Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The current state of Company Q Essay Example for Free

The current state of Company Q Essay The current state of Company Q’s attitude toward social responsibility is by far obsolete. The sheer fact that the company would rather throw away good product then help the community not only gives the community a clear view that they do not matter but it also shows that the company is more about their bottom line then fostering a community. Also the fact that Company Q has closed stores due to loss of revenue shows that they did not house products that section of the community caters to. A higher income section could well afford organically grown produce as well as high end cheeses where as a low income section would opt for more affordable products like boxed meals and generic brands. Company Q’s fear of employees stealing should not deter them from donating it should be a sign that their employees are hurting. For small companies to survive they need to treat their employees well and create a work community. One where everyone works together for the good of the company and the welfare of the people it serves. Company Q does not show any signs of this currently but not all is lost. Even though Company Q is a smaller company with fewer resources than a large corporation they have an advantage in making social responsibility part of the company’s core mission by being able to interact with the community on a more personal level. Company Q’s workers will most likely live in the community they are working in. Being a smaller store they will have fewer employees cultivating a more intimate environment. Company Q needs to introduce new ways of thinking and get more involved into the community to turn their current trend of failure to have any social responsibility to one that promotes it from the inside out. Putting social responsibility into the company’s core values will be more than words but a call to action. If you take care of your community your community will take care of you. While it is genuinely understandable that Company Q fears profit loss from high crime rate areas the solution is not to run but to build a stronger bond with your employees to create a shared value. A happy employee is a productive employee. If an employee is happy and feels like they are treated with respect then they are going to work extra hard and bear some of Company Q’s responsibilities to prevent profit loss. A happy employee wants to keep his/her job and will work hard to ensure this. If management says they have some concerns with profit loss due to theft and ask the employees to keep an extra eye out for anyone suspicious and report  it immediately the store will ultimately see a turn around. While you cannot prevent theft every time with large store involvement by visually showing strength you will prevent a good portion of it. Company Q’s community involvement doesn’t need to stop there. Management can develop an internship program for local youth. They can shadow members of the store to see how a business works from the inside and that the work they do and the decisions they make are important and it will show them their actions not only affect them but others as well. Professor Christopher Koliba of The University of Vermont (Koliba, 2000) wrote â€Å"give young people the opportunity to participate in decision-making about meaningful issues can have an impact on their sense of responsibility, their ability to take a collective perspective, their pro-social behavior, their understanding of democratic values and processes, and their personal and political efficacy.† Professor Koliba goes on to explain that education plays an important role within the life of local communities to varying degrees. Research like this shows us that youth will flourish if given the right tools to do so. This will not only help them make better decisions but also give them the tools to influence their friends to do the same. Youth will usually listen more to peers than parents. Another great aspect of an internship program is the ability to gain work experience. My last suggestion to Company Q to move the company to a more social responsible partner in the community is to conduct health related educational classes. Provide information on ways for families to provide nutritious meals without spending a lot. Many customers complained that not enough organic or health conscious products were available in the store. The company can get involved with local farms to not only provide a business to business relationship but this small business relationship does not endure large production costs and gives the store the ability to charge less for the fresher food. Also these local farmers would be great resources of information for the health classes. They have first had knowledge on the importance of eating fresh foods. Also Company Q can expand the internship program to include the local farmers and if a member of your family volunteers a few hours of their time they can receive some of the product to take home thus taking off some of the financial burden of the high cost of food. While the current view of Company Q in the community may not be very high at the moment it has lots of room for improvement. I know  if the company implements the suggestions set forth they will end up with a great foundation of social responsibility. The business will thrive giving the shareholders higher profits at the same time giving the community a trusted and socially responsible business. References Koliba, C. (2000, May 8). Democracy and Education; Schools and Communities Research Project. Retrieved from http://www.uvm.edu/~dwey/articles/Democonc.html

Monday, January 20, 2020

Colonial Rule of the Dominican Republic Essay -- History Historical Do

In The Beginning The first instance of colonialism forced upon the inhabitants of the Dominican Republic was the â€Å"discovery† by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492. Ernesto Sagas and Orlando Inoa presented the interaction in their book The Dominican People: A Documentary History. The confrontation between these two diametrically opposed cultures proved to be â€Å"far from equal; the Amerindians’ Stone Age culture was no match for European military technology. The initial encounter took place on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, part of which is now the Dominican Republic† (Inoa pg. 1). This was the first step in a trek through five and a half centuries of Dominican Republic history, and unfortunately much of it was filled with the horror of colonialism. In fact, the Dominican Republic became the â€Å"hub† for the colonization of the America’s, and acted as the stepping-stone for European colonizers into a vast, never before exploited goldmine for both natural and human resources. As Sagas and Inoa discuss, the island of Hispaniola, "became the center of the Spanish colonial enterprise in the New World. It was in Hispaniola where the first major contacts between Europeans and Amerindians took place, where the first exploitative economic activities in the New World were developed, where Europeans first established permanent settlements and colonial institutions, and where the stage was set for the colonization of the rest of the New World (Inoa pg. 1.)." Thus the groundwork was established for colonialism not only for the Dominican Republic, but for the entire hemisphere. According to Sagas and Inoa, colonization was inevitable because interaction with Europeans was predictable. They wrote, â€Å"[i]f Christopher Columbus had... ...l developments taking place in the Eurasian land mass. The encounter was far from equal;† (Inoa pg. 1). It began as an unequal interaction, and has remained to this day a relationship of aggressor versus defender. Bibliography The Center for Strategic Studies. Dominican Action—1965: Intervention or Cooperation?. Washington, D.C.: The Center for Strategic Studies, 1966. Chester, Eric Thomas. The U.S. Intervention in the Dominican Republic, 1965-66: Rag-Tags, Scum, Riff-Raff, and Commies. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2001 Inoa, Orlando, and Sagas, Ernesto. The Dominican People: A Documentary History. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2003. Lundahl, Mats, and Lundius, Jan. Peasants and Religion: A socioeconomic study of Dios Olivorio and the Palma Sola Movement in the Dominican Republic. New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, 2000.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Sequence Analysis of the Third Man

10/7/12 The Third Man Sequence Analysis In Carol Reed’s The Third Man, the sequence in which the police and their bait, Holly, anxiously wait for the arrival of their target, Harry, is full of suspense and displayed through over 25 shots in less than 3 minutes. The sequence captures the anxiousness and suspense experienced by all the characters through its quick cuts of empty streets, destroyed buildings, and dark shadows. The score of this sequence heavily influences the mood and different thematic elements of the scene.Through this nearly silent (almost no dialogue) segment, Reed brings the viewers into the scene through the perspectives of different characters surveying the empty, quiet and dark city of Vienna for the man they are trying to capture, Harry Lime. The first shot of this sequence is a fade-in of the cafe in which Holly is settling down while waiting for Harry. The signature zither music picks up again to indicate the suspense of patiently waiting to complete a set-up that will allow the police to arrest a criminal.It then cuts to inside the cafe where Holly anxiously sits and begins to look outside the window examining the ominous, empty streets of Vienna. This shot is a prime example of the unique askew camera placement used throughout the entire film. In this shot, like several others, the frame is angled quite awkwardly. This technique embodies the creation of a dark, odd and intense world in which noir films took place. The next shot takes us outside with a long pan from left to right. This shot puts us in the perspective of Holly as he slowly scopes out an empty street.This zoomed in pan accurately conveys Holly’s anxiety of Harry’s arrival, as he attentively searches the street for any signs of Harry. This cuts back to Holly who is moving closer to the window in order to get a better look down the streets. Then a quick cut puts us back to Holly’s perspective of the street and yet again we see a vacant, dark stre et. However this shot is still and focuses on the Vienna statuary. The next cut is of a policeman hiding among these statues. The juxtaposition of these two shots is a prime example of Carol Reed’s montage and genius editing choices.Holly closely looks at this landmark, which happens to be the police’s hideout. This allows the viewer to see the elaborate plan the police have created and be placed right in the middle of it. We are unable to see the police from the viewpoint of the meetings location but once zoomed in we can see them hidden in the depths off the shadows created by these large statues and columns. The shot of the policeman hidden along the statue cuts quickly to a shot of a still, dark street. The perspective then switches to that of the policeman.The next cut shows another policeman, this time zoomed in on his face. This shot has much more light on the policeman’s face. It is a close up shot from a lower viewpoint. This allows us to understand the different placements and hiding spots of these police officers that are waiting to capture their target. This then cuts again to this policeman’s view of the street. This rapid crosscutting of straight shots juxtaposed with angled shots of the policemen and their vantage points, alongside the portentous strumming of the zither creates a very ominous and suspenseful setting and mood.It places the viewer inside the set-up as if we too are silently and anxiously surveying the war-torn streets of Vienna for Harry Lime. This cuts to a shot that display’s Reed’s undeniable element of lighting. A police officer is placed in the center of the frame in profile. As he exhales, the low-key lighting picks up the fog created by his warm breath. This cuts again to the policeman’s vantage point down a dim alley. This cuts to another shot of a policeman with unique lighting. The lighting only allows the viewer to see the policeman’s nose and below.His eyes and fo rehead are hidden by the shadow of his hat, until he moves his eyes. The lighting allows us to see the whites of his eyes as they move from right to left across the frame. Only seeing his eyes as they move force us to follow his eyes and look into his vantage point that is seen in the next shot of another empty road. This cuts to a close up of another policeman’s face, where again the lighting picks up and reflects off of the fog. This quickly cuts to another empty street view, which then quickly cuts back to Holly.This shot of Holly is still angled awkwardly, only now we see Holly impatiently playing with his cup. The shot is important because it again shows us Holly’s fickle feelings towards the situation he is in. Throughout the film he has had difficulty deciding on whether or not to help the police bring in his friend Harry. This shot of Holly shows the internal debate he is experiencing in the mere three seconds it is seen. We then cut back to the first police of ficer in the statuary. His shadow is beautifully cast on the column next to him and our eyes are drawn to it.We see his shadow move as he notices something. This cuts to his vantage point of a street that is finally no longer empty. A giant shadow is emerging alongside a building. The menacing shadow stands two stories high. This creates a strong feeling of suspicion and fear, yielding an expectation by viewers and the police that the shadow will be Harry. The sight of a humongous shadow approaching sufficiently increases the suspense of the sequence. This cuts back to the policeman in what proves to be one of the most significant and well-filmed shots of the movie.It cuts to the same police officer who makes the first sound of the sequence; a simple â€Å"pssst†. This is to signal that Lime is approaching to someone below. The camera pans down below the officer, and zooms into a dark corner of the statuary covered by shadows. The lighting of this shot is incredible. As the s hot zooms in to its closest point, the lighting reveals the hiding Calloway and Paine as they merge from the shadowy depths of the statuary. Not only is this shot brilliantly lit, but it also displays the film’s mise-en-scene of corruption.The two unscrupulous officers are standing underneath what was once beautiful religious statuary. Post-war Vienna is nothing like what it was and is now a depressing, crumbling, and corrupt city. Before the war, these officers would have been standing in beautiful religious architecture. Their emergence from the murky shadows represents the post-war ruin and corruption of the once beautiful city of Vienna. This then cuts back to the approaching giant shadow, as it closes in on the intersection, signifying the end of anticipation. The next shot is of a policeman leaning in to catch a view of to whom this shadow belongs.This quickly cuts to a short shot of Holly also leaning in to try and get a glimpse. The shot reinforces the suspense and an xiety, and moral dilemma Holly is experiencing while waiting to set up his friend. As the shadow makes the final steps before being revealed, the zither tone changes from the usual haunting strumming to a comical, upbeat, high-pitched progression. It is then revealed that this shadow is a simple balloon salesman. The sudden change in music completely rids all previous tension as the balloon vender makes his way around the corner.This shot symbolizes Reed’s fantastic visual language. All of the shots leading up to this leave the viewer with nothing but certainty that this approaching shadow will be Lime. We have chased him down before through his shadows so there is no reason to believe that the camera is playing a hoax on us. The viewer undoubtedly trusts the visual storytelling, due to Reed’s fantastic imagery and shots. Carol Reed’s rapid crosscuts are a unique tactic that delays the plot of the film, solely to shift all focus to the increase in tension.The qu ick, oddly angled shots bring the viewer into the elaborate set-up, following each police officer and Holly, along with their respective vantage points of the streets of Vienna as if we too are searching for Lime. This sequence proves to be powerful and suspenseful, as well as a direct reflection of Carol Reed’s brilliance. He is able to intensify the suspense of the film significantly through his elaborate camera work, montage, lighting, mise en scene and sound. This short sequence proves to be a noteworthy piece in the cinematic world, and embodies the genre of film noir in just two minutes.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Marilynne Robinsons Essay Darwinism - 1340 Words

Marilynne Robinson’s Essay â€Å"Darwinism† Introduction to Christian Theology REL 103 Kaitlyn Spencer Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer-winning novelist who has graced us with her essays found in The Death of Adam. Robinson gives the read the feeling of being much more educated than he or she really is. These essays provide readers with different ways of discussing history, religion and society. They, although difficult to comprehend at times, are flawlessly argued and, throughout, are grounded in universal human experience. When reading them, it is hard not to be persuaded, especially if reading them with an open mind. One of her most intriguing essays is that of Darwinism. Darwinism is one of the†¦show more content†¦The controversy between the two ideologies has been around for many years and continues to exist today. Robinson, in her essay, claims that while Creationism is owned by â€Å"Religious Right†, Darwinism is owned by â€Å"Irreligious Right†2. She writes that the differences between the two are meaningless and that the people who defend religion ma ke religion seem foolish while the defenders of science attributed to objectivity. Many people believe that Creationism and Darwinism do not belong together and are about as similar as cats and dogs. Just as there are cat people and dog people, there are people who stick to one belief or the other in the creation versus evolution debate. Robinson disagrees, however, and says that Creationism is probably the best thing that has happened to Darwinism. Darwinism, she writes, is â€Å"the caricature of religion that has seemed to justify Darwinist contempt for the whole of religion†3. Robinson also wrote a novel called Gilead, which discusses the fictional memories of a pastor in Iowa. In this novel, Robinson writes, â€Å"There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal insufficiency to the world, and the other is when we feel the world’s mortal insufficiency to us†4. Rob inson is a firm believer in the Creationist approach and refutes the idea of evolution. However, she does believe that Creationism helps