Romancing the Stone essays

Romancing the Stone essays In "Romancing the Stone," heroine Joan Wilder is a successful romance novelist, secure in her career but not in herself. She is very attractive, but plays down her looks by not dressing well at times. Her career dominates her life, and she has become well known around the world for her books. She develops a relationship with Jack Colton when she travels to South America to help her sister, which is very unlike her. It is clear she is becoming attracted to Jack, but they are completely opposite, and they seem to have too many differences to ever really get together. Jack makes her look and feel beautiful, and as their relationship begins to develop, she just seems to glow. She is very modest, even shy at times. However, she shows that when family is at stake, she can be extremely independent and resourceful. She is extremely sensitive, which makes sense since she is a writer, and she has a good sense of humor when she is comfortable with the people around her. She is not a "typical" romantic heroine in many ways, because she is a recluse at the beginning of the novel, and she does not meet the hero through her work. Again, her work is not typical of a romantic heroine either. However, most of her character fits with the heroine ideal, such as not taking her attractiveness for granted and being extremely vulnerable. As she blossoms under Jack's love, she becomes more typical and more appealing. Sex in the story is presented tenderly and with love and respect. The couple is drawn to each other and have survived many difficulties, so it seems natural when the sex scene occurs. In fact, the sex is implied, which makes it all the more romantic and appropriate to the film. Joan does not give herself lightly, so it is clear she really cares about Jack. This is important for the romantic quality of the film and to keep the heroine "pure" and good throughout the story. She only sleeps with Jack, and it is because of true lo...

Definition and Examples of Situational Irony

Definition and Examples of Situational Irony Situational irony is an event or  occasion in which the outcome is significantly different from what was expected or considered appropriate. Also called irony of fate,  irony of events, and irony of circumstance. Dr.  Katherine L. Turner characterizes situational irony as a long con- a ruse taking place over time. Participants and onlookers do not recognize the irony because its revelation comes at a later moment in time, the unexpected twist.  In situational irony, the anticipated outcome contrasts with the end result (This Is the Sound of Irony, 2015). The essence of situational irony,  says J. Morgan Kousser, lies in an apparent contradiction or incongruity between two events or meanings, a contradiction resolved when the literal or surface meaning turns out to be one of appearance only, while the initially incongruous meaning turns out to be the reality (Region, Race, and Reconstruction, 1982). Also Known As: Irony of situation, irony of events, irony of behavior, practical irony, irony of fate, unintended consequences, irony of existence Examples and Observations Situational irony, sometimes called irony of events, is most broadly defined as a situation where the outcome is incongruous with what was expected, but it is also more generally understood as a situation that includes contradictions or sharp contrasts...An example would be a man who takes a step aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool.(Lars Ellestrà ¶m, Divine Madness. Bucknell University. Press, 2002)Not all forms of irony are conscious, intentional or planned. For example, irony also occurs serendipitously through unintended and unexpected circumstances or through the evolution of situations. Situational irony focuses on the surprising and inevitable fragility of the human condition, in which the consequences of actions are often the opposite of what was expected.(David Grant, The Sage Handbook of Organizational Discourse. Sage, 2004)[I]magine that a person has invested  a large sum of money in an apparently reliable company while mocking others for failing to take the same  opportunity. Then, the company turns out to be a failure and all the investors money is lost. The situation is ironical for two reasons in combination: (1) there is a mismatch between the investors certainty on the solvency of the company and the real situation; (2) after getting ruined, the investors unwise mockery of those who did not want to undertake any risk makes the investor look foolish. We may observe that, in situational irony, just like in verbal irony, there is incongruity between intention and effect or between belief and reality.(Francisco Josà © Ruiz de Mendoza Ibà ±ez and Alicia Galera Masegosa,  Cognitive Modeling: A Linguistic Perspective. John Benjamins, 2014) Situational Irony in A.E. Housmans Poem Is My Team Ploughing? â€Å"Is my team ploughing,That I was used to driveAnd hear the harness jingleWhen I was man alive?† Aye, the horses trample,The harness jingles now;No change though you lie underThe land you used to plow. â€Å"Is football playingAlong the river shore,With lads to chase the leather,Now I stand up no more?† Aye, the ball is flying,The lads play heart and soul;The goal stands up, the keeperStands up to keep the goal. â€Å"Is my girl happy,That I thought hard to leave,And has she tired of weepingAs she lies down at eve?† Ay, she lies down lightly,She lies not down to weep:Your girl is well contented.Be still, my lad, and sleep. â€Å"Is my friend hearty,Now I am thin and pine,And has he found to sleep inA better bed than mine?† Yes, lad, I lie easy,I lie as lads would choose;I cheer a dead man’s sweetheart,Never ask me whose.(A.E. Housman, Is My Team Ploughing?  A Shropshire Lad, 1896) Situational Irony in Creative Nonfiction Situational irony  abounds in fiction, but its also a major component to many  non- fiction  narratives- if you think about the popular storm books from a couple of years ago, Sebastian Jungers Perfect Storm and Erik Larsons Isaacs Storm, both accounts of these terrible hurricanes deal with the all-too-human disinclination to take nature seriously. Hey, how bad can some wind and rain be? Not going to stop me from raking in the dough.(Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens, Good Books Lately. St. Martins Press, 2004) The Irony of War Every war is ironic because every war is worse than expected. Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its presumed ends.(Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press, 1975) Incongruity in Situational Irony Situational irony entails a certain incongruity between what a person says, believes, or does and how, unbeknownst to that person, things actually are. [In Sophocles tragedy Oedipus Rex]  Oedipus vows to discover Laius murderer, unaware that Laius was his father and that he himself is guilty of patricide. Whatever the precise nature of the incongruity involved in situational irony, verbal and situational irony loosely share a conceptual core of incongruity, often tending toward polar opposition, between two elements, such as a semblance of things and reality.Dramatic irony may be further distinguished as a type of situational irony; it is simply when situational irony occurs in a drama. The incongruity is between what a dramatic character says, believes, or does and how unbeknownst to that character, the dramatic reality is. The example in the preceding paragraph is, then, specifically of dramatic irony.(David Wolfsdorf, Trials of Reason: Plato and the Crafting of Philosophy. Oxfor d University  Press, 2008) A Wimbledon commentator may say, Ironically, it was the year he was given a wild-card entry, and not as a seeded player, that the Croatian won the title. The irony here refers, like linguistic irony, to a doubleness of sense or meaning. It is as though there is the course of events or human intentions, involving our awarding of rankings and expectations, that exists alongside another order of fate beyond our predictions. This is an irony of situation, or an irony of existence.(Claire Colebrook, Irony. Routledge, 2004) The Lighter Side of Situational Irony Sheldon: So this is how it ends: with cruel irony. Just as I make the commitment to preserving my body, I am betrayed by my appendix, a vestigial organ. Do you know the original purpose of the appendix, Leonard? Leonard: No. Sheldon: I do, and yet I am doomed while you live on. Leonard: Funny how things work out, isnt it?(Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki in The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification. The Big Bang Theory, 2010)

Technology Research and Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technology Research and Report - Essay Example Frank Ohrtman (2003, p.116) indicates that among data exchange standard, there has been phenomenal improvement especially in XML MP3 and TCP/IP the much dependent upon broad access to nonproprietary networking and data communications infrastructure (the Internet) that has been a principle tool in supporting the rising of technology waves and strong development undercurrents . Current technological landscape In this technological age, the combination of new standards, distributed software, expertise and a worldwide Internet infrastructure has created and continues to create a profoundly new technological architecture landscape. The advancement on technology has contributed immensely to heavy investment in the information technology industry. Organisations have increased investments in technologies and standards that allow them to bring structure to unstructured information. The motivation to replace unstructured with structured data is not the sole responsibility of the information co mmunity and the library alone, but also among business and national authorities across the world nations. On average enterprises operate with upto 85 percent of unstructured content, upon which efforts are being focused on harnessing their power in order for the enterprises to benefit from resulting competitive advantages. (Aray R., 2004). Among many others, there have emerged search engines as a dominant technical and structural approach towards automated data categorisation. Savvy Web users have become experts (professionally known as SEOs) at optimizing search strategies to maximize of the expected result although pressure has arose for much more advanced/structures search engines. Delivery of mobiles services This technology has also been widely embraced in the mobile technology. Provision of websites that are viewable via mobile phones is increasingly on demand and organisations have largely embraced provision of services and information through mobile technology (Andreas F. 20 11) Mobile service providers have been largely affected by the current technology landscape as they have to cope with ever emerging changes in the industry. Big chunks of the world’s population today are holders of mobile phones. Mobiles are not only used as communication devices but as also devices to access the Internet. The integration of such capabilities in the mobile devices has triggered a paralleled competition among mobile service providers as well as manufactures (Ajay R., 210). Effect of coverage and limitations Irrespective of geographical and topographical challenges, mobile service providers have managed to provide network coverage for their services to almost all parts within where their businesses operate. Though some challenges of network coverage are largely found in the African continent, most areas in the continent still enjoy these services. Advantages of 2G, 3G and 4G The mobile telecommunications industry has seen a lot of evolution since the inception of the use of mobile phone as a means of communication. There have been migrations in the industry such as the 2G, 3G and now the famous 4G networks in this industry. These have seen the industry improve provision of service to mobile owners become streamlined and the service advanced. The 2G technology evolved from 1G technology

Susan B Anthony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Susan B Anthony - Essay Example In 1838, her father lost his cotton mill business because of the financial depression in the United States, and in the spring of 1839 he had to sell their house. They moved to a town called Hardscrabble. In the spring of 1840, she went to teach at a boarding school near New York City. While Susan was teaching, she heard people talking about getting rid of slavery. She agreed with this idea, just like her father did. She believed that all people were equal. In 1849, when Susan came back home to Rochester, her father had started inviting over his friends who were interested in talking about the achievement of making free slavery state. She listened to her father and to others who wanted to finish slavery from the society. During the 1850s, the plan of getting rid of slavery was becoming an essential issue. The people in the North were against slavery, while on the other hand, the people in the South wanted to keep slavery. Those who were against slavery were called abolitionists. A lot of abolitionists were invited to the farm for a meeting. They all supported Susan in her work for women's rights. "In 1852, Anthony joined with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Amelia Bloomer in campaigning for women's suffrage and equal pay. She also served in the American Anti-Slavery Society, and challenged barriers to female leadership in temperance societies and educational associations. Following the Civil War, Stanton and Anthony focused their efforts on voting rights, in hopes that suffrage for women and blacks could be linked in a groundbreaking constitutional amendment." Feminist leader http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/bios/2.html (Accessed January 18, 2006) She helped the administration of President Abraham Lincoln by forming the Women's Loyal League. In 1856, the abolitionists motivated Susan to classify, write and deliver speeches for a movement against slavery. In 1865, their efforts would pay off with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even though the slaves were free they didn't get the right to vote. In addition to Susan's fight to end slavery, she joined the Women's State Temperance Society in New York. Both men and women could join. Soon men started to take over the society, so Susan resigned as leader of the group. That was the end of her work with the temperance movement; she began working for women's rights. "In 1866 Anthony joined with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Lucy Stone to help establish the American Equal Rights Association. The following year, the organization became active in Kansas where Negro suffrage and women's suffrage was to be decided by popular vote. However, both ideas were rejected at the polls." Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted both the abolitionist and the women's right group to get combine for good results. Unluckily, the abolitionists did not want to work for women to have the right to vote. (Just as before, many of the women's suffragists did not care to get their cause tangled up with abolition.) Susan and Elizabeth were back where they had started twenty years before and focused their efforts on women's rights in order to raise money. Susan B. Anthony in politics In 1868 Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton established the political weekly, The Revolution and the Fourteenth Amendment was passed. This amendment affirmed that all people who were born or naturalized in the United States

Gender, Culture and the Media Essay Example for Free

Gender, Culture and the Media Essay Media, in the context required, is a term used to define an interactive transmission that is visualized and then especially designed to reach a large audience, for e. g. a whole nation. These audiences, however, are very different from one another, depending on their culture and gender identities. The variance in culture and sexual identities, have an obvious impact on media which is why there is a dire need for exploring the relationship between the two. The most important tool in exploring and understanding the relationship between media and culture is communication. This is because communication plays a very effective role in the manner through which interaction is carried out with the masses (Gaunlett, 2002). For this purpose, extreme emphasis is given to the cultural differences that may occur. Such is the case of international campaigns or chains of restaurants; whenever they want to promote any product, they have to consider the differences, and keeping these differences in mind, they alter their product accordingly for e. g. , McDonalds in India, do not usually serve their people beef burgers as cow is sacred to them. Likewise, Indian people can relate more to it than others who are just viewing this product on an Indian channel. On this note, I would like to add that it is also a TV channel’s responsibility to be aware of the ethics with regard to culture. Although, media is known to show us situation and relationships from other people’s point-of-view, the impact is originated from a certain culture or social class, for that matter. However, it has been changing from time to time with the global development. So, we can say that the relationship between media and gender today, is different from how it was years ago. The reason is because people’s thought have changed in the passing years, the role models have changed and the attitudes of people have changed, which without doubt influences media. It is for these contemporary audiences that the media has to alter whatever it promotes, in the manner that is much acceptable to them. The rest is mere perception on the audience’s part. Talking about the perception of various people and how they interact with things like talk shows, MTV, the Internet, soap operas, television sitcoms, dramatic series etc. , it is very likely to notice that the people interact with the media on the basis of their culture and gender identities (Dines, 2008). An example is that of Lorillard’s Newport cigarettes, introduced in 1957, which after its struggle period in the early stages of introduction, became very popular with the African American crowd. Another comment on the same example is that Newport cigarettes contain menthol, which is supposed to be associated with women mostly. Relating this with media, the advertisements for this brand also focused on African American people in the beginning, as they had identified them as their target market. With the change in society and changing views of people, Newport gained its market recognition and broadened their target market and today it owns a most coveted place in the tobacco industry. In the society that we live in today, people dedicate a lot of time to television, magazines, surfing the net, and other publications. As a result, it is very inevitable to say that they come across culture and advertising almost everyday. Among these people, a large segment belongs to the younger generation, who are particularly sensitive and relatively effected much easily by the same. Childhood culture is an inter-textual universe which connects TV programs to movies, videogames, toys, T-shirts, shoes, games, crayons, coloring books, bed linens and towels, pencil cases, lunch boxes etc. This is where the impact part comes into play, which media has on children and that which the children have on the media (Geertz, 1977). One of the greatest impacts of the above stated example on media is that when a television program (for kids) is produced, a lot of things have to be taken into consideration. Not too much violence, abusive language or false imagery should be used. As far as sexual identity is concerned, men and women have different views, likes and dislikes, regarding different things. Women are more likely to read magazines like Gourmet, Culinary Trends, Bon Appetite, Food and Wine etc. Lately, men have also developed a similar trend in reading magazines but there choices are those like Extreme Sports, Chicago Sports, and Sports Illustration etc. Another aspect is that of men leading the global scene. When it comes to voiceovers, men dominate, regardless of the product. Men continue to work in their late ages on screen whereas women tend to disappear in their late thirties. Facial lines and grey hair are considered to be signs of maturity in males, while the same would pronounce females ‘old’ and not fit for TV (Buikema, 2009). On the other hand, it is also reported to have said that with the developing sense of equality with regard to sexes, the Times magazine cover wondered if feminism was dead in June 1998. To sum up, the media shows us situations and relationships from other people’s point-of-view and we begin to think that we can now see ‘how the world works’, in lives other than our own. Soap-operas showing how neighbors, friends and lovers interact with each other are not behaviors that the media has created by itself. It is the likes of people that have affected media to follow the same. That too, varies from culture to culture. Some counties believe in open cultures while others observe closed culture where too much intimacy and involvement is not look upon as appropriate. People claim that the reference points for them are film and TV but actually it’s the way round- people, their cultures and genders influence upon the way they interact with the media. References: Buikema, R. , Tuin I. , (2008), â€Å"Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture†. Routledge Dines G. , McMahon J. , (2008), â€Å"Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-reader†. Sage Publications Gauntlett D. , (2002), â€Å"Media, Gender, and Identity: An Introduction†. Routledge Geertz, C. (1977). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books

Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? :: essays research papers

Citizen Kane: Charles Foster Kane - Who Was He? The story of Citizen Kane drew many people to the theatres since they wanted to find out who this Kane fellow is or was. It is unarguably one of the best films ever produced. Orson Wells portrays Kane as mysterious person but also a sad person. The different accounts are shown throughout the movie through the reporter wanting to find out who or what Rosebud is. Rosebud was Kane's last dying words. The first person the reporter Jerry Thompson sees is the owner of Walter Parks Thatcher's estate and holdings. Thatcher is long dead and who? visits his library and is allowed to inspect the financier's memoirs in manuscript. Through Thatcher's words we see Kane as a boy playing with his sled on a snow-swept Colorado farm. Through his mother, the boy has just inherited a great fortune. Unable to settle his bill, a prospector who boarded with the Kanes left behind stock certificates that make Mrs. Kane the sole owner of one of the world's great silver mines. She then makes her son the ward of the bank that administers her estate, and Thatcher, whom the angry young Kane bashes with a sled, takes the boy East to be raised. The movie then shows Kane growing up, making life miserable for Thatcher. The mature Kane decides to take direct control of a small, struggling newspaper, and immediately begins using it to attack Thatcher and others among America's financial elite. This displays the mystery with Kane as he wants to expand on something small into something big, but we don't know what. The next account was given by Bernstein, Kane's devoted assistant. He explains the beginnings as a newspaper czar and his takeover of the New York Enquirer, in which he fired its editor, hired an expensive, top-notch staff, and enlisted his college friend Jedediah Leland as the drama critic. Kane is at first a crusader for the understanding, opening his first editorial with a "declaration of principles." He becomes a champion of the little person, hyping his circulation with juicy scandals, crime exposes, etc. In a surprise move Kane marries Emily Norton, the president's niece. For the first time here we see Kane starting a love story. However this wasn't to last and it paved the way for the second-love. The reporter then visits a half-drunk Susan Alexander in a nightclub. She recalls her meeting and eventual affair with the married Kane and their discovery by Leland, who is led to their love nest by Kane's political rival, "Big Jim" Gettys. Until that point, Kane is heavily favored to defeat Gettys in

Nike Business Presentation Outline

Topic: Nike marketing strategy, social responsibility, and diversity. Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the marketing strategy, environmental and social commitment and diversity of Nike company Brief: In my presentation, I will be talking about Nike’s marketing strategy and its social responsibility MARKETING A) INTRODUCTION  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Preview – Because Nike’s success largely depends on its shrewd marketing strategy, I will be explaining to you the importance of marketing to Nike and introducing what marketing strategy Nike is currently deploying. B)   BODY 1. Marketing is very important to its viability and profitability a.Since Nike is a consumer product company, it must respond to market changes through aggressive marketing. * If fail to anticipate accurately and respond in timely manner to market changes, Nike could experience material adverse effects on sales and profitability. b. Nike must stay domestically and globally compe titive to other large companies such as Puma or Addidas. c. As a result, Nike takes marketing issues very seriously. Nike has been increasingly investing into marketing. (Refer to chart) * Nike experienced a substantial increase in marketing investment in the FY of 07-08, largely because of the Olympic Games 2008. Demand creation in FY 2009 is $2,351. 4 mil. , increased 2% in compare with FY 08 2. Nike is successfully deploying the favorable brand image strategy a. Favorable brand image * Associates with a distinctive logo and advertising slogan â€Å"Just do it† * Advertise itself as a high quality and expensive product company. * Promotion: Nike contracts with high profile athletes and actively sponsors sport events to promote its brand. For example: * Michael Jordan: in 2007, the Jordan brand, now a separate Nike subsidiary with its own building, grossed about $800 million. Tiger Woods: in 2000, Nike agreed to a multi-year deal with Woods worth a reported $105 million (It can be said that Nike is successfully approaching the market by its shrewd marketing strategy. Now, I’ll be talking about Nike Social responsibility) SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INTRODUCTION  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Preview: Nike is a leading socially responsible company. I’ll be exploring Nike’s community investment and environmental commitment. (First, I’ll be talking about community investment) BODY I. Nike has a long history of engagement in communities around the world, investing in their backyards, key markets and manufacturing communities. . In FY07-09, Nike has directly invested in community $168. 8 million – Set the goal of $315 million of contributions for FY11 – Involves contributing expertise and philanthropic activity to the community. 2. To achieve its community investment strategy, Nike has developed 2 core approaches: a. Focus on creating new models to provide young people access to the power of sport (to unleash their confiden ce, leadership, health, education or employment) – The Nike Foundation (separate nonprofit organization): focuses on developing adolescent girls to bring positive changes into community. They has committed more than $100 mil to benefit adolescent girls. b. Promote philanthropic activities and create financial flows that ensure long-term success – Nike manages a portfolio of investment that have triggered donations from consumers to expand its initial investment. – Notable projects: Livestrong, Human Race, Hurley H20 water initiative†¦ (Not only is Nike socially responsible but also Nike is environmentally responsible)  Ã‚  Ã‚   BODY 1. Highly committed to sustainable development – To help focus effort and resources where company can make the most impact, Nike developed its own North Star to define sustainable development. . To achieve its goal, Nike has broken it into a number of smaller attainable steps: a. Product design: * Internally, Nike mobil izes its human resources to develop closed-loop product. * Externally, Nike actively posts unresolved problems and requests solutions from outside investors, universities and companies. b. Climate and energy: As a co-founding member of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), Nike and its partners have committed to strategic collaboration to push for US energy and legislation and rule making. c. Water: Nike aims to contract with factories where water is abundant enough to support it operations. * Nike also collaborates with factories to improve efficiency of water-utilizing * Nike encourages its suppliers’ adherence to high quality standards for all of their production. (Nike itself is a diverse company) BODY 1. Diversity and inclusion are key to drive creativity and innovation: – Grows their competitive advantage, recruit – In 2006, Nike appointed its first VP of Diversity. – In 2008, Nike formed a global diversity and inclusion team fo cused on three areas: a. Engaging employees b. Providing business consultation . Developing innovative tools, models and designs 2. Diversity and inclusion statistics a. Gender diversity: * Global work force is half-male, half-female * Overall management is 60% male and 40% female. b. Ethnicity diversity: c. 55% of its work force is Caucasian, 22% is African American, 13% is Hispanic, 9% is Asian/Pacific islander and 1% is American Indian. d. Supplier diversity: national and regional partners on its suppliers effort, including the National Minority Supplier development council, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs and the Women’s business Enterprise National Council.