Learning through Print and Film Essay

History is expressed in different ways and through different mediums. This is also the case for the history of Martin Guerre which was a prominent personality in French history. He has numerous contributions in the building of the French world of which includes, but not exclusive to, philosophy, law, sociology and history. Martin Guerre became the subject of various historical learning materials from print to film. This paper will be using two primary sources for the comparative analysis of the two different mediums for learning history specifically the book written by Janet Lewis and the film directed by Daniel Vigne. Before continuing the discussion of the topic of this paper, it is important to note that there are different interpretations of history that is dependent on the individuals who interpret them. Another is that the differences regarding historical accounts are also affected by the point of view. These two concepts are also present in the creation of learning materials regarding history where the gap between the written work and the visual work can be considered to be growing depending on the individuals who create them. The difference between Print and Film based mediums of instruction Written and Film based learning materials are two very different mediums of learning history. Written forms of learning usually require more time and effort to both understand and appreciate since the times have already changed to create a society which is dominantly instant as well as visual though more information is readily available to those who take the time to learn them. Film based learning on the other hand may lose much of their meaning since creators essentially have control over the film. The primary constraint of films are their time limitations where most films can only present information that they have evaluate to be important and leave those that they have deemed unimportant unpresented. Provided the limitation, the nature of the film industry produces material that can be easily remembered and understood as it stimulates the mind of the individual where almost all information have already been processed. The only thing that individuals who watch these movies need to do is to absorb the knowledge being presented. These ideas will be explained in more detail in the succeeding discussions of the paper where the conclusion is an assessment as to which the writer prefers is a better medium for instruction in the historical field. Pros and Cons of Printed medium of instruction There are numerous pros to be considered when using printed materials for learning. One of them is the amount of data that can be present in printed mediums. There are usually more information that is present in printed versions of history which gives readers a more in depth understanding of the subject matter that they want to be learning. Writers of these materials provide as much information as they can in this medium of instruction. Usually, only factual information are included in these kinds of materials which can be considered as credible and â€Å"true†. Books, journals and other written forms of communication are also more strictly scrutinized since the purpose of such material is usually for learning thus provides the individuals a more credible source of information. Another advantage of this kind of medium is that readers are encouraged to think more in order to understand the matter that is being presented. They will be using their minds to imagine and interpret the matter which is said to develop mental capacity as well as its capabilities. Disadvantages of using the printed versions of history is that it is time consuming wherein a student would usually require large amounts of time, depending on the reader’s ability to read and absorb information that is presented in them. Also, printed materials are considered boring and more difficult to understand. This is one of the greatest obstacles to learning since students find it more difficult to be involved in the study of the subject matter if it does not spark their interest. Printed materials also usually impose a greater mental toll in the minds of readers which makes the use of books particularly more difficult to use. Another disadvantage with the use of books is its affordability. There are many books there and many of them cost a lot of money. Books considered better than others cost more than those whose credibility are not scrutinized. This way, buyers are ensured of credibility but at the cost of making it more difficult to acquire especially for students (though libraries can be used). Pros and Cons of Film Based learning Mediums Film based learning materials also have their own pros and cons. First to be explored is its advantages. Films are a great source of information especially if the person who made it is able to determine which information is more important than the others. Since not all information will be able to be presented using this medium of instruction, creators are already tasked with interpreting and analyzing the collection of data for those who will watch them. In other words, films already present their own interpretation of the data available to them which leaves the individuals who will watch an already digested version. Another advantage of using films as mediums of instruction is that they usually only take up a definite duration of time usually ranging from one and a half to two hours which allows time for other activities. This means that an individual could easily understand the film during that time and if not they can easily replay the film or parts of the film that they missed or did not understand. Films also provide its readers with a more exciting and enjoyable learning experience as films are especially made to stimulate its watchers to make messages easier to convey. Moving and dynamic characters that are viewed appeal to many more individuals since films are able to easily capture the attention of viewers, thus making them more perceptive to the lessons and messages of the film. The visual element of films also aid in the memory of students since they would be able to better remember events that had an impact to them. The disadvantages of film based medium of instruction on the other hand are also numerous. One is that since the presented information in these films are already interpreted and analyzed, it provides students with a limited perspective of the events that had happened during those times. Films provide those who watch it a pretty distinct and straight forward interpretation of the events showcased in the film which does little for other interpretations. Also, since not all information are able to be presented in the film, there is a high chance that some important information may not be included. The nature of films is primarily based on entertainment which means that some elements of the lessons and messages may not be given that much importance since it could be easily covered up with artistic elements. There is also a very high chance that the presentation of characters and events may be different from what had actually happened especially since films are highly subjective based on the views of their creators. The Presentation of Preference and Justification Being presented with the pros and cons of each medium, when given a chance to choose between the two to be used for academic study, two views will be taken into account. One is in the point of view of introductory courses, those who are taking the subject as an elective or those who do not plan on taking the subject as seriously. The other point of view is regarding those who plan on taking the subject matter seriously as the focus of their education. Those who take the subject matter only as an introductory course or only as a requirement and not as a serious topic for their course will be better served by using film based medium of instruction since the purpose of which is to encourage and spark their interest for them to decide for a more serious study. When they do decide for a more serious study, films are no longer seen as an effective tool for study since it would not be able to give them comprehensive knowledge about history. The serious study of history would require its student’s awareness of even small or minor events of a certain subject in order to facilitate better and deeper understanding. Overall, it is preferred that the serious study of history is to be conducted using printed material. This is simply a more effective way to develop academicians in this field since it develops the necessary academic discipline and different analytical skills. Also there are more sources that are created each year than the number of movies that are being produced in line with this matter. Also, films are more focused on the artistic value of the film rather than providing a source of credible and accurate depiction of historical events which makes it unfit for being a serious resource for the academe. The amount of information are only limited and there is very big risk of the interpretation by the film makers being wrong which would also mean that the impression and messages that they push out to the individuals may also be wrong or at the very least, inaccurate. Though, film resources are very convenient, they do not constitute nor facilitate actual academic learning and development of the necessary skills in order in the field. Comments Changing times usually also mean changing methods of learning. There are pros and cons in each of these mediums but the best mediums are those that provide its students with quality and credible information. As of the moment, printed materials are still the ones who are able to satisfy this requirement of the academe though other sources could still be used as supplementary tools for learning. Reading printed materials is still considered the best way to learn in the academe despite its crude mediums and limitations. There is no shortcut for knowledge and information can only be truly acquired through effort, persistence and determination to learn about the subject matter. Shortcuts would also only provide limited information which is not advisable in the academe. Perhaps in the future another medium would emerge and again provide individuals who wish to study history another kind of learning experience but until the time that they are able to reproduce the same accuracy and credibility that books provide, they would not be able to rival that of the books. Books or written accounts have been used since humans were able to formulate their own writing system. The method is still the most effective means to learn even until today perhaps because there is yet to be a method that can be used to rival it.

Innovation and Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Innovation and Change - Assignment Example 7) and he argued that entrepreneurs are those who perform and carry out new combinations by finding and taking opportunities to be seized to create new products or service and to establish a new marketable contribution to the economy (McDaniel, 2002, p. 57). Innovation is one of the most vital constituents in advancing living standard and wealth creation. Innovation may occur from different guises, but the roles played by both large scale and small to medium sized enterprises in creating innovation and translating the same to useful needs and wants to be met by customers in the market are undeniably critical. Since Schumpeter argued that entrepreneur is an innovator in 1950s, many researchers investigated the relationship between innovation and performance and examined whether small to medium or large scale enterprises are better at innovating than the other (Gronum, Verreynne and Kastelle, 2012, p. 257). The importance of Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as drivers for econ omic development and for improved social wellbeing has been increasingly acknowledged. Moreover, innovation capacity is a critical requirement for the survival of SMEs (Wolf, Kaudela-Baum, Meissner, 2011, p. 242) mainly because better entrepreneurs are those who are good at innovating and therefore they are found to be successful. This piece of research paper investigates the argument that small to medium sized enterprises are better at innovating than large scale businesses and examines how successful are SMEs in innovating their goods or services. In order to analyze and critically evaluate the argument, this paper explains the meaning and conceptual framework of SMEs, addresses their role in the economy and explains why they are considered as important in terms of its contribution to innovation. Small and medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the vast majority of all businesses in almost all the countries and they play a very central role in the economy. SMEs are the major sources of entrepreneurial skills, innovation and employment that in turn help the economy grow further. Analoui and Karami (2003, p. 25) defined SMEs as one that has only a small share of its concerned market and is managed in a personalized way by its owner or part-owner, but not through a medium of an elaborate management system. SMEs are not sufficiently large to get access to the capital market for publically issuing of securities. Researchers used different constructs such as annual sales, number of employees, value added, value of assets, annual profits etc to define and explain SMEs. Out of these constructs, number of employees and annual sales are most often used to delimit the category of SMEs. For most researchers, a small to medium sized firm is one that employs no more than 250 persons and is having annual sales of not more than ?50 million (Analoui and Karami, 2003, p. 26). According to OECD, SMEs are non-subsidiary and independ ent firms that employ less than a given number of people. The most frequent upper

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean Research Paper

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean - Research Paper Example Implicit within the patriarchal ideology was the perception that those outside the hegemonic male were losers and inferior to males. The paper explores the status and role of women in ancient Mediterranean. A review of women’s agency in ancient civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Rome demonstrates the social, political, and cultural factors that propelled female empowerment. In addition to the powerful images of goddesses and women’s roles within the religious sphere, women’s activities manifested within other social realms including economic, health, war, poetry, governance, and philosophy (Rutland 16). Largely, the sphere of religious practice can be regarded as an opportunity for exceptional women to attain their own value within a culture that concisely defined feminine roles as subservient to masculine models. Hence, historians highlight the Minoan civilization that appeared to manifest several of female deities backing the assumption that women in Knossos benefited from religious gender democratization. In most cases, only exceptional women who are atypical of the mainstream impacted on the politics of the day, mainly through their husbands as was the case of Olympias (Alexander the Great mother). This observation also applies to Cleopatra VII, who was the final Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty. This was also true of the egalitarian early Christian church that largely relegated women to the home to serve their husbands (Walcot 163). Discussion In ancient Mediterranean, women ranked along property rather than separate legal persona. As a result, the control of women remained a male prerogative; hence, adultery or rape remained sins against the male members of the family (husband, father, and brothers), and only incidentally against the victim (woman). This is well captured in the book of Deuteronomy (22:25-8), whereby if a married woman is raped within the confines of the city and is not heard to cry out, the ordeal i s not considered rape but adultery, and as such, should be castigated accordingly. In the ancient Mediterranean, prostitutes were depicted as dangerous, capable of stripping men their virtue (at worse their masculinity) since they were not within the confines of a dominant male. Women came out as irrational, prone to hysteria, and sex-obsessed. Women, especially virgins formed a section of the limited good of the society as limited resources to be pursued and acquired by men of prestige, power, and wealth. Men epitomized status and honor while women epitomized decorum and purity and lack of these meant the presence of shame. The social stigma heightened the powerlessness of the woman (Walcot 163). For instance, upon registration, a prostitute lost her healthy liberties as a citizen and listed for life and marriage or motherhood could not eliminate her name from the list. This highlights that a prostitutes occupation was the core determinant of her entire life-style and the stigma as sociated with the occupation could not be eliminated. There is ample literature on the social structures of honor and shame and how they affected women within Mediterranean antiquity. Honor and shame acted as coordinates in an intricate matrix of other societal factors such as kinship, economic control, social networking, and social hierarchy. The honor code derived from gender roles linked to sex, whereby honor can be ascribed to men while shame to women. In this model, the honor of the family resides in its women (women embody the possibility for shame via their sexual conduct); however, men carry the responsibility for protecting women (considered as the â€Å"

5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

5 - Assignment Example There was no element of destiny in this whole gamut of things, as this was simply a planned invasion. The invasion and intervention of US repeated in about â€Å"26 states with approximately 6.6 million deaths since then† (Sullivan, 8). The nations which fell victims to American invasions include â€Å"Guatemala, Iran, Cuba, Lebanon, Laos, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Libya, Somalia† and many more. Such an enormous destructive power can never be simply justified using the excuse of destiny. The next major war fought by US after Spanish-American war was the Second World War in which the world saw the cruelest weapon in human history, being used- the atom bomb. US masterminded and commanded the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a killing spree in which millions died. In Vietnam war, even the majority of people at home hated American government for using chemical weapons and sacrificing many an American youths’ lives on the alter of the war (Sullivan, 75). When 9/11 happened, it was the culmination of a process that started almost half a century back, when to defeat Soviet Union and to diminish its powers, America had promoted Islamic fundamentalists including Osama Bin Laden (Sullivan, 155). Afghan war was only a preamble after which America invaded Iraq as well (Sullivan, 155, 41, 148). The WMDs that America searched for in Iraq were never to be found. America being the largest manufacturer of modern weaponry in the world, all these violent interventions that US made in the world as a nation, was in tune with its mercantile interests and policies. This is the hidden agenda even behind the so-called ‘war on terrorism’ that is being fought even

Urbanization of Human Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urbanization of Human Population - Essay Example Human beings exceed in capacity than any other community of animals. The behavior of human beings is now compared to those of insects. The speed in growth of human population is not appreciated because it is becoming detrimental. Before the year 1850, there was no community that was urbanized until the year 1900 when Great Britain was recognized as an urbanized community. Currently all industrial countries are urbanized, and they have a rapid population growth (Davis, 5). The world as a whole is not fully urbanized, but it will be in recent years. Even the most urbanized countries show some signs of rural origins, and this is a sign of rapid urbanization. The entire impacts of man’s organic and social revolution can only be guessed. Urbanization is the total population living in urban cities. It is incorrect to assume urbanization to be the growth of cities. The movie industrial revolution shows that cities can grow without urbanization as long as rural population grows at a greater rate (Palmer). The movie also shows people have a misconception of the term urbanization because growth of cities and urbanization has occurred together. It is therefore, important to differentiate the two terms. For instance, the most advanced countries are experiencing growth in urban population yet their population is diminishing. The process of urbanization that involves concentration of human beings in cities has a beginning, and an end but the development of cities has no end. The major difference between a rural village and an urban c ommunity is their system of operation, which changes from one nation to another. The movie power and the people describe the major problem as not identifying the floor of urbanization, but it is identifying the boundaries that define an urban area. The people living within a certain political boundary (John, 15) determined the population of a city. The urban population in advanced countries has been spilling over political boundaries. The outward spread of the population made based on political boundaries does not offer a precise estimate of the city population since it exaggerates rural population. It is a major concern that many years between the emergences of small cities with that of urbanized city. It is also curious that places where urbanization originated are not the places that gave rise to major cities of the past. On the contrary, these places are known to have had low urbanization growth. Northern areas of Europe were very rural in the medieval period that it was difficu lt to understand urbanization. The nonurban nature of towns erased the parasitic culture of towns that eventually provided a basis for revolution. The adverse conditions that were a predicament for the age to come were low production in medieval agriculture in the acre and man term. The other reason was the feudal social system. The first reason implied that towns could not develop on local agriculture alone, and they needed to trade and manufacture items for trading. The second reason meant that they could not gain political dominance over their neighborhood. Therefore, it was rational for them to specialize in commerce and manufacture items for trading. Artisans were given houses in towns because they manufactured commodities and controlled prices of products. There was competition between towns that resulted in specialization

KEPAK STRATEGY Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

KEPAK STRATEGY - Literature review Example                     Ã‚         Introduction Kepak was founded in the mid-1960s by Noel Keating as a retail butcher’s business supplying wholesale beef to the food service sector and into other markets. Kepak had a turnover of Є750 million in 2010 and had 1700 employees. The company processes 300 000 cattle and 1.5 million lambs each year. It operates through nine manufacturing facilities in Ireland and UK. The company’s principal activity is animal slaughter and the sale of meat in cut and processed formats through Kepak Meat Division. The firm has substantial business interests in convenience foods operated through Kepak Convenience Foods and an agricultural commodities trading business, Agra Trading. This paper explores Kepak’s business strategy in response to industry challenges and opportunities (Bell, Mcloughlin and Shelman, 2011, P.3). Examination of Kepak’s business environment The most popular tool in strategic management for analysing the business environment of a company is PESTEL. In the case of Kepak, the economic environment was affecting business negatively as the industry lacked predictability in financial performance. This according to the company CEO from 2010, John Horgan, made it difficult for Irish beef processors to plan for growth. In addition, Kepak was not a listed company thus limiting its access to capital to borrowing or trading profits in a very capital intensive business (Bell, Mcloughlin and Shelman, 2011, P.3). Supply chain consists of producers who sell cattle to processors who market the product internationally. Most of the cattle are grass fed and takes up to 30 months to mature compared to cereal fed beef which can finish in 12-15 months. The presence of agents hampers innovation in the supply chain as their role is historical and; therefore, they added little value (Bell, Mcloughlin and Shelman, 2011, P.3). Political and legislative factors are seen to influence the firms busi ness where the EU-wide introduction of decoupled Single Payment Schemes moved subsidy payments from actual production of commodities to other objectives contributing to a reduction in beef production. These factors negatively affected the firms business as there was an increase in live beef exports after 2008 as it was more profitable to export live-calf than to mature, slaughter and process them in Ireland. Change in the economic environment caused an increase investment by farmers in dairy products leading to a reduction in beef production as well as a concern among processors that this would lower the quality of beef products (Bell, Mcloughlin and Shelman, 2011, P.3). With respect to porter five forces, there were three major players in the beef processing industry and who accounted for 60-65% of the capacity and output. The perception was that these competitors would rather suffer lower margins than take compromises and retailers used this weakness to play processors against eac h other. Therefore, there was a negative effect of competitor rivalry in the beef business and, which affected the firm’s bottom line. According to literature by Porter, rivalry limits profitability in an industry as it transfers profitability directly to customers through price cuts and in this case customers try to achieve the same by playing firms against each other. Britain is Ireland’s major market for beef exports and shares similarities in both markets in beef tastes, systems of

Pleasure - Morality Essay Example for Free

Pleasure Morality Essay Mill is an heir of an intellectual movement in England known as Utilitarianism; utilitarianism is concerned with the acquisition of pleasure and elimination of pain. John Stuart Mill follows the guidelines of utilitarianism in order to decide if certain actions are moral. Utilitarianism states that a person should perform the action that produces the most pleasurable outcome for every person involved. In order to accurately judge if one pleasure is greater than another, the person must be unprejudiced and have experienced both; such judges will prefer the higher pleasures over the lower ones. However, Mill recognizes that people aren’t always driven to follow moral social standards, because the reasons behind their actions can be not only external but internal as well. What Mill means is that expectations of us from our peers and from a higher being, such as God, do not obligate us to follow these rules set out by society; it is our own feeling within that holds us accountable to these standards. Lastly, Mill believes that in order to be a moral creature, we must obey the three conditions of utility: 1) Goodness is understood as production of happiness, elimination of pain, 2) for all of those concerned with the action, and 3) each counts for one and â€Å"no more than one. † Utilitarian’s believe that a person’s actions are right if they produce happiness; â€Å"the greatest happiness of greatest number,†(Denise, Peterfreund, and White, p. 158). Michael, Peter and Samir are employees at Initech and are planning scamming the company by installing a computer virus that skims money out of the company’s bank account. Mill would look at this action by looking at the conditions of utilitarianism. Although they meet the first criteria of producing happiness through the elimination of pain by acquiring large amounts of money, they do not meet part two or three. In regards to part two, it does produce happiness for the ones directly performing the scam but it indirectly affects the other members working for Initech as well as stakeholders and therefore causes pain for those indirectly affected. Lastly, the third condition to count for one and only one is not met because a lot of people are involved. Mill also considers that in order for an action to be moral, it must come from within. Peter, being the leader of this scam, has no internal morals or considerations for those around him. Michael and Samir are only involved in this scam because they are the brains in this operation and it wouldn’t be possible to perform this action otherwise. Mill believes that although people are motivated by their own desires and they shouldn’t act on them. However, Peter, Michael, and Samir do just that. Mill thinks that when people are excessively fortunate that they are incapable of enjoying it because it only benefits themselves. This goes to show that their scam is immoral because it only directly increases their happiness due to their own self-interests. Also, Mill argues that a person with high capacities will need more to make him happy and therefore is capable of experiencing larger quantities of pain; however, they still shouldn’t allow this to lower their expectations and faculties. Although Peter has experienced a prolonged period of pain while working at Initech through tedious tasks and constant pressure from his eight bosses, this should not be a good enough reason for him to affect others’ faculties and reduce their worth as human beings. Mill says,† it is greater to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied,† (p. 162). In other words, Peter is not capable of experiencing the highest form of pleasure, and therefore chooses to increase the lower pleasures, lowering his existence in the world. Many people who start off wanting everything which is moral sometimes turn to selfish measures. The reason why so many people end up becoming selfish is due to being in occupations that lower their aspirations of something greater; which may be a reason why Michael, Peter, and Samir choose to go through with this scam. They are not unprejudiced judges because they do not know what higher pleasures consist of; due to lack of opportunity. Considering all of these utilitarian schemes, Mill would argue that although on the surface Michael, Samir, and Peter seem to be acting immorally, they could possibly be unable to accurately judge both the higher and lower pleasures because they were not capable of enjoying the higher pleasures.