Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Taxation - Essay Example Hence the 2009-10 tax year ran from 6 April 2009 to 5 April 2010. The tax year is sometimes also called the Fiscal Year. The Financial Year, used mainly for corporation tax purposes, runs from 1 April to 31 March. Financial Year 2010 runs from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, as Financial Years are named according to the calendar year in which they start. Income tax liabilities of individuals: For individuals this means the UK income tax liability of one who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the UK is limited to any tax deducted at source on UK income, together with tax on income from a trade or profession carried on through a permanent establishment in the UK and tax on rental income from UK real estate. Individuals who are both resident and domiciled in the UK are additionally liable to taxation on their worldwide income and gains. Each person has an income tax  personal allowance, and income up to this amount in each tax year is free of tax for everyone. For 2010-11 the tax allowance for under 65s is  £6,475 which was raised to  £7,475 on 22 June 2010. There are three slabs for rate of taxes – basic rate for the slab  £0- £37,400 is 20%, above  £37,400 is 40% and above  £150000 is 50%. The taxpayers income is assessed for tax according to a prescribed order, with income from employment using up the personal allowance and being taxed first, followed by savings income (from interest or otherwise unearned) and then dividends. On Employees: Employees pay National Insurance contributions to build up their entitlement to certain state benefits, including the State Pension. The contributions they pay depend on how much they earn and whether they are employed or self-employed. Employees stop paying National Insurance contributions when they reach State Pension age. They pay National Insurance contributions if they are an employee or self-employed and they are aged

Chromatography Separation of Dye Mixture

Chromatography Separation of Dye Mixture Chromatography is a technique used to separate the components of a mixture 1. There are two phases in chromatography, the stationary phase (absorbed solvent) and the mobile phase (moving solvent). The process of chromatography involves passing a mixture dissolved in a mobile phase through a stationary phase. Since each phase has a different distribution coefficient, the components travel at a different rate and thus get separated. The two commonly used techniques of chromatography are thin layer chromatography, TLC, and column chromatography. Thin layer chromatography is used to determine the purity of a substance, to identify, and is used to determine solvent system for separations of mixtures. This technique is especially useful in determining optimum conditions for separating compounds by column chromatography 1. On the other hand, column chromatography is used on a much larger scale. It is used to separate mixtures made of two or more compounds. During column chromatography, thes e components are separated many times between the stationary phase and the mobile phase. The purpose of conducting this experiment was to determine the suitable solvents for the various components in a mixture of 1:1 methylene blue and fluorescein dye. The two eluting solvents used in the experiment were 1:12:14 mixture of K2SO4: CH3CN and 95% ethanol. The experiment allowed us to identify the effects of the two different solvents on the different dye mixtures. The effect can be observed from the retention factor, Rf, which is a ratio of the distance traveled by the sample to the distance traveled by the solvent 2. Different conclusions can be drawn up from the Rf value, a high Rf value would indicate that the substance is less polar and has traveled a greater distance and a low Rf value would indicate the opposite. The two dye mixtures used in the experiment are methylene blue and fluorescein. Based on the properties of the two substances, the alternate hypothesis that methylene blue will have a higher retention factor compared to fluorescein can be stipulated. It can also be hypothesized that since fluorescein is more polar than methylene blue it will dissolve in the more polar solvent and travel a greater distance. Results The distance traveled by each dye mixture, the R- value, is shown in Table 1 and Table 2. These R-values are used to calculate the Rf values for each mixture, which are also shown in Table 1 and Table 2. The Rf values for the mixtures in 1:12:14 K2SO4:H2O:CH3CN are 0.76, 0.70 and 0.75 for fluorescein, dye mixture and methylene blue respectively. The Rf values for the mixtures in 95% ethanol are 0.057, 0.32 and 0.34 for fluorescein, dye mixture and methylene blue respectively. As indicated in the tables above, both the eluting solvents, 1:12:14 K2SO4:H2O:CH3CN and 95% ethanol separated impurity on the TLC plate. The Rf values are similar with the Rf values found by other experiments. M.B Naff and A.S Naff found the Rf values of fluorescein to be 0.85 and the Rf value of methylene blue to be 0.02, when the eluting solvent used is a ratio of 2:2: 1 methyl ethyl ketone: acetic acid: isopropyl alcohol 1. Table 3 shows the elution of the fluorescein and methylene blue, with methylene blue eluting first followed by fluorescein. Discussion Thin layer chromatography was used to determine the most suitable solvent system for the separations of the mixtures. From the data gathered, it was observed that both fluorescein and methylene blue traveled a further distance on the chromatogram when the solvent 1:12:14 K2SO4: H2O:CH3CN was used, as compared to the distance traveled when the solvent being used was 95% ethanol. This shows that the solvent 1:12:14 K2SO4: H2O:CH3CN is more polar than 95% ethanol since in the solvent 1:12:14 K2SO4: H2O:CH3CN both the polar dye mixtures dissolve (like attracts/ dissolves like) and travel a further distance. The polarity of the elutent forces the compounds to the top of the place, because the compounds dissolve well and do not interact with the stationary phase. In TLC, the adsorbent (stationary phase) is thinly spread onto a flat sheet of supportive plastic. The mixture to be separated is applied onto the stationary phase about 1 cm from the bottom of  the chromatographic sheet. The sheet is then placed into a developing chamber containing the  mobile phase. The mobile phase rises up the chromatography sheet by capillary action. As the  mobile phase proceeds up the sheet, the components of the mixture are retained in various  degrees by the stationary phase. The chemical composition of the stationary phase and the  mobile phase play a significant role in how far the components travel up the chromatographic  sheet. In column chromatography, a glass column is packed with a solid stationary phase. The mixture  to be separated is applied at the top of the column. The mobile phase descends by gravity  through the column. The components of the mixture to be separated have different properties. The rate at which the components descend through the column depends on several factors. The  component is retained by the stationary phase to a certain extent depending on the properties of  the stationary phase and the properties of the component. The solvation power of the solvent also  affects the rate of elution. The rule of like dissolves like applies here. The individual  components, with different affinities for the stationary phase and the mobile phase, are  continuously absorbed onto the stationary phase, solvated by the mobile phase eluting through  the column, reabsorbed onto the stationary phase, etc. The speed at which the components travel through the column is directly related to the number of absorption-elution cycles that occur. Therefore a balance between the solvation power of the mobile phase and the absorption power  of the stationary phase determines how fast each individual component travels through the  column.1,2 Think of a piece of wood floating down a creek. If there is a lot of grass growing in the stream,  the wood will get caught in the grass for awhile, then it will break loose and flow down the creek  a short distance, get caught in some more grass or rocks, break free again, and continue this  process until it has made its way down the creek. Aluminum cans will travel down the creek at  different rates than the wood based on the amount of time they are retained by the grass. If there  is no grass in the creek, the piece of wood and aluminum can will both reach the end of the creek  WRONG!!! From the data gathered it can also be observed that the polar dye mixture, fluorescein ascended quickly when the solvent 1:12:14 K2SO4: H2O:CH3CN was used. This is primarily because the nonpolar compounds stick to the stationary phase, while polar compounds separate and travel upwards with the solvent. From the TLC plates, it is indicated that different compounds in the mixture travel a t different rates; polar compounds travel quickly while lesspolar compounds travel more slowly. The stationary phase was the substrate alumina which is considered to be a polar substance since the surface consists of polar (OH) groups. The moving phase is the solvent system that, moves up the stationary alumina coated plate. All solvent systems will be considered non-polar relative to the silica adsorbent. Potential problems leading to yield loss- In between two sand layers some impurities were trapped and on top of alumina fluroscien dye stayed. The 95% ethanol and mixture of blue dye dripped through columns down the container and collection of this clear mixture ended when solvent was colourless. Then sodium hydroxide was used to wash out the fluorescien dye into a separate beaker which caused the purple impurities to move down the cotton. This might be due to the thin layers of sand used or excessive solvent. However, this can be prevented by lowering the time it may take the dye to come down the column by increasing the air pressure from above (Still et al., 1978). Potential improvements to the process or problems with the experiments However, this can be prevented by lowering the time it may take the dye to come down the column by increasing the air pressure from above 3. The two dyes methylene blue and sodium hydroxide were used to separate fluorescien dye with ethanol in second part, column chromatography. References (1) Naff, M.B., Naff, A.S. 1963. TLC on microscope slides: An organic chemistry experiment. J.Chem. Educ.40 (10). pp 534, 535. (2) Schmidt-Tarub, H.2005. Preparative chromatography of fine chemicals and pharmaceutical agents. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. kGaA, Germany. Pp131 (3) Still, W.C., Kahn, M., Mitra, A., 1978. Rapid chromatographic technique for preparative separations with moderate resolution. The Journal of Organic Chemistry.  43  (14). pp 2923-2925. (4) Poole, C.F. 2003. The essence of chromatography. Elsevier, United State of America. Pp.337 (5) Heftman, E. 2004. Chromatography 6th edition fundamentals and applications of chromatography and related differential migration methods. Elsevier, Netherlands. Pp. 549. Questions What would happen if the level of the solvent in your TLC chamber was higher than the spots at the bottom of your TLC plate? If the level of the solvent in the TLC chamber was higher than the spots at the bottom of the TLC plate then the spots would dissolve away. If the level of the solvent in the TLC chamber is deeper than the baseline, then the solvent will dissolve the compounds instead of allowing them to ascend the thin layer by capillary action. If this were to occur, in the end you would not see the spots after the plate is developed. As a drawing exercise, provide the structures of the dyes used in this experiment.**Knowing what you saw in class about intermolecular interactions, circle the groups on each molecule that are liable to interact with the partially acidic, surface Alà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ OH and Sià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  OH groups on alumina or silica in neutral solvent. Fluorescein: Molecules that are liable to interact with the partially acidic, surface Al- OH and Si- OH Methylene Blue: One of the solvents used contained aqueous NaOH. This will generate Alà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ O- and Sià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ O- groups on alumina or silica, and these will be in competition with the solvent for interactions with the analyte. What will this solvent do to the mobility of the dyes? Although the experiment you performed used the most common chromatography techniques, there are many other types of chromatography. One technique is called ion exchange chromatography, especially useful in biochemical work. Briefly describe the principle behind ion exchange chromatography and what it can accomplish. Ion exchange chromatography is a separation technique based on charges. It is used to separate ions and other charged molecules. There are two types of ion exchange chromatography, cation exchange chromatography and anion exchange chromatography. In cation exchange chromatography positively charged molecules are attracted to a negatively charged solid support and in anion exchange chromatography, negatively charged molecules are attracted to a positively charged solid support 4. In ion exchange chromatography the mobile phase, usually water or an organic solvent, is of low conductivity, which helps in the binding of the molecules 4. As the compound is passed through, like charges repel and elute first and opposite charges attract and elute last. The strength of the interaction is determined by the number and location of the charges on the molecule and on the functional group.  By increasing the salt concentration the molecules with the weakest ionic interactions start to elute from the column first 4. This type of chromatography is essentially important in the separating and isolating carbohydrates. It is also important in separating small inorganic and organic ions 5.

All Quite on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Essay -- war, de

Away from the front lines, soldiers are perceived and act as individuals, however, when pulled to the front, they come together creating and inseparable bond of camaraderie. Remarque’s All Quite on the Western Front illustrates the true content of war. The soldiers of the front lines fought with a common purpose, putting aside other desires and denying personal needs, creating a flagrant bond of camaraderie. Through this camaraderie Paul Baumer finds life on the front lines bearable, as we see in the relationships the soldiers share. Through Paul’s protection of his comrades, the family like relationship between the soldiers and the development of a close bond during free time, Remarque shows that the most important aspect of war is undoubtedly camaraderie. Soldiers in WWI had only each other to depend on for any chance of survival. Paul reveals this time and again by protecting and trusting those around him. Paul says once â€Å"we had to recognize that our generation was more to be trusted that theirs. They surpass us only in phrases and in cleverness† (Remarque 12-13). He is referring to the older generations who are not fighting on the front with Paul and his comrades, and still describe the war as glorious. Paul understands that camaraderie is based on common experience, something only the front line soldiers live through and thus understand. Because these common experiences exist, Paul also shows compassion to especially the younger, new recruits. While in the trenches, a young recruit â€Å"lay in utter terror. He had buried his face in his hands. He looked up, pushing the helmet off and like a child crept under [Paul’s] arm†¦the little shoulders heaved. Shoulders like Kemmerich’s† (Remarque 61). Paul’s compassion for the young soli... ...â€Å"a more complete communion with one another than even lovers†¦so intimate we do not even speak† this forever known camaraderie is set in stone for when one part is lost it leaves the group weak (Remarque 94). This is portrayed when Kat dies and Paul is left alone. He realizes since his comrades are no longer living, there is no one left for him and he gives up. He knew nothing but death and dying without the camaraderie in the war. War is a series of deaths for a greater gain for the people who do not fight at the front. However while on the front it becomes a fight for life through battle and friendship. The bonds created allow success and support. The family bonds created in the trenches are the most important effect of war and debatably the only good one. Throughout war it is seen that these relationships are the only light, in the never-ending darkness of war.

New Media Implicated In The Globalization Of Culture Essay

The contemporary economics, culture and trade is becoming more and more global with each passing year. The diversity of services, goods and customs that could be spotted only a couple of decades ago in different countries, and even in different states have been becoming less and less noticeable during the last years. The same detergents, cat food, mobile phones etc can be found either on the shelves of the Canadian shops or on Russian and Indian markets. Some say that the process of globalization gave most of the world’s population the opportunity to use the qualitative and relatively inexpensive goods which were previously available only to the dwellers of the countries were they were produced, but the others presume that the process of globalization is destructive for the market, as due to the creation of corporations the smaller businesses go broke, and thus the competition, which leads to the improvement of quality of the goods produced, disappears. The influence of media on the contemporary culture is enormous. Media is what forms our tastes and preferences, it dictates us what to wear, to buy, and even how should be behave in different situations. It is the media that turned the American culture into the consumerist one, as nowadays it dictates that purchasing things is the most convenient and quick way to use the desired social status. Most of the media influences on people are performed through advertising, both direct and indirect one. Media is one of the main means of transferring information among people, and of forming their opinions that is why advertising is so powerful nowadays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The specialists say it is media that makes the greatest impact on the globalization of culture and trade all over the world. It is through the media that the same goods are advertised all over the world, and, moreover, the same ideas are propagated. Media creates and sets the standards that are to be followed to be considered â€Å"up-to date† and fashionable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Of course, different people have various opinions on why the effect of advertising on globalization is so powerful. For example, Berger, who wrote Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture states advertising are a lottery, as it is still that nobody knows what advertisement will be effective and what will not. Berger adds that the advertisement executives believe that they waste half of money, spent on advertisements, but no one knows which half it is. (2000, p.2-3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nowadays media is one of the most powerful instruments of forming the opinions of its consumers. Most of the marketing strategies that exist nowadays are built on the influences of the media. It is the irreplaceable instrument for selling things, the process, on which the globalization is based. Decades ago people bough what they needed and their needs were dictated by their life conditions and financial status. It is nowadays that at first media creates the need in the specific product or group of products in people, and than they purchase the advertised thing. Thanks to the media people no longer buy things they need; they rather buy the attributes of the desired social status. Hirschman (2003) states that core societal values have an important role on advertising production and reception. Thus, to become fashionable, a product has to be promoted emphasizing its contribution to those societal values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today media dictates people not only what they should buy, but also how they should behave, and what should they long for, and those directions are actually the same all over the world. Lindner, the author of the study, which analyzes the images of women in general interest and fashion magazine advertisements, states that: â€Å"advertisements often contain very subtle clues about gender roles and may operate as socializing agents on several levels. Because advertisements are publicly broadcast, the men and women portrayed are often perceived to represent the whole population, and men and women in the advertisements seem to accept these portrayed behaviors, thereby validating the stereotyped roles.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Media encourages contemporary people to build a career, and get decent education. It is emphasized in the most contemporary movies, TV shows, and books that to get a decent and well-paid position one has to have all the attributes of the successful person, like luxurious car, expensive costume, and the smallest mobile phone possible. And, as we can note those attributes of wealth and success are the same in the ads and movies that are produced worldwide. In the movies and TV shows all of those accessories seem to spring out of nowhere, they just indicate the status of the personage portrayed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is wonderful how the media succeeds in making various products fashionable. It creates the impression of the product being fashionable by attaching a set of characteristics to it that are evaluated positively in the society. Let’s, for example, analyze the phenomenon of the popularity of the designers’ clothes. If we take a D&G dress, worth 10,000$, we will see, it is not much different from one we can buy in the department store for 100$. The designer’ dress is so expensive because media have been popularizing this trademark for many decades. We can read or hear that this or that movie star was wearing an outfit created by D&G, Prada, or Valentino on the Oscar award ceremony, which is broadcasted in most countries of the world, and thus conclude that clothes created by those trademarks are the attributes of rich and successful people, so that its high cost will be justified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The advertisements published in the media create the feeling of identification. Jackie Stacey in Star Gazing; Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship states that: â€Å"†¦the female spectator is addressed as a consumer of images of feminine beauty, and thus as an observer of other women, but also of herself.† (1994, p.5). The advertisements worldwide are built using the same principle: the potential buyer should be able to imagine himself or herself in the situation where the model that features the product that is promoted, is depicted in the advertisement. And it is obvious that this strategy is effective everywhere, where it is used.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William O’Barr, an advertising specialist who wrote Culture and the Ad: Exploring Otherness in the World of Advertising, presumes that advertising communicates subliminal messages regarding the social and economic dominance of its target audience. In his opinion advertising agencies are not culturally sensitive (1994. p.111). By   advertising campaign, the media creates an impression in the potential buyer that after purchasing the advertised product he or she will receive the social and economical status higher, than her present one. Media usually positions the advertised products as a compulsory attribute the members of customer’s present, or target social group possess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In general all the advertising campaign pursue the goal of creating the ideal image of the person, who is a part of the target social group potential customers want to belong to. Thus the media portrays the person, using the advertised product in various situations and settings that the members of the customers’ target or present social group visit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The instruments the contemporary media use to make the products attractive for the customers are much more complicated than they were several decades ago. All of the advertisements that appeared in the newspapers, magazines or on TV forty or fifty years ago displayed the product advertised, and people who used them. Nowadays the situation has changed. Angela Goddard says it is not compulsory for the image to feature people in order to say something about them (2002, p.81). The advertisements shouldn’t feature a human all the time. They should rather picture the surroundings and the goals of the person, who is featured. This allows the consumers identification with the one, who uses the product advertised.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mechanism of group identification is one of the most effective instruments media uses in advertising, as people are used to the fact that every social group has its material attributes, and they often share the thought that it is enough to purchase those attributes to gain the membership in the target group. Media promotes this viewpoint by showing distinct differences between the representatives of different social groups. Let’s recall how the personages are displayed in the movies and TV shows. After looking at the hero for few minutes we can recognize his/her social status without paying much effort. The differences between social group and classes are hyperbolized by the media, and the material attributes are what indicate those differences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social scientists presume that it is TV that makes one of the most powerful influences on the process of globalization worldwide. Almost every dweller of our country knows, that the TV appeared only several decades ago, and it’s only for forty or fifty years that almost every American family has a TV set at home. TV has become the greatest entertainment for the children and adults, an imaginary world we can drift to without even using the power of our imagination. The statistics says that television is on for almost 7 hours a day in an average American household.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No wonder that the appearance of television changed the world a lot, as the division of time in the global society has changed with the appearance of this talking hypnotizing box. Except for reading books, going out or simply talking with the friends and other family members millions of people worldwide just sit and watch TV. The stereotypes, ideals and goals that atr promoted by the TV programs worldwide, are almost the same, as the advertising techniques and goals are. As a result the life in different countries becomes more and more like the contemporary Western standard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For now television has become a problem for the educators, parents, and employers. There is no statistics about the quantity of lessons and workdays missed because of the TV, but the numbers are surely, giant. Let’s try to see what exactly attracts the American children, teenager and adults to the TV screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jerzy Kosinski in his book Being There provided a great interpretation for the facts listed. In his book he described the emotions of the person who had seen the outside world only through the glass of the TV screen. â€Å"By changing the channel he could change himself â€Å"-the author notes. â€Å"He could go through phases as garden plants went through phases, but he could change as rapidly, as he wished by twisting the dial backwards and forward. In some cases he could spread out into the screen without stopping. By turning the dial Chance could bring others inside his eyelids. Thus he cam to believe that it was he, Chance, who made himself be.† (p.5-6)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As you can note, switching on the TV set for Chance gave him the sense of power he didn’t have in his real life. Chance, like the millions of people worldwide identified himself with the moving figures on the screen, and he felt like he was capable to do something brave and smart, like the TV show and movie heroes did. There were times when people worked hard just for to feel themselves satisfied and valuable in any field they chose, but the TV screen brought an opportunity to get all the set of the positive emotions like love, affection, understanding and satisfaction for the price of one TV set.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The time that was spent before hand on working, studying, doing something for to provide positive emotions and the feeling of social realization is now spent in front of TV. The emotions, whether positive or negative brought by it became a drug for most of us, as we have unlearned to put the efforts for reaching those conditions and getting those emotions without the help of the blue screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People have always had the archetypes inside their mind, on the subconscious levels, which had been dictating their view on the world and things and people that exist in it. With the appearance of the TV those archetypes had grown and enhanced, as we see a lot of examples of them there, much more than the average 19 century American would see during all of his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The same thing is with stereotyping. Let’s recall the reasons for popularity of Chance, the protagonist of Being There. It was just the stereotype millions of Americans shared that the person who talks metaphors (and they took the Chance’s talking about his garden for metaphors) is clever, and hi/her words are worthy of being noticed. It is the phenomena we can see on the TV screen every day. People there are not very clever, not very attractive or intelligent, at least most of them, but we still take their words for granted they have the authority that makes us listen them and hear what they are saying. Today there are persons that are respected all over the world, and their words are able to change the lives of people in many countries. It became possible only with the development of the contemporary media, as without TV or the Web such a   direct and unaffected spread of information would not have been possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The purpose of this paper is not only examining the advertising techniques the big companies use for to lure more customers to their products. It is rather examining the influences media makes on the globalization of culture and trade that is taking place worldwide. The advertising techniques and strategies employed by the media can be used not only for promoting some products, but also for promoting the specific political regime, the specific lifestyles etc. Media is a very powerful instrument. Nowadays it forms the tastes and opinions of its consumers concerning the clothes, gadgetry, or food they buy, but using it much more meaningful and dangerous things can be promoted. This is a valid reason to put little more attention to the notional filling of the media images and slogans instead of consuming them irrecusably.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is no doubt that the new media have a very powerful influence on globalization nowadays. Thanks to the TV and the Web the life of people in different parts of the world becomes more and more alike with each passing year. People develop same ideals, principles and norms, guided by TV shows, movies and ads, while the Internet lets them forget about the thousands of kilometers that separate New-York, Paris, Moscow and Deli.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People worldwide become more and more alike in all the senses of this word. There is no univocal answer for the question whether it is good or bad, as there are both positive and negative aspects of globalization. Nevertheless, this process is continuing, and it is enhancing with thee development of media. Bibliography KOSINSKI, J. Being There. Grove Press, 1999 QUART, A. Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Basic Books, 2004 GODDARD, A. The language of Advertising, London: Routledge, 1998 BERGER A.S.A. Ads, Fads and consumer culture: advertisings impact on American character and society, Oxford: Roman and Littlefield, 2004 STACEY, J. Star-Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and female Spectatorship. London: Routledge, 1993 O’BARR, W. Culture and the ad: exploring otherness in the world of advertising. Oxford: Westview Press, 1994 LINDNER, K. â€Å"Images of Women in General Interest and Fashion Magazine Advertisements from 1955 to 2002†. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. 2004, p.409 – 421

Bullying: How Can It Be Prevented?

Bullying is a term used to describe a form of harassment perpetrated by someone who is in some way more powerful, physically or socially than his peers or the people in the immediate environment. While there are those who say that bullying is something that children will soon outgrow , there is no denying the fact that bullying has become prevalent in most schools all over America today.Given this alarmingly high rate of bullying, the relevance of coming up with methods by which to deal with this social problem becomes more and more apparent. However, to be able to formulate a process by which bullying can effectively be prevented it necessary to first examine bullying, its elements, types and causes. Only through an understanding of bullying can parents, teachers and schools properly come up with the necessary steps to reduce or totally remove the presence of bullying.BULLYING Main Elements of Bullying The bullying has been identified by researchers as possessing the following chara cteristics or elements: aggressive and negative behavior, repeatedly carrying out of the behavior, existent in a relationship with a great imbalance of power and the behavior as being â€Å"purposeful† (Hazler 1997). When these characteristics exhibit themselves in any relationship that a person has with another person, it is highly likely that there is bullying.The aggressive and negative behavior can often be manifested in other factors outside of the relationship between the bully and the victim such as in the classroom or in the manner that the bully interacts with people in authority as compared to the interaction among his (bully) peers. Bullying is not a single and isolated occurrence. A single case of abuse or aggression, be it physical or mental, is often not a case of bullying as it may just be the result of â€Å"flaring tempers† or â€Å"minor disagreements† among school children (Hazler 1997). Bullying involves constant aggression over a period of t ime.In relationships where there is a great imbalance in power between the parties, bullying is most likely to occur. The more powerful and aggressive person has been found to exercise a certain influence over the weaker party and to dominate the other party. Bullying is not just a series of random acts of aggression. According to a study, â€Å"the acts perpetrated by a bully are not just random acts of aggression but a series of well designed acts aimed at effectively exercising domination of the victim and being able to extract a certain reaction that the bully is looking (Batsche 1994).When all of these elements are present in a relationship, bullying is most likely to be occurring or to occur. While these elements are not conclusive in proving or showing the existence of bullying, the existence of these elements has been shown to determine to a certain extent the presence of bullying. Types of Bullying Bullying can basically be segregated into two distinct categories, direct b ullying and indirect bullying or social aggression. Direct bullying involves direct physical aggression by the bully over the victim.This type of bullying is most common among males and is exercised by those who are physically bigger than their peers. Indirect bullying is most common among females and younger children. This is done by â€Å"forcing the victim into social isolation through methods such as constant criticism of the victim, refusal to associate with the victim or by making the victim feel left out of any social activity (Batsche 1994). † Bullying may manifest itself in different ways depending on the direct environment and the parties involved.â€Å"Bullying,† according to a recent study, â€Å"is the assertion of power through aggression. Its forms change with age: school playground bullying, sexual harassment. Gang attacks, date violence, assault, marital violence, child abuse, workplace harassment and elder abuse. (Pepler and Craig 1997)†. Reaso ns for Bullying While bullying is caused mostly by reasons personal to the bully, researches have pinpointed certain factors as key to understanding why bullying exists in the first place.Researchers have indicated that people who bully have personalities that are authoritarian, combined with a strong need to control (Kim 2006). The same study indicates that a deficit in social skills and a prejudicial view of subordinates can be particular risk factors. Other factors have been determined to be the following: quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors, mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving self image, and engaging in obsessive or rigid actions. (Kim 2006)TAKING A STAND AGAINST BULLYING Role of Parents, Teachers and Schools Parents, Teachers and Schools should take an active role in remedying the problem of bullying. Bullying is a behavior which often occurs during ones childhood and in certain cases continues in the immediate envir onment of these bullies upon reaching adulthood. One of the keys to solving this problem therefore lies in being able to deal with the problem in its â€Å"infancy† stage (Harris 2006). The following are steps that can be taken to deal with this situation.Identifying the Problem The first step that can be done to properly address the problem of bullying is to be able to properly identify the presence of bullying. Most students or children who are victims of bullying are afraid to report to the proper authorities for fear of being bullied even more if they are found out. The victims are also hesitant to alert the proper authorities because they do not feel that the authorities can do anything to prevent such bullying from happening.For these reason, it is important to be able to determine the existence of bullying based on other factors and manifestations. Some of these signs that a child is being bullied are the following: lowered self-esteem, unexplained broken personal poss essions, loss of money, loss of personal items, unexplained bruises & injuries or stories that don't add up, missing or incomplete school work, decreased success in class, acting out aggression at home, and lack of interest at social events that include other students.At the first signs of these manifestations, steps should be taken to determine if there really is bullying going on and this can be best done by communicating to victim in a proper manner that something can be done about the situation if it is reported quickly. Encouraging Victims to Report the Bullying The second most important step in dealing with this problem lies in being able to show to the victim and to other victims who are unwilling to report incidences of bullying that reporting it to the proper authorities is the proper thing to do.In most cases, victims of bullying are tentative to report any instance of bullying because they are not assured that the problem can be dealt with (Kim 2006). The best method is i n being able to assure the victim that there are people who are there to support him and help him out in this process (Storch 2005). The victim has to be assured of the fact that he is not isolated from any help. The victim also needs to know that the incident will not increase in frequency or gravity once it has been reported to the proper authorities such as teachers or school personnel.In being able to do this, the incidence of bullying can be drastically reduced when other children who have been victims themselves see that something can be done about the problem of bullying (Storch 2005). Assessing the Bully One of the most overlooked aspects in dealing with the problem of bullying has to do with being able to address the problem at the source which means dealing with the bully (Harris 2006).Bullies who are encouraged or not shown the mistakes that they are committing have a high tendency of exhibiting such aggressive behavior outside of the school setting and eventually bringin g them into the other environments which they are immersed in and thus perpetuating this wrongful behavior. The problem of bullying, as mentioned earlier, must be dealt with at its source in other to prevent more acts of bullying from happening.This method however is trickier than it seems because when approaching or confronting a bully it must be remembered that the person may feel that such act is a sign of aggression and may react conformably. The steps with which to deal with a bully must be done in a very non-threatening manner thus reinforcing the idea that aggression is not the best way to deal with problems (Storch 2005). The bully must be made to understand that such aggressive behavior has a detrimental impact on not only the victim but on the psychological and emotional growth of the bully as well.Counseling by an expert or peer counseling has been shown to be highly effective in these instances. CONCLUSION Bullying does not have to be something that society just has to t olerate. Neither does bullying have to be something that a child needs to experience and be able to â€Å"outgrow† in order to become a more mature and responsible adult. As this discourse has shown, there are indeed steps that can be taken by persons in authority to curb the occurrences of bullying. The problem must first be identified correctly.The next step is to properly address whatever feelings the victim may have regarding the incident and ensuring that the aggressive behavior that the victim has experienced does not repeat itself. After this, proper programs to encourage witnesses and victims to report any incidents of bullying that occur have to be done. The final step in solving this social problem is in trying to address the problem from the side of the bully and ensuring that whatever reason the bully had for doing such is given attention and making sure that the event does not happen again.Proper implementation of these measures will surely help in reducing if no t ridding society of this problem concerning bullying. References: Batsche, G. M. , & Knoff, H. M. Bullies and their victims: Understanding a pervasive problem in the schools, (1994) School PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW, 23 (2), 165-174. EJ 490 574. Hazler, R. J. , Carney, J. V. , Green, S. , Powell, R. , & Jolly, L. S. Areas of Expert Agreement on Identification of School Bullies and Victims, (1997). School Psychology International, 18, 3-12. Kim, B. L.Leventhal, Y. -J. Koh, A. Hubbard, and W. T. Boyce School Bullying and Youth Violence: Causes or Consequences of Psychopathologic Behavior? Arch Gen Psychiatry, September 1, 2006; 63(9): 1035 – 1041. Storch, E. and D. R. Ledley Peer Victimization and Psychosocial Adjustment in Children: Current Knowledge and Future Directions Clinical Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 44(1): 29 – 38. Harris, S. and C. Hathorn Texas Middle School Principals' Perceptions of Bullying on Campus NASSP Bulletin, March 1, 2006; 90(1): 49 – 69.