Interoffice Memorandum Essay

The Tarasoff case involved a murder victim, Tatiana Tarasoff, who was killed by an alleged acquaintance Prosejit Poddar. Poddar was a client of a psychologist employed by the University of California, and during a therapy session he revealed his intent to murder Tatiana Tarasoff. The psychologist assessed Poddar as a danger and informed the campus police, and was held briefly and released. Shortly after Poddar was released he indeed murdered Tatiana. The parents of Tatiana Tarasoff, plaintiffs, sued the school, campus police, therapists and anyone else who had contact. The argument was over whether the third party had the right to be warned and had the right to be protected. The defendants maintained they owed no duty of care to the victim, and were immune from suit. The court stated that when a client presents a serious danger of violence to another there is an obligation, both legal and ethical, to use reasonable care to protect the intended victim against such danger. The therapist must take steps to determine or within their standard of profession determines the danger. This may call for the therapist to warn the intended victim or others likely to apprise the victim of the danger, to notify the police, or to take whatever other steps reasonably necessary under the circumstances. This ruling imposes a liability on all human service professionals to protect a victim from violent acts. There is a duty to protect and a duty to warn the potential third party victims to violence. This may cause implications with the confidentiality of the client-helper relationship and may also cause violent clients to avoid treatment. This indeed will change the environment for human services and confidentiality; as now helpers may need to divulge confidential information to third parties in certain circumstances. The professional necessity of keeping a client’s information private is rooted in the ethical codes as well as in statutory law. As professionals in the human services realm we also have a right to withhold confidential information in a court of law. To stay within the law and the code of ethics that govern us it is necessary to consider the situation from all points of view, develop a list of issues that represent multiple viewpoints, generate the possible decisions on whether to break client confidentiality, and what would the consequences of each decision. Each case in which the outcome of this case may implicate the duty to protect and warn, we must make sure we are addressing every avenue within a small amount of time in case of imminent danger that exists. This will be an adjustment with our client-helper relationships, and must be shared not only with each other but also shared with our clients.

Military Issues Essay

My interpretation of † Military Leadership† before I was enrolled into SF0002 was to conveniently associate the word â€Å"Leadership† with â€Å"Leader† as it is how majority of us (superiors and peers) interpret it to be and I do not know the definition of â€Å"Military and Non-military Leadership†. After going through just lesson one of SF0002, to my astonishment, I realized that the wrong definition of â€Å"Military Leadership† have became a gospel truth to most of us. The first insight that I have gained from SF0002 is, that Leadership is not equivalent to a Leader. With the aid of the Leadership concept, I’ve identified that Leadership is not about me or my superiors; it is about a process involving my ability to influence my subordinates to accomplish missions and achieve outcome in various tasks/projects with a common purpose. In comparison, both Military and Non-military Leadership similarly defines leadership as a process to influence. However, to differentiate them, military leadership uniquely employs the use of doctrinal methods to explain leadership in a military context. In Singapore, it is identified as the â€Å"Leadership 24/7 framework†. To translate the framework into a personal context, I must influence my peers and commanders to understand the SAF’s Mission and Purpose, our operating environment (airspace constraints and concerns) and achieve Mission success, be it high level events (NDP, international conferences etc.) or daily operations (routine controlling). Having said that, I must first align my values to the RSAF core values, sharpen my leadership competencies. With knowledge, charisma and determination, I will be able to command respect and influence those around me to work towards a common objective. I am currently a Cardinal Officer in my unit. Two of my primary objectives are to organize cohesions and team building programmes. The Cardinal team’s interpretation of Cohesion is similar to Team Building. After going through SF0002, I realized that the Cardinal team is heading towards a wrong direction. When tasked to organize a team building programme, we will associate it with team bonding and unity. The second insight which I have gained from SF0002 is the differences between Cohesion and Team Building. Cohesion involves what the my team is working on, such as building bonds and uniting people. However, Cardinal is all about having fun and getting together to know each other better. Team Building differs greatly from Cohesion. There are altogether 2 dimensions and a team outcome in the military team building framework. The â€Å"task related dimension† develops the team’s ability, to understanding the individual roles and functionalities of the team as well as formulating plans and strategies to achieve common objectives. The â€Å"teamwork dimension† develops the team’s relationship and establishing rules to govern the team’s behavior and conduct. Team outcome defines the team’s vision and goals, which can be tangible or intangible. Viewing the context of the military team building framework, it makes understanding team building more comprehensive and I’m able to share with my superiors and peers on how to organize a team building programme more effectively. Judging from â€Å"The Five Factor Model of personality†, under â€Å"Correlation with Leadership criteria† Extraversion and Conscientiousness factors predicts leadership emergence well, Agreeableness and Emotional Stability however are leaning towards Leadership Effectiveness and neutral for Openness. In my case, I score an average for Extraversion and low for Conscientiousness. With regard to Extraversion, I am very sociable and assertive when it comes to peers whom I am close to and I tend to be more reserved and quiet during the initial â€Å"get to know† phrase. Likewise for Openness, I will only open up to close friends and never to strangers. Therefore, my score for Openness is slightly low. As for Conscientiousness, I do not agree with my score because my superiors and peers think of me as a hardworking and dependable person. However, I do agree that I am not a very organized person as I find it challenging to juggle my work. I believe that my score should be somewhere around average. My score for Emotional Stability is very low, I can agree with that as I tend to feel very nervous, lack of confidence and I get depressed very easily. I believe it’s because of my desire to be a perfectionist therefore I tend to put all the blame on myself when certain things does not go my way (attain only silver for IPPT etc.). As for Agreeableness, I scored an average. I am a caring and cooperative person in general. However, I tend to disagree a lot with my peers and superiors’ ideas and way of handling situations because I always feel that there has to be a better way out. This constant need for a â€Å"better way out† coincides with my desire to be a perfectionist under Emotional Stability. Leadership emergence defines that the emergence of a leader is being decided by others purely based on his performance; typically temporary and lack of concrete facts. Leadership Effectiveness defines the perfo rmance of a leader in influencing his peers and soldiers to work towards a common goal. I believe my Leadership potential is leaning more towards Leadership Effectiveness. It is hard for someone to determine my personal traits initially, but in a long run, my demonstration of concern and determination will inspire and motivate them to work towards a common goal of improving the organization. Leadership behavioral skills revolves around Task, Relation and Change (TRC) Behaviors. Task behavior is short term and focused; those who relies heavily on resources (people) and technologies to achieve high productivity. Relations behaviors rely on a person’s ability to establish strong bonds with their peers and inspire commitment to work towards a common goal. Change behaviors; those who aims to develop and improve the organization. TRC analysis provides a comprehensive guide to define a leader’s behavior. 14 behavioral skills organized into 5 main competencies in the â€Å"SAF Leadership Competencies Framework (LCM)† develops a leader’s ability to influence, think critically and creatively in a stressful environment, make decisions effectively and execute them efficiently, develop junior leaders, teams and improve organization. Most importantly, a leader must first master the â€Å"Self meta-competency† in order to develop the other 4 competencies because it develops one’s will and determination to learn. Task behavior can be related to Mission and Conceptual Thinking Competencies. A leader must possess the ability to plan and make critically decisions, and display ethical reasoning to convince people instantly in order to develop a high level of efficiency. Likewise, Relation behavior can be related to Social and Self (Meta) competencies. A Leader must first self-manage and have a high level of self-awareness in order to be able to sensitively communicate with their followers at their level, inspiring the followers’ commitment and cooperation to develop a common goal. Finally, Change behavior can be related to Developmental competency. A leader must encourage the people and team to develop innovative and creative thinking, with the common intent to aim to develop and improving the organization. After going through SF0002, it definitely enhanced my knowledge on Leadership. I now perceive Leadership in terms of doctrines and academics. Academically, Leadership is a process rather than solely about the leader or someone who holds a management or executive position. Leadership is a process whereby a leader is highly adaptable, in whatever context assigned to him, is able to influence his followers to achieve outcomes and purpose of the context. Doctrinally, Leadership is about understanding the context and development of oneself. To further elaborate on self-development, a SAF Leaders must align their personal values with the SAF core values, have a good understanding on individual competencies and style of leading, and must be self-aware and manage oneself accordingly. SAF leaders must also be able to influence his/her followers to understand the SAF’s Mission and Purpose, introduce the type of environment we are operating in and the desired outcomes or goal we must ach ieve. Thus far, majority of our tasks are peacetime operations. It’s easier to lead and influence in peacetime, where there is minimal stress and lives are not directly at risk. It gives a leader more time to make decisions and think. Leadership is important in the SAF because we are a military organization, and someday, we might be activated to go to war. All of us, Leaders, will be foreign as of how to lead our soldiers on the battle field. In a war, what seems to be the most important to most people out there is the equipment, power and size of combat force. However, many neglect the most â€Å"essential tool† which is Leadership! Leadership inspires a leader’s commitment to lead and influence the soldiers by providing them with a clear direction and purpose towards their goals or objectives through determination and perseverance which are the main sources of victory. Before attending SF0002, my purpose as a military leader in the SAF is about helping soldiers to understand why they ought to serve the Nation. In turn, helping them to fully utilize the duration of their liability as an National Service Freshmen (NSF). After attending SF0002, my purpose as a military leader in the SAF is to assume responsibility of my soldiers’ training, morale, discipline and fighting spirit. This involves maintaining/upgrading their skills and proficiency level therefore, developing a high state of operational readiness. My purpose is also to develop a good relationships with my soldiers and the team, so as to ensure that they are committed and determined to achieve a common goal; be it completing a task or securing mission objectives. 1. For me, a significant insight from SF0002 is, Military Leadership is not equivalent to a Leader. 2. For me, a significant insight from SF0002 is, the differences between Cohesion and Team Building. 1. Lesson 1 entitled: The Science and Practice of Military Leadership. 2. Lesson 7 entitled: Science and Practice of Leading Military Teams. Leadership means to lead, excel and overcome. Firstly, in order to lead effectively, I must gain the repect of my men. With that, can I exercise command and control, effectively and efficiently. Without leadership, a leader will lead with the power of the rank. Men under me will follow orders unwillingly and blindly, instead of understanding the rationale behind why orders are delivered so as to execute them more efficiently. My purpose as a military leader is to ensure the welfare and safety of my men during peacetime training and ensure that I lead them by example. Military leadership matters in the SAF because there will always be men enlisting and recruited into the force, these people need a leader to guide them through their career or 2 years of their National Service liability. Without a leader with leadership qualities, men will not realise the importance of serving the force, they do not have a goal or a clear vision. In general, as leaders, we should try our very best to al ign our men’s values with the SAF core values. It is also my duty to ensure they have a meaningful and purposeful time with the SAF.

Art of the 20th century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art of the 20th century - Essay Example Surrealism was a new way of expression and was based on the idea of higher reality of certain forms of association which had been neglected previously. In addition, it was based on the notion of the omnipotence i.e. the dominance and control of dream and in the impartial play of thought. Thus, surrealists sought to break the dreadlock of predictable ways of thinking. In essence, its experiments sought to highlight the task of the unconscious in creativity in a bid to be innovative (ibid 477). Given the fact that the surrealists were interested in the works of expression of the unconscious, and the finest place of longing in psychoanalytical theory, it was unavoidable that in the long run an effort would be made so as to bring together works of surrealism based on the theme of desire. One such attempt by surrealism was "surrealism: Desire unbound", an exhibition at fate Modem in London which lasted till the 1st of January, 2001(ibid). The exhibition was a major undertaking in which fourteen rooms were set by a given topic. It focused on specific artistic works and highlighted artists by name. This was such an inspiration to artists since most of the important and a great number of the lesser known facts and figures of the surrealist movement were represented there. During the exhibition, waiting rooms prepared the scene. Men shall know nothing of this was one of the artistic works at the scene presented by Max Ernst. The curator introduced his works by giving his theme. According to him, a theme vital to surrealism is its vision of man as a being driven by desire. The desire of surrealists was the authentic variety of the self in the inside. In itself, this is not a problem but it can also not be said to be the whole story. In addition, it implies that representations desire can be considered principarily as biographical (Summers&Claude 324). Marcel Duchamp's artistic work, the bride stripped bare by Her Bachelors. dominated the first room which was named after the artistic works reconstructed by Richard Hamilton. Duchamp can be said to be a very good place where a survey on surrealism can be carried out. From earlier days of Dada, an Iconoclastic vision was found at the frontage of the way out. Andre' Breton had a place written on Duchamp's massive influence. He explained that someday, one can question oneself as to what degree it will be measured legitimate to have painting continued as if the Bride stripped Bare had been created. The great works of glass bold in the room poses a mechanistic vision of sexual desire (ibid 324) The love and poetry room contains artifacts of surrealism as a Literary and a movement across the globe. In the room, there were publications and manuscripts. The small handbills were the most rewarding in contributing a lot to surrealism. "Parents-tell your dreams to your children" and most significantly, "surrealistic is Literature denied''. In this room, there was the first proposition that there was any form of union within surrealism since there were photographs of international groupings and meetings (Ruhr berg & Waither 477). The last room in the exhibition had enormous amounts of material, some of it unfamiliar. The material was laid out in an active manner and the subject is a legitimate one in surrealism. The material was disappointing though; it was ultimately not fulfilling due to a number of reasons. One is that whilst

Team Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Building - Essay Example Conflict resolution process is essential to resolve conflicts that arise between individuals and/or groups. Conflicts can arise at many levels such as interpersonal levels, role level, between multiple parties, and at external levels (Fisher, 1977, Rev 1985 2000). At workplace, most common conflicts occur at interpersonal levels, which arise between individuals because of different needs, goals, and beliefs. The most common factor that is involved in interpersonal conflicts is the relationship between two individuals. It is very difficult for a third person, like a manager, to analyze interpersonal relationship between two individuals because relationships are shaped by a variety of incidents in the past. Hence, it becomes extremely challenging to resolve interpersonal conflicts that arise because of relationship history (Collins & O’Rourke, 2008a). Nevertheless, such conflicts can severely affect their performance and behavior. Hence, it becomes important for managers to addr ess conflicts at these levels in order to ensure smooth flow of work and maintain healthy environment in the team. Very often, interpersonal conflicts are trigged by lack of communication or misinterpretation of communication. Interpersonal conflicts can be addressed by fostering effective communication among team members. For this, the team members must first be made to realize the significance of communication in workplace. This can be achieved by conducting this simple teambuilding exercise named ‘Do you know what I mean?’ (Kumar, n.d). This teambuilding exercise involves participation from the entire team. Firstly, one volunteer from the team should be advised to draw different shapes/pictures of at least 10 different things that come to his/her mind on a chart. Next, the volunteer must instruct the team members verbally to draw these exact shapes without actually showing the chart. The team members may be allowed to ask questions. The result of this exercise will b e that none of the group’s pictures will match the original picture exactly (in shape and/or size), and some may be completely different. This exercise will make the team members realize the importance of communication in understanding the other person’s viewpoint in order to produce the desired outcome. Communication breakdown is considered as an important cause for interpersonal conflict. Therefore one has to possess or acquire effective communication skills to handle conflicts. Communication skills that are essential in conflict resolution include listening, asking appropriate questions, clarity of words and speech, and translating the conversation in the right manner that is acceptable to both the parties involved in the conflict. In this teambuilding exercise, the team members need to ask open ended questions so that they get a better idea of the picture that needs to be drawn. Open-ended questions help in acquiring more information from the other person; and begi n with words such as ‘how’ or ‘what.’ However, during conflicts, people tend to ask closed-ended questions that elicit only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers (Collins & O’Rourke, 2008b). Open-ended questions provide more information and learning to the listeners. Another important aspect of communication, especially important in conflict resolution, is to listen to the other person. In the present exercise,

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING - Essay Example Therefore this is the final appraisal report of the evaluation and it is designed to methodically address the said requirements of the Sprocket Ltd management as follows. Table of Contents 1An Overview 2 1.1Existing costing system (20 marks) 3 1.2Issues in the traditional system 3 2An alternate method 5 2.1ABC system 5 2.2Recommended ABC implementation strategy 7 2.3Possible issues for Sprockets with ABC 10 3Conclusions and recommendations 11 4References 12 5Appendix: the most recent costing sheet 13 1.1 Existing costing system (20 marks) Sprockets Ltd was found to be a production company which engages approximately 300 jobs a year. The undertaken jobs are specified by the customers and production is carried on accordingly. At the moment there are three jobs (A, B and C) in production which are broadly similar to each other. As it was understood that A, B and C presents the typical size of a job that is accepted by Sprockets Ltd, they were used to appraise the existing costing system in the company. (The most recent job costing sheet is attached in the Appendix) The current costing system keeps an account of the direct production information i.e. direct materials, direct labour hours and machine operation hours for each job very efficiently. Thereby the respective expenses along with the direct expenses (i.e. 75% of the labour cost) are allocated to each job accurately. The production overhead on the other hand is absorbed at a flat rate of ?3 per machine hour. Based on the total cost calculated by this method for each job, the selling price is set to produce 25% gross profit. 1.2 Issues in the traditional system 1.2.1 The primary issues identified for Sprocket Ltd in their prevailing costing system stems from the production overhead allocation. Production overheads amount to approximately 20% of the total cost of production (ref appendix); which is a significant proportion of costs that must be accurately absorbed into each job separately. The total production overhead was recently analysed and split by Sprocket Ltd as in figure 1. Figure 1 Machinery is said to be a cost pool which consists of machine related expenditure and total salaries (?40,000) of two members of staff. Only the salary cost allocation was identified to be inaccurate in this cost pool as it does not depend on the operation of machine hours. Material handling costs (which are 20%) according to the analysis description is derived from material issues and thus remains unrelated to the machine hours. Inspection cost, which is the salary of the inspector hired by Sprocket Ltd to examine each job too is only barely associated to the machine hours. Sundries on the other hand are only 2% and are related to the factory. Thus its allocation by machine hours is acceptable. Thereby we’ve identified that, absorption of production overheads at ?3 per machine hour for each job is quite inaccurate for most part of the production expenditure. 1.2.2 It is a fact that the data co llected and produced by a costing system is also incorporated into the general accounting system. For this reason the costing approach must allow for easy and sensible delivery of the data for reports to upper management. Sprockets’ traditional costing approach was identified to be lacking in this facility. For an example an in-depth analysis costs in ‘

Sagatiba plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sagatiba plc - Essay Example Cachaca was renamed as Sagatiba. While, Cachaca was mainly marketed in Brazil, under the banner of Sagatiba, its market was has considerably expanded with nearly 50% of its output being exported to America and Europe. Strategic marketing plans are crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization. â€Å"Organizations must change because their environments change† (Bateman, 1990). They implement necessary changes in the organization to not only survive but compete with their rival with confidence. Changing environment of technological advancement has made it imperative for one to evolve new marketing strategy in order to maintain an edge over their rivals. The compulsions of the rapidly transforming societal paradigms and technological advancements are important factors that require more comprehensive and innovative approach to market strategy. The company needs to formulate marketing and communication strategy in a way that would not only uphold a high standard of corporate ethics but it must be able to ensure and exhibit understanding of the cross cultural values and handle issues with sensitivity. Any strategy that is formed needs to be localized to suit the local conditions. Strategic partnerships with other business must be made to meet the growing demands of the customers and such strategic relationship should be conformed and regulated within the given set of parameters so that the customer is not affected in any way and unconsciously becomes a scapegoat for our own lack of business understanding with our business partners. The partnership must facilitate business leverage over the rivals. At the same time, it should add value to our products and services, thereby, giving it a unique selling point to attract new and the old customers. Sagatiba needs to be more aggressive in its marketing strategy and forge partnership with various retail outlets and supermarket chains to market its various Sagatiba products. In the recent times, internet

Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Presentation - Essay Example Two categories of workers, that is, those who are highly talented and those considered less competitive have found themselves benefiting either way. In slower economic times, the less active and semi passive takes up the opportunities left as the top talented pool moves to more secure top jobs. The process creates a counter balancing effect in the employment industry. Both the semi-active and the less half-passive candidates find themselves well occupied in the job market. Many companies have become very aggressive regardless of the economic cycle to enable them secure a large share of top talented candidates into their firms. The leading company that has complied with effort to become an employer of choice is the Google, a place that initially belonged to the Microsoft. McKinsey is holding the top spot as a consulting firm of choice. If you aspire to be a CPA, then Dolomite, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, and Ernst & Young are still the top four to join. The positions W. L. Gore, Legman’s and Genentech hold in the Fortune Magazine â€Å"Best 100 Places to Work† give them the advantage of attraction over other

Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Article Critique - Essay Example The Great Conversation is a means to involve community in the educational process. It consists of two different tracks: informal and formal. Vollmer cites the remarkable progress in relations achieved using the Great Conversation in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. However, he does not give the details of these three situations. He merely makes a few vague comments about the schools systems and their relationship to the public. One of the major drawbacks of the article is that Vollmer largely ignores the informal track of the Great Conversation. While he admits that the focus of his article is the formal track, he devotes only three short paragraphs to the informal track. If an approach to public relations involves two main tracks, an article should address both equally in order to create a balanced view. Vollmer seems to bias the article toward the formal track. Vollmer uses the last half of his article to explaining the formal track of the Great Conversation. ... The most obvious errors in the article are two. Firstly, the major obstacle to creating public relations programs between schools and the community is a lack of time on the part of both parties. Vollmer never addresses how the Great Conversation solves this fundamental problem. If anything, the article points out that public relations programs are almost impossible to create due to the time commitment needed on both sides. Secondly, and most importantly, author Jamie Vollmer is president of Vollmer, Inc., a public education advocacy firm focusing on increasing community involvement in education. Clearly, he has bias in relation to the subject about which he is writing. His firm exists to help schools create and maintain public relations programs. Additionally, the firm sells certain approaches to public relations to school districts. There can be little doubt that Vollmer sells a package that includes the Great Conversation. Finally, as Vollmer is president of the firm, he is respons ible for the financial health of the organization. This fact means that he must sell his firm’s product, and this article is an advertisement for his firm. I feel that public relations programs are important for school success to a limited degree. The success of a school can be impacted by the amount of involvement from the community. However, in my experience, the most important involvement is individual, i.e. between parents and teachers. The intrusion of business into schools is detrimental as it affects the operation and goals of the school. Also, the general public does not understand the workings of the educational system and often public relations programs spend the majority of their time

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Development - Essay Example In addition, they should be able to set their objectives and strategies to achieve their targets. Therefore, students who are undertaking engineering courses should learn these skills during and after studies to perfect their careers (Blandford, 2012, p.47). Communication barrier and inability to plan their work and interact with others may paralyze the achievement in their targets. Communication Engineers interact with different people during their ordinary activities (Ritchie, 2007, 164). Therefore, they should possess different skills for sharing knowledge with their colleagues and clients in order to increase their work efficiency (Kalman, 2008, p. 156). I have interacted with my fellow students as their group leader during various discussions. I also chair various meetings with fellow engineers at different levels. In addition, I compile technical reports regarding various issues we discuss in our group meetings. This has equipped me with relevant skills for gathering informatio n and giving immediate response questions posed by group members. My weakness is in presenting those reports to my colleagues. I aspire to learn various techniques of addressing meetings using different presentation skills. I will achieve this by learning gradually from others and enriching my vocabularies and by requesting my colleagues to challenge me with questions regarding the presentations I make (Baillie and Moore, 2004, p. 181). Group activities are equipping students on various ways of acquiring information and addressing various issues which may affect their profession (Ritchie, 2007, 158). Therefore, this will help me to learn how interact with my colleagues effectively. Working with Others Engineers should be able to handle issues arising at work place. Therefore, since they deal with individuals from different background such as clients and workers, they should be able to reconcile them whenever there is a disagreement (Blandford, 2012, p.49). During training, they shou ld be able to share their ideas and respect views of others (Baillie, and Moore, 2004, p.182). So during group discussions, I share my views and argue decisively to influence my colleagues to side with my decisions. This is essential because, later in our profession some contractors may opt to use cheap materials to save cost. However, with these skills, I will be able to convince them apply appropriate process in order to produce quality work and balance with cost of providing quality work. In our discussion group, I always try to convince my colleagues to listen to my views (Baillie and Moore, 2004, p.178). I’m able to control my discussion group by resolving all disagreements. During our group discussions, I sometimes impose my suggestions on others and seek their support. By leading my fellow students in school, I have acquired skills to manage contractors and other workers as professional engineer. The major predicaments I have encountered as group leader is where group members have differing opinions from others. Sometimes none of those opinions seems to be right or wrong. Therefore, it becomes tough to create mutual agreement under such circumstances. Such issues may require additional time to look for amicable solution, which incorporates suggestions of each member. Improving Own Learning and Performance Engineers should be acquiring knowledge from time to time to ensure they keep abreast with emerging

Care of a Patient in Acute Pain from a Total Knee Replacement Jahaira Melendez Essay Example for Free

Care of a Patient in Acute Pain from a Total Knee Replacement Jahaira Melendez Essay Nursing care after a total knee replacement is very essential in promoting a speedy and safe recovery for a patient. In an attempt to replicate the knee’s natural ability to roll and glide as it bends by cutting away damaged bone and cartilage and replacing it with an artificial joint, acute pain following the procedure can be unbearable. In assisting the patient in controlling the pain would only guarantee the best recovery possible. With pain control, the patient will be able to perform follow up care and exercises to the best of their ability and over 90% of patients who undergo a total knee replacement have good results with recovery and ability to resume performing normal daily activities and minimizing the risks of complications to the surgical site. Keywords: Pain management, encouragement, total knee replacement, arthritis, prosthetic Care of a Patient in Acute Pain from a Total Knee Replacement A common medical condition seen in many aspects of the medical field is arthritis. Arthritis is the inflammation of a joint and the most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also known as wear and tear. Pain from any medical condition or procedure can be very stressful to a patient and inhibit any recovery. Arthritis can be diagnosed by performing an x-ray to determine the extent of joint damage. Someone with arthritis of the knee usually has difficulty walking, climbing stairs and getting in and out of chairs. An orthopedic physician can recommend interventions. The most common joint replacement surgical intervention to help control and alleviate chronic pain for a patient is a Total Knee Replacement, also known as arthroplasty. A total knee replacement is performed to relieve moderate or severe pain and restore function in severely diseased knee joints. This procedure is not performed until pain is no longer controlled with non-operative treatment such as weight loss, activity modification, anti-inflammatory medications, joint supplements and cortisone injections. It is also not performed frequently on younger patients due to the implant wearing out quickly. An orthopedic physician would determine the type of prosthetic needed in order to achieve the most success. There are also modified implants to provide the best possible functioning with long lasting results such as partial knee, rotating knee, gender specific knee and custom knee. To perform the procedure, an orthopedic surgeon would administer general anesthesia, which means one is unconscious during operation, or spinal or epidural anesthesia in which a person is awake but cannot feel any pain from the waist down. During the procedure, the knee is in a bent position to fully expose the joint surfaces. An incision of 6 to 10 inches (15-25cm) is made on the front of the knee. The kneecap is moved aside and damaged surfaces are cut away. The femur is cut to match the corresponding surface of the metal femoral component that is placed on the end of the femur and the tibia is prepared with a flat cut on top to fit the metal and plastic tibial component that is inserted into the bone so the femoral component will slide as the knee is bent. If needed, the patella is cut flat and fitted with a plastic patella component and plastic spacers are inserted between the metal components for smooth gliding. Prior to completion, the knee is tested during surgery to ensure correct sizing and then closed with stitches or staples. The procedure would take 1 to 2 hours and recovery would be another 1 to 2 hours and then require a hospital stay of a couple of days. During the hospital stay, encouragement to move the foot and ankle to increase blood flow and prevent swelling or clots and blood thinners, support hoses or compression boots are very important. A nurse should also encourage the patient to cough regularly and take deep breaths to promote the movement of mucus that settles in the lungs during the procedure while being under anesthesia. Caring for a patient in acute pain after a procedure and managing pain levels is a very important part of recovery. Without pain control a patient will not be able to achieve recovery levels as quickly as possible without causing other injuries. Acute pain is related to tissue injury secondary to the surgical intervention. Upon discharge, teaching on follow up care is very important. A patient needs to know what to do and what to watch for as part of their recovery. Vital discharge instructions that a patient must be taught are: * When allowed to shower, usually 3 to 4 days after surgery, carefully wash incision with soap and water, rinse well and gently pat dry. Do no rub or apply creams. * Sit when showering to avoid falls. Avoid soaking to prevent infections. Try using non-slip mats, grab bars and elevated toilet seat or shower chair to prevent falls. Take pain medications as directed, do not double up doses if any doses are missed and do not drive when taking narcotics, usually about 6 weeks before it is ok to drive. * If taking a blood thinner, always verify with physician if it is ok to take Ibuprofen or any anti-inflammatory medications * Always sit in chairs with arms to make it easier to stand or sit but only 30 to 45 minutes at a time. * Sleep with pillow under ankle and keep knee straight but change leg position at night and nap if tired but don’t stay in bed all day. Wear support stockings for about 4 to 6 weeks and do not pivot, twist or kneel. * Walk up and down stairs with support, one step at a time using good knee to step up and bad knee to step down. As a fall prevention, always remove loose wires, throw rugs and have good lighting and keep items within reach. * Before and after any activity, ice the area for 30 minutes. Most importantly, teaching about potential risks such as nerve damage, stroke, and heart attack, blood clots in leg vein or lungs or infection should really be emphasized when discussing discharge instructions. Signs of infection would include increased redness, tenderness, swelling and pain of surgical site, stiffness, and fever with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, shaking chills and drainage from site. If any of these symptoms occur, a call to the physician should be made immediately. Recovery will take several weeks during which time crutches or a walker will be needed and arrangements for transportation and everyday tasks will have to be made. Physical activity should be resumed slowly with normal household activities, a graduated walking program and knee strengthening exercises until staples or stitches are removed 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. Low impact exercising such as swimming or riding a stationary bicycle is tolerable but high impact activities such as running are not recommended due to an increased risk of joint failure because the knee joint components can loosen. During recovery from the surgical intervention, a nurses care to help control acute pain for the patient is one of the most important factors in helping a patient fully recover without further complications. Walking and knee movement begins soon after surgery so less pain would benefit the patient to move sooner and get strength back quickly. Pain control can be done with the use of analgesic and non-analgesic relief measures and reporting uncontrolled symptoms immediately. A nurse can assist with pain management interventions such as: * Performing comprehensive assessment of pain to include location, characteristics, onset, duration, frequency, quality, intensity or severity and precipitating factors. Always consider cultural differences and in non-verbal patient use the analog pain scale to evaluate pain control measures required * Reducing or eliminating increasing pain factors like fear or lack of knowledge * Teaching non pharmacological techniques like relaxation, massage, guided imagery and distraction * Checking vitals every 4 hours and neurovascular checks every hour during the first 12 to 24 hours then every 2 to 4 hours and always report any abnormal findings * Providing prescribed analgesics before activity to increase participation and assessing levels of comfort frequently * Initiating physical therapy, exercises and range of motion while teaching and reinforcing the use of techniques to prevent weight bearing on affected extremity and recommending home health or a rehabilitation facility * Monitoring incision bleeding, emptying and recording drainage every 4 hours and changing dressing every 24 to 48 hours * Encouraging increased fluid intake and high fiber diet, stool softener and a well-balanced diet with increased protein * Encouraging use of compression stockings to decrease swelling. Nursing care of a patient is very crucial in order to help the patient avoid potential complications with the prosthetic. An infected knee would require surgery to remove artificial parts and antibiotics to kill the bacteria then after clearing the infection another surgery would be required to install a new prosthetic. A nurse’s role in recovery is very important in many aspects of the patient’s care and the nurse can encourage and support the patient in building the confidence that they are able to perform the necessary steps to gain the ability to restore normal functions. Most importantly, helping the patient keep pain levels under control by whatever measures are comfortable to the patient should be first in mind. Pain can be the main factor that would prevent a patient from doing any follow care or treatment they are required to do in order to keep the prosthetic functioning adequately. The patient should be able to rely on the nurse to keep them in a comfortable state with the assistance of keeping in communication with the physician and without this patient-nurse relationship the patient would not be able to recover properly and achieve goals set as part of their recovery treatment plan.

Cinema Sequels And Remakes

Cinema Sequels And Remakes Preamble: The remake is both an industrial and a critical genre. Defined primarily in relation to a body of copyright law, the acknowledged or credited remake develops from being an ethical solution to the early practice of duping to become an economically driven staple of the Hollywood industrial mode of representation. Following the Hollywood recession of 1969 and the small-and-weird-can-be-beautiful-revolution of the early seventies, the remake (along with the sequel) becomes typical of the defensive production and marketing strategies of a post Jaws Hollywood. In the case of the unacknowledged remake, the absence of a production credit shifts attention from a legal-industrial definition to a critical-interpretive one, in which the remake is determined in relation to a general discursive field [that] is mediated by the structure of the [filmic] system and by the authority of the [film and] literary canon (Frow, Intertextuality and Ontology 46). In either instance, the intertextual referentiality between a remake and its `original is largely extratextual (Friedberg 175), located in historically specific technologies and institutional practices such as copyright law and authorship, canon formation and film literacy. In their almost one thousand page long Cinema Sequels and Remakes, 1903-1987, Roben Nowlan and Gwendoline Wright Nowlan devote not quite two full pages to explaining the selection criteria for one thousand and twenty five alphabetically listed primary films and the many more associated remakes and sequels that make up their reference volume. The brevity of Nowlan and Nowlans introduction is attributable to the fact that they make little attempt to define either remake or sequel, but rather take these as received categories, i.e., their principal criterion for selection is that a film has been previously designated as a remake or sequel in any two or more of a number of unidentified but reliable source[s], which list remakes and sequels of certain genres of films (xi-xii). While this type of lax definition makes for a wide selection of material and does not preclude the inferential reconstruction of at least some of the unspecified principles of selection (through an examination of th ose films that have been included), Nowlan and Nowlans intuitive approach underscores the extent to which the remake is conceived more through actual usage and common understanding than through rigorous definition.(1) While Nowlan and Nowlan put aside problems of categorization to list thousands of films, Michael B. Druxmans more modest (in scope) Make It Again, Sam, which sets out to provide a comprehensive dissertation on the remake practice by detailing the film life of [thirty-three] literary properties (9), attempts to ground its selection in some preliminary definitions. Druxman begins by electing to limit the category of remake to those theatrical films that were based on a common literary source (i.e., story, novel, play, poem, screenplay), but were not a sequel to that material (9). This seemingly infallible signpost is however complicated by those films that are obviously remakes [but] do not credit their origins (9). In such cases Druxman adopts a heuristic devicea rule of thumbwhich requires that a new film borrow more than just an element or two from its predecessor to qualify (9). This in turn allows Druxman to distinguish between nonfiction films of a single historical incident or b iography of a historical figure (e.g., the mutiny on the Bounty or the life of Jesse James) which differ because they are based around competing versions of the same incident, and those nonfiction films of a like historical incident which are similar even though they are based upon diverse literary sources (9). As might be expected from an approximate rule which arbitrates according to whether a films borrowings are significant or only amount to an element or two, Druxman ultimately admits that there were many marginal situations [in which he] simply used [his] own discretion in deciding whether or not to embrace [a film as a remake] (9). Although Druxmans recognition of unacknowledged remakes introduces a number of methodological difficulties, he funkier grounds his discussion by viewing Hollywood remaking practice as a function of industry pragmatism, driven by three major factors. Firstly, Druxman argues that the decision to remake an existing film is primarily a voluntary one based on the perceived continuing viability of an original story. However, industry demand for additional material during the studio-dominated era of the thirties and forties and attempts to rationalize the often high costs of source acquisition prompted studios to consider previously filmed stories as sources for B pictures, and even for top of the bill productions (13). As Tino Balio points out, the Hollywood majors had story departments with large offices in New York, Hollywood, and Europe that systematically searched the literary marketplace and stage for suitable novels, plays, short stories, and original ideas (99). Taking as an example story acquisitions at Warner Brothers between 1930 and 1949, Balio notes that the pattern of source acquisition demonstrates two often contradictory goals: (1) the desire to base films on pretested material, that is, low-risk material that was already well known and well received by the public and (2) the desire to acquire properties as inexpensively as possible, especially during declining or uncertain economic circumstances (Robert Gustafson qtd. in Balio 99). In practice this meant that while Warners often invested in expensive pre-sold properties, such as best-selling novels and Hollywood hit plays, it offset the high costs of pretested properties by using original screenplays written in its screenwriting department and by relying heavily on `the cheapest pretested material of allearlier Warner pictures (99). Druxmans second, related point is that the customary studio practice at the time of purchasing the rights to novels, plays, and stories in perpetuity meant that a company was able to produce multiple versions of a particular property without making additional payments to the copyright holder (15). Canonized classics of literature, such as Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers, not only had pre-sold titles, but because they were in the public domain, had the added advantage of requiring no initial payment for their dramatic rights (18-20). While the majority of recycled, previously purchased source material (particularly from those films that had done fair to poorly at the box office) made its way into B-unit production (Balio 100), high profile titles were sometimes remade to take advantage of new technologies and practices. Accordingly, Druxmans third and final point relates to the profit potential of redoing established films in order to exploit new stars or screen techniques, e .g., Michael Curtizs 1938 version of The Adventures of Robin Hood as both a vehicle for Errol Flynn and a sound and Technicolor update of the Douglas Fairbanks silent epic, Robin Hood (Allen Dwan, 1922) (15). Druxmans initial definition and the above factors of industry pragmatism allow him to posit three general categories of Hollywood remake: (i) the disguised remake: a literary property is either updated with minimal change or retitled and then disguised by new settings and original characters, but in either case the new film does not seek to draw attention to its earlier version(s), e.g., Colorado Territory (Raoul Walsh, 1949) as a disguised remake of High Sierra (Raoul Walsh, 1941); (ii) the direct remake: a property may undergo some alterations or even adopt a new title, but the new film and its narrative image do not hide the fact that it is based upon an earlier production, e.g., John Guillermins 1976 remake of King Kong (Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933); and (iii) the non-remake: a new film goes under the same title as a familiar property but there is an entirely new plot, e.g., Michael Curtizs 1940 version of The Sea Hawk is said to bear little relation to First Nationals 1924 adaptation of the Rafael Sabatini novel (13-15).(2) While Druxmans account of the remake raises a number of salient points, among them the role that credits and promotions play in the identification of remakes, the publication of Make It Again, Sam prior to the post-Jaws renovation of Hollywood and the transformation of film viewing through videotape and other recent technologies of storage and reproduction make the book somewhat backward-looking. In order to consider some aspects of the remake as a media-intertext, particularly in relation to new Hollywood remakes, it is helpful to turn to a more recent typology of the remake, Thomas M. Leitchs Twice-Told Tales.(3) Leitch begins his account by making a number of points about the singularity of the remake both among Hollywood films and even among other types of narratives: [t]he uniqueness of the film remake, a movie based on another movie, or competing with another movie based on the same property is indicated by the word property. Every film adaptation is defined by its legally sanc tioned use of material from an earlier model, whose adaptation rights the producers have customarily purchased (138). Putting aside for the moment the fact that this description immediately excludes those obvious remakes which do not acknowledge their previous source, the point Leitch wishes to make is that although adaptation rights (e.g., film adaptation rights of a novel) are something producers of the original work have a right to sell, it is only remakes that compete directly and without legal or economic compensation with other versions of the same property (138): [R]emakes differ from adaptations to a new medium because of the triangular relationship they establish among themselves, the original film they remake, and the property on which both films are based. The nature of this triangle is most clearly indicated by the fact that the producers of a remake typically pay no adaptation fees to the makers of the original film, but rather purchase adaptation rights from the authors of the property on which that film was based, even though the remake is competing much more directly with the original filmespecially in these days of video, when the original film and the remake are often found side by side on the shelves of rental outletsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬than with the story or play or novel on which it is based. (139) Taking as an initial proposition the triangular relationship among a remake, its original film, and the source for both films, Leitch suggests that any given remake can seek to define itself either with primary reference to the film it remakes or to the material on which both films are based; and whether it poses as a new version of an older film or of a story predating either film, it can take as its goal fidelity to the conception of the original story or a revisionary attitude toward that story (142). Accordingly, Leitch outlines the following quadripartite typology of the remake: (i) readaptation: the remake ignores or treats as inconsequential earlier cinematic adaptations in order to readapt as faithfully as possible (or at least more faithfully than earlier film versions) an original literary property, e.g., the film versions of Shakespeares Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948; Tony Richardson, 1969; and Franco Zeffirelli, 1990) and Macbeth (Orson Welles, 1948; Roman Polanski, 1971 ); (ii) update: unlike the readaptation that seeks to subordinate itself to the essence of a literary classic, the update competes directly with its literary source by adopting an overtly revisionary and transformational attitude toward it, e.g., West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961) and China Gil (Abel Ferrara, 1987) as transformed remakes of filmed versions of Romeo and Juliet (George Cukor, 1936; Franco Zeffirelli, 1968); (iii) homage: like the readaptation, which seeks to direct the audiences attention to its literary source, the homage situates itself as a secondary text in order to pay tribute to a previous film version, e.g., Brian de Palmas Obsession (1975) and Body Double (1986) as homages to Alfred Hitchcocks Vertigo (1958), and Rainer Werner Fassbinders Fear Eats the Soul (1973) as a tribute to the Douglas Sirk version of Magnificent Obsession (1954); (iv) true remake: while the homage renounces any claim to be better than its original, the true remake de al[s] with the contradictory claims of all remakesthat they are just like their originals only betterby . . . combin[ing] a focus on a cinematic original with an accommodating stance which seeks to make the original relevant by updating it, e.g., Bob Rafelsons 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett, 1946), and Lawrence Kasdans Body Heat (1981) as a remake of Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) (142-45). Leitch concludes that, unlike readaptations, updates, and homages, which only acknowledge one earlier text (literary in the first two cases and cinematic in the third), true remakes [emphasize] a triangular notion of intertextuality, since their rhetorical strategy depends on ascribing their value to a classic earlier text [i.e., an original property such as James M. Cains novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice], and protecting that value by invoking a second earlier [film] text as betraying it [Garnetts version as a watered-down film noir, probably due to limita tions imposed by the MGM studio and the Production Code of the forties] (147). While Leitchs recognition of the significance of a literary property, and in particular the relationship of a film adaptation and its remake to that property, leads to what at first appears to be a more nuanced typology than that outlined by Druxman, further consideration reveals a number of difficulties, not only among Leitchs four categories but in relation to his preliminary suppositions. Firstly, while the ubiquity of the Hollywood remake might understandably lead Leitch to conclude that the remake is a particularly cinematic form,(4) we might question to what extent it differs from the remaking of songs in the popular music industry. That is, how does the triadic relationship between (i) the Pet Shop Boys long remake (of their earlier, shorter remake) of Always on My Mind, (ii) the 1972 version of the same song by Elvis Presley, and (iii) the original property (music and lyrics written by Thompson James Christopher, and published by Screen Gems/EMI), differ appreciably from the triangular relationship for the film remake as described by Leitch? Or, to take as another example a case that underscores Leitchs overestimation of the economic competition a remake creates for a former adaptation, the Sid Vicious remake of My Way (and even Gary Oldmans remake of the same performance for Alex Coxs Sid and Nancy [1986]) competes culturally, but not economically, with Frank Sinatras earlier adaptation of a property written by Reveaux, Francois, and Anka. These examples, and others from the popular music industry, adequately conform to, and so problematize, Leitchs initial claim that the film remake is unique because of the fact that its producers typically pay no adaptation fees to the makers of the original [version], but rather purchase adaptation rights from the authors [publishers] of the property on which that [version] was based (139). A second limitation is that while Druxman at least acknowledges the difficulty of identifying and categorizing those films that are obviously remakes [but] do not credit their origins (9), Leitch remains curiously silent in this respect. For instance, Leitch considers Body Heat a true remake of Double Indemnity, but he does not comment upon the fact that the films credits do not acknowledge the James M. Cain novel as a source; similarly, Leitch takes Obsession and Body Double to be homages to Vertigo, but he fails to note that neither of the films credit either the Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor screenplay or the Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narceiac novel, Dentre les morts, upon which the Hitchcock film is based. While I will return to the question of identifying unacknowledged remakes, Leitchs insistence upon the connection between three elementsa remake, an earlier version, and a literary propertypresents a further difficulty in that it marginalizes those instances in which a dyadic r elationship exists between a remake and a previous film that is itself the original property. Although it might be objected that a published original screenplay constitutes a discrete property, the point to be made here is that the remake of an original film property, such as John Badhams The Assassin [Point of No Return] (1994), does not compete directly and without legal or economic compensation with its earlier version, but (generally) pays adaptation fees to the copyright holder of the original film upon which it is based (in this example, Luc Bessons [La Femme] Nikita [1990]).(5) The example of the American remake of Nikita not only demonstrates that a triangular relationship fails to accommodate remakes of those films based upon original stories and screenplays, but highlights the difficulty of Leitchs suggestion that remakes compete with earlier versions and his belief that successful remakes supersede and so typically threaten the economic viability of their originals (139). To stay with the example of the French-Italian production of Nikita, it seems doubtful that, having successfully played an art-cinema circuit and having been released to home video (variously under the categories of cult, festival, and arthouse), the appearance of The Assassin, initially as a first run theatrical release and then as a mainstream video release would have any appreciable impact (either positive or negative) upon the formers economic viability. Admittedly, The Assassin was not promoted as a remake of the Besson film, but even a widely publicized remake such as Martin Scor seses 1991 version of Cape Fear(6) did not occasion the burial, or even diminish the cult following, of J. Lee Thompsons earlier (1961) version. On the contrary, the theatrical release of the Scorsese film (accompanied by press releases and reviews foregrounding its status as remake) prompted first a video release and then a prime-time national television screening of the Thompson version. The reciprocity of the two versions is further exemplified by Sight and Sounds running together of a lead article by Jim Hoberman on Scorsese and Cape Fear and a second, briefer article comparing the two versions ([n]ovelist Jenny Diski watches a video of the first Cape Fear and the Scorsese remakeand compares them) and giving details of the availability of the (then recently) re-released CIC video of the 1961 version (see Hoberman Sacred and Profane; Diski The Shadow Within). While reciprocity may not always be the casein the international marketplace a local remake may supplant an earlier forei gn language and/or culture version(7)it seems that contemporary remakes generally enjoy a more symbiotic relationship than Leitchs account would have us believe. While the above examples suggest that Leitch overestimates the extent to which some remakes compete with original film versions, his recognition of the impact that innovations in television technology, particularly home video, have had upon shaping the relationship between a remake and its earlier versions should not be underestimated. Leitch states that during the studio-dominated era of the thirties and forties it was at least in part the belief that films had a strictly current value that enabled studios such as Warners to recycle The Maltese Falcon three times in ten years (Roy Del Ruth, 1931; William Dieterle, 1936 [as Satan Met a Lady]; and John Huston, 1941) and release many unofficial remakes of its own films (139), although the re-release of successful features, particularly during the late forties and early fifties, gave some films a limited currency outside their initial year of release (see McElwee), the majority of films held in studio libraries were not available for re -viewing until the mid-fifties when the major studios decided to sell or lease their libraries to television. The release of thousands of pre-1948 features into the television market not only gave the general public the opportunity to see many films that had been held in studio archives since their initial year of release, but provided the possibility of seeing different versions of the same property, produced years or even decades apart, within weeks or even days of each other. Moreover, the television broadcasting of films provided the further possibility of viewing remakes outside of the temporal order of their production, i.e., the repeated screening of the same features meant that it was inevitable that the broadcast of a remake would precede the screening of its original. While Leitch does not address the impact of television, his recognition that a remake and its original circulate in the same video marketplace draws attention to the fact that the introduction of an informati on storage technology such as videotape radically extends the kind of film literacy, the ability to recognize and cross-reference multiple versions of the same property, that is inaugurated by the age of television. The ever-expanding availability of texts and technologies and the unprecedented awareness of film history among new Hollywood filmmakers and contemporary audiences are closely related to the general concept of intertextuality, an in principle determination which requires that texts be understood not as self-contained structures but as the repetition and transformation of other [absent] textual structures (Frow, Intertextuality and Ontology 45). Generally speaking, in the case of remakes these intertextual structures are stabilized, or limited, through the naming and (usually) legally sanctioned (i.e., copyrighted) use of a particular literary and/or cinematic source which serves as a retrospectively designated point of origin and semantic fixity. In addition, the intertextual structures (unlike those of genre) are highly particular in their repetition of narrative units, and these repetitions most often (though certainly not always) relate to the order of the message rather than to t hat of the code (45).(8) While these factors yield some degree of consensus, any easy categorization of the remake is frustrated by (i) films which do not credit an original text, but which repeat both general and particular elements of the originals narrative unfolding, e.g., Body Heat as an uncredited remake of Double Indemnity and The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, 1983) as an unacknowledged remake of The Return of the Secaucus Seven (John Sayles, 1980);(9) and (ii) films based on a like sourcea literary work or historical incidentbut which differ significantly in their treatment of narrative units, e.g., The Bounty (Roger Donaldson, 1984) as a non-remake of Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935 and Lewis Milestone, 1962). Furthermore, the intertextual referentiality between either non-remakes or unacknowledged remakes and their originals is to a large extent extratextual (Friedberg 175-76), being conveyed through institutions such as film reviewing and exhibition, for example, th e BFI/National Film Theatres programmed describes four films from Paul Schrader scriptsTaxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976), Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 1977), Hardcore, and Patty Hearst (Paul Schrader, 1979 and 1988)as updates of The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) (The Searchers: A Family Tree). In the case of Leitchs typology, we have seen that the remake is categorized according to whether the intertextual referent is literary (the readaptation, the update) or cinematic (the homage, the true remake). In the latter case, Leitch states that while homages, such as The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) and Invaders from Mars (Tobe Hooper, 1986), establish direct intertextual relations to their original films, these quotations or rewards take the form of throwaway jokes whose point is not necessary to the [films] continuity, and which therefore provide an optional bonus of pleasure to those in the know (141). While this may seem consistent with Umberto Ecos account of the intertextual dialogue (i.e., the instance where a quotation is explicit and recognizable to an increasingly sophisticated, cine-literate audience), what Leitch does not sufficiently stress is that his examples of the homage (and of the true remake)all drawn from the new Hollywood cinemasuggest a historically speci fic response to a post-modern (or post-Jaws) circulation and recirculation of images and texts. This does not mean that the classical Hollywood remake never takes an earlier film as its intertextual referent, but rather that, as the continuity system develops through the pre-classical period (1908-17), direct intertextual referentiality is displaced by an industrial imperative for standardization which prioritizes the intertextual relation of genres, cycles, and stars. Accordingly, as the classical narrative strives to create a coherent, self-contained fictional world according to specific mechanisms of intratextual repetition (or alternation), direct intertextual referentiality to either and/or both literary properties (novels, short-stories, plays, etc) and earlier film versions becomes an extratextual referentiality, carried by such apparatuses as advertising and promotional materials (posters, lobby cards, commercial tie-ins, etc), motion picture magazines, review articles, and academic film criticism. What seems to happen with the new Hollywood cinema, particularly in the case of remakes, is that while the intratextual mechanisms of classical continuity are mostly respected, extratextual referentiality is sometimes complemented by what is perceivedwithin specific interpretive communitiesas the explicit and recognizable intertextual quotation of plot motifs and stylistic features, peculiar to earlier film versions. To take a general example, the narrative of Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) assumes as its primary intertexts the revisionist westerns of the sixties and seventies, and the Eastwood star persona, but (re)viewers additionally see the film as a kind of sequel (the Will Munny character as the now aged Man-with-no-name, from Eastwoods spaghetti westerns) and as a homage to the films of both Sam Peckinpah and John Ford.(10) More specifically, Martin Scorseses remake of Cape Fear may be said to work perfectly well as a conventional thriller (a psychopath attacks a normalin t his case, dysfunctionalAmerican family), but the new Cape Fear also assumes [in its reworking of the original Bernard Herrmann score and the casting of original lead players in cameo roles] that the viewer has seen the earlier one, perhaps even as recently as Scorsese himself (Hoberman 11). Another example, Jim McBrides Breathless (1983), not only quotes the Godard original (A bout de souffle, 1959) in its smallest detail (a characters name, a players gesture), but more generally embraces Godards enthusiasm for American pop-cultural iconography: the title song, Breathless, by the KillerJerry Lee Lewis; the Roy Lichtenstein-type lifts from Marvel Comics The Silver Surfer, the collectable American automobilethe 1957 Ford Thunderbird, the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. Finally, while it is possible to find similar examples in the classical cinema,(11) the point to be made here is that the type of intertextual referentiality which characterizes (some) contemporary American film circulates in a historically specific context, i.e., the identification of, and indeed the commercial decision to remake, an earlier film is grounded in particular extratextual, institutional, or discursive practices. As in Noel Carrolls discussion of new Hollywood allusionism, the question of intertextual referentiality needs to be related to the radical extension of film literacy and the enthusiasm for American film history that took hold in the United States during the sixties and early seventies. Partly made possible by the release of Hollywood features to television (which had come to function like a film archive) and the wider accessibility of new technologies (e.g., 16mm film projection), this re-evaluation, or legitimization, of Hollywood cultural product was underwritten by such additional factors as the importation of the French politique des auteurs, the upsurge of repertory theatre short-seasons, the expansion of film courses in American universities, and the emergence of professional associations such as the American Film Institute. Accordingly, and this is evident from the above examplesUnforgiven, Cape Fear, Breathlessthe selection and recognition of films, and bodies of films, for quotation and reworking (the work of auteurs, Ford and Peckinpah; the cult movie, Cape Fear, the nouvelle vague landmark, A bout de souffle) can be located in the institutionally determined practice of film canon formation and its contributing projectsthe discussion and citation of particular films in popular and academic film criticism, the selective release and re-release of films to theatrical and video distribution windows, and (in circular fashion) the decision of other filmmakers to evoke earlier films and recreate cinema history (see Staiger 4). An understanding of the formation and maintenance of a film canon in turn goes some way toward explaining why remakes of institutionalized film noirse.g., D.O.A. (Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, 1988), No Way Out (Roger Donaldson, 1987), and Against All Odds (Taylor Hackford, 1984)are discussed with reference to their originals (D.O.A. [Rudolph Mate, 1949], The Big Clock [John Farrow, 1948], and Out of the Past [Jacques Tourneur, 1947], respectively), while films such as Martin Scorseses version of The Age of Innocence (1993) and James Deardens remake of A Kiss Before Dying (1991) defer, not to their little known, or (now) rarely seen, earlier film versions (The Age of Innocence [Wesley Ruggles, 1924 and Philip Moeller, 1934], and A Kiss Before Dying [Gerd Oswald, 1961]) but to the authority of an established literary canon: The Age of Innocence is based on Edith Whartons 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning novel; A Kiss Before Dying is adapted from a best-selling novel by Ira Levin. Indeed, and in accordance with the canonization of the work of Alfred Hitchcock, the more direct intertextual referent for the remake of A Kiss Before Dying is Hitchcocks Vertigoa clip from the film appears diegetically on a characters television screen, and in addition to the figure of the doppelganger there is allusion to Hitchcockian plot s tructure and motif: [l]iberally alluding to Hitchcock by killing off his leading actress in the first reel, Dearden includes subtler references like the washing out of hair-dye and the cop who just wont leave (Strick 50). The suggestion that the very limited intertextual referentiality between the remake and its original is organized according to an extratextual referentiality located in historically specific discursive formationssuch as copyright law and authorship, canon formation and film literacyhas consequences for purely textual descriptions of the remake, particularly those based on a rigid distinction between an original story and its new discursive incarnation (see Leitch 143). Aside from the questionable move of assuming that the unchanging essence of a films story can somehow be abstracted from the mutable disposition of its expression (see Brunette and Wills 53), demarcation along the lines of story and discourse is evidently frustrated by those remakes which repeat not only the narrative invention of an original property but seek, for instance, to recreate the expressive design of an earlier film (e.g., Obsession as a reconstruction of the mood and manner of Hitchcocks Vertigo [see Rosenbaum 217]) or to rework the style of an entire oeuvre or genre (e.

Analysis of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen Essay -- Dulce Decoru

Analysis of "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen Based on the poem of "Dulce et Decorum Est", by Wilfred Owen. Owens war poetry is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and of pity for the young soldiers sacrificed in it. It is "Dulce et Decorum Est" which provides a very dramatic and memorable description of the psychological and physical horrors that war brings about. From the first stanza Owen uses strong metaphors and similes to convey a strong warning. The first line describes the troops as being "like old beggars under sacks". This not only says that the men are tired but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars. "Coughing like hags" suggests that these young men (many who were in their teens) were suffering from ill health due to the damp, sludge and fumes from the decaying bodies of their fallen men at arms, lying on their chests. It was also in the winter's of The Great War where the events that, Owen speaks of took place, so they would have been prone to pneumonias and other diseases. By using the phrase "blood shod" Owen is describing how the troops have been on their feet for days and never resting. "Drunk with fatigue", echoes this view that the troops are wandering and stumbling around aimlessly with no sense of direction or of purpose. In the second stanza, the pace changes to one of urgency; Owen using the word "Gas" in swift repetition demonstrates this. By doing this Owen illustrates the urgency of a life and death situation, which requires the need to put on their gas masks. Owen describes a horrific scene unfolding in front of his very eyes, a scene of a man dying a horrible death because he was too slow to put on his ... ...one changes to one of questioning hopelessness and of quiet resignation with the onset of death. Owen demonstrates this by asking the reader to think, "Think how it wakes the seeds- Woke, once, the clays of a cold star". Here the reader can see that the suggestion of clay as being cold and lifeless and that when the sun tries to warm clay, it in fact bakes it hard. In lines 3, 4 and 5, "Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides, Full-nerved - warm-to hard too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall?" the reader can begin to ask the age old questions, "why?" and "Are we here for just this reason, too die for the sake of pointless wars that occur through mans own greed of power? Bibliography: Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum Est." Perrine?s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 7th ed. Ed. Thomas R. Arp. Ft. Worth: Harcourt, 1998. 565-566.

The Trip To Halawa Valley :: essays research papers

The Trip to Halawa Valley "The Trip to Halawa Valley," is a short story written by Lynne Sharon Schwartz. The story is about a son succeeding and getting married in Hawaii, and the reunification of his divorced parents. The parents become the main focus of the story when the son suggests that they go on a trip to Halawa Valley. In this story Schwartz is trying to show people that once you make a decision it is very hard to turn back on that decision. With all the characters, except for the briefly mentioned newlyweds, Schwartz shows how decisions made by a person or a couple are hard to turn back on. An example of this is Paul's parents. Lois and Jim are brought back together in Hawaii, and try to rekindle their love for each other. After their trip though, they realize it can not be done, and part in their own separate ways. Schwartz does a very good job of showing the reader the experience she is trying to convey. She does this by using a couple different characters throughout the story. The main ones she uses are the parents, and that is the very obvious example. A few other examples are not as clear, but they do show how decisions are an important factor in life and once made are very hard to turn around. Using Paul's brother Anthony, Schwartz shows that once he made the decision to join the Hare Krishnas there was no turning back, even if that meant not communicating with his parents anymore. Schwartz also uses Paul's other brother Eric. When Eric announced that he was gay, his parents had to make the tough decision to either support or not support his choice in sexuality. Schwartz develops the characters very fast, but in doing so makes the story move faster. Throughout the story the characters are being developed through the thoughts of both Lois and Jim. They talk about their kids and how one of them died at age 11 due to a brain tumor. Schwartz also makes Lois develop Jim, and Jim develop Lois. She does this by making them reminisce about their past together. The conflict in this short story is between the parents of Paul.

Suburbanization Essay -- Community Development, Urbanism

The topic of suburbanization is a reality in today's world. Over the years, a number of factors emerge to allow the unstoppable development of a community from a small classic city to a sprawl. Technological advances, immigration, transportation, and communication are some of the changing factors that manipulate our lifestyle and shape the way we live, based on our time, needs, and available resources as a society. You think of how we got where we are today as a society, we came from using trains and carriages to airplanes and automobiles. We came from planting our own food to obtaining it from supermarkets, where we can find any type of food from anywhere around the world. The important of individualism is another factor that plays another important role in society, and it brings unlimited freedom as a consequence. Freedom for people to mobilize, buy, sell, and communicate with other people from all around the world. This same evolution of chaos allows the creation of new ideas amon g the city’s population, new ways of doing things, inventions, production techniques, and transportation. At the same time, many different cultures and classes of immigration contribute to the increase of a diverse economy, creating new ways of doing things while the old ways of living are evaporated and destroyed. In this case we analyze New Haven, a city that in earlier times emerged from an economic development based on the primitive use of water as a source of production, to the use of steam-driven machinery. In a blink of an eye, the city went from urbanism to suburbanization. Anyone would say the expansion of a city could bring only prosperity without taking into consideration that same developments factors could badly turn against it, and cont... ..., such as the television had the power to influence the past, present, and future of American cities. They contributed to technological advancements in the cities but at the same time to the destruction of urbanism. Urbanism and suburbanization clearly demonstrates the changing forces that impact society. New Haven was a perfect example that clearly describes how urbanism met its end. The way we employ technology, communication, electricity, water and other resources shape the way we live today and how we will live in future years. For many, the search for new discoveries creates excitement, and it could even trick us to believe cities are growing in the right direction, such as New Haven once believed. Today, we can appreciate how individualism has grown by the way cities are now organized. As a society, we now wish for open, peaceful, lonely spaces to live.

Earth Science Final

Describe the difference in stellar evolution of stars the size of our sun with that of stars 4+ times larger than our sun. Include all of the steps and the causes of each step. A nebula, an immense cloud of hydrogen gas and dust, condenses into smaller regions of matter. On occasion, one of these regions collapses under the force of its own gravitational attraction, often triggered by an outside force, like a nearby supernova-an explosion of a star. After the collapse of a cloud, atoms begin gravitating together to form a condensed center.The condensed center is a protestor. As gravity pulls in more gas and dust, pressure builds, causing the protestor core to heat up. Clouds and matter begin to rotate around the protestor and flatten due to their rotation. They surround the protestor like a rotating disk. The protestor continues to grow and its core continues to heat. When the core is hot enough, nuclear fusion begins. The start of nuclear fusion is technically the beginning of a sta r's life. Eventually, when the nuclear energy runs out, the star dies.Depending on the size and mass of the star, it can go through many stages and die in different ways-one of those ways being a supernova. . Choose a region or landscape, describe the landforms in it, the drainage pattern, how the geology influenced the landscape, and the sacrificial processes that influenced it as well. Much of the region of western New York State north of the Pennsylvania border has dendrites drainage because rock layers are flat and there are few faults or folds to divert streams.A region that has prominent parallel and perpendicular faults, repeated folds, or a strong rectangular Jointing pattern will display a rectangular drainage pattern. Anoints are cracks in bedrock along which no significant movement has occurred. They may be related to expansion or regional forces acting on bedrock. ) Streams seek the lowest areas of folds, fractured rocks along faults, or the weakest surface bedrock locat ions. Annular drainage is a pattern of concentric circles that are connected by short radial stream segments.This type of drainage occurs in an eroded dome A radial drainage pattern resembles the spokes of a wheel. Streams flow away. Climate is the other major factor in landscape development. A humid climate favors chemical weathering, which produces rounded, less angular landforms. Most of the hill slopes of New York State are rounded and gentle because f the relatively humid climate. A moist climate also allows plants to grow and protect soil from erosion. Desert areas sometimes have a stepwise profile, with flat hilltops and terraces separated by steep escarpments.The climate of New York State does not change very much from place to place. All of New York has a moist, temperate, mid-latitude climate. Therefore the landscape differences in New York State are not the result of differences in climate. The variations seen in the New York landscape are caused by geological factors. 6. Link Ocean currents and the weather conditions of 3 specific regions. In each case, describe how the weather patterns of the place are influenced by one or more ocean currents.Winds, water density and tides all drive ocean currents. Coastal and sea floor features influence their location, direction, and speed. Earth's rotation results in the Acropolis Effect which also influences ocean currents. Similar to a person trying to walk in a straight line across a spinning Merry-Go-Round, winds and ocean waters get deflected from a straight-line path as they travel across the rotating Earth. This phenomenon causes ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere to veer to the right ND in the Southern Hemisphere to the left.Rica, Chile lies within one of the driest regions on Earth called the Tacoma Desert. Ocean currents keep clouds and fog Just off the coast, so most rain falls into the nearby ocean. Dethroned, Norway has a temperate climate. Summers and winters are remarkably mild for their l atitude. Rainfall is very heavy. The local harbors are free of ice most of the winter. Seattle, Washington has a mild climate with temperatures moderated by the sea and protected from winds and storms by the mountains. This area is often cloudy with light rain.

Role of Youth in National Development

My name is Ram Manohar. I am a farmer engaged in paddy cultivation as well as the Secretary of an Association of farmers. I come from Thirunellveli district in Tamil Nadu. About five kilometers from my farm land, a multinational company established a factory for producing soft drinks. The entire land around the factory to an extent of 10 Sq. km was under paddy cultivation. The entire water requirement for the company was from bore wells in the company premises.It is understood from the employees of the company that each bore well is around 1000 ft deep. Since the establishment of the factory the water availability in the bore wells in the farm land started receding. The main water source for agriculture and day to day life is from bore wells. The company apart from producing soft drinks is also producing a fertilizer as a by -product. The Agriculture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu is marketing the fertilizer at a subsidized rate. The said fertilizer is very cheap and the farmers are using the same for paddy cultivation.However the use of fertilizer has reduced the yield. Since the past two years almost the entire bore wells in the farm land has gone dry. Hence I am unable to cultivate paddy for the last two years. Around 2000 farmers in the locality are similarly placed. The Government has appointed a study commission to look into the issue of shortage of water, reduced yield and connected issues. After enquiry the Commission recommended the immediate closing of the factory. The Government of Tamil Nadu acted on the Report and closed the factory. In the meantime the Government also framed rules for regulating bore wells.The company has wound up its entire activities in India and closed its office and its responsible persons had left India. The entire farmers in the locality under the association are on an indefinite strike. We are demanding compensation. Can we claim compensation from the Government as well as from the company. Presently the farmers have no means for their daily livelihood. Please advise us. Additional Information 1. I am sixty years old. 2. From time immemorial my family is engaged in paddy cultivation and Thirunelveli district is known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. 3. I own fifteen acres of farm land. 4.The name of the company is Popsco. It is a Finnish company. 5. The company started functioning in India in the year 2005. 6. The company has 100 acres of land. 7. There are 40 bore wells in the factory premises. 8. I have three bore wells in my farmland and they have also gone dry. 9. The average depth of the bore well in the farm land of the area is 250 ft. 10. The Commission was appointed during July 2007 11. The Commission gave its report during March 2008. 12. The Commission found that the fertilizer contained high level of Cadium which has resulted in the reduced yield and that the farmlands have been contaminated. 3. The Commission also found that the water shortage was due to excess drawing of ground water by the factory. 14. The Commission found that the farm lands cannot be profitably cultivated for a minimum period of five years. 15. Fertilizers containing Cadium has been banned since 2003 in almost all parts of Europe. 16. The commission found that a minimum ten years period is required for sufficient increase in the ground water level. 17. The estimated loss of income of the farmers as per the Commission Report is five thousand Crores. 18.The commission found that the fertilizer was approved for sale bypassing statutory requirements. 19. The factory was closed during December 2009,till that time the factory was fully operational. 20. The association has given written representation for compensation to the company on October 10th 2009.  ©KERALA LAW ACADEMY MOOT COURT SOCIETY,Thiruvananthapuram ELEVENTH NATIONAL CLIENT CONSULTING COMPETITION 2010 KERALA LAW ACADEMY, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM FINAL My name is Sofia. I am a veterinary doctor and an expert in embryo transplantation technology. I am an employee of a Company in Gujarat.I joined the company on 10/05/06. The notification for selection stipulated that a five year bond has to be executed as a condition for selection. After selection I executed the bond. At the time of selection I have surrendered my entire original certificates to the company. The bond stipulated that I should work for minimum five years with the company and in case of resignation, liquidated damages of Rs ten lakhs has to be paid. Furthermore the bond contained a non – competition clause which prohibited me from working in a similar organization for ten years. All the selected candidates executed the bond.I was sent to Denmark for routine training by the company. The company has agreed to enhance the salary to all employees w. e. f 01/01/08. However the company has not yet enhanced the salary citing financial crisis. There was an offer from another company. I appeared for the interview and got selected. I was instructed to p roduce the original certificates on or before 10/02/2010. I approached my company for relieving me and also for original certificates. The company stated that I cannot be relieved as the new company is engaged in similar business. I lost the opportunity.From April the company is facing severe financial crisis. The future of the company is uncertain. Can I resign from this company and opt for another job. The company has orally informed me that they would not relieve me till the bond period is over. I am one among the ten veterinary doctors in India who are skilled in embryo transplantation and as such I have tremendous job opportunities with higher prospects. Am I entitled to claim compensation from the company for denying my opportunity? The company is threatening to sue me if I join similar institutions. Please advise me.Additional Information 1. Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry Degree obtained in the year 2005. 2. The name of my Company is Gujarat Livestock Cor poration. 3. Selection was through all India written test and Interview. 4. Bond was executed on 1/05/2006. The bond has no clause allowing the company to retain my original certificates. I have the copy of the bond and the copy of the notification inviting application for the job. 5. The pay scale is Rs 16000-22000. 6. My post is Assistant Veterinary Surgeon. 7. I successfully completed the probation on10/05/08. 8.It was told that the original certificates would be returned after the probation period. 9. The proposed enhancement of salary was Rs five thousand per month. 10. The offer for the new job was from Gujarat Diary Corporation. 11. The offered post was Deputy Manager. 12. The pay scale of the new company was Rs 25000-35000. 13. Written request for relieving was made on 20/01/2010. 14. Reply to the above request was received on 28/01/2010. 15. Gujarat Diary Corporation and Gujarat Livestock Corporation are engaged in similar activities and both are promoted by the Government of Gujarat. 16.I was provided in- house training for the first six months by the company. 17. I went to Denmark on 10/05/07. Training was the same as given in the in house training and was for three months. 18. The company has spent Rs fifteen lakhs as expenses for my training in Denmark. 19. In addition I went for training to Australia for three months with the permission of my employer. Training in Australia was from 2/06/08 to 02/09/08. 20. The training in Australia was for specialization in embryo transplantation. 21. Training in Australia was on my own expenses  ©KERALA LAW ACADEMY MOOT COURT SOCIETY,Thiruvananthapuram

Influence of Religion on African Culture

Africa is a continent of diversity. In this diversity there are hundreds of tribes and communities each practicing its own culture and religion. It would be very difficult to define Africa’s traditional religion as it would be difficult to define its culture.More so, it is extremely difficult to establish the dividing line between African Culture and African Religion. However, as much as there were many African Traditional Religions, their similarities were more dominant than their differences. We take up these similarities and encompass them as one African Traditional Religion. In this report, we explore the important aspects of Africa’s Traditional Religions and cultures that cut across the entire continent.This essay is based on various researches done by prominent scholars, historical background of Africa, news and books relevant to African studies. This report attempts to define religion, culture, and explores the major religions, African Traditional Religion (ATR) , Christianity and Islam and their influence and impact on African culture. Africa is one of the World’s six continents. It is the second largest and second most populous continent after Asia. Other continents include; Asia, America-North, America-South, Australia, Europe.Geologically, Present-day Africa, occupying one-fifth of Earth's land surface, is the central remnant of the ancient southern supercontinent called Gondwanaland, a landmass once made up of South America, Australia, Antarctica, India, and Africa. This massive supercontinent broke apart between 195 million and 135 million years ago, cleaved by the same geological forces that continue to transform Earth's crust today. At about 30. 2 million km? (11. 7 million sq  mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20. % of the total land area. With 1. 0 billion people (as of 2009) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14. 72% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent has 54 sovereign states, including Madagascar, various island groups, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a member state of the African Union whose statehood is disputed by Morocco.Afri was the name of several Semitic peoples who dwelt in North Africa near Carthage (in modern Tunisia). Their name is usually connected with Phoenician afar, â€Å"dust†, but a 1981 hypothesis has asserted that it stems from a Berber word ifri or Ifran meaning â€Å"cave†, in reference to cave dwellers. Africa or Ifri or Afer is name of Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania (Berber Tribe of Yafran). Pre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as 10,000 different states and polities characterised by many different sorts of political organisation and rule.These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the Bantu-speaking people of central and southern Africa, heavily structured clan groups in the Horn of Africa, the large Sahelian kingdoms, and autonomous city-states and kingdoms such as those of the Akan, Yoruba and Igbo people (also misspelled as Ibo) in West Africa, and the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa.Religion originates from the Latin world religare (re: back, and ligare: to bind), and this brings up the world â€Å"being bound. † faith is usually the core element of religion. Faith encompasses â€Å"Value-center,† â€Å"trust,† â€Å"loyalty,† and â€Å"meaning†. It is difficult to define religion.A good definition of religion is one that expounds on the following key traits; Belief in something sacred (for example, gods or other supernatural beings), A distinction between sa cred and profane objects, Ritual acts focused on sacred objects, A moral code believed to have a sacred or supernatural basis, characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, sense of guilt, adoration), which tend to be aroused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of ritual, prayer and other forms of communication with the supernatural, world view, or a general picture of the world as a whole and the place of the individual therein. This picture contains some specification of an over-all purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it, a more or less total organization of one’s life based on the world view, A social group bound together by the above. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning â€Å"to cultivate†) is a term that has various meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of â€Å"culture† in Culture: A Cri tical Review of Concepts and Definitions.However, the word â€Å"culture† is most commonly used in three basic senses: Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as culture, An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning and the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group. Culture has six core elements; politics, economics, ethics, aesthetics, kinship and religion. And out of these, religion â€Å"is by far the richest part of the African heritage. † It shapes their cultures, their social life, their politics, and their economics and is at the same time shaped by this same way of life. Some of the major religions that influenced African culture; African traditional religion, Christianity and Islam African Traditional ReligionIt is a unique religion whose sources include: sacred places and religio us objects such as rocks, hills, mountains, trees, caves and other holy places; rituals, ceremonies and festivals of the people; art and symbols; music and dance; proverbs, riddles, and wise sayings; and names of people and places. Beliefs cover topics such as God, spirits, birth, death, the hereafter, magic, and witchcraft. Religion, in the African indigenous context, permeates all departments of life. Africa’s traditional religion is based on the Ubuntu philosophy, which is a Zulu word for human-ness, and was developed over many centuries in traditional African culture. This culture was pre-literate, pre-scientific and pre-industrial. The concept of Ubuntu was originally expressed in the songs and stories, the customs and the institutions of the people. Another distinctive quality of the Ubuntu philosophy is the African emphasis on consensus.Indeed, the African traditional culture has, seemingly, an almost infinite capacity for the pursuit of consensus and reconciliation. D emocracy in the African way does not simply boil down to majority rule since it operates in the form of discussions geared towards a consensus. Christianity The Christian religion was founded in what is today Israel and Palestine 2000 years ago at the beginning of the Common Era. Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, a Jewish teacher and prophet. Early Christians (followers of Christ) believed that Jesus was divine in that he was the son of God. Islam Islam is a religion that was founded by Prophet Mohammed.It geographic origin can be traced to the modern-day Saudi Arabia. Influences of Religion on African Culture Religion being one of the core components of culture has a great influence on culture. Every religion practiced in Africa today has had a profound effect on the African culture, be it the African Traditional Religion, Christianity or Islam. Christianity Influence on African Culture arrived in Africa in two groups. One important group was centered in Egypt and had influence throughout North Africa. This group was known as the Gnostics. One of the other major factions of the early Christianity was centered in Rome. This faction was very much influenced by the teachings of the Apostle Paul.This faction became prominent in the fourth century C. E. when the Roman Empire officially became Christian. Recognizing the importance of a sacred text in solidifying their control over Christianity, the Roman faction brought together a collection of writings by early Christians and proclaimed these writings were inspired by God and that they were the true testament of the life and teachings of Jesus. This collection is known as the New Testament and is a central part of the Christian Bible. However, in creating the New Testament the Roman faction rejected as heresy all other writings about Jesus' life and teachings, including many books written by North African Gnostic ChristiansIn spite of the repression of the Gnostic Christians by Roman Christians, Christianity continued to flourish throughout North Africa until the arrival of Islam in the seventh century C. E. The Christians in this area were known as Coptic Christians, named after the main language of the area. By the time of the arrival of Islam, the Coptic Orthodox Church had lost most of the Gnostic influence, although the Coptic faith, like the Gnostics placed a great deal of emphasis on contemplation and monasticism. In structure, it was similar to the Church of Rome in that it practiced the same sacraments, and the church structure was made up of priests and bishops.Like the Roman Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church is headed by a Patriarch (similar to the Pope in the Roman Church) who lives in Alexandria. Even after Egypt had been taken over by Arab Moslems, the Coptic Christians continued to form a small but important segment of Egyptian society. Indeed, Coptic Christians today comprise approximately fifteen per cent of the Egyptian population. Christiani ty was introduced in Nubia by Christian monks and traders in the fifth and sixth centuries C. E. By the seventh century, the rulers of Nubia and most Nubians had converted to Christianity. In practice and structure, the Nubian church was similar to the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.In June, 18, 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull ‘Dum Diversas', granting King Alfonso V of Portugal the right to â€Å"attack, conquer, and subjugate Saracens, Pagans and other enemies of Christ wherever they may be found. † It gave title over all lands and possessions seized and permitted the Portuguese to take the inhabitants and consign them to perpetual slavery. Dum Diversas legitimised the colonial slave trade that begun around this time with the expeditions by Henry the Navigator to find a sea route to India, which were financed with African slaves. This approval of slavery was reaffirmed and extended in his Romanus Pontifex of 1455. The transatlantic trade in Africans was fo unded on Christianity.Religion was key in motivating Prince Henry of Portugal, later called Henry, â€Å"the Navigator† (1394-1460), to put in motion Europe's aggressive and ruthless expeditions to Africa. Henry was not only the governor of Algrave Province, who managed a large economic infrastructure based on the unbridled grasp of enormous wealth from trans-Saharan commerce, but he was also the administrator of the Order of Christ, the Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar, a famous Western military order founded in the aftermath of the First Crusade at Clermont on November 27, 1095. As one of the best fighting units, the Soldiers of Christ prompted a series of striking maritime exploits, ensuring the safety of Europeans who made pilgrimages to Jerusalem.It is important to note that during this historical period, the feudal states of European countries were just beginning to unite and major religious wars were being fought between Christians and Muslims, especially th e Moors in Morocco. Henry trained men to sail from Portugal, down the west coast of Africa in search of the limits to the Muslim world, in order to halt the Islamization of West Africa and to accelerate the spread of Christianity. In order to further God's intentions for humankind, Ogbu Kalu contends that within the context of religious logic, papal bulls offered rights of patronage to Henry, authorizing him to appoint clerical orders for evangelization and to fend off competing European interests.According to Peter Russell, Henry the Navigator considered conversion and enslavement as interchangeable terms, experiencing no cognitive dissonance in using Christianity as a civilizing agent for making converts into slaves. In â€Å"Christianity: Missionaries in Africa,† Modupe Labode sums it up this way: The case of the Portuguese exemplifies the close relationship between Crown and Church. In the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the pope recognized Portuguese claims to Africa. The Crown was also responsible for attempting to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. Much of the missionary effort over the next two and half centuries was conducted under Portuguese authority. The vast majority of the missionaries at this time were Roman Catholic priests, many of them belonged to religious orders such as the Jesuits, Capuchins, and Franciscans.Influence of Islam on African Culture led to the spread of Islam, from its heartland in the Middle East and North Africa to India and Southeast Asia, revealed the power of the religion and its commercial and sometimes military attributes. The spread of Islam across much of the northern third of Africa produced profound effects on both those who converted and those who resisted the new faith. Islamization also served to link Muslim Africa even more closely to the outside world through trade, religion, and politics. Trade and long-distance commerce, in fact, was carried out in many parts of the continent and linked regio ns beyond the orbit of Muslim penetration.Until about 1450, however, Islam provided the major external contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the world. State building took place in many areas of the continent under a variety of conditions. West Africa, for example, experienced both the cultural influence of Islam and its own internal dynamic of state building and civilization developments that produced, in some places, great artistic accomplishments. The existence of stateless societies and their transformation into states are a constant of African history even beyond 1500. As we have seen with Egypt, North Africa was also linked across the Sahara to the rest of Africa in many ways.With the rise of Islam, those ties became even closer. Between A. D. 640 and 700 the followers of Muhammad swept across North Africa from Suez to the Pillars of Hercules on Morocco's Atlantic shore. By A. D. 670 Muslims ruled Tunisia, or Ifriqiya, what the Romans had called Africa. (The Arabs originally used this word as the name for eastern North Africa and Maghrib for lands to the West. ) By 711, Arab and Berber armies had crossed into Spain. In opposition to the states dominated by the Arabic rulers, the peoples of the desert, the Berbers, formed states of their own at places such as Fez in Morocco and at Sijilimasa, the old city of the trans-Saharan caravan trade.By the 11th century, under pressure from new Muslim invaders from the East, a great puritanical reformist movement, whose followers were called the Almoravids, grew among the desert Berbers of the western Sahara. Launched on the course of a jihad, a holy war waged to purify, spread, or protect the faith, the Almoravids moved southward against the African kingdoms of the savanna and westward into Spain. Islam offered a number of attractions within Africa. Its fundamental teaching that all Muslims are equal within the community of believers made the acceptance of conquerors and new rulers easier. The Islamic tradition of uniting the powers of the state and religion in the person of the ruler or caliph appealed to some African kings as a way of reinforcing their authority.The concept that all members of the ummah, or community of believers, were equal put the newly converted Berbers and later Africans on an equal footing with the Arabs, at least in law. Despite these egalitarian and somewhat utopian ideas within Islam, practice differed considerably at local levels. Social stratification remained important in Islamicized societies and ethnic distinctions also divided the believers. The Muslim concept of a ruler who united civil and religious authority reinforced traditional ideas of kingship. It is also important to note that in Africa, as elsewhere in the world, the formation of states heightened social differences and made these societies more hierarchical.Africans had been enslaved by others before, and Nubian (African) slaves had been known in the classical world, but with the Muslim conquests o f North Africa and commercial penetration to the south, slavery became a more widely diffused phenomenon, and a slave trade in Africans developed on a new scale. In theory, slavery was viewed by Muslims as a stage in the process of conversion – a way of preparing pagans to become Muslims – but in reality conversion did not guarantee freedom. Slaves in the Islamic world were used in a variety of occupations, such as domestic servants and laborers, but they were also used as soldiers and administrators who, having no local ties and affiliations, were considered to be dependent and thus trustworthy by their masters. Slaves were also used as eunuchs and concubines; thus the emphasis on women and children.The trade caravans from the Sahel across the Sahara often transported slaves as well as gold. Other slave-trade routes developed from the African interior to the east African coast. The tendency for the children of slave mothers to eventually be freed and integrated into M uslim society, while positive in one sense, also meant a constant demand for more slaves. Islam provided the residents of these towns a universal set of ethics and beliefs that made their maritime contacts easier; but in East Africa, as in the savanna kingdoms of West Africa, Islamization was slow to penetrate among the general population, and when it did, the result was often a compromise between indigenous ways and the new faith.By the thirteenth century, a string of urbanized trading ports sharing the common Bantu-based and Arabic-influenced Swahili language and other cultural traits – although governed by separate Muslim ruling families – had developed along the coast. Towns such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, Malindi, Kilwa, Pate, and Zanzibar eventually contained mosques, tombs, and palaces of cut stone and coral. Ivory, gold, iron, slaves, and exotic animals were exported from these ports in exchange for silks from Persia and porcelain from China for the ruling Muslim f amilies. African culture remained strong throughout the area. Swahili language was essentially a Bantu language into which a large number of Arabic words were incorporated, though many of them were not incorporated until the 16th century.The language was written in an Arabic script sometime prior to the 13th century; the ruling families could also converse in Arabic. Islam itself penetrated very little into the interior among the hunters, pastoralists, and farmers. Even the areas of the coast near the trading towns remained relatively unaffected. In the towns, the stone and coral buildings of the Muslim elite were surrounded by mud and thatch houses of the non-Muslim common people, so that Islamization was to some extent class-based. Still, a culture developed that fused Islamic and traditional elements. Family lineage, for example, was traced both through the maternal line, which controlled property (the traditioral African practice), and through the paternal line, as was the Musli m custom.The enduring legacy of the influence of religion on African culture led to majority of Africans profess either Christian or Islamic faith. Considering that there lie a thin veneer between culture and religion, it is imperative that these two religions have fundamentally altered the African culture, if there exist any. These religions spread into Africa aboard various vehicles, including; slavery, colonialism, trade, education, among others. These religions emphasized a ruler-ship founded on a hierarchy focused on one centre of power, the imperial dictatorship. This was contrary to African culture that was less hierarchical and more collegiate, that emphasized on dialogue and consensus. It is this imperialist hierarchical structure that still causes chaos in Africa today.To a large extend most Africans remain colonized, whether politically, economically, religiously, culturally, spiritually or otherwise. A society that is still colonized is not a free society, it is a societ y wallowing deeply in the swampy marshes of slavery. Africa, the mother of humanity, as it stands now is one whose veil of religion and garment of culture has been torn. It is a mother whose dignity has been raped, and its young children defiled by the older siblings who came back from their adventures abroad. One most fundamental question would be: Is colonialism and slavery a just price that Africans have to pay eternally for the reward of education and trade? Whichever way the answer comes to be, Africa needs restoration.Restoration is only possible if Africans can wake up to spiritual reality and eschew the bondage of foreign religion consumed by it from its renegade sons and daughters. The turning point can only be achieved if Africans realize that religion and spirituality are distinct – that spirituality possessed by a religious person can never be fresh and neither can religion exist in a pure spirituality. Africa must free itself from this intoxicating addiction to f oreign religion, and for that matter, any religion for it to be truly free. CONCLUSION. In conclusion, a keen oversee at history slowly shows us more cleary the influence of religion on African culture.The change due to the influence may not have taken place there and then but took time spreading its roots and slowly merging with the native culture and in some other instances completely eroding it. Just like how Christianity was introduced to Africa, the natives did not completely embrace it just like that, they took their precious time and in present day Africa, it is still being practiced and no one can pin point the exact time when Christianity was completely taken in by the natives of the past. These different religions which were introduced to African culture or way of life made other cultures to take a complete turnaround from their practices and events.