Saturday, August 31, 2019

Hinduism Essay Essay

Considering that Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, what makes up the Hindu religion? â€Å"One big societal element is that India is one of the last bastions of the ancient world’s culture. Its population practices scores of diverse religious tradition. â€Å"Hinduism† is actually an umbrella term referring to the people living â€Å"on the other side of the Sindhu River.† The actual name is the â€Å"Santayana Dharma† or Universal Truth or Way. One of â€Å"Hinduism’s† greatest strengths is its ability to unite the diverse beliefs and practices of its people in ways that are absolutely necessary for India to continue as it historically has. This is one reason why the government of India is so aggressive in its opposition to Christian and Muslim missionaries. Religious like Christianity or Islam demand a degree of doctrinal uniformity that would not work well for the Indians because  they destroy the historic traditions and beliefs o f those who come under their dogmas. India’s incredibly rich traditions are their nation’s greatest riches. As evidence, consider the differences between modern India and Pakistan (formerly part of India, separated by Islam). India allows Muslims to live in peace, for the most part, while Pakistan makes it all but impossible for Hindus to live there. Hinduism’s demand of vegetarianism reflects an important reality. Ancient India’s lifeblood was its cattle. This is still largely true today in the villages. The bulls plow the fields so that food can be grown. Cows give milk, an important ingredient in many Indian foods and a vital source of protein. Cow dung is used for making cooking and heating fires as well as some Ayurveda medicines. â€Å"Ahimsa,† non violence, maintains a civility that otherwise would not exists considering the religious and political differences in the region. The caste system (the â€Å"varnashram dharma†) is much maligned, but in its original form this system was very effective and made sure that Indians worked together in an organized fashion. The system eventually was abused and became a racist system (barman’s typically have the lightest sin color and mudhas or untouchable have the darkest, the others darken in color as one goes to the lower castes). In past times, this system was socially positive and enabled Indian’s to co-exist. Hinduism’s greatest strength remains its diversity and its ability to incorporate all beliefs systems. Indeed, one can literally argue that Christianity, Islam and all other religious systems are part of the Santayana Dharma or Universal Way of spiritual practice. India would be an utterly different place without the Hindu dharma and it fits the region wonderfully. Hinduism, which is actually known as the Santayana Dharma or Eternal Truth, has many uniting belief systems and contexts. These include the conviction that Truth is knowable and can be directly experienced. Hinduism is an umbrella term for many different traditions. Each of these traditions employs different means for enlightenment and views things a bit differently. What practically all Hindu sects accept however, is the famous statement of the Rg Veda: Truth is One; the sages call it by different names. There is therefore an underlying unity to the Hindu belief system. It also has deeply shared sense of morality and ethics. The teaching of ahimsa or non-violence is one such conviction. The belief in transmigration is another as is the belief in karma (actions and reaction), dharma (Truth) and marga (destiny). These teachings show how all life is interconnected and are â€Å"part and pacel† of the Whole. Hinduism is the oldest religion on the planet. It culture and traditions date back far into antiquity. Those who grow up in Hindu families are steeped in ancient traditions and beliefs from infancy on and  they are much more alike than dissimilar. Therefore it has a profound influence on cultural Hindus as well as on those who convert into it. Those Hindus who enter into serious discussions with other religionists, as well as those of us from other cultures who are drawn to the Hindu Dharma, soon discover that Hinduism is an extremely logical and inspirational religious system that offers experiential results to those who practice its various forms. In all ways the Hindu Dharma is at least comparable to any other religion on earth. What â€Å"makes up† the Hindu religion is the fact that it works and that it is able to exist within such internal and external diversity.† (~John of All Faith; Prakasa, Jagannatha)

Friday, August 30, 2019

Ac505 Course Project a

Course Project Hints: The beginning cash balance for April, is the cash from March 31 in the Asset section of the balance sheet. In the merchandise purchases budget, in April, we need 50% of March purchases (that amount is also given to us 3/31 Accounts payable of $100,000 on page 415). Therefore, Total cash disbursements for April is (50% x $316,000 April purchases) + ($100,000 remaining March purchases to be paid) = $258,000. Class, Here are some hints. Lets start from the beginning: SALES BUDGET: First, take budgeted sales in units for each month of April, May, and June, and multiply by the selling price of $10/unit.You will get TOTAL SALES which you will also need to plug into the Income Statement later. For example, April should be 65,000 units times $10 = $650,000 Total Sales. For your Schedule of Expected Cash Collections, each months units must be multiplied by the $10 selling price to yield the months sales. Per page 414, we know 10% of a given months sales is collected in t he 2nd month following the sale, 70% in the month following the sale, and 20% in the month of sale. Therefore, for example Total Cash Collection for April will consist of the last 10% of February sales and 70% of March sales and 20% of April sales: (26,000 Feb units x $10 x 0. 0) +(40,000 March units x $10 x 0. 70) + (65,000 April units x $10 x 0. 20) = $436,000. You have to repeat the same process for May and June that I just did for April, and then add up all three months to get the quarter. Next, we have the Merchandise Purchases Budget. Total Needs are Budgeted sales in units plus Budgeted ending inventory (budgeted ending inventory =40% of the next months sales in units according to the terms of the problem). Once we have Total Needs, we subtract the Beginning Inventory (which of course is the previous months ending inventory) to get Required Unit Purchases.So for April, that is 65,000 April budgeted units + (0. 40 x 100,000 May budgeted units) = 105,000 units Total Needs less ending March inventory which is the same as April beginning inventory (which is 0. 40 x 65,000 April units = 26,000 units) = 79,000 units required purchases. [Be careful with the inventory: you cant just pull the $104,000 inventory off of the balance sheet on page 415 because the balance sheet is in dollars not units, so if you want to use that balance sheet inventory figure, you have to say $104,000 divided by $4 cost = 26,000 units. Getting back to our 79,000 units required purchases, now multiply direct materials cost of $4 times the Required Unit Purchases to get Required Dollar purchases, which would be 79,000 Required April Unit Purchases x $4 = $316,000 as Required dollar purchases for April. [Again, be careful, on page 414 the problem states that only 50% of any given months purchases are paid for during the month of purchase, with the remaining 50% paid for in the following month, that fact will come in handy for the next step: the Budgeted Cash Disbursements for merchandis e purchases.For April, we need to therefore know what 50% of March purchases are (that is also given to us 3/31 Accounts payable of $100,000 on page 415). Therefore, Total cash disbursements for April is (50% x $316,000 April purchases )+($100,000 remaining March purchases to be paid)= $258,000 which we will need in the next step for the Cash Budget. CASH BUDGET Remember that the beginning Cash balance of the month is the previous months ending cash balance. For April, we can use the 3/31 Cash ending balance of $74,000 as stated on the page 415 Balance Sheet for 3/31.Next we add receipts from Customers (which we calculated in the Schedule of Expected Cash Collections as $436,000 for April, giving us Total Cash Available for April as $510,000. For the Disbursements, we already know what the Purchase of Inventory figure is that we calculated in the Budgeted Cash Disbursements (recall it was $258,000). Advertising is $200,000 per month per page 414; Rent is $18,000 per month per page 4 14; salaries are $106,000 per month per page 414; Sales commissions are 4% of Sales, so for April that is 65,000 units times $10 x 0. 04 = $26,000. Utilities are fixed at $7,000 each month.We don’t have to consider Depreciation in the Cash Budget because depreciation is not a cash outlay. The problem states that Insurance is prepaid so we know that for this problem it will not appear on the Cash Budget just like depreciation wont (but remember that both Depreciation and Insurance will show up as expenses to be matched against revenue when we do the Income Statement later). The problem states that Dividends are paid at $15,000 per quarter in the first month of each quarter, so that means April (but not May or June) will have $15,000 for Dividends pay out in the Cash Budget.The problem also states that equipment will be purchased in May at $16,000 and in June at 40,000 (but not in April, so we can ignore the cash outlay for equipment when calculating April Total Disbursements ( which are therefore $630,000. ) Since April Total Cash Available is only $510,000 if we subtract the Disbursements of $630,000, we have a deficiency, -$120,000. Because the problem states that minimum ending cash balance must be $50,000 each month, we know we have to borrow some money from the bank. We need $120,000 to bring cash to zero plus $50,000 for the minimum ending cash balance for total borrowings of $170,000.This $170,000 figure is already in increments of $1,000, so we dont need to round up our borrowings. (Note: When you do the cash budget you should have determined a deficiency (more cash outlay than revenue) in each of months April & May requiring you to borrow, but in June, you should have calculated an excess of receipts over disbursements leaving you money to repay interest and then principal in June. As to the interest calculation in June, lets review it: Rate is 1%, so Interest should be the sum of (the amount you borrowed in April of 170,000 times 3 months x 0. 0 1) and (the amount you borrowed in May times 2 months times 0. 01).The reason that you have to include the month of June in your count of principal balance of loan amounts to multiple interest rate by is because those amounts were outstanding as owed to the bank during the month of June even though you didnt borrow any additional amounts during June. Remember, after you figured out the interest expense in June, you can calculate how much principal you can pay back (in increments of $1,000s) being careful to leave a cash balance of $50,000. P. S. April financing should be $170,000 as I showed above. When you calculate Mays borrowings, don't even think about Aprils financing, do the calculation independently.You wont pay any interest until June (dont worry about accruing it for a cash budget, and since the income statement is for all three months anyway, we can think of the June cash outlay for interest expense as paying off everything that would have been accrued anyway: please see m y calculation for the June interest payment above (hint $5,300 is interest payment see my excel notes in the sample). You must pay off all interest due before the bank lets you pay any principal. One last Hint: Ending cash balance for the quarter is the same as June 30 cash balance, and should be $94,700.For all of the other Quarterly amounts, you can add the April, May and June amounts. If you havent fallen asleep reading yet, on to the Income Statement and Balance Sheet: The income statement reflects revenue and expenses over a PERIOD in time (here the quarter including April, May and June). To prepare the income statement, your sales revenue should be the sum of the quarter that you calculated as TOTAL SALES (you calculated that figure for each month by multiplying budgeted sales in units each month (total of 215,000 units) times selling price per unit of $10).For the quarter the COST OF GOODS SOLD is the 215,000 units times the direct materials cost of $4 per unit. Then the COMM ISSIONS expense is 4% of sales (so 0. 04 x 215,000 units x $10). The sum of the variable cost of goods sold and commissions yields a subtotal of variable costs, and then after that amount is subtracted from sales, you get the Contribution Margin. Fixed Expenses is next, which are the Quarterly amounts you calculated in the Cash Budget for Advertising, Rent, Salaries, and Utilities, except that you now need to include DEPRECIATION expenses (that did not appear in the cash budget since depreciation is not a cash outlay).Also, because the problem stated that INSURANCE had been prepaid, insurance did not appear in the cash budget, but it is a fixed expense that must be recorded each month like depreciation in order to match revenues against expenses. You dont need to include the Equipment purchases on the income statement as expenses because they are capitalized as assets on the balance sheet instead of expensed on the income statement per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Divid ends are a reduction of Retained earnings on the balance sheet and are not expensed on the income statement per GAAP.Once you total the fixed expenses and subtract them from the Contribution margin, you have Net Operating Income. Now, you have to subtract the total INTEREST expense that you calculated in the Cash budget to get Net Income. (Note: When you did the cash budget you should have determined a deficiency (more cash outlay than revenue) in each of months April ; May requiring you to borrow, but in June, you should have calculated an excess of receipts over disbursements leaving you money to repay interest and then principal. Were you confident about your interest calculation in June?Lets review it: Interest should be the sum of (the amount you borrowed in April times 3 months x 1%) and (the amount you borrowed in May times 2 months times 1%). The reason that you have to include the month of June in your count of principal balance of loan amounts to multiple interest rate by is because those amounts were outstanding as owed to the bank during the month of June even though you didn't borrow any additional amounts during June. Remember, AFTER you figured out the interest expense, you can calculate how much principal you can pay back (in increments of $1,000s) being careful to leave a cash balance of $50,000. Actually, since you should have enough to pay the entire interest amount and the entire loan amount in June and still have 94,700 left as ending June cash balance. ) Please note: The quarter ending cash balance is the same as the June ending cash balance since the last day of the quarter is June 30th. This in contrast to the revenue and variable expenses which will be the amounts that represent the SUM of April, May and June as I described above, and so will the fixed expenses and interest be the sum of the three months worth (not just the June amounts.In other words, only the ending cash balance will be the amount for June. ) Balance Sheet Help The b alance sheet is given at a POINT in time (unlike the Income statement that is for a period of time). This means that all amounts will represent balances at June 30. The other thing to remember about the balance sheet is that total assets ALWAYS equals the sum of liabilities and stockholders equity. Assets The ending balance of CASH that you calculated when doing the Cash Budget will therefore be your line item for cash on the balance sheet.ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE : Since page 414 states 20% of a months sales are collected in the month of sale, 70% in the following month, and 10% in the second month, we know at June 30th, we still have 10% of Mays sales outstanding to be collected in July, and 80% of Junes sales (60% of which will be collected in July and 10% of which will be collected in August). This means we have for your June ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, you have 10% of May sales (which is 100,000 May units x $10 x 0. 10 = $100,000) plus 80% of June sales (which is 50,000 June units x $10 x 0. 80 = $400,000) for a total June 30 A/R of $500,000.Recall that the problem states that ending INVENTORY should be 40% of next months sales. (since inventory is to be 40% of the next months sales multiply 0. 40 x direct materials product cost of $4 x 30,000 July sales units). Unexpired INSURANCE is next (think of this as Prepaid Insurance: Beginning balance as of March 31st was $21,000 according to the 3/31 balance sheet n page 415, so from that amount you now have to subtract each of the amounts of insurance that represent the amounts that would have been due for April, May, and June, since those periods have already lapsed as of the date of the June 30th balance sheet you are preparing.Hint: you already calculated the amount of insurance you now need to subtract when you prepared the fixed expense portion of the income statement. FIXED ASSETS NET OF DEPRECIATION: Again, start with the ending balance on the March 31st balance sheet, then add the purchase in May and the purchase i n June and subtract the three months of depreciation expenses that have elapsed since the March 31st balance sheet date.Hint: you already calculated the amount of depreciation you now need to subtract when you prepared the fixed expense portion of the income statement. Total up all the assets. LIABILITIES ACCOUNTS PAYABLE (purchases): Remember that the problem states how purchases are paid: 50% in the month of purchase and the remaining 50% in the following month. Therefore, at the end of June we know that 50% of June purchases remain unpaid, so A/P is 50% of the required dollar purchases for June that you calculated when you prepared the Merchandise purchases budget.DIVIDENDS PAYABLE: The problem states that dividends of $15,000 are paid in the first month following each quarter, so we know that the $15,000 dividends that accrued during the quarter comprised of April, May and June wont be paid until July, and therefore have to be listed as payable as of June 30th for your balance s heet. Recall that dividends of $15,000 for the first quarter were paid in April, so the beginning balance of $15,000 in this account is not there anymore. LOANS PAYABLE: Beginning balance is zero, so all we have is the sum of borrowings during April and May (there were no June borrowings) MINUS June repayments.Technically, we would also have to add the interest accrued on the borrowings but we could subtract it right back out because it was paid in full in our Cash budget as of June 30. EQUITY CAPITAL STOCK of $800,000 did not change since March31 since the problem does not state that the company authorized any additional stock or bought back any treasury stock. RETAINED EARNINGS: There are two ways to come up with this figure The quick and dirty way is to take total assets and from that figure subtract the sum of (Accounts Payable + Dividends Payable+ Loan Payable + Capital Stock).The correct way is to take the Beginning Balance of Retained Earnings as of March 31st, which is $580, 000 and add the net income you calculated from the budgeted income statement and then subtract the $15,000 dividends declared since the last balance sheet date. (In our case the dividends were only declared and not paid because they reside in the dividends payable account as noted above, but that does not affect the computation. ) Hope this helps! p. s.Heres more hints: On the master budget, for the project budget, in the Total Column, the beginning inventory is from the first period/quarter and the ending inventory is from the last period/quarter. This is a common error. This is also an issue on the direct materials budget (beginning and ending raw materials) and the cash budgets (cash). On the cash budget schedule, the ending cash from the first period will be the beginning cash for the following period.The ending March 31 cash balance has to be the April 1st opening balance of cash on the Cash Budget, and it is also the beginning cash balance of the â€Å"quarter† column o n the Cash Budget. Since insurance is only paid in November, for the CASH BUDGET it is only a line item in Nov. We know in Nov the payment will be 3000 x 12 = 36,000 since per page 14 the company allocates 3000/mo to insurance expense (but for our purposes all we care about is the fact that the company allocates insurance expense at 3000/mo, meaning 3000 x 3 = 9,000 for the income statement for any three month quarter. Insurance will also appear on the balance sheet since the prepaid portion of it will be a current asset (it is a current as opposed to a long term asset since it will be all used up with a year). Depreciation is stated at $14,000/mo (again depreciation is not a cash outlay, but it is an expense on the income statement with a corresponding amount going each month to accumulated depreciation account on the balance sheet (the accumulated depreciation acts as a contra account to bring down he balance of the equipment cost sheet line item on the balance sheet. ) The amount of inventory really doesn't have anything to do with depreciation, since depreciation is a means of writing off equipment over its useful life. Assuming a five year life, a 14,000 monthly depreciation expense would mean the original cost of the equipment would be about $840,000 (I have one client who has one replacement part that costs that amount for just one manufacturing molding machine, so don't be surprised by this large monthly depreciation expense! )

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Facebook Porter’s Five

Porter’s five forces analysis has become a pervasively adopted framework for industry analysis, which can be used to examine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market or a company. The social networking companies gradually come into the spotlight of the business world in recent years, which was especially featured by the significant event of Facebook’s IPO on May 18, 2012. In such circumstances, it will be extremely interesting to apply the five forces analysis to gauge this giant and even unfold some hints that why this star company has been struggling in the stock market since it went public.Although it has been a tough time period for Mark Zuckerberg, the more transparency and disclosure of the company’s financial as well as operational information available for the capital market provide us much more useful resources to put Facebook under our microscope of five forces analysis. The Bargaining Power of Customers (Strong) With regard to customer aspect, it might be taken for granted that we are referring to billions of active users on this website.But when we look further into this company and its product, the surprising truth is that the users and their personal information are actually the product rather than the customer, at least from the financial standpoint. Advertising composes 84% of the company’s total revenue, which was $1. 18 billion for the second quarter of 2012 according to its official financial reports. Then we found out that the advertisers are Facebook’s real customers, and what confronts this company is a fiercely competitive market.Although Facebook declared that 70% of its advertising campaigns resulted in a return on ad spend of 3x or better, and 49% of campaigns showed 5x or better, Facebook adverting is still generally undervalued by the marketers given the factor of being the last ad viewed or clicked before a conversion outweighs all other criteria, and Facebook advertising usually co mes into play earlier in the conversion funnel. In addition to the low cost to switch to other advertising media, there’s no wonder that the advertisers have gained relatively strong, if not dominant, bargain power with continuously debating the value of Facebook advertising.The Bargaining Power of Suppliers(Medium) Compared to the customers’ bargain power, Facebook is standing at a regnant position with thousands of common-sense suppliers playing in its arena. It may be noticed that I use common-sense to categorize such kinds of suppliers providing hardware, software, and services Facebook need to run their business, like Zynga. On the other side, it might be interesting to scrutinize another set of suppliers in terms of Facebook’s product, that is, the users of the website.Yes, those are the users who establish their social network and feed in their personal information, which make up of Facebook’s product and determine its success. In accordance with F acebook’s operational highlights of second quarter 2012, monthly active users on its website have notched 955 million as of June 30, 2012, which was an increase of 29% year-over-year. But taking the whole social networking market and even the internet into consideration, it will be difficult for Facebook to maintain such steady increase of its user base.Actually, the increase pace has gradually slowed down in recent quarters, observed by multiple sources. Additionally, the users with more education and experience have been reluctant to share excessive personal information on the website to protect privacy and prevent from possible solicitation. After all, Facebook still serves as the mostly visited social networking website and is therefore in demand of diversified supplies, so we could regard the bargaining power of suppliers as medium level. The Threat of Established Rivals(Strong)As discussed, the social networking companies are facing a fully competitive market. Besides F acebook, there are several other main players, including LinkedIn, Google, Yammer, Myspace, etc, as well as hundreds of small websites focusing on specific segment or providing general social networking services. For example, LinkedIn has built up a professional network into a can’t-miss destination with millions of member professional. The year-over-year revenue growth for LinkedIn was very remarkable at over 80% for the last two years, and it has continued to see strong revenue growth beating analyst estimates.LinkedIn has shown an even more robust business model compared with Facebook. Rather than solely relaying on advertising income, LinkedIn also has considerable revenue from job postings and subscriptions, which help the company to grow its revenue at a notable rate and avoid stagnancy. In this sense, Facebook may have more struggles to improve its user experience and spur revenue growth especially compared with its competitors, and the threat of established rivals is absolutely strong. The Threat of New Entrants(Strong)For new entrants to social networking market, the technical barriers are barely insignificant and Facebook’s most advantage might be its current huge user base. But such advantage is also easy to be mimicked by other Internet giants who already have stable visitor stickiness like Google. Google launched its social networking and identity service, Google+, in June 2011. As of September 2012, it already has a total of 400 million registered users of whom 100 million are active on a monthly basis.Instead of presenting as a social player consisting of not just a single site, Google has been able to provide an overarching layer integrating many of its current online properties. Illustrated by Google’s story, the threat of new entrants to social networking market for Facebook is quite strong and even thrilling if we recall the ever-changing world of internet business. The Threat of Substitute Products(Weak) Finally, the th reat of substitute products to social network website including Facebook is not obvious yet.Facebook’s current user base still shows a strong stickiness and its continuous innovation also help it satisfy the user’s social networking needs well. But considering Facebook is essentially a social network that allows users to stay in touch with their friends, there are so many products or services could potentially address it. Especially if we observed the booming market of mobile networks, services like Buzzd, Twango and Dada may grow up to be a real threat in the near future. Overall, the threat of substitute products is medium based on the analysis above.

Crisis management and its increasing importance in international Literature review - 1

Crisis management and its increasing importance in international operations - Literature review Example Crisis can also be referred to as the critical phase of a situation. It is essentially a time of instability which is soon to see a decisive change that may result into a highly undesirable outcome or an extremely positive product. Executives that are able to estimate and plan for this change in the organization increases his/her tendency to capitalize on the opportunity hidden therein in comparison to the executives that allow the crisis to approach them unprepared. Thus in contrast to the conventional understanding of a crisis, it may be an opportunity rather than a threat. Nevertheless, a crisis is always characterized by a certain level of uncertainty and risk. Crisis management deals with minimization of risk in the uncertainty with a view to providing an individual or an organization with increased control over the circumstances and exercising the function of management leadership. According to Fink (1986), a crisis consists of four distinct stages namely, the stage of prodroma l crisis, the stage of acute crisis, the stage of chronic crisis, and the stage of crisis resolution. In the anatomy of crisis, these four stages are always existent and unchanged. A business manager who recognizes each of these stages gains the competency to address issues of huge organizational significance. In order to make a proactive approach towards intervention, a manager needs to recognize the prodrome. All crises may not necessarily comprise all four stages, though they are present in a vast majority of major crises. If there is a warning stage, that is essentially the prodromal stage of crisis. A prodrome may become hard to recognize at times and may be evident at other times, though if the required action is not taken in time, it may lead to the occurrence of an acute crisis. In a vast majority of cases, when no action is taken, it is a result of obsessive decision making or analysis paralysis within the company. It is the ease with which a crisis can be managed in the st age of prodrome that makes it very important. If the problem is taken care of before its conversion into acute, the process becomes more convenient and reliable. The whole West is a warren of interconnected transmission lines. The power grid in the West is the largest machine that man has ever made – stretching from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific Coast to the western front of the Rockies †¦ But like any machine, like your lawnmower or your computer or your car, it is susceptible to breakdown. (Hotz and Clifford cited in Mitroff and Anagnos, 2001, p. 12). There is no turning back at the acute stage of crisis in crisis management in many respects. As soon as the organization enters the stage of acute crisis from the prodromal stage and the warnings end up, the ground thus lost can almost never be recovered, though a firm can minimize additional damage by taking necessary actions in time. The key to success is controlling the crisis to the maximum extent. If it seems im possible to control the acute crisis, the management should then try to influence the origin, time, and way of eruption of the crisis. One of the most fundamental challenges that managers encounter while dealing with the crisis in the acute stage despite being ready for it is the intensity and enormity of speed that is often an essential characteristic of the acute stage of crisis. The kind of crisis determines the speed and the value of probable results determines the intensity of this stage.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Hematology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hematology - Research Paper Example s anemia- This is a pathological condition associated with a decrease in the number of erythrocytes due to the insufficiency of vitamin B12, which in turn results in the reduced production of erythrocytes. How do malabsorptive disorders contribute to the development of anemias- Malabsorption disorders are also involved in the pathogenesis of anemia due to decrease or faulty production of red blood cells. An example is Iron deficiency anemia, whereby disruption of absorption in the duodenum may lead to a decrease in hemoglobin production as this mineral is necessary for this procedure. This in turn will result in decreased Hb levels and anemia. Abosorbtive disorders may also disrupt the uptake of folate and vitamin B12 which are both necessary for erythropoiesis. What is â€Å"anemia of chronic disease†- Anemia of chronic disease refers to any long term disease leading to inflammatory, malignant or infectious processes that reduce both erythropoietin and Iron levels. In addition these diseases reduce the lifespan of erythrocytes. Examples of such pathologies include severe trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and heart disease. What are some of the lab tests used to evaluate anemia of chronic disease- Lab tests used to evaluate anemia of chronic disease include Iron panel, serum folic acid and vitamin B12, serum AST and ALT, levels of TSH, electrophoretic studies of urine and serum and serum levels of metals such as arsenic and lead. 1. Iron deficiency anemia-This is anemia due to faulty or decreased erythropiesis. The body has insufficient Iron, hence cannot synthesize hemoglobin. This anemia is often normocytic or microcytic and is also hypochromic. Symptoms include pallor, fatigue, loss appetite, irritability. 2. B-12 deficiency- This leads to megaloblastic anemia. And is often associated with loss of gastric cells unlike Iron deficiency which involves disorders of the duodenum. This type of anemia is macrocytic. The main distinguishing sign of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Problem of Adder-Tariff-Scheme in Thailand Essay

The Problem of Adder-Tariff-Scheme in Thailand - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Thailand is one of the successful countries that have made the progressive step in the use of solar energy in South East Asia. The government of Thailand has implemented photovoltaic support programme, which aims at increasing their renewable energy targets. This project has been made possible due to their outstanding policies that they have put in place. The country currently is in the process of implementing policies that will increase the solar energy production from 1,000MW to 3,000MW by the next years to come. These policies come after the government of Thai fails to accept the introduction of feed-in premium. The policies include the solar rooftop programme and community solar-based programme, which is still in development stage. The research shows that the government of Thailand spent many billions importing energy in the neighboring countries.This indicates that the country will continue spending a lot of money in the energy sector due to the risin g demand for the energy supply. This will increase the cost of dependency in foreign energy due to a projected rise in global energy prices. The research advocates for access to affordable and sustainable energy in Thailand. The major interest involved in energy systems are the difficulties that most developing government face in getting access to the energy. Therefore, for the government to improve its access to energy the previous endeavors of the energy department in order to pave way for new technology in the sector to be successful.

Monday, August 26, 2019

School Uniforms Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

School Uniforms - Research Paper Example They are of the view that uniforms can prevent the intrusion of external antisocial elements in school campuses. Proponents also argue that uniforms can prevent discrimination and can develop a sense of equality among students. At the same time, critiques argue that unified dress code is the prevention of natural right. They believe that the basic right of self expression is denied when uniforms implemented strictly in school campuses. The mental development of the children will be negatively affected if they denied the opportunity for self expression. This paper analyses the pros and cons of implementing uniforms in schools. School uniforms can provide safety and security to the students. The 'safety' argument is that â€Å"school uniforms make it more difficult for unwelcome outsiders to infiltrate the school grounds† (Those disgusting School Uniforms). In most of the school violence cases, the intrusion of outsiders plays a major role. Antisocial elements always try to intr ude into the schools in order to exploit the school children for different purposes. School uniform prevents the intruders from entering the school campuses as the authorities can easily identify them when some problem occurs in the school campus. Thus the chances of crimes can be considerably reduced if school uniforms implemented strictly in school campuses. ... Those who bring expensive dresses may show higher ego complexes whereas those who bring cheaper dresses may feel ashamed. Thus the development of self esteem may become different among school children if they allowed bringing their own dresses rather than uniforms. Moreover, the attention of the students may shift from what they hear in the class to what they see in the class if school uniforms are not there. Absence of uniforms in schools can create family and social problems also. Seeing expensive dresses of fellow students will encourage poor students to persuade their poor parents to purchase such expensive items for them which may create lot of family and social problems. If the parents fail to purchase expensive dresses for their children, the children may create lot of problems inside the family and in the society. Moreover, the jealousy about the expensive dresses of another student may result in the development of conflicts among students. It is quite possible that segregati on occurs inside a class with respect to rich and poor students, if the school uniforms were implemented. School uniforms also ease the financial burdens on parents, who otherwise are forced to spend hundreds of dollars outfitting their children in the latest designer clothes. Uniforms also add to security since it is harder to conceal weapons while wearing a uniform and school administrators can easily detect non-students. These factors create a safer, more open learning environment (Knowles) â€Å"The school uniform is the single-most visible element of any school. Students in school uniform are in fact walking advertisements for a school, giving an impression of the school for good or for bad throughout an entire town or city† (School Uniform). School

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Role of Employees is Formulating Organizational Culture Research Paper

Role of Employees is Formulating Organizational Culture - Research Paper Example The organizational culture of an organization can be defined as the values which contribute to the creation of a conducive psychological and social environment within which to work. These values are based on the previous and existing knowledge of the organization which forms the philosophies that hold the organization together. There may however be many different conflicting cultures within an organization, especially the large ones, due to the different characteristics displayed by the various management teams that work in the organization. Organizational culture may have both positive and negative effects on the individuals involved and these among others will be discussed in this paper. While the management of an organization plays a major role in the formulation of organizational culture, the employees of such an organization also have a role to play in its formulation. According to the book Changing Organizational Culture: The Change Agent's Guidebook by Marc Schabracq, the orga nizational culture involves the social expectations and standards which determine the values and beliefs which hold the people working within an organization together. ... Organizational culture is the single most important thing that determines whether and organist ion will be successful or not. There are four major elements of culture which determine the success of an organization: the values which define the beliefs at the heart of corporate culture; the individuals within the organization who embody its values; the routine interactions between members of an organization which are full of strong symbolic qualities to make them feel like part of a family; and finally, the informal communication system within the organization. Although it is a very difficult thing to happen, the culture of a particular organization is subject to change. This does not come easily and may require a very competent person or people to succeed in changing it. In order to change organizational culture, one has to be aware of what exactly it takes to change the existing culture. Moreover, the ability to change the culture is in the hands of the top management of the organiza tion and it is they who are responsible for the institution of such change. Lastly, organizational structure helps to resolve the dilemma of bureaucracy because although formal procedures are necessary for business integrity, bureaucracy also ends up stifling autonomy and creativity. The organizational culture consists of many subcultures which interact with one another for the sake of the running of the organization. It can be said that this culture is not as homogenous as one would expect and may, in fact, consist of many coexisting cultures which work hand in hand out of necessity.  

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Learning and teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Learning and teaching - Essay Example This program was inaugurated because a lot of employers were complaining about their employees basic literacy skills and thus they had to send their employees to gain the basic reading and writing skills (Barrs & Cork, 2001, pg 9). Literacy underlies every aspect of education, it helps to outperform grades, empower students, reshape their potentials and help them survive in this world. Within the literacy subject reading is a fundamental tool for progress and success. Gough and his colleagues introduced a ‘Simple View of Reading Model’ to enhance the reading capabilities within the students. According to them children can attain competence in reading when two main elements, i.e. reading words and listening comprehension are included in reading speech. If a child can decode the text fluently and can understand the spoken language easily then he will not face any difficulty with independent reading comprehension (O’Conner, 2007, pg. 12-13). Teachers should create reading development of children at the very basic level, i.e. the primary school level. Primary teachers should enhance the reading abilities within the young students by integrating reading, writing, speaking and listening skills (N amdi, 2009, pg 4). Hence, simple view reading is used especially in England primary schools and it is considered a mandatory approach I the teachings of reading (DFES, 2006). But when we apply SVR frames within the classroom environment then this model does not fit here. It not only neglects what the child knows about the language, spelling, and the basic process of making the sense of spoken and written language but it also makes learning to read in English particularly challenging. Due to this in 2009, United Nations Literacy Association currently started a research project, Building communities of readers. This project involves developing range of children’s reading and addressing those concerns that he simple view of reading

Friday, August 23, 2019

Racial Profiling by the Police Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Racial Profiling by the Police - Research Paper Example Everyone must have experienced profiling at least once in his/her life, but primarily persons are targeted. Such profiling is exercised by people in authority including school administrators, security personnel, criminal justice and law enforcement agencies. Police profiling is a type of racism carried out by the police officials against the offender. It has been seen that this problem has been prevalent in even the most developed parts of the world and it becomes the main reason of discrimination against the civilians. The police department is considered to be one of the most influential departments in all the countries and, hence, racial profiling by this department can lead to many problems within the infrastructure of the country. Recently, the congressman Keith Ellison picked a fight against the department by voicing his concerns for the Muslim Americans. Ellison stated: â€Å"Racial stereotyping is simply not good policing.. It threatens the values Americans hold dear†. He argued that he himself was a target of this discrimination and wanted the relevant authorities to take into notice the current problem going inside one of the most developed countries in the world (as cited in Diaz 2012). Racial profiling threatens our fundamental principles. Racial profiling by law enforcement agencies and the associated prosecution of people of colored skin is one such example. It targets people on artificial basis of color on matters of law enforcement, causing hindrances in policing efforts and making law enforcement agencies lose their credibility within the community which they have vowed to protect and serve. The police force is looked up to maintain fairness and justice in a society; the disgraceful exercise of racial profiling has caused people to fear the system. This unjust practice remains stain on democratic nations and an insult to the claims of racial equality. It is, however, imperative that the origins of racial profiling by the police force and criminal investigators are highlighted. In the 1950s, a high-profile officer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Howard Teten, introduced and popularized the mere notion of racial profiling by analyzing the attributes and traits of the criminal, his past records and the situation at the crime scene. This practice of profiling, even though stereotypical in nature, spilled over to the police force with time. Since September 11, 2001, racial profiling has grown and the Obama administration and FBI guidelines have been codified by these practices such as the dishonorable treatment of Muslims and Arabs as suspects, denying them equality of innocence and protection under law. What has been more disturbing is the federal government’s backing of record searches of immigrants, such as Latino and Mexican communities, by the local law enforcement agencies. Because any legal cure for racial discrimination by law enforcement presently necessitates specific evidence of committed to dis criminate, it is exceedingly problematic, if not impossible, for single sufferers to voice

Thursday, August 22, 2019

John Locke -Philosophy Essay Essay Example for Free

John Locke -Philosophy Essay Essay â€Å"The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom† – John Locke. What I feel that John Locke is attempting to express in his quote is that society believes that by having laws in place the government is taking away from the freedom they long to endure. However, by having laws in place it actually helps to enforce their rights to freedom. I chose John Locke as my topic for my final paper because I have taken an interest in the life he led, his inspirations and his role in politics. John Locke was the first of the classical British empiricists. Empiricists believed that all knowledge derives from experience. He became highly influential to the political world, inspiring government representatives such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Madison. Locke expressed the radical view that government is morally obliged to serve people by protecting life, liberty and property (n. a, n. d). He explained the principle of checks and balances in order to limit the power of government. He also favored representative government and rule of law. Locke insisted that when government violates individual rights, the people have a right to rebel. His views on individual rights, life, happiness and politics led Locke to become known as the 17th century English Philosopher of the enlightenment. John Locke was born August 29, 1632, in Somerset, England. He was the oldest son of Agnes Keene and John Locke. His father was a Puritan lawyer who served as a clerk for justices of the peace (n. a. , n. d). With the assistance of his father’s connections to the English government, Locke received an exceptional education. In 1647 he enrolled at Westminster School in London, where he earned his distinct honor of being named a King’s Scholar. This was a privilege that went to only select number of boys and set the path for Locke to attend Christ Church, Oxford in 1652 (n. a. , n. d). Christ Church is considered the most prestigious school in Oxford. During this educational time period, Locke engaged in logic and metaphysics. He graduated from Christ Church in 1656 and returned two years later to pursue a Masters of the Arts. This accomplishment soon led to Locke taking on tutorial work at the college. In 1668 Locke was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. The Royal Society is a fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientist and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence (n. a. ,n. d. ). Locke then went on to study philosophy and medicine at the University of Oxford and graduated in 1674 with a bachelor’s of medicine. Locke did not want to commit his life to a religious order and therefore turned down a permanent teaching position from Oxford. This opened the doors to an opportunity serving as a private physician and secretary to Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury (Kermerling, 2011). During the summer of 1666, Anthony Ashley Cooper visited Oxford where he met Locke who was at the time studying medicine. Cooper, who was suffering from a liver cyst which threatened to become swollen and infected, requested that Locke be his personal physician. Locke accepted and soon moved into a room at the Cooper’s Exeter House mansion in Westminster, London. Cooper’s condition worsened and Locke was in a position of opportunity to heal the Earl successfully. In 1668, Locke supervised a successfully surgery and save the life of Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury. This honorable act led Locke to become a valued partner of Shaftesbury. After Shaftesbury stature grew, so did Locke’s responsibilities. He assisted in the Earl’s business and political matters and after Shaftsbury was made chancellor, Locke became his secretary of presentations. Locke was involved in just about everything that Shaftsbury did. This included the formation of the Whig party. The Whig party was a political group which consisted of politicians from America, England and Scotland who opposed King Charles I of England. Locke maintained correspondence with the party to assist with influencing Parliamentary elections. Shaftsbury was imprisoned for a year and on his release he helped pass the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 which made it unlawful for government to detain a person without filing formal charges. The act also specified that an individual could not be put on trial for the same charge more than once (n. a. ,n. d). Shaftesbury was a strong influence to John Locke and helped pave his way for future success through experience – Empiricist. During the reign of King Charles II it was illegal to write, read or have books in one’s possession that pertained to any negative press against the government. Although it was risky, Locke continued his mission. He wrote about his experience with political actions. One treatise attached a claim that the Bible sanctioned tyrants and that parents had absolute authority over children. A second treatise presented an epic case for liberty and the right of people to rebel against tyrants. He pushed to a radical conclusion which attacked slavery and a defense of revolution (n. a. , n. d. ). Locke fled to Rotterdam on September 7, 1683 to avoid legal action (n. a. , n. d. ). The English government tried to have Locke extradited for trial and possible hanging. Lock fled to London and assumed the name â€Å"Dr. van der Linden. † He signed letters as â€Å"Lamy† or â€Å"Dr. Lynne† (n. a. ,n. d. ). Locke assumed that the government would intercept mail, so he protected friends by referring to them with numbers or false names. His excuse to friends for moving to Holland was that he enjoyed the local beer. In Holland, Locke began to work on his philosophical masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding which urged people to base their convictions on observation and reason. His argument was that all ideas, simple or complex, are ultimately derived from experience. He challenged the traditional doctrine that learning consisted entirely of reading ancient texts and absorbing religious dogmas (n.a. , n. d. ). He maintained that understanding that the world required observation. The essay was published in December 1689, and established Locke as England’s leading philosopher. In the essay, Locke states the nature of his proposed doctrine: â€Å"Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas: How comes it to be furnished? Whenced comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience. In that all our knowledge is founded. (Valasquez, 2011)† The book became one of the most widely reprinted and influential works on philosophy. It brought great fame for Locke. So much, that he spent the rest of his life responding to admirers and critics by making revisions in later editions of the book, including detailed accounts of human volition and moral freedom. Locke also published Two Treatise of Civil Government. These writings were published anonymously in order to avoid controversy. The First Treatise is a detailed rejection of the monarchist theories of Robert Filmer. Locke attacked Filmer’s claim that God sanctioned the absolute power of kings. During this time period, such an attack was risky since it could easily be prosecuted as an attack on the King Charles II. The Second Treatise of Government offers a systematic account of the foundations of political obligation. The views expressed within this treatise were so radical that he only released his name as publisher in his will. Locke’s writings did much to inspire the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution. This, in turn, set an example which inspired people throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia. Locke’s philosophy had a great effect on American’s as well. Thomas Jefferson ranked Locke as the most important thinkers on liberty. He also helped inspire Thomas Paine’s radical ideas about revolution. James Madison drew most of his fundamental principles of liberty and government from Locke’s writings. John Locke’s writings were also included in the self-education of Benjamin Franklin. John Adam’s believed that both girls and boys should learn about Locke. Locke’s influence even traveled to France where the French philosopher Voltaire called, â€Å"Locke the man of the greatest wisdom. What he has not seen clearly, I despair of ever seeing† (n. a. , n. d. ). Mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton cherished his company. Locke helped William Penn restore his good name when he was political fugitive, just as Penn had arranged a pardon for Locke when he had been a political fugitive. Locke was described by the famous English physician Dr. Thomas Sydenham as â€Å"a man whom, in the acuteness of his intellect, in the steadiness of his judgment, in the simplicity, that is, in the excellence of his manners, I confidently declare to have, amongst the men of our time, few equals and no superiors.(n. a. , n. d. ). It is astonishing that Locke’s work has affected so many people around the world. He was an undistinguished Oxford scholar. He had a brief experience with a failed diplomatic mission. He was a physician who lacked traditional credentials and had only one patient. His first major work was not published until the age of 57. All of this and he is still one of the leading philosophers of all time. In 1691, John Locke is invited to spend his last years with friends Francis and Damaris Masham. Damaris is also a philosopher and is believed to have been romantically involved with Locke during their study years at Oxford. When Locke left for Holland, Damaris was to visit; however it did not work out and she married Francis Masham (Uzgalis, 2012). During his stay with the Masham’s Locke tutored their son Francis, here he begins to work on his treaties Thoughts Concerning Education. Locke’s health gradually began to worsen. He lost most of his hearing and his legs began to swell. He could barely bring himself to rise from bed. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Saturday, October 28, 1704 he passed away (n. a, n. d. ). He was sitting in his study with Lady Marsham. Suddenly, he brought his hands to his face, shut his eyes and died. He was 72 years old. Locke’s focus has primarily been based upon the ideas of freedom and equality as a whole. He believed that citizens should naturally possess the right to life, liberty and happiness, which is portrayed in the constitution of the United States. These undisputable rights or natural rights have derived from the law of nature. The law of nature is a state that relies purely on the law of God, which is also known as moral law. This law gave people the natural right to life, liberty, and happiness without question. In addition, Locke believed that people also possess the basic right of self-defense if under attack. However, Locke’s key aspect of his theories was the basic idea of equality. He said that nobody has the right to rule and that consent is critical because it’s based on the premises that all people are equal (Uzgalis, 2012). John Locke is still very much known as a political philosopher in today’s modern society. Because much of Locke’s philosophy centered on subjects such as natural rights and knowledge, he has in-turn shaped American politics in such a way that it has never been the same. Locke has challenged many theories that have to do with inalienable rights as a part of natural law; therefore he had much to do with the involvement in the evolution of the American Government. He taught that, men by nature possess certain rights. He had a tremendous influence on all future political thinking. A clear representation of his involvement is portrayed in the declaration of independence. John Locke was, and will always be remembered as a pioneer in modern thinking.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

One Shot Society Essay Example for Free

One Shot Society Essay As the great Colin Powell said, â€Å"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work learning from failure. † People’s success in life is determined by their sacrifice and hard work while young. We can go back in time and arrange every error we commit, meaning that we only have one opportunity in life. My essay will talk about the differences between Hondurans and South Koreans in terms of effort, opportunities, demands and expectations. Countries such as South Korea take very seriously the academic part of life in order to succeed in every aspect of it. Since early people grow with this way of life in which giving every inch of effort counts. Parents lead their children with strict habits of studying instead of doing other activities. Society demands youth to get well prepared for life and they have to respond by demonstrating it in their academic life. The results of studying and being dedicated shows when preparing for college. For example, admissions test for college is a day where society paralyzes, because this is crucial, this is the only shot they got to start with the right foot and have a decent life for probably the next 60 years. If people are not enough dedicated, they will have more difficulties in life. Koreans are usually hard working by nature; they don’t need to be told what to do, they work for it and at the end everything pays. On the other hand we have Honduras, a poor country where society has low demands on individuals; A country where goods are not fairly distributed. Not everyone in the country has opportunities to succeed, if people do not have money, even if they have the desire of giving everything in academics, opportunities do not present. Public education is very poor. Only the social class that can pay has a fair higher education. Academics is not something primary and society’s demand are not so harsh on young people. Even if youth doesn’t have a fine education after high school they can probably find a way out and earn money and because of this reasons not every student gives all their effort. Opportunities present to the ones who know wealthy people and government figures. The majority of Hondurans are not hard working people and society doesn’t give that much opportunities. These two countries are very different in almost every aspect but have similarities on a few. South Korea is a rich powerful country where every kid has to be very dedicated to their studies in order to succeed, young people usually study until 4 and then go with tutors, and meanwhile few Honduran kids are dedicated because of the poor society demands. Schools end about 2 or 3, then do a couple of homework and that’s it. 00% of South Korean parents want their children to get to college, while not every Honduran parent sees college as a mandatory thing to do. The level of work in South Korea surpasses Honduran one and the results show in the evolution as a society and as a country. The little similarity between these two countries is that not so much work opportunities are presented for people who study, making it hard for some people to succeed. In conclusion people should take advantage of that one shot life gives us even if we are in different countries.  To make a difference and overcome difficulties people have to be hard workers to demonstrate society our capacities and accomplish our life goal, which I think for the most is having a wealthy life. Rich countries such as South Korea evolve because of their work, even if this means doing sacrifices and passing through lots of stress. At the end results will show and society will grow. â€Å"Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today†.

Italian Neorealism In Bicycle Thieves

Italian Neorealism In Bicycle Thieves It is evident that Italian Neorealism and the life of post-war shaped DeSisas film Bicycle Thieves (1948). However, with much debate, one can argue that the sentimental nature of the film overwhelms the films potential to make a powerful political statement. With reference to important scenes from the film, Italian neorealist principles focused on; location, lighting, typage, dà ©cor, loose camera shots, eye-level angles, invincible editing and reportage, as well as and the usage of sentiment One can justifiably claim that the powerful political statement is not overwhelmed by sentiment, and in fact enhances the message the film aims to give off. The uniqueness of the Italian works, vise-a-visa other relevant cineamas, lies in their stylistic organization of elements of apparent rawness, their emotional intensity, and their focus on current political and social problems. (P. Adams Sitney, 1995) Thus, one is able to identify Italian Neorealism as the harmonizing of sentiment (emotional intensity) and awareness of political and social problems through Neorealist principles, which inevitably feeds off from an happening that affected the world, and specifically as we see in the history influence in this film; Italy. This change in society brought about characteristics and principles which became noticeable in cinema during this time period. These principles not only molded the film Bicycle Thieves, but were used to bring about a message to the audience. A message which was not overwhelmed by emotional rawness but a message of a social movement awareness reflected through cinema. Neorealism was not only what I came to see as a propaganda device, but an influential and significant movement in film history, which occurred in Italy at the ending of World War II. (John Stubbs, 2010: pg 1) Italy moved from fascism and dictatorship, whereby much was revolved around a single-party position as one can clearly see in the Holocaust, to an equal and democratic society. Here we see this so effectively reflected through Bicycle Thieves when converging neorealist principles, the idea of sentiment to enhance the political statement and the apparent rawness which adds power to the social conditions through the overall statement to justifiably prove that sentiment was not a downfall to DeSicas focus. The filmmakers and directors clearly believed they had an ethical task to use cinema and film as a means to promote the social amendment that had just occurred post the war. Ideally, it wasnt so much about the storyline of the film and its characters, but more about making the public aware of the difficulties that working people had to face. Here we see a Marxist approach on the rebuilding of Italy whereby unlike the mythology of Classic Hollywood, no single person can change the world and the ultimate society would inevitably be a classless society, as Leo Tolstroy (1882) successfully explains; Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself, for when everyone changes themselves, the world will change.   Neorealisms origin of strength lies in the documentary excellence which is used to portray the realism of the story as realism can only occupy in art a dialectal position. (Andrà © Bazin, 1971) One might speculate what Bicycle Thieves would be like in colour, however the black and white aspect highlights the tone of the film being a bleak, depressing emotion contrary to the usage of colour which would highlight liveliness and energy and go against the tone of the film. Black and white not only attaches a emotion, but Thus, clearly showing that the sentiment brings about the tone of the film which enhances the message of presenting the gloomy conditions of poverty in post-war Italy. Andre Bazin (1971: 20) describes this through referring to the term reconstituted reportage. Reconstituted reportage is seen through how the every day events are shown, and the daily happenings which would have and did happen in Italy at that period of time. This adds, as discussed above, far more truth to the film and is not the making of a documentary but rather shown and seen in a documentary-type way through what Bazin (1971) refers to as a journalistic style. Bicycle Thieves has gives off a documentary experience to the audience which could not be removed from the script without thereby eliminating the whole social setting into which its roots are so deeply sunk (Bazin, 1971: 20). Bazin (1971) points out that realism and truth in film is a product of artifice. Truth is an important principle of neorealism, as truth brings realism; the more believable the film is to the audience, the more truthful it is thus, it is seen as realistic. We see this through DeSicas film techniques extensively set out to enhance the opportunity for the audience to live in the story. The real location shooting aids far more freedom and looseness for mise-en-scene, to such an extend that the camera-man is unsure what to look for. An example from the film can be seen when Antonio and Bruno walk away from a car in the street, meander in the streets for a bit heading in the same direction and then suddenly they both go the opposite way. As a viewer, the focus of the camera comes across somewhat as uncertain as the viewer experiences when watching a film for the first time. Here we see how such a camera technique can enhance realism and the opportunity for the audience to experience it. Another technique which is so different to Eisensteins Battleships Potempkin (1925) is that montage is avoided due to jump cutting, removing a sense of truth and realism, with noting that montage is, if anything, modifies realism. This can be seen through the truth of the characters the aesthetics of realism; lighting, location, dà ©cor, camera shots, camera angles and editing. This not only brings about authenticity but also creates a much stronger message for the audience. In Bicycle Thieves, there is a correlation between truth and sentiment, and truth and the political statement Which are justifiably both used in this film without over powering one another (balance) in order to positively enhance the films message. Inevitably, in order for a director to get an actual event (post-war) understood by his audience truth and realism is the most effective approach. Neorealism focuses on the characters and themes without much focus on the plot itself as the plot is seen to warp the truth about people if focus is too much on the execution statement and not the input which is the reasoning for the statement and the very focal point the viewers need exposure to (John Stubbs, 2010: pg 4) Thus, the film wouldve not only been monotonous if there was no sentiment (due to there not being enough material if there was no storyline about characters and a central theme), but to know and understand a situation, one must be put in a stance where one has the opportunity of learning a huge amount about the faith and frustrations of a human being. Equally, a monotonous film due to no sentiment from characters and a central theme, is inevitably a failed film. Through this, neorealists are able to portray truth to a greater extend through bringing about simplicity yet a means of understanding the real life through everyday characters and a central theme (getting t he bicycle back); a main appeal in films even today. Likewise, without sentiment, we wouldnt be exposed to a equilibrium between objective shots of each of the characters and subjective shots showing the audience the characters point-of-view in the social and political conditions they are experiencing. One can also agree that the sentiment aids the whole use of Neorealism principles. Without characters, loose shots wouldnt be blatant to the audience (also in comparison to the few novelty used close-up shots) as loose shots show freedom, which thus emphasizes truth and realism. The storyline being as simple as the search for a bicycle, doesnt take the political statement too far away from the message. Likewise, the actual characters in the film are everyday normal people. We can see this through the workman being found in the factory, the child being found wondering around the streets and the wife being found through her writing. (Andre Bazin, 1971) This is known as Typage whereby there is no star system which immediately creates a far more realistic/truth approach and feel. Similarly, the locations and dà ©cor are real and not built-up or made-up, the lighting is natural which attempts to present reality as it is, the editing is invincible which enhances truth and the camera is free which is unrestricted and brings about a far more convincing viewing. Neorealists not only conformed to such techniques for that these techniques best suited execution of maximum realism in cinema, but is a cinema movement which brought about much rebellion too. Italian Neorealism had already provided a cinematic model for rebellion, both against the conventions imposed by the political and social states ideology (Mark Mesaros, 2010) and past cinema movements such as the success seen in montage in German Expressionism. With the storyline of the characters and the truth which is by principle brought about, I fully agree that it brings sentiment to the screens. However, it puts you (the audience) in a far more heart-felt and understanding position which I believe brings about the political statement in a far more expressive way, rather than a theoretical and cold approach. And as some agree, its not even sentimental its just painful. (The Internet Movie Database, 2010: retrieved 28 April) Instead of a cold theoretical approach which would entail no sentiment, we are introduced to a family who are ordinary and by no means are glamorous heros which is commonly seen in Classical Hollywood. Quite frankly, if we werent introduced to characters and the sentiment they bring, which play a role in this film, I personally dont think much of a political statement would be made as one needs interest to grasp a statement. As we see in Classic Hollywood, the emotional character identification influences the message of the film and is a central characteristic, contrary to Italian Neorealism where characters are everyday individuals who are put in a equal light which intention, also enhances the message this movement wishes to portray. The character of Ricci is the focus of the film, however we are not interested in him but rather what will happen next in the films sequence of events. And even though characters bring about sentiment and the viewer starts becoming attached to the ro le the characters plays, in Bicycle Thieves, Bruno the son unsentimentally still criticizes and looks down on his father. Noticeably very different to what we see in Classic Hollywood. In response to the representation of the political statement made in this film, we are clearly able to see this in noticeable scenes in the film. In the first scene, the camera follows Ricci from the unemployment gathering to his wife where the housing project is in the background, which is fully exhibited to the viewer showing the bleak conditions. We see the men and woman arguing about employment and shortage of water. This emphasis on long and medium shots which appeals to the truth in the film enhances the political message due to the events getting exhibited on a whole Whereas close up would bring more sentiment. Long and medium shots show the actor loosely framed in his environment and allow the viewer opportunity to look around in that environment with the added enhancement of the shots taken at eye level. As well as minimized jumps and shifts through editing to bring more real life to the cinema audience. Thus we see here that sentiment is not overwhelming the political statement, but rather the political statement is actually taking dominance in the shots. Of course DeSica did move in for close-up shots every now and then which becomes a novelty and is in effect very strong and holds the base to string along the story of the characters and the central object, which is needed to (as mentioned earlier) keep the audience interested and not bored. The central object being the bicycle. They are everywhere and yet treasured, and the shortcoming of the Ricci familys position is enforced when Antonios bicycle is stolen. Here, the object brings sentiment to enforce the political statement, and what I find even more interesting is how the title changed from Bicycle Thief to Bicycle Thieves as ultimately it becomes a vicious cycle of survival as one has to steal their own bicycle back from the thief, therefore becoming a thief resulting in thieves. This therefore constitutes to the message of the film, for the continuous battle of the haves and have-nots. Through the character of Antonio, it is the faith that drives him and allows him follow within his quest to find his stolen bicycle. Although DeSicas bleak realism of the post-war gives purpose to the central theme of the film, it is ultimately the conflict of human-optimism which gives the film and its political statement its power and without human sentiment, one can argue that the film would not produce affective power. If we look at three scenes, we are able to see how sentiment brings power to the political statement. In one scene we see Antonio and Maria trade in their bed linen. The camera moves away from them (long shot) and we see the heaps of bed-linen behind the counter-table, a tacit bleak reminder of the extensive nature of unemployment while recognizing its effect on the heart of families household lives. Again we see how realistic the lighting is and how the framing is loose to incorporate the environmental conditions to promote the political message. In another scene we see Ricci reporting his bicycle stolen and is directed by the policeman to the piles of alike reported cases. His account and circumstances are not singular, and we see here how it is not only this family that is going through this but also a lot of people. (Note the title: Thieves and not Thief) Thus portraying the political message that goes beyond this familys personal sentiment. Here we are also shown how humanitarianism prohibited Ricci from pressing official charges anti the thief, and the same moral fiber that spared him after he was caught stealing a bicycle. He did what the thief did to him. Such a film was essential in Italy as through this family we have the opportunity of being a bystander to the brutality of a civil war amoungst fascists and its on going of killing and reprisals through seeing how this effects one, and how not only effecting this family but many others. Italy in post-war was in need of healing and compassion even at the cost of a perceived injustice. (Paul Baxa, 2011) Healing does not come from the government and leaders of the country, but comes from within the everyday man on the streets you and me. Thus, from the Riccis, those being affected by the war and living within such conditions as well as the audience viewing this film who can in many ways relate. In another scene, arguably the most sentimental scene yet what I believe portrays the political message more powerfully than any other- we see the father and sons relationship come to a mend. It is understood with looking into the Italian family lifestyle, that the father and sons relationship is by far the strongest and most special. Little Brunos appearance when taking his fathers hand in the last scene is merely a realistic point of life and is a means of facing life with your father an important part in Italian culture. With Bruno being the witness of the tragedy and finally coming to realize his father is not a hero after all (contrary to Classic Hollywood), much like the audience being a witness too, this scene gives off a sense of aggravation, mortification, paradox and most of all acceptance to survival. These sentimental feelings therefore expresses the political statement as this ending of when the father and son take hands, expresses manhood and the hardship of survival one needs to go through with still looking for a sense of acceptance. Bazin (1971) explains this father/son scene as reaching puberty. Up to that moment the man has been like a god to his son and their relations came under the heading of admiration. By the fathers actions of becoming a thief, the father has in doing so compromised all heroism that his son had seen in him. However, this scene is seen as acceptance not only in survival, but also acceptance of ones father and supposed role model. He will love him henceforth as a human being, shame and all. (Bazin, 1971: pg 54) This scene inevitabely becomes a deceptive one, as the truth and reality of this acceptance and now found happiness through the fathers wrong doings, depends all on the central object the bicycle. Bicycle Thieves therefore inevitably portrayed the political statement through expressing the social conditions without expressing solutions. One might argue that this is a downfall, however at this moment in time solutions were not theoretical and if healing was going to occur it was going to have to come from the people. Thus, this film is inevitably awareness that needs to be found in each individual, which will create its own solution. Much like the theme and characters inevitably creating a plot on its own in Neorealism. The neorealist approach doesnt have an inbuilt political statement solution, as the most widespread attribute of neorealism is; on location shooting and the feeling of truth. (John Stubbs, 2010) Exactly what Bicycle Thieves so effectively does. One must also remember when viewing this film in the 21st century that twenty-five percent of the Italian workforce was unemployed at the time (William Heuvel, 2008) and if you were employed, getting to work was with th e use of a bicycle. The object of the bicycle thus symbolized survival. In conclusion, one can therefore justifiably argue that the sentimental nature of Bicycle Thieves does not overwhelm the political statement but essentially enhances it. If the political statement made in the film was to feed off a means of a solution, and the solution could only be found in the common individual like the Riccis family then one needs to understand the individuals situation as well as have an opportunity to walk in their shoes. Through sentiment that is not overly used in this film, one can see the hardship for survival through the story of these characters in order to become aware, as well as stay intrigued. Without focalizing power of the central character but rather the political statement through the characters, this film uses The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic. (Joseph Stalin, 1953) to its advantage by effectively showing the tragedy of individuals with indication to the masses statistic through apparent rawness and emotional intensity focused on such political and social problems. (P. Adams Sitney, 1995)

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Visible Light Spectrum :: Free Essay Writer

The Visible Light Spectrum â€Å"Mr. Petersuh-uh-uhn†¦. I need a white crayon for the white parts of the map!†, my daughter’s classmate whines as she peers into her box of mismatched Crayons. â€Å"Don’t worry about coloring those parts of the map. White isn’t a color anyways†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , replies her sixth grade teacher. Uh-oh. Big mistake! The entire class is now in for an impromptu lesson in the properties of light and the visible spectrum, courtesy of the child of a laser student. Added bonus: elevated egg-headed status for aforementioned child. â€Å"Excuse me, Mr. Petersen, but I feel that I must correct you on that. You are sadly misinformed. My Mom says that white is the presence of all color and black is no color! What of that?! Hmmm?† (Yes†¦my kid really talks like this. She’s 10 and she skipped a grade level. She’s quite loquacious. I wonder where she gets it from? But I digress†¦) The flustered Mr. Petersen flashes my child a weak smile and mumbles something to the effect of, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦technically, Jacki, you are correct. Just leave the white parts blank and stay on task!† Shame, shame, shame. The instructor has just dropped the ball on a wide-open opportunity for learning and discussion. Never one to miss an opportunity to exercise her mind and initiate a discussion/impress her peers, my kid goes on to explain the basic principles and properties of light and color. This precipitates a wave of â€Å"no way!† and â€Å"how’d you know?†s from the inherently curious and doubly impressed group of sixth graders. As she, in fits and giggles (true sixth grade girl fashion!), recounted the story to me, she re-iterated over and over that â€Å"most grown ups just don’t know ANYTHING!†. And I thought to myself, â€Å"You know†¦we might know a lot about some things, but she just pointed out one of the most popular misconceptions that abounds concerning light and the perception of color!†. White light is NOT the absence of all color! Black is NOT all of the colors all mixed together! (Remember second grade? When you ran out of black crayon and just scribbled all of the remaining colors together and got a muddy brownish gray at best? Uh-uh†¦never works.) Thus, I have taken it upon myself to enlighten the rest of us â€Å"just don’t know ANYTHING† grown-ups on the subject of color and the visible spectrum of light. The Visible Light Spectrum :: Free Essay Writer The Visible Light Spectrum â€Å"Mr. Petersuh-uh-uhn†¦. I need a white crayon for the white parts of the map!†, my daughter’s classmate whines as she peers into her box of mismatched Crayons. â€Å"Don’t worry about coloring those parts of the map. White isn’t a color anyways†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , replies her sixth grade teacher. Uh-oh. Big mistake! The entire class is now in for an impromptu lesson in the properties of light and the visible spectrum, courtesy of the child of a laser student. Added bonus: elevated egg-headed status for aforementioned child. â€Å"Excuse me, Mr. Petersen, but I feel that I must correct you on that. You are sadly misinformed. My Mom says that white is the presence of all color and black is no color! What of that?! Hmmm?† (Yes†¦my kid really talks like this. She’s 10 and she skipped a grade level. She’s quite loquacious. I wonder where she gets it from? But I digress†¦) The flustered Mr. Petersen flashes my child a weak smile and mumbles something to the effect of, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦technically, Jacki, you are correct. Just leave the white parts blank and stay on task!† Shame, shame, shame. The instructor has just dropped the ball on a wide-open opportunity for learning and discussion. Never one to miss an opportunity to exercise her mind and initiate a discussion/impress her peers, my kid goes on to explain the basic principles and properties of light and color. This precipitates a wave of â€Å"no way!† and â€Å"how’d you know?†s from the inherently curious and doubly impressed group of sixth graders. As she, in fits and giggles (true sixth grade girl fashion!), recounted the story to me, she re-iterated over and over that â€Å"most grown ups just don’t know ANYTHING!†. And I thought to myself, â€Å"You know†¦we might know a lot about some things, but she just pointed out one of the most popular misconceptions that abounds concerning light and the perception of color!†. White light is NOT the absence of all color! Black is NOT all of the colors all mixed together! (Remember second grade? When you ran out of black crayon and just scribbled all of the remaining colors together and got a muddy brownish gray at best? Uh-uh†¦never works.) Thus, I have taken it upon myself to enlighten the rest of us â€Å"just don’t know ANYTHING† grown-ups on the subject of color and the visible spectrum of light.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Analysis of Stolls Essay, On Classrooms, With and Without Computers :: Education Teaching

Analysis of Stoll's Essay, On Classrooms, With and Without Computers Clifford Stoll's essay "On Classrooms, with and without Computers" discusses the role computers play in the modern classroom. Although the theme is not directly stated at the beginning of the piece, it soon becomes apparent that Stoll believes that computers do not have the ability to give a person, especially a child, a complete education because "only human beings can teach the connections between things." He uses a style of asking questions and then answering them himself, which works well because it causes the reader to think about the topic before Stoll presents his own argument. It also keeps the essay organized, although it makes the text seem choppy at times. His tone is educated, though sometimes sarcastic. The audience that he writes for would likely be parents, teachers, and other people concerned about quality education; and they are also likely to be fairly educated people themselves. The essay is based on the warrant that computers have inherent limitations that should not be ignored. In order to support his claim of fact, Stoll uses three ideas. The first support claim questions the value of the information the children are receiving from computers. An example Stoll uses is a Computer-Using Educators conference when a speaker pointed out the amount of research a computer can generate. One teacher remarked that the printed pages were worthless in a classroom without a great deal of sorting and working. Audience members unfamiliar with computers would sympathize with this situation, although a technologically advanced group might be experienced enough to cut down on extra work. Either way, it implies that more precise methods might work better. Stoll's second support claim discusses how people view computers. In American school systems computer classes are replacing other classes like home economics and drivers education. Logical thinkers would be persuaded that emphasis on computers is shortsighted. When David Thornburg, director of the Computer-Using Educators conference, says that soon students will not need to use library because of the information they can get at home on the Internet, Stoll expresses disbelief at the notion. Educated people accustomed to learning in several different ways would agree with the idea that there is more to learning than this one resource. Stoll also uses the learning styles of children to support his claim. There is a physical side of education that cannot be simulated on screen, and a persuasive point that he makes is that by encouraging inquisitiveness in all of the areas of education children will have a broader basis on which to learn. Analysis of Stoll's Essay, On Classrooms, With and Without Computers :: Education Teaching Analysis of Stoll's Essay, On Classrooms, With and Without Computers Clifford Stoll's essay "On Classrooms, with and without Computers" discusses the role computers play in the modern classroom. Although the theme is not directly stated at the beginning of the piece, it soon becomes apparent that Stoll believes that computers do not have the ability to give a person, especially a child, a complete education because "only human beings can teach the connections between things." He uses a style of asking questions and then answering them himself, which works well because it causes the reader to think about the topic before Stoll presents his own argument. It also keeps the essay organized, although it makes the text seem choppy at times. His tone is educated, though sometimes sarcastic. The audience that he writes for would likely be parents, teachers, and other people concerned about quality education; and they are also likely to be fairly educated people themselves. The essay is based on the warrant that computers have inherent limitations that should not be ignored. In order to support his claim of fact, Stoll uses three ideas. The first support claim questions the value of the information the children are receiving from computers. An example Stoll uses is a Computer-Using Educators conference when a speaker pointed out the amount of research a computer can generate. One teacher remarked that the printed pages were worthless in a classroom without a great deal of sorting and working. Audience members unfamiliar with computers would sympathize with this situation, although a technologically advanced group might be experienced enough to cut down on extra work. Either way, it implies that more precise methods might work better. Stoll's second support claim discusses how people view computers. In American school systems computer classes are replacing other classes like home economics and drivers education. Logical thinkers would be persuaded that emphasis on computers is shortsighted. When David Thornburg, director of the Computer-Using Educators conference, says that soon students will not need to use library because of the information they can get at home on the Internet, Stoll expresses disbelief at the notion. Educated people accustomed to learning in several different ways would agree with the idea that there is more to learning than this one resource. Stoll also uses the learning styles of children to support his claim. There is a physical side of education that cannot be simulated on screen, and a persuasive point that he makes is that by encouraging inquisitiveness in all of the areas of education children will have a broader basis on which to learn.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

All My Sons: Millers Chief Criticism Of American Society Essay examples

All My Sons: Miller's Chief Criticism Of American Society A shot was heard throughout the Keller home as Joe ended his guilty, worthless life. Miller criticizes that American society has become corrupt- a place of selfishness, where people care too much about themselves, and that which benefits them, and will go to any lengths to achieve that goal; even if the repercussions of their actions will bring harm to other people. He stresses that money seems to be the key factor that drives society to this level of corruption. Miller emphasizes this point in several ways. The first example is that Keller knowingly ships out cracked cylinder heads, that will crash an airplane if used, to prevent his business from going bankrupt, claiming that he did it for his family. The second example is that Sue would rather Jim make allot of money, and not do medical research- which is what he really wanted to do. The third example is Jim's abdication of his pursuit of medical research do to the lack of profit involved. In his play "All My Sons," Miller makes it apparent that society in general values money and profit more than human life. He shows this by his portrayal of Keller. Keller ships out cracked cylinder heads, aware that in flight they will cause planes to crash, to save his business from being shut down. Furthermore, he goes on to allow the blame to fall on Steve, in order to save hims...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Eragon The Movie vs. Eragon The Novel Essay

People have different views in life. Some would opt to wallow with the beauty of words and the power of the imagination, while others would opt for movies and witness the wonders of visual effects. Some of the stories made turn out to be inspirations for many, while others become a driving force for people to go on and continue with life. One of the most interesting stories in Literature is Eragon. Due to the story and the lessons that both children and adults would learn, the novel was adapted as a movie into the big screen. However, I believe that the novel version of Eragon is still better than the movie version. THE STORY The story revolves around a young boy, named Eragon, who grew up in a small farm in Carvahall together with his uncle and cousin. During one of his hunting trips in the mountains, he found a big blue stone. The stone attracted him greatly, and Eragon thought that if sold in the city, the stone would be enough to suffice for their winter needs. Unknown to Eragon, the blue stone was actually a dragon egg, ready to hatch. Since care for dragons was prohibited by the king, Eragon had no choice but to secretly raise the poor animal, naming her Saphira. Eventually, they were haunted down by the king’s men and had no choice but to flee the village. Eragon’s uncle, Garrow, died due to his injuries, making him furious and hungry for revenge. Eragon’s journey towards survival with Saphira led to more secrets. In the course of their adventures, Brom proposed that he would do whatever it takes to help Eragon. The symbol in Eragon’s hand shows that he is indeed one of the dragon riders, like how Brom used to be. Towards the course of the journey, he was transformed from an ordinary teenager to a sword-fighting rider knowledgeable in magic and the ways of Dragon Riders. Eragon meets more people and encounters more life-threatening situations towards the course of the journey, which allows him to learn more about himself. His quest for revenge allowed him to learn more about himself, and how his search for answers would lead him to protect a whole Empire. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES Books always have their own identity as compared to the film adaptations. This may be attributed to the fact that readers are given the opportunity to view the novel in their own way, and see things according to what their imagination has to offer. The book and film version of Eragon had the same dilemma. Both media had the opportunity to share with people the wonders that Eragon’s life had to offer, and at the same time bring them to a world unknown to many. However, the 2 media used also had their own differences. The film version was intricately made in such a way that the viewers would become curious of what the story has to offer. The special effects used in the film version would definitely come as an impressive work of art. The descriptions set in the book, such as Saphira’s appearance were perfectly executed in the film. One who has read the book with agree with me, especially in the details set for the other locations in the film. The language used in both versions were also similar with each other. The book on the other hand, made us of too many words. Some of the dialogues and scenes were cut in the film version, somehow giving the viewers a different impression of how the story would go. Take for example Eragon’s journey. Some of the places were deleted, and even Eragon’s reactions towards Katrina were deleted in the film version. In this manner, the plot of the story was somewhat changed deviating from the original context of the novel. PERSONAL ANALYSIS The film version of Eragon was something to be considered. Those who have read the novel would have different impressions about the adaptation, especially when some of the important scenes and dialogues have been deleted. Although the aim of the producers was to fit the whole book in one film, this should have been done using a different approach. In the same manner, I also admire how the visual effects were executed. Saphira was one of the wonders of the whole story, and this was very well presented in the film adaptation. Arya herself was a wonder to marvel at. As the book would have it, she was a beautiful elf, and was supposed to look mysterious at some point in the story. This was done perfectly, and I believe the actress who played her should also be given credit. Unfortunately, the film and the book had so many differences. The film version would look as if it was another story formed from the original novel, and not an adaptation. Although both had considered to keep the plot as the center of the film, the choice of words made the story difficult to absorb. Both readers and viewers would have difficulty in trying to keep in tune with the story because of the many names and places it included. For someone who has seen both media, disappointment would not come as a surprise. However, for those who have not read the book, the film adaptation is impressive, especially with how Saphira was manipulated. Works Cited Eragon. Dir. Stefan Fanmeier. Perf. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Sienna Guillory, Edward Speleers, and Rachel Weisz. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 20 March 2007. Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2003. â€Å"Eragon. † 2006. Eragon the Movie. 22 January 2009 . â€Å"Eragon. † The Internet Movie Database. 22 January 2009 . â€Å"Eragon. † Book Browse. 22 Janury 2009 . â€Å"Eragon (Inheritance, Book I). † 2003. Kids Turn Central. 22 January 2009 . â€Å"Eragon DVD Review. † 22 January 2009 .