Saturday, August 31, 2019

Macbeth Retold Essay

It feels strange running into something that everyone else is running out of, it’s my second time today. I can’t explain the thrill of running into the blaze, for some it’s just a career but for me it’s my passion. As I reached the top of the burning stairs I looked out the window to see Don with his back against the truck again, he was just standing there watching whilst men are in that house risking their lives to save others. It angers me so much to know that his name will be on the front page tomorrow for what I’ve done again. When we got back to the station the others applauded Don as he walked in and exclaimed â€Å"another fire stopped and 3 lives saved† me and Benji couldn’t bear to watch him take the glory for what we had done, so we went outside to take a breather and collect the post. Whilst we were out there we met the postman, he was standing there as if he was waiting for us, me and Benji exchanged a confused glance and then I said hello, he muttered â€Å"you’ll be station manager son† â€Å"sorry? † I said â€Å"and station commander† he replied â€Å"it’s as if I can tell the future! he laughed as he turned to walk away â€Å"what about me then eh? † shouted Benji shouted after the postman â€Å"it’ll be your sons and his sons and his sons and his sons† the postman sang as he skipped away. Benji and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, at least it had lightened our mood after Don’s little display inside. That night I told Beth all about what Don has been doing and how he has been taking all the credit lately, I just wanted to vent to her but she got so much angrier than I had expected and told me that I should get rid of him by killing him! I want him gone and I want the praise but is this too extreme? She went on to tell me that if I didn’t do it I’d be a coward and there’s no point in me going back to the fire station at all, I can’t imagine not going back into a fire ever again. I’ve realised I have to do this. I told Beth I agree and she had a plan already. I’m going to kill him in the old house on foster street on Tuesday night when we go there for a risk assessment, Beth told me it would be perfect and no one will know I had anything to do with it; I’ll set the place alight and blame it on the squatters there.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Guilt and Punishment Essay

Creon’s actions and judgment in the play Antigone were questionable, but I don’t think he deserved the punishment he received at the conclusion of the play. My philosophy of life probably influenced my decision because I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. Creon was arrogant and did not listen to anyone’s advice, including Tiresias, a prophet who has never told him a lie. However, in the end he realized what had happened and accepted his fate. Creon was just recently appointed king so I guess he was trying to set a good example by sentencing Antigone to death. He didn’t’ want the people to think he was a person who made exceptions to their own ruling. A part of me did not want to forgive Creon, because what he did was rotten. He turned against his own family. I could never send a family member to jail or even worse, death. Creon’s punishment was quite harsh. All of the people close to him died. His son and daughter died and that was when he realized what kind of mistake he had made. He went against the morals of the people, ignored advice from his family members as well as a prophet who has never been wrong. His obstinate decision led him towards his downfall. In the end Creon knew that it was his fault that every one around him died. It was too late to regret now, so he accepted his punishment. I don’t think that the punishment was suitable because it was too extreme. Image if everyone in your family died because you made a poor decision. No one is perfect, that is why they put erasers on top of your pencils. I believe everyone should deserve a second chance, even if that someone is Creon.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Development of an internet based housing demand database system for Dissertation

Development of an internet based housing demand database system for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements - Dissertation Example The paper tells that the use of information systems across all business enterprises, governance structures and institutions has become an accepted reality. A number of researchers and academicians have focused on the potential benefits, applications and challenges faced in the incorporation of these systems. The implementation of such systems in e-governance bodies have helped immensely in streamlining work processes and improving the overall efficiency of departments in delivering the desired outcomes. A study on developing a land information system for the local government in Naga City Philippines by Rizalino Cruz highlights the significance of intelligent systems in aligning departmental responsibilities, strengthening collaborative efforts, and streamlining the flow of information across various units and stakeholders. The focus of the study was on analysing the key requirements of the local government body involved in land use planning and designing an effective information syst em that helps in achieving departmental goals and long term vision of the local governing bodies. A recent study by PriceWaterHouseCoopers on the role and efficacy of information systems in Department of Housing and Urban Planning observes that an internet based system can help the urban planning and housing department realize their goals and objectives. The primary benefit of such a system lies in its ability to integrate and streamline the flow of vital information within departments, provide its stakeholders with immediate access to relevant details. , and enable managers to take prompt decisions based on the readily accessible data and facts. A legislative audit report on information systems for housing by the State of Montana (2004) highlights the role of such systems in determining the accuracy and reliability of such systems. The information processing capabilities offered by an effective information system cannot be undermined in the face of rapidly advancing technology tool s and applications. The use of internet and communication technologies has greatly enhanced the potentials to receive and process information at the click of a button. Similar studies and implementation of such systems across different countries illustrate the benefits and challenges associated with its effective performance and outcomes. The housing and urban planning department in Thailand benefited immensely from the implementation of

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Chamberlin & Castings Plc Finacial Management Essay

Chamberlin & Castings Plc Finacial Management - Essay Example A takeover could be hostile and resisted by a company. This distinction is important with regard to valuation of the businesses and management of risk. The valuation of the Companies proposed to be merged is: 1st company: Castings Plc. Valued at ?85 M 2nd company: Chamberlin Plc. Valued at ?40 M The paper seeks to study Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), the justifications for takeover/merger, rationale applied for target identification and financial justifications for the proposal and make an analysis of the proposal. I - Mergers and Acquisitions The advantages of M&A in meeting the Challenges of strategic development perhaps mainly rest on the ability it gives the companies to grow fast in a rapidly changing business environment. For instance, expansion into new products and new market areas through M&A process is simpler and faster compared to organic growth which could be slow in reacting to the external developments, consequently seizing the opportunities. On the other hand, the go vernments place restrictions on M&A though competition laws, for example Competition laws in European Union and Antitrust Laws in the US. Correa (2007, p. vii) states â€Å"While IP law deliberately subjects intellectual assets to the exclusive control of right owners, competition law seeks to avoid market barriers and benefit consumers by encouraging competition among a multiplicity of suppliers of goods, services and technologies†. ... one trillion.† After the collapse of junk bond market which has fueled M&A in 1980s, the increase in the M&A activities have started again and reached a phenomenal level in 1990s. These mergers were horizontal in nature in the field of oil, telecommunication and financial services mainly in the US. M&A activities follow a wave pattern and Johnson, Scholes & Whittington (2008, p. 349) state that the worldwide announced deals declined rapidly after 2000 (falling by nearly 30% in 2002 to about 25,000 deals). Justification for takeover strategy Corporate companies have been adopting Mergers and Acquisitions as a strategy for growth. M & A have been necessitated due to various reasons such as inorganic growth, cost reduction, access to technology, growth in market share, synergy in the operations, capacity utilization, entry into new markets, competition, need for capital, weakness in the capital structure of one of the merging company, tax considerations, brand value and stability in the operations. Rao (2009), states that the losses can also be carried forward indefinitely for relief against future income from the same trade Under UK Laws. The companies can explore the possibilities of taking advantage of this provision, through proper legal structure of the combined entity so that the accumulated losses could be set-off against the profits after merger. Relative valuation of the assets of a company and the general economic conditions can make the takeover proposal more attractive on a global basis. The revival in the US economy and the growing economic power of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries make the assets in the UK engineering sector attractive. Hochberg (2011, p. 23) predicts that M&A activity [in engineering sector] will increase in 2011 as the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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

Tesco - Essay Example If the global sales and domestic market share of the company is taken into account then it is found that the company is the largest British retailer by far. The profit of the company exceeded ?2 billion for the year 2008 and it is believed that the profit will be much higher in the year 2009. The company mainly focuses upon food and drink but it has also started dealing in clothes, financial services, internet services etc. â€Å"Tesco started life in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Mr. Cohen recorded a profit of ?1 from total sales of ?4 on his first day.† (A History of Tesco) The brand Tesco first appeared in the year 1924 when Jack Cohen supposedly bought a tea shipment from Mr. T. E Stockwell. The year 1929 marked the opening of a store in North London and the company rapidly developed from there on. The head quarters of the company was first established in North London in the 1930s. In the year 1932 the compan y became a private limited company, another feather in the cap of Tesco. PESTLE PESTLE is an acronym for Political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors. Let us examine how strong the organization is after conducting a PESTLE. SWOT analysis and PESTLE are conducted to assess the strengths and opportunities available to an organization. The current success of Tesco is largely because of the favorable political climate, Tesco has managed to penetrate into nations which were previously considered difficult to penetrate into and this is certainly paved the way for success. Politically the organization has helped in solving the unemployment problem in the UK, the credit crunch has taken a toll on the employment rate but Tesco has still managed to provide job opportunities hence bringing down the unemployment rate in the UK. The EU laws largely favor Tesco, the EU laws tend to favor organizations that have a large presence in a country, Tesco not only has a large presence in the UK but it has also expanded rapidly in other countries as well and this has certainly worked to the advantage of the organization. Tesco needs to be aware of the planning permission because it has plans of further expansion and things can go horribly wrong should an organization avoid planning permission. It is extremely important to pay attention to the marketing strategy of Tesco, the organization has put in a lot of efforts into marketing, and they have captured almost every opportunity to grow. The specialty of the organization was initially in drink and food business but the giants gradually decided to enter into consumer products like music players, CD players, computers and other products that sell like hot cakes. The competitive marketing plan of the organization is right up there with the best, each store is a different segment and steps are taken on every store to increase the sales and generate good profits. The SWOT is in favor of Tesco, the bigg est strength of the organization is its workforce, as mentioned earlier the employees are very affable and friendly. The customers feel good when they share their problems with the employees. Another strength of the organization is its global reach, the stores are spread across in several countries which is no ordinary achievement. Jack Cohen started on a very basic level and within no time the organization

Monday, August 26, 2019

Analysis and evidence-based findings on Alex Color Studio employee's Essay

Analysis and evidence-based findings on Alex Color Studio employee's relationship Conflict - Essay Example This approach is more concerned with how workplace relationships progress and how such conflicts can be predicted by examining underlying communication practices, quality of the existing relationships, employees satisfaction, career advancement and performance. Thus, relationship conflicts is a workplace is affected by poor communication strategies, lack of employee satisfactions due to pay or promotions, unavailability of career advancement chances, and the nature and quality of the relationships. The nature of conflicts in Axle Color Studio is mostly relationship conflicts as opposed to task conflicts. Alex and Jackie admitted of there being several cases of relationship conflicts despite their constant argue to their employees not to bring personal conflicts into the salon. The interview revealed that there have been many visible instances of relationship conflicts between staff members which cause strain on assistant-stylist relationship when we are understaffed with assistants. Much of the relationship conflicts identified by Alex and Jackie are traced to the stylists’ relationship outside the salon. Due to the fact that the salon has few employees, their relationship is more personal and thus, extends outside the salon and thus external conflicts are extended from outside the salon into the salon. Even though Alex and Jackie have tried to persuade their employees to avoid mixing outside issues with the salon issues relationship conflicts have continued to be inevitable in Axle Color Studio. Stylists in the salon agree that conflict in the salon has very negative energy as conflicts between two employees causes the other employees around them to become stressed out which causes the salon’s atmosphere to then become tense and unpleasant. Intensified conflicts results into an overworked staff and it can be translated into their clients too. A client getting an experience in a tense and an unwelcoming environment is not likely to

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Medical Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medical Marijuana - Essay Example The medical use of marijuana by human beings was first time registered in the Chinese pharmacopoeia in 2727 BC. It was allowed to usage in the U.S until the federal government prohibited it by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In the 1970th The Controlled Substance Act established five categories of schedules depending on the danger of the drug. Marijuana was put in the 1st Schedule, to the drugs with the high potential for abuse. It was said to be a drug with "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States." (Mathre, 1997) Humans have been using marijuana for thousands of years already as an antidepressant, a pain killer, a medicine against the nausea, and just for fun. Despite of the fact that cannabis was forbidden in the U.S in thirtieth, people have been smoking till the present moment. Of course, all of that enormous market is illegal now; the government doesn't get a cent from this business. Those, who use cannabis are under the threat of being caught and accused of drug abuse by the police, but it doesn't stop them from smoking. Doctors now say that cannabis makes less harm than nicotine does. Thus, it's obvious that marijuana should be legalized, just to let the government control its use, prevent abuse, and get taxes from those who run this business. Cannabis is considered to occupy the fourth place in the list of drugs most often used in the U.S and Europe, outrun only by alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Thus, cannabis is mostly seen as a recreational drug, despite of the proved medical efficiency it has. Scientists prove that in discussions of the use of cannabis one of the biggest problems over the past few years has been the difficulty in separating the debate on the recreational use from that on the therapeutic use. (Groman, 1997). This is one of the main reasons for which the debates led on the medical use of cannabis in the U.S are so severe. Numerous opinions exist about the effect of cannabis on human's health, and about the consequences of its legalization. The supporters of marijuana legalization for medical purposes prove that it helps to reduce unwanted symptoms of migraines, glaucoma, AIDS, depression and many other conditions. In the same time, the opponents point that marijuana is suspected to cause mental illnesses and induce addiction. Nevertheless, numerous researches exist that prove the effectiveness of using cannabis for treating the illnesses listed. Smoking marijuana really relives the symptoms of various conditions, including even the nausea in pregnant woman. (Mathre, 1997). It's obvious that lots of people still buy marijuana to relieve the symptoms of their diseases despite of the existing laws. So, it would be logical to legalize cannabis for medical purposes, as it's helpful and people still use it regardless of the fact it's forbidden. Let's also recall that cannabis is one of the leaders of the list of drugs used by Americans. The current research displayed, that 70 millions of Americans have tried marijuana (Dale, 2004). So it would be unfair to refuse the sick people the thing that healthy ones use frequently. The supporters of legalization of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Cross cultural management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Cross cultural management - Essay Example Every country has a different culture, cultural values, and beliefs. These traits are visible in society and organizations and determine how transactions are carried out. Overcoming these differences in a new business environment is important to the overall success of the business. Cross-cultural management is involved in overcoming these cultural differences. To successfully conquer the Western market, it has numerous principles to follow for success. The article points to the difference in levels of customer service in the two markets. Americans are used to the high quality of customer service thanks to firms like Apple. Asian companies making their entry into the Western markets are not able to match these levels of customer service. Moreover, the article also argues that Western shoppers concerned about the layout of Chinese websites such as Alibaba. Perhaps reflective of the Chinese business streetscape, Alibaba's online platform has a cluttered store fonts and layouts, whereas Western shoppers are more used to minimalist layouts in online platforms. It is, therefore, evident that proper techniques in cross-cultural management will determine Alibaba's success in Western — and other foreign —markets. To illustrate differences between the West and China, I will use Hofstede's six cultural dimensions. Hofstede's adopts a problem-solving approach that is pragmatic in culture management. Hofstede defines culture as a "collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another".

Friday, August 23, 2019

Companies entering into contract Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Companies entering into contract - Case Study Example Right before signing the contract, there was no proper consultation by the client for proper requirements of the project; this was the first cause of the failure. Also contributing to the failure were the poor mechanisms to track the progress of the project by both parties. Furthermore, there was no clause to cater for arising issues and amendment of the contract. This resulted in lack of proper measures to solve many issues that were arising, leading to eventual failure of the project. Before signing contracts, there should be thorough consultations between concerned parties to avoid making errors that may result in losses to the companies involved. All employees should know the laws guiding professional ethical and ensure that they honor them for their own benefit, as well as that of the company as a whole. Keywords: Contract, Guilt, Agreement, Sign, Project, Measures, Consultation, Client, Developer Legal Directions that the Involved Parties should have Adopted The failures that h ave been associated with this contract provide enough evidence that the agreement between the software developer and the client company was incomplete. The various evidences of inappropriate conduct by either party symbolize the lapse in honoring the contract. There were also a lot of gaps left during the initial formulation of the contract, which encouraged the misconduct. It is important to define users’ requirements during the signing of contract. Right from the onset, the client should have involved the IT department in the process of issuing out the contract, since the product that was to be developed falls under their area of specialization; therefore they understand the requirements better. For example, the IT department could have challenged the vendors on various issues relating to the software that was to be developed, and were best suited to probe the developers on all matters relating to the operation of the software. Another failure caused by the client is the fa ilure to involve operational performance in the contract; this should have been the main aim of the software. This is because the contract was too open. Each party failed to know the real role of the software. In particular, any payment should be based on the performance of the item, and the various stages of payment should go hand in hand with functionality of the project. To handle this well, the contract should involve a clause to demand the vendor to provide the software design, so it could act as a guideline during each phase of the software development. Action taken towards the Two External Contractors Following the unlawful conduct of the employees whose employment was contract based, the company should have taken stern disciplinary action, because their conduct led to loss of confidence on the company by the client. This happened soon after the two contracted employees met with the client. Though it may not be clear what they discussed, actions speak louder than words. The c lient company pulled out of the contract and as a result, Dag Brucken (DB) incurred a lot of losses, including the loss of time and finances invested in the project. The greatest offence that these two employees are held liable for is revealing a company’s secret, whose result was loses to the company. Legal action that could be taken against them includes being taken to a court of law, so that they would face prosecution in reference to employee’s code of conduct and mode of conduct; their conduct was in contrast to the company’s policies. Ethical actions comprise the termination of their employment, and subsequent charges made upon them to repay the losses incurred by the company, due to their gross misconduct. DB Company

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

International Business - Essay Example They are different listings; however, they are one business unit and managed by the same people. A few of the major brands out of its portfolio of more than 400 brands are: Dove Ben & Jerry’s Knorr Lipton Lux Surf Tresseme Toni & Guy Sunsilk Flora (Unilever, n.d.) Unilever is present in more than 100 countries of the world with different brands and has great global presence. They focus on local knowledge and cater to the consumer’s needs in every market and that is why consumers worldwide prefer their products. They help consumers get the most out of life and out of their products and thus they translate the vitality of life through their products. Unilever’s major competitors are P&G and Nestle. These are its direct competitors all over the world however they face competition from local competitors in places as well such as Henkel, Johnson and Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, PepsiCo etc. (Smith, 1995) Unilever in India Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) was formed in 1933 however as Lever Brothers and later it came to be Unilever by a merger in 1956. It’s base was formed in Mumbai and since it’s a multinational company, 52% of the shares in the company are held by the main Unilever in United Kingdom. The product categories are the same as aforementioned. HUL employs thousands of employees directly and indirectly and it got its official name in 2007. They started as a small company selling soaps and then emerged as a company that made products for the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) market. HUL has 6.4 million outlets all over India and many retail outlets and a majority of the Indians use its products be it personal care or foods etc. (unilever, 1976) The major brands in India are its homecare, personal care and food brands but only personal care products will be discussed. A few major personal care products are: Axe Ayush therapy products CLEAR Close Up toothpaste Dove Fair & Lovely Lifebuoy Liri Lakme Pears Rexona Ponds LUX Vas eline Tresemme Pepsodent Sunsilk Hindustan Unilever has innovated marketing of many products that cater to the local market not just in personal care product categories but all the categories which has led it to be one of the trusted companies in India. (Books, 2010) Globalization and its drivers Unilever has been focused on innovation and expanding its size ever since it started out and globalization allows it to achieve its aim. They also focus on developing markets and target bottom of the pyramid consumers as well because they see a great deal of potential in these emerging markets. Unilever is one of the largest consumer goods industries in the world and they carry out large operations and manage large supply chain procedures. They are also focused on catering to consumers and lower their costs and inventory levels by understanding them better. There are three different strategies that one can look to while going global and these are what pose a challenge for most companies. Th ese are aggregation, adaptation and arbitrage. Aggregation is when a company or business standardizes its procedures and business practices either globally or locally or both to take advantage of economies of scale. Adaptation means catering to each market separately in order to meet consumer needs and thus boosting the business

Thursday, August 22, 2019

IOP on Glass, Eyes, and Doll’s Essay Example for Free

IOP on Glass, Eyes, and Doll’s Essay Imagery; vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste). The first impression of a person that someone gets will always color the image of the person. Everything about how someone looks and acts creates how that person is viewed by others. But when this image is controlled by others or the person just isn’t strong enough to show their true self, their identity is twisted into something almost unrecognizable. Henrik Ibsen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Tennessee Williams use the imagery connected with their lead female characters to show how society tries to put individuals down with false generalizations to hide women’s identities. The authors use the imagery of clothing to address how family members try to mold the women below them in power to their image of their character. For the Sternbergs fancy dress ball Torvald want’s his wife Nora to dress up, â€Å" and Torvald wants me to go as a Neapolitan fisher-girl,† (Ibsen 37). The Neapolitan fisher girls are girls from Naples, Italy often thought of as possessing a very classic Grecian beauty. These fisher girls have been subjects of many works of art such as paintings and statues. With Torvald making Nora dress up as a Neapolitan fisher girl he is making her into something beautiful and to be appraised like a piece of art. This image of Nora being beautiful like a painting is Torvald’s way of putting Nora beneath him. He dresses her up and parade’s her among their friends while all the while taking ownership of her beauty. Nora doesn’t get to choose what she wears to this ball and she is not recorded saying a word to anyone a t the party. Torvald even commands Nora to leave the party after she has finished her dance as he doesn’t want anyone being near her. Nora’s identity is lost in the imagery of her Neapolitan fisher-girl costume and Torvald’s control of her dress. By the same token Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God is forced to wear head rags by her husband Joe. â€Å"The business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store,† (Hurston 55). The imagery of Janie’s head-rags suggests that she is Joe’s property. Janie’s hair is her personal symbol of power,strength, and identity. Joe by making Janie cover her hair up in head-rags is symbolically stifling Janie’s power and identity. Without her individuality Janie is nothing but what Joe makes out of her, which is his wife. And society too will only see Janie’s image as Joe makes her image to be . Laura from The Glass Menagerie is also suffered to a similar fate as Nora and Janie as her mother forces her to wear chest enhancements. â€Å"‘Now take a look at yourself. No, wait! Wait just a moment- I have an idea!’ Amanda produces two powder puffs which she wraps in handkerchiefs and stuffs in Laura’s bosom. ‘Mother, what are you doing? They’re called gay deceivers! †¦ I won’t wear them!’ â€Å" (Williams 120). Similarly the imagery of the powder puffs implies that Laura is the perfect young woman that Amanda invisions of her. With Amanda putting the powder puffs down Laura’s dress she is trying to envision Laura as a perfect young woman. But Laura just is not this perfect girl who everyone loves and adores like Amanda wants to see Laura as. The imagery of Laura’s deceivingly good figure signifies that people will perceive her as a perfect young woman. Nora and Janie’s imagery of the past and their memories is used against them to paint false images of their identities. Near the end of the play, Torvald has just found out of what Nora had done in the past to save him and utters this simple and resonant statement, â€Å"And I must sink to such miserable depths because of a thoughtless woman!† (72). With this sentence Torvald is making Nora seem like a terrible woman who is mindless to any thought of her husband. Even though much earlier in the play Nora tells Mrs.Linde that she only borrowed money so that her husband wouldn’t die from his illness. Torvald just judges Nora’s image by her actions, not the motives behind her actions. And this paints an entirely false image of Nora as being thoughtless and uncaring about her husband. When in any case Nora was just looking out for her husband, being anything but thoughtless and uncaring. The Victorian society Nora lives in is also as cruel to someone in her position. It goes without saying that the man is always the one to handle the money and the well being of the family. And by Nora borrowing money by herself she is breaking the rigid gender roles that their society has set in place for women. So society will also look down on Nora as a disgraceful woman because of her past actions. Janie is in a similar situation when coming home from the Everglades is judged by her neighbors. â€Å"They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement. Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish,† (1-2). The people of Eatonville, especially the women had always been jealous of the attention Janie had gotten from men for her looks. And with the knowledge that Janie had ran off with a younger man in the past the people think of Janie as a absurd fool. But they don’t know that Janie with all her suffering and joy that she lived through is incredibly wise. The imagery of Janie’s actions or more so the memory of her actions, has the people of her community believing that Janie is nothing more than a lost old woman, falling for the false love of a young man. Janie’s individuality as a woman who is wise and has lived through many tough times is taken away from her as Eatonville reduces her to just a love sick woman. Hurston, Williams, and Ibsen use the imagery of objects to display how people on the outsides of the characters lives perceive them and their individuality. When Jim is over at the Wingfields apartment Laura is telling of how much she loves the unicorn from her glass menagerie. â€Å" You see how the light shines through him? †¦ I shouldn’t be partial but he is my favorite one Haven’t you noticed the single horn on his forehead? †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (143-144). The imagery of Laura’s favorite glass ornament, the unicorn, represents how people in society see Laura. Like the unicorn which light shines through, Laura’s disposition and identity is completely see through. Every facet of her personality is easy to see as she is but a incredibly shy and timid girl. Laura’s love for the unicorn is because of it’s peculiarity of the horn that separates him from the other glass horses in her collection. The imagery of this unique glass unicorn represents Laura’s own individual separation from other girls. Everyone notices that Laura is uniquely different, like her glass unicorn she loves so much.In the same way as the unicorn describes Laura, the Christmas tree in the Helmer’s home describes Nora. â€Å"Hide the Christmas tree carefully Helen. Be sure the children do not see it till this evening, when it is dressed †¦ And what is in this parcel? No no! you mustn’t see that until this evening,† (5 7). The image of the splendid and elusive Christmas tree in A Doll’s House expresses how Nora’s identity is seen by the society around her. The Christmas tree serves the function as an ornament in the household and Nora just like the tree is ornamental in the home. She doesn’t take care of the children, or have a job, she just decorates and dresses up for the people of the house as well as the visitors. And as a decoration Nora isn’t able to voice her own opinion or let her identity shine through the pretty things that accessorize her. Nora’s identity is hidden away throughout the play and as the Christmas tree is hid from the children, Nora’s dress is hidden from Torvald so he will not see her. Nora’s identity is hidden from not only the people she knows but also the one’s she is closest to. She is not able to be herself as society shuns Nora’s true identity, as the loving wife she is that would do anything for her husband, such as borrow money without his consent so he can live. Janie is also in Laura and Nora’s situation as the people in her community judge her actions and therefore her identity because of her hair. â€Å"What dat ole forty year ole ‘oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her back lak some young gal?† (2). Just like the two women in the other pieces of literature, the image of Janie’s long hair is utilized by Hurston to show how Janie’s community in Eatonville doesn’t recognize Janie’s true identity. The women on the porch mention that Janie looks like a foolish old woman with her hair all the way down her back like some young woman. The women of Eatonville think Janie is trying to be like a young woman as she has run off with a young man and is now coming back with her hair no longer tied up. This is not the true image of Janie as she is not trying to be a young woman. After all the life that Janie has experienced she keeps her hair down to show that she no longer cares what people in society think of her. But the image of her loose hair to the rest of her society is of a very rebellious and foolish old woman. They want to see her as a married woman being under the thumb of her husband and not as herself. Even though now Janie is trying to show her true identity the community won’t accept that and is blinding themselves by only focusing on her hair to critique Janie in the way they want to think of her. The three authors use the imagery of speech to the character to shape their false identity in the eyes of their family. One day in the store Joe get’s frustrated with Janie’s poor job at cutting some tobacco and insults her about her age. â€Å"A woman stay round uh store till she get old as Methusalem and still can’t cut a little thing like a plug of tobacco!† (78). The image of Methuselah that Joe says to describe Janie is used to show how Joe and Eatonville see Janie when she is in the store. Methuselah is a man from the Bible that is known to be the oldest person to ever live. The allusion to this character is said by Joe to make Janie feel like she is so old that she is ancient. It insults Janie and her character, making her seem old and inefficient for not being able to cut a plug of tobacco after all the time she spends in the store. Eatonville after hearing what Joe has spoken of Janie can see her as an elderly woman who still can’t do simpl e chores around the store. In a likewise manner Amanda says some harsh words to Laura for dropping out of business college and hiding it from her. â€Å"You did all this to deceive me, just for deception? †¦ We won’t have a business career- we’ve given that up because it gave us nervous indigestion! †¦ barely tolerated spinsters living upon the grudging patronage of sister’s husband or brothers wife!† (93-94). In the same way Amanda’s image placed on Laura when she learns she dropped out of business college in secret is used by Williams to show that Amanda see’s Laura as a weak girl with no identity to her. The image of Laura is that she is a fragile girl with little to no way to support herself having left the one opportunity she had to make a future for herself. The imagery of Amanda’s words that Williams writes twists the picture of Laura into a thoughtless and selfish girl, not thinking about anything but her own personal desires. But her identity is not as a thoughtless girl but as a shy and caring young woman. She is seen as continually concerned for her brother, but still throughout most of the play Amanda see’s Laura as being just self involved. The false image of Laura as being self absorbed is enforced by the imagery of Amanda’s harsh words about dropping out of business college. In opposition to Janie and Laura, the pet names Torvald uses for Nora as terms of endearment are actually very insulting terms to her. â€Å"Is my little squirrel come home? †¦ The same little featherhead! †¦ Come come my little skylark, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (6-7). Comparably Torvald’s words to Nora are suppose to be endearing but with the knowledge of what the animals are is used to paint an unflattering picture of Nora. Squirrels are animals with very small brains and that are generalized as being unintelligent. A featherhead isn’t an animal, but it is implying that Nora’s head isn’t filled with a brain, but is instead filled with feathers. Nothing substantial t hat she can actually make her own thoughts with. Torvald with this term of endearment is suggesting that Nora doesn’t have a brain but just feathers in her head. Furthermore a skylark is a bird that nests on the ground, then being easily destroyed and that are not very distinctive in coloring. This name makes Nora seem plain and foolish. With these pet names of animals that are ordinary Torvald through the imagery of his words is insinuating that Nora is plain and not very bright. Torvald is also putting himself above Nora with his words. He is making it seem like he is the all important person of the house and that he is better than Nora because he is intelligent. Nora’s individuality is taken away from her with Torvald putting above himself and putting her in the background. Nora has no identity when she is with Torvald as he puts her so below himself that he doesn’t believe she can be herself. Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, and Zora Neale Hurston use the imagery in their works associated with their lead females to portray how society’s views of people is usually false and undermines their individuality. How people are viewed by what they wear, what they own, their past, and what people say to them is a simple way to miss a person’s true identity. These generalized views are easily broken apart when evidence of people’s character is put forward, and this is what get’s society into trouble. These three authors aren’t just writing literature, they are making a statement on how society works. Including how society is wrong and how generalizations about types of people need to be broken in the collective minds of the people so every person is seen as themselves and not as a stereotype. To give everyone their own voice without being prejudged by society’s absurd expectations.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Study On The European Citizenship Politics Essay

A Study On The European Citizenship Politics Essay Citizenship is not an essence but a historical construction. The idea of European Union citizenship was first acknowledged in the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in 1991 and came into effect in 1993. European patriotism and identity obviously draw on the concept of European citizenship. The complicated nature of European collective identity and the different collective identities of European nations eventually link the process of common identity-building to the legal formation of a European citizenry and the distribution of rights and duties guaranteed for citizens by European law (Von Beyme, 2001). Today, citizenship has moved to the forefront of political debates in many European countries as well as the European Union institutions, and it has become a volatile policy area where change is dynamic and continuous even if the citizenship laws remain robust to major changes mainly due to the friction between the nation state and supranationalism in terms of political sovereignty. While Maastricht Treaty establishes Union citizenship for every person holding the nationality of a Member State; the Amsterdam Treaty addresses this issue by adding that Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship (Treaty on European Union Article 8, February 7, 1992). There is a problematical area which the European Charter on Fundamental Rights will not overcome: the citizenship is merely a derived condition of nationality, while certain fundamental rights are based on a mixture of various criteria other than citizenship or nationality alone. Even if the Charter on Fundamental Rights in the European Union adopted as a legally binding instrument with EU law, it will not change anything in this direction and this dilemma will remain to exist. An important problem of the current formulation of European Union citizenship is that it is not defined as an autonomous concept in Community Law at the supranational level, but defined exclusively by the appl icable member state legislation for granting of nationality only at the national level. From the perspective of the legal aspects of citizenship, EU citizenship might be characterized as a derived condition of nationality simply because there is no Community competence to set up its own criteria for defining nationality or citizenship, thus the formal European identity. The conception of European citizenship is one of the mechanisms that the integration process generates for further deepening of the Union. After several rounds of enlargements and accession of more than ten new member states in the last decade, the European integration project must focus its efforts on deepening its structures and organization rather than enlargement especially at a time of fast globalization. Today, Europe is in need of defining the borderlines of European citizenship which cannot be constructed by a model built on the nation state principles. Although the identity building stage for peoples of the European Union is similar to the process of national identity building; the EU citizenship shall be comprehended and structured as a whole different entity than national citizenship. Today, the European society is in trouble because of the unclear definition of the EU citizenship and common European identity, or the unhealthy practice of European citizenship through natio n state based models in the integrated Europe of our day. So far, the prospects of a common European citizenship have been basically failure when it comes to practice and the reason is that European citizenship is incorrectly formulized to serve the aims of national interests rather than the supranational institutions of the European Union. The ultimate attempt of the European Commission to consolidate political integration through a Constitutional Treaty in the year 2005 was rejected by citizens of France and the Netherlands. The public opinion indicates that most citizens in Europe are not eager to become citizens of Europe they are not willing to shift their sovereignty, political allegiance and identities from the national to the supranational level (Baubà ¶ck, 2006). The results of successive editions of the Eurobarometer suggests that European political identity is weak and there is a great variation across EU member states, while in most EU countries only a very small percentage of people around five percent declare having an exclus ive European identity while up to fifty percent do not have any sense of European identity (Gubernau, 2001: 176). Indeed, Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 makes it clear that citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship and that the Union shall respect the national identities of its member states. Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union: Article 1, October 2, 1997). Therefore, Community law does not recognize any authority of the Union in determining its own citizens (Baubà ¶ck, 2006). Instead, the current legislation suggests that the European Union citizenship is simply derived from national member state citizenship, which is highly problematic to serve the jurisdiction of the European Union institutions. Before the enlargement of 2004 which resulted with ten new member states joining the EU, the European Commission identified three priorities for the EU which highlighted giving full content to European citizenship (European Commission, 2004). In 2006, the second phase of the EU Programme to Promote Active European Citizenship was launched. The concept of a European citizenship incorporating shared values and a sense of belonging to the European Union in addition to legal rights were officially acknowledged by the Programme. However, today the European Union citizenship is increasingly challenged in domestic politics and may eventually become a source of conflict between member states, if it has not become an important area of intra-tension yet. Recent European experiences suggest that natural and spontaneous convergence among EU member states towards cosmopolitan liberal norms is no longer a reasonable expectation. Almost two decades after creating a citizenship of the Union, it shal l be the time that European policy-makers take the initiative of introducing common European standards for the citizenship laws of the member states to create an active and functioning European Union citizenship. Although this does not require imposing a single European citizenship law, the process might start with an open method of coordination and could result in an authority of EU law to regulate those aspects of national legislation that violate principles of European solidarity or result in discrimination and exclusion of third-country nationals (Baubà ¶ck, 2006: 6). Furthermore, problems exist at the supranational governance level as the European Parliament is the primary legislative body of the European Union but it is not a sovereign legislative body. . After all, the EU citizenship has unfortunately remained a metaphor with some added value to it until today. The European Union citizenship in order to practically exist needs direct effect of Community law in order to becom e e a genuine source of rights for citizens of Europe. Although Europe gave birth to the nation state system and the Europeans are creators of the idea of citizenship; peoples of the European Union are in desperate need of making an up-to-date definition of the EU citizenship today. The Classical Model of Citizenship, also known as the National-Political Citizenship, is a product of Europe in the context of the classical European nation state. One major problem in todays Europe is that this model is crumbling and no more capable of providing a complete comprehension of citizenship in the integrated Europe under our days dynamic conditions. The Classical Model applies to two types of nation state formations in Europe: the republican or civic model supported by France or the nationalist or ethnic model supported by Germany and the Eastern European states. Although the French model, also adopted by the Americans, focuses on the political qualities of culture and the German model focuses on the ethnical qualities as major elements; both incl ude the concept of nation, in other words people on a certain territory with certain rights and liberties as their main element. However, the strict attachment to territory when defining citizenship is no more applicable under todays European Union conditions; as free movement within the Union is established in recent years. On the other hand, the rights and liberties given to the increasing immigrant population and ethnic groups are questioned as the main factors of inconsistency, distress and tension in the socio-political life in Europe today. After all, the European Union is not a nation-state; it entails a whole different type of organization, a supranational entity above the level of member nation-states. If the EU is imagined as a large nation state, then its cultural politics stays on the top-bottom line as elitist discourse to create Europeans (Strath, 2000) and do not touch social identities of the people, except Euro-bureaucrats only (Shore, 2000). Nonetheless, today the EU citizenship rights are derivative of national citizenship and currently they do not form a compelling basis for an active European citizenship of participation (Delanty, 2000a: 83, Baubà ¶ck, 2006). On the other hand, to what extent EU citizenship departs from the nation-state norms of citizenship remains the question. The European integration has a positive impact on the decline of nation states as they begin to share their sovereignty for building a supranational entity which entails an economical as a well as a political unification of Europe. However, the National-Political Citizenship Model is out of date with the formation of todays integrationist Europe. European nation states are breaking down as they face with drastic changes driven by diverse outcomes of globalization, such as heterogeneous multicultural structure and free movement within the European Union which challenge the territory principle of the nation state structure. In Scholtes words, contemporary governance is multilayered; it includes important local, substate regional, suprastate, regional, and transworld operations alongside and intertwined with national arrangements (Scholte, 2000: 143). An important consequence of these shifts is that governance has become more fragmented and decentralized. Globalization has accelerated t he efforts for building European citizenship by creating gaps in effective governance at national level and refocusing attention on problems best dealt with at the sub-national or supra-national level (Rumford, 2003). Therefore, one can conclude that globalization has opened up the field of European governance. As a result, the new supranational state organization in Europe does not allow powerful nation states of the 20th Century to exist, and therefore the Classical Model of Citizenship which relies on the nation-state structure simply needs to be changed or reconfigured under todays circumstances. The present formulation of European Union citizenship has failed to establish a direct connection between the citizenry and the European Union institutions, without ties to the nation state. In the literature of liberal democracy, citizenship is meant to empower citizens of a state to hold governments accountable. In this respect, Union citizenship hardly satisfies democratic aspirations (Baubà ¶ck, 2006). Baubà ¶ck argues that the true value of being a citizen of the European Union lies not in rights one has towards the institutions of the Union, but in rights towards the other member states as the Union citizenship extensively prohibits national governments from discriminating against the citizens of other EU states (Baubà ¶ck, 2006: 1).. After all, there is a broader aspiration to promote relationships between the Union and European people which are to be more direct and substantial than they were in the past and which are less intervened by the member states. Almost a decade a fter the EU citizenship was introduced, the European Commission had confessed that EU citizens have little in the way of a European political consciousness and are not given much encouragement nor facility to engage in a consistent political dialogue with European institutions (European Commission, 2001:7). Therefore, Europeanists also believe that EU citizenship is also important for the future of the Union as it entails an enhanced relationship between the EU and its citizens which in turn will increase effectiveness and efficiency of European institutions, reducing the EUs democratic deficit while increasing the Unions political legitimacy. Meanwhile, the European citizenship has been a rather insignificant area of law and source of rights so far, after nearly two decades it had been introduced into the Community Law. In practice, the concept of EU citizenship has been used with an intention to close up certain gaps of free movement issues within the European land. The legal rights associated with citizenship of the Union are to travel and reside anywhere in the EU; to vote and to stand for election in municipal and European elections in the member state of residence, regardless of nationality; to have consular protection by the consulate of another member state while outside the EU; to petition the European Parliament and apply to the European Ombudsman (Consolidated Treaty of Rome Articles 18-22). Based on general principles of the Community law, specifically the principle of non-discrimination having direct effect, an extension of the substance of citizenship to third-country nationals who have legally lived within t he boundaries EU for a long time; and the issues that correlate with the interrelation between rights and duties remain as a question (Reich, 2001). Deviating from the past trend towards liberalization, there are numbers of countries, such as Greece, Denmark, and Austria, where restrictive citizenship laws have been either retained or further advanced largely due to the growing trend of external migration to the Union. The Netherlands, which used to have a liberal naturalization policy for immigrants, is the most dramatic example of a turnabout of citizenship policy. Furthermore, citizenship tests were introduced in Germany, Denmark, Greece, Austria, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in addition to the widespread requirement of learning the dominant language, these tests include questions about the countrys history, constitution, and everyday culture which almost require university level education for immigrants in order to become citizens (Baubà ¶ck, 2006: 5). While language skills are universally accepted as useful for social as well as political integration for immigrants seeking citizenship, the usefulness of the largel y implausible questions asked in citizenship tests raise doubts. This new approach in European Union member states to naturalization reminds of exclusionary ethnic conception of citizenship as the new naturalization policies emphasize integration as a precondition for citizenship and they define integration as an individual achievement rather than a structural condition of equal rights and opportunities. Although citizenship is no longer attached to ethnic identities in todays Europe, it cannot be accepted as a tool for integrating societies which have heterogeneous origins. Today, the current formulation of the EU citizenship has three main features. First, it is not autonomous and genuine as it is derived from member state citizenship; second, it cannot establish a direct link between the European Union and its citizens without ties to the national level; and third, in practice it only gives free access to other member states for European citizens within the boundaries of the Union, and does not provide more. Moreover, it is a source of inequality and exclusion for Europeans. Some European Union member states may give national citizenship to immigrants in three years while another state can call for ten years of residence; thus there is no standards for becoming a European Union citizen for immigrants as the Union citizenship is merely connected to national citizenship. On the other hand, current policies do not serve as a unifying factor at the supranational level but remain merely connected to the national level as immigrants who move frequently betw een different member states of the EU while staying within the territories of the Union for an overall long period of time cannot become European Union citizens, because citizenship policies still operate at national level which does not only harm the unity of European society but also embarrass European Union by proving it as an ineffective political entity. In fact, nearly all European states require a certain period of continuous residence in their national territory rather than the territory of the European Union as a condition for naturalization according to their natural laws. Theoretically, the EU citizens have the right of free access to employment in other member states of the Union. However, this right has been temporarily suspended in some member states for the citizens of countries that have recently joined the EU which introduced a temporary form of second-class citizenship within the Union that is hard to reconcile with the basic commitment to free movement and non-dis crimination on grounds of nationality among the European Union citizens (Baubà ¶ck, 2007: 459).Therefore, one may conclude that there is a great inconsistency between the aims of the European Union citizenship and its current formulation due to the tension between national and supranational levels and the fact the EU citizenship is not genuine and remain merely a derivation from natural citizenship policies. There are different ways of responding to these problems and all entail a new formulization of European Union citizenship. A radical solution would be to turn the relation between supranational and national citizenship upside down, so that the former determines the latter (Baubà ¶ck, 2006). This would propose a federation for the European Union and there is not much political support among European citizens as well as governments for building such a European federation. The alternative remains to be to hope for a spontaneous convergence of national citizenship policies from below; which experience suggests that is not realistic to expect anytime soon. Many national reforms have moved in similar directions over the past decades, but it would be rather optimistic to believe that member states are willing to change their laws in order to avoid burdening other states with immigration problems or in order to secure roughly equal conditions for access to citizenship across Europe (Baubà ¶ck, 2006). Rainer Baubà ¶ck (2007) summarizes three major approaches to future European Union citizenship: The statist approach, the unionist approach and the pluralist approach. The statist approach view the European Union in as progressing towards a federal state, and suggests federal norms of citizenship such as the example of the United States for the EU citizenship. The unionist approach aims to strengthen citizenship of the Union by making it more inclusionary for the Europeans. It is different from the federal modal in terms that it seeks to emancipate EU citizenship from member-state citizenship rather than integrate the latter into the former. The pluralist approach seeks to apply general norms of democratic legitimacy at both supranational and national levels and to balance these concerns where they may coincide or conflict. Although this approach is not primarily committed to strengthening the EU citizenship by weakening member state citizenships; it is reformist in promoting a more consistent conception of multilevel citizenship which can be applied to the EU under todays conditions. The statist, in other words Federal approach has only few advocates and involves substantial departure from the path the European Union has been following until today which makes it a non-feasible solution. The Unionist approach has many advocates among Europeanists and immigrant populations; but in larger civil society it still remains a marginal proposition for European politics. Finally, the pluralist approach is the most feasible solution for European Union citizenship, but still it is too ambitious to have any chance of adaptation in the near future (Baubà ¶ck, 2007). After all, all three approaches propose different paths for European citizenship but they share a commitment to Union citizenship and they are opposed to Euroskeptic nationalist or intergovernmental perspectives on EU citizenship. In the general literature, In the general literature, there are several alternative formulations other than the Classical Model of Citizenship which may serve as basis for a common European Union citizenry.Revised National Citizenship Model is a new approach to citizenship; it is basically a version of the national-political model of citizenship which is arguably updated to todays conditions in Europe. Indeed, this model is probably the most commonly practiced citizenship model by the European states today, which simply took place of the classical model or mixed with the classical model due to change of the environment in Europe. Although this model supports openness in terms of a potential of citizenship for resident non-citizens, political rights are not given to the non-citizen residents which is central to discussion to overcome the potential problems in Europe centered in minority issues. Therefore, this model does not seem to provide a solution for the European Union citizenshi p in todays circumstances as it has already been largely practiced in parts of Europe. Finally, although the revised model makes it easier for non-citizen residents to earn citizenship rights while it simultaneously closes the doors for newcomers by establishing effective control over borders. The model makes it even harder to migrate into a country in any legal status which would decrease the non-citizen resident population. Most states in Europe such as England and Germany which are regarded as the hardest countries to earn citizenship; empower this model rather than the classical model today, to create a solution for their migration problems. The Post National Citizenship Model is the most complex, revolutionary and appropriate model for the future of European integration. Habermas, as a well-known European constitutionalist and pro-integrationist who comes from a republican nation state tradition, puts a lot of emphasis on civil rights and liberties while his arguments center on the idea of constitutional patriotism. The main argument is that Europe needs a public sphere, a public opinion and a political culture to create a common identity but the values used in creation of this singular European identity should not be ethnic or nationalist values and solely political elements of culture (Habermas, 1994). Ratification of a European Constitution would provide the easiest way to achieve these values to create a single European identity, which definitely cannot be created with ethnic or nationalist elements, which should remain as secondary identities. On the other hand, Habermas argues that further enlargement of the EU wi ll make integration even more difficult and the deepening of European Union is more important than its widening policies under todays conditions (Habermas, 2005). Finally, the newcomers are seen as a risk for the model of citizenship and the future of Europe because they must adapt to the European political culture or they will surely pose a threat to the democratic system of the state. Habermas concludes that a resident non-citizen should be entitled as a citizen only when being a part of the European political culture by building positive relations with the majority of the society and by being schooled in the educational system of the host country to for full adaptation (Habermas, 1994). On the contrary, Yasemin Soysal uses a different perspective while discussing the Post National Citizenship Model. The main argument which lies at the heart of the debate is that the human rights are more important than political rights because citizens are individuals which raise the importance of human rights (Soysal, 2000). The key point here is the fact that, although political rights are highly related to the nation state structure, the human rights are not related to the development of nation-state thus they are independent from a nation-state based citizenship model. Massive decolonization, the rise of transnational agencies, the emergence of multilevel politics and most importantly, increasing immigration after the Second World War are four developments that created the historical background for the rise of human rights in Europe in last fifty years. In Todays Europe, boundaries of citizenship are fluid, multiplicity of membership and universal personhood exist which are basi c characteristics of the Post-National Citizenship Model. As a result, the post-national citizenship model is compatible with todays European Union, as it does not count on national borders and only universal characteristics rather than national ones. Therefore, post national citizenship model suits well with the concept of a European citizenship, not created by ethnic, national or religious elements of culture but the political culture, as it was also argued by Habermas (1994, 2003). On the other hand, there is a counter-argument about the possible success of the Post-National Model application in Europe. The critical argument made by Soysal is that the rising trend of human rights creates a paradox, which lays as the main reason behind the increasing minority violence events across Europe. Soysal asks in todays environment of emphasized civil rights and post national individualism, how are particularistic identities affected, given the rise of human rights, particularistic identities such as ethnical, religious and national identities rise simultaneously (Soysal, 2000). The conclusion is that the Post National Citizenship Model sits on top of the paradox; civil rights and particularistic identities rise simultaneously as increasing liberties prepare grounds for expressing these identities. Although human rights are rising for the privileged citizens, not each and every individual in a society such as immigrant minorities in France has full access to human rights because they remain as non-citizen residents, outsiders to the culture and this causes the creation of socio-economical inequality. On the other hand, when these groups are given cultural rights under todays conditions without the establishment of necessary economic and social integration; the outcomes may be further expression of particularistic identities which will again create a threat to the social system. The rise of cultural rights is a crucial issue in the post national debate. Cultural rights are defined as an issue of human rights; the issue is related to group rights rather than individual rights in the post-national context (Taylor, 1999). For example the minority violence events on European streets can be understood by observing the rights of these groups of people who are all resident non-citizens and who all dont have national political rights; and it is important that all are group actions instead of individual actions. Cultural rights of these groups are crucial in a multicultural post-national Europe, and most of the social tension centers on the issue that how much cultural rights should the minority groups have in the context of an integrated Europe rather than a nation state structure. What makes these people different than European Union citizens in the cradle of democracy is the fact that majority rules in democracies and minorities are excluded from the system as a s acrifice simply because democracy is a majority system. On the other hand, in democracies, minorities have belief in the system because they have hopes to be a part of the majority and thus the ruling class one day and thats how the mechanism of democracy works. However, these minority groups in EU member states seemed to lose their hopes of having political rights, or becoming citizens in other words; thus they pose a threat for the democratic system under todays national-political citizenship model as Habermas also argues (1994). As these minority groups were left outside by segregation in Europe, and they have no political rights as resident non-citizens; the expression of their adaptation problems turned out to be attacks against the social and democratic structure in the country. These are all problems caused by the crumbling model of classical citizenship and post-national citizenship idea would bring solutions to most of these problematic areas. Immigrant minority groups in Europe would have citizenship rights that would integrate them into the democratic system and give them the chance to be represented, which will provide these groups hope and trust in democracy. As a result, violence on streets would be prevented because these groups would have the chance to fight for their rights in the democratic arena rather than the streets. The integration of non-citizen minority groups will give pace to the deepening process of Europe and it should be achieved before further widening which would slow down the integration in Europe by adding more complexities (Habermas, 2000). Cultural rights and cultural policy is another important area of tension in the debate of a European Union citizenship. In the Classical Nation state, or Liberal Model in other words, which is exercised by most European states today, public and private are two distinct and clearly separated realms (Habermas, 2003). Cultural rights can be exercised in the private area of life while public area is kept neutral and ethnic or cultural signs are kept out strictly. In France, people are asked not to wear even cross as a symbol of Christianity in the public area, however one can see women wearing headscarf in public in Paris; so the picture is mixed and complex. Taylor argues that this clear separation of public and private spaces aimed by the Liberal model cannot be achieved in a multicultural environment (Taylor, 1999), such as todays Europe. However, under a multicultural model suggested by Taylor which means the end of the Liberal model, all citizens will not be equal but groups of citi zens will have different rights in practice. If such a system will be designed for Europe it would be problematic to govern multicultural societies in European Union, more rights will be asked from the state to overcome the inequalities between the groups and it is questionable how much cultural rights a European state can give as a reply to the enormous demand by different groups. Such a system will lead to chaos in both governance and the society thus keeping the public sphere neutral as it is in the liberal model still is a better proposition for Europe while increasing the cultural rights homogenously to an extent supported by the Post National Citizenship Model. As a result, one may conclude that citizenship is increasingly post-national, rather than national, and the rights and benefits of citizenship frequently accumulate to resident non-citizens. Equally, the spaces within which citizenship is enacted and contestation and claims-making take place do not necessarily coincide with either the nation-state or the EU (Soysal, 2000). In short, there exists a proliferation of new forms of participation, and multiple arenas and levels on which individuals and groups enact their citizenship (Soysal, 2001: 160). The bond between citizenship and civil society can no longer be assumed, and nationally coded public spheres do not hold (Soysal, 2001: 172). The application of civil society to a transnational context has attracted criticism; particularly that such a move represents an attempt to reproduce on the supranational level a model that has reached its limits on the national level (Delanty, 1998). There is also

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Plyometric Exercises and Their Benefits for Football Players

Plyometric Exercises and Their Benefits for Football Players The benefits of polymetric exercises for soccer players and the  importance of when in a training session these type of exercises should  be implemented. Introduction The subject of exercise and physiology is a broad topic. Researchers have known for many years that exercise benefits the body in various ways and there is not a practicing physician anywhere that does not recommend it to his/her patients. But the actual effects of exercise on a person’s ability to perform an activity are not well understood. Whether the increase in ability to perform is due to what is known as â€Å"muscle memory†, increased muscle mass, or simply based on repetitive motion is hard to determine in a quantitative sense. In the next few pages a case will be made for what are known as polymetric exercises specifically for increased soccer playing ability. In order to explore the subjects of exercise and kinesiology it is necessary to have an adequate amount of background information beforehand therefore before delving directly into the core subject matter, a few general principles will be discussed to provide a framework of thinking for the remainder of the paper. A few principles that are crucial to the understanding of the effects of polymetric exercise are muscle physiology, various exercise regimes, and finally the basics of polymetrics and why they work. Muscle Physiology The human body is made up of hundreds of muscles from the most minute (i.e. the muscles that close your eyelid) to very large conspicuous muscles (quadriceps, gluteus maximus, etc.). The large muscles are generally the ones that human beings â€Å"train† to become stronger and more adept, however all muscles have the same basic structure. Each muscle is made up of a series of strands of tissue known as muscle fibers. These fibers work together as one large unit to form what we know as muscle groups. The major muscle groups that most people know about and understand the location of are the bicep brachi(biceps),pectoralis major (pecs), quadriceps femoris (quadriceps), and rectus abdominas (abs). These groups are the major muscle groups that people tend to â€Å"workout or train† in order to lose weight or tone up and are the muscles with which the majority of the population is most familiar with. While a working knowledge of the major muscle groups is sufficient for the everyday layperson going to the gym, to really understand what is involved in the build up of muscle mass and the accumulation of what is known as â€Å"muscle memory† it is necessary to understand what is going on at the cellular level. Muscle cells work together with the nerves to perform actions. The body’s nerves create an electrical impulse triggered by a potassium gradient which then stimulates the muscle cells into action. Even though this entire process takes much less than a second, there are still ways of maximizing the efficiency and output of the muscle cells. Some of the muscle cells are part of what are known as fast twitch muscle fibers and others are part of slow twitch muscle fibers. These concepts will be discussed more in the next section. Fast twitch versus slow twitch muscles Experts usually split muscles into two general groupings or types. The first type is called fast twitch muscle fiber. Fast twitch muscles are the muscles that react quickly to stressors (ie sprinting, jumping, or punching). The fast twitch fibers are usually what are termed the â€Å"shorter† muscle fibers. Even though the actual physical length of the fibers are no different from the â€Å"longer† or slow twitch muscle fibers, the term short refers to the type of energy they use and the types of activities that these muscle fibers are suited best for. Fast twitch muscle fibers are better suited for activities that require quick movements for short amounts of time. For instance, sprinters build up fast twitch muscle fibers, so do boxers, and to an extent soccer players do as well (Vannatta 2002). These muscle fibers are powered by â€Å"quick or fast† energy which is provided by ATPs produced by carbohydrates. In order to build up these fast twitch muscles specif ic types of exercises work best. General exercises (jogging, weight training, calisthenics) will build the muscle fibers up to a certain point, especially if this is the first activity in a while or ever for that matter. However, once a reasonable level of fitness is achieved it begins to get harder to realize increased fast twitch muscle enhancement. It is due to this new plateau of difficulty that researchers have developed different types of exercises to specifically address the fast twitch muscle fibers (Pollock et al 1998). There are several different types of exercises that can be used to overcome fast twitch muscle fiber plateaus. These exercises employ techniques that capitalize on movements that require quick employment of energy. A few examples of exercises would be anything that requires jumping, dexterity drills, or footwork drills. All of these exercises increase the muscle memory of the fast twitch muscle fibers. Muscle memory is defined as the tendency for muscles to â€Å"remember† or acquire a propensity for the motions of a specific action. This is due to a muscle’s direct feedback mechanism connected with growth. Once a muscle is stressed and the stressor is removed, the muscle takes time to recover. Depending on the amount of stress, the muscle can take varying amounts of time to recover. Also, once the muscle is stressed it will not only recover to the original state of the muscle but it will increase its resistance to stressors to the point of the initial stress event (Rhe a et al 2003). In other words, once the muscle fiber is torn by work (ie exercise) it will repair itself to a point where it can resist the same type of exercise stress again later and in the process builds up an increased muscle mass. It’s the accompaniment of muscle memory exercises and the increased resistance to stressors that leads to the abolishment of a fast twitch muscle fiber performance plateau. While fast twitch muscle fibers rely on quick use of energy, slow twitch or long muscle fibers require the use of sustainable energy found in slower burning sources such as protein and fats. These muscle fibers are better suited for types of activities that require muscle endurance. Slow twitch muscle fibers are responsible for activities such as long distance running, rowing, and cycling. Long muscle fibers must be equipped with the stamina needed for endurance events, as well as be able to work in conjunction with the fast twitch muscle fibers for quick bursts of speed. No one has solely fast twitch or solely slow twitch muscles. Each person has a specific ratio of slow to fast twitch muscle fibers that determines what kind of sports or activities that they are better suited to (ie endurance vs. sprints). In other words, marathon runners have more slow twitch muscle fibers than do sprinters and boxers have more fast twitch muscle fibers in comparison to cyclists. Although the ratio of muscle fiber types plays a role in determining the types of sports and activities that a person participates in, it is not a completely â€Å"firm† method of deciding on the type of performance expected from an individual. Some sports, like soccer, are activities that require a fair amount of both slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers in order to perform at the highest level, and this holds true for many sports (Ekblom 1986). Therefore the question is â€Å"how can athletes enhance the performance of both their slow twitch muscle fibers and fast twitch muscle fibers with one series of exercises?†. In the past there has not been a good answer to this question. Coaches and athletes have simply trained one set of muscle fibers on one day and then train the other muscle fibers on the next days. In this way all of the muscle fiber types were being trained, but not in a single training session, and thus the simulation of a game or competitive event was not accurately depicted. However, recently kinesiology has taken an interesting turn with regard to training multiple muscle groups at the same time. The next section will discuss a few of these techniques at length. Exercises to train multiple muscle groups Researchers have determined that there are sets or groupings of exercises that can effectively train both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers, as well as training multiple muscle groups, concurrently. This group of exercises is collectively known as polymetric exercises. The meaning of the word polymetric is just as its roots imply. These are exercises that employ techniques to train multiple (poly-) muscles at once using different movements (-metrics). There are several different types of exercises that are all considered polymetric exercises. These exercises include all non-isolationistic movement, or in other words, any exercise or movement that trains more than one muscle or muscle group at a time. These exercises can include plyometric exercises, isotonic exercises, polykinetic exercises , polytonic exercises or compound exercises. We will look at each type briefly as a preliminary procedure. Plyometric Exercise Plyometric exercises are a group of exercises that many organized sports teams and athletes are familiar with. Plyometrics are usually implemented in what are also known as â€Å"drills†. These can include such practices as box jumping, jump roping, line hops, etc. Basically, plyometrics serve to recreate certain situations that the athlete may encounter during a competitive event. This could be anything from jumping over a would be tackler, making a quick turn to avoid an opponent, or jumping over a hurdle. There are many plyometric drills that are employed by various coaches and one only needs to decide on the specific movements that are used in the activity that they are involved with in order for new drills to be designed. Plyometrics are very good at training the fast twitch muscle fibers to react with greater efficiency and at a higher rate than the original state of the muscle. Even though most polymetric muscles are good at training both types of muscle fibers, plyomet ric exercises in general do not do a good job of training the slow twitch muscle fibers and thus are considered an earlier stage of exercise development than other more advanced polymetric exercises. Isotonic Exercise Isotonic exercises are a group of exercises that stresses a constant load of resistance against the opposing muscle. These are most easily generalized as the weight lifting exercises that people perform in a gym such as: bicep curls, bench press, and standing barbell rows. Most experts agree that the use of free weights for these exercises is essential because free weights tend to employ more muscle groups at the same time in order to balance the weight. It is due to the act of balancing muscle groups that more muscle mass may be gained by using free weights instead of machines. Its important to realize that not all isotonic exercises can be called polymetric exercises. In most cases the use of isotonic exercises necessitates the employment of more than one muscle group or type of muscle fiber at a time and therefore may be classified as a polymetric exercise, however in some cases isotonic exercises may isolate a single muscle or muscle group in which case they can no longer be cons idered a polymetric exercise. Polykinetic Exercise Polykinetic exercise literally means multiple motion or multiple movement. Dancers and tennis players perform these exercises most frequently in order to increase their â€Å"spring† or vertical jumping height. Polykinetic exercises sometimes are misclassified as other polymetric exercises such as polymetrics. Polykinetics use multiple motion exercises to employ as many muscles as possible in one specific exercises. Again, polykinetics much like plyometrics are used mostly to train fast twitch muscle fibers, however if the exercises are performed for a longer period of time then these could also be used to train the slow twitch muscle fibers as well. Polytonic Exercise Polytonic exercise is not actually a separate division of polymetric exercise but is simply used interchangeably with polymetric and plyometric when discussing various sports training activities. Literally polytonic means â€Å"multiple tones† and was originally applied to Greek orthography. Compound Exercise Compound exercise is also simply another way to express the idea of an exercise which involves multiple muscle employment. However, most researchers acknowledge compound exercises as those that involve a great deal of balance as well as the actual movement of the exercise. There are now specific tools that are used in conjunction with compound exercises which include such items as balance boards, balance balls, posture correcting exercise balls, etc. All of these items are designed to force the person exercising to not only employ their muscles during the exercise, but also use them to balance themselves and the weight at the same time. Why does polymetric training work? The idea and principle behind polymetric training is to â€Å"get the most bang for your buck†. Exercise kinesiologists have developed methods to get the most muscle fatigue and consequent recovery in the least amount of time and energy expenditure. This age of technology is the fastest paced since the industrial revolution and does not appear to be slowing down any. Therefore it is imperative for today’s athletes to be able to train as many muscle groups as possible in one session, while still maintaining a high level of performance. Polymetric exercises allow this to happen and in some cases have been shown to provide the best possible training for the competitive event for which they are intended (Noda et al. 1998). The Ins and Outs of Polymetrics Polymetric exercises have been shown to improve the ability of many sports teams and athletes to perform at amazingly high levels when employed correctly. The types of activities that are performed are very important and should be specific to that particular sport. For example, it has been shown that soccer players need the recruitment of both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Soccer is a sport that requires not only stamina to last the entirety of the game while running almost constantly, but also demands small bursts of speed and energy in order to outdistance your opponent or to save the ball (Reilly 2005). In the case of soccer then, it is absolutely essential to not just train for endurance or for speed, but for a combination of the two. By utilizing polymetrics it is possible to not only train both slow and fast twitch muscle groups, but is possible to do this at the exact same time. The optimal conditioning program is the implementation of a holistic fitness approach as stated by Reilly (2005). While the types of exercises are extremely important, another aspect of training which is often overlooked is that of the time of training. This is not referring to the time of day, but rather the time in the training regime. It is believed that the sequence in the exercise routine is linked to the overall performance of the participant later in a competitive event. Using the concepts of strength and endurance as potential results, it is possible to make a few generalizations concerning training. First, an athlete will have the most energy during the beginning phase of an exercise or workout routine and will be able to produce the most power. We can say that this is when his/her strength is at its highest level throughout the entire routine. Secondly, if an athlete wanted to increase his/her strength to the optimal level he/she should train their bodies at the point when their strength is the highest initially so that the amount of stress on the muscles is the greatest, leading to the most growth. It would seem reasonable then to assume that in order to gain the most strength gains an athlete would do some sort of polymetric training early on in their workout routine. Since polymetrics would work multiple groups and the athlete is working these muscles early, the greatest increase in athletic ability would be in strength instead of endurance. However, if we assume that at the end of a workout period an athlete’s muscles are at their weakest point or are the most tired/stressed, then it is reasonable to say that the opposite is true if the polymetric exercises are performed at the end of a workout session. If performed at the end of an exercise period, polymetric drills will increase the endurance of an individual since the muscles will not be exerting the most force (ie strength) that they are capable of, but will instead be utilizing the longterm energy sources in the body. Conclusion Polymetric exercise encompass a wide range of workouts, drills, and exercise regimes which all help to stress the body’s muscles in many different ways. In the case of soccer players it is of the utmost importance that these techniques be employed. According to Reilly (2005) today’s soccer players are enjoying an increased physical ability and game tempo compared to decades in the past. This is due not only to better medicine and technology, but also to the increase of high end research performed in the disciplines of physiology and kinesiology. It is an obvious assumption that the temporal aspect of exercise is extremely important in determining what muscles are stressed and how. This paper has shown that in order to increase strength, athletes should perform polymetric drills at the beginning of an exercise routine and to increase stamina or endurance one should perform polymetric drills at the end of a practice or exercise period. This claim is significant in that it implies that polymetrics may be more important to athletes as they increase their basal fitness level and approach loftier performance levels in an effort to perform at their absolute best. It is necessary for research to continue to be done in this area so that athletes may continue to increase their performance levels naturally and without pharmaceutical enhancement.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Win XP Pro vs. Win 2K Pro :: essays research papers fc

Title Windows XP Pro vs. Windows 2000 Pro Thesis Statement I got to play with XP Pro and fell in love with it the same way with 2000 Pro! Outline I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How I fell in love all over again! B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XP Pro and XP HE (Home Edition) C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Office XP II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Body A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XP Pro vs. 2000 Pro B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Application Compatibility C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What’s new - IPv6 D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AD and XP Pro E.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WINS a thing of the past! III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion A. XP Server and XP Corporate Windows XP Pro vs. Windows 2000 Pro Learning to play with 2000 Pro was fun. It challenged me in a great way. I learn some fundamentals about how an OS worked. Then I got to play with XP Pro and fell in love with it the same way I fell in love with 2000 Pro! When I had first heard about Windows XP I at first thought it was going to be another 9x OS for the home computer. Soon I was told that it would also have a Professional one too. But I was learning Windows 2000 and so I dismissed XP once again. My teach, Tony A., said XP was 2000 with a new GUI and this got me thinking more about this OS. If I learn all I can about 2000, learning XP will be a piece of cake! Then one day when I came to class and saw that XP Pro was install on the computer that I was sitting at in class. I got to fool around with it for about two hours and I was hooked! I’m getting ahead of my-self here, let me talk really quickly about XP Home Edition (HE) that is out there! It works more or less like Windows 98 with a little Windows 2000 upgrades. It’s mainly for the home use as it’s the name for the OS. Unlike 98 it don’t just sit on top of your computer. It acts more like 2000 in that it shields the hardware from the software and keeps it from crashing. It loves Plug and Play hardware. It features a 32-bit computing architecture, and a fully protected memory model. Since it’s got a lot of the 2000 built in, it features â€Å"Home Networking† network your home systems like an office! The only draw back is the fact that it use only basic disk, try to use dynamic and you’ll break the OS! The thing with XP HE is that Microsoft is selling the OS as a home entertment center than anything, so I’m not going to hold my breath for anything big to come out of this OS.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

A funeral in my Brain Essay -- essays research papers

I Felt a Funeral in My Brian â€Å"I felt a funeral in my brain† by Emily Dickinson traces the speaker’s descent into madness. It is a terrifying poem for both the speaker and the reader. The speaker experiences the loss of self in the chaos of the unconscious, and the reader experiences the speaker’s descending madness and the horror most of us feel about going crazy. Dickinson uses the metaphor of a funeral to represent the speaker’s sense that a part of her is dying. This is reason for her, being overwhelmed by the irrationality of the unconscious. A funeral is an appropriate image for this ordeal. The most obvious connotation with a funeral is death. Also a funeral is a formal event, whose rules and procedures suggest control and order. The control and order implicit in a funeral contras...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Othello and Film “O”

Despite the shift in time and place, the two texts Shakespeare’s Othello and Tim Blake Nelson’s film ‘O’ explores timeless ideas such as jealousy and illusion versus reality. These ideas transcend through time and still remain constant in modern society. To achieve universal themes represented in Othello, Tim Blake Nelson uses a variety of different techniques such as camera angles and Verdi’s Opera music to effectively achieve such themes and values in his film to suit his 21st century adolescent audiences.On the other hand, Shakespeare have originated the plot by using literacy devices such as imagery, soliloquies and asides to suit his contemporary Elizabethan audience. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the theme jealousy is evident throughout the play. The composer uses techniques such as imagery and characterisation to convey this idea effectively. The protagonist Othello was characterised as a general, a man who has high social standards, ration al, logical and a military man who is known as the â€Å"Valiant† and â€Å"more fail than black†.This has shaped a strong comparison towards the end of the play when the Moor who is perplexed and enraged by jealousy for Desdemona, calling her â€Å"Impudent Strumpet! †. Othello is a man of reason, and it is not until the proof of the handkerchief does the audience see his decline into distrust. With Iago’s understanding of human nature and their characteristics, Iago was able to turn their honesty against themselves. Othello’s mind became so corrupted by Iago that Othello got lose of his mind â€Å"Lie with her? Lie on her?.. Handkerchief! – Oh devil!† that the once calm and honourable figure was unfortunately lost to the â€Å"green eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on†.Shakespeare uses imagery to describe jealousy as a monster, effectively highlighted the destructive nature of jealousy. In a different form the f ilm â€Å"O† also represents the theme of jealousy effectively. Tim Blake Nelson conveys jealousy effectively through techniques such as super imposition, a variety of non diegetic (Verdi’s opera representing tragedy at the opening scene of doves) and a range of different angled camera shots to convey his theme of jealousy.The composer utilizes the popular medium of cinema as well as the use of colloquial language, slangs and profanities to suit his contemporary adolescent audiences. Oden having similar characteristics to Othello is naive and easily trusting who fall into the deception of Hugo. The use of non diegetic sounds as well as superimposition was imposed to symbolise jealousy. Tim Blake Nelson used such technique in the â€Å"willow† scene, the lyrics â€Å"Even the sun goes down Heroes eventually die† are all forecasts of the tragic death of Desi.The sex scene when Oden looks into the mirror and saw Mike’s face looking straight back at hi m smiling â€Å"evilly† gives the audience a look into Oden’s mind of jealousy and an indication of corruption of Oden’s mind. Iago is a success model in reflecting the theme â€Å"illusion verses reality†. Shakespeare employs techniques such as soliloquies and dramatic irony to effectively present the theme to his audience. In the beginning of the play, audiences are quickly known the â€Å"devil† of the story is Iago. Deception than arises in Othello when the protagonist constantly referred Iago as â€Å"the honest Iago†.However the audience is aware that Iago is indeed not honest at all, from quotes â€Å"I am not what I am† and â€Å"In following him I follow but myself† is an indication of the double-faced Iago. Iago is seen as the most loyal friend to Othello, Iago helped Othello to â€Å"prove† the unfaithfulness of Desdemona and evidenced Othello being cuckold by Desdemona. The effective use of asides creates dra matic irony for the audiences as Othello’s naivety and trust in Iago is evident. These scenes effectively conveys the theme of illusion vs reality as Iago creates the â€Å"illusion† of being Othello’s honest friend.In comparison to â€Å"O†, Nelson also used characterisation and dramatic irony in shaping the theme illusion verses reality. However techniques differs greatly between the two text in order to suit its audiences. In â€Å"O†, Iago was being further conveyed through the character Hugo, who is a teenager boy and craves for everyone’s attention. â€Å"All my life, I always wanted to fly† is a voice over at both opening and closing of the movie indicating Hugo wanting to success and will be able to receive attention from his father and friends. Dramatic irony has been effectively used to engage audiences to reflect upon the nature of illusion versus reality.The conversation between Michael and Hugo, when Michael asked Hugo fo r advices about reputation. Hugo replied quickly â€Å"Like who gives a fuck about reputation, the only person you have to answer is yourself†, this quote is not only an indication of Hugo being a true Machiavellian villain, but it also highlights the theme of reality vs illusion. Shakespeare focused on values in integrity and reputation however to suit the 21st audiences Tim Blake Nelson have focused more on popularity. Hugo appeared to be a trustworthy friend in the film to both Oden and Michael and this is a representation of illusion verses reality.Tim Blake Nelson effectively presents this thought through the use of dramatic irony and mis en scene throughout the movie similarly to Shakespeare’s Othello. Despite the time and space, both composer explored the basic humanity by using similar techniques however it differs greatly to suit its contemporary audiences. Shakespeare’s â€Å"Othello† used literacy devices such as dramatic irony and soliloquies instead Tim Blake Nelson structured his film â€Å"O† using popular medium of cinema along with pop and opera music to create his universal themes.