The Building Of Brand (Nike)

This shoe placed Nikkei on the map, and after it came out, all other brands had to offer similarly shock-absorbent soles. In 1972, Phil Knight (Nines founder and current CEO), was able to convince several marathoners to wear Nikkei shoes during the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, where the company started. Later, Nikkei ran a campaign saying that â€Å"Nines were worn by four of the top seven finishers†. Sponsorship had begun. In October 1 982, Nikkei aired its first three national television ads, during the broadcast of the New York City Marathon.They ran TV commercials cause back then it was so easy to target their audience: most of them would be watching the marathon. There were fewer channels and fewer media outputs. About Nikkei & Product Positioning Nikkei was named after the Greek goddess for ‘Victory'. Today, it dominates the global sports footwear market. The company started focusing on making running shoes, but over time they became associated with the athlet e subculture, which allowed them to expand into other areas. They learned they had to stay within the athletic category though -they tried selling everyday shoes and it didn't work out.Currently, it's the largest seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel in the world, with over 700 stores worldwide, over 40,000 employees and generating more than $21 billion a year in sales. It's recognized everywhere by their trademark â€Å"swoosh† logo. History Brand Overview Nikkei advertising has become one of the most effective emotional branding examples in the marketing world today. They use the old technique of Heroism to inspire customer loyalty all over the world: the battle is between our lazy side and our healthy side. Our laziness is the villain, and we become the heroes.We all see the hero in ourselves, and therefore this message appeals to everyone on the planet. The brand strategy isn't to make you think you need Nikkei gear in order to succeed, but that you actually wa nt it because you succeed. The product is downplayed, and the ego of the customer is lifted up. The Product Dream We are all athletes. We are all heroes. We achieve great things. We win, every single battle. Garage Newell talks about a 5-step formula, that he claims is present in every Nikkei commercial, and it shows the hero overcoming great struggles. That's the promise: you are a winner, that's why you choose Nikkei.

Character, theme and narrative in the soap opera Essay

From watching one particular episode of the famous soap ‘Eastenders’ I was able to attain plenty of information and reference to certain areas of a soap. There are specific codes and conventions to particular narratives that are easy to identify. Obviously in each soap, the same sort of things occur and the audience can recognise this, thus such an appeal for soaps. In this single episode of ‘Eastenders’, the themes included are easily identifiable as being part of a soap. It includes all the drama in everyday life within one session of 30minutes. We are able to see potential fights, arguing, loving and a typical ‘goodie’ and ‘baddie’ scenario. Also there is mention of wedding and divorce, evidently showing mixed emotions. Furthermore, a noticeable feature of Eastenders is that there is a comic relief – as there is a build up of suspense and tension, then a scene change to ‘Patrick’ who supplies the audience with moments of laughter, along with a small selection of other characters. Location is an immense feature to Eastenders. There are a number of places you anticipate to be featured in each episode – the Queen Vic pub being the most notorious. Also within one street (square) there is 6 places of work – all featured in this one episode. The jobs all being inter-gender and featuring different types of characters who play different roles with a wide range of age gaps. Ie. Garage, launderette, cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, E20 nightclub and a B & B. In this 30 minute slot, which in Eastenders’ time is one full day – from early morning to late night, we are able to see the pub closed, quiet and busy. Also when the pub is featured, the concentration is only on a conversation involving just two people, although you can hear other characters in the atmos, they are not seen. This is where camera angles become important. ‘Over the shoulder’ shot is most commonly featured throughout when showing a clip of two characters talking. Also whilst in the middle of a conversation there is a sharp camera swap to a close -up view of the person speaking, which only last for a few seconds. These are things that the audience take for granted but need plenty of thought and trials. There is only one point in the episode where one person is shown alone – this being Peggy Mitchell who is talking to herself and allowing the viewers to empathise with her and share her emotions. She is a dominant family-heading female who is stressing her unhappiness to the viewers. This is when we see a wider range of camera angles used as the photographers want us to see her differently and also let us see the setting and background which is a clever tactic so we can recognise where she is and what her method of thinking is. Also the cameras seem a similar distance away from each character, and this means they never raise their voice and throughout the same volume of speech is enforced. A synopsis of what is actually happening in the episode is a number of storylines revolving around each other – most of them having some sort of link or connection. The storylines are as follows : * Phil Mitchell after his disturbed ex-wife Lisa and his baby * A triangle love situation between Little Mo, ‘comical’ Billy and ‘Mr. Nasty’ Trevor. * Sonia’s relationship with both Gus and Jamie * Janine’s flirting and misleading – this linking into events occurring in the bed and breakfast. * Tom’s mental state of mind * Jim Brannan losing his job and Ricky in desperate need of one There is also other small ones developing but these are the main pinpointed ones. The storylines are age specific, therefore aimed at a wide range of viewers. In addition to this as storylines build up and characters become uneased in the episode, there seems to be no atmos/background music to dramatise the situation, which is a convention often employed by soap-makers. No music at all is used throughout the episode, excluding the catchy and easily remembered theme tune at the beginning of the soap. Also the mini-cliffhangers at the conclusion of the soap is followed by the distinctive tune. This soap, like most others has no graphics used or clear use of modern hi-tech technology. There is just a simple, straightforward map of the East end of London at the beginning with the River Thames flowing through. This being very eye-catching and appealing. On the whole it is obvious to see that one 30minute episode of a soap can include so much detail, information and thought.

The Wright Brothers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Wright Brothers - Research Paper Example Before they developed the first aero plane, they had a shop with bicycles, motors and printing press in Dayton, Ohio (Palamana, 20). Their bicycle work greatly influenced their discovery as they learnt with time that an unstable object could be controlled with practice (Fred, 109). They were so enthusiastic about photography and it soon became an important part of their new discovery. Their new portable cameras enabled them to learn from the mistakes they made and also it was used as proof of their eventual success (Wright, 223). Their achievement was basically both artistic and technological bearing in mind that the artists were among the first ones to celebrate their discovery (Gavin, 73). Soon after, they found out that their invention was not warmly received in their home country and they set off for Europe in 1908. While in France, they encountered a more willing society and they consequently enjoyed celebrity lifestyle which included constantly being hosted by the royals, state presidents and the press (Gaffney, 220). They could also sell their aero planes to other European nations before returning to the United States in 1909. To date, the Wright brothers are credited as the pioneers and inventors of the first successful airplane and the first powered and sustained heavier than air human flight (James,

Comprehensive exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comprehensive exam - Essay Example The mission of the company is giving customers the best value for their money available anywhere as well as providing them with the necessary information for making informed buying decisions. The company goals for the next five years include: 1. Remaining profitable 2. Business growth and 3. Customer service The business not only considers its own goals but also values the goals of the various stakeholders like its employees, the community, lenders and ultimately its customers. Therefore, the company values positive relations with vendors, the community, employees, lenders, and even though the company has set customer goals, the company values additional goal of improving customer lives by offering them products or services they need. As a manager in the company, I would use leadership theories to develop inner leadership skills and learning basic knowledge through experience. The skills include self-assessment like looking at my personal leadership skills, internal motivators like t he thing that motivates to be a leader as well as the personal professional vision. Ultimately, leadership theories focus on whether a leader is real and honest and skills on self-knowledge, regulation and self-concept that focus on values and belief of an individual. Servant leadership asks an employee to do what the leader is willing to do by himself moreover servant leadership ensures a leader works with the employees by employing the skills of empathy, motivation of employees as well as active listening. As well, transformational leadership theories encourage employees, ensure that the employees do their best, and foster close relation with employees by using skills that ensure employees devote to their tasks combined with skills for encouraging employees. The essential group information for ensuring that the group succeeds includes background factors like personality, gender, age attitudes, values and fundamental interpersonal relations orientation. Small groups share three nee ds that help fulfill tasks and the needs include inclusion, which ensures that a group increases its productivity, accomplish goals and meet more customer needs. For the small group, information on control is useful since it would help deal with the need to lead and develop power over other people; as well affection enhances friendship and closeness between people. Information on age would be essential since communication patterns change with time from childhood through adolescence to adulthood and old age. Personality information of people within the group is helpful to a manager since it offers information on how people behave; therefore, in looking for a dynamic group I would have to figure out how to work with the various personalities of individuals within the group and watching how they perform. Moreover, information on attitudes of individuals within the group is crucial since it enables me act accordingly with each individual and help correct those attitudes that do not supp ort the business initiatives. As well, information on values of individuals within the group is essential to the success of the group in enhancing the company goals and attaining them. Moreover, in the group communication is key point since it affects the development of the group therefore information of the various forms of communication and their possible impacts on the development of the group is essential. Intentional communication is essential in communicating purpose to the group, persuading others, getting points across and

Reflection 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection 8 - Essay Example Land conservation efforts and environmental conservation efforts aimed at leading the world towards an environment where each person plays a responsible role in leading to protection of the environment. The writer advocates people to look at eating as agricultural act rather than an agricultural product that many people consider it as. (Berry, p.65) Specialization in production is an aspect that is considered to lead to specialization in consumption through which some species can survive the wrath of man and hence sustenance. The dependent nature of the populations on the consumption of agricultural products has an effect on the environmental activities that take place in the world. Most of the consumption is on products essential to man and hence the difficulty in protecting the species and ensuring that environmental efforts in conservation prove successful. The consumption levels differ and the efforts to introduce genetically modified foods indicate the desperate measures of the human population in dealing with the environmental effects and in trying to prepare for a total food lack. These indicate the pleasure of eating that people are working hard to protect and hence leaving the world at risk of more environmental

Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR( Corporate Social Essay

Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR( Corporate Social Responsibility), including its history, role in the financial crisis and prospects for the future. Support your answer with examples - Essay Example 141). However, there are some people who prefer to remain silent. Despite this variation, the final objective of a decent and humane society has been acknowledged as one in which the corporate sector sustains the environment and conserves resources (Robins, 2008, p. 337). Moreover, CSR has the capacity to contribute to the environmental and social sustainability of business (Manske and Frey, 2006, p. 11). With regard to businesses that apply emerging technologies, the forestalling and management of the wider social impacts of these technologies assume importance. A number of enabling technological solutions have been facilitated by nanoscale science and technology (NST). These solutions could result in unprecedented innovations in several sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, electronics and sustainable energy (Groves et al., 2011, p. 525). As a consequence of this potentiality, NST has raised concerns regarding its ethical, legal and social influences (Frewer et al., 2011, p. 271). There are several issues related to nanotechnologies, and attempts to address these problems have been limited. For instance, there are important knowledge gaps regarding the probable effects of nanomaterials upon the environment and health. Moreover, nanomaterials derive their importance from several traits. One of these is their enhanced reactivity. Some of these characteristics can produce negative consequences on accidental release and exposure to these substances (Groves et al., 2011, p. 525). The early definitions of CSR had focused upon what constituted the social responsibility of a company, and the reasons for rendering them socially responsible. These definitions had also regarded CSR to be the same as the philanthropic and voluntary acts of business organisations that had been aimed at addressing the drawbacks in society and at benefiting the disadvantaged sections thereof (Mishra and Suar, 2010, p.

Worplestrop Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Worplestrop Case Study - Assignment Example We have three methods of budget control and systems (Hofstede, 2001). These include; a) Forecasting It is the most important technique of budgetary preparation; it gives the company ability to lay out future plans for the organization. It gives a comprehensive plan and look outs of the future. We prepare targeted plans, and the resources needed, then make percentages of the head accounts, and let other concerned groups compare. b) Variable Analysis It is usually done every month, with a quarterly processed closing summary. This budgetary control shows the difference between the actual results and the budget, noting the differences down and then accounting for them. This form of control reduces significantly the necessity of going through all the review cycles (Hofstede 2001). c) Control centres It prepares the budget within the business groups by creating budgetary control centres. We have different kinds of responsibilities within the created centres. Control centres methodology is ideally accepted within Worplestrop organization, because the control centres are segmented, creating an easy environment of managing the budgetary information. The budgets operate in terms of monetary relation. This is because most organizational activities run by use of money, so the budgets describe the organizations, usage of the available capital in the organization.

Article I of the Constitution of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article I of the Constitution of America - Essay Example In this context, Article-I is the most significant of the provisions of the Constitution of the US that vests the powers on the â€Å"Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives† and specifies the â€Å"unique and limited powers of the Congress† (Ritchie 50). The legislative branch is the most important branch of the government and as such Article-I, which defines their powers, is a very significant part of the US constitution. Article-I is divided into 10 sections, each defining the constitution, powers and functions of the legislative body of the government. The first section stipulates the bicameral division of the Congress into two houses, such as the â€Å"Senate† and â€Å"House of Representatives† to ensure a â€Å"compromise between the power of the state and the power of the people† (50). Such a balancing of power, through the provision of Article-I ensures that power is not misused. Thus, it can be construed that Article-I of the Constitution facilitates a appropriate rights to the people so that any chances of misuse is obviated, which is important in a democratic set up. Section 2 of Article-I defines the term and qualification of the House of Representatives and thus plays a key role in determining that only suitable persons are selected for governance. On the other hand, Section 3 stipulates the terms, qualifications and functions of the members of the Senate. Both these sections of Article-I contain important provisions relating to the basic functions of the legislative branch, which is the most significant of the divisions of the American government. Thus, Article-I is very important. Section 4 of Article-I, prescribes the conditions and procedures of holding the elections Senators and Representatives, which, again, is a highly significant aspect of democratic set up. Section 6 describes the compensation of

International and strategic marketing Assignment

International and strategic marketing - Assignment Example The several challenges faced over the years have also helped to propel the company into new heights. These include fierce competition from other consulting firms, the credit crunch which saw the company barely survive and the restructuring we had to do to increase efficiency and serve our clients better. The International Market After long consultations with the directors and other stakeholders, it was agreed that the company should move to another level and expand into the international market. This will be a great privilege to the company. After the marketing team completed its analysis on the first location outside the UK that the company should base its services on, we decided to take the business to Paris, France due to a number of reasons that will be outlined later. With the expansion to Paris, the company will also introduce a new product in the market. This is an area that the company has researched on and found high demand for, especially in Paris. The new product involves training programmes for International marketing. The most obvious reason as to the choice of this product is due to the fact that Paris, being a renowned historical city in the world, attracts several local and international tourists every year. The training programmes in International marketing will thus be very useful to the market. ... Secondly, new products in the market usually earn higher profits than old ones because of their unique qualities and the fact that competitors would not have caught up yet. This is especially advantageous in launching new products in new markets where such products tend to generate curiosity from the market. Thirdly, limiting the company to old products may make the company lose out on emerging markets or existing clients who eventually get bored of the same products presented in the same old ways (Husig & Kohn 2003). Seasonal variation in demand for products may mean that firms’ revenues keep fluctuating. Development of new products which are customized to be profitable during different times is one of the ways companies can use to ensure consistent revenues throughout the year. Technological advances today, especially in Information Technology have made it easy for companies to easily develop new concepts at a faster rate and with lower costs. Developing new concepts therefo re helps companies keep abreast with technological advancements (Kotler & Gray 2008). The first step undertaken included the brainstorming of ideas. Once it was made known that the company was going international, the employees in the company were very enthusiastic to pitch in ideas to help in the development of a product that would hit in the international market. Brainstorming on ideas is usually a great way to get new ideas on the table (Cateora & Graham 2002). Apart from contributions by the employees and other experts hired to do the job, clients of the company were also asked for their contribution and the feedback received was very useful. After the ideas were sifted through, the marketing department did further research on the most viable ideas and the ideas were screened. The

Management Accounting Assesssment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Accounting Assesssment - Coursework Example On the basis of such information, management formulates the future strategy to be followed to retain its competitiveness in the industry. In the contemporary environment, organisations are paying special attention to two main factors. The first one is associated with incorporation of continuous improvement in the operations of the organisation and the second one is monitoring the cost with help of an advanced and flexible accounting system. In this given project, both these factors will be discussed, drawing examples from Corus. At the beginning, a brief introduction about Corus will be given and later on issues associated with continues improvement and flexible costing system will be discussed. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn to summarise the information gathered in the project. About Corus Corus is the second largest steel producer in Europe with its main operations in UK and Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one among the world’s top ten steel manufacturers . ... The company pays special attention towards the changing needs of its international customer base. Tata is an Indian conglomerate that operates in chemical, telecommunication, consumers goods, automotive and leisure industry. The Corus exclusively consumes 6.5 million tonnes of iron ore and 2 million tonnes of coal each year to produce 4.3 million tonnes of steels. Its principle production site is at Scunthorpe that alone employees 5,500 people who work in 2,000 acres of area. The steel produced by Corus is used for production of rail, steel products, steel rods and steel plates. The production units of Corus are highly conscious about sustainable development; hence the company is making investments to minimise emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases. With time, demand for steel in developing nations like China and India will grow further. On the other hand, international organisations are constantly increasing pressure on the steel producers to minimise the negative impact on t he environment. Therefore, while formulating the future strategy for the Corus, its management is likely to pay special attention to these vital issues. Benefit of continuous improvement in Corus What is Continuous Improvement- The term ‘continuous improvement’ is derived from the Japanese word â€Å"Kaizen† which means making changes that bring about betterment in the overall processes in an organisation. This comprises of IT, engineering, financial, commercial, customer services and manufacturing related processes. It essentially involves making small changes in the process instead of making big changes intermittently. This calls for a close supervision of the overall business processes and exercising a tight control. Parties

Petitions of African Chiefs Essay Example for Free

Petitions of African Chiefs Essay 1. When the slave trade was abolished in certain regions of Africa, the Africans were forced to find other alternative sources of livelihood such as entering in a legitimate trade of shipping various products.     Ã‚  Instead of selling human beings as merchandise, the Africans accepted the timber trade when it was introduced by the Europeans.   However, when   the timber trade did not succeed, they turned to growing and exporting ground nuts and when this too did not come through, the Africans resorted to palm oil trading – the subject of King Ockiya’s letter to the Earl of Derby. 2. Since the abolition of the African slave trade, Africans having been trying to find other sources of income and livelihood.   Among such is the valued palm oil which they collected from the hinterlands.   However, greedy British traders wanted to bypass them and go directly to the source of these valued commodity.   Hence, the African leaders were asking the British to let them have their own source of livelihood, free of intervention from the Europeans who were already encroaching on their trading posts thereby stopping the African trade completely. The petitions and demands of the African leaders show how powerful the Europeans are that even building huts or places of abode are considered taxable.   Nonetheless, these ruthlessness of the Europeans paved the way for the Africans to wake up and saw all of these as an assault to their customs, livelihood and traditions. Lin’s Letter to Queen Victoria 1. The rise of the opium trade in China according to Lin has poisoned and injured its people.   The laws of the country have been disregard in lieu of the temptations and addiction of the opium drug. 1. Lin tries to convince Queen Victoria to stop the opium trade by appealing to their conscience and strict morality. He tries to emphasize that since opium is forbidden in Britain and brings harm to the British people, the Queen must condemn it as well especially its importation.   As Lin proudly said, China has only exported things that are beneficial to the people and opium is not one of them. By giving the impression that China only exports things that are beneficial, from which the world has undoubtedly benefited, Lin thinks that Queen Victoria and the rest of Britain might be convinced of his argument.   However, the tone of Lin’s letter is also threatening whereby he gives the appearance that China in consonance with its laws will not hesitate to execute anyone caught selling and using the prohibited drug. Hence, the response of the British will naturally be to disregard Lin and his contention, even get angry at such preposterousness.

Movement Techniques In Casablanca Film Studies Essay

Movement Techniques In Casablanca Film Studies Essay Casablanca, the movie which was presented in 1943, was written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison and was directed by Michael Curtiz. Its an American romantic drama black and white movie by Hollywood. As for the awards that Casablanca won; it won three academy awards. It was and has always been up till now one of the most excellent films ever and had a complete accomplishment. Mainly the film is about a man who is cut out between his love and his good quality manner feature. The dilemma was that he had to pick one of the two hard choices. Its either he choose to be with the love of his life and help her out or to help her husband to get away from the Moroccan city (Casablanca) to carry on with his fight against the Nazis. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owns a nightclub in Casablanca, the city, called Ricks Cafà © Amà ©ricain. While the World War II was on, this cafe was like a home for all refugees who are trying to escape to America, they were obtaining illegal letters for that getaway. Shockingly, one day Rick came across the well-known revolt Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), which was the woman he used to love before she left him behind when the Nazis attacked Paris. Ilsa begin again to love Rick and wants to stay with him in Casablanca, but she also wants Victor to escape to America. So she made Rick decide, and by tha t was the story of the film. The Movement Technique: Movement in filmmaking is a very important yet hard technique to achieve. Therefore, its not about what happens in a scene; rather its about how to show what is happening in the scene. There are many different ways to apply movement techniques in a film. An excellent director will want to show how indicative and significant are the movements in a dramatic scene for instance. And how can he/she make the scene effective by using the right form of movements to display and demonstrate the idea (Giannetti, 2010). Any film that doesnt use movement techniques is subjected to be static. Nevertheless, movement doesnt mean drama. There are many action movies that consists movements without having drama thread. Moreover, it is  a matter of the least possible means having the greatest effect so that when violent movement is at last triggered off, it has the desired effect. (Foss, 1992). Camera Movements: Camera movements have two major types: movements that follow a moving subject and the ones that are not detected by movements on the plane of actions. The first kind is mainly about following the dramatic action. On the contrary, the second kind has a significant function; where a connection is made between the items and the events. Each film has a different number of camera movements; that relies upon the time between the cuts in the movie. The shorter the time between the cuts, the fewer camera movements are needed and vice versa. Tracking is a form of camera movements, which has an extremely enormous control to generate feel and atmosphere. Zooming and tracking in are slightly different than one another. Tracking pulls the watcher into the picture in a manner that feels nearly physical and raise the sense of presence and realism. Zooming simply brings out the detail and raises the sense that the director is playing for effects. Another approach of raising the feeling of realism in a movie is to use hand-held camera. It is frequently used to do documentary films and it gives the watcher the illusion of looking at the reality (Foss, 1992). Camera movement is one of the main techniques any filmmaker should study and know really well in order to be able to produce a successful movie. People tend to remember what happens in a general scene more, so using different kinds of camera movement techniques in doing a film correctly will probably help more in making a better movie. In any movie, the director usually moves the camera during all the scenes for many different reasons. Camera movements could most likely means emphasizing on whats happening in the scene or might be to catch people attention for the coming up scene. The director can use a lot of methods such as: long shots, slow-paced action, or high angles to stress a movement. Camera movements could be: smooth, choppy, lyrical, or disorienting. Besides, the movements in a scene possibly will be: naturalistic, stylized, literal, or symbolic (Giannetti, 2010). Camera Angle: Composition can be influenced by the angle of the shot. Cameras can be placed over or underneath the scene, to either produce high-angle-shot or a low-angle-shot. Usually, the shot that is looking down weakens the character (the object). On the contrary, the shot that is likely to be appearing upwards emphasizes the authority or control of the subject or character. The framing of a shot could be directed by the degree to which the framing is level with the horizon. Both the high angle and low angle shots are resulting from the context of the film, and not from the dictionary of camera aesthetics (Gross Ward, 2007). Cinematic Techniques: The fundamentals of cinematic techniques are pan, tilt, and dolly. First, Pan: is the horizontal movement of a camera, it looks through an absolutely broad landscape which doesnt fit a regular camera border. Second, Tilt: is the vertical movement of a camera, by pivoting up and down. Those two techniques are referred to as re-framing the shot and are usually used to track the characters in the movement of action. Finally, Dolly: is the way the camera usually moves normally horizontally throughout the space. Another camera technique is: pulling focus; which is basically a normal technique that applies looking at items that are in diverse ranges. Focal length of a camera is mainly the zoom of the cameras lenses. Zoom, an unnatural technique which is probably used to make effects, is the move of a framework from a wide shot to a close up without moving the camera. There are two types of zooming: slow zoom and fast zoom. The shift from one picture to another in filmmaking is called trans ition. For example: cut is the easiest method of transitions, which are regularly used to have harsh jumps in the moment and on space. There are three main types of transitions. First: dissolve layer, which is used to have soft transition, is having the new picture over the old one by raising the darkness of the old one until the transition is done. Second: fades, which is a type of explosive transition, usually starts and ends the scenes by shifting the colored screen or the picture gradually to a color. Finally: effects transitions are the structure of transmitting an image into another one. Some general framing expressions that could be relevant to either characters or objects are: master shot, full shot, medium shot, medium close up, close up, and an extreme close up (Vineyard). Applying the Movement technique in the movie (Casablanca): At the start of the movie, there was a scene that starts right after the sound of the two German messengers who were killed as they were carrying letters to transfer the MacGuffin of Casablanca. We can see how the police arrested some suspicious characters who were on the street. One of those people where a man who had papers which were not in order, so he tried to escape from the police, but was shot and killed right away. The police officer bends down to the man to look at those papers that were compressed in his hands, then passes them to the other police officer and also closer to the camera so that people can see, the papers showed that the man was a free France propaganda. We can notice how the camera had a close-up to the police officers hand when he was holding the papers. The papers were also on a slope of the camera, where the police cannot see them as well as we (watchers) do. That scene indicates how important it is to keep in mind the relation between the characters in t he movie and the film viewers, who are watching the movie, who are the most important ones in this case. Another scene in Casablanca demonstrates Ricks Cafà © Amà ©ricain, the shot at first shows the cafà © as a whole and then the shot transfers to be only towards people who are in the cafà © talking about escaping to America. Next, the image goes to a woman who was asking about Rick. After that, a man goes up to Rick asking him to sign an empty check, then the camera takes a closer shot at Rick while he is signing the check and then another closer shot at Rick himself. This shot emphasizes that Rick is the main character and the owner of the cafà ©. In one of the scenes of Casablanca, right after the flash from the past of Paris, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) where talking with Rick when she first moved to Casablanca. The following shot of the movie had a right to left camera movement from the image of Ricks face to the image of his hands, when they were tipping above the glass. The next shot was also a camera movement but here it was from the left side to the right side, where the camera was following the small walk till the right border of the frame of Sam (Dooley Wilsons). Hence, in the middle of that shot there was an open space between Sam and Rick. The set of this scene had a door that was framed by the vaulted roof which is a double aperture framing. After that, the director prepares the watcher with a visual staging when Ilsa enters the room. Immediately before she enters, the shot was on the object that was centered in front of Rick which was the bottle; he removes the bottle to pour a drink for himself thus making a clear view of the entrance. In this scene, the aim of the director of the movie was to transfer peoples attention to the entrance of the other character. Then, with having a musical background sound, Rick and Sam looks at the door while the shot was gloomy right away before Ilsa enters. After she has entered, the lighting stresses how she is enclosed with the door. How this (movement technique) was closely connected to another technique: Although, Casablanca is a striking example of the movement technique used in the film, cinematography technique had also a huge great part of the movie. The central concentration and all the focus of attention was directed to Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Most of the shots were taken from her left side with a catch lights, so that her eyes can look like they are shining and mainly the entire propose was to make her face looks gloomy, gentle, and unforgettable. As for the rest of the characters and the setting, bars of shade and darkness were indicating isolation. Moreover, the crucifix, which is the cross with Jesus body, is a symbol of emotional confusion and of the free French forces; which were the French soldiers during the WWII who agreed to carry on the fight and never give up. In nearly all of the scenes, mostly at the last part there was a dim film noir; which stresses the sexual desire and cynical behavior. All of those kinds of lighting equipments and shadow shades that were used in the film were classic ones. Also, the way of applying the background surroundings as a frame of the scenes made the film seems more professional (Kemp). Conclusion: In conclusion, movement techniques usually try to emphasize an important point of the movie to the audience in an indirect way. Moreover, some close-ups and pauses in a film mean that the film director is trying to highlight some major and valuable concepts of the movie. Successful filmmakers use movement techniques correctly and effectively in a film. Word Count: 1956

Policies for Partnership Working in Health and Social Care

Policies for Partnership Working in Health and Social Care The partnership between health and social care services policies in UK Introduction For the past decade or so, the focus within health and social services has been on improving all-round services through partnership between different organisations. The aim of this has been to improve integration, efficiency and provide better care for all types of patients in the community. However, the policies involved in both health and social care services have not always allowed the partnerships to work as they should. Whilst there have been some successes and partnerships have improved integration and overall care, there have also been mistakes that in some cases have made things worse rather than better.[1] The aim of this essay is to track the development of the partnership between health and welfare services over the last ten years or so, and how effective this partnership has been. There will be a critical review of partnership policy, and a focused case study on the Sure Start partnership as an example of how partnerships between health and social services in the UK are fairing. The development of a partnership between health and welfare service The development of partnerships between health and welfare services has been a critical focus of New Labour policy over the last ten years. However, these terms are often not defined particularly well and are therefore fairly difficult to analyse. The problem is that collaboration and partnership between the organisations is difficult in light of different cultures and power relationships within the professions.[2] However, this has not stopped attempts by New Labour to create partnerships between health and social care through various initiatives and policies. It was in 1999 that the government set out its radical NHS Plan that promised to transform the way in which health and social services interacted. The development of Care Trusts meant that health and social services would be dealt with by a singular organisation in certain areas for the first time. The main focus of the changes being on child services, service for the elderly and mental health services.[3] The first problem of developing partnerships was to overcome the difficulties and issues between new staff committed to the partnership and older staff who had worked in the organisations as separate entities. The UK Centres of Excellence funded by the DfES were created in an effort to combine high quality services in one place. These then led to specific Children’s Centres. The idea was to combine disciplines of health and social care in one arena as a focus on a specific group of individuals – in this case families and children.[4] The focus for many of the partnership policies and initiatives has been on children, families and the elderly in an effort to provide better integrated care for these groups. One of the biggest developments within partnerships between health care and social care has been to empower those who use the services in an effort to smooth over integration. The idea is that with user participation these organisations will better understand how to work as a partnership to help the needs of the user. If the users can help to shape service standards, then differences between the organisations will be reduced and effective partnership will be increased.[5] The idea behind this is also to manage internal diversity within the country as a society and the diversity within organisations so that these different parts can work together more easily.[6] The partnerships and their success are looked at in two ways. Firstly, how well the partners can work together to address mutual aims, and also how service delivery and effects on health and well-being of service users has been improved.[7] The focus of policy has been on inter-organisational partnerships between health and social care, rather than focusing on individual professionals working together between organisations. The development should be seen as ‘NHS working with DfES/DCSF’ rather than ‘GP’s, doctors and nurses working with social workers’.[8] The biggest shift has been the creation of the Primary Care Groups and Care Trusts which are responsible for the welfare of healthcare services in the community. These organisations are being encouraged to work with social services so that intermediate care can be provided, hospital waiting lists can be cut and the roots of issues can be sorted rather than merely the outcomes being treated. The formation of Care Trusts that try to combine health and social services in one organisation has been somewhat hit and miss in the UK.[9] The next section will critically examine these policies. Critical review of partnership policy One of the biggest problems with these policies is that many of the terms used are extremely vague and it is hard to evaluate their effectiveness. ‘Partnership’ is not accurately defined by most of the policies, and this leaves the concept open to interpretation.[10] The concept of user participation and feedback within the policy is also rather poorly defined, and this means that the effectiveness of user participation to bring together health and social services tools is rarely monitored.[11] There needs to be more feedback for users on their participation within these organisations, and the participation of users needs to be tied directly into policy to improve partnerships.[12] The term ‘culture’ is also given importance in the policies because it determines how the organisations work together in the partnership and work with users of the services. However, studies have shown this term has not been given a universal meaning and local organisations have given the term different meanings. This leads to inconsistent services and fluctuating success within a partnership.[13] However, there have been some benefits of the increased user participation within health and social care partnerships. It has allowed users to gain more power within the relationship and in many ways help to self-manage their own needs more clearly. This is certainly the care within health and social care partnerships for the elderly community. Rather than being seen as a drain on resources, the older generation can now work with health and social services to maintain a higher quality of life and continually contribute to society. With health and social care working together in this way, the elderly community have better access to their needs as well as being more efficiently care for due to the organisational collaboration.[14] The difference here is that whereas before an elderly person would be seen separately by the NHS and by private and government-based social services agencies, these organisations now work together to provide all primary care needs in one package. This makes it easier for all involved in the process.[15] It removes the boundaries that have been such an issue for many older people over the decades within the UK welfare system.[16] The problem of course arises when the partnership as a whole is not serving the needs of individuals. Whereas before an individual may be failed by one organisation, now the failure will cover all the services they require. With the health and social services organisations also working with private entities such as insurers, if one area fails then the service package as a whole can fail.[17] The problem is still that the two markets of health and social care are organisationally opposed. The culture within the organisations is geared towards competition rather than cooperation, and this has been extremely hard to overcome.[18] The disciplines have found it hard to build up levels of trust that allow for successful communication and partnership.[19] Despite these problems with policy, there have been cases where policies have established partnerships between health and social services. One of these partnership initiatives is known as ‘Sure Start’. The next section will present a case study of this partnership to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Case study of sure start The Sure Start program was created in the ‘early years’ of the New Labour government and looked to help children and families both before and after birth in a holistic and integrated way. This includes provided healthcare and social care for children, as well as providing in-need adults with social care that they can benefit from. The government put a large amount of money into the project from 1998 onwards, and has rolled the program out across the country.[20] The program sees all health and social care service providers work together to benefit parents and children in a wide variety of ways, particularly for vulnerable children and those with learning difficulties. These issues can benefit from an integrated approach that combines different aspects of health and social care in one package.[21] Reports from this program in local areas show that commitment to partnerships and cooperation has been high amongst the staff involved. Those involved in the partnership, whether health and social services staff or parent members, found the experience to be positive and allowed for a more integrated approach to family welfare. Work with families has improved somewhat, although there are still problems. The biggest problem to the effectiveness of the partnership is differing organisational cultures. These cultures mean that health and social services cannot always work effectively together, and that there are also limits on parental involvement. Parents found that the bureaucratic cultures of the organisations meant they were reluctant to participate further in the partnership. Likewise, staff within the different organisations found it hard to work with certain other staff because of differences in organisational culture.[22] In other studies, the results were even poorer. Rutter found that the objective of Sure Start to eliminate child poverty and social exclusion was not being met. The results of National Evaluations of the Sure Start Team were analysed and showed that after 3 years, there was no significant service improvement. In fact, in some areas the service had got worse and had made the situations of families worse.[23] The problem here was that whilst the partnership was working successful in bringing together health and social services, this was not improving the actual services offered on both sides. With only one organisation to now use, the most disadvantaged families were being let down in all areas rather than just in a few areas. It seems that many of the weaknesses of both organisations were combined in the partnership rather than their strengths. Other results show mixed results. One study showed that the partnership had been effective for teenage mothers in improving their parenting, but the actual children of such mothers were in some cases worse off. The problem seems to be not with the concept of the partnership itself, but the actual practical effectiveness of the local organisations involved in the particular partnership and the level of communication and cooperation between different staff.[24] Overall, the project has certainly been a success in developing integrated support networks for children and families throughout the UK. However, the effectiveness of this support network has been hindered in many areas because of different organisational cultures and a lack of adequate management capacity across the disciplines. These cultural problems have also limited the effectives of service user participation in some areas, and this is something that needs to be addressed in the future if these partnerships are to be successful.[25] Conclusion The policies of the New Labour government have tried to overcome the previous problems of drawing together the health and social services into one partnership. These organisations have always been highly separate, and attempts in the 1980’s and early 1990’s to foster cooperation between them often failed because of the differences in the organisations.[26] The issue has been that trying to find a fast and effective solution to the boundaries between health and social care is difficult, although it is attainable in the long-term.[27] The partnerships themselves have actually been quite successful in creating sustainable and integrated local support networks across the UK. However, the effectiveness of these partnerships has been damaged by a number of factors. Firstly, there is still too much competition and a culture of ‘blaming the other organisation’ between health and social services. Both organisations would prefer to absolve themselves of responsibility and compete for success rather than work together to solve the problem together. Although when things go right the partnership can work, when things go wrong both parties look to blame the ‘other side’. This means many users are let down by the partnership with no-one taking responsibility for the failure.[28] Also, there has been too much emphasis on inter-organisational cooperation rather than inter-professional cooperation. Whilst organisations as a whole are difficult to change because of imbedded cultures and management styles, individual professionals can quickly be shown how to work together to both achieve better results for their respective organisations. The government policies should be more focused on getting individuals within different organisations (e.g. doctors and social workers) than looking at combining whole organisations. This gives the user the integrated support they need whilst still allowing the different organisations to concentrate on what they do best.[29] In conclusion, partnerships between the health and social services in the UK can work to improve support for those who need it. However, the focus needs to shift from inter-organisational cooperation to inter-professional cooperation if the partnerships that have been successfully set up are to be effective in the future. Bibliography Anning, A (2005) Investigating the impact of working in multi- agency service delivery setting in the UK on early years practitioners beliefs and practices. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 3(1), pp.19-50 Balloch, S and Taylor, M (2001) Partnership Working: Policy and Practice. Bristol: The Policy Press. Barnes, M, Newman, J and Sullivan, H (2004) Power, participation and political renewal; theoretical and empirical perspectives on public participation under new Labour. Social Politics, 11(2), pp. 267-279. Belsky, J et al (2006) Effects of Sure Start local programmes on children and families: early findings from a quasi-experimental, cross sectional study. BMJ, 332, p. 1476. Brown, L, Tucker, C, and Domokos, T (2003) Evaluating the impact of integrated health and social care teams on older people living in the community. Health and Social Care in the Community, 11(2), pp. 85-94. Carnwell, R and Buchanan, J (2005) Effective Practice in Health and Social Care: A Partnership Approach. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Carpenter, J, Griffin, M and Brown, S (2005) The Impact of Sure Start on Social Services. Durham Centre for Applied Social Research. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/SSU2005FR015.pdf Carr, S (2004) Has service user participation made a difference to social care services? London: Social Care institute for Excellence. Available at: http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/positionpapers/pp03.asp Clarke, J (2005) New Labours citizens: activated, empowered, responsibilized, abandoned? Critical Social Policy, 25, pp. 447-463. Dowling, B, Powell, M, and Glendinning, C (2004) Conceptualising successful partnership. Health and Social Care in the Community, 12(4), pp. 309-317. DCSF (2008) Sure Start Partnership Work. SureStart Website. Available at: http://www.surestart.gov.uk/stepintolearning/setup/feinvolvement/partnership/ (Accessed 27th December 2008). Gilson, L (2003) Trust and the development of health care as a social institution. Social Science and Medicine, 56(7), pp. 1453-1468. Glasby, J and Peck, E (2004) Care Trusts: Partnership Working in Action. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing. Glass, N (1999) Sure Start: the development of an early intervention programme for young children in the United Kingdom. Children and Society, 13(4), pp. 257-264. Glendinning, C (2002) Partnerships between health and social services: developing a framework for evaluation. Policy and Politics, 30(1), pp. 115-127. Glendinning, C, Powell, M A and Rummery, K (2002) Partnerships, New Labour and the Governance of Welfare. Bristol: The Policy Press. Ham, C (1997) Health Care Reform: Learning from International Experience. Plenary Session I: Reframing Health Care Policies. Available at: http://www.ha.org.hk/archives/hacon97/contents/26.pdf Hudson, B (1999) Joint commissioning across the primary health care–social care boundary: can it work? Health and Social Care in the Community, 7(5), pp. 358-366. Hudson, B (2002) Interprofessionality in health and social care: the Achilles heel of partnership? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(1), pp. 7-17. Leathard, A (1994) Going Inter-professional: Working Together for Health and Welfare. London: Routledge. Leathard, A (2003) Interprofessional Collaboration: From Policy to Practice in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge. Lewis, J (2001) Older People and the Health–Social Care Boundary in the UK: Half a Century of Hidden Policy Conflict. Social Policy and Administration, 35(4), pp. 343-359. Lymbery, M (2006) Untied we stand? Partnership working in health and social care and the role of social work in services for older people. British Journal of Social Work, 36, pp. 1119-1134. Maddock, S and Morgan, G (1998) Barriers to transformation: Beyond bureaucracy and the market conditions for collaboration in health and social care. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 11(4), pp. 234-251. Martin, V (2002) Managing Projects in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge. Myers, P, Barnes, J and Brodie, I (2003) Partnership Working in Sure Start Local Programmes Early findings from local programme evaluations. NESS Synthesis Report 1. Available at: http://www.ness.bbk.ac.uk/documents/synthesisReports/23.pdf Newman, J et al (2004) Public participation and collaborative governance. Journal of Social Policy and Society, 33, pp. 203-223. Peck, E, Towell, D and Gulliver, P (2001) The meanings of culture in health and social care: a case study of the combined Trust in Somerset . Journal of Interprofessional Care, 15(4), pp. 319-327. Rummery, K and Coleman, A (2003) Primary health and social care services in the UK: progress towards partnership? Social Science and Medicine, 56(8), pp. 1773-1782. Rutter, M (2006) Is Sure Start an Effective Preventive Intervention? Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 11(3), pp. 135-141. Stanley, N and Manthorpe, J (2004) The Age of Inquiry: Learning and Blaming in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge. 1 Footnotes [1] Leathard, A (1994) Going Inter-professional: Working Together for Health and Welfare. London: Routledge, pp. 6-9 [2] Lymbery, M (2006) Untied we stand? Partnership working in health and social care and the role of social work in services for older people. British Journal of Social Work, 36, pp. 1128-1131. [3] Glasby, J and Peck, E (2004) Care Trusts: Partnership Working in Action. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing, pp. 1-2 [4] Anning, A (2005) Investigating the impact of working in multi- agency service delivery setting in the Uk on early years practitioners beliefs and practices. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 3(1), pp.19-21 [5] Barnes, M, Newman, J and Sullivan, H (2004) Power, participation and political renewal; theoretical and empirical perspectives on public participation under new Labour. Social Politics, 11(2), pp. 267-270. [6] Clarke, J (2005) New Labours citizens: activated, empowered, responsibilized, abandoned? Critical Social Policy, 25, pp. 449-453 [7] Dowling, B, Powell, M, and Glendinning, C (2004) Conceptualising successful partnership. Health and Social Care in the Community, 12(4), pp. 309-312. [8] Hudson, B (2002) Interprofessionality in health and social care: the Achilles heel of partnership? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(1), pp. 10-14. [9] Rummery, K and Coleman, A (2003) Primary health and social care services in the UK: progress towards partnership? Social Science and Medicine, 56(8), pp. 1777-1780. [10] Glendinning, C (2002) Partnerships between health and social services: developing a framework for evaluation. Policy and Politics, 30(1), pp. 115-117. [11] Carr, S (2004) Has service user participation made a difference to social care services? London: Social Care institute for Excellence. Available at: http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/positionpapers/pp03.asp [12] Newman, J et al (2004) Public participation and collaborative governance. Journal of Social Policy and Society, 33, pp. 217-220. [13] Peck, E, Towell, D and Gulliver, P (2001) The meanings of culture in health and social care: a case study of the combined Trust in Somerset . Journal of Interprofessional Care, 15(4), pp. 323-325. [14] Balloch, S and Taylor, M (2001) Partnership Working: Policy and Practice. Bristol: The Policy Press, pp. 143-145. [15] Leathard, A (2003) Interprofessional Collaboration: From Policy to Practice in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge, pp. 102-103 [16] Lewis, J (2001) Older People and the Health–Social Care Boundary in the UK: Half a Century of Hidden Policy Conflict. Social Policy and Administration, 35(4), pp. 343-344. [17] Ham, C (1997) Health Care Reform: Learning from International Experience. Plenary Session I: Reframing Health Care Policies. Available at: http://www.ha.org.hk/archives/hacon97/contents/26.pdf, p. 25 [18] Maddock, S and Morgan, G (1998) Barriers to transformation: Beyond bureaucracy and the market conditions for collaboration in health and social care. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 11(4), pp. 234-235. [19] Gilson, L (2003) Trust and the development of health care as a social institution. Social Science and Medicine, 56(7), pp. 1463-1466. [20] Glass, N (1999) Sure Start: the development of an early intervention programme for young children in the United Kingdom. Children and Society, 13(4), pp. 257-259. [21] DCSF (2008) Sure Start Partnership Work. SureStart Website. Available at: http://www.surestart.gov.uk/stepintolearning/setup/feinvolvement/partnership/ (Accessed 27th December 2008). [22] Myers, P, Barnes, J and Brodie, I (2003) Partnership Working in Sure Start Local Programmes Early findings from local programme evaluations. NESS Synthesis Report 1. Available at: http://www.ness.bbk.ac.uk/documents/synthesisReports/23.pdf [23] Rutter, M (2006) Is Sure Start an Effective Preventive Intervention? Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 11(3), pp. 137-140. [24] Belsky, J et al (2006) Effects of Sure Start local programmes on children and families: early findings from a quasi-experimental, cross sectional study. BMJ, 332, p. 1476. [25] Carpenter, J, Griffin, M and Brown, S (2005) The Impact of Sure Start on Social Services. Durham Centre for Applied Social Research. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/SSU2005FR015.pdf, pp. 44-48 [26] Glendinning, C, Powell, M A and Rummery, K (2002) Partnerships, New Labour and the Governance of Welfare. Bristol: The Policy Press, pp. 34-36 [27] Hudson, B (1999) Joint commissioning across the primary health care–social care boundary: can it work? Health and Social Care in the Community, 7(5), pp. 363-365. [28] Stanley, N and Manthorpe, J (2004) The Age of Inquiry: Learning and Blaming in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge, pp. 1-5 [29] Martin, V (2002) Managing Projects in Health and Social Care. New York: Routledge, pp. 180-190

War in Iraq Essay -- essays research papers

War in Iraq   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Picture this, you, in a 3rd world country, no friends no family for thousands of miles, hungry, not feeling so well, tired, exhausted and being forced to fight thousands of people who want you out of there country? Fun? I wouldn’t think so†¦ This is a reality for thousands of American Soldiers stationed in Iraq and maybe your reality if the draft is reinstated. Now, picture this. You’re watching the news, they are calling out birthdays, oh they choose yours, but uh oh this is for a draft. You are now being shipped over to Iraq to fight with out choice. Easy as that. But what are you fighting for? Freedom, safety, your country? Maybe†¦ But the war is costing your home country 140 billion dollars so far and so far killed 1101 American Soldiers and we found no weapons of mass destruction or anything else that brought us to war in the 1st place. So good luck†¦   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes the war in Iraq is costing our country over 140 billion, so far†¦ Our state almost 5 billion dollars and our city 58.5 million dollars! This is unfair. We could have fully funded global anti-hunger efforts for 5 years, fully funded world wide AIDS programs for 14 years, built 1,300,000 homes for the homeless, put 19,000,000 kids into preschool, gave 85,000,000 kids health insurance for a whole year or even gave out 7,000,000 4-year scholarships to students at public universities! Instead we are at war. With all that money we could of made this country...

The Scarrlet Letter :: essays research papers

The Scarrlet Letter As citizens of the United States and members of the most open society in the world it is difficult for us to picture a world where the phrases woman's rights, equal opportunity, and religious freedom have little meaning. When the surface of American history is scratched, not necessarily deeply a past of limited rights for women is soon revealed. The challenge to any author comes in painting a picture of this colonial past to both current readers and readers to come. Nathaniel Hawthorne In his book ' The Scarlet Letter'; successfully meets this task through the character of Hester Prynn. Hawthorne describes a woman with independence ahead of her time and a social order unprepared to accept her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester's independence was promptly demonstrated at the novel's beginning. The court has ruled as punishment for her adultery she must wear an 'A'; upon her chest, that to the colonist served as a reminder of the punishment they would suffer if their sins were to be discovered, and to Hester a reminder of sin. Hester stands alone outside the court house as the close minded colonial eyes stare at her and the baby in her arms. Many women during this era of American history would look for a way to run. Hester shows little sign of uneasiness, with exception to her firm hold on the infant. At the conclusion of this scene the reader knows that this is a strong woman trying to maintain dignity in a land were a woman's independence ranked right above blasphemy on the hierarchy of values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the novel Hester demonstrates her independence of living. Her husband never comes forward, and her lover does the same. With everyone denying relations Hester is forced to live alone. She raises the child by herself and is successful in her enterprise of sewing and hemming. Hawthorne informs us that this lifestyle of isolationism is unique to her, and convinces us that an average colonial woman could not survive under these conditions. At this point in the book Hester has shown her independence in dealing with life's crisis, and in her style of living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The best way to understand a parents personality is to examine how they raise their children. This idea holds true when one examines closely the techniques Hester uses to raise Pearl. In this era of religious totality, independence of thought, and the teachings of those ideals commanded little

Walter Lees Dreams in A Raisin in The Sun Essay -- Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contrib uted to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life. Initially, Walter?s sole focus on his dreams lead to impaired judgment. One way Walter portrays his impaired judgment is when he makes assorted empty promises. In the Yo... ...se. Still Walter will face many more roadblocks, but perhaps his shattered life may begin to repair itself, even without financial security. Evidently, Walter Lee?s judgment becomes significantly impaired and all because of his dreams. In the world today, people still struggle with the same problems and desire the same things Walter does. Success is a seemingly huge necessity. In the course of ones life, each person is destined to face personal conflicts and contradictions. These problems, with the ability to overcome them is truly how to achieve greatness. As Mr. Langston Hughes questions so powerfully in his poem, ?What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun With the help of Walter Lee Younger, the answer becomes evident. Dreams never dry up? they just change. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Signet, 2008.

Commentary on Ten Trillion and Counting

Commentary on â€Å"Ten Trillion and Counting† The video is a well demonstration of debt issues that the U. S. government faces. It starts with the tough economic condition that Obama inherited from Bush. Then, it talks about Bush’s centerpiece economic agenda: cut taxes, as well as the way Bush always put politics ahead of economics. After a serious of expenses related to two big wars; two enormous tax cuts; and a variety of new entitlement program signed by Bush had been spent, the economic began to go down.He not only squandered the entire budget surplus he had inherited, but started to confronting a stubborn recession and a steadily escalating budget deficit. Next, the video shows the bitterly partisan fight over Obama’s expensive economic recovery plan. The Republicans worried about if the plan goes well, they will get no credits for anything they have done. So they strongly disagree with this huge amount of recovery expenses. The main issue regarding of thi s plan is about reform healthcare in order to save money in the long run.However, it is difficult to persuade interest groups and politicians who have been battling over healthcare for a long time. Besides, it is especially tough to talk to Americans about the government are going to spend less on benefits in a recession time. In the end, this video talks about Obama’s budget, and the rigorous debt deficit condition that the U. S. is going through. The reason I think the â€Å"Ten Trillion and Counting† is a well explanation of the debt deficit is because I learned a lot from this video. Before I watched this video I have no idea about the serious debt deficit problem that the U.S. is facing right now. The only thing I realized from my personal experience is that the U. S. government has relaxed the policy regarding to the threshold of international student. Several years ago, it is not easy for Chinese student to go abroad. Which reflects that the U. S. government rea lly wants to stimulate the economy by increase more demand. International student is a good resource of money. Another â€Å"interesting thing† I found in my daily life is that not only numerous retailers put advertisement like â€Å"buy 2 get 2 free,† some luxury brand starts to go on sale as well.It is rarely to see decades ago for a brand like Burberry put promotion in front of its showcase. From this perspective, people’s buying power has decreased sharply. Which results in less investments and staffs cut-off made by companies. In addition, a really serious recession was already happened. The stock market collapse, the banking system is imploded. Although keep borrowing from foreign countries is a way to buffer these problems, it is not a permanent way to solve the economy. So the U. S.Government needs to take some actions to decrease debt deficit. According to the video, there are two ways to reduce deficit, either by higher taxes or lower benefits. Today, forty percent of budget pays for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. However, the first baby boomer is getting retired sooner and they are claiming early retirement for social security. Moreover, as they grow order, they will make claims on Medicare. The U. S. government cannot afford these promises made before, especially in this kind of terrible economic downturn conditions.The Obama’s administration tries to bring deficit down by reforming healthcare in order to save money in the long run. In my opinion, the recovery plan needs to have a try. As Obama said: â€Å" the most important things we can do for our budget crisis right now is to make sure the economy does not continue to tank. And that is why passing the economic recovery plan is the right thing to do. Even though it is expensive. † In the short run, the debt deficit may tend to be bigger than Bush’s time. But after the healthcare has been taken, the economy will benefits in the long run.

The Policy Process Part Iii

The Policy Process, Part II University of Phoenix HCS 455 The Policy Process, Part II In the paper the author discussed The Policy Process, Part I on how Medicare part D became a policy. The author discussed the details on the formulation, legislative, and implementation stages of the policy. Now time to look at the final stages of the process, of Medicare Part D. Which are evaluation, analysis, revision, and methodology stages. In every policy there will be an evaluation stage to see how the policy will work and what needs to be done to evaluate the process. Evaluation StageThe evaluation stage is a process in which policymakers in the Senate and House look at a policy and evaluate the future outcomes of a policy in this case Medicare Part D. For instance once of the evaluation process would be how policymakers would evaluate the pharmaceutical companies to make sure to keep prescription costs down. Another would be to evaluate how many senior citizens are enrolling in the plan. As well as making sure senior citizens have all the information available to them to choose the correct plan that fits their prescription needs. For instance the Kaiser Foundation did a study on the technical problems of Medicare Part D.One of Kaiser’s findings seen confusion on which prescriptions would be covered from the numerous plans that an individual can choose from. As well, as medical providers not getting the new medical software to transition Medicare Part D into their computer systems. This meant that difference agencies like, doctors, insurance companies, and pharmacies run different programs and that have different policies on how to share patient’s information. Now on the other hand, if all these agencies can have the same software this would allow everyone in the patient’s medical circle to share the same codes and computer language.Thus, not having to have a great deal of public pain and confusion about the patient’s drug coverage’s. Another problem was transferring large patient’s files from one insurer to another insurer can take up to six months, from a 2004 study from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission(Terri Emerick, 2006). One of the solutions to these problems would be to evaluate the information which is being sent to senior citizens. Medicare should send out their booklet to all senior citizens that are in the drug plan. All senior citizens should write down their medications which they are taking.Many seniors that do go to their local senior centers should go online and check out the Medicare website for information. As well calling Medicare to ask questions about which plan will work best for them. Do not forget to talk to your local pharmacist he or she might be able to tell the names of the plans which cover the prescriptions. By evaluating these areas policymakers can get information from outside agencies to do research and come up with results from polls, interviews, and surveys. In ev aluating all this information policymakers can form an analysis of Medicare Part D and see what need to be done.Analysis Stage Analyzing Medicare Part D as the author stated earlier one of the problems where the technical problems between the different agencies and sharing patients information. On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed a $787 billion dollar stimulus bill which puts $150 billion dollars on spending health information technology (Omini MD, 2009). This new plan physicians and health professionals will now receive incentives for implementing IT programs into their computer systems. Becoming paperless will maximize Medicare as well as physicians and medical professionals.By 2015 it will be mandatory that all physicians and medical professionals use IT programs. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by December 31, 2009 under the stimulus act will develop a set of standards, implementation methods, and criteria for the new IT system to be in pl ace (Chris Silvia, 2009). Another analysis was made about the enrollment period. The enrollment period to enroll in a drug coverage plan is from November 15th through December 31st. Many elderly individuals felt they were getting rushed into signing up for a plan.Most of them were confused and explaining why they must pick a new drug coverage program every year. Many individuals fail to sign up within the six week time frame due to their medical or mental condition. This is something that would need to be analyzed and see if they can extend the enrollment period from six week to 12 weeks. Start the enrollment period on October 1st instead of November 15th. This would give many elderly individuals plenty enough time to pick, choose, and switch plans before the December 31st end date.In this entire analysis one must think there should be revisions made to the policy to make it better. Revision Stage In revising a policy starts by looking to see which policies need to be updated or cha nged to make the policy better. On September 5, 2008 one of the revisions in Medicare Part D was the use of Electronic Prescription Program (E-prescribing) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expects that Medicare Part D sponsors will have all the necessary contracts and systems in place should prescribers desire to use E-prescribing (Claudia Schlosberg, n. . ) As stated in the paragraph above with IT systems for physicians and health professionals using paperless system will maximize Medicare. This revision will not only help out pharmacies but help out physicians. Now this information will allows doctors to find out what prescriptions the patient has used in the past and where the patient usually goes to pick up his or her medications from. By revising this policy everyone in the medical community can deliver faster and better care for the individual.Since many senior citizens continue to do work, due to their low income, CMS has revised a section on Medicare Part D f or employers. Employers whom are offering medication drug coverage’s to Medicare individuals will now disclose to CMS if the plans the employer is offering are creditable. To make sure that the prescription drug plans are creditable, the plans must equal or exceed the actuarial value of defined standard prescription drug coverage under CMS guidelines (Kutak Rock, 2007).This revision in Medicare Part D is very important for seniors, this way seniors can know if the program that they have from work is creditable and make a decision on whether or not he or she should waive the enrollment of Medicare Part D. They employer must submit to CMS all the prescription drug plans that they offer to see if the plans follow CMS guidelines. Employers must also send out information to those individuals in the plan on or before the Medicare Part D enrollment date of November 15th of each year. Purpose and MethodologiesOne of the methodologies in Medicare Part D was to make sure senior citizen s get help with their drug prescription costs. Even thou CMS has many plans to choose from seniors need to do their part in researching some of the plans via internet, CMS hotline, and talking to their pharmacist. In turn the E-prescribing was another to help physicians and pharmacies to collect information more quickly without using any paper. By having everything computerized pharmacists can receive and gather information quickly compared to the old practice of using a fax machine.Using a computer eliminates misplaced fax paper, paper jams, or the fax did not go through. This saves time and money on both parts for the physician and pharmacists. IT software stimulus package the president Obama signed this year to help all healthcare professions to go paperless and receive patient’s information more quickly than before. This as well will save time and money for healthcare professionals in managing patient’s data to make sure all parties involved get the information the y need for billing and medical information.So these are just some of the purposes and methodologies for some changes in the Medicare Part D. Conclusion As more senior citizens coming into retirement Medicare Part D will be a major focus of discussion on the political front. Both Democrats and Republicans have different ideas on how to evaluate, analyze, and revise Medicare Part D. Of course, from the author’s perspective having IT software programs in place will help out indeed for all healthcare professionals and providers. Now with the Obama stimulus plan sign this year hopefully, all healthcare professions can be on the same track to get these IT systems in place.The benefits are enormous to getting information faster to the right people, especially in an emergency. Although CMS needs to do a better job on informing seniors about the prescription drug plans, so that way they can make better judgments on the plan they choose. Even better yet cut down on some of these plans these are way too many of them and they are confusing seniors on which plan to choose from. Either way policymakers from both sides need to work with healthcare professional to see what can be done to improve on Medicare Part D. References Chris Silvia (2009).Practices paperless before 2012 could maximize Medicare bonuses. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www. ama-assn. org/amednews/2009/03/16/gvsa0316. htm Claudia Schlosberg (n. d. ). CMS Revises Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manuel-Chapter 7 Medication Therapy Management and Quality Improvement Program. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www. ascp. com/advocacy/upload/ASCP%20Summary%20of %20CMS%20Chap%207%20Revisions. pdf Kutak Rock (2007). Medicare Part D: CMS Revises Model Notice and Disclosure Notice Requirements. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www. utakrock. com/publications/employeebenefits/EBCA1107. pdf Omini MD (2011). Medicaid, health IT to see billions from stimulus package signed by Obama. Retri eved December 2, 2011, from http://www. myemrstimulus. com/tag/emr-software/ Omni MD (n. d. ). Medicaid, health IT to see billions from stimulus package signed by Obama. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www. myemrstimulus. com/tag/emr-software/ Terri Emerick (2006). Part D:Rx for Disaster. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www. epluribusmedia. org/archives/features/2006/0511part_d. html

Lars Von Trier Essay

Lars Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, the son of Inger Trier (nà ©e Hà ¸st, 1915—1989). He had believed that his biological father was Ulf Trier (1907—1978), until his mother revealed to him on her deathbed that he had been conceived as a result of an affair she had with her employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann. His mother considered herself a Communist, while his father was a Social Democrat, and both were committed nudists,[5] and the young Lars went on several childhood holidays to nudist camps. They regarded the disciplining of children as reactionary. Trier has noted that he was brought up in an atheist family, and that although Ulf Trier was Jewish, he was not religious. His parents did not allow much room in their household for â€Å"feelings, religion, or enjoyment†, and also refused to make any rules for their children,[6] with complex results for von Trier’s personality and development.[7] He began making his own films at the age of 11 after receiving a Super-8 camera as a gift and continued to be involved in independent moviemaking throughout his high school years.[3] In 1979, he was enrolled in the National Film School of Denmark.[8] His peers at the film school nicknamed him â€Å"von Trier†. The name is sort of an inside-joke with the von (German â€Å"of† or â€Å"from† used as a nobiliary particle), suggesting nobility and a certain arrogance, while Lars is a very common and Trier not an unusual name in Denmark.[9] He reportedly kept the â€Å"von† name in homage to Erich von Stroheim and Josef von Sternberg, both of whom also added it later in life.[10] During his time as a student at the school he made the films Nocturne and The Last Detail, both of which won Best Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools.[11][12] In 1983 he graduated with the 57-minute Images of Liberation, which became the first Danish school film to receive a regular theatrical release.[13] Europe trilogy After graduation he began work on the very stylized crime drama, The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element 1984), which won a technical award at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film was Epidemic (1987), which was also shown at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. The film is partly a dark science fiction-tale of a future plague epidemic, and partly chronicles two filmmakers (played by Lars von Trier and screenwriter Niels Và ¸rsel) preparing that film, with the two storylines ultimately colliding. For television von Trier directed Medea (1988), which won the Jean d’Arcy prize in France. It was based on a screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer and starred Udo Kier. He completed the Europe-trilogy in 1991 with Europa (released as Zentropa in the U.S.), which won the Prix du Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival[14] and picked up awards at other major festivals. In 1990 he also directed the music video for the worldwide hit â€Å"Bakerman† by Laid Back.[15] This video was reused in 2006 by the English DJ and artist Shaun Baker who did a remake of Bakerman. Zentropa and The Kingdom In 1992 he and producer Peter Aalbà ¦k Jensen founded the movie production company Zentropa Entertainment, named after a train company in Europa, their most recent film at the time.[8] The reason for doing this was to achieve financial independence and to have total creative control. The production company has produced many movies other than von Trier’s own as well as television series. It also has produced hardcore sex films: Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999), HotMen CoolBoyz (2000) and All About Anna (2005). In order to make money for his newly founded company,[16] he made The Kingdom (Riget, 1994) and The Kingdom II (Riget II, 1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital, the name â€Å"Riget† being a colloquial name for the hospital known as Rigshospitalet (lit. The Kingdom’s Hospital) in Danish. A projected third installment in the series was derailed by the 1998 death of Ernst-Hugo Jà ¤regà ¥rd, who played Helmer, one of the ma jor characters. Dogme 95 In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement which they called Dogme 95. It would however take a while before the first of these films appeared, and at this point many thought of the concept mainly as a radical idea with no future.[citation needed] In 1996, von Trier conducted an unusual theatrical experiment in Copenhagen involving 53 actors, which he titled Psychomobile 1: The World Clock. A documentary chronicling the project was directed by Jesper Jargil, and was released in 2000 with the title De Udstillede (The Exhibited). Von Trier’s next film, Breaking the Waves (1996), the first film in von Trier’s ‘Golden Heart Trilogy’, won the Grand Prix at Cannes and featured Emily Watson, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Its grainy images and hand-held photography pointed towards Dogme 95. The second was The Idiots (1998), nominated for a Palme d’Or, which he presented in person at the Cannes Film Festival notwithstanding his dislike of travelling. Dancer in the Dark (2000) was the final component of the trilogy. As originator of the Dogme 95 concept, which has led to international interest in Danish film as a whole, he has inspired filmmakers all over the world.[17] Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the Dogme 95 Manifesto and the â€Å"Vow of Chastity† together with their fellow Dogme directors Kristian Levring and Sà ¸ren Kragh-Jacobsen shared in 2008 the European Film Award European Achievement in World Cinema. Explicit images Von Trier’s use of sexually explicit images in The Idiots (1998) started a wave[citation needed] of arthouse mainstream films with unsimulated sex, such as Catherine Breillat’s Romance (1999), Baise-Moi (2000), Intimacy (2001), Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny (2003) and Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs (2004). In 1998, Lars von Trier also made history by having his company Zentropa be the world’s first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films. Three of these films, Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999) and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature All About Anna (2005), were made primarily for a female audience, and were extremely successful in Europe, with the first two being directly responsible for the March 2006 legalizing of pornography in Norway.[18] Women too like to see other people having sex. What they don’t like is the endless close-ups of hammering bodyparts without a story. Lars von Trier is the first to have realised this and produced valuable quality porn films for women. — Stern No. 40, 27 September 2007[19] Lars von Trier’s initiative spearheaded a European wave of female-friendly porn films from directors such as Anna Span, Erika Lust and Petra Joy, while von Trier’s company Zentropa was forced to abandon the experiment due to pressure from English business partners.[20] In July 2009, women’s magazine Cosmopolitan ranked Pink Prison as No. 1 in its Top Five of the best women’s porn, calling it the â€Å"role model for the new porn-generation†.[21] Lars von Trier would return to explicit images in his self-directed Antichrist (2009), exploring darker themes. 2000s In 2000, von Trier premiered a musical featuring Icelandic musician Bjà ¶rk, Dancer in the Dark. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.[22] The song â€Å"I’ve Seen It All† (which Trier co-wrote) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. The Five Obstructions (2003), made by Lars von Trier and Jà ¸rgen Leth, is a documentary, but also incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films. The premise is that Lars von Trier challenges director Jà ¸rgen Leth, his friend and mentor, to remake his old experimental film The Perfect Human (1967) five times, each time with a different ‘obstruction’ (or obstacle) specified by von Trier.[23] He then directed two films in his announced ‘U.S. trilogy’: Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman and Manderlay (2005), starring Bryce Dallas Howard in the same role – as Grace. Both films are extremely stylized, with the actors playing their parts on a nearly empty soundstage with little but chalk marks on the floor to indicate the sets. Both films had huge casts of major international actors (Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, etc.), and questioned various issues relating to American society, such as intolerance in Dogville and slavery in Manderlay. Controversy erupted on the 2004 set for Manderlay when actor John C. Reilly walked off the Trollhà ¤ttan, Sweden, set in late March. Reilly walked off the film when he learned that an upcoming scene involved the slaughter of a donkey for food. The film’s producer says the animal—who was old and not expected to live much longer—was killed off-camera by a certified veterinarian, in accordance with Swedish law. Reilly was replaced by Zeljko Ivanek.[24] The U.S. was also the scene for Dear Wendy (2005), a feature film directed by von Trier’s â€Å"Dogme-brother† Thomas Vinterberg from a script by von Trier. It starred Jamie Bell and Bill Pullman and dealt with gun worship and violence in American soci ety. In 2006, von Trier released a Danish-language comedy film, The Boss of it All. It was shot using a process that von Trier has called Automavision, which involves the director choosing the best possible fixed camera position and then allowing a computer to randomly choose when to tilt, pan or zoom. It was followed by an autobiographical film, De unge à ¥r: Erik Nietzsche sagaen del 1 (2007), scripted by von Trier but directed by Jacob Thuesen, which tells the story of von Trier’s years as a student at the National Film School of Denmark. It stars Jonatan Spang as von Trier’s alter ego, called â€Å"Erik Nietzsche†, and is narrated by von Trier himself. All main characters in the film are based on real people from the Danish film industry,[citation needed] with the thinly veiled portrayals including Jens Albinus as director Nils Malmros, Dejan ÄÅ'ukić as screenwriter Mogens Rukov and Sà ¸ren Pilmark in an especially unflattering portrayal as sex-obsessed sch ool principal Henning Camre. Von Trier’s next feature film was Antichrist, an art film about â€Å"a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping a return to Eden will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage; but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse†. The film, which includes sexually explicit content, stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where the festival’s jury honoured the movie by giving the Best Actress award to Gainsbourg.[25] The Cannes Film Festival Ecumenical Jury, which gives prizes for movies that promote spiritual, humanist and universal values, also â€Å"honoured† the film with a special â€Å"anti-award†; a spokesman for the jury described it as â€Å"the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world.†[26] In 2010 the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported on their website that the film production company Zentropa is reportedly making more revenue from suing movie pirates in Germany that have downloaded Antichrist illegally than from box office and DVD sales, demanding a payment of around 1,300 euros per download to avoid legal action.[27] 2010s Von Trier’s latest work is Melancholia, a psychological disaster drama;[28] shot between 22 July and 8 September 2010 at Film i Và ¤st’s studios in Trollhà ¤ttan, Sweden,[29] and with exteriors in the area surrounding the Tjolà ¶holm Castle.[30] Magnolia Pictures has acquired the distribution rights for North America.[31] The film was in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[32] Von Trier announced that after finishing Melancholia he hopes to begin production of The Nymphomaniac, a two-part film about the sexual awakening of a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg).[33] The director explained how he got the idea for the upcoming project: â€Å"my DP on [Melancholia], Manuel Claro, at one point voiced a surprising prejudice. He urged me not to fall into the trap that so many aging directors fall into – that the women get younger and younger and nuder and nuder. That’s all I needed to hear. I most definitely intend for the women in my films to get younger and younger and nuder and nuder†.[34] The announced cast includes Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd, Shia LaBeouf, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, Jamie Bell, Jens Albinus, Jesper Christensen and Nicole Kidman. Phobias Von Trier suffers from multiple phobias, including an intense fear of flying.[35] His fear of air travel frequently places severely limiting constraints on him and his crew, necessitating that virtually all of his films be shot in either Denmark or Sweden, even those set in the United States or other foreign countries. Von Trier has had a number of his films featured at the Cannes Film Festival over the course of his career, and each time has insisted on driving from Denmark to France for the festival and back. On numerous occasions von Trier has also stated that he suffers from occasional depression which renders him incapable of performing his work and unable to fulfill social obligations.[36] Filming techniques Lars von Trier has said that â€Å"a film should be like a stone in your shoe†. In order to create original art he feels that filmmakers must distinguish themselves stylistically from other films, often by placing restrictions on the filmmaking process. The most famous restriction is the cinematic â€Å"vow of chastity† of the Dogme95 movement with which he is associated, though only one of his films, The Idiots, is an actual Dogme 95 film. In Dancer in the Dark, jump shots[37] and dramatically-different color palettes and camera techniques were used for the â€Å"real world† and musical portions of the film, and in Dogville everything was filmed on a sound stage with no set where the walls of the buildings in the fictional town were marked as lines on the floor. Von Trier often shoots digitally and operates the camera himself, preferring to continuously shoot the actors in-character without stopping between takes. In Dogville he let actors stay in character for hours, in the style of method acting. These techniques often put great strain on actors, most famously with Bjà ¶rk during the filming of Dancer in the Dark. Often he uses the same regular group of actors in many of his films: some of his frequently used actors are Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd. He is heavily influenced by the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer[38] and the film The Night Porter.[39] He was so inspired by the short film The Perfect Human directed by Jà ¸rgen Leth that he challenged Leth to redo the short five times in feature film The Five Obstructions.[40] Trilogies Von Trier has on occasion referred to his films as falling into thematic and stylistic trilogies. This pattern began with his first feature film, marking the beginning of The Europa Trilogy, though he claims a trilogy was not initially planned, instead being applied to the films in retrospect. The Europe trilogy illuminated the traumas of Europe in the past and future. This trilogy includes The Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991). The Golden Heart trilogy was about naive heroines who maintain their ‘golden hearts’ despite the tragedies they experience. This trilogy consists of Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000). While all three films are sometimes associated with the Dogme 95 movement, only The Idiots is a certified Dogme 95 film. The USA: Land of Opportunities trilogy follows the character of Grace, and is set in a stylized American past. Von Trier has stated he was inspired to make a trilogy about the United States as a reaction to Americans at the Cannes film festival who said he had no right to make the Dancer in the Dark,[8] which was often viewed as being critical of a country he has never been to (and has no intention of ever visiting, due to his phobia of travel); however, von Trier himself has stated in interviews he did not intend it to be a criticism of America, saying the film takes place in a â€Å"fictional America†. Von Trier proposed the films as ‘a series of sermons on America’s sins and hypocrisy’[citation needed], inspired by the fact that American movie makers have made many movies about places across the world to which they have not travelled. All three movies will be shot in the same distinctive style, on a bare sound stage with no set and buildings marked by lines on the floor. This style is inspired by 1970s televised theatre. The trilogy will consist of Dogville (2003), Manderlay (2005) and the so far not produced Washington. The Depression Trilogy consists of Antichrist, Melancholia and the yet to be completed, Nymphomaniac. All three star Charlotte Gainsbourg and deal with characters that deal with depression or grief in different ways. This trilogy is said to represent the current depression that von Trier himself is currently going through. The Kingdom (Riget) was planned as a trilogy of three seasons with 13 episodes in total, but the third season was not filmed due to death of star Ernst-Hugo Jà ¤regà ¥rd shortly after completion of the second season. Biological father In 1989, von Trier’s mother revealed on her deathbed that the man who he thought was his father was not, and that she had had a tryst with her former employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann (1909–2000),[41] who descended from a long line of Roman Catholic classical musicians (his grandfather was Emil Hartmann, his great grandfather J.P.E. Hartmann, his uncles included Niels Gade and Johan Ernst Hartmann and thus Niels Viggo Bentzon was his cousin). She stated that she did this in order to give her son â€Å"artistic genes†.[42] Until that point I thought I had a Jewish background. But I’m really more of a Nazi. I believe that my biological father’s German family went back two further generations. Before she died, my mother told me to be happy that I was the son of this other man. She said my foster father had had no goals and no strength. But he was a loving man. And I was very sad about this revelation. And you then feel manipulated when you really do tur n out to be creative. If I’d known that my mother had this plan, I would have become something else. I would have shown her. The slut![43] During the German occupation of Denmark, Fritz Michael Hartmann worked as a civil servant and joined a resistance group (Frit Danmark), actively counteracting any pro-German and pro-Nazi colleagues in his department.[44] Another member of this infiltrative resistance group was Hartmann’s colleague Viggo Kampmann, who would later become prime minister of Denmark.[45] After four awkward meetings with his biological father, the man refused further contact.[46] The revelations led von Trier to attempt to â€Å"erase† the connections with his stepfather by converting to Catholicism, and to rework his filmmaking into a style emphasizing â€Å"honesty†.[3] I don’t know if I’m all that Catholic really. I’m probably not. Denmark is a very Protestant country. Perhaps I only turned Catholic to piss off a few of my countrymen.[43] In 2009, he declared, â€Å"I’m a very bad Catholic. In fact I’m becoming more and more of an atheist.†[47] Controversy at 2011 Cannes Film Festival On 19 May 2011, Cannes Film Festival’s board of directors declared von Trier persona non grata for comments he made during a press conference for his film Melancholia the day before, an unprecedented move for the film festival.[48][49] Responding to a question by The Times film critic Kate Muir about his German roots and his comments in a Danish film magazine about the Nazi aesthetic, von Trier claimed to have some sympathy for and understanding of Adolf Hitler,[50] and then jokingly claimed to be a Nazi himself:[51][52] Von Trier at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. What can I say? I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely. †¦ He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews. †¦ I am of course very much for Jews, no not too much, because Israel is pain in the ass, but still how can I get out of this sentence. †¦ — Press Conference for Melancholia, Cannes, 2011[53][54] Referring to the art of Nazi architect Albert Speer, von Trier added: †¦ he had some talent that was kind of possible for him to use during†¦ Ok, I’m a Nazi. Then, to Toronto Star film critic Peter Howell, who questioned whether Melancholia could be an answer to Hollywood blockbusters and asked von Trier if he could â€Å"envision doing a film on a grander scale than this†, von Trier replied: On a grander scale? Yeah. Yeah that’s what we Nazis, we have a tendency to do things on a greater scale. Yeah, maybe you could persuade me into the final solution with journalists. †¦ Hours later, von Trier released a brief statement of apology about his comments at the press conference: â€Å"If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologise. I am not anti-semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi.†[55] The next day, the festival directors held an extraordinary meeting, deciding his remarks were â€Å"unacceptable, intolerable and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival. [†¦] The board of directors condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately.†[55] Afterwards, von Trier held a news conference of his own in Danish. His first remark to the Danish journalists was: â€Å"If any of you journalists will beat me, so just do it. I will enjoy it.† He went on to say that â€Å"The Holocaust is the worst crime that ever happened. I have nothing against Jews. I have a Jewish name, and all my children have Jewish names.† He admitted that his remarks about the Nazis had been misguided, saying â€Å"It was really stupidly done and it was in the wrong forum. At the press conference with Danish journalists, there were no problems, but I do not think the international journalists understand my Danish humor.† But he also said he was proud to have been kicked out of the Cannes festival: â€Å"I am proud to have been declared ‘persona non grata’. It is perhaps the first time in cinematic history, it has happened. †¦ I think one reason is that French people treated the Jews badly during World War II. Therefore, it is a sensitive topic for them. I respect the Cannes festival very highly, but I also understand that they are very angry at me right now.†[56][55] Speaking to other news outlets he said that his comments were â€Å"very sarcastic and very rude, but that’s very Danish.† He also added, â€Å"I don’t sympathize with Hitler for one second.†[57] In the October 2011 issue of GQ, von Trier is quoted in an interview saying he was not really sorry for the comments he made, only sorry he didn’t make it clear that he was joking. He added, â€Å"I can’t be sorry for what I said—it’s against my nature.†[58] On 5 October 2011, von Trier was interviewed by police in Denmark about his remarks at Cannes. Afterwards, he announced that he had ‘decided from this day forth to refrain from all public statements and interviews’.[59] Honours Von Trier was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog on 14 January 1997.[60] Ten years later von Trier decided to hand back the prize, saying that the Danish royal family are just â€Å"simple people of bad quality†.[61]