Andy Warhols Outer and Inner Space Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Andy Warhols Outer and Inner Space - Essay Example The paper "Andy Warhols Outer and Inner Space" states narrative and representation in "Outer and Inner Space", directed by Andy Warhol. He was able to maintain the austerity and reduction of his portrait films while incorporating an unprecedented degree of formal complexity. From the critical perspective, in his cinema artworks Warhol is not interesting in conveying visual information so much as translating the experience of posing in front of the camera, and the eerie emptiness that that experience could be said to entail. These formal means enabled him create a phenomenological portrait of our bifurcated experience of temporality itself, the present tense of experience splayed across the registers of future projection and past recollection.This is the main reason why his audience gets some sense of that emptiness through the amount of affective projection that the portraits seem to require from it. However, in Outer and Inner Space we have no time to daydream about Edie. Instead, t he Warhol’s narrative and representation causes our perceptual situation to unfold, in a sense, like Edie's own split experience. Warhol’s films are eminently devoted to real-time recordings of his performers doing such banal tasks as applying make-up, making coffee, talking on the phone, gossiping, having casual sex, drinking, arguing, kissing, sleeping and eating. Capturing ordinary, everyday action seemed was a central interest of the underground. This perspective referlected an important impulse in 1960s radicalism. , a perspective that historians Sohnya Sayres et al (1984) described as "the attempt to infuse life with a secular spiritual and moral content, to fill the quotidian with personal meaning and purpose" (p.18). Practically, looking at Warhol's Screen-Tests part of the magic and mystery one feels doubtless comes from a deep-seated desire to witness death give birth to life, for the photograph to become animated before one's eyes. However, no matter how "de ad" these images are presented, they can never remain "inert" when seen by the affectively-engaged spectator. During Outer and Inner Space Andy Warhol used the video tape-recorder to make two thirty-minute tapes of his rising superstar Edith Sedgwick (Angel, 1988, p.42). For the duration of both tapes, she appears in close-up and in profile, the bright, high-contrast image of her face almost completely filling up the frame. What space does exist is completely black. Her face does not appear in space so much as seem "cut out" from it - without depth, the image is as flat as a screen-print. Throughout the entire recording time, her face will barely move, and she will never face the camera. Rather, she gazes off to screen-right - towards the empty black space at the edge of the frame. This artistic approach corresponds to Warhol's avant-garde idea to provide a split within time: the present as past and the present as future. Simultaneously, audience is split between perceptual registers - the visible and the audible - just as Edie is split between her own self-image, and the voice in the back o f her head she cannot manage to dismiss. The two are, of course, importantly related. The video image is, for Edie, primarily audible. She rarely perceives the image directly, but its insistent

Disrupting the Recruitment Process to Exploit Weaknesses in Terrorist Research Paper

Disrupting the Recruitment Process to Exploit Weaknesses in Terrorist Organizations - Research Paper Example This paper explores recruitment practices in the global Jihad as they play out in America and Europe. Whereas the focal point of the discussion is terrorism, the paper explores a distinct form of contemporary terrorism, Global Jihad, which embodies religiously inspired conflicts with a global vision. Nevertheless, the paper does not necessarily centre on terror groups with nationalistic or secular motives. The global Jihad is entangled with individuals, organizations, and ideologies from the Middle East, South East Asia, Central Asia, and North Africa. There are four distinct levels of commitment within terrorist organizations. These include passive supporters, active supporters, cadre, and leaders. Although all play a critical part in the running of the terrorist organizations, the cadre can be singled out to be the level that has a phenomenal influence in the recruitment process. Cadre encompasses the nucleus of active members engaged in the overall running of the terrorist operations inclusive of recruiting new members. Terrorist organizations employ both hierarchical and networked structures of organization. Islamic radicalization can be considered as the lynchpin to homegrown terrorism, especially in the West. Delegitimizing radicalization is arguably an effective way of disrupting recruitment process. ... Most recruitment processes into terrorist organization feature aspects such as targeting of the alienated and marginalized, spiritual quest, radicalization, gradual seclusion and cell formation, adoption of violence as a legitimate political means, linkage with a gatekeeper, and eventual operation of the cell. Terrorist recruitment cells can be delimited into four separate cells; management cell, information gathering cell, preparation cell, and execution cell. Disrupting Recruitment Process Most international terrorist organizations are actively engaged in recruitment of Westerners into terrorist organization via facilitation of travel to foreign training camps and mounting grounds. Foreign terrorist organizations have shifted their strategy from passive influence of western radicals into directly motivating, inspiring, and training, especially through internet-based propaganda. Recruitment of Western radicals has worked for foreign terrorist organizations as they can conceal the id entity as the recruits hold â€Å"clean† citizenship. The employment of homegrown terrorist cells has complicated the ability to infiltrate terrorism recruitment rings (Cortright & Lopez, 2007). The four principal ingredients to a thriving terrorist’s organization include recruitment, motivation, funding, and haven. Terrorism is affected by interplay of factors such as a haven, leadership, and the underlying conditions within the society. Terrorist organizations leaders avail motivation, mobilization, and organization functions within the organizations. In addition, leaders within terrorist organizations act as principal sources of propaganda besides acting as symbolic figureheads

Factors shaping social values and cultural practices

Factors shaping social values and cultural practices Social values and cultural practices are both elements of culture. Social values provide a general outline for human behaviour i.e. they define what is morally correct e.g. right or wrong and what is desirable e.g. good or bad. Values are the abstract standards that define ideal principles in societies or groups (Anderson, Taylor, 2007). Culture is the way of life of a society or group of people defined by their behaviors and meaning. Culture includes values, beliefs, morals, customs, habits and language among others (Anderson, Taylor, 2007). Cultural practices are human behaviours and thoughts that are passed down by generation to generation based on these cultural beliefs (Carr, Neitzel, 1995). These practices are learned directly e.g. parent to child and indirectly through imitation and observation (Anderson, Taylor, 2007). Social values and cultural practices are instilled in people from a young age and this determines how they react to concepts of equality, justice and fairness. Social inequality refers to the ways in which socially defined categories of people are positioned differently in society in regards to accessing social goods like employment, other forms of income, having access to education, health care, political representation and societal participation (Ceelbas, 2010). These forms of social inequality are shaped by various factors including geographical location, distribution of wealth, income and social status. Structural inequalities operate in any society and the main inequalities are based on class, age, ethnicity and gender (Holmes, Hughes, Julian, 2007). Class Social stratification refers to the hierarchal arrangement of social classes, castes, and strata within a society (Inc. Icon Group, 2008 p.209). Class refers to socio economic status (SES) which is an individuals or groups position in a hierarchal social structure and where they are placed depends on their occupation, education, wealth, income and residence. There are four main classes of people. They are the upper class, middle class, working class and the underclass. The upper class refer to the property owners and entrepreneurs, the middle class refer to the workers whose social position is determined through professional qualifications, the working class refers to workers who exchange their labour for wages and the underclass are the poor people living in poverty (Graetz, MacAllister, 1994). Wealth and income are key determinants of class. Money can gain access to power, status, high education, better employment opportunities which result in high incomes. Wealth can provide a better lifestyle including access to health care which would create a high standard of living and a longer, more enjoyable life. People in lower classes are forced to struggle through life, suffer discriminations and have a poor quality of life. Inequalities affect men and women, different religious, ethnic or racial groups and people from different backgrounds. Depending on their location in the class structure will determine whether they will be better or worse off in society (Graetz, MacAllister, 1994). CULTURAL PRACTICES VALUES Age Ageism is the discrimination or the holding of irrational and prejudicial views about individuals or groups, based on their age. It involves stereotypical assumptions about a persons or groups physical or mental capacities and is often associated with derogatory language (Marshall G, 1998, p.1). There is discrimination against the aged in the workplace, health care system, nursing homes and it is reflected in senior abuse (Gutman, Spencer, 2010). There are estimates between 1-3 million people over 65 in the United States alone that have been mistreated, exploited or injured by someone they know or trust to protect and care for them (Gutman, Spencer, 2010). Even capitalism exploits the elderly through pharmaceuticals. When the aged are forced to withdraw from the workforce this can result in them separating themselves from society and even preparing for death. The elderly do not get treated fairly and they are often denied their basic human rights including health care. Social forces and the media create ageism by shaping negative attitudes towards older people and the aging process. Youth, beauty and health are highly valued in culture and the aged represent the opposite. They are linked to poor health and death. By putting distance between the aged it alleviates the fear of dying (Ventrell, 2002). Institutions also help create ageism by devaluing older workers and ignoring treatable aging problems by medical practitioners and in nursing homes. There is also a lack of attention to cruelty towards the elderly which results in low reporting and a lack of policy changes (Gutman, Spencer, 2010). Ethnicity Ethnicity is the cultural background of a group of people who share a common ancestry (Holmes, Hughes, Julian, 2007, p. 144). These members identify with each other through cultures including a shared religion and a common language. The concept of ethnicity perpetuates inequality for people who are considered different from the dominant group. Individual racism involves the negative attitudes a person has against all members of a racial or ethnic group. They often resort to name calling, derogatory remarks or acts of violence. Institutional racism refers to discriminatory acts and policies that prevent groups from equally accessing resources such as education, health, employment and housing (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). Some of these acts and policies are illegal and others are not. Macro systems policies are formed by institutional values and these policies occur in communities and organisations. Institutional discrimination is built into the structure that forms society. It is the prejudicial treatment in organisations based on policies or behaviours and is demonstrated on how these macro systems treat certain people (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). Inequalities of ethnic groups can be seen in everyday community life. In non-white groups, unemployment is higher, the infant mortality rate is higher, they have a poorer life expectancy and their achievements in education are less than whites (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). There are many inequalities found in the education system towards ethnic groups. Schools in white neighbourhoods have highly trained teachers and better facilities than those of minority groups. Due to either a high unemployment rate or discrimination of ethnic groups in the workplace, these families struggle to provide financially for their families. As a result of this they are unable to provide for extra expenses like class trips, clothing, supplies and transportation which prevent their children from being fully involved in the education process (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). A major factor affecting health inequalities in minority groups is their socioeconomic status. Education and employment barriers lead to financial instability and if they cannot afford proper health care they will have a low quality of life and a shorter life expectancy. Their ability to access health care services and a willingness to obtain treatments can have an impact on their health. Other inequalities can occur from religious beliefs, language barriers, their environment, their lifestyle and genetic issues (Bhopal, 2007). The stereotyping, which is fed by prejudice, continues to shape the housing outcomes for ethnic minorities. The inaction of administration workers, the effect of policies in housing agencies and the national processes condoned by the state all reinforce inequalities (Somerville, Steele, 2002). Ethnic groups continue to be regularly excluded from accessing resources to improve poverty and living conditions. The criminal justice system is supposed to be non-discriminatory and fair. The name justice in itself implies fairness but institutional racism is still evident in this macro system. In the United States for example (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009), African Americans make up 12 per cent of the population but they make up half of the prison population. They also receive harsher sentences than whites and half of the people sentenced to death are African American (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). Police are more likely to respond harshly to offenses committed by minority groups or lower income people than middle or upper class white groups. Minority groups and poorer class people are less likely to afford bail so are forced to remain in jail which can lead their families and people who rely on them into poverty. They cannot financially afford a good defense and they are more likely to be found guilty (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). There have been conflicting views on immigration and the effects that migrants have on the economy so much so it has swayed immigration policies. The reasons for them are that they take the low paying jobs where there are labour shortages thus stimulating the economy through the taxes they pay (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009).The other view people have is that they believe the immigrants are a burden on the economy, reap public benefits and take jobs way from the citizens (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2009). There are also fears of terrorism since the September 11 attacks. Gender Gender is the division of people into two categories, men and women. Through interaction with caretakers, socialisation in childhood, peer pressure in adolescence, and gendered work and family roles, women and men are socially constructed to be different in behaviour, attitudes, and emotions (Borgatta, Montgomery, 2000, p. 1057). From a young age, boys will be treated in ways to form masculinity and girls will be handled in ways to form femininity. Gender stereotypes are reinforced and influenced through agencies like the family, peers, schools and the media (Holmes, Hughes, Julian, 2007). Stereotypic behaviour is learned by individuals through the culture of these influences. Gender roles are the expected behaviour from males and females and this helps sustain gender stereotypes which in turn create perceptions which lead to inequalities (Crespi I, 2010). Gender roles, patriarchy, sexism and discrimination contribute to gender inequality and these inequalities take place in all social institutions including the workplace and at home. The relationship between patriarchy and gender has been crucial to the subordinate position of women. Patriarchy is a social system where men have power over younger men, women and children. This power rests in the public and private spheres (Holmes, Hughes, Julian, 2007). The role of women traditionally has been to nurture and stay at home to look after the children and the men were seen as the breadwinners going off to work to earn an income. Segregation from society, no opportunities to make their own money, fewer opportunities for education and at times domestic violence all contributed to the oppression of women. Even though there are more women in the workforce, due to gender roles, they still shoulder the responsibility of a second shift when it comes to maintaining the domestic sphere (W. W. Norton Company, 2005). It is a basic human right to be free from gender inequality in the workplace but the fight for equal opportunities, equal pay and fair treatment is a constant justice battle for women. Women in the workforce face inequalities of pay compared to men, less prestigious positions, sexist attitudes and discrimination. Even women that are successful in the corporate world face discrimination on the proper roles of women according to cultural beliefs (W. W. Norton Company, 2005). The glass ceiling refers to barriers that hinder promotion of women and minorities into higher ranks of management (Anderson, Taylor, 2005). The media contributes to gender inequalities by their portrayal of men and women in films, television and magazines. Men are shown to be active and aggressive. They are not shown to do housework or care for children. Women are portrayed as being dominated by the man and are seen as helpless. They are seen as the carers and are told how to please men and look attractive for them. Conclusion Social positions and disadvantages are determined by influences such as class, status and power as well as demographic attributes such as age, ethnicity and gender. Ageism is one of the most pervasive prejudices in society and is considered as being a denial of basic human rights. Social forces and the media help create beliefs and attitudes that discriminate against the elderly. Stereotyping and prejudices continue to create inequalities in ethnic groups. Discriminations can result in poor opportunities for education, poor financial stability, which has an effect on their health, and a low standard of living. Gender is created from birth by gender socialisation. Gender stereotypes are reinforced and influenced through agencies like the family, peers, schools and the media. The imbalances of wealth, power and prestige that exist is ironic as people continuously preach their cultural commitment to values of equality and justice. Unfortunately, systems worldwide are setup to enhance the interests of the people that reside at the top of the stratification system.

The Pact Essay -- Pact Essays

The Pact Some of the things that Rameck, Sam, and George, the three boys in The Pact, were tempted with have occurred with my friend named Paul. Things such as temptations involving drugs, family issues, and the ways of life of the family. Paul's parents both dealt and did drugs, this made it hard for Paul to deviate from this kind of life. As time progressed he soon picked up the â€Å"family business† and started heading down the wrong path in life. These temptations to follow in the path of Paul's parents footsteps were very much the same as the temptation in which George, Rameck, and Sam had, which were the constant pressure from society and family. These temptations, many times, often lead to an increase in the chances of George, Rameck, and Sam's character cracking. For these reasons it made it hard for them to stay on the right track in life and to deviate away from what they were being raised in and to become better than that. Positive influences in their lives prevented them from succumbing to the calls of the streets and of the accepted norms. People such as the karate teacher who helped build self confidence and respect. Unfortunately for Paul he did not have these positive role models in his life to keep him focused and eventually got involved with drugs. He was a senior in high school with graduation just around the corner. Everything was going for him, he was on the Varsity football team, was heading off to college in a few months, and more importantly he wa...

Parmalat Accounting Scandal Essay

Summary After eluding financial analysts and investors for a long time, Parmalat went bankrupt later in December, 2003 and many of their board of directors have been arrested since then. Here is a brief summary of the events: In the late 1980’s, Parmalat’s financial situation was poor due to investment in side businesses. i.e. TV network, Parmatur, football teams (Palmeiras, Parma, etc). Cash siphoning through these companies was estimated to be total of â‚ ¬ 10 Bn. In 1990, Parmalat went public which enabled them to tap into the capital markets. Early 1990’s, the company began to acquire dairy producers around the world in order to try to hide the growing debt. Parmalat entered into a series of bond issuances and securitization of receivables to generate cash. A series of other fraudulent accounting practices occurred during the following years. In December 2003, Parmalat was not able to make a U$ 150MM bond payment and raised the attention of the entire market. When the fraud was brought up, Calisto Tanzi (Parmalat founder) and Fausto Tonna (CFO) was arrested along with another 10 individuals. Grant Thornton and Deloitte & Touchà © were Parmalat’s accounting firms during the last 2 decades. Partners of both firms were charged for fraudulent activity. Case analysis From the analysis we made, there are several items that can be appointed as accounting principle violation: A) Overstatement of Assets Assets Selling: Parmalat sold firms to private entities and individuals to re-buy it later in a fake operation, as the money came from other offshore entities just to create liquidity in the books; thanks to that, they could keep issuing bonds to cover their debts Accountable Receivables recognition: Double billing the Italian supermarkets and other retail customers Fake bank accounts: false document have been created to prove the existence of â‚ ¬ 3,9 Bn cash at Bank of America. Again, with more liquidity, more easily got the loans B) Overstatement of revenues Revenue Recognition: False income sales through its offshore companies C) Understatement of liabilities Debt eliminating: Parmalat reduced approximately Euro 3.3 Bn of debt. Misclassification of liabilities: describing sales of receivables as non-recourse, when the company maintained obligation to ensure payment. Proper accounting practices that should have been used A) Assets The firm recognizes revenue when the transaction meets both of the following conditions: 1. Completion of the earnings process: the seller has done all (or nearly all) that is promised to do for the customer. That is, the seller has delivered all (or nearly all) of the goods and services it has agreed to provide 2. Receipt of assets from the customer: The seller has received cash or some other asset that it can convert to cash, for example, by collecting an account receivable Accountable receivables recognition (billing twice) In this case, Parmalat generated double accounts receivable for the same operation billing both, their distributors and the final customer. The revenue from the final customers was recognized on the books, but the billing for the distributors were considered as transfer and accounted for credit owed. Revenue recognition What happened here is that the seller never done what was written in the books, as the operation never existed and customer never received the goods. B) Liabilities Debt Eliminating Parmalat eliminated paid down debt by a series of capital market transactions, mainly bond issuances and sale of receivables. These financing transactions were made possible by overstating their assets. Misclassification of liabilities Parmalat misclassified the financing transaction of selling their receivables. Although, Parmalat sold its receivables (assets) to financial institutions/investors, they were not a true non-recourse sale and Parmalat maintained obligation to ensure that the receivables were ultimately paid, therefore Parmalat should have classified this financing as a liability.

Time Of The Past

At the age of 25 I was one of the most treasured managers in a profitable company in my small village town. My repute had entangled the whole town and this is why everybody gazed at me every time I went down the streets doing my shopping like every body else. My life style was the most expensive you would envisage because every shoe and cloth I put on was imported.At this time I did not mind so much about the future since I was single and had no one to care for except my parents who needed little of my financial help because they were already well of. My lucrative job was something that I cherished so much that I devoted most of my time in ensuring that I remained the top performing manager in the company. As a result I had several opportunities of attending sponsored conferences not only in my country but also outside the country. I was far much ahead of many friends I learnt with, and this gave me every reason to celebrate my life and achievements.Due to this, I had no option but t o detach myself from many of my friends who would book appointments if they wanted to meet up with me. It seemed like the supply of riches by the creator had been directed towards my side because everything seemed elegant to me.The company had offered me with a number of company vehicles the rationale for which I have by no means been able to ascertain to this day. But I gape that the company was making super normal profits which made the president plan less and did not care about the unwarranted company expenditures. As a result, the company’s performance begun to dwindle but disproportionately to what the company gained at the end of the day.Little did any one of us notice that losing a single consumer was the commencement of a big down fall that awaited us. Decisions were made without a vision of expanding the operations of the company to make the company top its competitors. We thought that we had reached the sun only to comprehend later that we had not stepped in the moo n.What followed will always remain in my mind as the most downbeat and hardest part of my life to this day. My pay was reduced by half because the company begun making massive losses and most of our customers lost confidence in the company. My job remained at stake because the marketing department that I headed was the key in sourcing for customers who kept the company flying high but in contradiction they were leaving.After a short while a letter of termination of my services knocked on my door and since I didn’t have any share in the company I had no option but to relinquish my duties. Huge loans that I had obtained from different institutions became a major headache because I had no other source of income. Auctioneers became my regular visitors as they frequently knocked on my door to take whatever was equivalent to the debts I had.A few months that followed found me in the streets dining with people I had all along thought I would never brush shoulders with. This time it was more degrading because people either laughed or sympathized with my situation. To this day I live yearning for those days when I was the head of marketing department at Hill Cage Company.