Caribian Crisis Essays - CubaUnited States Relations, Fidel Castro

Caribian Crisis Outline A. Introduction 1. Topic 2. Topic question - Give evidence - Give examples of other ideas 3. Thesis B. Batista/Castro Government 1. Before Castro's reign - conservative at first - turned communist 2. USSR stayed ally with Castro C. U-2 Spy Plane Incident 1. Francis Gary Powers - USA's excuse - 1958 incident 2. Note to the US government - air space violation - Cuba 90 miles off the cost of Florida 3. Rejection of open skies' proposal - Eisenhower left for the summit conference - no more U2 flights over the USSR 4. Powers tried and convicted of espionage by the supreme court of the USSR - Castro seized all American-owned properties - oil refineries - sugar mills - electric utilities - USA very angry D. Summary of The Inspector General's Survey of The Cuban Operation 1. Freedom of Information Act to the National Security Archives -group that publishes declassified government documents -the porpoise of document 2. A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime - Cuban exile organization - propaganda offense - clandestine intelligence - paramilitary force E. The CIA's Plan of Invasion 1. The bay of Pigs - Cuban exile organization - propaganda offense - clandestine intelligence - paramilitary force 2. Budget approved - Political action - propaganda - paramilitary - intelligence collection F. What Went Wrong In The Bay of Pigs Invasion 1. The actual Plan 2. The Inspector General's conclusions - The Central Intelligence Agency - failures with the project and agency G. What Actually Happened In The Bay of Pigs Invasion H. Conclusion The invasion at the Bay of Pigs has raised many questions and many interesting things have come out of it. What people want to know is, why it happened, or what caused it, but the most important question that is not commonly asked is what was the main affect of the invasion? Some say that the affects are not many. People believed for a while that there was no way that the united states could suffer from the invasion on Cuba, they were wrong. The main affect was that Cuban leaders feared another direct US invasion, and so they allowed the USSR to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, aimed at the United States, this is called the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union offered military aid to Cuba, and Cuba agreed to let the Soviet Union send missiles and materials to build launch sites. In October 1962, the United States learned that Cuba had nuclear missiles in place that could be launched toward American cities. President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to halt the further shipment of arms. He demanded that the Soviet Union remove all missiles from the island and dismantle the remaining missile bases. For several days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. Finally, the Soviet Union removed the weapons under protest from Castro. The Soviet action came after Kennedy privately agreed not to invade Cuba. Kennedy also agreed to remove U.S. nuclear missiles from Turkey, which the Soviets considered to be a threat. All because of the invasion on Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. Fulgencio Batista y Zald?var became the dictator of Cuba in 1952. The United States had been kind to Batista. Shortly after, Fidel Castro, became the leader of an underground antigovernment group. After leading several failed uprisings, and being arrested for leading those revolts, Castro finally lead a successful rebellion against Batista. In 1959, Castro became the Premier. At first, Castro was very conservative, but after he realized how much power he had gained, he started abusing it, being very hostile to both the Cuban people, and the United States. The United States, who had been very good to Cuba, but the U.S. started to get angry when, in 1960, Castro seized American oil refineries, sugar mills, and electric utilities. In the early 60s, he also started to welcome communism and formed close ties with the USSR. In 1959, when Castro became premier, the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA) started planning an invasion near Guant?namo Bay, a US naval base in Cuba, in the Bay of Pigs, in southern Cuba. The CIA set up a small sub-organization with the sole purpose of planning the invasion. Despite the propaganda, intelligence planning, counter intelligence planning, and paramilitary planning, the mission still failed. In February 1962, the Inspector General wrote a document called The Inspector General's Survey of the Cuban Operation. This was deemed top secret until 1997. Inside it tells many reasons for the failure. Why didn't the CIA think of these problems ahead of time? Before Castro's reign over Cuba, a man named Fulgencio Batista y Zald?var was the Premier from 1952 to

Best Great Gatsby Character Analysis

Best Great Gatsby Character Analysis SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Familiar with the characters of The Great Gatsby, but need to analyze one or more of them for an essay or class assignment? This article has got your back! In it, we'll discuss what the point of analyzing a book character is. We'll also talk about the dos and donts of writing a character analysis, essay, explaining how to go from an argument to finding evidence. Finally, we'll give you an example of how to develop an essay of this type by constructing one around the old money characters (Tom, Daisy, and Jordan). You'll also find links to our in-depth articles on each of The Great Gatsby's main characters, explaining their role and significance in the novel, key quotes for each, and some ideas for essay topics, really helping you pull together your thoughts about these characters! Why Write a The Great Gatsby Character Analysis Essay? By assigning a character analysis, your teacher is giving you the chance to practice many different writing and analysis skills, including: close reading incorporating evidence from the novel into an essay building a larger argument tying small details you notice while reading into one of the book’s larger themes The Great Gatsbyis the perfect book for character analysis since it features seven major characters that interact in interesting ways across gender and class lines.Since this novel has so many beautiful and fascinating bits of character description, it will also get youto practice using evidence from the text in an argument. So make sure that any character analysis you write builds on the skills you are learning in class! We will go over some do’s and don’t of character analysis below. Character Analysis Do's Here are some tips for constructing an excellent The Great Gatsbycharacter analysis essay. Createan Argument, Not Just a Topic There is a big difference between an essay topic and an essay argument. Most of the time,your teacher will giveyou an essay topic - in other words, what your essay should be about generally. Normally a topicwill involve connecting the character to one of the novel’s larger themes, especially money and materialism, the American Dream, love and desire, or the relationship between upper and lower classes in society. If you design your own topic, you could explain howyour chosen character illuminatesone of the novel's symbols or motifs. For our example, let's take the common prompt, â€Å"Write an essay about how either Tom, Daisy, or Jordan represents old money.† This essay assignment has the topicbuilt in: it wants you to takeone of those characters and explain how their individual qualities tie them to the bigger abstract idea of the old money class. But you still have to come up with the argument yourself. An argument is exactly what it sounds like - it's a point that you're trying to make by using reasons and evidence. There's an easy test for figuring out whether you're working with an argument. Could someone argue the opposite of what you're saying? Then yes, that's an argument. Otherwise, it's just a statement of fact.Plus, anessay anchored by a surprising assertion will immediately seem more interesting - how on earth are you going to prove this, your reader will be wondering. In our example essay, let's say that we've decided to analyze Tom. It'stempting to use something like this as the"argument": Tom's wealth and privilege show that he is part of the old money class. But could anyone argue the opposite? Not at all - because this is a factual description, not a contentious statement. Instead, anargument should make some kind of provocative, challengeable point: Tom Buchanan is an example of Nick’s scathing depiction of the old money class as fearful and insecure despite enormous privilege. Now, that someone could argue with! After all, Tom doesn't at first glance seem like someone who is fearful or insecure. Feeling like one of these goats means you're doing the argument right. Outline How You Will Prove Your Argument Make sure each paragraph is anchored by a thesis statement -a one-sentence summary of what part of your argument this particular paragraph is going to prove. Also, loosely plan out what evidence you will use to back up each paragraph's thesis statement. It can be helpful to create a simple outline before hand to guide how you’ll go about your essay. This will keep your essay clearly organized, and make writing easier. In our example essay, an outline could look like: Argument:Tom Buchanan is an example of Nick’s scathing depiction of the old money class as fearful and insecure despite enormous privilege. Paragraph 1: The trappings of Tom’s lifeshow his privilege and his insecurity. Evidence: fancy house polo horses enormous wealth year in France Paragraph 2: Tom actions constantly hint at his insecurity about his status. Evidence: depressed that his football glory days are behind him racist tirade shows he thinks the elite is about to be swept off the map has affairs only with lower-class women he can dominate Paragraph 3: Tom's constant policing of other people's behavior shows how much he wants to reinforce class divisions in the face of them eroding. Evidence: throwing money at Myrtle to buy ten dogs grousing about Gatsby misinterpreting the invitation from the Sloanes andmockingthe pink suit investigating Gatsby's criminal dealings even when already pretty sure Gatsby is a bootlegger Paragraph 4: Tom decisions around Myrtle's murder show that he is more cowardly than his intimidating physical presence leads us to believe. Evidence: manipulating George to kill Gatsby rather because he was scared of George's gun running away with Daisy rather than sticking around to face consequences Conclusion: Tom's privilege only heightens his sense of himself as a victim whose status is in danger of being usurped. Tom isa scathing portrait of old money royalty. Use and Analyze Evidence to Support Your Argument Bold arguments depend on a solid use of evidence to back them up. That means you can't just throw a quote into your writing and move on! Instead, use this rule of thumb: for each line of quoted text you insert, make sure you have 2-4 lines of your own explaining and interpreting the meaning of the quote as it relates to your argument. To back upour example argument, we would nowscour the book to find evidence of Tom being insecure or fearful. Once we've got something, though, it can't just be thrown into the essay willy nilly like this: Nick says that Tom was "one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax" (1.16). Instead, wehave to connect thisdescription to thelarger argument, using close reading to really get at the meaning of the words Nick is choosing: Nick is pointing out that Tom's athletic achievements happened too long ago to keep feeding Tom's ego, Instead, because nothing has ever lived up to his football glory days, Tom is spending his time trying to avoid the depressing feeling of "anti-climax." Use Evidence to Address Counterarguments Because you've created an actually disputable argument, you can take the time to swat away the opposite position. In the example essay we've been constructing, we'rearguing that Tom Buchanan represents Fitzgerald’s critique of old money and is essentially an antagonist. We shouldaddress the idea thatTom is the novel's sharpest observer of people. (After all, unlike Nick, Tom immediately pegs Gatsby as a bootlegger.)This seemingly positive quality could be spun to be yet another example of Tom's insecurity - he is very quick to leap to judgment rather than giving people the benefit of the doubt. Character Analysis Don'ts Now that we've covered what youshoulddo in aGatsby character analysis essay, let's go over some mistakes you should avoid. Avoid Stating the Obvious Don’t just say what the character is like, list descriptions from the book, or summarize what the character did without adding any analysis. For example, don’t just say â€Å"Gatsby is flamboyant, throws big parties, and even wears a pink suit sometimes. He does all of this to try and win back Daisy, the love of his life.† All that does is summarize something that is obvious from the book. Instead, tie those observations to a larger idea. For example, â€Å"the extravagance of Jay’s parties and dress marks him as a member of the newly rich, allowing Fitzgerald to satirize the newly rich in America as he also critiques the cruelty of old money† or â€Å"Jay’s obsessive pursuit of Daisy reveals an unrealistic obsession with reliving the past.† Don’t Make All or Nothing Claims About a Character The beauty of this novel is that the statements â€Å"Daisy is a horrible person† or â€Å"Daisy is a misunderstood martyr† are both wrong. Instead, try and find the nuances, the good and the bad points of each character, and make them work for your bigger argument. For example, if you’re writing an essay about how Daisy represents the limited options available to women in the 1920s, you would likely be more sympathetic to some of her behavior, but you still shouldn’t excuse her hit-and-run! Don’t FocusonIncluding Every Single Scene or Line That Features Your Character Even for a short novel, Gatsby is jam-packed with meaningful dialogue, imagery, and plot events, and you couldn’t possibly analyze every single key moment for each character in one essay! (You could – and people have – write whole books on the subject!) Instead, focus on finding a few moments and analyzing them in detail, then tying them to your main point. Remember that the quality of analysis is worth morethan the quantity of evidence! Character Analysis Links Each of our character pages has a detailed section with analysis of each character. You can also get some helpful background information, a summary of the character’s actions in the book, and important quotes by and about them: Jay Gatsby Nick Carraway Daisy Buchanan Tom Buchanan Jordan Baker Myrtle Wilson George Wilson The Bottom Line onThe Great GatsbyCharacter Analysis Character analysis is achance to practice many different writing and analysis skills. To construct a character analysis essay: Createan argument -a debatable, provocative point that you're trying to make by using reasons and evidence. Use an outline to organize your essay: Anchoreach paragraph by a thesis statement -a one-sentence summary of what part of your argument this particular paragraph is going to prove. Loosely plan out what evidence you will use to back up each paragraph's thesis statement. Use evidence to back up your thesis statements. For each line of quoted text, have 2-4 lines of your own explanation relating to your argument. Take the time to swat away the counterarguments. What not to do when writing your essay: Avoid stating the obvious.Instead, tie observations to a larger idea. Don’t make all or nothing claims about a character.Instead, find the nuancesineach character, and make them work for your bigger argument. Don’t feel like you have to include every single scene or line that features your character. What’s Next? Want to get advice about comparing and contrasting characters? Head on over toour Compare/Contrast post to learn how to best write about common character pairings. Need a little more background on novel’s plot? Check out our Great Gatsbysummary, or look at a timeline of all of the events in chronological order. Interested in gettinghelp analyzing important symbols and motifs? Get an introduction to symbols in The Great Gatsbyand an overview of the novel's motifsto get started. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Music and Dance Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music and Dance - Term Paper Example One can even observe this in the present day, such as how cheerleaders would put on some amazing gymnastics and heart-pounding drum beats for the crowd. In fact, as has been portrayed countless times on the silver screen as well as the big screen, even supposedly primitive and uncivilized societies have their own form of music and dance, which they then incorporate into their rituals and ceremonies. This should be a clear indication of the importance of the arts in our everyday lives. As a matter of fact, to say that this is omnipresent in the present day and age is an understatement. Our ancestors were furthermore said to make use of dance and rhythmic music in order to put soldiers in a so-called battle trance, momentarily discarding their individual identities and losing themselves to the music (Jordania, 2011). Another study by Pieslak (2009) shows military units taking advantage of songs and dances in a manner similar to the above, psyching themselves and their comrades up just before commencing their combat missions. Other cultures have also used such arts for healing, as noted by Guenther (1975). And in more everyday settings, these have long served as a means to convey one’s feelings or retell tales of epic deeds. They say music comes in many different forms, and this is no different when applied to Latin music. Quite understandably, one might take this sentence to mean that Latin-American music has a lot of subgenres, which is not exactly false. However, more than just diversity in terms of the kinds of music, this can also pertain to the purpose music has served in the lives of the Latin-American people. More so than in other cultures, Latin-American culture owes much of its identity to its music.

What role does sexuality play in Dracula Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What role does sexuality play in Dracula - Essay Example In the 19th century the position of women in the society left much to be desired. Women as well as sexual minorities suffered terrible discrimination as there was much prejudice around their reputation. If we try to imagine a woman of that time, our imagination will draw a rather shy, repressed creature whose head is full of rules she should follow in order to stay innocent. However, Stoker’s â€Å"Dracula† demonstrates that, despite all the prejudices, women still were curious about sex and the satisfaction of their secret desires. For example, Lucy is shown as an attractive young woman, who has a choice, because three men want to marry her. Lucy can’t choose between them as she is surprised: â€Å"Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her?† (Stoker 80). This phrase testifies about the difference between men and women: men had an opportunity to state their desires, but women should have kept silent about them. Lucy wanted to express her desire, but this was her fatal mistake. The character of Lucy showed that women have always had sexual desires, but in Victorian times these desires were strictly restrained and any attempts to express them were suppressed. In order to avoid humiliation and express her desire, Lucy had to transform into a vampire. This extremity testifies that it was absolutely impossible for women to show their feelings and the character of vampire transformed into the means of expressing secret emotions. The character of Mina is quite opposite to the character of Lucy, she is an innocent woman with strict principles, moreover she is a devoted wife: â€Å"I have been working very hard lately, because I want to keep up with Jonathan’s studies†¦I shall be able to be useful to [him]†. ... The character of Mina is quite opposite to the character of Lucy, she is an innocent woman with strict principles, moreover she is a devoted wife: â€Å"I have been working very hard lately, because I want to keep up with Jonathan’s studies†¦I shall be able to be useful to [him]† (Stoker 75). Women were considered weak creatures that needed protection all the time, thus it was necessary for women to be married. A man provided a woman with necessary protection, thus she had to be devoted and grateful to him for that. Needless to say that such an image of a woman is absolutely sexless, because a woman afraid of everything would never dare to express her sexual desires and if she tried to do that she would be severely punished and this attempt would turn into humiliation. The character of Dracula is very interesting in terms of sexuality, first of all because Dracula is bisexual. The sexuality of Dracula is also demonstrated through vampires’ transformations an d the rituals of blood sucking, which represent the realization of vampires’ reproductive function. â€Å"it is eminently notable, then, that male, not female vampires reproduce†¦Dracula alone reproduces his form† (Halberstam 7). Dracula is a creature without a particular gender that makes his character very interesting; he is a real embodiment of sexuality. According to Craft, Dracula’s sexuality is what the whole novel is based on: â€Å"a swooning desire for an overwhelming penetration and an intense aversion to the demonic potency empowered to gratify that desire† (Craft 109). Stoker presents us with a unique and interesting representation of human sexuality.

Women Empowerment Essay Example for Free

Women Empowerment Essay â€Å"There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.† Swami Vivekananda The most significant and longest social movement continuing is movement for emancipation of women. Though the primary goal for women empowerment is to improve the quality of life of women but it has also deep ramifications in social, economic and political scenario of body polity. The media through its reach to people at large has been instrumental though not to the extent desired in supporting the movement for women emancipation by focusing neglect and marginalization of the position of the women in society. It sounds intriguing how from a highly dignified position in India’s mythic history, the woman in India has been relegated to a secondary position. The vested interests of the ruling elite and the male lobby influenced by alien cultures legitimised woman as an individual of little consequence. It would be a sad commentary on the subordinate role of women in India when woman is ideally viewed as Shakti (Power), the origin of power itself but in reality found as helpless, hapless woman without any identity except that of a wife, or the mother who has very little voice in decision making and has very little by way of her own basic choice. Although discrimination against and exploitation of women are global phenomena, their consequences are more tragic in the some parts of the globe particularly in under developed countries where, ignorance, deprivation of the basic * Address by Mr. Justice G.N. Ray, Chairman, Press Council of India at the inauguration session of National Press Day on November 16, 2008 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 2 necessities of life, and the ever-growing pressure of transition from tradition to modernity- all combine to aggravate the inequalities that women suffer to a point at which their existence is reduced to a continuous battle for survival. Improving the status of women is regarded as the key to narrowing the gender gap and achieving a better quality of life. Women are under great social control and scrutiny which has restricted what they can say and where and to whom. Cultural moves in almost every social set-up determine women’s socialization in no uncertain terms. This has an important bearing on their ability to communicate and express their thoughts. To discuss women empowerment it is necessary to deal with the present situation of women in India. I would like to briefly discuss certain key aspects related to the women which media should adequately cover and facilitate the process of empowerment of women. Gender Inequality A vast majority of Indian women work through out their lives but the fact is that it is not officially recognized. Statistics on work force shows low figure of women workers. There is a serious underestimation of women’s contribution as workers even though when given a chance they have convincingly proved their ability. Women’s workforce participation the percentage of adult women who are actually working is accepted indicator of women’s status and component of the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) used in GNDP Human Development Reports. According to a survey conducted by NCW covering over 1200 women in both organized and unorganized sector it has been found that 50% experienced gender discrimination by way of physical and mental harassment of women at work. The survey reported discrimination not only in salary but also in promotions, work distribution and working hours. Promoting gender equality was identified by the Government as priority strategic goal for the UN System in3 India under UN Development Assistance Framework. We should not forget that Gender Equality is not just a women’s issue. It is an issue for the nation. Wage discrimination Women generally earn a far lower wage than men doing the same work. In no state in India women and men earn equal wage in agriculture. This is equally applicable to other areas of works such as mining, trade, transport services etc. In the various work sectors average wages earned by male is more than the wages earned by female. I would emphasize on the findings of UNDP which were published as Human Development Report concerning gender equality. It says: â€Å"Women’s work is greatly undervalued in economic term. The value of household and community work transcends market value.† The media can certainly bring some of these biases in to light. Specially, women journalists must take up this cause. The Indian constitution makes it mandatory to give equal protection to every citizen. Thus sympathetic media, judiciary and executive should stand for this together. Reform movement too is necessary in this regard. Crime against women The soaring crime rates and violence against women in the country reflects women as weaker sex who are being dominated and exploited. They face violence inside and outside the family throughout their lives. The Crime Record Bureau of India’s website shows that in the year 2006 (latest data available on website) total crime reported against women was 1, 91731. Police record shows that a woman is molested in the country every 20 minutes; a rape occurs every 34 minutes and every 43 minutes an incident of sexual harassment takes place. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped and every 93 minutes, a woman is killed.4 Before empowerment of women can be achieved it is necessary to enable women to give voice to their experience, their sufferings, and for society to understand them as human being and respond to them with sensitivity. Under Representation in important position Women are under represented in governance and decision making positions. At present women represent approximately 8-9% of Parliamentary seats and less than 6% of cabinet positions. Less than 4% seats in High Courts and Supreme Courts are occupied by women. Less than 3% of administrators are women. Health Millions of Indian women simply lack the freedom to go out of the house in search of health services they need. According to National Health Survey – 2 only 52% women in India are not even consulted on decision about their own health. The antenatal and postnatal care are beyond the reach of many Indian women. The National Health Survey – 2 estimate mentions that some 1,00,000 to 1,20,000 women die every year due to pregnancy related causes. In some States death rate is quite high and alarming. The rate in India is quite higher than the maternal mortality rate surveyed in Cuba, China, Srilanka and Vietnam. The majority of women go through life in state of nutritional stress. They are anemic and malnourished. Girls and women face discrimination within the family; eating last and least. Gap on Male-Female Ratio Men out number women in India, unlike in many countries where the case is otherwise. The main cause of the gap in the male female ratio is prevailing practice of female fetus killing specially high in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. In these states, the ratio is shockingly low as compared to other Indian states. Female infant mortality rates are higher than male infant 5 mortality rates. Sample Registration System (2000) reveals that female infant mortality rate is 74 per 1000 live birth. The mass media needs to focus on this health issue of women. The various scheme incorporated by the govt. requires wider coverage so that women especially from economically weaker section can be benefitted from them. Women Education Education of women enables them to set their own priorities, seek knowledge and information to make their informed choices. The literacy rate among women continues to be lower than those for men. As per data of 2004-2005 available with the National Sample Survey, literacy rate per 1000 amongst rural women is approximately 450 and amongst urban female is almost 700. If we view overall position, there has been a positive development and female literacy rate has gone up 50% as per the National Sample Survey 1997 report. Despite this progress more than 245 million Indian women can not read and write. Only 50% of Indian women are literate as compared to 65.5% of men. Far fewer girls than boys go to school. Even if they are enrolled, many of the girl students drop out of the school. The female adult literacy rate in Malaysia, Srilanka, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia is more than 70% and higher than that in India. Media’s Role in empowerment of women in India Communication is extremely important for women’s development and mass media play significant role. It is to be noted that growth of women’s education and their entry into employment have contributed to the growth of media. In all spheres of life whether for controlling population growth, spread of literacy or improving quality of life for vast masses, women have crucial role to play. However, women can be expected to play this role when they become conscious of their strength and are not deliberately marginalised by male domination. In this context, media has an important role to play – to create awakening in women to achieve their potential as the prime movers of change in society. In today’s world, print and electronic media play a vital role in effectively conveying message that needs to be conveyed. Portrayal of women by the Media By and large the media scene in India is that media does not address serious issues about exploitation and inequal treatment to women in different spheres but is keen in reporting sex related incidents by way of sensationalizing news of atrocities on women. Thus instead of highlighting the exploitation of woman they end up becoming one of the reasons in increase of violence as their coverage more often than not tend to glorify the crime against women. It is true that media has brought to light, as never before, certain misdemeanours against women but in a very subtle manner it also perpetuated the stereotyped image of woman as a householder and an inconsequential entity in the traditional value system. Generally, women’s problems never figure on the front page of a newspaper unless it is a gruesome murder or a case of rape. Newspapers even on women’s page does not usually address relevant issues for women empowerment but reporting is concerned with beauty tips recipes, fashion syndrome etc. 7 It is unfortunate that there is lack of sensitivity among the newspapers in general to women and their problems. I would like to refer to the Study conducted by the Media Advocacy Group viz. â€Å"Violence against Women: Media Coverage and Representation†. The Media Advocacy Group made the following recommendations on reporting violence against the women. (i) Media needs to take an extended, broader view of crimes against women. It has to be instrumental in conducting a social audit on factors responsible for increasing crimes, particularly against women and children, including indifferent investigative procedures, miscarriage of justice, and growing social impunity of the perpetrators of crime. (ii) It also has to be instrumental in creating an awareness among civil society of the causes and nature of the crime itself, and of the preventive measures. (iii) When treating these issues, media has to be extremely factual and empirical. The study also stated that the only regulation that governs a sensitive reporting on this issue is that the rape victim’s name should not be disclosed. Barring this, the study found that everything else is graphically reported. Often the victim’s family name and address is cited, making a mockery in the letter and spirit of the regulation. Though much of this violation and malpractice are committed by a small group of publications, others are spurred on to imitate and keep pace with the sensational trend. Therefore, I urge the media to take a serious look on the issue and do self-regulation and self-monitoring with extreme care and caution. Aarushi murder case is another prime example of irresponsible and sensational reporting by the Media. The gruesome murder of a teenage girl for days have been the sound basis of increased TRPs of the News Channels. The media both electronic and print are morally and legally bound to avoid sensationalisation of news relating to victims of crimes. The Press Council of 8 India had already drawn guidelines on the subject and appeals to media to follow them meticulously while reporting atrocities on women/child. It is important for me to refer at this point of time to, also an important issue that greatly and gravely impacts women in overt as well as covert manner, the HIV/AIDS reportage by the media. The Press Council had focused on the issue way back in 1993 when the AIDS was treated as an incurable ‘epidemic’ and anyone who contacted it was pariah. The prime sufferers of such ostracization were the women, being treated as an important cause and carrier of the so-called des ease. Much water has flown down the ganges, since then and with medical advances, it has become necessary for the media to focus on the issue with not just a proactive but positive approach. Therefore, the Press Council has in consultation with the UNDP and the activists of the field redrawn the guidelines for media reportage that find place in the souvenir that is to be shortly released. I hope that guidelines, in the form of easy to refer ‘Dos’ and Don’ts’ and detailed ones for indepth understanding of the issue, will find place on the desk of every media person and their coverage of the HIV/AIDS stories will help the world handle the issue with greater sensitivity. Limited coverage in Media Newspapers cover women’s problems drawing the attention of policymakers to issues requiring immediate attention such as the adverse sex ratio, infant and maternal mortality, crime against women and the effects of poverty on women and their families. But this coverage is very limited with the rest of the space occupied by cinema actresses, models, video jockeys (veejays) and the rich women and their hobbies. Many of the women’s magazines are devoted to fashion, glamour, beauty aids, weight reduction, cookery and how to sharpen ‘feminine instincts’ to keep men and their inlaws happy. There are comparatively fewer articles on career opportunities, health awareness, entrepreneurship, legal aid, counseling services, childcare9 services and financial management. A study in this regard was conducted in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Two regional newspapers and two English newspapers were selected for the study. Prominent newspapers only publish 5% of women related issues and 8% are published on main page and remaining are placed inside. Study showed no importance is given to development issues of women. In the television serials women are the central characters, but they are portrayed largely as tormentors or the victims while the men very often take sideline and just seem caught in a web of unfavourable circumstances. Television culture has portrayed a breed of weak, indecisive men ensnared by sexy women when in reality men also play an active role in oppressing women in various ways including subjecting them to physical assault, rape, pushing them into the sex trade and even abandoning them. It is only desirable that serials should be close to reality and give message to the viewers where and how the society is going wrong. This portrayal of women in media has led the National Commission for Women to recommend amendment in the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition Act), 1986. The NCW wants to include new technologies like MMS and the electronic media and some which were left out side the ambit of the Act like posters and TV serials which perpetuate stereotypes of women. Explaining the reason for including soaps in proposed amendment in the Act, National Commission for Women has stated that â€Å"women are either being portrayed as Sita (Ramayana) or as Kaikayee (Ramayana) and there seems to be nothing in between the two extreme characters being shown in Soaps. Divorces, adultery are highlighted frequently in Soaps where characters break the law without repercussion.† Negative images or just portraying reality is not enough. Infact, it can often be harmful. It has been observed that sheer duplication of the dark side of life can often lead to apathy and passivity. This can be avoided by10 depicting the positive images or success stories of women in whatever sphere they happen. There is need to produce programmes that talk about income generating schemes for women. Unfortunately, in these kinds of ventures typical â€Å"womanly jobs† like papad-making, sewing, embroidery, pickles making etc. are propagated. Stress should be given on non-traditional skills which can break the myth that women are suited to certain kinds of jobs only. A systematic survey of the existing schemes (Government/nonGovernment) and presentation of the analysis and changes needed to upgrade the schemes which would make them more purposeful is essential. The distance between women and media not only deprives the women of their right to information and knowledge but also keeps the women in the dark regarding the blatant misuse of the female and the distortion of the truth. Although the images of women as reflected by the different mass media in the country are not very different, it will be an interesting exercise to study how these images feed and reinforce the stereotypes. The distortion of realities by the media has increased the gap of understanding between the different sections of society. Effective informative communication is one of the most important channels for the growth and development of women in the informal or unorganized sector, as without information regarding services and benefits available through legislation, government schemes, banks and voluntary organizations, women can hardly take advantage of them. Thus the media should take into consideration the following points. (i) The media must project the working women in the unorganized sector as worker and not merely as performing the duties of wife/daughter. They being major earners, they must be projected as producers and not merely consumers.11 (ii) The media should make deliberate attempts to not only project the problems of women in poverty, but should monitor in such a way that conflicting role models are not depicted, nor derogatory references to their work are made. (iii) To improve content and coverage, coordinated efforts for increased interaction between NGO’s, women’s social action group, research organizations, institutes of mass communication, and the media personnel should be developed. There are quite a few Reports findings on the complex issues relating to women empowerment. Very often the media come up with study on women related subjects which more often than not are driven by market forces. One study claims that women prefer men with hybrid cars while another says women are genetically devised to shop. Then there is a study which says women are more attracted to bad boy types. This reveals that women have become new research subject mostly in less significant areas. In fact, research is necessary to understand women in its potentiality to usher in a new era. It is difficult to distinguish between genuine research and studies that are gimmicks more so when news reports do not identify where these studies are coming from. A large proportion of the research findings published in major news outlets today is sensationally packaged to draw attention. This is where the media must step in to help readers to know relevant facts concerning women empowerment. It will be only appropriate if in the interests of full disclosure, they should make clear in their reports who was funding the study and which scientific journal published it. This information can help readers to decide for themselves which pieces of research are closer to the truth and which are not. Various studies were undertaken on the women and media to ascertain how the media portrays women and how the women related issues are presented, how much significance is given to them. Such study has revealed that issues pertaining12 to development of women are never emphasized adequately. Women are portrayed not for feminine beauty and artistic portrayal but for infusing sex appeal more often than not entering the arena of obscenity. It is necessary to have dispassionate in-depth study by social activists and media to ascertain why obscenity has risen so much in media. Unless there is any change in the social perception of women, it will be difficult to curtail obscenity in media. Women Journalist in Media In such a rapidly changing environment, women in media have a large responsibility in not only changing attitude towards women but also shaping public opinion. With women holding responsible position in newspapers or electronic media, their competency should extend to a wider area and a range of issues. More importantly, a woman journalist is expected to show more sensitivity to issues relating to women and to more meaningful insights and perspectives. Like most professions, in the media too, women have struck out boldly, beating a path, which is both impressive and inspiring. The last five years have seen them pouring out into the mainstream, acquiring hitherto unattainable positions and proving their mettle, be it the print or the television media. In short, women have become indispensable in the field. Women’s organizations and media groups must play an active role in promoting this change. It is heartening that a wide variety of women’s media initiatives are making a positive impact. Women have been latecomers in media profession owing to social, religious taboos which operated as social sanctions. The employment of women in media assumes crucial importance at this juncture of our economic development. Beside Independent Public Corporation of Media (DDAIR),13 the private owners of TV channels with ownership of Terrestrial outlets and satellite up linking facilities in country itself have flourished. This has brought a boom in employment thereby increasing the percentage of women media professionals. The rough estimates however show that although the number of women in both the media has increased in absolute terms, their ratio to men has more or less remained static. A deliberate policy for ensuring adequate representation of women both in the public and private sectors of the media is therefore a must, not only for giving women a source of livelihood but also to ensure their adequate and effective representation, and to make the media truly national and representative in character. A significant number of women journalists are very successful in magazines dealing with various problems of women and child. With sensitivity and skill for analyzing events in depth, issues such as women abuse and exploitation, harassment of women at workplace and the trauma of HIV infected women, female infanticide in rural areas find a prominent place in such magazines. The magazines deal with the issues more in depth compared to newspapers and women are considered competent to handle such stories. As per a study in the NCR there are around 900 women journalists and even in cities like Chennai the number is impressive 200. Journalism is no more a male domain. This new trend has also led to a change in the portrayal of women in the media in general and newspaper in particular. It will not be out of context to mention here the success of ‘Khabar Lahariya’. A group of eight women belonging to backward class bring out this paper from the Bundelkhand region. This paper which is being funded by an NGO was started with an aim to encourage women to fight for their own rights. such kind of initiative are required in every nook and corner of our country, so as to empower the women at grass root level. The risks women in the media face, both in the urban and rural areas, have also to be seriously considered. As we move down, from the14 metropolitan towns and the state capitals, the risks increase. At the district and taluk levels, from where the bulk of the print media is published, and which are more news-worthy places for the local and regional news contents, there is more conservation, more rigid social outlook and greater resistance to social change and new trends. In these areas women join new professions like journalism sparingly. In remoter rural areas a woman journalist and particularly a reporter is a novelty not easily accepted and assimilated in the social milieu. The result is media women have to work almost in isolation particularly at the ground levels, if they are at all employed. The cases of sexual assault and harassment of women reporters are very often reported. Women in such cases have to take a calculated risk in joining the profession. Odd hours of job make the women journalists vulnerable. Recent murder of Ms. Soumya Vishwanathan, Producer of News TV channel in Delhi shows women journalist workers are more exposed to the risk of physical assault, even their life. It is noticed that more and more young graduates are joining the journalism degree and diploma courses, with an ambition to make a mark in the profession, and quite a good proportion of them are girls. With the rapid expansion, almost a proliferation of the electronic media through satellite channels, with the popularity of the FM on the radio and with the growth of the print media, notwithstanding the electronic media, now there is a good scope for absorption of both men and women qualified journalists in various media outlets. Women, young and old, are prepared to weather the risks. The society, therefore, must make arrangements to provide adequate security to the vulnerable section of women in the media to promote their participation at all levels. I find extremely appropriate here to refer to the recommendations made by the Joshi Committee regarding positive portrayal of women on Doordarshan. But these recommendations are equally relevant to all form of media. These recommendations, if followed in letter and spirit would certainly 15 go in long way in enhancement of women’s empowerment and facilitate drastic reduction in cultural biases as well as gender biases. They are 1. The women’s issue one of the utmost significance to the country as a whole and there is need for a widespread understanding that the nation cannot progress, as long as women are left behind as the lesser half of society. Therefore, the improvement of women’s conditions, status and image must be defined to be a major objective for media channels. 2. The Government must at the earliest formulate clear guidelines regarding the positive portrayal of women on television. This portrayal must take note of women in all facts of their lives: as workers and significant contributions to family survival and the national economy: it must further endeavour to integrate women on terms of equality in all sectors of national life and the development process. These guidelines must emphasis that the â€Å"women’s dimension† must from an integral part of all programmes and not be merely confined to Women’s Programmes, nor to isolated attempts to discuss women’s issues. 3. The number of commercial formula films screened must be drastically reduced, the cheap song-and-dance sequence totally eliminated and the content of such programmes carefully scrutinized in terms of their portrayal of women. 4. Women must not be portrayed in stereotyped images that emphasis passive, submissive qualities and encourage them to play a subordinate secondary role in the family and society. Both men and women should be portrayed in ways that encourage mutual respect and a spirit of give and take between the sexes. 5. The foreign exchange resource should be spent on importing worthwhile educative programmes, particularly those that show the roles, lives and struggles of women in neighbouring and other Third World countries so that a greater understanding and a shared perspective on problems is built. 16 6. It is necessary to ensure that a large number of rural women gain access to TV. Therefore, in the placement of community TV sets preference should be given to the meeting place of Mandals; Mahila Mandals should also be involved in the community viewing arrangement.† Everywhere the media has the potential to make a far greater contribution to the advancement of women. They can create self-regulatory mechanisms that can help to eliminate misleading and improper gender based programming. Media, which wields immense power in a democracy a power which is only expanding and not diminishing, needs carrying out a focused attention about women- related issues and the portrayal of women. It is, perhaps, necessary that the stabilizing force of women must be brought home to the Indian people. In every family and society, there is an ethical and spiritual space, which has been traditionally dominated by women. The principal character in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion bemoans, ‘why can’t woman be like man!’ The media can play a salutary and a liberating role to give to the women the distinctive and the exclusive space, which must belong to them to enable them to generate the ethical and moralizing impulses for the entire society. The subject Women and Media is quite relevant in the present day context. From this platform the discussion on the subject is being initiated. The debate on this issue is being proposed to be discussed at the State level and the Press Council is keen that seminars and workshops on this subject are organised at different States and at different levels. I sincerely hope that this initiative will be fruitful. Let this beginning be auspicious (Aiomaramba Subhaya Bhabatu).

Galapagos Essay -- essays research papers

Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos was written one million years ahead of the year 1986 AD. In this book, Vonnegut argues that the ultimate effect of humanity's sociological problems with technology is that man's intelligence will be the downfall and destruction of the human race. The essential point made by Vonnegut in this work is that the "great big brains" of humanity drives people to go further into technology and create new weapons that will lead to the demolition of man kind; Vonnegut disagreed against virtually every technological development (made by â€Å"big brains†). It was the humans’ â€Å"big brains† that always gave them foolish or reckless ideas that almost always had negative results. Though it may tell the rest of your body to do the things that make you eat, breathe and sleep, it will occasionally tell you to something that might endanger or kill you. For example, Mary Hepburn’s big brain was telling her she had nothing to live for, and gave her the urge to grab the plastic wrap from her red gown to suffocate herself and commit suicide (page 26). Kurt Vonnegut journeyed into the minds of each of the characters, the readers are be able to know what the character was thinking, which played a good part in the story; particularly because the author made mention to how the great big brains of one million years ago (1986 A.D.) gave people all of these thoughts and ideas that people â€Å"today† can’t do with their smaller brains. The characters begins with a ghost of a deca...

First World War Causes Essay

What were the causes and consequences of the First World War? There were several reasons that led to WWI; the European nations were growing more powerful and the arm forces as well. Another cause was the alliance system which cause conflict between several countries because there were treaties and agreements in which not every country agreed with. Imperialism also took a great part of the war, many countries wanted to colonize other countries such as Africa, South America, the pacific, and Asia. Almost all of the countries had a great military power and as all of them were fighting for the same reason, the war was inevitable. Many rivalries emerged among these countries. One of the most important causes of the war was the assassination Austro- Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The archduke was killed by a Serbian and his death was seen as a threat to the Austria-Hungary multinational empire. This event turned into a declaration of war. Due to the alliance, the European Nation got involve in the conflict and it resulted in a world war. Russia was defending Serbia and surrounded Germany and Austria-Hungary (who were allied) with their troops. Germany was already planning to invade Russia by using the Schlieffen Plan which was supposed to prevent war, but the plan fail. The First World War had as many consequences as causes. the end of the great war was marked by the creation of the League of Nation which consisted of peacekeeping so this horrible events would not happened again and to have a collective security. Unfortunately the United States did not join the treaty and this weakened the treaty. The WWI ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versaille which stated that Germany was the only responsible for the war that occurred and they demanded that Germany was to pay the reparations. This treaty also established the changing of the borders in Europe. One of the mayor consequences of the war was the great depression it left. The war left many countries without money, which meant there were no jobs, no money to export or import.