Is School Uniform A Good Idea Essay

Is school uniform a good idea? What is it good for? These questions are asked time and time again by pupils. In this essay I plan to explore the issue and discuss whether or not it’s a good or bad idea. Teens often complain and criticize about how uncomfortable school uniforms are and how they do not live up to their fashion standards. On the other hand, teachers argue that school uniform keeps students looking smart and the uniform helps identify any unknown person from entering the school, Furthermore students argue that everyone looks the same and the uniform is tedious and boring. A reason why school uniform is a good idea is it saves your clothes: but you’d like to show off your dear clothes. In my opinion I rather waste a two dollar primark top than 178 prada shirt, but obviously some people feel they would be bulled for not wearing dear clothes this is because in the society we now live in has a high demanad on having the â€Å"perfect† fashion look. On school outings teachers say that it’s easier to identify their students if they are wearing school uniforms, but this takes away the students creativeness, and they are unable to cnver their own style and wear what they feel comfortable in. Although some pupils will try and change their uniform to make them look more unique but teachers quickly catch on to this and demand that we wear what they call the â€Å"appropiate uniform†. Teens like to be different and have their own style but by schools demanding that everyone obeys the dress code, students will all look the same. An argument for school uniform is that if students were to wear what they like the less fortunate pupils would stand out and they would be bullied because they cannot afford the newest clothes, this would cause the bullying rate to go up and lower pupils self esteem and make them feel as if they cannot be themselves in scoiety. But I do think that if pupil were allowed to wear non-uniform the worry to have the latest fashion would in stages, fade away because everyone would get used to wearing normal clothes and then it wouldn’t be such a big thing not to wear uniform. Schools indubitably love uniform; in contrast to this view, students absolutely hate them! School s think uniform looks smart likewise so do most parents. In addition pupils sometimes do not follow the schools dress code and this makes teachers irate, and sometimes this leads up to pupils getting sent home. In recent years some schools have relaxed and accepted some different styles on the other hand some schools have strict rules that include girls only to wear skirts. I feel that making this demand some girls are being discriminated against because they might not want to wear a skirt because of their religion or they have a medical issue (skin problem). A reason for school uniform is that it makes the school look smart and represents the community. The usual uniform complies of a shirt, tie and trousers and also a sweatshirt for some people this is very uncomfortable: but this is a major improvement since the 1930’s when the uniform was restricted to a plain blazer and a shirt touched your ankles, and for p.e pupils were reduced to wearing underwear and basic sand shoes. Another good advantage of school uniform is that the big shop competitors like Asda and Tesco etc. Are competing with each other to provide good value uniforms for a better price this is also putting on pressur for the top range shops to reduce their prices to keep up with the cheaper ones. One disadvantage of school uniform is sometimes after the period of going back to school, the shops discontinue stocking the uniform and it makes it hard for the parents to buy a bigger size that there child has grown too, therefore a lot of pupils come into school not wearing uniform because it doesn’t fit them anymore. Sources say that a student in school uniform is more likely to take school seriously. Putting on school uniform signals that he/she wants to learn and that they are complying of the rules which you must undertake when you go to work. However some students don’t want to follow rules, forcing them to wear a uniform this only makes them more determined to be rebillious and wear what they want. In conclusion I think school uniform is a bad idea because it has no effect of the outcome at the end of the pupils school years however school uniform makes the school appear more pleasant and also makes the pupils look smart.

Job Analysis vs. Job Evaluation Essay

Describe the differences between job analysis and job evaluation and how these practices help establish internally consistent job structures. Job analysis is the organized gathering, documenting, and analyzing information to describe a job. A job analyses describes the job duties, worker requirements, working conditions, etc. Job evaluation is the recognition of differences within a set of jobs and establishes pay rates according to the job. A job analysis provides information about what duties the job consists of and what is required to perform the job which in turn allows the manager to know what types of people to hire for the positions. The job analysis results aid in establishing compensation for the various positions by the differences between job content and work requirements. Job content refers to actual job duties as well as the tasks that employees must perform on the job. Worker requirements are the minimum qualifications and skills that people must have in order to perform the job in question. Companies use this to develop pay grades and salary ranges to determine how much pay each position is worth. Describe the challenges in developing compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitive. Internally consistent compensation systems help allows companies to develop relative pay scales. Relative pay scale means that jobs within the company pay different rates in comparison to other jobs within the same company. The means that these internally consistent compensation systems are developed are based on simple principles and fundamentals. Jobs that require a person to have a higher level of education, experience, or a specific skill will be assigned a higher pay than a job requiring less. Another factor that affects the relative pay of a job within the company includes the complexity of the job as well as the level of responsibility that comes with it. This is very useful for a company but it will become necessary for employees to take on the duties of  other positions or even duties of newly created position in order for the company to remain competitive within the market. This could be caused my several different things. The company may downsize in the future, making employees take on more tasks. Or responsibilities can be added prior to the company becoming fully staffed or adding staff. This would increase the employee’s responsibilities or skills without increasing pay. One way to plan for this would be for the company to have the ability to give additional pay for additional responsibilities as defined by a defined policy allowing the company to grow based on market changes while still being able to fairly pay the employees for the work they do. This would make the company have a market competitive compensation policy which mean that the pay scale for jobs will attract and retain the most skilled and knowledgeable workers. A draw back to a market competitive compensation policy would be that it would not help keep costs low. An example would be the company paying too much for a specific job based on what the company can afford to pay, which can limit the company from doing other important things like training and development. Discuss whether it is fair to give one employee a smaller percentage merit increase because his pay falls within the 3rd quartile but give a larger percentage merit increase to the other because his pay falls within the 1st quartile and explain why. I do not believe it is fair to give one employee a smaller percentage merit increase because their pay falls within the 3rd quartile but give a larger percentage merit increase to the other because his pay falls within the 1st quartile. I think both should be evaluated on the work they are doing and their contributions to their team no matter what quartile they are in. Employees are rated by their management on job specific objectives as well as performance ratings over a course of time in order to determine whether an employee is due to receive a merit increase and the amount of increase. This typically happens after management does a performance appraisal of their employees work. If it is found that both employees do the exact same work, and they both have the same skill sets, and the same statistics on job performance then both should be given the same percentage merit increase. Discuss the basic concept of insurance and how this concept applies to health care. The basic concept of insurance is that it covers the costs of a group of services that provide employees with coverage for services. This is to provide the employees with the ability to take care of their physical and mental health. This includes and is not limited to covering physical examinations, diagnostic testing, surgery, hospitalization, dental care, vision coverage, as well as prescription drug coverage. Health insurance can be purchased by an individual directly through an insurance carrier, or it can be purchased through payroll deduction with their employer. The costs can be a lot more expensive if purchased directly from the carrier, deductibles may be higher, and the benefits may not coverage as much as group health coverage through an employer. Group health coverage through the employer is for a larger group of people and coverage negotiated. The company pays a portion of the benefits, allowing their employees to pay a lesser cost. In a fee for service plan there are deductibles, and this means that over a period of time an employee will have to pay for services needed before insurance benefits start to pay for services received. Describe the changes in the business environment and society that might affect the relevance or perhaps the viability of any of these benefits. Companies faced with rising cost of benefits and health care may cut employment in order to reduce benefits costs. This will make unemployment rise. Unemployment insurance payments for are there to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers who meet their specific state requirements. Eligibility for unemployment insurance, benefit amounts, and length of time benefits are determined by the state law under which employment insurance claims are awarded. The problem with unemployment benefits is that due to a decline in revenue there are budget deficits. Other factors affecting the business and/or society that might affect the relevance or viability of benefits are things like companies closing, off shoring work, as well as layoffs. Anything that’s causes people to lose their jobs to pay for coverage’s and out of pocket expense or just loosing the coverage itself affect this. Without employer group coverage’s for health insurance, employees may not be able to afford to pay for medical services. References Dessler, G. (2011). Human Resource Management: 2010 custom edition (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Martocchio, J. J. (2011). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach: 2011 custom edition (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. What is health insurance? Retrieved May 22, 2012, from http://www.investorwords.com/2289/health_insurance.html

Basic Beliefs of Judaism and its Relationship to Christianity Essay

Judaism is one of the oldest religions that still exist up to the present times. It is an establish covenant between the Jews and God. Jews ors followers of Judaism comprised only of 0. 2 percent of the world’s population. However, its influence on the world and society is far beyond the numbers indicated. Judaism and Christianity are two religions with some similar beliefs. First, the main belief of Judaism is that there is only one God who created and rule everything. Judaism is a monotheistic religion following only one Supreme Being (About. com, 2009). Christians also believe on a Supreme Being and Father of all who created and rules the world. Judaism also believes that the people are created in the image of God and all people are created equal (About. com, 2009). God created people with its intellectual ability to comprehend and understand which sets us apart from the animals. Therefore, we have freewill and responsible for our choices and decisions. Judaism is a religion of ethics that strongly adheres to the code of ethics and divine law as a way of life. Christianity also believes that people are created in the image of the Almighty God. Christians also follow the divine laws and make it as their moral standards. The Jews believes on the messiah that will come to bring the world to salvation. The person will come from the family of King David who will lead the world to peace and unity (About. com, 2009). The Christians also believes in the messiah in the persona of Jesus Christ who saves the sins of humanity. The Jews, however, do not believe that Jesus is the messiah. The main holy scripture of the Jews is the Tanakh which is equivalent to the Old Testament of the Holy Bible of Christianity. It is divided into three parts which include Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim. Another holy scripture is the Talmud which is composed of stories, laws and medical knowledge. Judaism does not have the version of the New Testament. In both religions, the Bible and the Tanakh serve as the main guidebook to the religious life of a person. In these scriptures are the written moral standards that should be followed to lead a righteous path. Judaism also has the version of the Ten Commandments which is considered as the most important commandments out of the 613 written in the Torah (About. com, 2009). The Ten Commandments are revealed to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. They strongly believe that God has a plan for human behavior and the Commandments are the ways of how humans should live their lives. Judaism has been a very influential religion in the aspect of culture and traditions. Today, more and more people are identifying themselves as Jewish. However, the contemporary Judaism is a more complex religion that associates both nation and faith. Oftentimes, Judaism follow strict adherence on the ritual laws and a more liberal attitude towards the religion. Judaism has been an influential religion in many nations. Many conflicts and feuds have started because of faith which involves Judaism. One of the famous conflicts is the battle over the land of Israel which is battled over by many religions like Islam and Christianity. The conflict originated during the early years. Judaism has also been influential in changing the lives of many people. Many people significantly altered their lives for the greater good and towards the right path. Reference About. com. (2009). Basic Beliefs of Judaism. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://judaism. about. com/od/abcsofjudaism/a/beliefsbasic. htm.

Fast Food Meals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food Meals - Essay Example The combination of different sausages is used to make a meal tastier than that of ordinary food cooked at home. It is not only the quick service but also the lusciousness of meal which attracts people towards fast food restaurants. Fast-food is not only delicious to eat but also it is cheaper to buy as compared to the food which is cooked at home. It is a noticeable fact that most of the fast-food lovers are children and teenagers. And they have made fast-food a basic and the most important entity of daily life.While talking about benefits of fast food restaurants, we should not forget that eating too much fast food doesn’t have a good effect on health as it causes many health problems including hypercholesterolemia, insulin resistance, and corpulence. It should also be kept in mind that eating too many fast-food increases the level of fats in the body while reduces the number of required vitamins for the body. Fast-foods have a high level of energy density which is harmful to health as it confuses the brain control mechanism for appetite. Fast-food restaurants add too much salt in products in order to make them tastier but it results in high blood pressure and certain heart diseases. Vitamins are also lacked in fast-food as it doesn’t contain fruits or vegetables which are the primary source of vitamins for humans. Another effect is that due to the good taste of fast-food products, it is eaten much more than that of any normal food cooked at home which results in obesity.

Demonsrate the principle of war that most influenced the battle of Essay

Demonsrate the principle of war that most influenced the battle of paardeberg - Essay Example For instance, the British used the military principle of concentration of effort. Objective of effort is a military principle that requires that all military operations should be directed towards a clearly defined goal or attainable objective. In this case, the sole objective of the British army was to defeat the Boers and destroy their will or ability to continue fighting. To achieve their objective, the British were well equipped in terms of manpower and weaponry (Gilman 20). They had more that 3 times the size of opponents’ troops. Having a large army that far outnumbered the opponents was a good tactic to achieve the objective of completely wiping out Boer aggression. To reach the objective, the British army also had to secure some important points for safety and logistical reasons. The relief of Kimberly prior to the Paardeberg victory proved worthwhile to the British efforts in defeating the Boers (Miller and Vandome 41). Lord Roberts was the British commander who oversaw the relief of Kimberly and the capture of Bloemfontein, which was a Boer stronghold. Another plan that was in line with Britain’s objective to destroy the enemy was the plan to abandon the railway link to the coast (Gilman 34). Cronje, the Boer military leader had not thought that the British could actually leave the railway line that served as a link to the coast and out of South Africa if they were defeated. However, the British did abandon the railway ink and this enabled them to attack the Boers with very little resistance. Another factor that played to British’s advantage was the fact that the Boer army was greatly slowed down by the presence of children and women (Miller and Vandome 59). The British army under Roberts had a clear goal in mind and nothing, not even the civilians inside Boer camps could make them slow down on their advances. The British never wavered even once on

Information system development Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information system development Blog - Essay Example Converse to the past technologies it is infrastructural based. Web 3.0 will add more value to users since the technology will be with human capabilities of accurately and precisely determining information required, translating to more relevant information. There will be a changeover towards metacomputing. This is expected to be brought up by the envisioned web 4.0 (2020) through Webos and internet operating software applications. These applications will enhance distributive search and use of intelligent personal agents. In addition it will lead to efficient utilization of computers connected by a network (Prabhu.8) The experience of surfing over the internet will be more efficient and effective. This will be attributable to the development of natural user interface (NUI). These will increase internet users satisfaction efficiently. Moreover, advancement of Smartphone which have more functionality in regard to internet will enhance mobile computing. It is highly likely that the next wave in computer interfaces will be envisioned in the speech technology. This will involve a process whereby the computer will have the capacity to transform sound speech to text. Moreover, when the speech-output technology whereby this will invigorate the blogging arena whereby, blog users will not be typing in response rather they will be talk blogging. Furthermore, photo-sharing sites and social sites will incorporate speech technology and video chats (Chen 324). Interactive systems have enhanced online markets. Through interactive systems, business people have had a chance to advertise their products and services where customers get a chance to view them and organize a purchase. In future there is a possibility that physical markets will be eliminated and e-bay (online markets) will be the talk of the day. People will no longer have to visit show rooms or avail themselves to service

Briefing Paper on Cadbury Schweppes (Business Environment) BTEC Higher Essay

Briefing Paper on Cadbury Schweppes (Business Environment) BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business - Essay Example P1. The purpose  of Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury Schweppes seeks to: increase share prices; meet customer by addressing their demands and awarding them the best quality and prices; challenge rival companies by keeping up with their prices; and, make more profit. In order to meet these objectives, Cadbury Schweppes seeks to develop a good reputation by an aggressive advertising heavily, increase sales and market share by always seeking new ideas in its product and packaging. The core purpose of Cadbury Schweppes rests in â€Å"working together to generate brands that people love.† Cadbury Schweppes seeks to be judged as a company that is among the best within the business world for being successful, significant, and admired. One of the Cadbury Schweppes goals relates corporate social responsibility, which centres on high reputation as a great company to work for and one that is socially responsible to consumers and communities across the globe (Nelson College London 2013,p. 2). P 2. Employees and customers satisfaction Cadbury Schweppes maintain regular and open discussions with all its stakeholders and utilizes diverse ways to communicate with the diverse stakeholder groups. Consumers have an opportunity to contact the company through various means on a daily basis; moreover, Cadbury Schweppes undertakes market research to track the changing consumer trends and utilize surveys and market research panels to determine what consumers think. Cadbury Schweppes also has ongoing discussions with its customers in which wholesalers and retailers provide the vital link to consumers. Cadbury Schweppes works with customers to deliver highly appealing products of high-quality (Blowfield and Murray 2011, p. 51). The company appraises its suppliers based on a set of standards including ethical labour practices and environmental protection before doing business with them, and stipulates their principles and standards to be maintained during the relationship. Cadbury Schw eppes has a tradition of fostering a direct, two-way involvement and communication with employees. Managers regularly hold individual and team meetings to inform colleagues regarding the business and hear about their views. Cadbury Schweppes also score highly in its corporate social responsibility. In 2011, Cadbury Schweppes ranked in the top ten of the FTSE 100 in terms of community investment as it seeks fresh and better ways of building stronger communities. Some of the benefits include motivating employees by utilizing company resources to support causes that they care about, and building loyalty among who are proud to work for the company that is socially responsible and a good neighbour. The community engagement has also helped the company to develop a better understanding among employees of the diverse nature of society, and improve team working via employee participation in community activities. The extent to which Cadbury has met its objectives concerning customers and empl oyees Cadbury Schweppes’ central objective centres on â€Å"working together to create brands that people love† and some of the most popular brands include Cadbury Dairy Milk, Flake, Roses, Trebor mints, Bassett’s range, and Maynards range including Wine Gums and sours. Cadbury Schweppes is governed by five goals with regard to balancing stakeholders and their interests: (1) delivering superior shareholder performance; (2) profitably and significantly

Biology journal report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biology journal report - Essay Example With Grey literature as the primary data source, the researchers found 104 genetic tests that are in development. 68% of these tests were found in LexisNexis and Cambridge Health Institutes (CHI) databases, 38% from 8 more Grey literature databases. 4% were obtained through alternative resources like opinion leaders interviews and national conferences. 76% of the total tests being developed were limited to only 5 of the ten most common cancers in terms of mortality. Most of these tests only appeared to be related to cancer diagnosis and management, but no clinical validity has been established yet. The authors of the article found LexisNexis and CHI databases as the most useful to their project. The authors discussed limitations of this research. The researchers relied highly on Grey literature where LexisNexis and CHI were the primary sources of cancer genomic tests in development (68%) (Chin, Wessler and Chew, Genetic Test for Cancer). In addition, three-quarters of the genomic cancer tests in development addressed in this article were for only 5 of the ten most dangerous cancers in deaths. There may be other tests in development present in other literature sources (other than Grey Literature databases) that may address more of the lethal cancers. Identification of such tests can be crucial as it will give hope that in the near future, a solution may be provided for at least the worst cancers in terms of lethality. Hence, more research in more sources is essential. The authors also appreciated that almost all of the cited developing genetic tests only appear to be related to management and cancer diagnosis as no clinical validity has been established yet. This implies tha t data analysis in this article may be misleading as it relies on assumption that those tests are linked to cancer diagnosis and management. This article shows that currently available tests for prevention and treatment of cancer are few. More cancer preventive genetic

Organizational behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational behaviour - Essay Example Employees help in the decision making power and their insight is valued in the organization. The employee insight is important because often employees have a better idea of dealing with problems in the organization because they face such problems on a daily basis. Also employees perform well in cultures which’ nurtures and supports them and helps them to work towards the achievement of their ambition’ (Business Case Studies, n.d.). An example of this is Siemens that values its employees by motivating, monitoring and nurturing them. Organizational structure also has a strong impact on the performance on an organization. When the role and position of the employees are clearly mentioned, there is little conflict in the organization. Also employees understand their value in the organization which then motivates them to perform better in the organization. Organization culture and structure are inherently linked. When organizational structure is flat, it develops a high performance culture in the organization. When there is a high level of hierarchy present in the company, then the culture is often rigid. Rigid cultures prevent employees from developing attachment with the organization which effects overall performance of the employees. Business Case Studies, n.d. Creating a high performance culture: A Siemens case study, Retrieved from

The Media’s Framing of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay Example for Free

The Media’s Framing of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay It’s funny, but even the Wikipedia (let’s generously call it the â€Å"encyclopedia† of today), notes that their Israeli-Palestinian conflict article might contain a little something known as â€Å"recentism,† which, to roughly paraphrase Wikipedia, can be defined as the tendency to edit or inflate a current issue without thought to a broader historical perspective, simply because the issue or event happens to be blasting through homes and children alike and the media is playing the same gory scene over and over while vendors pump up their magazine sales by shoving suffering, impoverished, and war-torn families down unwitting consumer’s throats. But that’s the money maker. The mass media may hide things and they may create fallacies like â€Å"Wag the Dog† from time to time, but the media is essentially about money. If, for example, the President seems to want a more homey-let’s-not-worry-about-things kind of attitude, then the media will portray that attitude because, and this is the kicker, even though they are protected by the First Amendment and the whole â€Å"freedom of speech† thing, they have to write the perspective that sells. Now, recentism may sell when the war was happening five years ago, but as the conflicts rage on, the public agenda isn’t to promote war—at all. If the President was sitting in his nice big white house and promoting the war while American soldiers pile up by the body bag, then the President isn’t doing very good at his job. Very soon, if all people saw was mass conflict, death, and horrible destruction, someone would have a gun to the white house to get a better leader on that golden throne. However, if a â€Å"little† battle leaks out from time to time, and the media as a whole is on the story with the same, homogenous mono-headlines, then the public will see that there was an uprising, yes. But, if that uprising isn’t mentioned again, or it blows away like so many things after a few weeks of nothing new being reported, the public will be lulled into thinking that everything is okay and that it was just a simple little uprising. No big deal. Sure some American soldiers were sent home with flags on their caskets, but they died heroes. Purple hearts, parades, and fancy color-guard funerals. That’s what the people see. Even though the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been raging for, what ladies and gentlemen, more than fifty (more like hundreds) years, is the American public even aware that the peoples in those warring nations have been at war, bombs in the streets, children murdered, every day for as long as most of this generation has been alive? Nope. For the most part, the American public is kept in the dark. So dark that the current issue in Iraq (when was the last time the â€Å"war on terror† actually scared the public?) has even lost its juice. Terror is just a word now. Not scary, not vengeful. Just another word that has been so drilled into the minds of the public that â€Å"raising the terror alert† does no more for people than if the pollen count went into the red zone. People are so in the dark that when nine soldiers died just days ago (Londono) that most people didn’t even raise an eyebrow, because what’s the big deal with losing nine measly soldiers if the country is over on foreign land playing the philanthropic hand with democracy? Big numbers are the only things that count. Nine soldiers dead in what seems like six years (since 9/11) is nearly negligible. This is tangenting now, strictly for reasons of importance, but only Alertnet. com tallies up the body count at 3,170 US soldiers dead since the war began in the same article, (well, in the middle third of the story but at least it was mentioned) as the report on the nine dead soldiers. Now that’s a number worth hearing. But how many news reports call that fairly alarmingly number up? Not many. Actually, most striking was the amount of anti-war sites that call up the numbers, some counting American casualties as high as 23,000 (Griffis) since the war officially began in 2003. Now that number would catch some eyebrows. Freak people out, get them burning bras for peace, not war. But the President doesn’t want that. The government certainly doesn’t want that. And perhaps this is why the media keeps the death stories on the hush-hush. Frame it in a way that makes the country feel safer as a whole. Only a few soldiers are killed at a time, so the tally seems insignificant in the broader scheme of things. And thus the public agenda is to get Americans back to their daily lives, where war doesn’t exist and heiresses get caught too often without their underwear as the paparazzi catch them at some new celebrity’s bar. But that’s just a recent example of how the media skews things to keep the public agenda on the right track, lest things derail. And by golly it was a tangent of importance because if a war so dear to the hearts of Americans is lost in the media hoopla, how does a war like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is a vastly different scale, even stand a chance at global comprehension? Well, it doesn’t. And, it is perhaps the most notable war of any ever fought since times too ancient to remember. Data Collection. The data collected for this report has been a combination of news reports and Wikipedia articles. The news reports were chosen because they are exactly what the public is able to view on a daily basis and are taken with complete seriousness to report the truth of the news (sounded like a joke, didn’t it? ). As a whole, the news reports can be compared and contrasted for similar headlines, feature points, pictures, and opinionated slants. For the most part, articles have been used from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, and it is interesting to note that the most current evening news report is dated 12/06/2006. This could be an error on Vanderbilt’s part; perhaps they haven’t updated their news archive since then, but it is much more likely that Vanderbilt has the most current news out there, which actually serves as a perfect example of how the media has prioritized this conflict in the news. No news, for Americans, can be construed as good news, even if the conflict rages on. Wikipedia articles were also reviewed, though not for the charts in the analysis of the data collection, because the Wikipedia has undeniably become something akin to the Encyclopedia Britannica of earlier years. While the articles are not purely scholarly or always written by PHD subject enthusiasts, the articles are highly peer-monitored and perhaps more free in what they are able to speak out about than a regular news article with advertisers to please and bosses with the weight of the powers that be on their shoulders. Finally, a totally independent site, dubbed â€Å"Angel for Israel,† has been reviewed because it has a catalogue of news articles chosen from recent years in an attempt to showcase the very issue of media framing and public agenda. The site even goes deeper to debunk the myths, expose the media propaganda, and review common misconceptions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While not everything on this site can be truly confirmed as to authoritative authenticity, the news articles are complete, unedited and link back to their original news source. So, a wide cross section has been chosen for data collection so that a slant of some sort can be gathered, tethered, and plumped for show. And, for editorial purposes, the full headlines and dates used for the purposes of the charts in the Analysis are presented as raw data in the Appendix. Analysis. It’s always fun to chart and show, so the data collected has been put through the supercomputer to explain how the media portrays highly sensitive (i. e. death, war, terror) news as a homogenous chunk of untitillating information to the uninformed and unconcerned public. So let’s delve. First, it’s easy to simply compare and contrast news headlines for homogenous information to depict and conclusively prove framing of the public agenda by the media. Looking at the Angel for Israel 2005 News Archive, there are 21 news articles with similar headlines. The first ten headlines for comparison are: Female Suicide Bomber Explodes at Erez Crossing, Killing Four Israelis Hamas Woman Bomber Kills Israelis Suicide Attack on Jerusalem Bus Hamas Threatens Soldier Kidnaps Suicide Bomber Kills 10 Israelis. Prisoners Freed as Bomb Kills 10 in Israel Suicide Bomber Hits Jerusalem Bus Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Jerusalem Terrorists Infiltrate Erez Industrial Area, Killing Israeli Soldier Couple Killed in their Car Between Hebron and Beersheba, Terrorism Suspected Now, looking at the headlines, it can be said that the reports are straight and as to the point as they could be when it came down to writing the headline for the news. The problem is that the headlines are so similar that it can have a deadening effect on the public agenda. Seeing a word over and over, the word no longer has the same meaning that it did the first time it was seen. For example, the word â€Å"suicide† is used five times out of ten headlines, all having taken place between a month or so period. The word â€Å"kills† (and forms of it like â€Å"killing†) is used in the same news headlines seven times out of ten. If these were the only headlines, which they might very well be, from this period in January and February 2004, the chance is that the public will read one and miss the others because though they all discuss different events, they read as nearly the same. So, nine stories would be missed simply because of a redundancy factor that happens, for reasons probably planned and perfectly executed. That same public then believes that the violence isn’t so wide-spread because of the same framing phenomena that occurs when no news is reported. If the headlines read a bit differently then these ten conflicts and acts of terror could be read and understood and ten separate issues of violence and horror. But, as they are, they lose their potential for a reader to feel any sort of fear because of their homogenous nature. Moreover, the repetitive nature of the headlines does more than just numb a reader to their very existence and meaning, reading or hearing the same word over and over loses much more than that. Words, by their very reality, have inherent meanings to viewers in regards to reaction and understanding. For example, when the President first coined the phrase â€Å"war on terror,† the American public had the appropriate reaction and felt the same need for vengeance and duty as the words permit. Now, six years later, hearing the â€Å"war on terror† has a completely opposite effect on the public. It has become a common, annoying phrase even, because it has lost all meaning both symbolically and literally. Vengeance has not been achieved, no retribution for the â€Å"war on terror† has been sought. And symbolically, no ballads have been created to promote any sort of American pride or glory. Basically, the only thing come of this phrase is that it is said so often it means nothing. And now, any time the public reads the words â€Å"war on terror† they unconsciously close their eyes or ears to any further understanding because it means nothing anymore. Clever, the mass media, for using the â€Å"war on terror† in such a manner that it becomes nothing more important than the rising gas prices during the hot summer months. Moreover, one thing that stands out right away is the use of certain words that prevail in most all if the articles. So, let’s take a deeper look at the most prevalent words and how often they are used overall. Out of those same ten headlines, the word â€Å"kills† and â€Å"suicide† are the most influential and hold the most power over a reader, but a few other words are used often enough to draw attention for analysis. These are the words: Kills (killing, killed) –used 7 times Suicide –used 5 times Explodes –used 1 time Attack –used 1 time Threatens –used 1 time Kidnaps –used 1 time Freed –used 1 time Hits –used 7 times Terrorists (terrorism) –used 2 times Infiltrate –used 1 time On a side note, proper website and content search engine optimization relies on the ability of a writer to get the meaning of something across while also adding in the proper words to also get the attention, subliminally, of that reader or search engine. The key is that with 200 words of text, 8% of that text must be used for each main keyword. This means that at least 16 words out of 200 words must be utilized for one main keyword. For example, if an article were written on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the keyword that article was hoping to subliminally infiltrate into the reader were â€Å"suicide,† then â€Å"suicide† would have to appear 16 times in 200 words of text. The exact same formula is used in reporting and even broadcast media like advertising. Ever hear of the Energizer Bunny? Or that truly annoying â€Å"Head On† commercial promoting direct application of a lube-like substance for migraines? The reason commercials do well with the public is that even though they may lose all meaning simply from being repeated so often, repetition for products is the only thing that really sinks in enough for that public to remember what product they wanted when they get to Wal-Mart. With that said, it is easy to see why some words, the words with seemingly the most power, are used more often than others, especially in the print media. And, in an interesting phenomena known as media framing, it actually tends to have the opposite effect on readers. People don’t read the news in the same way that they view a commercial. A different part of the brain is used, and a more mechanical side of that person takes note of different things when viewing a commercial versus reading a news article, which is something having much to do with emotion. Emotion in advertising is a draw to get a listener or reader to want, no need, that product. Repetition in this case hinges on the emotion that product is able promote, to get inside the heart of the person. Because, more often than not, people buy something because they want it, not because they need it. However, emotion is generally not a thing possessed by headlines, but headlines are usually crafted with some attention getter in mind. After all, if they weren’t written for a person to be interested enough to read, then they wouldn’t get read at all. And, looking at the same ten headlines, it can almost be said that they were cleverly crafted to not get read at all, especially because of their exclusively homogenous theme running throughout. Now, to see if this theory really stands on its feet, let’s take a look at the top ten headlines from the 1997-1998 Angel for Israel News Archive. These are the ten headlines: Unilateral Measures Taken by the Palestinian Authority in Violation of Oslo Palestinian Authority’s Failure to Quell the Riots in Hebron Violates the Accord PLO’s Hiring of 150 Terrorists as Policemen is Blatant Violation of Oslo Palestinian Authority Failed to Fulfill its Commitment Under the Hebron Accord 18 Killed in Jerusalem Attack Palestinian Incitement to Violence Since Oslo A Four-Year Compendium Pronouncements by Muslim Religious Leaders Defending Suicide Attacks Palestinian Security Commitments Palestinian Anti-Semitism Prison or Hotel? PLO’s Open Door â€Å"Jail† Sheltered Jerusalem Bombers from Israel. Now, one thing in looking at these headlines is that although the conflict can be said to undeniably the same in regards to death, suicide bombers, and the level of terrorism, these articles have very little to do with reporting that issue. Instead, they promote the Palestinian government and its ability to â€Å"quell† the violence and attacks. And, this time when a bit of violence is mentioned, it stands out enough that people can read it, then read the next news about that violence being stamped out and come to an understanding that their government is doing everything in its power to take control of the country and make things safe. Moreover, each instance of violence is discussed and â€Å"defended† or â€Å"sheltered. † While these are probably the most insane and contradictory headlines of the year, they actually show a bit about the society of the time and what the public agenda was. Cleary, this was a time of being unable to admit that terrorism was a real thing, a real threat to communities even though they had been fighting a war for some hundred years. The same headlines were probably used when the United States first saw terrorist attacks, before the events of 9/11. Terrorism wasn’t even a word, or a word often used in the common vernacular, before the real attacks began, because the media didn’t want the readership to feel threaten. This way, by keeping such terms on the down low, or by making them look like flukes, easily put down by the government, the media could control the public agenda and make them believe that such things were easily enough thwarted that there was no need to worry. In an effort for fairness and uniformity, these same ten headlines will now be looked over for words of repetition. These are the main words: Authority –used 3 times Violation –used 2 times Quell –used 1 time. Commitments –used 2 times Killed –used 1 time Terror –used 1 time Attack –used 2 times Violence –used 1 time Suicide –used 1 time Defending –used 1 time Sheltered –used 1 time From these keywords, it is easy to conclude that the public agenda was much different for the mass media than it was in 2004. These years (1997-1998) were much more about promoting the government and putting down the terrorism enough that it didn’t even seem to exist. And in instances where they could do nothing but report it, the same headlines â€Å"quell† it or â€Å"defend† the terrorism to make the public believe that the situation is much different than it is. But that’s the purpose of framing in the media. And, from these examples, they have their job down. Summary and Conclusion. Well, the data doesn’t lie. Whoever controls the media (and someone does, be sure of that) controls the public agenda and what is dolled out as information as well as the why, when, and how of things. The simple fact is this: the news is not reliable. For the real numbers, perhaps only the fan sites tell the truth of things because freedom of speech still exists on the internet, if no where else. Now, not all sites and sources online are to be trusted and blah, blah, blah, but is the published report or the prime time special with Barbara Walters to be trusted either? Who can be trusted when it comes to the cold, hard, nitty-gritty truth? Well, the one thing that the American public can trust is themselves (for those willing to listen, at least). Freedom of speech was granted for the media to tell the tales they wanted to tell when the aristocracy got a little grabby, but times have changed and so has the media. Now, the only real media is the media and press that makes the most money. Without money, even small town newspapers and stations fail, and they might be the only source of news for miles around. One would think that readership would boost things a bit, but the real money is handed out by advertisers who want certain things printed and certain things revealed as deemed fit by the big guys in charge of the nation. And those big guys only share information as framed specifically for the public agenda. It’s their job. The sad truth is that the dog is wagging its tail here, vigorously, but the American public doesn’t even know what that means. Appendix. From the 1997-1998 Angel for Israel News Archive: 1997-1998 Unilateral Measures Taken By the Palestinian Authority In Violation of Oslo Provided by the Government Press Office 1997 Palestinian Authoritys Failure To Quell The Riots in Hebron Violates The Accord Provided by the Government Press Office PLOS Hiring of 150 Terrorists as Policemen Is Blatant Violation of Oslo July 1, 1997 Palestinian Authority Failed To Fulfill Its Commitments Under the Hebron Accord Provided by the Government Press Office July 1997 18 Killed In Jerusalem Terror Attack JERUSALEM (July 30) Two explosions blasted through Jerusalems busy Mahane Yehuda fruit and vegetable marketplace at 1. 15 pm this afternoon at the height of the shopping day. Initial police reports placed the death toll at 18 and over 100 injured. Jerusalem Post July 30, 1997 Palestinian Incitement To Violence Since Oslo A Four-Year Compendium Provided by the Government Press Office August 1997 Pronouncements By Moslem Religious Leaders Defending Suicide Attacks Compiled by the Israel Foreign Ministry September 1997 Palestinian Security Commitments The report was released by the Government Press Office September 9, 1997 Palestinian Anti-Semitism by Nadav Haetzni, Maariv Weekend Supplement, p. 21 September 12, 1997. Prison Or Hotel? PLOs Open-Door Jail Sheltered Jerusalem Bombers From Israel September 24, 1997 From the 2004 Angel for Israel News Archive: 2004 Female Suicide Bomber Explodes At Erez Crossing, Killing Four Israelis Israel Insider 14 Jan 2004 Hamas Woman Bomber Kills Israelis BBC News 14 Jan 2004 Suicide Attack On Jerusalem Bus BBC News 29 Jan 2004 Hamas Threatens Soldier Kidnaps BBC News 30 Jan 2004 Suicide Bomber Kills 10 Israelis By Nancy Updike, Boston Globe 30 Jan 2004 Prisoners Freed As Bomb Kills 10 In Israel By Chris McGreal, Guardian Unlimited 30 Jan 2004 Suicide Bomber Hits Jerusalem Bus BBC News. 22 Feb 2004 Suicide Bomber Kills 8 In Jerusalem Washington Post 23 Feb 2004 Terrorists Infiltrate Erez Industrial Area, Killing Israeli Soldier By Ellis Shuman, Israel Insider 26 Feb 2004 Couple Killed In Their Car Between Hebron and Beersheba, Terrorism Suspected Israel Insider 27 Feb 2004. Works Consulted. Angel For Israel. Articles from â€Å"Selected News Articles 2004† and â€Å"Selected News Articles 1997-1998. http://www. angelfire. com/mi4/angelforisrael/israel/news. html Londono, Ernesto and Sudarsan Raghavan. â€Å"118 Shiite Pilgrims Killed in Iraq Attacks: Violence Comes Days After 9 GI’s Died in Blasts. † March 7, 2001. http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030600181. html Villelabeitia, Ibon. â€Å"Nine US Soldiers Killed North of Baghdad. † March 6, 2007. http://www. alertnet. org/thenews/newsdesk/L06363337. htm Griffis, Margaret, Ed. â€Å"Casualties in Iraq: The Human Cost of Occupation. † March 14, 2007. http://antiwar. com/casualties/ Wikipedia. com. â€Å"Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. † March 13, 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Israeli-Palestinian_conflict —. â€Å"Wikipedia: Recentism. † March 13, 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Wikipedia:Recentism.

Critical Analysis of Genre in the Film Industry

Critical Analysis of Genre in the Film Industry The topic of Hollywood and genre is multifaceted, dealing with definitions, characteristics and the social cultural roles genre performs. Steve Neales Genre And Hollywood (2000), and Rick Altmans Film/Genre (1999) take on board these a genders both offering a different theoretical approach to the topic, which I will analyze then voice my own conclusion on my findings. Both show that genre is an important, productive way of thinking about Hollywoods film history, and its audience. Each book presents new research, new thinking on genre that will be investigated and applied to its appropriate film style. Questions are raised from these existing accounts: that definitions of genre are restrictive and narrow, that traditional genres are inaccurate and that cultural theories are often over generalized. The arguments on the subject will be looked into detail, presenting my own opinions on these accounts. As genre is a complex subject, with many contexts, I will be breaking the subject up, firstly looking at definitions of genre, and general concepts applying them into individual genres. I will be looking at theories on genre by a number of people all different in there opinion. With the knowledge and understanding of genre, I will look into film noir, a critical category within the Hollywood film industry. Genre has occupied an important part in the study of cinema for years. Genre is French word, meaning kind or type. The term sub-genre is also used to refer to specific traditions within a genre ( as in gothic horror, slapstick comedy and so on). When genre is discussed or defined it is usally focused on commercial mainstream films, Hollywood films in particular. Barry Keith Grant states that genres are exclusively identified with commercial cinema: Genre movies are those commercial feature films which through repetition and venation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations Books and articles were being published in the 1940s and 1950s, in Europe and the USA, talking about individual Hollywood genres, establishing its self more, becoming an academic formal discipline in film studies. Theorists, critics and teachers of film at this time wanted to engage in the appearance of genre and genres inparticular with popular Hollywood cinema, offering a critical approach with a desire to displace or compliment films. Hollywood films had always been discussed by reviwers and critics, usally hostile to to the films Hollywood produced, arguing they aimed at mass market, conservative,commercially produced films lacking in realism, over loaded in fantasy. During the early 1970s a generation of critics began to value elements of popluar American culture, re-assesing its value. Here the auteur theory began, more simply known as auteurism. Based around three basic premises, firstly that cinema is a personal and individual expression. The second is that individual could be the director, a figure equivalent to an artist in painting. Lastly was that cinematography authorship wasnt to be found in just Hollywood cinema. An auteur is a director whos work is characterized by distinctive elements and traits in there films, stamping each piece of work with there own personality. The criticism is that films are just the personal expression of the director. Interpreting each film in the context of the film makers style makes the director responsible for the major creative descisions. The concept of the auteur theory is a crucial development in film theory, moving away from literary analyses of films narrative content to aspects of art and style specific in film. Many questions are raised on genre as a term, with little agreement on what it exactly means, if it can be clearly defined. Genre criticism firstly began from the notion that there are many kinds of literature, with different contexts. Aristotle tried to separate his poetry , from what we call lieterature into categories such as epic, lyric, tradgedy and so on. Distinguieshing each piece of works properties, working out particular properties of each distinctive kind trying to establish their relative importance, applying these into categories. Aristotles ideas were taken up during the Renaissance placed into a set of rules so that each style, were prescribed for each kind. This codeification evolved in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, literature was being divided more into categories, each with there own subject matter. Such a doctorial approach became frowned upon. In the late 1930s a Chigargo based school of critisicm known as the neo-Aristiteians, spoke out against this new criticism, which repudiated a historical approach to literature, believing literature exists by itself without contemporary or historical refrence. An attempt was made to rescue literature from isolation, resureting the theory of genres. Now that genre has become much more of a phenomenon, expanding hugly in Hollywood encompassing the cartoon, the B movie, the gangster film and many others. Now that genre has become multi dimensional the building of generic corpuses and audience expectations need to be addressed. Verisimilitude is a theory addressing the point of what justifies a genre, its systems of plausabilty, motivation, and justifications of belief. It is these systems of expectation which the spectator brings to the cinema, in which to interact with the film its self while viewing, providing the spectator with means of recognition and understanding. Verisimilitude helps render individual films of there generic corpuses, working out the significance of what is taking place on screen, why characters are dressed the way they are, why they are acting in a certain stlye. For example if a character bursts into song, the viwer will recognize that this particular film is a musical. Its plot is liable to follow certain directions rather then others, so these systems of expectation involve a knowledge of Verisimilitude which the viewer takes with them to the cinema. Todrov explains different regimes of Verisimilitude, with notions of propriety, of what is probable in a film therefore appropriate. In a musical bursting into song is appropriate therefore probable, there for believable in a musical, but not in a sci-fi or horror film. Murder is possible in westerns, gangster, and thrillers but unlikely in romantic comedy. Singing is obligatory in a musical, likely to be seen within its narrative, the spectator interacts with this being able to acknowledge its genre. Todrov explains how there are two types of Verisimilitude. Generic Verisimilitude and cultural Verisimilitude. Work is said to have Verisimilitude in relation to two chief kinds of norms. The first we call the rules of genre: for a work to be said to have Verisimilitude, it must conform to these rules. These rules Todrov refers to stem back to the idea of regimes within genres, with notions of probability. Todrovs second type of Verisimilitude has a more social context. But there exisits another Verisimilitude†¦that the Verisimilar is not a relation between discourse and its referent, but between discourse and what readers believe is true. Defined Hollywood genres arguably involve transgressions of social cultural Verisimilitude, for the entertainment and aesthetic pleasure. Individual genres have a balance between both social cultural and generic Verisimilitude, some genres appealing more to the generic context. War films mark this appeal by using discourses, maps, memories, and so on. Horror films operate much less to this authenticity, for example the discourses they cite, like the book of revelations in the Omen, is obviously fictional. Inbetween these two cases lie science fiction, films such as Them, draw an authentic status of science and technology to motivate an otherwise non-Verisimilitude event. A relevnt theory is that of Todrovs work on The Fantastic existing of different regimes of Verisimilitude. Two categories lie in the fantastic, The Marvelous and The Uncanny. Events are understood in the marvelous as supernatural, where the uncanny is understood in terms of laws of the natural world, involving a hesitation between the two for the viewer In a world that which is indeed our world, a world without devils or vampires, there occurs an event which cannot be explained by the laws of this same familiar world. The person who experiences the event must opt for two possible solutions: Either he is the victim of an illustion of the senses, of a product of the imagination Or else the event has indeed taken place, an integeral part of reality, controlled by Laws unknown to us. The Fantastic is the uncertainty between the two, the hesitation experienced by the viewer who can only relate to the laws of nature confronting the uncanny, an apparently supernatural event. Noel Carroll applies a similar theory, in two plot structures characteristic in horror films. The first he calls the Discovery plot, consisting of four stages, onset, discovery, confirmation and confrontation. Discovery involves the failure of responsibility and capacity for belief of those in authority, while confirmation is the realignment of their event. This structure articulates a play across themes and positions of responsibility, a play between knowing and not knowing. This plot is the most serviceable narrative armature in the horror film. For example in The Exorcist, the demons presence is established by the girls abnormal behavior, which is then discovered by an individual or group, in this case the poseesed girls mother. For some reason this discovery of this threat is not acknowledged by the police, an authorertive power, as they would not believe in such a erratic tale. Its plot moves away from discovery into confirmation, where the discoverers must convince some one else of the existence and danger of this demon, becoming an elaborate part of the film creating the suspense. While the girls possessed state worsens the mother has to seek other means of help to a higher authority, the time lost during this the demon becomes for powerful. After the hesitation stage of confirmation, it converts to confrontation. The demon is in contact with mankind, as the vicar finally meets the possesed girl. It is this tension between the discoveries (mother noticing abnormal changes in daughter) and the confirmation to convince someone who will believe in the monster or demon (mother seeking help for her possesed daughter) that creates a tension, leaving the audience knowing and not knowing. A second plot is the Overreacher plot, which involves superstition and scientific knowledge. Carrol says this plays an important role to the plot structure 37 . Frankenstein is an example to this approach†¦where the discovery plots often sightedness of science, the overreacher plot critizies sciences will to knowledge. The over reachers plot has four basic movements, the first comprises the preparation for the experiament, including philisophacal approach, or a debate about the experiaments motivation. The overreacher himself can become quite megalomaniacal. Such a theory can only be applied to a horror film, as Carroll states the specifics that the plot must have shortsightedness of science, where the overreacher becomes melodramatic. Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde embody the overreacher, bringing an experiment to life comprehends a debate and motivation Carroll mentions, with this melodramatic behavior from the scientist performing the act. The experiment itself goes wrong, resulting in devastation, only now does the overreacher realize the error in justifying there experiment. It is the death and destruction the monster brings to innocent people, which brings the overreacher to his senses repeling him to destroy his creation. Both theories lean heavily on suspense, which is a key ingreediant in the narrative of a horror genre Narrative suspense can occur in most, if not all, of the plot movements†¦an incident in the onset movement might involve an innocent victim being suspense fully stalked, or our discoverers purseued by the monster. These theories are emboidied in the Horror genre, this repetition of narrative links in with each film, sets the genre away from others. With similar narrative and structure the viewer can relate and then categorize this, knowing that the film they are viewing is a horror film. It is these aesthetic theories that make a genre, the expressionism and communication that define it. As the idea of repetition is inherited in genres, these were thought of as clichà ©s, that the structures are one dimensional, becoming stereo typed. Most critics shared this idea. Shazts contests that Hollywood films involve similar one-dimesional characters acting out a predictable story pattern 208 gh. This pattern becomes familiar with an audience, as each genre contains its own narrative traits such as setting, characters, and plots. A theory by Cawelti called stereotype vitalization shows how characters traits can add to audienes recognition to a genre. Stereotyped characters are commonly found for example in westerns, the audience can expect to see brawls, crooked villains and the cowboy heroine. With such sterotypes within characters it heightens the audiences acknowledgment, as they recognize previous examples with these characters. It is argued however that these stereotypes must be regenerated But a good writer must renew these sterotypes by adding new elements, by showing us some new unexpected facet, or by relating them to other stereotypes in a particular fashion†¦maintaining an interest for later generations and other cultures. Without adding to a stereotype, films would become too familiar and predictable. Stereotyped vitalization contains two elements. The first is that of a stereotyped character which embodies another contradict cal stereotypical trait. For example Sherlock Holmes stereotyped traits are of a rational, logical, man of reason. On the other hand he is also a romantic poet, drug taker, and a musician. Such opposite sterotyped traits is what makes Holmes a striking literary character, this renewal on a character adds a new element referring back to Catweitis idea of adapting on just one stereotype, bringing more to a film. Another example is that of Gary Cooper, a great western star recognized for his violence , and skill to be quick on the draw, despite being a shy man. A second form of stereotyped vitalization is the stereotyped figure becoming complex and frail, such complexity in a character can however damage a narrative. This is a very delicate matter, for if a character becomes too complex it may cast a shattering and disruptive light on the other elements of the formula. This predictability and pattern within the film allows the viwer to distinguish traits between different genres. Neale argues that we must first understand what is meant by a story pattern, and predictability. In a broad sense Neale states that the story pattern refers to the main shape of a story, that violent climaxes of war films are generically requisite therefore predictable, all common plots recognized by a viwer. However Neale states that climaxes to films in there own genre can vary considerably. War films and western films permit death or defeat as well as victory and survival 211 gh. The same can be said for romantic films, where it could end happily or unhappily, so the narrative is not completely predictable. Each genre can then follow its own narrative which contains its own stereotypes so the viwer can comprehend the genre, yet at the same time as Cawelti stated, by adding elements to the sterotype (character,narrative) the viwer can still relate to the film. This makes each film within its own genre more interesting and diverse. All genre films are distinguished by sharing the same subject matter, a samurai film for example involves swords, science fiction embraces technology, or a gangster film with violence and corruption.These films are defined by similar plots and patterns. For example the plot pattern of an investergation that concludes the early mistery, solved at the climax of the film is common in detective films. Neale however points out that although we can separate each genre, it is only by its basic terms ( a detective story is about an investergation). Hybrid films combine two elements of the same genre into one. For example a combination of horror and science fiction in Alien, or a detective tale with science fiction in Bladerunner. Neale states that classification means genres share multiple relations, not all defined by the traits. If traits can be combined in a genre, what classifies a genre? This combination or cross breeding all relates back to repetition and difference in a films genre, hybrid films however become complex, unable to be pinned down to one single defined genre. It seems most genres are hallmarked by this idea of repetition, films sharing similar attributes. Hans Robert Jauss believes genres are best under stood as process. Repetition does dominate this process , but is also marked by difference, variation, and change. There are three levels in which a genre manifests itself. A level of expectation, level of generic corpus, and the rules and norm that administer both. A new film adds an existing generic corpus to a genre, as in Dracula where the character has to be characterized supernaturally or psychologically as is the case in the film Psycho. These are extended in a new genre film by adding new elements or transgressing an old one. John Carpenters Halloween played between psychological and supernatural elements both displayed within the monster. With this a genre is not simply being replayed but its generic corpus is expanded. It is films with the same generic corpus that base around expectation. Generic elements can be found in advertising. Where this develops so to does a films image, where a genre can expand and change as well. An original text is the viewers expectation familiar to him or her from earlier texts; these can be as shown, extended and varied. With each genre expanding on an original narrative it is as Neale states difficult to fully list the characteristics of each individual genre. Only can we define them in a broad sense, for example a war film that represents its wages in warfare, its main familiar trait, yet with each war film with its own separate narrative. Aesthectic characterictics are found in mass produced genres, Neale states that the term genre is not only used in film but in art and entertainment. Williams relates back to the roots of genre as a term, how it has evolved fistly Borrowed as a critical tool from literary studies†¦a concept in film studies raises some fairly tough questions. Genre films referring to a genre category substitute film narrative. Williams believes this to be the real genre, considering genres more as narrative film, documentary, or avant garde. It is these sub-genres that Williams believes to have more significant differences that we can distinguish. Ralph Cohen also relates heavily to the roots of the term genre, as it evolved in the nineteenth century, where popular mass produced fiction was making its first appearance. Hollywoods industry has played a huge role partly responsible for creating genres. Hollywood sets out to make profitable films to a mass market, where directors create different films each time as the audience would get bored seeing the same similar films, resulting in viewers not turning up to cinemas, leaving companies bust. Neale uses a nice analogy to illustrate this idea. A car company creates models to keep up with current trends, to keep there products in demand, yet each car has an idenity with one an other. Its principles apply to the film industry. Hollywood genres have the same ranges, producing films with similariteies but each with its own unique touch to keep its audience entertained They enable the industry to meet obligations of variety and difference inherent in this product†¦to regulate demand Hollywoods studios focus on this idea of adding to a genre to keep up demand, to maximize there profit. Studios developed in the 1920s, where groups of studios began such as Universal Pictures, United Artists, and Columbia Pictures, all producing films. These were the main high profit studios, only later did smaller studios develop creating indepentant films. Backed with money the major studios were creating films for the spectible, with higher budgets to draw in there audience. Smaller companies however were not able to show there films, until 1948 where government legislation meant that the smaller studios could release there films into the cinema. With this, studios could market there films in a predictable way with expert staff, directors, producers, and starts. All this meant studios could create there own generic enterprise. With changing ideas and narrative to engage an audience, a genre keeps to its generic form aswel as incorpaerating new plots and style for the audience to enjoy. John Ellis agrees with the importance of the institutional aspects of genre. Ellis mentions the narrative image for each film is a strong hint to its genre, but also stronger when applied in advertising Television and radio often plays a huge part in the construction of such images†¦but also a key role is played by the industry its self. Films advertising to the public, in posters, or television show a clear image of its narrative. Reviews on films state its generic framework, even on posters, statements are shown the comedy of the year clearly telling the viewer the films genre. It is this that raises the publics expectations through means of media, a method Ellis calls inter-textual relay. As any business, it wants to draw its target audience in; the film industry is no different. By advertising a narrative and in some cases even telling us the genre it sells the film instantly. Without advertising the public would simply have to go on a film by word of mouth. Without advertising its audience would be confused, not knowing the films genre, there for unlikely to go to the cinema and pay to watch the film. Inter-textual relay circulates a number of generic labels, terms, and names. It is there existence that makes a genre, although Altman argues Hollywood has a limited role to play when mentioning categories and terms. The industrial/journalistic term thus finds a hypothesis about presence of meaningful activity, but does not necessarily contribute a definition or delimitation of the genre in question Agreeably advertising does not fully explain the narrative, but does tell us the fundamental framework, the basic premises that the audience analyses and can make there own assumption of its genre.

Examining The Friendship Of A Single Soul English Literature Essay

Examining The Friendship Of A Single Soul English Literature Essay To the query, what is a friend? Aristotles response was a single soul dwelling in two bodies.' These friends are the ones who most likely know us better than we know ourselves, and whose names are forever branded on our heart (Parrott Parrott, 1998). Consider for a moment, which of these people are in your life; your friendship with them didnt happen in the blink of an eye. Over time we gradually begin to let these people see who we really are, and our friendship begins to grow into something memorable. Friends are what have enriched my life. Oh, I have loved my family, but its not the same. Friends have brought me more of the world; theyve added spice and variety (Apter Josselson, 1998). We are born into our family, but one amazing thing about our life is that we have the ability to choose our friends. There are some common characteristics that span across all types of friendships: rules shape the friendship, can last a lifetime and typically consist of people in the same age rang e (Floyd, 2009). How are cross-sex friendships similar to same-sex friendships? How are they different? Using major motion pictures that depict this remarkable bond between friends, we realize the qualities these friendships possess that make them similar and yet how different they really are. Similarities Notice that when Aristotle was asked, what is a friend? he didnt respond a single soul dwelling in two female bodies, or two male bodies, or even a male and a female body, its a single soul in two bodies. Friendship has no limits; there is no rule that says we can or cannot have friends of the same or opposite sex. Regardless of how many friends we have, same-sex or cross-sex, they all share the same purpose. Each and every relationship provides comfort during difficult times, outlets for expression of fear, feelings and fantasies, companionship, acceptance, and greater self-knowledge (Monsour, 2002). In the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Bridget, Tibby, Lena, and Carmen define friendship as it occurs between girls/women. We were there for the things we couldnt face alone, or the ones we didnt want to face at all. Together, it was as if we formed one single, complete person (Ephron Brashares, 2005). Despite the obstacles that the girls face, their love and support for each other keeps their friendship strong. We know now that no matter how far we traveled on our own separate paths, somehow we would always find our way back to each other; and with that, we could get through anything. To us, who we were, who we are, and who well be. To the sisterhood, this moment, and the rest of our lives together and apart (Ephron Brashares, 2005). Although the girls have their own obstacles to deal with, they overcome them individually because of the unique bond that is their friendship. Likewise, the movie 8 Seconds tells the incredible true story of World Champion Bull Rider Lane Frost. The film not only documents Lanes rise to fame, but also displays Lanes friendship with fellow bull riders, Tuff Hedeman and Cody Lambert. Some people believe that men are incapable of having intimate friendships like women with other men (Derlega, 1992). Floyd (2009) states that equal levels of closeness are apparent in same-sex friendships regardless of sex. While doing an interview with George Michael, Lane says this about friend and fellow rider, Tuff Hedeman: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦me and my traveling partner Tuff Hedeman have been trading places all year. Sometimes hes in first, next week Im in first. If he wins, Ill be so happy for him, Ill forget about myself losing (Merrick, 1994). Lane, Tuff, and Cody arent just traveling buddies; they support each other no matter what, despite the fact that they compete against each other. After Lanes tragic death in 1989, Tuff realized how much Lane believed in him, and how amazing the friendship truly was. Back in the spring, Lane said, this is your year. that Id win the championship; [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] now its only a week away and I really think that I got a chance. I never had anybody believe that much in me (Merrick, 1994). Tuff Hedeman won the World Championship that year, just as Lane had predicted, and Tuff rode an extra eight seconds in memory of Lane. Harry Burns and Sally Albright are two iconic best friends. Harry: The first time we met, we hated each other [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the third time we met, we became friends. Sally: We were friends for a long time (Ephron N. , 1989). Can men and women be friends, without sex getting in the way? This question was presented in the 1989 movie, When Harry Met Sally. Despite the fact that Harry and Sally end up together at the conclusion of the film, the friendship they have is more than that of any ordinary couple involved in a sexual relationship. Making a cross-gender relationship work does not solely depend on recognizing our differences. Its a matter of appreciating those differences as well (Parrott Parrott, 1998). Harry and Sally have a friendship very similar to what two women or two men might have; they are each others confidantes, support systems, and are committed to making their friendship work. After looking at three different films depicting friendships, the similarities between same-sex (female), same-sex (male), and cross-sex friendships become apparent. The social support given by same-sex friends can also be observed in cross-sex friendships (Monsour, 2002). Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, friendship is a sheltering tree, regardless of sex, it is obvious that all of these friendships are exactly that; a sheltering tree for everyone involved in the friendship. Differences We cant just look at the similarities between friendships, because lets face it, men and women are very different. The basic rules of friendship are similar, but the way we go about accomplishing them isnt always the same. Migliaccio (2009) says that a mans friendship is more than simply a product of being a man [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the form of intimacy men experience is called closeness in the doing, also known as shared activity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦women and men value different aspects of their respective friendships, women place greater emphasis on conversational and emotional expressiveness, whereas mens friendships focus on shared activities and interests (Floyd, 2009). A stereotypical girls night might consist of dinner, some drinks, and conversations about friends, love, life, and the future. On the other hand, a guys night could be a game of poker or a night at the gym playing a pick-up game of basketball. Within female friendship we satisfy our psychological hunger to explore different thoughts and feelings [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] they build one anothers confidence or tear it down (Apter Josselson, 1998). Despite having to spend the summer away from each other, the girls in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants keep their friendship strong by writing letters to each other as if they were still together. In a letter that Lena writes Carmen, she expresses how afraid she actually is to fall in love. Hes right, Car. I am afraid. Theres a part of me that wants to let him in but then I feel myself put this wall up and I dont understand why. Maybe thats what strikes me most about Kostas: that despite everything hes suffered he can still look at life in the most uncomplicated way. Ive never known that kind of faith. It makes me so sad that people like Kostas and Bridget who have lost everything can still be open to lovewhile I, who have lost nothing, am not. (Ephron Brashares, 2005) Bridget, Tibby, Lena, and Carmen are able to express their emotions, fears, and feelings through a letter and a pair of secondhand jeans. Wear them, theyll make you brave (Ephron Brashares, 2005). The psychological hunger to examine ones ambitions, and emotions is satisfied by female friendships, there is no need to perform femininity such as men perform masculinity in their friendships. A womans friendship inevitably shapes and changes who the woman is (Apter Josselson, 1998). Unlike women, men stereotypically dont share all the intimate details that go on in their lives. As stated earlier, men generally emphasize the activities and interests they share with their friends. Lane Frost, Tuff Hedeman, and Cody Lambert, obviously have a friendship consisting of shared activity. First of all, they compete together in bull riding competitions; and when they arent, they spend their nights out at the bars shooting a game of pool. Although the guys still support each other, the emotional connection that typically is apparent with women is sometimes nonexistent. After a bull steps on Lanes groin, Tuff tells Lane he needs to cowboy up, Ive got two words for you Lane, Cowboy Up (Merrick, 1994). The idea that masculinity is a major part in friendships between two or more men is evident in 8 Seconds. The interaction between male friends is not simply because we are men, but a part of performing masculinity in society (Migliaccio, 2009). Lane, Tuff, and Cody, perform mas culinity by expressing boldness, strength, and resiliency. Its guts and love and glory, one mortals chance at fame. His legacy is rodeo, and cowboy is his name (Merrick, 1994). When Harry met Sally, a life long friendship began. The obvious difference in their friendship was the exact thing Sally denied sex, and eventually love. At the end of the film, Harry races to meet Sally in order to tell her exactly how he feels: I love that you get cold when its 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when youre looking at me like Im nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night (Ephron N. , 1989). One substantial difference between same-sex friends and cross-sex friends is the possibility for two cross-sex friends to fall in love. Another is that cross-sex friends are able to encourage the opposite sex friend to engage in opportunities that are usually associated with the opposed gender; such as men engaging in emotional expressions and women participating in shared activity (Floyd, 2009). Conclusion Quoting Frederick Buechner, Friends are people you make part of your life just because you feel like it. Basically your friends are not your friends for any particular reason. They are your friends for no particular reason. No one has the power to choose our friends except us, therefore it doesnt matter what sex our friends are. After viewing three movies where different types of friendships are exhibited, the similarities and differences between each type of friendship is very distinct. These distinct qualities that make our friendships alike or not, have the power to change the roles of our friends. Who are your best friends? Does it matter what their sex is?

Essay --

Based upon the assessment of these important aspects, therapist psycho-educate the family and adolescent about the important findings of the detailed interview and plan out the intervention. Case example of assessment findings in obese adolescent girl: The mother of a 12-year-old girl came for consultation for her daughter’s weight concerns and comments that the girl is concerned about her weight and is being teased about this at school and in the family. There is a family history of obesity in parents and grandparents. During the assessment it was found that the girl’s main interests are sedentary activities like watching T.V., internet use and playing video games. Physical activity is limited, ‘screen time’ is 4-5 hours a day and dietary habits put her at risk of weight gain (skipping breakfast, frequent snacking, consuming soft drinks, and high preference of junk food). The girl has not attained menarche and has a BMI above the 95th percentile on the US-CDC growth chart and normal lipid profile, liver function test, glucose and insulin levels. On psychosocial assessment, she was found to be anxious and depressed due to her increasing weight, body image concerns and previous failed attempts of weight lo ss. She lost her confidence and has low self esteem. She indulged in emotional eating as well to overcome her stress. She has fewer friends as most of the people tease her about her weight. So she prefers to stay alone Impression: Obese with high risk of further weight gain and psycho-social problems. Components & Structure of Cognitive Behaviour therapy There is enough evidence to support the effectiveness of comprehensive behavioural intervention program that include dietary modification and exercise routine as treatment of ... ...cific and realistic goals that can be easily measured (e.g. walking/ running for 40 minutes, five times per week). Give them rewards for achieving goals. 9. Don’t use food as reward. 10. Limit sedentary behaviour Limiting television/computer/video game time gradually from 3 hours/day to 2 hours/day, finally to 1 hours/day (most of the time the strategy of reducing children’s sedentary behaviour can be more effective than a strategy of promoting physical activity). 11. Teach self monitoring to the child Give responsibility to monitor his/ her eating behaviour and physical activity by maintain logbooks/ diaries. Verbally praise the child for taking responsibility. 12. Enhance open communication with the child Let the child be comfortable in sharing his/her feelings with you because many a times child would resort to food to overcome these negative emotions/feelings.

Gun Control in America Today Essay -- Guns Weapons Violence Crime Essa

During the Vietnam War, more than twice as many Americans were killed with firearms in the U.S. than died in combat. Today, firearms are used in approximately 65% of the 11,000 homicides a year. Suicides are carried out via a gun 57% of the 16,600 a year (â€Å"GunCite† 49). These statistics pose the question, â€Å"Would there be that many fewer deaths if guns were banned altogether? Or would these deaths occur just the same but by other means?† Studies on both a local and a national level have shown that the majority of murders are committed by those with previous criminal records. The â€Å"crimes of passion† are not very common; rather, most murders are planned and therefore would occur no matter what weapon is to be used (â€Å"GunCite† 49). However, controlling the guns in America is still an issue that needs to be addressed. Banning guns completely is not what should be done, however; if the government controls guns by other means, then crime w ill be reduced yet many Americans will still have them to use in recreation and in self defense. The Second Amendment of the Bill of Right in the United States Constitution says â€Å"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.â€Å" This statement has been interpreted two very different ways over the years. The Americans that favor strict gun control have come to the conclusion that this amendment guarantees the right of the states to own firearms. They believe the forefathers of the Constitution wanted to guarantee every state the right to keep and bear firearms, in order to defend against the federal government, should it try to possess too much power. The â€Å"well regulated militia,† they say, refers to state troops using state-supplied firearms, such as the National Guard or the Naval Militia. They believe that the Second Amendment was just another part of the checks and balances built into the American government. One strength this viewpoint has is that whi le the Supreme Court has never made a direct ruling on how to interpret the Second Amendment, it has never stuck down any gun-control law as being unconstitutional under the Second Amendment (Beard and Rand 224). Americans that are against gun control interpret this amendment in a very different manner. While they do not dispute that every state has the right to keep and bea... ...iewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. â€Å"GunCite† http://www.guncite.com. 8 December 2002. Halbrook, Stephen P. â€Å"An Individual Right† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. Kopel, David B. â€Å"Guns Are Necessary for Self-Defense† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. National Rifle Association. â€Å"Gun Control Violates the Constitution† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. Schwerin, Ursula. â€Å"The More Guns, the More Violence† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. Vaughn, Jerry. â€Å"Guns Difficult to Use† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. Wright, James D. â€Å"Gun Control Would Not Reduce Crime† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989. Zimring, Franklin E. and Gordon Hawkins. â€Å"Guns Should Not Be Used for Self-Defense† Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989.

Lionel Andres Messi

Lionel Andres Messi, known as Messi, is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona as a forward or a winger. Considered to be the finest player on Earth, Messi has received dozens of trophies and awards. Messi is the perfect attacking player, he was completely two-footed, a prolific finisher, exceptional at dribbling and passing, and was a remarkably good tackler for a forward. The Argentine superstar was born on the 24th June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina to Jorge Horacio Messi (born 1958), who was a factory worker and Celina Maria Cuccittini, who also works but as a part-time cleaner.Lionel Messi has three siblings, two of which older brothers named Rodrigo and Matias. The final, a sister named Maria Sol. At the age of five, Messi played for a team called Grandoli, coached by his father. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth deficiency. An Argentine club were interested in Messi’s ability, but didn’t have enough money to pay for his treatment . The director of FC Barcelona signed Messi after watching him play and was willing to pay for the treatment. Lionel Messi was offered a debut for FC Barcelona against Porto. And what a game!He was seventeen at that time and was the youngest ever player to score a goal in the La Liga. Within the next year, Messi found himself a first squad player and scored 16 goals in 26 matches. During the next five years, Messi became an international superstar scoring tens of goals. He made his debut for Argentina, when he was only 18 years old. Lionel Messi also won dozens of awards including: Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup, Player of the Year (several times), La Liga Player of the Year, Top Scorer (many times), Goal of the Year and many more awards.Messi also played in a few World Cups for Argentina. The final one in 2010, started well with a 4-0, 4-1, 1-0 and 2-0 to finish off the group stages. The last 16 round wasn’t a good match as it ended with a 4-0 defeat to Germany. In the season 2009-10, Messi was in great form, scoring 47 goals. He was the highest scoring player. 2010-11 came and his goal-scoring record continued. Scoring many goals, among other reasons, makes Lionel Messi the finest player of all time!!

Oprah is a name that needs no introduction Essay

Oprah is so well-known that she doesn’t even need a last name! Her early years in her career were influenced strongly by viewing Barbara Walters on The Today Show. She was a senior in high school when she entered a contest. Upon entering the contest she had to choose a career goal. Her choice was broadcast journalism because the other contestants chose to be a nurse and teacher. This choice turned out to be a very wise choice. She won the contest! This win landed her a job as a newscaster while still attending Tennessee State University. Although the stress of a job and college were taxing, Oprah loved the business and knew this was an actual viable option for her. This led Oprah to a job at Baltimore’s largest television station. She was at first on, then off, the evening news. She was then placed on an early morning interview show where she felt the click -This Is It! This is my future! Her obstacles were many. She was a woman, she was African-American, she was poor but she wasn’t a quitter. She knew to succeed meant to keep on her path and to not lose sight of her goal. She knew this by the time she was three or four years old. She knew that she would accomplish something spectacular. And indeed she has; she began hosting a television show in 1984 in Chicago which soon became syndicated. She knew that to remain successful and in a leadership position that she needed to purchase her show, in which she did. This led to many other ventures in her life such as the cable channel Oxygen and her magazine, O. She is so successful that she was acknowledged as the wealthiest African American woman in entertainment. Life Magazine also listed her in â€Å"The Most 100 Influential People of the 20th Century† in 1998. See more: how to write an introduction Oprah has become so influential because she is living proof that adversity can be overcome. Abuse can be overcome. Poverty and racism can be overcome. She is an icon to all of those that struggle. Her openness about her battle with her weight is just another avenue for people to connect with and be influenced by her. She’s open about her past, people relate to that. Influence is power, especially if you show the shoes that you have traveled in. She is an advocate for African Americans, women, children, poverty, and racism. She touches nearly everyone in some facet of their life. Oprah’s leadership style is ‘Lead By Example. We have watched her air her abuse stories on air as well as her weight problems. This humanizes her as well as openly shows that any weakness can become a strength if one perseveres. She never leads by letting others pave the way. She paves the way! She opens doors for education of minorities in impoverished countries that most of the world has chosen to forget. She also leads through compassion and conviction. What impresses me most about Oprah is she never allowed herself to â€Å"stay down. † She had always managed to overcome all of her personal and professional obstacles to achieve personal and professional success. She values her personal growth and success more, and there again, it shows that she is only human like the rest of us. Even if she were to become poor today, she would still keep trying to learn the life lessons that have made her strong and truly convicted in her belief system. Conversely, what I found unimpressive is her over-playing the race card at times. If she promotes a movie that is predominately African American, she is overly friendly and has even been noted to share some â€Å"private† moment on air that the rest of America may not understand. The favoritism toward these fellow African-Americans can sometimes be nauseating.

Eating Out

Eating out is a fun way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion. However, eating out should not be a part of your regular diet. If you are attempting to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is almost impossible to do so if you are eating out on a regular basis. Appetizers and rolls are the first reason why eating out is bad for your health. When you cook at home, you usually do not prepare additional appetizers to eat before the main course because it is more work, but waiters at a restaurant push the appetizers, which can easily add an additional 500+ calories to your meal depending on what you order and how much you eat, just so that they can cushion their tip and make the restaurant more money. Restaurants also provide free rolls with butter. Eating two rolls can add another 300 calories to your meal. A seemingly healthy salad is the next disastrous course when eating out. A salad by itself is healthy, but many restaurants will add croutons, bacon bits, cheese, and fatty dressings to the lettuce and a couple other vegetables. The result is enough fat to fulfil your fat content for the entire day. If you're going to indulge in a salad, avoid the croutons altogether and opt for apple cider or balsamic vinegar or oil and vinaigrette. Between the appetizer, rolls, salad, and first round of drinks most people have already consumed more than they ever would by cooking a meal at home. The problem is that all of these items are pushed by the waiter or their eating companions, making it even more difficult for someone struggling with their diet to say no. The main course finally comes and you thought you ordered something healthy, fish, and steamed veggies, but what they don't mention on the menu is that vegetables are almost always soaked in butter and the fish is covered with a high calorie sauce to disguise the fact that it has been overcooked. The problem with eating out is that everything is so readily available with no work on your part. If given the choice most people don't want to spend the time to prepare a five course meal at home, this is reserved for holidays like Thanksgiving, but when presented with the opportunity for that five course meal without having to do any of the work involved it makes it all too easy for people to say yes. You finish your meal and the waiter comes over and makes a point of asking if you'd like dessert. Then the waiter will chatter on about all of the desserts available, you think that if you split the dessert with someone else at the table it will keep you from consuming too many calories. The problem is that you have already consumed too many calories before the dessert menu has even been presented. Also, even if you do split a desert you can easily be consuming another 500 calories. When all is said and done, your one meal out most likely contains more calories than you should be consuming in an entire day. It is best not to test your will power when it comes to your diet. The next time someone suggests eating out; quickly think of a delicious meal that can be cooked at home for a fraction of the calories. This will give you control over how your food is prepared, not to mention that eating at home will also save you hundreds of rupees per month.