Critical Essay †“By any other name” by John Lavin Essay

In the short story â€Å"By any other name† written by John Lavin, the theme of relationships is developed throughout the story by Lavin’s choice of language and descriptive writing. By looking at Lavin’s chosen setting and characterisation in the story, I will examine the theme of relationships. The story is set in the slums of Glasgow around the 1930’s is about a boy called Peter and his fight for survival with his parents in very poor conditions. To examine the theme of relationships it is important to examine the setting of the story. The setting Lavin created and how they get on with each other affect the characters. Due to a rapid growth in urbanisation, overcrowding and poor living conditions were very common. â€Å"Disease and death and want stalked through the sunless hovels† The use of personification here offers the reader an insight into the terrible conditions that many had to endure this period of time. It also shows how poor the family were. â€Å"Smell of cats and sickness and primitive drainage† This creates a very filthy image of the area they lived in. It also gives the reader the shock factor. I also feel that it puts a very hard strain of the family has they have to live in such horrible conditions. Peter does not get on very well with his father and they don’t have a very good relationship with each other. â€Å"He was always drunk just as I was always hungry† This shows that Peter’s father spent all the family’s money on drink and since they had no money they could not afford to put no food on the table. I also feel this shows that Peter had no respect for his father and also resented that his dad spent all the money. â€Å"I still fell pity I had for him, the only emotion he ever stirred in me† This gives the me the reader an insight into the feelings Peter had for his father. Peter I think felt sorry but had no real admiration for him, as he was always drunk and never really cared for him. â€Å"A mangled thing† Here Peter is talking about his father. This is a very impersonal thing to say about your father but this was true in Peter’s case. I also feel this shows that Peter lack any sort of emotion. Peter had a very good relationship with his mother. â€Å"My mother had the loveliest hair I ever saw† I feel this shows that Peter shows a lot of affection for his mother and that he loves her dearly. He also I think admires her for putting up with his father and the terrible living conditions that they had to endure. â€Å"Grey autumn day† I feel that his sets the tone for his mother’s death as she died from TB. I also think that his conveys very well how Peter feels, as he is now all alone as he does not get on with his father. Peter’s parents did not have a very good relationship. â€Å"They seldom spoke† They did not have any real conversations. The short sentence I feel sums up and emphasize how poor their relationship was. I think John Lavin has done a great job of convey the theme of relationships between family members.   

Leading Change in an Organization Essay

Abstract The reality of change is that it is likely to occur in personal life and business. In order for an organization to confront the realities of change, effective leadership is essential. Leadership is critical to the success of any change initiative. There are many forms of leadership that each come with a variety of personality traits, this paper will discuss leadership characteristics believed to be necessary to successfully manage change in organizations for the next decade and how to use Kotter’s change model to implement successful change management. Change in simply defined as â€Å"to make something different†, according to Mr. Neryl East, the author of â€Å"Change –What it is and what it isn’t† (East, 2007). Change management is the process that an organization uses to respond and adapt to change in order to improve its effectiveness and ensure continued success (Leban & Saban, 2008). Leadership is critical to the success of any change initiative in an organization. Quality leadership characteristics are equally important to the success of an organization. When good leadership is in place in an organization, it can be felt throughout the entire organization. When good leadership exists, positive corporate culture is not forced, it is developed (Mills, 2005). Leadership is defined as a process by which one person influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others (Leban & Stone, 2008). Leaders set a direction for everyone else and they help the people around them see what lies ahead; they help their followers to visualize what might be achieved and they encourage and inspire. Without leadership it is likely that a group of individuals would quickly collapse into argument and conflict. Leadership helps to point people in the same direction and works towards joint efforts.  Leadership is the ability to get other people to do something significant that they might not otherwise do. It’s energizing people toward a goal (Mills, 2005). In order for a leader to affect change in others he/she should possess many positive characteristics such as the ability to be a good communicator, be proactive versus being reactive and be flexible and adaptable among many possible characteristics to name a few (Group, 2009). As a leader, it is equally important to deliver clear, concise and consistent messages as it is to listen. Leaders should demonstrate a willingness to work to understand the needs of others. Leaders who are able to be successful at listening are able to ask meaningful questions, consider all options and provide leadership in the right direction. Secondly, is the ability to always think ahead, being proactive instead of reactive. Leaders who possess this characteristic are able to master their work environment with the goal of avoiding potential problems before they occur. And lastly, an effective leader will adapt to new surroundings and situations, doing their best to adjust in unexpected or uncomfortable situations (Val & Kemp, 2012). Change strategies that are believed to generally be effective for leading fundamental change are first the need for close and constant communication, it is also important to communicate regularly on the important, significant issues and topics. Also, it is important that all members of the company think and act purposefully and then communicate the assignment and required parts to each member of the department, positioning the foundation for a good fit with the company’s mission and plan. The leadership style of a manager during the change process can be either cooperative and consultative or commanding and coercive (Leban & Stone, 2008). According to Neryl East, the author of â€Å"Implementing an Effective Change Management Strategy†, when staff members are working jointly with management in a cooperative style, it can be expected that there will be both long and short term success to the company since the team will address issues and concerns and makes decisions in the general best interest of the organization. In the same way, when the decision is made by management to force the change, the staff may not be allowed to participate in the decision making process. (East, 2007). Following this further, the Kotter’s process of leading change model has good framework to allow the manager to work in a collaborative style with staff. Kotter’s model was established after studying more than one hundred organizations (Leban & Stone, 2008). Mr. Kotter was perplexed about the fact that the majority of change efforts were unsuccessful, and he sought out to identify the common error made in the change process. Kotters’s eight stage model offers a process to successfully manage change and avoid the common mistakes that occur during change in an organization (Leban &Stone, 2008). Furthermore, the Kotter’s model for change is effective because it provided two lessons, first that the change process goes through a series of phases, each could last a considerable period of time and second that critical mistakes in any phase can have a devastating impact on the momentum of the change process. Kotter’s process of change focuses on the strategic, not tactical level of the change management process (Leban & Stone, 2008). In retrospect, the use of the Kotter’s change model during the implementation of electronic health records at my current employer, Clayton Eye Center could have yielded a better transition and fostered a more positive work environment. In the Kotter’s change model, the first four stages deal with â€Å"unfreezing† the organization. These steps involve reducing those forces that are allowing the organization to continue its current behavior. The next three stages introduce new practices, â€Å"changing/moving†. This step shifts the behavior of the organization to a new level. The last stage is required to ground the changes in the corporate culture â€Å"refreezing† and make them stick. This step steadies the organization at a new state of balance (Leban & Stone, 2008). The first step in the Kotter’s model of change is to establish a great sense of urgency, identify crisis, potential crises and major opportunities (Leban & Stone, 2008). The passing of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) in 2009 by President Obama was the driver of change for The Eye Center (CEC) (Secretary, 2013). The system had to be in place by deadlines set forth by the government, therefore the  urgency for change was created. The second step in the Kotter’s model of change is creating the guiding coalition, by putting together a group of people with enough power to lead the change (Leban & Stone, 2008). The Eye Center was successful in organizing a core team, composed of managers from each department to provide various perspectives to the change process. The appointed core team had previously worked together on various change issues and working as a cohesive unit was of no concern. The third step of the Kotter’s model of change is developing a transformational vision and strategy. Create a vision that will help direct the change and develop strategies for achieving that vision ( Leban & Stone, 2008). During this step, The Eye Center missed the opportunity to develop a positive need for the change. The vision for implementing a new EHR system was often stated as, â€Å"because we have too†. This was an opportunity for upper management to frame the view of the change before anyone formed a negative opinion about the change. The fourth step of Kotter’s model of change is communicating the change vision, using all possible avenues to constantly communicate the new vision and strategies (Leban & Stone, 2008). In this step, The Eye Center was reluctant to communicate the change because they held hope that ultimately the change would not be needed. Once it was clear that the bill signed into law by the President would be upheld, there was very little time to effectively communicate the change vision and receive positive buy in from the staff. The fifth step of Kotter’s model of change is empowering a broad base of people to take action, getting rid of blockers, changing systems or structures that did not line up with the change vision (Leban & Stone, 2008). Empowering the staff, whether real or perceived could have been a very important step to achieving staff support towards the change. However, in the case of The Eye Center, only the managers appointed for the core team were empowered as they were the only members of the staff who had knowledge  about the upcoming change. Keeping the majority of the staff members in the dark about the change and not providing a platform for them to feel a part of the change was instrumental in the outcome for the possibility of successful change. The sixth step of Kotter’s model of change is generating short term wins, visibly recognizing and rewarding people who made the wins possible (Leban & Stone, 2008). Generating short-term wins is necessary to prevent the loss of momentum and keep the organization engaged. The Eye Center was not as successful as it could have been in this step. Approximately 2 months after implementation, upper management decided to reward the front desk staff for what had been considered reasonably successful implementation of the system thus far. However, the other 4 departments that were largely affected by EHR implementation and played a role in its success, although only 2 months in were not offered rewards for their efforts. This flaw in judgment created negative vibes between departments that needed to work together for continued success of the change implementation. The seventh step of Kotter’s model of change is consolidating gains and producing even more change by hiring, promoting and developing people who can implement the change vision (Leban & Stone, 2008). In this step, The Eye Center could make strides to correct past change errors by focusing on the continued development of staff with the new EHR system. The company should also consider utilizing previously purchased unused project management hours to aid them in this step to ensure that moving forward the change vision process is revitalized. And finally in this step, the company could build on polices and structures that have worked during the change process and remove all polices and structures that don’t fit the change vision. The eighth and final step of the Kotter’s model of change is institutionalizing new approaches in the culture by articulating the connections between new behaviors and company success while developing means to ensure leadership development and succession (Leban & Stone, 2008). This step again creates an opportunity for The Eye Center to build a foundation for successful change moving forward. The company could use this step to  make successful change a part of its culture by communicating to the staff how current behaviors do or do not line up with the change vision of the organization. The implementation of continued leadership development through ongoing training would also fulfill this step while preparing the company for successful change behavior in the future. A clear description of the characteristics of a healthy organization prepared to address the issues of change in the 21st century is upper management support and involvement, considering the needs of employees and an effective project manager. Change is almost impossible without the support and involvement of top leaders. Leadership must set the direction, pace and tone while providing a clear vision that brings everyone together (Leban & Stone, 2008). In order for any change initiative to be successful, the company must create a positive culture and motivate the staff, this allows them to visualize and buy in to the change project (Leban & Stone, 2008). Effective project management involves planning and coordinating all aspects of the change program, this allows the organization to place necessary focus on the values, attitudes and behavior of everyone involved to guarantee an effective outcome ( Leban & Stone, 2008). Without these characteristics, change programs risk failure. In final consideration, there are many change models available to organizations; the Kotter’s eight-stage model dictates that each stage be worked through in order to obtain successful change. Skipping even one step or moving too far ahead with a concrete foundation can create problems according to Mr. Kotter (Leban & Stone, 2008). In the case of The Eye Center, we see this to be the case; as complete follow through of each step could have yielded better results for the organization. The need for change is almost guaranteed for every organization if they want to remain relevant. Organizations that will succeed in the 21st century and beyond are those who are aware of what is changing in their perspective industries and are willing to take into account how those changes are most likely to affect its current success. References East, N. (2007). Change-What it is and what it isn’t. Retrieved from Implementing an Effective Change Management Strategy: http://www.ark-group.com/downloads/Change-Management-Chap.pdf Group, H. L. (2009). Holden Leadership Center. Retrieved from Leadership Characteristics: Leadership Styles. Pathways: The Ontario Journal Of Outdoor Education, 24(3), 28-31. Leban, B., Stone, R. (2008). Managing Organizational Change 2nd ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Mills, D. Q. (2005). Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live. Retrieved from The Importance of Leadership: http://www.cafanet.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qwswE8roe74%3D&tabid=96 Secretary, O. (2013, June 13). FACT SHEET: White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues. Retrieved from The White House: www.whitehouse.gov Val, C., Kemp, J. (2012). Leadership Styles. The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, v24 n3 p28-31 Spring 2012 4pp.

The Next Industrial Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Next Industrial Revolution - Essay Example Realizing the current state of the environment, he has one consistent theme, ‘we need a new design’. He likens it to a building which was built in the past with no regard for its structural design, but in the present, buildings cannot be built without taking into consideration a lot of factors, one of which is the environment, because things have changed, and in most cases, for the worst. Sustainable design The challenge that William sought to meet was designing an economy that would be pedagogical in its design and maintenance. The Adam Joseph Lewis Centre For Environmental Studies is an example of such as it borrows its design concept from a tree which is self sustaining in its nature. The Adam Lewis Centre stands as the first of its kind because it sustains itself in every single activity; waste management to its own energy supply. The Herman Miller brand is another of its kind which relies on solar income to sustain the factory. It is called ‘The Green House Fa cility. It got the first ever ‘Good Design is Good Business’ Award from Business Week magazine. Even though it cost 15% more than a comparable building, energy cost decreased by 30% and performance rose dramatically. They produced twice as much with the same number of people. Over half of the employees maintained a 100% attendance record, which showed that it was a good working environment. Regulation-System Failure The majority of the companies despite heavily polluting the environment with their products and their waste, all hide behind the phrase, ‘it’s proprietary, it’s legal’. The current environmental laws do not stop pollution, they only slow it down. They do not realize that in their quest to achieve maximum profits in the shortest times; they are cutting short the lifespan of the environment, in effect shortening their lives. Companies that have embraced Sustainable Economy DESIGNTEX which is a leading designer and manufacturer of tex tiles for commercial interiors wanted to create a product both environmentally friendly and profitable. Its executive got in touch with William McDonough and Michael Braungart and decided to follow through with the company’s goal. The Swiss Chemical Giant CEBA-GEGY was convinced to work with them accepting that it was very risky. The McDonough Design Protocol tested 1600 dyes provided by CEDA-GEGY to determine whether they caused illnesses and found only 16 met the required standards. This was enough. They set out from day one with no compromise on aesthetics or performance. Profits increased, workers became contented and customers were satisfied. William went to Nike and asked them to incorporate sustainable design into their products. The question was whether Nike would take the financial risk after all the success they had had with their status quo. After intensive research, in May 2001, Nike introduced a new rubber sole free of harmful ingredients, which gelled with the c oncept of sustainable design. The new design also protects their workers’

Age Discrimination in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Age Discrimination in the Workplace - Essay Example In their article, Butler &Berrett (2012) argue that the American working force is progressively getting older and working for more years and the baby boomer generation is currently defying the age long tradition of working for about 30 years before going into retirement. These individuals are now preferring to continue with working well past their retirement age. According to Butler &Berrett (2012), data presented by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that there are currently over 142.6 million people in employment and that are aged 40 years and over. These individuals are seen to account for 46% of the U.S. population. In addition to this, the paper highlights the plight that is normally faced by the older generation in the workplace as a result of frequent discrimination and then goes on to propose a practical approach that potentially be used by human resource personnel and educators so as to ensure that all the various employee related decisions are seen to be handled.In their Agei sm in the workplace article that appeared in theSpring 2007 editions of the Generations Journal, Helen Dennis and Kathryn Thomas start off by affirming that ageism is currently seen to be firmly entrenched as part of the main social fabric in American life. They argue that the practice of ageism is widely pervasive as is clearly evident across some of the different sectors such as education, media, healthcare and advertising. Dennis & Thomas (2007) point out that the workplace is in essence a microcosm of society.

Four Forces of Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Four Forces of Evolution - Essay Example It is worth denoting that the four forces often correspond to changes in the frequencies of allele, genetic drift, natural selection, mutation, gene flow, and genetic hitchhiking. Natural selection focuses on the evolution of species. It is denoted that specie is a fundamental unit of biological categorization and a taxonomic position. This is one of the fundamental grounds of evolutionary theory. Natural selection attempts to highlight dissimilarities in characteristics among species such as coloring. The major premise of natural selection is that a trait that allows a person to survive in an environment usually triumphs. Natural selection happens after the meeting of reproduction, variation in offspring numbers per person, variations in the physical attributes, and heredity condition (Ruse and Joseph 136). Variation within the evolutionary world focuses on the distinctive characteristics that define organisms, as well as their actions. Mutation is a significant variation source, and work as an evolution mechanism when there are contrasting probabilities at the level of molecules for varied mutations to happen. This procedure is regarded as mutation bias. Supposing two genotypes, one having nucleotide G and the other with nucleotide A within a similar position possess similar fitness, even though the mutation from G-A occurs more frequently compared to the mutation from A-G, then genotypes within A will evolve. Deletion mutation and different insertion biases within contrasting taxa can result to the evolution of dissimilar genome sizes. Mutational or developmental biases were also observed under morphological evolution (Ruse and Joseph 154). Genetic drift signifies alterations within the frequencies of alleles from a generation to the subsequent due to subjecting alleles to sampling errors. Accordingly, when the selective forces are relatively weak or

Print Ad Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Print Ad - Case Study Example Being a high-fashion, elite brand, the print ad's target market leans toward relatively young men and women belonging to an upper-class social demographic. Those in its target market have above-average incomes, are brand-conscious, and are generally in touch with the prevailing fashion trends of the day. The brand is all about youth, sexiness, and the brashness that comes with it. Those who wish to portray this sort of image through their fashion style are those targeted by the print ad, and this definitely was definitely illustrated in the edgy, albeit inappropriate theme presented. In developing a new print ad for Dolce and Gabbana, several elements will be modified as the product line will be repositioned completely. From being a high-end, relatively young fashion brand, it is proposed that the new line be packaged as a casual line appealing to an older, more sophisticated demographic comprised of middle-aged, successful professionals . The prevailing theme would be "Sunday Best", and would be presented in such a way that the brand would be their top-of-mind choice for laid- back "country club" weekend wear. The newly repositioned line would be appealing to a target audience that closely mirrors those of Ralph Lauren and Lacoste. The new concept of the reworked print ad will be intrinsically different from the original. The ad is set on what appears to be a country club golf course, and will feature a beautiful, casually dressed woman around her mid-30's as the central character. She appears to be a newcomer to the greens, and is being taught how to swing by a smiling, laid back male, presumably late 30's to early 40's. The man gives off the impression that he is a hard-working professional during the week, say a stockbroker, and he is enjoying the fruits of his labor on the weekend with his beautiful wife. In the background, another affluent-looking couple (presumably friends of the central couple) look on, smiling and apparently amused at the woman's first-time follies at the tee. The tone and mood of the ad is very upbeat and positive, conveying an unspoken vibe of class and sophistication. The Dolce & Gabbana logo will still be superimposed over the print as in the original ad. Consumers will use the product ideally as their primary choice for weekend wear, for light social functions and weekend club meetings. It is a means to identify with the relaxed affluence that is typical of high-income neighborhoods in New York and California. The target market was chosen first and foremost to tone down the controversy generated by the previous print ad. By choosing an older, more affluent target comprised of high net- worth professionals which project much more conservative values, it is hoped that the negative connotation associated with the brand would be eased out of the public's eye. Also, the new target market was also chosen because the company can be sure that there is already an existing market to tap, and that their prices would still seem palatable within the chosen demographic. If the repositioning campaign is rendered properly, Dolce &

A Credit Default Swap (CDS) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

A Credit Default Swap (CDS) - Coursework Example The creditor must make periodical payments (which are taken to be insurance premium) to the insurer, and the insurer will pay the creditor in case the there is default. The fixed periodical payments made by the creditor or the buyer of a Credit Default Swap are known as the CDS fee or commonly referred to as CDS spreads. The buyer of the Credit Default Swap can only receive the exact value of the credit or loan and can not be compensated beyond that value. The seller of the Credit Default Swap (or the insurer) takes possession of the defaulted credit or loan, obtains right of ownership and can therefore sue to recover the credit. The value of the spreads to be paid should be determined so that the buyer of the Credit Default Swap can pay the correct value for the Credit Default Swap. Consider an example where a buyer of Credit Default Swap enters a five year contract to pay CDS spreads on Ford Motors credit with a principal of $10 million at 300 basis points. This means that the buye r pays $300,000 per year and obtains the right to sell bonds worth $10 million issued by Ford of that value in the event of a default by Ford. This thesis is divided into three parts which cover the topic in Credit Default Swap spreads in details. ... Bonds with AAA rating are considered to have almost no chance of default and its CDS spreads are expected to be lower compared to D rating which have a very high risk of default and its CDS spreads expected to be far more expensive. Probability Model There are other quantitative methods that can be employed to determine CDS spread to be paid. The probability model is one of the quantitative methods. This method recommends that credit default swaps should trade at a significantly lower spread than company bonds. The price of a Credit Default Swap is determined using a representation that considers four factors which are; issue premium, recovery rate (which is the percentage repaid in the event of default), credit curve and LIBOR curve. The price of a Credit Default Swap would be determined by adding the discounted premium payments. To explain the probability method better, imagine a case of one year Credit Default Swap which will be effective on lets say date t with a quarterly spread payment taking place on dates t1, t2, t3 and t4. If the nominal for the Credit Default Swap is N and the issue premium is C, then the value of the periodical spreads is given by the formula NC/4. If we imagine the default can only happen on one of the payment dates, then the swap agreement can end when; it lacks a default within agreed time and so the spread payments are made and the agreement endures until maturity date or, a default takes place either on first, second, third or fourth compensation date. The price of the Credit Default Swap is now determined by assigning probabilities to the five probable results. Labor Rate Labor rate can also be employed to benchmark the price for Credit Default Swap securities of a listed company. Labor is the interest fee which

The Parameters and Results Displayed in Sysmex UF-100 Assignment

The Parameters and Results Displayed in Sysmex UF-100 - Assignment Example The urine conductivity is measured in Sysmex UF-100. The formed elements or cells are analyzed by electrical impedance for volume, by forwarding light scatter for size. To enhance the contrast fluorescent dyes like phenanthridine is used to delineate DNA and carbocyanine is used to stain the cell membranes. The cells will naturally vary in their sizes, shapes, volumes, and staining characteristics. Depending on these criteria, the cells and formed elements will be categorized in multidimensional space.The results in Sysmex UF-100 are displayed in scattergrams on a screen and a printout of the results can be taken to be analyzed.It is a very reliable method of complete automated urinalysis. It can perform sensitive quantitative microscopic urinalysis completely automatically without the intervention of an operator or attendance of an analyst. Thus, this is capable of accurate and precise quantification of microscopic elements in urine with no interaction. In studies, it has been prove d that the results bear concordance with other studies, such as automated Dipstick reader.Conventional microscopic analysis cannot be substituted by Sysmex UF-100. Microscopic sediment analysis combined with UF-100 can improve the quality and productivity of urinalysis. Also, this can greatly reduce the number of specimens sent for microscopic examination of urine specimens.Combined analysis by a strip reader and automated counting can reduce the number of urine microscopic examinations, can reduce turn-around times, can reduce manual labor, thus can attend many patients who can be treated rapidly in case of an established UTI.

Everyday Hero Essay Example for Free

Everyday Hero Essay When I think of the word hero, I think of the countless Spiderman figures lying at the bottom of my brother’s toy chest, or even Prince Charming rescuing Sleeping Beauty from her seemingly endless slumber. However, what usually does not come to mind, are the true real life heroes that I believe posses higher superpowers than the Incredibles ever could. Though they do not have the ability to fly or read minds, one way or another, these people have helped someone in a tough situation. A true hero can be anyone from the firefighters at the station to your older sister living in the room next door. They may have helped to save your life, or merely helped you get through your math homework last night. Whatever the case, one quality that all true heroes must possess is the ability to be an example of goodwill in the world. A hero will help someone because they want to, not because they have to. Though they are not perfect, no one is, a hero will continue to put others first when they know that it is most important to do so. Three years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news came as an utter shock to everyone, considering the fact that she was one of the healthiest and most active members of my family. She played tennis and practiced yoga at least four times a week; always ate healthy and organic foods, and on top of all this, there was barely any history of breast cancer on our family tree! Though her case was not as bad as others, it still required her to undergo weeks of arduous chemotherapy and radiation. Through her darker days, she herself would be the one to calm me down and reassure me that everything would be okay. The night before my mother’s surgery, I started to cry, scared and frustrated with what was happening around me. Though she was also frightened and anxious, my mother was the one to comfort me and explain that a plastic surgeon did not actually turn people into plastic, as I had imagined. Even during her most bleak and miserable moments, she put everything aside and reached out to help me deal with her pain. For this, she is my hero. No, she is not Superwoman, or a firefighter,  or even your everyday do-gooder; but she’s my mom, and that is good enough for me. This just goes to show that a seemingly ordinary woman can be a hero to someone in her own way. Heroes are everyday characters, and if you look hard enough you will find the hero in your own life. This I believe.

Hyper reality and Celebrity culture Essay Example for Free

Hyper reality and Celebrity culture Essay Nowadays media and technology are growing as hard to predict. Affected to the social behavior, Human cant recognize the truth; we confused by the hyper reality, we involuntarily to follow the system in our life. Hong Kong is a tiny city with flourishing information. The life style is the faster the better, it develop a lot of a copy action in different business, especially in wedding industry, meanwhile Hong Kong peoples are highly depend on Internet, the city haven’t realize its lead by celebrity culture and media. In this past five-year in Hong Kong had created a new way to represent news call â€Å"action news† they use 3D animation represent the whole happened in internet, but Is it the visual in the animation is real? People in Hong Kong emphasize wedding customs and traditions. It usually takes more time in Hong Kong than in United States to prepare a wedding. Comparing to the casual wedding in United States, wedding in Hong Kong are more complex, In fact wedding it can just like Las Vegas, spend $25 and have a simple marriage. This process takes less than 2 hours. Because of the celebrity culture and hyper reality changes Hong Kong wedding more in last ten year. In Hong Kong wedding like a system or a show, the bride and groom will take photo in royal family style then print like an oil painting with the frame. The banquet will have backdrop for the guest-taking photo with the bride and groom, and the backdrop will have the designed logo for the newly wed. They will have an emcee for the banquet; they will play the game, sing etc. R. Penfold-Mounce(2009:12) believes â€Å"Celebrities in society influencing fashion, how we furnish our home, and even the food and drink we consume. The reason to have all these action are not traditional behavior, It all just come out by the Royal wedding and Celebrity. Royal wedding has affected the standard how about wedding should be. Media showing the Royal or Celebrity wedding over the world by television. The audience will try to follow or copy the wedding in the design, dress, picture angle and style. You can compare the different of photography royal family with Hong Kong people. (picture 1-2) S. Holmes and S. Redmond (2006:60) agree, â€Å"Adulation, identification and emulation are key motifs in the study of celebrity culture. The desire for fame, stardom, or celebrification stems from a need to be wanted in a society where being famous appears t offer enormous material, economic, social and physic rewards† Some wedding they will design a souvenir, it based on royal wedding souvenir, they are giving a cup, a little decorative items. (pictures 3-5). Those item were made without any purpose, there has not use value. It was created by â€Å"emulation†, If we see clearly about need is a concept without desire or personal require. It just system twisted desire to be rationalize and abstract. J. Baudrillard, (1988: 161). The new wedding behaviors have no meaning, but it getting to change be traditional behaviors, People getting to believe the new wedding behaviors are important in wedding. Media, Photo, Video, Facebook help wedding behavior explode to everyone, then people try to duplicate their wedding same as what they saw, after 100 times duplicate, people think new wedding behaviors are inevitable and right. Facebook network bring the wedding to a half public space, people post photo, in addition everyone got camera, it make wedding can’t escape to be public. In this status the bride and groom will change to be well know in their area. It is the reason to reinforce they have new wedding behaviors, because the wedding is in the public space, masses will know how’s the wedding look like, masses will discuss about, wedding transform to be a issue. The great amount of representation, people gradually lose the reassessment on new wedding behavior. According to C. Mclninch(2008) â€Å"Assimilation being further affirmation of the individual’s mastery of an idea and of the individual’s place in the world in reference to that idea. In view of new wedding behaviour related to culture industry, in that case they are unity, repeat, deception, falsehood, operation and forcibly. Hyper- reality or media accelerate new wedding behaviour to intrude our mind and it permeates our mental. J. Baudrillard(1988:98) said â€Å"as a sort of historical attraction to the second degree, a simulacrum to the second power. † The new wedding behaviours are deception and falsehood; the wedding photography companies build up a hyper reality land for the bride and groom to takes photos. There normally like a Destiny land or cinema studio, people can easy to cross around the world, they imitate Beijing the Forbidden City, Europe church, USA Main Street and something you can expects (picture 6-11). Because of the high emulation building complex, Human the examination will get weak. At the same time there is not original emulation, consequently human will forget how is the real Forbidden City look like, human impress is the emulation of Forbidden City, Reality will cover by Simulation. J.  Baudrillard(1988:113) believe â€Å"The Disneyland imaginary is neither true nor false: it is a deterrence machine set up in order to rejuvenate in reverse the fiction of the real. Whence the debility, the infantile degeneration of this imaginary. It’s meant to be an infantile world, in order to make us believe that the adults are elsewhere, in the â€Å"real† world, and to conceal the fact†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Disneyland is really similar the wedding company’s studio, they smash down â€Å"I believe what I see†, because mess media cover us with simulation. With presentations â€Å"The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium that is, of any extension of ourselves result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology. † M. Mcluhan(1964:124) Nowadays Hong Kong people highly depend on Internet, News geometry level to spread out. In an hour we can’t imagine how many viewer in one title of news. But we never perform an in-depth investigation on the news viewpoint, The director of â€Å"Simone† Andrew Niccol(2002) said† It’s easier to make 100,000 people believe than just one. Media really understand Niccol speech; Media selective represent the true in the society, Media will try to test the masses, find out which part of true the masses will accept, afterward media will simulacra then keep representing. Different news media represent news in different way, even in same issue, base on reporter viewing point, the news head tittle and visual representation are influence the masses how understanding the message. For example in Protest at Dolce and Gabbana store in Hong Kong follows alleged ban on photography. To analyze the tittle, picture, editing and emulate. It all started when a local tabloid newspaper reported that security guards stopped people from snapping pictures outside its flagship Hong Kong store in Canton Road. What really incensed local sensibilities was that one of the doormen apparently told a local man that the photo ban was not extended to Mainland Chinese tourists. That prompted a barrage of online comments on Hong Kong web sites accusing DG of blatant â€Å"racism† and claims that international brands have, in general, become too dominant on Hong Kong streets. Hong Kong has 54 different Daily newspapers but in this news just only reported by one daily newspaper name Apple daily. Apple daily represents the DG news in front page more then 3 days, and every day up loads a video on youtube. Let it explode by the Internet, the title of the first day is â€Å"Evil tyrant DG said don’t take photo with our window display. † In the begin the tittle haven’t mention any about â€Å"racism†, in the first day video chorus mention Mainland Chinese people allow to take photo, Hong Kong people Go away! , But in that 2:00 video they mention reporter had testing twice to take photo in font of the shop, it will mess up the original happen, because the second time is a truth effect or reality effect. In the video never showing any people who represent DG say any about â€Å"racism†, The only said â€Å"racism† was the chorus. Previously had been mention when human facing great amount of representation, people gradually lose the reassessment, public haven’t ask for the video clip with the actual DG staff to said about â€Å"racism†. The Second day, other daily newspaper start to mix into this hyper reality project, but they all just present on a tiny space of a whole page, the video just report how masses feel about DG with the no snapping issue. On another hand April daily used the tone on the presentation was totally different, they keep used the front page on DG issue, Video-showing peoples taking photo in font of the DG store with a tittle †DG very obstinate, everybody snap a shot!. † The intention is obvious; they try to encourage people to take a photo in font of DG store. They find out the masses most interesting in freedom and racism problem on the DG issue form all those comments about the first video they post on youtube. Then third day apple daily got a celebrity take picture in font of the store, and report facebook had a group, hadn’t mention who create the group, just mention who many people â€Å"likes†. You can see how media step by step building a simulation. â€Å"Once upon a time there were mass media, and they were wicked, of course, and there was a guilty party. Then there were the viruous voices that accused the criminals. And Art (ah, what luck! ) offered alternatives, for those who were not prisoners to the mass media. †U. Econ(1990:153) , The masses haven’t to seek for What is the reason apple daily need taking photo in font of DG store, Where is the video clip about DG said about â€Å"racism†, Who create the facebook page to against DG Hong Kong store. The masses totally get in to fascination by media. J. Baudrillard(1995:85) think fascination is append on the happen is fading away, when the happen is disappear, people just only facing fascination. He also agree Media is a place of disappearance, because Media is a place to eliminate meaning, message and symbol. The third day on DG store issue, Apple daily present more then10000 protesters in font of the DG store, other daily newspaper had different number on the protester result around 10000, a lot of protesters, It really confuse us to know how many protesters in the actual situation. But the DG protest explodes to different media, TV, radio, Internet. The frequency of representation to increase many times over, the focus point form masses is shift to Are we need to attend the DG protest? The masses totally forget why apple daily need to take photo in font of DG store. Since the frequency of representation the second day of the protester had redoubled. Apple daily the tittle for fourth day was† When DG will apologize. †, media to drive masses request DG apologize, DG have no alternatively to provided press release about apologize for specific staff indiscretion. In that short-term Apple daily create an untrue speech to be a speech had more then 40000 people believed. Everything just a media using information technology create a simulation, simulation dominate our world, the between representation and objective, notion and object there has no any distinction. â€Å"We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning. † J. Baudrillard(1995:98) proved Media montage numerous similar massages, a lot of them are without meaning, and media is leads masses to a lost area. Truth sneak into different shooting angle or retouching it will change to â€Å"effect† base on technology create a â€Å"truth effect†, media exploit these â€Å"effect† to attract masses or try to affect their judgment, Media is mislead the public with prevarication and deliberate falsehoods. â€Å"Seeing is believing† is can’t apply on nowadays news anymore. Besides they can pretense that turns into reality, Apple daily also is the first daily newspaper using 3d animation to represent news; They start it from the 3d pictures (picture x), in this few years they develop to 3d animation. They call that 3d animation news in â€Å"action news†. â€Å"Action news† that animations story are composite with different people information about the news, plus editor arrange and computer graphics try to fitting in with the story, to build up a lively and realistic way to present the â€Å"truth† they consider as, let the public can more understand to discuss about the topic. Even apple daily everyday will produce 10 to 15 news to â€Å"action news† but not every single news will adding with animations, normally they base on text characterization, then adding some information are hard to distinguish real from imitation. For example on â€Å"one action news† from 3/4/2010, compares the text version and the animation version, there had add many extra parts in the case like Beach dating, the defendant had take off victim’s clothes, the victim crying in font her mother and how the situation and expression when policemen search the defendant flat, those plot in text version haven’t any mention about, but they are the news plot form â€Å"action news†. (Reference 2) In fact, a lot information form the case haven’t explain really detail like background, but in â€Å"action news† had been explain really clear, How does the flat look like of the victim and the defendant, even floor and furniture in the flat, â€Å"action news† they present it all to the masses, compare other news daily information about the same news, had not mentioned any information about their flat. How apple daily know how their flat look like? How they know the victim must cry when she express to her mum. Obviously, â€Å"action news† had push picture represent news to an other level, It help media easier to arouse masses emotion, to cause masse consume, base on J. Baudrillard (1995:129)â€Å"†¦the original and the distinction between reality and representation vanishes. There is only the simulacrum, and originality becomes a totally meaningless concept. † Since original had be represent that is not truth any more, is just a concept. Now â€Å"action new† steps in to another level, using simulations to show â€Å"real†, Through our common sense to create the â€Å"real† they though, that is â€Å"hyper reality â€Å" They are deliberately to copy same as â€Å"real†, naturally masses start believe â€Å"hyper reality†, gradually masses forgot the truth. Along with media science and technology rapid development, nowadays media has different way to copy â€Å"real† or simulacra, like building, video, retouching and 3d animation. It increase human or media the confidence and ability to control â€Å"real†. Media and consume society operate our behaviour, When we look back at history, we just find out many no meaning behaviour or simulacra, we never find individual idea and original. Technology brings out human the power and desire control â€Å"real†. We step by step fall into hyper reality. In addition different government, structure and organization they got their own reason to hide the â€Å"truth† to the public. Now even a ordinary people represent him / her self in facebook. How many facebook user equal or more then how many simulacra, News and wedding are just only part of our life, but we are trapped beyond hope of rescue.