Babette’s Feast and the Power of Art Essay

When all deadlines are met and time is out in my favor, one can usually find me sitting comfortably on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on one hand and a remote control on the other. Watching movies has always been one of my favorite leisure. Although I try to see films from different parts of the world as much as I can, perhaps like the many others who belong in my generation, Hollywood movies are always top of the list. Seldom do I find fascination with other international productions especially European ones. They are slow-paced, often more serious and â€Å"less entertaining† than those produced in Hollywood. However, watching the Danish film â€Å"Babette’s Feast† made me reconsider and view European films with a different lens – one with a little more appreciation and interest. While the slow pacing is inherent to this kind of cinema, they also present a different style and meat altogether, leaving more room for its audience to think rather than just instant gratification offered by most American movies. This is very evident in Babette’s Feast. In its subtlety and simplicity, together with the use of brilliant metaphors and symbolisms, it was able to uncover the transforming power of art with beauty and sophistication. Babette’s Feast tells the story of two pious sisters whose lives were changed by their French servant, who was apparently an unspoken artist, Babette. One of the images that constantly reappear all throughout the movie, especially in the beginning, is the image of the dried fish. This symbolizes the life of Martina and Philippa and perhaps even those in the community who was devoted to the preaching of their father that to attain salvation, one must deprive himself all physical or worldly pleasures including food. They lived a life of unhealthy simplicity and unreasonable meagerness. Their simple and puritan way of living is so extreme that it has become dreary and ironically â€Å"lifeless†, like a dried fish in contrast to the delectable meal of Babette in the end. Another powerful symbolism is Babette’s washing of the window from the outside. It speaks to me as if Babette was trying to show the sisters what they have been missing for the longest time. Their world and their lives are similar to the dirty windows Babette were washing – dark and clouded by their austere beliefs. Because of the hyperbolic focus on spirituality, they were blinded from the beauty and joy of the outside world, from the other things that life has to offer including the love from men they rejected when they were young. Through Babette’s feast, which they initially refuted as they believed it was sinful, the sisters were opened to a new world from which they were hiding, to a reality where â€Å"righteousness and bliss [..] kiss†, where the spirit and the flesh are both nourished and nurtured without choosing or isolating one from the other. This reconciliation is symbolized by the candlelight snuffed out in the end. Aside from Babette’s art which is the sumptuous food she prepared very well, another integral element that played a significant role in the transformation of the sisters and the other members of the congregation is the character of General Loewenhielm, one of the sisters’ ex lover. If the sisters lived a deprived life, a deprivation not of accident but of choice, the general was at the other end of the spectrum. He symbolizes everything the sisters were not – luxurious and powerful. He enjoyed a life of abundance and glory. Because of this background, the general honestly and wholeheartedly enjoyed the feast while the others remained skeptical, refusing to surrender to their delight of the food. It was also the general who had this realization that there is joy both from bodily and spiritual nourishment, as he was dumfounded to partake in such kind of dinner in an unexpected place, considering it then as a grace and blessing from the heavens. All in all, Babette as an artist was successful. Like a masterpiece that brings joy to its audience, her feast was able to transform and bring love and happiness on the table, to the people who received her art. And this is what is meant by her statement, â€Å"an artist is never poor.† Her talent, which was able to transcend the material, and her ability to do her very best, is her wealth. Indeed, art has a very strong power to transform. Not only did Babette’s art transformed the characters in the story but the movie itself, as a form of art, was able to transform its viewers, me included. It may not be able to provide the â€Å"fun† from the thrilling and idealistic yet shallow plot of Hollywood movies but it was able to deliver something deeper and more delicate, something worthy of admiration and appreciation.

Are Modern Sitcoms Too Controversial

With today’s society being much more open and accepting about many different topics, the material content used as entertainment in many comedies is becoming more and more controversial. Popular television shows such as Absolutely Fabulous, Family Guy and American Dad! are consistently proving that jokes focusing on risque topics such as abortion, religion, alcohol and drug abuse, sexism, racism and even the subject of disabilities are more entertaining and therefore, despite some audiences watching these shows in horror, they are becoming more and more socially acceptable. Entertainment of the past was rather held back when compared to what is on television today. This raises the question, are modern comedy sitcoms too controversial? In 1992, the BBC aired the British comedy Absolutely Fabulous, introducing viewers to two of the most self-indulgent and irresponsible women to have ever graced our television screens. This show which was created by the wonderful Jennifer Saunders, focused on two champagne-swigging, chain-smoking, outrageously past-their-prime characters – Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone. These two characters made popping pills, drink driving and harassing Edina’s straight laced daughter a regular occurrence. Socially, if these characters were â€Å"real people†, their crazy antics would not be accepted within today’s society. This hilarious show however, has won its creator two BAFTA awards, seven Emmy awards and three British Comedy Awards (The Coffee Junkie, WordPress: 2010). Animated comedy’s controversial material as exemplified by Family Guy and American Dad! both of which were created by Seth Macfarlane, continue to push the boundaries due to the profanities, animated nudity, racism, sexism, Nazism, violence, abortion and almost every other risque topic one could possibly think of, referenced in these shows. Family Guy is one of the most controversial television shows currently on the air, and due to the nature of its material, complaints were made resulting in the show being cancelled. This show was cancelled not once however, but twice. Family Guy has been subject to much criticism, especially over its handling of sensitive issues such as HIV / AIDS and Down Syndrome, however, after extremely strong petitioning from such a large fan base, TV Executives put the show back on air, not wanting to risk losing such a large following. The result of this then provides the evidence that offensive humour is the key to a modern comedy’s success. Entertainment of the past has dramatically been transformed to suit the tastes of today’s audience. Creators are favouring television shows which constantly push the boundaries of political correctness. Society, it appears, is now more than happy to welcome this extremely cheeky form of entertainment into their homes. Gone are the days of sitting around the coffee table with TV dinners on your lap, watching shows such as Family Ties or Full House with the entire family. So the question, once again, has been raised as to whether comedy sitcoms are too controversial and in this day and age, it would seem that to find this form of humour offensive is considered prudish. In order to succeed, one must be at least one step ahead. Therefore, with society’s views on such topics easing up, entertainment must change as well. These shows may be extremely controversial, and will continue to be so. Just keep in mind that a good laugh has never done anyone any harm.

MERCEDES BENZ Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MERCEDES BENZ - Research Paper Example Mercedes Benz Automobile industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the present world. Mercedes Benz is considered to be one of the leading automobile manufacturing companies around the globe which deals in luxury automobiles, buses, coaches and trucks. The company is owned by the Daimler Group which has made substantial earning amounting to total revenue of 61,660 million Euros in its performance during the year 2012. Mercedes Benz is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most liked automobile brands currently operating across the globe (Scribd Inc., 2013). Theories of Motivation Compare and Contrast The two Theories of Motivation, which can be evidently related to the work environment of Mercedes Benz, are the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and McClelland’s Achievement-Power-Affiliation theory. These two theories are being compared and contrasted in the following discussion. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow assumed that people are motivated by need s that are not fulfilled. According to Maslow’s theory of needs, if a need is not fulfilled, people feels motivated to meet that need or in other word, individuals strive to perform better to satisfy the unrealized needs. This particular theory also notes that once a need is satisfied, it is not considered to a motivational factor. Figure: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (McLeod, 2013) As identified in the figure above, the physiological needs of the people signify their basic needs for survival in terms of food, water and shelter. It is at this particular stage that people tend to work to earn their living and can be regarded as basic motivators. At the next level, the security needs are postulated as those needs of a person which keeps them free from harm. It basically includes personal security, well being and safety; thus, adding a certain degree of comfort to their economic position. Correspondingly, the belonging needs basically include the desire for love, friendshi p and companion which deciphers the social needs of people. This need is usually accomplished by people when they spend their time with their family or someone whom they are very close with. Hence, in the managerial field, this need essentialises a better work-life balance. Moving towards a higher level, the self-esteem need generally includes an individual’s desire of gaining recognition and respect from other. Praise and acceptance by people in public or in workplace often helps in meeting this need. Last but not the least, the self-actualization need is considered to be the final need of any person. It is a desire to live up to your full potential which is attainable through best performance at work as well as at home (Certo, 2013). McClelland’s Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory In contrast to the five needs identified by Maslow in his motivational theory, McClelland’s theory of achievement-power-affiliation theory, three basic needs are identified that pe ople develop and acquire from their life experiences often serving as a motivational factor. As propagated in the theory, the person who has a high need for achievement is willing to take challenges to attain those needs. Accordingly, feedback from the superiors is perceived to be an important component that facilitates employees to

To develop business continuity and disaster recovery plan for mid Thesis - 1

To develop business continuity and disaster recovery plan for mid sized companies - Thesis Example Moreover, the need for effective business continuity plan and disaster recovery plan is driven by regulatory requirements, customer demands, new business practices and changes in technology. It is very important to maintain customer confidence as well as competitive edge in these days of uncertainty. It is also necessary for companies to guarantee customers that their business is up to the task and running and it will not cause them to fail to produce and deliver products to their end customers in the event of a crisis. In this global world, vendor continuity management has become a vital part for business continuity. ABC has achieved worldwide status as a major supplier to electronic companies throughout the world. As a consequence, many companies depend upon ABC for their supplies. It is ABC’ responsibility to take this dependency very seriously and plan for situations which could impair ABC’ ability under adverse conditions to respond to our customers. As part of ABC’ responsibility to avoid an adverse condition, pro-active steps are taken, such as maintaining good housekeeping, non-overloading and periodic measuring of electric power circuits and periodic maintenance of sprinkler systems, etc. Preventive steps are a cornerstone to prevent self induced hazardous conditions that can result in a disaster. However, there may be situations that are beyond the control of ABC, such as flooding due to hurricanes or other events of nature. Regardless of the cause, it is imperative that lost production be recovered as quickly as possible to minimize customer difficulties. Therefore, our actions for recovery should also include timely communication to our customers to apprise them the expected delivery situation and what is to be expected in the future. Any business continuity and disaster recovery plan is made using a certain framework or methodology that makes that whole process systematic and easy to create and then

Cheating Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cheating - Research Paper Example Academic integrity refers to the responsibility and honesty in academics. Tutors use assignments to help them gauge whether a student has understood a concept or not. In addition, the tutor further grades the students according to their performance. Academic misconduct refers to all dishonest and prohibited ways where a student tries to receive a higher grade in the academics (Soles 306). Misconduct leads to false misrepresentation of student knowledge and skills, and this undermines the tutors’ ability to gauge the performance of a student. Plagiarism involves the use of another person’s original words or image without giving proper credit. It involves presenting someone else’s work as if it is your own. Depending on the institutions policies and regulations, plagiarism attracts certain consequences ranging from rejection of the results or complete expulsion from the institution. Plagiarism can be either intentional due to student’s lack of knowledge on research or unintentionally due to the ignorance of the student (Ellis 259). Citation and referencing are other important rules of academic integrity. The two rules come with different styles, and they differ according to the institution. The primary used methods include the Harvard referencing system and the Vancouver referencing system. Institutions have come with their writing formats that the faculty and the students must adhere to. Some of the most popular formats include among others, American psychology association, modern learning association. The basis of all these formats is on Vancouver system or the Harvard system. Creating a climate of integrity within an institution is the most indispensable task of ensuring academic integrity. To make the task less challenging, organizations should follow the existing guidelines and policies on academic integrity (Gabriel 1). In addition, ensuring timely dissemination of information to new students and the faculty will

The History of Socially Desirable Female Body Types Essay

The History of Socially Desirable Female Body Types - Essay Example Personally, my fixation is for those round ones. They not only resemble the full luminescent moon but overdrive the imagination with pictures of the full frame all its glory. Poets swooned. Cleopatra is reputed to have had the most attractive face - one that launched a thousand ships of war! The desire to be thin is widespread among women. Many starve themselves almost to death in the quest for the thin, graceful frame. However, I am of the view that majority of my fellow males will agree that there is something divine about the layers of flesh and soft skin and their contour that make the female extraordinarily fabulous. (Ximena A Ramirez). To me, the peach and cream skin or the golden color is the most arresting. Not to say that the colored or black fare any worse. Given the right proportion and features, they could be equally magnetizing. Thanks to the herbals, the cosmetics, the Fair and Lovely creams and lotions, they all look scintillating in the light. The female figure has been the object of famous artists, sculptors and architects. The female bust may consist of flesh, blood, muscles and glands. But the rounded shape, the graceful ebb and flow of her movements, create their own impact and envy. Since ancient times, the form of women have been embellished and preserved through art and dances. (Kapila Vatsyayan). Year after year, prized beauties vie for beauty crowns that are there for the best combination of beauty and brains. The present day wonder, Jennifer Lopez's anatomical assets are insured in cool millions! (Stephen Wilson). Conclusion Movie makers and advertisers rake in millions by depicting female silhouettes in countless poses, outfits, angles, coverings, hiding something here and there, and arousing emotions and imaginations. The males may be stronger and more muscular. But in aesthetics and grace, the female body wins the prize, hands down! Sources: Kapila Vatsyayan, A Holistic Eye On Cultural Interface and Synergy, Across the Himalayan Gap, http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41014.htm. Natural Complexion & Body Bars, Alpine Naturals, http://www.alpinenaturals.com/complexionbars.html. Stephen Wilson, Excerpts from Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology, San Francisco State University, http://userwww.sfsu.edu/swilson/papers/wilson.body.infoarts.html. Ximena A Ramirez, Thin is In, An Analysis of Media Endorsed Ideals of Physical Attractiveness and Their Affects on College-Aged Women, A Senior Honor's Thesis, Department of Communication, Boston College, May 2007, http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/communication/meta-elements/pdf/thesis07.ramirez.pdf. Pictures: Complexion, Warm & Fuzzy, http://www.istockphoto.com/imageindex/432/0/432062. Figures, Rock Painting of Female Figures, http://www.srilanka.fr/imagebank/sigiriya/pages/Rock%20Painting%20of%20Female%20Figures.htm. The first crush, Demi Moore, IMDB, The Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4085684224/nm0000193.

Impact of Social Networking and Blogging on Internet Usage Essay

Impact of Social Networking and Blogging on Internet Usage - Essay Example These are just limited uses of blogging and social networking. The wide spectrum of using these interactivities online entails that blogging and social networking bring people closer and turning the world into a global village where there are no distances (Jacqui 2010). Introduction Social networking has become an integral part of millions of Internet users around the world. When people come back to home from their work places and educational institutes, the first thing most of them prefer to do is to check their personal profiles on social networking websites, such as Facebook, Twitter and many others. They find it a facilitating medium for interacting with hundreds of people within and outside their national borders. Social network or social networking websites actually provides Internet user a virtual interface where they can share their ideas and thoughts. The social networking websites are usually used for studying the social relationships of people. The term social networking d escribes a person’s or group of persons’ social structure and is determined with the help of their communication and interaction with others (Lusted 2011, Aleman and Wartman 2009). On the other hand, blogs or blogging websites provides a personal space to Internet users where they can lodge their posts, ides, believes and views on certain issues, keeping in view the area of interest. Blogs usually contain write-up of a person, group of personals or organization aiming to discuss a single agenda subject. Scholars and web technologists first utilized blogs in 90s and to post content containing ideas and beliefs of these scholars and technologists. Since then, non-technical users are using blogs as well (Rettberg 2008). Social media and blogs has attracted masses towards utilizing these internet tools to share ideas, market their products and services and help out individuals who are looking for solutions to their problems, let it be professional or academic one. A resear ch conducted by University of Maryland reveals that people across the globe are becoming addicted to using social networking sites and blogs. Social media especially has become a major source of communicating with rest of the world. The academic research conducted on understanding how the social networking sites are reshaping the behavior states that Facebook, world’s most used social networking website, has become a primary source of communication among students. On professional level, social networking and blogging is utilized extensively for providing business solutions and discussing new technologies and innovations. In broader spectrum, Internet usage has increased after the introduction of blogging and social networking websites and the analysis of statistical data shows that it is expected to increase even more. Academic Usage of Internet Societies and individuals living in these societies are of the view that their internet usage has increased since the arrival of inf otainment add ons like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger Online, Flickr, and others (Ishak 2010). This is because these individuals can share their precious moments with others, and also, take guidance and suggestions regarding the problems and issues they are facing. Students goes to social networking sites and blogs at least four times a day in order to keep in touch with their friends, to ask their teachers for solutions to

Stanley kubrick Work of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Stanley kubrick Work of Art - Essay Example invented relatively unique technique that an artist or a film producer uses in their work to make it distinctive to the audience and to the artistic field. On the other hand, cinematography is an artistic creation of motion pictures photography using imagery and other stylistic techniques. Sequentially, the focus of this essay is to give an in depth analysis on four of Kubrick’s marvelous films in terms of the Mise-en Scenes and the cinematography aspect in each film. For Stanley, he implored the use of visual effects to try to portray the imaginative and scientific features. In addition, the film portrayed the director’s ardent love for science and science related themes. It was collaboration between science fiction writer Clarke Arthur and him. The movie also showed Kubrick’s fascination in the existence of life beyond planet earth implying that other planets could support human existence. In a remarkable blend, Kubrick infused classical music in to this film that mostly became the opening songs in this film. He also invoked contemporary music by natives of other countries to serve as introductory tracks in his movie. The classic music depicted the reality of the scenes that were actually fictitious. The musical background also provided a basis for the viewer to connect with the storyline. It characterized the serenity of events hence portraying harmony and piece within the movie For instance; he facilitated Gyorgy Ligeti in to co ming in to the lime light by building on his fame and popularity. The Mise-en-Scene aspect in this movie was the use of acutely little dialogue that made it stand out. For instance, the characters engage in few conversations all through the movie to emphasize on the need for its audience to follow through the movies events. The movie’s fast and last scenes are without any conversation that also reflects during the film. In between the film, there are long breaks in between conversations. On the other hand, the color aspect is

PepsiCo Team-Board of Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PepsiCo Team-Board of Governance - Essay Example The board of directors is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the activities of a company. The activities of the board of directors are only delegated powers that are outside the organization itself, which have authority given to it by the bylaws of the organization (Malline 82). The board often faces challenges, and at this team company’s board, the most crucial governance issue is the compliance of public policy issues. There are countless issues that are put across that try and restrict the movement and actions of the board, which tries as much as possible to comply with these policies. In this firm’s case, by bringing in public persons, there is a chance for the organization to find a clear-cut channel to address the compliance of certain policies. It also creates transparency that the firm really needs. Conscious capitalism is what may be used to refer to the philanthropic activities that a firm is willing to undertake (Malline 87). This is in order to help the surrounding external environment benefit and also assist the firm benefit. The firm often participates in different sports activities for some of the different organizations that exist in the area. This is often done as a means to have donations for the groups involved, and also build awareness for the group in question. The skills and capabilities that the firm boasts of make it possible to have different activities in different areas, which also help in fostering exceptional relations between the firm and the people in the external environment.

The Natural Born Citizen Essay Example for Free

The Natural Born Citizen Essay The President of the United States of America is the most powerful man in the world. The decisions that he makes and the policies that he enforce are things that have direct or indirect effects not only on the U. S citizenry but also on people living in other countries. This fact makes it imperative that a man or a woman who is going to assume the office as the President of the United States must have full control of his mental, physical, and emotional faculties when he takes over this important position. This is the primary reason why individuals who intend to hold office as president of the United States should be a â€Å"Natural Born† citizen. The wording â€Å"Natural born† means that the candidate should have been born into this world via natural birthing methods. THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN THE FACTS ABOUT NATURAL BIRTHING Being born via a Natural birthing method ensures that the child has a huge probability of having full control over his Mental, physical and emotional faculties in comparison to those born via unnatural birthing methods (Caesarian method). Being born via Caesarian method has the following adverse effects namely: (a) The change that may take place on a child’s brain because of the chemical effects of anaesthetic drugs like morphine and lidocaine. These are drugs that are administered on laboring mothers to counter the immense pains associated to childbirth. Effects may include but would not be limited to cognitive and behavioral problems like long term Brain damage, ADHD and Autism (Stacey 2008). (b) Psycho social problems have a higher risk of occurrence on Caesarian born children than those who were born via natural means. According to Dr. Stanislov Grof, caesarian-born children often displays particular attitudes and personality traits like low self esteem, and difficulty in completing a task. CONCLUSION There is no question that the Position as Chief Executive of a country is a very demanding position that entails commitment and sound mental faculties. A person who is bound to get this office should have mental, physical and emotional resources that he could call upon to serve his country especially in troubled times. Caesarian born individuals are not fit to hold this office because there is a huge possibility that they are not intrinsically, physically and mentally fit enough to assume their duties as the president of the most powerful country in the World. This office demands that the person who holds office should have a nearly perfect if not fully unblemished mental and physical faculties. The THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN position is not created by the constitution to be a testing laboratory for a potentially unfit individual. This position is not for the feeble minded, and the weak of heart. Any possibility of handing this position over to an individual who may be emotionally and mentally unstable is an unjustifiable risk that the most prominent country in the world cannot take. Such an undertaking is untenable and prejudicial to the best interest of the United States of America and her citizenry. The individual that should lead this great nation should have a sound body and mind at his disposal to best serve his country and his fellowmen. Anything less is a travesty to Democracy and Good Governance. References: Common Drugs Used During Labor and Their Side Effects. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from World wide web: http://natural-childbirth. net/tag/effects-of-drugs-on-baby/ Emerson, W. (1993). Treating birth trauma during infancy: Dynamic outcomes. CA: Emerson Training Seminars. Emerson, W. (1996). Treating birth trauma during infancy: Cord trauma. [Video-tape]. CA: Emerson Training Seminars English, J. (1985). Different doorway. Adventures of a cesarean born. CA: Earth Heart Press. Grof, S. (1998). Realms of the human unconscious. New York: Viking Press.

Effects Of Celebrity Endorsements Cultural Studies Essay

Effects Of Celebrity Endorsements Cultural Studies Essay Well known for having a successful modelling career, Kate Moss has appeared in many endorsed advertising campaigns, such as, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Versace, to name only a few. Moss endorsement career has had its ups and downs. In 2005, a drug scandal hit the headlines, with pictures of Moss snorting cocaine. This story put many of her endorsements at risk. When the news story was announced she lost major contracts with Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Burberry HM. However, Rimmel took advantage of the publicity that she was receiving in the media and decided to incorporate the image in their television advertising. The advert showed her partying all night, then applying their new recovery foundation before arriving to work looking fresh and pretty. According to Bussey sales rocketed (Bussey, 2005) after release of the advert. Coty Beauty, who runs the Rimmel brand, decided to keep Moss because she had made a public apology. They will stand by the model after she apologised and promised to overcome her problems (Sky News, 2005) There is no real evidence to show whether keeping Moss made an impact on the sales of Rimmel products. When the author contacted Coty Beauty and JWT, they were not willing to give any information regarding Rimmels sales from the years 2006/2007. Below is a comment made by Peter Knowland, Director of the Rimmel account at JWT. They (Rimmel- Coty Beauty) have no desire to look backwards. They are very excited about the family of Rimmel faces they have today Coco Rocha, Georgia May Jagger, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Kate Moss. They all have a different but important part to play in the promotion of the Rimmel London brand. Glyn Thompson, who works in consumer affairs for Coty Beauty, stated: Unfortunately, we are unable to be of assistance on this occasion as we are a private company and we do not release annual sales report Twelve months after the scandal hit the headlines, Moss had won back many endorsement contracts Roberto Cavalli (again), Stella McCartney, Virgin Mobile (who used the scandal in their campaign), Burberry (again) and Louis Vuitton to name a few (Bussey, 2006) According to Bussey, Autumn/Winter 2006 season was one of Kate Moss most successful- and profitable (Bussey, 2006) This case study defines the quote any publicity is good publicity. Although Moss was receiving bad publicity when the scandal was released, it worked to her advantage as well as Rimmels for sticking by her. David Golding, Planning Director at Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/YR says: You have to think to what extent has her image been tarnished by these stories. The bigger story was how many companies dropped her and then took her back. To me this is proof that she is a great brand icon. (Bussey, 2006) 4.1.3 TIGER WOODS TIGER WOODS SCANDAL COULD COST MEDIA AND SPONSORS $220 MILLION (campaignlive, 2009) Prior to news of the scandal being released in Novemeber 2009, Woods had estimated annual earnings of $100 million in endorsements. Tiger Woods is a good example of how over using a celebrity could jeopardise brands when a scandal breaks. Many advertisers used Woods for his clean-living public image. When the scandal broke about the alleged string of affairs, it was reported that many of Woodss endorsement products would drop him from their advertising. What became evident was that many of his big sponsors did not drop him, instead they suspended any adverts that he appeared in from their campaigns. Procter and Gambles Gillette and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer, have maintained their relationships but are not featuring him in current advertising (SkyNews, 2010). Gillette was the first major sponsorship to distance themselves from the golfer over his private life, the company stated this in a press release following the scandal, In the midst of a difficult and unfortunate situation, we respect the action Tiger is taking to restore the trust of his family, friends and fans. We fully support him stepping back from his professional career and taking the time he needs to do what matters most. We wish him and his family the best. As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs. (Norton, 2009) However, Accenture and ATT dropped Woods as soon as the scandal broke, stating that he is no longer seen as the ideal, clean-cut promotional vehicle (Timesonline, 2010). However, Woods also announced his Indefinite Leave from golf, shareholders of companies that Mr. Woods endorses lost $5-12 billion in wealth (Knittel Stango, 2010:1). Woods decision to leave golf for a while to focus on his personal life also left his endorsements at jeopardy. Since the story broke, there have been certain companies that have made a big loss. Investors in three sports-related companies Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, Gatorade and Nike fared the worst, experiencing a 4.3 percent loss, or about $6 billion. (Talmazan, 2009). This evidence shows that many of his sporting endorsements have suffered the worst. Whether this is because his images in the advertisements are of him as a sportsman- which is what he is famous for, whereas other advertisements are using him because of his nice guy image. Unlike the previous case study, this story is recent, so its difficult to analyse whether these effects will be long term or similarly to the Kate Moss story, the effect on his endorsements may only be short term. A recent poll was created by Sport Business to see what the public believe will happen to Woodss endorsements. The results show that 56% of respondents believe the effects of the scandal will only be short term, 27% believe that there will be no effects at all, whilst 17% believe that the effects will be long term. If these results are correct, then the effects of the scandal will only be short term and, like Moss, Woods may recover some of his lost endorsements. 4.1.4 JAMIE OLIVER- Sainsburys Jamie Oliver is best known as the naked chef, this was the name of a programme that Jamie appeared in, where he went out shopping for ingredients to cook a dinner for friends, the programmes approach was through an informality, friendliness and an easy- going, relaxed format (Byrne, 2003:1). He was announced as the new face of Sainsburys in 2000; it was the first time a celebrity chef has fronted a major supermarket advertising campaign. (PRNewswire, 2000) The credibility of the star was one of the reasons that Oliver was a perfect celebrity for the brand, Abbot Mead Vickers the advertising agency in charge of the campaign, felt that: We wanted to create a brand strategy and develop vision for the brand. Essentially we wanted to re-emphasise the brands focus on quality and position the brand as a leader in the field in terms of quality. Therefore using Jamie Oliver who is renowned for quality would help us reposition on quality and that is what the adverts are conveying to the customer. In essence what we are doing is borrowing his values and transposing them to the brand (Byrne, 2003:6/7) The decision to do this links with the theory that McCracken suggests, the endorsement has to be right, the celebrity has to link with the product, and in order for it to be a success the product needs to attract the consumer. What this evidence does show is that Oliver has a good image through which to portray the brand and what they have to offer, because of his image within the public eye, his success as a chef and the quality of food that he uses. This will allow the public to believe that the products he uses are good, which will be reflected in their purchasing decisions. One concern that the agency had, was they felt that Jamie would not appeal to the 45 plus age group (Byrne, 2003:7) However, due to his informal style, his boy next door and every day image, it has allowed many consumers to relate to him. Since introducing Oliver as the face of Sainsburys, the advertising and sales has gone from strength to strength, According to new research, the  £41m spent by Sainsburys on campaigns using Jamie Oliver generated an extra  £1.12bn of turnover overall turnover was  £17bn. Oliver was single-handedly responsible for  £200m of Sainsburys  £535m profits in the past two years. (Evening Standard, 2002) Kate Nicholson, Head of Sainsburys advertising, made this comment Jamie has far exceeded our expectations. It does sound like an awful lot of money but we know he really has generated these extra sales because we have researched it very carefully Jamie has been a crucial part of our turnaround, I dont think anyone else could have done it (Evening Standard, 2002) Jamie Oliver is a good example of how a celebrity endorsement can work, providing you have the correct celebrity and brand match. 4.1.5 GARY LINEKER- Walkers Before the launch of Lineker as the face of advertising for Walkers, it appeared that the product wasnt at the top of the sales ladder in its market field. The endorsement of the star has been one of the most successful moves Walkers could have made. This type of celebrity endorsed advertising has sought to preserve the emotional bond between product and consumer, as a consumer we believe that the product must be good if celebrities are advertising for them. Figure 4 shows the transformation of Walkers sales since introducing Lineker to the brand. 1996 saw a significant rise in sales after Lineker appeared in the adverts. What is evident is the continuous rise in sales since Lineker joined. At the end of 2004 it was apparent that Walkers had over half of the market share of crisp sales. A spokesman for Walkers mentioned that after two years with Lineker as the face of Walkers Crisps it has helped to sell enough crisps to cover the whole of Holland (Greedystar, 2003) Figure 5 shows the sales that Walkers had in 2002/03. They had a great success, earning more than  £30m worth of sales, Persil were second. What is also obvious is that there are no other crisp brands on the table, clearly outlining the fact that Walkers holds most of the market share for crisp brands in the UK. Since the introduction of Lineker, who has appeared in over 100 adverts, many other celebrities have joined him in advertisements as well, such as The Spice Girls, Charlotte Church, Paul Gascoigne and Girls Aloud. Walkers created a famous campaign that saw Linekers favourite flavour rebranded to Salt n Lineker. This was an advertising ploy that would help the sales increase for a certain flavour. This was a good way to create brand awareness as well as to incorporate the character of the celebrity in the products advertisement. Since the introduction of the campaign, sales had risen from 14.5% to 17.8%. Average sales in grocery stores over the first 12 months of the campaign were 23% up on the previous year (Marketing, 2005) Whats interesting to see with this campaign is that, unlike Jamie Oliver, who has a link with Sainsburys, Lineker has no real link with Walkers Crisps, What they successfully did was to incorporate Lineker within the product, so their advertising had the tag line of No More Mr Nice Guy. Whats also interesting, as Martin mentions, is that young people are a target for snacks.. Which makes football a sensible choice- Regardless of Mr. Linekers nice guy image (Martin,1996:43) 4.1.6 SUMMARY McCracken (1989) believes that providing meanings is a good way to portray a good image with the use of celebrities in advertising campaigns. In relation to this theory it would appear that most of the case studies above have shown evidence of this, Jamie Oliver is an obvious candidate for Sainsburys as he is a chef, therefore the meanings that were portrayed in the advertising proved to be successful and relate to what McCracken believes. The evidence above shows that a celebritys popularity within the media affects the sales of a product, whether in a good or a bad way, Rimmels decision to continue using Moss was a good example of how media attention can be an advantage. The attractiveness and similarity that they portray within the advert by using Moss was apparent to the audience. As Kamins suggests (outlined in the literature review), a celebrity fronting a campaign can lead to the consumer being attracted to the product. QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS 4.2.1 INTRODUCTION The following charts will outline the results of the questionnaires that were conducted to find the consumers opinions of celebrity endorsement advertising. Overall 70 respondents completed the questionnaires, half Female and half Male. In order to gain a fair set of results it was important for the respondents to be a variety of different ages. The results were inputted onto a database giving opportunities for different reports to be created. These results will form an argument that will seek to discern whether the consumers response to celebrity endorsement advertising is the same as that of the practitioners. The results from the questionnaire are a sample as this is a small research project, whilst it is indicative; it is not big enough to show a definite answer. 4.2.2 THE INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING It is important to find out whether consumers are influenced by advertising, this will show evidence of how much of the population are influenced by advertisements, which will then allow us to see what population that are influenced by advertising are also influenced by celebrity endorsed advertising. Figures 6 shows evidence that a majority of respondents purchasing decisions are influenced by advertising. However, Figure 7 shows that not as many people are influenced by celebrity endorsed advertising. This chart is interesting as it shows a slight contradiction; not many respondents have brought a product because a celebrity is in the advertisement. However, a majority of them believe that using celebrities in advertising is successful. It would appear that many of the respondents believe that a celebrity brings awareness to a product, but the consumer doesnt necessarily buy a product because a celebrity uses it. One respondent wrote this statement about how they are not influenced by celebrity endorsed advertising. I think that most adverts have celebrities in them but I wouldnt buy a product just because I like the celebrity, probably more to do with the product However, this respondent, when answering yes to the question, do you think that using celebrities in advertising is successful, stated this; Because you feel a sense of admiration for some of them, and if they are using certain beauty products that make them look so good, then people will want to use them too. In relation to Erdogans theory in the literature review, a disadvantage of using celebrity endorsements is if they over-shadow the brand, however and advantage of using celebritys is increased recognition of the product. These are results from the questions that were asked to the respondents to find out whether they knew what the celebritys names were. It was interesting to see that only one respondent incorrectly answered Tiger Woods name. Kate Moss was the next recognisable celebrity with only 6 people who answered incorrectly. John Terry and Kerry Katona each had 8 people incorrectly answer their names. However, it was interesting to see that 4 people didnt know John Terrys name, but recognised him as a football player. 4.2.3 WHAT RESPONDENTS REMEMBER MOST ABOUT ENDORSED ADVERTISING The next set of charts will show whether the respondents know certain celebritys and what they remember about them. This is important to discover whether they remember positive or negative attributes about the celebritys in order to gain a varied set of results; there were no multiple choice options available. These charts will analyse what consumers think of the adverts that are celebrity endorsed, giving a chance to see whether they remember more about the celebrity or the product that was being advertised. 4.2.3.1 KATE MOSS Overall, most respondents remember Kate Moss for her profession (Modelling). However, it is interesting to see that 21 respondents also mentioned that they remember her for taking drugs. Rimmel, a product that she endorses, was the third most popular thing remembered about her. When asked if the respondents knew of any adverts that Kate Moss had starred in, 51 of them said Rimmel Figure 11 shows what they remember most about the advertising campaigns. Please note, these results are not just for Rimmel. A majority of the respondents remember the tagline of the product, Get the London Look. Whats more interesting to see is that the respondents remember Kate for being in an advert, but cannot remember the name of the product being advertised. 4.2.3.2 JOHN TERRY Figure 12 shows what the respondents thought John Terry was most famous for. It would appear that due to his recent media attention after an alleged affair, many of the respondents recognised him for sleeping around. There were 3 respondents who didnt recognise him at all. A majority of respondents did not know of any adverts that John Terry had starred in. Samsung was the most popular brand that was listed. The next page outlines what they remembered most from the adverts he appeared in. Not all respondents wrote an answer for this question as they could not remember the advert. Figure 13 clearly outlines that many respondents remember the advert because it was football related, whats interesting to see is that they also remember it more because other celebritys also appeared in it. 4.2.3.3 KERRY KATONA These results show that most of the respondents remember Kerry Katona for her singing career; the second most popular thing that people remember about her is her reported drug taking. Unlike previous celebritys, respondents had more to say about Katona, whether this is due to negative media attention in the past or the fact that she is famous for more than one thing. Figure 15 shows that the main reason people remember the advert is because of how annoying it was. Whether this was because they thought Katona was annoying, or that the advert itself was. Whats also interesting is that many respondents also remember her starring alongside other celebritys in the advert. 4.2.3.4 TIGER WOODS All respondents knew what Tiger Woods is famous for. What was interesting is that, similar to John Terry, over half of the respondents had put down that he is also famous for sleeping around. Figure 17 shows what respondents remember most about the adverts that Woods starred in. The most remembered attribute was the tagline of the product that he endorses The best a man can get. This suggests that unlike Terry, they remember more about the product then the celebrity promoting it. 4.2.4 PURCHASING DECISIONS In terms of whether consumers are influenced by celebrity endorsement advertising, relationships between celebrity and product is important, A respondent wrote this statement when the question: What relationship do you think using a celebritys name to sell a product has on sales? Was asked. I think it probably has a positive effect on sales as consumers build relationships with celebrities, see them as role models and idolise them. If a celebrity such as Cheryl Cole promotes a product which she uses herself, as she is known for being a style icon to many, then this will encourage consumers to buy it in the hope of looking like her. (Age bracket14-25) However, a respondent who is in a different age category has a similar opinion; Possibly the younger generation may be more inclined to buy products endorsed by a celebrity because they tend to look up to models or sports stars etc. I dont really take much notice of who is wearing/using what. (Age bracket 36-50) 4.2.5 SUMMARY The questionnaire results are interesting, as many consumers are aware that companies are using celebritys for advertising, many of the respondents have never purchased a product because of a celebrity being in the advertising, yet they still believe that celebritys are successful within advertising. What they did notice was that many companies are using celebrities as brand recognition, a way of appealing to the public. This research has shown that many consumers remember negative attributes about celebritys, rather than remembering what positive things they have achieved, which indicates that consumers are more inclined to be effected by negative characteristics of a celebrity as opposed to the positive things. This research has also proven that younger consumers are influenced more by celebrity culture; they are more inclined to know what outfit Cheryl Cole has been seen in and how to do their hair like hers. This is why more companies are using these types of celebritys within th eir advertising campaigns, to attract the niche market of consumers who are susceptible to that type of advertising. EXPERT OPINION This section of the data analysis will look at the experts opinions. Three interviews were conducted, as well as a recording of a debate on celebrity culture that the author attended. The respondents were interviewed about two different strategies of using celebrities as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using celebrities. These results will build up an argument to see whether the practitioners have similar views of celebrity endorsements as that of the consumers. 4.3.1 INTRODUCTION Using a celebrity in an advertising campaign can be quite a risquà © decision. It would appear that many advertisers get it wrong in the selection process. Ogilvy has written that Celebrities get high recall scores, but I have stopped using them because readers remember the celebrity and forget the product they assume that the celebrity has been bought, which is usually the case (Ogilvy, 1983: pg, 83). 4.3.2 WHY ARE CELEBRITYS USED IN ADVERTISING? Many consumers are aware that the celebrity does not really use the product they advertise, instead they have been bought as the face of the campaign. If this is true, why do advertisers continue to use celebrities in their campaigns? Alan Jarvie, Director of London Advertising, believes that using a celebrity: Gives you some recognition, it gives you some memorability, as long as the personality doesnt overshadow the product. Sometimes you get campaigns where the only thing that you remember is the celebrity, and you cant remember what the product is, we always make sure that the celebrity plays second fiddle to the product that were advertising. (Alan Jarvie, London Advetising- Appendix 5) Jarvie believes that provided that the celebrity does not overshadow the product, then a campaign can be successful since the personality can be an attraction for the product. From previous research, if a celebrity is receiving bad publicity in the media, then the product and brand does suffer. However, Jarvie believes that many products can use the celebrity to their advantage. For example, many marketers have ended their contracts with footballer John Terry due to his recent negative media attention. However, Jarvie believes that some marketers could use this as an advantage in their marketing ploy; I think it all depends on what the product is, I think if your product is all about being, you know good and clean and righteous then obviously that would be a problem, but if youre product is just about being a normal bloke or somebody that makes mistakes, or somebody whos every man, then I dont think that it should hurt them at all. (Alan Jarvie, Giraffe Advertising- Appendix 6) Jim Shannon, Creative Director for Giraffe Advertising, believes that a brand would suffer if a celebrity were to receive negative media attention, If the individual behaves in a way that detracts from the brand (even outside promotional activities), the brand suffers  (Jim Shannon- Appendix 6) However, Jim Shannon does go on to say that marketers could use the media publicity as an advantage Only in a knowing way (i.e., in the promotion of products that might tacitly endorse his/her behaviour). Noreen Jenney, Director of Celebrity Endorsements, believes that marketers should be careful about who they select for their advertising campaigns. Advertisers need to be very careful to do their due diligence when hiring a celebrity.   When a star gets bad publicity, it reflects on the advertisers product and company.  (Noreen Jenney, Appendix 7) Trevor Beattie had an interesting point when he mentioned in a celebrity debate that Gillettes advertising has not influenced his purchasing decisions; I think Gillette has produced probably the worst advertising a man can get and the worst advertising on television, and I use Gillette products at least twice a day. Im not put off by their totally shit advertising and I find that a bit strange. As much as I want to be put off by their advertising, Im not, so I blank it out. Their distribution is brilliant and their product is extremely good. Their advertising sucks. So there is a strange triangle going on, and for all their money and all the worthiness, they then go and hire the three people who they feel are the worthiest celebrities in the world, people who are stars actually, who are very good at their chosen sport. (Trevor Beattie, Appendix 8) Beattie also mentioned how using endorsements can be successful; I think you can get it wrong, if you get it right, like they did with Gary Lineker and, for all his failings, he is a brilliant spokesperson for the brand and he took Walkers from nothing to a major brand and hes earned his money, I think, and hes done a brilliant job. Jamie Oliver, dont like the bloke, think hes a git, but, hes done a brilliant job for Sainsburys, really has, so therefore theyve got it right, it is a gamble. (Trevor Beattie Appendix 8) 4.3.3 HOW DO EXPERTS SELECT CELEBRITYS USING THEORIES? Is it a gamble, or do advertisers believe there is strategy to creating a perfect match between celebrity and product? Bergstrom Skafstad (2004) in their case study of Celebrity Endorsement asked the experts what type of theories they would employ when selecting a celebrity in advertising. I have employed this same technique within this case study to see whether the results from different experts are they same, or whether they have their own opnions on what they believe is a good way of selecting celebrities for endorsement advertising. What will be taken into consideration is the difference between different celebrities for different campaigns. The research approach will be analysed against Shimps TEARS model from the literature review, the Experts were asked what order they believe is the right way of choosing a celebrity for an advert. All practitioners stated that they could not give an accurate decision as it depends on which product they are advertising. The charts below outline what they believe is correct for a general advertising campaign. Its interesting to see that Trustworthiness ranked the highest in making a decision when selecting a celebrity in adverts. Both Shannon and Jenney believed that Expertise was the second aspect that is important when selecting a personality. Jarvie, however, ranked that last in his selection. What is interesting to see is that although McCracken believes in his theory that there needs to be a meaning behind the endorsement, some sort of connection between celebrity and brand, this evidence has show that most of the experts believe that Similarity is not as important in the selection process as the Trustworthiness of the celebrity. 4.3.4 SUMMARY The result from the expert research shows that using a celebrity in advertising is successful providing it works and the celebrity doesnt over shadow the product. Trustworthiness plays an important part in the selection of the celebrity which was interesting, Similarity between the brand and product was not a necessity when approaching a celebrity for the advertising. It is interesting to see that marketers do not really have a specific way of choosing celebrity endorsements; they do not run by any theory, its more about whether the celebrity is right for the brand and vice versa.

Sir Isaac Newton vs Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz :: Sir Isaac Newton Essays

Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz are two of the most supreme intellects of the 17th century. They are both considered to be the inventors of Calculus. However, after a terrible dispute, Sir Isaac Newton took most of the credit. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German philosopher, mathematician, and statesman born in the country of Leipzig. He received his education at the universities of Leipzig, Jena, and Altdorf. He received a doctorate in law. He devoted much of his time to the principle studies of mathematics, science, and philosophy. Leibniz's contribution in mathematics was in the year 1675, when he discovered the fundamental principles of infinitesimal calculus. He arrived at this discovery independently at the same time along with the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. However, Leibniz's system was published in 1684, three years before Newton published his. Also at this time Leibniz's method of notation, known as mathematical symbols, were adopted universally. He also contributed in 1672 by inventing a calculating machine that was capable of multiplying, dividing, and extracting square roots. All this made him to be considered a pioneer in the developement of mathematical logic. Sir Isaac Newton is the other major figure in the development of Calculus. He was an English mathemetician and physcist, whose considered to be one of the greatest scientists in history. Newton was born on December 25, 1642 at Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire. He attended Trinity College, at the University of Cambridge. He received his bachelor's degree in 1665 and received his master's degree in 1668. However, there he ignored much of the universities established curriculum to pursue his own interests: mathematics and natural philosophy. Almost immediately, he made fundamental discoveries in both areas. Newtons dicoveries was made up of several different things. It consisted of combined infinite sums which are known as infinite series. It also consisted of the binomial theorem for frational exponents and the algebraic expression of the inverse relation between tangents and areas into methods that we refer to today as calculus. However, the story is not that simple. Being that both men were so-called universal geniuses, they realized that in different ways they were entitled to have the credit for â€Å"inventing calculus†. Both engaged in a violent dispute over priority in the invention of calculus. Unfortunately, Newton had the upper hand, considering that he was the president of the Royal Society. He used this position to to select a committee that would investigate the unsolved question. Apparently, Newton included himself on this committee (illegally) and submitted a false report that charged Leibniz with deliberate plagiarism. He was also the one who compiled the book of evidence that the â€Å"society† was Sir Isaac Newton vs Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz :: Sir Isaac Newton Essays Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz are two of the most supreme intellects of the 17th century. They are both considered to be the inventors of Calculus. However, after a terrible dispute, Sir Isaac Newton took most of the credit. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German philosopher, mathematician, and statesman born in the country of Leipzig. He received his education at the universities of Leipzig, Jena, and Altdorf. He received a doctorate in law. He devoted much of his time to the principle studies of mathematics, science, and philosophy. Leibniz's contribution in mathematics was in the year 1675, when he discovered the fundamental principles of infinitesimal calculus. He arrived at this discovery independently at the same time along with the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton in 1666. However, Leibniz's system was published in 1684, three years before Newton published his. Also at this time Leibniz's method of notation, known as mathematical symbols, were adopted universally. He also contributed in 1672 by inventing a calculating machine that was capable of multiplying, dividing, and extracting square roots. All this made him to be considered a pioneer in the developement of mathematical logic. Sir Isaac Newton is the other major figure in the development of Calculus. He was an English mathemetician and physcist, whose considered to be one of the greatest scientists in history. Newton was born on December 25, 1642 at Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire. He attended Trinity College, at the University of Cambridge. He received his bachelor's degree in 1665 and received his master's degree in 1668. However, there he ignored much of the universities established curriculum to pursue his own interests: mathematics and natural philosophy. Almost immediately, he made fundamental discoveries in both areas. Newtons dicoveries was made up of several different things. It consisted of combined infinite sums which are known as infinite series. It also consisted of the binomial theorem for frational exponents and the algebraic expression of the inverse relation between tangents and areas into methods that we refer to today as calculus. However, the story is not that simple. Being that both men were so-called universal geniuses, they realized that in different ways they were entitled to have the credit for â€Å"inventing calculus†. Both engaged in a violent dispute over priority in the invention of calculus. Unfortunately, Newton had the upper hand, considering that he was the president of the Royal Society. He used this position to to select a committee that would investigate the unsolved question. Apparently, Newton included himself on this committee (illegally) and submitted a false report that charged Leibniz with deliberate plagiarism. He was also the one who compiled the book of evidence that the â€Å"society† was

Ford Pinto Trial Essay -- essays papers

Ford Pinto Trial The objective of this paper is to investigate what led to the Ford pinto criminal trial and the impact that it had. What led up to the criminal indictment of Ford, the trial itself, the verdict of the trial will be discussed. The Impact that this trial has had on the Automobile industry will also be investigated. In the late 1960's there was strong competition from VW and several Japanese companies in the small car market. Due to this competition Ford hurried the design of their small car, the Pinto, to market. Since the car was rushed into market and the specifications for the car were that it weigh under 2000 pounds and cost less than $2000, safety was not a major concern in the design of the pinto.1 In pre-production testing Ford found that the gas tank was likely to leak and possibly burst into flames when it is struck from behind. Internal documents show that eleven of the tests averaging thirty one miles per hour were performed before the Pinto went into production. In only three of the eleven tests did the fuel tank in the Pinto not rupture. In one test a plastic wiffle ball was placed between the front of the gas tank between the tank and the differential housing so that four bolts would not tear into the tank. In the next successful test a piece of steel was placed between the f uel tank and the bumper. In the third test the fuel tank was lined with a rubber liner. Although Ford found that fuel tank rupture was likely to happen they decided to go ahead with this design because assembly line machinery was all ready tooled and they concluded that it was not cost efficient to add an $5.08 rubber bladder to the car cost to the car to remedy the design flaw, instead they determined that it would be cheaper to settle or fight any civil law suits rather then remedy this problem.3 In their cost analysis, that would have improved fuel tank safety for their whole line of cars and trucks, they concluded that there would be 180 burn deaths, 180 serious burn injuries, and 2100 burned vehicles at a cost of $200,000 per burn death, $67,000 per serious burn injury, and $700 per burned vehicle which came up to a total cost of $49.5 million. The estimated cost to prevent leakage in their cars and trucks was $11 dollars each. So with sales of 11 million cars and 1.5 millio n light trucks the total cost to improve fuel tank safety wou... ...so showed that even if the product passes the minimum safety standards a manufacturer should hold safety concerns with the utmost importance.5 Lastly, it gave other attorneys confidence to file criminal charges against a manufacturer if they intentionally sell a harmful product. In conclusion I believe that Ford acted very irresponsible in the design of the Pinto and they should have been held accountable in both civil and criminal cases. They were foolish and morally wrong to take profits over peoples lives. Every engineer can learn a lot about how important product safety is by looking into this case. Bibliography: References: 1 Lee Patrick Strobel, "Reckless Homicide? Ford's Pinto Trail", 1980 , And Books. [LL] 2 Francis T. Cullen, "Corporate Crime Under Attack, The Ford Pinto Case and Beyond", 1987, Anderson Publishing. [LL] 3 Ellen Hochstedler, "Corporations as Criminals, Perspectives in Criminal Justice", 1984, Sage publications. [LL] 4 Paul Eisenstein, "Courts Give Crash Course in Car Design", The Engineer v 277 July 1, 1993 pg. 18. [EJ] 5 Charles J. Murry, "The Real Story Behind Car Fires", Design News v 48 1993 pg. 114-120. [EJ]

Project Management Essay -- Business, Team Development

1. Introduction In nowadays society, the using of project management is more and more common today. The entrepreneurs are more likely to employ staffs who have learnt project management. So that learning the skill of project management is more useful and also important now. Larson and Erik (2011) mention that good project manager are trained or come from experience, not born. For this reason, in this essay it will discuss the fit between some published theories on project management and personal practice as a result of my participation in the Fit as a Fiddle project. 2. Project human resource management 2.1 Team development A project team is a group of people who working together to accomplish the project objective. According to Larson and Erik (2006, p343), there are two way of synergy, positive synergy and negative synergy. â€Å"The essence of positive synergy can be found in the phrase, ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.’ Conversely, negative synergy occurs when the whole is less than the sum of the parts.† For this reason to have an effective project team is significant for the project to success. Clear and Khan (2010, p62) mention that there are four stages of team development has defined by B. W. Tuckman, which is forming, storming, norming, and performing. Forming is the first stage of the team development process. It requires the team member to know their selves’ roles and position. Moreover the project manager has to provide direction and structure (Ibid). At this stage, in the first meeting of our team the team leader has given out the scope of the Fit as a Fiddle project. Afterwards started an initial plan has given out and at the end of the meeting set the task for next meeting. These just show ou... ...en take a project it must consider the risk, and it is an uncertain factor. It only can minimise by using a various tools. For the risk assessment, first produces a list of potential risks, then using scenario analysis to assess it (Larson and Erik, 2006, p211). Using the method at the fit as a fiddle project, our team have list 5 risks, and discussed the likelihood, Potential Impact and solutions. 7. Conclusion On the basis of the above discussion, there are a number of project management theories used in the fit as a fiddle project, and compared to my personal experience most of the theories are fit. However this is a virtual work only focus on the design part, and some of the result may not accurate. Although this may be true, through the work, I have enhanced the understanding of project management and gain the technique and experience of project management.

Buss1 Key Terms

BUSS 2 Key Term Definitions  ©T Ockenden Finance: Budget – A budget is regarded as a goal or a â€Å"yardstick†; it’s something a business uses in order to work to, for example: a firm may have budgeted fixed costs of ? 5000, they aim to either meet this budget or fall below it to operate to the desired level. Variance – Variance applies to budgets, and it is the difference between the forecasted or budgeted figure, and the actual figure that comes out at the end of a certain review period.Cash flow forecast – A cash flow forecast is a document that records the expected inflows and outflows of a business. Overdraft – Short term borrowing from a bank, a business will only take out as much money as it needs in order to cover its daily cash shortfall, because overdrafts are high interest short term finance options and can be required to pay back within 24 hours. Factoring – Fully named debt factoring, is the process by which the debt fa ctor company buys a percentage of the debt owed to one company by another company or customer (often around 80%).This means although the company owed to will lose 20% of the money, it means that 80% can be with them immediately rather than having to chase for it. Sale and leaseback – This is where a company will sell an asset off in order to generate short term finance, but they will buy back the asset on a lease basis as in the will pay for it as and when they need it. Net profit margin – Simply a profit margin is the gap between the prices the unit is sold for and how much it costs to produce it. Net profit margin is worked out by doing net profit over sales turnover x100.Return on capital – Profit as a percentage of the capital invested in a project. Profitability – Profitability measures profit against another variable in the business, for example you’ve got net profit margin which is profit in relation to costs, or ROC, which is profit in rela tion to the capital invested. Marketing: Niche marketing – Niche marketing is where a business is tailoring a product or service to a very specific customer or market (think cooking dinner for the queen), requires much research in to their needs and wants and other factors in order to get it right.Mass marketing – Mass marketing is almost completely the opposite, it involves creating a product or service with mass appeal and promoting it to all types of consumers (bread and other commodities). Business to business marketing – This is a term to describe the transactions that take place between one company and another, in this sense the customer is seen as another business. Consumer marketing – When a company sells its products and services to the individual consumer, it is referred to in marketing-speak as B2C, or business-to-consumer.Marketing mix – This refers to the 4 main ingredients in the marketing cake, product, price, place and promotion. Al though is BUSS 2 they ask you specific stuff on each section. USP – One feature that makes a product or service different from all its rivals, for example the apple operating system on iphone. Product differentiation – The extent to which your product or brand is differentiated is the amount to which customers feel your product or brand is different from others in the same market.Product life cycle – This is sort of like the â€Å"this is your life† book for a product, it comprises of stages; Introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline. Represented as a graph in most cases. Product portfolio – Product portfolio analysis looks at the existing position of a company’s products. The best way is Boston matrix here; a firm can place their product in any of the four boxes and from there, decide if a new product needs to be launched or increased promotion is needed or even an introduction to a new market.Boston matrix – The Boston matrix shows the market share of each of the firm’s products and the rate of growth of the markets each product is in; helps in the decision making process of new products or more promotion/new market e. t. c. Promotional mix – The combination of promotional methods used by a business when marketing its products. PR – This is an attempt to affect a consumer’s opinion of a product without actually spending on media advertising, it can involve getting journalists to mention the product in regular publications such as newspapers and T. V magazines.Branding – Branding is the overall image that is tagged to everything a company does, it’s the thought consumers have when they see the company logo, for example, when people see the M&S sign, they automatically think high quality. Merchandising – This requires employees to visit shops where the company’s product is sold to ensure that the brand’s display looks eye-catching and ti dy. An example is the dump bin displays you sometimes see at the end of shopping aisles when a new product is launched. Sales promotions – These range from little competitions you see on the actual product packaging to offers run by the shop itself such as BOGOF’s.Direct selling – This is where potential customers are approached directly. This used to be door to door sales type people, but increasingly more know it involves the use of tele sales. Advertising – Advertising is a form of promotion; there are various methods firms use, such as: T. V adverts, radio ads, billboards around town, leaflets given out in the street e. t. c. It’s the way firms get the knowledge that their product is around out there. Pricing strategies – A pricing strategy is a company’s plan for setting its prices for products over the medium to long term. Short term offers are known as tactics.Tactics can however make strategies or help them. Price skimming â⠂¬â€œ Skimming involves pricing a new product quite highly, it is used when the product is innovative (Apple), as the product is new there is no competition. Price penetration – This involves pricing a new product at a fairly low price in order to achieve high sales volume. It’s used when launching a product into a market where there are similar products; the price is set lower to gain market share. Price leader – This is where the price is set above the market level. This is possible when the company has strong branding or there is little threat from competitors.Price taker – This is when the price is set at the market level or at a discount to the market. This usually happens in highly saturated and competitive markets or in a market where one company dominates. Pricing tactics – Whichever strategy has been chosen, there are tactics that also need to be considered. They can be part of normal pricing or used as an element in the firm’s prom otional tactics. Loss leaders – Prices are set purposefully low – so low that the firm may make a loss on the product; the idea is that purchasing these products will encourage the customer to buy complimentary products to generate profit.Usually common in supermarket environments. Psychological pricing – Prices are set at a level that seems as if it I lower to the customer i. e. 9. 99 as opposed to 10. 50. Price elasticity – A measurement of the extent to which a product’s demand changes when its price is changed. Distribution channel – Distribution channels are the ways in which products get to consumers in the right place for them to purchase them. Oligopoly – A market in which a few large companies have dominant share, for example: the UK chocolate market a 70% share split between Cadbury, Nestle and Mars.Competitive markets – Could be described as a market where there is intense rivalry between producers of a similar good or service. Competitiveness – Measures a firm’s ability to compete (compares its consumer offer to the offers made by rivals). People: Organisational structure – Organisational structure is the formal and ordered way the management of a business is organised. When displayed in the familiar diagram format, it shows the departments or functions within the business and who is answerable to whom.Levels of hierarchy – These show the number of different supervisory and management levels between the bottom of the diagram and the top of the hierarchy. Span of control – This term describes the number of people directly under the supervision of a manager. Chain of command – This is to do with communication, and shows the reporting system from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom (the route info takes through the business). Delegation – Handing power down the hierarchy to junior managers or workers. Labour productivity – Purely and simp ly, the output per person (Output over no. Of staff).One of the ways to measure workforce effectiveness. Labour turnover – The rate at which people leave their jobs and need to be replaced. The other way to measure workforce effectiveness. Recruitment – Recruitment is the process of filling job vacancies when they arise within a firm. Selection – the process of choosing from a field of applicants from a job Selection techniques – The processes used by a company to choose the most appropriate person for a job, examples are interviews and trial runs. Internal recruitment – Where a job vacancy is filled by using someone who already works within the company.Sometimes seen as promotion. External recruitment – Where a job vacancy is filled by using someone who comes from outside the company. Assessment centre – These allow for more detailed analysis of person’s suitability for a role by subjecting them to realistic simulations, often over a number of days. Types of selection test – A number of selection techniques exist, including: Interviews, testing and profiling (aptitude tests) and assessment centres. Person specification – A document that details the qualifications, skills and other personal qualities required in order to carry out the advertised job.It describes the ideal person Job description – Not the same as a person spec, a document that outlines the duties and responsibilities associated with an advertised vacancy. It describes the job On the job training – Where employees acquire or develop the skills they need without leaving their usual work place (shadowing of higher level employees). Off the job training – Where employees leave their usual workplace in order to receive instruction on how to perform their job role well (College or university) Job enrichment – Herzberg: â€Å"giving people the opportunity to use their ability†.Job enlargement †“ General term for anything that increases the scope of a job. (Job rotation, job loading and job enrichment). Empowerment – A management practice of sharing information, rewards, and power with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve service and performance. Team-working – Individuals work in groups rather than being given highly specialised, individual jobs. Operations Management: Operational targets – Operational targets or objectives are the specific, detailed production targets set by a company to ensure that its overall company goals are achieved.Unit costs – The cost of one unit of output is a raw measure of the efficiency of a firm’s operations (total cost over total output = unit cost). Quality – Quality or specifically quality management, means providing what the customer wants at the right time, with the right level of quality and consistency and therefore yielding high custome r satisfaction. Capacity utilisation – Actual output as a proportion of maximum capacity (out of 100%). Non-standard orders – Sometimes a company will be approached by customers with special orders at a different price to their regular selling price.A customer with special requirements may require changes to the product or a modified design, but they may be willing to pay a much higher price. Overtime – Paying staff extra to work longer hours than their contracts state. Temporary staff – Employees on fixed-term contacts of employment, either for a determined amount of time or until a specific task has been completed. Part-time staff – Staff who are contacted to work for anything less than what is considered the basic full-time hours of the business.Rationalisation – Reorganising in order to increase efficiency. This often implies cutting capacity to increase the percentage utilisation. Sub-contracting – Where another business is used to perform or supply certain aspects of a firm’s operations (outsourcing). Quality control – Quality control is the traditional way to manage quality, and is based on inspection after a certain batch number of units. Quality assurance – Quality is a system that assures customers that detailed systems are in place to govern quality at every stage of production.TQM (total quality management) – This was introduced by an American business man W. Edwards Deming in early 1980s. TQM is not a management tool, it is a philosophy. It is a way of looking at quality issues at every aspect of the business (think kaizen stuff). Quality standards – Companies can apply for quality standards certification to show the rest of their market and others that they are serious about the quality of what they do. ISO 9000 certification covers customer service in firms where the skill is relevant.Customer service – Describes the range of actions taken by a business wh en interacting with customers. Effective CS will meet or exceed the expectation that customers have of the business. Suppliers – A person or business that serves as a source for goods and services. For example, Sysco Corporation is a major supplier to the food service industry. Robotics – Robotics are the automated systems used on many of today’s modern mass production lines (car manufacturers). They are programmed to do the same thing over and over, so repetitive tasks can be completed with 100% efficiency.Automation – Typically refers to automated stock control systems, they are based on laser scanning or bar-coded info. This ensures the computer knows the exact quantity of each product that has come into the stockroom. Equally when something is sold the number is subtracted from the original stock room total. Communication technology – This covers aspects all over the business, we’ve got communication with customers; two main ways compani es can electronically communicate with customers: 1 is a website and 2 is a database management system that holds information on all of a firm’s customers.Also you’ve got communication with suppliers, with things such as electronic data interchange, this links up data sources between branches of a business this can be useful to find out instantly how much stock is in a store on the other side of the country. Design technology – Computer Aided Design (CAD) has been around for over 20 years but is now much more affordable and very useful. CAD can show 3D versions of a drawing to see what it would look like if it was a 3D model. Productivity – Output per person (a measure of efficiency).

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was a communist poet. The Chilean won the Nobel Prize in Literature 1971. He wrote The Captain’s Verses in 1952 while he was in exile with his secret lover Matilde Urrutia on the island of Capri. The Captain’s Verses was a collection of his Love Poems that expresses Pablo’s different emotions to his love and the beautiful nature. From the book, we can see how Plabo treasured the time living with Matlide in the adorable exotic place. We can feel his passion, his pain, and his rage. His love poems were permeated with dense patriotism and his homesickness for Chile. Matilde was a singer. Her life was changed after she fell in love with Pablo, the most important person in her life. It would never be easy to stay with a communist. With her faith of love, she had gone through a lot of danger with Pablo and she was also Pablo’s good helper. They had countless sweet and unforgettable moments. Pablo was dead in soon after the military coup of Chile in 1973. They were separated forever since then. The military government treated Maltide as an influential figure in the country because she was the widow of a communist. She had a choice to leave this Chile but she decided to keep on going Pablo’s path and stay in Pablo’s home. Finally, she was able to publish Pablo’s work and write her own memoir. In her memoir, she told her legendary love with Pablo and the struggles she had faced. We can see their love on both Pablo’s poem and Maltide’s memoir. We can see their own perspective in their work. The memoir is a compliment to the poem that everything written by Pablo did happen to Maltide. She gave response and opinion to these experiences. In this essay, I’m going to analyze â€Å"The Soldier’s Love† in The Captain’s Verses from Plabo’s perspective and the view of Maltide’s memoir My Life with PABLO NERUDA. The Soldier’s Love â€Å"was written to Maltide. It is in free verse and there are ten stanzas. The tone of this poem is passionate and it sounds like Pablo is talking to Maltide directly. He used a lot of â€Å"You† to raise the momentum. â€Å"You’ll wear out your shoes/ but you’ll grow on the march/ You have to walk on thorns† (17-19) It sounds powerful and it makes Maltide become confident and dedicated. There are some words that are stressed at the end of the sentence such as â€Å" fire†, â€Å"death†, â€Å"march†, â€Å"blood†, they all stand out in the poem because they accentuate the danger of their future. The poem is well organized: From the second stanza to the fifth stanza, they are all three sentences long. From the sixth to eighth stanza, they are two sentences long. This splits the poem into two parts. The three sentences structure is talking about Maltide’s life before she met Pablo while the two sentences structure is talking about the life she is going to spend with him. The first stanza â€Å"in the midst of war life led you to be the soldier’s love† (1-2) is the introduction. Then the last stanza ends the poem with two equal sentences â€Å" Kiss me again, beloved/ Clean that gun, comrade (21-22) The whole structure of this poem looks very clear. The final stanza is strong to encourage Maltide with their faith of love and the word â€Å"beloved† and â€Å"comrade† shows Pablo’s tremendous passion. Pablo wanted to use this poem to let Maltide understand that her life had come to a turning point and also encourage her to be ready for the challenges coming up in their life. The introduction of the poem indicates that she no longer could enjoy a normal life. In the midst of war life led you to be the soldier’s love† (1-2) Pablo was the soldier fighting for the communist party. Everything would be different when she became a communist’s love. Pablo seemed disapproval of her past because he used â€Å"vagabond† to address her in the poem. He thought Maltide was political ignorant. â€Å"You didn’t know where you were going/ you were the dancing partner/ you had no Party, no country†(9-11) What she had done before was not meaningful at all. She didn’t belong to anyone and anywhere. It was time to abandon her past and fight with him from now on. Now you can’t dance any more/ with your silk dress in the ballroom/ You’ll wear out your shoes/ but you’ll grow on the march† (15-18) Although she couldn’t have the comfortable life like before and she would be suffering a lot, she would learn a different dimension of life joining the fight for the fellow people. The fight of the communist is a long march that it will be full of sufferings. â€Å" You’ll have to walk on thorns/ leaving little drops of blood† (19-20) Maltide should be prepared for any hurt or even death on the way. At last, Pablo encouraged Maltide to be dedicated to their love. Kiss me again, beloved† (21) He urged her to put the focus on their love, then they would not scare any situation coming up. Their faith of love is the best thing to console Maltide and keep her marching. Plabo thought Maltide was ready to fight with him. â€Å"Clean that gun, comrade† (22) She was not only his lover but also his â€Å"comrade†. Maltide was his counterpart who would share any problem with him and fight till the end. In Maltide’s memoir My Life With Pablo Neruda, she retold her terrible experiences that she had never encounter in her life. She had spent an agonizing night on the boat and almost swallowed by the sea. In the hotel, she was treated as a criminal in the hotel. Then she left for Naples with fourteen suitcases. She had been followed by the undercover police from city to city during her journey. Maltide was very angry to these experiences at first. Then Pablo told her about his own experience. She realized everything just happened to her had already occurred on him many times. She got to know why Plabo became a communist. â€Å"He explained how, after his terrible experiences in that civil war, he returned to Chile and kept on fighting, writing about what he had witnessed in Spain. He was already considered the biggest communist of all and figured that â€Å"if protesting and denouncing injustice means being a communist, well alright then,† and he joined the party. He was always a communist, because the suffering of others hut him too much. While he was alive, he put his pen and his life in the service of the people. † (115) After the Maltide learned the reason why Plabo being a communist. She appreciated what he was doing. She admired his passion of helping all the people. Now she could accept being a communist and understand its fight. These experiences deepened Plabo and Maltide’s love because they could know each other even more. However, Pablo’s heart was painful for dragging Maltide into his own sufferings. â€Å" Pablo laughed until he cried as I told him about the Italian police, especially since Pablo had considered me the most politically ignorant woman he ever knew. But I was his love, and from that moment forward, I would take on all that he did and face all the difficulties in his life with him. † (155) Maltide was happy to see Pablo blaming himself for not being able to protect her. They both consider each other very much. Therefore, Maltide made up her mind to dedicate herself to follow Pablo’s path and fight with him together. She didn’t care how dangerous it would be as she was so strong in her love. The poem addressed the changes of Maltide’s life and Pablo encouraged her to take the challenges with their faith of love. In the memoir, Maltide’s talked about her experiences and her own feeling. She started to learn about the adversities of being a soldier’s love. She would stay with Plabo all they way and fight with him. She would use action to respond his poem.

Crash Paper

Crash displayed various aspects of racism and stereotypes that occur everyday. One of the three major scenes in the movie that stood out was when the two officers pull over a black couple. Obviously they've done nothing completely harmful, reckless or dangerous. The leading officer claims the wife was performing falatio, while driving a vehicle, which could be a form of reckless driving and can be penalized for it. In fear of authority, and in all respect, the husband complies as polite as possible to the officers demands. While doing so, the officer is responding in the rudest manor.He asks the officer if it's okay to reach in the glove department for his paperwork and the officer replies with a very suspicious â€Å"yeah nice and slow†. Now on the other hand, the other officer takes no part in what goes on next because he knows what's right and wrong, he's deemed the â€Å"good† cop. The leading officer comes back to test him if he's drunk and driving and he wasn't. C omplying with the officer once again, he did it. His wife, a little drunk, tries to explain in a firm manor that they've done nothing wrong and what he's doing is wrong.Feeling an undermining to his authority, he gets angry and as she gets out of the car to confront him he tells the couple to turn around and place their hands behind their heads. As he pats down his wife, he grabs her inappropriately and asks what should be done since what they've done can technically be seen as a crime. Coming back to complying to an authoritarian figure out of fear and recognition of authority, her husband had one of two choices; he either could've spoken up, done something about it and got arrested or kept quiet, let him do what he knew was wrong and be let off with just a warning.Thinking that he would not win over an authority figure like the cop's word, he didn't say anything and let it happen. This situation brings up â€Å"The Authoritarian Personality† from one of the theories of prej udice in which the man complied to everything the officer asked for by just being or even just looking to be an authority figure. Also, the officer shows that intolerance and aggression as one would to those who don't conform as well, as you would see in The Authoritarian Personality. There's an automatic fear that comes to people when they think of the police.It's the fact that they're given that title of an officer of the law that leaves you naive to think anything he does is ok and even though you know it's wrong sometimes, you don't have the courage to say it cause you're not supposed to. It's not the norm of society. The second scene is where two black men walk out of the restaurant and the first one is the one that blames everything bad possible on his misfortune of being black. He continues on to complain about how since he's black he had to wait a lot longer than the white people that were there being served.As he complained about what he didn't get because he was black, his friend reminds him that he didn't even want what he was complaining for and it's not cause they're both black. As his friend starts to make his case, he also reminds him that the waitress was indeed black and they weren't racially prejudice. But he goes ahead anyways to continue blaming his skin color and that the waitress presumed that since they were dressed a certain way and talked a certain way they weren't going to tip, so she waited a little longer to serve them.These are all examples of â€Å"Frustration and Scapegoating† from one of the theories of prejudice. It shows his need to blame white people for his personal shortcomings and misfortunes, such as waiting a long time to be served and being looked at as a threatening figure in society. Although, he wasn't going to tip anyways and he and his friend are car-jackers. It's crazy and ironic how he'd think that. And if there was such a stereotype, then why not beat it.To make it worse, he lived up to those same stereot ypes and continued to blame other things. In the last scene, a middle eastern family man has a business which is his only source of income. From past experience and safety reasons he tells his, more educated and literate, American daughter to buy a gun for the store's protection and his own. He orders a guy to come in and change the locks as well, but the problem happens to be the door and not the locks. He hires a technician to change the locks and he happens to be Hispanic.The Hispanic technician is a father of a five year old girl that moved out of his old neighborhood for her safety and a better upbringing. A couple days after, the two get into a fight, in which the middle eastern store owner screams at him for not changing the locks meanwhile the door is the one that needs a replacement, as the technician tries to explain. As the argument sprouts, the technician just wants his money and wants to leave but the owner doesn't pay him and in anger he leaves.The next day the store g ets torn apart, robbed and vandalized in all kinds of ways and now the store owner is left with nothing and his life is ruined. In anger and to gain vengeance, he takes the gun and directly assumes it was the lock technician that left in anger from the other day. As one of the theories of prejudice, selective perception, is portrayed here when he automatically assumes it was the Hispanic guy that talks a certain way and has visible eye-catching tattoos.Coming to an immediate conclusion that it was him, he goes to his house and asks for his money for the store and fires the blank bullet exactly when his daughter came in between. Both were left in shock, to only find out that it was a blank bullet. He had no evidence that it was him but just because he was Hispanic and looked like he would do something like that, he came to a conclusion that it was him. Ironically, the guy was the nicest man and an incredible father and proved his selective perception wrong. Assuming is a root to a ki nd of prejudice as well and this scene was a great example.