Decision making Essay Example for Free

Decision making Essay SLIDE 1 – INTRODUCTORY SLIDE Ethical theories provide part of the decision-making foundation for Decision Making When Ethics Are In Play because these theories represent the viewpoints from which individuals seek guidance as they make decisions. Each theory emphasizes different points – a different decision-making style or a decision rule—such as predicting the outcome and following one’s duties to others in order to reach what the individual considers an ethically correct decision. In order to understand ethical decision making, it is important for students to realize that not everyone makes decisions in the same way, using the same information, employing the same decision rules. In order to further understand ethical theory, there must be some understanding of a common set of goals that decision makers seek to achieve in order to be successful. Four of these goals include beneficence, least harm, respect for autonomy, and justice. SLIDE 2 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES Beneficence The principle of beneficence guides the decision maker to do what is right and good. This priority to â€Å"do good† makes an ethical perspective and possible solution to an ethical dilemma acceptable. This principle is also related to the principle of utility, which states that we should attempt to generate the largest ratio of good over evil possible in the world. This principle stipulates that ethical theories should strive to achieve the greatest amount of good because people benefit from the most good. This principle is mainly associated with the utilitarian ethical theory discussed later in this set of notes. Least Harm Similar to beneficence, least harm deals with situations in which no choice appears beneficial. In such cases, decision makers seek to choose to do the least harm possible and to do harm to the fewest people. Students might argue that people have a greater responsibility to â€Å"do no harm† than to take steps to benefit others. For example, a student has a larger responsibility to simply walk past a teacher in the hallway rather than to make derogatory remarks about that teacher as he/she walks past even though the student had failed that teacher’s class. Respect for Autonomy This principle states that decision making should focus on allowing people to be autonomous—to be able to make decisions that apply to their lives. Thus, people should have control over their lives as much as possible because they are the only people who completely understand their chosen type of lifestyle. Ask students if they agree. Are there limits to autonomy? Each individual deserves respect because only he/she has had those exact life experiences and understands his emotions, motivations, and physical capabilities in such an intimate manner. In essence, this ethical principle is an extension of the ethical principle of beneficence because a person who is independent usually prefers to have control over his life experiences in order to obtain the lifestyle that he/she enjoys. Justice The justice ethical principle states that decision makers should focus on actions that are fair to those involved. This means that ethical decisions should be consistent with the ethical theory unless extenuating circumstances that can be justified exist in the case. This also means that cases with extenuating circumstances must contain a significant and vital difference from similar cases that justify the inconsistent decision. Ask students if they describe what extenuating circumstances might be. Ethical Theories By Larry Chonko, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Arlington. NOTES: ___________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________ ________ 1 presents SLIDE 3 – FORMS OF ETHICAL THEORIES For individuals, the ethical theory they employ for decision making guidance emphasizes aspects of an ethical dilemma important to them and leads them to the most ethically correct resolution according to the guidelines within the ethical theory itself. Four broad categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. Deontology The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when engaged in decision making when ethics are in play. This means that a person will follow his or her obligations to another individual or society because upholding one’s duty is what is considered ethically correct. For instance, a deontologist will always keep his promises to a friend and will follow the law. A person who adheres to deontological theory will produce very consistent decisions since they will be based on the individual’s set duties. Deontology contains many positive attributes, but it also contains flaws. One flaw is that there is no rationale or logical basis for deciding an individual’s duties. For instance, a businessperson may decide that it is his/her duty to always be on time to meetings. Although this appears to be something good, we do not know why the person chose to make this his duty. Ask students what reasons they might provide for this behavior. Sometimes, a person’s duties are in conflict. For instance, if the business person who must be on time to meetings is running late, how is he/she supposed to drive? Is speeding breaking his/her duty to society to uphold the law, or is the businessperson supposed to arrive at the meeting late, not fulfilling the duty to be on time? Ask students how they would rectify the conflicting obligations to arrive at an a clear ethically-correct resolution. Also ask students to bring into play the consideration of the welfare of others as a result of the business person’s decision. Utilitarianism Utilitarian ethical theories are based on one’s ability to predict the consequences of an action. To a utilitarian, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the most people is the one that is ethically correct. There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism subscribes precisely to the definition of utilitarianism—a person performs the acts that benefit the most people, regardless of personal feelings or the societal constraints such as laws. Rule utilitarianism takes into account the law and is concerned with fairness. A rule utilitarian seeks to benefit the most people but through the fairest and most just means available. Therefore, added benefits of rule utilitarianism are that it values justice and includes beneficence at the same time. Both act and rule utilitarianism have disadvantages. Although people can use their life experiences to attempt to predict outcomes, no one can be certain that his/her predictions will be accurate. Uncertainty can lead to unexpected results making the utilitarian decision maker appear unethical as time passes, as the choice made did not benefit the most people as predicted. Another assumption that a utilitarian decision maker must make concerns his/her ability to compare the various types of consequences against each other on a similar scale. But, comparing material gains, such as money, against intangible gains, such as happiness, is very difficult since their qualities differ to such a large extent. An act utilitarian decision maker is concerned with achieving the maximum good. Thus, one individual’s rights may be infringed upon in order to benefit a greater number of people. In other words, act utilitarianism is not always concerned with justice, beneficence or autonomy for an individual if oppressing the individual leads to the solution that benefits a majority of people. Ethical Theories By Larry Chonko, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Arlington NOTES: ___________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ 2 presents Ethical Theories By Larry Chonko, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Arlington Still another source of challenge with act utilitarian decision makers occurs when an individual faces one set of variable conditions and then suddenly experiences changes in those conditions. The change in conditions may lead to a change in the original decision—being be nice to someone one moment and then dislike them the next moment because the situation has changed, and liking the person is no longer beneficial to the most people. In rule utilitarianism, there is the possibility of conflicting rules. Recall the example of the business person running late for a meeting. Suppose the business person happens to be the CEO, who may believe that it is ethically correct to arrive at important meetings on time as the members of the company will benefit from this decision. The CEO may encounter conflicting ideas about what is ethically correct if he/she is running late. Yet, the CEO believes that he/she should follow the law because this benefits society. Simultaneously, he/she believes that it is ethically correct to be on time for his meeting because it is a meeting that also benefits the society. There appears to be no ethically correct answer for this scenario. Rights In ethical theories based on rights, the rights established by a society are protected and given the highest priority. Rights are considered to be ethically correct and valid since a large population endorses them. Individuals may also bestow rights upon others if they have the ability and resources to do so. For example, a person may say that her friend may borrow her laptop for the afternoon. The friend who was given the ability to borrow the laptop now has a right to the laptop in the afternoon. A major complication of this theory on a larger scale is that one must decipher what the characteristics of a right are in a society. The society has to determine what rights it wants to uphold and give to its citizens. In order for a society to determine what rights it wants to enact, it must decide what the society’s goals and ethical priorities are. Therefore, in order for the rights theory to be useful, it must be used in conjunction with another ethical theory that will consistently explain the goals of the society. For example in America people have the right to choose their religion because this right is upheld in the Constitution. One of the goals of the Founding Fathers’ of America was to uphold this right to freedom of religion. Virtue The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his/her character rather than by an action that may deviate from his/her normal behavior. It takes the person’s morals, reputation, and motivation into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior that is considered unethical. For instance, if a person plagiarized a passage that was later detected by a peer, the peer who knows the person well will understand the person’s character and will judge the friend accordingly. If the plagiarizer normally follows the rules and has good standing amongst his colleagues, the peer who encounters the plagiarized passage may be able to judge his friend more leniently. Perhaps the researcher had a late night and simply forgot to credit his or her source appropriately. Conversely, a person who has a reputation for academic misconduct is more likely to be judged harshly for plagiarizing because of his/her consistent past of unethical behavior. One weakness of virtue ethical theory is that it does not take into consideration a person’s change in moral character. For example, a scientist who may have made mistakes in the past may honestly have the same late night story as the scientist in good standing. Neither of these scientists intentionally plagiarized, but the act was still committed. On the other hand, a researcher may have a sudden change from moral to immoral character may go unnoticed until a significant amount of evidence mounts up against him/her. NOTES: ___________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________ ________ 3 presents SLIDES 4-6 SELECTED PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL CONDUCT When individuals find themselves in a decision-making situation when ethics are in play, there are a variety of ethical theories (decision rules) which provide decision-making guidance as individuals strive to make ethically correct answers. Each ethical theory attempts to adhere to the ethical principles that lead to success when trying to reach the best decision. Most individuals adopt a preferred decision-making style (e. g. do unto others ), but might adjust it depending on decision circumstances. As decision makers, they soon discover that others have adopted different decision rules. Thus, a team of decision makers must first understand the decision-making styles and decision rules of all members of the team. SLIDES 7 – 9 A TAXONOMY OF ETHICAL TYPES There are three different approaches to examining how ethical theories (differing decisionmaking styles and decision rules) impact decision making. The first group, entitled, â€Å"Selected Principles of Ethical Conduct,† present different ethical theories or decision making styles. The second group, entitled â€Å"A Taxonomy of Ethical Types† also provides a look at different decision-making styles, presenting some of the positives and negatives associated with each. The third group, entitled â€Å"Models of Personal and Organizational Development,† also deals with decision-making styles but presents them in a hierarchy from simple to more sophisticated. SLIDES 10-12 MODELS OF PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT From Cognitive Moral Development (as espoused by Lawrence Kohlberg in The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice, 1981, HarperCollins Publishers) Cognitive Moral Development asserts that ethics education is possible. Just as people develop mentally, physically, and emotionally, they develop a moral cognizance. Using critical thinking and decision-making tactics such as the Socratic method, people can solve their ethical dilemmas. Kohlberg taught that there were six stages of ethical thinking, each stage being of greater maturity than the previous one. By delineating these levels, we are allowed to know and test our own thinking and decision making. This helps individuals know themselves better and challenges them to move on to a higher level of thinking. To examine how different ethical theories (decision-making styles and decision rules enter into team decision making, the following questions are presented. 1. Ask students to play the role of a hospital administrator who has been asked to set up an Ethics Task Force in the hospital. The task force will deal with ethical dilemmas that may confront hospital staff and advise in establishing ethical guidelines for the treatment of patients. (a) What kind of persons would you look for to fill this position? What values would you want them to hold? What types of ethical sensitivity would you be looking for? (b) What basic ethical principles would you advise the task force to follow? 2. Now tell students they are charged with the same task described in Question #1, but this time for a market research firm instead of a hospital. What would the differences be? If there are any differences, what conclusions would you draw about the way we define the moral ballpark? 3. An undergraduate student published A Students’ Guide to Good Grades 10. This book was written to help students learn how to cheat. You can ask students many questions about this: What ethical issues do you see associated with publishing such a book? Should the campus bookstore carry it? Why or why not? Should the campus Ethical Theories By Larry Chonko, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Arlington. NOTES: ___________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________ ________ 4 presents Ethical Theories By Larry Chonko, Ph. D. The University of Texas at Arlington newspaper carry advertisements for the book? Similarly, should the campus newspaper carry advertisements for companies that will write students’ research papers for them? Again, what are the relevant ethical considerations here? Are these issues in the ethical ballpark? Why or why not? What is the ethical issue that you are most undecided about? Describe the pros and cons relating to this issue. How do you go about arriving at a decision when it is unavoidable? NOTES: ___________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________ ________ 5

Alfred Hitchcocks Use Of Sound Film Studies Essay

Alfred Hitchcocks Use Of Sound Film Studies Essay Many film historians and filmmakers believe that visual techniques are superior to audio ones. This belief has it roots in the early years of sound. With few exceptions, silent films were far superior to early talking pictures; the problem being that due to the technical intricacies of recording, the acting suffered, rendering many films painful to observe. Hitchcock constantly defined his style of filmmaking to that of pure film; film that expresses its meaning visually. But examining this term closely, it is apparent that he is objecting to an unnecessary reliance on dialogue as opposed to the use of sound overall. In his famous interview with Francois Truffaut Hitchcock stated: In many of the films now being made, there is very little cinema: they are mostly what I call photographs of people talking. When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialogue only when its impossible to do otherwise. In writing a screenplay, it is essential to separate clearly the dialogue from the visual elements and whenever possible, to rely more on the visual than on the dialogue. Hitchcocks visual and aural goals were becoming clear and many of his production notes, increasingly throughout his directorial career, would feature detailed references to sound effects and music. Aside from the novelty of dialogue, audiences began to experience soun dscapes which, often utilising ambience sounds and effects occurring within a scene, accentuated the drama of Hitchcocks movies. His non reliance on dialogue harks back to the silent era where movie-goers would watch a film often with a live organist alongside performing either a complete musical work or emotion driven passages and stings to set the mood when the scenes required it. Alfred Hitchcocks use of sound in Blackmail (1929) and Murder! (1930) in particular is important in many respects. These films went against the ideas of the day of what was technically possible in filming with immobile cameras and uneditable sound systems. In addition, they represent Hitchcocks first major experiments in combining sound and image in ways that in which the visuals did not come second to the dialogue. Blackmail establishes Hitchcocks preference for integrating music and sound effects, and introduces most of his favourite audio motifs. Both films are interesting historically, but Blackmail is the more successful work of art because its audio techniques and motifs are an integral part of the film stylistically. Blackmails aesthetic integrity is all the more remarkable given the uncertain conditions under which it was produced circumstances that are frequently misreported in film histories. Despite its reputation, Blackmail was not technically the first British sound feature, although it was immediately hailed as such. It is in part the makeshift and transitional circumstances of the filming that allowed Hitchcock to use sound with a flexibility and creativity that distinguished it from other early sound efforts. Blackmails admirers have rarely mentioned any specifics except the expressionistic highlights, such as the knife sequence, the overloud doorbell, or the merging screams. From a historical viewpoint, however, Blackmail is just as unique in its treatment of dialogue. A close look at the dialogue sequences shows that the film contradicts almost every rule written in standard histories about the use of sound in the transitional period from 1928 to 1930. For example, whereas films of the period supposedly always showed the speaker because producers thought that the audience must see the source of sound, Hitchcock very often has the speaker out of shot. Whereas films were supposed to have been photographed in long master shots (because sound could not be cut), Hitchcock only does so three times. Finally, whereas cameras and people were supposed to remain relatively immobile, the director moves not only his characters but also his camera, and therefore the audience viewpoint, during synchro nised sequences, heightening the involvement of movie goers, placing them almost inside the action rather than making them feel like they were merely watching a theatre production. Blackmail has stilted moments, especially in the delivery of speech. Even the better actors at the time were hindered by the need to recite their lines distinctly for the relatively unresponsive microphones. However, Hitchcock also includes several scenes where dialogue is intentionally incomprehensible a daring device at the time. When two policemen come off duty, ten minutes into the film, dialogue is added for the first time, but not synchronised, and we are supposed to merely get the gist of their conversation. An early example of his understanding of sound is clear even from his first use in Blackmail. The opening appears almost comedic; heavy honky tonk pianos and hand cranked visuals seem to be at odds with what is a serious story. Initially it appears the film is to be a silent, there are no sounds or dialogue until ten minutes have passed, and even at that point it is introduced in an ambiguous manner, with sound being used sporadically. In his early movies, Hitchcocks experimentiative nature is as apparent with sound as with the visual development of filmmaking. As the story progresses, the main character Alice (Anny Ondra) stabs and kills her would-be attacker. Hitchcock uses offscreen sound that is relevant to his content. One frequent purpose of offscreen dialogue is to contrast Alices emotions with the lack of awareness of other characters. This contrast occurs in the knife sequence, and later when her boyfriend (Frank) and her harasser (Tracy) blackmail and counter-blackmail each other. Showing the girl while the mens conversation continues offscreen emphasises her emotional exclusion from the other characters. Hitchcock also begins here a use of nonparallel cutting to create tension between characters. Later in 1930, Hitchcock filmed Murder! Although the director was again facing great technical limitations, Murder is clearly a personal work, which in every scene shows Hitchcocks efforts to work creatively with sound despite the abundance of dialogue. The script requires a trial (which Hitchcock condenses through a complicated montage of sound and image) and jury deliberations which entail a thorough analysis of the issues. Because the deliberation scene is the longest and most dialogue heavy scene it was also the most challenging, and Hitchcock strains to enliven it. The scene is a first statement of three major techniques that the director would use to minimise the filming of talking heads during the rest of his career: camera movement, non-parallel editing of dialogue, and deep-focus sound. The scene is set up so that the jurors are seated on the outside arc of a table that forms two thirds of a semicircle, with the foreman in the centre chair and Sir John Menier at one extreme. As the scene opens the camera pans past eleven jurors while the foreman summarises the arguments. Later, the camera pans away from the foreman in one direction and then swings past him, panning the other way. In neither case does the camera movement wor k. The jurors are not defined enough visually for us to learn something new by watching them in turn. Much more successful is Hitchcocks nonparallel cutting of dialogue and image. He rarely ends a shot of a person speaking at the precise moment that the persons dialogue ends; usually cutting to a second speaker before the first has finished. In parallel cutting the simultaneous aural and visual cuts reinforce each other so we notice them; thus shock is generally created through parallel cutting, whereas smoothness and continuity are created by overlapping. Murders deliberation scene ends with a form of deep-focus sound that completely eliminates talking heads. The camera stays in the deliberation chambers after the jurors exit. We hear the verdict, the death sentencing, and the defendants last words as we watch a janitor cleaning up after the jurors. The effect is to lessen our interest in the reaction of the accused girl and to heighten our awareness of the responsibility of the jurors for her fate. The decision to stay outside of the room when a verdict is read emphasizes the impersonality and heartlessness of the trial, and Hitchcock uses the technique for similar effects as late as Frenzy, when another innocent defendant is sentenced to death. The technique for which Murder is most often remembered is the interior monologue of Sir John, which Hitchcock claims is the first in film history. This is a recurring motif used in many of his films, and represents the directors desire to move inside a characters mind and reveal his thoughts and feelings. Hitchcocks expressionistic impulses are somewhat obstructed in his British films by the limitations on technical resources, which forced him to become minimally dependent on mise-en-scà ©ne. In his American period the use of lavish tracking shots furthered his wish to explore physical depths which correspond to their psychological counterparts. Meanwhile, in the thirties he was more dependent on inexpensive means of penetrating surfaces; sound is a chief device of creating subjective experiences-a device that reaches its height of development in Secret Agent. By the time Alfred Hitchcock had made Murder he had already experimented with his two main options for using sound subjectively: the interior monologue, as in Murders shaving sequence, and the distortion of exterior sounds to suggest how they impinge on a characters consciousness, as in Blackmails, knife sequence. He would eventually settle on the impingement of the exterior world as the preferred choice, and even that technique would soon become subtler, less of a stylistic nourish, less expressionistic. Ultimately, by switching from the distortion to the intrusion of exterior sounds, he would find ways of creating the same effect in the more realistic style of his American films. By contrast, the interior monologue in the shaving sequence furthers Hitchcocks central point in Murder that Sir John is acting more out of amorous than moral motives when he becomes newly convinced about Dianas innocence and decides to find the real murderer. The radio is used as a form of scoring (in a film that is ostensibly limited to source music). An orchestra performs the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, and Sir Johns thoughts have been carefully timed so that Wagners high points emphasize the emotional highs of the interior monologue, the love motif suggesting that Sir Johns motives involve feelings for the girl that he does not yet admit to himself. Sir John delivers the monologue in his distinctive, characteristically passionate, rhythmic phrases. We hear Sir Johns thoughts about saving Diana, but it is the performance of Tristan und Isolde on the radio which conveys the emotions. Sir John leaves the music playing after shaving and moves into an adjacent room for the next scene, in which he speaks to an assistant. Because the love theme is still playing, we realise that during these transactions he is thinking more about Diana than about the business at hand. The interior monologue as a means of getting inside a characters mind in Murder, then, is not altogether satisfactory on three counts: it does not really convey underlying emotion, it does not involve the audience, and it is grafted onto a film that is otherwise quite different in style. By contrast, the solution of showing how exterior sounds impinge on a character in Blackmail has become a much more integral part of Hitchcocks style. Specifically, his challenge in Blackmail was to find techniques for externalising the heroines guilt. The solution, which entails stylisation and distortion, is the aural equivalent of visual expressionism. To show that the expressionistic uses of sound in Blackmail are indeed stylistically integral to the film it is necessary to examine the film in detail. Hitchcock first makes us aware that he is distorting the sound subjectively when he exaggerates the loudness of bird chirpings to stress Alices agitation on the morning after the murder. When the mother enters Alices bedroom to wake her, she uncovers the cage of Alices canary. Once the mother leaves the room, the chirping is loudly insistent while the girl takes off the clothes she wore the night before and puts on fresh ones. The chirps are loudest, unnaturally so, when she is looking at herself in the mirror. The sound reminds us of the tiny, birdlike jerkings that the girl made immediately after stabbing the artist. After the knife sequence there is another subjective distortion of sound, when a customer rings a bell as he enters the store. We are in the breakfast parlour, and yet the bell resonates louder than it does elsewhere in the film. The camera is on a close-up of Alices face to indicate that it is her point of view, once again, from which we hear. In a sense the use of bird noises in the bedroom scene should be distinguished from the other techniques mentioned here. Whereas aural restriction and distortion of loudness are related to character point of view, the choice specifically of bird sounds has a particular meaning for Hitchcock independent of the film. This sequence marks the beginning of an ongoing association of murder and bird noises in the directors mind which accrues meaning from film to film, from Blackmail and Murder through to Sabotage (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), and Psycho, and culminates in The Birds. Commentators have regarded the knife sequence as an isolated gimmick, but the scene as a whole should be seen as the culmination of a larger movement to which Hitchcock has been building since the murder. The scenes showing Alices retreat from the artists rooms and her subsequent wanderings through the streets have each used elements that unite in the knife sequence. The sequence occurs while Alice breakfasts with her parents. In the doorway leading from the parlour to the fathers shop stands a gossip, talking about the previous nights murder. Alices parents go about their business, not giving much attention to the gossipy neighbour but Hitchcocks cutting shows that the guilt ridden Alice is already more sensitive to the womans speculations about the crime. As the gossips speech becomes more graphic, the director suggests Alices increasing sensitivity by panning from the girl to the chattering neighbour. From here on in her dialogue becomes almost abstract: it alternates between muff led speech and the word knife five times. Offscreen the father says, Alice, cut us a bit of bread, as the camera tilts down to Alices hand approaching the knife (which resembles the murder weapon). We hear knife five more times: in the gossips voice, at a fast pace, with the intermediate words eliminated. Hitchcock, a possessor of a great aural imagination, increases the volume of the word to emphasise the subjectivity of the moment, still further matching the visual intensity of the close-up with the intensity of the loudness. On the sixth repetition the word knife is screamed, and the actual knife seems to leap out of Alices hand and falls onto a plate. Hitchcock related later in his career that, despite any relevant education in the required fields, he saw himself as a composer or a conductor but typically he had less control over the music than over the other aspects of production. His use of music in Blackmail reflects his need to observe various conventions and his desire to be personally creative with the music using pure instinct. It is complicated by the films midstream switch to synchronized sound: the director therefore has to deal with both the silent-film conventions of scoring for live orchestra and with the early talkie expectations that a character would perform a song in synchronism. Musical themes introduced in the first reel recur later in the film, associated with similar images. For example, a string agitato theme identified with the image of the spinning wheel comes back both when we see the wheel again and during the museum chase. There is a central theme arranged for full orchestra associated with Scotland Yard , and also a pizzicato phrase which ascends the scale almost every time a character climbs a flight of steps. Nevertheless, Hitchcock managed to assert his personality over the scoring by controlling not the content so much as the placement of it. Whereas it was typical of the period to use either continuous music or none, the director had already hinted at his future style by eliminating scoring under most dialogue sequences and by insisting on silence during most moments of tension. Not until Secret Agent would Alfred Hitchcock once again find a vehicle appropriate for extensive experimentation with the use of expressionistic sound. By 1936 re-recording practices were more sophisticated. Therefore, much of the impetus to use sound creatively in Secret Agent must have come not (as in Blackmail) from the challenge of overcoming stringent technical limitations but from a wish to explore the new range of expressive possibilities available with technically sophisticated equipment, and further involving his audience emotionally in his movies.

Essay --

In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution made its debut in Great Britain and subsequently spread across Europe, North America and the rest of the world. These changes stimulated a major transformation in the way of life, and created a modern society that was no longer rooted in agricultural production but in industrial manufacture. Great Britain was able to emerge as the world’s first industrial nation through a combination of numerous factors such as natural resources, inventions, transport systems, and the population surge. It changed the way people worked and lived, and a revolution was started. As stated by Steven Kreis in Lecture 17, â€Å"England proudly proclaimed itself to be the "Workshop of the World," a position that country held until the end of the 19th century when Germany, Japan and United States overtook it.† A major cause for the Industrial Revolution was the enormous spurt of population growth in England. The increase in population meant that there were more people in surplus from agricultural jobs, and they had to find work in industrial factories. Enclosure brought forth a great increase in farming production and profits. Farming was improved through the use of crop rotation, enclosures, and the division on farms across England. Crops that were grown consisted of turnips, barley, clover, wheat. This improvement in farming caused a population explosion, which soon led to a higher demand for goods. The new means of production demanded new kinds of skills, new regulation in work, and a large labor force. The goods produced met immediate consumer demand and also created new demands. In the long run, industrialization raised the standard of living and overcame the poverty that most Europeans, who lived d... ...ndustrialization spread to the United States then across Europe. The BBC website indicates France, by contrast, was home to some of the finest scientific minds, but had an absolute monarchy which wielded great control over economic and political life. In Britain people believed that through industrial production they could create untold wealth - and the government believed that it was its responsibility to make this happen. In conclusion, the Industrial Revolution had profoundly impacted Europe in the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution also had considerable impact upon the nature of work, people, geography, and technology. It significantly changed the daily lives of ordinary men, women, and children. All of these factors came together in the late 18th century to create the unique conditions in England that culminated in the first-ever Industrial Revolution.

Buddhism and Christianity in the same light Essay -- essays research p

A community, a system of belief, a tradition and a way of life- Catholicism and Theravada Buddhism are all of these and many more. There are many affinities between Theravada Buddhism and Catholicism, but each tradition is marked with its own unique origins. Thus it is valuable to explore Buddhist rituals, practices, ethics and morals comparatively to those Catholic, but equally important to examine those features that are uniquely their own religion. Every religion that strives to achieve its own way of life chooses distinctive practices and rituals to reach their desired spiritual goals. When considering Catholicism and Buddhism, the two main forms of worship are prayer and meditation. While Nirvana is the ultimate spiritual attainment, most ordinary Buddhists show their commitment to the Buddha through several religious practices. The basic motives behind Buddhist practices mirror with those behind the Catholic tradition (Seay (2001,p.58). Both traditions aim to create togetherness within their community by developing a sense of communion with all present through a group activity. Some of these activities include group prayer/meditation and group singing/chanting. Another motive behind some Buddhist and Catholic practices is the principle of suffering, a significant element of religious tradition. This principle was formed on the basis of the suffering endured by Saddartha Gutama and Jesus Christ and is put into practice through traditions like achieving Nirvana and Le...

Timothy Leary as a Hero Essay -- essays research papers fc

The term â€Å"hero† brings to mind many ideas, many events, and many people. However, one face it generally fails to conjure is that of Timothy Leary. Dr. Leary managed to create a level of infamy few Americans have achieved since this country’s inception; he is the poster-child of the mind-altering hallucinogen LSD and has been labeled by many as the subversive leader of the counter-culture movement of the sixties. Not many people appreciate this great man’s long string of accomplishments, his devotion to scientific progress, or his cheery, irrepressible personality. It is a small circle of people indeed who would label this man a hero, but the truth is that Dr. Leary embodied the principles of courage, discovery, and benevolence, which none can deny are heroic trademarks. No man has shown more courage in the face of adversity than Timothy Leary. One great example of his valor comes from his early years as a cadet at West Point during the 1940’s. After indulging in a quantity of alcohol with some upperclassmen after a football game one evening, Leary found himself before the Cadet Honor Committee of West Point awaiting punishment. The committee decreed that he must avoid social contact of any kind, despite the fact that during his court-martial the charges brought upon him were hastily dropped. For nine months he survived this involuntary solitude, until finally the school asked him to resign because of â€Å"moral problems† that his punishment was causing. Leary agreed on the condition that his innocence would be announced in the mess hall. Two days later, he left West Point. Long afterward, after earning a doctorate in psychology and serving several professorships at prestigious institutions as Berkley and Harvard, Dr. Timothy Leary dev eloped an interest in what he would later become famous for: psychedelics. Originally his studies were sponsored by Harvard, but after drug abuse became a major target of the mass media and politicians, a national frenzy took place and LSD became a Schedule One controlled substance. Leary, intrigued by the success of previous experimentation with the chemical and undeterred by lack of mainstream support, continued his studies privately. This eventually led to conflict between him and the DEA, the Narcotics Bureau, and the CIA. As Nixon fueled propaganda against â€Å"acid† and the counter-culture movement, Timothy Leary championed LSD ... ...n to certain concepts has never wavered. I have relentlessly and faithfully pursued self-exploration, evolution, and innovation as the antidotes to terminal adulthood." No document has recorded an instance of Timothy Leary running into a burning building to save a baby. He never fought a war for his country, discovered a cure for cancer, or negotiated a treaty between two countries. But he was a hero his own right. Dr. Leary led a resistance to the tyrrany of Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, G. Gordon Liddy, and J. Edgar Hoover during a time when America was torn with inner conflict. His career was devoted to helping people mentally, whether they were psychiatrically ill or just in need of psychedelic inspiration. And he stood as a beacon representative of hope, freedom, and peace. Timothy Leary may not fit the conventional definition of â€Å"hero† as found in Webster’s, but to many of his and future eras, he was everything for which that four-letter word stands. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jones, Bonsey. The Biography Project: Timothy Leary. The Biography Project. 8 Sept. 04 . Leary, Timothy; Quick Biography. Leary.com. 8 Sept. 04 . Timothy Leary Biography. American Buddha.com. 8 Sept. 04 .

Sociology: Definition, Origin and Dilemmas

In society, every concept requires a clear definition in order to develop an understanding of how the various coexisting areas function to produce efficiency. Sociology in its essence explains these concepts as it involves the individuals that work conjointly to ensure those societal systems’ functions are executed smoothly. According to the department of Sociology of Cornell University: â€Å"Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour (University, 2008, prg. ). † However, what makes sociology differ from other social sciences is its analysis of individual behaviours as they interact within different contexts classified as systems such as political systems, economic systems and family systems (University, 2008). These three systems are identified as the make-up of the Belizean society. The Political system represents the different constituencies of the country, the government and its branches of author ity, and political parties. The Belizean economy is formed by the various produce, commerce, internal and external exportation of products and services as well as the various income sources of the country. The last system identified as the family system is a mixture of various forms but the most common within the Belizean context are single-parent families amongst the nuclear and extended families that do exist but in smaller numbers. The ranges of systems qualified for sociological study include, but are not limited to, intimate families, mobs, cults, and sports (University, 2008). Like the individuals and systems it studies, sociology also has a source of origin and an explanation for its existence and functions. Sociology in its term was developed by in the year 1838 by a French Philosopher identified as August Comte who believed strongly that social issues could be studied with the use of science. In his belief, though strange to others at the time, he believed it was possible to discover and analyse the laws of social life just as is done with the laws of science and factual evidence of theories. Of this concept, link between science and society, he then developed what we refer to as positivism to sociology which would give sociologists the qualifications to become societal guides. (Crossman, 2013). An indeed sociologists have become guides to the everyday worldly functions of social life as each social activity has a designated sociologists. Areas guided have been classified to be those of religion, politics, law, economics, rural life and industry among many others (Unknown, 2007). Aside from being developed by the â€Å"Father of Sociology†, August Comte, there were also other factors that presented great encouragement toward the concept of Sociology. Such contributors were all identified as socially changing occurrences of the twentieth century. Among those contributors were the political revolutions that occurred in Europe, the Industrial Revolution which introduced automation, Capitalism, Socialism, and not to mention the emerging religions and developing municipalities. These occurrences in their own way changed the lives of individuals. Thus the reason why these instances influenced the development of Sociology was because of their contribution to social change (Crossman, 2013) . Sociology, as mentioned before, studies how individuals interact within various social systems. Whenever interaction and human behaviour is combined difficulties and ethical dilemmas are prone to arise. The Hawthorne effect is said to be a difficulty for Sociologists in executing sociological research because when humans are aware that they are being observed they often exhibit false pretences to fit the roles they believe they should fulfil. Another difficulty would be the complexity of social issues, as opposed to scientific phenomena, because most of these are not easily measurable. A plausible difficulty could be that people in power, people independent of societal norms, and people who are publicly visible may want to keep their activities in obscurity and unknown by others. Ethical dilemmas may also be problems for Sociologists. Two major ethical dilemmas that may be problematic are violating individuals’ right to their privacy and experimentation using inexperienced, obedient, gullible individuals. Finlay). With all the information presented sociology can be defined in condense statements. Therefore, Sociology is the study of individual social behaviour and how individuals interact within social context such as political, family and economic systems. Sociology was developed by French philosopher August Comte but was greatly influenced by the grave social changes that occurred during its era of development. T o conclude, its social nature lightens the way for difficulties and ethical dilemmas in the execution of research on relative issues.

Video Game Industry Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis

Global Video Games Industry [pic] The world video gaming industry is predicted to record 9% yearly growth through 2013, to exceed $76 billion, according to Business Insights. Mobile and online gaming formats will fuel the market, with customers taking advantage of wider, faster and more mobile internet access. Console gaming, the market’s current segment leader, will see its rate of sales decelerate. Since the first video game was launched on the market around 45 years ago, the video game industry has taken a central place in entertainment culture for children and adults alike. Far from the solitary habit it may have been traditionally, online gaming involves communities and is based on interaction. Key Market Segments †¢ Climbing world demand for Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) is expected to push the market to over $14 billion by 2015, according to  Global Industry Analysts. Technological developments along with faster, wider-reaching broadband connectivity are driving the market. †¢ The world social gaming market almost hit the $1. 5 billion mark in 2010, reports  Business Insights. The market is expected to reach close to $4 billion by 2015, with the US a leading region generating sales of $1. 2 billion, followed by Japan at $570 million. There are currently 600 million social gamers worldwide, with China representing close to 110 million, followed by the US at 95 million gamers. By 2015, it is predicted there will be close to 275 million gamers in China and 150 million in the US. Leading game companies include Playdom, CrowdStar, Synga, Digital Chocolate and EA. †¢ With consumers connecting to the internet with smartphones, gaming has become increasingly mobile. More than 27% of smartphone subscribers have installed one game or more, with close to 35% having installed at least five on their phones, according to  Visiongain. Mobile game makers, and phone and electronic device makers have been collaborating to capitalize on the trend towards mobile gaming. †¢ The world game console market is expected to reach almost $25 billion by 2014, according to  MarketLine, representing almost 13% growth in five years. The Americas represent almost 45% of the overall market. The three leading companies in the market are Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Regional Market Share †¢ India’s gaming market is predicted to grow by 30% by 2014, reports  Netscribes. The market is lead by mobile gaming, which represents close to 60% of the overall market. Gaming competitions, the creation of gaming zones and increasingly popular MMOGs will fuel the market. Service providers are likely to generate higher revenue, and 3D games will become increasingly popular. †¢ China’s games and accessories market is expected to continue recording strong growth. Peripherals and accessories represent a leading market segment, with increasing demand for auxiliary devices to keep up with gaming product innovation. †¢ The online game market in Korea reached a value of over $2 billion in 2011, reports  Pearl Research. Game companies in Korea continue to concentrate on international business, expanding in the US, the EU, China and Japan. Of the $585 million generated by leading game operator Nexon, the largest share came from business outside of Korea. Market Outlook The global gaming industry has seen consumer demand soar thanks to social networking, technological innovation favoring mobile gaming, and the popularity of cyber communities promoting collective online gaming. Marketing and distribution is being facilitated by social networking sites, which do much of the work of attracting an increasing numbers of gamers. As ever, IP protection and piracy remain major issues for the industry, which continues to lose revenues do to illegal downloading. Moving forward, the global gaming industry is likely to represent an ever-present contender for other media, including music and TV. As the cultural trend towards social networking and gaming continues, consumers are as likely to log in to play a leading game (like World of Warcraft) as they are to switch on the TV to watch a film. Leading Industry Associations †¢ American Gaming Association  www. americangaming. org †¢ Entertainment Software Association  www. theesa. com †¢ National Video Game Association  http://nvgaonline. com †¢ Interactive Software Federation of Europe  www. isfe. eu †¢ European Games Developer Federation  www. egdf. eu