Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism

Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism Checkbook journalism is when reporters or news organizations pay sources for information, and for a variety of reasons most news outlets frown on such practices or ban them outright. The Society of Professional Journalists, a group that promotes ethical standards in journalism, says checkbook journalism is wrong and shouldnt be used- ever. Andy Schotz, chairman of the SPJs ethics committee, says paying a source for information or an interview immediately puts the credibility of the information they provide in doubt. Exchanging money when youre looking for information from a source changes the nature of the relationship between the reporter and the source, Schotz says. It calls into question whether theyre talking to you because its the right thing to do or because theyre getting money. Schotz says reporters thinking about paying sources for information should ask themselves: Will a paid source tell you the truth, or tell you what you want to hear? Paying sources creates other problems. By paying a source you now have a business relationship with someone youre trying to cover objectively, Schotz says. Youve created a conflict of interest in the process. Schotz says most news organizations have policies against checkbook journalism. But lately there seems to be a trend to try to make a distinction between paying for an interview and paying for something else. This seems to be especially true for TV news divisions, a number of which have paid for exclusive interviews or photographs (see below). Full Disclosure is Important Schotz says if a news outlet does pay a source, they should disclose that to their readers or viewers. If theres a conflict of interest, then what should come next is explaining it in detail, letting viewers know you had a separate relationship other than just that of a journalist and a source, Schotz says. Schotz admits that news organizations not wanting to be scooped on a story might resort to checkbook journalism, but he adds: Competition doesnt give you license to cross ethical boundaries. Schotz advice for aspiring journalists? Dont pay for interviews. Dont give sources gifts of any kind. Dont try to exchange something of value in return for getting a sources comments or information or access to them. Journalists and sources shouldnt have any other relationship other than the one involved in gathering news. Here are some examples of checkbook journalism, according to the SPJ: ABC News paid $200,000 to Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, for exclusive rights to videos and pictures that ran on the network and its website. Earlier ABC had paid for Caylee Anthonys grandparents to stay three nights at a hotel as part of the networks plan to interview them.CBS News reportedly agreed to pay Caylee Anthonys grandparents $20,000 as a licensing fee to participate in the networks news coverage.ABC paid for Pennsylvania resident Anthony Rakoczy to pick up his daughter in Florida after a fake kidnapping attempt and for return plane tickets for Rakoczy and his daughter. ABC covered the trip and disclosed the free air travel.NBC News provided a chartered jet for New Jersey resident David Goldman and his son to fly home from Brazil after a custody battle. NBC got an exclusive interview with Goldman and video footage during that private jet ride.CNN paid $10,000 for the rights to an image taken by Jasper Schuringa, the Dutc h citizen who overpowered an alleged Christmas Day bomber on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. CNN also got an exclusive interview with Schuringa.

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood

John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood John Lloyd Stephens and his traveling companion Frederick Catherwood are probably the most famous couple of Mayan explorers. Their popularity is linked to their best-selling book Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatn, first published in 1841. Incidents of Travel is a series of anecdotal tales about their travel in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras visiting the ruins of many ancient Maya sites. The combination of vivid descriptions by Stephens and the â€Å"romanticized† drawings of Catherwood made the ancient Maya known to a wide audience. Stephens and Catherwood: First Meetings John Lloyd Stephens was an American writer, diplomat, and explorer. Trained in law, in 1834 he went to Europe and visited Egypt and the Near East. At his return, he wrote a series of books about his travels in the Levant. In 1836 Stephens was in London and here he met his future traveling companion Frederick Catherwood, an English artist and architect. Together they planned to travel in Central America and visit the ancient ruins of this region. Stephens was an expert entrepreneur, not a risky adventurer, and he carefully planned the trip following the then-available reports of ruined cities of Mesoamerica written by Alexander von Humbolt, by the Spanish officer Juan Galindo about the cities of Copan and Palenque, and by Captain Antonio del Rio’s report published in London in 1822 with the illustrations by Frederick Waldeck. In 1839 Stephens was appointed by the U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, as ambassador to Central America. He and Catherwood reached Belize (then British Honduras) in October of the same year and for almost a year they traveled across the country, alternating the diplomatic mission of Stephens with their exploring interest. Stephens and Catherwood at Copn Once landed in British Honduras, they visited Copn and spent there few weeks mapping the site, and making drawings. There is a long-standing myth that the ruins of Copn were purchased by the two travelers for 50 dollars. However, they actually only bought the right to draw and map its buildings and carved stones. Catherwoods illustrations of Copan’s site core and carved stones are impressive, even if â€Å"embellished† by a romantic taste. These drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida, an instrument that reproduced the image of the object on a sheet of paper so that an outline could then be traced. At Palenque Stephens and Catherwood moved then to Mexico, anxious to reach Palenque. While in Guatemala they visited the site of Quirigu, and before wending their way towards Palenque, they passed by Tonin in the Chiapas highlands. They arrived at Palenque in May of 1840. At Palenque the two explorers stayed for almost a month, choosing the Palace as their camp base. They measured, mapped and drew many buildings of the ancient city; one especially accurate drawing was their recording of the Temple of the Inscriptions and the Cross Group. While there, Catherwood contracted malaria and in June they left for the Yucatan peninsula. See the Walking Tour of Palenque Stephens and Catherwood in Yucatan While in New York, Stephens made the acquaintance of a rich Mexican landowner, Simon Peon, who had extensive holdings in Yucatan. Among these was the Hacienda Uxmal, a huge farm, on whose lands laid the ruins of the Maya city of Uxmal. The first day, Stephens went to visit the ruins by himself, because Catherwood was still sick, but the following days the artist accompanied the explorer and made some wonderful illustrations of the site buildings and of its elegant Puuc architecture, especially the House of the Nuns, (also called the Nunnery Quadrangle), the House of the Dwarf (or Pyramid of the Magician), and the House of the Governor. Last Travels in Yucatan Because of Catherwood’s health problems, the team decided to return from Central America and arrived in New York on July 31st, 1840, almost ten months after their departure. At home, they had been preceded by their popularity, since most of Stephens travel notes and letters had been published in a magazine. Stephens had also tried to purchase the monuments of many Maya sites with the dream of having them dismantled and shipped to New York where he was planning on opening a Museum of Central America. In 1841, they organized a second expedition to Yucatan, which took place between 1841 and 1842. This last expedition led to the publication of a further book in 1843, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. They are reported to have visited a total of more than 40 Maya ruins. Stephens died of Malaria in 1852, while he was working on the Panama railroad, whereas Catherwood died in 1855 ​when the steamship he was riding in sank. Legacy of Stephens and Catherwood Stephens and Catherwood introduced the ancient Maya to the Western popular imagination, as other explorers and archaeologists had done for the Greeks, Romans and ancient Egypt. Their books and illustrations provide accurate depictions of many Maya sites and a lot of information about the contemporary situation in Central America. They were also among the first to discredit the idea that these ancient cities were built by the Egyptians, the people of Atlantis or the lost Tribe of Israel. However, they didn’t believe that the ancestors of the native Mayans could have built these cities, but that they must have been built by some ancient population now disappeared. Sources Harris, Peter, 2006, Cities of Stone: Stephens and Catherwood in Yucatan, 1839-1842, in Co-Incidents of Travels in Yucatan. Photoarts Journal ( photoarts.com/harris/z.html) accessed online (July-07-2011) Palmquist, Peter E., and Thomas R. Kailbourn, 2000, John Lloyd Stephens (entry), in Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: a Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford University Press, pp. 523-527 Stephens, John Lloyd, and Frederick Catherwood, 1854, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, Arthur Hall, Virtue and Co., London (digitized by Google).

Data preparation and network analysis Literature review

Data preparation and network analysis - Literature review Example Finding meaningful data about people’s access to urban green spaces with regard to the people’s reasons for using such spaces and when and how they use them is considerably weighed down by the fact that survey data from local authorities is rather inconsistent. Various methods have been developed to help in data collection on local green space needs. Methods such as Best Value processes are viable in realising green space needs for populations in areas such as the Madinah region of UAE. The benchmark questions used in the Best Value User Satisfaction Survey are relatively basic meaning that more viable information should be sourced from the literature review of past surveys, as well as the analysis of other similar areas around the world (Cope 2009, 174). Telephone surveys with the public can be used to find out or estimate the number of urban green space users for every green space located in their vicinity. This module of data preparation is perhaps best for the quant ification of urban dwellers’ access to green spaces and the estimation of future green space needs and the capacity of current green spaces to meet these needs. In England, for example, a telephone survey showed that 2.25 million people make a minimum of 184 visits to the nearest urban space annually (Knigge and Cope  2006, 2031). ... This is crucial in network analysis as it allows for the identification of peak times when green spaces are mostly used, as well as the documentation of whether or not the green spaces have the capacity to hold populations during peak visits (Neimeier 1997, 381). Afternoons, weekends and holiday times, are notably the key times for green space use. Other people have seasonal green space use patterns, which are largely influenced by prevailing weather patterns. Notably, men are slightly higher users if green spaces than their female counterparts. However, most local authority surveys do not give an indication on whether ethnic minority groups or disabled persons are equitably represented among green space users. This is perhaps the greatest limitation of using local authority surveys in data collection and network analysis of urban green spaces (Forman 2005, 203). As earlier cited, data preparation can take several formats. Thematic data generation is one such method. This entails the generation of area maps and conduct of an analysis of the region’s remote sensing data. Here, urban green spaces are digitised and categorised using visual interpretation methodology like Cartosat II and LISS-IV merge product in Arc GIS Ver.9.3 (Van Herzele 2003, 119). Under this module, urban green spaces are categorised as among others railway green, playgrounds, open green, water bodies, industrial green, built ups, parks and roadside green (Barbosa, Tratalos, et al, 2007, 189). Using the â€Å"selection by attribute† query within Arc GIS, the different categories of urban green spaces are separated and exported into different categories of either public and green spaces. All types of green spaces are then assigned different

Business goverance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business goverance - Essay Example 491). There are several principles applied in leadership of organization and others that act as supporting platforms for delegation. These include aspects of game theory, agency theory and leadership techniques (Bendor, Glazer & Hammond, 2001 p. 241). The ally principle is among the widely used delegation strategy. There are various delegation principles and processes applicable to delegation in either teams or individual play. The ally principle of delegation is the widely applied practice in the process of delegating in many organizations. The ally principle in delegation entails that the person in authority, when there is an opportunity for delegation, he picks the agent closest to them for the job. This definition to this principle underlies in the belief that, those entities closest to the authority and who hold a similar line of thought, as well as, foster the ideologies of the authority are at the best position to foster the organizational goals. The practice of delegation to a close entity gives the authority space to allow the person or group they give authority to work in freedom. There are several levels of delegation using the ally principle. In delegating via either principle, whether ally or any other, the levels of delegation include the following. There is the delegation in which the authority gives the directions precisely for the person delegated work (Gersen, 2012 p. 2193). Secondly, the authority can tell the junior to look at the situation and report, then the authority decides, or they decide together. Additionally, the delegation can be allowing the junior to look at the situation, make the decision and wait for approval from the authority before proceeding. Moreover, the delegation can allow the agent to make decisions and implement them then report the outcome later. Lastly, the delegation may

Changes in Political Culture Between 2004 and 2008 Essay Example for Free

Changes in Political Culture Between 2004 and 2008 Essay After reading all of the lecture notes and spending quite some time browsing the internet, I found three things that dramatically changed between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections. Media influence, technology and the change in demographics played major roles in the 2008 elections. Media influence was the number one change between 2004 and 2008. Although the media played a big part of the 2004 elections, that election does not compare to the media frenzy of 2008. In 2008, television became the primary medium for conveying the campaign to Americans. The television channels devoted hours a day to observing every small item, almost all of it live. Little was said back and forth between the campaigns that were not reported quickly by a media outlet. Across the medium, 67% of the time on cable came from talk format or live standup. Only 23% came from reported pieces in which correspondents have control of the message. (2) What press stories made a difference in 2008? There was more reporting on the background and character of candidates during the primaries, when the process of discovery was new and went on longer. Yet arguably, the two most important stories about Obama came from a church DVD (the sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. ) and a tape made by a blogger doubling as a supporter (Mayhill Fowler) ,working for Huffington Post, who recorded Obama’s statement about bitter small-town voters. The reporting on Sarah Palin’s background in Alaska by various news organizations probably represents the most memorable example of first-hand, pro-active reporting into candidate backgrounds during the general election in 2008. 2) These are just a few of the examples of how the media bandwagon was so influential during 2008. It does not matter the party affiliation or beliefs, we all followed a certain media outlet of choice during that time. The second change between 2004 and 2008 was that Americans decided to get out and vote. Mainly due to the media frenzy, Americans stormed the ballot boxes none the less. Demographics were a very close second to the media during this time of change . The change in numbers is almost unbelievable. The electorate in last years presidential election was the most racially and ethnically diverse in U. S. history, with nearly one-in-four votes cast by non-whites, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. (3) The unprecedented diversity of the electorate last year was driven by increases both in the number and in the turnout rates of minority eligible voters. Much of the surge in black voter participation in 2008 was driven by increased participation among black women and younger voters. The voter turnout rate among eligible black female voters increased 5. 1 percentage points, from 63. 7% in 2004 to 68. 8% in 2008. Among all racial, ethnic and gender groups, black women had the highest voter turnout rate in Novembers election a first. Overall, whites made up 76. 3% of the record 131 million people who voted in Novembers presidential election, while blacks made up 12. 1%, Hispanics 7. 4% and Asians 2. 5%. The white share is the lowest ever, yet is still higher than the 65. 8% white share of the total U. S. population. (3) The third and final thing that changed between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections was technology, especially the internet and social media sites. According to a survey conducted by Complete and released by Cisco about the influence of online video and social media applications on American’s political engagement, the Internet was cited by 62 percent of respondents as a regularly used source for 2008 presidential election information and coverage, which was surpassed only by television (82%). Nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) says that they regularly learned something about the campaign from the Internet; almost double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%). (4) The Internet has, and has forever, changed the role of how presidential campaigns are fought, and how Americans attain their political news and information. â€Å"Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,† said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post, at a conference on ‘How Politics and Web 2. Intersect,’ at the Web 2. 0 Summit in San Francisco. (4) â€Å"The tools changed between 2004 and 2008. Barack Obama won every single caucus state that matters, and he did it because of those tools, because he was able to move thousands of people to organize,† Joe Trippi said. (4) In conclusion I can definitely see the major changes in political cultu re between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections. I also believe these changes started around the 2006 general elections and continued to progress for the next 2 years. It will be very interesting to watch the 2010 general elections and 2012 Presidential election to see how much influence the media and internet have. I think it will only progress until there is literally a live camera around anytime a candidate is in a public setting. Hopefully the trend of people getting out to vote is here to stay. For as Louis L’Amour said â€Å"To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers.

Mama Day and Daughters of the Dust :: African American Culture Literature Essays

Mama Day and Daughters of the Dust For emigrants of any country it is difficult to maintain the individual culture of their homeland while assimilating to the ways of the new country they have entered. For slaves of the 19th century, the acculturation process was a necessity. If they did not conform to the Western way of life, they would perish. However for some slaves, their geographic location sequestered them enough from the European worldview that they could continue to practice their own culture and religion. Most of these groups were found off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, the exact location of two important African-American narratives – Daughters of the Dust and Mama Day. Although the islands did not offer complete sanctuary from the harshness of post-colonial American culture, it did afford the Africans living on those islands more latitude to practice their beliefs. Especially for the younger generations, there was a beckoning from the dominant culture to take part in its opportunities and advantages, which created a drawback for Africans still trying to carve their niche in the Western society. Daughters of the Dust and Mama Day are fictional narratives that vividly recount the experiences of the black slave family during the 1800’s. Although they take different narrative forms, the former as a movie and the latter as a book, there are still several important themes concerning the emerging African-American culture – a way of life that incorporates the native African worldview with the newly acquired American lifestyle – that the two stories address. Although there are differences between the two works, they are really struc tural in nature, such as plot and point of view, and are thus not necessary to address currently. Instead, it is important to focus on the values that dominate the African culture and the attitudes that enhance and interfere with their way of life in Western society. The narratives share two main themes of which all other themes can be derived. One is the struggle between the lifestyles and values of the mainland and the islands and the second is a belief in logic and science versus intuition and African folklore. For both stories the island is an integral part of the story, almost becoming a character unto itself. The nature of an island is such that it has its own personality and dynamic, which is appropriate since it is physically dislocated from the mainstream.

The Union Reconstructed

1. Explain how blacks responded to their former masters after the Civil War had ended. After the Civil War had ended, blacks responded to their former masters in two different ways. They would either return to their former masters for work and every time they would leave the plantation they would go farther claiming they didn’t want to stay on the plantation forever. This caused them to continue to have communication with their former masters and never completely became independent. The second response was they would chose to become entirely independent to their masters. They would seek work in the city and began their new free lives. Often times they all struggled but they were now free. 2. Compare the economic conditions of the South with the economic conditions of the North during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of the South compared to the North during the period of Reconstruction varied quite heavily. The South was limited in many ways after the war and had little to expand and prosper where as the North had everything from political power to trade. They made it so the South could not have much political power which in turn affected them economically. These limitations came from the fear of a repeated war due to the fact that there was still much conflict occurring within the country because of matters of freed slaves and other things. 3. Discuss how southern whites reacted to the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction. After the emancipation of blacks during the period of Reconstruction, southern whites had responses of both fear and anger. They could not imagine their world without slaves in bondage, often they felt it a hassle doing chores they normally didn’t do. This lead to the feelings of anger, due to their dependency on the slave labor they were now confused and society needed to adapt in order to function once again. In some cases though the slaves had become a part of the home and the white people would miss them as a family member, often times distraught. Aside from these things, a majority of whites began to be fearful of legal intermarriage, dreading the fact that the pure white race would be destroyed. 4. Discuss President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction and Congress’s response to that plan. President Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was simply to pardon and restore all the rights of property to any former Confederate who swore allegiance to the Constitution and the Union. With this he believed he had successfully reconstructed the south and did not do much more. With this they looked to ratify the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery. With this plan all southern states completed the Reconstruction plan and then sent representatives to the Congress that occurred in December 1865. Congress refused to seat these new senators and a large controversy out broke. 5. Describe the general attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction toward blacks. Support your answer by citing specific incidents that occurred during that period. The attitude of the Union soldiers stationed in the South during Reconstruction towards the blacks was quite in different. They just worked to keep them in control and try to transition them from slavery to freedom. In many cases they would treat them as inferior but as well never got as bad as their former masters. They were just making attempts to help the society function. Whether they were successful is a different story. But they tried and eventually had the communities put together like a white community. 6. Discuss Congress’s plan for reconstruction and explain what Congress hoped to achieve as a result of that plan. Congress’s plan for reconstruction mainly revolved around completely freeing the black communities. They created the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to protect the black community and restricted the power of the executive branch. They were making decision that would benefit them in the long run. They would gain the black vote and be capable of gaining more power. So they limited the power of the former Confederates and attempted to have everything in their favor. 7. Discuss the economic conditions of poor blacks and poor whites during the period of Reconstruction. The economic conditions of poor blacks as well as whites differed. They both struggled financially due to crop shortages and other such things. However the blacks also were being aided by the Bureau of Freedom. They northern financed organization was created in order to help newly freed blacks to get on their feet. They helped them financially and helped with education. However they also in a sense forced blacks to accept low paying jobs when they didn’t want to. Even with this though they helped to get the blacks going in society. 8. Was the Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction a success or failure? The Republican administration that controlled the southern state governments during the period of Reconstruction was more of a success than it was a failure. They were able to stabilize the south in this time. They eliminated undemocratic features from prewar state constitutions as well as provided a universal male suffrage. They even loosened the requirements for holding office. They reconstructed the South financially and physically by overhauling tax systems and approving generous railroad and other capital investment bonds. With these accomplishments as well they set up a public school system in the south and stabilized it quite well. 9. Discuss the methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments at the end of Reconstruction. The methods by which conservative white Democrats regained control of the southern state governments were very passive. They came in when the Republican Party had already begun to fail and economic problems began to surface. The Democrats began to discuss the new Grant scandals, unemployment and public works projects. To add to that they also discussed the currency and tariffs in order to show important issues. Discussion of these matters showed an interest in the country whether it was there or not and allowed the Democrats to win the popular vote.

Mats Ek Carmen

This essay will analyze and discuss one of Europe's most creative and influential dance-makers, the Swedish dancer and choreographer Mats Ek; acclaimed for the theatricality and immediacy of his work while his contribution and development through the dance field with the main focus on his revision of the classical ballet stories. It will also discuss one of his major works Carmen and relate it with the original one. Mats Ek is a prominent and controversial figure of the contemporary dance.He has his own choreographic style and his work in contemporary dance choreography is contested. He was born in 1945. Eks mother, and his big influence, was the famous dancer and choreographer Birgit Cullberg, the founder of the world wide recognized, Cullberg Ballet Company. As said before, his mother was a huge influence for Ek. Therefore one can see that both, Mats Ek and Birgit Cullberg, choreographic style has a lot of same characteristics such as the attention of psychological characterization , the sensitive portrayal of humans feelings and the humorous episodes. In performance we see a fantasy world so unwaveringly strange and characters so imperiously dysfunctional we're genuinely compelled†¦ Ek may ask his dancers to go to some very odd places but the Cullberg Ballet follows him with ardent alacrity† (Judith Mackrell, the Guardian. ) In 1974–5, Ek was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Dusseldorf, and then made his choreographic debut in 1976 with The Officer’s Servant, for the Cullberg Ballet, the first of many of his works formed on them. In 1980 he became the artistic director of the Ballet Cullberg and a member of the Nederland’s Dance Theatre.He also worked and created pieces with many great dance companies. Mats Ek in well known for his revisionist versions of the classic ballets. He has also created his own work and most of the time his pieces have to do a lot with humor. However in reworking ballet classics, Ek likes to kee p the characters alive so as to always provide an inner emotion to the characters emotions and contrasts. The characters in his pieces,in contrast to the classic ones, have an emotional world of much more intense than usually and the relationship between them has a greater depth.Although he is revising the original pieces, he never forgets to stay true to the original context of the work and as far as the music is concerned he always uses the original one with very slight changes only to suit the new dramatic structure. Mats Eks key word, is clarity, despite the fact that he aims for clarity, this does not imply that he also uses simplicity in his pieces. â€Å"I was never interested in keeping to the classical traditions as such, What I want to explore are the underlying fairy tales that convey fundamental human issues love, deceit, pain, goodness.The classics have become cliches, and we have forgotten how they came to be and what they imply. We know them so well; they cease to ha ve meaning for our time. † (Mats Ek) Mats Ek is very often labeled that he relates his choreographies with the politics of the time that the choreographies are being made. This is not however right because none of Mr. Eks choreographies can be regarded as a political manifesto. In his pieces, the strong images and the dramatic situations will occasionally lead into humorous episodes. Humor, is one of Eks main characteristics throughout his pieces and as mentioned previously in the report so is his mother’s.By using humor in his dances, this does not mean that the pieces lose their tension. Since Mats Ek also studied theatre, most of the time his creations are a lot more dramatic than usual and this can be detected in every one of his pieces (Fifty Contemporary Choreographers, Pages 144-146). â€Å"Ek has a vivid theatricality and gift for genuine surprises†¦ his theatricality is matched by a full-out dance language that merges the sophisticated with the primitive. I became aware of just how much meaning Ek can compress into his pieces† (Nadine Meisner, the Independent).Ek’s style has become distinctive for its imaginative interpretations of storylines, in combination with a lyrical approach which transfers through movement the underlying emotions and feelings rather than just the narrative detail. His choreographic style and vocabulary is mainly from his ballet training, his relationship and dance experience with his mother and his collaboration with the Nederland Dance Theatre. Although Ek has rejected the conventional codes of classic ballet, it is clear in his pieces the he uses a lot of ballet technique.This can be found within the jumps, turns and footwork that he uses within his movement vocabulary. At the same time though, Ek uses a lot of contemporary movements such as drop of the pelvis, a lot of floor work and body weight. He manages to relate both styles with a unique and wonderful way in order for everything to look good and lovely. (Fifty Contemporary Choreographers, Pages 147-148) â€Å" Ek has done a great deal to enlarge how women are portrayed on stage, especially in the ballet classics. His â€Å"Giselle† and â€Å"Carmen† offer intense reimagining’s of  their heroines†. (Keeping dance alive: a Mats Eks portrait.Claudia La Rocco, TV classics) Let’s now move on to one of his most famous and great works, Carmen. Originally, Carmen was first performed in Paris on 3 March, 1875. Written by Georges Bizet. The story is about a temptress, Carmen, and her lover Don Jose who sacrifices his devoted lady, Micaela, to pursue his manly passions for Carmen. Jose, angry by her sexual behavior and blinded by his own rage, kills Carmen, thus bringing upon himself his own devastation resulting in death. The opera is set in Spain and the story line is more complex than the original novel by Prosper Merimee.The character of Carmen was too offensive for family theatre. Alt hough Carmen appeals to popular culture, the opera still attracts academic discourse as the spirit of Spain is personified in the character of Carmen. It is clear that in order for Carmen to be represented as a whore, she had to be black. That suited the beliefs of that time being, that the color of her skin will make her bad and evil. Moreover the color of her skin makes her also more exotic than any European and this will make her more desirable to the male audience and maybe more hated by women.In 1999 Mats Ek revised the Spanish classic Carmen to audiences all over the world. This version of Carmen is currently in the repertoire of the Royal Ballet, Cullberg Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, National Theatre, Ballet of Prague and the Polish National Opera Ballet. Ek in his pieces in general manages to show each character’s psychological aspect in depth. In Carmen, one can see that he presents Carmen as this woman who is complicated and has a complex behavior. That is what he usu ally does in his pieces, he presents all the women as very complicated and sexual creatures.In his choreography Ek is trying to keep the original features of the opera; but in order to attract more modern audiences he makes some changes so that the audience, in that time being, will be able to relate with the characters (Fifty Contemporary Choreographers, Pages 144-145). For example, the sexual behavior of Carmen in the piece is very important for the story line. However in the original piece it was not that clear. In Mats Ek version though, the sexuality is clearer and more understanding for the audience. Generally Eks version explores the actual human behavior as it is in real life.He pushes the male-female role reversal between the sexually free gypsy girl and the soldier Don Jose beyond safe boundaries, substituting a cigar for the familiar rose between Carmen's teeth, turning her into one of the boys( Cigar Crossed Lovers, David Bogoslaw, 1999). That cigar shows that she has a masculine soul in a woman’s body. (Carmen, 2010)   Carmen is a symbol of freedom and anarchy and can have as much freedom as she wants. In contrast, Jose is a traditional feminine role, a weak character that wants peace and a marriage, but cannot control his passions for Carmen in spite that he is going to marry Micaela.Eks Carmen begins and ends with a scene of a man, Jose, facing a firing squad and recalling in the last moments before death his tempestuous liaison with the gypsy girl who refused to be tamed. The dance then retells the story of the progressing love affair between Carmen and Jose. Eks choreographing style in this performance is a combination of both, ballet and modern dance. As they first dance together, Carmen and Jose, is like she is slowly explaining to him, throughout the dance, how she is and how she likes to live her life.He also tries to show her that he is a military man with a lot of discipline. At the beginning of the piece their movements are mor e aggressive, but as soon as they fell in love their movements become more soft and gentle. This change of the movement shows how they started to feel comfortable with each other as time passed (Janet Adshead, 1988, Dance Analysis: Theory and practice, Pages: 72-75). Carmen’s movement style initially is aggressive and masculine while it is becoming more beautiful as the story evolves.However, the fact that Jose is carrying the rose and Carmen the cigar, this shows that she is still the â€Å"man† in their relationship (As Willful As Ever And Puffing On a Cigar Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times. 1999). Another example of how the movement shows the emotional world and the relationship between the characters is when there is a trio between Carmen, Jose and Escamillo, who is the reason why Carmen does not love Jose anymore. He is the new love of her heart and that makes Jose angry. In the trio the two men’s jealousy is extremely obvious throughout the dancing move ment.There is imitation and repetition between each ones movement and the fact that they keep a certain distance between one another, shows the jealousy between them. At the end of the trio, when Carmen is going to strike Jose’s face, it becomes clear that she does not love him anymore. More over there is Michaela’s character which is also made clear through her movements. At the beginning she is dancing in a shy way but after she gets really angry with Jose and Carmen, thus her way of movement changes. She begins to be more aggressive and dynamic in terms of movement vocabulary and that is a reflection of her emotional world.The music in Eks choreography, as mentioned above, is faithful to the original one by French composer  Georges Bizet. The only difference is that is being used for different purposes in the story. In the original opera the music is a guide for the progress of the plot. In Mats Ek piece however, the music is not really needed to explain the plot or the relationship between the characters. It is there to create a mood in the piece. One thing that is really different from the original opera, in terms of sounds, is that in Mats Ek piece the dancers are sometimes talking and shouting. This adds a dynamic touch to the whole piece.Shouting is also more realistic than just singing opera. Carmen is wearing the same color of costume in both versions and almost in every version that has been created in the world. Red is the color of passion and sexuality. Thus, when the audience first sees Carmen, immediately understands her character and that she is a temptress. Micaela, in contrast to Carmen, wears blue, a color that symbolizes her innocence and that she is fragile. The street ladies costumes in Eks piece show their character and their Spanish ethnicity in contradiction to the original opera costumes that are showing the class and there social status.Ek uses very colorful, shiny and ruffled dresses that are a throwback to the 80s, in order to show that all women have sexuality. The costumes of the men are very simple and dark, just to show their discipline, as they are military men. The designs and sets in Eks Carmen are cartoonish and with playful colors. In terms of light, he tries to keep it dark. There is a metallic backdrop and panels which are suggestive of Spanish fans, as well as a large exercise ball downstage.In Mats Ek version of Carmen, there is a deeper reflection of all the characters emotional world. Carmen is clearly a symbol of Freedom and anarchy with an even more complex nature than the one of the classic story. That is what Mats Ek does anyway. Except from changing the classics into more modern and humorous editions, the thing that makes him special is how he deals with the inner world of each character. He manages to present each character, throughout the dance, in a very intense way so that the audience can understand for sure the characters personality.However he keeps the original stor y as it is, and he aims to show the same meaning as the original piece while at the same time he tries to explore a bit more the relationship between the characters. All of the above lead to Ek’s success when revising the classic stories. He remains faithful to the original story but however he does it not only with a more modern vocabulary but also with a more modern approach to suit the present. â€Å"Much like Bizet's opera of the same name, Mr. Ek's version proves that a grim tale of love and death can be downright entertaining† (As Willful As Ever And Puffing On a Cigar Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times. 999). It seems that Carmen will continue to appeal the audiences for years to come. Mats Ek Carmen will also continue to be popular to the audience because of the emotional and dramatic state of Mr. Eks pieces. He is a choreographer that distant himself from anybody else in the dance field. He is very original and successful with his choreographies and it is no wonder that he is so famous and he has achieved so much. He is an extremely talented choreographer with a lot of theatrical ideas and that is what makes him so special throughout all these years! Bibliography:Adshead, J. 1988. Dance analysis theory and practice. London: Dance books Bremser M. and Sanders L. Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. Second Edition. 2011. Roudledge Au S. Ballet and Modern dance. 1998. Thames and Hudson world of Art. Articles: As Willful As Ever And Puffing On a Cigar Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times. 1999 Websites: Linda. 2010. Carmen. http://www. theballetbag. com Peter Grahame Woolf. 1996. Mat’s Ek Carmen. http://www. musicweb-international. com Claudia La Rocco. Keeping dance alive: A Mat’s Ek Portrait. http://www. classicaltv. com

Visiting the Johnson Houston Space Center

Visiting the Johnson Houston Space Center Every NASA mission is controlled from the Johnson Space Center (JSC)   in Houston, Texas. Thats why you often hear astronauts on orbit call out Houston. when theyre communicating to Earth.   JSC is more than just mission control; it also houses training facilities for the astronauts and mockups for future missions.   As you can imagine, JSC is a popular place to visit. To help visitors get the most out of their trip to JSC, NASA worked with the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation to create a unique visitor experience called Space Center Houston.  Its open most days of the year and offers a lot in the way of space education, exhibits, and experiences. Here are a few of the highlights, and you can learn more at the centers website.  Heres what to do at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.   Space Center Theater People of all ages are fascinated with what it takes to be an astronaut. This attraction shows the excitement, the commitment and the risks taken by the people who fly in space. Here we can see the evolution of the equipment and the training of the men and women who dreamed to be astronauts. We want guests to experience first hand what it takes to be an astronaut. The film, shown on a 5-story tall screen, takes the viewer by the heart to bring them into the life of an astronaut from the time they receive notification of their acceptance into the training program to their first mission. Blast Off Theater The only place in the world where you can personally experience the thrill of launching into space like a real astronaut. Not just a movie; its the thrill of personally feeling the launch into space - from the rocket boosters to the billowing exhaust. After docking at the International Space Station, guests enter the Blastoff Theater for an update on current shuttle missions, as well as details on the exploration of Mars. NASA Tram Tour With this behind-the-scenes journey through NASAs Johnson Space Center, you may visit the Historic Mission Control Center, the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility or the current Mission Control Center. Before returning to Space Center Houston, you can visit the all new Saturn V Complex at Rocket Park. Occasionally, the tour may visit other facilities, such as the Sonny Carter Training Facility or Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. You may even get to see astronauts training for upcoming missions. Keep in mind that the buildings visited on the tram tour are real working areas of Johnson Space Center and are subject to closure without notice. Astronaut Gallery The Astronaut Gallery is an unparalleled exhibit featuring the worlds best collection of spacesuits. Astronaut John Youngs ejection suit and Judy Resniks T-38 flightsuit are two of the many spacesuits on display. The walls of the Astronaut Gallery also contain portraits and crew photos of every U.S. astronaut who has flown in space. The Feel of Space The Living in Space module simulates what life could be like for astronauts aboard the space station. A Mission Briefing Officer gives a live presentation on how astronauts live in a space environment. It uses humor to show how the smallest tasks like showering and eating are complicated by a microgravity environment. A volunteer from the audience helps to prove the point. Beyond the Living in Space Module are 24 part task trainers that use sophisticated computer technology to provide visitors with the experience of landing the orbiter, retrieving a satellite or exploring the shuttle systems. Starship Gallery The journey into space begins with the film On Human Destiny at the Destiny Theater. Artifacts and hardware on display in the Starship Gallery trace the progression of Americas Manned Space Flight. This incredible collection includes: an original model of the Goddard Rocket; the actual Mercury Atlas 9 Faith 7 capsule flown by Gordon Cooper; the Gemini V Spacecraft piloted by Pete Conrad and Gordon Cooper; a Lunar Roving Vehicle Trainer, the Apollo 17 Command Module, the giant Skylab Trainer, and the Apollo-Soyuz Trainer. Kids Space Place Kids Space Place was created for children of all ages who have always dreamed of experiencing the same things astronauts do in space. Interactive exhibits and themed area make exploring the different aspects of space and the manned space flight program loads of fun. Inside Kids Space Place, guests can explore and experiment commanding the space shuttle or living on the space station. (Age and/or height restrictions may apply on some activities.) Level 9 Tour The Level Nine Tour takes you behind the scenes to see the real world of NASA up close and personal. On this four-hour tour you will see things that only the astronauts see and eat what and where they eat. All your questions will be answered by a very knowledgeable Tour Guide as you discover the secrets that have been kept behind closed doors for years. The Level Nine Tour is Monday-Friday and includes a FREE HOT LUNCH in the astronauts cafeteria which makes it a Big Bang for your buck! The only security clearance is that you must be 14 years of age or older. The Space Center Houston is one of the most worthwhile trips any space fan can make. It combines history and real-time exploration in one fascinating day!   Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Guilt and Innocence in The Last Night of the World

Guilt and Innocence in 'The Last Night of the World' In Ray Bradburys The Last Night of the World, a husband and wife realize that they and all the adults they know have been having identical dreams: that tonight will be the last night of the world. They find themselves surprisingly calm as they discuss why the world is ending, how they feel about it, and what they should do with their remaining time. The story was originally published in Esquire magazine in 1951 and is available for free on Esquires website. Acceptance The story takes place in the early years of the Cold War and in the first months of the Korean War, in a climate of fear over ominous new threats like the hydrogen or atom bomb and germ warfare. So our characters are surprised to find that their end wont be as dramatic or violent as they have always expected. Rather, it will be more like the closing of a book, and things [will] stop here on Earth. Once the characters stop thinking about how the Earth will end, a sense of calm acceptance overtakes them. Though the husband concedes that the end sometimes frightens him, he also notes that sometimes he is more peaceful than frightened. His wife, too, notes that [y]ou dont get too excited when things are logical. Other people seem to be reacting the same way. For instance, the husband reports that when he informed his co-worker, Stan, that they had had the same dream, Stan didnt seem surprised. He relaxed, in fact. The calmness seems to come, in part, from a conviction that the outcome is inevitable. There is no use struggling against something that cant be changed. But it also comes from an awareness that no one will be exempted. Theyve all had the dream, they all know its true, and theyre all in this together. Like Always The story touches briefly on some of humanitys bellicose propensities, like the bombs and germ warfare mentioned above and the bombers on their course both ways across the ocean tonight thatll never see land again. The characters consider these weapons in an effort to answer the question, Do we deserve this? The husband reasons, We havent been too bad, have we? But the wife responds: No, nor enormously good. I suppose thats the trouble. We havent been very much of anything except us, while a big part of the world was busy being lots of quite awful things. Her comments seem particularly trenchant given that the story was written less than six years after the end of World War II. At a time when people were still reeling from the war and wondering if there was more they could have done, her words could be construed, in part, as a comment on concentration camps and other atrocities of the war. But the story makes clear that the end of the world isnt about guilt or innocence, deserving or not deserving. As the husband explains, things just didnt work out. Even when the wife says, Nothing else but this could have happened from the way weve lived, theres no feeling of regret or guilt. Theres no sense that people could have behaved any way other than the way they have. And in fact, the wifes turning off the faucet at the end of the story shows exactly how hard it is to change behavior. If youre someone looking for absolution which it seems reasonable to imagine our characters are the idea that things just didnt work out might be comforting. But if youre someone who believes in free will and personal responsibility, you might be troubled by the message here. The husband and wife take comfort in the fact that they and everyone else will spend their last evening more or less like any other evening. In other words, like always. The wife even says thats something to be proud of, and the husband concludes that behaving like always shows [w]ere not all bad. The things the husband will miss are his family and everyday pleasures like a glass of cool water. That is, his immediate world is whats important to him, and in his immediate world, he hasnt been too bad. To behave like always is to continue to take pleasure in that immediate world, and like everyone else, thats how they choose to spend their final night. There is some beauty in that, but ironically, behaving like always is also exactly what has kept humanity from being enormously good.

Commitment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Commitment - Essay Example Unless one have commitment, a particular vision, strong zeal and a passion to create something in ones life he cannot reach his goals and he remains failure one in the society. The strongly committed sports persons will definitely achieve gold medals in the contests and the students get good results in their exams and in their life also. One more thing is only the commitment itself cannot make us a champion when we don't have a proper vision and correct approach. So we can say the commitment is a weapon which we should use in proper way to get the fruits of success. Even though one failed in achieving the goal, the commitment in his soul awakes him and works like a panacea and pats his shoulder and leads him towards his goal. We can understand that the word commitment is not a group of letters, its magazine of bullets, which we can shoot the target with using the arm. Hence, commitment is the rule that is important in an individual's life as well as in the policy of an organisation. 1

Chick-fil-As Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chick-fil-As - Article Example set political or ethical agenda in varied business processes like the recruitment of employees, the selection of business timings and holidays, the choice of social causes and charities that a business intends to support, etc. However, when it comes to the external environment impacting a business, especially the directly interactive external business environment comprising of customers buying goods and services from a business, going too ahead with political views may harm much. The recent expression of the Chick-Fil-A President, Dan Cathy, regarding gay marriages on a radio show is a classic example of a business going wrong in the area of ethical views (McGregor 2012). Chick-Fil-A is a business that has been known to incorporate traditionally Christian values in the way it operates (McGregor 2012). The Chick-Fil-A outlets remain closed on Sundays; the company has been known to extend substantial donations to Christian groups and organizations, the company is totally debt free, and its President Dan Cathy has been known to express commitment to Christian views on marriage, although in a politically correct and restrained manner (McGregor 2012). However, in a recent radio show, Dan got a little carried away with the expression of one’s commitment to the conventional Christian idea of marriage and blamed a section of the society with specific sexual orientation of being arrogant and audacious (McGregor 2012). There is no denying the fact that while doing so, Dan Cathy showed a total lack of concern for the external environment influencing one’s business, of which the customers do constitute an integral part. It is a known fact that all the outside factors that could influence an organizations business constitute the external environment for a business. Besides, customers represent the most important aspect of the directly interactive external environment. Businesses need to be careful in issuing statements regarding specific groups of persons as such remarks