The, Sociological Imagination And The Reading - 1927 Words

When I began this project, I thought that I would just change how I looked for 30 days and just be done with it. However, changing my appearance for just 30 days to Goth threw me into this journey of acceptance within myself and other people as well. I came to realize with the help of the looking glass, sociological imagination and the reading we’ve done within the course that everything is not what it seems. Not only is an external altercation the most visible thing I could’ve done, it invoked much thought. The concept of the gothic look came to me as I was scrolling through Instagram and being immersed in all of the beauty and the creativity that I saw. I also loved the darker aesthetic and although I tried to experiment with it when I†¦show more content†¦77). Since my project was all about the outer appearance and to see if people’s perceptions of me had changed, I attach this to the work of Miner. Miner’s focus is the way western society sees the individual based solely off their appearance. This is a problem because it leads to body issues and extreme procedures to change how we look. On one of the days I took on my goth persona, I opted for a black metallic lipstick. Of course, I got my mother’s usual degrading comments on how I looked like a prostitute with my new look. Also, I got quite a few stares in the public eye at work. However, nobody made a rude comment to my face. Thanks to my coworker though, I was given information about another coworker critiquing the way I have decided to do my makeup. The coworker in question said she liked me as a person, but my makeup lately was terrible. Since I was in a uniform, all my creativity had to go onto my face. Although it did bother me for a moment, I got over it. It reminded me much of Regina George in ‘Mean Girls’. The part that the interaction reminded me of is when she complimented a girl’s skirt and once she walked away, Regina stated â€Å"That is the ugliest f-ing skirt I’ve ever seen† (Waters, 2004). It reminded me that we as a society are so afraid to speak our criticisms to someone’s face, but rather behind closed doors. I admit that I am no saint, and this is a struggle that society faces. People say that appearance and personal tastes do not matter, butShow MoreRelatedResponse Paper : The Promise1008 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"sociologically right.† The sociological imagination was coined by C. Write Mills. His theory of sociological imagination is that we need to look at things in the big picture. Mills had grown concerned with sociological research. Mills felt that the researchers had gone away from theoretical understanding of society. Mills’s concept was that in order to get a full understanding on an individual we have to use our imaginations and think outside the box. He felt that sociological research need researchersRead MoreSociological Imagination1017 Words   |  5 PagesThe concept of â€Å"sociological imagination† is one that can be explained many different ways. A simple way to think of the sociological imagination is to see it as a way a person thinks, where they know that what they do from day to day in their private lives (like the choices they make), are sometimes influenced by the larger environment in which they live (Mills 1959, 1). What C.W. Mills meant by this concept is that it is the abil ity to â€Å"understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaningRead MoreMy Sociological Imagination And Push Myself858 Words   |  4 Pagesdeveloped greatly as a sociologist in that I have developed my sociological imagination and push myself to ask and answer the tough questions about society. Instead of simply taking aspects of our society for face value, I have begun to dig deeper and examine how and why we define differentiate developed and underdeveloped countries or how and why everything is becoming â€Å"faster† within society (fast fashion, fast food, etc.). The readings helped a great deal in my analyzing of society by given me modelsRead MoreEssay on Richard Rodriguez, The Achievement of Desire: Analysis1405 Words   |  6 PagesStephanie Li Professor Pines Rhetoric 101 8 October 2011 Word Count: 1394 Rodriguez’s Transformation: Developing a â€Å"Sociological Imagination† In his essay, â€Å"The Achievement of Desire,† Richard Rodriguez informs readers that he was a scholarship boy throughout his educational career. He uses his own personal experiences, as well as Richard Hoggart’s definition of the â€Å"scholarship boy,† to describe himself as someone who constantly struggles with balancing his life between family and educationRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination : C. Wright Mills907 Words   |  4 Pageslimited to their day to day life and personal experiences that are directly related to them, they cannot see the bigger picture. They do not yet know that the sociological imagination can set them free from this trap and as C. Wright Mills said, In many ways it is a terrible lesson; in many ways a magnificent one.. The sociological imagination is truly an incredible thing. Most people go through life indeed feeling trapped by the personal troubles that plague their lives and some never even considerRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills986 Words   |  4 PagesMills Chapter Summary â€Å"Yet Men do not usually define the troubles they endure in terms of historical change and institution contradiction.† Stated from chapter one of â€Å"The Classic Readings in Sociology† which was based on â€Å"The Sociology Imagination† by C. Wright Mills. As our Sociology 131 class study the works of C. Wright Mills, we learn and examine his views. We learn how he view other things such as marriage, war, and the limitations of men. His view of war is that both sides playRead MoreSociological Imagination s Critical Review1319 Words   |  6 PagesThe Sociological Imagination Critical Review Essay â€Å"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. This is its task and its promise.† C. Wright Mills writes about the sociological imagination in an attempt to have society become aware of the relationship between one’s personal experience in comparison to the wider society. By employing the sociological imagination into the real world, individuals are forced to perceiveRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills1315 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. This is its task and its promise.† C. Wright Mills writes about the sociological imagination in an attempt to have society become aware of the relationship between one’s personal experience in comparison to the wider society. By employing the sociological imagination into the real world, individuals ar e forced to perceive, from a neutral position, social structures that, inRead MoreCharles Wright Millss The Sociological Imagination945 Words   |  4 Pagespublished The Sociological Imagination. This work of art is still used by sociologists and taught to many students today. After reading these five pages it gives a whole new meaning to the interactions and behaviors we encounter every single day. It becomes incredibly relevant and advised by Mr. Mills to â€Å"dig deeper† by questioning these scenarios. â€Å"Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both† (Mills, 1959, p. 1). The Sociological imaginationRead MoreSociological Imagination And Historical Imagination967 Words   |  4 PagesSociological imagination is the ability to look beyond one’s social environment and observe those of others. It is being able to make connections between these different milieu and notice any patterns; to see if something is just a person trouble or a social issue. â€Å"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society† (Mills). We are given the ability with this imagination to see how one’s personal scene plays into that of the larger

Formal and Informal Communication an Organizational Approach Free Essays

Formal and Informal Communication: An Organizational Approach By: Masayu Shahnaz Winarko Student Number: 43005860 Faculty of Economics, Business and Law University of Queensland Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 2012 Abstract This paper concentrates on the discussion of formal and informal communication and its usage in organizational approach. Although both formal and informal communication support the well-Â ­being of organizations, studies suggest that informal communication has taken a big part in determining the productivity in organizations and it has derived many benefits and many challenges. Managers should know how to deal ith such thing and optimize the advantages that will create value added for the company and overcome the obstacles it might create. We will write a custom essay sample on Formal and Informal Communication: an Organizational Approach or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many researches have studied and given results on this matter and its application in businesses worldwide. 1. Introduction Communication occurs in every single section in life, from personal to professional issues. It is inevitable that it supports the flow of social life and company’s workflow. It has been taking an important role in organizations; therefore, many studies concentrate in the discussion of organizational communication. It is believed that both formal and informal communication affect rganization’s productivity (Litterst Eyo). However, unlike formal communication, informal communication is less controllable and unstructured. Informal communication plays a strong role in determining the result of scientific field by generating new ideas or improving the existed idea (Hagstrom). FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL 1 APPROACH Since informal communication has a strong impact on organizational performance, managers should be able to manage t he flow of not only formal, but also informal communication. As business grows and the requirements needed in surviving within the competition keep adding on, xecutives should make the most effective use of every resource available and by improving the flow of communication is one of the ways. This study will provide an analysis in dealing with managerial challenges regarding controlling the flow of informal communication and what managers should do to make the best of it. 2. Literature Review 2. 1 Communication Communication is the activity to convey messages through different channels, such as words, symbols and signs. Based on Duncan and Moriarty (1998), communication is a human activity that links people together and creates relationship. In order to create a successful communication, t requires three elements; they are the sender, the message and the receiver. Both the sender and the receiver have to share the same understanding so that the message can be fully transmitted. The success of communication is determined by how the message is understood by the receiver. As defined by Gamble and Gamble (2002), communication is the transfer of meaning and there are seven essentials of communication, which are people, message, channels, noise, context, feedback and effect. Although there are 126 different definitions on communication (Ruben Stewart, 2006), but many scholars defined it as an exchange of information. Ruben Stewart (2006) also stated that success in one’s career may well depend on communication. Not only in the individual performance, communication also determines organization’s performance. This present study will point out the importance of formal and informal communication and its applications within an organization. 2. 2 Formal Communication Formal communication is an organized and structured communication within an organization. The communication occurs in many flows. Upwards 2 FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH communication indicates the communication from employees to executives. Downward ommunication represents the flow of communication from executives to lower level employees. Horizontal communication shows the flow of communication within the same level of company, for example the communication flow of brand manager and finance manager. The last one is diagonal communication, which represents the communication of the upper level of a particular division with the lower level employees in another division. The types of formal communication within an organization that are commonly used are meetings, conference, phone calls, company bulletin and interview. 2. 3 Informal Communication Informal communication is nevitable in every organizational entity. By communicating with other people, employees can find similarity in hobbies, opinions and experiences, which result in being friends. Informal communication is based on social relationship among people (Litterst Eyo, 1982). Informal communication is relaxed, casual and spread through word-Â ­? of-Â ­? mouth. Informal networks are communication links between individuals and sections that bypass the formal structures in an organization (Smith, 2011). There are four flows in communication networks; the first one is single strand in which one person tells another person, the second one is gossip hain in which one person tells the others, the third one is probabili ty chain in which one person tells another person who pass the news to someone else and the fourth one is the cluster chain in which one person tells other two or three people who spread the news to other two or three people as well. There is another important term in informal communication, which is grapevine. Grapevine is best described as the way gossip travels through organizations. Robbins and colleagues (2008) indicate the characteristics of grapevine: it is not controlled by management, it is more believable and reliable for the employees and it serves he self-Â ­? interests of those in the group. 2. 4 Differences between Formal and Informal Communication FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL 3 APPROACH No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Elements Definition Flexibility Degree of control Evidence Discipline Formal Communication Informal Communication Takes place through Passing formal channels Flexible by Cannot be controlled No documentary proof is not followed formal chan nels Not flexible Controlled management Has documentary proof Official discipline are highly maintained is Discipline Flow of information Flows upwards, Flows freely to all downwards, horizontal directions and iagonal 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 2. 5 Differentiation and Complimentary Studies have attempted to determine which one between formal and informal communication has the most impact in organizations. Research suggest that formal communication takes role in the authority in organizational hierarchy (Dow, 1988; Jablin, 1987), differentiation of labor and specialized tasks (Dow, 1988; Jablin, 1987) and mechanism for coordination of work (Dow, 1988). Meanwhile, business communicators strongly believe that informal 4 FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH Speed Secrecy Rumor Distortion Time Misunderstanding Cost Mistakes Slow Can be maintained occur Not distorted Requires much time misunderstanding Expensive Very low Very fast Difficult to maintain Small chance of rumor to Rumor can occur Can be distorted Less time occur Less expensive Very high Not much chance of Misunderstanding may communication plays an important role in increasing innovations within organizations (Johnson, 1990). Johnson, Donohue, Atkin and Johnson (1994) conducted a study on the means of formal and informal communication within an organization through three main perspectives: salience, channel factors and channel usage. The research suggested that the employees erceive informal communication as more effective and better used in achieving company’s mission. However, in terms of cultural means, formal communication is perceived as a more appropriate way to communicate. 3. Case Study First and Tomic (2011) conducted a research regarding the role of informal communication in creating company brand image and pre ferences. In this research, the object was an international turnkey contractor specializing in oil and gas industry. This company employed more than 38,000 employees all over the world at the time this research was conducted. This company operates in business market, so not many eople acknowledge this company’s existence. However, this company concerns about its brand image. They use formal approach in spreading its existence to college graduates by coming to the university and do presentations on its company profile. Nevertheless, formal communication only does so much. They also rely heavily on informal communication role to spread the word-Â ­? of-Â ­? mouth on the culture of the company. For example, people know from their acquaintances that this company gives high salary to their employees and this news draws them to working for this company. The second example of case study comes from the research of Andrea, Arnaldo and Romano (2011). The case was about Italian leading mineral water and soft drink company. In 2008, the company held 16% of the segment mineral water in Italy, 12% in soft drink and 19% in tea-Â ­? based drink. Its ROE was 18. 1% while its competitor was only 13. 8%. Its inventory turnover was 12. 6 compared to its major competitor whose inventory turnover was only 6. 15. The study focuses on determining the role of formal and informal communication in making this FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL 5 APPROACH company a leader in its filed. The study was conducted in three steps. The first one is dentifying the units that engage in the process of purchasing, manufacturing and logistics. The second step is tracing the flow of formal and informal communication during those activities. The final step is to identify how both formal and informal communication improved over time that results in a synchronized workflow of the company. The study suggested t hat formal communication was highly important in achieving internal integration (Andrea, Arnaldo Romano, 2011), while informal communication is important in problem solving because it occurs in real time (Pagell). 4. Conclusion Based on the present and former studies conducted y many scholars on various objects (focuses on organizations in this matter), it can be concluded that both formal and informal communication are important in the productivity of the company and its performance as a whole. Managers should identify in which field the communication should be optimized and which way to use. There are several differentiations in the work progress on which it is better to use either formal or informal communication and managers should be well aware of it so they would not imply the wrong method of communication. As in optimizing the informal communication, managers should use personal approach as it ravels fast and is more favorable by the employees. Moreover, informal communicati on can be used in building company brand and image, so managers should be really careful that only the good values of the company is transmitted through informal communication. 6 FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACH References Andrea, F, Arnaldo, C Romando, P 2011, ‘Case study: understanding how formal and informal communication affect purchasing, manufacturing and logistics integration’, Advances In Management, vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 22-Â ­? 32. First, I, Tomic, M 2011, ‘Formal and informal communication channels in creating How to cite Formal and Informal Communication: an Organizational Approach, Essay examples

Jim Crow By Wright Essay Example For Students

Jim Crow By Wright Essay Jim Crow is an autobiographical account of author Richard Wrights educationin race relations in a totally segregated south. Wright talks about hisexperiences growing up in the south and the racism he encountered. He attemptsto show us what being on the receiving end of racism is really like, and thelessons he learned from them. I believe that Wrights intended audience seemsto be directed towards white people so that they may gain an understanding ofthe hardships blacks went through early in our nations history. Wright startsoff by explaining where he grew up. The house he lived in was located behind therailroad tracks and his skimpy yard was paved with cinder blocks (600). Tosee green you had to look beyond the railroad tracks to the whites section oftown. I felt that here the author seemed to know that there was a differencebetween the two, but at his young age he did not understand why the two weredifferent. In the first part of the article Wright describes a fight that hegets into with some white boys and the punishment he receives from his motherfor it. His mother tells him that he is never, never, under any conditions,to fight white folks again (601). She goes on to say that he should bethankful that the white kids didnt kill him. I think that in telling Wrightthis, his mother is teaching him that blacks are not as good as whites and thathe should be thankful that they allow blacks to exist in the same world as thewhites. Wright goes on describing different jobs he had and the dealings he hadwith his white bosses. In one section the author talks about watching his whiteboss drag and kick a black woman into the store where he worked. After a fewminutes the woman comes out bloody and crying. The author explains what happenedwith some of his black co-workers. None of them are surprised by this and oneadds that she was lucky to just have been beaten and not raped as well. I thinkthe author here is showing that blacks in the early south were almost immune tothis type of racism. It is so commonplace that the blacks hardly blink when ithappens. Wright later talks about moving to a larger city and the interactionshe had with the white people there. The author explains that the whites therewere a little more accepting, and would actually hold conversations with theblacks. The author points out that caution must be used when talking with whiteson subjects like the Ku Klux Klan, Abraham Lincoln, the civil war, and anytopic calling for positive knowledge or manly self-assertion on the part of theNegro (610), should be avoided. Throughout this article Wright talks aboutlearning his Jim Crow lessons. Jim Crow refers to the name of a characterin minstrelsy (in which white performers in blackface used African Americanstereotypes in their songs and dances); it is not known how it became a termdescribing racial segregation. The term Jim Crows literal definition meansseparate but still equal. I believe the author finds the part about beingequal very ironic with his title and when he mentions his Jim Crowlessons. The last part of the article describes how blacks felt about the waythey had to live. A friend of the author summed it up by saying, Lawd, man!Ef it wuznt fer them polices ?n them ol lynch-mobs, there wouldntbe nothin but uproar down here! (610). With this, I believe, the authorhas come to the realization that when it comes to racism, the blacks in thesouth knew about it, received it frequently, and came to accept it and theatrocities that come with it. .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .postImageUrl , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:hover , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:visited , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:active { border:0!important; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .clear fix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:active , .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #298 0B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left: 18px; top: 0; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44 .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u30a1d081f5705f17e034fc6d6deaeb44:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Vampires, Obsession Throughout Eternity Obsession Argumentative Essay

What Makes a Successful Situation Comedy

Introduction A situation comedy is a comic television series composed of episodes or scenes involving similar group of characters dealing with an issue, abnormal situation and many other scenes that may arise1. The short form of situation comedy is sitcom. This is usually accompanied by jokes as part of a conversation. A successful situation comedy is one that has high frequency of laughter.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What Makes a Successful Situation Comedy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The frequency can be three to four times in a minute. Therefore, situation comedies make us fulfill our desires to be happy. It is also concerned with the way we often lose the desire to be happy and lose our direction because of unreasonable fears and desires that are misled. They show how the central conflict of human life is played out by between people. Situation comedies give its audience several kinds of satisfacti ons2. Several ingredients make a successful situation comedy. These important components must all be present in any situation comedy that can be termed as successful. The ingredients are character creation, titles themes, situations and locations, pace, irregular expressions and epilogue. The strength or clarity of these ingredients may vary from one comedy to another3. These ingredients can be discussed as follows: Character creation This is the most important factor in a successful situation comedy. Development of the way in which a given character behaves and relates with other characters and their environment is called character creation (characterization)4. In a situation comedy, there are many, several facets of characterization. This comprise of: An individual character Each character is given different attributes describing their past and present behavior. In a situation comedy, the future behavior of a character is not clearly developed. However, the knowledge of the future attributes of the character is very important in order for one to guess what is to come next. This knowledge may vary on the level of â€Å"most probable† to â€Å"most unlikely.† It is important to develop a list of attributes of the characters, but one should be cautious enough not to exaggerate. In this case, people are not interested in the internal personality of a character but the external persona.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this kind of comedy, the author briefly highlights character even if the author has a thorough knowledge of the character. It is also necessary to consider a favourable character in this kind of comedy for instance Tony Hancock whose background was briefly highlighted in the comedy Hancock’s Half Hour.5 It is not mandatory for characters in this kind of comedy to fit best into situations concerned appropriately. Thi s is because the outcome may be funnier due to the misfit of the character into the situation. For instance, the 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam was sometimes understood being the property of the council, but in many occasions a private landlord was in-charge6. The relationship of a character with other characters A successful situation comedy deals with more than one character operating in any environment. The presence of more than one character is the main vehicle to cause humour. This enables one to see how a character interacts with another character and the response of other characters. This response of other characters may be verbal or through action7. Status A successful situation comedy must also have varying status. These statuses may be imaginary or real. There may also be state of conflict and its resolution. Insults There is usually a tendency of those characters who seek status to be rude, insulting or unpleasant. However, this may not be the case in all situation comed ies that are successful. Each one of the audience during a successful situation comedy will try to identify with at least some part of these characters, their behavior or problems they pass through, even though such behaviors may be considered awkward in real life situations. The insults in this kind of comedy will always come out spontaneous and amusing. The insults may also result into a nervous laugh8. Responding to insults The manner in which a character responds to insults determines the quality of a situation comedy. In a successful sitcom, the receiver does not take the insult as a personal affront. For instance, a receiver of an insult may respond by hitting the issuer like in the comedy Fawlty Towers series Sybil was overwhelmed by the diatribes of Basil.9Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What Makes a Successful Situation Comedy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another important ingredient under charact erization is the temperament characters. This is where the author tells of how the character behaves most of the time. It does not describe the character’s intelligence, beliefs, social position, physical attributes and such like things. The temperament characteristics of a given character may be ranked as strong, medium or weak. In a situation comedy, one needs to ensure that the specific character posses a mixture of attributes with varying degrees10. For instance in the case of a strong attributes we can talk of a character who is childish, grasping, talkative, and unscrupulous. While, in the case of weakness, we can talk of a character that is resigned, secretive, touchy, and talkative. This method should be able to produce characters suitable for a particular situation. A situation comedy dominated by characters of almost the same character will not be interesting to the audience11. For instance in the comedy Hancock’s Half Hour there is only one Sid type and one Hancock type. The comedy should have at least one strong type, more than two weak types, and a few normal types of characters. The laughter usually comes from the antics of the strong types as they try to interact with other characters. In most cases, the author tries to develop strong characters that experience frustrating, childish, pointless, off-beam, and depressing relationships. The type of speech and mannerism portrayed by a character also determines the quality of a situation comedy. The characters rarely laugh regardless of how hilariously they are found by the audience. This means that, in a good situation comedy, the characters will find no true enjoyment in the situations they face. In this case, you will find that the situation under consideration is one that the audience will have no difficulty dealing with but one character will be portrayed as being unable to deal with12. The character leading to inappropriate, stupid, delayed, or no action will misunderstand the nat ure of the problem. Things will always become worse before they are better in the sense that the character does not learn from experiences. This means that the character does not carry new life experiences forward to the next. Therefore, the audience is found laughing most of the time because they are able to predict accurately how worse the situation will become from simple beginnings of situations.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Title themes The choice of the title in a situation comedy determines how successful it will be. The title should represent something that is obvious and clear in the very first episode. In the comedy, Hancock’s Half Hour, it is clear from the title that whatever is under discussion is about time. Another ingredient of a successful comedy is the theme of the comedy. The theme describes well what the comedy is all about. For a situation comedy, designed to have many series the theme should be able to support a good number of humorous situations. If it cannot achieve such then, the theme might best fit a single comedy play. The description of the theme has little to tell about the humor of the work. A successful situation comedy cannot be made up of a theme that hints at improbable characters in situations that are unlikely. Situations Choice of situations also makes a good situation comedy. Situations are which characters face. Each situation stands for some kind of problem. T hese problems may be tough or trivial. Regardless of the situations, they create the need for taking a specific action. The characters take the best action possible to that situation even if it means ignoring the situations then that would mean that it is the best solution at that time. It is necessary for these situations to be funny13. In a situation comedy, situations are made funny when one of the characters is made to respond to them in a way that will seem inappropriate to the audience. The situation element snowballs and the characters become more and more troubled when the first action taken is inappropriate. This causes the characters to remain in trouble for most of the time or the rest of the episode. The author exploits several situations within an episode. Each situation in this case involves a subset of character. Multiple situations are made to start and end at different times in an episode. The author plays some elements of a situation as sequences of dreams, flash-f orwards or flashbacks. For instance in the comedy Fawlty Towers, the last page of this comedy shows that the problems that Basil faced cropped from the fact that he under stood in his mind that the pianist in the concert was the important guest14. However, it later turned to be the roll musician and the pink-haired rock. These attributes in the hotel clientele were unacceptable according to Basil. Then Sybil overrides Basil even though he wants to refuse a booking. The stress on Basil increased until he went pop. In a situation comedy, very few situations go deeper than the above. Locations Choice of location is critical to any situation comedy. A location is where characters are put. A successful situation comedy is set within four walls of the sitting room. This can be seen in the case of the palaces of the Sultan of Brunei. There should be a reason for changing characters from one location to another. Economic use of the location can be seen in Fawlty Towers. In this comedy, an e pisode kicks with the Sybil lobbing with Basil. The audience knows very little about the other part of the hotel. The audience only knows about the exterior in this case. The audiences can occasional see Sybil and Basil’s room, but they cannot exactly pinpoint the location of the room. Successful situation comedies have interior sets. When an interior set turns into an exterior set, then the audience can only view events in the absence of dialogue. The only thing that can be heard in an exterior situation is background music and some sound effects. Pace Every successful situation comedy must operate at a considerable pace. Pace is a recipe for generating a substantial number of laughs in a successful comedy15. It is not easy to create humor in the event of prolonged silence and idleness (characters sitting about doing nothing) of the characters. For there to exist laughs in the comedy there must be something is in progress or that is being said. Pace implies speed, but it is important to spread evenly the available elements of humor through the entire period of each humor. A successful situation comedy does not need humor to be bunched at the beginning or at the end16. Such a scenario does not hold the attention of the audience. A successful sitcom will always have same pace in all its episodes. Any consideration of a serious series idea must stand up well to the question on whether such sidesplitting material can be produced in three hours in the case of the six half hour episodes of the orthodox British format. Hancock proved himself as master of comic timing, instinctively knowing how long a pause should take there to be a maximum effect. Irregular expressions The dialogue lines spoken by improbable characters working their way through difficult situations is not the only source of humor in a situation comedy but, a combination of it with other elements. Most of the giggling in a situation comedy may arise from the gestures made by characters, verbal tics, and facial expressions, unexpected noises off together with other things to do with the manner in which dialogue is delivered or the physical action. These are called irregular expressions. They include breeding, double take, hypochondria, and phobias, jumping the gun, malapropism, and mispronunciation, noises off, quick thinking, silly laughs, speech impediments, slow dawning, and tics. Breeding comprises such elements as ‘one of this’, ‘Yah,’ ‘Yah’ plus many other high level vocalizations achieved by mispronouncing some English like ‘ou’ sounds like ‘doubt’, ‘about’ will become ‘a bite,’ and ‘clout’ becomes ‘clite’ and so on. People with breeding wear their clothes in a funny way like rolling up sleeves. Double take is a kind of quick dawning that is very useful in a situation comedy. A hypochondrium is where people are worried of some aspects of their health , with a substantial reason. This may result into amusement because of doing it at different times. Watching another person removes our own fears. Phobias represent fear of doing something in a character. This may be fear of insects, flying, darkness, boarding a speedy vehicle, and elevators. These result into nervous laughter when watched. Incorrect anticipation of what someone is going to say is known as jumping the gun. This may happen in such a way that you rush to say something or attempt unsuccessfully to act in a certain manner before it is necessary or the right time reaches. This makes a situation comedy to be more interesting. Malapropism is the use of muddled speech. It is used in characters that are intended to appear to be drunk. It can also be used on characters that have a high status and their status needs to be lowered17. Mispronunciation can be used to lower self-esteem of a character. This is used when the author wants to convey a good education. When used in the right situation noises off can be used to cause laughing. Noises off may be in the form of revving of engines, shouts, the crash of a falling crockery, tires screeching, footsteps, bed room sounds, announcements from public address systems, barking doors, closing and opening of distant doors, foghorn of a ship, blaring Hi-fi, and many other sounds. Silly laughs can be interesting and infectious. Hasty and not well thought kind of thinking can be referred to as quick thinking. A quick thinker can in most cases find himself or herself making a silly mistake that can stir up laughter. Slow dawning is displayed by varying facial expressions. It is mainly used when some event or fact is familiar to the audience. The act of doing things out of conscious when one is talking is known as tics18. These things may include rubbing the nose, scratching the nose, twitching, pulling the ears, looking at the ceiling while rolling the eyeball, or jangling key or money. Depending on the characterâ₠¬â„¢s social background, pictures can be expressed in term of words and phrases such as ‘yeah,’ ‘I say’ and so on. In Hancock’s Half Hour, a marvelous talent for facial comedy was displayed by Hancock on the TV screen through the rolling of his eyes, lip sucking, concentrated increasing his brow, puffing of cheeks, suggested the magnitude of internal wrangling. Conclusion This discussion has touched on many issues as far as production of very successful situation comedy is concerned. It is good to understand that although, in the section under pace, it was noted that prolonged silence and inactivity would not introduce the aspect of fun to the audience, there are several situations in comedies, which have chuckled their way through such. This discussion has also focused more on Hancock’s half hour and Fawlty Tower to draw various aspects. The main reason here is that the two contained everything that makes a comedy successful. Such things incl uded a superb contained location, character mix, wide appeal for audience, easy to follow situations, enough humor, pathos, status, pace, slapstick, human interactions that can be recognized, caricature, and life struggles that have no resolutions. These make a series of episodes more interesting and one can be able to watch them more than one time. The title of Fawlty Towers comedy set out the objective of a situation comedy. This was achieved through identifying what makes a situation comedy very successful. Therefore, the way a comedy has been successful done before is just a road map of how one might approach it in later days. Bibliography Asplin, Richard. Gagged – A Thriller With Jokes. London: Arrow books, 2004. Goddard, P. ‘Hancock’s Half Hour: A Watershed in British Television Comedy’, in John Corner (ed.), Popular Television in Britain. BFI, 1991, pp. 75 – 87. Lewisohn, M. Radio Times’ Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised. London: BBC Consumer Publishing, 2003. McCann, G. Fawlty Towers. London: Hodder Stoughton, 2007. . Footnotes 1 Goddard, P. ‘Hancock’s Half Hour: A Watershed in British Television Comedy’, in John Corner (ed.), Popular Television in Britain. BFI, 1991, p. 75. 2 Ibid., p. 76 3 Ibid., p.77. 4 Lewisohn, Mark â€Å"Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy†. (London: BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003), p. 30. 5 Ibid., 33 6 Ibid., p.37. 7 Ibid., p.38 8 Ibid., p.41. 9 Peter Goddard, ‘Hancock’s Half Hour: A Watershed in British Television Comedy’, in John Corner (ed.), Popular Television in Britain. BFI, 1991, p. 82. 10 Ibid., p.83. 11 Ibid., 87. 12 Asplin, Richard. Gagged – A Thriller With Jokes.( London: Arrow books, 2004), p. 69. 13 Ibid., p.72. 14 Ibid., p.74. 15 McCann, Graham. Fawlty Towers. (London: Hodder Stoughton, 2007), p.46. 16 Ibid., p.49. 17 Ibid., p. 52. 18 Ibid., p. 54. This essay on What Makes a Successful Situation Comedy? was written and submitted by user Tomas Carlson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

celebrity endorsements Essay Example

celebrity endorsements Essay Example celebrity endorsements Essay celebrity endorsements Essay Do celebrity endorsements work? Celebrity endorsement, this is when a Brand uses a celebrity to help sell there product, service or charity. This may be in adverts, creating a line, or in the case of charity attending different events, fundraising or being a face of a charity. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using celebrity endorsements, for many brands it is about them being noticed, and catching the attention of there market and many brands think that by using a celebrity known in society it will help entice the consumers in. One of the main points that have become noticeable is the way different genders see n advert and the gender of the celebrity in the advert. There is some evidence that women may be more favorably disposed toward celebrity endorsers than men. Lake, Reece, Rifon, (2010 page p30-32) Lake et al (2010) showed in their study that men look at the more noticeable aspects of the advert where as the women look at it in a broader view and pick up different cues. In one study done by (Peetz, Park and Spencer, 2004) the results showed that male athletes were known 4 times greater than women athletes are known, this may prove that for Brands advertising portswear they may be more inclined to use a male campaigner. Although (Ohainian, 1991) stated in her study that gender it was not an issue, it was the perceptions of the celebritys attractiveness, trustworthiness or expertise. In recent years though some of the sporting celebritys have been putting their brands under strain due to the celebrity being in the media for bad reasons that may harm the brand. For example Tiger Woods was dropped by Nike due to the car crash and sex scandal Lake et al, (2010), this was spread throughout the media all over the world. Another negative according to Patel (2009), is that Brands could fall into the celebrity trap which is hard to get out of, once a celebrity is known as the brands face it is hard to change the public perception that they are linked together. Finally a celebrity may be used to endorse one brand but themselves use a different brand for example Catherine Zeta Jones was used as an endorser for Sainsburys but was seen shopping in Tescos which may give the general public an unsurety about shopping at Sainsburys Saurbh Katyal (2010) However there are some positives that come out of elebrity endorsement, firstly as Lake et al say by the help of celebritys endorsement they will increase the awareness of the brand as having someone the consumer knows on the campaign it will help catch there attention, and make them more interested in finding out about the product. Also having a celebrity will help differentiate it from one brand to the other for example David Beckham advertises for Adidas and Roger Federer for Nike. The two are sporting brands with different celebritys, which differentiate them. A further positive could be that the value that is ssociated with the celebrity is carried through to the brand/ product. Through this the brand can become established and through having the celebrity endorsement Dutch team in which they scanned 24 womens brains whilst they looked at different pairs of shoes, both with celebrities and non-celebritys modeling the shoes, and it was noticed that part of the brain became very active when a celebrity was modeling them. (BBC, 2010). As stated above it shows that women do pay more attention to celebrity endorsed ads. Celebrity endorsements can also attract the younger markets, s youths often look up to celebrities as role models and if they see a celebrity advertising a product they may be more inclined to buy it, for example if David Beckham is advertising his new Adidas football boots, they will most probably want them because he looked up to by young people. Using ethnographic analysis, found that young admirers consider celebrity idols as their idealized self-images. (Caughey 1978, 1985, 1994). Finally a celebrity can help revive a immobile brand by flushing new life into the brand for example when Gary Lineker starter advertising for Walkers or David Beckham for Brylcreem. Both Brands picked up sales significantly mainly because of the celebrity involved. Today as social media is become such a phenomenon it is becoming easier for celebrities to endorse products. As Hampp (2011) says celebrities such as Kim Kardashian are being paid to Tweet and Facebook about the endorsements, so now more marketers are bringing in social media to their contracts. Today when using a celebrity it is becoming more and more asked about how many followers they have and their popularity (Klout) scores. They have even gone to the extreme of creating a new measurement tool called FanDNA, this ompiles of data from the top actors, musicians, athletes and models, it works by rating them and setting there appeal to different groups. It also matches them with the brands that will work best for them. (Hampp, 2011). Although there are many negatives involved in celebrity endorsing, from looking at the information, there are more positive outcomes than negatives. The companys can get more out of having celebrity endorsing products as they bring in the consumers and therefore the people who give them the capital to continue to work. Some celebritys have bought a new light to the brands and made them reinvent themselves.

celebrity endorsements Essay Example

celebrity endorsements Essay Example celebrity endorsements Essay celebrity endorsements Essay Do celebrity endorsements work? Celebrity endorsement, this is when a Brand uses a celebrity to help sell there product, service or charity. This may be in adverts, creating a line, or in the case of charity attending different events, fundraising or being a face of a charity. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using celebrity endorsements, for many brands it is about them being noticed, and catching the attention of there market and many brands think that by using a celebrity known in society it will help entice the consumers in. One of the main points that have become noticeable is the way different genders see n advert and the gender of the celebrity in the advert. There is some evidence that women may be more favorably disposed toward celebrity endorsers than men. Lake, Reece, Rifon, (2010 page p30-32) Lake et al (2010) showed in their study that men look at the more noticeable aspects of the advert where as the women look at it in a broader view and pick up different cues. In one study done by (Peetz, Park and Spencer, 2004) the results showed that male athletes were known 4 times greater than women athletes are known, this may prove that for Brands advertising portswear they may be more inclined to use a male campaigner. Although (Ohainian, 1991) stated in her study that gender it was not an issue, it was the perceptions of the celebritys attractiveness, trustworthiness or expertise. In recent years though some of the sporting celebritys have been putting their brands under strain due to the celebrity being in the media for bad reasons that may harm the brand. For example Tiger Woods was dropped by Nike due to the car crash and sex scandal Lake et al, (2010), this was spread throughout the media all over the world. Another negative according to Patel (2009), is that Brands could fall into the celebrity trap which is hard to get out of, once a celebrity is known as the brands face it is hard to change the public perception that they are linked together. Finally a celebrity may be used to endorse one brand but themselves use a different brand for example Catherine Zeta Jones was used as an endorser for Sainsburys but was seen shopping in Tescos which may give the general public an unsurety about shopping at Sainsburys Saurbh Katyal (2010) However there are some positives that come out of elebrity endorsement, firstly as Lake et al say by the help of celebritys endorsement they will increase the awareness of the brand as having someone the consumer knows on the campaign it will help catch there attention, and make them more interested in finding out about the product. Also having a celebrity will help differentiate it from one brand to the other for example David Beckham advertises for Adidas and Roger Federer for Nike. The two are sporting brands with different celebritys, which differentiate them. A further positive could be that the value that is ssociated with the celebrity is carried through to the brand/ product. Through this the brand can become established and through having the celebrity endorsement Dutch team in which they scanned 24 womens brains whilst they looked at different pairs of shoes, both with celebrities and non-celebritys modeling the shoes, and it was noticed that part of the brain became very active when a celebrity was modeling them. (BBC, 2010). As stated above it shows that women do pay more attention to celebrity endorsed ads. Celebrity endorsements can also attract the younger markets, s youths often look up to celebrities as role models and if they see a celebrity advertising a product they may be more inclined to buy it, for example if David Beckham is advertising his new Adidas football boots, they will most probably want them because he looked up to by young people. Using ethnographic analysis, found that young admirers consider celebrity idols as their idealized self-images. (Caughey 1978, 1985, 1994). Finally a celebrity can help revive a immobile brand by flushing new life into the brand for example when Gary Lineker starter advertising for Walkers or David Beckham for Brylcreem. Both Brands picked up sales significantly mainly because of the celebrity involved. Today as social media is become such a phenomenon it is becoming easier for celebrities to endorse products. As Hampp (2011) says celebrities such as Kim Kardashian are being paid to Tweet and Facebook about the endorsements, so now more marketers are bringing in social media to their contracts. Today when using a celebrity it is becoming more and more asked about how many followers they have and their popularity (Klout) scores. They have even gone to the extreme of creating a new measurement tool called FanDNA, this ompiles of data from the top actors, musicians, athletes and models, it works by rating them and setting there appeal to different groups. It also matches them with the brands that will work best for them. (Hampp, 2011). Although there are many negatives involved in celebrity endorsing, from looking at the information, there are more positive outcomes than negatives. The companys can get more out of having celebrity endorsing products as they bring in the consumers and therefore the people who give them the capital to continue to work. Some celebritys have bought a new light to the brands and made them reinvent themselves.

An explanation of various marketing terms

An explanation of various marketing terms is the use of consumer-direct channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without using marketing middlemen.†Direct Marketing† is the use of consumer-direct channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without using marketing middlemen. Direct marketing implies marketing to the consumers directly without secondary media such as TV commercials. Direct Marketing includes the distribution of fliers, displaying signs such as â€Å"weekly specials† inside the store. It is used to target customers who cannot resist a good deal or bargain. Some Direct marketers use their customer database to contact them for special offers. They tailor their marketing offers and communications to the needs of individual buyers. Direct Marketing is generally used by small to medium size companies that do not have the budget for expensive commercial. There are many forms of direct marketing. The major types are as follows: Direct mail – the adverti ser contact prospective customers by sending some form of advertisement through the mail. Music and book clubs, magazine clearing house, and credit card companies make use of direct mail. Catalogue marketing – companies mail catalogues to consumers and to businesses or make them available at retail stores, and consumers make their purchase from the catalogues. For example, Sears and Canadian Tire’s catalogue shopping. Catalogue retailers appear well suited to operating on the internet as they has the systems and distribution experience required for such an undertaking. Telemarketing – using the telephone and call centers to sell directly to prospects and existing consumers. Companies use call centers for Inbound (receiving calls from customers) and outbound (initiating calls to prospects and customers) telemarketing. Direct marketing has been a major growth area in retailing. Its advantages related particularly to its ability to direct the marketing effort to th ose consumers who are most likely to respond positively. It also offers products and services in a way that is most convenient for the consumer. 2. _____ consist(s) of a collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. â€Å"Sales promotions† consist of a collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Sales promotion as tools and techniques used to stimulate demand, encourage purchase or sales of a product or services, reward royal customers and attract switchers from competitors,. Advertising provides information on a product or promote a brand. Sale promotion offers reasons to buy now. Here are a few examples of sales promotions: Coupons delivered in the newspaper offering discount on your favourite coffee. An e-mail from Amazon.ca offers free shippi ng on your next purchase over $35. Sales promotion uses different mix of promotional tools designed to stimulate customers to buy a product. There are two categories of sales promotion tools: The consumer promotions tools – aimed at consumers directly such as; price discount or same price for the twice the amount of the product, discount coupons, cash refund from the manufacturer, patronage rewards such as doubling the amount of air miles, sweepstakes such as possible chance to win a trip to Disneyland and free gift, getting something from the purchase.

Finality of arbitral awards under Islamic or sharia law Dissertation

Finality of arbitral awards under Islamic or sharia law - Dissertation Example Islamic countries ‘too often have impermissibly interfered with international arbitration cases.’4 Many different cultural, political, and geographical factors have constituted the foundation of the Islamic legal system, and pure knowledge of the law does not suffice to understand the Islamic jurisdictional system.5 While international arbitration as a contemporary legal system is relatively new to Arab nations, arbitration per se in the Islamic world dates back to 622 A.D. ... Jarrar8 called the finality of arbitration as arbitrary, and the principle that the results of arbitration are binding and final is a myth. This is not to say, however, that the teachings of Sharia are directly contradictory to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. It is actually to the greater interest of Islamic countries which issue Sukuk bonds to streamline arbitration proceedings to reduce the perceived risks investors assume when investing in these Sharia-based financial instruments. Arbitration is invaluable for the average investor to pursue claims in any dispute, including Islamic finance, because arbitration is usually less costly and therefore favourable to individual investors. Added to these is the absence of uniformity among remedies and the complexities of navigating conflicts of law issues makes litigation an unfavourable means of obtaining relief. Therefore, it is to the advantage of Islamic financial institutions, in particular, and Islamic business in general to enhance systematic procedures that affirm and enforce arbitral awards, both domestic and international. 1.2 Conventions influencing the enforcement of arbitral awards in Islamic member states As of January 1, 2009, 143 out of a total of 192 member States have adopted the New York Convention of 1958, among whom are all the major players in the Sukuk bonds market, namely Malaysia (1985), Bahrain (1988), Qatar (2003) and the UAE (2006). This is because Sukuk issuances have come to be accepted globally, and its compliance with arbitration is most useful in the resolution of international disputes arising out of the terms of the Sukuk contracts. Increasingly, the Gulf States have over the years acceded to the Convention, including Kuwait

What Were the Reasons for the 1905 Revolution in Russia Research Paper

What Were the Reasons for the 1905 Revolution in Russia - Research Paper Example Some 90% of the Russia people were non-landlords, and those who made up the noble class were even fewer in number. Yet these noblemen and landlords held all of the rights to political power, determination and the best parts of the land. The common people were seen as superstitious and ignorant serfs who only understood force and brutal oppression. Though Czar Alexander the II (1855-1881) attempted at reform, as seen in his Emancipation Edict of March 3, 1861, which abolished serfdom and guaranteed the right to own land, the liberty of the peasants was still out of reach. The annual sums of the government to be paid in exchange for 'ownership' of the land were oftentimes greater than the dues that the peasants had formerly paid to the serfs. Furthermore, the land of the village communities designated to the people was most likely infertile because the nobles were allowed to only give the worst parts of their estates to the people and the village communities kept village land as collec tive property, which meant that no private ownership on the part of the actual farmers was possible. With the formation of an intellectual class, industrialization which concentrated the population and revolutionary societies that could now see the discrepancy between other democratic nations, people became more aware of what kind of living standards they should be entitled to. Nicholas II (1894-1917) only fanned the flame of discontent with his dictatorial and imprudent ruling style and his German wife, Princess Alexandra, who was more than eager to guard the full autocratic power for her husband. A revolution was the only way to alter the social. Of many immediate events that spurred the revolution on, the Bloody Sunday massacre of January 22. Workers on strike, along with their families, had started out marching towards the palace as a quiet hymn singing procession. Women and children were placed at the front of the demonstrating throng in hopes of deterring violence, but after a few warning shots, Czar's soldiers shot directly at the crowd and as a result, an estimate of 1000 people died. Not only did the event demonstrate the government's ruthless indiscriminate approach in the shooting, killing the strong along with the physically weak, it also displayed the fact that protest alone can never help bring about a paradigm shift within the political structure. As shown in the film Battleship Potempkin, many of the protestors were vets from the Russo-Japanese war, who had lost limbs and became crippled for the tsar. The treatment they receive in return for such a thankless service, displayed in the shooting, sparked further d isillusionment among the mass of fighting men. It is believed that this event capsized the remaining faith the people had in the government and triggered the revolution of 1905. The massacre could not have happened in Russia, however, considering the sheer vastness of the country, without the rapid growth of a proletariat class in the industrial towns, which began in the Russian Industrialization initiated by Alexander II's.

The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs Essay Example for Free

The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs Essay One of the two friends were killed, the other managed to escape† (Versii). Thirteen more murders followed, often with multiple bodies found in the same day. Two victims were found every day from July 14 through the 16 (â€Å"Lowlifes planned 40 murders†) The three suspects were arrested on July 23, 2007. Igor Suprunyuck attempted to sell a mobile phone they had stolen from one of their victims at the local pawn shop. When that phone was turned on to show that it worked, its location was tracked by law enforcement agents. Igor Suprunyuck and Viktor Sayenko were arrested in the pawn shop (Katsman). Alexander Hanzha was arrested at home, reportedly managing to flush other stolen phones down the toilet. The phones were recovered, but all the information on them was lost (GlavRed). They were charged with 29 separate incidents, including 21 murders and 8 more attacks where the victims survived. Suprunyuck was charged with 27 of the cases, Sayenko was charged with 25, and Hanzha with counts of armed robbery (Kommersant). Ally three confessed quickly, Suprunyuck later withdrew his confession. Suprunyuck’s original defense awyer dropped out of the case after reportedly being disappointed at failing to have a plea of insanity accepted by his client (Segodyna). â€Å"On February 11, 2009, the court in Dnepropetrovsk found Igor Suprunyuck and Viktor Sayenko guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Alexander Hanzha, who was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to nine years in prison (Olinikova). Hanzha said of Suprunyuck and Sayenko: â€Å"If I had know n the atrocities that they were capable of commiting, I would have not gone near them at gunpoint (â€Å"Dnepropetrovsk serial killers sentenced to life imprisonment†). The parents of Igor Suprunyuck and Viktor Sayenko repeated their belief in the innocence of their sons. The parents of Suprunyuck and Sayenko also argued that the sentence of Alexander Hanzha had been too lenient (Segondnya). From what i’ve read, the murderers didn’t have a specific motive. â€Å"Local media reported that the killers had a plan to get rich from the murder videos that they recorded. One of the suspects’ girlfriends reported that they were planning to make forty videos of separate murders. This was corroborated by the suspects’ former classmates, who claimed that he often heard Suprunyuck was in contact with an unknown â€Å"rich foreign website creator† who ordered forty snuff videos, and would pay a large sum of money once they were made† (â€Å"Lowlifes planned 40 murders†). Regional security chief, Ivan Stupak, rejected the claim that the murders had been committed to make internet snuff videos, saying that no evidence had come to the light during the investigation that supported the claim (Segodnya). Detective Bogdan Vlasenko stated: â€Å"We think they were doing it as a hobby, to have a collection of memories when they get old (Segodnya). Deputy interior minister, Nikolay Kupyanskiy, commented â€Å"For these young men, murder was like entertainment or hunting (â€Å"Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs captured! †). â€Å"At the trial, it emerged that Suprunyuck had collected newspaper cuttings about the case† (Segodnya). â€Å"Some of the photographs of the crimes had captions added, including â€Å"The weak must die. The strongest will conquer (Segodnya). The suspects’ mobile phones and personal computers contained multiple video recordings of the murders taking place. One full video was leaked on the internet, showing the murder of 48-year-old Sergei Yatzenko. He is seen lying on his back in a wooded area, and is struck repeatedly in the face with a hammer held inside a plastic bag. One of the attackers stabs Yatzenko in the eye with a screwdriver, and also stabs him in the abdomen with the screwdriver. Yatzenko is then struck with the hammer in order to ensure that he is dead. The attack lasts over four minutes, during which the victim lapses in and out of consciousness. One of the murderers can be smiling towards the camera during the video† (â€Å"Shocking Murder Video Makes Rounds on the Internet†). Personally i’ve seen the video and I wish I could take back every minute of it. The suspects were also found in possession of multiple photographs showing them attending funerals of the victims. They can be seen smiling and â€Å"flipping off† the coffins and gravestones (â€Å"Killers captured death of victims on video (with television news video)†). The photographic and video evidence was shown in court on October 29, 2008, as part of a larger presentation of over 300 photographs and two videos (Leontieva). In conclusion, my opinion on the murders is that they were horrible. There had to be something mentally wrong with them. No one can do something like that and not have any kind of sympathy, without something being wrong with them. The Dnepropetrovsk Maniac murders were definitely some of the worst killings in the last 100 years.

Pride in Greenleaf and Spotted Horses :: Greenleaf Spotted Horses Essays

Pride in Greenleaf" and Spotted Horses Pride is a feeling that most people in the world have always shared. Pride can be a great thing to have, but when a person has too much pride, the situation becomes very different. Pride can cause a person to do things he would not do under normal circumstances, and it can cause a person unhappiness. Mrs. May in "Greenleaf" and Henry Armstid in "Spotted Horses" both have a sad type of pride that leads to untimely death and demise. In Henry's case, his pride is the direct cause of his injuries done by the horses, and Mrs. May's is somewhat more indirect. In "Greenleaf," Mrs. May thought that she was a blessing to the world. She thought that everything good that happened was her doing and that everything she did was good. At one point in the story she says, "I work and slave, I struggle and sweat to keep this place for them and as soon as I'm dead, they'll marry trash and bring it in here and ruin everything. They will marry trash and ruin everything I've done." Although she hates the dairy farm and her two sons do not live up to her standards, she still has a sense of pride about them causing her to be so preoccupied with what she has done for them. The bull, a prominent symbol for what Mrs. May cannot control, meanders throughout the story and clashes and conflicts with her pride. The two are intertwined: she constantly visualizes and hears the bull in the day and sleep. In one of her dreams she talks of being "aware that what ever it was had been eating as long as she had the place and had eaten everything from the beginning of her fence line up to the house and now was eating the house and calmly with the same steady rhythm would continue through the house, eating her and the boys, and then on, eating everything but the Greenleafs." The bull symbolizes what she cannot do in life, what she cannot control, and what she has not done, and it is what makes her take the last step before her death by bringing out her pride and causing her to try and take control over the unknown, over itself. She is then gored to death by the bull, and this proves the point that she should not have concerned her whole life with her pride and what she had done and what she could not ultimately control.

A study of existing disciplines in an organization Essay

There exists a situation that is a bit difficult to understand that is usually faced by information system management professionals. Since they are always specialized in the areas their clients seek professional advice, it becomes difficult for them to design prescriptions unlike some other professionals like doctors. Another major reason for difficulties experienced is that professionals fail to distinguish the actual needs of users from their wishes and desires. Therefore these professionals have to get prepared such that they create confidence in users in relationship to their capabilities. There is high need that there is achieved success during the period of investigating information needs. And therefore the person assigned the duties of a system identifier must be acceptable at all levels of users. They are also required to have credibility. An information system identifier has to adopt a procedural guideline for identification of needs. (Malcolm Pettu. Information resources management, 1989, Blackwell NCC) A study of existing disciplines in an organization. It is the duty of information needs identifier to find out the various departments in an organization and establish a relationship with the users. He is eligible to identify the major supporting areas within an organization’s handbook will be the output of this study that will offer guidance to further works of identifying the information needs. (E. Joel Ross. management by information system, 1970, Prentice hall. ) A study of the organization and its environment. After this exercise the identifier should be able to prepare a profile for the organization. He should be able to identify of what type the organization is in order to identify the different forms of management system and decision making processes that pose a bearing on the information needs. There is also need to analyze the environment in which the organization works. A study of the environment of the user. It is vital to identify in an orderly manner, the category of users and their respective information needs. The work of the identifier is to get a wide study of the users department before engaging in any interviews with the users. This helps him/her easily identify the needs. Several sources that need to be studied in the users department include; annual reports on the departments and their respective functions, Minutes of meetings, project reports, progress reports, and investigative reports est. It is necessary that the information identifier fully acquaints him/her of the full working of the department. This will make him fully understand the situations in which the user operates in. True needs however are identified from wide understanding of the user since they tend to place their wants and needs in fragments. Users are individuals, so the identifier should try as much as possible to address holistically perceive these needs. A user however might be playing a different role in an organization. An example is a wide variety of roles assumed by managers. It may include being. †¢ A disseminator spokesman †¢ A team leader †¢ A liaison †¢ A controller †¢ A decision maker. Resource allocator Broadly a user may form a node that pertains the following three different perspective of information flow in an organization: Communicating in a bird’s eye view perspective: †¢ Includes giving job instructions and directives to specific tasks. †¢ The basis information of the job information designated for production of good understanding of relative tasks in an organization. †¢ Organizational practices and procedures providing timely feedbacks about performance to the subordinate. †¢ Communicating upwardly: †¢ People will talk about; †¢ Their problems and their performance. †¢ Their organizational policies and practices. †¢ Others and their problems. †¢ The needs to be done. Communicating in a horizontal manner with colleagues in the same level of hierarchy. A user may interact with: his culture which sets for him policies and other influences and attitude, formal organizations such as employing organization invisible colleges, gate keepers etc, his work team which is a distinguished subsystem in an organization because of interpersonal characteristics. Users caught up in complex situations need to be studied from two different perspectives: Including direct methods which include Direct methods of user study include: A close observation of the users during discussions with their colleagues. Engagement in a dialogue with the user when offering information services to them performing a detailed survey by use of questionnaires. Visiting the various departments where the users work and observing them. Some of the indirect methods are listed below: †¢ Studying the events maintained by users which are included in diaries. †¢ Having a thorough analysis of the reference queries received from users. †¢ Analyzing responses from users after rendering services to them. †¢ Taking users designs and analyzing them. †¢ Studying the user’s job description. †¢ Taking the publications of users and studying them. †¢ Studying the documents used by users. †¢ Scanning reports and correspondences received and prepared by users. An advantage of the direct observation is that there is personal contact of the identifier with the users. This provides an excellent opportunity for observation of users in their normal environment. A downfall of the method of direct observation is that there is overdependence on the observers’ capability. It is necessary to note that there may result incidence of subjective element of the observer as a result of the observations made. The records of users’ are adequate in providing a reliable indication of the users subjects of interest. It is them subjected to extrapolation to a dynamic changing situation. Since users are developing human beings, and work in a system that is also subjected to constant change, it calls for keen study of the users. Some of the few methods of studying users are as below: Studying the work diary of users; In an organization users are always encouraged to maintain work related diaries. Recorded in the diary includes critical events and incidents, filed license applications, comments in regards to how improvement could be achieved in an organization, meetings and discussions held and their solutions etc. the consultants/ consultancy organizations preferred To some organizations it is a must for its employees to keep and maintain such diaries. It is also necessary for them to record the events in their order of occurrence such that it may act as a vital source of information to address the specific needs of the users. Sometimes it may give information about who associates with them both inside and outside the organization. Surveying the information sources used The objective here is to bring frequency and relevance of the different types of sources, their availability and accessibility and the different priorities assigned to them. There is emphasis on keeping records for respective departments. Formal interview The information need identifier after carefully analyzing the above steps should be able to design questions, set up the clarifications to be made and similar points for discussion with the users. He is to design this depending on the user’s environment, category, and specific roles he plays in performing his responsibilities among other things. An information need identifier has to design a specific document for each user before carrying out a formal interview. The document should have. Available sources and services that are not in use Required types of information and services. Present sources of information and services in the organization. A draft estimate of needs anticipated by users. The intention of the gathered information is of a greater bearing on the real information required. And therefore the information need identifier is supposed to find out by appropriate questioning the following aspects: What information is needed, in what form, for what need, when needed and to perform which role. In what digestible form, table, original document, and executive summary etc. In what media print visual presentation or audio? The kind of information facts, is it technical detailed, opinions? To what coverage extent, is it exhaustive or selective? The identifier should be able to identify favorable products of information services to the users to enable them extensively express their needs. He/she should have the capability of identifying true needs. In relation to specific functions the user should identify specific functions related to the value needs. A need has values attached to act as determinants of priorities to be assigned. For satisfaction of the need, its information cost could be correlated to its consequences Also it maybe a necessity to attend meetings in areas under areas where the functions and responsibilities of users are addressed. Occasionally it is good to invite users for group discussions to shade light on future changes and even the changes that are taking place. This ensures free exchange of ideas within a system and therefore is preferred that there is an arrangement to having appointments with the users at those times they are free from important work. When conducting interviews it is important to ensure efficiency by: providing several examples with relevant information services and aided in how he can meet his information needs. The examples should be relevant in the sense that they must be from the subject field of the user. It includes using the following criteria; By presenting the actual problems that are likely to be faced by users in their daily activities. Providing appropriate communication language that can be easily understood by users so that they will express their needs unambiguously. Help the users pinpoint his subjects precisely by using the subject profile of the organization that has been prepared by the information need identifier. Illustration of a few services that the user has already contemplated and seeking their own ideas as to which services they prefer. A show off of the different information so as to gather more sources and identify new users. Acquainting the users of present communication channels used in the organization. Refining the information needs It is an important idea of an information need identifier to periodically invite small groups of persons of the same composition e. g. all technicians for discussions. End users are also members of the information system therefore they should be asked to mention their current activities and whatever problems they are facing. They should be able to talk about the information interests of their likes. They should talk of how the current system may be improved to match their respective information needs. It may occur that if the discussion is properly done then some details from the survey could be combined. This will help in updating and modification of information needs that are of best use to the members and end users Conclusion To identify a thing is one thing and to satisfy it is another. It is my hope that the above study will be easily translated into practice. It implies that identification of information needs in this way will render the best services that will be able to satisfy the users’ needs. In the end the, users will be able to have a better outlook of the company. The creation of an information and communication technology within an organization will not only be an effective tool for communication but also ensures that an organization realizes higher productivity with low input costs. If a company is undergoing re-engineering process then it may need to employ a systems manager to work with the changed management. It calls for a well picture of the constraints and capabilities of technology. (P. R Sundarray, Joseph Sams. Implementation management of an E-commerce enabled enterprise information, 2002. ) .

An Evaluation of the Relevance and Utility of Lean Manufacturing Approach to the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Introduction This critical analysis report is aimed at evaluating the relevance and utility of the Lean manufacturing approach to the pharmaceutical supply chain. It covers the principles and application of Lean manufacturing in supply chain management; its potential advantages to the management of quality and efficiency in pharmaceutical industry; and whether Lean is appropriate for the pharmaceutical supply chain. Novartis and Lundbeck case studies are used to describe how the Lean approach is applied to pharmaceutical industry. Principles of Lean manufacturing in supply chain management Lean thinking is a concept that describes a production philosophy aiming for progressive elimination of waste whist safeguarding the critical value (Ende 2011). According to (Sople 2012: 113), the principles of Lean manufacturing are â€Å"customer value, value stream analysis, demand pull, continuous flow, and waste elimination.† The purpose of a Lean supply chain network is to bring the lowest cost in differential customer value, which can be met through collaborative priorities in demand, real-time information on markets, and logistics delivery efficiencies, to name a few. The concept of networks of supply chain partners suggests that the success of companies is through their constant origination from new networks of supply chain partners in order to meet certain objectives. As a general rule, these constantly developing networks can act in response to the dynamic characteristic of customer demand (Sople 2012). The manufacturing function must not be the only domain to whic h Lean principles must be applied. Rather, it must also be applied across organisations in the supply chain to decrease the wastes usually associated with supply chain operations. The full benefit of Lean manufacturing and supply chain management necessitates that the scope of Lean implementations must go beyond a single function and must be structured as a part of managing relationships with customers and suppliers (Lambert 2008). It may therefore be analysed that with the adoption of Lean techniques, the management is tasked to align corporate activities with Lean manufacturing in supply chain management across organisational functions. Lean thinking also allows the organisation to direct business relationships with customers and suppliers. Application of Lean Principles Lean thinking is apparently applicable to pharmaceutical development and manufacturing (Wigglesworth and Wood, 2012). Lambert (2008) states that whilst the various material flows as well as flows of goods and information are the focus of Lean supply chain operations, Lean application to the management of supply chains is further from the physical flows of inventory. It also takes account of the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. When a firm applies Lean manufacturing concepts to its supply chain management, it begins to focus on value drivers; revenue development; asset efficiency, and reductions in cost, inventory, and working capital. All of these are apparently beneficial to an organisation. Applying Lean thinking to supply chain management is very likely since both of them share commonalities, such as long-term perspectives, value and customer creation; systems view; and structured business relationships;amongst others (Lambert 2008). These commonalities indicate how much Lean thinking and supply chain management lend to each other. Based on this, one can conclude that Lean approaches are aligned to supply chain management and that the two are generally not in contrast with each other. Potential advantages of Lean approach to managing quality and efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry One of the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry is the reduction of cost of goods in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. The implementation of Lean thinking can be carried out by developing workflows and infrastructures to reduce inventories (Ende 2011), which are in fact a target of quality and efficiency efforts within pharmaceutical companies. The concept of continuous manufacturing in pharmaceutical companies deals with the challenge of overproduction, which leads to surplus inventory and longer cycle teams. These are the focus of efficiency on which pharmaceutical companies must be engaged. Its significance is seen in the fact that excess inventory is considered the greatest waste because it brings upon itself certain costs related to the management, storage, and transport of inventories adding to the waste (Schneider 2010). Therefore, when Lean techniques are used, such wastes are reduced, if not totally eliminated within the pharmaceu tical firm. Novartis and H. Lundbeck case studies Novartis is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms (Abreau 2013). The upstream part of its supply chain indicates flow of information and full visibility. Novartis uses product-to-demand technique based on demand, whereby its daily variable demand stream is integrated to production (AMR Research 2006). Between its levels of supply chain are limited visibility and flow of information (Abreau 2013). Despite being ranked number 2 behind Pfizer in cost of goods sold in 2006, Novartis decided to take on Lean principles and become the â€Å"Toyota of pharmaceuticals.† Using Lean principles, the company is focused on reducing its cycle time to 70 per cent and reducing spending by 40 per cent, as well as pursuing continuous manufacturing with raw materials going in one end of the chain and finished products coming out the other (AMR Research 2007). Along with this is the reengineering of every process and role, leveraging information technology, and setting up process-oriented teams in the absence of first-line supervisors so that personnel would report directly to one team leader (Shanley 2004). Here, one can see the application of Lean techniques to Novartis’ supply chain, thereby helping the company to improve its internal processes and eliminate waste. Lundbeck, on the other hand, is an international pharmaceutical firm that began its Lean adoption in 2005. The company went through certain phases in its Lean adoption, such as building consensus in the management group and running a range of Lean events and building a culture around these events. In the first phase, Lundbeck implemented 40 Lean events assisted by external experts, followed by 70 to 80 Lean events each year, with all personnel in the supply chain being involved (Simpler Consulting 2010). Through its adoption of Lean principles in its supply chain, the company was able to cut costs by 25 per cent. Workflow analysis within the organisation is also aided by video cameras, which leads to further improvements. Part of its Lean techniques adoption is the use of large bags instead of small box packaging, which reduced production delays from four hours to only an hour (Miller 2012). Is Lean appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain? Yes, Lean techniques are appropriate to the pharmaceutical supply chain. Despite Lean thinking’s origination from Toyota manufacturing, its adoption is still suitable to the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, its applicability is seen in the number of pharmaceutical companies that continue to adopt Lean manufacturing techniques. Although many of these techniques cannot be taken on to the more complex pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, their adoption mirrors the pursuit of increased optimisation (Shanley 200). Boyer and Verma (2010) surmise that whilst the original focus of developing Lean thinking is the manufacture of automobiles, it can still be applied to other industries. This is because Lean approach is more than a set of techniques but is a mindset for all personnel and managers who are focused on waste elimination and reduction of variability in the entirety of the business process. The advantage of Lean’s adoption in the pharmaceutical industry is the ability of pharmaceutical companies to experience logical rhythm through the supply chain. With the Lean enterprise, adaptive supply chain is carried out, causing the whole organisation to possess real-time process visualisation (Hafeli 2006). Argument for agility in the pharmaceutical supply chain Pharmaceutical companies are inclined to be bureaucratic, which results in several wastes in internal processes. With the application of Lean principles, pharmaceutical companies are able to strengthen their relative agility (Radeka 2013). This would mean that despite the relative limitation of the application of Lean principles in the pharmaceutical supply chain as pointed by WCI Consulting Limited (2011), the result is still improved agility in the supply chain. Apparently, the need for agility in supply chain management is founded on decreasing product life cycles and demand patterns of increasingly volatile markets. Sweeney (2009) points out that Lean is not enough, that agility in supply chain is required because of emphasis on speed, with time being a major competitive weapon. This argument is reasonable given the rapidly changing market in which pharmaceutical companies operate. However, as emphasised above, Lean thinking is also applicable to the pharmaceutical industry. An argument arising about the adoption of Lean thinking in the pharmaceutical industry is the risk that goes with it. Such adoption is said to put the supply chain to increased vulnerability to disruptions and unpredictable events due to lack of slack on which to withdraw. With Lean techniques making the supply chain vulnerable, a question that may come up is whether this would mean Lean is not suitable at all. The answer is pharmaceutical companies can apply Lean techniques to cut costs and adopt agility in order to obtain supply chain resilience, as pointed out by WCI Consulting Limited (2011). Conclusion This paper provides a critical analysis of the relevance and utility of Lean techniques in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Lean thinking allows the elimination of wastes and cost reduction in pharmaceutical companies. Lean supply chain considers the entirety of the business relationship amongst firms. Reduced costs of goods and reduced inventories are the potential advantages of Lean approach in the pharmaceutical industry. Novartis and Lundbeck case studies provide an example where Lean techniques and supply chain management become integrated. Despite the effectiveness of agility in supply chain management, Lean cannot be set aside as a valuable tool. References Abreau, P. E. M. (2013) An ANP Model to Support Decision-Making in a Portuguese Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. Reterived on March 22, 2014 from http://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/10724/1/Abreu_2013.pdf AMR Research (2006) Supply Chain Saves the World. US: AMR Research, Inc. AMR Research (2007) Risk!: Navigating an Uncertain World. US: AMR Research Inc. Boyer, K. and Verma, R. (2010) Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. First Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Ende, D. J. (2011) Chemical Engineering in the Pharmaceutical Industry: R&D to Manufacturing. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Hafeli, R. (2006) Enabling Lean and Compliant Manufacturing at Novartis with SAP. Denver: SAP Adaptive Manufacturing Summit, September 28. Lambert, D. M. (2008) Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance. Sarasota, FL: Supply Chain Management Institute. Miller, G. (2012) Lean Earns Lundbeck Big Prize, Cost Cuts. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/lean-earns-lundbeck-big-prize-cost-cuts/2012-01-18 Radeka, K. (2013) The Mastery of Innovation: A Field Guide to Lean Product Development. NW: CRC Press. Schneider, O. (2010) Adding Enterprise Value: Mitigating Investment Decision Risks by Assessing the Economic Value of Supply Chain Initiatives. Zurich: vdf Hochshulverlag AG Shanley, A. (2004) Novartis Goes Lean. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.pharmamanufacturing.com/articles/2004/111/ Simpler Consulting (2010) Lean Management of the Pharmaceutical Sector Brings Increased Efficiency and Improved Quality While Increasing Profits. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.simpler.com/success-stories/Lundbeck_Case-Study.pdf Sople, V. V. (2012) Supply Chain Management: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd. Sweeney, E. (2009) Lean, Agile and Resilient Pharmaceutical Supply Chains: Jargon or ActionIrish Pharmachem Buyers Guide (September), 38-39. WCI Consulting Limited (2011) Keeping the Supply Chain Agile. Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from http://www.wcigroup.com/Nostrapharmus/Keeping%20the%20supply%20chain%20agile.pdf Wigglesworth, M. and Wood, T. (2012) Management of Chemical and Biological Samples for Screening Applications. Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag & Co.

Interesting and Strange Astronomy Facts

Interesting and Strange Astronomy Facts Even though people have studied the heavens for thousands of years, we still know relatively little about the  universe. While astronomers continue to explore, they learn more about the stars, planets, and galaxies in some detail and yet some phenomena remain puzzling. Whether or not scientists will be able to solve the mysteries of the universe is a mystery itself, but the fascinating study of space and all its many anomalies will continue to inspire new ideas and give impetus to new discoveries as long as humans continue to look up at the skies and wonder, Whats out there? Dark Matter in the Universe   Astronomers are always on the hunt for dark matter, a mysterious form of matter that cant be detected by normal means- hence its name. All of the universal matter that can be detected by current methods comprises only about 5 percent of the total matter in the universe. Dark matter makes up the rest, along with something known as dark energy. When people look at the night sky, no matter how many stars they see (and galaxies, if theyre using a telescope), theyre only witnessing a tiny fraction of whats actually out there. While astronomers sometimes use the term vacuum of space, the space that light travels through isnt completely empty. There are actually a few atoms of matter in each cubic meter of space. The space between galaxies, which was once thought to be quite empty, is often filled with molecules of gas and dust. Dense Objects in the Cosmos People also used to think that black holes were the answer to the dark matter conundrum. (That is, it was believed that the unaccounted for matter might be in black holes.) While the idea turns out not to be true, black holes  continue to fascinate astronomers, with good reason. Black holes are so  dense and have such intense gravity, that nothing- not even light- can escape them.  For example, should an intergalactic ship somehow get too close to a black hole and be sucked in by its gravitational pull face first,  the force on the front of the ship would be so much stronger than the force at the back, that the ship and the people inside would get stretched out- or elasticized like taffy- by the intensity of the gravitational pull. The result? No one gets out alive. Did you know that black holes can and do collide? When this phenomenon occurs between supermassive black holes,  gravitational waves  are released. Though the existence of these waves was speculated to  exist, they werent actually detected until 2015. Since then, astronomers have detected gravitational waves from several titanic black hole collisions.   Neutron  stars- the leftovers of the deaths of massive stars in supernova explosions- arent the same thing as black holes, but they also collide with one another. These stars are so dense that a glass full of neutron star material would have more mass than the Moon. As gargantuan as they are, neutron stars are among the fastest spinning objects in the universe. Astronomers studying them have clocked them at spin rates of up to 500 times per second. Whats a Star and What Isnt? Humans have a funny propensity to call any bright object in the sky a star- even when its not. A star is a sphere of superheated gas that gives off light and heat, and usually has some sort of fusion going on inside it. This means that shooting stars arent really stars. (More often than not, theyre just tiny dust particles falling through our atmosphere that vaporize due to the heat of friction with the atmospheric gases.) What else is not a star? A planet is not a star. Thats because- for starters- unlike stars, planets dont fuse atoms in their interiors and theyre much smaller than your average star, and while comets may be bright in appearance, theyre not stars, either. As comets travel around the Sun, they leave behind dust trails. When Earth passes through  a cometary  orbit and encounters those trails,  we see an increase in meteors (also not stars) as the particles move through our atmosphere and are burned up. Our Solar System Our own star, the Sun, is a force to be reckoned with. Deep inside the Suns core, hydrogen is fused to create helium. During that process, the core releases the equivalent of 100 billion nuclear bombs  every second. All that energy works its way out through the Suns various layers, taking thousands of years to make the trip. The Suns energy, emitted as heat and light, powers the solar system. Other stars go through this same process during their lives, which makes stars the powerhouses of the cosmos.   The Sun may be the star of our show but the solar system in which we live is full of weird and wonderful features as well.  For instance, even though Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, temperatures can drop to a frigid -280 ° F on the planets surface. How? Since Mercury has almost no atmosphere, theres nothing to trap heat near the surface. As a result, the dark side of the planet- the one facing away from the Sun- gets extremely cold. While its farther away from the Sun, Venus is considerably hotter than Mercury due to the thickness of Venus’ atmosphere, which traps heat near the surface of the planet. Venus also spins very slowly on its axis. One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days, however, Venuss year is only 224.7 days. Odder still, Venus spins  backward  on its axis as compared to the other planets in the solar system. Galaxies, Interstellar Space, and Light The universe is more than 13.7 billion years old and it is home to billions of galaxies. No one is quite sure exactly how many galaxies there are all told, but some of the facts we do know are pretty impressive. How do we know what we know about galaxies? Astronomers study the light objects emit for clues as to their origins, evolution, and age. Light from distant stars and galaxies takes so long to reach Earth that were actually seeing these objects as they appeared in the past. When we look up at the night sky, were in effect, looking back in time. The farther away something is, the farther back in time it appears. For instance, the Suns light takes almost 8.5 minutes to travel to Earth, so we see the Sun as it appeared 8.5 minutes ago. The nearest star to us, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years away, so it appears to our eyes as it was 4.2 years ago. The nearest galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away and looks the way it did when our Australopithecus hominid ancestors walked the planet. Over the course of time, some older galaxies have been cannibalized by younger ones. For example, the Whirlpool galaxy (also known as Messier 51 or M51)- a two-armed spiral that lies between 25 million and 37 million light-years away from the  Milky Way that can be observed with an amateur telescope- appears to have been through one galaxy merger/cannibalization in its past.   The universe is brimming with galaxies, and the most distant ones are moving away from us at more than 90 percent of the speed of light. One of the strangest ideas of all- and one thats likely to come true- is the expanding universe theory, which hypothesizes that the universe will continue to expand and as it does, galaxies will grow farther apart until their star-forming regions eventually run out. Billions of years from now, the universe will be made up of old, red galaxies (those at the end of their evolution), so far apart that their stars will be almost impossible to detect.