How is a feeling of suspense created in the station scene, from the film ‘The Untouchables’

In this essay I will analyze the railway scene in the film ‘The Untouchables'. I will mainly concentrate on the creation of suspense; I will be looking at the three things that directors use to create different types of atmosphere. These three things are camera angles and movement, the use of sound and lighting and to what extent they contribute. This scene is supposed to be a tense ending to the violence, the final shoot out to try and get Al Capone put in prison. The audience would probably be quite confused and wondering who is who and why each thing is happening. This confusion adds to the tension. The scene (and film) is set in Chicago during the 1930's. In the 1930's America was under prohibition, prohibition meant that it was illegal to sell, make or transport alcohol. Although this rule was made there was still a lot of money to be made with alcohol through bootlegging. Bootlegging was illegally selling alcohol, almost everyone knew about bootlegging and where to buy alcohol. Obviously the alcohol was sold at a higher price then it would be usually, much much higher, this meant that the consumer still had to spend a lot of money for it, which detracted from the original point of prohibition which was to stop people spending money on alcohol as the countries economy was collapsing as shares were worth nothing. In Chicago during this time, not unlike other cities around America there were many rival gangs, which ran Chicago, the most important gang leader was Al Capone. He was the richest man for miles and reportedly earned i170,000,000 a year! Which in those days especially was astronomical. He is the gangster that Elliot Ness a federal agent, George Stone a trainee policeman, James Malone a veteran policeman, and Oscar Wallace an accountant, are out to stop. By the time of this scene, only Ness And Stone are left living and have vowed to catch Al Capone. But they cannot prove anything about him that would send him to jail although he is a known gangster, there is nothing concrete until they found out that he hadn't been paying his income taxes and his bookkeeper could prove it. His bookkeeper was about to be taken away by train maybe incase he was bribed or threatened and put Capone in trouble. Ness And Stone's last chance to catch Capone is to get the bookkeeper, alive. First I am going to go through the main narrative points of the scene: > Ness and Stone enter the station; Ness takes his place on the upper floor, where he can see the entrance at eye level, and the stairs and some of the platform below him. Stone goes round the corner to cover a place where Ness instructs him. > A lot of people enter the station; there are a few suspicious looking people that could be a gangster who is part of Al Capone's gang or the bookkeeper himself. Ness keeps an eye on all of them. > A woman is coming up from the platform but is struggling with her cases and the pram. She cant get them up the stairs easily, Ness keeps looking between her and the possible suspects, eventually he leaves his vantage point and goes down the stairs to help the woman. All the suspects by now have been cleared off suspicion by (for example) going off with their wives or not staying on the platform. > Ness pulls the pram up the stairs, the woman thanks him continuously, while he pulls the pram up Ness looks out for gangsters. Ness has had his eye on some people who may be gangsters, as he reaches the top of the stairs he looks behind him and sees a man he recognizes, the man has a broken nose that is strapped up. > Ness pulls a shotgun out of his jacket and shoots the man – killing him. The pram gets knocked by Ness and starts to roll down the stairs. Other men who are standing on the stairs reach into their jackets and pull out guns, Ness shoots another in the shoulder, and kills another, one gangster shoots up at him from the bottom of stairs and takes cover behind a pillar. The pram continues to fall down the stairs; the man who got shot in the shoulder shoots wildly and hits the pram. Two Sailors run up the stairs form the platform and get shot as they run in front of the pram. > Stone comes running across the bottom of the stairs, throws Ness a new gun as Ness's had run out of bullets, kills the man behind the pillar slides across the floor, stops the pram falling and aims his gun at the last remaining gangster (the one who got shot in the shoulder) who is holding his gun against the bookkeeper's head. > Ness demands that the gangster lets the bookkeeper go and no one gets hurt. The gangster who is very agitated shouts that him and the bookkeeper are leaving and if anyone moves he will shoot the bookkeeper and then they have nothing against Capone. The bookkeeper nervously says he will tell them all they want to know. There is more arguing until Ness signals to Stone and Stone shoots the gangster in the head, the gangster slumps to the floor and the bookkeeper scared witless remains unharmed. I am now going to talk about the use of different camera angles and camera movement and how they are used and why. The most commonly used camera angle was a high angle shot. The majority of these would have been Ness's view from the overhang looking down on the stairs and the platform. This angle would have been by the director, Brian De Palma used to draw the audience into the position of Ness making it more real for them as if they were there, therefore raising the suspense as they feel part of the scene. However a lot of low angle shots are also used, many of these are looking up at Ness, this may the audience think there is someone possibly a gangster looking up at Ness from below this would also raise suspense. The angle would also have been used to show Ness's facial expressions and where he is looking. Occasionally there were close ups of Ness to really show his facial expressions and bring the audience as close as possible to him and how he is feeling, this would add the suspense as again they feel attached to the scene like they are there. These camera angles from Ness's perspective and looking at him happen while he is standing on the overhang when he moves down the stairs to help the baby and then gets involved in the shootout, there are different camera angles focusing on him although there are more close ups after he leaves the overhang. While Ness helps the woman with the pram most of the camera angles are low ones looking up at him as he climbs the stairs and some down at him and past him to show what he is doing and what is going on below him on the platform. The high angle shots that look down at him and past him are most effective at creating suspense because they show Ness's nervousness and at any moment a gangster could appear below him while he is unaware. While the shootout is happening there are various Close up shots. This is to show the expressions of the combatants and how they are being affected by the shootout. This is very tense as there is a lot of anxiousness and fear on the faces of everyone as they are fighting for their lives. This is particularly the case when there is a close up of the woman diving to save her baby from falling down the stairs as you can see all of her face close up and you can se the fear written on it even though there is no sound at that point. There are also a lot of long shots and two shots to display the action and what is going on at eye level so it is straight in front of you, this makes you as the audience feel very involved in the action as your eye level is with the action you are not looking down on or up at it, as it is in front of your face, and as the action is very dangerous it adds greatly to the suspense in the scene. At the start of the scene the clock was repeatedly shown, this repetitive image added to the suspense greatly as it showed clearly that time is running out for Ness as months of work depend on the next few moments. As the clock is repeatedly shown this fact is driven into us, raising suspense as we wait to see if Ness will get his man in time. Next I will look at lighting and what areas are lit and why. The scene is set quite late at night at 10 O Clock, so the lighting would be artificial from the lights in the station which the director would have strategically shone them in different areas for different reasons, which I will talk about now. Very light areas of the scene were the stairs and the entryway, this is because the majority of the action happened there and it was the focus of where Ness was looking at. The platform area is also quite well lit, as it is another area Ness was constantly looking for gangsters in. Dark areas of the scene were Stone was as not much happened there and he was meant to be hidden from sight. The prams was very well lit during the scene as it is meant to signify innocence and the pram protecting the baby, giving it safety, and in the dark things are generally more uneasy and unsafe especially for young children so the light is to signify it is protected. Sometimes the camera swung/panned around the scene for example in the shootout, this gave us as the audience a chance to survey what is going on from and move as if we are moving in the scene to look what is going on, like if we cant quite see something we would move to see it, the camera moving us gives us that feeling. As we feel like we are there yet again this creates more suspense for us as an audience. Next I am going to talk about sound, and how dialogue. Sound effects, ambient sound and non-digetic sounds are used and why they are used. First I will explain what each sound is: > Dialogue – Words spoken on screen by characters. Dialogue is used to develop characters, the plot and display natural communication. > Sound effects – Non-verbal sounds from an action. Sound effects are used to reinforce an action and too add realism. For example if someone closed a door and you couldn't hear it close, it would sound fake, and ruin the effect. > Ambient sounds – realistic background sound, which may not be on screen. Ambient sounds are also used to reinforce realism for example if the scene is in a field and no wind is heard, or birds calling it would seem fake, similar to sound effects but the effect may not be on screen, e. g. a bird calling, the bird may not be on screen. > Non-digetic sounds – Not part of the scene. Non digetic sounds are things like music or voice overs, they are used to create or reinforce a mood or can intensify a situation, for example eerie music could be used in a haunted house, getting eerier as things get tenser. This reinforces the atmosphere being created off screen. All the different four sound types are used in the scene. The most commonly used sound was non-digetic. Almost throughout the scene there was music playing. It changed as the scene changed, for example at the end of the scene just after the final gangster was killed there were piano and violins playing together, they played in such a way that a mysterious feeling was given. Then when we realized the gangster was dead and the bookkeeper survived the tense music ended with a long note, which eased the tension. This is a prime example of music (non digetic sound) enforcing the atmosphere that is created on stage. Another widely used ambient sound was the tannoy announcer; altogether he spoke 4 times in the space of a few minutes. He was announcing that the train would be leaving in a few minutes, all board and last call, this also drummed into us as the audience that time was running out therefore creating suspense – similarly to the clock. Sound effects were not used to much important in my view they were just used to reinforce actions like the footsteps on the stairs. However when the pram was going up the steps it made a very loud crashing sound, louder then it would naturally, this created suspense. Ambient sounds similarly to sound effects only were occasionally used to reinforce the fact the scene is in a train station, with the odd sound adding to the realism, like the train steaming out of the train off camera occasionally, this added to the suspense as it made the scene more realistic and made us as the audience feel as if we were there. There wasn't much dialogue in the scene; most of it was just basic the only important dialogue was at the very end between ness, the gangster and the bookkeeper when they were arguing over the fate of the bookkeeper. This was very important as the gangster and Ness were trying to play mind games with each other through words. Words are the clearest form of communication and in this instance, you could obviously see through the expression in the voices that Ness was in control and the gangster was wavering and unsure what to do, and in the end was killed. This added to the suspense as the camera angles were close to them and the speech was loud as if we as the audience were there and witnessing it. In conclusion I would say that the factor that contributed most to the suspense was the sound as it was the clearest factor of all, and is the most blatant. For example if there is music playing that is of a tense nature it is obvious something tense is going on and it adds to the tension. When the pram like music was playing it added to the realism, as there was a pram there. It also gave the audience a false sense of security, as it is nice happy carefree music in a sinister important ten minutes in Chicago. It also it spookily scary, as when the pram is stopped from crashing by stone the music starts up and there are lots of dead bodies and blood everywhere and a fierce confrontation between Ness and the gangster is about to start and the music starts to play. Camera angles added to the tension and suspense more then the lighting, though it was more subtle then the sound as only when you reflect on the scene in depth like I have done you realize it has done anything, during the scene you don't even realize what the camera angles are doing. There is only a certain amount of suspense that you can create with a camera angle as just because you are looking at something in a certain way it doesn't mean something will happen. Lighting was the least important factor as the entire scene had to be quite lit as it is a well it area in a train station, and just because something is in shadow doesn't mean it is hidden and secretive. Again it is a more subtle use of suspense and one that I think doesn't add to the suspense much if at all. Generally I would say that suspense was created very well using lighting, sound and camera angles. It could perhaps been improved by a greater use of lighting to display shadows and hidden areas, though it would have been hard to do so in a station.

Srk N His Life

Shahrukh Khan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search â€Å"Shahrukh† redirects here. For the Timurid dynasty ruler, see Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty). This article is semi-protected to prevent libelous additions. Shahrukh Khan Born 2 November 1965 (1965-11-02) (age 44) New Delhi, India Other name(s) Shah Rukh Khan, King Khan, SRK, King of Bollywood[1] Occupation Actor, producer, television presenter Years active 1988–present Spouse(s) Gauri Khan (1991–present) Shahrukh Khan (Hindi: , Urdu: ; born 2 November 1965), sometimes credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian actor and a prominent Bollywood figure, as well as a film producer and television host. Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in Deewana (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. Khan has won thirteen Filmfare A wards for his work in Indian films, seven of which are in the Best Actor category. Khan's films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, making him one of the most successful actors of India. [2] Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world. [3] Contents [hide] * 1 Biography * 2 Film career o 2. 1 Background o 2. 2 1990s o 2. 3 2000s * 3 Producer * 4 Television host * 5 Awards and nominations * 6 Filmography o 6. 1 Actor o 6. 2 Producer o 6. 3 Playback singer o 6. 4 Stunts director o 6. 5 Television appearances * 7 See also * 8 Bibliography * 9 Notes * 10 External links Biography Shahrukh Khan and family Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. [4] His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan. [5] His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose. [6] Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,[7] while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India. [8] Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz. [9] Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood,[10] Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood. [11] After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. [12] In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. 13] They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu gods. [14] In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2 004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, â€Å"King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema†, was released in 2007. This book described the world of Bollywood through Khan's life. [15][16] Khan has been awarded several honours which includes the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musee Grevin in Paris, the same year. 17] During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his â€Å"exceptional career†. [18] In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to â€Å"Sir† in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Neg eri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for â€Å"promoting tourism in Malacca† by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision. 19] He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009. [20] Film career Background Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil that, â€Å"The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself. â€Å"[21] Khan made his acting debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television series, Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. 22] He went on to appear in several other television serials, most notably in the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's Circus, which depicted the life of circus performers. [23] The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy. 1990s Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991,[24] Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood. [25] His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He went on to star in Maya Memsaab, which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an â€Å"explicit† sex scene in the movie. [26] In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar. [27] Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar, which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula. 28] His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in. [29] In 1994, Khan once ag ain played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award. [30] In 1995, Khan starred in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a major critical and commercial success, for which he won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. [31] In 2007, the film entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it as one of India's biggest movie blockbusters. [32] Earlier in the same year he found success in Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun which became the second biggest hit of the year. 1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office. 33] This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes — one of the biggest hits of the year — and Aziz Mirza's comedy Yes Boss, a moderately successful feature. [34] His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor A ward for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses. [34] In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of the year. 35] His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas. [36] Khan's only release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser. [37] 2000s Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, Mohabbatein, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film Josh. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success. [38] In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. [38] His work with Karan Johar continued as he collaborated on the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC). [39] In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, Devdas. It was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year. [40] Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office. 40] In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte. [41] That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's bigges t hit in the overseas markets. [41] 2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the comedy Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas. [42] The film relates the love story of Veer and Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama Swades. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for Swades. [42] In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time. [43] His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Don, a remake of the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a success. [43] Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, Chak De India, about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, Chak De India became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan. [44] The film was a major critical success. [45] In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point. [44] It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. Khan's more recent films include the 2008 release, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which was a huge box office success, and Billu. Khan's next film, My Name Is Khan, is due for release on 12 February 2010. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, California, on 11 January 2009. [46][47] Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto. [48][49] Producer Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office failures. [39] However, his third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), proved a box office hit. [41] In 2004, Khan set up another production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na, another hit. [42] The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which did poorly. [50] It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful at the box office. [50] His company has gone on to produce Om Shanti Om (2007), in which he starred, and Billu (2009), in which he played a supporting role as a Bollywood superstar. Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, The First Ladies, Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and Knights and Angels. Television advertisements are also produced by the company. [51] In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition. Television host In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. [52] The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000–05. On 22 January 2007, Kaun Banega Crorepati aired with Khan as the new host[53] and later ended on 19 April 2007. [54] On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? , the Indian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? ,[55] whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest. [56] Awards and nominations Main article: List of Shahrukh Khan's awards and nominations Filmography Actor Year Title Role Notes 1992 Deewana Raja Sahai Winner, Filmfare Best Male Debut Award Idiot Pawan Raghujan Chamatkar Sunder Srivastava Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman Raju (Raj Mathur) Dil Aashna Hai Karan 1993 Maya Memsaab Lalit Kumar King Uncle Anil Bhansal Baazigar Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award Darr Rahul Mehra Nominated, Filmfare Best Villain Award Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa Sunil Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award 1994 Anjaam Vijay Agnihotri Winner, Filmfare Best Villain Award 1995 Karan Arjun Arjun Singh/Vijay Zamana Deewana Rahul Malhotra Guddu Guddu Bahadur Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India Hero Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Raj Malhotra Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award Ram Jaane Ram Jaane Trimurti Romi Singh 1996 English Babu Desi Mem Vikram/Hari/Gopal Mayur Chaahat Roop Rathore Army Arjun Special appearance Dushman Duniya Ka Badru 1997 Gudgudee Special appearance Koyla Shankar Yes Boss Rahul Joshi Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Pardes Arjun Saagar Dil To Pagal Hai Rahul Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award 1998 Duplicate Bablu Chaudhry/Manu Dada Nominated, Filmfare Best Villain Award Achanak Himself Special appearance Dil Se Amarkant Varma Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Rahul Khanna Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award 1999 Baadshah Raj Heera/Baadshah Nominated, Filmfare Best Comedian Award 2000 Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani Ajay Bakshi Hey Ram Amjad Ali Khan Josh Max Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega Rahul Special appearance Mohabbatein Raj Aryan Malhotra Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Gaja Gamini Himself Special appearance 2001 One 2 Ka 4 Arun Verma Asoka Asoka Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham Rahul Raichand Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award 2002 Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam Gopal Devdas Devdas Mukherjee Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award Shakti: The Power Jaisingh Special appearance Saathiya Yeshwant Rao Cameo 2003 Chalte Chalte Raj Mathur Kal Ho Naa Ho Aman Mathur Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award 2004 Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke Dushant Main Hoon Na Maj. Ram Prasad Sharma Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Veer-Zaara Veer Pratap Singh Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Swades Mohan Bhargava Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award 2005 Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye Himself Special appearance Kaal Special appearance in song Kaal Dhamaal Silsiilay Sutradhar Special appearance in song Jab Jab Dil Mile Paheli Kishenlal/The Ghost The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan Himself (Biopic) Documentary directed by British-based author and director Nasreen Munni Kabir 2006 Alag Special appearance in song Sabse Alag Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna Dev Saran Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Don – The Chase Begins Again Vijay/Don Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Nominated, Asian Film Award for Best Actor I See You Special appearance in song Subah Subah 2007 Chak De India Kabir Khan Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award Heyy Babyy Raj Malhotra Special appearance in song Mast Kalandar Om Shanti Om Om Prakash Makhija/Om Kapoor Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award 2008 Krazzy 4 Special appearance in song Break Free Bhoothnath Aditya Sharma Special appearance Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Surinder Sahni/Raj Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award 009 Luck by Chance Himself Special appearance Billu Sahir Khan Aao Wish Karein Narrator [57] 2010 Dulha Mil Gaya Released on 8 January 2010 My Name Is Khan Rizwan Khan Releasing on 12 February 2010 Ra. 1 Koochie Koochie Hota Hain Rocky Filming Producer * Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) * Asoka (2001) * Chalte Chalte (2003) * Main Hoon Na (2004) * Kaal (2005) * Paheli (2005) * Om Shanti Om (2007) * Billu (2009) Playback singer * Main to hoon Pagal – Baadshah (1999) * Apun Bola – Josh (2000) * Khaike Paan Banaraswala – Don – The Chase Begins Again (2006) * Ek Hockey Doongi Rakhke – Chak De India (2007) Sattar Minute – Chak De India (2007) Stunts director * Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) * Main Hoon Na (2004) * Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) * Chak De India (2007) * Om Shanti Om (2007) Television appearances * Dil Dariya (1988) * Fauji (1988) †¦ Abhimanyu Rai * Doosra Keval (1989) * Circus (1989) * In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989) * Idiot (1991) †¦ Pawan Raghujan * Kareena Kareena (2004) †¦ Special appearance * Rendezvous with Simi Garewal†¦.. Guest * Koffee with Karan (2004–2007) †¦ Guest (3 episodes) * Kaun Banega Crorepati (2007) †¦ Host * Jjhoom India (2007) †¦ Guest * Nach Baliye (2008) †¦. Guest * Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? (2008) †¦. Host * Oye! It's Friday! (2009) †¦ Guest * Tere Mere Beach Mein (2009) †¦ Guest See also * List of Indian Actors * Newark Airport Incident Bibliography * Nasreen Munni Kabir. The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan (Documentary, 2005). * Shahrukh Khan – Still Reading Khan. A1Books Distributor 2007. ISBN 9788187107798. * Gahlot, Deepa; Agarwal, Amit. King Khan SRK. Augsburg Weltbild 2007. ISBN 9783828988699. * Ghosh, Biswadeep. Hall of fame: Shahrukh Khan (in English). Mumbai: Magna Books, 2004. ISBN 8178092379. * Chopra, Anupama. King of Bollywood : Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema (English). New York: Warner Books, 2007. ISBN 9780446578585. Notes 1. ^ â€Å"Indian cinema doing well because of cultural ethos: Shah Rukh Khan†. The Hindu. 17 June 2007. http://www. hindu. com/thehindu/holnus/009200706171961. htm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. 2. ^ Kumar, Anuj (11 November 2004). â€Å"Bollywood bonanza†. The Hindu. http://www. hindu. com/mp/2004/11/11/stories/2004111101010300. htm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. Kamath, Sudhish (7 December 2007). Being SRK†. The Hindu. http://www. hindu. com/cp/2007/12/07/stories/2007120750010100. htm. Retrieved 16 August 2009. 3. ^ â€Å"The Global Elite – 41: Shahrukh Khan†. Newsweek. 20 December 2008. http://www. newsweek. com/id/176325. Retrieved 24 December 2008. 4. ^ â€Å"The Rediff Interview / Shah Rukh Khan†. Rediff. http://www. rediff. com/movies/2007/mar/16srk . htm. Retrieved 5 July 2006. 5. ^ 2009 interview with an Afghan movie director on Afghan TV channel, Shahrukh Khan states that his father's father (grandfather) is from Afghanistan. 6. ^ â€Å"Badshah at durbar and dinner†. elegraphindia. com. http://www. telegraphindia. com/1040531/asp/frontpage/story_3313328. asp. Retrieved 12 March 2007. 7. ^ â€Å"Rediff News Gallery: The Shahrukh Connection†. http://specials. rediff. com/news/2004/may/31sl02. htm. 8. ^ A Hundred Horizons by Sugata Bose, 2006 USA, p136 9. ^ â€Å"Shahrukh Khan – Journey†. http://movies. indiatimes. com/cms. dll/articleshow? artid=177008&right=1&fright=1&botlink=1. 10. ^ SRK to run for Delhi TNN, The Times of India, 30 September 2009. â€Å"I was born here, in Talwar Nursing Home. I lived here for more than two decades in Rajinder Nagar† 11. IndiaFM News Bureau (2 November 2006). â€Å"Facts you never knew about SRK†. indiaFM. http://www. indiafm. com/features/2006/11/02 /1777. Retrieved 26 July 2008. 12. ^ â€Å"Shah Rukh Khan turns 42†. zeenews. com. http://www. zeenews. com/znnew/articles. asp? aid=404915&sid=ZNS&sname=exclusive-news. Retrieved 2 November 2007. 13. ^ Siddiqui, Rana (17 November 2006). â€Å"Much ado about King Khan†. The Hindu. http://www. hinduonnet. com/thehindu/fr/2006/11/17/stories/2006111701130100. htm. Retrieved 9 February 2008. 14. ^ Zubair Ahmed (23 September 2005). â€Å"Who's the real Shah Rukh Khan? â€Å". BBC News – BBC.

How are evil and the supernatural presented in each of the stories? Essay

‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Squaw’ are both short stories from the sub-genre of horror fiction. How are evil and the supernatural presented in each of the stories? Compare and contrast the two stories. Horror stories have common ingredients, including, a ruined gothic castle with monsters such as vampires and werewolves. Horror stories generally play on fear of the unknown. They cause the reader to be afraid of what they are going to see that they don’t expect. When horror stories are also short stories, they benefit from this. A larger amount of dramatic events can take place in a short space of time. If the main character of a horror story that wasn’t a short story died very near the end, the whole story would be ruined. This means that readers of short horror stories are shocked much more. In the two stories, evil and the supernatural are not presented in the way that they are normally in short stories. They are presented in a way to make the reader think about them, and how they can arise. This is unlike most horror stories, in which the aim of the story is just to shock and scare the reader. The two stories are entitled ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Squaw’. The tiles of stories can tell the reader about them. The Black Cat is a short story about a man who is driven to murder by his cat. The Squaw is also a short story, about a man who kills a kitten, and is then killed by its mother, in an act of revenge. The titles mean that the reader to has impressions of what the stories are about as soon as they start reading them. The title, The Black Cat gives the reader a feeling that the story is going to involve evil or magic, in some way, because black cats are commonly thought of as bad or evil, and as witches in disguise, however, when the reader reads the title, The Squaw, they are given a much less vivid impression. A squaw is an American Indian woman or wife, but most people don’t know this. This means that the reader doesn’t really know what to expect from the story. I believe The Black Cat to be better titled than The Squaw, because it is more deep and meaningful. It is deliberately intended to make the reader think that the black cat is bad, but it is the cat that turns out to be the victim. This illuminates how the reader will always make the assumption that a black cat will be evil. The cat in The Squaw is said to be like a squaw, and I believe that this is the only reason it is titled like this. The beginnings of stories are important for giving the reader an impression of what is to come. The beginnings of the two stories do not give particularly much atmosphere of the supernatural. At the beginning of The Squaw, the narrator just accounts about how he and his wife are on their honeymoon, and how they meet Elias Hutcheson. The reader is given no indication that it is a horror story throughout the beginning of the story. Similarly, at the beginning of The Black Cat, the reader does not receive much of an impression of the supernatural. The character just seems to introduce himself. The only clue the reader receives about the supernatural is the way the cat is introduced into the story. At the beginning of The Black Cat, there are a few clues about what will happen later in the story. The narrator accounts about how the events that happens in the story â€Å"have terrified-have tortured-have destroyed me† He also states that he is going to be hung, whereas the beginning of The Squaw provides the reader with no clues about what happens later. The beginnings of the stories are quite different. The opening of The Squaw is just like a normal non-horror story and the opening of The Black Cat is a character confiding in the reader about what has happened to him and how he has been affected. The atmosphere and setting give the reader a strong background feeling about the story. The typical setting of a horror story is a lonely, dark place, like a ruined gothic castle. The setting of The Black Cat is not much like this. It is mainly set inside the man’s head, and so does not contain many references to what happens outside in the world. The reader is not given much information about where the man lives, and the actual physical setting of the story. This is because the story is intended to primarily portray the emotions of the character over his actions. The setting of The Squaw is very different to this, although it is also unlike that of a conventional horror story. The setting is very normal and pleasant. The narrator and his wife are on their honeymoon, and the reader is told how the town is very pleasant, because the sun is shining, and the couple are just lazing about enjoying themselves. It comes as a complete shock when the kitten is killed. After this happens, it is still unlike a normal horror story setting, until right at the end, when the cat appears and kills the man. The setting of The Black Cat adds to its overall effect very well, because the story is supposed to show his emotions, and it is a story about a man telling the reader how he became evil and mad, as does the setting of The Squaw, which shows that evil can occur in any place, not just in a typical gothic horror story setting. Tension is usually viewed as the most important element of the traditional horror story. It keeps the reader interested in the story, and causes them to be scared of what may happen next. Tension is not used to full effect in the two stories. The reader is not given much information in either of them to trigger their imagination and get them thinking about what will happen next. For example, in The Black Cat, the main events happen totally unexpectedly, without any tense build up. In The Squaw, there is a bit of tension, that concerns the reader wondering what the cat is going to do to the man, but there is only one very big event at the end of the story, also without much built up tension. Poe definitely aims to shock the reader in The Black Cat, rather than surprise them. A surprise is when something unexpected happens, but it is usually a good event, and the person it happens to often has some kind of a clue that it will happen. A shock is when something very unexpected happens. It is almost always a bad event, and the person always has no clue whatsoever that it will happen. The reader is shocked on multiple occasions, such as when the narrator cuts his cat’s eye out, when he hangs the cat, and when he murders his wife. I believe that Poe never surprises the reader, and that he has no intention of doing so. In The Black Cat, because the reader anticipates the man to do something evil at different points, this affects their feeling on the evil inside the man. They expect the man to commit more acts of evil, but at the same time, they are not sure whether the source of evil may change to become the cat. On the contrary, Stoker aims to surprise the reader. The reader knows throughout the story that the cat is going to get its revenge some way. When it kills Hutcheson, this is a surprise, because the reader expects it to happen. It may be considered as a bad event, thus being a shock, but it may also be considered a bit like a good thing in a way, because he deserved to die. This feeling of someone deserving an act of revenge adds to the horror theme of the story. The only shock in the story is when the kitten is killed. For these reasons, the usage of shock and surprise in the two stories is very different. The two men who kill the cats in the two stories have very important roles in the plot, as do their characters. The narrator in The Black Cat seems very emotional. He often confides in the reader about how The Black Cat drives him to insanity, whereas Elias P. Hutcheson is not given a particularly prominent character, and the reader does not learn much about his emotions. In The Black Cat, the narrator is used as the main character, to confide in the reader, about his experiences. In this way, the author brings about the questions about evil and the supernatural. In The Squaw, Hutcheson is instead used as a tool for the plot to be developed. He doesn’t have any visible emotions shown. He seems only to be in the story to kill the kitten, and then to be killed at the end. The reader feels sorry for the narrator in The Black Cat, because he is driven to madness and he is very hopeless, but they also feel hatred for him because of all of the cruel things he does. The cats are probably the most important elements in both of the stories. In The Black Cat, the cat is initially introduced amongst the narrator’s other pets, and in The Squaw, the cat is introduced when the characters see it with its kitten. Unlike at the beginning of The Squaw, at the beginning of The Black Cat, the reader is given a small hint of the supernatural powers of the cat, in the title, because black cats are said to be bad luck, and witches in disguise. When the cat is introduced, it is written in italics. This gives the reader an obvious clue that it plays a big part in the story. In The Squaw, the reader is given no hint whatsoever that the cat has any supernatural powers. It is only at the very end, when the cat kills the man that the reader believes that it may have something out of the ordinary about it, although it never truly seems to have any actual supernatural powers, other than the way it strangely strives to get its revenge, and the way it has the intelligence to kill the man in the way it does. Later on in The Black Cat, the reader is given a larger impression that the cat is supernatural; by the narrator acting like it is driving him to madness. The image of the cat ends up on the wall of the burned down house, and another cat comes into the story, that seems to really be the same cat, and it also has a mark that turns into the shape of the gallows. These things would not happen if there was not an intention of the writer for the cat to be somehow supernatural. On the other hand, in The Squaw, the reader is not given very much of an impression that the cat has any supernatural powers until at the very end. When the cat tries to follow the man, the reader just believes it to just be a normal cat, because it does not succeed. The only hint the reader gets at this point is the amount of hatred the cat seems to show. The author comments on how Hutcheson and the narrator’s wife notice this. This is also seen in how the cat tries so hard to reach Hutcheson, to take its revenge, by desperately trying to jump up a huge wall that is seen as totally impossible by the other characters, which are not maddened by anger. As the story of The Black Cat progresses, the reader thinks of the cat as both a victim of evil, and a source of evil. At the very beginning, the reader believes that the cat will be the source of evil, because black cats are generally thought of as such. When it’s eye is cut out, this is when the reader begins to think of it as a complete victim, but as the narrator becomes more demented, they begin to think of it as somehow causing him to do this, and as having some sort of special power. In The Black Cat, the cat is used as a tool to bring out the narrator’s character, whereas in The Squaw, the cat is used to provide a victim and a source of evil, to make the reader think about the true meaning of evil. The way the reader recognizes the two stories can vary a lot. They are primarily about the two cats, and whether or not they are the sources of evil in the stories. This means that the reader’s understanding of the stories entirely depends on what they think of the cat. Both of the stories explore the meaning of the nature of evil. The nature of evil is very disputable in both of the stories. They are primarily about the question of whether it is the men or the cats that are the sources of evil. They show that it is really the men who are actually the sources of evil. The stories both have this theme, and both illustrate the men to be the sources of evil, making them similar. In The Black Cat, the man is somehow provoked by the cat to become evil, but in The Squaw, the man is the one to initiate the trouble between himself and the cat, by killing the kitten, meaning that the ways the two men come to be the sources of evil are different. Usually in horror fiction, it is the stereotypical character, like the cat that is the source of evil, and the people are usually victims. The two stories show that these are misconceptions. They are deliberately controversial. The narrative structures of the stories greatly affect the way in which the reader understands them. As does The Squaw, The Black Cat has a first person narrative. Because of this, the reader can realise the character’s feelings and emotions to a much greater extent than if it had a third person narrative. This affects the reader’s thoughts about the evil of this character. Because they can realise his feelings, he can tell them why he did things, and his justifications for them. They can then judge for themselves whether he has good reason to do things, and whether or not he is evil. The first person narrative gives the reader an insight into the mind of the evil man. This helps to show them that evil occurs for a reason, and that people are evil because of something that has happened, or a motive that they have. It also implies that evil people are not just the bad things in stories for people hate without thinking about why they evil. Poe tries hard to show this in his story. The first person perspective of The Squaw also contributes to the evil in the story, but in a very different way. The narrator seems quite neutral and unfazed throughout the story. He is nothing like a typical horror story character, and he makes it seem very unconventional. He helps to make the source of evil disputable. His character makes the reader think about what the real evil in the story is. The narrator’s character helps the implication that a source of evil is not always where it first seems to be. The evil may be in something or someone that is never expected at first, and that it is not always in the clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d, expected place. The viewpoints of the authors are important in understanding the stories, because they tell us the reasons for the stories being written, and how the authors understand the natures of evil and the supernatural. I believe that Poe understands that evil and the supernatural can affect anyone, and that no one is born evil and I believe that his purpose in writing The Black Cat was to give an insight into the mind of someone who goes mad. I believe he wanted to show that people are driven to do evil things, and they do not just suddenly turn evil and crazy. He wanted to show that evil people are people too, like everyone else. This does not fit the general trend in horror stories very well. Usually, the evil character is just there to be someone for the reader to dislike and fear. The reader is never usually shown any reason for the person to have become evil. Stoker believes that evil is not always how and where it seems, as Poe also does, and I believe that he wrote The Squaw to show this. This fits the horror story genre in the same way as The Black Cat does because it is not like most horror stories. Like The Black Cat, it depicts a different meaning to evil and the supernatural, and it doesn’t rely on clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s. I believe that evil and the supernatural are well presented in the both of the stories. Both of the authors wrote the stories to give a deeper meaning to the way they are depicted in horror stories. Neither of the two stories is typical of the horror story genre. They are both deliberately meant to show the different ways that evil and the supernatural can exist, that are not usually depicted in horror short stories. I believe The Black Cat to be the more effective as a horror story. The way it depicts the mind of a madman is more effective in horrifying the reader. His feelings and reactions give the reader a chilling and disturbing insight into the mind of an evil, twisted murderer.

Online classes and attend traditional classes Essay

Online classes and attend traditional classes - Essay Example Online classes however have their disadvantages over traditional classes that limit effectiveness of leaning and both advantages and disadvantages of the types of classes need to be explored before a learner selects a type of class. I, in this paper argue that traditional classes are better than online classes. Conducting a comparative analysis of traditional classes and online classes requires an understanding of fundamental factors to learning processes and effectiveness of the fundamentals to achieving learning objectives. Applied approach to delivery of learning materials and learning concepts, student’s active role in the learning process, and quality of involved activities and processes in learning are some of the determinant of effective learning. Administration of learning processes and support to learners are other fundamentals of effective learning and forms bases for understanding relative effectiveness of traditional classes and online classes. The fundamentals als o explain strengths and weaknesses of the two modes of learning (Kats 290). Two perspectives support application of traditional class system over the online class system. ... The well-defined environment also dictates direct interaction between learners and educators and encourages learners’ participation through questions to educators and responses to prompts from educators. The structured scope also aids administration of learning processes and therefore facilitates achievement of learning objectives because the learning process, learners, and educators all exist in the same physical environment. Traditional class also offers a â€Å"more personal relationship† between learners and their instructors. Physical presence and the role of face-to-face communication such as developed confidence and trust develop a link between the parties and this facilitates interaction and freedom towards better understanding of concepts. This is partly because students are free to ask questions and have confidence to respond to questions when they are in a favorable environment. Traditional classes, unlike online classes, allow for instant responses to questi ons by learners and educators and this facilitates effective learning. It is contrary to the experience in online classes in which an educator may forget to respond to a question, a phenomenon that may discourage a learner and limit the learner’s confidence in asking questions. Learners in a traditional class set up also have the opportunity to interact with one another, develop social ties, and form study groups, and these occurrences expands sources of knowledge to facilitate learning (Sharpe 240). Numerous disadvantages of online classes that traditional classes manage also offer rationale into the preference of traditional classes. Unlike in traditional classes in which educators are able to identify each learner’s need and motivate the learners, the distance in an online class

Germany's Holocaust Memorial Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Germany's Holocaust Memorial - Assignment Example Eisenman designed it in a way that each stone slab is unique, positioned on uneven ground at varying heights. Some are taller than an average person while some are just as high as the ankles. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the paths and they can enter the monument on all four sides. Eisenman designed the monument to create a sense of instability, and the maze of stones tends to disorient some visitors. However, the designer of the monument hoped that the memorial will become a natural part of the city, and offer a respite for its citizens after a busy day. At the base of the monument is a subterranean Information Center, where visitors can find more information about the monument’s design and construction. It also features stories of several individuals and families who faced persecution of the Nazis during the war. The Information Center is open day and night. The monument serves as a silent reminder of a past that most people would want to forget. May it also serv e as a symbol of hope for the future generations. May each stone slab remind us all that no one has the right to take another man’s life for personal ambitions. May we all learn from our history, so that the acts of infamy committed by such unlawful men will never happen again.

Paper on Elder Abuse Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On Elder Abuse - Research Paper Example They may not see or hear also or sense as clearly as they used to, leaving chances for immoral people to get benefit from them. Psychological or physical disorders may make them more demanding companions for those who live with them. A large number of elders all over the United States are   being abused: harmed in some considerable way often by people who are directly liable for their care. Over half a million accounts of abuse against elderly Americans get to concerned authorities each year, and millions more cases go unheard. Elder abuse is likely to occur where the senior resides; most frequently within the home where abusers are likely to be grown person; other relatives, for instance, grandchildren; or spouses of elders. Institutional situations particularly continuing care services can as well be sources of elder abuse. Every year many older individuals are badly treated, ignored, as well as subjugated. Several sufferers are people who are elder, weak, as well as defenseless and cannot help themselves and rely heavily on others to meet even their most fundamental requirements. Abusers of elder people are both males and females, and may be relatives, friends, or â€Å"trusted others† (Ulsperger & Knottnerus, 2010). Executors of elder abuse can incorporate any person in a position of dependence, power or influence. Family members, neighbors and associates, are all collectively known as relations of dependence, whether the older adult really consider people as reliable or not. A number of perpetrators may groom an older person by building a bond with them, with the intention of establishing a bond of dependence. Older people staying unaccompanied who have no grown children living near are mainly susceptible to ‘grooming’ by neighbors and friends who would look forward to to get control of their assets. The greater part of abusers is family members, usually the older adult's spouse or offspring, even though the form of abuse varies in ac cordance with the relationship. In several circumstances, â€Å"the abuse is domestic violence grown old, a situation in which the abusive behavior of a spouse or partner continues into old age† (Sandell & Hudson, 2010). During the year 2006, â€Å"the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) selected June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)† (Sandell & Hudson, 2010) and a growing number of events are organized around the globe on this day to increase knowledge of elder abuse, and draw attention towards ways to confront such abuse. Types of elder abuse Physical abuse Physical elder abuse is non-accidental use of strength against an aged individual that causes physical hurt, wound, or injury. This sort of abuse incorporates not just physical attacks such as beating or pushing but the unsuitable use of medicines, restraints, or detention. Emotional abuse In emotional or psychosomatic elder abuse, people talk to or treat aged individuals in wa ys that become reason for emotional hurt or grief. Verbal types of emotional elder abuse consist of threatening by shouting or warnings, dishonor and ridicule, and usual blaming or ‘scapegoating’. Nonverbal emotional elder abuse can take the shape of disregarding the elderly individual, separating an elder from associates or activities, and frightening or intimidating the elderly person. Disregard or rejection from caregivers Elder disregard, failure to carry out a caretaking responsibility, forms over half of all reported cases of elder abuse. It can be active (also known as

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response - Assignment Example This paper finds three of the statements of Brad interesting to look into further for an analysis. The highlight about the information and communication revolution brought about by the technology of Facebook, its ability to cut across social boundaries, and the growing concern about the ownership and usability of the content on Facebook are ideas that are worth scrutiny and analysis for their validity. It is, no doubt, true that Facebook has altered the way people communicate by providing a platform that surpasses the constraints of space and time. The article says â€Å"Facebook promises to change how we communicate even more fundamentally, in part by digitally mapping and linking peripatetic people across space and time, allowing them to publicly share myriad and often very personal elements of their lives† and it â€Å"reconnects regular folks with old friends and strengthens their bonds with new pals †¦help rebuild families† (Stone). This is very much true as the impact Facebook has had on the world internet users. Facebook claims on its website to have â€Å"more than 300 million active users† and it says â€Å"50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day† (Facebook). The extent of its influence is evident in its membership and usage. As the article says, the social networking is so powerful that it has been effectively used for activism as well. It is interesting to note that the article does not add any colour to the previous idea and the author keeps the voice low and account brief as seen in the second shortest paragraph. Secondly, the article says that Facebook has helped users build connections across socio-economic boundaries. To illustrate this, it cites the words of Mr. Zuckerberg who talks about a certain Claus Drachmann, a school teacher, who was successful in inviting Denmark’s Prime Minister for a talk in his school. This was made possible through Facebook, which otherwise would have

Corruption in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corruption in the United States - Essay Example However, theoretical study shows that in the short run corruption may promote economic growth as a result of counteracting government’s failure. The failure of the government is itself a function of corruption and hence it will in the long run have detrimental effects on economic growth (Akai, Horiuchi & Sakata 29). The importance of corruption is in its ability to influence the roots of the economy. Corruption has consequences for both equity and efficiency and also erodes property rights. It strains business institutions thus poses threats to the economic benefits attributed to it. Corruption takes place in secrecy causing complications, in the nature of economic exchange. On the contrary, some early authors viewed corruption as a necessary grease to lubricate the wheels of stagnant government administration. Similarly, many other authors demonstrate how bribes enhance public administration efficiency by minimizing the costs associated with government labor and queuing (Kauf mann 45). Corruption is much more than a price mechanism; it causes reallocation of talents towards unproductive rent-seeking activities other than directing talents to entrepreneurial activities. In most cases, talented people compete for the highly payoffs within the economy. Micro evidence appears to suggest that corruption badly hampers development and deteriorates government performance. Corruption is vice that result to many effects affecting a large number of people (Kaufmann 45). USA is not an exception of corruption as it prevails in most of its states. In Connecticut, administration is at substantial risk of the state’s history worst scandal in corruption. Some of Connecticut three mayors and the treasure are in prison. A former Governors deputy chief accepted gold coins in return for government’s contracts; this is a clear evidence of corruption. Another example is that of a governor in Connecticut whose cottage renovations were carried out by private corpor ations in Litchfield. The examples depict Connecticut as a corrupt state. Historically states such as Louisiana, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey have worst reputations for corruption. Recent statistics clearly indicate that Mississippi is the most corrupt state in USA while the least corrupt state in the country is Nebraska. Columbia is the most corrupt district in USA. However, most states are making remarkable efforts in the battle to fight corruption in order to enhance growth and development. The integrity index analyzes five key laws, which directly ensure combating corruption in the government and integrity. They include conflict of interest laws, whistleblower protection laws, gifts, trips and honoraria laws, information laws and campaign finance laws. These laws create transparency; accountability and limits thus fight corruption. Transparency International organization is also dedicated to combating corruption in USA. The world might not understand the exact extent of corruption in USA because the Justice Department’s statistics rarely get to the public. If the Justice Department sought to publicize they masterly work, it could go a long way to stop corruption (Mauro 23). Corruption arises from various causes such as personal motivations where people give bribes so as to get unjust advantage over the rest. Paying lower taxes, bribing to get a promotion or an

Gay Marriages And National Right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gay Marriages And National Right - Essay Example In his article of 26th June 2015 in the New York Times, Adam Liptak presents various issues highlighting the positive and negative impacts of the judicial move to legalize gay marriage. Justice Kennedy, argues that the ideas in any marriage, whether gay or not, are the most important values which every individual should be given legal access to. His argument further explains that denying them access to gay marriage also reduces both their self-worth and confidence. On the other hand, Justice John G Robert claims that much as the plaintiffs celebrate their victory, they need to acknowledge that it is not in any way associated with their constitutional rights as citizens but rather a fulfillment of their desire (Liptak 7). Supporting John G. Roberts, Justice Scalia claimed that gay marriage is a self-centered interest of the few. Moreover, he stated that support of gay marriage has been championed through the use of appealing phrases which are baseless. Justice Kennedy’s view is that social change is inevitable and it comes as we gain more knowledge and experience in life. His point is premised on the fact that the proponents of constitutional rights did not have a complete understanding of all human rights and their dimensions and therefore, their proposition much as it is helpful is at times prone to changes. He further argues that the essence of marriage is to raise children. According to Kennedy, this obligation will be hampered if gay marriage is not legalized (Liptak 4).

ASSIGNMENT Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ASSIGNMENT - Annotated Bibliography Example two years revealed that the students had higher achievements in comprehension reading, vocabulary reading, and computation of mathematics, language expression and better interaction with other students. The handicapped students were more accepted than it was in the tradition school. The gifted students are also seen to perform well than it was before the project. The physically handicapped students are more appreciated by their peers and this helps them to explore their potential. They can do a lot of work and achieve more than their peers who are not handicapped. The author research clearly depicts that cooperation amongst teachers, parent, and children influences positively on the development of the child and their achievement. The author has also pointed out that the physically handicapped students can do well if they are not isolated fro others. There is no difference between the physically challenged student and the normal students when all are treated equally. The research is s ignificantly practical since it use the students as the subject as well as the audience. The second article was looking into the effects of peer collaboration on children arithmetic and self regulated learning skills. Peer collaboration groups were compared using the traditional method and the independent method to assess the changes amongst the children. The progress of the students was determined by their calculations, ability in arithmetic, self regulated learning in mathematics, as well as quantitative concepts. The outcomes of the test reveal hat there is no significant change in assessing between teaching methods when assessing arithmetic in calculation and total. Peer collaboration is effective than independent and traditional work for students’ intrinsic motivation. In the research, the author has concentrated on the interaction of the peers in their studies. Peer groups motivate each other, and most school should adopt group learning systems to motivate their students. The

Twitter Emerges as a Digital Marketing Tool Case Study

Twitter Emerges as a Digital Marketing Tool - Case Study Example Thousands of businesses in the United States are using tweeting as part of their marketing strategy. A survey revealed that over 88% of businesses in the U.S tweet messages to their customer base. The online connectivity of smartphones has made it easier than ever to follow tweets in real time. Key Marketing Issues Digital Media – consumers have become more accustomed to receiving their daily news through electronic media channels. One of the fastest growing media channels are social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Electronic Marketing – Electronic marketing has become more popular than ever in the 21 century. In 2011 the global online advertising industry generated $71 billion in revenues (Plunkett Research). Social network – Social networks have grown in popularity during the past few years. Facebook is the industry leader with over 845 million users (Facebook). Twitter has become more popular among business owners due to its ability to receive followers without having the need of being in the network of friends. Personal Case Analysis The case study showed the growing tendency of people being in love with social network websites. The interesting thing about the article was that it showed how companies are taking advantage of this lifestyle change among consumers. I think that companies should use Twitter because it is a cost effective way to market to a growing population of consumers that use the services of Twitter on a daily basis. People in the Unites States have become addicted to their smartphones. These devices can be used by people to follow tweets in real time from any location. Interactivity is a feature that brings a lot of excitement to consumers. Case Questions 1) Why is Twitter appealing to companies? Twitter is very appealing to companies because it provides firms with a cost effective marketing medium that can be used to reach thousands of customers instantly. Advertising on Twitter is very cheap in comparison with the advertising costs of traditional media channels such as television and radio. The size of the Twitter population is another attractive feature of the website. There are over 175 million users of Twitter (Carlson). Twitter gives companies the ability to interact with its users. The use of Twitter can be very effective to target younger buyers between the ages of 18 and 35 years of age. 2) How can Twitter be used to strengthen customer relationships and to gather customer feedback? Twitter is a great website because it connects people and businesses with each other. Customers that are interested in the products or services of a company can follow the latest company news using Twitter. Customer relationships can be reinforced by creating loyalty programs in Twitter that allow customers to receive special deals through the twitter feeds. Twitter can also be used as a tool to collect secondary data. â€Å"Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and readily av ailable from other sources† (Managementstudyguide). 3) What are some of the drawbacks of using Twitter as a marketing tool? Twitter can be a very effective marketing tool that can be implemented at a low cost, but there are certain drawbacks associated with its use. The use of Twitter for marketing purposes is limited to the reach of the medium. A lot of people are not users of social media websites. Other channels such as television and the written press have greater reach than Twitter. The use of Twitter is not as popular among senior citizens as it is among teenagers. Using Twitter as a sole marketing strategy does not let companies achieve adequate penetration among all demographic groups. Another drawback of the use of Twitter

Essential Features of Contemporary Organisations Essay Example for Free

Essential Features of Contemporary Organisations Essay This essay aims to discuss why teams and groups are seen as essential features of contemporary organisations. Firstly, it will examine what exactly constitutes a group or team, then it will go on to discuss different types of groups and teams which exist within an organisation. Next it will explain why groups and teams are key to contemporary organisations in particular and finally, it will discuss the disadvantages associated with groups within organisations. Firstly, it is important to distinguish what exactly constitutes a team or a group. As Khan (2010) states, all teams are groups because the individuals in it have some kind of of unifying relationship, but not all groups are teams because the individuals making up a group may have very little or no interdependence and they could just as well work alone. For the purposes of this essay we will assume that the terms team and group are interchangeable. Therefore, a group is a collection of individuals who share a common set of norms, who generally have differentiated roles among themselves, and who interact with one another toward the joint pursuit of common goals (Steers and Black, 1994). Within an organisation different types of groups exist and are essential for the day to day running of the company. Formal and informal groups are the most common groups found within organisations; where formal groups are the groups brought together by the organisation for a specific purpose for example, the human resources department and where informal groups are the social groups formed voluntarily by individuals within the organisation for example, people who share common interests. Businesses cannot exist without both formal and informal groups. Informal groups provide individuals with a means of gaining help and support to carry out their particular objectives (which may or may not be the same as the organisations objectives) (Handy, 1993 as cited in Kahn, 2010). Informal groups provide employees with the social contact they desire which makes them more agreeable in the work environment and as such more willing to participate actively in their formal groups. Open and closed groups also exist within organisations; where an open group is one whose membership changes frequently and a closed group is one whose membership is relatively stable. In a closed group status relationships are established among the members, meaning that there will be clear cut high status and low status members. Within an organisation the management can manipulate these different sets of groups in order to achieve their goals. For example, keeping decision making groups as open groups means that leadership roles are more difficult to establish amongst the members and thus high status members of the group will find it hard to establish norms and the team will work to its best potential. Many contemporary organisations are now spread globally, so it is of utmost importance for them to factor in another type of group, the virtual group. Virtual groups are able to come together regardless of time and space restrictions to work on resolving any issues. Thanks to advances of the world wide web, for the first time teams can virtually collocate all of the information they need to work together and put it all in context (Lipnack and Stamps, 1997). Virtual groups allow the organisation to respond quickly to any market changes, take pressure away from top management and instil a sense of belonging and importance amongst the employees. The virtual group is an important factor for global organisations as it allows for cultural diversity in the solutions which are proposed. For example, the Chinese office may have a different way of thinking than the American office, but through virtual groups it is easy to transfer this cultural knowledge to other areas of the business. A more and more technology driven marketplace pressurises organisations to respond quickly to changes but thanks to these technological advances, organisations can begin to use the world wide web to their benefit through virtual teams. Virtual teams allow the organisation to easily spread decision making to trusted individuals rather than only to top management. Groups can be essential to an organisations level of productivity. If there is a high level of group cohesiveness the group will experience high morale and will become a desirable entity to be part of within an organisation which means there will be plenty employees willing to compete with each other for a spot in the group, which in turn raises productivity. Managers need to control the size of groups in order to stay at an optimum level of productivity and also offer incentives like bonus pay for good performance to enhance the desirability of the group even further. Groups also relieve some of the responsibility of the manager, as they do not have to keep a constant eye on each individual employee, they can trust that group members will spur on the productivity of the group in order to gain the proposed incentives. Groups can provide an organisation with more than one solution to a proposed problem because as Maier (1967) states, a group has a greater knowledge store than that of any individual. Monitoring the size of groups here is vital from management, as with a large sized group there may be plenty of ideas generated, but they are not necessarily well formed ideas. Splitting groups into smaller member sizes will ensure the ideas are well thought out and in an extremely competitive marketplace, this is the best strategy for managers to ensure they have a variety high quality solutions to choose from instead of opting for the first good idea that comes to light. As beneficial as groups are to contemporary organisations, it is also useful to be aware of some of the risks that go along with groups within organisations. Even though it is believed that the quality of ideas or decisions made within a group will be higher than from an individual, people have been known to make riskier decisions within a group context than they would ever have made alone. The reason being people want to conform to group norms as shown in the tests conducted by Milgram (1963). Milgram showed how easily people can be influenced to stray from their initial beliefs for the norms of the group and also how easily people go back to their own beliefs if the group is in support of them through his experiments. This all shows how easily influenced people can be and how they will change their behaviour to that of their peers in order to avoid possible conflict. One further disadvantage of groups within organisations is the theory Groupthink which was developed by Irving Janis (1972) which states that once within groups individuals may lose sight of the end goal and instead only focus on reaching an agreement. If suffering from groupthink people may become over confident and invulnerable, they may view outsiders in negative terms and disregard their views and they may force different thinkers to conform to their ideas. Football fans tend to be affected by groupthink, for example, they get sucked into the group and follow the behaviour of others which is vastly different from the way they would act in their day to day lives. Managers can combat groupthink through a number of ways and thus maintain the effectiveness of the group entity to the organisation. In conclusion, groups and teams are essential features of contemporary organisations. Groups come in many forms and businesses cannot exist without the merging of all different types of group within the organisation. Virtual groups are key to contemporary organisations as they allow the organisation to stay up to date in the technology stakes and also allows them to merge great minds from the different corners of the globe. Groups with high levels of cohesiveness will increase the productivity of the organisation and can be encouraged and manipulated by management to remain productive. Although groups are essential features of organisations they do also come with their disadvantages, groups can lose their individuality and take even riskier decisions than they would ever do alone. From this essay it is clear that groups and teams are essential features of contemporary organisations as long as the top management understands the complexities of the group and keeps renewing membership s o as to gain the most benefits for the organisation. References Kahn, H (2010), â€Å"Groups and Conflict Management† (chapter 6), Organisational Behaviour, Heriot Watt University Steers, R. M and Black, J. S (1994) Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall Lipnack, J and Stamps, J (1997) Virtual Teams, [online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=171-FrLDhvUCoi=fndpg=PR17dq=virtual+teams+lipnackots=Bu_xw63cfIsig=Is-ymM KvujoYxynZKxXfIJ_tQs8#v=onepageqf=false [Accessed 4 November 2011] Maier, N (1967) â€Å"Assets and Liabilities In Group Problem Solving: The Need For An Integrative Function† Psychological Review, Vol 74(4) [online] Available at: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/rev/74/4/239/ [Accessed 4 November 2011] Milgram, S (1963). â€Å"Behavioural Study Of Obedience† Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67 [online] Available at: http://www.wadsworth.com/psychology_d/templates/student_resources/0155060678_rathus/ps/ps01.html [Accessed 4 November 2011] Janis, I. L (1972). â€Å"Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign Policy Decisions and Fiascoes† Houghton Miffin.

Comparing Human Resources United States And Japan Commerce Essay

Comparing Human Resources United States And Japan Commerce Essay Comparative HRM seeks to describe, compare and analyse the way human resource management and deployment is carried out in various countries amid the globalisation of businesses, people, goods and services. Although most HRM systems across the globe will contain similar key functions as recruitment, deployment, compensation, as well as training and development, the ways they are carried out in each country are very much influenced by the varying national culture and the institutional framework and settings. Differences in these contexts and environment play a key role in how HRM practices are carried out, defined and accepted across regions and nations. Universalist Vs Contextual Fundamentally, there are two approaches to exploring HRM: the universalist approach and the contextual (Brewster, 1999) approach. These two approaches are reflected in two further dichotomies: the cultural and institutional school of differences, and the convergence and divergence schools of thought. The universalist paradigm, which is dominant in the USA, assumes that the purpose of HRM is to improve the way human resources are managed strategically so as to achieve organisational performance and goals, as judged by its impact on a companys declared corporate strategy and its respective stakeholders (Brewster, 2011). Based upon this concept is the assumption that there exists a good standard practice of HRM which were characterised by the US Department of Labor (1993) as having certain characteristics: Careful and extensive systems for recruitment, selection and training Formal systems for sharing information with the individuals who work in the organisation Clear job design Local-level participation procedures Monitoring of attitudes Performance appraisals Properly functioning grievance procedures Promotion and compensation schemes that provide for the recognition and financial rewarding of high-performing members of the workforce. However, other researchers and practitioners, especially those with knowledge and interests in other countries, find the list contrary to their own experience and what they perceive of as good practice. For example, companies operating in a high power-distance environment with a heavy top-down management approach may not find it a necessity to implement local-level participation procedures or grievance channels. In contrasts, the contextual paradigm focus recognises that different HRM systems are contextually unique. It focuses on asking the hows and the whys of the existence of different perceptions and practices of HRM in different countries. The policies and practices of leading-edge companies are of less interest to contextualists than explaining how certain labour markets work and why certain practices are adopted by most. And contrary to the Universalist approach, measurement and attainment of organisational performance is secondary. Contextualists explore the importance of factors such as cultures, labour market regulations, role of governments, unions, and ownership structures in influencing HRM and accepts that within an organisation, people has differing views, beliefs, needs and requirements. The universalist paradigm excludes much of the work of HRM specialists in areas such as compliance, equality issues, trade union relationships and dealing with government and other governing bodies, due to its focus of operation within the level of the organisation. Contextualists, on the other hand, involve themselves beyond the organisation level to issues at the national or international level. Culturalist Vs Institutionalist Within the Contextualist paradigm, there are two schools of thought, namely the cultural school and the institutional school. Proponents of the culturalist approach would argue that national cultural differences while difficult to observe and measure, are important in shaping the ways human resources are managed and deployed across different countries or regions. Culture is defined as a set of shared values, assumptions and beliefs that are learnt through membership in a group, and that influence the attitudes and behavious of group members (Pankaj, G., 2011). This definition includes 3 key characteristics: First, culture can be understood as a group phenomenon that distinguishes people of one group from another. From this perspective, cultures exist at many different levels, including organizational funchtions or business units, occupational groups, organizations, industries, geographical regions, and nations (Kwok Leung 2005). Second, the above definition implies that culture is not obtained by birth but rather acquired through a process of socialization. The learning of shared values, assumptions and beliefs occurs through interactions family, teachers, officials, experiences and society at large. Geert Hofstede speaks of culture as a process of collective programming of the mind(Hofstede, G., 1980). Third, it is this collective programming that determines what is considered acceptable or attractive behaviour. In other words, cultural values provide preferences or priorities for one behaviour over another. Cultural value differences have persisted to exist despite some convergences in cultural habits, artefacts and symbols. For example, in Korea, employees observe a strict code of deference and utmost submissiveness to their superiors while a Swedish or Danish employee might feel more at ease to challenge their superiors over a differing opinion. Some cultures put more emphasis on honesty whilst others on loyalty to friends and relationships. From the perspective of institutional theory, organisational decision making is not an outcome just of strategic choice but also of powerful social forces within and outside organisations. The forces emanate from social institutions such as region, family, work, school, politics (Berger P.L. and Luckman T., 1967). The theory acknowledges that organisations operate within a specific political, economic, social and technological environment largely shaped by history. In order to be effective in that environment, these organisations need to manage in way that recognise the local circumstances and create and sustain legitimacy with key stakeholders. For example, in Europe compared to USA, the government plays a larger role in deciding how employees is to be protected of their jobs and what terms they are to be employed. Convergence Vs Divergence For at least four decades the international management literature has been characterized by two recurring and very central debates: on the macro (country) level the so-called convergence vs. divergence debate, which remains a key point of controversy in cross-cultural management; and, on the meso (company) level, the standardization vs. localization debate, one of the central questions in the literature on multinational corporations (MNCs). Since HRM deals with the management of people, it is often seen as one of the functions that will be least likely to converge across countries and where MNCs are more likely to localize their practices than to export their country-of-origin practices. While there is considerable support for this assumption, the question remains whether the increasing importance of globalization and the ever-growing presence of MNCs will not diminish the localization of practices. In this context, the dominance effect assumes particular importance. It occurs when management practices of subsidiaries are neither shaped in accordance to the host country (localization), nor to the home country (country-of-origin effect), but according to that country which sets the standards for what are perceived global best practices. (Markus ,P. and Anne-Wil, H. 2007) The convergence vs divergence debate is one between those who argue that all aspects of management are becoming more alike due to the forces of globalisation and those who believe that each country continues to have its own approach to management and HRM, in particular. Convergence can be viewed from a market-based perspective where the logic and diffusion of technology and data mean that in order to compete successfully, everyone will seek to adopt the most efficient management and HRM practices (Kidger P.J., 1991). The predominant model is assumed to be the US univeralist model (Smith C. and Meiskins P., 1995). This is also referred to as the dominance effect as mentioned above. From the institutional perspective, similar legislation or institutional framework across a region or group of countries e.g. the European Union would mean more similarities in the ways countries handle HRM. On the other end of the wider debate, the concepts of cultural differences and institutional theory would support the argument for divergence. Proponents of divergence theory do not believe that the same management or HRM practices can be used across different countries due to the shaping forces of cultural and institutional differences, and that practitioners must be aware of, understand and respond to these national differences. Hofstedes study of culture Professor Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of how values in the workplace are influenced by national culture. (Hofstede 1980, 2001) He started off with analyzing a large data base of employee values scores gathered by IBM between 1967 and 1973 covering more than 70 countries, from which he first started using the 40 different largest companies and further extended the analysis to 50 other countries. Hofstedes value dimensions comprise of Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Masculinity. Power distance  : Power distance is the extent to which the members of power distance organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. ( Hofstede 1980, 2001) Individualism vs.  collectivism: The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. In individualistic societies, the stress is put on personal achievements and individual rights. In contrast, the individuals in collectivist societies act predominantly as members of a lifelong and cohesive group or organization. Uncertainty  Avoidance: The focuses on the tolerance level for uncertainty and  ambiguity within the society. It reflects the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with  anxiety  by minimizing uncertainty. Masculinity  vs.  Femininity: The distribution of emotional roles between the  genders. Masculine cultures values are  competitiveness,  assertiveness,  materialism, ambition and power, whereas feminine cultures place more value on  relationships  and  quality of life. Geert Hofstede added a fifth dimension after conducting an additional international study using a Chinese value survey instrument developed within the Chinese region. Hofstede described this dimension as Confusion Dynamism which is also known as Long Term Orientation. Long-Term Orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation: The degree of focus on the society embraces dealing with virtue. Societies with a short-term orientation generally have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth. In societies with a long-term orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on circumstance, contexture and timing. Japan HRM practices vs. America HRM practices Japan as one of the world major growing economies, has a homogenous culture which many countries have tried to emulate the management policies and practices with varying degrees of success. The Japanese society is highly characterised by a strong sense of group and community. Strong loyalty enrooted in their character, for which they are prepared to sacrifice their personal interests for the benefit of the group. In contrast, America being the world most dominant leader, has a influential management style and culture contexts. The rest of the world has looked upon it as models and sources of managerial innovations. American strong strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people make it the top notch leader in todays Human Resource Management. Differences in Power Distance between Japan and America Japanese are mindful of their hierarchical position in any social setting and act accordingly to the existing culture. Culture in Japan are define as high power distance as mostly of the decisions must be confirmed by each hierarchical layer and finalised by the top management. An example is the Ringi method of decision making. This process involves a great deal of informal consultation and leads to the preparation of a written proposal which is circulated to affected employees by the implementation and then to the senior management level. Being a particularistic country, employees in Japanese company are treated based on ranks and seniority and the number of years they served in that particular company. Long term and life-time employment are often offer for regular core employees who are loyal and display commitment to the company. On the other hand, American displayed small power distance. They tends to treat people fairly. American hierarchy is being established for convenience purpose. Communication is open, informal and direct. They tends to express what they exactly mean without talking around things. Leaders are approachable and accessible and individuals are being rely based on their expertise. Collectivistic Japanese vs. Individualism American Japanese society shows many characteristics of being a collectivistic society and also being classified as collectivistic by Western standards. The integration of the individual into groups is part of the principal goal in Japanese society. Relationship and harmony becomes an crucial part of the working society and prevails over business itself. Mass focus in strong group -cohesiveness include extended families such as putting harmony of group above the expression of individual opinions is the differentiated characteristics in which Japanese displayed. The Japanese emphasize teamwork, participation and leadership in the organisation. They discourages open expression and open conflict because of the importance of avoiding embarrassment. American comprises highly individualistic culture. They are self-focused and prefer to act as individuals rather than members of the group. There is individual freedom and success to purse ones career progression and interests and they believe individuals can shape and control ones destinies. Employees are more concerned with their own careers and personal success rather than the goals of the organisation. They do at times, displayed collectivism in the face of a common threat. Masculinity focus vs. Masculinity focus in Japan and America Japan is one of the most masculine societies in the world which is highly driven by competition, achievement and success. Even at the very young age, they are being taught on the importance of winning. And in corporate Japan, employees strive to the best of their abilities when they are fighting against their competitors in winning. On the other hand, It is still tentatively hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their masculine norm of long working hours which result in high  discrimination against woman. In contrast, Male seniors are still much more appreciated and stand a higher chance in achieving the promotion opportunities. American are ambitious, competitive, goal oriented and high achievers. American tends to display and talk openly in a friendly manner on their achievements. In the States, hiring and firing employees are justify accordingly on the market conditions. Employees are employ based on individual skills and working experience. Hiring and promotion decisions are based on the basis merits as opposed to status, hierarchy and gender. The American system is performance orientated and job status is based on the performance of their job scope. Many new hires are professional who are highly educated and well-trained. High Uncertainty Japan vs. Low Uncertainty Avoidance America Japan is rank as one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries which is easily differentiated from the rest of the countries. They dislike uncertainty and everything must be in good control without any uncertainty occurring. Japanese spent a lot of time and effort into feasibility studies and all risk factors must be minimize before any decision is make. Detailed facts and figures must also be provided for supporting every decision the organisation makes. This high degree for uncertainty avoidance is one of the reasons why changes are still so difficult to realize in current Japan. America are being describe as most uncertainty accepting country. There is a large degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try new invention. Americans are more tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression.   They accept risks and are risk-takers. American live more easily with uncertainly and skeptical about rules and regulations. They believe all problems can be solved and all obstacles will be overcome. Long-Term Orientation in Japan vs. Short-Term Orientation in America Japan being long term orientation is seen in the consistent high rate in terms of investment and research and development even in economically down time. Japanese prefer to progress slowly towards a long-term goal. Values associated with long-tem orientation are thrift, perseverance and making sacrifices for the future. Japanese embraces long-term commitments and sacrifice for a purpose. Serving the stakeholders and future generation are the long term commitment for most Japanese company at current. American orientation dimension focus on short term oriented culture. They measure their business as a short term basis as they are performance-oriented and result-oriented. Individuals are drives for quick results and are expect to produce quick results in the shortest time. American value the past and current resulting in respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations. Varieties of Capitalism Facing the globalization process national economies and their institutional arrangements are confronted with the increasing competition to each other in order to generate the best economical results as national wealth growth, high employment etc. The liberal argumentation in this issue supports therefore institutional deregulation and the welfare-state retrenchment as the adequate responses to the challenge and names the economies of the USA and of the UK as the successful models of capitalism. In their opinion, the less liberal market economies as f. ex. Germany, Sweden, France or Japan should change their institutional arrangements into liberal ones to keep competitive on the global markets. The varieties of capitalism approach to the political economy is actor-centered, which is to say we see the political economy as a terrain populated by several actors, each of whom seeks to advance his interest in a rational way of strategic interactions with others. In which the relevant actors may be individuals, firms, producer groups, or government related. LME Vs CME Liberal market economies (LMEs), which coordinate activities via hierarchies and competitive market arrangements, classically described by Williamson. The LME system is based on arms-length exchange of goods and services, in the context of competition and formal contracting. Actors adjust to the price signals generated by markets. In many cases an effective coordination is achieved and equilibrium outcomes of firms behavior are given by supply and demand. Coordinated market economies (CMEs),  which make more use of non-market relations. Key elements of non-market relations are extensive relational investment, incomplete contracts and network monitoring based on the exchange of private information within networks, as opposed to competitive behavior. Both LMEs and CMEs have institutional capacities-albeit different capacities-for being competitive. For instance, firms in LMEs tend to compete on the basis of low cost and radical product innovation. Why? Because LMEs have institutions like weakly regulated labor markets as well as financial systems that impose short-term investment horizons but allow high risk taking. These enable firms to keep labor costs down, shed labor and close plants quickly, shift capital rapidly from one industry to another, and invest in risky but potentially revolutionary and lucrative research and development projects. In contrast, firms in CMEs compete more on the basis of quality and incremental innovation, such as adopting breakthrough technologies developed elsewhere. This is because CMEs have institutions like cooperative industrial relations systems within firms, coordinated wage bargaining across firms, national vocational training programs, and financial systems that allow for long-term investmen t horizons. These produce highly skilled managers and workers who tend to cooperate in planning, trouble shooting, and the introduction of the latest technologies in ways that enhance product quality (Hall and Soskice 2001b; Soskice 1999; Streeck 1991). This is not to say that all LMEs and CMEs perform successfully. Many firms in a coordinated market economies employ productive strategies that rely on highly skilled labor force given substantial work and encourage to share information it acquires in order to generate continuous improvements in product lines and productive processes. However, companies which adopt such strategies are vulnerable to hold up by their employees and stealing of skilled workers by other companies. Labour legislation in United States Wages Working Hours In US, the Department of Labor enforces the  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards. (US Department of Labor, 30.10.12). The Act requires that employees must receive at least the  minimum wage  of $7.25 per hour and may not be employed for more than 40 hours in a week without receiving at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for the  overtime  hours. Overtime Pay: Not less than one and one-half times regular rate of pay Vacation and Sick Leave The  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employees representative). The  Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)  provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain medical and family situations (e.g., adoption) for either the employee or a member of the covered and eligible employees immediate family; however, in many instances paid leave may be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. Severance Pay Severance pay is often granted to employees upon termination of employment. It is usually based on length of employment for which an employee is eligible upon termination. There is no requirement in the  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)  for severance pay. Severance pay is a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employees representative). The  Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)  may be able to assist an employee who did not receive severance benefits under their employer-sponsored plan. Equal Opportunity Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment, on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. This law is enforced by the  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Unemployment insurance programs In general, the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own (as determined under State law), and meet other eligibility requirments of State law. Unemployment insurance payments (benefits) are intended to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers who meet the requirements of State law. Each State administers a separate unemployment insurance program within guidelines established by Federal law. Eligibility for unemployment insurance, benefit amounts and the length of time benefits are available are determined by the State law under which unemployment insurance claims are established. In addition to helping workers and their families, the Unemployment Insurance programs play a key role in helping businesses, communities, and the nations economy. The program helps cushion the impact of economic downturns and brings economic stability to communities, states, and the nation by providing temporary income support for laid-off workers. Unions and their members The  Labour-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA)  of 1959 deals with the relationship between a union and its members. It protects union funds and promotes union democracy by requiring labour organizations to file annual financial reports, by requiring union officials, employers, and labour consultants to file reports regarding certain labour relations practices, and by establishing standards for the election of union officers. The act is administered by the Office of Labour-Management Standards (OLMS). Summary In summary, we can see that the labour system in United States is fairly open with moderate regulation with emphasis on human rights with regards to minimum wages and equality of employment. Most of the other aspects of labour employment including severance pay, vacation pay, sick leave are left to the agreement between each firm and their employees. This is in line with their low uncertainty avoidance culture in which they accept risks and are risk-takers. American live more easily with uncertainty about rules and regulations. They believe all problems can be solved and all obstacles will be overcome with the right resolve. As Americans generally display small power distance, they tend to treat people fairly. American hierarchy is being established for convenience, communication is open, informal and direct. This could be one of the reasons behind their Labour-Management Report and Disclosure Act and the foundation behind the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This open-culture nature of labour regulation would be a big draw for multinational corporations who are seeking overseas expansion in the face of globalization. Labour legislation in Japan Wages Working hours Japans Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare dictates that an employer shall not have a worker work more than 40 hours per week, excluding rest periods, and more than 8 hours per day for each day of the week, excluding rest periods. (Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, 27.10.2012) Overtime Pay In the event that an employer extends the working hours or has a worker work on a day off, the employer shall pay increased wages for work during such hours or on such days at a rate no less than the rate stipulated by cabinet order within the range of no less than 25 percent and no more than 50 percent over the normal wage per working hour or day; provided, however, than in the event that the working hour thus extended exceed 60 hours per month, the employer shall pay increased wages for work during those hours at a rate no less than 50 percent over the normal wage per working hour. The Ministry may prescribe changes to these standards or limits or other items as they deem appropriate. Rest periods An employer shall provide workers with at least 45 minutes of rest periods during working hours in the event that working hours exceed 6 hours, and at least one hour in the event that working hours exceed 8 hours. Annual Leave An employer shall also grant annual paid leave in accordance to the following table. Number of years of continuous service from the 6 months completion day Working days 1 year 1 working day 2 years 2 working days 3 years 4 working days 4 years 6 working days 5 years 8 working days 6 years or more 10 working days Dismissal A dismissal shall, where the dismissal lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not considered to be appropriate in general societal terms, be treated as a misuse of that right and invalid. An employer shall not dismiss a worker during a period of absence from work for medical treatment with respect to injuries or illnesses suffered in the course of employment nor within 30 days thereafter, and shall not dismiss a woman during a period of absence from work before and after childbirth nor within 30 days thereafter; provided, however, that this shall not apply in the event that the employer pays compensation for discontinuance in accordance nor when the continuance of the enterprise has been made impossible by a natural disaster or other unavoidable reason. In the event that an employer wishes to dismiss a worker, the employer shall provide at least 30 days advance notice. An employer who does not give 30 days advance notice shall pay the average wages for a period of not less than 30 days; provided, however, that this shall not apply in the event that the continuance of the enterprise has been made impossible by a natural disaster or other unavoidable reason nor when the worker is dismissed for reasons attributable to the worker. Equal Treatment An employer shall not engage in discriminatory treatment with respect to wages, working hours or other working conditions by reason of the nationality, creed or social status of any worker. In addition, under the Principle of Equal Wages for Men and Women), an employer shall not engage in discriminatory treatment of a woman as compared with a man with respect to wages by reason of the worker being a woman. Employment Insurance System Employment insurance in Japan is an obligatory insurance managed by the government and it is compulsory for any enterprise which employs more than one worker. Under this scheme, benefits are granted to the unemployed, to workers who are having trouble continuing their employment and to those who voluntarily receive vocational training. It aims to promote workers welfare and prevent unemployment by increasing work opportunities and skills training. Summary On the contrary from the United States system, labour employment conditions in Japan are very much regulated and controlled by the government. This is due in part to the fact that Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries. They dislike uncertainty and everything must be in good control without any uncertain occurring. As such, this is the need for many specific standards and limits in the form of exact figures to avoid ambiguity and confusion. There is also government emphasis on gender discrimination as Japan is a highly-masculine society. These rules protect working women as it is still tentatively hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their masculine norm of long working hours which result in high  discrimination against woman. An interesting point to note is that their labour legislation takes into account the impact of natural disasters on employment terms and agreements. Quite appropriate since Japan is an earthquake-prone country. Japan