Cardiff Bay – A brief history

The maritime history of the port of Cardiff dates back to Viking Times. At this stage it was only a small port which had a fairly constant flow of imports and exports. In 1794 the construction of the Glamorgan ship canal which resulted from the development of the iron industry meant that the export of iron through Cardiff became huge (350,000 tonnes a year). During the second part of the nineteenth century the port continued to grow at a fast rate, this was Cardiff's heyday. During the First World War Cardiff saw a dramatic decline in exports and the port and city. During the Second World War Cardiff had somewhat of a renaissance due to its key geographical location. After being passed to and from the public and private sectors and with the continuing decline of the Wales coal fields Cardiff left large areas of Cardiff useless as it all depended on the coal flow. Cardiff then diversified into activities such as oil, grain, frozen products and steel. This meant that there was no longer a demand for some of Cardiff's older dock facilities. The Glamorgan ship canal, which prompted the growth and prosperity of Cardiff, was filled in, in 1955. Then in 1964 the Bute West Dock was closed and shortly afterwards the Bute East Dock in 1970. It is this bleak history which prompted the plans for the transformation of Cardiff Docks into Cardiff Bay. The Cardiff Bay Regeneration Project The CBDC (Cardiff Bay Development Corporation) was set up in April 1987 by the then Secretary of State for Wales Nicholas Edwards. It was formed as part of the government's urban development program aiming to regenerate deprived and run – down inner city areas of Britain. The CBDC was given the task of regenerating the old docklands area of the city. Because of the scaled of the problem (only two of the five docks remain operational) this means this is the second largest redevelopment scheme in Europe. Read also History Quizzes The CBDC gave this mission statement; â€Å"To put Cardiff on the international map as a superlative maritime city which will stand comparison with any such city in the world, thereby enhancing the image and economic well-being of Cardiff and Wales as a whole† This was a brave statement and was followed up by these main objectives: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To promote development and provide a superb environment in which people would want to live, work and play. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To re-unite the city of Cardiff with its waterfront. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To bring forward a mix of development which would create a wide range of job opportunities and reflect the hopes and aspirations of communities of the area. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To achieve the highest standards of design and quality in all types of investment. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To establish the area as a recognised centre of excellence and innovation in the Field of urban regeneration. These objectives were to be met by introducing businesses into the local area and building shops and amenities basically all achieved through huge amounts of government funding. Strategies (what has been done?) Some large companies have also decided to locate in Cardiff and are providing new jobs. One such company is NCM which is a Dutch insurance company, with large companies like this being based in Cardiff a sense of confidence will be built up and other businesses will also relocate. The transport system is now referred to as an â€Å"Ultasystem†. Basically there has been a huge improvement in public transport with regular busses taking you all round the city. The City is also connected via water fronts and you can travel by water around Cardiff if you want to. The traffic is also not as bad as in a lot of modern cities which leads to less pollution and a nicer atmosphere. There is a vast difference in the public and private residential areas. The public residential areas are rather ugly and drab, the surroundings are poorly kept and there is a lack of variety. However the newer private residential area is much nicer. Both in its appearance and its atmosphere rather than cramped it is spacious with well maintained surroundings. There are also many local amenities in the private areas. Full details can be seen in the table attached. The locals don't seem to like the newcomers that much but tolerate them all the same. It may be a long time before there is a sense of community spirit between the different fractions. But this said it is very hard to measure something like a sense of community and the relationship between neighbours because it is often the minority which is seen and heard whereas the majority don't have a problem with it. The job opportunities are quite good in the area. There are both low skilled jobs in which most people could get a job and also large employers such as NCM who offer a wide range of jobs and promotional opportunities. Having said that they is still quite a lot of unemployment around Cardiff but this is true in Wales as a whole and not a localised problem. But the employment situation locally has vastly improved since the CBDC have taken action. There has also been massive redevelopment. The Millennium waterfront provides entertainment which pubs and bars. From private investors there is also a sports village with many very good sporting facilities. There are also conservation areas. These all provide entertainment for the people living in Cardiff and also provide a nicer environment, keeping people happy. Cardiff Bays past can be seen all around, from older buildings with interesting architecture to disused warehouses. The main clue to Cardiff's historical past lies in museums and the design of buildings, indicating a rich and diverse past in which the port played a major role in the city. There is also a castle in Cardiff which somehow seems out of place in a port city. Most of the original buildings in the area now have different purposes. For example the Norwegian Church has now been converted into an art gallery and coffee shop, complete with a tourist shop. This is symbolic of how Cardiff has had to adapt, now replying on new business and tourism rather than on a single source (coal). I think the old buildings at first detract from the maritime environment until you realise that buildings like these were only built here because of all the different cultures coming in from the port. When you view them in that context you can plainly see that they stand as monuments to Cardiff's past as one of the major ports of the world. Evaluation There is strong evidence to suggest that this has not worked. One prime example is that of the emptiness in the shopping centre, most of the shops are up for rent and empty and the ones that are there are mostly coffee shops and aimed at tourists. This means that little has been done to the actual people of Cardiff apart from disguising the bay as a good place to visit for tourists. However I don't believe this is the case. The real question that has to be asked in any evaluation is, have the objectives been met? Well here are the objectives that were laid down by the CBDC: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To promote development and provide a superb environment in which people would want to live, work and play. There are many local amenities which have been built including educational facilities such as â€Å"techniquest† which promote a better environment for children. People that were interviewed did like it where they were living, it was also evident that people were proud of their heritage, in my opinion this object has been met, perhaps not fully but at least a vast improvement. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To re-unite the city of Cardiff with its waterfront. This is perhaps a harder task because it replies more on the people of Cardiff rather than any government schemes. But there has been a start regular ferries go along the water front to different parts of Cardiff establishing an important link. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To bring forward a mix of development which would create a wide range of job opportunities and reflect the hopes and aspirations of communities of the area. There is not so much of a mix of jobs going as perhaps the CBDC wanted but there are certainly some good opportunities for jobs now. A good example are jobs large companies such as NCM provide. However the work is limited to a small amount of industrial work, tourism work and some small scale commercial work. So for people with skills outside those professions there is not so much of a scope for work. However this is still a great improvement and with growing confidence from other companies Cardiff's employment future is looking good. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To achieve the highest standards of design and quality in all types of investment. This can't really be argued with; all the new buildings are well designed and colourful. The quality is good and a lot of work goes into maintaining them. But although buildings look good, as always its what's on the inside that truly counts (which isn't a lot in the shopping centre!) But the objective has been met. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½To establish the area as a recognised centre of excellence and innovation in the Field of urban regeneration. I think people can clearly see that there has been definite improvement. This is the second largest urban renewal in the whole of Europe so its going to take a little longer to achieve this objective fully, but the CBDC is well on its way. Conclusion To conclude I believe that the regeneration of Cardiff Docks into Cardiff Bay has been a success. But a limited success. This is because there is still a lot of work to be done. The CBDC now needs to look to the future and decide where it has made mistakes in the past, learn from them, and draw up some more defined objectives, as the last were not specific enough. Once it has obtained these objectives it should try to meet one at a time, not all at once which is what I feel they have done. With so much going on at once it would have been hard to manage and keep a clear view of the renewal situation as a whole, which lead to problems such as lack of interest in the shopping centre. They now have a strong foot hole and from this they can continue to improve Cardiff bay and eventually realise their dream-like statement. â€Å"To put Cardiff on the international map as a superlative maritime city which will stand comparison with any such city in the world, thereby enhancing the image and economic well-being of Cardiff and Wales as a whole†

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 40

Mad Nipper When I wake, the rain has stopped, but I am shivering. I sit up, and my whole body hurts. My overcoat is gone. My leather loafers are gone. All the money I had in my pocket is gone. My leather belt is gone. The new watch my mother gave me for Christmas is gone. I touch my fingers to my face, and they turn red. Looking around, I see that I am on a narrow street full of parked cars. Row houses on either side. Some are boarded up, many of the porches and steps attached to the fronts are in need of repair, and the streetlights above are not on – maybe smashed by rocks – making the whole world look dark. I am not in a good neighborhood, with no money, shoes, or any idea where I am. Part of me wants to lie on the sidewalk forever, but I'm afraid those bad people might come back to finish me off, and before I can really think about anything, I'm on my feet, limping down the block. My right thigh muscle feels locked in place, and I cannot bend my right knee very well. One house on the block is decorated for Christmas. On the porch is a manger scene with a plastic Mary and Joseph – both black. I limp toward Baby Jesus, thinking that people celebrating the holiday are more likely to help me than people without Christmas decorations, because – in the Bible – Jesus says we should help shoeless people who have been mugged. When I finally get to the decorated row house, a funny thing happens. Instead of knocking on the door, I limp over to the black Mary and Joseph because I want to look into the manger and see if Baby Jesus is black too. My cramped leg screams with pain and gives out just as I reach the Nativity scene. On my hands and one knee, between His parents, I see that Baby Jesus is really black and plugged in – his dark face glows like amber, and a stream of white light blasts up through His little baby chest. Squinting, taking in the light of Baby Jesus, I instantly realize that I was mugged because I cursed God, so I pray and say I'm sorry and I understand what God is telling me – that I need to work on my character some more before I will be allowed to find apart time's end. My pulse is pounding so hard in my ears that I do not even hear the front door open, nor do I hear a man walk out onto the porch. â€Å"What you doin' to Aunt Jasmine's Nativity scene?† the man says. And when I turn my head, God lets me know He has accepted my apology. When they first brought Danny to the bad place, he wouldn't talk. Like me and everyone else, he had a scar, but his was much larger and on the back of his head, making a bright pink line in his Afro. For a month or so, he just sort of sat in a chair by the window of his room as speech therapists visited and left frustrated. Me and the boys would stop in and say hello, but Danny only looked out the window when we talked to him, so we thought he was one of the people whose brain trauma was so bad he was most likely going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life – sort of like my roommate, Jackie. But after a month or so, Danny started taking his meals in the cafeteria with the rest of us, attending music and group therapy sessions, and even going on a few group excursions to the shops by the harbor and the Orioles games down at Camden Yards. It was obvious that he understood words and even was pretty normal – he just wouldn't talk. I don't remember how long it took, but after a time, Danny started talking again, and I happened to be the first person he spoke to. A girl from some fancy college in Baltimore came in to provide what we were told were â€Å"non-traditional treatments.† We had to volunteer for the sessions, as this girl was not a real therapist yet. We were skeptical at first, but when she came to promote the program, we were soon persuaded by her girlish figure and cute, innocent-looking face. She was very nice and quite attractive, so we all did whatever she said, hoping to keep her around – especially since there were no women patients in the bad place and the nurses were extremely ugly. For the first week, our college student had us look into mirrors a lot as she encouraged us to really get to know ourselves, which was pretty out-there. She'd say things like, â€Å"Study your nose. Look at it until you really know it. Watch how it moves when you breathe in deeply. Appreciate the miracle of respiration. Now look at your tongue. Not just the top, but underneath. Study it. Contemplate the miracles of taste and speech.† But then one day she paired us randomly, had us sit facing each other, and told us to stare into our partner's eyes. She had us do this for a long time, and it was quite weird because the room was completely silent, and men do not usually look into each other's eyes for long periods of time. Then she started telling us to imagine that our partner was someone we missed, or someone we had hurt in the past, or a family member we hadn't seen for many years. She told us to see this person through our partner's eyes, until that person was in front of us. Looking into another person's eyes for an extended period of time proved to be a powerful thing. And if you don't believe me, try it yourself. Of course I began to see Nikki, which was strange because I was staring into Danny's eyes, and Danny is a six-foot-three black man who looks nothing like my ex-wife. Even still, as my pupils remained locked on Danny's, it was as if I were looking directly into Nikki's eyes. I was the first one to start crying, but others followed. Our college girl came over, said I was brave, and then hugged me, which was nice. Danny said nothing. That night I woke up to the sound of Jackie's grunting. When I opened my eyes, it took a few seconds for my pupils to adjust, but when they did, I saw Danny standing over me. â€Å"Danny?† I said. â€Å"My name's not Danny.† His voice scared me because I was not expecting him to speak, especially since he had not spoken to anyone since he arrived. â€Å"The name's Mad Nipper.† â€Å"What do you want?† I asked him. â€Å"Why are you in our room?† â€Å"I only wanted to tell you my street name, so we could be boys. But we're not on the streets right now, so you can keep calling me Danny.† And then Danny walked out of my room and Jackie quit grunting. Everyone in the bad place was pretty shocked when Danny began speaking regularly the next day. The doctors said he was experiencing a breakthrough, but it wasn't like that. Danny just decided to talk. We really did become boys and did just about everything together in the bad place, including our exercise routine. And little by little I found out Danny's story. As Mad Nipper he was a rising gansta rapper from North Philadelphia who had signed on with a small record label in NYC called Tougher Trade. He was playing a club in Baltimore when some beef broke loose, and somehow – Danny often changed the details of his story, so I can't say what happened for certain – he was struck in the back of the head with a tire iron, driven to the harbor, and thrown in. Most of the time Danny claimed that a Baltimore rap group – one that was scheduled to perform before Mad Nipper – asked him to smoke up in an alleyway behind the club, but when he went outside with these other rappers, they started giving him some shit about headlining in their neighborhood. When he brought up his superior record sales, the lights went out, and he woke up dead, which is actually true, as his file says he was dead for a few minutes before the EMTs managed to revive him. Lucky for Danny, somebody heard the splash Mad Nipper made when he entered the harbor, and this person fished him out and yelled for help right after the other rappers left. Danny claims that the salt in the water kept his brain alive, but I don't understand how that could be, especially since he was thrown into the filthy harbor and not the ocean. After an operation that removed tiny parts of his skull from his brain, and a lengthy stay at the hospital, Danny was brought to the bad place. The worst part was that he lost his ability to rap – he just couldn't make his mouth rap anymore, at least not as fast as he used to – so he took a vow of silence, which he broke only after looking into my eyes for a very long period of time. Once, I asked Danny who he saw when he looked into my eyes, and he told me he saw his aunt Jasmine. When I asked him why he saw his aunt Jasmine, he told me she was the woman who had raised him up until he became a man. â€Å"Danny?† I say, kneeling before the manger. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"It's Pat Peoples.† â€Å"White Pat from Baltimore?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"I don't know.† â€Å"You're bloody. What happened?† â€Å"God punished me, but then He led me here.† â€Å"What you do to make God angry?† â€Å"I cursed Him, but I said I was sorry.† â€Å"If you really Pat People, what's my name?† â€Å"Mad Nipper, a.k.a. Danny.† â€Å"You eat Christmas dinner yet?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"You like ham?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"You wanna eat with me and Aunt Jasmine?† â€Å"Okay.† Danny helps me stand, and when I limp into Aunt Jasmine's home, it smells of pine needles and baked ham and pineapple sauce. A small Christmas tree is decorated with popcorn strings and colorful blinking lights, two green-and-red stockings are hung on a fake fireplace mantel, and on the television the Eagles are playing the Cowboys. â€Å"Sit down,† Danny says. â€Å"Make yourself at home.† â€Å"I don't want to get blood on your couch.† â€Å"It's got a plastic cover, see?† I look, and the couch is really covered with plastic, so I sit down and see that the Eagles are winning, which surprises me, since Dallas was favored. â€Å"I've missed you,† Danny says after he sits down next to me. â€Å"You didn't even say goddamn goodbye when you left.† â€Å"Mom came and got me when you were in music relaxation class. When did you get out of the bad place?† â€Å"Just yesterday. Out on good behavior.† I look at my friend's face and see that he is serious. â€Å"So you get out of the bad place yesterday, and I just happen to run to your neighborhood and get mugged on your street and find you here?† â€Å"Guess so,† Danny says. â€Å"It sort of seems like a miracle, doesn't it?† â€Å"Miracles happen on Christmas, Pat. Everybody knows that shit.† But before we can say more, a petite, serious-looking woman – who is wearing huge black-rimmed glasses – walks into the living room and starts screaming, â€Å"Oh, my Lord! Oh, Jesus!† I try to convince Aunt Jasmine I'm okay, but she calls 911, and then I am in an ambulance being driven to Germantown Hospital. When I arrive at the emergency room, Aunt Jasmine prays for me and yells at a lot of people until I am taken to a private room, where my clothes are removed and my wounds are cleaned. I am given an IV while I tell a police officer what happened. After X-rays, the doctors tell me that my leg is really messed up; my mother, Caitlin, and Jake arrive, and then my leg is put in a white cast that starts at my heel and ends just below my hip. I want to apologize to Danny and Aunt Jasmine for ruining their Christmas dinner, but my mother tells me that they left soon after she arrived, which makes me really sad for some reason. When I am finally released from the hospital, a nurse puts a purple sock over my bare toes and gives me a pair of crutches, but Jake pushes me in a wheelchair to his BMW. I have to sit sideways in the backseat, with my feet on Mom's lap, because of the cast. We drive through North Philadelphia in silence, but when we pull out onto the Schuylkill Expressway, Caitlin says, â€Å"Well, at least we'll never forget this Christmas.† She means it as a joke, but nobody laughs. â€Å"Why isn't anyone asking me how I ended up in North Philadelphia?† I ask. After a long pause, my mother says, â€Å"Tiffany called us from a pay phone and told us everything. We were driving around North Philadelphia looking for you when the hospital called your father. He called Jake's cell phone, and here we are.† â€Å"So I ruined everyone's Christmas?† â€Å"That crazy bitch ruined our Christmas.† â€Å"Jake,† Mom says. â€Å"Please.† â€Å"Did the Eagles win?† I ask Jake, because I remember that they were winning and am hoping my father will be in a decent mood when I get home. â€Å"Yeah,† Jake says in a clipped way that lets me know he is upset with me. The Eagles beat T.O. and Dallas – in Dallas – on Christmas Day, locking up a play-off spot, and Jake, who has not missed a game since he was in elementary school, misses perhaps the best game of the season because he was searching all of North Philadelphia for his mentally deranged brother. And now I realize why my father is not with the search team – there was no way he'd miss such an important Eagles game, especially against Dallas. I can't help feeling guilty, as it probably would have been a really nice Christmas, especially since my father would have been in a phenomenal mood, and I am sure my mother prepared food, and Caitlin is even wearing an Eagles jersey, and I keep messing up everyone's lives, and maybe it would have been better if the muggers had killed me, and †¦ I start to cry, but quietly, so that my mom won't be upset. â€Å"I'm sorry I made you miss the game, Jake,† I manage to say, but the words make me cry even harder, and soon I am sobbing into my hands again, like a baby. My mother pats my unbroken leg, but no one says anything. We ride the rest of the way home in silence.

General Evidence To Ipo Under-Pricing

During the 1980s, the market expected an average of 11% returns on the initial public offerings (IPOs) within the first week of opening, which subsequently almost reached up to 21% during the period of 1991-1999. During the magical period of 1999 – 2000, the returns were almost 66%.   These effects can be largely credited to the amendments in the composition of a number of listed companies appearing as public.What is the most prominent reason behind the harsh under pricing of initial public offerings where the returns have been unexpectedly higher?According to the statistics, the IPO under pricing had almost doubled from 7% to 16% from the 1980’s to the late 1990’s. In general, the increase in the under pricing can be pointed towards the previously concealed group troubles between underwriters and issuing firms.Stating in other words, the problems between the two, that were initially not present on the main scene became of overriding importance during the 1999 – 2000. These two propositions are often referred to as the varying composition theory and the agency theory.The first theory of varying composition is supported by the postulation that dicey and unsafe IPO’s will be obviously underpriced by more than less dicey IPO’s. If the percentage of IPOs that correspond to unsafe stocks swells up, then the average under pricing ought to increase (Ritter (1983)).As a note, the number of IPO’s from the Information technology sector has risen up with time. Another significant point to note was that, there exists no proof about the companies which were appearing as public during the late eighties was actually older than those who went into the public sector during the nineties.The average age of an issuing company was around 7 years during the 1980s and 8 years during the 1990s, before it came down to 5 years during 1999-2000 (â€Å"the internet bubble or the magical period†). An analogous outline holds for sale s structure, that there was no secular inclination in the average sales of public companies.In contrast to the late 1980’s, the IPOs which were administered by high profile investment banks / underwriters in the 1990’s, were more highly underpriced than IPO’s which were linked to inferior status under writers or investment institutions.This phenomenon was explained as- since the underwriting in the IPO business became more profitable due to the augmented enthusiasm of firms to put down more money on the table. (Money on the table is defined as – the first-day price change (offer price to close) times the number of shares issued).As a result the underwriters / investment institutions made more profit from the money that was left on the table with the help of a rent-seeking action of buy-side investors. Moreover the market investors are prepared to give higher rates to the underwriters in order to receive IPO allocations.At the same time, the issuing compan ies are also ready to accept higher under pricing from high profile underwriters because of augmentation in the apparent significance of market analyst reporting and superior capital levels.One more reason that has come into light about the causes of IPO under pricing is that the under writers actually want to under price the issue in spite of the gross spread profits that they sacrifice.At the same the issuing firms most of the times do not try to bargain for a higher offer price when they are sure that the demand for the issue will be high enough. A number of firms went public which resulted in an obvious under pricing of IPO’s.According to Lungqist and Wilhelm (2003) as stated in a paper, that the increase in the IPO under pricing during the period of 1996 to 2000, was mainly due to the increased sharing programs like – the friends and family share allotment programs.Even more the number of shares that were owned by the company seniors like managers, CEO and venture capitalists had decreased by a significant amount, which offered fewer profits to them to stay away from harsh under pricing.Lungqist and Wilhelm further advocate that ruthless under pricing of IPO’s is also a consequence of a blend of premeditated under pricing by the issuing firms, who often assume to observe it as a way of drawing market awareness, and essential under pricing in order to pull out information from probable investors about demand for the IPO.In the year 2005, the European market had heaved up more money with the help of the initial public offerings (IPOs) and were able to create a center of attention for a large number of international IPOs as compared to the US exchanges.This increase was due to the increment in the business activities at the London Stock Exchange and in particular to the AIM, which were accountable for more than 53% of the total IPO’s in the year 2005.The London stock exchange has been the most active of the IPO world markets and a s figures suggest, the IPO activity at the LSE is much higher than all the US markets. This paper makes an attempt to further study the under pricing in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Main market and the AIM.As the study suggests, the cost of raising IPO in the LSE is quite cheaper than on the US markets and there are some reasons that are evidence to this fact. London’s position in terms of measurable costs is similar to that of Euronext and Deutsche Boerse.UNDER PRICING OF IPO – LONDON STOCK EXCHANGEThe capital trading markets all over the world are experiencing a new level of global integration as obstacles to the flow of international funds are being removed slowly. As a result, firms now possess high amounts of flexibility while listing and raising capital.There are locations / markets that can actually prove to be quite cheaper for raising capital. This has given an opportunity to the companies as to select their own choice of trading market around the world kee ping in mind, cost of raising capital, equity, debt and market advantages.The decision of the firms to select a particular market depends upon varied issues like the market size, directness, level of expertise accessible in its financial centre, and the listing procedure involved.Also, there exist several ways to float a company – the choices of which are highly affected by the size of the company, the risk involved, and the authoritarian planning and procedures in each country.   The most common of all the methods in the London Stock Exchange or the LSE are: offer for subscription, an open issue and a stock exchange opening.The under pricing of IPO’s in the market refers to the extensive inspection that regardless of the scheme of entering into the market, the IPO’s be inclined to give considerable returns within days or weeks after the issue has been opened. Rilter (1985), Welch (1987), Ibotsen et al.(1995), Dimson (1979), Buckland et al. (1981), Jenkins and Meyer (1988) point toward the average first day gains at the UK main market which varies from 9 % to 17%. According to Levis and Thomas (1995), during the period from 1985 to 1992, the LSE market had an average first day gains of 1.87% for a total of 106 IPO’s that was issues during the period.

Credit crunch between 2007 - 2009 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Credit crunch between 2007 - 2009 - Essay Example Credit crunches are usually considered to be the predecessor of recessions. A credit crunch makes it almost impossible for business organisations to borrow as lenders are scared of insolvencies or defaults, which produce in high interest rates. The outcome of such scenario is extended slow recovery resulting from the supply of credit having shrunk (Duca & et. al., 2010). Credit crunch was caused in 2006 when the housing market crumpled. At the time of credit crunch, a certain numbers of the mortgages were intended for a division of the market, specifically subprime mortgages, their designed interest payment rates involving to refinance them within undersized phase were tried to be launched to avoid hikes in the mortgage rates. The mortgage refinancing demonstrates the fact that the prices related to housing market would likely to increase. Thus, the disintegration in the housing market defines a flow of the future non-payments in the subprime areas (Acharya & et. al, 2009). The finan cial crisis of 2007 initiated in the subprime mortgage industry in the United States. Apart from being restricted to the real estate market, the effects of the subprime fall down spread throughout the US economy as well as the global markets. The impact has been mainly severe on the financial industry, as numerous investment banks had a short but wide records of utilising Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) as a way to spread risk and free up other capitals (IESE Business School, 2009). The households and the institutions such as pension funds along with life insurance companies and mutual funds are the ultimate lenders investing in support of households. It is worth mentioning that certain credit will be offered to the borrowers directly from the lender, as is the case with municipal bonds and corporate bonds as well as treasury securities. The vastness of the credit financing intermediated in the economy through the banking system, deduced broadly. It is quite significant to comprehe nd the operation of financial intermediation as well as a way in which the emergence of banking system took place since the past few years. It is also vital to recognise the global financial crisis that took place in the year 2007 and thus generate standards such as short-term and long-term crisis management standards so that a flexible financial system can be generated (Adrian & Shin, 2010). The main objective in this study is to illustrate the economic impact on the US that have taken place due to the credit crunch, economic crisis and to reassess the measures that have been taken by the authorities to address the crucial issues that have generated those events. Economic Impact of Credit Crunch in the US There has been a certain significant economic impact of the credit crunch in the period of 2007-2009 in the US which coincided with the global recession. The economic impacts have been discussed below: Housing Bubble: The bursting of the housing bubble in the US affected banks to write down large losses that had been extremely amplified and also created a large number of confusions in the financial markets, and also resulted in the defaults, the liquidity dry ups, the bailouts of banks and financial institutions. As consistent flow of financing is an absolute obligation for the economic system, the financial disruption caused a growing doubt about the macroeconomic position, a wide-ranging increase in risk aversion and a strong deterioration in the actual economy, with unfavourable

Spike Lee's Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Spike Lee's Malcolm X - Essay Example Moreover, his life related events that comprise different aspects from his event filled life was going to get captivated within the framework of the reel life at a magnitude not witnessed by the audiences of Lee ever before. Within the insightful book Spike Lee: Interviews edited by Cynthia Fuchs in an article entitled â€Å"Our Film is Only a Starting Point: An Interview with Spike Lee† by Gary Crowdus and Dan Georgakas, Lee explained his theme behind making a film on the life of Malcolm X, â€Å"Lee explains his primary desire to introduce Malcolm X to young viewers and his awareness that the time limits of even a nearly three and a half hour movie prevented him from producing anything more than a ‘primer’ on one of the America’s most charismatic black leaders † (Fuchs 65). With the level of severe intensity and depth, Lee made a film on the life of a man whose real life events provided the director with enough prudent aspects to frame a complete m otion picture. Thesis Statement The essay intends to depict an introspection based analysis of the film Malcolm X in order to comprehend the inherent themes and the socio-political and religious messages that were meant to be provided by this bio-picture. Malcolm X: Introspection Malcolm X was a movie which included a number of famous personalities such as actors Denzel Washington as Malcolm X and Angela Bassett, Al Freeman, Jr., Albert Hall, and Delroy Lindo. Lee also appears on screen and plays a very small role in supporting as Shorty who is observed to be a real-life associate of Malcolm X. Shorty Jarvis is actually a criminal who has spent time working with Malcolm and is at the same time a jazz trumpeter. It is noteworthy to mention that characters important in the real life of Malcolm X such as Bobby Seale who was the co-establisher of the Black Panther Party, Al Sharpton the Reverent and the future president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, have virtual presence within the pl ot of the film. However, they do not make any cameo appearances. There are vivid hues, sounds and fury which represent the life of the great leader. It was quite hard on the part of the directorial crew to transcript all those events inherent in the real life of Malcolm X to get depicted in the reel phenomena in the course of making the film. The screenplay of Malcolm X, which was a collaborative effort on the part of Spike Lee and Arnold Perl, was drawn mostly from the life events of Malcolm X. These events were mentioned in the book written by Alex Haley and entitled The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The reason behind taking most of the references from this book is that Haley had begun to write this book during 1963. He eventually completed the book following the death of Malcolm X. However, while initiating the project he directly collaborated with Malcolm X himself to write the course of events and facts which constituted the life of the great leader. Furthemore, the book is compr ehensive and very cohesive in nature apart from being one of the most authentic ones because it ponders on the complete course of events which constitute Malcolm X’s life. The film possesses definite contents which are quite significant in terms of both cultural and historical aspects. At the same time, Malcolm X by Spike Lee is not a narrative on reels as it definitely has a strong aesthetic

Human Factors and the Insider Threat Research Paper

Human Factors and the Insider Threat - Research Paper Example The cyber security is a framework which enables the users to protect their cyber assets through preventing, detecting, countering and recovering the cyber incidents (Mehan, 2008). Although many practitioners assess the cyber security as a technical approach, there are many human aspects of acquiring cyber security. It is important to understand the significance of human contribution in the cyber security processes. Incorporating human behavior into the process can lead to a more efficient use of cyber space and reduction in cybercrime. Cyber security is dealt with not only access to technology but also to the understanding of the human user. There are many aspects of human behavior that make the cyber security processes effective in which education and training play an important role. It has been a long debate that technology advanced and gives the humans a better way of living but due to the human behavior, most of the times the technologies are exploited, wasted and misused. It is important to use the cyberspace without interfering and annoying other users. This will reduce the amount of cybercrimes which includes hacking, transferring the data and others. With effective human factors, a cyber environment can be created which provides the users with all the functions along with personal and national security (Shinder &Â  Cross, 2008). There are many challenges in managing the human aspects of cyber security. Cybercrimes take place at a high rate including personal information being leaked, invasion in the data of national concern, hacking accounts etc. The reasons for the cybercrimes may be many from personal to professional. Any person who has the expertise in computers and cyberspace can hack or access any user’s information. Many times it is unknown to the user that who committed the action. However, managing the cybercrimes can be very challenging as recently seen it has become a challenge

Thermodynamic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Thermodynamic - Essay Example Global standards create an introduction of products to a broad range of countries (Mattli et.al, 30). The creation of the international norms is initiated through responding to the need of the industry and the stakeholders such as consumer group. The standards are developed by the experts who are from different part of the globe who form the large panel of technical’s who meet to discuss and negotiate the standards. . After draft has been created, it is shared with ISO’s members who are asked for the comment and vote on it. When consensus has been arrived on the proposed becomes the international standard, if not it is returned to the technical committee for advanced editing (Henson, 70). In the designing of the products for global consumption there are some units that the producers should consider in their production, the units have much significant and their roles are: ensuring that readings from an instrument units are constant with other measurements; determining the accuracy of the instrument readings; establishing of the dependability of the instrument i.e. that it can be trusted (Henson,

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Business Law - Essay Example Two main approaches involved in negotiation are adversarial negotiation as well as problem solving approach. In adversarial approach, the warring parties seek solution through negotiation with a motive of maximizing own gain whereas in problem solving approach, joint gain is sought by parties involved. Though the method is discussed as an independent tool for solving disputes, it is often used before adoption of formal method(s) to solve a dispute and is such a case, negotiation is not perceived as an alternate to litigation processes. In mediation, unlike the case with negotiation, a neutral person is a characteristic feature and is involved in facilitation of communication between the parties while at the same time offering suggestions to possible ways of solving the dispute at hand. As an expertise, the neutral person chosen (mediator) is often chosen by the consent of the warring parties. The main feature of the process is having the mediator assist each side listen to the other in a dispute. Persuasion is a mandatory character for the mediator in order to have the deliberation on the various solutions sighted and the process is concluded after the parties involved unanimously accept a solution after which the decision is put into writing and signed into by all the parties. Collective bargaining issues are main examples to disputes which adopt mediation as a tool for solution where the conflicting parties (like employees) must work together even after the dispute. It is to be noted that though mediation is ado pted as an alternative to litigation, the main reason for its adoption is usually to avoid court procedures. This tool of solving disputes is explained by the use of a neutral third party and outside of court system to find a solution to a dispute. It has a distinguishing feature in that parties involved in arbitration are in contracts and

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example It is also important to note that volunteering and putting yourself out there can help in the development and advancement of skills and knowledge that is imperative in leadership. For instance, health professionals deal with patients with different understanding capabilities and hence advanced communication skills are needed in order to identify and make sure these patients understand you. Allison Polinski, your strategies to incorporate your strengths in leadership are also spot-on. Training or providing learning opportunities for staff can help align their practices with our strengths. For instance, one of your strengths is learner. In other words, you are always open to new ideas and therefore, providing learning opportunities for the staff will give you an chance to also absorb new ideas. Creating a performance improvement team would also be important for you as a leader in an effort to improve safety and quality of services. An effective team can help you align your strengths with the needs of the organization. In this regard, the team can focus on your strengths and formulate strategies that ensure that the strengths will be effectively utilized. In so doing, employees will follow through and also utilize their best qualities in an effort to achieve organizational objectives (Buckingham,

Macondo Blow Out Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Macondo Blow Out - Research Paper Example On April the 20th at 9:45 PM the Macondo oil rig experienced a blow out that resulted from a jet of seawater being ejected from the riser accompanied by a slushy of mud and oil followed by jets of methane. This mixture, especially the methane, ignited and caused a series of explosions that served to cripple the well and eventually took the lives of 11 personnel.1 At the time the explosion occurred, the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling at a depth of around 5000 feet into what experts have described as the Macondo Prospect which is located approximately 40 miles from the coast of Louisiana (Rose et al 2). Although the ownership of Deepwater Horizon has remained unclear to a host of individuals, the fact of the matter was that BP did not operate the rig solely under its own direction. Rather, BP was the owner of the rig itself but only held a 65% share of ownership in relation to the Mississippi Canyon drilling expedition that resulted in the disaster of Deepwater Horizon. Additionally, the remaining 35% of interest in the rig was split between Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, aka Halliburton Corporation, (which held a 25% share) and MOEX Offshore 2007 (which held a 10% share). After the explosion took place, the Macondo Blow-Out began to gush crude oil into the ocean at a rate of around 2.6 million gallons per day. This figure is disputed by different groups that either wish to minimize or maximize the effect that the Deepwater Horizon disaster had on the surrounding environment; however, for this study, the author has chosen to employ the Coast Guard’s estimates as those which were most likely to not experience any form of particular bias with relation to the disaster. Most scholars agree that the rate of flow of the oil seepage continued virtually unabated until the well was capped on the 19th of September of the same year. Certain experts disagree with this analysis and claim that the well gushed more oil in the initial stages  whereas, near the time when the well was capped, most of the pressure had been relieved thus much less oil was flowing.  Ã‚  

Philosophy of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Philosophy of Life - Essay Example Throughout my whole life the sense of family has been a value instilled in me by my grandparents and parents. They have always have stressed the importance of spending time together as a family, so growing up, family has just been a part of the person I was slowly becoming. Every Sunday after church,our family tradition has always been to have my father’s side of the family to get together for breakfast. It is something that is always the same, we have the main dish of cheesy eggs with toast, and everyone is responsible for bringing a side dish to go with the main meal. My grandparent’s house is filled with the chattering and laughing of everyone updating one another on how their week has gone. The men sit in the family room discussing farming, sports, or weather. While the women gather in the kitchen filling each other in on the latest gossip or upcoming events in our town. Then there is the chaos of the grandkids and great grandkids running around and screaming as the y play various games together. My grandma has always insisted it was something we had to do. She wanted us all to know what was going on in each others lives and not lose track of the importance of family, regardless of our busy schedules. It is a tradition that we have continued even after she left us for the higher plain. We continue the tradition knowing that she would have wanted us to do so. Now that I am older and in college I realize I miss being able to go see my family every Sunday and look forward to it when I come home. Even though family has always been something I valued, now that I am further away and unable to see them as often, I have developed an even stronger appreciation for the significance of spending time together as a family. Honesty is another value that has been influenced and expected of me by my family as I was growing up. From the time I was achild my parents always promoted the importance of honesty, and demonstrated it to us by being good examples to fo llow. Throughout my rebellious high school years, my freshman and sophomore years, was when I truly implemented honesty as one of my own values that I found imperative to uphold and not just something that was expected of me. During my rebellious years I would defy my parents and make up lies about where I was truly going. In most of the cases it ended up getting me into more trouble than if I would have told them honestly where I was going right away. After countless times of my parents figuring out I had lied and punishing me for my deviance, I finally realized it was easier to be honest. Telling them where I was going and what I would be doing allowed us to develop a sense of trust , openness, and an earnest relationship with one another that I value to this very day. The trusted me more, and to my surprise they actually approved of the events I thought they would prevent me from attending. Now honesty is something I believe to have great worth and feel as though I have more resp ect for myself as a result of incorporating honesty into my value system. Teamwork is another value very important to me. I developed teamwork early on in my childhood and have continued to build on it from playing sports. During elementary school I participated in both basketball and little league softball. Starting out learning all the basic rules and skills of the sport was a challenge. Then by actually playing the game it became critical to work together

The Analysis of the Mythic Dimension in ‘a Streetcar Named Desired’ Essay Example for Free

The Analysis of the Mythic Dimension in ‘a Streetcar Named Desired’ Essay This paper tells about American South which exposed in A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennesse Williams. The changes were drawn from the life experience of the main characters in the play, named Blanche Du Bois. Here, we try to explore about the analysis of the main character, Blanch Du Bois. Problem and its Scope This study principally constitus the analyze of the myth in a play that written by Tennese William entitled ‘A Streecar Named Desire’.  This study explores the mythic dimension of one of Tennessee Williams’s best-known and most enduring plays. The author’s revival of ancient myths and archetypes in Streetcar illustrates his professed belief in the collective unconscious as the source of his richly symbolic dramas. The conflict between the main characters is endowed with universal significance—the clash of two rival myths vying for dominance in Williams’s imagination. While Stanley Kowalski is presented as a modern day avatar of Dionysus, the amoral, primitive god of drink and fertility, Blanche DuBois’s descent into the underworld of Elysian Fields makes her the failed embodiment of the guilt-ridden, inconsolable Orpheus. A yearning for the reconciliation of opposites is ultimately revealed in the myth of the androgyn, the third substratum of Streetcar and the spring of Williams’s alchemical art. MYTHOLOGY can be defined as a body of interconnected myths, or stories, told by a specific cultural group to explain the world consistent with a people’s experience of the world in which they live. [The word â€Å"myth† comes from the ancient Greek word meaning â€Å"story† or â€Å"plot,† and was applied to stories sacred and secular, invented and true.] Myths often begin as sacred stories that offer supernatural explanations for the creation of the world . . . and humanity, as well as for death, judgment, and the afterlife (Myth 284). A mythology or belief system often concerns supernatural beings/powers of a culture, provides a rationale for a culture’s religion and practices, and reflects how people relate to each other in everyday life. Creation or origin myths explain how the world came to be in its present form, and often position the cultural group telling the myth as the first people or the true people (Myth 284). Such  sacred stories, or narratives, concern where a people and the things of their world come from, why they are here, where they are going. Myths and mythology express a culture’s worldview: that is, a people’s conceptions and assumptions about humankind’s place in nature and the universe, and the limits and workings of the natural and spiritual world. Analysis The classic definition of myth from folklore studies finds clearest delineation in William Bascom’s article â€Å"The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives† where myths are defined as tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters. Such myths, often described as â€Å"cosmogonic,† or â€Å"origin† myths, function to provide order or cosmology, based on â€Å"cosmic† from the Greek kosmos meaning order (Leeming 1990, 3, 13; Bascom, 1965). Cosmology’s concern with the order of the universe finds narrative, symbolic expression in myths, which thus often help establish important values or aspects of a culture’s worldview. For many people, myths remain value-laden discourse that explain much about human nature. The concept of Myth in the literature is The word ‘myth’ is derived from the Greek word ‘mythos’, which means a traditional tale common to the member of a tribe, race or nation. It usually involves the supernatural elements to explain some natural phenomenon in boldly imaginative terms. Today myth has become one of the most prominent terms in contemporary literature analysis. It was Northrop Frye, one of the most influential myth critics (others including Robert Graves, Francis Fersusson, Richard Chase, Philip Wheelwright), who discovered certain formulas in the word order. He identified these formulas as the â€Å"conventional myths and metaphors† which he calls archetypes. C.G. Jung was of the view the materials of the myth lie in the collective unconscious of the race. This analysis based on the theory of semiotics that tells about the mythology. Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or (in the Saussurean tradition) semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis), indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism,  signification, and communication. Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics, which, for its part, studies the structure and meaning of language more specifically. Semiotics is often divided into three branches: * Semantics: Relation between signs and the things to which they refer; their denotata, or meaning * Syntactics: Relations among signs in formal structures * Pragmatics: Relation between signs and the effects they have on the people who use them In the nineteenth century, Charles Sanders Peirce defined what he termed semiotic (which he sometimes spelled as semeiotic) as the quasi-necessary, or formal doctrine of signs, which abstracts what must be the characters of all signs used byan intelligence capable of learning by experience,[9] and which is philosophical logic pursued in terms of signs and sign processes.[10] Charles Morris followed Peirce in using the term semiotic and in extending the discipline beyond human communication to animal learning and use of signals. In his essentially Southern play, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams observes a uniquely Southern phenomenon: the Southern belle. In scene seven of the play Stella Kowalski says the following: â€Å"†¦you’ve got to realize that Blanche and I grew up under very different circumstances than you did† (Williams, 99). With this sentence Williams introduces a possible starting point for an analysis of the Southern belle myth. The figure of the Southern belle is founded on a canonized discourse, resting on a cultural and social personification – a description, a code, a stereotype – which legitimizes and authorizes the interpretation of culture and nature, masculinity and femininity, superiority and inferiority, power and subordination. In other words, the Southern belle stereotype is based on a fear that women â€Å"might escape the rule of the patriarchy, that the oppositions of white/black, master/slave, lady/whore, even male/female might colla pse into an anarchic conflagration threatening to bring down the symbolic order† (Roberts, xii). Additionally, this Southern woman stereotype is both a literature-generating principle, often supporting the very concept of Southern fiction, and a social construct, supporting the writing of  Southern history and culture. In both cases it has to be read â€Å"against the South that created [it] for different social purposes, or reinvented [it] at crucial moments in history† (Roberts, xii) providing insight â€Å"into anxieties and aspirations of the culture† (Roberts, xii). Before I show how Williams approached this myth in his A Streetcar Named Desire, a few remarks about the appearance, development and ‘purpose’ of the Southern belle stereotype are in order. First, its appearance was tied to the Southern antebellum chivalry and masculinity code origin of which can be looked for in attempts to preserve English moral standards in the U.S. South. They, based on the Victorian model of a woman as an angel in house as well as on the small number of upper cl ass women who were, thereby, considered â€Å"custodians of culture† (Bartlett and Cambor, 11), confirmed and authorized the hyperevaluation of upper class Southern women. Second, the Southern belle stereotype rested on a set of very strict class, race and gender traits. Drawing on this statement, it went without saying that the belle was white and of aristocratic origin. She was lively, little bit vain, rather naà ¯ve and â€Å"had few tasks other than to be obedient, to ride, to sew, and perhaps to learn reading and writing† (Seidel, 6). Since courtship, innocent romances, and, consequently, marriage were considered to be the highest aspirations of her life, the belle’s energies and skills were mainly directed to finding and marrying real Southern gentleman. And â€Å"if she was pretty and charming and thus could participate in the process of husband-getting, so much the better† (Seidel, 6). The act of marriage gave this stereotype something new – the aura of legal commitment; it consequently transformed her into a â€Å"hardworking matron who was supervisor of the plantation, nurse, and mother† (Seidel, 6). Third, the purpose of this Southern woman stereotype was justified upon, at least, three premises. It was, to begin with, a compensation for gender devaluation which began practically with the belle’s birth, when her mother ‘handed her over’ to mammy, and continued during her childhood and youth. This placed the belle in a kind of limbo: just as her mother was forced to accept the cultural role which denied her sexual and maternal identity, so too the belle had to deny her sexuality and, at the same time, perform passion without taking part in it. As one would expect, the construction of Southern bellehood had its racial background which was tied to sexual exploitation of African  American women legalized by the institution of slavery and Jim Crow legislation. Their very presence paid homage to white upper class woman as a person who legitimately preserved white superiority since her racial ‘purity’ guaranteed her inaccessibility to inferior races and classes of men. Further investigation helps to reveal how the divinization process of white Southern upper class woman resulted in her identification with the U. S. South itself. The attacks on Southern way of life were thus interpreted as the attacks on the honor and integrity of its greatest ornament – white Southern upper class woman. Lastly, partaking in the construction of this Southern woman stereotype was a matter of prestige. Even though Southern upper class women had many reasons for abolition of slavery – sexual transgressions of their fiancà ©es, husbands, fathers and brothers, isolation on plantations, problems in managing slaves and servants, supervision of agricultural production, dealing with slave insurrections in absence of their husbands, fathers or brothers, and were, on the other hand, attributed chastity, gentleness, compassion – virtues that corresponded to abolitionist rather than proslavery movement, they did not rebel, they did not subvert or transgress the prescribed codes of behavior. They remained loyal to the institution of slavery and Southern social system and, as a consequence, ‘earned’ the pedestal they were put on. Challenges to this viewpoint began to appear during the Civil War. It, by contrast, put emphasis on the belle’s determinacy, strength, and inventiveness. During the period of Reconstruction and the New South â€Å"the terror of losing jurisdiction over women’s bodies created discourses of nostalgia and threat† (Roberts, 104) and transformed the belle’s suffering into that of the U. S. South. She represented the symbol of the U. S. South and one of the most important constructs of Southern mythology. During and after the 1920s, owing to changed economic, political, and social situation which allowed women, even in the U. S. South, to vote, work, get educated and, consequently, enjoy greater financial and personal independence, a new discursive space on the meaning of the Southern belle mythology was opened. It, for sure, rested on criticism and judgment rather than on eulogies. The Southern belle was now used to demythologize Southern myths since the virtues she should have been the embodiment of – beauty, passivity, submissiveness, virginity, and asexuality – proved to be the unstable and destructive property. Quite  specifically, it was then asserted that society’s emphasis on the beauty of the belle can produce a selfishness and narcissism that cause her to ignore the development of positive aspects of her personality. Taught to see herself as a beautiful object, the belle accentuates only her appearance and is not concerned with any talents that do not contribute to the goal her society has chosen for her: winning a man. (†¦) The sheltering of the belle leads to a harmful innocence: she cannot adequately interpret the behavior of men who do not believe in the code of southern chivalry that respects the purity of women. Moreover, (†¦) the repression required by the ‘ethic of purity’ which leads to a variety of physical and mental disorders, including frigidity and exaggerated subservience [is also condemned]. (Seidel, 32) My point in citing Kathryn Lee Seidel at length here is not simply to draw attention to the subversion of the old stereotype, but to emphasize the fact that these changes did not automatically mean the inauguration of the Southern anti-belle. This was mainly possible because deeply rooted prejudices concerning women’s behavior were still the part of Southern culture. In sum, even â€Å"though southern women might be no longer queens and saints, they were not allowed to be ‘flesh and blood’ humans either† (Roberts, 109). The failure to respect the prescriptive code of behavior usually implied some kind of punishment – hysteria, madness, rape, losing social privileges, or death. As a Southerner, Williams could not resist the influence of values, myths and images of his birth-place. He, however, tried to redefine them by negotiating them through the subversive potential of the Southern women/men stereotypes and the prescriptive rhetoric of Southern cult ural codes they assert once they are separated from its institutional binding. His A Streetcar Named Desire is, for sure, a perfect example of this, for at its center is Blanche DuBois. Through this woman character, Williams appears to celebrate the gentility and sensitivity of the Old South as well as the Southern belle as its greatest ornament. But, as the representative of Southern Renaissance, he himself is ambivalent as well as suspicious about the possibility of the belle’s permanent affirmation in the modern world. As if to clarify this point, Williams portrays Blanche as the last representative of the old aristocracy who tries to survive in the modern world by escaping to alcohol, madness, promiscuity and whose memories are bitter since they are burdened by racial and sexual sins of her  ancestors. From the very outset of the play, Blanche is seen as affirmation and subversion, symbol and antithesis of the Southern belle stereotype. This conflict of opposing principles begins with her name which Blanche explains as follows: â€Å"It’s a French name. It means woods and Blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods. Like an orchard in spring!† (Williams, 54-55). The connotative value of this naming act has an exciting importance for it puts emphasis on, at least, two aspects of the (demythologized) Southern myth. It connects, on the one hand, Blanche’s French, colonial and aristocratic origin, or, at least, what has remained of it, with the antebellum U. S. South and, consequently, with the idea of Southern gentility and chivalry (this particular idea was introduced by the first colonists who were either of aristocratic origin or earned this status in their community; this, in turn, helped to establish the metaphor of the US as Europe’s noble heiress). Blanche’s name, on the other hand, reveals what is hidden between the lines: centuries and generations of moral and physical corruption and degeneracy of both her aristocratic family and the U. S. South itself. Another interpretative possibility, which again underlines conflicting nature of Blanche’s identity, sets forth her name as the conflict of binaries – body and mind, nature and culture. Her name, which means both ‘white’ and ‘blank’ and thus connotes the virginity of female body â€Å"predetermined to succumb to inscription† (Vlasopolos, 326) in the tabula rasa manner, refers to body and nature, or the female binary, and defines her as the belle. Her family name, meaning ‘woods’ and consequently referring to papers and pencils (keep in mind that Blanche is a teacher and actually needs these stationery in her job), i.e. intellectual activities, introduces the idea of mind and culture, or the male binary, and places her in the exclusively anti-belle context. Similar reading of Blanche’s name, combining connotations of the lost physical virginity and the â€Å"beauty of the mind and richness of the spirit† (Williams, 126), offers Bert Cardullo in his paper â€Å"Scene 11 of A Streetcar Named Desire,† where the duality of Blanche’s name is explained with the help of the New Testament symbolism. Cardullo thus argues that her name links her not only to the purity of the Virgin Mary, but also to the reclaimed innocence of Mary Magdalene, who was cured of her sexual waywardness by Jesus (just as Blanche was suddenly cured of hers when she remarked to Mitch, ‘Sometimes – there is God – so  quickly!’. (Cardullo, 96) The duality of Blanche’s personality, indicated by the linguistic polysemy of her name, continues by opening a discursive space on the possible existence of two Blanches: the one is the ‘passive-submissive’ Blanche who, as such, is the embodiment, and the symbol, of the Southern bellehood; the other is the ‘victimized’ Blanche who, by subverting the each and every trait of the Southern bellehood, becomes its antithesis. As one would expect, both performances are founded on a set of distinctive characteristics, features, and situations which throw new light on the existing debate. Drawing on that approach, B lanche’s partaking in the Southern belle performance is supported by several factors. Firstly and most obviously, Blanche’s plantation origin marks her inescapably as the Southern aristocrat. Secondly, Blanche is brought up in the Southern tradition of idealization of woman’s beauty. She perceives herself as a beautiful object which has to be properly decorated in order to sell well. As such, Blanche depends heavily on exterior beauty markers – dresses, hats, jewelry, perfumes, and cosmetics which are, in her brother-in-laws’s discourse, magnified into â€Å"solid-gold dress[es,] (†¦) genuine fox fur-pieces, (†¦) pearls, bracelets of solid gold, (†¦) and diamonds† (Williams, 35-36). These things, even though cheap and artificial, represent Blanche’s only inheritance and Blanche’s only future insurance; they remind her of the life she used to live. Thirdly, Blanche is educated. Blanche’s participation in education process foregrounds the idea of the time that college education presented â€Å"prope r youthful behavior for a young woman [and] a pleasant interlude on the way to growing up† (Graham, 770-7719) insofar as it was percieved as â€Å"an asset in the marriage market† (Jabour, 40) and â€Å"the final polish necessary to gentility† (Jabour, 40). So judged, it is then not surprising that Blanche was somehow predestined to choose liberal arts, study English and â€Å"teach high school to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drug-store Romeos with reverence for Hawthorne and Whitman and Poe!† (Williams, 56). Access to education, on the other hand, gave Blanche the opportunity to cultivate sophisticated way of speaking and behaving; it allowed her to understand the life as ‘poetry’ in Southern plantation myth manner. Further investigation helps to reveal how Blanche’s arrival at her sister’s home in New Orleans, her insisting on staying there – â€Å"I guess you’re hoping I’ll say I’ll put up at a hotel, but I’m not going  to put up at a hotel. I want to be near you, got to be with somebody, I can’t be alone!† (Williams, 23) – announces â€Å"her basic motive: need for refuge and desire for human contact† (Hardison Londre, 52), need for protection which, in the tradition of the Old South, had to be through another person, through family. In much the same way Blanche clings to the antebellum chivalry codes which obliged men to protect women in return for their contribution to cultural and social capital, their attention, love and, of course, wealth. She thus, in the tradition of the antebellum Southern belle, tries to ‘save’ herself and her sister Stella from inappropriate way of life at Stanley’s home by looking for protection in another man – her former beau Shep Huntleigh. Blanche’s behavior can be understood as â€Å"reflexive reversion to the Southern belle’s habits of thought – that is, emotional dependence on a patriarchal system of male protection for the helpless female – just moments after she had said, â€Å"I’m going to do something. Get hold of myself and make myself a new life!† (313) (Hardison Londre, 56). This particular pattern of Blanche’s behavior occurs repeatedly during the play and culminates in the last scene when Docto r and Matron come to take her to asylum. In order to avoid humiliation and save her dignity, she once again plays the role of the helpless but flirtatious Southern belle and treats Doctor as a gentleman who knows how to protect and behave to a lady in distress. One final point. Blanche’s relationship with Stanley once again ties her to the antebellum period when the principle of noblesse oblige promoted patronizing relationship between upper and lower classes and races in the U. S. South. She behaves to Stanley as â€Å"the aristocrat who condescends to the plebeian when she is not actually scorning him. This is compulsive conduct on her part, because she must feel superior to her sister’s husband if she is not to feel inferior in view of her helplessness† (Gassner, 375). The extreme polarization of relationship between Blanche and Stanley could also be read as a â€Å"critical struggle between [two different] ways of life† (Jackson, 59) – as the struggle between Blanche’s traditional, civilized, artistic, and spiritual self and Stanley’s modern, primitive, physical, and animalistic other. Blanche, by finding additional support for her point of view in science – biology, anthropology, history, even verbalizes this struggle: He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! There’s even something –  sub-human – something not quite to the stage of humanity yet! Yes, something – ape-like about him, like one of those pictures I’ve seen in – anthropological studies! Thousands and thousands of years have passed him right by, and there he is – Stanley Kowalski – survivor of the stone age! Bearing the raw meat from the kill in the jungle! And you – you here – waiting for him! Maybe he’ll strike you or maybe grunt and kiss you! That is, if kisses have been discovered yet! Night falls and the other apes gather! There in front of the cave, all grunting like him, and swilling and gnawing and hulking! His poker night! – you call it – this party of apes! Somebody growls – some creature snatches at something – the fight is on! God! Maybe we are a long way from being made in God’s image, but Stella – my sister – there has been some progress since then! Such things as art – as poetry and music – such kinds of new light have come into the world since then! In some kinds of people some tender feelings have had some little beginning! That we have got to make grow! And cling to, and hold as our flag! In this dark march toward whatever it is we’re approaching †¦ Don’t – don’t hang back with the brutes! (Williams, 72) Their conflict, or, it is tempting to claim, the struggle over authority in the house, culminates in Stanley’s rape of Blanche. The very act of the rape, which Stanley rationalizes by his famous line: â€Å"We’ve had this date with each other from the beginning† (Williams, 130), is also fueled by Blanche’s refusal â€Å"to become the woman in the traveling-salesman joke, the stereotype of the nymphomaniacal upper-class girl† (Vlasopolos, 333). It, once again, demonstrates convincingly the victory of primitive over civilized, physical over spiritual, male over female†¦ Just as some aspects of Blanche’s personality pay homage to the concept of the Southern bellehood, so too there are other aspects of her personality that can be read against the culture which created them and reinvented them when it had found this necessary. Such reading introduces Blanche as the woman who defies to be classified as the â€Å"active property shaping the so cial and sexual relations† (Van Duyvenbode, 208) in the U. S. South and â€Å"shatter[s] the stereotypic chaste heroine/whore dichotomy to show women in their complexity† (Hale, 22). It also offers a new, rather different, image of Blanche as it portraits her as a victim and a potential subversive female force in the play. To discover it one has to discuss factors, features and  characteristics that promoted this shift in Blanche’s character. The ground from which we need to begin is to investigate the origin, or perhaps the reason, of Blanche’s victimization. A possible starting point for this investigation can be found in Joseph N. Riddel’s paper, â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire – Nietzsche Descending.† Riddel thus argues that Blanche’s life could be seen as a reflection of â€Å"living division of two warring principles, desire and decorum, and she is the victim of civilization’s attempt to reconcile the two in a morality† (Riddel, 17). In other words, Blanche’s past, as well as her present, is a mixture of sin and romanticism, reality and illusion, personal excessiveness and social discipline. Th ese are all elements that would justify a rendering of Blanche as hypersensitive, tragic woman who is, because of her uniqueness, forced to create her own world on principles of exclusion, isolation, and imagination. She is â€Å"the sensitive, misunderstood exile, (†¦) fugitive kind, who (†¦) [is] too fragile to face a malignant reality and must have a special world in which (†¦) [she] can take shelter† (Ganz, 101-102). As a result of Blanche’s balancing between desire to act as she wants to act and a compulsive need to behave according to prescribed standards, norms and codes, many compulsive, obsessive and, to some extent, subversive reactions – illusions, alcoholism and promiscuity – appear in her behavior. They, for much of the play, represent Blanche’s attempts to stand up to harassment and stereotyping she is exposed to. Illusions, or, to quote Blanche, â€Å"magic (†¦), misrepresent[ing] things (†¦), tell[ing] what ought to be truth† (Williams, 117), are found as a continuous thread woven into the fabric of A Streetcar Named Desire. Consequently, a number of interesting points arise from Blanche’s definition of it. ‘Magic’ is, to begin with, throughout the play confronted with the authority of reality which, even though manipulative, tangible, and limited, is the inseparable part of human experience and has to be accepted as the dominant mode of living. As such, it is brought into being by Blanche’s brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Stanley, by using sources whose existence we are forced to acknowledge in our everyday life: the power of authority, physical force, intimidation, economic domination, manages to overpower Blanche’s ‘magic’. In his quest Stanley additionally â€Å"profits from staying within the parameters set for him by his sex and class† (Vlasopolos, 337). He is, thereby, seen as normal (read: ‘real’): his pleasures are normal  pleasures – poker, sex, drinking, bowling; he is a good provider and a loyal member of community and society. Except for his rape of Blanche, which has actually no witnesses and thus creates a reasonable doubt in its occurrence, â€Å"nothing Stanley does threaten the social fabric† (Vlasopolos, 337). Blanche, on the contrary, builds up her ‘magic’ on her failure to conform and her deviance of her class and sex. She, one realizes, although (†¦) maintains the trappings of the aristocrat in her expensive and elegant tastes, has allowed the rest to slip, like Belle Reve, away from her. In seeking emotional fulfillment, she has disregarded the barriers of â€Å"normal† female sexuality and of class. Her actions subvert the social order: she remains loyal to the memory of her homosexual husband, she fulfills the desires of young soldiers outside of very walls of her ancestral mansion, she is oblivious to class in her promiscuity, and she seduces one of her seventeen-year-old student. (Vlasopolos, 337) When in New Orleans, she attempts to split up the Kowalskis even after she learns that Stella is pregnant and makes plans to take Stella away from Stanley. Being aware of this, Stanley enters the battle for weak and indecisive Stella, who functions as the prize between warring parts – Blanche and Stanley. He ruthlessly engages in exposing Blanche as a fraud, a prostitute, and an alcoholic, mercilessly destroys veils of ‘magic’ Blanche wrapped herself in, makes her look old and cheap in the light of the bare electric bulb, and, by imposing his reality in the form of the rape on her, eventually wins. Not only does Blanche’s system of illusions prove to be he r response to the reality of the everyday life, but it also seems to possess a redeeming merit. To understand it, one realizes, attention should first be drawn to the fact that Blanche, confronted with the disappearance of the old South and its codes and myths expressed by the selling of her plantation because of â€Å"epic fornications† (Williams, 43) of her ancestors and deaths that followed them, tries to preserve the past by marrying â€Å"the urbane and civilized, the ‘light and culture’ of the South in the form of Allan Gray† (Bigsby, 64) which thus presents â€Å"a logical extension of her desire to aestheticise experience, her preference for style over function† (Bigsby, 43). His poetic delicacy and refinement, however, turns out to be the cover for his homosexuality. Shocked and disgusted by this discovery, Blanche publicly exposes her husband and makes him commit suicide. In other words,  she â€Å"discovers the corruption, or, at the very least, the profound deceit which lies behind the veneer of that side of the Southern pastâ₠¬  (Bigsby, 64). Seen in this light, Blanche’s cruel exposure of her husband becomes the origin of guilt which has to be expiated and redeemed by her own system of illusions. She had to â€Å"turn from the death in Belle Reve to the ‘life of casual _amours_’, (†¦) she had [to] turn away from the misery of ‘reality’ to her romantic evasions† (Kernan, 11). In the end, or rather from the very beginning of the play, Blanche’s system of illusions proves to be a not well-chosen reaction since reality, in the character of Stanley Kowalski, forcefully imposes on her, leaving her only one exit – that of asylum as a sea resort. Blanche – homeless, ravished, and abandoned – gets confined inside the boundaries of her own illusive fiction (asylum as sea resort, Doctor as Southern gentleman) which makes her invulnerable to further assaults but, nevertheless, destroys her humanity. Blanche’s challenges to the Southern belle stereotype are also pointed up by her excessive alcohol consummation and innumerous love affairs. Throughout A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche has a drink in her hands which is quite unusual for the Southern belle she is supposed to represent. This ‘unusual spectacle’ occurs repeatedly in scene 1 when Blanche, waiting for Stella, â€Å"tosses a half tumbler of whiskey down† ( Williams, 18), â€Å"looks[s again] around for some liquor (†¦) [which then] buzzes right through [her] and feels so good† (Williams, 19-21) when talking with Stella. Although Blanche â€Å"rarely touch[es] it† (Williams, 30) and is â€Å"not accustomed to having more than one drink† (Williams, 54), she, nevertheless, falls under alcoholic spell again and again and again – in particular in the scenes 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11. For instance, she cannot imagine her coke without â€Å"a shot in it† (Williams, 79) or a date with Mitch without a drink or two; she needs â€Å"a bottle of liquor† (Williams, 113) not only to stop the Varsouviana tune in her head but also to get over Mitch’s betrayal†¦ It is striking in all these instances that Blanche actually uses alcohol to â€Å"extirpate moral contradictions† (Riddel, 18) that stand between her and the concept of the idealized white Southern bellehood whose principles she was supposed to have internalized as her own. Perhaps it would also be correct to say that alcohol, in these specific fictional instances, operates as the means of encouragement against the humiliation of being an unwanted intruder and a fallen role model in her own  family who ‘forgot’, although they live in New Orleans, the basic codes of Southern hospitality. Relatedly, Blanche’s frequent love affairs justify their rendering as Blanche’s physical redemption for the responsibility and guilt she has felt since she confronted her husband with his homosexuality: I had many intimacies with strangers. After the death of Allan – intimacies with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with. †¦ I think it was panic, just panic, that drove me from one to another, hunting for some protection – here and there, in the most – unlikely places – even, at last, in a seventeen-year-old boy†¦ (Williams, 118), In finding it perverse, she could neither live with the idea of Allan’s homosexuality nor could she help him. The ‘neither-nor’ situation in which Blanche found herself caused Allan’s death and, consequently, made her guilt and pain-ridden. This pain, which is almost literally tearing her apart, is thus the pain of the woman violated and abused by the men-domi nated culture, which cannot necessarily be heterosexually oriented. In order to live with it, she had to neutralize it with desire – a succession of sexual encounters with even younger and younger men. To Blanche, â€Å"desire was the antithesis of death and her relationship with young men a defense against the destructive processes of time† (Bigsby, 60). Blanche, for her part, was attracted by their innocence and purity – the features she, as the Southern belle, was supposed to possess; or she saw in them the reincarnation of her dead husband and, consequently, a chance to redeem her own conduct and start a new ‘marriage’ based on understanding, compassion, and gentleness; or maybe she, as Tennessee Williams argued, â€Å"in her mind has become Allan. She acts out her fantasy of how Allan would have approached a young boy† (Hardison Londre, 58) subverting and travestying in that way, the Southern belle myth that promoted clear cut borderlines between genders and sexes, races and classes. In the end, there is only a hope that this paper, which attempted to give an insight into the historically (de)constructed myth of the Southern belle and its literary affirmation and/or subversion in the character of Blanche DuBois in Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, has been successful enough to explain the complex and, at the moments, perplexing development of Williams’s (anti)belle concept. Given this fact, the paper, beginning with a description of the Southern belle stereotype, pointed out that this very stereotype was (de)constructed along class, race and gender lines. In the  second section, I discussed aspects of Blanche’s identity which were tied to the historical construction of the passive-submissive Southern bellehood. The third major section focused on Blanche’s victimization and her, more or less, subversive reactions to it. Blanche, for her part, is, most obviously, capable to shake and, occasionally, break the Southern bellehood myth; there are, at the moments, greater or smaller rebellions and transgressions she is tempted to perform. But, sometimes, just as it is courageous to deconstruct the pedestal, so too it is safer to find shelter in the well-known patterns of behavior, it is safer to be center than margin, we than other†¦ Conclusion In the analysis of the American play â€Å"Streetcar Named Desire† that written by Tennesse William. The myth in the end, there is only a hope that this paper, which attempted to give an insight into the historically (de)constructed myth of the Southern belle and its literary affirmation and/or subversion in the character of Blanche DuBois in Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, has been successful enough to explain the complex and, at the moments, perplexing development of Williams’s (anti)belle concept. Given this fact, the paper, beginning with a description of the Southern belle stereotype, pointed out that this very stereotype was (de)constructed along class, race and gender lines. In the second section, I discussed aspects of Blanche’s identity which were tied to the historical construction of the passive-submissive Southern bellehood. The third major section focused on Blanche’s victimization and her, more or less, subversive reactions to it. Blanche, for her part, is, most obviously, capable to shake and, occasionally, break the Southern bellehood myth; there are, at the moments, greater or smaller rebellions and transgressions she is tempted to perform. But, sometimes, just as it is courageous to deconstruct the pedestal, so too it is safer to find shelter in the well-known patterns of behavior, it is safer to be center than margin, we than other. Based on the theory of Semiotics in this play Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or (in the Saussurean tradition) semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis), indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication. Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics, which, for its part, studies the structure and  meaning of language more specifically. Refference * Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet Books, 1974. * Elengton, Terry. Teori Sastra. 2006. Yogyakarta : Pecetakan Jalasutra * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_mythology The Analysis of Main Character ‘Blanche DuBois’ in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

The Impact Of Social Media Media Essay

The Impact Of Social Media Media Essay In the era of everything instant, the perception of living life has dramatically changed. From the perspective that life is to too hard to live, it has now become an adage that life is easy and living it is should be much easier. Thanks to the comfort of modern technology and globalization, people are becoming more interconnected and interdependent. One of the great features of the unprecedented rise of the global cultures is attributed to the revolution of the Internet and social media. Almost everything has become so easy and so instant. Currently, the worlds by which define our reality have been changed by social media. We can do anything and everything through a globally wired network that enables instant communication. Socialnomics is the value created and shared via social media and its efficient influence on outcomes (Qualman 2010, p. xxi). Moreover, socialnomics is a revolution driven by people and enabled by the social media. A case in point is the most popular social networking site called Facebook. According to a blog in Birds Eye Media (2010), Facebook recently celebrated its six-year online presence. Its growing presence has enabled people to communicate more freely and have access to news and important updates. Information exchange occurs within and among the people we interact with in this new media platform. It provides the opportunity to reconnect with friends and loved ones. Social media works like a digital word-of-mouth where information dissemination is just a click away. In this age of globalization, social media networking has significantly altered the way we view realities and handle our relationships with other people. The Impact of Social Media Social media affects the way we write and speak the written word (Sherman 2010). Sherman noted that writing is more concise because the presence of a limited character spaces in Facebook and Twitter. People are challenged to convey their message to friends and the world within a 140 character limit. The task of writing something in a shorter and concise manner in Facebook as well as in SMS has changed how we communicate using different spellings and abbreviations (Sherman 2010). In another website article, Laurie (2010) cited six aspects in which social media has arguably made permanent effects on the lives of the people and the manner in which it is lived. The first aspect is child literacy. Children of today are more literate than in previous years, according to a survey made by The National Literacy Trust where over 3000 children were included. It was observed that a correlation existed between childrens engagement in social media and literacy. Today, even school-age children have active Facebook profiles. This has become a major turning point as users of social networking media vary from the very old to the very young. Social networking has enabled easy access for children in searching for answers on educational or social questions and in sharing what they know by posting links and videos gathered from the Web. Secondly, social networking has led to ambient intimacy since it allows people to be in touch with loved ones with a different level of regularit y which people would not normally have access to. Communication has become so ambient that we can use it wherever we want it. Facebook culture paved the way for the development of new levels of behaviors in relationship in general. Moreover, relationship statuses can be instantly changed and somehow be regarded that relationships can be had easily. It also becomes a venue for groups and various advocacies to form a niche and have their own chatroom and discussion board. In this manner, information is spread like a viral infection. Another aspect of change impacted by social media is the evident accessibility of knowledge (Laurie, 2010). The quote knowledge is power applies greatly in this Information age. The way information is produced and shared has changed with the advent of the Internet. Instant information can be viewed from popular search engines and knowledge in this manner has become a collaborative effort. The same thing with the advancement in the literacy level of children, anyone can be as knowledgeable as the person speaking in front of a lecture. Our own desire for knowledge is there and we can only ask ourselves if we want it (Laurie 2010). Social media has also reinvented politics (Laurie 2010). Accordingly, younger people are encouraged to be actively participating in matters of politics. Obamas successful election was helped by the proliferation of advocate groups created in support of his candidacy. Different countries used the networking culture to share their political ideologies via Facebook. Fan pages where created where the number of likes is akin to the number of hits in YouTube. This also enables the exchange of dialogues between politicians and the common citizen. Someone can just post a comment and share his sentiment over a wall in a Facebook page and this could be read by all. All these are just signs of the influence of social media in politics and it is not surprisingly increasing from users all over the world. Marketing in the age of Facebook has greatly contributed to the immense popularity of products advertised on it. Businesses now are compelled to engage in social media for marketing and advertisement because the economic potential of social media increases marketability in an easier and cheaper manner (Qualman 2010). Subscriptions to costly newspapers are not relevant when consumers are pushed to a timelier and free service in the net done at the comfort of your home or in the exact point where you are. Marketing and advertising is transforming itself from an industry reliant on mass market channels to one which must embrace the power of the consumer and attempt to engage in conversations (Has Social Media Changed Us 2010). While advertising is not a dying industry, is has changed dramatically in its platform and in that consumers now have the power. The last areas in which Laurie (2010) addressed on the effect of social media is the usage of the news as a cultural currency. Consumers are viewed as active participants of the network created. News can be gathered and can be passed around people within the network. Facebook is a perfect example of this tool as it is our tendency to connect first with our loved one and the people we encounter on a daily basis. Faster than the speed of light, gossip can be spread easily, status updates can be a source of a heated online argument where everyone on the network can track and read the long thread of dialogue. With all these, we have become more sociable, and somehow it is making us an epitome of social (Laurie 2010). Greene (2010) stated that social media has changed the lives of people in three ways. The idea of traditional media being replaced by social media makes it a biased look on how this revolution changed lives. Older people need not be scared of these new social media as the assimilation of both can be done without hints of failure because this is the direction our world is heading (Greene 2010). Moreover, the possibility of making friends around the world other than your workplace opens up your horizons to a better understanding of how to live in the 21st century. That is what Facebook does. Making friends and socializing becomes much easier compared to outside of the networking world. Some may be apprehensive but others are learning the ways and means on becoming more socially active and visible. Engaging social media encourages conversations and exchanges of ideas. A timid person who is afraid to say his opinions can now share his side without the fear of talking to someone in person al way. The efficiency of work and the level of productivity has also increased with the use of social media (Greene 2010). Cohen and Feld (2011) stated that social media has made business world more collaborative, fun and dynamic for everyone. But a level of inclusivity is on the rise in the exclusive world of networking (Greene 2010). The last important area which Greene (2010) tackled was the death of privacy. Today, 92 percent of two-year olds have an online record in the United States. Everything in life can be archived as the years pass. The issue of privacy is a matter that was taken seriously by Facebook administration as well as other popular networking sites. It is an advantage to take a look at the disclaimers popping out when creating an online account as this could cost someones private life. Privacy settings can be changed and the level of privacy in Facebook can be customized according to your restrictions. Even reporting abuse and fraud is incorporated in the interface of the networking sites so that people can block and delete hasty, violent and abusive language. As quoted from Brian Solis, we are entering an era of publicness or publicy, where are solely responsible for creating and defining our online persona (Greene 2010). Casciato (2010) believes that social media has changed the way social discourse is made between and among individuals. Conversations on the Internet are mediated and are available in real time. Social media allows one to make status updates, tweets, and blogs and text messages, without worrying about traditional social conventions such as dress. Conversations initiated over Facebook allows one to interact with another person from another part of the globe even in ones underwear. Social labels have also been change because of social media. In the past, people who are glued to computers for more than the 8 hour a day requirement for jobs are either labeled as geeks or nerds. Nowadays, being cool is being equated to how much time you spend on Facebook and how updated you are in posting status, pictures, or links. Moreover, the dynamics in Facebook can be considered narcissistic because speaking in the third person while updating what you are doing, feeling, or thinking is like staging o nes own reality show (Casciato 2010). Social media networking has also changed the way personal relationships are handled. Casciato (2010) stated that breaking up in the digital age has become unbelievably messy. The dilemma of removing someone from the network friends list, untagging someone from a post in order to separate ones identity from a past love would create a heavy burden of distinguishing reality from the virtual world. Social media has also made an impact on workers productivity. Procrastination in the workplace has become efficient ever since social media networking sites became popular (Casciato, 2010). The first thing that occupies the mind at work is to check and update ones status in Facebook. Meanwhile, features have a tendency to distract, whether it is a chatbox that pops up and engages you in a conversation or a red notification flag which appears to tell you that somebody posted on your wall. The cycle eventually goes on with hours of productivity lost in the process (Casciato 2010). Conclusion Social media or the so-called Facebook effect has changed how we socialize, gather information, and work in many ways. Communication, literacy, business and marketing, relationships, politics and culture are the key areas noted to have been greatly affected by this vast and growing social media hype. It has become a company that has changed social life in the United States and around the world (Kirkpatrick 2010). It has been visible and powerful in shaping how we look at the world. While it has its numerous benefits, social media should be used responsibly without disregarding the basic principles of ethical conduct.