Saturday, January 25, 2020

Films As A Form Of Mass Media Media Essay

Films As A Form Of Mass Media Media Essay When was the last time we spent without media. From the time we get up till we go to bed some form of media is being a part of us. One of the very early and important aspects of communication began with the research in mass media and its influence on public. Such kind of researches began in late nineteenth century and 20th century. The Birmingham center undertook cultural studies analysis on audience. They propagated the idea that the socio-economic life-situation of the audience, their education, class, caste, gender, ethnic and language position had to serve as environment to understand the meaning they make of the media products. In the 1990s Straut Hall redefined the Media Product function in terms of its being a structure of dominance in culture. Todays society is one that is shaped and molded by the mass media. Basically, culture is nothing more than a product of the mass media. However there was significant change in this field of cultural studies in the year 1980s to 1990s, which dealt with the complication of the model of culture as a site of hegemonic contestation between the dominant and the subordinate group. The theories related to culture and communication have depicted how the locations of distinct social groups affects their communication with the hierarchy of location (of the social group) been categorized on the basis of color, class, genders and sexual orientation. This led to the study of these minority groups differently. The revolution and upheaval in the sixties and seventies included a vibrant sexual revolution aided by the feminist movement. It was one of the turning points for the study of queer theory and culture. This change in the cultural studies in general and homosexuality in particular came with the emergence of radical interpretation of queer theory which originated from gay and lesbian studies as a post-modern interpretation of h omosexuality. Prior to the coining of the term queer theory, the study of deviant sexuality was called as gay and lesbian studies. 1.1 MASS MEDIA Mass media is a form of media which is addressed for large audiences (masses). It can be any form of media, broadcast such as television or radio, films, print media such as newspapers, magazines, pamphlets etc. In todays generation internet media can also be considered as mass media because most these existing Medias use internet media to have an advantage of the available medium in many regions of the world. This medium can be termed as the interactive media. To understand mass media first and important step is to understand communication. (Biagi, 1992) Communication is defined as an act of sending or receiving or understanding messages or meaning when delivered from one person to another. When communication is defined in relevance to mass media it can be called as a centralized form of communication. Wallace.C.Fortheringham A process of involving the selection, production, and transmission of signs in such a way as to help a receiver perceive a meaning similar to that in the mind of the communicator. (Andal.N, 1998) Communication through mass media is known as mass communication. Mass communication means using a form of mass media to deliver messages immediately to a large group of people. Mass media today has become one of the popular media as it focuses on the prominent stories which will be of interest to the general public audiences. It is a huge industry as many people all over the world rely on it for some purpose or the other. Mass media today has become one of the most critical parts of human societies. Understanding mass media usually is a process of understanding a population and its culture. These are the tools of large scale manufactures and the distribution of information and related messages. Medium is the message. (Marshall, 1964). This means that mass media are technologies but they are also messages. Todays modern mass media have several functions similar to those fulfilled by the traditional media in some ancient societies. Western modern theorist such as Denis McQuail identified the three major functions of a mass media that is 1) surveivallance of environment 2) interpretation of the information and 3) transmission of heritage. But in todays generation mass medias major functions are information, entertainment, advertising and development. (Dennis, 1998) Though these may be the functions of mass media it does not necessarily mean that audience will perceive mass media for the same reasons. In the book The Play Theory of Mass Communication, William Stephenson argues that fun is both the greatest impact and also the public service of the mass media. So for few mass media might be for time-fillers, for some to fulfill their psychological and social needs, few for information and entertainment. This means that people will perceive media the way they want and according to their likes. Mass media in India has been a major aspect of the society. Its here that media is not consumed for one particular purpose but it is consumed for all, such as information, television, controversies, news, gossips, and chats, psychological or any other. Indian mass media industry has very well understood the societies mind set and they accordingly produce the media products. Its only here where the traditional forms of communication still exist and it also considered being a mass media, example: Folk media. 1.2 EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA Media effects mean different things to different people, for example for a psychologist effects will mean psychological, for a socialist it will be social so in this way effects differs from person to person. Effects can be classified in various types and gradations as short-term, long-term or deep, profound or superficial. Whoever says the first word to the world is always right said Joseph Goebbels, a mass communication practitioner of odious capability. (Klapper, 1960) . Mass communication is highly effective in creating attitudes on newly arisen or newly evoked issues and that the point of view first expressed will prevail over later persuasive communication in the country. Media effects have been debated and researched for decades together. The mass media has become such an important aspect and an everyday part of the society that many fail to realize the immense impact created by it on the society, aspects such as political, economic and cultural. Mass media today make peoples mind more stereotype and ideological. They do not let people have their own perception about the world rather they make public perceive what they think. For example the transgender. Medias portrayal of transgender has always been comical, tragic or untouchables due to which the society also disagrees to accept them as a part of them. This concept is called as the agenda setting. Media creates an agenda and puts its straight into the publics head and does not allow them to rethink over any of the information provided by it. The work by Harold Lasswell World Outside and the Picture Inside which was the reason for the emerge of the theory agenda setting also says; what public has in mind is totally different from the actual aspects. Walter Lippmann and Boas research on media says that media was biased and subjective and not objective. But at the same time media has positive effects on the societies also. Its only because of mass media the world has come clo ser and international and national information are reaching every region of the world. Media effects are in two ways 1) the individual effects and the societal effects. Today people spend more time in interacting with mass media. Of the approximately 40 hours per week of free time available to average person, 15 hours or 38 percent are spent watching television said Robinson and Goodbey 1997:126. (Ryan Wentworth, 1999). This is more time when compared to the other hobbies or outdoor activities of a human being in their free time. Because people spend much of the time with mass media there evolves an emotional involvement and those are often coined to be negative. As these individual effects are difficult to show empirically. In this same way are the societal effects, where media impact is straight on the society itself and our social world. But these societal effects are easier to see than the individual effects. Media effects can be both positive and negative effects. Media plays a major role in changing the public opinions because they have major access to people and this eventually gives a lot of strength to media. This strength can either be used in a positive way as in educating people or in an unconstructive way by misleading the innocent people. Media has the power to transform the whole society especially in developing countries it can become a weapon of mass destruction. For example : 26/11 Bombay attack media played both positive role in informing the society about second to second happenings of the attack at the same time media also played a role of creating confusion for the government and helping the terrorist with information. Media men have access to people and they have an audience. 1.3 FILMS AS A FORM OF MASS MEDIA The motion picture today is the greatest medium of expression the world has ever known. [It is] capable of giving life and form to all ideas, practical and emotional Its only limitation [is] human ingenuity-said by John.F.Kennedy, A.S.C, 1930. (Sanders Norris, 2001). John.F.Kennedy was an inventor and an American cinematographer. Another footprint in the sand of communication is after the invention of films. Cinema or film a form of Mass Media has become a powerful tool since the day it was introduced to the world. Cinematographic derived from the Greek word meaning movement and writing was invented by the Lumeire Brothers. In 1929, The Lights of Newyork the first talking film was screened. Cinema came to India in 1986, when the film Pundalik directed by R.G.Torney and N.C.Chitra was released in 18th may. The film industry has grown rapidly for the past years and has brought about a lot of changes in the society. Film Communication a process of transferring meanings or informations trough visual receptors. It is a man who creates this form of communication. There exists a cognitive relationship between a filmmaker and a viewer. Cinema is perhaps the mainstreams of all art forms and most accessed and most preferred especially in India. Therefore, it is very important to understand how the country, its people and its aspirations are represented in the cinema. Cinemas can be a form of art, entertainment, social document or critique. Film is a reflection of society for both the present and the past. Film and its innovation sometimes have to catch up to society but sometimes it leads the society and culture too. Lot of studies have been made on the impact of films on the societies culture but however there were a significant changes in the field of cultural studies in the 1980s and the 1990s which dealt with the complications of the model of culture as a site of hegemonic contestation between dominant and the subordinate groups. In todays system of movie making each of the six major studios makes less than 20 movies per year. The rest comes from individual producers, investment, distributors, exhibition each handled by different companies. Most of these independent movies are distributed by the six studios. Film as one such form of mass media has a great impact on the societies in many ways. Film industry is one of the most expensive and discovering industry in mass media. In true sense it is a dream industry. Today movies are created by one group, funded by the second group, sold by the third group and shows by the fourth group. The first group is producers, directors, second group are investors, third are distributors and the final group the exhibitors. Todays generation films have handled a lot of controversial topic has a main plot in this movies. Topics such as religion, terror attacks, transgender, homosexuality, child labor, poverty etc. Movies have actually brought to the world an idea about all the above through their stories and concepts. But at the same time they idealize or generalize few things for the profit sake and public believes it and it finally becomes a stereotype process. This majorly happens in Indian cinemas as most of the stories relate to the audience, if not the story at least segment of it will. Indian movies have a better impact on the audience compared to other movies because it is only in this country people go to the theatre as a practice, habit , sometimes even for information. 1.4 A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN CINEMA (quote) The first and the foremost Indian film show occurred in1896 in July 7th just few months after the Lumiere brothers introduced the art of cinematography in 1895 in Paris. Western Film makers started to take movies such as Fair (1897), Our Indian empire (1897), A Panaroma of Indian Scenes and Procession (1898), and Poona Races 98 (1898), by using Indias exotic culture and its scenery. The first Indian film made by an Indian was Wrestlers by Harischandra S.Bhatyaddekhar in 1899.Harischandra S.Bhatyadekhar is also popularly known as Sava Dada. In 1905 the Elphinstone Bioscope company was established by J.F.Madan, who mainly the first businessman who first envisaged the business opportunity in the Indian film industry. Elphinstone Bioscope Company showed mainly western movies. The first Indian feature film , Pundalik was made in 1912 as a result of growing demand from the audience to see Indian characters on screen. But it was shot by English man and it never really received the acclaim of being an independent feature film. In 1931 the first Indian talkie was made Alam Ara which was a costumed drama of fantasy and songs and was a big success. Soon after this music and fantasy was seen as a vital element of filmic experience. For example: In 1932 Indrasabha has about 70 songs. This was the era when music became a vital part of the industry. Then fascination for social themes aroused and also interplay of tradition with modernization was included in the film making process.by the time of 1940s cinematography played a major role in Indian movies and was a great deal of westernization in the Indian popular cinema along with other features such as dance , fantasy etc. It was during this time that India was going through an economic and cultural changes and religion played a major role in the movies as well as the country. It was this time when directors and actors such like Bimal Roy, Raj Kapooe, Guru Dutt, V Santaram, Mehaboob Khan became popular in both India as well as abroad. The popular cinema art established a form of art , entertainment and industry in 1950s.It was during this period movies such as Awara (The Vagabond, 1951), Pyaasa (Thrist,1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (Paper Flower, 1959), Shree 420 (Mr., 420, 1955), Mother India (1957), The Apu Trilogy by Sathyajit Ray consisting of Pather Panchali (Song of Road,1955), Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apu Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959) came out. In 1960, the Film Finance Corporation, which was later formed as National Film Development Corporation, for Financing and exporting films was established and by 1961 Film Institute of Pune was started. By 1985 Indian cinema became totally commercialized and few of those movies are Aradhana (1969), Bobby (1973) and Sholay (1975).While movies of 70s seen a lot of politics and social trends movies of 80s saw a violence in the cinema. By the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th love, affection, passion became a major portion of the cinema and most of the movies were around this plot. Movies such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) , Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ( 1995 ) , Dil to Pagal hai (1997). Today Indian cinema has become more modernized and advanced in technology and with the script and the plot. 1.5 BOLLYWOOD CINEMA Cinema, one Indian film critic has summarized as temples of India (Gupta, 1981) .They are designed to seduce monumental spaces, gleam with light and color, vestibules are plastered with posters of gods and goddess and red carpet Exide desire and wantonness. Devotees come in huge number to take worship, to take darshan at the shrine of the new image, the oneiric image that will create their new gods and even new images. The growth of Indian cinema is obvious from its statistics: 800 films per year shown in more than thirteen thousand urban cinemas, viewed by about 11 million people every day and exported to about 100 countries. Between 1913 and 1981 more than 15 thousand movies were produced in India. Dadasaheb produced the first Indian film Raja Harishchand.In 1983 it was Indias sixth largest industry , grossing around 600$ annually and employees around 300 thousand workers. The first ever movie to be screened in India was in Watsons Hotel in Bombay on the 7th of July 1986. Cinema remains the cultural dominant of India, its sole model of national unity. (Chakravathy, 1993).The structure of the film is therefore designed in to accommodate deep fantasies belonging to extraordinary varied group of people, from illiterate workers to sophisticated urbanities. India is a large country with almost 180 official languages. Films are made in almost 30 of the official languages but among them few are very famous and commercialized. Those languages are Hindi, Tami, Malayalam, Kanada, Bengali; Telugu. This is a great deal of mobility in the Indian film industry. Having established their talent in the regional industry many have travelled and worked in both national as well as international industries, For example: A.R.Rahaman. This industry has spawned countless fan magazines consumed by an ever-widening community of national and diaspora readers. Even in the flourishing are of television, both local and cable, the impact of cinema is present everywhere. Indian cinema nursed a feeling of not being up to the standards of European or Hollywood cinema, not really world class. But with the international recognition of Sathyajit Rays Pather Panchali in Venice (1956) a sense of liberation aroused leaving aside the feeling of inferiority. Moreover since the movie hailed not only as good film but as great Indian film, Indian cinema became aware of the Indians. Among all the above Bollywood industries performance is on the top and its have more percentage of audience compared to others regional languages. Bollywood has its reach all over the country because majority of the people know Hindi in the country. In the context of Indian commercial cinemas basically Hindi cinemas or Bombay cinemas is the largest player. Bombay cinemas have seen to transcended class and also linguistic difference by emphatically stressing and Myths on Indian social survive in spite of the changes. (Raina, 1986). Bollywood fame at the moment is not limited only in South Asia but is also spread far across the ocean. Besides Asia, Bollywood movies are released in east Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Britain, Canada, Australia, the United States and the other countries. People in the east as well as in the west recognize the Bollywood faces like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. The dominance of Bollywood stars in the advertising world indicates the popularity of Bollywood. In previous days, Bollywood was famous for its music and dancing, but these days it is famous for the good and sensitive movies. Many Bollywood movies have explored various social issues such as child marriage, polygamy, dowry system, castes and terrorism. 1.6 HOMOSEXUALS Homosexuals or homosexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction between members of the same gender or sex. It is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation along with the bisexual and heterosexuality. Scientific and medical understanding is that sexual orientation is not only the choice but also due to complex interplay of the biological and environmental factors. Today there are many who still holds the fact that homosexuality is unnatural or dysfunctional, many research has shown that homosexuality is an example of normal variation in human sexuality and not a source of psychological effects. The most common terms for homosexuals are lesbians and gays. Lesbians are mentioned for females and gays for males though gay is also used to refer generally to both homosexuals males and females sometimes. These relationships are equivalent to heterosexuals in the same essential psychological respects. Since the movement of the 19th century, there has been a movement towards increased visibility recognition ad legal rights for homosexual people including the rights to marriage and civil unions and parenting, employment, and the introduction to the anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBT minors. LGBT a community in help for the minorities. LGBT expansion is lesbians, gays, bi-sexual and transgender. In use since 1990 the term LGBT is an adaptation of LGB which was a phrase replacing the gay community in late 1980s.This LGBT has become a main stream and has been adopted by many of the English speaking countries? LGBT is generally used to refer the non-heterosexual people or cisgender instead of exclusively to homosexual, lesbians and transgender. The stereotype images about lesbians, gays, and the LGBT people are conventional, generalizations or the opinion created through images or Medias portrayal. A negative stereotype is often a result of homophobia where as positive stereotype also exists but they might still be harmful or hurtful. Kinseys colleague and biographer, Wardell Pomeroy reports that : By the end of 1940 he had recorded more than 450 homosexual histories, enough to convince him that the psychologists were making matters worse by starting with the assumption that homosexuality was an inherited abnormality which could not be cured simply because it was inherent. Kinsey was convinced that there was absolutely no evidence of inheritance. (Pomeroy, 1972) Two theories are related to homosexuality. As in what causes the basic homosexuality attraction. First is that it is oriented by biological and genetic factors to put it in simple term they are born gays or lesbians. The other theory is that they are oriented due to social or environmental factors. In the public sphere later theory has appeared to be in decline and the former gaining favor in the recent decades. American Psychiatric Association, according to them until 1974 homosexuality was a mental illness. Freud had in fact mentioned about homosexuality several times in his writings and he has also concluded that homosexuality and paranoia are inseparable. And since many psychiatrists wrote copiously on the subject, it was treated on a wide basis. Homosexuals have not received proper treatment from the society before and now also. They have been abused in many ways including physical abuse. Hostility and discrimination against homosexual individuals are well-established facts. (Beril, 1990). In fact, more than 90% of gay men and lesbians report being targets of verbal abuse or threats, and more than one-third report being survivors of violence related to their homosexuality. 1.7 MEDIAS POTRAYAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY There are a variety of ways that the media affects and tracks the attitudes that the public has toward homosexuals. (Anderson, Fakhfakh, Kondylis, 1999). Media portrayal of homosexuality people ranges from both positive to negative aspects. The gay community is battling with the negative image and is trying its level best to overcome the stereotypes the television, films and other media have created. Because LGBT people look alike and just like anyone else the media often adds images to make the gay community visible as a difference in skin color, behavior, attitude, habits etc. In many form of entertainment gay are portrayed as promiscuous, flashy and incredibly bold. In recent day there is a huge wide spread views that gays should be omitted from child entertainment which invariably creates controversies. The people in the media were criticizing homosexuals as if there are no homosexual partnerships that exist with simply two people who love each other as in a heterosexual relationship. Most of the homosexual relationships are open and honest it is just that media does not focus on them as they are catering their interest in increasing homophobia by their representation of homosexuals in the news they air , television or films. When homosexuals are portrayed on network television they are usually presented in a negative stereotypical way. (Wood, 1996).However some form of representation of homosexuality which is immediate and economical is required in order to show the exact gayness to the audience. It is often not very practical to portray characters sexuality through narrative or any other form so media starts to rely on the typification. Gay typification makes people visible to the viewer and keeps the homosexuality if the character present throughout the text or the content. So wh ich are clearly both advantages and disadvantages to this form of typification. 1.8 HOMOSEXUALITY IN BOLLYWOOD MOVIES With all of the current media coverage homosexuals are receiving it should come as no surprise that more and more gay characters and gay-themed movies are emerging from Bollywood. These characters and movies often tend to fully personify the Homosexual stereotypes that exist in our society today. Many gay-themed movies have made their way into the lime-light and gay characters are popping up in dozens of mainstream movies. By looking closely at these movies and characters we can see the different messages Bollywood is now sending out about gays. Though homosexual stereotypes are emerging in the movie industry, the stereotypes being generated are extremely different from one another. The gay-themed movies often create one picture of homosexuals, while mainstream movies tend to paint an entirely different picture. Gays are portrayed in perceivably negative ways in some movies and in others their characteristics are emphasized in a positive light and in few in a comical way. Mainstream movies, nowadays, often include minor characters that are gay. With the addition of so many minor, gay characters, endless stereotypes abound in these mainstream movies. Unfortunately, mainstream movies often focus on the negative stereotypes that have already been generated by society, thereby furthering the impact they have on peoples views towards gays. The movies focus on surface-level aspects of homosexuals like the way they act, look, and talk. Most often the movies dont delve into the deeper sides of these characters, thereby sending the message that gays are one dimensional. One strong example of stereotypes in mainstream movie is Dostana. With all the conflicting stereotypes of gays in movies today, it is extremely important that people step back and look at the big picture. They should view some of the lesser-known gay-themed movies so they are presented with a more real look at homosexuals. Too often people try to peg homosexuals as definitively acting one way or another, and if we only view movies that perpetuate stereotypes than our personal ideas of homosexual behavior will most likely remain. Instead, it is important for people to understand that, outside of who they sleep with; gays are no different from everyone else. The movies selected are Dostana, Fire, Dono Y and Girlfriend. All the above four movies deal with the concept of homosexuality in the main plot. All the four movies are well known and have got its own reach among the public. Dostana : 1.9 PERCEPTION ` Perception is many things to us. It is the present, from which the memories of the past and thoughts of the future are created by the brain. It is our reality. People behavior and judgment is based on their perception. They interpret what they see and call it reality. Our perception is an approximation of reality. Our brain attempts to make sense out of the stimuli to which we are exposed. There are five stage processes in the formation of perception: Perception: Sensing Process Perception happens in one or some of the five ways below: Through something seen Through something heard Through something smelled Through something felt by skin Through something tasted. There is an abundance of stimulation hitting our senses in every moment hence some stimulation is filtered out in this state. Then, the stimulation are preserved for which we so our conscious awareness. Perception : Integration The second stage is the integration process which there is a comparison between the filtered in and filtered out data. This comparison largely depends on the area where an individual provides more attention. Thus the stimulus which we focus becomes the attended stimuli. At first, the attended stimuli are turned into images on the retina and later they are transformed into electrical signals that are transferred through the brain. Perception : Analysis This stage, an individual is aware of the environmental stimuli. Thus, they start analyzing and interpreting the perceived objects in order to provide meaning and context to the perceived stimuli. The analysis of the stimuli which an individual has perceived depends on many factors like that of past experiences, feelings, emotions, values, memories, cultural belief sets. The level and the degree of these influences are different for every individual. One same object can be perceived in different manners by different people. For this reason, perception is not called to be real. Perception : Reaction The process of integration and analysis finally leads to the decision making process and thats the time when action needs to be carried out. At the starting level, the decision is to act or not is solely dependent on motivation. Though, an individual feels at some instance that he/she is left with no option but there is always a set of alternatives from which an individual can choose. The meanings which are provided to be perceived stimulus will shape individuals choices and actions. Perception : Decision Making All decisions of human beings are based on the instinct of self-preservation. Every individual tries to maximize their chances of survival and preservation. This common instinct of motivation ends the similarity among individuals and we are hence different among each other from our thoughts, behavior and perception. When individuals express their individuality through their choices they move forward to achieve the goal of self-perception. The two factors affecting individuals perceptions are the internal and the external factors. Internal Factors The internal factors are related to the state of an individual. The internal factor is how the individual behaves for a situation on the basis of his/her mindset, emotions and understanding of the situation. Internal factors also include previous experience and the psychological factor also. An individual learns from the past experiences and moreover the perception is built many a times due to the past experiences. The psychological factor contains the emotions, feeling, behavior, motivation. Individual mindset is a mixer of emotions and hence at many times people tends to show mixed emotions which also affects the perception. External Factors It concerns with the people and the environment with whom an individual grows and survives. It also includes family, peer group friends, cultural group, etc. These peopl

Friday, January 17, 2020

Reluctant Works Case Study

This case study is based on a conversation between two people: Tim Aston, a new project manager, and Phil Davies, director of project management. Aston had just changed jobs and was very excited about his new job. He wanted to be the best manager his company ever had. But ever since he had been on the job, he was becoming more and more frustrated with the employees and their work habits. Finally he went to see Davies and discuss his problems with him. Chapter Four of our text discusses the ten skills that are necessary for effective program management. (Kerzner, 2009, pg.149) Of those skills, I felt that there were three that were lacking in the case study. The problems that he discussed with Davies involved mainly team building, leadership, and administrative – time management skills. The case study showed that the lack of these things caused a hardship for management in an effort to complete necessary goals. Team building focuses on â€Å"effective communications, sincere i nterest in the professional growth of team members, and the commitment to the project† (Kerzner, 2009, pg. 149). The success of the team was not a priority in the lives of these individuals.They did what they wanted and how they wanted, regardless of how if would affect the team, project manger or the project. Phil Davies, the director, explained to Tim Aston, the project manager, that these people were set in their ways, at the top of their pay grades, and had no room for growth in the organization. Tim would have to take the time to learn what motivates them and try a different angle in order to get them involved. Phil stated that in the project environment, the workers think they are more important than the project and this has been the way it has been in their project organizational form.  (Kerzner, 2009, pg. 294)Tim will have to start from scratch. He will have to build a foundation with his team in order to bring them together. Phil also seemed to be very passive aggre ssive by acting like the workers were right and the project manager was wrong. Not supportive from a management stand point either. The purpose of Tim’s outreach to Phil was for support and guidance but all he received was a push off letting him know that he was on his own. Leadership is the second skill that was needed in this situation. Leadership is motivation for the team to  tackle challenges.A leader has to have emotional intelligence or empathy in order to be able to understand his team. For you to accomplish an objective you have to persuade your team to believe in the same goal. Being a role model is part of leadership. Management of the performance of the team and provision of support and development or growth of the team’s technical skills is all part of leadership. The lack of leadership from Tim proved that he was unable to resolve the conflicts that he encountered with the workers.There should have been a team meeting called in order to review the objec tives of the project and the team, state what his expectations were in completing them, as well as policies and procedures that they have to adhere to in the process. In the text, Kerzner also specifies several things that project managers do that are caused by a loss of understanding. These things end up causing time management problems for the project. The final skill that he needed to be proficient in was time management skills. A skilled project manager needs to be experienced in developing a schedule and doing what was necessary to maintain that schedule.It is unacceptable for the project manager to wait for someone else to make a decision that is his own responsibility. In this case study Aston had the responsibility for the project. He was responsible for managing his team and making sure that everyone was there. He failed at this task so he went to Davies for help. Aston made no attempt to coordinate schedules of his team for the project. He would have known of the forthcomi ng conflicts in advance and would have been able to modify the schedule accordingly. The project manager need socializing time with employees in addition to just seeing them during meetings.This is necessary to get to know them and their needs. Tim Aston’s skills in dealing with his project staff and functional manager leave a lot to be desired. His functional managers are not accountable due to his laissez faire leadership. They in term cause the failure of his projects. This is where the team building skills lacked causing his effectiveness as a project manager to falter. He has not taken charge or control of the team and there is no cohesive team to work on project’s objectives. With no leadership, the project management is non-existent and the team is none existent.No direction of the team means the morale and motivation of the team members is extremely low. Being the new â€Å"kid on the block†, the other team members have they own agenda moving forward and he has an uphill battle to connect with them. He lacks emotional intelligence in thinking he can just come in among his subordinates, who are years older than him, and gain their trust and confidence. He lacks self-confidence and turns to the director help instead of facing the challenges head on. This further diminishes the team’s confidence in him as a leader for the team. Tim Aston has not taught his team the importance of time management.By leaving them to manage their official time the way they want, he undermines the achievement of the project’s goals or objectives. Time management, being vital successful completion of a project, has to be inculcated into the team at all cost. A person who is not willing to respect time allocated to the project should not be part of the team. The issue of employees going on vacation or doing other activities instead of accomplishing important projects should not arise. Once time is set aside for projects it should become non-neg otiable, thus workers will come to respect the projects goals.As the goals set are met, self-motivation within the team will rise. Lack of communication by Tim Aston has contributed to the lackluster performance of the team. Being a new employee, he should have communicated his vision and ideas effectively to the team. The team might be at a loss as to his intensions for the projects. Meeting with them in advance and communicating his needs could have enabled him to know the feelings of the team. They could have ironed out their differences and he would have got a chance to persuade them on his new way of thinking. Mr.Davies involvement further alienated him from the staff below him and making communication more difficult because he still did not communicate with them. The management of the company gave Tim Aston very little support. By supporting the needs the functional managers, they have denied Tim Aston the support and advantage he needed to have his team comply. As a new proje ct manager, upper level management needed to give strong and unequivocal support of Tim to be able to take charge of the subordinates who considered him irrelevant to their needs and too young to understand their position.With no support, it is clear that the functional managers send the message that they don’t care if their lack of commitment will sabotage the new project manager. Management implies that the problem is with Tim Aston and not the subordinates by suggesting that he take a study in human relations. Adding yet another hit to further diminish the authority and confidence of the project manager. Tim totally believed he would receive a very different level of support from management.Team building is important to project manager, as without a cohesive team, the pooling of resources and talents that is vital in any company’s operations is not possible. A team that is not united in purpose cannot meet targets. Time management determines productivity. Effective time management diminishes waste both of resources and personnel motivation as without it concentration, focus and interests wanes. In any environment, personality and ideas conflicts are inevitable thus; conflict resolution or management maintains a cordial environment for workers and allocation of resources.Finally, for all these to be possible, effective communication as a leader has to be utilized by the project manager to pass his ideas to his team and from the company’s management to guide everybody on the expectations of the company. The recommendation that can be given to the company is that a supportive environment is of the utmost importance to the application of the project manager’s critical skills. Without it, application of these skills in achieving personnel motivation, resource allocation and other objectives would be an exercise in futility.The exercise of leadership skills and style by the project manager and company will influence the morale and moti vation of workers affecting productivity. Project managers should find importance in understanding the culture and system of values for the company they work for. As mentioned throughout several class discussions, taking the time to get to know the functional staff can promote effective cohesion in a team in order to get the project completed correctly in am efficient and effective manner.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Ideologies Put Forth By Paulo Freire - 1215 Words

The ideologies put forth by Paulo Freire including liberation education, pedagogy of the oppressed, inequality and pedagogy of possibility gives educators hope. These are the educators who are dedicated to bring about positive change in education and by extension society. Freire’s contribution to education through his research and theories resonates with Trinbagonian educators as it encompasses issues of slavery, colonialism, post colonialism social mobility and democracy. Furthermore, Freire’s ontology is grounded in comprehensive philosophical underpinnings including that of John Dewey and Jean Piaget. Their contributions have shaped education internationally as well as locally. Thus, the authors’ critique of Freire’s work in an attempt to restructure his theories is a worthwhile analysis and allows for self-reflection, critical thinking and the assurance of hope, in that, if education does nothing else, it must inspire hope in reference to the scho ol of pragmatism. Such an educational philosophy in the words to Giroux (2007), points to a future in which democratic practices create the conditions for each generation of youth to struggle anew to sustain the promise of a democracy that has no end point, but that must be continuously expanded into a world of new possibilities and opportunities for keeping justice and hope alive. (p.201) Education as a Practice of Freedom: Freire’s Argument Emerging from Freire’s work in Brazil in the late 1950’s and early 1960’sShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Posing By Paulo Freire889 Words   |  4 Pagesclass, that, by definition, would be closer to the problem-posing classroom that Paulo Freire describes in his piece The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education. In his works, Paulo Freire asserts that the â€Å"problem-posing education makes them [the students] critical thinkers† (Freire 221). As Freire describes, a class that implements the problem-posing policy is one in which students are to become critical thinkers. Freire would have been ecstatic that other educators carried out his ideas in their ownRead MoreThe Mosaic Of Diverse Cultures And Ethnic Backgrounds1688 Words   |  7 Pagesexistence of anti-racist education (Miner, 2014). The current curriculum in schools is predominantly Eurocentric. This is prevalent because â€Å"for the oppressors, what is worthwhile is to have more†¦even at the cost of the oppressed having less† (Paulo Freire, p. 58, 1970/2014). In this case society is predisposed toward white culture; in supporting this as our main source of knowledge we oppress those in our country who belong to different cultures and take away their voices. Because instruction onRead MoreTransformative Learning Theory— an Overview5690 Words   |  23 Pagesunderstand the implications and insights gained from discussing the various unresolved issues about transformative learning theory. This overview is followed by two alternative perspectives of transformative learning: Boyd’(transformative education) and Freire’(social transfors s mation) that contribute to our understanding of transformative pedagogy. Mezirow: A Rational Transformation Transformative learning offers a theory of learning that is uniquely adult, abstract, idealized, and grounded in theRead MoreHistorian as curandera Essay4547 Words   |  19 Pagescurandera Abstract History is story we tell ourselves as Khalil Gibran Muhamad defined it , or Story we tell ourselves about how past explains our present and the way story is told is shaped by contemporary needs as Aurora Levnis Morales nicely put it. Likewise it could be stated that we become stories we tell ourselves. Thus, history has role in construction of our identity. Given the importance of the story for us, could it be different story then the one we are told in mainstream media and

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Romanticism Blake and Keats - 1146 Words

Romanticism: Blake and Keats Blake and Keats were renowned poet during the period where Romanticism played an essential part in creative art and works. Romanticism is an international artistic and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways in which people in Western cultures thought about themselves and about their world. Poets like Blake and Keats writings were influenced by the fundamentals of nature, human emotions, feelings, imagination, instinct and intuition, reflection of his individuality and inner mind, and the belief in symbolism and the supernatural. In William Blake’s â€Å"The Fly† and John Keats’s â€Å"When I have fears that I may cease to be†, both poem can be classified as elegies as it dealt with the†¦show more content†¦From a macroscopic view, human is just as helpless and fragile, ephemeral creature like the fly. The imagery of human enjoying life as they â€Å"dance†, â€Å"drink† and â€Å"sing† until death comes without warning. The â€Å"thoughtless hand† that brushed the fly was replaced by the supernatural power of the creator’s â€Å"blind hand†. The human’s hand works with instinct but the work of God (blind hand) is something that has been predestined and arranged. Blake’s had strong believe in God as he claimed to have visions of God when he was young and many of his works emphasized on God’s creation and supernatural beliefs. However, in Keat’s sonnet, poem is written in iambic pentameter and consists of three quatrains and a couplet with the rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Keats also described in the first quatrain how his imagination of fulfillment is liken to a harvest, an imagery created with the use of words like â€Å"garners†, â€Å"ripen’d† and â€Å"grain†. He indirectly reinforced the idea with the alliteration of these key words which also include â€Å"glean’d† as well as the repetition of r sounds in â€Å"rich†, â€Å"charactry†, â€Å"garners†, â€Å"grain†, ripen’d and â€Å"brain†. Keats was afraid that he would die before he gained fame. He draws an analogy between his works and the act of harvesting. The comparison of â€Å"rich garners† and â€Å"full-ripened grain† is how fertile his imagination is. The harvest metaphor contains aShow MoreRelatedRomanticism : Romanticism And Romanticism1444 Words   |  6 PagesRomanticism was a period time 1750 to 1870 in Europe, Latin America and The United States. Romantic Movement didn’t reach to France until the 1820’s. Romanticism main spirit was against of rule, law and formulas that classicism the different characterized of general in 18th century. Imagination, Subjectivity of approach, freedom, Expression and the idealization of nature will be focused in movement of Romantic Literature. In this period industrial revolution with the social and political norms formRead MoreRomanticism Movement ( 1750-1870 )1223 Words   |  5 PagesName: Dilli Kattel Professor: Donna Hermon English 231-02 11/18/2014 Romanticism Movement (1750-1870) Romanticism was a period time between 1750 to 1870 in Europe, Latin America and The United States. Imagination, Subjectivity of approach, freedom, Expression and the idealization of nature will be focused in movement of Romantic Literature. In this period of time industrial revolution with the social and political norms form as age of enlightenment and against of scientific rationalization ofRead MoreThe Romantic Period : The Dark Alleyways Of The Modern Bourgeoisie1297 Words   |  6 Pagescentury, known as Romanticism. More specifically, Romanticism arose as a response to the dogma of the Enlightenment values of reason. Emphasizing nature and culture, or rather one’s feelings and imagination, the Romantic Movement argued against the artificiality and industrialization that that bourgeois dreamed of. However, this bourgeois dream seems more like a nightmare for poet laureates such as William Wordsworth and William Blake, as well as other Romantic poets like John Keats, who stress theRead MoreWilliam Blake And Transcendentalism Analysis884 Words   |  4 PagesWe can see transcendentalism with William Blake and his poetry. William Blake, who is a pre-romantic poet, handles his themes sincerely with a mind that is not distracted by the existing opinions such as rationalism, suppression and reason of opinions in his society. Although, he favors the morals of love, freedom, brotherhood and equality. Therefore, I believe he is considered one of the best romantic poets of all time. The majority of Blake’s poems show the romantic side of things such as simplicityRead MoreRomanticism : Romanticism And Romanticism1141 Words   |  5 Pagesmovements. Although Romanticism and Modernism differ in their styles, values, and ideology, they were both important periods in literature. Romanticism was a literary movement during the late 18th century until the early 19th century that had an emphasis on the imagination and emotions. The movement moved through every country in Europe, Latin America, and the United States from approximately 1750 to 1870. However, France did not see the movement until the 1820’s. Romanticism was basically a rebellionRead More The Romantic Period Essay1055 Words   |  5 PagesThe Romantic Period The Romantic Period began in the mid-eighteenth century and extended into the nineteenth century. Romanticism was about creative thinking, â€Å"thinking outside the box†, completely contradicting Neoclassicism, which was about straight forward thinking, â€Å"thinking inside the box†. It was a philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways of what people thought about themselves and the world around them. The Romantic period overlapped with the â€Å"ageRead MoreThe Life Of Dorothy Wordsworth And John Keats946 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the eighteenth century, a style of writing called romanticism that challenged societal norms began to emerge. It worked against the Age of Enlightenment and encouraged emotional, visual, and knowledge as the reservoir for influence. From this time six important authors surfaced: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Byron, and John Keats. Included in this list should be Dorothy Wordsworth and Mary Wollstonecraft. The eighteenth century produce materialRead MoreRomanticism1649 Words   |  7 PagesRomanticism in the Nineteenth Century The Romantic period followed the era of logical, philosophical, and social movement in the 17th to 18th century. However, as the 19th century began, Romanticism came into the light with a new perspective that intrigued the people. It stressed emphasis on emotions and imagination while also helping to realize the importance of self-expression. The American Romanticism movement illustrated inspiration, bias and predominance of individuals in the nineteenth centuryRead MoreExploration of Romanticism in Poetry Essay967 Words   |  4 PagesExploration of Romanticism in Poetry The poems I will be describing date back to the Romanticism period of time. The word romanticism originally originates from the Romans. This era started in 1780AD. Previous to this period of time, there was an era of science and fact. This was known as the era of enlightenment. This is the purpose of the romantic era, which still exists today. It was to acquire an escape from the science and realistic way of life. There are manyRead MoreThe Renaissance And Romanticism During The 19th Century1245 Words   |  5 PagesThe Renaissance and Romanticism were periods of history in which literature changed the mindset of the people. The Renaissance occurred in Britain during the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth century, and was a response to the Medieval Age. There was a spike in learning during the Renaissance, because of the invention of the printing press and the return of classical Greek and Roman literature. The Romantic period occurred during the late eighteenth century, as a response to the Enlightenment