Monuments Men

Film The Monuments Men Based on a true story of what was a â€Å"treasure hunt† In Its most basic deflation, The Monuments Men portrays a hand selected World War II platoon on a mission that sends them to all edges of Western Europe in order to retrieve artistic masterpieces stolen by the Nazis and return them to their original owners. This special force of American and British museum curators, directors, art historians, and others scoured Europe for these stolen pieces of art while often unarmed and behind enemy lines.All the while, attempting to prevent the destruction of over 1 000 years of global culture. Before I watched the film, I vaguely knew about World War II, but a fair amount regarding Hitler and the Nazis. However, I did not know why they did It; why Hitler gave such orders or why so many people cooperated with their â€Å"movement†. After watching the movie, I still cannot say why he gave such orders militarily, but I can say why he ordered the kidnapping and eventual destruction of priceless art; leading to creation of â€Å"The Monuments Men†. Hitler was expelled from the ViennaAcademy of Art, which may seem unimportant but was probably his main motivation that the movie hints at. In the time I watched the film, I learned not only about specific pieces of art, but also about an underrated part during the climax of the Second World War led by none other than Doll Hitler. A culture is defined as â€Å"the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively' (Merriam-Webster). The movie places emphasis on a loss of culture and identity throughout the world yet specifically on mankind's greatest artistic achievements (masterpieces).Hitler turned what was originally a civilian war, Into a beefing culture war. The movie describes Hitler as a man who wants to be thought of for his artistic expertise along as a ‘man of the people'. He wanted to culturally revive Germany and that would not hap pen until all of the people the Nazis considered enemies were destroyed. His way to take away the culture in this world was to take away our art – past and present. The Monuments Men were sent to retrieve nationalism for people who lost it when they lost priceless heirlooms and artwork within their homes and museums.That is what the movie wanted to portray, something bigger than retrieving art; retrieving a sense of pride for all of the entries affected by the war and returning it. This film is based loosely on the book The Monuments Men. Arguably many movies are adaptations to a book or original story, however, as we are moving further and further away from World War II, less movies, books, plays, etc. Are being produced regarding this time. Monuments Men filmmakers moved away from traditional and classical portrayal of history to a more modern version.In a traditional sense, dally life of key figures and populations would have more significance because the film basically do cuments a period of time or an entire war, for example. However, this film focuses on one specific event in great particular interactions and social attitudes, only using time as a reference point. The key points outlined in this film can be applied to other events, like artistic looting in current times, which showed the film was created from a more modern and innovation standpoint.They chose this event to traumatized because of the potential they saw in the original novel to bring new ideas into the historical film industry, all while portraying something interesting. This movie doesn't have the nature of a typical Hollywood feature film but still serves its purpose as historical evidence. The filmmakers did not overly change the original storyline in the book but still left things out, as many movies do. For example, there were 345 real life ‘monuments men' but the film executives chose to portray only 6.As mentioned above, filmmakers chose not to portray the daily lives of soldiers or villagers during wartime and those people could feel â€Å"left out†. However, they were not vital to the film and its storyline as â€Å"The Monuments Men† never saw real combat, therefore they had little interaction with real soldiers. Also, unless they were retrieving art from a home, they had no allegations with any commoners or villagers across Western Europe. Milk Klan wrote The Monuments Men Are Still at It for The Wall Street Journal in February. He writes in support of the U. S. Laity's efforts in World War II and in current wars. In this article specifically, Klan raises the point that the looting (of important works) is still very much so happening. He discusses how the U. S. Was criticized for intervening in the retrieval of the works during World War II but blamed for essentially overlooking the looting of the Iraq Museum. This film subtly shows this controversy extinguishing right and wrong with its depiction of how hard it was to gain approv al for the specific platoon at the beginning and then notifying the public about their findings/theories at the end.Skylark's main point is that monuments men still exist and are fighting for the same thing as their World War II ancestors; heritage conservation, yet more under the radar this time. When used to understand the film, I can see how much of a tough situation the U. S. Was in during the war and how difficult it was to find people genuinely interested in saving someone's culture, people who would later become â€Å"The Monuments Men†.

Speech About Premarital Pregnancy

Assalamu’alaikum wr. Wb Good day Ladies and Gentleman Pregnancy is a desire of every woman. Do you agree? Why is pregnancy important? Is family support also important? How’s the impact to economics life? Every family wants children in their life. It’s natural and a biological thing. Every pregnancy needs process. Knowledge about pregnancy is important to make us understand the process better. These days, there are so many cases about premarital pregnancy. In Indonesia, the number of this case is getting high in every year, especially for adolescent group. So today, I will tell you about what factors causing the premarital pregnancy.What’s premarital pregnancy in bahasa? There are so many factors causing premarital pregnancy. Can you mention it one by one? What is your reason? Okay, I will tell you. We can see it from the social aspect, health aspect, and also from the technological aspect. The first is from social aspect. Social aspect includes social inte raction with family, friends, and society. From those social interactions, interaction with family is the most important thing. From this interaction, morality of everyone is formed. Beside that, interaction social between friends and society are also very important.If we can’t interact with people in a good way, it establishes a negative behavior. The second is health aspect. Everyone wants a healthy life. There are so many people who fall to premarital pregnancy due to lack of health, both physical and spiritual. Both of those things, affect to our psychological condition. If we can’t take care of our health, it’s not possible for our mental becomes weak. Deviant behavior then arises from this incident. Free sex, for example. The last is technological aspect. Tehcnology changes our lifestyles. Many people don’t care about their surroundings which caused by technology.In Indonesia itself, technological developments is moving too fast. But it doesnâ€℠¢t counterbalanced by the improved quality of human resources. The government should make a wisdom about this technological developments. If they don’t, morality of the nation will be damaged, which causes the deviant behavior. In conclusion, pregnancy requires a clear process. This one is very important to avoid ourself from the premarital pregnancy. Because of that, we need to do the social interaction in a good way with our family, friends and also society. Beside that, we should take care of our health, both physical and spiritual. Speech About Premarital Pregnancy Assalamu’alaikum wr. Wb Good day Ladies and Gentleman Pregnancy is a desire of every woman. Do you agree? Why is pregnancy important? Is family support also important? How’s the impact to economics life? Every family wants children in their life. It’s natural and a biological thing. Every pregnancy needs process. Knowledge about pregnancy is important to make us understand the process better. These days, there are so many cases about premarital pregnancy. In Indonesia, the number of this case is getting high in every year, especially for adolescent group. So today, I will tell you about what factors causing the premarital pregnancy.What’s premarital pregnancy in bahasa? There are so many factors causing premarital pregnancy. Can you mention it one by one? What is your reason? Okay, I will tell you. We can see it from the social aspect, health aspect, and also from the technological aspect. The first is from social aspect. Social aspect includes social inte raction with family, friends, and society. From those social interactions, interaction with family is the most important thing. From this interaction, morality of everyone is formed. Beside that, interaction social between friends and society are also very important.If we can’t interact with people in a good way, it establishes a negative behavior. The second is health aspect. Everyone wants a healthy life. There are so many people who fall to premarital pregnancy due to lack of health, both physical and spiritual. Both of those things, affect to our psychological condition. If we can’t take care of our health, it’s not possible for our mental becomes weak. Deviant behavior then arises from this incident. Free sex, for example. The last is technological aspect. Tehcnology changes our lifestyles. Many people don’t care about their surroundings which caused by technology.In Indonesia itself, technological developments is moving too fast. But it doesnâ€℠¢t counterbalanced by the improved quality of human resources. The government should make a wisdom about this technological developments. If they don’t, morality of the nation will be damaged, which causes the deviant behavior. In conclusion, pregnancy requires a clear process. This one is very important to avoid ourself from the premarital pregnancy. Because of that, we need to do the social interaction in a good way with our family, friends and also society. Beside that, we should take care of our health, both physical and spiritual.

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

Art - Essay Example Within this outline there is a square gold pattern, with elaborate corners and mid-line embellishments. This part of the design encloses a dark center area within which dark and light blue patterns are woven, along with four larger, flower-lile motifs with bright white outlines and dark brown centers. Two interlocking eight point stars make up the centrepiece, one in light gold and one in light blue, with a small light blue dot and petal-like surround forming exactly the middle of the tile. All of these figures form concentric shapes around the tiny dot in the middle. There is a very tight design principle at work in this tile. All of the angles and proportions are carefully measured so that the whole piece has a four, eight and twelve-fold structure. There is a geometric logic behind the stars, and the four quarters reflect each other bringing great harmony and unity to the overall design. Within this extreme regularity there is also considerable low key variation. The use of fragments of tile within the dark blue and brown color blocks breaks these parts up, and gives them a quirky, interesting texture. Against this broken surface, the pure white sections appear startlingly solid and bright, and draw the eye to the four central flower motifs and the pinpoint in the middle which is surrounded with a petal-like ring of white. These shapes are not realistic depictions of actual flowers, but more like generic indicators of living forms. Likewise, the geometric features incorporate curves as well as straight lines, giving this piece an intriguing mixture of mathematical and biological connotations. The use of contrast is key to this piece, and this reflects the likely use of this tile on a wall or floor, adjacent to other similar or perhaps identical tiles, so that the patterning can extend in ever growing circles as each tile link s to the next. There is obvious wear on the surface of the tile, but in spite of

LM4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

LM4 - Assignment Example Therefore, for communication to be effective all parts must be involves. Among the parts include; the sender, message, channel, receiver and feed back (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-272). This process may be presented diagrammatically as shown Below; Message sent via various communication channels Feed back Source: (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-272) Communication is a complex process that not only involves the sender and the receiver but also involves how the recipients interpret the message (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-272). This means that communication is not a straight forward process as it seems to be but rather it is a complex and a technical process (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-272). Therefore, it is vital to keep in mind the following considerations when communicating: some â€Å"information tends to be unintentionally complex† because the sender may intend to mean a different thing than what the receivers have understood (Denhardt, Denhard t & Aristigueta, p-273). According to Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-273, other messages tend to be â€Å"deliberately complex† the situation may occur in an organization setting where people tend to have conflicting goals. Connectively, one should consider that communication tends to be an emotional matter rather than a rational matter as people tend to interpret information differently (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-273). ... Strategic ambiguity involves application of language or terms that tend to be unspecific. The terms may be applied to prevent some people to grasping the meaning of the message (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-274). Strategic ambiguity may occur when â€Å"conditions are risky and dynamic†, It may occur when â€Å"relationships are not working well especially when the positions for the elites have been intimidated† (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-274). 2. Why is there generational conflict at work? How do the conflicts tend to manifest themselves in actions/attitudes of mature, mid-career, and younger workers? In traditionalists, baby boomers, GenX, and millenials? What specific motivational and communication practices would be most appropriate for each of these four cohorts in the previous sentence? (1?pgs) A generation conflict refers to differences in interest that occurs in an organization among employees at different age groups whereby, employees tend to p ursue different and diverse values from those of the organization (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-307). For instance, old generation approaching retirement may dismiss young generation because they believe that young generation lack knowledge and experience (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-307). On the other hand, young generation believes that they are conversant with new technology and therefore they tend to dismiss the views of older generation. According to Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, p-307 â€Å"seventy percent of older generations dismisses the potential of young employees while on the other hand, fifty percent of young generations tend to dismiss the ability of older generation†. In above connection, young generation

International Marketing (report 3) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Marketing (report 3) - Essay Example The population of Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra comes to about 10.1 million people. The expected market will be 374,535/10.1 million, which is about 3.74 percent of the total population. The density rate of population in developed areas is 1.2% yearly. Data as of 2010 posted the 89% urban population with 1.2% rate of urbanization. The expected sale in five years will be calculated by taking the target market which is male’s surfers and multiplying with the price of one surf board. Assuming one surfboard is $300. The expected sales will be $300 *374,535 =$112,360,500 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012). Currently there are over 4000 stores selling competitive surfboards in Australia. Since the product is innovative, no other products have been introduced to the Australian market with such advanced technology and extremely limited direct competition. The target market with regard to income of the intelligent surfboard will be part of the 78% of Australians employed and more specifically, the 58% of households earning over $41,000 per year (Yellow Social Media Report 2012). The production costs of competitors vary from $400-$1500. The marketing budget was determined based on the average disposable household income. It was calculated by the income that a single person household would require maintaining the same standard of living was $848 per week (Wilson & Bell 2004). The average amount that an Australian household spends on all sporting goods a year is at $123.24. It will be obtained by adding all the marginal costs plus net contribution. From estimation we obtain; The figure obtained is equivalent to the average amount an Australian surfer spends in surfing. The contribution is adjusted to satisfy the average customer. Average number of units produced per year becomes 10,700 i.e. 112,360,500/ (5*2100). Advertising and publicity costs of Internet and social media will meet 79% of large businesses

Marketing. Firms gain competitive advantage Case Study

Marketing. Firms gain competitive advantage - Case Study Example For many years, logistics inefficiencies have been criticized and scrutinized in order to increase productivity. There has been little close examination of possible savings in the area of physical distribution, now known as logistics. There is a movement towards a closer analysis of all aspects of logistics. This is particularly important where selling and distribution costs are high. One of the new methods in logistics is wireless technologies used by UPS and FedEx which help them to create state-of-the-art solutions for difverse customer groups. In other words, firms are a sum of their activities and not just comprised of a series of discrete functions. Logistics is therefore not just about managing functions, but managing linkages between those functions. More will be said about the integration of various facets of the value chain in the discussion on implementation strategies. FedEx Executive says: "Wireless data connectivity is something we've done for many years. But we had to provide our own bandwidth and we had to develop technology to manage it" (Gruman 2006). At this stage, what is important is to understand how logistics companies can analyze current position along various dimensions of the value chain - in essence, their strengths and weaknesses. ... real-time data to manage their operations, and the only way for the companies to get this near-real-time information is through the use of wireless technology in the field and in their facilities" (Gruman 2006). UPS and FedEx take into account internal and external factors that influence location of the goods. The Concept of 'Place' and its Role in New Logistics Looking at the concept of 'Place' from a total viewpoint, may indicate that some parts of the system can operate at less that the optimum in order to make the whole system more effective. For example the production manager may need to schedule shorter runs, or the transport manager more frequent deliveries, if it benefits the total logistics system. Acceptance of the new logistics concept implies a recognition of the fact that an action affecting one part may affect all others (Chase, Jacobs 2003). So a united approach is needed in order to maximize overall effectiveness. One of the main innovations used by UPS and FedEx is that: 'The two companies are exploiting new wireless technologies in their differing attempts at aiding the two main components of their operations: pickup/delivery and packaging/sorting" (Gruman, 2006). In order to produce or provide quality service to a required quality level, at an appropriate time and within acceptable financial constraints, logistics create a number of functions that are essential. For instance, using UPS and FedEx new logistics flexible organizations have the potential to maximize benefits from different locations and national economic conditions through a variety of means: locating businesses in markets where factor conditions are favorable leading to cost advantages and efficiency; operating in non-domestic markets where "demand conditions are more favorable"

China as a threat to the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China as a threat to the US - Research Paper Example China has become so strong economically and militarily that it has caused debates to erupt regarding whether or not it would ever go into a war with other powerful countries in the world in genral and the US in particular. However, the fourth generation’s leadership in China considers nourishment of a peaceful environment its most sacred goal so that the Chinese people can be pulled out of poverty. The US has been facing the issue of dealing with a politically repressive yet economically rising China since the late 1990s. There have been frequent debates about the containment and engagement policies. China can be considered as a threat to the US because of a number of reasons that include but are not limited to â€Å"A RISING ECONOMIC POWER ARMED WITH A ONE-PARTY DICTATORSHIP AND INCREASING MILITARY CAPABILITIES, FEAR OF A COLLAPSE OF CHINA, AND THE VISIBLE STRENGTH OF CHINESE NATIONALISM† (Zhao 85). China is, indeed, a threat to the US on economic grounds. The main con cerns of the stakeholders and the policymakers in the US with respect to China include â€Å"CHINA’S EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AN UNDERVALUED CURRENCY, ITS MIXED RECORD ON IMPLEMENTING ITS WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) OBLIGATIONS, ITS RELATIVELY POOR RECORD ON PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR), AND ITS EXTENSIVE USE OF INDUSTRIAL POLICIES† (Morrison para. 2).... In case the Sino-American tensions keep rising, the whole world in general and Asia in particular would be divided into a new cold war. If that happens, it would result in sustained growth of the prospects of conflict and confrontation thus posing threat to the growth of China’s economy. Alternately, â€Å"A DEEPENING U.S.-CHINA ENTENTE WOULD BRING WITH IT INCREASED POSSIBILITIES FOR STABLE, SUSTAINED WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC GROWTH, THE PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF OUTSTANDING REGIONAL DISPUTES, AND THE SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF PRESSING GLOBAL PROBLEMS INCLUDING TERRORISM, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS† (Friedberg 36). China is likely to resuscitate as a threat to the US after the removal of the threat of terrorism because of her rapid economic growth. China understands that the major powers in the West are the driving forces behind the development of the current international system. China is very much likely to take measures to develop such internation al norms that address her own interests. Thus, it is very important for China to take a more active role in the creation of the new world order. Taking everything into consideration and visualizing the matter in a broader frame, it becomes apparent that â€Å"CHINA IS MORE LIKELY TO POSE A THREAT TO U.S. INTERESTS IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA THAN TO U.S. GLOBAL INTERESTS, AT LEAST FOR MANY DECADES† (Ross and Feng 11). In spite of the fact that China poses threat to the US both economically and militarily since it is a nuclear power also, it is unlikely for China to erupt into a war with the US. War happens when the challenger that starts overtaking the dominant power is dissatisfied. The combination of overtaking, dissatisfaction, and parity happens to

Relationship between United Arab Emarits and expo exhibition Term Paper

Relationship between United Arab Emarits and expo exhibition - Term Paper Example This effort that it uses has so far been manifested at the World Expo in recent decades. She has taken up the Mega events in defining and passing information on their nations brand in that way of capturing both the international at large and marketing its foreign public’s interest. Diplomacy While there seems to be a slight difference between product branding and nation branding, the principle in logistic can be embraced to Country’s image. Expo branding are majorly evident in the design of national pavilions in strategies concerning national image. In this concept, the use of brand knowledge to explore visitors’ answers at the UAE Expo refers to sensations, feelings and behavioral responses. This is according to Hayden (2012); in addition, specifically to the United Arab Emirates Expo, analysts helped broaden the current discussion in the UAE’s rise and its soft power implications from a singular point of view. Given the nature of the seven states in term s of political system and the manner in which most countries in the world take into account democracy, the expo in the UAE gives the country a platform to show the degree as to which it has moved in terms of financial power. In addition, the Arab uprising that affected most countries in the Arab world lead to international focus on United Arab Emirates as a country. This focus can be brushed aside if the country focuses and display its own image in such an international event. This can be achieved in very many ways but most importantly by the number of visitors coming for such an event offering eyesight to the countries culture and political positioning. Such an important event may provide a not expected opportunity for this rich State to carry a united all-inclusive diplomacy at the event of a well-attended and organized Expo (Wang, 2008). The world has specifically put UAE in the forefront in helping the least developed countries and assisting them in the handling of human rights and immigration labor. This Expo in addition would provide the country with that important and rare chance to categorically put forward the idea of World diplomacy in living with the times .Later on eventually putting a comprehensive diplomacy which in turn aid in creating a new era of Diplomacy to United Arab Emirates. According to Merkel (2014) World Expo is now a consideration as an avenue to improve public diplomacy and to get to other countries and world organizations, it also proves the hosts country powers both economically and politically, This Expo exhibition might end up helping in improving cooperation and consolidating existing channels of cooperation. What to put in a Pavilion The design and contents of any pavilion mimics the surrounding and the culture. A Pavilion therefore should have information on the people of UAE plus their origin and history as well. It should be accompanied by videos showing their culture on the earlier times of Bedouin and others majoring on o il discovery. The other striking feature of the Pavilion is the focus on personalities involved in both sports and business like Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan who owns English big spending premier league club Manchester City, and these are key and subject to a strong brand. United Arab Emira

Evaluating Speaker Credibility Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evaluating Speaker Credibility - Assignment Example Her observations in her job as a policewoman greatly influence her beliefs such that it makes her trustworthy in speaking about the issue. 2. Citing evidences from the US Supreme Court cases helps enhance her persuasiveness. On the other hand, the evidences may not be effective in defending her opinions especially in delivering her speech. If she does not seem confident in delivering all the facts that she was able to gather, her advocacy may be stronger and more trustworthy. Death penalty for juveniles is a critical issue. Her confidence in delivering the facts demonstrates her own beliefs. If she looks hesitant, then, it only shows how unsure she is of her own findings and beliefs. 3. Darlene’s experiences in the juvenile crime unit contribute to her credibility to speak about the topic, as much as the evidences she obtained based from the US Supreme Court. Although she may appear hesitant in presenting these facts, the obvious reason that she had been through close encounters with the victims of such issue is already enough for her to become sincere in her convictions. Her responsibility, which is believed to arrest law offenders, also allows her to be an advocate of a law that recognizes human rights. 4. In order to convince people that one is credible to speak of an issue or even just his own opinion, he must be well-aware of these evidences and therefore must be confident in delivering them to the public. Darlene must study in detail the facts that she should present. She should also be able to connect the facts presented into different areas that also concern the issue in order to strengthen her convictions. This would give the audience the idea that she knows exactly what she is talking

Thinking about your future self Essay Example for Free

Thinking about your future self Essay When I am 72 years old, I will have a large family with grandchildren and grand-grandchildren. I will be the happiest person in the world, who has overcome seven decades of fruitful life, has valued the essence of the life; to love and be loved, and has learned how to love and be loved. I see myself as a tender and loving grandmother, full of optimism and respect towards innovation and progress. I will cherish warm relations with all of my family members, old friends and other relatives. I do not imagine my life without close people, especially at the end of the life, human relations become more specific and as all elder people, I too, will greatly depend upon positive relations. Maintenance of friendly and loving atmosphere around me will be my main goal. I would dream to be in good health and good shape but for 72 years old person being able to take care of myself, to be able to move, to see and hear, do not have chronic serious illnesses is a positive perspective. From now on I foresee that I might have problems with my backbone and probably have blood pressure problems. Problems of mobility are also threatening me and many of the population, due to ignorance of healthy lifestyle and less time spent on walking and being in the nature. It’s difficult to look ahead and see what goals I will have in my elder years, practically the last years of my life. They will be short termed and rather practical; to try to be in good health, make my days differ and spend those years surrounded by family members. The last dream seems so unreal, due to the life conditions and intentions of the younger generation to live separately. In many cases the education and career development of the younger members force tem to leave home. One more point, I will probably not be adaptable to new places to live and will keep the house I am used to live in. I tried to analyze if I will be self centered or an open and devoted person. Today I am in the middle, and I hope to keep the same line also during the years that seem so distant. In order to be able to love and be loved, one should keep the middle line and not forget the outer world or oneself. I will be surely concerned about the well being of my relatives and friends, as much as I will be concerned about myself and try to get the same attitude towards me. I will be very upset if I am forgotten, or my birthday is not remembered, my heritage and life experience is not appreciated etc. Anyway, the goals of my last years will be like a prologue; appreciation of my past. When I thought about the age 72, it seemed to me that I will be full of wisdom, will know EVERYTHING about life. It is an expectation young people cherish in their hearts, that one day they will get all the answers. It is something impossible; people leaving the world leave much more puzzled than they were before. I have always read the question â€Å"Why?† in the eyes of the dying people. I am not someone special and will probably think about the life and human relations, about God, birth and death, life full of sufferings and efforts, full of endless work, failures and successes. I have the feeling that I will be sitting on a high hill and look down at the world. I will probably be extremely puzzled about what I see Daily activities will surely save me from thinking about global issues that have not so far found their answers. I will read a lot; will watch TV, mainly news and new films, will listen to music, the old and my loved ones. Internet will have its place in my life. I will try to walk a lot and attend clubs of my interest. If my health and finances allow me, I will travel a lot. I will try to make the last stage of my life into an endless vacation. Active lifestyle is my passion. If I am healthy, I will be in motion every minute. Again and again, my family members will take the most special part of my life. I really dream to be able to spend time with my grandchildren, to play with them, talk to them, take care of them and serve their loved dishes on their birthdays. I will try to create commemoration days, family days which will gather the large family all together. Unity can save from an endless number of troubles. The main goal of the elderly, in reality, should be the cultivation and maintenance of unity among the family members. I will try to reach this goal and be the tying force for my family.

Review of the literature on risk management

Review of the literature on risk management This chapter reviews the literature on the risk management and corporate governance in the banking sector. Part of the literature also attempts to provide a relationship between the independence and financial knowledge of the board of directors and audit committee, and risk management practices by referring to both empirical and analytical research. 2.1 Risk Management in the banking sector When discussing the challenges faced by financial institutions in managing risk, it is important to have a consistent definition of the term risk. Risk can be defined as the volatility of a corporations market value. Risk management involves the protection of a firms assets and profits. Moreover, not only does it provide profitability but also other advantages like being in line with obedience function toward the rule, increasing the firms reputation and opportunity to attract more customers in building their portfolio of fund resources. Cebenoyan and Strahan (2004) suggest that [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the benefits of advances in risk management in banking may be greater credit availability, rather than reduced risk in the banking system (p.19). This means that banks will have a greater opportunity to increase their productive assets and profit. Only those banks that have efficient risk management system will survive in the market in the long run. They can follow a four-step routine to red uce their risk exposures and achieve their risk management objectives, as shown below. Figure 1-Steps for implementing risk management To properly manage risks, banks must firstly identify and classify the sources from which risk may arise at both transaction and portfolio levels. Risks inherent in lending activities include market risk, liquidity risk, credit risk and operational risk. Market risk is the risk resulting from adverse movements in the level of market prices of equities, currencies, interest rate instruments and commodities. Banks are always facing the risk of losses in on and off-balance-sheet positions arising from undesirable market movements. Banks are inherently vulnerable to liquidity risk due to their fundamental role of transforming of short-term deposits into long-term loans. The FSA has defined liquidity risk as: The risk that a firm, though solvent, either does not have sufficient financial resources available to enable it to meet its obligations as they fall due, or can secure them only at an excessive cost. Another risk that banks face is credit risk. It is the risk that can be incurred if the counterparty fails to meet its obligations in a timely manner. Loans are the most palpable source of credit risk in many of the banking systems; however, other sources of this risk originate through other activities of banks such as acceptances, trade financing, interbank transactions, financial futures, foreign exchange transactions, swaps, equities, options, bonds, and in the extension of commitments and guarantees, and the settlement of transactions. Operational risk, as its name suggests, is a risk arising from execution of a companys business functions. The Basel Committee has defined operational risk as: the risk of losses resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or external events, such as the failure of computer systems or error and fraud on the part of staff. Apart from those risks mentioned above, the Federal Reserve System has also recognised two other risks: legal risk and reputational risk. Legal risk is the risk of loss caused by sanctions or penalties originating from court disputes due to breach of contract and legal obligation. Another legal risk relates to regulatory risk, i.e., the risk of loss resulting from sanctions and penalties pronounced by a regulatory body. Reputational risk may be defined as the risk of loss caused by a negative impact on the market positioning of the bank. It can be seen as the blowing up of an initial loss, arising from credit, market, liquidity or operational risks. However, banks hardly pay attention to these categories of risks. Once identified, the risks should be evaluated to determine their impact on the companys profitability and capital. This entails measuring them by using various techniques ranging from simple to sophisticated ones. For example, market risk can be measured by using Value at Risk. This stage also calls for estimating three dimensions of each exposure: the potential frequency of losses that exposures have produced or may produce, the potential impact on the organisation if a loss should occur and the potential variation in losses that will occur during the exposure period. Accurate and timely measurement of risk is necessary because with these types of data the risk manager can determine which exposes are most serious and which deserve the most immediate attention. After measuring risk, bank managers should establish and communicate risk limits through policies, standards, and procedures that define responsibility and authority. These limits should serve as a means to control the risks associated with the banking institutions activities. There is a variety of mitigating tools that banks may employ to minimise the loss exposures. These tools may be diversification, securitization and even derivative such as withdrawal option, Bermudan-style return put option, return swap, return swaption and liquidity option. The final step involves appraising the operation of the program regularly to be sure that it is achieving planned results. It helps the managers to evaluate the wisdom of their decision-making. To efficiently monitor risk, all material risk exposures should be identified and measured again. To facilitate this procedure, banks should put in place an effective management information system (MIS) that will provide directors and senior managers with timely reports on the operating performance, financial condition and risk exposure of the firm. If corrective action is indicated at this stage, the first three steps should be repeated. 2.1 Corporate Governance in the banking sector Corporate governance is a term that is now universally invoked wherever business and finance are discussed. Its purpose is to coordinate a conflict of interest among all parties relationship within the company and to develop a system that can reduce or eliminate the agency problems arising from the separation of ownership and control (OECD, 1997). Agency problem occurs when the agents of an organization (e.g. management) use their power to satisfy their own interests rather than those of the principals (e.g. shareholders). It may also refer to simple disagreement between agents and principals. For example, the board of directors may disagree with shareholders on how to best invest the companys assets, especially when the board of directors wishes to invest in securities that would favour their interests. Not merely does the term corporate governance carries different interpretations, its analysis also involves diverse disciplines and approaches. One of the most quoted definitions of corporate governance is the one given by Shleifer and Vishny (1997): corporate governance deals with the ways in which suppliers of finance to corporations assures themselves of getting a return on their investment. The Cadbury Report, however, defined corporate governance as the system by which companies are directed and controlled (para 2.5). Additionally, it recognised that a system of good governance allows the board of directors to be free to drive their companies forward, but exercise that freedom within a framework of effective accountability (para 1.1). The Hampel Report, whilst accepting the Cadbury definition of corporate governance, also noted that the single overriding objective of companies is the preservation and the greatest practical enhancement over time of their shareholders investment ( para 1.16). In a similar vein, Charkham (1994) identified two basic principles of corporate governance: That management must be able to drive the enterprise forward free from undue constraint caused by government interference, fear of litigation, or fear of displacement. That this freedom- to use managerial power or patronage- must be exercised with a framework of effective accountability. Nominal accountability is not enough. In the banking sector, however, corporate governance differs greatly with other economic sectors in terms of broader extent of claimants the banks assets and funds. In manufacturing corporations, the issue is to maximise the shareholders value but in banking, the risk involved for depositors assumes greater importance due to the fact that almost every bit of banks investment are financed by the depositors funds. If it goes bankrupt, it will be depositors savings that the bank will lose. Indeed, Macey and OHara (2001) states that a broader view of corporate governance should be adopted in the case of banking institutions, arguing that because of the peculiar contractual form of banking, corporate governance mechanisms for banks should encapsulate depositors as well as shareholders. Arun and Turner (2003) also support this argument. Furthermore, the involvement of government in the banking sector is discernibly higher compared to other economic sectors due to the larger interests of th e public (Caprio and Levine, 2002; Levine, 2004). Rational depositors require some form of guarantee before depositing their wealth in banks. Yet, it is relatively difficult for banks to provide these guarantees to them because communicating the value of a banks loan portfolio is quite impossible and very costly to reveal. As a consequence of this asymmetric information problem, bank managers can have an incentive to invest in riskier assets than they promised they would ex ante. To assure depositors that they will not expropriate them, banks could make investments in brand-name or reputational capital (Klein, 1974; Gorton, 1994; Demetz et al, 1996; Bhattacharya et al, 1998), but these schemes give depositors little confidence, especially when contracts have a finite nature and discount rates are sufficiently high (Hickson and Turner, 2003). The opaqueness of banks also makes it very costly for depositors to constrain managerial discretion through debt covenants (Capiro and Levine, 2002, p.2). As such, government interventions provide the lacking assurance to economic agents in the form of deposit insurance. Nevertheless, although the government provides deposit insurance, bank managers still have an incentive to opportunistically increase their risk-taking, but now it is mainly at the governments expense. Apart from supporting the argument that a broader approach to corporate governance should be adapted to banking institutions, Arun and Turner (2003) also argue that government intervention do restrain the behaviour of bank management. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has defined the governance in banks as the methods and approaches used to manage banks through the board of directors and senior management which determine how to put the banks objectives, operation and protect the interests of shareholders and stakeholders with a commitment to act in accordance with existing laws and regulations and to achieve the protection of the interests of depositors. The Table 1 below shows the general principles concerning corporate governance issued by the Basel Committee specifically for bank boards and senior management. Principle 1 Board members should be qualified for their positions, have a clear understanding of their role in corporate governance and be able to exercise sound judgment about the affairs of the bank. Principle 2 The board of directors should approve and oversee the banks strategic objectives and corporate values that are communicated throughout the banking organisation. Principle 3 The board of directors should set and enforce clear lines of responsibility and accountability throughout the organisation. Principle 4 The board should ensure that there is appropriate oversight by senior management consistent with board policy. Principle 5 The board and senior management should effectively utilise the work conducted by the internal audit function, external auditors, and internal control functions. Principle 6 The board should ensure that compensation policies and practices are consistent with the banks corporate culture, long-term objectives and strategy, and control environment. Principle 7 The bank should be governed in a transparent manner. Principle 8 The board and senior management should understand the banks operational structure, including where the bank operates in jurisdictions, or through structures, that impede transparency (i.e. know-your-structure). Table 1- Principles of corporate governance for bank boards and senior management 2.2 Corporate Governance Mechanism According to agency theory, the corporate governance mechanisms reduce the agency problem between investors and management (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Gillan, 2006). Traditionally, these mechanisms can be classified as internal and external. Llewellyn and Sinha, (2000) states that internal corporate governance is about mechanism for the accountability, monitoring, and control of a firms management with respect to the use of resources and risk taking. Its main mechanisms are the board of directors, the ownership structure of the firm and the internal control system (Gillan, 2006). Whereas, external corporate governance controls encompass the controls external stakeholders exercise over the organisation and its primary external mechanisms are the takeover market and the legal/regulatory system. However for the purpose of this paper, we will mainly focus on some internal corporate governance mechanism such as the board of directors, more precisely on its independence and financial knowledge. Corporate governance best practices have also stressed in particular the key role played by the audit committee in reviewing a firms internal control system. Internal control systems contribute to the protection of shareholders interests by providing reasonable assurance on the reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness of operations and compliance with laws and regulations (COSO, 1994; 2004). As such, we will also draw some attention on the audit committee. 2.3 The boards independence The popular media as well as corporate governance experts have characterised boards largely as rubber stamps for management. They are the link between the shareholders of the firm and the managers entrusted with undertaking the day-to-day operations of the organisation (Monks and Minow, 1995; Forbes and Milliken, 1999). As stated in principle 4 above, bank boards should properly supervise the work of managers. Which type of directors can perform better this duty than independent director? In fact, such directors can bring additional experience as well as clarity of thought to deliberations independent of views of management. Moreover, since their careers are not tied to the firms CEO, outside directors are believed to be more powerful in keeping efficiently the firms top management (Fama, 1980; Fama and Jensen, 1983) and so could be associated with better performance. Some papers do support this theory. Baysinger and Butler (1985), being among the first studies, find that the relative independence of boards has a positive effect on the firms average return on equity by comparing 266 major US businesses over a ten-years period. Kesner (1987); Weisbach (1988); Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990); Peace and Zahra (1992); Ezzamel and Watson (1993); MacAvoy and Millstein (1999); Brown and Caylor (2004) and Ho (2005) also show that shareholder returns are enhanced by having a greater proportion of outside directors on the board. Research by Brickley, Coles, and Terry (1994) shows significantly higher returns to firms announcing poison pill  [1]  when outside directors dominate the board. Other studies supporting the benefit of the boards independence are Dechow and Sloan (1996); Beasely (1996) and Klein (2002) who state that as outside membership on the board increases the likelihood of financial statement fraud decreases. There is also Black et al. (2006) who reports that firms with 50% outside directors have approximately 40% higher share price by studying 515 Korean firms. And more recently, Staikouras C. K., Staikouras P. K. and Agoraki M. K. (2006) find that the percentage of independent directors is positively related with performance measured by Tobins Q on a sample of European banks. On the other hand, others find no convincing evidence that the level of outside directors on the board do add value to corporate performance. For instance, Fosberg (1989) finds that firms whose board is composed of a majority of outside directors do not have a higher performance as measured by the firms ROE or sales. Similarly, Hermalin and Weisbach (1991) find that non-executive directors have no impact on corporate performance in their sample of 142 NYSE firms. Pearce (1983) also find no relationship, as too Changanti et al. (1985) in their study of board composition and bankruptcy. The lack of relation between these two components has also been confirmed by Klein (1998), Bhagat and Black (2002) and Hayes, Mehran and Scott (2004). Other scholars refuting the effectiveness of outside directors on the board are Subrahmanyam et al. (1997) and Harford (2000) for the acquisition transactions, Core et al. (1999) for CEO compensation and Agrawal and Chadha (2005) for earnings restatements . It is normally the board of directors which overviews and approves the risk management policies. But, few papers have tried to link its independence to the firms risk management practices and hedging. By analysing a sample of bank holding companies, Whidbee and Wohar (1999) find that the likelihood of using derivatives seem to increase with the presence of external directors on the board but only when insiders hold a large proportion of the firms shares. Borokhovich et al. (2004) demonstrate that firms most active in hedging risk, especially when making use of interest rate derivatives usage, are those whose boards are dominated by external directors. Conversely, Dionne and Triki (2004); Mardsen and Prevost (2005) point out that outside directors has no impact on the firms risk management policy. Given the mixed empirical findings, it is quite difficult to assert whether the board independence contribute to corporate performance and the effectiveness of risk management. Although Fields and Keys (2003) assert that there is overwhelming support for independent directors providing superior monitoring and advisory functions to the firm, a unique and clear sign concerning the effect of the boards independence on any decision including the risk management one could not be predicted. 2.4 The financial knowledge of the board To adequately perform their supervision role, the board of directors must have financial knowledge  [2]  . Indeed, when board members are generalists and lack the technical financial knowledge to understand the complicated reports presented to them, they could vote for motions that increase the risks facing of the firm to a large extent. The company may collapse in this way and therefore hinder the shareholders interest. Because of the banks dominant position in the economy; they should possess some financial expertise directors on its board so as to make better decisions that will not lead the firm to go bankrupt. However, given its importance, the research on the value of the boards financial knowledge is quite scarce. At times, reports recognising the benefits of the boards independence also recommend financial literacy/expertise for directors in monitoring the firms performance. In fact, Booth and Deli (1999) and Guner, Malmendier and Tate (2004) suggest that commercial bankers on boards provide the financial skill needed to enable the business to contract more debt. Thus, this states that financial directors do add value to the firm. There is also Agrawal and Chadha (2005) who discover that there is lower earnings restatement in firms whose boards have accounting or financially knowledgeable independent directors. However, Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) provide evidence that positive abnormal returns associated with the addition of an outsider to the board are higher when the latter is an officer of a financial firm. Later on, Lee, Rosenstein and Wyatt (1999) do come to the same conclusion. However, they were unable to make any statistically difference among the reaction of the three categories of financial directors they consider: commercial bankers, insurance company officers and investment bankers. To the best of our knowledge, researches on the boards financial knowledge have only been related with the firms performance and not specifically on its impact on risk management practices. As mentioned earlier in this study, the board of directors is usually responsible for the firms risk management policies. In other words, risk management is at the core of any board members charter. Financially knowledgeable directors will obviously make better decisions on risk management practices since they will have the technical background to understand the sophisticated tools involved in risk management transactions. As such, firms whose boards are composed of financially knowledgeable directors engage more actively in risk management. 2.5 The audit committee The audit committee is intended to provide a link between the board and the auditor independent of the companys management, which is responsible for the accounting system (IOD, 1995). The chief objectives of an audit committee are to improve the quality of financial reporting, to reduce the potential authority for the non-executive director, to improve the channel of communication with the external auditor and, perhaps most importantly, to review the adequacy of the companys financial control systems. Tricker (1984) defines audit committee as being an important vehicle for ensuring the supervision and accountability at board level. As such, audit committees are very important in banking to safeguard the shareholders interest as well as the public trust. Just as for the board of directors, independence is also considered important for an audit committee because outside directors can exercise their voice and be seen to make a valuable contribution since they are free of any influence arising from the firms CEO. Thus, the reported empirical evidence supports this argument. Klein (2002) shows that independent audit committees reduce the likelihood of earnings management, thus improving transparency. In addition, Abbott, Park and Parker (2002) argue that firms with audit committees comprising entirely of independent directors are less likely to have fraudulent or misleading reporting. Ho (2005) states that there is a strong positive link between independent audit committee and corporate competitiveness and also with return on equity after analyzing the international companies from 1997to 1999. Brown and Caylor (2004) do provide evidence that audit committees comprising of independent directors are positively related to dividend but not t o operating performance. On the other hand, some authors find a negative relationship or simply no relation at all between independent audit committee and the firms performance. Hayes, Mehran and Scott (2004) prove that the firms performance measured by the market to book ratio is not affected by the proportion of outside directors sitting on the audit committee. Agrawal and Chadha (2005) do come to the same conclusion by indicating that independent audit committee members are unrelated to earnings restatement. There are also Beasley (1996) who finds no apparent correlation between audit committees composition and financial statement fraud, and Klein (1998) who reports no relation between share prices and the audit committees composition. Yet, Carcello and Neal (2000) report a negative relationship between the probability of receiving a going-concern report and the proportion of outsiders on the audit committee. In addition to independence, the accounting and financial expertise of members of the audit committee has also received widespread attention from the media and regulators  [3]  . An audit committee with such characteristics is expected to provide effective monitoring as it possesses the skills needed to understand what is going on in the organisation. Interestingly, Agrawal and Chadha (2005) show that firms whose audit committees have an outside director with accounting background or financial knowledge are less likely to report earnings restatement while Abbott, Parker and Peters (2002) discover that the absence of a financially competent director on the audit committee is highly associated with an increased in financial misstatement and financial fraud. Xie, Davidson, and DaDalt (2003) find that the presence of investment bankers on the audit committee decreases discretionary accruals in a firm. Davidson et al. (2004) and Defond, Hann and Hu (2004) show that the market has a po sitive reaction following the announcement of directors with accounting /auditing experience on audit committees board. The audit committee is also responsible for evaluating the risk exposures and the measures taken to monitor and control these exposures. To our knowledge no paper has tried to link audit committees composition with risk management practices. Because of the mixed and conflicting argument on independence, it is quite difficult for us to attest whether audit committees independence encourage more corporate hedging. Furthermore, risk evaluation and risk management tools are quite difficult to use and thus understanding them requires a good grasp of mathematics and statistics. As such, we expect firms whose audit committees members are qualified as accounting/financial expert to engage more actively in risk management practices. Besides independence and accounting/financial knowledge, the Cadbury Report has insisted that all listed companies should have an audit committee comprising of at least three members. This is to urge firms to devote significant director resources to their audit committees so that audit committees monitor the firms management more efficiently. However, several studies support the idea that larger boards can be dysfunctional since they may be plagued with free rider, communication problem and monitoring problems  [4]  . Therefore, as long as the increase in the audit committees size does not pose these types of problems, firms complying with this requirement are expected to report a higher hedging ratio. Often, corporations, especially financial ones, create another committee named risk monitoring committees. This type of committee is often responsible of the risk monitoring of the firm. However, this does not imply that audit committee is no longer responsible for evaluating and managing risks. It must still discuss and evaluate risk management processes. In other words, the audit committee is there to review risk management processes proposed by the risk management committee. As such, we assume that the same characteristics as the audit committee should be applied to this type of committee to fulfil their duties well.

U.S. Foreign Policy in the Late 19th Century Essay -- essays research

The United States, from its inception had a lust for real estate. From the original chants of "manifest destiny" to the calls for the annexation of Indian territories, America has been driven to acquire land. In this country's youth, land was needed for economic expansion; however, by the end of the 19th century, the entire continental United States had been in possession and the citizenry of this country turned their eyes out to sea. The United States no longer sought new lands to farm and work nor did they need new areas for their geological resources; the motives had changed. The United States was now driven by the temptations of world power and political supremacy. The self-absorbed citizenry looked upon their intrusion into foreign areas as a moral obligation; to spread the words of democracy and Christ throughout the world. The Spanish-American War in the final years of the 19th century perfectly demonstrated this "new" imperialism. In addition the American intrusion into Chinese affairs during the Boxer rebellion was also proof for the new motives which governed the international attitude. By the end of the 19th century Spanish forces in Cuba were in an all out battle with nationalist rebels. The Spanish army had tortured and killed thousands of innocent Cubans in their efforts to maintain control of Cuba. The American "Yellow Press" under the leadership of Pulitzer and others wrote horrific articles about the war in Cuba and called for... U.S. Foreign Policy in the Late 19th Century Essay -- essays research The United States, from its inception had a lust for real estate. From the original chants of "manifest destiny" to the calls for the annexation of Indian territories, America has been driven to acquire land. In this country's youth, land was needed for economic expansion; however, by the end of the 19th century, the entire continental United States had been in possession and the citizenry of this country turned their eyes out to sea. The United States no longer sought new lands to farm and work nor did they need new areas for their geological resources; the motives had changed. The United States was now driven by the temptations of world power and political supremacy. The self-absorbed citizenry looked upon their intrusion into foreign areas as a moral obligation; to spread the words of democracy and Christ throughout the world. The Spanish-American War in the final years of the 19th century perfectly demonstrated this "new" imperialism. In addition the American intrusion into Chinese affairs during the Boxer rebellion was also proof for the new motives which governed the international attitude. By the end of the 19th century Spanish forces in Cuba were in an all out battle with nationalist rebels. The Spanish army had tortured and killed thousands of innocent Cubans in their efforts to maintain control of Cuba. The American "Yellow Press" under the leadership of Pulitzer and others wrote horrific articles about the war in Cuba and called for...

Essay --

Hayanny Silva Coach Hansen Brit Lit December 13, 2013 Shakespeare Hamlet Insanity VS Sanity The Tragedy of Hamlet In the Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet an intellectual prince switches from sanity and insanity throughout the entire play. You can see that during the play when madness seems right, he puts on an "antic disposition (I.V.173). Nevertheless when Sanity proves to be the answer Hamlet returns to being logical. Hamlet claims he is "mad north-north-west" (II.ii.376), meaning he is mad sometimes and sane other times. Therefore, to reach his goals, Hamlet switches between sanity and insanity. In the poem, Hamlet switches to insanity to achieve some of his goals. Hamlet uses his insanity to conquer his obstacles. Hamlet is only insane towards his enemies and his enemy’s allies. For example, Hamlet attacks Gertrude verbally and physically, because she is an obstacle to Hamlet. Also, Hamlet kills Polonius and assures that Polonius is "dead, for a ducat, dead" (III.iv.25).When hamlet kills Polonius he feels nothing, no sympathy, no sorrow, and no fear. His insanity overcame him to the point that he would kill someone with not a hence of pity nor feelings. Hamlet gradually harms Gertrude with his words of insanity, while killing Polonius with his insanity. All of these two people, Gertrude, and Polonius, are Claudius' allies, and by harming Claudius' allies, Hamlet is harming Claudius, which is Hamlet’s goal. Death of his [Hamlet] father caused a fault in Hamlet's logic, and that fault forced the madness on him. Hamlet believes that Gertrude his mother has had an affair with his Uncle and actually aided in the slaughter of his beloved father. On top of that, Hamle... ... ideas that Hamlet is mad and that Hamlet is not mad. Readers and critics can agree that Hamlet is not a "man of action," but is instead a "man of reflection"-reflection that is concentrated on both himself and the world (Schucking 31).I believe it is Shakespeare's anger towards corruption and religion that makes Hamlet to fall into madness. â€Å"Finding a character in real life of a person endowed with so delicate as to border on weakness with sensibility too exquisite to allow of determined action â€Å"(Sylvia 13).While it’s difficult to point out the exact cause in Hamlet's life that lead to his insanity, one thing is for certain; he went mad, and the madness did to him what it does to everything that holds madness; it destroys whatever it touches. Insanity in The tragedy of Prince Hamlet over powered sanity which concludes that the entire play revolves around insanity

Radio And Television Advertising :: essays research papers

Radio and Television Advertising We are constantly surrounded by advertising. From bus stop benches to televsion commericals. Everywhere we lookd something is being advcertised. Two of the best ways to advertise are radio and television. These two mediums effect virtually everyone. Most of us listen to the radio or watch televison at some point each day. Because of this, many of us are able to remember products by the jingles or slogans that are used. An example of this is the slogan for Charmin tissue. Anytime you see Mr. Whipple you think of Charmin, and the slogan "Don't squeeze the Charmin." This type of advertising keeps the products in the mind of the consumer. Therefore, when the consumer goes to the market, he will reach for the Charmin. Before deciding which medium youshould advertise in, there are some questions you should ask yourself. The potenetial advertiser should know who they are, what they are selling and to whom they are selling it. When you advertise you should have a realistic profile of your customers. By defining yout target audience, you will be able to aim your advertisments at them. Therefore, a business should take the time to do some research and plan their adveritising strategies. For the small advertiser rafdio is the most effective mediom. It can reach a target audience and propl are likely to herar the advetissment more than once. Most prople spend a great deal of time listening to the radio. They listen while they are commuting to work, are at the office, and while communting home. Radios greatest advantage is mobility. It can and does go everywhere. Its weakness, which can also be viewed as a strength is that it sis limited to tow things, sound and silence. Radio also works on the power of suggestion and the imagination of the listener. Radio advertising rate are determiend by the size of the listening audience. The size os the audience is determined by polls, census data and surveys. Because radio has a lost of competition for its audience, the audience you are paying for is anticipated and potenetiol, it is not guaranteed. Audvertising in radio is bought in "spots." These spots can run form 10 seconds to 60 seconds. You have the option to choose when you would lke the spot to run and how many times you would like for it to run. If you choose prime rate, the spot will cost you more, however it is guaranteed to run at a certain time. Televeiosn is the strongest medium to advertise in and also the most expensive.

Hispanic Voting Related Literature Essay

The coming of the 2008 US Presidential Elections has made studies on voting behavior a fad in the scholastic community. Everybody wants to know, especially the candidates, how America or segments of its population will vote or the chances that a candidate will win based on some observations on voting patterns. Unfortunately, and not many people know this, studying voting behavior is not as simple as looking at the voting statistics. As one scholar commented, â€Å"voting is among the acts hardest to explain† (Uhlaner, 1989, p. 390). For one, Samuel Eldersveld (1951), defined voting behavior to connote â€Å"more than the examination of voting records†, but also includes â€Å"analyses on individual psychological processes and their relation to the vote-decision, of group structures and functions and their relation to political action, as well as institutional patterns and their impact on elections† (Eldersveld, 1951, p. 71). Thus, studies on voting behavior have also become multi-disciplinary, and were never confined in the field of political science. Still, studying voting behavior holds so much promise as far as theory construction is concerned, because it is viewed to be an area where theory can be systematically and quantitatively measured and tested. Also, this area offers more valid and reliable statements of causal determinants and a wealth of hypotheses, as voting behavior can be studied with respect to several possible variables. (Eldersveld, 1951, pp. 72-73). In her emphasis on the role of groups, Carole Uhlaner hypothesizes that voters act as part of groups with shared interests† (p. 390). Based on a utilitarian model of consumption benefit, she suggests that a group votes for a certain candidate because it would benefit from the policy positions of that candidate. From here, it is not difficult to presume that ethnic groups vote for candidates coming from their own group because they are expected to represent their interests. Though there has been a debate, in the case of Hispanic Elected Officials (HEOs), on whether Hispanic members of the US House of Representatives substantially represent the interests of their Hispanic constituents (Hero and Tolbert, 1995; and Kerr and Miller, 1997), it is useful to start with the assumption that groups, particularly ethnic groups, play an important role in determining voting behavior as identities and affiliations affect voters’ interpretations of the political world, preferences, and actions. (Uhlaner, 1989) Thus, a very interesting, yet under-studied (Antunes and Gaitz, 1975; Hero, 1990; Arvizu and Garcia, 1996), subject of inquiry on voting behavior would be the Hispanics in the United States. Scholars and politicians alike are interested in finding out how Latinos vote because despite the increasing significance of the group, being the fastest growing minority group in the US (Tanneeru, 2007), there seems to be the absence of consistent or predictable patterns on Hispanic voting across areas and through time. It may stem from the fact that the Hispanic community is diverse and voting interests are not homogenous. A Cuban-American may vote for a Republican because of the party’s long-standing policies toward Cuba, while a Hispanic in a border state may be affected by the stringent immigration policies. The culture of a state can also affect a Hispanic voter’s behavior: Texas voters may be more conservative in contrast to more liberal Hispanic voters in California. A study on the impact of religion also revealed that first and third generations placed more importance on religion than the second generation Hispanics in the US (Tanneeru, 2007). Socio-economic factors — such as social class, occupation, poverty indicators, among others — are also seen as significant determinants of voter turnout (Arvizu and Garcia, 1996; Antunes and Gaitz, 1975). In her explanation of the Hispanic low voter turnout, Cassel even suggested that Hispanics vote less than Anglos during presidential elections because they â€Å"tend to be younger, less educated, poorer or less frequently contacted by a political party or candidate† (Cassel, 2002, p. 397-398). In a comparison between the election of Federico Pena as Mayor of Denver, Colorado in 1983 and the bid of Victor Morales from Texas for US Senate in 1996 points to more variables that shaped the two campaigns. These include the size of the constituency, size and demographics of the Hispanic population, ability of the candidates to build coalitions of ethnic groups and sectors, personal qualifications or experience of the candidate, membership in civic organizations, political party support and campaign funds. This also tells us that the mere presence of a large Hispanic population in an electoral district could not ascertain victory for a Hispanic candidate. In a study by Rodney Hero comparing Hispanic political behavior in two Colorado cities – Denver and Pueblo – with other California cities, it appears that the governmental structure plays a significant role in determining different levels of mobilization of Hispanics in the cities. Colorado cities, with their unreformed structure, particularly Denver which has a strong-mayor system, have obtained greater political influence than what can be observed among California cities. This study supports the observation in 1983 in Denver, Colorado wherein Pena was elected into office with the highest Hispanic voter turnout ever recorded in the city. It also proves that it is not always the case that Hispanics are politically â€Å"acquiescent† and politically inactive and/or ineffective. (Hero, 1990) The observed political apathy of Hispanics had been explained by several studies in different ways. A study on voting behavior in Texas from 1960-1970 asserts that discriminatory devices such as the poll tax, the requirement of annual registration, short registration periods, and length of time between the end of registration and general election had restricted qualified electorate in favor of white persons and those with greater education and income (Shinn, 1971). Such means of discrimination, including literacy tests and printing of ballots in English, had also been used by the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to include large jurisdictions where large Mexican American populations live. Arguing that Hispanics never really met the level of discrimination suffered by the blacks, for whom the Voting Rights Act was originally intended, Linda Chavez points out that Hispanic votes had been aggressively courted by presidential candidates since 1960s and that hundreds of Mexican Americans had held office since the 1970s. She contends that in places where Hispanics make up a large segment of the constituency, several other factors, not the absence of safe seat for Hispanic representative, explain why no Hispanics hold office (Chavez, 1992). Complementing the initial observation of Chavez, George Antunes and Charels Gaitz found out in 1975 that in their interpretation of ethnic differences in the levels of participation among blacks, Mexican-Americans and whites, ethnic identification process among minority groups only partially account for the higher level of political participation of the discriminated groups. However, they stressed that compared to blacks, Mexican-Americans have lower participation rates for nine of eleven indicators of political participation, including voting. This is basically because of the cultural norms of participation inculcated in black communities owing to their history of discrimination wherein they suffered more than the Mexican-Americans (Antunes and Gaitz, 1975). Political history is also one of the aspects that Carol Cassel examined in her explanation of low Hispanic political participation as evident in their low voter turnout, compared to the African-Americans. Seeing that Hispanics vote at the same rate with other ethnic groups during presidential elections, Cassel suggests that low turnout in low visibility races can also be attributed to the Latinos’ lack of political networks or just because Latino political leaders prefer to mobilize voters in more competitive elections (Cassel, 2002). Mobilization efforts also figured as a very important determinant in the 1996 elections voting turnout in California, Florida and Texas (Shaw, dela Garza and Lee, 2000). Nevertheless, Harry Pachon and Louis De Sipio recognize that the structural changes such as the extension of the Voting Rights, combined with ethnic political mobilization in Latino communities and efforts of groups such as MALDEF, contributed to the increased electoral and political clout of the Hispanics. In their list of HEOs in the 1990s, they have found out that there were 4,004 Hispanics holding publicly-elected offices nationwide – 1% of the national total; nine states accounting for 96% of HEOs in the US; and that Hispanics were represented at all levels of government, except for the Presidency. The only factors that could mitigate the increasing trend of HEOs in the following years would be young Hispanic population and non-citizenship. (Pachon and De Sipio, 1992). Thus far, the numerous and variegated variables and determinants presented above attest that it is not easy to explain Hispanic voting behavior. Thus it is best to start with a single locality to test which of these – or a combination of these — variables could best explain Hispanic voting. (In this case, I have chosen to zero in on Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the United States. ) Though in the process, I should be cautious against committing what Eldersveld warned with respect to generalizing from single cases. Nonetheless, I believe that studies such as this could make a good case for comparing with similar political settings, and eventually, in explaining Hispanic political behavior. References: Antunes, G. and Gaitz, C. (1975) Ethnicity and Participation: A Study of Mexican-Americans, Blacks and Whites. The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 80, No. 5, 1192-1211. Arvizu, J. and Garcia, C. (1996) Latino Voting Participation: Explaining and Differentiating Latino Voting Turnout. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 18, No. 2, 104-128. Cassel, C. (2002) Hispanic Turnout: Estimates from Validated Voting Data. Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 55, No. 2, 391-408. Chavez, L. (1992) Hispanics, Affirmative Action and Voting. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 523, 75-87. Dela Garza, R. , Lee, J. and Shaw, D. (2000) Examining Latino Turnout in 1996: A Three-State, Validated Survey Approach. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 44, No. 2, 338-346. Eldersveld, S. J. (1951) Theory and Method in Voting Behavior Research. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 13, No. 1, 70-87. Hero, R. (1990) Hispanics in Urban Government and Politics: Some Findings, Comparisons and Implications. The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 2, 403-414. Hero, R. and Tolbert, C. (1995) Latinos and Substantive Representation in the US House of Representatives: Direct, Indirect or Nonexistent? American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 39, No. 3, 640-652. Kerr, B. and Miller, W. (1997) Latino Representation, It’s Direct and Indirect. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 41, No. 3, 1066-1071. Pachon, H. and De Sipio, L. (1992) Latino Elected Officials in the 1990s. PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 25, No. 2, 212-217. Shinn, A. (1971) A Note on Voter Registration and Turnout in Texas, 1960-1970. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 33, No. 4, 1120-1129. Southwestern Social Science Association. (1997, March 27) The Victor Morales for US Senate Campaign: Did the Sleeping Giant Notice an Unusual Campaign? Tanneeru, M. (2007, September 28). Inside the Hispanic Vote: Growing in Numbers, Growing in Diversity. Retrieved from : http://www. cnn. com/2007/US/09/28/hispanic. vote/index. html Uhlaner, C. J. (1989) Rational Turnout: The Neglected Role of Groups. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 33, No. 2, 390-422.

Mid Term Paper

All these outcomes are from â€Å"Suture† as Kaka Silverman mentioned in her chapter â€Å"Suture is the name even to the procedures by means of which cinematic text confer subjectivity upon their viewers†(Silverman) . There are three important tools that Kaka Silverman writing said we will need enable Suture to function are shot relationships, narrative progression and sexual difference, picked to focus on the sexual difference from those three tools . 1 am going to use two examples to explain more and how I see the suture works.They are the episode four from The Dick Van Dyke Show Bank book 6565696 and The Honeymooner season one episode one-TV or not TV the references show in this essay. These two shows are from the sass and the asses. We can easily find out social differences between the two time period, even thou they are only about 10 years apart from each other. First, the story line for The honeymooner is talks about the daily family life of a pair of couple Ralp h and Lisa. In this episode , Lisa want to buy a set of television.Ralph finally get one, but its sharing with his friend also neighbor,De. Even thou Ralph is the one who do not want to get it at first, he starts being the one who always watching the television set. Then De and Ralph start fighting against each other for the time using the television after he they bought the set of the television back. Then, the story that the episode of The Dick Van Dyke show is about Rob the husband accidentally found his wife Laura keep a private bankbook that have 378 dollars.In the 1 sass , 378 is a huge amount of money-That is the reason why Rob talks to his co-worker and discuss about the situation he is going through, and Rob thought Laura going to use those money to get a new projector as his birthday present . Turns out ,Laura only got Rob a sport shirt-Rob become really frustrated and want to know why Laura keep such a big secret from him. Rob asked and found out Laura wants to give him a egger surprise, she is saving to get Rob his dream car. Base on these two shows , I defined that Silverman argument works.Inside the shows , the female characters act as a object that displace negative values on to all the events happened to them. We can see that both Lisa and Laura , the female characters in side the shows are the person or the main reason cause the entire story happen or linked all the events together. Laura keep her own private money for getting Rob his dream car and Lisa wanted to get a new television set at home, but they are not the one that can made the decision. But can see a huge difference in two of the female character's personality.Lisa is the traditional wife that listen to his husband and Laura still depends on his husband but she can make her own decisions.. Women's position in the family have been a lot as the society also change when the time goes by. For example in the Honeymooner, Lisa was fixing the sink and do everything in the house and Rob is the one that can go bowling ,have fun with friends. In the other hand , Laura in The Dick Van Dyke Show is able to go out of the house and do shopping and Rob was the one who fixing the toaster and projector .We can easily notice that there is a change in a female character's role. According to Silverman in her chapter on â€Å"Suture†, the female character signifies the absence of the power ,privilege and they are not in control of their life. The women characters usually provide the mean for representing the deprivation, they also represents castration and attracts the sense of the viewer. (Silverman) We can easily find Out what Silverman mentioned in her chapter. The two female characters are housewife that have no income on their own , they need their husband to pay with most of the stuff they want to buy.For example, Laura need Rob to give her money to buy grocery, and Lisa can not buy herself a television set without Rally's permission. This can also prove what we have said as the time move on , the role and power of the female character have been change. Not only like we mentioned , here we can see that the phallus that Laura have is a lot more than Lisa , we can notice that from how Rob and Ralph treat their wife. Ralph in the show is still the boss of the house ,he is in charge of all the money, but Rob is letting her wife to decide how she use the money.Suture operate often more in masculine, it create an exchange of lenses hat the male viewers and the male audiences. In the videos that we talk about here, audiences will easily sharing the same feeling and point of views with the male characters. As we see that we are going through the stories as the male characters are the narrator of the stories. Especially in the episode of The Honeymooner. Lisa was the one who wants to buy a television set at home in the very beginning but after they got the television ,we barely sees her using the television.Ralph and De were the people that fighting to use the sets through out the entire episode. It shows us a point that Silverman minted out , the female is used as an object that attract viewers senses inside the show. Silverman define suture is a process of sinking in and being pull into the screen. Through our eyes to negotiate to the world, be relax and absent absent to yourself. She mentioned about three important tools to enable suture to function. In the shows if there is anyone of the tool is missing , the suture will not function well because they are all neck to neck rely on each other .Suture is not only about sharing what the character sees , is also sharing the character's feeling, emotions and what they hear by transferring he television screen into your space. If the shot and reverse shot is missing , viewers will never see things from the character's eyes . They can only get the view from the third person, then the viewer can never be stand in a particular point of view that the character define what they see. The s ame result will come out if the narrative is missing. Let represent a big portion of the indispensable part of the system of suture† Silverman said. A production without narrative progression is like a person who walk around normally but without their brain function. Narration connected the entire tortellini as they have the energy to make the character more real, because it can made the viewer understand what the character wants and help them go through all the scenes. We can understand why people always get lost and confused in some shows that the narration is not fixed on one character.The audiences that both of the shows are geared toward are the house wife in the middle class family. As we know that in the 1 sass to the 1 9605, televisions started to become one Of a new breaking technology that spread among the people. Numbers of middle class family that have a television set increased in those years. Shows like The Honeymooner and The Dick Van Dyke Show are targeted to t hose middle class housewife that have nothing to do like the Lisa and Laura, the characters in those shows.The shows want them to be relax and absent of being themselves from their busy housework. In my opinion , I think both of the shows successfully utilize Suture. There are some shots in The Honeymooner make me recall what I normally did when I was watching television. For example, how Ralph and De fight for picking a television show to watch. Also, how we set all the food and drinks in a reachable distances, so that they do not have to walk around during itching the program. Mid term paper This opened up a whole new opportunity for the Europeans as the demands and the trade grew, Ships were departing from towns in Italy and Asia. Christopher Columbus discovered North American in 1492. Columbus sailed east from Europe trying to find a route to the east. He failed to Sal east because of the landmass that was In his way. Columbus believe he sailed to India because of the landmass and called the land the â€Å"West Indies† and the people he found there as â€Å"Indians†. This led to the exploration and overseas expansion to North America from Europe. The expansion grew as the growth of expanding trade grew out of Europe.The discovery of the New World took a rise as the transfer of plants, animal's food demanded the human population to expand. All these things that took place from 1000-1492 changed Europe forever. The demands in trade gave Europeans the opportunity for new forms of employment and ability to travel out of Europe for work. What were the major pr oblems facing American leaders during the asses? What were the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? How did those weaknesses prevent the new government from dealing with the new nation's major problems?How did the Constitution of 1 787 alter the structure and operation of the national government to more effectively deal with those problems? This period was called the â€Å"Critical Periods†, it was a time right after the American Revolution war that took place in 1783. George Washington became the president of this time in 1789. After the war the economic problems just grew. The British navy destroyed most of the American ships and also taking over there flow of trade. The farmers suffered tremendously due to the army steeling from their farms in order to eat.Once the war was over in 781 the exports to Brittany was restricted, British created a law that prohibited trade with the remaining sugar colonies that were in the Caribbean. The articles of confederation wa s a document signed by all 13 original colonies that put together the united States of America. The confederation left most of the power to the state governments. The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was that the states could not be forced by the government to obey Its laws. Also It did not have the power to enforce any type of laws.The congress lacked the strong leadership and here was no system of national courts. In order for a change to be made to the with no army to protect the nation. Compare and contrast the northern, middle, and southern colonies by 1760. What experiences were unifying the colonies? How were the British colonies different from Spain's colonies? All three colonies had major differences in there economic activity and their culture. The resentment of the British held them together as they were suffering hard times as Brittany kept on restraining trade, shipping and manufacturing.The Northern Colonies was largely religious. Even though religion was pr acticed more in the Southern Colonies, a lot of people from the north were still very religious. Instead, there main focus was never on gaining wealth. The South was mostly agricultural and a big part of the workers were African American slaves. Tobacco was the main export of the Southern economy. In the Northern Colonies farming was usually Just done to provide Just for the family. The economy of New England, Northern, and colonies was based on the rivers and forests for the most part and the southern colonies were more focused on farming.There are only a people of similarities and differences in the colonies. People beginning a new life for themselves was a similarity both regions had. These regions were founded for many different reason including political freedom, religion, conquest and economy. The British colonies were recruited from farmers, artisans and tradesmen. Immigrants from other countries were welcomed. In the Spanish colonies it contained more soldiers, conquistadore s and mission Aries were the primary source of people. The farmers and traders come at a later date.The government for the English colonies allowed colonist to set up local governments and representative assemblies and to make sure to tax themselves as long as they did not take up arms against the crown. In the Spanish colonies they were governed by the crown appointed governors. The settlers had to obey the laws the king set since the settlers could make laws on their own. The religion for the English was mostly non-Catholics. The puritans in Massachusetts established an autocratic and restrictive religious leadership. For the Spanish colonies the settlers were restricted to Catholics.The people that protested ere persecuted and driven out. The economy on the British colony was rice, tobacco, timber and fish. The economic activities were farming, trading and also fishing. In the Spaniard colonies it was a more largely trading economy. It was controlled by the Spaniards and the boar d of trade. What major challenges did Americans face during the War for Independence, and how did they overcome those challenges and defeat Great Britain? The British always seemed unbeatable. During the previous 100 years, the British had enjoyed victory after victory from countries that were powerful like Spain and France.The odds never looked good for the Americans on this war. Brittany had the best military in the world, their soldiers were well fed, paid good money and also well disciplined. The British military was also very well equipped unlike the American. Funds were so much easily raised by the empire then by the continental congress. A lot of those funds were used to hire Hessian Mercenaries to fight of the Americans. The Americans always had a difficult time being able to raise enough funds to purchase the basic supplies most Indians sided with Brittany who promised them protection over their land.The downfall for the Brittany was that they were fighting a war that was f ar from home. Their supplies that they needed sometimes took months to reach their destination. The British objective for this war to persuade the American to give up their claims for independence. Americans were fighting for their rights, independence and liberty. The soldiers and the leaders were inexperienced but always seemed competent. This war was very expensive, this war gave Americans courage which gave Americans a favor. Describe and explain the roles played by loyalists, African Americans, women, andAmerican Indians during the Revolutionary War. How did the outcome of the war affect them? The principle is this was freedom which motivated the black slaves to join the Patriot or the British army. Proximally 5 percent of the American soldiers in the battle of Bunker Hill were black. They received the same pas as whites although they never held a high rank. The blacks in the war served in integrated units. An estimated 100, 00 African Americans died or were killed during the w ar. They thought the concept of using slaves in the army would mean that the economy would collapse without slavery.Women in the revolutionary war took many different roles. They were nurses, cooks and maids and sometimes even secret soldiers and spies. Many of the women nurses were camp followers, wives, daughters and even mothers of the soldiers. The most common role the women played were cooks, maids, laundresses and water bearers for the army. This was the first time women took a role in the war since these duties were reserved for male soldiers. Women were not allowed to serve in the military but they still served as secret soldiers. They would disguise themselves by cutting their hair and using masculine names to blend in.A lot of the motivation for Joining the army is unknown but most of these women were poor and needed to earn money for their families. They also worked as spies, most of the female spies worked as maids or cooks for the British and had a lot of insight about the movements, military plans and supply shortages and the deliveries. The loyalist supported the British. They were mostly older, educated and wealthier than most Americans. The life for the loyalist was difficult during the war. Loyalist who lived in the area that was being controlled by the patriots lost their businesses and moms.

Relationship with Parents as Presented in Foer’s Book Essay

A child’s relationship with his or her parents is a sensitive and moving concept as well as an interesting one to be presented in a contemporary book. This is especially if such idea is being discussed in a point of view of a nine-year-old main character. Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2005 book titled â€Å"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close† is an example of how a very young yet notably intelligent boy named Oskar Schell was able to effectively tell or portray his relationships with his parents, as well as his grandparents. The relationships between Oskar and his parents, as well as with that of his paternal grandparents, are compared with something which can only be imagined and invented. This is because with the extra-ordinary personality of Oskar, his character actually just played up on a lot of scenarios and possibilities that enabled him to establish his relationships with his immediate family and create a connection that only he was able to recognize. It was actually through the uniqueness of Oskar’s persona that allowed Foer to depict the implications of several serious issues such as the World War II firebombing of Dresden and 9/11 terrorist attack. In effect, Oskar’s relationships with his parents and paternal grandparents has proven Foer’s ability to effectively depict that war, terrorism, the future and love are concepts which are loud and close. However, it was likewise Oskar’s family links which determined that there are also things in the book or even realities of life that are seem to be silent and far away such as human relationship. The main character of the Foer’s novel is a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell. He is characterized in the books as a discoverer, jewelry designer, a young entomologist, protagonist, music enthusiast, good writer, archaeologist, artist, explorer, actor in a Hamlet production, sometimes a vegetarian, and collector of rare items, but definitely an unreliable narrator. Through these attributes, Oskar manifests the loudness and closeness of life realities such as war, coercion, and love. Eventually, he realizes how quiet and distant his relationship with his parents and grandparents is. Foer unveiled the story of Oskar with the death of Oskar’s father who was among the many Americans who died when the twin towers were attacked in the morning of September 11, 2001. This is the point where Oskar exerts efforts to trace the sense of his father’s death. Instead, however, his journey leads him to recognize and eventually accept what kind of relationship he has with his parents and paternal grandparents. Notwithstanding the efforts made by Oskar in order to establish his relationship with his parents and grandparents, he ends up understanding his sincere fondness towards his family as the mystery behind their relationships is uncovered, and ultimately searching for their love or affection (Foer, 2005). Foer’s utilization of magical realism, the book’s literary genre, as presented in a form of photographs in the book, exposed that Oskar was apparently too late in realizing how he long for the love or affection of his father who was taken away from him so early and made their relationship short-lived. Moreover, Oskar’s incomparable personality has also paved the way for an unassuming and clear presentation of how he relates with his mother whom he criticized for not mourning the death of her husband because of her new-found love. Foer, through the perspective of a nine-year-old boy, was also able to connect past event such as the Dresden bombing with Oskar’s longing of his grandparents whom he was not able to see; he was only able to get to know them through their letters which were written way before he was born. Such literary styles of Foer and ironic scenarios involving Oskar’s life provided the readers with a glimpse of how a father values his son. As portrayed in the three generations of the Schell family, Foer disclosed the long-desired but belated connection among the three men—a relationship that is coincidentally loud, yet silent and close, yet far away (Foer, 2005). Such contradicting metaphors are also evident with how the author presented the relationships between Oskar and the women in his life—his mother and grandmother. The child in Oskar was apparently obvious in times when he displayed some sort of jealousy with the new man in his mother’s life as well as bitterness with his grandmother’s absence. In particular, the book showed that Oskar endured the emotions of hatred and mental confusion apparently due to his mother’s new-found man. He expresses such feelings by hurting himself until he got bruises. This indication, however, only exposed more the kind of relationship that Oskar had with his mother and grandmother. It turned out to be a relationship similar to his father and grandfather; it was characterized with the boy’s intense desire of their affections and centered on his profound longing for their love. Foer emphasized how Oskar, despite his hardships, valued life and his relationships with his family as he echoed the boy’s feelings and said that â€Å"†¦ life made sense. Even the bad things made sense. They were necessary to make you possible. Alas. Your songs. My parents’ lives made sense† (Foer, 2005, p. 232). It was unfortunate to note, however, that the realization of an equally utmost relationship, which Oskar’s parents and grandparents actually wanted, was not achieved. Hence, the boy was left with his unique antics and loneliness (Foer, 2005). Meanwhile, the novel did not only result in giving praise to Foer. Rather, the story unlocks the mysteries in Oskar’s journey as well through which a clearer representation of the impacts of life realities is provided. The book suggests that there a lot of substances as there are emotions in this world. However, the realization and benefit of enjoying life instead of succumbing to absurdity is actually not impossible if only one would open his or her heart to the eventualities of love which will eventually challenge one’s worries and loss. The book makes Oskar as an adorable yet intriguing character because he exudes both naivete and sophistication and one can be truly affected by his fate. Although the novel discusses real issues like war and terrorism, it embraces other life’s dramas which are led by the portrayal of Oskar as a tough character trapped inside the body of a boy. Furthermore, it is worthy to note that amidst darkness in Oskar’s life, he was able to see light. This, in effect, can lead the readers to recover humanity which is human’s link with one another especially during times when human quality is apparently abandoned. In the end, Foer’s book shows the balance between wit and disaster, devastation and innovation, living and dying, and, most definitely, between showing the loudness and closeness of life realities.