Thursday, August 22, 2019

Marketing in the Wine Industry Essay Example for Free

Marketing in the Wine Industry Essay There’s more in a glass of wine than meets the eye, or the palate. Wine isn’t just for the rich and affluent anymore. Everyone can enjoy wine, whether it’s a five dollar bottle or a five hundred dollar bottle. Winemakers and wine distribution companies have come up with new and exciting way to market their wines to people of every tax bracket and all walks of life. (Manda) Marketing in the wine industry is changing. Traditionally, consumers looked to opinion leaders like Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator to find the best wines on the market. While those methods are still effective, winemakers and wine enthusiasts have discovered a new way to spread the word about particular wines. Social media has become the new, hot trend in marketing in just about every industry out there right now. And the wine industry is no exception. Corkd. com is a website for wine drinkers and enthusiasts where users can create their own wine journal, wine cellar, shopping list, and connect with online drinking buddies. This website is one way the wine industry as stepped up to the plate and utilized the opportunities of the internet in marketing. â€Å"Cork’d is your pulse on the wine world and an online playground for all things wine. By collaborating with some of the smartest wine drinkers and industry figures, Cork’d is providing you with the most comprehensive, fun and exciting wine content available. Whether you’re a winery looking for exposure or an events company looking to promote or host a tasting, Cork’d wants to talk to you. Our mission is to breakdown the stereotypes, myths and pretenses surrounding wine culture to help you discover and drink better wines. † (corkd. com) Another factor changing the wine industries marketing strategies is where consumers are buying wine. Chain stores and supermarkets have taken over wine distribution from wholesalers. Costco has become one of the largest wine retailers in the United States. According to Michael Roberto, â€Å"Theres no question that a seismic shift is occurring at the retail and wholesale level. The number of alcoholic beverage wholesalers in the U. S. has decreased by 75 percent since the 1960s. At the retail level, wine sales are increasingly shifting to supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and the like. For instance, Robert Mondavi now sells 10 percent of its wine in unit terms through Costco. These changes in the retail and distribution channels present substantial challenges for wineries, of course, because these powerful players such as Costco have much more clout and bargaining power than small liquor stores. Smaller vineyards often can find it more difficult to secure shelf space, and all wineries find themselves facing pricing pressure from the retail and distribution channels. † Even though many wineries do not like the changes and small retail shops are suffering because of this shift, many consumers are actually profiting from these changes. Winemakers have found another fun way to market their wines simply with their labels. The new â€Å"trend† in the wine business is a funky label. Traditionally, wine labels were simple and to the point. The label had the name of the vineyard, the year, and basic information about the wine in a simple fashion. Recently, winemakers have started to get creative with the names of their wines and the design of their bottles and labels. Now, when you walk down an aisle in a store filled with different wines there are many different bottles that stick out because of loud colors, wild pictures, or crazy names on the label. This is a great form of marketing to use for wine because the bottle itself is a great marketing tool. Many consumers will buy a bottle of wine just because they like how the bottle looks or maybe they are giving it as a gift and the title is something catchy that conveys some type of message that relates to the person who is receiving the wine. For example, there is a wine called â€Å"Bitch† wine. The wine itself is not bad, but its nothing to rave about. One of the main reasons that particular wine is so popular is because of the name. The label is black with pink script font with â€Å"Bitch† printed on the front, and on the back it just repeats the name of the wine over and over again. This wine is marketed to women and is a perfect gift to give a friend as a joke they can enjoy. Women have become a hot target market for wine makers. According to the 2006 Adams Wine Handbook, Men prefer beer; women prefer wine, Many women are emerging as winemakers and marketers are realizing the potential for profit in female consumers. â€Å"Women make up 52 percent of the adult population and purchase 57 percent of the wine consumed in the United States. 1 They represent a huge market with great purchasing power that until recently has been overlooked. According to experts, women are less influenced by wine ratings, as they tend to judge the entire product. Although the wine quality is important to women, so are the label design, the bottle shape and the philosophy of the winery. † (Wine Institute) While there are many new ways to market wine, the traditional methods are still widely used. Promotion in the wine industry is all about putting the name of the winery on everything from wine keys to wine bags to key chains to hats. Wine distribution companies have always been know to give out free merchandise with the name of the wines they sell everywhere. This is a great way to advertise. Consumers love to receive free things and that opens up a great opportunity for wineries to advertise with little cost. California former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September as â€Å"Wine Celebration Month†, also known as California Wine Month. This is another great way for wineries to get their name and wines out in the public. DiscoverCalifornaiWine. com states, â€Å"September is California Wine Month, and that makes it a fine time to enjoy a glass of California wine and a visit to wine country. September is harvest time in California and California Wine Month celebrates the state’s ideal climate for wine, beautiful wine country landscape, our talented and ingenious winemaking families, our celebrated lifestyle and cuisine; and our commitment to sustainability and the environment. † Another trend in the world of wine is sustainability and organics. Many vineyards around have become 100 percent sustainable and the numbers are growing. The new world culture is all about reducing our carbon and ecological footprint. So many wineries have actually capitalized on this idea. Wineries have begun to include their efforts at social responsibility in their advertising. Which caters to a growing market of consumers, as many people nowadays will only buy organic. Tolosa is a winery that has recently dedicated itself to sustainability and creating wine without harming the environment. One if their brochures stated that, â€Å"In August 2009 Tolosa converted to solar electrical generation. This system will provide the winery’s electrical energy for the next 25 years. CO2 emissions reduced by over 500 tons. This is equivalent to planting nearly 100 acres of trees. † Tolosa is one of the many wineries’ that has begun to capitalize on sustainability. The times have changed and so have marketing strategies of the wine industry. The wine industry is booming more than ever. Success in the wine industry is possible whether a company uses new or old marketing techniques. In this new age, the marketing department should focus on women and social media. As Tinckenell and Tincknell, a wine consulting and marketing firm, have written on the front page of their website MarketingWine. com, â€Å"If it doesnt come from the heart, the message will be hollow. If you dont imagine it first, someone else will. If it isnt inspired and creative, it wont get noticed. Each link in the marketing process the heart, the mind, and creativity communicates your story to the world. † Works Cited About Cork’d  « Corkd Content. Corkd Content. Web. 20 June 2011. http://content. corkd. com/about/. Discover California Wines : California Wine Month. Discover California Wines : Welcome to Discover California Wines. Web. 20 June 2011. http://www. discovercaliforniawine. com/learn/california-wine-month. The Changing Structure of the Global Wine Industry (2004). Michael Roberto. Salls, Manda. Marketing Wine to the World — HBS Working Knowledge. HBS Working Knowledge Faculty Research at Harvard Business School. Web. 20 June 2011. http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/3910. html.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Battleship Potemkin By Sergei Eisenstein Film Studies Essay

Battleship Potemkin By Sergei Eisenstein Film Studies Essay Battleship Potemkin (1925) is a typical illustration of a film that led to become a sign for revolution. One can argue how this particular work attempted to form a new cinema, and through critically looking at the films theme/ideology, narrative structure, filmmaking techniques and editing (montage), with paying close attention to the Communist ideology, Imagism, Marxism, Futurism, the Hegelian theory, and Mexican influence one can justify that Eisenstein founded the start to this new cinema. Imagine a cinema which is not dominated by the dollar; a cinema industry where ones man pocket is not filled at other peoples expense; which is not for the pockets of two or three people, but for the heads and hearts of 150 million peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Suddenly a new cinema arises. (Sergei Eisenstein, 1926) It was without a doubt a moment for specifically Sergei Eisenstein creating a benchmark in cinema history, a means of promotion to become a Bolshevik (a communist) and of course; a new overall experience that began for cinema screening audiences in the 1920s that was not dominated by the dollar but reached into the hearts of the audience. The recent Bolshevik state saw film as a vital tool in the revolutionary struggle, and immediately set about reconstructing the film industry. (Annette Kuhn, 1991: 3) Thus, in reconstructing the film industry, a new cinema was formed. The society looked back on the 1905 Russian Revolution ushering an era of much change in not only the society structure but in the arts field. It was what anyone could understand it as a chance to shed some new light, to bring something new to the shelves, to be creative, to rebel on the past and most of all to become new. This was inevitably a chance for Eisenstein, with all his influence from past Directors and with the success of Eisensteins Strike (1925), to become an historical figure and role model to future films and directors. Battleship Potemkin was inevitably created in order to celebrate the abortive Revolution (Annette Kuhn, 1991: 3) Eisenstein then, with which we clearly see in this film, fed off the Potemkin rebellion as the central metaphor for the Revolution. The propaganda is seen to be Marxist propaganda for it merely being a socio-political view that surrounds a political ideology (Avineri, 1968: 6) of the Russian revolution. We can also see the films techniques through Imagism; Images used to create a new image (Avineri, 1968: 8) and finally Cubism; Putting together several perspectives into one frame which creates one overall message. (Avineri, 1968: 14) New cinema can also be seen through how Russian film-makers found themselves in an industry almost completely devoid of native traditions. (Karel Reisz, 1954: 6) Thus, these film makers had a) nothing that they had to follow, stick to and carry on with and b) had a big opportunity to incorporate a new cinema. One could only imagine that there directors thus became propagandists and teachers to the society and had a task to use film medium as a means of instructing the masses in the Russian Revolution and to train a young generation of film-makers to fulfill a task (Karel Reisz, 1954: 7) Thus, this opened doors for filmmakers such as Eisenstein to set about finding new ways to express ideas in order to communicate the Russian Revolution, and secondly, to develop a theory of filmmaking that could be seen as a benchmark in cinema history. Instead of only taking a look into the historical background of this film (the Revolution) one can also see the influence that Eisensetiens background had on the coming together of this film, and the new cinema aspects and techniques. Eisenstein went to Mexico where he went to help his friend film the country. The whole country was montage-editing theoretically speaking; the way we see birth to death is all but a continuous cycle. (Marilyn Fabe, 2004: 48) Inevitably this could be apparent anywhere in the world, but we can see a link with the goddesses and catholic saints that clearly relates to Mexico. Thus, one can argue that this is a metaphor for Mexico seen to Eisenstein as well as an influence. Typage is a term used to describe that characters in this film were chosen based on their type, rather than their star reputation. Not only does this conflict with Classic Hollywoods star structure, but it fed off on to Italian Neorealism, as one can see in Bicycle Thieves. (1948) Typage is purely to enhance realism and make the audience feel like they can relate as such characters are common, every day, people. This technique also influences the emotional response (stimuli) and engagement from the audience, who are ideally the critiques of all means of art. The effect that Typage has on this film, is that it not only takes power and sentiment away from the political statement as much as possible but correlates the message more to the action, rather than to the individual actor matter and power. It is clear that if one takes new cinema into perspective, and correlates it with new-found means of filmmaking montage editing was evidentially the new foundation of film art. There is no art without conflict, Sergei Eisenstein (1926) once wrote and thus we see that he merely created conflict by the juxtaposition of shots, which created an underlying symbolic meaning that can be seen through realism, compressing of time and audience engagement and is inevitably more important than the mise-en-scene. Thus becoming new to the screens as mise-en-scene can be argued as the most important aspect to past film directors. For someone who doesnt understand montage, it is simply briefly understood as the cutting of shots and then bringing them back together. We can see that through all the cutting and putting back of shots, it produces one overall idea which ties in with the story line. Lev Kuleshov (1970) explains this best when he correlates images of his facial expressions cut to a woman playing with a baby, and then the same facial expression cut to a woman in her bikini. It immediately changes the idea behind the shot. The relationship of shots can either be seen as similar, or contrary, can be seen as opposite. This is where conflict comes into play and forms a message. For example, when two men enter from either sides of the screen with guns or swords in hand, the juxtaposition creates significance by signifying conflict between the two men, but also signifies that they will unite. Montage also enhances movement. Early films that would go on for hours on end would drag out the movement to tell a story. However, the jump-cutting still creates a known-movement without the characters actually following through the whole entire movement. Ideally the editing takes place in the removal of the body, and the audience is shown the introduction and conclusion of the movement. Thus, we can gather what the body entailed for it to have gotten to the conclusion. Reference to this can be seen in Odessa Steps scene analysis to follow. When looking back at the earliest films, some of them hours and hours long, we can understand when watching this film that not only did editing enhance the viewing experience of the audience, but it cut down shots that need not be shown. Thus, resulting in a film only 80 minutes long with over 1000 shots, compared to the regular 90minute film with half the amount of shots. (Marilyn Fabe, 2004: 48) However, it was not only about enhancing the viewing experience, but was also about a tool for education and propaganda, thus creating a powerful narrative structure. With reference back to the Juxtaposition conflict between shots was not only about using shots up against each other that were so different, yet flowed, but an underlying meaning also added to this new cinema. As what I can begin to understand it as a conflict of innocence vs. violence; as one can see when the young child is trampled by the laborers and when the mother brings attention to the soldiers. Throughout this film, innocence and violence become so apparent and inevitably enhances the political and social statement of the Russian Revolution. This movement feeds off into repetition, rhythm, and content. When shots are repeated often it can either bring a story together or it can take a story back to that time (as we see in many films today that jump cut to the future, or likewise to the past) and it can enhance fear or contrary, bring a calm atmosphere to the audience. The rhythm aspect of montage is ideally a series of shots that create the rhythm and movement motion, which can be used to add suspense or to compress time. Juxtaposition of shots with intended detail added; inevitably creates the content as we can see in Lev Kuleshovs (date) example above. This feeds off to the metaphor of the film, which in this case is the Russian Revolution. Battleship Potemkin is centered around five sub-themes. These can be seen through Men and Maggots; Drama on the Quarterdeck; An Appeal from the Dead; The Odessa Steps; Meeting the Squadron. (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011) The above sub-themes can be seen to in many wayscorrespond with the historical reminiscence of the Russian Revolution event in order to execute the revolution metaphor. This is seen as the plot outline. In men and Maggots, this scene cleverly shows the political and social condition which enhances the realism in this film and introduces the environment of which the story will be told. We are shown the uniforms, the battleship and the cleaning of the ship with boiling soup this can be seen as a metaphor for how they are slowly but surely arriving at boiling point. Here we are also shown The Hegelian theory. The Hegelian theory is a theory that plays a huge role in Battleship Potemkin. It inevitably means that this film holds a utilitarian purpose as well as an artistic purpose. (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011) Thus, meaning that this is propaganda along side art. This is used by Eisenstein mainly to affect the viewers, and actually create meaning and effect in their own personal subjective social and political views. Eisenstein used a psyhco-psychical approach which ideally re-moulds the reflexes of humans and gives them a new perspective on the revolution, leading them in a preferred direction (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011)and can personally be seen as manipulative way. Inevitabely, one can then see through this film, that he enhances a physiological consciousness as his film illustrates happenings and actions instead of just portraying emotions. -Which refers back to Typage. This is effectively portrayed in the Odessa Steps sequence which will be analyzed below. However, in Men With Maggots, we are shown the contrast of faces of offices in conflict with the crew. As what follows from the effect of this theory is the two contrasting forces interim to create a third meaning, thus a third force. This goes back to the example of the two men entering either sides of the frame, and of course, the Lev Kuleshov theory. As we can see in Drama on the Quarterdeck, a subjective-camera is used to add sentiment, and create more realism. We can thus, fully feel and understand the emotion behind the bodies hanging the terror and disgust. In this scene, I also find the cross-cut very interesting in meaning as it shows a connection and linkage between the place of prayer and the rulers. This can illustrates power, or likewise, Eisenstein is portraying a meaning behind belief of the rulers. In the next scene, Appeal from the Dead the one thing that stuck out was the close-up. The close-up of the fist which becomes bigger as the camera sweeps in on it, and as we are shown a fist that slowly clenches as the masses finally make a decision to revolt. It brings about power in the frame and emotion. Close-ups used in this film suck sentiment out to the audience, and are cleverly used on rare occasion to enhance the effect even more. The Odessa Steps is probably the most iconic scene in this film, and effectively portrays such editing to an audience who have never experienced such before. This scene uses montage to build tension; singular moments of fear and terror that finally provoke a violent emotional response from the audience. In this scene one can also clearly see how typage comes into play, and how it enhances the motional response as this scene portrays the force of the action rather than the individual roles of the men and woman. Here we are also shown the laborers scrambling down the steps from a high angled shots not only showering the meaning behind power, but shows the action on a whole and not from one main characters perspective, as we would see in Classic Hollywood. Here we are also shown conflict forces with the disordered rush of masses coming down the steps in relation to the soldiers. If we look at the Odessa Steps in far more detail, we can start to understand how this scene was the turning point in not only Eisensteins career, in history, but also in the film. We are shown close-ups of the laborers facial expressions in relation and in conflict to long shots of the scene as a whole the action of what is actually happening. The rhythm is also increased tremendously, which increases the intensity and emotions of the scene. Lastly, a turnaround of downward movement cleverly portrays the crowds movement in conflict, to the emotions of the woman crying with the baby. And finally, in the last act; Meeting the Squadron we are illustrated by suspense. The shots are slow in rhythm, however, there is a sense of strong unity. In conclusion, one can justifiably argue that Battleship Potemkin attempted to form a new cinema through Eisenstein using the Russian Revolution as a metaphorical benchmark for fresh, innovative ideas that were seen through mainly montage editing, as well as propaganda. As Eisenstein (date) said, We tried to take the historical events just as they were and not to interfere in any shape, manner or form, with the process as it was actually taking place to still bring reality to the screens to portray a real event.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

History of Foreign and Security Policy

History of Foreign and Security Policy Defining Foreign and Security Policy from the Cold War to Present Today’s increasingly globalised community has seen more diplomatic and social evolution in the past half-century than the civilized world has seen in recent memory. The advent of multinational trade and military alliances such as the North Atlantic Trade Organization has increasingly intertwined security policies with foreign policies, which in turn entail more than just military alliances. Foreign subsidies by way of fiscal aid grants and weapons contracts warrant the need for nations to adopt solid, transparent foreign and security policies as the traditional global threat of warfare changes. The most notable examples for security and foreign policies as well as the need for a national and supranational governmental monitor are the United States and the European Union. The aforementioned two bodies share between them diplomatic ties to most every member of the international community. The onus of foreign and security policies becomes more apparent through examination of dipl omatically fragile and militarily-temperamental regions such as the Middle East, whose international agreements and regional alliances are the basis for subsequent American and EU policy, without which allies and trade partners would find little benefit from trade and security agreements. Foreign policy amounts to little more than a series of political guidelines and rules of engagement by which any country implementing it best gains at a certain point in time. Foreign policies are known to change radically from one year to the next; the Cold War is perhaps the greatest testament to the temporal nature of international relations and foreign policy. Robert John Myers notes in his US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century how quickly Western countries changed their approach to the Soviet Union. Prior to 1945 â€Å"during the savage struggle of World War II, the primacy of the wisdom of political realism seemed to have been learned† by the Allies, who interlocked â€Å"inte rest, power, and morality in the councils of the principal Allied power†[1]; the USSR at the time was an indispensable ally against Germany and Japan. Much to the chagrin of their current political detractors, the Soviets were perhaps the most powerful ally America had in the war against the Axis powers, with borders spanning the heart of the Nazi regime and maritime waters bordering the Imperial Japanese. Foreign policy then had nothing to do with the civil liberties, democracy, and freedom of the press so touted today in the same countries that huddled together in opposition to Moscow during the Cold War. Prior to the partition of Germany at the close of the war, it was easily recognizable that â€Å"wartime cooperation to defeat the Axis was clearly important† and Allied foreign policy toward its Soviet contingent was one of camaraderie and mutual interdependence[2]. Once the war ended, however, the close ties between the powers dissipated and politically malignant a ntipathy filled the void. With a barely nascent United Nations absent as policy moderator, the US and the USSR led a series of proxy wars starting with â€Å"the attack by North Korea on South Korea on 25 June 1950,† marking â€Å"the limited cooperation [and mediation] that came to be expected from the UN in the security field†[3]. International mediation, which should have taken place given the alliance that transpired between the US, USSR, and Europe during WWII was all but gone in the years of reconstruction and the escalation of the Cold War. There are two points of speculation given the rise of the Cold War: the first is that the United Nations failed as an international mediator, and the second is that the United Nations was obsolete, serving only to keep other countries out of the periphery of the Soviet-American struggle for dominance. The difference between foreign and security policy during the Cold War was elementary. The American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union was one of mutual trade and sales, the development of which was speculated by many to be a financial insurance policy; if the two superpowers intertwined economically, the idea of armed struggle would be so financially devastating that neither side would be willing to continue along the path to war. American security policy was markedly different given the proxy wars fought in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Foreign policy essentially existed in the case of the Cold War to ensure that security policy would never be employed. The Cold War was a fascinating case of how foreign policy and security policy could run completely contrarian to each other. Any two given nations can foster amicable foreign policies in their approach to each other independent of a covertly hostile security policy as evidenced by the oft-shifting approach of successive American administrations to the Soviet behemoth. Jimmy Carter, for example, â€Å"forbade grain sales to the Soviet Union following the nation’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979,† while â€Å"Ronald Reagan made the unpopular embargo an issue in the 1980 elections, reversing the policy after his election†[4]. The Reagan policy shift did not predicate a change in security policy, as the administration continued its support of Afghan mujahideen forces through arms sales and finance while continuing its agricultural trade with Moscow. It is now well-known that the UN was inconsequential in international mediation throughout the Cold War. This is not to say that an international or supranational regulatory body is not needed; in the case of the US and USSR, the absent (and perhaps powerless) UN was perceived as such because their collective power was dwarfed by the two superpowers. With no military or financial incentive, the question of the relevance of a supranational regulatory body in foreign and security policy is moot. Even today, American foreign policies often contravene UN resolutions with little or no repercussion due to the immense economic, political, and military might of Washington. While the Cold War ended relatively peacefully without UN intervention, the concept of an international body was not scorned by the US, which partnered with various countries to create the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO). It should be noted, however, that the US was an open advocate of NATO for the very reason tha t the UN was not potent enough a body to act on American will or on behalf of American aspirations. International mediation in this sense is needed for the monitoring of foreign and security policy; whether or not mediation will be effective in both sectors is quite another issue. Foreign policy can be monitored, policed, and even dictated by a supranational body as evidenced in the partition of Germany and the formation of the Eastern Bloc post-WWII. Security policy, however, is a point of major contention with any nation faced with the prospect of supranational control. Any nation with major investment (diplomatic or financial) abroad would be reluctant to cede jurisdiction of its own soldiers and sovereignty to an outside body, especially one such as the UN whose member list consists of nations antagonistic to one another. The irony here is that a multi-national group could have foreign and security policy power over a nation whose security policy is antagonistic to one or more members of the same international group. Israel, for example, would embark on an unprecedented leap of faith if it allowed the UN and its Arab members to mediate its security policy, all despite the fact that from the first years of its inception (1948-1967) the Jewish state relied o n the UN to justify its existence to the international community. The multi-faceted Arab-Israeli conflict is just one example of how unchecked world superpowers exerted their influence unchecked by the vigil of an international body. Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, foreign policy was a much simpler venture as the world found itself functioning under the umbrella of just two superpowers, led by and acting under the auspices of either Washington or Moscow. The fall of Communism left a vacuum in the Middle East, as the now-extinct USSR had no allegiances to the Middle East in which it fought a series of proxy wars and conflicts with the United States. What transpired following the end of Moscow’s reign as a world superpower was the creation of several diplomatically independent states in the Middle East. Where Moscow once supported Syria, Egypt, and Iraq while arming said nations’ leaders, they found themselves increasingly dependent on other sources for trade and international subsidy such as the EU and the United States. The foreign policy then drove the security policy, baited by American and EU sponsorship acting independently of the UN. Today, Egypt, once the sworn enemy of Israel (whose cl osest international ally is Washington), receives America’s second-largest international aid package. This of course is contingent upon the maintenance of a lasting peace as well as other conditions detailed in the Camp David Accords of 1978. The UN and the EU’s parts in the conflict were minimal, as security policies of the two comprised of a minimal militaristic component and a far larger foreign policy component. Pinar Bilgin observes in Regional Security in the Middle East how the fragile Mediterranean â€Å"as an alternative spatial representation began to take shape from the 1970s onward largely in line with the development and changing security conception and practices of the European Union,† a group whose policies toward the region â€Å"have been shaped around three major concerns: energy security (understood as the sustained flow of oil and natural gas at reasonable prices); regional stability (understood as domestic stability especially in countries in geographically North Africa); and the cessation of the Israel/Palestine conflict†[5]. Unlike the US and USSR, whose motives will be examined later, the EU was interested solely in the protection of their economic preservation and the prevention of any armed conflict from spilling into their geographic vicinity. In addition to the Arab-Israeli crisis, EU Member States such as Italy, France, and Spain faced growing resentment in the Maghreb (Arab North Africa) as a corollary of imperial European rule. The EU’s policies were hence different from â€Å"non-EU actors [who] encouraged and supported the search for security within a Euro-Mediterranean framework†; the EU has almost â€Å"single-handedly sought to construct a Euro-Mediterranean Region to meet its own domestic economic, societal, and, to a much lesser extent, military security interests†[6]. The American and Soviet interest in the region was also one of economic, political, and security nature, bu t on a much larger scale. Buzan and Waever note in their Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security how: â€Å"The United States and the Soviet Union were latecomers as major players in Middle Eastern regional security, though the former had long-standing oil interests there. The two superpowers were drawn into a pattern of regional turbulence that was already strongly active. Their interest in the region was heightened by the fact that, like Europe, the Middle East sat on the boundary between the spheres of communism and ‘free’ worlds. Stalin’s aggressive policy after 1945 had pushed Turkey and Iran into the arms of the West. Turkey became a member of NATO, and was thus fixed into the main European front of the Cold War. Until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran fell increasingly under American sway, not only through corporate oil interests, but also as part of the loose alliance arrangements that connected American containment clients in Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. To counter this US success right on its borders, the Soviet Union tried to play in the Arab world b ehind this front line, by establishing political and military links to the radical regimes and movements that sprang up in the Middle East during the 1950s and 1960s (Syria, PLO, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen)†[7] The entire Middle East, ranging from Egypt to Iran, became what Buzan and Waever describe as a â€Å"third front in the Cold War, after Europe and Asia, and its oil resources tied it powerfully into the global economy†[8]. The Camp David Accords were especially important; while Israeli security policies remained virtually unchanged (the Israeli-Egyptian peace is frequently described as â€Å"cool† in comparison to Israeli-Turkish relations), their foreign policies shifted. The two acted under the auspices of the United States, signalling a significant achievement in the Cold War. Though the â€Å"crosscutting complexities of internal alignments in the Middle East† make it â€Å"difficult to trace a clear Cold War pattern of great power intervention,† the small gains and losses in war and political action were of huge consequence. With the 1978 signing of the Camp David Accords, the United States shifted its foreign policy in the Arab world successfully, sp litting allegiances in the Middle East to one drawn along Arab lines to one drawn along foreign policy lines. With Turkey and Iran (at least until Tehran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution) securely in the American camp, the Middle East was thus left only with Syria and Iraq in alliance with the USSR. Conflict in the Middle East was hence capitalized upon by the United States by way of foreign policy, which existed independently of the nations’ security policies. Foreign policies always shift more easily than security policies, as the former serve the interest of a nation’s economy and the latter are charged with the military protection of a nation’s sovereignty, diplomatic or otherwise. As evidenced by the Cold War, American policies in Iraq alone have shifted dramatically. Prior to 1979, for example, American foreign and security policies were in place to secure its interests (Saudi Arabia and Israel) from Baghdad. From 1979 to 1991, American foreign policies toward Iraq remained the same, but its security policies shifted to accommodate Iraqi military suppression of post-revolutionary Iran. From 1991 to 2003, both foreign and security policies shifted to those of aggression and financial seclusion. It should be noted that until 1991, these foreign policy shifts were executed at the whim of three American presidents. Iran followed the same path, with pre-1979 Tehran under Reza Shah Pahlavi serving as a vital blockage to Soviet expansionism. Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, security policy was hostile toward and sought to exclude Tehran by funding Saddam Hussein. Foreign policy changed during the Contra Scandal, wherein American military leaders sold Tehran various munitions and weapons in direct subterfuge of Washington’s official military support of Baghdad; weapons were sold to a lesser evil (Iran) in order to fund covert operations in support of Nicaraguan right-wing guerrillas. Managua’s leftist-government was thought to be the latest expansion of Soviet influence and was hence a closer threat in physical proximity than the rise of the radical Islamic government of Tehran which was equally opposed to the Soviets at the time. All this transpired, again, without minimal monitoring by an international body. The greatest irony of the aforementioned events, however, is the perception of their respective successes and failures. America succeeded without international intervention in the pacification and dismantlement of the Soviet Union; however, today’s chaotic Middle East was a corollary, including the 9/11 attacks that changed forever the security and foreign policies of the United States. The current wars waged by America and what allies remain are again largely conducted without the support or monitoring by the UN or any other international body, and it remains to be seen how the future will unfold. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bilgin, Pinar. (2005) Regional Security in the Middle East: A Critical Perspective.London: Taylor Francis Routledge. Buzan, Barry and Ole Waever. (2003) Regions and Powers: The Structure ofInternational Security. Cambridge: Cambridge U P. Myers, Robert John. (1999) US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century: TheRelevance of Realism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U P. Wilson, Ernest J. (2004) Diversity and US Foreign Policy: A Reader. New York:Taylor Francis Routledge. 1 Footnotes [1] Myers 1999, p. 98 [2] Ibid [3] Myers 1999, p. 98 [4] Wilson 2004, p. 127 [5] Bilgin 2005, p. 140 [6] Bilgin 2005, p. 140 [7] Buzan and Waever 2003, p. 198 [8] Buzan and Waever 2003, p. 197

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Power of Love in Wuthering Heights Essay -- Literary Analysis

Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals. In Wuthering Heights, Brontà « does not idealize love; she presents it realistically, with all its faults and merits. She shows that love is a powerful force which can be destructive or redemptive. Heathcliff has an all-consuming passion for Catherine. When she chooses to marry Edgar, his spurned love turns into a destructive force, motivating him to enact revenge and wreak misery. The power of Heathcliff’s destructive love is conquered by the influence of another kind of love. Young Cathy’s love for Hareton is a redemptive force. It is her love that brings an end to the reign of Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since their childhood. Initially, Catherine scorned the little gypsy boy; she showed her distaste by â€Å"spitting† at him (Brontà « 27). However, it was not long before Heathcliff and Catherine became â€Å"very think† (Brontà « 27). They became very close friends; they were practically brother and sister (Mitchell 122). Heathcliff is intent upon pleasing Catherine. He would â€Å"do her bidding in anything† (Brontà « 30). He is afraid of â€Å"grieving† her (Brontà « 40). Heathcliff finds solace and comfort in Catherine’s company. When Catherine is compelled to stay at Thrushcross Grange to recover from her injury, she returns as â€Å"a very dignified person† (Brontà « 37). Her association with the gente... ...d to Cathy. He desires to be accepted by her. Cathy willingly loves and accepts Hareton. It is this love which reforms Hareton and dispels the tyranny at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff’s love brought about destruction; Cathy brings redemption to the Heights through her love. Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Wuthering Heights shows the real effects of love; love has the power to create evil or good. Primary Source Brontà «, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1996. Print. Secondary Sources Berg, Maggie. Wuthering Heights: The Writing in the Margin. New York: Twayne, 1996. Print. "Characteristics of Victorian Literature." Homewood City Schools. Web. 8 Dec. 2010. . Mitchell, Hayley R., ed. Readings on Wuthering Heights. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1999. Print.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Mathematics of Bubbles in Beer :: Math Carbonation

Refraction Refraction is what happens to light when it passes from one medium to another. For example, things appear differently from the bottom of a swimming pool than on the top. Simplistically, refraction is the bending of light. The explanation for this phenomenon, however, can be described with light as rays and light as waves. No matter the case, it is important to remember that the speed of light is constant in every homogeneous medium, regardless of shape, size or form. The index of refraction Light travels ( in certain substances ) at a fraction of the velocity if it travelled in a vacuum. The index of refraction is the inverse of this fraction. Thus, this number is greater than or equal to 1. This index is also specific to light, so different light in different mediums have different indices. For example, here is a table of indices: Material Index Vacuum 1.00000 Air at STP 1.00029 Ice 1.31 Water at 20 C 1.33 Acetone 1.36 Ethyl alcohol 1.36 Sugar solution(30%) 1.38 Diamond 2.417 So let's observe the effect of refraction in terms of rays. A ray strikes the surface between substance I and substance R. The angle i between the incoming ray and the normal vector at the boundary is called the angle of incidence, and the angle r between the refracted ray and the normal vector on the opposite side is called the angle of refraction. This is related in the following law, called Snell's Law: ni sin i = nr sin r. For red light in air hitting water this gives sin r = sin i/1.33 Solving for Snell's Law for r gives the relation r = arcsin (sin i/n) Explicit Calculation In simple ray tracing, a ray originates at a point P at a directional vector v, which is of unit length. This is the set of all points P+tv where t is a non-negative scalar. When the ray hits the boundary between two different substances, it will refract, and begin a new ray. The Mathematics of Bubbles in Beer :: Math Carbonation Refraction Refraction is what happens to light when it passes from one medium to another. For example, things appear differently from the bottom of a swimming pool than on the top. Simplistically, refraction is the bending of light. The explanation for this phenomenon, however, can be described with light as rays and light as waves. No matter the case, it is important to remember that the speed of light is constant in every homogeneous medium, regardless of shape, size or form. The index of refraction Light travels ( in certain substances ) at a fraction of the velocity if it travelled in a vacuum. The index of refraction is the inverse of this fraction. Thus, this number is greater than or equal to 1. This index is also specific to light, so different light in different mediums have different indices. For example, here is a table of indices: Material Index Vacuum 1.00000 Air at STP 1.00029 Ice 1.31 Water at 20 C 1.33 Acetone 1.36 Ethyl alcohol 1.36 Sugar solution(30%) 1.38 Diamond 2.417 So let's observe the effect of refraction in terms of rays. A ray strikes the surface between substance I and substance R. The angle i between the incoming ray and the normal vector at the boundary is called the angle of incidence, and the angle r between the refracted ray and the normal vector on the opposite side is called the angle of refraction. This is related in the following law, called Snell's Law: ni sin i = nr sin r. For red light in air hitting water this gives sin r = sin i/1.33 Solving for Snell's Law for r gives the relation r = arcsin (sin i/n) Explicit Calculation In simple ray tracing, a ray originates at a point P at a directional vector v, which is of unit length. This is the set of all points P+tv where t is a non-negative scalar. When the ray hits the boundary between two different substances, it will refract, and begin a new ray.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Policing and the Constitution

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause. This amendment impacts law enforcement because police need a warrant to make arrests and searches. This is not applicable if the officer has first-hand knowledge of an event and the evidence is likely to be destroyed or the subject will abscond if time is taken to get a warrant. If a warrantless search is made by the police that should have been made only after a warrant was issued, then all knowledge gained by that evidence is not allowed in testimony. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Set out rules for indictment by grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy. This means that the officer does not determine innocence or guilt. She or he only determines probable cause of belief of guilt. Also, an officer cannot force a person to bear witness against himself. If a person is tried and a verdict is given, that person cannot be tried again. Accused persons cannot be forced to say anything. Eminent domain is the power of a government to take private property for public use, usually with compensation paid to the owner. The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel. This means the subject has the right to counsel before, during, and after questioning. Should the subject request the presence of an attorney, questioning should cease until counsel arrives. Probable cause is one of the fundamental protections built into the criminal justice system by the founding generation of the United States. Probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to obtain a warrant for, or as an exception to the warrant requirements for, making an arrest or conducting a personal or property search, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. This term comes from the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The exclusionary rule is a rule in which any evidence that is obtained in violation of the accused’s rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, as well as any evidence derived from illegally obtained evidence, will not be admissible in criminal court. The exclusionary rule has been controversial for decades because many people believe that it is unconstitutional and not helpful the finding the truth in criminal proceedings. The name fruit of the poisonous tree is thus a metaphor: the poisonous tree is evidence seized in an illegal arrest, search, or interrogation by law enforcement. The fruit of this poisonous tree is evidence later discovered because of knowledge gained from the first illegal search, arrest, or interrogation. The poisonous tree and the fruit are both excluded from a criminal trial. The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is an offspring of the exclusionary rule. The Miranda rights, also known as Miranda warning, is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings. Your Miranda rights are your rights as per being under arrest. If you are not under arrest they may detain you, but cannot lock you up unless by reasonable evidence they can prove that you are guilty of the crime in which they would more than likely arrest you. Questioning is not a reasonable excuse to lock you up without circumstantial evidence. They do not need to notify you unless they search your property, or person in which they would need a warrant and also do not need notification with accurate evidence against you. Your Miranda warning reads as followed: You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak with an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you so desire and cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed for you without charge before questioning. An arrest is the taking into custody of a citizen for the purpose of detaining him or her on a criminal charge. Frisking is a search of a person’s outer clothing wherein a person runs his or her hands along the outer garments to detect any concealed weapons or contraband. A stop takes place when a law enforcement officer has reasonable suspicion that a criminal activity is about to take place. An interrogation is the direct questioning of a suspect to gather evidence of criminal activity and to try to gain a confession. A custodial interrogation occurs when a suspect is under arrest or is deprived of his or her freedom in a significant manner. A reading of the Miranda warning is only required before a custodial interrogation. An interrogation is when you are not in custody, and a custodial interrogation is when you are in custody.

Infectious Disease

* What is the infectious agent (pathogen) that causes this infectious disease? For example, the name of the bacteria, virus, or parasite. Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that comes from the Hepatitis A virus (HAV). There isn’t a treatment for the disease once you get it. How is this infectious agent transmitted through food or water? Hepatitis A is contracted from eating food and drinking water contaminated with human feces. Eating raw and undercooked fish that was in contaminated waters contribute to the disease. Sometimes eating raw produce that have been contaminated can also cause the illness. Foods that have been sitting out in the air and have had bacteria growth on it and eaten also contribute to the disease. * What is an example of a real life outbreak of this foodborne illness in the United States? * What are the clinical symptoms, duration of the disease, and treatment if any? During Hepatitis A some symptoms of the disease are fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay colored bowel movements and joint pain. In 70% of the cases Jaudice is the most common symptom. Symptoms can last up to 2 months. The average time of incubation is 28 days. Once contracted, there is no treatment. The individual has the illness to run its course. * What steps can be taken to prevent further outbreaks? Include individual as well as environmental precautions and methods. To prevent further outbreaks, people should have good hygiene including wash their hands often especially when they deal with food preparation. There has also been a vaccination created for Hepatitis A that is given to children between their first and second birthday. Others that should get vaccinated are men having sex with men, people traveling to Central and Southern America, Mexico, Asia (except Japan), Africa and eastern Europe and people that use street drugs. Once you are immune to Hepatitis A you can’t get it again. To prevent the spread of Hepatitis A in water, chlorine is added to the water in US.