`` Postman `` Public Discourse And The Age Of Show Business

All throughout history we have used metaphors to describe people, places, events and emotions; so it is perfectly fitting to describe the mediums with which we project our ideas as a metaphor as well. This is Neil Postman s basis for his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Television and other media outlets have conditioned us to accept entertainment in every aspect of life; but most of all it masks the state of public affairs and politics. Through his book, Postman begs that we recognize the ways in which media shapes our lives and how we can use them to serve us instead of hurt us. Broken into two parts, Amusing Ourselves to Death focuses on a historical analysis of media, then discusses the television media-metaphor in more detail. Postman examines how media has infected every aspect of public discourse by prizing entertainment as the standard of truth. Historical analysis In chapter one Postman introduces the concept of the media-metaphor. Simply put, he posits that every civilization s discourse is limited by the biases of the media it employs. He suggests that an oral culture will speak of the world differently than one that has printed language. One of the prime examples he uses is the primitive technology of smoke signals and the safe assumption that these signals were not used to discuss philosophical arguments (Postman, 1985, 7). â€Å"A Cherokee philosopher would run short of either wood or blankets long before heShow MoreRelatedAmusing Ourselves For Death : Public Discourse On The Age Of Show Business, By Neil Postman1495 Words   |  6 PagesAmusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman familiarizes his readers to his main objective for his argument right away. His strategies to convince his readers of his claim are extraordinarily well and get across to the readers easily. Postman proposes that the public, without recognizing it, is losing its â€Å"autonomy, maturity, and history†. His thesis is that television is changing the way people interact by putting all public rhetoric into on-screen entertainmentRead MoreAnalysis Of Amusing Ourselves To Death By Neil Postman812 Words   |  4 PagesAmusing Ourselves to Death, written by Neil Postman analyzes the true meaning of entertainment and explores how it affects our lives today. â€Å"Entertainment is the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment,† (dictionary.com). According to Postman television has had an extremely negative effect on the â€Å"public discourse of contemporary America.† Postman compares his book to Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, which communicates that people are too amused and are becoming weak andRead MoreNeil Postman s Exploration Of This Issue1737 Words   |  7 Pageswere discussed prior to this century they come to find that the contrast between now and then is so outstanding. It’s completely clear why many people aren’t aware of what has been happening. The reason the difference is so profound is because our discourse has gradually been dumbed-down since the beginning of the information era, and people are treating the serious issues that arise as entertainment. The most powerful culprit being television, has being accused of causing damage to the people thatRead MoreAmusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman1180 Words   |  5 Pages Neil Postman writes, Amusing Ourselves to Death to address a television-based epistemology pollutes public communication and its surrounding landscape, not that it pollutes everything. The book was produced in 1984 in a time where television was an emerging epidemic and other forms of communication that today have taken flight, didn’t exist. It is directed to people who have let television drag them away from their Focus and attention to comprehend as they have lost the ability to bring forth yourRead MoreAmusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the AGe of Show Business570 Words   |  3 Pages Neil Postman, quot;Amusing Ourselves to Death -- Public discourse in the age of show-businessquot; This book is a classic: everybody knows it, and everything has been written about it. Let me write some more. Postmans book caused a lot of public discussion in the mid-eighties, but it is now as relevant as ever, possibly more so. Today, it has almost become an axiom of our society that the answer to the questions raised by our technological advances lie in the application of further technologyRead More1984 By George Orwell Literary Analysis1625 Words   |  7 Pagestheir information overload desensitized the public into acquiescing this seemingly friendly, but not any less damaging, worldview. As the world enters a new age of modern technology, many of Huxley’s notions are beginning to become more realistic, rather than Orwell’s fears of cultural oppression. Throughout Amusing Ourselves to Death, author Neil Postman speaks in favor of Huxley’s prophetic vision of the future of popular culture and public discourse by explaining how television has vastly trivi alizedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Future Of Reputation 1176 Words   |  5 Pagesechoes from the grave of Neil Postman as a Reality TV star lead the polls for the GOP primary nomination in the 2016 presidential race. Meanwhile, a symbol of the most turbulent times in American history was recently removed from a state capitol and designated for museum status. Today’s latest social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, has assisted the Internet ‘steady growth and influence of society for over twenty years now. Three authors, Neil Postman, Daniel Solove, and Walter LippmannRead More`` Amusing Ourselves For Death : Public Discourse On The Age Of Show Business1605 Words   |  7 Pagesfor us† (Postman 29). Media critic Neil Postman published those words in 1985 in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Yet, as we find ourselves in 2015, his insight seems written for today. In our age where society is s till elusively trying to grasp and figure out what place new media and technology hold within our lives, and where debating the merits and flaws of an increasingly technological society seems to be a hot-button issue, Postman had alreadyRead MoreAnalysis of Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death1648 Words   |  7 PagesLiking Form and Function It would be easy to dismiss Neil Postman as just a grumpy old man complaining about what those young whippersnappers are up to while his generation is upholding the values of civilization, the last vanguard against the Huns. Except for the fact that he was right: Modern technologies have allowed individuals to withdraw into themselves, to avoid engaging in public discourse. This imperils democracy, according to Postman, along with a number of other social critics of the lastRead MoreBrave New World Analysis737 Words   |  3 Pagestechnology and other means of diversion and that these things will ruin us. Neil Postman supported Huxley and discussed â€Å"The Huxleyan Warning† in Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Postman believes that â€Å"Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us,† (Postman 1). Postman concluded his essay with, â€Å"For no medium is excessively dangerous if its users understand what its dangers are,† (4). Postman meant that people are happy and better off when they dont understand what

Information Technology and Accounting - 4117 Words

International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 1, June, 2010 2010-023X Information Technology roles in Accounting Tasks – A Multiple-case Study Maria do Cà ©u Gaspar Alves accounting, the relationship between IT and accounting has been studied relatively little† (Granlund, 2007:3). Based on a literature review of earlier research and empirical studies we conclude that there is a very limited knowledge about the impact of the most recent IT developments in the accounting field (Granlund, 2007). Although IT clearly plays an important role in accounting (Efendi et al., 2006) and management control (Dechow et al., 2007), this relationship has not been studied enough. Existing research has focused mostly on the relation†¦show more content†¦Thus, IT and accounting systems would be a major component of accounting research. â€Å"While it is widely acknowledged that IT plays an important role (and increasingly so) in the field of II. LITERATURE REVIEW The impact of modern information technologies in companies is broad and manifested in the most varied ways. Integrated systems, such as ERP systems, Internet, Intranet, and so on, walk hand in hand with the most recent developments in company know-how. Some of these technologies, with their widespread use, especially the Internet, have altered the way companies work and their accounting organization (Granlund, 2007). â€Å"Prior to the emergence of this environment, the presence of IT in the organization has typically taken the form of specific computer application systems, such as accounts payable and financial reporting systems, which either automate specific operational procedures or support certain managerial processes† (Teng Calhoun, 1996:674). It is usually argued that the first use of an information system was in relation to 103 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 1, June, 2010 2010-023X accounting (Rom Rohde, 2007), because often IT was about the firm’s financial ledgers and reporting systems (Granlund Show MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Accounting And Information Technology1704 Words   |  7 PagesIMPACT OF ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Application of basic accounting theory is based on financial accounting practices used in the formation of a series of methods of the theory, mainly the development and implementation of accounting practice norms, is to guide and constrain accounting standards, the basis for evaluation of accounting. The development of accounting and information technology has given an impact to the accounting objectives, accounting assumptions and accounting informationRead MoreThe Impact Of Information Technology On Accounting Activities1051 Words   |  5 Pagessociety, Accounting has experienced approximately several stages. In theses stages, the development of advance technology for accounting is so important that its influence could not be overlooked. In today highly competitive, dramatically changed global economy, rapidly fluctuated business market, organizations have been forced to consider how to use information technologies to hold advanced competitiveness. As introducing of these informa tion technologies into organizations, accounting activitiesRead MoreThe Is A Human Resource, Information Technology, Or Even Accounting? Essay1183 Words   |  5 Pagesservices at a fraction of the price of hiring a department or a person on a full-term basis. Furthermore, as the business grows, there is no denying that outsourcing becomes a more realistic solution, whether it is a human resource, information technology, or even accounting. Additionally, outsourcing has become popular since it permits business organizations to remain focused on its key competencies while allowing experts to handle theirs. Whatever reason one may have the use for outsourcing, it isRead MoreInformation Technology And How Big Data Will Change Accounting1166 Words   |  5 Pages As information technology continues to advance, businesses and organizations grow more dependent on information systems that hastens the procedures for accessing, processing and storing data. The advancements of information technology (IT) raises a question as to whether auditing standards have kept up with the increase use of technology. No, auditing standards have not kept up with the use of information technology. The article, How Big Data Will Change Accounting, (as cited by Cukier and Mayer-SchonbergerRead MoreInformation Technology and Its Significance in the Accounting Profession in Today’s Modern Society2847 Words   |  12 PagesA Library Research on INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION IN TODAY’S MODERN SOCIETY Presented to Elizabeth D. Kapulong, MA.Ed UST-AMV College of Accountancy As a partial requirement to complete the course, English 3 Prepared by The Tributes Members: Sahagun, Abbie Rose R. Pelaez, Angelica Marie, Cantoria, Gabrielle Alcid, Ariane Santiago Steffany August 22, 2012 ABSTRACT Table of Contents I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 4 ARead MoreThe Importance of Information Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning of Accounting Education2493 Words   |  10 Pagese nd u Ig b a ji h t t p : / / f r e e m a nbi z ng .c o m 2 0 13 A BSTRACT T his age of information is d ominated by the use of Information C ommunication and Technology (ICT), w hich is becoming an essential t ool i n t eaching and learning v arious courses which accounting courses are included. V arious r esearches h ave s hown that these tools have a great impact on the t eaching and learning of accounting courses. A s a result of that, this paper a ims to investigate the relevance of ICT in effectiveRead MoreEthical Issues Involving Information Accounting1193 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Ethical issues involving information accounting is a part of doing business and a large part of personal human ethics. Accounting ethics refer to codes or moral systems used to determine right and wrong in accounting. Accountants have a challenge with the arrival of information technology to observe business ethics in the field of accounting. Technology needs to be appreciated and used by accountants in the most important ways to improve efficiency, regulatory compliance, enhanceRead MoreThe Implementation Of Accounting Information Systems1037 Words   |  5 Pagesimplementation of accounting information systems, accounting and corporate accounting management environment has undergone great changes, internal control mechanisms and instruments manual accounting system was not available for the network environment, the establishment of information systems and accounting internal control system adapted to become enterprises need to solve the problems. In the 1990s, with the development of global economic integration and information technology. Internet, data transmissionRead MoreThe Effects of Technology on the Accounting Profession600 Words   |  3 PagesThe Effects of Technology on the Accounting Profession In today’s business society, the accounting technology whether it be software or hardware is a vital part of just about every major business. Many people overlook the importance of the role of accounting technology in business and in the accounting profession. The fact is technology such as accounting information systems can make or break a business. Utilization of Information Technology in the Retail Businesses (Wal-Mart) To succeed in theRead MoreResearch on the Influence of Informatization1698 Words   |  7 PagesInformatization On The Accounting Theories and Practices and Real-time Control in China Yang Lu Fairleigh Dickinson University RESEARCH ON THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATIZATION 2 Abstract The 21st century is an information age of rapid development and the computer is more and more widely used in every country. As a development country, China is effecting by the increasing improvement of modern science technology in every field. In

Facing Our Fears in Science Fiction Essay - 3400 Words

Facing Our Fears in Science Fiction The dead are walking. They lumber and limp, feet scraping against the asphalt. Suddenly, they lunge and tear down into soft, warm, vulnerable flesh with startling speed. Not far behind, oozing inside-out hellhounds growl around razor fangs, stalking with murderous intent. All because of an innocent little airborne chemical weapon†¦This can’t be happening, this would never happen, right? It may sound far fetched, and it is. These horrifying creatures grace the screen of current blockbuster hit, Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse. So you’re safe. For now. But why are these images on screen so terrifying to us? Why do we cringe and gasp and sigh with giddy relief when it’s all over? Because†¦show more content†¦In these films, along with their numerous brethren, the alien invaders were â€Å"often a metaphor for Communism† (Dirks). The Day the Earth Stood Still was an early warning to the world, and a commentary on paranoid society when its main character tried to do just that. The alien Klaatu, along with his robot backup, Gort, lands in Washington D.C. intending to deliver a message to the world’s leaders – Desist with atomic power or be destroyed. However, before he is able to deliver that message, he is promptly shot – a commentary on society’s post-war paranoia and immediate distrust of the unknown. America’s leaders suspect the humanoid Klaatu of being a Communist spy, Russia won’t meet to hear the message unless it takes place on its own soil, and Britain will have none of that. Ultimately, the alien’s attempts to deliver the dire message are futile, with the world’s leaders unable to overcome their pettiness and suspicion to really hear. Unlike films that followed, The Day the Earth Stood Still was an exception to the rule in that the al ien was not an invader, but a benign message-bearer. Aliens invade in War of the Worlds It seemed that words were not enough, and so films like The War of the Worlds and Invasion of the Body Snatchers made good on Klaatu’s promise. Moviegoers watched in horror as America was indeed invaded, not by Communists but aliens inShow MoreRelatedThe American Public School System1335 Words   |  6 Pagespublic school system is in the hands of the state lawmakers. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is the solution to this crisis facing our country today. These standards provide a framework in our public schools to help better prepare students for college. Through the implementation of these standards here in the State of Florida we will be helping bring our young scholars to a globally competitive level where the sky is the limit. The crisis for public education reform in America began alongRead MoreExploring How Genre and Narrative Features Create Meaning and Generate Audience Response in Twelve Monkeys1660 Words   |  7 Pagesin Twelve Monkeys Twelve Monkeys was directed by Terry Gilliam and released in 1995. Gilliam has written and directed many films including Jabberwocky and the hit Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which starred many major actors, including Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro and Tobey Maguire. Fear and Loathing follows a journalist and his lawyer as they embark on a drug-fuelled search for the American dream. This film is similar to Twelve Monkeys in that both areRead More Apocalypse Essay1207 Words   |  5 PagesMissile Crisis in 1963, there was some belief that any use of force could trigger a nuclear holocaust. However, few people knew how close the United States and the Soviet Union were to nuclear war. There are no examples of the entire human species facing annihilation. Doomsday stories are common in literature on a smaller scale. Movies such as Remember the Alamo, Gettysburg, and Saving Private Ryan have characters that face death or destruction, but they face it with bravery and honor. AudiencesRead MoreTheme Of The Illustrated Man1694 Words   |  7 PagesThe Illustrated Man, a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury, reaches the first publication in 1951, post World War II society and a current Cold War environment. The time period and characteristics of World War II, the Cold War, and foreshadowing of the Civil Rights Movement serve as important influences for Bradbury’s subject and themes of the novel. Recurring ideas of censorship, technology, justice, and largely death, exist in events and fears of the day. Leading all themes to tieRead MoreThe Worst Is Not Yet For Come1111 Words   |  5 PagesYA authors, in an effort to stop this terrible fate. Through his effective use of ethos and pathos, Reeve brings to light the curre nt trend in YA Dystopia, having their pages filled with doom and gloom, and the effect this will have on the minds of our future generations. Award winning author Reeve writes his plea to any author who might be considering writing a YA dystopia novel. He asks them to consider the current outlook of today’s futuristic novels, and to compare them with those of the pastRead MoreInformative Speech : Speech Outline1006 Words   |  5 Pagesmore good than bad in our life. E. Preview of main points: Today I will be discussing the built-in technology of Ford and Tesla’s autonomous cars and finally I will present some statistics on why self-driving cars are overall safer than human drivers. Transition to the first main point: Let’s begin with understanding the built-in technology of Ford and Tesla self-driving cars. II. Main Point I A. Sub point A Not that long ago, self-driving cars seemed like science fiction, but with the advancementsRead MoreEssay about Blind Obedience700 Words   |  3 Pagesthey are like a blank piece of paper waiting to be filled up with drawings and ideas. This book shows just how easy it is to mold a child. It uses a classroom of children facing a major change in their lives as the setting. The story moves quickly and the characters are only briefly sketched out. The story has a science fiction â€Å"feel† to it. The events preceding the story include a war (with an unknown opponent) that we have lost. The main character among the children is Johnny whose father foughtRead MoreHuman Cloning Essay1540 Words   |  7 Pagesfictitious idea that lay deep within the pages of sci-fi novels and movies. The very idea that cloning could one day become reality was thought to be a scientific impossibility by many experts. But on February 22, 1997, what was thought to be purely science fiction became reality. That day, a team from the Roslin Institute, led by Dr. Ian Wilmut, changed the history forever by revealing what looked like an average sheep. And its name was Dolly. Dolly became one of the most famous if not the most famousRead MoreEye of the Beholder Twilight Zone Essay1535 Wor ds   |  7 Pagesthe impact it left on viewers. Airing on November 11th, 1960 and running at 25 minutes and 14 seconds, Eye of the Beholder made a dramatic impact on viewers due to its intensely eerie nature and topsy turvy world. Eye of the Beholder was a science fiction story about a woman, Janet Tyler, or Patient 307 as she is referred to, who underwent 11 injections and failed surgeries to look like a normal member of society. Although we do not see her face because it is bandaged up, or anyone elses faceRead MoreThe Wizard Of Oz And I Robot Analysis1864 Words   |  8 Pagesmimics the structure of a science fiction genre. By following the structure of this genre, the writers and producers of The Wizard of Oz and I, Robot, ensure that the narrative contributes to the main theme of good versus evil, with main characters, Dorothy and Detective Spooner, fighting by utilizing and standing steadfast to American values and morals which leads to victory over their adversaries. The first characteristic of a film that is categorized as a science fiction genre is that the main character

Australia Is Not The Only One Of Its Lodging Moderateness...

Summary: Australia is not the only one in its lodging moderateness emergency. A worldwide preview shows numerous administrations are standing up to blasting property costs, putting weight on low to direct pay workers. I agree with this issue because, truth be told what Australia have here is a long haul basic issue that has been dismissed for a considerable length of time. In 1982, the ABS Survey of Income and Housing uncovered that 168,000 or 10% of home purchasers spent more than 30% of their gross family salary on lodging expenses. Almost 30 years after the fact in 2011 these numbers had taken off to 640,000, proportionate to 21% of every single home purchaser. There are some explanation for this expanding cost of purchasing house. For†¦show more content†¦Supply can identify with the sum accessible at a particular cost or the sum accessible over a scope of costs if showed on a chart. This relates nearly to the interest for a decent or administration at a particular value; all els e being equivalent, the supply gave by makers will rise if the value rises in light of the fact that all organizations hope to augment benefits. (D. McTaggart, 2015) Equilibrium: The state in which market supply and demand adjust one another and, thus, costs get to be steady. By and large, when there is an excess of supply for products or services, the value goes down, which brings about higher interest. The adjusting impact of supply and demand results in a condition of harmony. Scarcity: The fundamental monetary issue that emerges on the grounds that individuals have boundless needs yet assets are restricted. On account of lack, various economic decisions must be made to allocate resources efficiently. Demand Pull Inflation: A term utilized as a part of Keynesian financial aspects to depict the situation that happens when value levels rise in light of a lopsidedness in the total supply and interest. At the point when the total interest in an economy firmly exceeds the total supply, costs increment. Financial experts will regularly say that request draw expansion is a consequence of an excess of dollars pursuing excessively couple of merchandise. (Investopedia, 2015) Utilization: The patterns in housing expense

Great Expectation Coursework Free Essays

The first visit Pip had to Miss Havisham’s house frightens and intimidates him ‘the passage were all dark, and that she had left a candle burning.’ Dickens uses dark imagery to show a bit of clue to the audience the kind of person Miss Havisham is and it emphasises the dark side of Miss Havisham. This makes Pip scared because this is because this is different to where he came from, the house was huge. We will write a custom essay sample on Great Expectation Coursework or any similar topic only for you Order Now This shows how different his life is compared to Miss Havisham and Estella and how mysterious the house seems to him and us. Dickens creates a frightening atmosphere by describing the house in a really sinister way, ‘grass was growing in every crevice.’ Dickens has portrayed the house as being uncared for because it tells and shows us that Miss Havisham hasn’t cared for herself so if she can’t do that, she obviously won’t care for her house. It shows how mysterious scary and Miss Havisham is. Dickens describes Pip as ‘half afraid’ towards Miss Havisham and the house. This shows how the reader understands his trepidation. Pip’s social background is much lower compared to Miss Havisham and Estella, his mum and dad are dead, and he lives with his sister and her husband Joe, who is a blacksmith. His sister is worried and afraid Pip will follow in the footstep of her husband and wants him to achieve ‘great expectations’. Pip comes from a poor and low status background, so seeing a house like Miss Havisham’s has different feelings, he feels amazed but at the same time worried. ‘This was very uncomfortable, and I was half afraid.’ Estella treats Pip in a very controlling and rude way. She makes him feel useless and shows him how lower class he is compared to her. She treats him like a dog, always controlling what he does and always saying stuff about how he looks. ‘He is a common labouring boy, and what coarse hand he has.’ This makes Pip start to see who he really is and he begins to worry about how he looks, because before he didn’t really consider himself inferior. Pip also tried to be nice to Estella but every time he tried she never seemed to care or notice. ‘After you miss’ to this she returned ‘don’t be ridiculous boy, I am not going in.’ This is done by Dickens to tell the audience that throughout the novel Pip will go through some adventure and Estella treatment towards him was one of them. It was the beginning. The house would really intimidate Pip because the Satis House compared to his house is like a palace ‘the great front entrance had two chains across it outside.’ Also all of the riches he sees ‘jewels sparkled on her neck.’ This shows a different side of Pip because of his reaction and also to describe what exactly was inside the house and to describe the opposite of Pip’s life. The entrance to the house was mysteriously dark. Pip has also never seen such wealth before, so his expectations changes after his first visit. He becomes ashamed of himself, his background and Joe. When Pip first sees Miss Havisham, his reactions are stunned and shocked. Dickens also writes that he feels Miss Havisham is ‘the strangest lady, he has or will ever see.’ The impression given to the reader is that he is scared and full of anticipation. This shows how odd the house is and how Miss Havisham is a contrast to Pip’s life. When Miss Havisham speaks to Pip, she asks him lots of strange questions which makes her seem impatient ‘call Estella, she repeated, flashing a look at me. You can do that, call Estella at the door.’ She speaks to him like he is a servant, always giving him instructions like she owns him or has power over him. ‘Call Estella, you can do that.’ She also moves her hand around a lot, which makes her appear really arrogant and bossy. ‘With an impatient movement of the fingers of her right hand.’ Pip felt very nervous and anxious before he entered Miss Havisham’s room. Dickens describes him as being ‘half afraid’ and he is scared of the dark. Dickens also presents Pip as being very small and scared. This is to emphasise the strangeness of the house and how Pip is out of place. Dickens uses imagery to describe Miss Havisham as dying or dead, he also describes her as a skeleton, ‘had shrunk to skin and bone.’ The symbolism used is of a dead person. ‘Skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.’ Dickens has done this to make the reader shocked because he wants us to feel disgusted and disturbed, and also to infer that she is half dead because of her emotional state. The effect of Miss Havisham’s treatment on Pip is that he starts to notice who he really is ‘I began to consider them a very different pair, her contempt for me was so strong, that it become infectious and I caught it.’ He also begins to feel ashamed of his social life and he sees the differences between himself and Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham also becomes bossy towards Pip and starts to control him using imperatives ‘play, play, play!’ This would make Pip feel useless, insulted and ashamed of his family and probably wished he had a higher status like Miss Havisham and Estella. Estella’s treatment towards Pip would affect him by making him feel depressed and make him think that Estella has power over him. Pip feels very strange towards Estella. He is in love with her but she doesn’t seem to care. She talks to him like a 5 year old boy. ‘Don’t be ridiculous boy.’ This will make Pip feel like he is the servant while Estella is the master. Estella tries really hard to put Pip down and it usually works. ‘Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious and I caught it.’ It was like Estella had a disease and that has been given to Pip. She also calls him names ‘a stupid, clumsy, labouring boy.’ At this point of the story, I think Pip feels ashamed of his family especially Joe. To Pip, Estella was his angel of light, his star. ‘Her light came along the dark passage like a star.’ So without Estella, Pip can’t see, he’s nothing. However, like a star, Estella is cold, hard and out of reach. In the story each of the characters are controlled by one and another. Miss Havisham controls Estella and Estella controls Pip. She wants to get revenge on a male because of what happened with her ex. So she’s using Estella to get revenge ‘well? You can break his heart.’ Estella is controlling Pip because of Miss Havisham also because she is ‘self – possessed’ and too full of herself. Pip is a pawn in their little games. The immediate effects on Pip of his first visit are that he begins to see the differences between himself, Estella and Miss Havisham. ‘I took the opportunity of being alone in the court – yard to look at my coarse hands and my common boots.’ He believes what he has been told by Estella and starts to call himself he exact words. He begins to believe he really is not worth it. This has a long term effects in the novel because he becomes a complete different character who looks down at other people, just like Estella and Miss Havisham. Dickens did this to tell the reader that money can change people’s character and no matter how much you have there is still a place in your heart that remembers who you were before. The long term effect on Pip of his first visit, are that he starts to become ashamed of his family especially Joe. ‘I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too.’ He also starts to hope that he doesn’t end up as a blacksmith like Joe. As the time goes on he becomes a snob. Dickens is showing the negative effects of money/elevation in status. The Satis House is like the opposite of Pip’s life. He lives in a small house and the Satis House is like a palace, compared to his. It can be seen as a symbol for changing Pip’s personality, background and his heart. Also it changes his behaviour from being nice, to becoming a rude boy and full of himself, just like Estella. Pip’s visit to the house, is very important because throughout is childhood he had never really had much fun and also his family hope that he can gain an higher status by going to the Satis House. But for his sister she’s hoping by Pip going there he may become wealthy one day and they/she would have a better life. So everything Miss Havisham instructs him to do, he has to obey her ‘with the fear of my sister’s working me before my eyes, I had a desperate idea of starting round the room in the assumed character of Mr Pumblechook’s chaise – cart.’ In the novel Dickens is trying to say that no matter how wealthy you are or how nice you are money can change people. He is trying to tell us that the low social class people (Pip’s family) were provoked by the amount of wealth they saw, and that intimidated them to want to be rich and rise in status. The reader’s opinion of the effect of Satis House on Pip’s future, is that if he didn’t go to the house, he would be a different character, a different person. So it’s the sister’s fault for most of the way Pip has changed, but also Miss Havisham and Estella’s fault because if he didn’t meet them, he wouldn’t be rude or have knew about so much wealth. He would be happy the way he was. The whole of the novel hinges that Pip will obviously become a snob and that Pip and Estella might not really get together at first but anything could happen after that. How to cite Great Expectation Coursework, Papers

Lion Financial Services free essay sample

Boatwright knew that technology had significantly advanced since the LFS call centers were originally designed and he was keenly aware that LFS was facing a steady increase in the associated costs of operating these call centers. Boatwright contacted Customer Solutions Group (CSG) in February of 2000 and Andy Carr, CSG’s Chief Operating Officer, was brought in to begin working on the project of providing actionable and specific recommendations that would be designed to improve quality and reduce costs.Carr spent the next several months observing the call center operations, interviewing managers and employees, and analyzing the existing data, training materials and corporate reports. After extensive analysis, Carr was prepared to present his findings and new design for LFS’ call center and operations. Our team supports Carr’s redesign proposal of LFS’ call center and believe the recommendations have merit based on our evaluation.We believe it will be successful in providing LFS with the following outcomes: a consistent and exemplary level of customer service, short time to answer, and reduce annual operating expense by . 5 million (Page 11, Paragraph 4). However, we only make this recommendation so long as Andy and LFS’s management create a thorough implementation plan that addresses business continuity and mitigates risks associated with large process redesign efforts. There are several design changes in Carr’s proposal that garnered our team’s support.The single largest being the elimination of the Boston and New Jersey call centers in favor of a single large call center at the existing Chicago facilities. Complimentary to this change is the reduction of the eight existing agent pools to that of three: Quickline, Customer Service, and Broker Service (See Exhibit 4). In making these design changes Carr implemented two fundamental process design principles. Firstly, by consolidating all call center operations to Chicago, several complex call routing tasks are now combined into a single routing task to the main call center.Secondly, in order to merge the Customer and Broker Quicklines to a single Quickline pool, it will be necessary to create detailed call blueprints and rules of thumb that will allow Quickline agents to utilize multiple versions of the same process in order to excel in processing customer and broker calls. We believe these changes will bring the consistency and quality to the customer experience that the LFS management team will find attractive. The next two design changes recommended by Carr are perfect examples of the design principle to perform the work where it makes sense. First he recommends creating a customer personal identification number (PIN) that the customer will be prompted to enter by the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Upon entry, the system will be able to instantly identify the caller as either a customer or broker, determine the nature of their call, and route the call to the appropriate agent pool.When the call arrives, it will integrate with the agents’ computer system and display the required customer information as well as the reason for their call. This allows them to begin assisting the customer immediately without having to engage in challenge response questions to determine identity and ensures that the correct customer account is properly referenced. The second change is the addition of an optional automated response system that could handle the majority of the most common requests from customers and would be available 24 hours a day.Carr estimated that approximately 20% or 6,000 callers per week would choose to use the automated system, which along with the PIN system will be a significant contribution to the desired reduction in time to answer and overall talk time (Page 10, Paragraph 3). Based on the potential of these changes, we believe they will be a strong selling point of the design change for Boatwright and LFS’s other executive management.The final design change that our team feels will greatly enhance the level of customer satisfaction with LFS’ call center operations is the dramatic reduction of complexity in the overflow routing rules. Previously, the routing rules and staffing were so complex that two-full time employees were required to manage and maintain them (Page 3, Paragraph 3). Carr’s design plan eliminates the overly complex overflow rules and creates one simple â€Å"zero threshold† rule where no call will be held in queue if a qualified or overqualified agent is available (Page 10, Paragraph 4).The zero threshold rule is a perfect example of multiple complicated tasks combined into a simple streamlined task. This simple routing task, as outlined in exhibit 4, demonstrates how a call will be routed up from Quickline, t o Customer Service, and then finally to the Broker Service pool until it finds an available agent. If no available agent can be located, it will queue in the Broker Services pool until one is available (Page 10, Paragraph 5). We feel this has the potential to have a dramatic effect on operating expenses based on two criteria.First, salaries and benefits make up approximately 70% of the call center expense at LFS (Page 3, Paragraph 3). The idea is that by having an optimal overflow strategy, staffing in the call center could be significantly reduced. In general, customer service agents can handle Quickline calls faster than Quickline agents, and broker service agents can handle calls faster than customer agents, and supervisors are able to handle calls faster than the agents they supervise (Page 3, Paragraph 2).Carr is hedging that by continually routing calls up the chain to more experienced agents that call answer times will dramatically reduce. In order to mitigate the potential of calls dwelling in the broker service pool, Carr intends to intentionally overstaff brokerage while the Quickline and customer service pools would be intentionally understaffed relative to the call volume statistics of any gi ven time (Page 10, Paragraph 5). The design changes outlined above will all help achieve the estimated $1. million in operational savings per year, mostly through economies of scale resulting from the call center consolidation and the increased automation and agent productivity. By eliminating the call centers in Boston and New Jersey, LFS should be able to lower its fixed and variable costs associated with handling customer calls. By leveraging their facilities in Chicago they should be able to reduce unnecessary overhead (lease/depreciation, utilities, telecom, IT), staff (management, HR, training), and costs associated with communications between facilities (travel, postage).Simply put, a single large call center is less expensive to operate than one medium and two small sized ones. Our team believes that the design plan as outlined by Carr can be successful, however, we have identified areas where we think some additional attention needs to be paid by the CSG and LFS management teams to ensure it is. We are primarily concerned that Carr may not have considered the impact closing the two call centers will have on LFS’ long-term business continuity strategy.Today, whether by design or not, LFS appears to have a redundant call routing process that does not rely on any one particular call center to be available in order to process calls. The blizzard in February of 2011 that essentially shutdown the city of Chicago could have prevented anyone from being able to make it into LFS’s offices in order to man the call center. Carr’s future state where there is only the Chicago call center will require the creation of contingency plans to ensure customer service is maintained.With 74 branches nationwide one potential option would be to route calls geographically to the local branch that can service the customers accounts. Additionally, we are concerned that there has not been enough focus on implementation strategy. Items that need to be addressed are time frames, expenses involved in system development and integration, as well as an asset disposition plan. A well-defined implementation strategy should also take into consideration the morale of LFS’ employees throughout the consolidation effort.Based on our evaluation, Carr’s proposed design will deliver a consistent and exemplary level of custo mer service, short time to answer, and reduce LFS’ annual operating expense by $1. 5 million. In order to realize these gains LFS’ executive management in the short-term need to focus on building their implementation strategy and developing a change management plan that addresses the issues outlined previously: business continuity, disposition lan for the Boston and New Jersey call centers, and managing employee morale. In the mid-term, LFS needs to execute their strategy and change management plans. They will need to ensure they are committed to the project and assign the proper priority and personnel to have a successful implementation. In the long-term, they should establish procedures to monitor Carr’s recommended quality measures (Page 9) and make any necessary adjustments to maintain agent productivity and quality service.

The Brotherhoods in the Invisible Man free essay sample

The Brotherhood in the Invisible Man Brotherhoods are associations, usually of men, that unite for common purposes. The members in the brotherhood typically respect one another, defend one another, and cooperate to obtain specific goals. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States, whose goal is to create better employment opportunities for workers. Kappa Sigma and Sigma Chi are two of the largest university fraternities in the country and whose similar values are leadership, service, and scholarship. In the novel, the narrator rarely speaks of his family, except for his grandfather who continues to appear throughout the text, thus there is a large absence of family. Brotherhood is a notion in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, where the narrator joins a brotherhood to create bonds with other men like him. In the novel, the narrator encounters three brotherhoods that prove self-serving organizations that prey on the Black community. The narrator comes into contact with three man-led brotherhoods with very distinct ideologies. The first brotherhood the narrator encounters is led by a West Indian man by the name of Ras, the Exhorter. Ras the Exhorter supports a specific, black-centered worldview. He feels deeply rooted for black segregation and power. Ras believes in returning to his roots as a black man and has a hatred for the white man. Perhaps Ras is modeled off of Marcus Garvey, a political figure of the 1950s who believed in returning to Africa and his roots. Brother Jack, the opposite of Ras, is another leader the narrator meets and joins his Brotherhood. The Brotherhood practices to an ideology based on that of American communist groups in the 1930s. Their ideology is centered on the Marxist theory of history which holds that those of lower social status must submit themselves to the unavoidable class struggles on the path to equality (Marx: Theory of History). The last leader of a brotherhood is led by Rinehart. Rinehart’s brotherhood is not as distinct in political awareness of the community as Ras or Brother Jack, but the clear difference in Rinehart’s brotherhood is appearance or identity. Rinehart represents a conception of identity, the idea that a person’s identity can change completely depending on where one is and with whom one interacts. Brother jack and Ras, the Exhorter tend to have brotherhoods formally organized with platforms, speeches made, and events, whereas Rinehart’s brotherhood is hidden and cannot be easily detected. While adventuring Harlem, the narrator encounters the various personalities that make up the three leaders of the brotherhoods. Ras, the Exhorter is first viewed when the narrator enters the city but becomes a much stronger force once the narrator has joined the Brotherhood and stands in opposition to Ras. Ras is inspiring because he has a message that blacks want to listen to, the unity of race. On the other hand, he is terrifying, because his methods are violent. He is perceived not as a visionary but as a dangerous militant, irrational, ridiculous figure. â€Å"†¦knowing that Ras was not funny, or not only funny, but dangerous as well, wrong but justified, crazy and yet coldly sane†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Invisible Man p. 426). Brother Jack gains the narrator’s trust by being kind and compassionate at first, offering him a ton of opportunities like money, a job, and the chance to represent his community. â€Å"He gave the impression that he understood much and spoke out of knowledge far deeper than appeared on the surface of his words† (p. 223). The narrator is aware of Brother Jack’s strange confidence in following him and addressing him in the restaurant. While eating, Brother Jack buys the narrator dessert and proposes the narrator a chance to join the Brotherhood. There are many strings attached to the benefits that the narrator obtains through working for the Brotherhood. Brother Jack demands that the narrator renounce his past, focus on the collective, and use abstract jargon and ideology in his speeches. â€Å"Our discipline demands therefore that we [Brotherhood] talk to no one and that we avoid situations in which information might be given away unwittingly. So you must put aside your past† (p. 234). The last leader Rinehart does not physically appear in the novel however the narrator learns about his different personas when he disguises himself and is taken to be Rinehart. By wearing dark green shades and a big hat for a disguise, people in the streets recognize him as the man Rinehart. Through their perceptions of him, the narrator sees how Rinehart has taken on the conflicting identities of a lover, hipster, runner, pimp, briber, and Reverend. â€Å"He was a broad man, a man of parts who got around. Rinehart the rounder. † (p. 376). Rinehart appears to be especially devious and deceptive, in reality; he has simply learned to adapt to his environment. Two of the three leaders offer the narrator lifestyles that would help him gain some recognition or benefits like Brother Jack and his brotherhood or Rinehart and the ability of disguise. Ras doesn’t necessarily offer a lifestyle to the narrator, and instead they become fast enemies. The narrator develops different relationships with the leaders of the three brotherhoods. Each of the leaders develops either a friendship or becomes an enemy except Rinehart who is neither to the narrator. Ras is the main black opponent to the Brotherhood whom the narrator has to deal with in Harlem. He calls the narrator a traitor for not militantly supporting his race against the white establishment. â€Å"I ahm no black educated fool who t’inks everything between black mahn and white mahn can be settled with some blahsted lies in some bloody books written by the white mahn in the first place† (p. 284). Throughout the novel, the tension between the narrator and Ras intensifies until Ras wants to kill him. â€Å"Hang him up to teach the black people a lesson, and theer be no more traitors. No more Uncle Toms! Hang him up theer with them blahsted dummies† (p. 421). The narrator develops various relationships with Brother Jack when he joins the Brotherhood. Brother Jack approaches the narrator first as a friend that could be loyal when they first meet in the restaurant. Throughout the novel, the narrator’s relationship shifts from friend-friend, leader-follower, father-son, brother-brother, and finally human-machine with Brother Jack as the former in each of the relationships. The leader-follower relationship is first realized when the narrator analyzes Brother Jack after observing his behavior around the other members. Brother Jack very authoritative, the others always respectful. He must be a powerful man, I thought, not a clown at all† (p. 236). The father-son relationship occurs when the narrator gives his first speech as a new member of the Brotherhood. â€Å"He stood up front beside a microphone, his feet planted solidly on the dirty canvas-covered platform, looking from side to side; his posture dignified and benign, like a bemused father, listening to the performance of his adoring children† (p. 257). Before the narrator is made a member of the Brotherhood, there is a scene where the narrator is surrounded by the members and is initiated into the group. â€Å"I was swept into the large room and introduced by my new name. Everyone smiled and seemed eager to meet me†¦All grasped me warmly by the hand† (p. 236). During this scene, the narrator and Brother Jack are considered brothers, or as equals. The last relationship, human-machine, occurs when Brother Jack uses the narrator to help the brotherhood create destruction in Harlem. Rinehart plays as a disguise for the narrator near the end of the novel, when the narrator is fleeing from Ras and his group. The narrator never truly meets Rinehart, but instead uses Rinehart as a mask to learn more about the community. â€Å"I was both depressed and fascinated. I wanted to know Rinehart and yet, I thought, I’m upset because I don’t have to know him, that simply becoming aware of his existence, being mistaken for him, is enough to convince me that Rinehart is real† (p. 376). At first, the narrator feels that Rinehart’s adaptability in the community enables a kind of freedom, but he quickly realizes that Rinehart’s fluidity also represents a complete loss of individual selfhood. In the end, the liquidity of Rinehart’s identity is one of the forces that compel the narrator to discover his own more solid identity. The narrator rarely truly develops a personal relationship with the leaders of the brotherhood. Only two, Brother Jack and Rinehart offer a small shield of protection or light to temporarily stand in to allow the narrator to express thoughts, however not his true genuine ideas. In the novel Invisible Man, the three brotherhoods devise strategies in manipulating the community to obtain benefits best fit for their organization. Ras, the Exhorter uses the appeal of emotion to help rally people for campaign. The narrator finds this method irrational and annoying because Ras is able to gather up people better than the Brotherhood. â€Å"†¦when I first came to Harlem one of the first things that impressed me was a man making a speech from a ladder. He spoke very violently and with an accent, but he had an enthusiastic audience†¦Why can’t we carry our program to the street the same way† (p. 276). Ras also uses violence to get his point across whereas the Brotherhood uses logic and reason in their approach. The Brotherhood defines history as a force shaped by the peoples will, when actually the Brotherhood defines the peoples will and thereby shapes history. There is a strict hierarchical organization of the Brotherhood, its central committee, is the principal definer and mover of history with the lower committees as puppets or pawns. On the surface, it seems to reflect the peoples desires, but truly it is but a means of asserting the committees power over the people. According to Jack, the narrator was speaking not for his private interests in mind but as a response to what the people wanted. â€Å"At any rate, through our very position in the vanguard we must do and say the things necessary to get the greatest number of the people to move toward what is their own good† (p. 381). Somebody has to provide a scientific understanding of this determining force, however, and such a role is conveniently fulfilled by the Brotherhood itself. Although Rinehart is depicted as a con-artist who takes advantage of the people of Harlem, he does so in such a way as to take advantage of everyone in Harlem. Not just the blacks and not just the whites, by playing on the ideas of what they are able to see and what they remain blind to Rinehart dresses according to their needs or environment. â€Å"Was that also what Rinehart was, a principle of hope for which they gladly paid† (p. 382). The Brotherhood supposedly advocates nonviolence and focuses on integration and cooperation where both whites and blacks will be able to work together for the good of society as a whole, especially the poor and oppressed. In contrast, Rass followers advocate freedom and equality even if it means fighting for these rights. The Brotherhood focuses on issues of both race and class, whereas Rass followers emphasize race as the deciding factor. By the narrator making him blind and invisible in the persona of Rinehart, he is finally able to see the reality of how both whites and blacks on their various sides have been working collectively to keep the black people and culture in their place. Rinehart seems to be a mixture of the concepts of Ras and the Brotherhood, yet Rinehart doesn’t allow for his community to come to destruction at the end of the novel. Although Rinehart stands for chaos, his world is full of fluidity in identity that it can represent possibility.