Free Essays on Amazon Report

Amazon Report This report analyzes the performance of Amazon.com stock relative to their financial performance. The report focuses on the current state of the capital market, Amazon’s earnings trends, ratio analysis, and analyst recommendations. The report concludes with an investment recommendation based on the information obtained by the analysis. All ratios were computed using financial information obtained from Amazon’s 10-K filings from 1999-2002. 2003 financial information was obtained from Amazon’s 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003. Current State of Capital Market The United States economy is still experiencing a significant recession, which has weakened the capital markets. Over the past five years stock prices have experienced massive fluctuations. This is especially pertinent to technology stocks such as Amazon. The graph below illustrates Amazon’s stock performance over the past five years. Amazon’s stock has fluctuated drastically since 1999. In light of the current economy, it is reasonable to assume that this stock will continue this trend, and begin declining soon. Earnings Trends The graph below shows Amazon’s net income since 1999: Amazon has reported net losses in every year of operations. While the amount of losses has been decreasing since 2000, it is not likely that the Company will report earnings in 2003. The market tends to react poorly to reported losses. While Amazon’s stock may continue to rise through year-end, the price is likely to decline significantly when Amazon reports net losses early in 2004. Ratio Analysis The following section examines trends in Amazon’s liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios since 1999. Liquidity Liquidity ratios measure Amazon’s ability to meet its short-term debt and include the current ratio and quick ratio. The following chart illustrates trends in Amazon’s liquidity ratios: Amazon’s curr... Free Essays on Amazon Report Free Essays on Amazon Report Amazon Report This report analyzes the performance of Amazon.com stock relative to their financial performance. The report focuses on the current state of the capital market, Amazon’s earnings trends, ratio analysis, and analyst recommendations. The report concludes with an investment recommendation based on the information obtained by the analysis. All ratios were computed using financial information obtained from Amazon’s 10-K filings from 1999-2002. 2003 financial information was obtained from Amazon’s 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003. Current State of Capital Market The United States economy is still experiencing a significant recession, which has weakened the capital markets. Over the past five years stock prices have experienced massive fluctuations. This is especially pertinent to technology stocks such as Amazon. The graph below illustrates Amazon’s stock performance over the past five years. Amazon’s stock has fluctuated drastically since 1999. In light of the current economy, it is reasonable to assume that this stock will continue this trend, and begin declining soon. Earnings Trends The graph below shows Amazon’s net income since 1999: Amazon has reported net losses in every year of operations. While the amount of losses has been decreasing since 2000, it is not likely that the Company will report earnings in 2003. The market tends to react poorly to reported losses. While Amazon’s stock may continue to rise through year-end, the price is likely to decline significantly when Amazon reports net losses early in 2004. Ratio Analysis The following section examines trends in Amazon’s liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios since 1999. Liquidity Liquidity ratios measure Amazon’s ability to meet its short-term debt and include the current ratio and quick ratio. The following chart illustrates trends in Amazon’s liquidity ratios: Amazon’s curr...

Role of the White House Press Corps in American Democracy

Role of the White House Press Corps in American Democracy The White House press corps is a group of about 250 journalists whose job is to write about, broadcast and photograph the activities and policy decisions made by the  president of the United States and his administration. The White House press corps is comprised of  print and digital reporters, radio and television journalists, and photographers and videographers employed by competing  news organizations.   What makes the journalists  in the White House press corps unique among political beat reporters is their physical proximity to the president of the United States, the most powerful elected official in the free world, and his administration. Members of the White House press corps travel with the president and are hired to follow his every move.   The job of White House correspondent is considered to be among the most prestigious positions in political journalism because, as one writer put it, they work in a town where proximity to power is everything, where grown men and women would forsake a football field size suite of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for a shared cubicle in a bullpen in the West Wing. The First White House Correspondents The first journalist considered to be a White House correspondent was William â€Å"Fatty† Price, who was trying out for a job at the Washington Evening Star. Price, whose 300-pound frame earned him the nickname, was directed to go to the White House to find a story in President Grover Cleveland’s administration in 1896. Price made a habit of stationing himself outside the North Portico, where White House visitors couldn’t escape his questions. Price got the job and used the material he gathered to write a column called â€Å"At the White House.† Other newspapers took notice, according to W. Dale Nelson, a former Associated Press reporter and author of â€Å"Who Speaks For the President?: The White House Press Secretary from Cleveland to Clinton.† Wrote Nelson: â€Å"Competitors quickly caught on, and the White House became a news beat.† The first reporters in the White House press corps worked sources from the outside in, loitering on the White House grounds.  But they insinuated themselves into the presidents residence in the early 1900s, working over a single table in President Theodore Roosevelts White House. In a 1996 report,  The White House Beat at the Century Mark, Martha Joynt Kumar wrote for Towson State University and The Center for Political Leadership and Participation at the University of Maryland: The table was perched outside of the office of the Presidents secretary, who briefed reporters on a daily basis. With their own observed territory, reporters established a property claim in the White House. From that point forward, reporters had space they could call their own. The value of their space is found in its propinquity to the President and to his Private Secretary. They were outside the Private Secretarys office and a short walk down the hall from where the President had his office. Members of the White House press corps eventually won their own press room in the White House. They occupy a space in the West Wing to this day and are organized in the White House Correspondents Association.   Why Correspondents Get to Work in the White House There are three key developments that made journalists a permanent presence in the White House, according to Kumar. They are: The precedents set in coverage of specific events including the death of President James Garfield  and as the constant presence of reporters on presidential trips. Presidents and their White House staffs got used to having reporters hanging around and, finally, let them have some inside work space, she wrote.Developments in the news business. News organizations gradually came to view the President and his White House as subjects of continuing interest to their readers, Kumar wrote.Heightened public awareness of presidential power as a force in our national political system. The public developed an interest in presidents at a time when the chief executive was called upon to provide direction in domestic and foreign policy on a more routine basis than had previously been the case, Kumar wrote.   The journalists assigned to cover the president are stationed in a dedicated â€Å"press room† located in the West Wing of the president’s residence. The journalists meet almost daily with the president’s press secretary in the James S. Brady Briefing Room, which is named for the press secretary to President Ronald Reagan. Role in Democracy The journalists who made up the White House press corps in its early years had far more access to the president than the reporters of today. In the early 1900s, it was not uncommon for news reporters to gather around the desk of the president and ask questions in rapid-fire succession. The sessions were unscripted and unrehearsed, and therefore often yielded actual news. Those journalists provided an objective, unvarnished first draft of history and an up-close account of the presidents every move. Reporters working in the White House today have far less access to the president and his administration and are presented with little information by the presidents press secretary. Daily exchanges between the president and reporters - once a staple of the beat - have almost been eliminated, the Columbia Journalism Review reported in 2016. Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh told the publication: â€Å"I’ve never seen the White House press corps so weak. It looks like they are all angling for invitations to a White House dinner.† Indeed, the prestige of the White House press corps has been diminished over the decades, its reporters seen as accepting spoonfed information. This is an unfair assessment; modern presidents have worked to obstruct journalists from gathering information. Relationship With the President The criticism that members of the White House press corps are too cozy with the president is not a new one; it most surfaces under Democratic administrations because members of the media are often seen as being liberal. That the White House Correspondents Association holds an annual dinner attended by U.S. presidents does not help matters.   Still, the relationship between almost every modern president and the White House press corps has been rocky. The stories of intimidation perpetrated by presidential administrations on journalists are legendary - from Richard Nixons ban on reporters who wrote unflattering stories about him, to Barack Obamas crackdown on leaks and threats on reporters who didnt cooperate, to George W. Bushs statement that the media claim they didnt represent America and his use of executive privilege to hide information from the press.   Even Donald Trump has threatened to kick reporters out of the press room, at the beginning of his term. His administration considered the media â€Å"the opposition party. To date, no president has tossed the press out of the White House, perhaps out of deference to the age-old strategy of keeping friends close - and perceived enemies closer. More Reading The Fascinating History of the White House Press Room: Town CountryThe President, the Press and Proximity: White House Historical AssociationThe Press Has Always Been a Guest in the President’s Home: LongreadsHistory of the White House Correspondents’ Association: White House Correspondents’ AssociationThe White House Beat at the Century Mark:  Martha Joynt KumarDo We Need a White House Press Corps?: Columbia Journalism Review

Freedom based of the book the white tiger Essay

Freedom based of the book the white tiger - Essay Example Let the people of the country not allow any organization to which they belong, to become loose and inefficient and let them remain loyally disposed to the cause of ideal of work. But the rich class will not allow this to happen and they wish to keep the poor section of the society to remain poor for their vested interests. The rich and the powerful want the average citizen to remain docile and enmeshed in poverty and subjugation, and keep busy to solve domestic and economic problems. The poor work hard; the rich work intelligently and know the art of switching over every situation to their advantage and deny the opportunity to the oppressed to free themselves from the shackles. Reverting to the issue Balaram Halwai, who styles himself as an entrepreneur, declares, â€Å"Please understand, Your Excellency, that India is two countries in one: an India of Light, and an India of Darkness.† (12)He is pleading for the poor of India, as compared to the super rich to whom aggrandizement of wealth is the way of life. Balaram has serious complaints against the working of democracy in India. Majority of the Indians are not free in the real sense. Constitutional provisions and passing legislations in the name of the poor will not bring freedom and economic prosperity. The author cites the representative example of his village and argues, â€Å"These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines of sewage. It was even worse than Laxmangarh.†(222) Elections, the very process of democracy, are rigged. Balram asserts, â€Å"I am India’s most faithful voter, and I have still not seen the inside of a voting booth.†(86) He compares the process of election with darkness because, the process is not fair and many malpractices happen during the election, often with the connivance of those who are in charge of conducting the

Visual culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Visual culture - Essay Example They also play a big role in deciding what kind of attitude we develop for our values and how we manage and develop social relationships in practical terms. While different visual media have been examined independently, â€Å"there is now a need to interpret the postmodern globalization of the visual as everyday life† (Mirzoeff, 1999, p. 3). The power of visuality is enormous in many aspects. It is an undeniable reality that visual culture specifically visual imagery in the form of different advertisements, comics, television plays, and internet has a lot to do with almost all actions we take in everyday life which is why contemporary culture is widely considered to be a visual culture. â€Å"Visual culture does not depend on pictures themselves but the modern tendency to picture or visualize existence† (Mirzoeff, 1999, p. 5). The ability to interpret visual information is so remarkable that it is claimed to serve as â€Å"the basis of industrial society and is becomin g even more important in the information age† (Mirzoeff, 1999, p. 5). ... In fact this interaction is so huge in terms of internet used and television daily watched etc. that one cannot remain oblivious to it. This essay is primarily based on contemplating the effects produced by visual images on managing behavior, values, and relationships. Throughout this essay I will discuss the role played by modern technology in our daily lives and explore multiple ways in which visual imagery prompts us and restricts us to perform any activity or in any social relation basically identifying the benefits offered by visual images. I will also make use of examples augmenting my argument to discuss how and why visual culture holds such fundamental importance in our lives presently. General consensus is that visual images form a rich and dense source of cultural information and encode the obvious relationship between culture and behavior management. The trend towards dominance of image continues to foment with the rise of visual reality and the Internet â€Å"combined wi th the global popularity of television, videotape, and film† (Mirzoeff, 1999, p. 9). A culture dominated by visual has often been criticized to be second-rate and this criticism has long history â€Å"for there always has been a hostility to visual culture in Western thought. All such criticism implies that a visually dominated culture must be impoverished or even schizophrenic† (Mirzoeff, 1999, pp. 9-10). Presence of visual images is so profound now thanks to the Internet facility available everywhere at quite cheap rates that many systems have started depending solely on different visual mediums. â€Å"Internet has come to function as a commodity-delivery system for vastly expanded media companies† (Stratton, cited in Nakamura, 2007, p. 3). It is true that some visual images

The Ferocious creature Essay Example for Free

The Ferocious creature Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, takes place during the antebellum era, and revolves around a young boy, named Huck. The antebellum era was the years right before the Civil War, so Huck was living in a dark and murky time in American History. Huck starts off by living with The Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, who is trying to civilize him or make him to be what the perfect child should look like and make him act how a perfect child should act. Huck does not want that. He just wants to live how he wants, just like most youth want. In the novel, Huckleberry Finn befriends a runaway slave, Jim, and his adventures begin. According to Dennis Puopard, Mark Twain exposed many of the dark problems of antebellum United States. Some say Mark Twain wrote this episodic novel as a boys adventure story and that Huck is a character that children should look up to. (422) Modern readers do not see Huckleberry Finn as a childrens book because the book is racist, there a themes of lying, and characters object and criticize authority. Because, modern readers see the book as improper for children The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is on the banned books list on many school in the United States. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are racial slurs, lies, and profanity. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a childrens book in todays society because of the prominent theme of race. The topic of race and racism is strong in todays society. If a modern American citizen uses racial slurs against another race in a hurtful way that citizen would be convicted with a criminal offense. A racial slur such as the word nigger is not tolerable todays society. The word nigger was used to belittle and dehumanize African American slaves, such as Jim, in antebellum United States. Through out the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain includes racial slurs such as the word, nigger toward African American characters, such as Jim and other slaves. Good gracious! anybody hurt? Nom. Killed a nigger. Well, its lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt. ( Twain 109). This quote shows how the white society views Jim different then themselves. They view Jim as property rather than a human with a living breathing heart. This dialoged between two white characters just shows how hurtful and cruelly someone can sound just by taking. Barbra L. Jackson professor at Fordham University in New York City says, It is hard to teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a diverse class because of its racial views. (63). If a college professor has a hard time teaching the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to her class, how can it be easy for high school students who are studding the novel, or even young boys whom pick up the book and start reading it? Also, Barbra L. Jackson says, I always see a lack in participation, when studying the book, the students do not want to read out loud, (64). The students do not feel right saying nigger out loud because they do not want to offend any of their classmates. The students know that the word, nigger is a taboo in modern society. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be taught or read to children because of the racial slurs. The type of racial language that Mark Twain uses in the book is offensive and crude. The exposure of the racial slurs to young children would be harmful. The young children will think it is okay to say the new words they discover from reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which would get them into trouble in the future.

The Roaring Twenties and The Savings and Loan Crisis :: American History Economics

The Roaring Twenties and The Savings and Loan Crisis The movie It's A Wonderful Life starts off in the town of Bedford Falls in the time period just prior to the Great Depression. (I will discuss the Great Depression in more detail in a later essay). It is a prosperous time-the "Roaring Twenties." Many people have invested money in the stock market and are earning quite a bit of money, there are many parties had by all with music, food and drinks, and good company and fun. There are also an abundance of inventions (such as the radio) being introduced into the economy. Furthermore, more people are able to afford such luxuries as telephones, electricity, transportation, etc†¦ During this time, in general, a lot of exchange seems to be occurring, as well as overall rapid technological change. This time period is also associated with the rise to dominance of the capitalist system, as more and more people were changing from being self-employed farmers to becoming employees who were paid a wage for their labor time. Another characteristic associated with the 1920s is the growth and expansion of the financial sector. This of course makes sense and seems justified and logical as, in order for the business sector to expand, access to capital (monetary resources) is necessary so that machinery can be bought and labor be "purchased" and employed. The financial sector (banks) took the household savings which were deposited and then loaned them out to big businesses. The big businesses were then able to continue expanding and improving and hiring people, and thus this helped to perpetuate the prosperous economic environment of the 1920s. The Buildings and Loan, as shown in the movie, (the same as what we refer to as the Savings and Loan Industry) was instituted so that individuals (not corporations) might borrow money to build homes. Therefore, where individuals were previously unable to borrow funds, they now could through this institution. This also seemed to help spur along the prosperous envi ronment of the 1920s-at least for a while. In 1929 when the financial markets collapsed, corporations could no longer afford to purchase new machinery or pay for more workers. Workers could not afford to purchase things because they were not making enough money from their wages. This decrease in demand further caused the companies to stop producing goods and to lay off more workers.

Amiri Baraka- Black Arts Movement

The Black Arts Movement Experience The spirit of the 1960s’ Black Arts Movement is captured in Amiri Baraka’s â€Å"AM/Trak,† which addresses the theory of the underlying relationship between art and culture. This simple theory of how culture works and how art reflects and influences the culture that produces it was the whole purpose of the literary movement led by Baraka. In order for one to understand their own experiences, they must acknowledge what factors have influenced how they have shaped their lives.By doing so, they will self-consciously discover and create themselves. The basis of Baraka’s poem, â€Å"AM/Trak† illustrates the defining concept of the Black Arts Movement; the notion of creating identity influenced by experiencing racial and social alienation. The development of a modernized black culture is continually drawn to question because there are many outliers that can influence the basic fundamentals of experience. â€Å"What make s experience such an important concept for Baraka is how it frames the relation between the individual and the collective†(Punday 782).The Black Arts Movement was a period of an assembled reaction against several things including the Korean War, capitalism, and the assassination of Malcom X. Although Baraka incorporates these historical events into â€Å"AM/Trak†, the history of the Beats is approached more by expressing an individual’s reaction, rather than a single technical change or influence of history on society. The appreciation of the degree of exposure from an artist or individual models how the Beats linked the identity of black culture to specific trials and tribulations.A desirable relationship between culture and society is a focalized theme in African American literature, but has been obliterated by the constant severance between historical transitions and the lack of ethical alertness (Quayson 1). Isolation of the African American population from w hite America has been influenced by harsh racism and inequality for several centuries. Although the discrimination thrived for thousands of years, the collective attitude towards the relations of the past began to deviate into a different outlook in the 1960s.The black community began to celebrate an emphasized change when exercising their self-proclaimed freedom of personal expression to improve social and economic conditions of the African American community (Yost 2). In order to establish a distinct black identity against the social reality of separation, they incorporated music, literature, and other forms of art as a way of advocating their presence not only in the United States, but the world.Baraka captures the true meaning of the new scholarly awakening with the influence of the Beat-generation by describing John Coltrane in â€Å"AM/Trak†, in which he uses a distinct style of writing to portray not only the life of the artist, but specific annotations of his music. T he musical embodiment of his work prevails that he was undoubtedly a major contributor to the spirit of the 1960s’. By analyzing Coltrane’s passion and transformation during this decade with extreme expression and struggle against racism, â€Å"AM/Trak† is brought to life: Trane was the spirit of the 60’sHe was Malcom X in New Super Bop Fire Bahhhhhh Wheeeeeee . . . Black Art!!! (152-155). The poem is a clear representation of not only the musical development of John Coltrane’s career and repressed life, but also the importance of how African-American musical expression extrapolates the expectations and contributions of individuals under the pressure of alienation (Quayson 3). According to literary critic, Henry Lacey, Baraka uses imagery to encompass the variety of ways the poem portrays the inspiring musician to be the â€Å"interpreter of the Black experience† through his music (Lacey 14).The different stages of achievements, hardships, a nd responses during Coltrane’s life are a direct narrative of the same ones produced throughout the history of the Black American life. There is an undeniable similarity of technical elements displayed in Amiri Baraka’s writing that support the same individualist revolution. One painful aspect of the African American experience begins with the lack of consciousness influenced by authority and pressure. Baraka begins the second section of the poem by describing the early experiences of Coltrane’s career in a very degrading fashion.The mood of the poem immediately digresses when Baraka mentions the names of alto saxophonist, Johnny Hodges, John Burks Gillespie, and Eddie Vinson and Blues vocalist, Big Maybelle (Lacey 15). Amiri even incorporates an allusion from Langston Hughes poem â€Å"Jazzonia,† in which he writes †Trees in the shining night forest† (Lacey 16). The tree is used as a direct reference to the lack of originality Coltrane embodi es while he works with the Joe Webb Blues Band, followed by Miles Davis.As the poem continues, the depression of the main character develops into a substance addiction and even an abusive relationship with a fellow musician, Davis. In fact, Amiri uses the word â€Å"honk† to symbolize the repetition of his continued unimportance at performances and as cry for help in the only way he knew how to; musical expressionism. It was not until Coltrane could accept his past and everything he had learned, that he could regain full consciousness of his true identity and potential future as a great musician.Similarly, the Black Arts Movement began in spite of depression and the constant repetition of haunting racism. More specifically, the death of civil rights activist, Malcom X, hindered Amiri Baraka’s determination to reform the presence of the African American culture in the United States. Consequently, the African American culture endured a period of recovery, as did Coltrane . Coltrane quest to continue searching for his identity as a musician began again by joining Thelonious Sphere Monk, co-founder of bebop, in part four of â€Å"AM/Trak† (Lacey 18).Baraka’s disjunctive mood swings represent how Coltrane conveys his emotions with Monk’s unique style of expressionism and unexpected musical transitions to understand music on a deeper level. Which then leads to the entire Be-bop movement. Coltrane uses this time as a period of regaining consciousness of the experiences that have shaped him. There was nothing left to do but be where Monk cd find him that crazy mother fucker duh duh-duh duh-duh duh duh duh duh duh-duh duh-duh duh duh duh duh duh-duh duh-duh duh duh duh uh Duuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh (71-80). At first glance, the lines representing Monk’s compositions differ from any syntax or vocabulary used in the previous allusions. Baraka uses the distinct sounds of Monk’s work in a disjunctive manner that can only be approach ed if read aloud. When read aloud, the simple word transforms into a series of playful melodies. â€Å"Trane stood and dug / Crazy monk’s shit,† provides substantial evidence that the short time spent with Monk, Shadow Wilson, and Wilbur Ware had a lasting impact on John Coltrane’s career.In fact, it also suggests the sources essential to his success in music were also responsible for shaping his identity despite past alienation and struggle. Similarly to many African Americans during the Blacks Art Movement, Coltrane was allowed to completely expose himself. â€Å"This was Coltrane’s College. A Ph motherfuckin d / Of Master T Sphere† (100,104). As Amiri Baraka wrote the poem, he also established symbolism that the reader may relate to exemplify Coltrane’s efforts to battle several obstacles.Accordingly, in American society graduating college and especially receiving your PhD is one of the highest accomplishments recognized in our country. U tilizing this metaphor near the end of section four not only summarizes his success, but also leads the reader to question, ‘What’s Next? ’ because of the lengthy section that follows. â€Å"AM/Trak† undergoes another mood change as section five introduces the destructive forces of class struggle and maintaining true identity after being exploited by the public.Although the poem portrays the hardship of life of a musician and inspiration leader, Lacey refers to Coltrane as the â€Å"prophetic voice of his age† (Lacey 18) or as described in the poetry â€Å"A man/ black blower of the now† (121-122). However, Baraka does not immediately persuade the reader to believe that Coltrane has collectively reshaped the Be-bop movement and the black cultural identity; he forces them to establish an answer themselves based on their individual experience after reading the poem.Based on the dynamics of writing style portrayed in the poetry, Coltrane influen ces future musical generations to come with the creative features within that clearly influenced the Black Arts Movement within the text, the validity of the following quote by literary critic, Joyce A. Joyce, â€Å"An understanding of Negro expression cannot be arrived at without a constant reference to the environment which cradles it,† can be useful in making a final decision as the reader. Amiri Baraka continues the poem by concentrating the rest of the text on his own impression of Coltrane’s influence on the Blacks Art Movement, musicians, and society.He precisely acknowledges the relationship between the collective and individual response to the end of the revolution of identity and creation of the reputable quartet: â€Å"Jimmy Garrison, bass, McCoy Tyner, piano, Captain Marvel Elvin / on drums, the number itself-the precise saying / all if it in it afire aflame talking saying being doing meaning (169-171). The quartet inspired the African American community t o become believers and to preserve their true identities despite social alienation and harsh racism.If the band expressed their opinions and identity freely, then the entire black culture should have possessed the same rights without limitation as well. Fortunately, at the end of the poem, the Black Arts Movement was reflected as the turning point in accepting cultural identity; a representation of their contributions that shaped the historical experience. But did the Black Arts Movement really change â€Å"black† and â€Å"white† cultures and criticism? Literary critic, Joyce A. Joyce disagrees with the idea that white America has changed its attitude toward the African American population.Although there has been a significant transformation in the merger of black literature and white literature in our society through out the past century, African Americans are usually forced to adopt the mainstream values and lifestyles of those of in the modern American society. Joy ce disassociates Black literary criticism with mainstream analyses because African Americans have a unique duty to express their own ideas without a predetermined and uniformed consciousness based on culture or even color (Joyce 339-341).The poet’s opinions remained somewhat vague until the narration of the poem alters from Trane to Amiri Baraka, the poet himself. His vulnerability exposes his current condition and state of mind when recollecting his wearisome life compared to Trane’s portrayed personal anecdote expressed in his music: ( I lay in solitary confinement, July ‘67 Tanks rolling thru Newark and whistled all I knew of Trane my knowledge heartbeat and he was dead They saidWhen Baraka was confined in prison for the Newark riots of 1967, Lacey notes that â€Å"the poet attributes his survival to the memory of Coltrane’s music† (Lacey 19). As the poem concludes, Baraka decides to choose life over death because he is influenced by character of his own work of art and the actual inspirational of the power of his music. Most scholars would agree with Gayle, Jr. claim that, â€Å"The question for the black critic today is not how beautiful is a melody, a play, a poem, or a novel, but how much more beautiful has the poem, melody, play, or novel made the life of a single black man?How far has the work gone in transforming an American Negro into an African-American or black man? † (Joyce 340). This is perhaps an attempt to illustrate the fact that both the artist lives are surrounded by changes revolved around freedom of expression through art and alienated culture. Without enduring these experiences, good or bad, the identity of an individual cannot be defined, nor the basis of an individualistic black culture. Work Cited Lacey, Henry C. â€Å"Baraka's â€Å"AM/Trak† Everybody’s Coltrane Poem. Obsidian II: Black Literature in Review. 1. 1-2 (1986): 12-21. Print. Joyce, Joyce A. â€Å"The Black Canon: Re constructing Black American Literary Criticism. † New Literary History. 18. 2 (1987): 339-341. Print. Punday, Daniel. â€Å"The Black Arts Movement and the Geneaology of Multimedia. † New Literary History. 37. 4 (2006): 777-794. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. Quayson, Ato. â€Å"Self-Writing and Existential Alienation in African Literature. † Research in African Literatures. 42. 2 (2011): 30-45. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.

Bowling for Columbine Is Not a Documentary Essay

Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’, the film which won an Oscar for best documentary, is not in fact a documentary, but rather more of a persuasive essay in film format. The widely accepted definition of ‘documentary’ is a film emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, and minimal editting, and ‘Bowling for Columbine’ does not show any of these characteristics. Instead of presenting a neutral view of the issues, it is clearly biased and purposely manipulates the viewers into agreeing with Moore’s opinions. In the process, Moore frequently uses incorrect statistics and information. In some cases fabricated evidence is also inserted. Documentaries should have close to no editing of the evidence, however in some cases Moore uses sly editing techniques to deceive the viewers. A prominent example of this can be seen in Charlton Heston’s speech. It appears as though the NRA president is holding protest rallies in response to the gun related incidents in Columbine and Flint Michigan, holding a musket up and proclaiming â€Å"I have only five words for you: ‘from my cold dead hands’† whilst the crowd cheers. Moore makes a point of cutting from scenes of heartbroken victims to Heston’s ‘arrogant’ speeches. The purpose of this is to demonize Heston, and also all the members of the NRA. He wants the audience to perceive all gun lovers as heartless, selfish monsters. However on closer observation, it turns out Moore simply grabbed segments from Heston’s former speeches, splicing them together to form a new one, completely different from what the president had intended. Documentaries are meant to lay out the truth, whilst here the film has morphed the truth into a lie instead. Going back to the definition, Bowling for Columbine again falls short of being a documentary through it’s failure to include only correct, factual evidence. Moore chooses to use incorrect ‘facts’; the national gun murder statistics that seem abnormally high are sourced from the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and is a combination of gun related and non gun related incidents, so is therefore irrelevant to what the documentary was trying to say. The rockets shown in the Lockheed Martin sequences and being driven though the streets of Littleton in the night are in fact space launch vehicles, not weapons of mass destruction as Moore claims. These â€Å"facts†, false in nature, are again put there to distort the truth and make the viewers believe that things are more horrifying than they actually are, so that they are more susceptible to Moore’s mental manipulation. One of the fundamentals of a documentary is that it must present facts, and obviously â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† has not fulfilled that requirement. Throughout â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Moore presents an extremely biased view of events. Moore does everything in his power to manipulate viewers into see things from his eyes. Many are many persuasive techniques are used to achieve this. The film horrifies the audience with confronting scenes from the 9/11 attacks and the Columbine shooting. ‘A Brief History of America’ makes people see Americans as cowardly and pathetic. Charlton Heston’s ‘speech’ angers the audience and makes them turn against gun lovers. There are many more examples, however the point is that documentaries should be neutral and informative, yet the film actively tries to force the viewers to a narrow-minded conclusion. In summary, although â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† may be a creative persuasive film, it is most certainly not a documentary. Not only does the film fail to adhere in any way to the definition of a traditional documentary, it largely utilises deceptive techniques to push Moore’s artificial and contrived point of view.

Free Essays on Shakespeare Sonnet 60

Time They say that the only certainty in this life is change. Each day brings new order to unorganized chaos. Whether we like it or not, life’s unending train ride carries us to undiscovered destinations. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60 seems, likewise, seems to take us on a little journey through time stressing the many different facets that exist as we go through this thing we call life. I seem to get a vision through his lines that they create a link one to another, much as our life moves on from one experience to the next. The opening line of this sonnet begins with, â€Å"Like the waves make towards the pebbled shoreâ€Å" This must be a comparison of our time here on earth, only it is representative as waves that crash upon the shore of the beach. When I think of a pebbled beach, I think of how hard it is to walk on, as compared to a smooth, sandy beach. Perhaps this could compare to how life experiences are. We would all like to ease through life much as you can walk barefoot across a smoothly sandy beach. Yet, I think we all know that it is inevitable that we will once in awhile have to walk across many cracks and faults along the way. I reflect to the times I’ve seen the ocean, I always know that I will see the waves coming in and out, it’s constant, never changing. This could be a direct metaphor for time. Time is the one thing we can never change. We are always aware that when one wave crashes along the shore, yet another is just waiting to follow. Much like the waves crashing along the shore, â€Å"So do our minutes hasten to their end†. I think that is fairly self explanatory, our time here on earth continues to move forward, all the while, it seems to be gone in an instant. It’s interesting to me, when you’re young, it seems as though you will never be an adult. Yet, when you get to be an adult you’d almost give anything to be a kid again. Time seems to just race forward once you grow into maturity. The third li... Free Essays on Shakespeare Sonnet 60 Free Essays on Shakespeare Sonnet 60 Time They say that the only certainty in this life is change. Each day brings new order to unorganized chaos. Whether we like it or not, life’s unending train ride carries us to undiscovered destinations. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60 seems, likewise, seems to take us on a little journey through time stressing the many different facets that exist as we go through this thing we call life. I seem to get a vision through his lines that they create a link one to another, much as our life moves on from one experience to the next. The opening line of this sonnet begins with, â€Å"Like the waves make towards the pebbled shoreâ€Å" This must be a comparison of our time here on earth, only it is representative as waves that crash upon the shore of the beach. When I think of a pebbled beach, I think of how hard it is to walk on, as compared to a smooth, sandy beach. Perhaps this could compare to how life experiences are. We would all like to ease through life much as you can walk barefoot across a smoothly sandy beach. Yet, I think we all know that it is inevitable that we will once in awhile have to walk across many cracks and faults along the way. I reflect to the times I’ve seen the ocean, I always know that I will see the waves coming in and out, it’s constant, never changing. This could be a direct metaphor for time. Time is the one thing we can never change. We are always aware that when one wave crashes along the shore, yet another is just waiting to follow. Much like the waves crashing along the shore, â€Å"So do our minutes hasten to their end†. I think that is fairly self explanatory, our time here on earth continues to move forward, all the while, it seems to be gone in an instant. It’s interesting to me, when you’re young, it seems as though you will never be an adult. Yet, when you get to be an adult you’d almost give anything to be a kid again. Time seems to just race forward once you grow into maturity. The third li...

Differences Between Après vs. Derrière and Avant vs. Devant

Differences Between Aprà ¨s vs. Derrià ¨re and Avant vs. Devant Aprà ¨s and Avant convey a notion of time or space. Aprà ¨s refers to doing something after while Avant refers to doing something before. Je le retrouve aprà ¨s/avant le dà ©jeunerIll meet up with him after/before lunch Aprà ¨s/avant le bois, il y a un cheminAfter/before the wood, there is a path Derriere and Devant convey a notion of precise space. Derrier refers to being behind something, or someone and Devant refers to being in front of something or someone. La petite fille est cachà ©e derrià ¨re larbreThe young girl is hidden behind the tree Pour la photo, comme tu es plus petite, va devant Camille.For the picture, since you are smaller, go in front of Camille.   Derrià ¨re le bois, il y a un cheminBehind the wood, there is a path Aprà ¨s and Derrià ¨re Are Not Interchangeable So, what is the difference between the two sentences aprà ¨s le bois, il y a un chemin and derrià ¨re le bois, il y a un chemin? They both give a piece of space-related information, but one is more precise, just like in English. Same exact logic applies to avant versus devant. Aprà ¨s Que Indicative / Avant Que Subjunctive A common mistake is Aprà ¨s que plus a subjunctive. Its a very common mistake, even among French people, because honestly, the indicative sounds terrible there. Avant que is followed by the subjunctive  because we dont yet know if the action is going to become a reality. With Aprà ¨s que, the action has taken place already: there is no doubt left, hence no need for the subjunctive. Aprà ¨s que subjunctive sounds so bad to a French ear that we will do our best to use a noun instead of a verb after. You can use the same trick with avant que et avoid using a subjunctive. Je dois commencer aprà ¨s quil part. (or aprà ¨s son dà ©part)I must start after he leaves (or after his departure). Je dois commencer avant quil parte (or avant son dà ©part).I must start before he leaves (or before his departure) By the way, even if we use le derrià ¨re in French (although this is extremely polite, just like saying the behind in English), French people use the preposition derrià ¨re without thinking about it at all. Just like in English you use behind without thinking about that part of the anatomy.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) - Essay Example Increased efficiency and productivity are the main goals of TPM that are focused in this study.   Jindal Steelworks is a global company - a fast growing steelworks and fabrication company, with more than 7,000 employees. The company has recently been hit hard by the global recession and is presently facing hardships in maintaining its profits. The company management has decided to implement various management techniques with the help of available technological and HR management systems in the industry. A number of production and operational management techniques were utilized to increase the value of the system routing through a well defined systematic approach that assisted the company to identify better profits.   With the purpose of sustaining the future growth options, from a finer product based business approach towards higher operational excellence of the company, the management has decided to evaluate modern techniques, TPM, being one of them. By putting in the new management applications in the form of techniques like TPM, TQM, supply chain and inter-enterprise systems, Jindal Steelworks has been able to push through higher goals, better operational excellence, higher cost savings and competitive advantage, (Roberts, 1997).   With the effects of recession on the company profit margins, and changing industry scenario, the company management has been searching for low cost operational and production techniques, along with higher effciency results and customer orieted reuslts. TPM has gained a lot of attention within the steel industry and has been successfully able to eliminate common problems to steel plants like machinery breakdowns, onsite accidents, procedural defects and lack of standards and work safety. Introduction of TPM at the work floor of Jindal steel works has helped to improve work conditions, reduced accidents rates and breakdowns by a considerable margin. TPM

M.boivs between bafflo in canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M.boivs between bafflo in canada - Essay Example The disease described is bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis and aside from affecting cattle and humans; it can also be transmitted to other animals like goats, bison, swine, and cervids which include elks and deer. Proper disease management can only be achieve through familiarization with the means of disease transmission, diagnosis through proper identification of signs and symptoms, and employment of prevention strategies that will limit the spread of the disease. The objective of this paper is to provide basic information about the fundamentals of bovine tuberculosis for use in the formulation of disease management strategies for buffalo in Canada. Transmission of the causal organism M. bovis can take various paths. The pathogen can be spread through breathing-in of infected aerosols, by ingestion, and by passage through open wounds (CFSPH, 2009). Infected animals pass the bacteria with their feces, saliva, semen or vaginal fluid, blood, and milk. Contact with these infected bodily fluids as well as fresh carcass of dead infected animals may lead to infection because M. bovis has a relatively low infectious dose (PHAC, 2010). In the disease’s spread, it is important to be familiar with zoonosis and the role of reservoir hosts and spillover hosts. Normally, diseases have a certain genetic barrier and are confined to be infective only to members of the same or related species. But there are certain diseases that do not operate by this rule. Zoonosis is the term used to classify diseases that can naturally be transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. M. bovis is usually maintained in cattle populations but zoonosis is possible for monkeys, parrots, sheep, dogs, and cats among other animals (PHAC, 2010). Humans, cattle, and diseased animal tissue are the reservoir host of the bacterium. Reservoir hosts are organisms in which vast numbers of the