Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Culture - Essay Example iscuss whether or not there are ‘good’ stereotypes and discuss the pros and cons of the stereotype in the hope of understanding and logically assessing the veracity of this stereotype. The stereotype: homeless people are lazy drunks, have been used to describe and portray the picture of homelessness in America. The source of this stereotype has not exactly been pinpointed, however, the fact that homeless drunks make up about 30 to 40% of the total homeless population may be blamed for this stereotype (Jones, â€Å"News†). The fact that these homeless drunks are often the ones who gain the most attention from society because of their occasionally disorderly behavior may be one of the factors which contribute to the development of this stereotype. Many studies and statistics however were able to disprove this stereotype. In a paper by Jones (â€Å"News†) she disputes the claim that 90% of homeless people are drug or alcohol abusers. She firmly disputes these claims by citing accurate sources of statistics on the homeless people. She cites the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Los Angeles Services Au thority as accurate sources for statistics on the homeless people (Jones â€Å"News†). Based on her review of statistics from these agencies, about 25 to 39% of the homeless population is composed of children. She then poses the question, on whether or not it is really true that these children can be drunks. On a more accurate note, Jones (â€Å"News†) notes that most of the addiction and alcohol abuse was seen after these people became homeless, not after. She also point out that substance abuse statistics from a Los Angeles survey reveal that 42% of the homeless were drug or alcohol users. Clearly, these figures are still well below the 90% rate that previous reports claim. She also points out that the more likely split in the statistics surrounding the homeless people is at 33%. This represents 33%

The Summer of Sam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Summer of Sam - Essay Example The film then cuts to a car driving through New York. In these opening scenes great emphasis is placed on the juxtaposition off sonic and visual elements to create impact and viewer interest. As the film advances it begins to assume more of a traditional linear narrative format. As it follows a man and his wife as they go into a nightclub, and the follows the man as he leaves and engages in intercourse with a woman he picked up there; they are ultimately interrupted by a mysterious car. The next scene at 7:32 includes another murder. It’s clear that while the narrative appears to be centered around these characters, in reality the viewer has in part been placed in the position of the mysterious murderer, who hovers in the background throughout these narrative developments. The film then cuts back to the man in who has returned to the nightclub. These characters, in contrast to the murderer, represents the film’s first developed parallel narrative structure. At 13:00 the film introduces the third narrative element, considering the life of Richie, a punk rock youth. At 20:25, the film then combines these parallel narratives as Richie and the man from the nightclub meet-up. At 30:00, the narrative then seamlessly gives way to an encounter between two cops and perceived Mafioso.

Prepare a report for an employee in the hospitality industry sector Essay

Prepare a report for an employee in the hospitality industry sector analysing the impact of the London olympics 2012 on at least three policy areas in the manag - Essay Example This is a marathon effort but an excellent opportunity for the Human Resources department in UK. The role of the head of HR will have to be strategic and influential, and focused on delivery (Karen Dempsey). It is estimated that 12,000 new jobs will be created because of the development of the Olympic Park area (People 1st). The two main areas that will have an impact are the hospitality sector and the construction sector. Employment in the hospitality industry is growing at a rate faster than overall employment in the UK (People 1st). The hospitality sector has been behind the games bid but the shortage in this industry has always existed because it is either tough or underpaid for the British. Besides, the unemployment is very low (Encore Personnel) and with baby boomers retiring soon, there will be an increased gap between the demand and supply. Training for the skilled workforce has to start now to ensure smooth operations. In view of the above, the greatest challenge before the HR department will be recruitment of the skilled personnel, and retention and motivation of the existing personnel. The success of the Olympics depends entirely upon the skills and the commitment of the people involved. Hence, the three core areas where HR has to concentrate are recruitment and retention, motivation, learning and development. The hospitality sector comprises of hotels, providers of holiday accommodation, pubs and bars, restaurants and take away food outlets (Low pay Commission Report 2005). It is probably the world’s fastest growing, job-creating profession (Hospitality: As it is). The hospitality industry exhibits tremendous diversity both with respect to the types of jobs on offer and the workers required. (Migration: A Welcome Opportunity). There is a huge shortage in the hospitality sector and it is estimated that the industry will require 30000-35000 trained people by 2010 at the management and supervisory

Disfunctional equals to monsters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Disfunctional equals to monsters - Essay Example The monster is a part of the human psyche, a manifestation of what is not the same, threatening to the status quo, or oppressive. Human pain is the central core to identifying and defining the concept of the ‘monster’, and in the relationship that is between the monster and victim, it is not always the perceived monster that holds the true evil. It is the fear of the unknown that is the core of the relationship between the monster and the victim. In the film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), the dwarves determine that the creature under the sheet, which is actually Snow White, is a monster, and they determine before knowing what is under the sheet that they will kill it and chop it to pieces. All they knew was that the creature was an invader with an unknown intent, and the instinctual response was to destroy it without prejudice. This is the relationship that the unknown has with culture, representing something to fear and to despise without understanding anythi ng of the motivations that have brought the creature into existence. It is the fear of what it represents that gives the monster power while at the same time stealing from it its humanity, regardless of the level of humanity on which it relies. A monster may be a creature that is more animal, which would then deserve the compassion of humanity, or it may be a humanoid who seeks to belong and in its rejection, rebels with violent retribution. Regardless of its form, the monster/human relationship is one of the unknown as it threatens the known. According to Briefel â€Å"It is the monster’s pain that determines audience positioning in the horror film† (16). Take note it is the monster’s pain, not that of the victims who has creates the relationship. Briefel goes on to discuss the series of masochistic acts that are the predecessors to the eventual acts that the monster commits against victims. As an example, in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), the doctor administe rs a potion that gives him both extreme pain and satisfying pleasure, enough so that he takes the potion repeatedly as he turns into the monster. Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series created by Wes Craven self-mutilates throughout the series, horrifying his potential victims with the pain that ripping of his own flesh, removing fingers or slicing open his own head (Briefel 17). In the case of Freddy Krueger, the self-mutilation serves as a point of alienation, his apparent lack of feeling in contrast to the threshold of pain that has been far exceeded by the average audience member. In the case of the character of Dr. Jekyll, his monstrosity is in his addiction to the power that is created when he is Mr. Hyde, the alienation from the audience created through the contrast he makes to the choices that the audience might make, but his allure through the temptation that he represents. In this way, the connection becomes one of both revulsion and fascination, the desire t o give into darker impulses fulfilled by the conscious, hideous choices of the monstrous representation. For many monsters, however, being a monster is not a choice but something that is imposed upon them and the true monstrosity is in the reactions of those who must cope with the presence of a creature that is

Parker vs. Twentieth-Century Fox Corp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Parker vs. Twentieth-Century Fox Corp - Essay Example Facts The plaintiff is well known as an actress and in the contract signed by the defendant and the plaintiff; at times she is referred to as the artist. According to the contract as of the 6th of August 1965, she was meant to play female lead role in the contemplated production of Bloomer Girl, a movie by the defendant. The contract provided that the plaintiff would be paid a guaranteed minimum compensation of $53,571.42 every week for the fourteen weeks commencing the 23rd of May 1965. The total pay amounted to seventy five thousand dollars. Before May of 1966, the defendant decided against the picture’s production and in a letter dated 4th April 1966 notified the plaintiff of the very same decision telling her that it would not be in compliance with their earlier obligations under the written contract (Blond 25). In the same letter, the defendant, with a professed purpose meant to â€Å"avoid any damage† to the plaintiff, instead gave the plaintiff the leading actres s role in yet another film. This film was tentatively titled â€Å"Big Country, Big Man†, referred to hereafter as â€Å"Big Country†. The defendant offered an identical compensation, as they did with thirty-one of the other thirty-four articles or provisions of the original contract. However, Bloomer Girl, as compared to Big Country, was a Western type, dramatic movie, not a musical like the earlier Bloomer Girl. Bloomer Girl was to have been shot in California while Big Country’s location was in Australia. In addition, other certain terms in the contract proffered varied from the contract drawn up initially. The plaintiff was given 1 week to accept the offer, which she failed to do until the offer elapsed. The plaintiff hereby commenced the court case seeking the agreed guaranteed compensation’s recovery (Mann and Barry 45). The complaint set two causes of action forth. Firstly, she wanted monetary compensation due under the previous contract. Secondly, she wanted to sue for damages that resulted from a breach of contract by the defendant. In its answer, the defendant admitted the existence, as well as the validity of the contract, and that the plaintiff complied with all the promises, covenants, and conditions of the contract. She was also ready to comply with the completion of the performance and that she had anticipatorily repudiated and breached the signed contract. However, the defendant denied owing any money to the plaintiff, either under the terms of the contract or resulting from its breach and pleaded an affirmative defense to both causes of the plaintiff’s action. They assert that she willfully failed to mitigate damages, asserting that she turned down, unreasonably, and its offer of a leading role in the film Big Country. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment under the code of civil procedure section 437c. She was granted the motion and summary judgment for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars with additi onal interest (Mann et al. 72). Issue Whether a secondary offer, of employment was enough to mitigate the damages from the contract’s breach and whether summary judgment should stand. Decision Summary was granted where facts are presented that give rise to an issue that is factually triable and not in dispute. The salary amount agreed upon acts as the measure of recovery minus the amount earned by

Gender, Trade and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender, Trade and Religion - Essay Example According to Drislane and Parkinson, Patriarchy is â€Å"literally rule by the father but generally it refers to a social situation where men are dominant over women in wealth status and in all other aspects† (Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences). Since the time of creation women had been assigned the natural role of childbearer, homemaker and pleaser of their husband’s every whim. She didn’t chose, she was chosen. As in the case of biblical Leah and Rachel who were both given to Jacob in exchange of 14 years of labor. Or in the case of Rebekah, who was given to Isaac in exchange for gold, silver and other jewelries (Genesis 29:16-28). For thousands of millenia, the lot of women had been dictated by Patriarchy. When men had discovered that by bartering and trading, gargantuan profits could be amassed, women were either given away by their fathers in exchange for something dear or they served as courtesans to the foreign traders mostly with the knowledge and blessing of the fathers (Whitfield 133 ). To my opinion, this inhumane status of women being either given, bartered or rented by the hour as a result of international trade and contacts by the native populace with foreign merchants, soldiers and other kibitzers is the most interesting and important idea that we can put forward regarding gender relations in history. In the Indian epic poem of Ramayana, 2 Sita was given away in marriage to Rama because Rama succeeded in wielding the "mighty bow of Siva" a possession of Sita's father, King Janaka (Narayan 23). In utter obeisance to paternal pressure, Sita acceded. In The Analects of Confucius, out of 20 chapters of desiderata that compel the men to follow or avoid, only four sentences pertained to women, two of them were outright shocking to modern civilization. One says "The Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might be wived.Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife" and "Of Nan Yung.He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife" (Confucius chapter 5). Confucianism then, was the worst because women were not bartered or exchanged but outrightly given away gratis et amore. In the African Igbo tribe in Nigeria where polygamy is being practiced by men, women are not allowed to choose their husbands but they are given away after negotiations by groups representing both sides (Achebe xxx ). Since the subject matter of this paper involves gender relations as a result of international trade which also result to the spread of religion, nothing else illustrates this situation better than the Silk Road of olden days as all 3 elements are interlaced together. We therefore focus on the Silk Road phenomenon. The Silk Road is one of the world's most important and oldest trade route leading to ancient China. It was made possible because ancient China especially during the Han Dynasty was reputed to be the wealthiest and the most civilized among all nations and it had so many important and useful products to offer to the rest of humanity. Some of these are silk, porcelain, jade, lacquer ware, pearls, rubies, diamonds, satin, musk and rhubarb (Wood 9, 13-23).

Are rich nations violating the human rights of the world's poor If so, Essay

Are rich nations violating the human rights of the world's poor If so, how - Essay Example Affluent countries are constantly violating human rights of the world’s poor. Freeman (2006) states that although much effort has been put into place to ensure that violation of such rights is eradicated, several factors impede the implementation of measure against rights violations. Through such observations scholars have tried to deduce the link between the affluent and poor countries, as well as, the effects on human rights. Pogge (2000) contends that rich nations have been in the focal position in the violation of human rights and through actions carried out by these rich governments poor nations end up being subjected to abject poverty. Rich nations being part of the society at large have an obligation to assist poor countries in ensuring that all essential basic necessities are available to foster developed. Pogge (2002) argues that rich countries have immensely contributed to violation of human rights through implementation of coercive institutional orders. For instance, international trade agreements that enable their companies benefit through tariffs, quotas, anti-dumping duties, export credits and huge subsidies levied on poor nations. These nations in the pretext of offering support through donations and charity programs end up soliciting favors from poor governments leaders in government projects and such ingenuity thereafter leads to underprivileged and desperate, stunted, uneducated citizenry. The adverse effect of such actions is always felt through poverty and environmental degradation. This is usually as a result of over-consumption that impoverishes poor nations through the monopolization resources by rich countries. Additionally, rich couturiers enter into collaborative alliances with leaders from poor governments with the intent to gain access to their resources while pleasing and aiding the leadership stay of the native leader (Nagel, 2005). Corrupt and oppressive governments in