Csr of Ibm

A report on Corporate Social Responsibility of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) SUBMITTED TO Rabeya Sultana, Assistant Professor, Department Of MIS, University of Dhaka SUBMITTED BY Akibul Kowser Pahlowan Student ID: 61222-15-055 Summer Semester 2012 Department of MIS. University of Dhaka. Candidate’s DeclarationI certify that the report entitled â€Å"A report on Corporate Social Responsibility of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)† submitted as a term paper of the course Introduction of Business is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged and this project report in whole or in part has not been submitted for an award including a higher degree, to any other University or institution. Name: Akibul Kowser Pahlowan Signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION| 4| 2. What is corporate social responsibility? | 5| 3. Company Profile:| 6| 4. Case Study:| 7| . Other Example of CSR Activities of IBM:| 8| 6. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? | 8| 7. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? | 9| 8. Conclusion:| 9| INTRODUCTION : Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly important activity to businesses nationally and internationally. As globalization accelerates and large corporations serve as global providers, these corporations have progressively recognized the benefits of providing CSR programs in their various locations. CSR activities are now being undertaken throughout the globe.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society, the environment and its own prosperity, known as the â€Å"triple bottom line† of people, planet, and profit. Not only do responsible, sustainable and transparent  approach es help build brand and reputation, they help strengthen the community and therefore the marketplace. A solid business plan, embedded into the business culture, reflecting organizational values and objectives through strategic CSR application, will help to build a sustainable and profitable future for all.What is corporate social responsibility? The term is often used interchangeably for other terms such as Corporate Citizenship and is also linked to the concept of Triple Bottom Line Reporting (TBL), which is used as a framework for measuring an organization’s performance against economic, social and environmental parameters. The rationale for CSR has been articulated in a number of ways. In essence it is about building sustainable businesses, which need healthy economies, markets and communities. The key drivers for CSR are1:Enlightened self-interest -creating a synergy of ethics, a cohesive society and a sustainable global economy where markets, labor and communities are ab le to function well together. Social investment – contributing to physical infrastructure and social capital is increasingly seen as a necessary part of doing business. Transparency and trust – business has low ratings of trust in public perception. There is increasing expectation that companies will be more open, more accountable and be prepared to report publicly on their performance in social and environmental arenas.Increased public expectations of business – globally companies are expected to do more than merely provide jobs and contribute to the economy through taxes and employment. † Company Profile: IBM is the world's largest information technology company. It is a leader in developing computer servers, software, storage devices and microchips. It also fields a large business consulting division. The company has operations in more than 60 countries. It has a major presence in New York with headquarters in Armonk, research facility in Yorktown Heigh ts, and a massive chip-making facility in Fishkill.IBM is a world leader in research and development and number of corporate patents received annually. The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation through a merger of three companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Corporation. CTR adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924, using a name previously designated to CTR's subsidiary in Canada and later South America. Its distinctive culture and product branding has given it the nickname Big Blue.In 2012, Fortune ranked IBM the #2 largest U. S. firm in terms of number of employees (433,362), the #4 largest in terms of market capitalization, the #9 most profitable, and the #19 largest firm in terms of revenue. Globally, the company was ranked the #31 largest in terms of revenue by Forbes for 2011. Other rankings for 2011/2012 include #1 company for leaders (Fortune), #1 gre en company worldwide (Newsweek), #2 best global brand (Interbrand), #2 most respected company (Barron's), #5 most admired company (Fortune), and #18 most innovative company (Fast Company).IBM holds more patents than any other U. S. -based technology company, and has nine research laboratories worldwide. Its employees have garnered five Nobel Prizes, six Turing Awards, nine National Medals of Technology, and five National Medals of Science. Famous inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the relational database, the Universal Product Code (UPC), the financial swap, SABRE airline reservation system, DRAM, and Watson artificial intelligence. The company has undergone several organizational hanges since its inception, acquiring companies like SPSS (2009) and PwC consulting (2002), spinning off companies like Lexmark (1991), and selling off product lines like ThinkPad to Lenovo (2005). Case Study: IBM an d Thai Red Cross Strike Socially Responsible HIV Partnership. In 2010 2. 7 million became infected with HIV, bringing the total tally to 34 million HIV positive people in the world. Despite the fact that medication to treat the condition has increased the life expectancy of those infected with the virus and delayed the onset of AIDS, the best way to fight the problem is avoiding infection in the first place.Thailand is seen as success story in terms of policies to stop the spread of the virus. During the 1990s the government introduced a comprehensive program that resulted in a reduction of visits to commercial sex workers, made condoms popular and reduced the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases. As a consequence, infection figures dropped from 143,000 in 1991 to 19,000 in 2003. Currently, just over 500,000 people live with HIV in that country while new infections stand at around 16,000 per year.The latest step in the fight against HIV in Thailand is an agreement between t he Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center and IBM. The socially responsible deal is part of a drive to make Bangkok a zero HIV infection city by 2015. IBM will be donating its business analytics software and technology expertise to enable TRCARC to design more effective intervention strategies to help end the spread of HIV/AIDS. The partnership is part of a wider global move to end HIV infections called Getting to Zero, which was launched by UNAIDS.The objective of the campaign is not only to stop new HIV infections, but also to fight discrimination against people living with the virus. â€Å"HIV infection is one of the most serious public health threats Thailand is facing. Unfortunately, only 40 per cent of the HIV infected population knows they are living with the HIV or AIDS and gets access to antiretroviral treatment services. This situation results in continuing spread of the life-threatening virus and new infections are rising every year,† said TRCARC's director, Professor Emeritus Praphan Phanuphak.IBM's software will enable the center to access information and share outputs with collaborating agencies such as the Department of Disease Control and Ministry of Public Health, which will then be able to strengthen HIV prevention efforts. Previous campaigns to prevent and deal with HIV cases were hampered by the use of outdated information. IBM's software will help researchers make more informed decisions and will help staff share knowledge and skills.One of the key aspects of the software is that it creates an online behavioural survey with high-risk groups, which can be used as the basis for a database. The IBM DB2 database software makes data retrieval time a lot faster, reducing it from two months to five minutes. It can also develop advanced, fully automated reporting with the use of IBM Cognos business intelligence software that enables better analytics and reporting of behavioral records associated with people with high risk of infection.Other fe atures include table and maps to help staff make better decisions and implement more effective strategies based on real-time analysis. Elsewhere IBM is also lending its expertise to HIV drug research. The company's World Community Grid, a network that provides researchers with the spare computing power of two-million PCs owned by 600,000 individuals and organizations, has enabled the Scripps Research Institute to discover two new compounds that could lead to medicines for those infected with HIV. Other Example of CSR Activities of IBM: Creating innovation that matters for the world:The primary focus of IBMs corporate citizenship activities is on developing initiatives to address specific societal issues, such as the environment, community economic development, education , health, literacy, language and culture. We employ IBM’s most valuable resources, our technology and talent, in order to create innovative programs in these areas to assist cities and communities around the w orld. For example, IBMs Corporate Service Corps program annually deploys teams of selected high potential employees to emerging regions to work with government, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations on critical local projects.Since the program began in 2008, nearly 300 IBMers from 44 countries have been placed on 29 teams in 9 countries: Brazil, China, Ghana, Malaysia, the Philippines, Romania, Tanzania, Turkey and Vietnam. Teams have completed projects around water quality, disaster preparedness and project management. Our World Community Grid initiative utilizes grid and cloud computing technologies to harness the tremendous power of idle computers to perform specific computations related to critical research around complex biological, environmental and health-related issues.Another example of IBMs citizenship activities is On Demand Community, our employee volunteer initiative. Since its inception in 2003, over 140,000 employees and retirees have registered and per-formed o ver 9 million hours of volunteer service around the world. In a study of the program published by the Points of Light Foundation, On Demand Community is identified as the archetypical model for a new approach to corporate community involvement, calling it a â€Å"model without peer. † â€Å"When the tsunami and earthquake struck Asia, IBM didn’t just cut a check for relief funds and call it a day.The company used its techno-logical expertise and skilled people to create what government and relief agencies could not: information systems to effectively track relief supplies and reunite families,† said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor at Harvard Business School, in her book, SuperCorp. Why IBM involved with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? A key driver for IBM’s approach to CSR is the need to maintain its market position in a changing business environment. IBM recognises that CSR benefits the company’s business by helping enhan ce a company’s reputation so increasing its brand value.Further benefit from CSR comes from demonstrating thought leadership. For IBM thought leadership includes being recognised as contributing to shaping the agenda of policy and practice outside of the company, whereby IBM is recognised for both great products and great ideas. The people at IBM are persuaded that CSR helps drive shareholder value. Businesses that get CSR right â€Å"will have a significant advantage attracting investors, talent and customers, developing new products and services, and gaining access to new markets and new opportunities.It also will help them improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, and meet regulatory requirements, which can allow them to qualify for incentives and avoid penalties† Conclusion: IBM has been a leader in corporate social responsibility for nearly 100 years, contributing technology, talent and cash to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions around the world. Our activities are designed to help people to become smarter, and to develop future leaders capable of improving the quality of life for themselves and in the cities where they live—making for a smarter planet.

I-phone advertisement Essay

An enormous amount of potential as well as an enormous amount of controversy is associated with the new age of recorded music and especially regarding how the new digital technology pertains to artist’s royalties and corporate profits. The problem is basically one of free-access and the debate over file-sharing and free downloading which has been raging for many years now. With new products like the I-phone further establishing digital access and portability at the top-tier of consumer demand, the controversy regarding corporate and artist royalties and issues of copyright promises to extend far into the future. The I-phone is represented in a recent ad as almost as a natural force of nature — and implies that those who have not experienced its capacities are, in fact, living a lesser-life; (I-pod, 2007) in fact the new age of music is upon us regardless of whether the next turn in technology will expand or restrict access for consumers. The overall problem can be broken into two sub-problems 1) file sharing by consumers which results in royalty â€Å"losses† for the corporate or artist’s interests and 2) the issue of fan-made â€Å"remixes† of artist’s material which may result in a radical alteration of what the artist originally intended. In order for both issues to be addressed simultaneously it will be necessary to adopt some form of free file-sharing which is not wholly free, and which we will presently discuss. Proposal My proposal is that all major-label record companies include the option of a limited number of file-share downloads which are available for those who purchase a specific number of products and/or pay a fee to access this service. What this means is that each major label would post the music on their label online and allow free downloads of a portion of their catalog while leaving the hottest newest releases or niche market products in a state of buy-only. Simultaneously, the labels could offer on online â€Å"DJ† or radio service which should function similarly to the Yahoo online Jukebox or other similar sites. The free access of samples of the record labels’ catalog would also be a form of music sharing but not file sharing as the files could be heard on-site but not downloaded. Opposing Views The new-wave of technology has not only made it harder for headline artists to ensure that their due royalties are paid to them for their music, but it has made it much more difficult for big-name artists to ensure that anyone is even listening to their music at all. The idea that small-time musicians and even un-signed musicians and bands can attract downloads as well as those acts and bands which are backed by huge corporations. The new environment is a dual â€Å"challenge to music industry players[†¦] First, with so much music available, the greatest threat to big record companies is not that listeners will consume their music illegally but that they will consume, whether legally or illegally, someone else’s music entirely† (Drew, 2005; p. 543) which may be the most exciting promise of all from a consumer’s perspective. Research sources indicate that the radical evolution has just begun and will have far-flung consequences that can’t be presently predicted. One authoritative source, â€Å"Edgar Bronfman Jr., the head of Universal, the world’s biggest music company,†(Mann, 2000; p. 39) said the following regarding the future of the entertainment industries: â€Å"a few clicks of your mouse will make it possible for you to summon every book ever written in any language, every movie ever made, every television show ever produced, and every piece of music ever recorded. † In this vast intellectual commons nothing will ever again be out of print or impossible to find; every scrap of human culture transcribed, no matter how obscure or commercially unsuccessful, will be available to all. † (Mann, 2000; p. 39) Of course to Bronfman and others like him with a vested interest in the consumption of entertainment products, particularly music, the new technologies are viewed as an evil threat. This threat is financial in nature: â€Å"the thought of such systems spreading to films, videos, books, and magazines has riveted the attention of artists, writers, and producers† (Mann, 2000; p. 40) all of whom are, obviously, looking to preserve and extend their lucrative financial holdings into the new age. Conclusion It would be impossible to completely shut-down file sharing of music online or to completely stop online music piracy. However, a similar situation existed and still exists for movies, television shows, and video games all of which can be illegally recorded and shared as well as â€Å"ripped† without due pay to the companies and artists who produced them. By adopting new approaches to free-share options, record companies and artists might at least begin to recover some of the lost revenue base they have experienced as consumers migrate to illegal sites for file downloads. References Anonymous. â€Å"I-phone advertisement,† archived You-Tube; accessed 11-26-07 ; http://youtube. com/watch? v=FLxB4pHH_GY Mann, Charles C. â€Å"Heavenly Jukebox: Rampant Music Piracy May Hurt Musicians Less Than They Fear. the Real Threat – to Listeners and, Conceivably, Democracy Itself – Is the Music Industry’s Reaction to It†; The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 286, September 2000. p. 39+ Drew, Rob. â€Å"Mixed Blessings: The Commercial Mix and the Future of Music Aggregation;† Popular Music and Society, Vol. 28, 2005. p. 533+

Space Exploration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Space Exploration - Essay Example These are some of the flashy images that come to one's mind when thinking about space exploration. The government and NASA have conspired to brainwash the ordinary person with these images, with the aim of grossly exaggerating the budgetary allocations assigned to NASA in every financial year. The statement put across here is that success in space exploration can only be achieved through government funding by employing billions of dollars to fund NASA’s space exploration operations. This statement is a fraud that the government and NASA would have us believes to be the only strategy of achieving success in space exploration programs. NASA would have us believe that extravagant expenditures are the only way of reaching an advanced technological breakthrough in space exploration. However, this is not true, because space technology can be easily equated to an expensive toy, which is flashy and exciting while new but irrelevant and outdated once it has outlived its uses when newer and more exciting toys hit the market shelves. Although government funding is necessary in space exploration, it does not necessarily mean that the funding has to be stretched to billions of dollars begotten from the public coughers. Space exploration may be expensive, but this does not necessarily mean that NASA should ask for exorbitant finances from the government for their space operations. This is because expensive technology does not essentially translate to operation success, but rather a chance at innovation to develop simple, efficient, and cost friendly space technologies. NASA should not, therefore, employ the ‘sledgehammer’ approach to space technology, where they employ the sophisticated technology card to every challenge faced by the program. Instead, the government should provide limited funding, which is centered upon responsible spending and efficiency of space exploration technology. This is because of the rising need to instill the practice of respon sible spending on NASA to cut extravagant costs and ensure that the surplus is effectively utilized in the other sectors of the economy. Therefore, NASA’s illegitimate claim that success in space exploration can only be achieved through government funding by employing billions of dollars to fund its space exploration operations can be effortlessly disapproved. There is thus no justification to the extravagant funding offered by the government to NASA for its space exploration plan. Once, Socrates, the Greek philosopher, was seen by some of his good friends seated by the market observing as people did their shopping. His friends, curious as to why he was just seated by the market entrance, inquired what he was doing since he did not seem to be shopping for goods. In reply to this inquisition, Socrates just answered that he was observing all the unnecessary commodities that people buy (The Spiritual Scientist, 2011, p.1). Similarly, not all the space journeying machinery is obl igatory within the space exploration program. Some of the technology employed in space exploration may be easily categorized as mere luxuries for NASA to continue with space exploration. Moreover, commentators recently dubbed NASA’s space program as being too pricey in the current monetary calamity rocking the economy (Freeman, 2011, p.62). This is evident in this year’s NASA fiscal budget, which proposed to use $19,450 billion as its annual budget (NASA, 2011, pp.1-22).

Managing a Global Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing a Global Team - Essay Example James was an effective and brilliant leader to which he sought to carry on the same to the operations of Sun Microsystems, but he had not prepared himself for the reality that dwelled in the company (Tsedal and Delong 3). However, James managed his global team effectively as he conducted conference calls on every week at a usual time in order for the team to receive updates on the status of operations. Despite him allocating time for these video conference calls, the Indian team felt as though they were not party to the global operations of the company as the addressing of their concerns were always last on the agenda sheet. Further, the time difference also proved ineffective for the Indian team as they felt that the time allocated by James for the weekly conference calls were at a time considered by many to be family time. James also failed to understand the causes of the failure to meet deadlines with the Middle East team and was quick to pass judgement that they were incompetent and that he was inconsiderate to the French team. The implication of this was that the US team was his favorite as he considered them more competent as compared to the other teams hence making James to have poorly managed his global teams (Tsedal and Delong 10). 2. ... The other companies that supply HS Holdings with software and hardware could have also been liable for the losses as this was not entirely Sun Company’s fault (12). Further, James is responsible for this crisis because he did not treat the Indian team with the regard that they required hence making them not to work in tandem with the organizational goals of Sun Microsystems. 3. What role did the â€Å"Open Work† environment play in the case? The ‘open work’ policy was a program that allowed employees to work across different time zones by incorporating technology, support systems, and apparatus by using technology that would make this process achievable. The application of this program by Sun Microsystems began in 1995 where the physical presence of an employee was not necessary in ensuring that the company was operational (7). This led Sun to reduce its housing fixed assets by a significant percentage, which also translated to the saving of millions of dol lars. The application of the ‘open work’ program in this case was in terms of the recruitment of team members in the Far East countries as many worked from home while others worked at Sun’s facilities, which registered efficiency and cost reduction (8). James also made use of the video conferencing facility, which allowed him to schedule meetings with all team members at the same time making the Company to save on the travel expenses for the global team manager. Therefore, the ‘open work’ program applied by Sun through James served as a cost reduction measure and a uniting factor for the global team members. 4. What role did diversity play on this team? In this case, diversity played an important role in the recruitment of the global team members as James recruited

Linked -- The New Science of Networks by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi Essay

Linked -- The New Science of Networks by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi - Essay Example The nodes are identified using links that allow us to move from one web page to another with every click. Web pages act as switches that keep the society up to date with current information. Barabasi and his research team realized that in the World Wide Web exist connector nodes, which somehow assemble many more links than other nodes. These connector nodes are often referred as hubs and have a wider range of connection links. Barabasi and his coworkers realized that the structure of World Wide Web is composed of highly interlinked hubs. The topology of the Internet restricts its users’ ability to see everything out there. The World Wide Web contains a number of small scale structures that limit the level to which it can be explored. The internet comprises both hardware and software, and other sub-systems. All these work together with the World Wide Web, establishing a connection that makes it possible to share information. People in this diverse system are by no means insigni ficant. It is because of the genius minds of many scientists that the web exists today. Millions of people work to maintain and monitor components of the system round the clock. DNS server, giant routers and switches, protocols, web browsers are just some of the vital components and elements of the World Wide Web. Terrorist Network The tragic terrorism events of September 11, 2001, caught people’s attention worldwide. Barabasi describes terrorist groups as webs without spiders. A network of terrorists is often small and has few resources; it tends to rely on other means such as the hit-and-run acts of violence. Al-Qaeda, the terrorist network held accountable for many terrorist attacks, was created over a long period. Driven by religious thinking and intolerance to the social and political system, many were attracted to the radical organization over the years. The network extended bit by bit to become a large web without a spider. Al-Qaeda is so well spread and self-sustainin g that even removing Osama bin Laden might not eliminate the danger they create. The terrorist network has become a diverse network that constantly changes its system as per its current plans. It has many secretive nodes that are hard to trace; it is quite challenging to identify the people who comprise its various nodes. Terrorist networks have objectives and links to social networks, which qualifies them to be called systems. Hollywood and Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon network Barabasi describes hubs as connectors in scale free networks. The Bacon factor is a popular bit of entertainment trivia, which demonstrates how any Hollywood star can link to actor Kevin Bacon and other actors within six â€Å"moves† between people. This network consists of nodes, actors, producers, animators, writers and other related groups. A link is created every time a new video is produced. The Hollywood network thus offers a clear demonstration of a web, with different hubs and nodes, mostly repre sented by human beings, and links represented by the human relationships. Can we say that human beings are components in some way and that they satisfy a stated idea? The principle of the Hollywood network is to produce films. The public continuously demands new films from Hollywood. However, this seldom happens because the characters rarely act together in all movies. Many work independently minding their own business without affecting other movie productions. The Hollywood ne

Operating Systems Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operating Systems - Term Paper Example Other operating systems emerged in 1956 such as the one developed by General Motors wing of research, referred to as GMNAA I/O. In the mainframe era, operating systems such as SCOPE were in the market as early as 1960s, as developed by Control Data Corporation. Other developments later experienced for the computer at that age include PLATO, EXEC, MCP, GECOS, Multics and TOPs among others. Later, advancements in hardware capabilities introduced higher definition operating systems (Bacon, 1989). UNIX was designed and developed in from 1970 by Ken Thomson and Dennis Ritchie and in five years’ time, it was already in the market. A wide range of versions was designed for different computer types such as IBM PC making it a successful ground-breaking innovation for the OS market (White, 2005). The other remarkable contribution in the evolution of the OS appeared in the computer world in the 1980’s, with the Disc Operating System (DOS) making a lion’s share of the credit. Microsoft (MS) was the company of choice for the development of this innovation, having a better competitive edge when compared with rivals such as Digital Research.MS DOS and PC DOS versions of the Operating System emerged in the 1980’s, and in a span of a decade, some of the most celebrated evolution products such as 1.0, 1.1, 1.25, 2.0, 2.01, 2.1, 2.11, 2.25, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.0, 4.01, 5.0 entered into the market. Microsoft was at the same time designing an OS while DOS revolution was still in continuity. The introduction of Windows began in 1985 but reliance on DOS made it an incomplete version until much later in the 1990’s. Linux was developed in 1991 by a Finnish student making foundational reliance on UNIX, making one of the most successful OS that is sometimes referred to as a UNIX clone. The incorporation of the Linux ideas into the GNU project in 1992 gave it the impetus it needed to be

Why The Lahad Datu Crisis In Sabah (Malaysia) Happened Research Paper

Why The Lahad Datu Crisis In Sabah (Malaysia) Happened - Research Paper Example Sabah has been a quota of the Malaysian alliance ever since the early1960s1. However, the Sulu Sultanate, which is situated in southern Philippines, has persistently asserted its historical and exclusive privileges over the zone. Furthermore, the Philippines have nevertheless to publicly descent its assertion that Sabah is a portion of its region. The government of Malaysia had requested the armed Filipinos in Lahad Datu to admit defeat for three weeks now without a success. Unfortunately, on March 5th, the army confronted the group and terminated the livelihood. The clash and subsequent military operations reportedly resulted into the killing of more than fifty people, inclusive of eight associates of the Malaysian police. The Malaysian ministry of welfare was fast to name the armed Filipinos as bombers. The government of the Philippines, which is presently accomplishing a peace treaty with Muslim separaties in the southern portion of the nation, also condemned the livelihood. Remar kably, the prime minister of Malaysia has yet to let go the notion that Malaysian opposition politicians have collaborated with the Sulu sultan in order to undermine the nation and bring down the presiding alliance ahead of the year`s universal polls. This research aims at analyzing the reasons why Lahad Datu crisis in Sabah (Malaysia )happened.... Thus, because of such restriction, the Lahad Datu crisis in Sabah was inevitable. This is because such limitations on travel will likely cause shortages on foodstuffs for the people, which is a dangerous action for people in such area. However, it is feared that the Sabah crisis is most likely to leave problems for both Malaysia and the Philippines for the coming future. Therefore, in order to avoid such crisis from happening, it is necessary that the officials of Malaysia and the Philippines settle for the last time the issue of Sabah. From research, the Philippines preserves a central regional entitlement to eastern Sabah, initially referred to as north Bomeo, through the custom of the Sultanate of Sulu. This claim is based on the idea that the domain of the sultanate has traditionally traversed from the Sulu archipelago into portions of northern Bomeo4. Therefore, because of such claims, the embassy of Malaysia in Philippines gives out a cheque of some amount to the lawful counsel of the beneficiaries of the Sultan of Sulu in maintain the terms of an pact made in 1878. Malaysia views the amount as a yearly cession payment for the disputed nation; however, the progeny of Sultan views it as a lease imbursement. Nevertheless, Malaysia has categorically canceled any Philippine local entitlement to Sabah as it infers the 1878 pact as that of cession and that it supposes that the inhabitants of Sabah had practiced their rights to independence when they decided to join the Malaysia confederation in 1963. Thus, analytically, it is because of such issues that led to the Lahad Datu crisis in Sabah. In addition, another reason for the Lahad Datu

A Helpful Hybrid in Search of Integrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Helpful Hybrid in Search of Integrity - Essay Example Also, there is an abstract, a â€Å"descriptive summary,† at the beginning of this article that has an overall â€Å"sober look† – characteristics that define a scholarly work (ibid., 2011). There is proper in-text referencing and also a comprehensive bibliography at the end of this article, which again is an indication that this is a scholarly resource (ibid., 2011). In the first page itself, there is a description about â€Å"the affiliations† of the author, which suggests that this article is written by a scholar â€Å"who has done research in the field (ibid., 2011). The language of the article is also highly specific to the area of research, which demands certain level of background information from the reader so as to understand it properly. This is yet another indication of it being a scholarly resource. In the review of the previous literature section, this article has reported original past works in the field and has also carried out certain orig inal analysis of the topic. The article published by The Economist (2011) and titled â€Å"Business: The View from the Top, And Bottom; Corporate Culture,† is not a scholarly resource and the source it was published in can be described only as a â€Å"substantive news and general interest† periodical as is classified by the Cornell University website (ibid., 2011). This article is classified so owing to many reasons, they being: 1) there is no abstract; 2) this article is not peer-reviewed; 3) it is not published by any academic publisher; 4) it has no proper referencing and citation; 5) it is not written by a scholar having done background studies on the topic; 6) it is not the outcome of any original research but is only quoting randomly from a recently done research study (ibid., 2011). There is not even an author to this article and it is evident that it is just a quick summary, in the form of news, of a research work carried out elsewhere. The language of this art icle is meant to address laymen rather than those who have some background information on the topic. The article titled â€Å"A Toy Maker’s Conscience† and authored by Jonathan Dee (2007) is not a scholarly resource either. It has been published in a â€Å"substantive news and general interest† periodical such as New York Times (ibid., 2011). A journalist employed by the periodical has written the article and there is no information given on what past research experience on the topic the author has. The very format of this essay does not comply with research writing as there is no abstract given, and there is neither citation of past research work on the topic nor original experimentation or analysis carried out on the topic apart from some personal observations and comments. This article is not peer-reviewed (â€Å"Evaluating Sources,† 2009). The language of the article is meant for light reading and there is nothing serious or scholarly about this artic le. The interview taken and included in this article does not follow the research interview format and the analysis and conclusions made form these interviews do not follow any research methodology. The photograph and advertisements included in the designing of the page in which the article is displayed also suggest that this is not a scholarly resource (â€Å"Distinguishing Scholarly Journals from Other Periodicals,† 2011). The article entitled â€Å"75 Years of Lessons Learned: Chief Executive Officer Values and Corporate Social Responsibility† and authored by Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly (2009), which was published in the Journal of Management History, is a scholarly resource because it is peer-reviewed (ibid., 2011). The Journal of Management History, in which it is published, is a peer-reviewed journal and is listed

Bureaucratic Politics and Intelligence in the Falklands War 1982 Essay Example for Free

Bureaucratic Politics and Intelligence in the Falklands War 1982 Essay The Farklands war began on Friday, 2 April 1982. The fight was between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK). The main dispute was over Farklands Islands and South Georgia and the other Islands known as South Sandwich. The fatalities of the violence included many people such as left-wing activists, trade unionists, students and even journalists. The Farkland Island was well known for its abundant supply of oil within its territorial waters. Argentina had already occupied the islands which was a British colony. Their main aim was to relocate attention from economical and social problems at that particular time (Grant, 2000, 3). Therefore, it was a political contrive by the Argentine political government to break away from its own state of social conflicts. Jorge Rafael Videla’s military dictatorship as part of the Operation Condor carried out the state terrorism. The Farklands conflict marked the great use of modern weapon systems under the military theorists. All the main elements of military theory came into practice at that period. This included several elements such as public enthusiasm, national determination, opportunity and miscalculation. Additionally, the war was itself an inquisitive combination of modern high-tech warfare and low-tech. The British forces were much outnumbered on the war ground. They never had the exact air true covers and only what they had was the aircraft that came with the task force. The bureaucratic politics played a major role in ensuring the victory of the British during the Farklands war. For instance, four factors are said to have neccessitated the British success. This includes, effective and sufficient training of the military, good leadership by the political leaders who gave them a lot of support, courage in the army and above all the Britain’s closest supporter, the United States. The endorsement of the United State’s policy towards the Farklands conflict provides an adequate evidence of how bureaucratic politics was involved during the war. The proper response of the above mentioned policy was properly constituted and played at the highest levels of the Reagan administration. The process was mainly confined entirely to the executive branch which was by that time dominated by the conformist view of the America’s place in the whole world. On the other hand, Graham T. Allison’s bureaucratic politics did not support the acceptance of the foreign policy goals. The president Reagan’s leadership style, the relationship of assorted personalities, conflicting interpretations of national interest and the opposing bureaucratic imperatives played a main role in creating a situation that was being characterized by disperse power and multiple actions in the war (Gustafson, 1998, 14). During the 1982 Falklands war, the Thatcher government attempted to assume an isolated and remote colony in the South Atlantic as British sovereign territory was very important in ensuring the mobilization of the media and also the support for the war recovery campaign. The re-imaginative process also included the role of the rural imagery. Additionally, the government-imposed censorship enhanced positive reporting of the war campaign. During the Falklands war, there were some negotiations between the two sides to avoid war but an agreement was never reached. This means that the use of diplomacy had failed in the Falklands Islands (Mauro, nd, 3). The main reason that constituted to this disagreement is that, there was a lot of misconstruction between the British and the Argentines. For instance, The Argentines never believed that the British would retaliate and on the other hand, the British always fought to believe that Argentina wanted a peaceful solution. Regarding the president’s personalities they were required to remain and appear very strong in terms of the diplomatic principles. The diplomatic solution was however not reached in the Falklands due to the political self-preservation, practical obstructions and diplomatic principle that were being practiced by the political leaders. During that time of war, the Argentina’s rulers were under the General Galtieri, a murderous, unpopular military junta. When they invaded the Falklands islands, they decided to make themselves less unpopular at home with the forces of Argentine prejudice behind them. This enabled them to be aware of all what was happening in the world around them and support Galtieri invasion and occupation. Margaret Thatcher together with her government in Britain was at that particular time very unpopular at home too. As a result of 1982 defeat, a vicious and incompetent dictatorship was overthrown in Argentina and then democracy was restored back (Robert, 1988, 428). The army was subjected to a civilian rule and was also transformed into modern professional institutions that were devoted to regional integration and peace. The Role of Intelligence in Explaining the War of Falklands 1982. The Britain intelligence professionals disregarded signs of political unrest and particular military intelligence communications from Argentina. As a result of their ignorance, they were vulnerable to surprise attacks. Another factor that contributed to the acceleration of the Falkland conflict was the neglected United State diplomatic efforts and reactions. The British were enjoying the privilege to access the U. S intelligence in their policy making. Intelligence was only considered to be the main determining factor in making of foreign policy that was being used during the war (Justin, 2007, 6). Application of intelligence enabled the successful conduct of the military operations of the Britain and the Argentina government. Domestic ratification of international agreement which seemed so much peculiar was applied during the Farkland war. In win-set game theory, the agreement was only possible if those win-sets overlaps and the larger each win-set and more probably they overlap. However, the smaller the win-sets, the more the risk those negotiations between the parties will finally break down. This was the same case that applied during the prolonged pre-war Anglo-Argentine conciliation over the Farklands islands. Tentative agreements were opposed in one capital or the other. This was mainly caused by political reasons when it became vivid that the earlier British and Argentine win-sets did not overlap at. As a result, the war became virtually inevitable. The negotiations were interpreted in terms of a bureaucratic politics model of level 11 politicking The armed forces of Britain were much closer to those of the United States and their air forces worked together during the Falklands war. The Britain also had well collaboration of weapons programme which was very strong in the nuclear area (Sean, 2007, 9). Additionally, there was much co-operation on human intelligence between Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Britain’s Secret Intelligence service (SIS). The intelligence services included satellite photos, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense intelligence staff. Therefore, the Britain found it much easier to re-conquer Falklands because of the American intelligence. The Argentines used up-to date intelligence together with their detailed skills and knowledge. For instance, the Argentine ships were sailing to and around the Falkland Islands testing the Argentine defenses. During the Falklands conflict, France seemed to be very helpful to the Britain in support of intelligence. For instance, President Mitterrand instructed the French intelligence services to help the Britain track the movements of an Argentine ship that sailed close to France and Spain and was suspected of trying to get French-made military hardware. Additionally, the selective discharges of French signals intelligence were of great benefit to the Britain during the Falklands war. References Gustafson, L 1988, The Sovereignty Dispute over the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, Oxford University Press, New York Justin, V 2007, Argentina and Britain: the lessons of war, viewed 5 August 2010 from http://www. opendemocracy. net/conflict-falklands_malvinas/lessons_vogler_4495. jsp Mauro, J nd, The Falklands Islands War: Diplomatic Failure in April 1982. Wake forest University, viewed on 5 August 2010 from http://www. historymatters. appstate. edu/documents/falklandislandswar_000. pdf Robert, D 1988, Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-level Game. International Organization, Vol. 42, No. 3, p. 427-460. Viewed 5 August 2010 from http://portal. uam. es/portal/page/portal/UAM_ORGANIZATIVO/Departamentos/CienciaPoliticaRelacionesInternacionales/personal/fernando_rodrigo/pagina_personal_fernando_rodrigo/teoria_relaciones_inter/Textos/Putnam-%20The%20Logic%20of%20Two-Level%20Games. pdf Sean, M 2007, Some Reflections on the Falklands War and the Kitsch-left Now Viewed on 5 August 2010 from http://www. workersliberty. org/node/8076 Grant, C 2000, Intimate Relations, viewed 5 August 2010 from http://www. cer. org. uk/pdf/cerwp4. pdf

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

Legal framework for social work in United Kingdom Essay Social work is defined as a professional and academic discipline that will seek to have improvement on the individuals, groups’ and communities’ quality of life and their well-being through having policies, conducting researches, organizing communities and teaching for the good of the people affected by social limitations that may include poverty, mental and physical sickness, social injustice including violation of human rights. International (Federation of Social Workers 2000). These groups may include school dropouts, the elderly in the society, juvenile offenders, drug and alcohol abusers and the homeless Social workers will work in different settings within a set of framework of legislation and practices. The setting may include a school situation, the service users’ home, a hospital or a public sector premise Social work values Social work is argued to be value based. Since it is a profession on, social work ethics (values) thus refer to a set of guidelines that have to govern the way professionals treat the people they interact with and the sort of actions that are regarded as right or wrong. They offer a vision and discernment (Bernstein 1970) Social work in the United Kingdom occurs in four spheres. The first sphere is majorly a concept relates to the moral philosophy that creates the ethical arguments on social work. The second sphere is based on the legislation that has created an environment for practice of social work with reference to the social work cases. The third sphere is the political ideas and concepts and their influence in shaping and sculpturing the social work models, social work methods and practices. The last sphere presents the historical part of the beginning of social work as a profession and its struggle for professional identity. These spheres are extended, mid range and restricted definitions of social work ethics and values (Bernard et al 2008, p. 6) This paper will focus on the second sphere in reference to the United Kingdom. Social work and law Social work as a profession has to follow certain laws and regulations which govern the profession. The legal framework involves the statute laws and case laws and tries to explain the relationship that links them. Moreover, it details legislation of the government under acts of parliament, the international laws, policy guidance, and the local government circulars that articulate the purpose and guidance principles of legislation. The Health and Care professional Council code of practice As a social worker, it is paramount to be aware of the legal obligations required of them to cretae a healthy and safe working conditions. The General Social Care Council code of practice imposes more duties for employers of social workers. The code states that (Brayne Carr 2002, P. 49) The social worker shall protect and promote interests of the service users The social worker will strive to establish, maintain trust and confidence of the service users The social worker will promote independence of the service users while giving them protection from possible harm The social worker shall respect the rights of the service users while ensuring that their behavior will not harm other people and themselves The social worker shall uphold the public trust and confidence in the social care services The social worker shall be accountable for quality in their work and taking responsibility for maintenance and improvement of their knowledge ACTS OF PARLIAMENT The Carew standard Act 2000 This Act has a significant role in the social care work as it did extend the registration regime for the social care in England and that of Wales for provision of the children’s services, the Act requires the following: Registration of children homes Registration of family centre’sRegistration of the independent fostering agencies Registration of voluntary adoption agencies Registration of support agencies To be a permanent registered member one has to meet a set of regulations tailored to each individual service. In coming up to a decision whether the regulatory requirement shave been fulfilled, the registering authority must have a regard to minimum National standards. England’s registration authority is Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills (OFSTED). The Social workers and the social care services cannot function without having satisfied the above requirements. As a social worker or a social care service provider, there is a need to have knowledge to avoid prosecution by Law The health and social care Act 2012 This bill was agreed upon by both houses and obtained the Royal Assent on the 27th of March to become an act of parliament. The bill created an independent National Health Service Board to promote choices made by the patients in regard to their health issues and reduced the administration tool of the National Health Service. A National Health Service Board was also created to allocate resources and provide guidance on commissioning of social care services. Powers of the government’s ability to commission services on behalf of patients were increased. The function of the Care Quality Commission was strengthened and Section 209 of this Act amended. The powers of the new law under Section 60 of the 199 Act gave her majesty the power by order in the council to regulate social workers and social care practitioners of England. This placed the role of social workers and the role of social health care providers directly under her majesty (Britain 2012, p. 9). This Act placed a lot of Significance on Social Care services being provided in the United Kingdom. A consideration on the adult social care was emphasized. For example, allowing the transfer of public health to the local authorities through local health and the well being boards. Various new bodies have emerged such as the Local health watches which have a function of checking on health and the social care standards. Children’s Act 2004. In England, the law protects the right of children. Section 11 and 12 of this Act places a statutory duty on all agencies to co-operate and promote the welfare of the children. The government guidance for social workers and other professionals that interact with children is that: the social worker has a duty of keeping the children safe. There should be constant feedback to the children social care local authority on suggestions and assessment and lastly every person who has a role should not think that he/she has the absolute right to the child’s needs. Professionals sometimes fail to report the abuse and neglect cases do not face penalties for crime however; they might be subjected to professional discipline Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 The bill got a Royal Assent on 8th of March. The bill aimed to give strength to the social enterprise businesses sectors and make relevant the concept of social value and its importance in the placing and providing of public services. With this bill a National Social enterprise strategy was created to encourage the engagement in social enterprises. The local government act 2000 section 4 was then required to have a sustainable community strategy proposal that promote the engagement of social enterprise in their areas. The Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 This Act brought together the different fields of social work into a single Social service department in every local authority. With this establishment, an emphasis was laid on a co-ordinated and comprehensive system of approach to the social care, the support of families and identifying the need for people to seek aid. The formulated departments then became responsible for domestic aid, residential accommodation and recreational services. Care council of Wales All social workers should be registered. It is one of the bodies mandated to register and regulates the activities of the social workers and all other social care in Wales. The care council is set up under the Care Standards Act 2000. It includes the codes of professional practice, conduct rules, and a well established guideline on the complainant’s procedure. Some other features accessed include consultation services, annual reports, the newsletters and the e-bulletins. Registration of workers ensures that there is as constant data of available social workers and social health care workers in a given state or region. It is easy to verify a genuine worker and avoids imposters who might be out on criminal activities Care and Social services inspectorate Wales This is a body mandated to regulating and inspecting the establishment of agencies that offer social care services in Wales region. It carries out duties on behalf of the ministers of Wales. It has been given power under Act 2003 of the Social and Health care to look into the handling of social services by the local authorities. On their website, one is able to raise a query on social workers conduct for necessary action. Rights and freedoms of Social workers and limitations Guide to information sharing Social work is a professional duty. When dealing with children, England places emphasis on effective information sharing between the local agencies and the social workers on identification and assessment of service provisions. These are defined in â€Å"Working together to safeguard children (PDF). Under this guidance, paragraph 1.24 states clearly that fears that arise on sharing personal information should not hinder promotion of a child’s welfare and safety. All social workers and social care provider thus are required to have an efficient information discernment process to avoid a scenario of neglect in believe that another individual will do the task. Limitations to this guide These provisions however do have limitations. In Wales’s guidance on information sharing is found in chapter 14 of Safeguarding children working together under the Children Act 2004 (PDF). In these guidance paragraph 14.5 overlaps the guidance for professionals in England. It states that â€Å"The safety and welfare of a child or young person must be put into consideration first when making decisions about sharing information about them† and that must be, â€Å"an overriding public interest in disclosing information.† The guidance then further goes on to give the way forward in sharing on information. Paragraph 14.6 states that â€Å"the best way of ensuring that information sharing is properly handled is to work within carefully worked out information-sharing protocols between agencies and professionals involved, and taking legal advice in each case where necessary. Guide to Loss and damage Social workers have been mandated with a legal duty of caring and service providers. In essence these role places the employers with responsibility of paying up damages their employees suffer while in line of duty. In the event those being taken care of suffer adverse damage as a result of social work interference, then they are entitled to sue the social work company for negligence. These may be as a result of physical damage, emotional or psychological damage. While this is the case, the law prohibits the suing of social workers when performing certain statutory functions like safeguarding children. Employers need to understand the times which their employees may be liable to protection under the law and when not. Legislation on discrimination on Personal privacy In line of duty, social workers provide aid services. In order for them to carry out these functions effectively, it is paramount for them to have knowledge of the raft of legislation that protects individuals for discrimination basing on their gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability or ethnicity. These are domestic laws of the United Kingdom and are complemented by European Convention on human right which protects the citizens of the United Kingdom against unjustified state interference with their life. It is always possible for government and social work agencies getting into people’s life when they are not willing. In this event then the public can resort to the human rights protection of privacy and autonomy. Social workers and social work agencies need to have knowledge of the rights and privileges granted to the masses under the European convention for both parties to avoid violating them while at the same time helping individuals who have had their rights contravened The Human rights Human rights are legal obligations that are to be adhered to universally. Human rights are defined as â€Å"the universal right to standard living that is adequate for healthy and well being of individuals and their families.†(Roosevelt 2000, p.5). The global social work perspective embodies this by stating that â€Å"The struggle for dignity and fundamental freedoms, which allows for the full development of human potentials, boils down to two words: human rights.†(IFSW 1996). With this law, special work in the United Kingdom is bound to human rights which are considered sensitive to human race and collective citizenship. The social work must then be conceptualized and sensitized to the culture in which the services are offered. Thus a social worker in England should be able to accept the culture and laws of a state or region in which he/she is working in. Conclusion Social work and social care has a pivotal role in service delivery to the society. This view cannot go unnoticed. The values, ethics of social work such as respect for humanity, equality and service to all have played a major role in helping the less privileged in the United Kingdom. The beneficiaries have included the mentally ill, the old, women and children. The United Kingdom having realized the vital role of social care came up with various laws not only to check but to guide the professionals in their field of work. These laws have been defined in various Acts of parliament, Scholarly publications and various codes of ethics and conduct of the Social work profession. Social workers and social care workers interact with different people on daily basis. In order for a harmonious and efficient system of operation to uphold, these laws and various publications have played a major role. However the legal stipulations have also had a negative side of the story being felt where they h ave had to hamper the operations of social workers and social care practitioners. Technological advancements and constant reviews of challenges that have risen in the working environment of this profession I believe can act as a catalyst to new ideas to command this noble profession to greater heights in the United Kingdom References BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BRAYNE, H., CARR, H. (2012). Law for social workers. Oxford, Oxford University Press. BRITAIN, G. (2012). Health and social care act 2012: chapter 7. [S.l.], Tso. BARNARD, A., HORNER, N., WILD, J. (2008). The value base of social work and social care. Maidenhead, England, Open University Press. ROOSEVELT, E. (2000). Universal declaration of human rights in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Arabic. Bedford, Mass, Applewood Books. HEALY, L. M. (2008). International social work: professional action in an interdependent world. Oxford, Oxford University Press. REAMER, F. G. (2006). Social work values and ethics. New York, Columbia University Press. BERNSTEIN, P. (1997). American work values: their origin and development. New York, State Univ. of New York Press.BANKS, S. (2012). Ethics and values in social work. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. (2004). Children Act 2004: Explanatory notes. [S.l.], Stationery Office. Source document

Gender Relationships in Shakespeares Plays

Gender Relationships in Shakespeares Plays The subject of gender relationships within the work of Shakespeare became a matter of lively debate during the last quarter of the twentieth century and continues to be an area that attracts much scholarship and controversy. Perceptions that early modern society was antithetical to any exercise of power by women must be counterbalanced by the knowledge that, until 1603, a woman, Queen Elizabeth, held the ultimate power in England. Recent research has increasingly revealed that across this society a significant number of women held economic and social power and so the idea that Shakespeare reflects a society in which women area powerless and oppressed group is one which must be treated with somecaution. Shakespeares work presents a wide variety of female characters and the ways in which they have been perceived has altered over the four hundred years since the plays and poems were written. Play scripts areparticularly susceptible to re-interpretation and in many ways such interpretations reflect as much about their own historical period asabout the one in which the plays were originally written. Each age finds its own relationship with Shakespeare and so it could be arguedthat the question of whether Shakespeares women are regarded as strongor weak is inevitably influenced as much by the gender issues of the present time as by the time in which they were originally created. It is important not to assume that we can read Shakespeares women characters as examples of how women were treated in the period in which the work was written (Barker Kamps, 1995, 5), but rather to use the information that we have about the early modern period in order to see the characterisation of fictional ch aracters as they relate to the constraints which operated on real women of the period.It is also necessary to be aware that, with any dramatic texts, the interventions of actors, directors and current audience expectationscan radically alter the ways in which fictional characters are judged. It is the intention of this dissertation to give a brief introduction to the conventional views of women during the early modern period. Some scholars, such as Lisa Jardine (1989), Jean E. Howard (1988) and Juliet Dusinberre (1996), have argued that the way in which Shakespeare created women characters was in part determined by the fact that they were represented by boy players on the stage. However, it is hoped that by including a discussion of the narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece, which was not intended for stage production, this dissertation will emphasise a continuity among Shakespeares female characters that goes beyond the necessities of the stage. The discussion will also focus on three of Shakespeares great tragedies, written during at the peak of his career, when his work had become popular amongst a large audience. The popularity of Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth has enduredover four centuries and these plays continue to reach wide audiencesand have a significant influenc e on current views of Shakespeares women. In early modern England, notions about female gender roles tended to be constructed by two forms of discourse: the theological and themedical. Theological sermons and pamphlets emphasised the biblicalinjunctions that women should be silent and obedient and that they were subject to the authority of their husbands. Callaghan (1989, 9) arguesthat Renaissance society was profoundly hierarchical and that the chain of authority extended from God, via the monarch, to men and women who were expected to conduct their household relationships inconformity with the idea that women were subject the authority of their fathers and husbands. Belsey (1985, 9) emphasises that men and women are not symmetrically defined. Man, the centre and hero of liberal humanism, was produced in contradistinction to the objects of his knowledge, and in terms of the relations of power in the economy and the state. Woman was produced in contradistinction to man,and in terms of the relations of power in the family. These relationships were worked out in the public and private spheres in the requirement that, in terms of the economy and the state,women should be voiceless, and within the family they should be subjec tto their husbands, fathers and other male relatives. Thus, Newman (1991, 134) argues: Talk in women then is dangerous because it is perceived as ausurpation of multiple forms of authority, a threat to order and malesovereignty, to masculine control of commodity exchange, to a desiredhegemonic male sexuality. The extent of this perceived threat may begauged by the strict delegation of the talking woman to the carefullydefined and delimited spheres of private and domestic life in which thehusband was exhorted to rule. In early modern medical texts, the classical theories of Galen andAristotle, in which the female was regarded as in imperfect version of the male, predominated. Aughterson, (1995, 42) argues that the Galenictheories of the humours †¦ effectively continued to assign woman aninferior physiological state to that of man. Howard (2003, 419)observes that men and women were not assumed to be innately different,but rather were viewed as more perfect and less perfect versions of thesame prototype. From these constructions of physiological theory camethe idea that male and female were so intimately related that they werepotentially capable of transmutation: Stories exist from the early modern period recording cases in which,when women supposedly became overheated in running or jumping, malegenitalia would erupt from inside their bodies. (Howard, 2003, 419). That Shakespeare was aware of these ideas and utilised them in hischaracterisations of men and women is demonstrated when Hamlet isconcerned about his feminisation (Rose, 1995, 116), and when LadyMacbeth refutes her femininity: Come, you Spirits / That tend onmortal thoughts, unsex me here (Macbeth I.v.40-41). The term weaker vessel originates from the Bible and can beeffectively seen to straddle both theological and the physiologicaltheories about the relationships between women and men, as isillustrated from the following extract from a homily, dated 1562,designed to be the required reading at marriage ceremonies: St Peter giveth his precept saying: you husbands deal with yourwives according to knowledge, giving honour to the wife as unto theweaker vessel, and as unto them that are heirs also of the grace oflife, that your prayers be not hindered [1 Peter 3). †¦ For the womanis a weak creature, not endued with like strength and constancy ofmind, therefore they be the sooner disquieted, and they be the moreprone to all weak affections and dispositions of the mind, more thanmen be, and lighter they be, and more vain in their fancies andopinions. (An Homily of the State of Matrimony, 1562, from Aughterson, 1995, 23.) This essentially conservative and restrictive view of women was held,in spite of, or perhaps because of the upheaval and unrest of Englandat that time. Early modern England was a society in transition and thedisquiet that came with modernisation often led to reactive measuresdesigned to uphold the status quo. The sumptuary laws, in which modesof dress were prescribed in order to maintain class differences, can beread as an attempt to rein back an increasing level of socialmobility. Similarly, the discourse of gender difference has beeninterpreted as an essentially conservative reaction to social change: Time and again in these plays, we see crucial social problemspresented in relation to a central conflict involving genderopposition. Furthermore, since that opposition entails a fundamentalhierarchy (male superiority and female subordination), its function, interms of the dominant ideology is to reinforce the status quo. Yetthis function is problematic. Female inferiority was not an undebatedcultural given. It was fiercely contested†¦Callaghan (1989, p.11): Recent research supports this argument. The discourse of malesuperiority and female subordination must be seen in a historicalcontext in which a significant number of women had influence in thewider society. There were many wealthy women who wielded greateconomic power; some women participated in the workplace through guildmembership; a significant number of households were headed by women;and a number of women in various part of the country also participatedin parliamentary elections (Rackin, 19-20). It is necessary,therefore, to balance this kind of historical evidence against therhetorical evidence that we find in contemporary texts. The attempt toprescribe and define female roles and responsibilities reflects ananxious reaction to social change, an attempt to arrest progress andestablish a conservative status quo. These anxieties and the contestedground concerning the acceptable role of women in early modern societyinevitably affects the presentation of women in the plays and poe try ofthe period. In reading Shakespeares texts, it is possible to discoveraspects of the discourse of patriarchal authority as well as evidenceof womens power as agents in their own destinies. Whilst the notionof woman as the weaker vessel often informs the construction ofcharacter in Shakespeares work, I intend to argue that a closeexamination reveals that, in spite of the social restraints placed uponthem, these women often reveal a strength that goes beyond anythingthat may be expected. 2 The Rape of Lucrece Shakespeares narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece, is based onclassical sources in Livy and Ovid and so there are some necessaryconstraints upon the actual plot of the poem. For example, Lucrecessuicide derives from the source materials and, in the context of LivysThe History of Rome from Its Foundation, this event is instrumental inending the reign of kings and instituting the Roman Republic. It isnecessary, therefore, to understand that the classical story primarilyexemplifies the abuse of tyrannical rulers and has a deeply politicalsignificance. While St Augustine later argued that the suicide ofLucrece was, from a Christian theological standpoint, culpable,nonetheless in the classical world Lucreces death was celebrated asboth tragic and heroic (Hendricks, 2000). We must, therefore,distinguish between the story that Shakespeare inherited and what hehas done with it as a narrative: to discuss Lucreces suicide as thoughit were an optional plot device is to misunderstand the nature o f thesource material. It is a given that Lucrece will commit suicide, butthe way in which Shakespeare has constructed the narrative and the waythat he has characterised the participants in this story carries aweight of significance. The poem concentrates not so much on theexternal events of the story, but on the internal experience of thecharacters or, as Maus (1986, 67) comments, the poem concentrates notupon action but upon what happens in the interstices between theâ€Å"important† moments when two people [make] important decisions. There are two significant tropes within this poem that are crucial tothe portrayal of Lucreces character and are pertinent to the questionof her strength. One of these tropes has been discussed by CoppeliaKahn (1995, 42) where she argues that Shakespeare clearly blames menfor exercising several kinds of unfair advantages over women and thathe leans heavily on the traditional conception of womans physical,moral and intellectual inferiority to ma n. She is referring to thepassage in which men are compared with marble and women with wax: For men have marble, women waxen minds, And therefore are they formed as marble will. The weak oppressed, thimpression of strange kinds Is formed in them by force, by fraud, or skill. Then call them not the authors of their ill, No more than wax shall be accounted evil Wherein is stamped the semblance of a devil. (1240-1246) Kahn (1995, 23) argues that Lucrece is the victim of a patriarchalsystem and that Shakespeare uses the patriarchy of the classical worldto mirror his contemporary society. The trope of the marble and thewax therefore emphasises the pliability of women and their inability tohave any control over their destiny in a patriarchal society that soseverely restricts their power to act, or even to take moralresponsibility for themselves. In Kahns reading, Lucrece does,indeed, seem to have taken a waxlike impression of societys valueswith respect to her status as her husbands possession and the way inwhich she sees herself as a de-valued object when she is tainted orstained by rape. However, the poem also proposes an alternativetrope that seems crucial to an understanding of the nature of women.At the pivotal moment when Tarquin has entered Lucreces bedroom anddisclosed his intention to rape her, Shakespeare introduces a picturethat may call into question the comparable strengths of men and wo men:that of the marble and the water. Until this moment, the poem is constructed to show the readerTarquins point of view. One stanza particularly creates a directidentification between the reader and Tarquin: So that in ventring ill we leave to be The things we are for that which we expect; And this ambitious foul infirmity, In having much, torments us with defect Of that we have: so we do neglect The thing we have; and all, for want of wit, Make something nothing by augmenting it. (148-154) By using we †¦ we †¦ we †¦ us †¦ we †¦we †¦ we, Shakespeare removes thespace between Tarquin and the reader, implicating the reader in thekind of rash risk-taking action where Tarquin is shown pawning hishonour to obtain his lust (156). Similarly, in Tarquins inner debateregarding whether he should carry out his intention to rape Lucrece(181-301) and in his reaction when he sees her asleep (365-441), thereader has full access to his thoughts and emotions, while Lucrece ispresented as an object whose external attributes are described inextensive detail yet to whose inner experience there is no access.The blazon description of Lucrece as she sleeps does indeed bear outNancy Vickerss (1985, 96) assertion that the canonical legacy ofdescription in praise of beauty is, after all, a legacy shapedpredominantly by male imagination for the male imagination; it is, inlarge part, the product of men talking to men about women. The firstthird of the poem does, indeed , present Lucrece as a silent presence, athing talked about, but apparently without a voice of her own. Yet the crucial turning point of the poem occurs when she is awoken byTarquin. This act of awakening coincides with the sudden access thatis given to the reader to Lucreces inner experience and her voice inthe poem. Until this point, the poem attributes some reported speechto her, but the first time when her words are recorded as direct speechoccurs in the stanza which begins Quoth she†¦ (575). From this pointonward, the narrative becomes intensely concerned with Lucreces innerexperience, in her perception of the harm done to herself and herhusband as well as in her decision to commit suicide. Hercontemplation of a painting of the siege of Troy similarly enables thereader to identify with her as a person who is imaginatively engagedwith a work of art and as a person who is able to argue about moral andphilosophical issues in her own mind. It is at this point of apparent trans formation in the readersperception of Lucrece when Shakespeare introduces his second tropewhich, I believe, is crucial to the portrayal of Lucrece, when thepoems narrator comments: Tears harden lust, though marble wear withraining (560). Although this is ostensibly a comment on Lucrecesinability to deflect Tarquin from his course by her tears and pleas, itsimultaneously proposes that even the hardness and permanence of marblecan be worn down by something as seemingly soft as water. The Galenichumoural system opposed the wet, female humour with the dry, malehumour and so this picture of water that eventually erodes marble canbe seen not just as an inversion of the hard = strong / soft = weakequation, but also as a specific reference to the wet and dry humoursof men and women. When viewed in the long term, water is stronger thanmarble and this image is re-iterated, when Lucrece herself takes up theimage: For stones dissolved to water do convert (592). AlthoughLucreces pleas for mercy are ineffective in this moment, her wordsnevertheless alert the reader to the relative strengths of stone andwater in the longer term and later her realisation that Time can wastehuge stones with little water drops (959) leads her to curse Tarquin: Disturb his hours of rest with restless trances; Afflict him in his bed with bedrid groans; Let there bechance him pitiful mischances To make him moan, but pity not his moans. Stone him with hardned hearts harder than stones, And let mild women to him lose their mildness, Wilder to him than tigers in their wildness. (967-973) . Atthis point, then, Lucreces line of thought has linked the image ofhearts harder than stones with the reversal of mild women who are nolonger helpless prey, but instead predatory tigers. In the early partof the poem, Lucrece is persistently depicted as a passive victim andthis is emphasised by twin images of predator and prey, such as thenight owl and the dove (360), a serpent and a sleeping woman (362-3), afalcon and a fowl (506-7), a cockatrice and a hind (540-3), a cat and amouse (554-5), a wolf and a lamb (679). Although Lucrece is physicallyunable to protect herself from Tarquin, after he leaves, this imageryis no longer used and Lucrece gains an active voice and a moralpresence that eventually lead her to the act of suicide. Henricks(2000, 115), comments that Shakespeare gives Lucrece a psychologicalcomplexity, interiority and self-awareness. The presentation of Lucreces moral complexity seems to be at oddswith the men in the narrative. Her husband is depicted as a man who isat fault from his initial boasting of his wife as a materialpossession, thereby exposing her to thieves (29-35), and he is laterdescribed as the hopeless merchant of this loss (1659). His finalignominy is the ridiculous squabble with Lucretius over ownership: The one doth call her his, the other his; Yet neither may possess the claim they lay. The father says, Shes mine. O mine she is, Replies her husband: do not take away My sorrows interest; let no mourner say He weeps for her, for she was only mine, And only must be wailed by Collatine. (1793-1799) Brutus takes the knife from Lucreces side and burying in Lucrecewound his follys show (1810), he begins to admonish Collatine andLucretius. In this way, her death is presented as having a redemptivesignificance, not only for Brutus, but also for Rome itself. Although,within the Christian theological tradition, suicide is condemned,nonetheless Shakespeare deliberately chose as his theme a story inwhich a suicide has a positive political effect and is placed within aheroic tradition. The Rape of Lucrece depicts a woman in her most vulnerable moment whois unable to resist her enemy. Yet it could be argued that she trulyfinds a way of fulfilling her assertion that I am the mistress of myfate (1069). Lucrece, though she is entirely situated within apatriarchal discourse that constructs her as her husbands possession,is neither silent nor weak. Finally, like water on marble, she has asubtle strength. 3. Hamlet In the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare presents the audience with two femalecharacters who are quite unlike Lucrece. It has been noted thatLucrece undergoes a transition from her initial silence and is given avoice and an interior life that dominates more than half of the poem.Yet Gertrude and Ophelia, in contrast, are chiefly characterised byhaving very little to say. Showalter (1985, 78) says of Ophelia: She appears in only five of the plays twenty scenes; the pre-playcourse of her love story with Hamlet is known only by a few ambiguousflashbacks. Her tragedy is subordinated in the play; unlike Hamlet,she does not struggle with moral choices or alternatives. Lisa Jardine (1995, 316) makes a similar point about Gertrude, thatshe speaks fewer lines than any other major character in the play.It is therefore incumbent upon the audience or reader to fill in thegaps for these characters, who say so little for themselves. It may beargued that both Gertrude and Ophelia are presented as conforming to anearly modern stereotype of correct feminine behaviour and that theirpresence within a patriarchal society has had the effect of deprivingthem of the opportunity for either action or speech. It seems that Ophelia is the character who most epitomises theposition of a woman who is controlled by the patriarchal structuresaround her. She is presented as a woman of virtue who is obedient toher father and brother. Her reticence in the first scene in which shespeaks is effectively demonstrated by an extreme economy of words.When Laertes departs for France, her speeches are limited to halflines, single lines and pairs of lines as she receives instructionsf rom Polonius and Laertes regarding her behaviour. Although PhyllisRackin (2000, 22) has recently questioned the scholarly consensus thatrespectable women were expected to stay at home, that they wereeconomically dependent on fathers and husbands, and that they weresubjected to constant surveillance by jealous men, obsessively anxiousabout their sexual fidelity, it is nonetheless true that both fatherand brother are preoccupied by the risk of Ophelia losing her virginityand thus ruining herself and bringing dishonour to her male relatives.Ophelia has only one speech of longer than two lines in which toexpress her reaction to these instructions, but her initial obedienceturns into a comment upon male hypocrisy: I shall theffect of this good lesson keep As watchman to my heart. But good my brother, Do not as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, Whiles like a puffd and reckless libertine Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, And recks not his own rede. (I.iii.45-51) Poloniuss subsequent conversation with Ophelia confirms this view,but he is plain about her responsibilities to him and unapologeticabout the double standards that operate in this society. He begins byreferring to the need for Ophelia to protect her own honour (I.iii.97),but he then moves on to his real concern: Tender yourself more dearly/ Or †¦ youll tender me a fool (I.iii107-109). Shortly afterwards hestates: For the Lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him that he is young, And with a larger tether may he walk Than may be given you. (I.iii.122-126) Ophelia has the last line in this scene and it is at least outwardly- an expression of compliance: I shall obey, my lord (I.iii.136).However, her conversation with Polonius makes it clear that she hasbeen conducting a relationship with Hamlet for which she had not soughther fathers prior permission. This is perhaps an example of thecomplexities of courtship and marriage that existed in early modernEngland. On one hand, there is evidence that arranged marriage wasprobably still the norm in practice, even though marrying for lovebecomes the ideal on stage (Belsey, 2002, 129); but on the other handthere is also evidence that a more uncertain situation existed wherepreliminary decisions were made by the young people; the parents wereusually brought into the discussion only later'(Amussen, 1999, 94) .Ophelias behaviour suggests that the latter was a more accuratedescription of her situation. Ophelias ability to express herself continues to be severelyrestricted throughout the scene in w hich she is confronted by Hamlet(III.i) and in the Mouse Trap scene (III.ii). However, she doeseventually find a voice, and it is through her madness that she isfinally able to confront the ultimate embodiment of male authority: theking. Ophelias use of folk songs as a way of expressing a sexualisedsensibility is in stark contrast to the verbal control of her earlierscenes, yet the meaning of her words carries the same message, asHattaway (2002, 114) comments: what is significant is its exposure ofthe double standard: a man gains honour among his own sex by virtue ofsexual conquests, while by the same activity a woman loses hers. Thiscontradiction can be seen as central to the character of Ophelia and itultimately destroys her. Showalter (1985, 91) comments that somefeminists have regarded Ophelias madness as a form of protest andrebellion. For many feminist theorists, she states, the madwomanis a heroine, a powerful figure who rebels against the family and thesocial order. It is al so possible, however, to argue that Opheliascryptic comments on her plight are contained by her madness and thatany attempt to operate outside of the strictures of patriarchy isforeclosed by her death. Ophelias madness has proved to be apowerful symbol of female insanity over the last four centuries: wecould provide a manual of female insanity by chronicling illustrationsof Ophelia; this is so because the illustrations of Ophelia have playeda major role in the theoretical construction of female insanity'(Showalter, 1985, 80). With the benefit of four hundred years ofhindsight, therefore, Ophelias madness has attained a symbolicsignificance which is a contested site of meaning. Gertrudes part in the play has also provoked a great deal of commentand controversy. Jardine (1995, 316) comments upon the phenomenon ofblame that has become attached to Gertrude. Hamlets apparentobsession with her behaviour has been the subject of muchpsychoanalytical interpretation. However, the recent empha sis onviewing early modern literature within a historicist framework haspresented an alternative to the essentially anachronistic process ofapplying a nineteenth century theoretical framework to a seventeenthcentury play. With a greater historical awareness, it is possible toview Hamlets concerns in a different way: the anxiety about hismothers behaviour that preoccupies him and distracts him from hisostensible duty to avenge the death of his father can be explained byhis mothers apparently unfeminine and inappropriate sexuality.Hamlet describes Gertrudes relationship with Claudius as hot, lustfuland bestial: Nay, but to live In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stewd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty! (III.iv.91-94) Disgusted by the physical evidence Gertrudes sexuality, Hamlet hasthree issues with his mothers behaviour: he has identified that she ishot (a sign of masculinity in Galens humoural system), he is concernedat the speed with which she has transferred her affiliation from oldHamlet to Claudius (thus refuting the requirement that women should beconstant); and she also seems to behave with too much liberty. As isclear from Poloniuss rebuke to Ophelia, men could be permitted agreater freedom, but a womans freedom to act was severelycircumscribed. Gertrudes lack of restraint is seen by Hamlet asdangerous, both socially and politically. Hamlet is therefore dismayedby the fact that his mother is behaving in such a way as to go beyondthe conventional requirements of feminine behaviour and that she is, inhis eyes, encroaching onto male territory. Though it is true thatGertrude does not have many lines, her role is crucial to Hamletsstate of mind and to his ability to act in a way that he perce ives asmanly. In marrying Claudius, Gertrude has also retained politicalpower as queen and this has almost certainly had the effect of barringHamlet from inheriting the throne from his dead father. It can beargued, then, that in her relationship with Hamlet she has a level ofpersonal and political power that is the cause of his inability to takethe action that feels is necessary to avenge the death of his father. Gertrude and Ophelia, though they have relatively few lines, both havepivotal roles to play in Hamlet. Their influence over the outcome ofthe play is far in excess of the number of lines spoken by them. Bothof them are seen to go beyond what was the conventionally idealisedfeminine roles ascribed to them by early modern society. That theirbehaviour causes anxiety in the male characters in the play is clear:Laertes, Polonius, Claudius and Hamlet are all preoccupied by theirbehaviour, yet are unable to exert the necessary control thatpatriarchal power structures require of th em. Although the socialnorms of patriarchy are clearly inscribed into this play, the womencharacters display a level of non-conformity that enables them tosubvert the power structures that seek to restrain them. Shakespearehas inscribed into this play a complexity of characterisation in bothGertrude and Ophelia that denies the simplistic category of femaleweakness into which their society might have tried to fit them. 4. King Lear Ann Thompson (1991, 125) has commented on the difficulties thatthis play creates in that too much critical attention has turned KingLear into a play exclusively or primarily about male power, butKathleen McLuskie (1985, 103) argues that the text containspossibilities for subverting these meanings and the potential forreconstructing them in feminist terms. In the opening scene of theplay, we are presented with what McLuskie refers to as a love test,based on the structure of a folk tale. The King creates a situationwhereby the fate of his kingdom and his daughters depends upon theirverbal declarations of love. However, if the ideal type of womanhood,as defined in early modern society, lies in its silence and modestrestraint, is could be argued that Lear is tempting his daughters intoerror by requiring such public verbal displays. He exposes hisdaughters to the unseemliness of a living woman conveying her feelingsin a public format (Barker Kamps, 1995, 4). Shakespeare is thusproblemati sing Lears behaviour from the outset: he embarks upon acourse that demands that his daughters prove their love by floutingpatriarchal conventions. The women are thus trapped: whatever they sayor do not say, they run the risk of disobedience, either to theirfather or to the wider requirements of proper feminine behaviour. In Lears three daughters and their responses to this situation, weare presented with alternative types of female behaviour and the playalso focuses attention on their agency as it relates to the patriarchalstructures within which they operate. The play could be said to be anillustration of the weakness and folly of two old men Lear andGloucester who, as their physical powers diminish, lose their socialand political powers as well. Just as the source of womens weaknesscan be traced to their bodies, so it might be argued that a bodilydecline in old men renders them weak and vulnerable. In the subsequentpower struggle, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia all make choices tha tgovern their future and that determine the course of the subsequentdrama. Although this leads to the depiction of Goneril and Regan aspredatory adulteresses, whilst Cordelia ultimately becomes a victim whois unable to survive, it is nonetheless true to say that all three ofthese women seize opportunities to make their own choices anddecisions. From the outset, Cordelia is characterised as the pictureof modest womanly constraint, as she punctuates her sisters smoothrendition of filial loyalty with comments such as: What shall Cordeliaspeak? Love and be silent (I.i.61) and Then poor Cordelia! / And yetnot so; since I am sure my loves / More ponderous than my tongue'(I.i.75-77). Cordelias virtue lies in her observation of duty andobedience and she is aware that every adult woman must divide her dutyand obedience between her husband and her father. Though this stanceis shown to place her in a double bind that leads to exile and thendeath, yet she has exercised her own choice and has re sisted pressurefrom her father to take another course. In choosing the path of truthto herself, she has become her own moral arbiter and is the first ofthe three daughters to openly rebel against her father

Television Violence Essay -- Papers TV Media Violent Essays

Television Violence Does the violence you see on TV effect how you operate during the day? Does violence seen on TV effect the brain and behavior of our nation?s youth? That is the question on hand for this essay. The study of TV violence is important to our communities and nation not only because it is influential to the way our children think and perceive the world, but also because it needs to come to a stop. What is extremely interesting is how long this has been an issue in our communities. Not only that, but there are statistics, stories of mom?s about their children and their influences, a TV Ratings System, Web-Sites, editorials, and more circulating the Internet and literature worlds with information about TV Violence. It is time for you to join the circulation. According to the American Psychological Association, ?the average American has seen 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of elementary school and has watched about 22,000 hours of TV and approximately 18,000 murders in the media by the end of high school?(Sherrow, 7). It is stated that ?25 million households in the United States experience a violent crime or theft in a given year. And As of 1993, there were about 24,500 murders each year (on average, 470 a week) in America? (Sherrow, 10). And from the same book are the following upsetting facts: ?Thirteen children, on average, die each day in a murder, suicide, or accident involving guns... School violence has risen with more than 100,000 cases of students assaulting teachers and more than 3 million assaults, rapes, and thefts each year. Damage to school property totals about $600 million annually? (Sherrow 10). The question is, are television programs behin... ...ces.? . Manson, Marilyn. Columbine: Whose Fault Is It?. Gurl-Pages.com. First published Rollingstone Magazine, Issue 815, June 24th, 1999. . Levine, Madeline. Viewing Violence: How Media Violence Affects Your Child?s and Adolescent?s Development. New York: Double Day. 1996. Michigan State University (MSU). Interactive Guide for Parent?s on Television Content Ratings. . Rarey, Matthew A. Find Articles.com. ?V-Chip Investment.? . Saunders, Kevin. ?Television Violence Causes Societal Violence.? Mass Media: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Byron L. Stay. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. 1999. Sherrow, Victoria. Violence and the Media: The Question of Cause and Effect. Brookfield: The Millbrook Press. 1996. University of Indiana School of Journalism. Good Guys, Bad Guys and TV News: How Television and Other Media Promote Police Violence.

The Relationship between Hamlet and the Bible. Essay -- GCSE Coursewor

The Relationship between Hamlet and the Bible.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It may appear that anything could be twisted into a typological pattern. Such interpretations appear to suffer from the structuralist faults of skating too lightly over actual texts, ignoring details that cannot be forced into a preconceived mold, and robbing narratives of their concrete shapes through abstraction. I would stress that there is more to Shakespeare than typology, but I would also insist that typology is often an important part of his drama. To make this claim plausible, however, requires more detailed attention to the text of his plays. In what follows, I will call attention to the textual and dramatic details that justify a typological reading of Hamlet. Claudius's murder of King Hamlet, the act catalyzing the drama of the play, is presented as a  sin of primordial character and cosmic implications. Claudius confesses that his fratricide parallels the murder of Abel: O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't, A brother's murder (3.3.36-38). Hamlet's description of his psychological condition at the beginning of the play pushes the imagery back to the beginning of biblical history: How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on 't! Ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely (1.2.135-37). Claudius has not only committed fratricide, but regicide. The king being peculiarly the image of God, regicide is a kind of deicide. At least, it is an act of rebellion against divine authority. Claudius is thus not only Cain but Adam.(7) Claudius's sin has, for Hamlet at least, turned Denma... ...y identical to all the other links." (A Theater of Envy, p. 273). Works Cited Erlich, Avi. 1977. Hamlet's Absent Father. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Fineman, Joel. 1980. 'Fratricide and Cuckoldry: Shakespeare's Doubles.' In Representing Shakespeare: New Psychoanalytic Essays, edited by Coppelia Kahn and Murray M. Schwarz. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins Press, 70-109. Fleissner, Robert. 1982. ' "Sullied" Or "Solid": Hamlet's Flesh Once More.' Hamlet Studies 4:92-3. Fowler, Alastair. 1987. 'The Plays Within the Play of Hamlet.' In 'Fanned and Winnowed Opinions': Shakespearean Essays Presented to Harold Jenkins, edited by John W. Mahon and Thomas A. Pendleton. London and New York: Methuen. Freud, Sigmund. 1953-74. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works. 24 vols, trans. James Stachey. London: Hogarth.