Consider how effectively does David Lean creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense in the opening sequence of ‘Great Expectations’

Welcome to the new monthly section of The Film Watchers' Journal in which we discuss a question asked to us by a reader. As it is nearly Halloween, our topic for this month will be, ‘What is the best way to create an atmosphere of fear and suspense in a film? ‘ To do this I will first discuss my personal views on this question and then we will take a deeper study of the classic suspenseful opening of the 1945 film ‘Great Expectations', directed by the great David Lean and the Academy Award Winner of Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction in 1946. To start with, let's consider what makes a film scary and suspenseful. Some may say that it is outright scares and jumps, though I believe that it is more than that. Something within us needs to feel the fear of the characters and there are many techniques a director can use to achieve that. One of the main causes of fear is the music. Large periods of silence can really get you feeling scared as you wait for something to happen, but equally I also would say that it is chilling when you hear the odd sound such as creaking or the wind to give a sense of realism and pulls at our basic fears of these sorts of noises. Another way that many films are made to be scary is by their use of lighting. Again the basic fear of the dark is used, but also making certain aspects of the scene light or dark can foreshadow future events and subconsciously make the viewer feel worried about what is going to happen. There are also of course many other ways of making a scene fearful and suspenseful such as camera movement, the relative size of what is in the frame, speed of editing and lots of other things besides but we will get to this as I analyse the opening scenes of ‘Great Expectations' as it has many good examples which can be noted. To start with it would be wrong not to look at how the opening shot of the scene in which the book is read. At first glance it may not seem to have any fear or suspense as it is a very everyday object, but I think that there is relevance to this in the overall build up of apprehension. As it is read, the calmness of the melody in the background is slowly overtaken by the sound of the wind as the story begins, and the way this is makes you wonder what is going to happen and starts building up some tension, especially as the pages of the book flick in some supernatural way. It immediately focuses you on it as the book is lit up, framed by the darkness of an unknown place which may be playing on our fear of the unknown. It then fades into the next scene, which I believe gives it a sense of smooth carrying on, and the suspense really starts to kick in. One of the key ways in which David Lean creates fear is by the imagery of death all around, a common technique used by directors. One of the chief examples of this is when Pip runs past the gallows in the wide open marshes. With the use of perspective he really looks the same size as the first, almost as if it is made for him. Subconsciously I think that this must make the scene more worrying for the audience as they have the picture of him and death together in their minds. This is strongly reinforced by the second gibbet which towers over him as he runs underneath it which again shows that death is over him all the time. I find that this is a very effective way of creating fear as it is not too obvious so it works at our subconscious which is more subtle and can create more lasting and deeper fears as we slowly piece them together in the backs of our minds. Another example of death imagery is obviously the graveyard which almost always has the gravestones looking bigger than Pip and looming over him, possibly to create a sense of foreboding. I think that the constant reminder of death being always there is definitely a big reason that this is the classic suspense scene always remembered. Of course imagery is also used elsewhere; one of the foremost cases of this is when the second tree is shown looming over Pip you can quite clearly see what seems to be a face in the gnarled bark. This reflects the childish fears of Pip and therefore makes us immediately empathise with him and feel his fear as well due to our compassion for frightened children that is within most people, especially seeing as that sort of thing can live in with us until we are much older. Of course the imagery is not the only way of creating fear and suspense. Another obvious technique used in this film is the way objects or people, specifically Pip, are placed in the frame to give them certain relevance. This is shown to start with by the world seeming very big and Pip seeming very small by using very distant establishing shots. You may think that this would make him seem quite irrelevant but as he is kept quite central in the mise en scine and the camera moves with him we can see that his size on the screen must serve a different purpose and I believe that this is to show us just how scary and big this world is, especially to a child, and straight away lead us to empathise with him and therefore feel his fear. Again this use of size is echoed later in the scene when Pip meets the convict, with the convict always towering over him in a way that makes him seem very weak and in peril. At some points we cannot even see the convict's head as it is looming so high above him that it does not fit in the frame. It could be said that this is just for practicality but I think it is important because in quite a lot of the time we can be more scared by what we cannot see that what we can see and the fact that his head is not in the shot makes it seem all the more frustrating as we do not feel that we can see the whole picture and therefore it scares us as the unknown is a massive factor in how we get scared.. Another more subtle way that this film gets into our subconscious is through very clever lighting which can be seen as very symbolic. In the shot where the boy runs toward the camera we can quite clearly see that the foreground is darker than the light shining on the horizon so we can plainly see that the boy is running from the light into the dark and I would associate this with danger and fear. However, I think the use of light is most evident in the section with Pip and the convict as Pip clearly has the light shining on him while the convict is left in the dark. This not only makes him more mysterious as we cannot see him as well as we would like to but it also makes him seem dark and scary which sparks most people's inner fear of darkness and again that which is unknown. Use of the dark is therefore a very popularly used way to really get into people's heads as it is a primal fear that everyone has and instantaneously makes us feel nervous when this man is introduced because he is so dark within the frame compared to Pip whom we have come to trust who is lit up. Although a lot of the lighting is not as strong as in some other films, I think that the way that it affects us is still quite noticeable and does serve a very useful purpose in that it grabs our attention and slowly builds up future unconscious foreshadowing of future events. Probably one of the more obvious things which David Lean uses to create tension is his use of sounds. Unlike many other suspenseful films he does not use suspenseful music or much silence, but in fact the chilling sounds of the howling wind, distant seabird call and the creaking of trees. These may seem a little over the top to a modern audience used to being scared in much more elaborate ways, but they still can make you shiver if you are really getting into the film. A great deal of this is just repeated over and over, so you are lulled into a false sense of security so that when the scream comes as Pip is grabbed by the convict you are caught completely off guard. This use of a long period of similar sounds then a large, surprising one is often used to great effect in films and the shock of it is a very good tactic as it shakes the audience into focus and really makes them watch what's happening. The scream itself is quite scary as, having to got to empathise with the boy, we immediately share his fear and want to know what is going on but can't quite tell. I think that this is again going back to the fear of the unknown which has seemed to come up quite often in this review. Lastly, it is useful to look at some of the more technical techniques used to make this film suspenseful, namely camera movement and post production editing. I don't feel that the way the camera moves makes it quite as suspenseful as it could be as there is not all that much done with it other than panning across whenever Pip moves. It could possibly be improved had more been done with it such as zooming in slowly to build up tension or quick movement away from Pip to disassociate with him at some points. However, it could be said that the lack of movement in the shots makes them seem more sharply put together and could make movement more edgy and therefore in a way scarier. The editing on the other hand I feel is quite well done to make it seem more suspenseful. As the scene opens there are long, slow moving shots which establish us into the scene and make us feel a sense of what it is like to be there and begin to draw us into it. The shots continue to be long and unhurried until the lengthy shot of Pip slowly looking round behind him as he begins to feel that something is wrong. The shots then speed up rapidly, cutting from him to the tree then back to him and even more quickly onto the tree with the gnarled face. With this we can feel his fear building up and we begin to feel it ourselves too, and as he gets up and runs we are fully with him and are just as shocked as him when his is grabbed by the convict. The shots stay quite fast as he has his conversation with the convict which I feel reflects his own fear in the situation and again, because we have already built up some form of empathy for Pip's character during the short time before, we begin to worry what will happen as well. So there it is, I can answer the question that in this old classic the way that David Lean thinks that a film can be made suspenseful and fearful is mainly by slowly getting us to feel for a character and build up imagery of death and subconsciously keep feeding us fearful pictures and sounds so that when the climax of the fear comes we are equally as shocked as Pip is. Although modern audiences might scoff at this movie as it is not as scary by today's standards, I think that it is a very clever piece of film in making you scared without being too obvious about it and that if you look carefully in more contemporary films you will see that even then the same techniques are generally used. That's it for this month's film question, but please write in with responses or suggestions for November, and keep an eye out for these techniques when you are next watching a scary film!

Importance of Art in the Society

Art brings beauty into our world. Art is important because it makes our world a better place. It also brings a sense of enjoyment and pleasure. Art allows for the expression of truth and beliefs. Some art challenges our beliefs. Other works affirm our faith. Art is an important tool in causing us to examine our beliefs in light of an artists' rendition or perception of truth. Art has the ability to transport us to a different time and place. It allows us to gain historical perspective and understanding. Art allows us to appreciate different periods in history and their impact and significance in our world. Art immortalizes people, places, and events. Artists create a visual record of life experiences commemorating the memorable and challenging social injustices, such as slavery and abuses, in time. Artists serve as historians in this role, documenting life on canvass, photography, or sculpture. Art may be used to express chaos and misunderstanding, or to establish order from what appears to be chaos. Art helps us organize our world. It is one means by which we understand our society and culture, and the society and cultures of others. Art is important as an intellectual stimulant. A good artist advances culture and civilization by provoking thought, introspection, and discussion. Art triggers emotions. Subject, color, and texture are used by artist to evoke feelings. In this way art can serve as a catharsis, or help us uncover feelings of which we were previously unaware. Art has the intrinsic ability to elevate the commonplace. It lifts the viewer beyond the confines of reality and into another world, such as the use of art to express fantasy. Sometimes art provides pure escapism, such as cartoons and comics. Other art allows us to juxtapose fantasy and reality, creating a world in which the artist wished we lived. Art communicates across all cultures, tells the stories of the past and present, and inspires minds, both young and old, to do beautiful things.

The advantages and disadvantages of a business plan

Entering the world of business is not that easy. When starting a new venture, one should never come unprepared. If you started a new venture without planning anything first, chances are, you will end up going wherever the wind takes you. That is why a business plan is a necessity for someone who is interested in starting a new venture. In the world of business, a business plan is treated like a bible for it lets investors and lenders know about the business you are trying to put up. It also serves as a manual for suppliers and other stakeholders of the business. A business plan may have its advantages but it also have its disadvantages. In this part of the paper, we shall look at the strong and weak points of developing a business plan for a new venture. However, a business plan is supposed to be an advantage to the business that is why the advantages, as expected, outnumber the disadvantages. Advantages One advantage of developing a business plan for a new venture is that it identifies what the consumer really wants. Of course, a business plan is all about making your target market patronize the product or service you are offering in your new business. Before you can make profits, you must first identify your target market and know what they really need or want. This is one important advantage of a business plan especially for those who are new in the business scenario. Once you identify what your target market really wants, you are most probably headed to indentifying the demand for the service or product you intend to offer. Identifying the demand for the product is also very important in launching a new venture because from this, you will know whether the service or product you are to offer is needed by the people. Of course, you cannot just think about your supplies and your suppliers. Those things will come after you determine the demand for your product. Aside from identifying the target market and the demand for the product or service, the advantages of a business plan also include assistance in designing your product that are appealing to the senses of the consumers. Since your purpose in developing a new venture is to make profit, the consumers’ senses are your main target. Designing your product is very important. It includes the packaging of the product and other advertising tools to make the people buy the product. This is also an important aspect of the business plan for it contributes a lot to the success of the business. Of course, if you are developing a â€Å"for-profit† business, making profit and paying debts will have to be included in your business plan. Aside from paying debts, your plan should also include measures on how to generate daily income. In this aspect, a business plan is very helpful because you already have your plans on how to manage the financial aspects of the business (which is one of the most important aspects). If you know exactly the financial path of what you are venturing, you are most likely to succeed in terms of profit. Another advantage of a business plan is that it makes the proprietor identify his competitors. When you have the knowledge about your competitors, you will be able to identify your competitive advantage over the competitor’s firm. Since you are developing a new business, it is important that you know exactly your edge in the business scenario over the others. If you have planned beforehand about your competitive advantage over the competitors, chances are, there will be product differentiation in the market. That is actually a good thing because it lessens competition within simi8lar firms. By analyzing your competitors, you will be able to create strategies that are effective even if there are many competitors in the market. A business plan is also advantageous because it enables us to indentify new product and service areas, and new or potential customers. In business, it is not only important to find the customers for some of them will not be loyal to your firm. It is hard to find new customers when you are just developing a new venture but it is much harder to retain them. The good thing about a business plan is that it helps the owner of the firm to identify potential customers. If it is hard for the owner to retain his customers, it would be very helpful to identify new or potential customers. In that way, at least, you will have your next resort. Lastly, an advantage of a business plan is that it allows the business owner to evaluate his business strategies and if his strategies are giving the desired results. What is good about a business plan is that it enables the owner to assess whether his strategies are effective or not. If he found out that his strategies are not effective enough to make the business succeed, he can immediately formulate new strategies to make the business succeed. As we all know, business strategies are very important, be it human resource, financial, etc. The business plan serves as a test for the formulated strategies and also serves as way to make room for improvement. If the owner finds out that there is something wrong with his first strategies, he will be able to change it right away and save his business from falling apart or incurring losses. Disadvantages Although we mentioned a lot of advantages in making business plans, it also has its drawbacks. If the owner is new in the world of business, he may not have all the business skills that a new venture requires. If he happens to be the one making his business plans, the business plan can be one way of identifying his weaknesses in dealing with business. If the owner is not used to making business plans, people who will look to it will find out the weaknesses of his business skills. Suppliers, investors, and lenders will most likely not to participate in the business when they find out that the person they are dealing with is not that skilled in business. Also, if the other stakeholders of the business find out that the person they are making arrangements with is not as skilled as they thought, they might not trust him with the success of the business. They might even plan to use his weaknesses or his business plan against him since they know that he is not a skillful businessman. Another disadvantage of a business plan is when it is not properly thought of. If the data in a business plan is not properly analyze, it may result to improper marketing decisions which will eventually have a bad effect on the business itself. Although a business plan helps a lot in making the business successful, it may also make the business fail if not done correctly. What makes it hard for a business to succeed is the impulsiveness of the business owners when it comes to decision making. Sometimes, the data in business plans are not analyzed properly that is why decisions are also made incorrectly. If the one who made the business plan is not a professional business consultant or is not really familiar with making a business plan, information can be interpreted incorrectly. The faulty interpretation of information can result to unrealistic financial projections. In a business, financial matters are very important that is why if financial statements are understated or overstated, it could greatly affect the business. If the information in the business plan is interpreted incorrectly, wrong decisions can be made. The owner can also make unrealistic projections about the financial aspects of the business which can cause further problems. This would greatly affect the future of the business. Since the business plan somewhat includes the mission and vision of the business, it would be a great problem if the business plan fails to make correct projections for the firm. If the business owner is not familiar with making business plans, he may opt to hire a business plan consultant. It is very advantageous actually since they offer quality service and they have been making business plans for many successful businesses. The disadvantage is that the service of these consultants is very expensive. Although they offer good service, it would cost you a lot. The money that can be added to your investment in the business will just go to the payment for the business consultant. If the business owner happens to be saving up for his new venture, he can resort to hiring an inexpensive business consultant which is not always good for the business. Sometimes, inexpensive consultants are not as good as the expensive ones. There are also some which uses software that makes business plans. They will just ask the owner of the business certain questions and then enter the information in the software they use. This will eventually lead to improper analysis of data and information in the business plan which will not do the business any good. Assessment of the Biz Air Plan Just by taking a look at the business plan’s executive summary, we can already have an idea that the financial projections are overstated. With only 6 aircrafts, their projected revenues were  £17.4 million. What I am trying to point out here is that what they are trying to build is an airline company and not just a convenient store or a clothing company. There were statements in the executive summary that seem to understate the losses in the first year. They even projected that there would be a 12% improvement in profits in the company’s second year and a long term 16% of sales in the third, fourth, and fifth year. Aside from wrong financial projections, I find the business plan full of assumptions.   For example, in the part where in they conducted customer analysis, they chose to conduct the study during lunchtime and interviewed people who dress like a business person. In other words, they just assumed that if a person is in corporate attire, he or she could be a potential customer since they assumed that he or she is a businessperson. There is also a part in the paper in which it is stated that â€Å"as long as the flights are not delayed, the post experience evaluation should be favourable.† I find this very assuming because it is not only the delay of the flight that affects on whether the customer will or will not like the new airline company. The satisfaction of the customer does not rest solely on the factor that their flight is on time. Factors such as cleanliness, safety, or the friendliness of the staff also affect the satisfaction of the customer. It is also mentioned in the business plan that through satisfying customers (that is in terms of not delaying their flights), they will serve as salesmen for the airline company who will try to suggest the company’s service to other people. I find this a little idealistic for business does not just go that way. Business does not only succeed through word of mouth. When they said that the customers will serve as the salesmen for the airline company, it gave me the impression that they were already assuming that the delay of the flight solely determines customer satisfaction which would later on result to advertising the company. It is very idealistic since they were sort of assuming that all the satisfied customers will endorse their company. Another thing that I found very disturbing about the paper is its being overconfident about the services it offers. Of course it is very important that you have confidence in the business that you are putting up but not to the point that you will sound boasting about your business that has not even tried by the people. You can see this in the part where in they discuss the advertising of the service. They mentioned that they are just going to advertise through newspapers and billboards near airports. I have nothing against that idea, actually. But you don’t have to say that you do not have to advertise in televisions because you are sure that once the news broke, there would be much television publicity that will come out. I think it will seem very unprofessional for those who will take a look at the business plan. Potential investors will have the impression that they are dealing with unprofessional people. Lastly, there are several faulty analysis and incorrect financial projections which can be the main cause of the failure of the business. Reference: 2004. Creating Your Business Plan. [Online]. Available: http://www.nvbdi.org/howto/biz_plan.php.   [29 July 2007] BELLIS, M. 2007. Creating A Marketing Plan for the Independent Inventor. [Online]. Available: http://inventors.about.com/od/licensingmarketing/a/tutor_marketing.htm. [29 July 2007] 2001. Approaches to Writing A Business Plan. [Online]. Available: http://www.caycon.com/plan_options.php. [28

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OBESITY - Thesis Proposal Example The control group could be selected from the same sample of students who engage in active sports. The weight gain for both group of students is monitored for a specific period of time to establish the relationship between inactivity and obesity] 3. Does obesity play a major role in increasing the cost of healthcare in the United States?[Provisional answer: Yes, the cost of treating obese people in the country is raising] 4. Should the government enforce strict dietary and exercise regimen in schools to control incidents of obesity? [Provisional answer: Yes. Compulsory physical exercises and regulated diet should be imposed on all school-going children.] Thesis The government should enforce strict physical education program and dietary restriction in all schools to control the prevalence of obesity in the society. Nutritionists and researchers attribute poor dietary habits and lack of exercises as the major causes of obesity in the society (Bernard, 2007). These detrimental habits dev elop in the early stages of child development especially in schools.

Comparing Susan Glaspells Play Trifles with her Short Story A Jury of Essay

Comparing Susan Glaspells Play Trifles with her Short Story A Jury of - Essay Example The sense of male authority more effectively forms the hallmark of the story, which is more than can be said about Trifles if acting in the play is left out of the question and just text is scrutinized. Angel appears to be deeply fascinated with the short story version of Trifles in her article. She claims that compared to the play, the story focuses on women’s perspective who were shunned from the legal system. These were women who had judgment skills far superior to any men around, but were not given credit for that because it was men and not women who made the law, who were judges, and who investigated murder trials. The women in the story managed to see beneath the surface and reached different legal conclusions than men did. Women reached correct conclusions because of their different experiences and values than men and this difference is very superiorly explicated in the short story version of the play. It is suggested by Ben-Zvi in her article that compared to Trifles, Glaspell goes further in her short story to highlight patriarchal power and its implications on women. Trifles does not as brilliantly and as deeply analyzes the awkwardness of Mr. Hale’s character as the â€Å"Jury† does. In the start of the short story, the authoress dedicates many words to explaining how easily Mr. Hale is intimidated by fellow men like the County Attorney. However, when it comes to women of the house, he effortlessly undermines their perceptions of judgment. It is Mr. Hale and not the women of Mr. Wright’s house who gets to detail the murder report because of his gender. He directly taunts the women refusing to acknowledge that they could possibly have any clue about murder. Such examples of patriarchal power and female marginalization are more efficiently detailed in the Jury. In her article, Mael explains that just as the short story

Comparing Brazilian Culture to American Culture Research Paper

Comparing Brazilian Culture to American Culture - Research Paper Example These segments include ‘Power Distance’, ‘Individualism’, ‘Masculinity’, ‘Uncertainty Avoidance’, ‘Pragmatism’, and ‘Indulgence’ (The Hofstede Center, 2014). The discussion henceforth will give an elaborative account of these cultural segments as observable in the prospective market of the Canadian company, i.e. in Brazil. Power distance exhibits the acceptance of power hierarchy and the inequalities among people residing within a given society. Observably, Brazil scores 69, where Canada scores 39 as per the Hofstede’s model when examining this factor (The Hofstede Center, 2014). This further reveals that where Canada believes in egalitarianism, Brazilian communities believe in power hierarchy and accept the inequality as a part of their culture (Ferguson, 2007). It is thus necessary for the Canadian company to understand the power distance of Brazil and formulate their organizational decision-making structure accordingly. Individualism, another facet of the Hofstede’s cultural model, indicates whether people prefer group oriented lifestyle practices or individualism. Brazil scores 38 in this section according to Hofstede’s model analysis, where Canada scores 80 (The Hofstede Center, 2014). This implies that Brazilian people are group oriented where Canadians are highly individualistic in nature. Certainly, in the business world, group orientation attitude among employees and customers can create the difference of opinions as well as communication gap. Due to the huge difference of nature, it is better for the company to use Polycentrism to connect with the culture of Brazil (Ferguson, 2007). The paradigm of masculinity in the Hofstede’s model replicates whether the cultural backbone of the country is success oriented, achievement-oriented or it is based on the quality of life.  

Group Setting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group Setting - Research Paper Example It discusses the different subjects in the study, their particular type of illness, and how willing they were to make changes in their lifestyles to cope with these particular afflictions. This study takes a look at homeless individuals who presented with co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance abuse and some of the different ways that they can be assisted, what resources are available, and how to offer them specific types of support for these afflictions. There is an increasing concern of how best to deal with the members of the homeless population who suffer from mental illness, especially in light of the fact that it is often due to the severity of the mental illness that these individuals end up in a situation that results in becoming homeless in the first place. One possible method of addressing this issue of social concern is to take a group of concerned individuals, comprised of volunteers, doctors, therapists, and social workers who would all work together with these individuals to show them what resources are available to them and how they can best avail themselves of those resources. In the introductory phase of the group, the individuals that comprise the group, the doctors, therapists, social workers, and volunteers would all work together to determine the best target population to start with; a look at the different areas where the homeless congregate, as well as the types of people who make up this population would serve as a way to best address this goal. Once the target area has been determined, the group members would, through the use of their individual specialties, work with the members of the homeless population who suffer from mental illness, and based upon their affliction, determine the appropriate resources they would need in order to best meet the goal of improving the quality of life for the patients as well as working to get them back into

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Essentials Mangement (report) - Essay Example The Essentials Management is all about finding solutions to help the organisation to improve efficiency, reduce costs, decrease cycle time and push up strategic initiatives. What are the issues before an ambitious management and an expanding organization? Find solutions to short term and long term problems, lookout and seize the opportunities well in time in this fast moving age of industrial and internet revolution, tackle critical issues posed from time to time and improve effectiveness in functions and crucial programs. Of the four important factors of production, land, labor, capital and organisation, labor (workforce at all levels) is important. The employees can build an organisation just as sometimes it is claimed that the employees can break it. For the organisation to become prosperous and grow employees (including officials of the top management) need to be basically sound and industrious and basic conditions and favourable atmosphere need to be created for them to become b asically sound and industrious. â€Å"If everything is important, then nothing is†¦.Whether it is a multinational corporation, a department within a larger company, or a small entrepreneurial venture, every organisation provides its leader with more distractions and concerns than one person can handle. The key to managing this challenge, of course, is to identify a reasonable number of issues that will have the greater possible impact on the success of your organization, and then spend most your time thinking about, talking about, and working on those issues.†(Lencioni, 2006, introduction. xi) The phrases like decentralization, delegate responsibility etc. often find favor in an expanding organisation. The modern management science favours these techniques. But the critical point for the success of organization is somewhere else. The growth of an organization needs to be a healthy growth. None but the head of an organisation can make it healthy. To delegate responsibility for

Reflection 03081 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflection 03081 - Essay Example The presentation that we gave was about the first industrial revolution. The most important objective was to highlight the noteworthy inventions that were made in this period and what has happened since then. Tasks were assigned to individuals equally in order to ensure successful completion of the project. There was three group members, one was given the task to do the research and collect data, the second group member was reasonable for designing the presentation and I was give the task of writing the slide contents. The following sections will include the interpretation and outcome of our group efforts. As mentioned above, we were tasked with the preparation of a PowerPoint presentation regarding the first industrial revolution. We decided to conduct group meetings every alternative day in the week in order to discuss our individual progress regarding the overall presentation. The division of work was done very effectively as each of us go the work that we do best. However, one of the major drawbacks of our group was that no one was clearly defined as the leader. Although we were making individual progress there was no leader who would give proper direction to the flow of our work. Occasionally we have conflict of issues which deviate us from the actual path of the assignment’s objective. I decided to implement the ideas the Tuckman teamwork theory. It was extremely important for me to make sure that the team go through all the four phases of team development mentioned in this theory (forming, storming norming and performing). I witnessed that initially the group members were finding it difficult to gel in with each other. So I decided to clarify the overall objective of the team in order to make sure that group members work towards a unified goal. This helped me to establish coordination among the team members once they started to feel comfortable within the group (Riebe, et al.,

Learning from successful people or failure Essay

Learning from successful people or failure - Essay Example In addition, a person who yearns to learn should either learn from the experiences successful people or learn through failures. From the on-start, I would argue that both methods of learning are important depending on the prevailing situation. Learning from personal failures is paramount in some situations. For example, in school, we are taught various concepts and theories that are important for us to understand and probably apply them in our future career or somewhere in life. In such a scenario making mistakes resulting to examination failures can have a bigger lesson compared to learning from those who have been successful. This mode of learning helps us to experience the reality of what our capacity was at the time of the failure and forge a way forward that will facilitate improvement. In addition, when a student gets a concept wrong, they are curious to know what was expected of them. In contrary, other people’s experience may not teach that. People have very different personalities; the path taken by a successful person to achieve what they have achieved may be quite different from the one that another person will use. This means that to some extent success is personality customized. Though an individual ma y take a path taken by a successful person, chances of failure cannot lack. Learning from the success of others is a very important aspect. Actually, every individual should yearn to learn from others more than learning from their personal failures. This is because personal failures are likely to expose an individual to some bitterness as well as trauma that may be hard to recover. However, some circumstances will require individuals to make mistakes so that they can learn. Firstly, personal failures can expose us to danger. It is better to follow what someone else did and became successful instead of trying a new route unless the route is shorter and convenient. However, this is mainly dominant in research. In most of the areas in life,

MGT assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MGT assignment - Essay Example The company’s mission is to encourage the application of technology in all sectors of the global economy. When the organization gets more high-skilled employees, they can build a network of awareness through quality production. The compensation philosophy at Anchor bay entertainment is supposed to be based on performance; however, several of the people that I know who work for this company does not feel this way. These individuals feel Anchor bay is more like a learning institution. When the organization gets more highly educated employees, they can build the network of thriving ICT centers much quicker. We reward our employees accordingly with respect to their level of productivity. It is important to note that, the employees who dedicate most of their time for the interest of the company are vetted accordingly. BFG technologies would be involved in a meet the market compensation strategy. Compared to some companies in other regions it may look as if they are leading in the market; however, for the region the company operates in employees’ payment in relation to the market demands. Being in the information technology sector, I would see reward based on individuals, rather than a team. When a customer comes and needs consultancy on a major electronic the employees work as an individual trying to convince the buyer of the significance of that machine. The companies’ goal is to continuously improve communication technology in the country and promote the intensive use of computers in the business world. It seems that BFG technologies information systems does not align with the mission statement because the competitive pay and many of the benefits offered create an environment where meaningful relationships can be developed within the employer and employees. Brunswick Corporation being in the information technology sector I see it positioning itself at the top because the company does not offer

Vap Bundles, What to Leave in, What to Leave Out Essay Example for Free

Vap Bundles, What to Leave in, What to Leave Out Essay Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a chronic and costly problem in the intensive care setting. VAP increases patient morbidity, mortality, and length of stay. These negative effects add significantly to the financial and emotional burden to the patient and family. VAP is being considered for addition to the Medicare non-reimbursable infection list, therefore healthcare providers need to proactively evaluate and implement procedures to minimize VAP rates. Article Summaries The focus of this article was identifying the lack of universal diagnostic criteria for VAP and the impact of the lack of diagnostic standardization on interpretation of hospital reported VAP rates. The author’s contention is, despite an abundance of studies on VAP prevention the inconsistencies between institutions in diagnostic criteria can provide false zero and/or falsely elevated reported rates of infection. Additionally, the study that was primarily cited by the author did not include several interventions which he felt represented a major design flaw. In summary, the disparity in diagnostic criteria and variety of VAP prevention bundles make it difficult to clearly interpret currently available data regarding efficacy of specific interventions. I included this article based upon the three criteria I chose for inclusion: publication date within five years, clinical relevance, and statistically significant data produced by the study. This article specifically addresses the quandary surrounding diagnosis and prevention of VAP. The authors of this study chose to compare the effects of mechanical treatment, pharmacological treatment, and a combination of both on VAP reduction. In preparation for the study the authors reviewed previously identified causes of VAP and chose to focus their study on the effect of reducing oropharyngeal colonization by potential respiratory pathogens. The conclusion of the study indicated that their analysis was confounded, in part by the defining criteria they chose to identify VAP. There was no significant reduction in VAP from toothbrushing(mechanical), and no sustained reduction beyond day three for the chlorhexedine(pharmacological) group. As has been noted in many studies there were additional, and perhaps more efficacious interventions concurrently in use, particularly elevation of the head of bed to thirty degrees. I included this article based upon the three criteria I chose for inclusion: publication date within five years, clinical relevance, and statistically significant data produced by the study. This article addresses the outcomes of specific nursing interventions targeting the reduction and/or elimination of VAP. Article Critiques The researchers who designed this study attempted to minimize some of the confounding factors by applying certain aspects of the institution’s ventilator bundle to all of the study participants. This clearly defined standard of care improved the ability to directly attribute the effects of the research interventions. Prior to beginning the study the researchers observed the standard care of intubated patients in the facility and identified practices that were viewed as potentially contributing to oropharyngeal colonization. Based upon their observations, during the study period advanced oral care kits were exclusively used to provide oral care for the study group along with a clearly delineated schedule for performing different components of the oral care protocol. The result for the study group was a significant reduction in VAP with increased time to VAP. There was also a decrease in ventilator days and length of intensive care unit stay. The study confirmed that VAP prevention is improved with the incorporation of comprehensive oral assessment and care. I included this article based upon the three criteria I chose for inclusion: publication date within five years, clinical relevance, and statistically significant data produced by the study. This article addresses the outcomes of specific nursing interventions targeting the reduction and/or elimination of VAP This article was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, which is a peer reviewed journal. The subject is relevant to my topic in that it is a qualitative analysis of multiple studies on the efficacy of VAP reduction bundles. The author is a physician working in the field of infection control, affiliated with two major United States academic medical centers and as such he has professional credibility. No conflict of interest was reported by the author. The format of the article was a comparison of various VAP bundles and their outcomes from studies conducted by other researchers. The comparison group was large, comprised of seventeen different studies, all of which used the before-after design (Klompas, 2010). As a qualitative study the premise was not answerable by a yes or no hypothesis, instead it relied upon review of specific, focused research. This research substantiated the author’s initial question by defining elements that remain unaddressed in the current body of research surrounding the prevention of VAP (Klompas, 2010). The study presented in this article was a well-designed 2 x 2 factorial trial (Munro, Grap, Jones, McClish, Sessler, 2009). The principal investigator reported receiving a grant from the National Institutes of Health in support of this research, no other disclosures were reported. The investigators are fully credentialed in their respective fields. The study took place at a large academic medical center with a population that allows for broad representation. Participants were recruited from three intensive care units with clearly defined inclusion and exclusionary criteria. The study personnel were all appropriately blinded to the participants VAP status (Munro et al., 2009). The performance of the assigned treatments was completed by study personnel rather than the bedside nurse to increase the consistency of treatment delivery. The authors noted a few limitations as the study progressed. The first limitation was the definition of VAP. In this case they chose to use clinical pulmonary infection score greater than six to define VAP (Munro et al., 2009). During the course of the study they noted that even though a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia was considered exclusionary, that many of the participants in fact had a CPIS greater than six upon enrollment (Munro et al., 2009). A second limitation was enrollment attrition; by day seven the number of participants was no longer large enough to be considered statistically significant (Munro et al., 2009). Despite the noted limitations the investigators were able to draw conclusions applicable to early onset VAP (Munro et al., 2009). The study presented in this article was completed by a multi-disciplinary team, none of which reported any conflict of interest or financial disclosure. As one of the end points of the study was demonstration of a sustainable reduction in VAP rates use of cohort study was intentional, incorporating an extended time frame to counter the large number of required enrollees to otherwise demonstrate statistical significance (Garcia, Jendresky, Colbert, Bailey, Zaman, Majumder, 2009). A potential confounding factor was the facility ventilator protocol, which included many interventions which are known to directly and significantly impact on reduction and prevention of VAP i.e. head of bed maintained at thirty degrees and an active weaning protocol (Garcia et al., 2009). This study was completed at a large urban academic medical center and the participants were screened for defined eligibility criteria and are representative of the adult population at large. The authors or the study are appropriately credentialed in their fields and included a biostatistician to aid in the data analysis (Garcia et al ., 2009). The primary and secondary outcomes were clearly identified. All variables were tested or analyzed using the method demanded by the results. VAP was defined using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published definition (Garcia et al., 2009 ). Conclusion There remain many unanswered questions as to the etiology and prevention of VAP. In my research I observed that many of the studies included multiple interventions for VAP prevention in the study protocols. They also continued the institutions current policies for managing ventilated patients. It would seem to cloud the interpretation when there are multiple interventions making up the protocol i.e. Chlorhexedine rinse, and subglottic suctioning, and routinely scheduled oral care. Multi-factorial studies make it more difficult to determine which factor is influencing the outcome. A well designed study needs to eliminate or incorporate a single intervention at a time to determine its effect, or lack thereof. This would enable the researcher to clearly demonstrate a cause and effect relationship More carefully crafted studies will need to be performed with a universally agreed upon definition of VAP. As is always the case when research is involving people there is a reluctance to leave off anything that might be perceived as healing. In this case I believe that multiple interventions performed simultaneously are a hindrance to clearly understanding what is truly the most efficacious VAP prevention protocol design. In light of ongoing mandates from CMS to eliminate nosocomial infections there is an added impetus to define and eliminate VAP. Ventilator associated pneumonia is a chronic and costly problem in the intensive care setting. VAP increases patient morbidity, mortality, and length of stay. These negative effects add significantly to the financial and emotional burden to the patient, family, and the institution. Therefore, healthcare providers need to proactively evaluate and implement procedures to minimize VAP rates. References Garcia, R., Jendresky, L., Colbert, L., Bailey, A., Zaman, M., Majumder, M. (2009). Reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia through advanced oral-dental care: A 48 month study. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(6), 523-532. Doi:10.4037//ajcc2009311 Klompas, M. (2010). Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Is zero possible? Clinical Infectious Diseases, 51(10), 1123-1126. Doi:10.1086/656738 Munro, C., Grap, M., Jones, D., McClish, D., Sessler, C. (2009). Chlorhexedine, toothbrushing, and preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill adults. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(5), 428-438. Doi:10.4037//ajcc2009792

The Impacts Of The African Slave Trade History Essay

The Impacts Of The African Slave Trade History Essay Slavery was carried out in various parts of the world and mainly in some parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and America. Slave trade was at the highest during the period at which Americans were under the colonial powers of the European states. Europeans carried out their slave trade extensively in African nations. It is said that low economic level in African nations made it easy for Europeans to take control over Africans. The major slave trade regime against Africans by Europeans was known as Atlantic slave trade. It was not the only trade though it is believed to have been the most extensive both in volume and intensity wise. The Africans who were victims of slave trade to the Europeans are said to have been hostages of endemic warfare that was between different states of Africa. Their traders gained weapons and other basic necessities from Europeans in return. Contrary, Africans carried out the trade against themselves. There existed many divisions between African regions. Some of the divisions were ethnic, driven by culture and beliefs, religion, political, economic level, and boundary conflicts. Those divisions brought about conflicts and wars. Those who went into war captured their enemies who were source of wealth to them on trading with Europeans. The trade was barter trade whereby Europeans went off with slaves in exchange of goods such as manufactured cloth, alcohol, weapons among others. Interestingly, the slavery trade had become the major international trade to Africans. The trade had grown extensively into communities and family levels. Kingdom rulers of the community did not discourage the trade rather they encouraged by selling out those who were their enemies or the most hardworking personas of the kingdom. At the family level, family members would sell out their counterparts mostly when there were family disputes among different families or family members. All these made it easier for the Europeans to acquire slaves from traders who were willing to sell out themselves (Williams 1994,p.12). The main reason was the shortage of labor in the continent whereby demand for laborers had exceeded the capability of the population supply. Slaves who landed into Europe at early period of slavery were the Aboriginal peoples. At first they were a few but they suffered from diseases and cruelty from racist Europeans. Immense numbers of them were hired for mining, and in the plantations which were labor-intensive in growing, harvesting and processing of products such as sugar, cotton and other low-prized tropical crops. Affordability of low cost of labor helped in the economic growth of European states at the period. The first European state to carry out slave trade was Portugal. Portuguese were in dire need of laborers for mining and sugar plantation activities in Brazil which was their colony at the period. Later European states completion towards the slavery began when Brazil was seized by Dutch which eventually became to be the leading slave trading power in seventeenth century. They sold slaves to their colonies, to British and also to the Spanish. In late 17th century, Britain rose to be the leading trading power after gaining the control over the Americans. The other reason was large size of the market for European products. The triangular Atlantic slave trade is believed to have been the most convenient and profitable trade route. This is because Ships leaving Europe were only required to carry trade goods on their way to Africa. On arrival to Africa exchange of the goods for slaves took place. To Europeans the trade was always to their favor since cheap goods were of more value to poor African states who complied effectively in the trade. However, Europeans got to a point of carrying out supplying role of slaves to the world. Some of slaves acquired from Africa were transported to the American states for trade. In America, they traded slaves for the agricultural products, which were in many cases produced through slave labor. Due to low cost of labor, agricultural products were acquired at a low prize. To the Europeans trade route was an important business since it required that a ship make a leg of the voyage for a substantial profit waiting at the destination. This enhanced the international relationships between European nations and their trade counterparts. In addition, ships used less energy on their ways since trade routes were designed in a specific manner. This is because trades men followed the routes which they would take full advantage of the widespread winds and currents which propelled their ships. For instance, the journey from a place like West Indies or any other place in the southern United States to any other place in Europe would be propelled by the waves of Gulf Stream. This made it cheaper for Europeans to acquire slaves from other nations (Klein 1999,p.23). However, in industries, which were most profitable, slavery was the main source of labor of the time. Majority of the slaves were hired in the sugar production sector. Sugar plantations were the most labor intensive activity in the time. In additionally, the other slaves were hired in other labor intensive activities such as in coffee, cotton, and tobacco harvesting, and also in the mining. Slaves were basic possessions to European states and they always protected them so as to retain them in their land. For instance, in 1763, France had agreed to give out vast colony of New France in exchange for permit to keeping Antillian island of Guadeloupe. As the time went by, opposition against slave trade developed in Europe. The move was fore headed by religious movements such as Religious Society of Friends and also established clergies of the Evangelical ministries such as the William Wilberforce. Later individuals joined the movements and from which they protested against the slave trade to their state powers. However, owners of colonial holdings opposed the move (Rodney 1981,p.14). Success of the moves was marked by abolition of slave trade in Denmark through the legislation in 1792 and took its effect later in 1803. Britain followed the compliance by imposing ban to the trade in early 1807. Britain kingdom had to impose rigid fines for any one who allowed slaves to aboard a Britain destined ship. Additionally, the British Royal Navy, which in control of all worldsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ sea, stopped other nations from participating in the slave trade through the declaration that equalized slaving to the piracy and culprits were to be punished by death penalty. To the Europeans, end of the slave trade, had insignificant obstacles which it is a must that they had to be overcome. Slave trade was an important part to the economy of the regional states. In 18th century, slaves were the main supply of labor that was required in the production activities of the agricultural products. However, end of slavery resulted into high cost of production and eventually the rise of prices of the same products in the market (Anstey 1975,p.34). However, some scholars studied the slavery ban movement slightly before the Second World War and concluded that it was in most probably recorded among the three or four important historical pages in the history of the European nations. This is mainly because slavery had an important impact to the growth of the economy and thus it was difficult for European nations to do away with it. Contrary, in his studies, Eric Williams, a West Indian historian, argued that it was as a consequence of the economic transitions, of European nations, which was unrelated to any morality factor. However, he based his squabble upon the idea that the colonies of West Indian were declining in the early 19th century. This is because they had lost political and economic importance to Europeans. Consequently, this decline made slavery to be an economic weigh down that made the British to have a will of doing away with it (Williams 1994,p.34). However, Williamà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s study is questioned. This is because decline in West Indian colonies manifested after 1807 when slave trade was banned. Moreover, slavery was economically flourishing at a fast pace before the ban. However, most likely the decline may have resulted from the effects of suppression which colonies felt from slave trade. In addition, the lowering of prices for the products which were produced through slave labor could be taken as evidence which exhibits that lowering in the price of a product leads to increase in the demand and eventually increasing the total profits. In addition, it is said that profits which were earned as a result of the slave trade lasted at low levels. Results say it was always about ten percent of the total investment and indicated no verification of the decline. More importantly, the prices of lands in West Indies, as an essential tool in analyzing economic growth of the region also did not decline until after discontinuation of the slave trade. Also, the economies of colonies which heavily relied on agricultural products did not decline. In fact are said to have been at the peak in 1807. However, there was a reason for Williams to be biased. This is because he was actively drawn into the movements which advocated for the independence of the colonies of Caribbean. With that notion he had a drive to try to snuff out any idea of such an unsparing action by colonialists to their colonies. However, some scholars have acknowledged Williams arguments in their works though they agree to the fact that the issue of morality was combined together with politics and economic forces so as to end slavery in Europe. However, religion is believed to have had the strongest movement that campaigned against slavery and actually into convincing Westminster into outlawing the trade. More also, Evangelical protestants together with Quakers formed a group which viewed slavery as an act of inhumane. These individuals formed the minority persons in the population, but more interestingly they were passionate and the group had many members who were enthusiastic individuals (Emmer 2000,p.45). In the parliament, large number of members presented these groups. Their parliament presence is said to have been so strong in that at their height they had control of about thirty five to forty seats. Normally precarious government positions acted as to magnify their numbers and also their service to the citizens. The members of the group were known as saints and William Wilberforce was their leader. Most importantly they were campaigners of the anti-slave in the European nations. Parliamentarians who belonged to the group were tremendously enthusiastic and frequently saw their delicate battle in opposition to slavery as a delightfully predestined crusade. However, after the ending of slavery in Britain, British felt obliged by economic pressure to force down other European nations into inserting themselves into a common economic straitjacket, or else the colonies of Britain would have became uncompetitive with those who were belonged to other nations. Ironically, British effort to campaign against slavery was an unparalleled foreign policy effort to combine economic powers (Drescher 1999,p.98). However, the Britainà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s campaign did not full succeed. This is because some European nations strongly objected the move into surrendering rights to the trade. These nations included Spain, and France. However, Britain did not back down but instead used every tool to trying to persuade these nations so that they may follow its lead. Interestingly, Spain agreed but through a payment of a ransom. Spain received over one million pounds in order for it to end the slave trade. For the France, it was difficult at outset. At first, Britain tried to inflict its idea of solution during the negotiation meeting at the near end of Napoleonic Wars. More devastating to the British is the reluctant of Russia and Austria who vowed not to end the trade. The people and government of France had profound uncertainties about compromising to the demands of Britain. This is because they did not only that other nations end the trade, but also their right to keep watch over the ban. However, Royal Navy was permitted to carry out searches in any apprehensive ships in the waters and confiscate any carrying slaves, or in operation to doing so. It is these stiff demands that kept France into the trade for a long time. More surprisingly, in 1815, France gave in to the ban but they never allowed Britain to police to interfere with their activities neither did they watch over themselves. That made it easier for the illegal trade to continue for a long time. French citizens had initially been indifferent to the trade. With that fact, their national pride could not allow Britain to dictate over their policies. Contrary, conservative backlash vied that reformist movement as tainted by the after the revolution. However, in France, a complete halt of slave trade was realized in 1848 (Drescher 1999,p.78). In conclusion, slave trade was of more benefits to the European nations. Europeans low population at the period called for more man power in the activities which were meant to be drivers of the economic growth. Thus, Africa became their target as a source of man power. However, there came a period when European nations came to Africa for slaves and in turn selling them out to other nations in the world thus strengthening interrelationships between different nations. The ending of slavery did not ogre well to the economic growth since affected nations suffered an economic down turn.

The Beveridge Report, 1942: Causes and Effects

The Beveridge Report, 1942: Causes and Effects CHAPTER 2: The publication of the Beveridge report in December 1942 is one of those moments in history which offer a unique challenge to historians. It is an event about which everybody at the time had a viewpoint. I recall my Grandfather telling me that William Bevridge was the architect of the welfare state, and the publication of his report marked a turning point in the lives of working class people across Britain. It is therefore a challenge for the historian to ignore their pre-conceived notions, and write an account of the Beveridge report based upon the information as it stands, rather than based upon perceptions. To write about what truly motivated Beveridge, what his true principles were, and what the real aims of the report were, rather than making assumptions based upon what is seen at face value. That is what I aim to do here. To understand the work, one has to understand the man, and that will be my starting point for this chapter. William Beveridge was a Liberal, indeed he became a liberal MP in 1944, but he was not a liberal in the classic tradition. Indeed, Beveridge would probably have more in common with the Liberal Democrat tradition of today than he would with the tradition of Lloyd George, and it should be remembered that he flirted with the idea of joining the Labour party at around the time he wrote his report. Various writers have wrestled with the idea of placing Beveridge somewhere on the left to right political spectrum, but in truth, any attempt to try and place him in this way would do the man and his work a disservice. Probably the best analysis is that of the Williams’ in ‘A Beveridge Reader’ and reiterated by Robert Leaper: â€Å"Beveridge was never a grand social theorist; he always favoured a practical, problem centred approach.†(1) From the evidence I have seen, it would be best to describe Beveridge as a pragmatist. He saw a problem, and looked for the best solution to solve the problem as he saw it. He showed no apparent concern for where the solution may have had its origins, only that the solution solved the problem. This is not to say that Beveridge did not have underlying principles. It has been argued by Albert Weale that two persistent themes run through his work: â€Å"The first is the belief that virtually the prime goal of public policy should be the development of an efficient economy capable of high levels of productivity. Underlying Beveridge’s conviction on this point, there appears to have been a tacitly assumed belief in the paradox of capitalist production: capitalism resulted in a highly unequal distribution of wealth, and yet it was the only system capable of producing sufficient wealth to eradicate poverty. The second persistent element in his social theory was Beveridge’s view that a highly centralized bureaucracy, staffed with public-spirited officials, would be the leading instrument of social reform.†(2) Having looked at what Beveridge was, it is also vitally important to understand what both he and his report were not. Beveridge was not a socialist and he was not a revolutionary, and neither was his report. As Eveline Burns points out: â€Å"In this context it can be seen that the Beveridge report is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. The great contribution of the author consists in his recognition of the fact that the end of one stage of development had in fact been reached and that the time was ripe for the reorganization and new unification of the various programs in conformity with the changed social attitudes.†(3) Whilst I have broken with any idea of this being a report of revolutionary proportions, I must also break with the argument of Bartholemew, which I believe was somewhat dismissive of the report. He states: â€Å"So what did Beveridge propose? It was very simple. Everyone would make flat-rate contributions to a national insurance scheme. Those who fell ill, became unemployed or reached retirement age would, in return, receive flat-rate payments. That is it. The rest was detail.†(4) Bartholemew may technically be correct. The report did contain a lot of detail centred on this core principle. But the report also contained a vision or blueprint for the future, and in many respects, it was this part of the report which was of particular interest, as Beveridge went far beyond his initial remit. It is some of these ideas which I would like to look at now. As Burns points out: â€Å"It should be noted first of all that the report is essentially concerned with assuring freedom from want, in so far as want is due to interruptions of income or to the occurrence of costs unrelated to income to which all or the vast majority of the population are at some time or other liable.†(5) But this attack on want only formulated one part of the overall objectives, which was to attack what Beveridge described as the five giants. Beveridge stated in his second of three guiding principles: â€Å"The second principle is that organisation of social insurance should be treated as on part of a comprehensive policy of social progress. Social insurance fully developed income security; it is an attack upon want. But want is one only of the five giants on the road to reconstruction and in some ways the easiest to attack. The others are disease, ignorance squalor and idleness.†(6) Within the report, it was only the giants of want and by implication, idleness which were tackled head on. But with some imagination, it is not difficult to foresee the origins of the NHS, the development of a comprehensive education system and a local authority house building programme within its pages. Beveridge embodied within his plan, a vision for the future, which could be tackled piece by piece, beginning with want. The picture painted by Beveridge was an overall scheme which he described as follows: â€Å"The scheme embodies six fundamental principles; flat rate of contribution; unification of administrative responsibility; adequacy of benefit; comprehensiveness; and classification. Based on them and in combination with national assistance and voluntary insurance as subsidiary methods, the aim of the plan for social security is to make want under any circumstances unnecessary.†(7) Up to this point, I have tended to focus upon the social dimension of the Beveridge report, but as I have said before, we should not loose sight of the pragmatic dimension of the man. In signing of the report in 1942, Beveridge claimed it was marked by â€Å"economy in administration, adequacy in benefits and universality in scope.†(8) It is the aspect of economy in administration which is most commonly neglected when looking at the Beveridge report, and in assessing the man behind it. One of the most important motivations behind the report was the desire to rationalise the existing system which consisted of a set of unconnected bodies working under rules laid down by up to six different agencies. This system was seen by Beveridge among others as not only inefficient but also expensive in administration costs. Beveridge claimed in the report that: â€Å"Social insurance and allied services, as they exist today, are connected by a complex of disconnected administrative organs, proceeding on different principles, doing invaluable service but at no cost in money and trouble and anomalous treatment of identical problems for which there is no justification. In a system of social security, better on the whole than can be found in almost any other country, there are serious deficiencies which call for remedy. It is not open to question that , by closer co-ordination, the existing social services could be made at once more beneficial and more intelligible to those whom they serve and more economical in their administration.†(9) The same point is made in a rather more cynical manner by Bartholemew: â€Å"People who looked at the detail and actually read his words understood that the old Victorian was not proposing the bonanza which many assumed then and continue to believe. Keynes advised Beveridge on his costings and said, ‘the Chancellor of the Exchequer should thank his stars that he has got of so cheap.’ Members of the economic section of the Treasury believed that the Beveridge plan was actually cheaper than the provision which existed previously.†(10) The desire of Beveridge to create a more rational economic system as well as being a primary motive more his war on want, was also an important contributing factor in his desire to see a nationwide health system. Writing just after the publication of the report, Leo Wolman wrote: â€Å"These amount to saying that the scheme, in order to work and to avoid building up excessive expenditures and costs, must provide that the insured be kept healthy and fit for work and remain in employment lest they settle down too often and too long to living on the insurance benefits. The report attempts to translate these assumptions into practical proposals by calling upon the government to face the problems of the post-war unemployment and by laying the foundations for an unprecedented system of health and rehabilitation benefits and services.†(11) What Wolman observed in Beveridge was a belief that by introducing a health care system alongside the social care system, the health of people would be improved, leading to less stress being put on the social security fund through sickness. This desire to maintain the health of the workforce is also linked to Beveridge’s desire for greater efficiency. As Beveridge points out in his report: â€Å"It is in the interest of employers as such that the employees should have security, should be properly maintained during the inevitable intervals of unemployment or of sickness, should have the content which helps to make them efficient producers.†(12) It is worth noting that Beveridge received widespread support among the business community based upon his arguments of it leading to greater efficiency of the workforce. Samual Courtauld, chairman of the fabric firm, speaking to the Manchester Rotary Club in February 1943, declared himself: â€Å"Strongly in favour of the principles and almost all the proposals of the Beveridge report. I have not the faintest doubt that if we can survive the first severe business contraction which arises after the war, social security of this nature will be about the most profitable long-term investment the country could make. It will not undermine the moral of the nation’s workers: it will ultimately lead to a higher efficiency among them and a lowering of production costs.†(13) We have up to now focussed upon two dimensions of the aims and principles of the Beveridge report: the social and the economic. What we must now do is look at the political principles and aims of the report. I do not refer to party political aims but the underlying political aims. The aims of doing what is best for the nation as Beveridge saw it. There is good evidence that Beveridge saw a danger in men returning from war, seeking a better world and seeing nothing better than before. There is also evidence that there was a fear of possible consequences within the House of Commons. Beveridge wrote in his report: â€Å"There are yet others who will say that, however desirable it may appear to reconstruct social insurance or to make other plans for a better world of peace, all such concerns must now be put on one side, so that Britain may concentrate upon the urgent task of war. There is no need to spend the words today in emphasising the urgency or the difficulty of the task that faces the British people and their Allies. Only by surviving victoriously in the present struggle can they enable the freedom and happiness and kindliness to survive in the world. Only by obtaining from every individual citizen his maximum effort, concentrated upon the purposes of war, can they hope for early victory. This does not alter three facts: that the purpose of victory is to live into a better world than the old world; that each individual citizen is more likely to concentrate upon his war effort if he feels that his government will be ready in time with plans for that better world; that if these plans are to be ready in time, they must be made now.†(14) If the warnings of Beveridge were relatively subtle, then those expressed by Conservative MP, Quinton Hogg, in the parliamentary debate on 17th February, 1943, were very much to the point: â€Å"Some of my honourable friends seem to overlook one or two ultimate facts about social reform. The first is that if you do not give people social reform, they are going to give you social revolution. Let anyone consider the possibility of a series of dangerous industrial strikes following the present hostilities, and the effect that it would have on our industrial recovery.†(15) Whilst I am not totally convinced that this was a major factor in the reasoning of Beveridge, the lessons of what happened post 1918 would not have been lost on him. I do also believe that it strongly influenced Beveridge’s ability to sell the proposals to the Conservative part effectively. The true extent of this will be looked at in the next chapter. It has been argued by John Jacobs that â€Å"the impetus for what was to become the Beveridge report came from the TUC, who had for some time been pressing the Government for a comprehensive review of social insurance.†(16) Whilst there is no doubt that the TUC had a degree of influence, this is a far too simplistic model. It is my view that the origins of the report, and the principles within the report lie in the growing realisation that the world was changing, that there was a need both socially and economically for systems in place to be made more efficient. William Beveridge had a long history within this area of study and fully understood the deficiencies of the system. As has previously been emphasised, the report was not revolutionary in its ideas. But it was a document which exerted an immense influence upon the future of social policy in Britain. In essence, I would describe the report as the attempts by a pragmatist to rationalise an irrational system. FOOTNOTES: Social Policy and Administration Vol 25, No 1, March 1991 : Article By Leaper, R page 4 Political Studies Vol 27, Issue 2, June 1979 : Article By Weale, A page 288 American Economic Review Vol 33, No 3, September 1943 : Article By Burns, E page 519 Bartholemew, J : The Welfare State Were In (Politico, London, 2004) page 57 Prev Cite, Burns page 513 Beveridge, W: The Beveridge Report on Social and Allied Services 1942 (HMSO, London, 1942) page 1 Ibid Page 2 Thane, P : The Foundations of the Welfare State (Longman, Harlow, 1998) page 235 Prev Cite, Beveridge page 6 Prev Cite, Bartholemew page 58 Political Science Quarterly Vol 58, No 1, March 1943: Article By Wolman, L page 6-7 Prev Cite, Beveridge page 109 Manchester Guardian, February 19th, 1943 Prev Cite, Beveridge page 171 Hansard Parliamentary Debates: 17th February, 1943, Col 1818 Jacobs, J : Beveridge 1942-1992 (Whiting and Birch, London, 1992) page 140 CHAPTER 3: Time magazine printed on December 14th, 1942: â€Å"Not since the day of Munich had the British press given such play to any single story. War news was all but pushed from the pages of London’s war-curtailed dailies. Many of them devoted half their space to news of the document which, in the midst of war, looked forward to a better post-war world. The Beveridge Report, published last week was the biggest event for Britons in many years.†(1) In our present day age of cynicism towards anything political, it is difficult to imagine the idea of a government commissioned report selling 90,000 copies in its’ first week, and eventually seeing sales of 600,000. Even less, the idea of people cueing outside HMSO in London to buy a copy. Such euphoria today is usually reserved for the latest Harry Potter adventures. But in December 1942, this is exactly what happened. People wanted to but and read this document. It was headlined by ‘Time’ as ‘Rare and Refreshing Beveridge.’ This is probably an accurate representation of how people in Britain saw this report. A rare opportunity to read something new and refreshing. The Beveridge report appeared to capture a mood in a way which was not seen before, and is extremely unlikely to be seen again. What is also unlikely to be seen again is a document with such overwhelming approval. Bartholemew notes that: â€Å"In a survey at the time, nineteen out of twenty people had heard of the report and almost all were in favour of it.†(2) The Mass Observation Archives provide us with a valuable insight as to the public perception of the report at the time. Typical of the responses was that of a male skilled worker of 50, from Streatham: â€Å"I have read it and think it champion and will take a load off the minds of people. The most important proposals, well they are all very important but suppose the Retirement Pension and Unemployment increase are perhaps the greatest benefit. It should be passed as quickly as possible. I do not see how anybody can oppose it except perhaps the Insurance Companies but they don’t matter, they have feathered their nests long enough.†(3) Two things are interesting to note from this. Firstly, how enthusiasm can lead people to see things which are not there; in this case the promise of higher pensions and unemployment benefits. Secondly, the cynicism towards the insurance companies which would today, probably be directed towards the politicians. Amid the euphoria, there were comments which, although not really dissent, questioned some of the assumptions. The following is an opinion of a woman regarding family planning: â€Å"Well I’m one of the bad selfish women; I had only one child because I didn’t want any more. And now that my husband and I have parted I’m not particularly sorry. I think my young daughter looks forward to having a family of three or four. But of course she may change her mind when she marries or after she’s had one. After all, it’s such a terribly personal problem. I think that family allowances and better housing and more hope of social security would make a difference to the number of children in better off working class and lower middle class homes. But I don’t think anything on earth would make the educated classes start having large families, because they simply don’t want them.†(4) This is a rejection of the idea that family allowance payments would lead to larger families, This is an interesting observation in light of concerns at the time concerning the declining population. What should be clear from these observations of public opinion is a confirmation of what Bartholemew said. There was widespread public support for the Beveridge plan, to such an extent, the government acted sooner on the proposals than they had initially wanted. There is a general belief that the public support put pressure on the government to accept the conclusions of the report whilst the war was in progress. In light of this overwhelming public support, it is interesting to look at where opposition and criticism to the report came from. From what I have seen, I would place the opposition and criticism to the report into four different groups; government opposition (particularly the treasury), the Marxist left, the Right Wing of the Conservative Part, and Feminist opposition. I have not analysed opposition from insurance companies separately as their arguments correspond with those of the Tory right, and are fairly self explanatory. What is necessary is to look at the nature of the opposition from these four groups; what motivated their opposition, and to look at what extent these oppositions were ideological or practical. This will provide a better picture of where the country stood at this time. As I have mentioned earlier, public opinion compelled the government to act in a way which it did not really want to. There were concerns within the government regarding Beveridges’s plan, particularly from the Treasury. This position has been well explained by Pat Thane: â€Å"The treasury expressed serious doubts about the possible effects of Beveridge’s plans on the post-war fiscal situation. They feared that it would require a high level of taxation which would discourage saving and hinder post-war expansion. A fierce debate was conducted among government economic advisors between those who argued that need could be met more effectively and cheaply by benefits means-tested on the same basis as the newly introduced annual tax returns and adjusted to local cost-of-living variations, and Keynes, who admitted the logic of this view but argued that this was impossible without a reform of the system of direct taxation, which was not immediately practicable, and that contributory insurance was a useful means of making employers share the costs of welfare. Keynes was convinced that the Beveridge plan was the cheapest alternative open to us and that the feared financial difficulties could be avoided by careful Treasury management.†(5) To the historian, this Treasury opposition was by far the most important. In analysing the political climate of the day, it shows differences of thinking at the highest levels of government at a time of war, and when a coalition government was considered to be united. But even more importantly, this Treasury opposition was to continue into the period of implementation, and as we shall see later on, these arguments had profound consequences upon how the Beveridge plan was implemented. It should also be noted at this stage that opposition within Government was not restricted to the Treasury. Ironically, Bevin was initially strongly opposed to the conclusions of Beveridge, believing that it was contrary to the interests of the trade unions, which were best met by higher wages, although the TUC were strongly behind the plan. Whilst the majority of the Socialist movement including the Labour Party, the TUC and interestingly the Communist Party, were firmly behind the plan, the Marxist left were strongly against the plan on ideological terms. Their position is well summarised by a Socialist Party of Great Britain pamphlet written in 1943: â€Å"We propose to show that this apparently philanthropic gesture on the part of the Government will not be an entirely unmixed blessing for the working population, and the approval with which it has been received by different sections of political opinion arises in some cases from the complete lack of knowledge that whatever benefits, if any, may accrue to a certain number of workers, the employers will most certainly gain on balance in the long run.†(6) The essence of the Marxist left position was that capitalism was the cause of poverty and could not be reformed. It would therefore be wrong for socialists to support attempts to reform the system to make it more palatable. Groups such as the socialist party of Great Britain also viewed the report as an attempt to placate the working class, and prevent any possible social revolution at the end of the war. The position of these groups was in the overall scheme of things, of little relevance. This may not have been the case if the Communist Party, by far the largest Marxist organisation, had adopted a Marxist position rather than the reformist position of the TUC. If the opposition of the Treasury was practical, and the opposition of the left was ideological, then the opposition of the Tory right was a combination of the two. There existed then as now, a strong desire to minimise the role of government in affairs as much as possible, and so there was a natural ideological objection to the government run social insurance scheme. Conservative MP, David Willetts has reflected upon the Tory opposition, and has drawn the following conclusions: â€Å"Conservatives were wary of Beveridge for two main reasons. The Conservative Party conference of 1943 passed a motion ‘That this conference is of the opinion that the existing friendly societies should remain part of our social security system’ in response to the fear that Beveridge’s ambitious new social insurance scheme would undermine friendly society provision, a fear which proved well founded. There was also a worry that these benefits would not be as well-targeted as Beveridge hoped.†(7) As I referred to at the start, there was a certain coronation between the position of the Tory right and that of the Insurance companies, whose primary concern was that they would loose a lot of business by Beveridge’s proposals. Their position was on the whole supported by the Tory right. The position of the Tory right was certainly more influential than that of the left, by virtue of the fact that they had a voice in parliament, but we should not overestimate the strength of their opposition in overall terms. Indeed, their position had little impact upon the outcome of the report. There was probably greater support for their position within government than was apparent, but political expediency led others to take a more liberal position. The most interesting ideological position was that of the feminist movement. Their position has been effectively laid out by Sheila Blackburn: â€Å"Socialist feminists maintain that, despite women’s sterling war effort, Beveridge deliberately reduced married women, with regard to social security, to second class citizens. This, they insist, Beveridge achieved via three means. First, Beveridge specified that married working women should pay reduced national insurance contributions and, as a result, they received lower benefits. Second, socialist feminists discuss how Beveridge made arrangements for married working women. Third and most importantly, feminists criticise Beveridge for assuming that the majority of married/co-habiting women would abandon paid work to be financially supported by a male bread winner.†(8) We must be careful at this stage to avoid moving away from the question we are looking at; that is opposition at the time to Beveridge. The feminist debate upon Beveridge continues to this day, and we must avoid using current arguments and imposing them upon feminists in 1942. But there is a strong body of evidence to suggest that these arguments formed part of the feminist opposition at the time. This has been reflected by Leaper in looking at the demands of the Woman’s Freedom League. They demanded: â€Å"that men and women should in marriage not be treated as a team but as individuals each paying equal contributions and receive equal benefits; and that in every case men and women should pay the same and receive the same benefits.†(9) He has also quoted the following extract from Abbott and Bompass who published a fierce feminist critique of the report in 1943: â€Å"It is where the plan falls short of being really mutual in character, where it shuts out or exempts from all direct participation over nine million adult women, where it imposes financial burdens on men alone, instead of spreading them equitably over all, that it fails and is open to criticism.†(10) The importance of the feminist lobby should not be overstated. Whilst there was extensive feminist opposition to Beveridge, he also gained much support, as Blackburn has pointed out: â€Å"Beveridge’s views were largely in accord with those of the majority of the organised women’s movement in Britain in the 1930’s and 1940’s; and it seems futile and somewhat patronising to berate both him and them for failing to think what they ought to have thought from the vantage point of the 1990’s.†(11) I would summarise that the feminist position was important in 1942, but had little impact upon the implementation of the Beveridge proposals. The importance of the feminist position has been in the ways in which the welfare state has been altered, taking on board many of the feminist arguments. I would be my argument therefore, that the feminist argument has gained in strength and credibility over time, and is now highly influential in the shape of the welfare state. The Beveridge report was without doubt a monumental document, which gained public acclaim to an extent which we are unlikely to ever see again. One should not underestimate the role of Beveridge himself in gaining this support. In many respects, Beveridge was a very modern politician. He manipulated the media very effectively, building up substantial support for his report before it was published. As a result, the opposition was limited. As I have mentioned, the most important opposition came from the Treasury, and this opposition did impact upon the way Beveridge was implemented. But on the whole, the support was far too extensive for it to be ignored, and the spirit, if not all the detail became the foundation of the welfare state. FOOTNOTES: Time: Monday, December 14th, 1942 Bartholemew, J : The Welfare State Were In (Politico, London, 2004) page 56 Mass Observation Archive: Topic Collections on Social Welfare and the Beveridge Report, 1939-1949 Ibid Thane, P : The Foundation of the Welfare State (Logman, Harlow, 1998) page 236 Website: www.worldsocilaism.org Website: www.davidwilletts.org.uk Woman’s History Review Vol 4, No 3, 1995: Article By Sheila Blackburn page 371 Social Policy and Administration Vol 25, No 1, March 1991: Article By Leaper, R page 18 Ibid page 18 Prev Cite Blackburn page 376 BIBLIOGRAPHY: Titmuss, R : Essays on the Welfare State (Unwin University Books, London, 1963) Political Quarterly Vol 14, No 2 : Before and After Beveridge Journal of Social Policy Vol 27, No 1 : Article By Jim Tomlinson The Economic Journal Vol 53, April 1943 : Article By Owen, ADK Historical Journal Vol 35, No 3, 1992 : Article By Fielding, S Review of Economic Studies, Vol 11, No 1, 1943 : Article By Hicks, JR

AIDS :: Free AIDS Essays

AIDS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aids is a disease that effects the immune system. Your immune system is unable to fight off diseases, viruses, and infections. Aids usually makes you very skinny and tired, and it effects the nerves system in your brain. You also can get certain cancers from aids especially Kaposi’s sarcoma, are purple lesions on the skin, and tumors known as B-cell lymphomas. Aids can be transmitted through several ways by blood, through intimate sexual contact, from infected mothers to there babies in there uterus, and even through infected mother’s milk. A major way of getting the disease was through blood transfusion that was before they had a test for screening blood. Another major way of getting it is through blood contaminated needles by intravenous drug abusers. Blood donors and casual contact is definitely not a way you can catch the disease. It could take up to ten years for symptoms to develop because it usually stays dormant. There are several different strains of the aids virus and it continually changes in a persons immune system. Because of this it makes it very hard to develop a vaccine for aids. Dramatic progress is being made in short time to identify the aids virus and transmission and mechanisms, in which it produces the disease. Research centers treat people who have the aids virus, and those who have been infected but not yet have developed the symptoms. The first drug developed was AZT in 1986-87. It has been shown to be partially effective in clinical symptoms, but the death rate with aids are likely to survive in the long run with adequate treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aids raises many ethical, legal, and civil right issues. Live mandatory testing of all citizens or of particular populations, like for marriage license applicants. It also demands discrimination in housing , employment, and medical treatments and confidentiality versus notification of sex partners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first place aids was discovered was in New York in1979. The cause of this disease was retrovirus which is Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV. Which was identified in 1983-84 by scientists working at the National Cancer Institute in the United States and the Pasteur Institute in

Comparison Of Perugino And Caravaggio :: essays research papers

The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stabili ty, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the fo reground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the painting even though the event represented in the painting took place long before the Roman Empire. The center temple that occupies the background has a vanishing point running through its doorway and if it weren’t for this illusionistic technique, the painting would be very two-dimensional.