Media Influence On Women And Girls - 919 Words

Media Influence on Women and Girls Every day we are exposed to some type of media. Whether you know it or not, the media that you view each day affects you in some way. This is especially true for women and girls. The media puts a huge emphasis on how women are supposed to look to be considered beautiful, liked, and successful. All around the world women and girls look in the mirror and think that they are not thin or pretty enough to be accepted by the world. Would you want your sister, niece, best friend, or even your mother to think of themselves in that way? The media puts way too much emphasis on looks, and it needs to stop. In the media, women are constantly made to look almost perfect. There are never any blemishes, wrinkles, cellulite, and the women always look extremely thin. No wonder women of all ages might have some type of body image issue, including eating disorders. A study showed that almost half of girls ages six to eight want to be skinnier. These girls are too youn g to be worrying about if their body and how it looks. When girls this young are already having body image issues, it is obvious that this is getting to be a major problem. Extreme photoshopping on magazines contributes greatly to the negative body image that women and girls have. Kelly Clarkson is an example of a woman who was used as a photoshop tool. Days before she came out on the cover if SELF magazine, she appeared on Good Morning America. When the magazine came out, people were shockedShow MoreRelatedSocial Media Allows People To Share Pictures And Ideas1057 Words   |  5 PagesSocial media allows people to share pictures and ideas with others across the world. Women and girls can use social media to earn approval for their appearance and compare themselves to others. Women during this time period that are so heavily impacted by the media can link their self-worth to their looks. I used scholarly articles all relating to how social media affects body image to decide what m y view point was. After research, we can conclude that social media has a negative effect on a woman’sRead MoreThe Effects of Media on Adolescent Girls Essay1029 Words   |  5 PagesMedia has become a significant component within society. While media provides many pros, it supplies various cons as well. One very prominent fault that the significance of media has is its visual depiction of women. There is an abundance of media portraying women to have ideal bodies, and this undoubtedly has a negative effect on adolescent girls. Two of the many effects of media on females are depression and self esteem issues, as well as eating disorders. Unfortunately, body dissatisfaction causedRead More The Medias Influence on Eating Disorders Essay example1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe Medias Influence on Eating Disorders The National Eating Disorders Association states that eating disorders are conditions that arise from factors including physical, psychological, interpersonal, and social issues. Media images help define cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness and are often acknowledged as one of the factors that contribute to the rise of eating disorders (NEDA). The National Eating Disorders Associations website, The Effect of the Media on Body SatisfactionRead MoreImpact Of Media On Gender And The Media1303 Words   |  6 PagesImpact of Media on Gender Annie Hernandez Keiser University August 13, 2014 Abstract Boys and girls have for long spans of time considered themselves to be different. The media and advertising has played a significant role to make sure that they influence the way that boys and girls view themselves. Society has always had a main focus on getting people to behave in certain ways, the media has been magnificent at causing each gender to classify themselves in particular waysRead MoreTeenage Girls and Body Image Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesTeenage girls are at an impressionable time in their lives. Mass Media is a key idea in one of the factors of socialization that become important to teenagers. Teenagers look to the media for a sense of entertainment. Whether it is movies, magazines, or even some aspects of social media, teenagers get a lot of influence from the media’s message. The problem with this is the media has a specific way of doing things and can be negative to a susceptible teenage girl. Media’s way of portraying a womanRead MoreThink Of A Beautiful, Ten-Year-Old Girl Standing In The1281 Words   |  6 Pagesten-year-old girl standing in the mirror, clutching her stomach and tears rolling down her cheeks because she is being teased for not being as skinny as the other girls in her class. She looks at the models on TV and envies their skinniness. She wants to look just like them. At ten years old, she starts running after dinner and not eating as much as she use to eat. That beautiful little girl is just like every woman all over the world; she is pressured to by the media to have a â€Å"perfect body.’ Women all overRead MoreThe Media s Influence On The Body Image804 Words   |  4 Pagesher! Why can t I be like those girls? How many times have you watched television, searched the web, looked at magazines, or used your cell phone and have thought those things about a woman/teen girl that you have seen? Media has photoshopped, airbrushed, and tweaked pictures and videos to appear as perfect! The media has mad e young women feel as if their bodies are not good enough. Young women are being convinced that if they do not look like the â€Å"perfect† women on television then they aren t goodRead MoreThe Media’s Negative Influence on Society1100 Words   |  5 PagesNegative Influence on Society There is a lot of controversy about how the media affects people, but in my opinion I think the influence we get is more negative than positive. The media is one of the things that impact people the most because in today’s society it is impossible to ignore. It influences the ways in which we dress, speak, act and think. Media is fed to us through movies, television, radio, social media, music, and magazines. I believe mass media is pressuring the way woman and girls wantRead More Enjoyment of Being a Girl: Overcoming Industry Standards Essay1489 Words   |  6 Pagesthat you felt depressed? Many women in today’s world experience these same feelings each time they come in contact with some type of media. The media has always used women as a way to sell products or used them as propaganda, but how far is too far? The media is a large source of entertainment for women of today. Women spend the majority of their time looking at magazines for latest fashions or trends. Th ese media sources all share one subject: negative images of women. These places all share one thing;Read MoreThe, Beauty And The Beast, By Dave Barry1227 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout their lives, women of all ages are constantly being bombarded with advertisements convincing them they must meet an ideal of the perfect body image. This is all thanks to companies that share a common goal to influence the mainstream population into believing they need to purchase certain products in order to compare to the impossible standards set by the beauty industry. In Dave Barry’s â€Å"Beauty and the Beast† he displays that it is planted in young girls minds that they need to look

The Tolkien s The Hobbit - 979 Words

As the story of â€Å"The Hobbit† by J. R. R. Tolkien develops, readers of this book can see that one of the main characters experience a metamorphosis. From the beginning of the story throughout the end, Bilbo goes through a change, but for the better. Tolkien’s main character Bilbo in â€Å"The Hobbit† shows the theme of becoming a hero by gaining courage and confidence as the story progresses. During the beginning of â€Å"The Hobbit† Bilbo likes to stay to himself in his hobbit hole. We see that he is also shy when the author say â€Å"Since they have become rare and shy of the Big People† (Tolkien 1). Here readers can see that the author is describing the hobbits, including Bilbo himself as shy around people and creatures that are not like himself. The author starts off the story by telling the readers that Bilbo was shy to show that he did not have much confidence, and due to his lack of confidence he had a lack of experience. Continuing in the beginning, Bilbo declines the invitation from Gandalf to go on an adventure. â€Å"We don’t want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water† (Tolkien 3). He declines this invitation, and quickly ends the conversation here because at this point in the story he is not brave enough for an adventure. During another occasion Bilbo says, Sorry! I don t want any adventure s, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea - any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good-bye! (Tolkien 5). Here heShow MoreRelatedThe Tolkien s The Hobbit930 Words   |  4 PagesJ. R. R. Tolkien s novel The Hobbit is one of a kind. The novel revolves around the protagonist Bilbo Baggins and his journey not only of recovering the treasure from Smaug, but his journey becoming a hero. Through the main character Bilbo Baggins Tolkien changed my perspective on what a mythic hero is suppose to be. When the term â€Å"mythic hero† is brought up I visualize someone that is a stouthearted a warrior namely Achilles or Odysseus to be exact not a hobbit. A little friendly, good-naturedRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit1143 Words   |  5 Pagescollective fantasies that story our relationship to each other, the world and the universe. To tell a myth is to tell a culture s dream about its inner workings and truths. A myth tells its tale through symbol, ima ge and metaphor. The Hobbit is a mythic image in our modern day society. It is written by J.R.R. Tolkien. This story is more myth than anything. The Hobbit acts as the sister myth to Sigurd and Volsung. There are many mythic images in both of these stories that represent more than meetsRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit1294 Words   |  6 Pagesthe mountain with flames spitting from his mouth, shouting â€Å"I am fire. I am death!†Ã¢â‚¬ Bilbo is pacing himself to escape these angry flames as echoes of roars surround him. How did Bilbo Baggins get to such a place?In this novel The Hobbit,written by J.R.R Tolkien, a hobbit named Bilbo is enjoying a pipe on his front porch when he is confronted by an elder man that Bilbo recognizes as a wizard named Gandalf, though his suspicion continues to grow.Gandalf asks Bilbo to join him on a mission and BilboRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit1580 Words   |  7 PagesR.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit is arguably one of the most popular children s books of all time. The novel, because it includes characters such as trolls, elves, giants, goblins , and others is the reason that this story is a fairytale. This fairytale centers on a little hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins. It tracks the expedition of a group of dwarves, and a wizard, Gandalf, and their burglar, Bilbo as they travel to retrieve treasure that had been stolen from them long ago. The hobbit journeyed far, startingRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit862 Words   |  4 Pagesto tell a culture s dream about its inner workings and truths. Myth does not convey these truths literally, however. A myth tells its tale through symbol, image and metaphor. They don t explain so much as offer an enchanting, elevating or disturbing experience, sometimes warning us about where we should or should not go. Myths continually come back to life all around us. No one leaves them behind because we always face the recurring problems of life they address. The Hobbit is a mythic image inRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit1573 Words   |  7 PagesThe definition of a hero is an individual, man or woman, in which he or she exhibits immense courage, fortitude, and being humble. In today s culture, one might think of Batman or Wolverine as heroes, however, in J.R.R Tolkien s The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins redefines the entirety of the definition of a hero and deemed like no other. Throughout his adventure across middle-earth with the dwarves, Bilbo exemplifies several of these qualities. In contrast to both Norse and Anglo conceptions of heroismRead MoreThe Story Of The Tolkien s The Hobbit 2741 Words   |  11 Pagesthe classic trope of the quest, the journey serves as a metaphor for the personal growth of the questing character, for whom the quest is often the fulfillment of a personal destiny. The story of The Hobbit is very much one of these tales. This classic novel follows the story of a comfort-loving hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is sudde nly thrust into a world of adventure and danger by a group of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield and the somewhat mysterious wizard Gandalf. Their quest is to take back whatRead MoreWilliam Tolkien s The Hobbit 1315 Words   |  6 Pages What would it be like to embark on a journey or do something unlike anything else one has ever done before? Some may seek thrill and adventure, but living in the same world as a hobbit, one might think twice about venturing out. The Hobbit is an allegorical novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The story follows the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins as he sets out to undertake a long journey with a wizard named Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. In the beginning of the novel Bilbo doesn’t feel the need to set out on a journeyRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit918 Words   |  4 Pagesthat they will fail. In the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s the Hobbit several of the dwarves question Gandalf’s decision to bring Bilbo Baggins along, â€Å"Will he do, do you think? It is all very well for Gandalf to talk about this Hobbit being fierce, but one shriek like that in a moment of excitement would be enough to wake the dragon and all his relatives† (22). Of course one would question why Gandalf decided to bring a hobbit along. Hobbits are half the height of humans but they probably consume moreRead MoreThe Tolkien s The Hobbit1509 Words   |  7 Pages The inspiring novel, The Hobbit, written by J. R. R. Tolkien, definitely deserves the right to be considered a timeless classic. Tolkien uses the main character, Bilbo Baggins, a well respected hobbit, to explain how fast one’s life can change. Mr. Baggins doesn’t believe he will go on an adventure through Middle-Earth the day Gandalf comes to Bag End to tell him so. Nor does he think the many races he only heard of in stories, will face him in the mountain pass. As the expedition takes the reader

Great Expectations And Symbolism Essay Example For Students

Great Expectations And Symbolism Essay In life, symbolism is present all around us. Whether it is in the clothes wewear, the things we do, or what we buy, everything has a meaning. Symbolism isalso present in literature and it is shown in Charles Dickens GreatExpectations. The symbols of isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, andwanting to be someone else are seen throughout the book through the charactersof Estella, Magwitch, Miss Havisham, and Pip. The character of Estellarepresents the symbols of isolation and manipulation. By acting as an adult whenshe was still young, she separated herself from Pip and others. This was due inlarge part to the way Miss Havisham, her stepmother, raised her. She had noemotion, as Miss Havisham used her for revenge on men. On his first visit to theSatis House, Pip overheard Miss Havisham tell Estella Well? You can breakhis heart. . By doing what Miss Havisham tells her to, she shows sheis just as heartless as her stepmother. She also represents manipulation in howshe played with Pips feelings, who has strong feelings for her eventhough healso cannot stand her. She tells Pip Come here! You may kiss me if youlike. . Although the kiss may have meant a lot to Pip, it did notmean anything to Estella as she was just playing with Pips emotions. Thecharacter of Magwitch represents the symbols of isolation and the tragic hero. In this case, he was physically isolated from society because he was a convictand was looked upon with disgust. When Magwitch confesses and apologizes to Joefor stealing the food, Joe replies poor miserable fellow creatur.. Magwitch also illustrates the symbol of the tragic hero. Throughout mostof the book, Magwitch is looked down upon by Pip. Magwitch talks about hisgratitude for Pip when he helped him as a convict many years ago. Youacted noble, my boy, said he. . Noble Pip! And I have neverforgot it! . He shows why he is a hero when he explains to Pip thathe was the benefactor and the one responsible for making him a gentleman andhelping him achieve his great expectations. Yes, Pip, dear boy, Ive madea gentleman on you! Its me wot done it! . After his death,however, Pip feels guilt and sadness when he learns what Magwitch spent most ofhis life trying do. As a result, he shows the readers why he was the tragichero. One character who represents the symbols of isolation and manipulat ion isMiss Havisham. For most of her life, she has refused to let go of her past asshe continues to wear her wedding dress and keep her wedding cake. Her decayingdress and cake are symbols of how her life rotted away. It also depicted thestate of the Satis House, where she was isolated from the rest of society. Thehouse is used as a metaphor to show how they decayed and crumbled as time passedon. Miss Havisham also illustrates the symbol of manipulation. She had raisedEstella as a heartless stepdaughter whose main purpose was to seek revenge onmen. This central motivation of revenge resulted from the fact that she was arejected lover. Her plan is shown when she tells Estella to go play with Pip. Well? You can break his heart. . As a result, she made Estellainto a human monster with no emotion. Near the end, Miss Havisham dies ahopeless neurotic. The one character who shows the symbol of how people alwayswant to be someone else but than decide they are better off with whom they areis Pip, the storys protagonist. As a boy, Pip wishes to be a gentleman. Withunknown help from Magwitch the convict, Pips dreams come true. After attaininghis fortune and his expectations, Pip is miserable. As I had grownaccustomed to my expectations, I had intensibly begun to notice their effectupon myself and those around me. . He noticed the negative effects ashe was in debt because of his lavish spending and he also realized how much heneglected Joe and Biddy, his two best friends as a kid. In the end, Pip changesas he becomes a loyal friend to Magwitch in his time of need, tries to repairhis relationship with Joe and Biddy, and goes from almost total destruction tomoderate business success. He a lso shows how people gain from giving. The onlygood fortune from the money he received from his private benefactor, Magwitch,was giving it to Herbert. As shown from the examples above, symbolism plays animportant part in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Many symbols such asisolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be someone else arepresent throughout the novel and are brought to life by the characters. Peoplein todays society must realize that a lot of what we do symbolizes somethingabout us and helps explain who we are as people.

The Odyssey And The Pearl Loyalty Essay Example For Students

The Odyssey And The Pearl: Loyalty Essay The Odyssey And The Pearl: Loyalty Essay Loyalty to another person or to a cause may be an admirable trait, but it can lead to either positive or negative consequences. In Homers epic The Odyssey and John Steinbecks novel The Pearl there are characters that show great examples of this trait. Penelope in The Odyssey and Juana in The Pearl are the most obvious, although there are many. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey and Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey. We will write a custom essay on The Odyssey And The Pearl: Loyalty specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now To ward off suitors that were beckoning for her hand, she made them a promise that as soon as she finished weaving a gift for her father, she would take one of their hands in marriage. Nightly, unbeknownst to the suitors, she would unravel her work, so that she could remain faithful to Odysseus. Also, Penelope promised her hand to the suitor who could meet a test. Penelopes test was to string Odysseus bow and then shoot an arrow through the eye of twelve ax handles. Penelope knew that only Odysseus could accomplish this task. By doing this, she avoided having to marry one of the suitors. Staying loyal to Odysseus brought about positive consequences to Penelope. She was reunited with her beloved husband Odysseus. Kinos wife Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Although it was her belief that the pearl was an omen of evil, she loyally stayed at her husbands side. Juana remained loyal to Kino even after he had savagely beaten her. She knew that she had brought it upon herself and it was her place to accept the beating. Also, Juana vowed not to leave her husbands side when he decided to flee from the town after murdering one of the townspeople. She made the treacherous journey with her husband across a desert trying to outrun the men that pursued them. Negative consequences were the outcome of Juanas loyalty to Kino. Her loyalty caused her to lose all that was common and dear to her, including her only child. Loyalty to another person or to a cause may be an admirable trait, but it can lead to either positive or negative consequences. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey and Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Penelope refused to remarry while Odysseus was on his long absence, and Juana never left Kinos side. Loyalty is a trait found in most humans, and if used in moderation can have very positive consequences. . The Odyssey and The Pearl Loyalty Essay Example For Students The Odyssey and The Pearl: Loyalty Essay The Odyssey and The Pearl: Loyalty Essay Loyalty to another person or to a cause may be an admirable trait, but it can lead to either positive or negative consequences. In Homers epic The Odyssey and John Steinbecks novel The Pearl there are characters that show great examples of this trait. Penelope in The Odyssey and Juana in The Pearl are the most obvious, although there are many. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey and Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey. We will write a custom essay on The Odyssey and The Pearl: Loyalty specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now To ward off suitors that were beckoning for her hand, she made them a promise that as soon as she finished weaving a gift for her father, she would take one of their hands in marriage. Nightly, unbeknownst to the suitors, she would unravel her work, so that she could remain faithful to Odysseus. Also, Penelope promised her hand to the suitor who could meet a test. Penelopes test was to string Odysseus bow and then shoot an arrow through the eye of twelve ax handles. Penelope knew that only Odysseus could accomplish this task. By doing this, she avoided having to marry one of the suitors. Staying loyal to Odysseus brought about positive consequences to Penelope. She was reunited with her beloved husband Odysseus. Kinos wife Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Although it was her belief that the pearl was an omen of evil, she loyally stayed at her husbands side. Juana remained loyal to Kino even after he had savagely beaten her. She knew that she had brought it upon herself and it was her place to accept the beating. Also, Juana vowed not to leave her husbands side when he decided to flee from the town after murdering one of the townspeople. She made the treacherous journey with her husband across a desert trying to outrun the men that pursued them. Negative consequences were the outcome of Juanas loyalty to Kino. Her loyalty caused her to lose all that was common and dear to her, including her only child. Loyalty to another person or to a cause may be an admirable trait, but it can lead to either positive or negative consequences. Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was on his twenty-year journey and Juana stayed by her husband through his time of distress. Penelope refused to remarry while Odysseus was on his long absence, and Juana never left Kinos side. Loyalty is a trait found in most humans, and if used in moderation can have very positive consequences. .

Stalin and His Influence on Life in Russia essays

Stalin and His Influence on Life in Russia essays Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union as a virtual dictator between 1928 and 1954. During the first ten years of his rule, Stalin introduced dramatic change to the Soviet Union in the areas of industrialization, agriculture, culture and education. While there were some benefits for both the nation and the people with respect to the consequences of his policies on industrialization and education, the impact of his policies regarding agriculture, and culture was overwhelmingly damaging to the Russian people, and consequently, the nation as a whole. Therefore, it can be said that between 1928 and 1938 Stalin had a largely devastating impact on the people, but a less damaging one on the Soviet Union itself. To a large extent Stalins transformation of the Soviet Union into a strong industrial nation had a positive effect on the nation. This was required as the Soviet Union was 50 to 100 years behind the worlds major industrial powers at that time. Stalins transformation of the Soviet Union into an industrial nation was achieved through the introduction of a series of five year plans designed to develop the Soviet economy. The first Five Year Plan was introduced in 1928. This plan required heavy industry such as coal, steel and oil to triple their output. Light industry including furniture, clothes and shoes needed to double their output. To facilitate this increase, electrical production was to increase sixfold. [Brooman, J 1988. p. 10] The enormity of this unrealistic task meant that The atmosphere of Russia became feverish with effort. [Baker, P, P and Basset, J, J 1988. p. 25] However, by the end of 1932, while failing to meet the required targets, an incredible increase in industrial production was accomplished. The output of oil, for example, increased from 11.7 to 21.4 millions of tonnes, the output of steel increased from 4 to 5.9 millions of tonnes, and the output of coal increased from 35.4 to...

Terri and the Turkey Thanksgiving Day Play

Terri and the Turkey Thanksgiving Day Play The author grants permission for anyone to use this short play for educational and/or amateur purposes. Terri and the Turkey By Wade Bradford Stage Right: The humble home of Grandpa and Grandpa. Stage Left: The animal pen. Narrator: Thanksgiving. A time of joy and celebration. Of food, relaxation, and family. A day beloved by everyone. Everyone that is except†¦ Tom Turkey! (A Turkey named Tom walks on stage left, flapping his wings.) Tom: Gobble, gobble! On stage right, Grandma and Grandpa enter. Tom listens to them as they speak. GRANDMA: I mashed the potatoes, I crammed the cranberries, I yammed the yams, and now it’s time for you to do what you always do on Thanksgiving Day. GRANDPA: Watch football? GRANDMA: No! It’s time to prepare the turkey. TOM: Prepare? That doesn’t sound so bad. GRANDMA: Prepare? That’s such hard work! I have to pluck the feathers. TOM: Ow! GRANDPA: And pull out the innards. TOM: Eek! GRANDPA: And toss him in the oven. TOM: Oh my! GRANDMA: But don’t forget. First, you must chop off his head. TOM: (Grabs his neck, fearful.) And all this time I thought I was going to be the guest of honor. (PIG enters.) I’ve got to get out of here! These people are going to eat me! PIG: Oink, oink. Welcome to my world, buddy. GRANDPA: Well, I guess I better get busy. A happy couple, Mom and Dad, enter. MOM and DAD: Hi Grandpa! MOM: Happy Thanksgiving. DAD: Is there anything we can do to help? GRANDPA: I’m glad you asked that. Go out back and chop off the turkey’s head. DAD: Oh. I was hoping you would have me set the table. GRANDPA: Too bad. Get chopping! MOM: Be brave dear. DAD: But honey, you know the sight of blood makes me queasy. MOM: I’m needed in the kitchen. DAD: Well, sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do (A son and a daughter (Terri) enter.) DAD: Make his kids do the work. SON: Hey Dad, is dinner ready yet? DAD: Son, this is a very special Thanksgiving because I’m giving you a very special responsibility. I need you to chop off the turkey’s head. SON: Gross! DAD: And while you’re at it, pluck the feathers, take out the innards, and give it to Grandma to put in the oven. SON: But – but – but†¦ DAD: Have fun, son. The son turns to Terri, who has been engrossed in a book. SON: Terri! Hey bookworm! Did you hear what Dad just said to me? TERRI: No, I was too busy reading my history book. SON: You mean you didn’t hear a single word Dad said? TERRI: No. What did he say? SON: He wants you to kill the turkey. He pushes her toward the animal pen, then exits. Note: All of the other human characters have cleared the stage too. TERRI: Well, I guess if we want a turkey dinner, someone has to do it. Optional: She picks up a prop ax – make sure its something safe. TERRI: (Approaching Tom) Sorry, Mr. Turkey. The time has come. TOM: I – I – I feel faint! The turkey starts to sway back and forth. He falls to the ground. TERRI: Oh no! I think he’s having a heart attack! GRANDMA: (Entering.) Who’s having a heart attack? TERRI: (Checking the turkey’s pulse.) He doesn’t have a pulse. GRANDPA: (Entering.) I don’t have a pulse? TERRI: Not you, Grandpa. The turkey! DAD and MOM enter. DAD: Terri, what are you doing? TERRI: CPR. I learned it in health class. MOM: She’s such a good student. SON: (Entering.) What the heck is going on? TERRI: I think it’s working. Live, Mr. Turkey! Live!!! (Optional: If you want to get really silly with this skit, the actress can pretend to use a defibrillator.) TOM: (Coming back to life.) Gobble gobble! MOM: You did it honey! DAD: You saved his life. TERRI: Yep. Now I guess I better cut off his head. GRANDMA: Now wait, child. It just doesn’t seem right. TERRI: You know, according to my history book, presidents such as Harry Truman and John Kennedy have spared the lives of their turkeys. And since 1989, the White House has been granting a presidential pardon to each live turkey that is presented to the president. Maybe this year we could do the same kind of thing. GRANDMA: I think that’s a lovely idea. After all, one of the many things we should be thankful for is simply how many families have been able to have wonderful Thanksgiving dinners all because of this noble bird. Besides we have many other delicious foods we can eat. Yams, cranberries, freshly made bread, and mashed potatoes. GRANDPA: That’s right, Grandma. Now, who’s up for some pork chops? PIG: (Feeling faint.) I gotta get out of here! The End

Marketing planning consultancy report for NLV Solutions Limited Essay

Marketing planning consultancy report for NLV Solutions Limited - Essay Example To launch the new integrated marketing communications campaign, designed to create brand recall in markets with little knowledge of the brand, considerable preliminary market research will need to be conducted to gain perspectives on consumer attitudes and lifestyles that will translate into an innovative procurement model with product emphasis. The logo utilised to make Vend-O-Matic stand out is based on retro-style signage common during the boom in automats in the 1960s to inspire nostalgic-based consumption behaviours. It is estimated that Vend-O-Matic will achieve a 40 percent increase in sales through this brand-building campaign, justified under premiumisation models in pricing and promotion and through establishment of more cooperative partnerships with many supply chain partners. This will be accomplished by devoting more capital and labour into the promotional function and ensuring innovation in product procurement. NLV Solutions: The Vend-O-Matic Brand 1.0 Situation analysi s Vend-O-Matic is an established brand serving the United Kingdom since the 1960s. Despite this longevity in the automatic vending market, NLV Solutions has been slow to respond to market changes in a sales environment that is strongly driven by consumer attitude and psycho-social characteristics. The methodology by which the company provides talent management through family-based channels is ineffective for response to changing market conditions that continues to erode profitability for this brand. The generic market needs are for top-quality, innovative vending machines, establishment of competitive pricing structures for price-sensitive buyers, and expression of total product convenience to gain target market interest. 1.1 Market summary NLV Solutions has captured quality information about the market and consumer characteristics that will drive success in this repositioning of the Vend-O-Matic brand. This information will be leveraged throughout the entire business model to under stand, specifically, which markets are being served, their tangible and emotional needs, and the most effective methodology to communicate with these markets. 1.2 Target market analysis The dominant market profile in this industry is the 16 to 34-year-old market. The secondary market is the consumer over the age of 55 that contributes profitability through hot beverage vending consumption. 1.3 Mission statement Vend-O-Matic aims to become the most recognisable and innovative vending brands in the UK. Through the establishment of close connections with buyers and renewed focus on customer relationship development, Vend-O-Matic seeks to become a market leader in quality, innovation and responsible product procurement. 1.4 Internal competency analysis Inflexibility under the current family-based management and governance structure is inefficient for achieving market and profit goals. Current management focuses too heavily on the tangibles of service and product and do not focus on the critical dimensions of intangibles required to establish a recognised brand. Consumers are largely risk averse and, to avoid uncertainty, will look for signs and evidence of quality, inferring these perceptions from communications, equipment, pricing, and symbols (Kotler and Keller 2007). Rather than focusing on radical management practices, leadership should be focusing on establishment of a recognised brand in key target markets that requires promotion of

Language and Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Language and Literacy - Essay Example There seems to be no agreement as to when language was first used by humans. Some estimates date as far back as two million years ago, during the time of Homo habilis, while others date as recent as forty thousand (40,000) years ago, during the time of Cro-Magnon man. What is unarguably clear, however, is that language development is a continuous process affected by several social factors and that most contemporary human languages are a blend of several primitive ones. One main feature of human language is arbitrariness of symbols and sounds. A symbol or sound only needs to be attached to a particular concept or meaning, or even applied to the rules of grammar and becomes a part of the language. For instance, while the word 'nada' is conceptualised to mean nothing in the Spanish language, for Croatian speakers, it means 'hope' (Hudson, 2000). Through the course of this essay, I shall attempt a discourse of the various social factors that come into play in language, within the context of literacy development. In this regard, three students currently undertaking a basic skills "Brush Up Your English" course at Halton College will be used as case studies. After a brief analysis of what has been said and researched on the impact of social factors on language development, I will give a brief account of the backgrounds of the three students in this group, before examining how the duo of region/geography and gender (two main social factors) have affected language development and literacy in these students. Language and Social Factors Sociolinguistics are social sciences that consider the interactions between languages and society as a whole. It is an established body of knowledge that studies language on a social basis. Thus, it involves an interest in interaction, variability and diversity in language (Deumert, 2005). Or as described by Trask (1999), it is "the study of variation in language, or more precisely, the variation within speech communities." (Trask, 1999, p.283). This field of interest only dates back to the 1950s, this perhaps explain why most of the social influences on language development are still not fully comprehended. Within the Sociolinguistics school, there are two broad approaches to language variation; prescriptivism and descriptivism. Prescriptivists tend to be found among the ranks of language educators and journalists, and not in the actual academic discipline of linguistics. They hold clear notions of what is right and wrong and tend to advocate what they consider as 'correct' use of language according to set rules (Hudson, 2000). Describing this school of thought, Thorne (1997) states that "it is associated with formal written and spoken language and is used in dictionaries, grammar books and language handbooks." (p.92). To further buttress this point, Thorne (1997) cited the example of the original version of the National Curriculum for schools' emphasis on Standard English (SE) being taught as "the language of wide social communication and was generally required in formal contexts" (p.138). Descriptivists, on the other hand, do not accept the prescriptivists' notion of "incorrect usage." They prefer to describe such variance as 'non-standard'. Thus, they see Standard English as "only one variety among manylinguistically speaking it can not legitimately be

African American Contributions to American History Essay Example for Free

African American Contributions to American History Essay Many blacks contributed to the success of our country in every war that we as a people have ever fought. In order to properly thank them for their heroic effort, I as a Hispanic Caucasian must give credit where credit is due. In order to properly do so, I must begin with the contributions of â€Å"Black America† beginning with the American Revolution and continue up until the World War II. Make no mistake blacks made contributions well past World War II, but in the interest of time and accuracy I must stay within the confines of our earlier history. One main aspect that should be analyzed is the fact that no matter how hard the struggle, blacks have always overcome adversity no matter what the cost. Of course, contributions made by blacks are not limited to war alone, but include a wide spectrum of achievements that have advanced civilization as a whole. My personal respect and thanks go to all people who have served and continue to serve this country at any capacity. But we must never forget the contributions made by our black brothers and sisters who gave their lives fighting for a cause that so greatly affected their lives as well as our well being. Charles Dickens said it best in his book A Tale of Two Cities, â€Å"It was the best of times it was the worst of times†. The American Revolution was a time of great struggle for people of all races. But, Blacks in particular understood the literal meaning of patriot rhetoric, eagerly took up the cause of American freedom, fighting bravely in the early confrontations with the British. Though the revolution freed some blacks and set the country on a course toward the abolition of slavery, political accommodation to plantation owners forestalled emancipation for many blacks in the south for 90 more years. A black man was one of the first martyrs of the patriot cause. Crispus Attucks, apparently a slave who had run away from his owner 20 years before, died in the Boston Massacre in 1770. Though facts were disputed at trials then as now, witnesses said Attucks hit a British officer with a large piece of firewood, grabbed a bayonet and urged the crowd to attack just before the British fired. Attucks and two others were killed while eight were wounded, two mortally. Blacks served at the battles of Lexington and Concord. Peter Salem, a freed slave, stood on the green at Lexington facing the British when the first battle broke out with the shot that was heard around the world. One of the last men wounded in the battle as the British escaped to Boston was Prince Estabrook, a black man from West Lexington. At least 20 blacks, including Peter Salem, were in the ranks two months later when the British attacked an American position outside Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem has been honored for firing the shot that killed Major John Pitcairn, the British officer who led the Redcoats when they had attacked his small unit at Lexington. Unable to venture outside Boston and then threatened with cannon surrounding the city, the British left Boston for New York. As the war changed from a Massachusetts endeavor to a broader conflict throughout the colonies, the politics of race changed dramatically. Blacks had been welcomed in the New England militia, but Congress initially decided against having them in the Continental army. Congress needed support from the South if all the colonies were to win their independence from England. Since southern plantation owners wanted to keep their slaves, they were afraid to give guns to blacks. Congress ordered all blacks removed from the army, but black veterans appealed directly to George Washington, who took up their cause with John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. Blacks serving in the army were allowed to stay, but new enlistments were forbidden. Though the Declaration of Independence declared that all men were created equal, many blacks soon saw more opportunity on the British side. The British governor of Virginia promised immediate freedom and wages to any slave who would join the Kings army. Hundreds flocked to the standard of the governor, Lord Dunmore, but he was denied a base on the land by the American forces and many of the blacks who joined him died of smallpox on overcrowded ships. The loyalty of blacks was a serious issue for the American leaders because blacks made up one-fifth of the two million people in the colonies. With the British soldiers already outnumbering the American troops, and recruitment difficult for the patriots, the northern colonies soon again began to enlist blacks. Rhode Island made up a regiment almost entirely of blacks. As the war continued, colonies as far south as Maryland and Virginia were recruiting free blacks for the American cause. As the war spread into the South, Congress found it needed to recruit slaves. It offered to pay South Carolina slave owners $1,000 for able-bodied male slaves. The slaves would receive no pay, but would be given $50 and their freedom at the end of the war if they served well and faithfully. The South Carolina Assembly threatened to leave the war, dooming the plan in the southernmost colonies. Recruitment of blacks to the American cause continued further north, but the patriots had less success than the British. The offer of immediate freedom extended by Virginia’s unfortunate loyalist governor was eventually made by the British throughout the colonies. Slaves joined the British by the tens of thousands. The fate of the loyalist blacks varied considerably. Some were captured by Americans and either returned to their masters or treated as war loot and sold back into slavery. Approximately 20,000 were with the British at the end of the war, taken to Canada or the Caribbean. Some became the founders of the British colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Even though the British offered slaves a better deal, many blacks served on the American side. They made up a sizeable share of the men in the Continental navy, state navies and the large force of American privateers. Blacks had long been in the labor force on ships and at seaports. On the water, then as now, skill counted for more than politics. The precise role of blacks in the revolution is difficult to quantify. Blacks in those days generally did not write. The people who did write early histories of the revolution were whites and concentrated on the efforts of white men. Also, many participants in the revolution were not specifically identified by race in the documents of the time and historians now have no way of knowing whether they were black. When blacks were allowed to serve in the American military, they often did work as laborers, sometimes in addition to regular soldier duties. Usually they were privates, though a few rose to command small groups of men. The words of the Declaration of Independence were taken literally by blacks and some whites. In, 1780, Pennsylvania became the first colony to pass a law phasing out slavery. Children born to slaves after that date were granted their freedom when they reached 28. Other northern states followed. The Superior Court of Massachusetts held in 1783 that slavery violated the state constitution, and New Hampshire also ended slavery by a court ruling. Vermont outlawed slavery and Connecticut and Rhode Island passed gradual emancipation laws. New York outlawed slavery in 1799 and New Jersey followed in 1804. The international slave trade was outlawed in 1808. Progress then came to a stop. A boom in cotton production spread the slave economy into the lower Mississippi Valley. Slave states were careful to control at least half the political power in the federal government, blocking any national movement against slavery until the Civil War. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the rebelling territories of the confederacy and authorizing Black enlistment in the Union Army. Since the beginning of the Civil War, free Black people in general, and Black Bostonians in particular, were ready to gather arms on behalf of the Union, yet they were prevented from doing so. Popular racial stereotypes and institutional discrimination against Blacks in the military contributed to the prevailing myth that Black men lacked the intelligence and bravery necessary to serve their country. By the fall of 1862, however, the lack of White Union enlistment and confederate victories at Antietem forced the U. S. government to reconsider its racist policy. As Congress met in October to address the issue of Black enlistment, various troops of Black volunteers had already been organized, including the First South Carolina and the Kansas Colored Troops. It wasnt until January 26, 1863; however, that secretary of war Edwin Stanton authorized the enlistment of Black troops. As a result, the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer infantry was founded, becoming the first all-Black Union regiment raised in the north. Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Reedville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service. Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaws father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Massachusetts Infantry. Although reluctant to accept the commission, Shaw eventually became colonel. By the time training began at Camp Meigs, Shaw and his officers began work with the soldiers whose bravery would forever change public perception of Black military skill and valor. Black community leaders across the country such as Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown served as recruiting agents for the Union army. As a result, over 1000 volunteers enlisted in the 54th Regiment, a response so overwhelming that Massachusetts organized a second Black regiment, the fifty-fifth. Men of the fifty-fourth represented twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, the West Indies, and Africa. Approximately 25% of them had been slaves, over 50% were literate, and, although as civilians they had worked in forty-six different occupations, the overwhelming majorities (55%) were common laborers. Regardless of origin, occupation, or social class, the men of the 54th Regiment both inspired Bostons Black community and provided a symbol of pride for abolitionists across the country. Activists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass visited Camp Meigs to show their support. Although the organization of the 54th Regiment resolved the conflict over Black enlistment in the Union army, the struggle of Black soldiers to gain respect in the military was just beginning. Upon arrival in the south, the Black soldiers were often treated as common laborers and the potential for their valor on the battlefield was disregarded. Upon arriving in Georgia on June 11, they were ordered by Col. James Montgomery of the Department of the South to raid the town of Darien. Reports of Black soldiers burning buildings and ravaging the homes of townspeople confirmed stereotypes of Black soldiers as un-trainable brutes. Col. Shaw found the raid on Darien barbarous and distasteful, and sent a letter to Brigadier General George C. Strong, requesting that the men be used in the planned attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. On July 16, the 54th Regiment fought alongside White soldiers of the 10th Connecticut Infantry in a skirmish on James Island, SC. This battle redeemed the Black soldiers fighting ability in the eyes of White skeptics, including General Strong, who commanded the 54th Regiment to lead the assault on Fort Wagner, scheduled for July 18. Strategically, a successful attack on Fort Wagner would allow Union forces to seize control of Charleston Harbor. Located on Morris Island, Fort Wagner protected Battery Gregg overlooking Fort Sumter. Thus, seizure of Fort Wagner was valuable because it enabled the Union to shell Sumter and close the harbor to confederate blockade runners, thereby paving the way for further Union attack on Charleston. Fort Wagner was located at the northern tip of Morris Island, and was controlled by 1700 troops and 17 artillery guns. Depleted to just over 600 men by the skirmish two days previous, the men of the 54th Regiment were ordered to lead the assault on Fort Wagner with the backing of regiments from New York, Connecticut, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Before the charge commenced, Colonel Shaw ordered the regiment to prove yourselves as men. Within 200 feet of the Fort, the confederates began to attack as the brave men of the 54th Regiment struggled through darkness, four-foot deep water, and marshland. Colonel Shaw, accompanied by dwindling numbers of dying men, managed to reach the top of the parapet where a bitter hand-to-hand combat ensued, the Black Union soldiers with bayonets against the White Confederate soldiers with handspikes and gun rammers. Colonel Shaw was mortally wounded with a pierce through the heart, along with a dozen of his men. Meanwhile, members of the 54th Regiment some wounded, some dying began to retreat; those who refused to back down were taken prisoner. As the smoke cleared, evidence of Confederate victory was immediately apparent, with 174 Rebel casualties and 1515 Union soldiers dead or wounded. Of the eleven regiments who participated in the Union assault, the fifty-forth Regiment accrued the most casualties, with 256 of their 600 men dead or wounded. Despite the heavy losses, the assault on Fort Wagner proved to the nation and the world the valor of Black soldiers in general and the men of the 54th Regiment in particular. From the ranks of the fifty-forth came stories of unfailing patriotism and undying glory. The men of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, their White officers, colonel, and allies, not only struck a blow for American freedom and unity, they also proved to the nation and the world the valor, bravery, and devotion of African American soldiers. In the sacrifice made by Col. Shaw and his soldiers, Americans witnessed, for the first time, the supremacy of equality over racism, discrimination, and ignorance. Upon his death at Fort Wagner, the body of Col. Shaw was placed in a mass grave on Morris Island along with the bodies of his soldiers. The lack of proper military burial for a man who had distinguished himself as a soldier and as a leader was intended to insult the honor of Shaw and his family, who were deemed as race traitors by Confederates and White unionists alike. However, upon learning that his son had been buried with his black soldiers, Francis Shaw stated, with dignity, that We hold that a soldiers most appropriate burial place is on the field where he has fallen. This statement and the honor displayed by the Shaw family and veterans of the fifty-fourth helped immortalize Shaw and his men as symbols of the Civil War battle for unity and equality. As a result of the 54th Regiment, over 180,000 Black men enlisted under the Union flag between 1863 and 1865. AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY SERVICE from WWI through WWII. During the global conflicts of the first half of the 20th century, U. S. servicemen fought in Europe for the first time in the nation’s history. African Americans were among the troops committed to combat in World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII), even though they and other black Americans were denied the full blessings of the freedom for which the United States had pledged to fight. Traditional racist views about the use of black troops in combat initially excluded African Americans from the early recruiting efforts and much of the actual combat in both wars. Nonetheless, large numbers of African Americans still volunteered to fight for their country in 1917-18 and 1940-45. Once again, many black servicemen hoped their military contribution and sacrifice would prove to their white countrymen that African Americans desired and deserved a fully participatory role in U. S. society. Unfortunately, the deeply entrenched negative racial attitudes prevalent among much of the white American population, including many of the nation’s top military and civilian leaders, made it very difficult for blacks to serve in the military establishment of this period. African-American servicemen suffered numerous indignities and received little respect from white troops and civilians alike. The historic contributions by blacks to the defense of the United States were usually ignored or downplayed, while combat failures similar to those of whites and violent racial incidents often provoked by whites were exaggerated into a condemnation of all African Americans. In the Jim Crow world of pre-1945 America, black servicemen confronted not only the hostility of enemies abroad but that of enemies at home. African-American soldiers and sailors had two formidable obstacles to deal with: discrimination and segregation. Yet, black servicemen in both world wars repeatedly demonstrated their bravery, loyalty, and ability in combat or in support of frontline troops. Oftentimes, they accomplished these tasks without proper training or adequate equipment. Poor communications and a lack of rapport with their white officers were two additional burdens hampering the effectiveness and efficiency of African Americans in the military. Too frequently, there was little or no recognition or gratitude for their accomplishments. One of the worst slights of both wars was the willingness of the white establishment to allow racism to influence the award of the prestigious Medal of Honor. Although several exceptionally heroic African Americans performed deeds worthy of this honor, not one received at the time the award that their bravery and self-sacrifice deserved. It took over 70 years for the United States to rectify this error for WWI and over 50 years for WWII. Despite the hardships and second-class status, their participation in both wars helped to transform many African-American veterans as well as helped to eventually change the United States. Though still limited by discrimination and segregation at home, their sojourn in Europe during WWI and WWII made many black servicemen aware that the racial attitudes so common among white Americans did not prevail everywhere else. The knowledge that skin color did not preclude dignity and respect made many black veterans unwilling to submit quietly to continuing racial discrimination once they returned to the United States. In addition, the growing importance of black votes beginning in the 1930s and 1940s forced the nation’s political and military leaders to pay more attention to African Americans’ demands, particularly in regard to the military. Although it was a tedious and frustrating process, one too often marked by cosmetic changes rather than real reform, by the end of WWII, the U. S. military establishment slowly began to make some headway against racial discrimination and segregation within its ranks. The stage was set for President Harry S Truman’s landmark executive order of 26 July 1948. Another main contribution of note would be the trails and tribulations of the Tuskegee Airmen. In the 1940s, it was still believed that Blacks were incapable of flying aircraft. This myth was dispelled with the help of the U. S. Congress. On June 27, 1939 THE CIVILIAN PILOT TRAINING ACT was passed. This solitary ACT helped to create a reserve of civilian pilots to be called in case of War. Young black pilots were given the opportunity to train with U. S. approved programs located at TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE. The SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT OF 1940 also increased the opportunity for a broader participation of Blacks in the military when it banned discrimination in the selection and training of all American citizens because of race and color. The success of the CIVILIAN PILOT TRAINING ACT helped put the 99TH PURSUIT SQUADRON OF TUSKEGEE on the map. It was said that the success of Negro youth in the Army Air Force would be predicated upon the success of the Tuskegee Experiment. HBOs docudrama, THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, is a good depiction of this era of Black Americans seeking acceptance as military pilots. Because of the opportunity provided by the Civilian Pilot Training Act, the number of Blacks in the ARMY AIR FORCE jumped from 2,250 in 1941 to over 145,000 by 1944. The two major groups to see combat as AAF men were the 99TH PURSUIT SQUADRON and the 332ND FIGHTER GROUP. Out of the 332nd Group came the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Squadrons under the command of Lieutenant Colonel BENJAMIN O. DAVIS, SR. , who became Americas FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN GENERAL on October 25, 1940. By 1944, the 99th was added to the 332nd and participated in campaigns in Sicily, Rome, and Romania. The 99th and 332nd earned many DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATIONS. These historical examples are but a small sample of the many great contributions and sacrifices made by black people in order to secure freedom and prosperity for this great nation. We owe them a debt than can never be fully repaid. If anything these great contributions should curtail any negative or racial thoughts toward such a magnanimous people. You would think that with all that has transpired throughout history, that we as a people could live and coexist together with peace and harmony. My only hope is that with time people will come to realize that we are all not that different from one another and that we can thrive together for a better future for all of us.

Essay --

La caricatura polà ­tica En sus inicios, la palabra caricatura surgià ³ para designar el arte de resaltar los rasgos fà ­sicos (principalmente del rostro) de ciertos personajes, en ese sentido, se caracterizaba por su estilo recurrente de representar a los actores con cabezas enormes y dejar de lado (en un segundo plano) el resto del cuerpo. Posteriormente, se le da importancia a las extremidades, puesto que se comprendià ³ que lo kinà ©sico y proxà ©mico aportan significado a la imagen; asà ­, por ejemplo, la ropa es un factor importante para representar aspectos relacionados con la cultura. Acto seguido, la caricatura comenzà ³ a incursionar en el à ¡mbito de la polà ­tica, dejando en un segundo plano el interà ©s por mostrar las desfiguraciones faciales, para impregnarse de un tinte polà ­tico y mordaz con miras a criticar aspectos socio-polà ­ticos. En efecto, este à ºltimo aspecto mencionado es lo que interesa en este trabajo. Puesto que, como ya se habà ­a mencionado, la caricatura polà ­tica es de suma importancia dentro de la sociedad colombiana, ya que se constituye como ‘una herramienta’ por medio de la cual se puede criticar el sistema socio-polà ­tico del paà ­s, sus dirigentes y las acciones polà ­ticas que afectan (positiva o negativamente) a la poblacià ³n. En ese orden de ideas, Acevedo (2009) afirma que: La caricatura polà ­tica busca un objetivo distinto: mofar, ironizar, fastidiar, burlarse, ridiculizar, decir las cosas a la inversa, distorsionar el sentido original, agredir, construir opinià ³n y destruir simbà ³licamente al oponente. En la caricatura polà ­tica en general, alguien o algo sale daà ±ado en su imagen (†¦) (p. 35) Al criticar el sistema socio-polà ­tico actual del paà ­s, la caricatura (re)construye una imagen (en la mayorà ­a de los... ...ambià ©n el pensamiento y la accià ³n. Nuestro sistema conceptual ordinario, en tà ©rminos del cual pensamos y actuamos, es fundamentalmente de naturaleza metafà ³rica†. (p. 39). Entendida asà ­ la metà ¡fora, el anà ¡lisis pareciera que solo se quedara en lo verbal, en lo ‘monomodal’, por lo que se hace necesario recurrir al concepto de metà ¡fora multimodal, la cual es definida por Pardo (2012:43) como â€Å"expresiones que se construyen a partir de la presencia de uno o mà ¡s modos en el dominio de origen, y que en el dominio de llegada son representadas predominantemente en modos sà ­gnicos diferentes y en coexistencia, para producir significado†. En ese sentido, la metà ¡fora se materializa dentro de la caricatura no solo en lo verbal, sino en la correlacià ³n de varios sistemas sà ­gnicos (o modos semià ³ticos) que dotan de significado a las representaciones que se dan en la caricatura.

Horror Of War

This story speaks the truth about the w AR rather than romanticizes it and emphasizing on the idea Of the honor, patriotic duty, DVD endure, and glory. All Quiet on the Western Front displays the war how it really was. Using images of fear and meaningless to replace the romantic visions of heroism. This novel focuses m such on the physical ND psychological damage that war brings.In the end, almost every major chaw racier is dead. This shows war's horrible and devastating outcome on the young generation of m en who were recruited and forced to fight. One of the worst things about war is the images shown to man. Men killed by the millions in terrifying ways. Bodies blown to pieces, limbs broken, and flesh me Tied from the bones. Along with the deaths, there are many injuries that often outnumber d dead men. As Paul Beamer witnessed his friend, Franz Chimer's, death in the hospital, the NJWere terrifying and often lead to death. Chimer's death was the first sign of the meaningless of li fe and death in the war. The turmoil was expressed in the lines, â€Å"Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small. † (Armature 19) Ryan 2 In the novel and in war the men have no where to hide from bombs and bubble TTS. Paul and his friends must reside in dirt trenches where death surrounds them. â€Å"We lie under the network Of arching shells and live in a suspense Of uncertain ant.If a shot moms, we can duck, that is all; we neither know nor can determine where it w ill fall. † (Armature 101) They sleep holding their bread so no rats steal it. The dirt surrounding them t urns dark as it absorbs the blood of the fallen. The worst part of the war is that both sides fighting live through the same con editions. Paul realizes this when he guards the Russian prison camp. Paul sympathizes with the soldiers poor shape and he knows that he shares the same role as them in the war. W hen Paul kills t he man who dies in his shell hole he feels remorseful.But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your Han grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellows hip. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are pop or devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear Of death, and the same dying and the same generative me, comrade; how could you be my e enemy? † (Armature 223) This is when he decides that he must live with the fact that all the men have ski Lied others that were just like them.In the end of the novel, Paul is the last of his friends to die. As he falls to dead h his face shows a sense of calmness. Ryan 3 â€Å"He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him o ever on saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though al most glad the end had come. † (Armature 296) Paul was happier in death than life because of the horrors of war. Paul was ha pier that he didn't have to lead a life of war any longer.

Fundamentals of Speech Chapter 7 Assignment

Fundamentals of Speech (Stiefel) CHAPTER 7 ASSIGNMENT Student Name: Below are arguments based on faulty reasoning. Identify the fallacy used (use a fallacy only ONCE): 1. Loaded WordsIt’s ridiculous to worry about protecting America’s national parks against pollution when innocent people are being attacked by terrorists. 2. Red HerringThe proposal is likely to be resisted by the business-as-usual bureaucrats on Capitol Hill. 3. Celebrity EndorsementQueen Latifah promotes Cover Girl Cosmetics, so they must be good quality. 4. HearsayMy friend heard on the news the other day that the U. S. will declare war on Iran. . Question BeggingSince I'm not lying, it follows that I'm telling the truth.6. Slippery SlopeIf we allow the school board to spend money remodeling the gymnasium, next year they will want to build a new school and give all the teachers a huge raise. Taxes will soar so high that businesses will leave and then there will be no jobs for anyone in this town. 7. In valid AnalogyRaising a child is just like having a pet: you need to feed it, play with it, and everything will be fine. 8. Personal AttackI can’t support Senator Smith’s proposal for campaign finance reform because of all that time he spent in rehab back in the 1980s. . Hasty GeneralizationFred, the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves. 10. False DillemaIf you don’t support the war in Iraq, then you don’t support the troops. 11. Authority FigureNoted psychologist Dr. Frasier Crane recommends that you buy the TurboSpa Hot Tub.12. Either OrWe must either increase tuition or cut back on library services. 13. Arguing From IgnoranceSince you cannot prove that ghosts do not exist, they must exist. 14. Complex QuestionHave you stopped using illegal sales practices? 15. Prejudicial LanguageA godly person would agree that social programs must be maintained. 6. CoercionOnly those employees who want to keep their jobs should show up to the Saturday morning work session. 17. Straw ManSome people claim the â€Å"War on Drugs† is a failure, but I say they are wrong. 18. Unnamed AuthorityHealthcare insiders estimate there are more than 2 million needless surgical procedures conducted every year. 19. BandwagonI don’t see any reason to wear a helmet when I ride my bicycle. None of my friends do. 20. Cause and EffectThe Great Depression was caused by the Hoover administration. Herbert Hoover became president in March 1929, and the stock market crashed just seven months later.

Death Of A Salesman Essays (1080 words) - English-language Films

Death Of A Salesman Essays (1080 words) - English-language Films Death Of A Salesman Death of a Salesman: In the play, Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman, a sympathetic salesman and despicable father whos life is a casting off has some traits that match Aristotles views of a tragic hero. Willys series of ups and downs is identical to Aristoles views of proper tragic figure; a king with flaws. His faulty personality, the financial struggles, and his inabiltity are three substantital flaws that contribute to his failure and tragic end. Willy, an aging salesman who sells nothing, is abused by the buyers, and repeatly borrows money from Charley to make ends meet. He is angered by the way his boss, Howard fired him after working for thirty-four-years at the same company, You cant eat the orange and throw the peel awaya man is not a piece of fruit! (Miller, 61). Willy is battling for his life, fighting to sustain a sense of himself that makes it worthwhile living at all in a world which seemingly offers less and less space for the individual. Now, If it is true that tragedy is the consquence of a mans total complusion to evaluate himself justly, his destruction in the attempt posits a wrong or an evil in his environment. And this is precisely the morality of tragedy and its lesson. The discovery of the moral law, which is what the enlightenment of tragedy consists of, is not the discovery of some abstract or metaphysical quantity. (miller, common man) His problem is that he has so completely accepted the values of his society that he judges himself by standards rooted in social myths rather than human necessities. This lack of insight is strikingly similiar to traits of the tragic hero. As Aristotles writes, the tragic hero, Lives for honor and fame. The glaring point of his faulty personality of neglecting others includes those closest to him, his wife, Linda and his two sons, Biff and Happy. Youll retire me for life on seventy goddamn dollars a week? (Miller, 28) is evidence of the cruelty Willy can show toward Happy as he does to Biff. Willy puts enormous pressure on his older son, Biff, to help him out in his time of need, Hap, [Willy] got to understand that Im not the man somebody lends that kind of money to, (Miller, 81). In the past, Biff went unexpectly to Boston, to a hotel where Willy was staying and begs Willy to come back to New York and convince his math teacher to give him a passing grade in a math course so he can graduate on time. While there, Biff sees the WOMAN in his fathers hotel room. Willy, at first, claims she is in the room because her shower is broken; then he changes the story and says he knows her through work, Theyre painting her room so I let her take a shower here. Go back, go back... (Miller,93). It did not get much better at home either. He constantly puts down his wife and hates it when she interrupts him in his conversations with Biff and Happy, Willy reacts angrily,[to LINDA]: Stop interrupting! (Miller, 47). Willy does the best as he know how because his father was never there for him. Despite the good influence Willy has on his wife and two sons, he is a good father to his sons because he spends time with them. For the most part, he is a decent husband who never abused his wife but his wrongs outweight the postive things he did do for his family. He has a difficult time selling anything to earn money, A hundred and twenty dollars! My god, if business dont pick up I dont know what Im going to do!, (Miller, 23). He works very hard he has nothing to show for it. He decides that it was hard for him to travel to places of business and asks his boss, Howard, if he can work closer to home in New York. He gets fired for asking. His financial struggles continue with late bills, and no payment for his premium insurance; he is going deep into debt. He ignores the problems and thinks that everything is going to be all right. Because of the booming economy, he is left behind in the dust; everybody competes for positions in their respective professions, in the world of Americas business. For, if it is true to say that in essence the tragic hero is intent upon claiming

Can We Actually Rewrite a Film

Can We Actually Rewrite a Film The term â€Å"rewrite† by definition is to write something again. Its purpose is to correct or improve a piece of writing or a written document. In the academic world, rewriting a piece of document is to write it in a different manner, alter its form and make it concise, amend or carry out necessary improvements. Hashtag: #RewriteAFilmIn5Words Rewrite Is Not Limited to Piece of Writing The term â€Å"rewrite† by definition is to write something again. Its purpose is to correct or improve a piece of writing or a written document. In the academic world, rewriting a piece of document is to write it in a different manner, alter its form and make it concise, amend or carry out necessary improvements. However, is this definition and academic form of â€Å"rewrite† applicable to film? LEARNING MORAL VALUES IN COLLEGE MOVIES In reality, the difference between a film and piece of writing such as books, articles, essays, and other written documents is their form. Films and written documents are actually mediums of communication where authors can transmit ideas to the audience. Moreover, if one would look closely, a film (except actual footage of real-life events of course) is nothing but a visual representation of a written story, images of scripted events, and ideas delivered in an explicit and more understandable form. The advantage, however, is that unlike paperbacks, films leaves nothing to the imagination and therefore complete and more accurate in terms audience comprehension. Therefore, when someone says #RewriteAFilmIn5Words, the person is actually asking you to write a concise five words description of the written ideas successfully transmitted by the film you saw. Now, how would you do that? Since the understanding of ideas transmitted through a film is highly dependent on viewer’s (reader’s for paperbacks) recall and interpretation, slight variation in the rewritten text is expected. However, the rewritten text must reflect the main ideas and objectives of the film otherwise; it is nothing but a deceptive piece of writing. Rewriting Is an Exact Science Rewriting a film is no different from rewriting an article, essay, and other written documents you read and understood. However, rewriting a concise version of an original document or film requires skills or the ability to restructure and write it in your own words without spoiling its main ideas and  objectives. If one would rewrite this article in 10 words, for example, the rewritten text will be something like â€Å"rewriting a film is possible but it must be exact†. Similarly, five words rewrite of the 1994 film â€Å"Shawshank Redemption† should be something like â€Å"Inmates redeemed through mutual respect† rather than simply â€Å"I have a black friend†. The reason is that although the film is undeniably about true friendship, the film’s main idea, and the objective is much more than having a black friend. In fact, the film is sharing some ideas regarding the possibility of imprisonment regardless of innocence, education, and color, friendship between men can flourish through mutual respect, the power of education and knowledge in reducing difficulties in life, the effect of long incarceration on the ability of ex-convicts to start a new life, and others. If there is no word limit, then the rewritten text for this film will be longer, detailed, and precise. WHAT IS THE WORST SONG IN THE WORLD? A film rewrite should be accurate and like a piece of writing, the rewritten text should be different in form, improved, concise but communicating similar ideas and achieving the same objectives as the original work. In practice, rewriting academic text requires a thorough knowledge of the original work, paper formatting, and content restructuring, paraphrasing technique, different writing styles, consistency, and precision. Now, can we actually rewrite a film? Yes! Just apply these skills and you can rewrite a film in any number of words.

Managerial Support Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Managerial Support Systems - Assignment Example If a company has a new product it wants to launch into the marketplace then the marketing function of the business become extremely important. A process is much different that a functional area. A business process can be defined as a set of coordinated tasks and conducted by both people and equipment that leads to a specific organizational goal (Techtarget, 2009). In a manufacturing plant the entire production line constitutes a business process. Business processes can be either internal or external. For example a company could have a business process in which the customers after purchasing a product must register the purchase in the corporate website in order to activate the warranty. This business process could be considered an external process because someone other than the employee had to perform the task. Business processes are important because they provide guidelines and parameters for stakeholders to follow. Typically each functional area within a business has its own set of business

Explain why perfectly competitive firms cannot make supernormal Essay - 1

Explain why perfectly competitive firms cannot make supernormal profits in the long run but monopolies can - Essay Example Producers are only interested of taking their cost and resources are easily mobilized. Thus it makes a perfect combination. The most interesting part is that Perfect Competitive market has growth levels to improve their quality and revise their prices which make them vulnerable and devoted towards their product. This is observed and practice because a lot of firms comes in and introduce their new may be advanced product to customers and if you fail to offer something equivalent then customers simply turns their backs. These are some positive gestures which you receive from the market to improve further or bring something new to attract the customers. All conditions are to be fulfilled to make it a Perfect Competitive Market. Monopolistic Market: It is a place where only one party holds the system and moulds it accordingly. There are several other problems that occur for consumers if the market is monopolistic like supply constraints are faced often and prices are fixed according to their will, mostly high and excessive barriers are being laid for new comers which is a hindrance in getting new offers and sufferers are only customers as they can’t help buying the product available. This type of markets are usually said to be in telecommunication or media industry sectors as they lay strong foundation by investing a huge amount which cannot be easily challenged. But they are bad for themselves in a way that they do not face competitor, which does not make them realize to go for innovations or advancements. The best example here is American Software Company known as Microsoft which ruled the software sector for decades because of its Windows Operating System. They were later challenged by Apple with extra ordinary efforts for which Apple waited for years and today it is in dominance. Remember efficiency is not the only factor affecting monopoly. Monopolies can still achieve a good profit ratio then Competitive markets in the long run. This term can

Constitutional and Administrative Law (question in instructions box) Essay

Constitutional and Administrative Law (question in instructions box) - Essay Example However, in practice most of the UK’s administrations in the recent past have normally initiated parliamentary debate as a way of legitimizing military deployments abroad even if parliament is lacking express war powers. In 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in reassessing his government-initiated parliamentary approval for the 2003 deployment of troops in Iraq recognized that he could not contemplate a circumstance in which an executive could single-handedly declare war, unless they are dealing with situations where the use of military would be urgently needed to restore or preserve the security of the state1. In such situations, convening parliamentary sittings, debate and approval of military deployments would be belated, hence the need to circumvent parliament. Either way, holding a parliamentary debate on pre-deployment of military forces, the schedule and any eventual resolutions are not legally compelling to the executive and the Prime Minister to act in a certain way2. The vote on the 2003 military deployments in Iraq marked a significant part in the history of exercising war powers. The Tony Blair government donated more of its war powers to Parliament by engaging the people’s representatives to approve of its military agendas3. The need to involve parliament in war declarations has been reinforced by subsequent qualms about whether the Prime Minister, as the individual charged with micromanaging the country’s security apparatus had made the right decision(s), considering the vital trade-off between national security and the potentially high costs that overseas deployments normally attract. A parliamentary approval of military deployments would cushion the executive from â€Å"extreme† parliamentary oversight that would follow such deployments, particularly when the military actions exceed the pre-planned budgets limits4. The current Coalition government has sought parliamentary

Uses of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas

Uses of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas 2. Literature Review According to data from 2005, about 90% of the EU-27 territory is considered rural (predominantly rural and intermediate regions) where 54% of the population lives (EU, 2008). Hence, that the EU has constantly developed different policies orientated to these particular regions. Large amount of studies have been done over the years about sustainable development in rural areas, originating different socio economics theories, policies and systems, even some of them have been put in practice with more or less success in different countries. This review will therefore highlight some works which have been done with the aim of achieving a development in so difficult areas mainly dependent on agriculture and farming economies. Due to the big number of studies done over the years, it would be very difficult to include all of them in this study. Consequently, this review is mainly focusing the attention to those European, national or regional policies that concern the topic of this thesis. Principally, this chapter will review those works about development of rural areas; farming co-ops as an important tool for this objective; Common Agricultural Policy and its positives and negatives influences; and the use of renewable energies for a sustainable and local development in rural areas. It is not the aim of this review to analyse all the studies done about sustainable development in rural areas, cause it would be out of the scope of this thesis, or at least it would be too wide subject, and it would need its own study. Consequently, the literature has been reduced to those policies about rural development and renewable energy done by public institutions such as European Union, Spanish ministries and regional administrations. Neither is it the objective of this thesis to do a study about community benefits from renewable energies as a whole, therefore the range of studies treated in this chapter are merely those more related with the topic of this work. As there are different areas in which it is necessary to concentrate on, the review will be divided in different sections according to the field under study: farming coops as and their role in the development of rural areas; Common Agricultural Policy; Rural Development Policy; and Renewable energies in rural areas. 2.1. Farming cooperative systems. There is a large amount of studies done over the years showing the important role that the cooperative systems can play in the development of rural areas or even poverty alleviation (de la Jara y Ayala, 1992; Lele, 1981; Là ³pez and Marcuello, 2005; Monasterios, 2009; Morales, 1995; Nevares, 1963; Novkovic, 2008; Simmons and Birchall, 2008). These model of company contributes to the rural development not only theoretically but also from the reality. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) (2007) defines co-operative as â€Å"autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. They are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others†. Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005) not only assume the obvious role that the co-operatives play as an organizational reference, but also, they could not neglect the value of this model as a socio-economic actor. Accoring to their study, joining this two functions co-operatives can be one the pillars of the economy and society, becoming in a fundamental factor of development in rural regions. Simmons and Birchall (2008) used the same reasons exposed to propose the use of cooperative societies by developing countries as an essential tool to achieve a sustainable economic growth and alleviate the poverty. However, not only developing countries are using these models, but also the developed countries do, and try to protect, reinforce and increase the creation of co-operatives. For instance, Spain has put a great effort throughout the years in the growth of the cooperatives, even the article 129.2 of the Spanish Constitution (1978) says that â€Å"the public authorities shall effectively promote the various forms of participation in enterprise and facilitate cooperative enterprises by means of appropriate legislation†. Consequently, Spain count with the law 27/1999 of cooperatives (1999) that foments the creation of this type of organisations as a key to impulse the growth of the economy and employment, highlighting the ethical values that the cooperative principles such as solidarity, democracy, equality and social vocation, have, considering them indispensables to build an enterprise where the members feel identified with. Proof of the investment made in the cooperatives is that they are very well established in different sectors, especially in the agriculture, in which, for instance, in the European Union and North America imply between 30 and 70% of the market (Cropp Ingalsbe, 1989; van Bekkum van Dijk, 1997; Nilsson, 2001). Besides, there are different international organisations that represents this type of societies joining forces in terms of defending their interests out of the local level. Such as the case of COGECA (General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union) (2009), which it was created in 1959, and nowadays represents about 40,000 farmers cooperatives, employing 660,000 people. COGECA (2009) recognised the importance of the agricultural cooperatives in the rural regions, being the most important development operators and becoming the connexion of the socio-economic in rural regions. COGECA (2009) shows how the figures originated by the agricultural cooperatives in the European Union, such as more than 50% of the share in the supply of agricultural inputs; more than 60% in the collection, processing and marketing of agricultural products; and a global annual turnover of three hundred billion euros; speak by themselves. Going to a more local scale, de la Jara y Ayala (1992) studied the influence of the agricultural cooperatives in the development of the rural region of Extremadura (Spain), taking advantage of his experienced in the area, creating and working with cooperatives since 1975. The study reveals that, in a region affected by the significant emigration of the population to the cities between 1960 and 1981, clearly dependent on the agriculture from the economic and social point of view with a 27,2% of workforce and generating the 20,24% of its GDP by 1987 (while the figures for the whole country were 13,8% and 5,43% respectively); the different policies accomplished by the national or regional authorities, promoted cooperative societies to develop the region and create stable employment. With especial mention to the plan elaborated in 1982, PECOEX (Cooperative Experimental Plan of Extremadura), on the bases of which 98 new cooperatives were created employing more than 1,000 people. All the t rust deposited in this kind of socioeconomic system, made that the 24,71% of the working population in Extremadura was directly linked with farming cooperatives in 1992. Besides, de la Jara y Ayala (1992) made some case studies in populations between 3,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, revealing a significant influence of the farming cooperatives, especially in the smallest villages, as generators of wealth and stable employment. Actually, in the cases studied the workforce dependent on farming coops was between 52 and 83%. And as consequence of the growth of the cooperative societies, the villages have seen the increase of other commercial activities, agricultural industry and standard of living, remarking the role of the agricultural cooperatives as driving force of the development of their communities. However, there is a significant number of studies arguing the efficiency of this kind of organisations. Among others, Katz and Boland (2002); Lele (1981); Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005); Nilsson (2001); Ortmann and King (2007); suggest that cooperatives suffer from technical, scale and allocative infficiency. Basically all these studies have been done analysing mainly the economic point of view, seeing the cooperatives societies as businesses and leaving on the side the social consequences of this kind of organisations in their community. Nevertheless, cooperatives are still competing in different markets prospering and growing. If they were truly uneconomic they would be eliminated of the markets. Nilsson (2001) and Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005), recognised that one of the possible options of the survival of the cooperatives could be the public support that they have. Usually, due to the important social role of the cooperatives, the different governments compensate this organisations with lower taxes and/or interest subsidies, for instance. Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005) analysed the situation of different agricultural cooperatives, trying to identified the link between their economic situation and the subsidies they were getting from the European Union through the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). The study did not discovered that due to the grants that they received from the CAP the cooperative societies are becoming more inefficient, however, it revealed that these subsidies are allowing some inefficient cooperatives to survive in the market, making them dependent on the European financial support. Consequently with a reduction in the CAP could cause the decease of those inefficient organisations. 2.2. Common Agricultural Policy. CAP. The Treaty of Rome (1957) commence the Common Agricultural Policy in terms of protecting a sector that, by then, employed one third of the population generating the 20% of the GDP (Bureau and Matthew, 2005). The objectives of the CAP set in the Treaty of Rome (1957) were: to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilisation of the factors of production, in particular labour; to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture; to stabilise markets; to assure the availability of supplies; to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. Bureau and Matthew (2005) exposed that the main measure implemented to achieve these objectives was through prices intervention, achieving a stabilisation of the prices and a rapid technological evolution. Consequently, the costs decreased and the production increased significantly, reaching some of the goals. However, the actual consequences were that the population in rural areas decreased due to the low income, and the consume grew, but at a lower rate than the production, generating a surplus disposed in domestic and international markets with almost no competition due to the subsided exports. Nevertheless, the CAP remained untouched until its first great reform, the MacSharry reform that was implemented in 1994. This reform tried to reduce the surplus cutting the intervention prices and compensating the farmers with a direct payment independent of the quantity produced. At the same time it introduced some social policies such as early retirement and agri-environmental scheme (European Parliament, 2001; Fennell, 1993). It would be with the necessity of preparation for the incorporation of the new members to the EU, when the CAP was further reformed with the Agenda 2000 (1999), which introduced new price cuts and reinforced a second pillar of the policy to support environmental and social services and the quality of the products creating a Rural Development Regulation for the following six year. However is in the mid-term CAP reform (2002) when appeared the decoupled payments, called Single Farm Payments (SFP), which depend on the commodity not affecting the production. With this reform, the subsidies do not depend on the volume of production and, to get access to them, it is required to follow the EU regulations regarding environment, food safety and quality, and animal welfare. The SFP and the new cuts in intervention prices started in between 2005 and 2007, depending on the country. Other measures of the reform were, first, to fixed the budget of the CAP for the period 2006-2013, so the nominal quantity would be the same, even with the introduction of Romania and Bulgaria by 2007; and second, to strength the second pillar of the CAP, creating a rural development policy which began to be applied in 2005. All the CAP reforms have been worked out with the aim of reducing the direct subsidies to the prices or volume of production. As Bureau and Matthew (2005) exposed that, after 12 years of reforms, the intervention prices had been cut in more than a 45%, so the support is not being linked to the quantity and to increase the income of the farmers, they will need to do it through the marketplace, and not thanks to the subsidies. Besides, 5% of the SFP was transferred to rural development measures. Although, the scope of the SFP were to reduce the incentives for intensification, this achievement is still unknown. And another issue detected is that the decoupling differs across the different states, and actually, they are allowed to keep part of the previous payments, hence that some countries, like France, still make them, because of the fearing of land abandonment. Despite the attempts of the EU of reforming the CAP to solve the problems caused in the international markets and developing countries, and at the same time maintaining the main objectives within the domestic markets, there are different organisations and studies made, claiming for a further reform of the CAP (Bureau et al., 2005; Redclift et al., 1999; FAO, 2009; Rice, 2003; Butault et al., 2006; WTO, 2006; WTO, 2008). Bureau et al. (2005) summarized the different causes for a further reform of the CAP. Among those are economic, because 40% of the EU budget is going to the CAP, however 50% of it is going to only the 7% of the beneficiaries. Besides there is a growing feeling of spending the money on other sectors like research and development or education. Other reasons are environmental, so making a more ecological CAP, it would be possible to decrease the production farming and intensification. On the contrary, the reality of the EU-27 agriculture, reported by the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (2008), is that it represents 6,2% of employment, varying from 1% to 33% in United Kingdom and Romania respectively, while accounting for 1.8% of GDP, differing from 0.4% to 9.5% in the different countries with Luxembourg at the bottom of the list and Romania at the top. It is evident that the importance of this sector is decreasing in EU-27, although there is still a strong and very important agrifood industry. There is a significant number of farmers and agri-cooperatives associations, represented at EU level by COPA-COGECA (2009), that defends the CAP as a measure to ensure food stability and quality; moderate price for consumers and fair earnings for farmers; employment and public services. It is still soon to have clear evidences of the consequences of the last reforms of the CAP, and even more difficult to associate the changes in the agri-food sector exclusively with the modifications of the CAP, cause, as any other sector, it has been affected by the difficult economic situation of the last few years. On the other hand, the consequences cannot be analysed in a European level and it is much clear at a national or even regional level. In this section, several transformation that the Spanish agricultural sector has suffered in the last few years and, predictably, could be linked to the several CAP reforms, are highlighted. The coordinator of farming organisations, COAG, (2003) predicted some of the impacts of the PAC reform done in 2003. Among them, it brought out the possible reduction in the agrarian exploitations incomes and with it the farmers income between 10% and 50% depending on the cultivated crop. It would imply the abandonment of the farming activity estimating the disappearance of about 1.77 million jobs. In terms of the reduction of the cultivated area, the COAG (2003) made an estimation of the area that would not be cultivated depending on the product (2.1) accounting a total area of 1,757,250 ha. More recently, the National Commission of Agriculture, Environment and Fish (2008) showed that the agrarian working population has decreased in an 8% for the previous four years, and at the same time, the agrarian income is about 65% of the average. Also the COAG (2009) has just reported a decrease in the Spanish agrarian income of 26.3% since 2003, the second worst figure for the last 20 years only overtaken by the registered data from 1992, associating the PAC as one of the causes among others. Nevertheless, due to the pressures, the European Commission, Fischer (2009), started to work on the next reforms of the CAP which should come after 2013, recognising the importance of reducing the direct payments dramatically after 2013. But, due to the high value of the sector and the significant number of population dependent on it, or at least living in rural areas, Fischer (2009) also emphasized the importance of reorientating the CAP to its second pillar, rural development. 2.3. Rural Development Policy. The OECD (2009) defined rural local units as those whose population density is less than 150 inhabitants per square kilometre. But also classifying in three different categories: â€Å"Predominantly Rural region† (PR): more than half of the dwellers of the region lives in rural communes. â€Å"Intermediate Region† (IR): between 15% and 50% of the inhabitants live in rural local units. And those regions with an urban centre with more than 200.000 inhabitants representing more than 25% of the population in a â€Å"predominantly rural† region. â€Å"Predominantly Urban region† (PU): the population living in rural local units is below 15%. Or when having an urban centre of more than 500.000 inhabitants, this represents more than a quarter of the total population of an â€Å"intermediate† region. According to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Union (2008), about 90% of the EU-27 territory is considered rural (predominantly rural and intermediate regions) where 54% of the population lives. However, rural areas are not only important because of their extension, but also because they offer 53% of the workforce and 42% of the GVA in EU-27 (83% and 74% respectively for the new members). In those terms, the primary sector in the EU-27 provide 6.2% of employment (varying from 1% to 33% in UK and Romania) and 1.8% of GDP (from 0.4% in Luxembourg to 9.5% in Romania). Nevertheless, the socioeconomic indicators of these regions are much lower than those in non-rural areas as it can be observed in the figures of appendix A. Due to the consecutive reforms of the CAP, as it was explained in previous sections, the agriculture was going to suffer significant changes, specially in those situations where it has been clearly dependent on the European subsidies. Being the agriculture the main source of employment and economic development in rural areas, the problems affecting the sector could have repercussions on the entire rural society. In an attempt to compensate the lack of funding on the agriculture, the EU developed a program to support the rural areas. Agenda 2000 (1999) constituted rural development policy as the second pillar of the CAP creating a unique regulation for the whole EU between 2000 and 2006. Although, it would be in the Mid Term Reform of the CAP (2002) where it was decided to completely reinforce the rural development policy transferring funds from the first to the second pillar of the CAP. The Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) originated the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), allowing to regulate the rural development policy through one fund, one management and control system. This regulation along with the Council Decision 2006/144/EC (2006) defined the priorities and measures for rural development as well as the objectives and the strategic to follow for the period 2007-2013. The objectives of the new rural development policy are: improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by supporting restructuring, development and innovation; improving the environment and the countryside by supporting land management; improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity. To achieve these objectives, the Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) and the Council Decision 2006/144/EC (2006) specified different key actions acting in diverse fields. Those strategies and plans were divided in four axes according to the objective they are aiming to cover: * Axis 1: â€Å"Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector† The agriculture is losing importance as the main activity in the rural areas. However, the value of the agrifood sector in the rural economy and its role as food and services supplier, it is fundamental to preserve it. The growth of the market due to the enlargement of the EU is also increasing the competitiveness. Hence that factors such as efficiency and innovation are keys for the survival and development of the sector. Increasing competitiveness means reduction of costs production, improvement of food quality, value-added products, less pollutant and more environmentally friendly production technology, for instance. * Axis 2: â€Å"Improving the environment and the countryside† Involve all those measures orientated to preserve the EUs landscapes and natural resources guaranteeing a sustainable use of the land. These actions included in the axis 2 should contribute to the fight against climate change, improvement of water quality and biodiversity. * Axis 3: â€Å"The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy† The aim of this axis is to help to create new employment possibilities with the diversification of the activities to those non-agriculture related. All those measures associated to improve the access to infrastructure, better environment and basic services, are also included in this axis. * Axis 4: â€Å"Leader†. The leader axis is a continuation of previous programmes implemented by the EU. Basically it contributes to the achievement of the priorities gathered in the axis 1, 2 and 3, by supporting the execution of local development strategies. This axis is created to reinforce the rural development in the long term encouraging actions leaded by local actors. These actions could ascent environmental consciousness, and invest in renewable resources and energy. The Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) also established that each member state should create its own strategy plan and programme according to its situation and characteristics. Consequently, the Spanish Ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food (2007a) (2007b), recently renamed Ministry of the environment, rural and marine affairs (2008), did its job and created the correspondent documents in terms of establishing the new European policy. Besides, the law 45/2007 (2007) approved by the Spanish parliament, establishes and regulates the diverse measures to support the sustainable development in rural areas. The law takes as a reference the European policy adapting it to its particular social, financial and environmental situation. As the Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005), the Spanish law include measures to improve the diversification of the economy, the quality of life and to protect and recover the natural and cultural resources of the rural environment. 2.4. Renewable energies in rural areas. In terms of establishing a plan to comply the Kioto protocol and create new commitments after 2012 for the reductions of carbon emissions, the European Union (2009) fixed an objective of 20% of the overall energy generation from renewable sources by 2020. The European Union also highlighted the importance of the development of renewable energies to guarantee the energy supply in the Community; to create new employment opportunities; and to produce a regional development, especially in rural areas. At the same time, the European Union (2009) emphasized the value of boosting investment at regional and local levels to promote the renewable energy installations and with it also promote the creation of employment; regional and local development; and social cohesion. In the case of Spain, in its renewable energy plan (2005) acknowledged the importance of investing in those areas where the resources are located according to achieve its renewable energy targets. It assumed that those resources are mainly in rural areas, creating a socio-economic benefit increasing the employment and stimulating the economic development in these specific areas which are suffering from depopulation, contributing to develop sustainably the rural areas. The Spanish renewable energy plan (2005) also expressed the necessity of promoting the renewable energy development taking into account other European policies, especially the common agricultural policy and rural development. Congruently, the Spanish Royal Decree 1578/2008 (2008) recognised the advantages that photovoltaic installations integrated in the buildings may offered as distributed generation and social diffusion of renewable energies, extending this advantages to the farming installations being consistent with the Law 45/2007 of rural development mentioned in previous sections. 2.5. Defining the gap. As it has been described, the CAP has generated positive and negative consequences in external as well as internal markets for years. Hence that the European Union has been trying to correct the problems with consecutive reforms. It seems to be evident that the CAP needs a deep reform in terms to avoid the disruption that it has generated in the international agri-food markets, especially to developing countries. However, the reforms of the CAP have also favoured an intensification in the production and with it to the larger producers whereas the small farming co-ops, family farms or any other small producers have it difficult to survive without any external support. It looks as though there is the challenge of the CAP reform, to adapt the agri-food industry to the world trade liberalisation and at the same time avoid the environmental impact of the intensive agriculture, not forgetting the preservation of the quality of the products. On the contrary, it is the situation of the farmers. Nowadays they have the conflict whether becoming a specialised producer to compete in the market or assuming a function of environmental manager. Nevertheless, it has to be taken into account that about 90% of the European territory is considered rural areas where more than half of the population lives and the agriculture is the base of the socio-economy. Agriculture employs directly more then 12 million people (DG AGRI, 2008). However, it has already been shown in previous sections, how agri-food cooperatives may develop their surrounding community making much more citizens indirectly dependent on the agriculture. According to the last CAP reforms, it seems that the European Union is trying to diversify the economy in rural areas boosting the second pillar of the CAP, rural development, consequently the population it would not be so dependent on agri-food markets. One of the measures to achieve this, it is through renewable energies. Bearing in mind that rural areas are about 90% of the territory and it is there where the resources are located, it seems to be logic the investment in renewable energies, especially if the European Union is aiming to achieve its targets in this field. It is at this point where the agri-food coops and family farms could have a chance, not only of maintaining the production, but also of increasing the incomes that it would allow them to pay attention to the quality of their products. Although it could even create and independence of the agriculture from the subsidies of the CAP. If the farmers use part of their fields, or even the roofs and facades of theirs agri-food industry facilities, to generate electricity thanks to renewable sources, and then, they could sell it to the national grid, it would give them that extra income completely independent on the European Union. It is the scope of this study to analyse the options that small farms could have to substitute the CAP subsidies for the profit they could get becoming also electricity generators using renewable energy systems. In the case it would be possible for the farmers to become independent of the CAP, it would allow to the European Union to invest that 40% of the budget that it is spending in the agriculture in other fields such as education or research and development. And consequently that investment would also go, directly or indirectly, to the rural areas and agriculture. Because if it is possible to maintain the agri-food coop system in rural areas, it would be also possible to maintain the community benefits that this kind of organisations generate. This measures would follow the objectives of the CAP reforms, allowing the EU to reduce its budget in agriculture, but at the same time improving the standard of living in rural areas. In addition, it would also do its bit according to the rural development policy. This measure would fulfil the four axis of this policy maintaining the agri-food sector, diversifying the economy and combating climate change. 3. A European rural region: Extremadura. 3.1. Introduction. As it was commented in the previous section, the use of renewable energy could be an option for the rural areas to achieve its development. All the policies that are being recently formulated at European as well as national level, focused on the promotion of renewable energy and looking for a development in the most unfavourable areas, could be joined together, or at least some of its main points for the improvement of the standard of living in rural areas. In terms of studying the possibility of substitution of the CAP subsidises for the income a farmer can get with a renewable energy installation, more concretely with photovoltaic, it is necessary to find an European rural region. The rural region of Extremadura (Spain) has been selected for its rurality, highly dependency on the agriculture compare to the Spanish and European average and its high potential for photovoltaic systems installation. In the following points this region and its characteristics will be presented analysing its rural condition; the agrarian sector and the consequences of the last CAP reforms; and its photovoltaic potential. 3.2. Rural Development. Extremadura is one of the 17 regions of Spain. It is located in the mid west, bounded on the west by Portugal (figure 3.1.). With a total population of 1,102,410 inhabitants, Extremadura is divided in two provinces, Badajoz (half south) and Cà ¡ceres (half north), and it is defined as a predominantly rural region according to the OECD criteria. Actually, Extremadura accounts with 41,634 km2, entailing a population density of only 26 inhabitants/km2 (INE, 2009). Another peculiarity of this region is its economic structure. The primary sector plays a significant role in the GDP and employm