McBrownie Sundae which was advertised around bringing in the Ramadan atmosphere into the picture using the moon, emphasis of historical background, colors etc. McDonalds respond to catering to local customers tastes too. In India, McDonalds offers a sandwich exclusively to that country, the McAloo Tikki Burger. McDonalds also has their famous McArabia value meals in the Middle East. In terms of language dimensions McDonalds are referred to differently in different markets around the world. Most of the West refers to McDonalds as Mickey Ds, in Australia their slang for McDonalds is Maccas. When it comes to religion McDonalds does take religious standards into consideration, this way it shows how they value their customers. McDonalds advertisements, way of packaging all come under appropriateness towards the market they are serving. All of McDonalds meals in Muslim countries are Halal. McDonalds outlets in different markets restrict them to sell certain type of products in those markets. The McPork burger was inappropriate to sell in Middle East or Muslim countries, even all their beef products were not offered in outlets located in India because it was seen prohibited and against Hindu religion. Businesses that tend to go global always plan out and adapt a global strategy which will help assist them towards achieving their objectives and long term goals. When a company decides for global expansion there are usually four common strategies that they can choose from in relation to their approach towards the market, either follow an international strategy, localization strategy, global standardization strategy or transnational strategy. These four strategies are influenced by the pressure of two dimensions. The first is the pressure faced from cost reduction measures, where this depends usually on the competition of the market. Profitability and survival mainly depends on this measure, so if a company wishes to operate in a different market they should make sure that they are in line with other competitors when it comes to cost related or price related products. The other dimension is the pressure of local responsiveness, depending on a companys flexibility towards adjusting to local consumers taste and preferences. The nature of the product would influence this pressure, food products tend to be more local responsive because it is directly related to satisfying consumers taste and preferences. McDonalds is often cited as a clear example of standardization, the president of McDonalds International has insisted that the company is as much a part of local culture as possible (Ritzer, 2004, p. 179) and its standard menu has been glocalised to accommodate local foods. McDonalds focus on following a more hybrid type of global strategy when entering international markets. They associate with transnational strategy measures. The company has over 3000 fast food outlets around the world and so McDonalds found that it was more beneficial for their outlets to gain competitive advantage in these different markets by differentiating their menu and meal offers that would cater to and satisfy consumers taste and preferences in various different markets. Based on ethnicity, culture, religion, trend people taste and preferences differed from country to country. For example, India is famous for their savory spiced food. Most of Indian Cuisine tends to be hotter in flavor than compared to tastes of people in the West. Therefore the McAloo Tikki, a spicy traditional flavored burger, is a specially differentiated product of McDonalds which suits the taste of consumers in India. By differentiating their sandwiches and meals to market requirements McDonalds finds it easier to operate in these markets because this reduces the risk of uncertainty of their success or failure in operating in these new markets. Differentiated products also add value to brand name because customers find themselves attracted to their differentiated products. McDonalds always focused on cost pressures to avoid threats from competitive fast food outlets. Costs are always kept at its lowers so that McDonalds selling prices wouldnt be high enough for customers to doubt their purchase and change their mind over McDonalds. Catering to consumer responsiveness towards taste and flavor, and focusing on low costing/pricing enhances the brand reputation and value, thus positively affecting their sales figures. Although, food related businesses follow localization or transnational strategy, McDonalds also tries to adapt a global standardization strategy for some of its meal products. McDonalds menu is mostly standardized because the company wishes to protect some of its original ideas which were innovated from home. Some examples of McDonalds products which they wish to keep standard in all markets are the McFries, McNuggets and Big Mac Sandwich. These products remained unchanged or adjusted towards local responsiveness and so were offered to markets as a representation of McDonalds culture. These products had the McDonaldization approach where these products mainly standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability. McDonalds hybrid approach towards global expansion does have its limitations. Apart from having more pressure on focusing on following two different directions of strategy they would not be able to make sure how successful their standard menu would profit them. As seen earlier people have different tastes and preferences, especially when it comes to food products. So McDonalds offering their home-based standard menu would be seen as a risk to enter new different markets. They would have to spend a lot on research and innovation to adjusting to consumer responsiveness. Not only does McDonalds make sandwiches which would satisfy local consumer. They would also need to spend a great deal on differentiated advertising, coming up with innovative offers on special occasions like Eid, Diwali, Christmas etc. McDonalds current position in the global economy is very strong so its limitations wouldnt affect them as much. They possess great strengths compared to any other international business. McDonalds opportunities are wide to them, further expansion and differentiation of their standard meal menu in different markets would reap in even greater sales and profit to the company. Their hybrid strategy not only gives them the competitive advantage to compete with rivals, it also protects the corporate culture and historical values by keeping some aspects of McDonalds standardized. McDonalds makes sure it doesnt let any factor affect them provided they behave flexible to changes and adapt to what consumers want, valuing their opinions, tastes and preferences. With the help of macroeconomic environment analysis, international businesses like McDonalds find it simple to plot down their steps towards achieving their objectives and long term goals. Economic, legal, political and cultural reasons do have an impact on every business that operates internationally which is why it is crucial for these international businesses to follow an appropriate approach and adapt an effective global strategy. Any external factors can influence business operations and so by being as flexible as possible to the changing environmental factors, international businesses like McDonalds can prosper into becoming a major successful well recognized valued corporation.

Shirley Temple Essay examples -- Biography

America's little darling, everyone knows her but where did she come from? George Francis Temple was her father (Shirley Temple). He was born in 1888 and eventually became a banker (Shirley Temple). Her mother's name was Gertrude Amelia Krieger, she was born in 1893(Shirley Temple). They had two sons whose names were: Jack Temple and George Jr. Temple (Shirley Temple). While expecting their first daughter Gertrude played the phonograph and attended dance recitals (Shirley Temple). Finally on April 23, 1929 a beautiful baby girl was born (Shirley Temple). Shirley was a baby who would bring smiles to everyone’s face during the great depression (Hall). They named her Shirley Jane Temple. Shirley was born at 9:00 p.m. She once said " Too late for dinner, and so i started life one meal behind. Ever since then I have tried to make up for that loss"(The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley began dancing extremely early (Shirley Temple). Even as early as eight months old, as she swayed back and forth in her baby crib (Shirley Temple). Her love for dancing continued. As Shirley got older she took dance lessons at Ethel Meglin Dance Studio, which was only ten miles from Hollywood (Bankston 6-7). It was the day before Thanksgiving and the family had travel plans arranged, so Shirley took dance class early that week (Bankston 7). While in a hurry her mother did not have time to curl her hair and Shirley had on very casual clothes, not knowing that this would be the day her fame would begin (Bankston 7). This is the day in 1931 that producers Jack Hays and Charles Lamont discovered Shirley (The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley's family became very protective of their little girl (Shirley Temple). She attende... ...he received many awards even after her acting career had ended. In September of 2005 the Screen Actors Gold proclaimed that Shirley," who captivated the world as no other child star has done before or since, then served her country as an eminent diplomat over more than three decades"(U-S-history). She received a Life Achievement Award for her many accomplishments (U-S-history). Also, in 2005 Premiere Magazine put her at number thirty-three on the Greatest Movie Stars of all-time list (Shirley Temple). She was voted the thirty-eighth greatest movie star of all time by Entertainment Weekly (Shirley Temple). At one point, Shirley's fan club in England had 650,000 members (Lindeman). Located at 1500 Vine Street is her Hollywood Walk of Fame star (Shirley Temple). All in all, Shirley Jane Temple had a very full life and accomplished so much.

Free Mending Wall Essays: The Two Walls :: Mending Wall Essays

The Two Walls in Mending Wall   Ã‚   It is arguable that the self-righteous speaker of "Mending Wall" is himself obsessively committed to wall building, far more intractably and instinctively committed than his clichà ©-bound neighbor. While the speaker of "Mending Wall" justifiably castigates his unthinking neighbor and is himself far more aware of the powers of language for good and for ill, he is nonetheless caught up, ironically perhaps, in the same actual task, wall building, which will have the same results and look no different from his neighbor's contribution despite the narrative he brings to it. There are several possibilities for irony here, depending on the level of Frost's self-awareness. Wall imagery pervades his poetry, as a conscious poetic image and as a psychosexual marker of control and limitation. That the speaker is the one who calls the neighbor to mend the wall is vitally important, then, but it is not clear that Frost meant for the speaker to be ironically perceived as a hypocrite. The simple explanation, that the speaker acts out of a sense of inevitability, knowing his neighbor's habits, seems hardly enough given the contextual symbolism of the wall in Frost's poetry; the psychological explanation attendant upon this version might suggest that Frost's conscious intent was subverted by his own unconscious need for walls. So while Frost might not mean the speaker to be self-parodic, the reader might judge that there is an ironic discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, both by the speaker and by the poet. On a deeper level even than this is the possibility that Frost was aware of, had taken account of and justified, his own need for barriers. One does, after all, need something against which to push. In this case, the poem might be completely unironic, for while both men are engaged in the same task, each brings a different narrative to it, the one limited to a thoughtless clichJ , the other enriched philosophically.

Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles :: Tess of the dUrbervilles Essays

Tess of the d'Urbervilles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through life people may fault, or get on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet hopefully they keep faith and then willingly they may recoup and redeem themselves by recovering. Many believe that, Tess in, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was a great example of this. In Hardy's Victorian age novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, he illustrates casual wrong, the will to recover, the growth of love, and death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Almost everybody has done something casually wrong and not think much of it, many call this indifferent nature. Tess is no stranger to casual wrong. Throughout her life indifferent nature has occurred. Her parents were not the greatest of parents. She had a tough life, she was poor. When she met Alec d'Urberville, she was considerate and kind, but later on Alec took advantage of her and seduced her in a forest called the Chase,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "He knelt and bent lower, till her breath warmed his   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      face, and in a moment his cheek was in contact with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      hers. She was sleeping soundly, and upon her   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  eyelashes there lingered tears." 1 She then later fell in love with Angel, and married him. Angel found out about Tess' past experience with Alec, and he could not forgive her, even though it was all Alec's doing. Thus it is clear that casual wrong follows her and yet the wrong is not made by her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tess' true strength is her determination to overcome her misfortunes. When the Durbeyfields' horse, Prince died, Tess took control of the situation of the horse's death and the beehive delivery. She takes care of the kids and she had done well in school, even though Tess seems to go nowhere. Also when she leaves her job of taking care of the flock at the d'Urberville household, because of her experience with Alec, it showed she tried to take control of the situation. Even when Alec was following her home on his carriage asking her why she left,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   'Her lip lifted slightly, though there was little scorn, as   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a rule, in her large and impulsive nature. "I have said I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   will not take anything more from you, and I will not-I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   cannot! I should be your creature to go on doing that,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and I won't"' 2 Indeed it is shown that Tess has a very strong will to recover.

Jim Hensen’s “The Dark Crystal” Essay

With its â€Å"animatronics† technology, Jim Henson’s 1982 film, The Dark Crystal, in both form and theme depicts key elements of David Leeming’s description of the hero myth’s rites of passage in The World of Myth: An Anthology. As in Leeming’s rites of passage, in this film the protagonist’s heroic experiences lead him to â€Å"wholeness† and â€Å"full individuation† (220). At the formal level, by concealing puppet strings, providing puppets with exceptionally life-like and fluid motions, and creating convincingly vital puppets, Henson’s detail-rich and realistic animatronics technology allows his puppet-hero, Jen, to grow both beyond his filmic father figure, urSu, as well as beyond the confining puppet strings of the traditional puppet master. Thematically, too, Jen experiences the rites of â€Å"[being] born when . . . needed† (218), of being â€Å"call[ed] to adventure† (219), and of being faced with trials and danger (219), that Leeming discusses as making up the passage into individuation. As Leeming describes, heroes are born when the need for them arises; this usually happens during a dark period in the culture’s history (218). In The Dark Crystal, Jen, who belongs to a nearly extinct race known as Gelflings, is born after the Crystal is cracked and a shard of it is lost. As with Leeming’s â€Å"dark period,† the events initiated by the crystal’s shattering mark the end of a period of light; here the thousand years of the green and goodness of the land once maintained by the Crystal become darkness and ugliness once the crystal is shattered. This dark period is also marked by the claiming of the land by the cruel and evil race of Skeksis. Making this period of the hero’s emergence in the film even darker, the Skeksis, in their attempt to avoid fulfillment of the prophecy that a Gelfling would destroy them, begin to kill all of the Gelflings. Ushering in Jen’s position as the hero who is called, the Skeksis kill his family. Sole survivor from his family, Jen is kept safe by a race of gentle mystics, known as the urRu. This trajectory of birth, threat, and protection likewise follows Leeming’s description of the story line of the hero myth because, wherein â€Å"a further dimension is added by the threat to the young hero’s life† (218-19). Also like the traditional hero myth, Jenson’s film traces the experience of the hero’s â€Å"call to adventure.† In this case, typifying the â€Å"wise old man†Ã‚  archetype (219) Leeming discusses, Jen’s mystic master, urSu, sends Jen to find the missing crystal shard and heal the Dark Crystal. As he will wonder throughout the film, Jen responds to his dying master’s assignment by asking, â€Å"How can I? I’m only a Gelfling.† In his anxiety and near refusal to find the shard, Jen represents another element of Leeming’s description of the hero’s experiences: â€Å"it [the quest] usually begins with a call to adventure. . . . Often the hero refuses the summons. We all resist radical change, and the hero. . . is no exception. ‘Who am I’ to perform such a task† (219). As Leeming indicates, this initial refusal of the adventure is meant to show the hero’s lack of wisdom, confidence, or, â₠¬Å"individuation†; the hero is not yet a whole, individuated, wiser and more confident adult. Jen decides to go on his quest outside of the valley of the mystics after his master dies. Additionally, Leeming explains that the hero’s quest is marked by many trials and confrontations with evil monsters (219). While Jen never actually has to fight or destroy any monsters in order to complete his quest–the common expectation for heroic behavior–he does fit Leeming’s definition in his regular escapes from a range of threats, especially the Garthim, beetle-like creatures â€Å"programmed† by the Skeksis to seek out and destroy all Gelflings. Whereas Jen does not actually confront the Garthim, he is often face to face with them before he turns to run for his life. Also, when he does come face to face with the Skeksis, it is not until he is about to destroy them by returning the shard to its place in the dark crystal. Leeming goes on to explain that â€Å"the monsters †¦ are balanced by sources of strength. Heroes are often guided †¦ by a spirit who takes the form of a fairy godmother, a wise old man, or a wise fool.† (219 ). Jen begins his journey alone, but, as the hero myth tradition dictates, he encounters many other beings that help him on his way. Aughra, a wise, witch-like woman who is said to be born from the rocks and trees before time began, in order that they might have an eye with which to see the world. Aughra gives Jen the crystal shard that he is in search of. She also, before saving him from an attack by the Garthim, gives him the insight he needs to realize how important the successful completion of his journey is. Finally, Jen is given an additional â€Å"source of strength† by another surviving Gelfling named Kira. She is joined by a  dog-like creature named Fizgig, his antics and heroics in the film could place him in the role that Leeming refers to as â€Å"the wise fool†. Kira’s ability to communicate with and receive help from the animals in the story, her tendency to trust her intuition, and her harmonious relationship with the natural environment, all play a pinnacle role in Jen’s ability to complete his journey. Ultimately, with these rites of being born in a time of need, of being called to adventure, and of experiencing great trials, as well as with the animatronics technology, Henson’s Jen, like Gepetto’s famous puppet, Pinocchio, experiences the process of individuation, becoming both whole and (almost) wholly human.