Media and Gender Stereotyping :: Media Stereotyping of Men and Women

1 ABSTRACT Past research found that media culture, particularly magazines, present stereotypical notions of gender. Gender stereotypes are not inflexible, like a barometer stereotypes change to reflect both societal and cultural values. This research set out to study current gender stereotypes types in four popular magazines (Marie Claire, GQ, Shape and Men's Health). The advertisements were categorised into gender specific and gender neutral adverts. The results found that the mode for gender specific adverts for both men and women's magazines related to female specific related adverts. Although the findings did not support the prediction of stereotypical gender specific advertising, the research itself was characterised by a number of weaknesses. 2 INTRODUCTION Advertisements have appeared in print media since the invention of the printing press in the 1500s. The usage of the term magazine itself first came about with the publication of 'The Gentlemen's Magazine' and 'The Lady's Magazine' in the 1730s by Edward Cave (1691-1754) (Connor, G 2001). Different types of magazines exist for just about every age and social group, for any interest, hobby and lifestyle. Advertisers make use of information gathered by agencies like ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) and the NRS (National Readership Survey), who categorise consumers by age, gender, occupation and socio-economic status. This knowledge enables advertisers to design ad campaigns specific to their target audience through the types of magazines they read (cited in Magazines and Gender, 2004). Even though adverts are designed with a specific audience in mind, they are still developed to appeal to the vast majority within that target audience; there is no resource, finance or capability to market each unique individual. Advertisers exploit stereotypical gender types to produce advertisement to have the widest appeal. Societies have always had ways of differentiating between both men and women, between masculinity and femininity through the assertion of different attitudes and behaviour patterns onto each gender (as cited in Gender and Identity, 2004). It is therefore essential to distinguish between sex, gender and

Nuclear Fusion :: essays research papers

Nuclear Fusion For a fusion reaction to take place, the nuclei, which are positively charged, must have enough kinetic energy to overcome their electrostatic force of repulsion. This can occur either when one nucleus is accelerated to high energies by an accelerating device, or when the energies of both nuclei are raised by the application of very high temperature. The latter method, referred to the application of thermonuclear fusion, is the source of a lot of really cool energy. Enough energy is produced in thermonuclear fusion to suck the paint of 1 city block of houses and give all of the residents permanent orange Afros. The sun is a example of thermonuclear fusion in nature. If I was a atom, I could only wish to be in a thermonuclear reaction. Thermonuclear reactions occur when a proton is accelerated and collides with another proton and then the two protons fuse, forming a deuterium nucleus which has a proton, neutrino and lots of energy. I have no idea what a deuterium nucleus is, but is must be 10 times cooler than just a regular nucleus. Such a reaction is not self sustaining because the released energy is not readily imparted to other nuclei. thermonuclear fusion of deuterium and tritium will produce a helium nucleus and an energetic neutron that can help sustain further fusion. This is the basic principal of the hydrogen bomb which employs a brief, controlled thermonuclear fusion reaction. This was also how the car in the Back to the Future movie worked. It had a much more sophisticated system of producing a fusion reaction from things like, old coffee grounds, bananas, and old beer cans. Thermonuclear reactions depend on high energies, and the possibility of a low-temperature nuclear fusion has generally been discounted. Little does the scientific community know about my experiments. I have produced cold fusion in my basement with things like: stale bread, milk, peanut butter and flat Pepsi. I have been able to produce a ten-megaton reaction which as little as a saltine cracker and some grass clippings. But enough about my discoveries. Early in 1989 two electrochemists startled the scientific world by claiming to achieve a room- temperature fusion in a simple laboratory. They had little proof to back up their discovery, and were not credited with their so-called accomplishment. The two scientists were Stanley Pons of the university of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton in England. They described their experiment as involving platinum electrodes an electrochemical cell in which palladium and platinum were immersed in heavy water. These two losers said that

Egon Schiele Biography

Egon Schiele (1890-1918) was a man concerned with issues of sexuality and death. Like other members of the Expressionist movement of the early twentieth century, he was fascinated with making his mental processes visible through his art. He wished to express his feelings about sexuality directly, rather than alluding to the subject as so many artists had done previously, artists such as Manet or Ingres. Instead, he took his cue from the influences of Rodin and Gustave Courbet, dealing with his subject directly, as he does in the piece Nude with Green Turban (1914). But unlike Courbet, who dealt with his subject in an effort to shock and influence the staid French Royal Academy, as in the case of L'Origine du Monde, 1866 (at right), Schiele explores the issue of sexuality in an attempt to express his own fascinations with the subject, irregardless of the opinions of others. In Nude with Green Turban, the subject is placed in a blank space. She is seemingly alone, so alone that there is nothing in the world of the piece except her. It's as if the viewer is meant to become part of the immediacy of her moment. Indeed, this may be what Schiele intends, having become lost in his own moment of artist to subject. Schiele owes much of this immediacy to Rodin's innovation of the continuous line drawing, and Schiele employs the method here. He has sketched her quickly, capturing her in her moment before going back to fill in the details. However, he has only completed the details selectively. Her shoes are well rendered, as are the shadows and fullness of her thighs and hands. In the turban as well, he has completed the small details of a knot, and filled it with the same color as the colors he's used as emphasis to the shadows her hands create. But her face is hastily done, her nose and closed eyes mere triangles. Her mouth is only the symbol of a mouth. She's as if she's a puppet, expressionless with no individuality. In so doing, he has removed the humanity from her, making her merely a body upon which her hands, and presumably the fantasies of the artist and viewer, play. I'm sure an argument could be made about how this is an example of the objectification of women within the early twentieth century and before. History has certainly shown repeatedly how women in art are mere objects for the male fantasy. What makes this different is how Schiele has not created her as a prize for whomever owns her, but has created her as an outlet for his own fantasy (and, I should hope, for hers). However, today I don't believe Schiele would be able to create such overt expressions of his fantasies without cries of outrage from the feminist community. Since the 1960's, women have progressed away from being objects and possessions, giving themselves a face and a voice within the western world. Today, Schiele would be forced to give his model a face, and perhaps a name. While much of today's art is as direct in its subjects as Schiele's art is, the mere suggestion of objectifying a woman in a sexual act is taboo. Instead, if Schiele were to give her a face, a name, and place her into a world other than the blank canvas of the viewer's mind, she would become, in effect, â€Å"real. † In becoming a â€Å"real† woman, she would become an expression of femininity not being afraid to be feminine. She would become part of the world women inhabit, able to be claimed by women as one of their own. As she is now, she is a fantasy, a creature of male sexual expression. Much of the art today seems to be concerned with issues of fantasy versus reality. With the advent of the internet, more and more people are able to express their internal fantasies upon someone else. In this way, Schiele's work is extremely contemporary. People want to lose themselves within images, feeling the ideas of the artist, but I do not believe that most art patrons want their art to be as obvious as Schiele's. That said, I believe that Schiele's themes of fantasy and sexuality would be more subtle today. People want the slow glow of accomplishment that they receive in correctly interpreting a piece of art. Direct sexuality is outre and today's public seems to prefer a more subtle approach. Nude with Green Turban is a prime example of Egon Schiele's objectification of his subject, not out of line with the schema of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, portraying women as sexual objects of the male fantasy. With the women's movement of today, this theme would be handled in such a way as to include not only the male fantasy, but the female fantasy as well, by removing her objectification. She would become more real. In addition, the sexual subject would be more subtle in an attempt to reach all viewers, introducing an intellectualism that appeals to the female mind as well as the male, creating eroticism out of perceived pornography.

Divide by Two †Short Story Essay

They have set down a line of adobe blocks, three blocks wide and two blocksdeep, across the lawn between their cottage and ours, Belle said.â€Å"Yes, I know,† I said. I walked into the window and stood there, looking over attheir cottage. The piano music from the cottage came strong and clear. â€Å"I was here thismorning when he brought those blocks home.† I peeled my shirt; it was soggy withsweat. â€Å"He carried the blocks in the baggage compartment of their car. It took him allthree trips. He had three boys with him to help.† I shook my shirt in the cooling air andwalked in my room. â€Å"And I know where he got those blocks, too. There is aconstruction going on right now at engineering school. They have a pile of adobe blocksthere as high as the Cheops. You can’t miss it. You see it from the busline everytime.† In my room, the strains of piano music didn’t reach sustainedly.Belle had followed me into my room. â€Å"They have marked off boundaries,† shesaid. â€Å"They have defined limits.†I folded my shirt about the back of the armchair. â€Å"So they have,† I said. â€Å"So theyhave.† My undershirt was wet, too. I yanked it off.â€Å"It is all as if they have put up a fence,† Belle said.â€Å"Fences make good neighbors,† I said. I whipped the apple-green towel off the T- bar and rubbed myself briskly.â€Å"It might as well be the great wall of China,† Belle said.â€Å"Well, no, not really,† I said. â€Å"It is not as bad as that.† I returned the towel to thecrossbar. I looked around for a dry undershirt but did not find any. I went to the bedroom where my clothes-closet was. Belle followed me. There was no light in thecloset. The bulb hadn’t been changed since it went bad shortly after we moved into thecottage. I fumbled in the dark feeling with my fingers. In the darkness in the closet thestrains of the piano came steadily, strong and clear.â€Å"She is no Turk but she keeps playing the Turkish March,† Belle said.I knew where my undershirts would be and it didn’t take me long to find themwith my hands. I pulled one out and was putting it on while I walked back to the sala.â€Å"It is unkind, inconsiderate, not neighborly, not nice,† Belle said. I stopped beneath the light in the narrow passage from the bedroom to the sala between the book-closets and the bathroom, one arm through one armhole, half out of thesando shirt the neck of which I held open with my hands. I looked at Belle. â€Å"Comeagain, Belle?† I asked.Belle said again the denunciatory words.I got my head through the armhole, got into the shirt. I walked on to the sala. Ididn’t know how tired I was until I fell back on the lounging chair.Belle picked up the foot stool, brought it near my chair and sat down. â€Å"The leastthing they could have done was to tell us first about it.†I felt very tired and shut my eyes and didn’t say anything.â€Å"Don’t you think they owed it to us?† Belle asked. â€Å"Out of regards for our feelings shouldn’t they have asked us how we feel about the fence?† The piano music threaded through the words like leitmotif. â€Å"How is that again,Belle?† I asked.â€Å"They have no regard for us,† Belle said. â€Å"They don’t care what we think. Theydon’t mind what we feel. As far as they are concerned, we are not human.†The piano came jubilantly threading through the words.â€Å"Is that right, Belle?† I asked.â€Å"Don’t you think they should at least have gone to us and said: Look here, you!We are putting up this boundary, see? You keep to your side of these markers and wewill keep to ours, understand?† Belle asked.â€Å"Do you really think that?† I asked.â€Å"Yes, I do,† Belle said. â€Å"Distinctly, don’t you?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I don’t know.† I said. â€Å"I haven’t thought about it.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Well, then,† Belle said, â€Å"think about it. You can start thinking about it now.†I wondered why now the words kept ringing clear to me. Then I felt and sensedthat the piano had been stilled. Suddenly the night was silent, suddenly the air was still.I rose from the lounging chair. I walked to the globe-traveler near the wall outlet, plugged the cord in and snapped the lid open. Belle followed me. I was playing therange disk for music when Belled leaned forward and snapped the lid shut. â€Å"What’s the matter, Belle? I asked.â€Å"There’s nothing the matter.† Belle said.â€Å"Well, then get off,† I said. â€Å"Get off them and get off me.†Belle was silent for a moment. Then: â€Å"It is she,† she said.â€Å"What about her?† I asked.â€Å"I don’t think she likes me,† Belle said.â€Å"She doesn’t like anyone,† I said. â€Å"What makes you think so?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I have given her things.† Belle said. â€Å"They don’t seem to make an impression onher. I gave her cheese on her last birthday. She didn’t even thank me.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why do you have to go around giving people things for?† I asked. â€Å"Maybe shedoesn’t like cheese. Maybe the cheese wasn’t such a good idea.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"She doesn’t like me.† Belle said. â€Å"And she doesn’t like anyone to like me†¦when he gave me flowers from her garden, I don’t think she liked that.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Who would?† I asked. â€Å"Maybe the flowers weren’t such a good idea either.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"He was only being friendly as I was,† Belle said.â€Å"Oh, yes,† I said.â€Å"He was only being neighborly as I believe in being,† Belle said.â€Å"Sure, sure,† I said.â€Å"But she doesn’t like to be and I don’t think she believes in being,† Belle said.â€Å"And I don’t think she wants him to be either.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, well, Belle,† I said. â€Å"I don’t really know them. It is you they really know.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, you do, too,† Belle said. â€Å"You ride with them too sometimes.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I did that only once,† I said. â€Å"I rode with them on the front seat. She tapped himon the thigh when she got off at Pavilion 2. That was the last time.â⠂¬ Ã¢â‚¬Å"Did that bother you?† Belle asked. â€Å"Not that in itself,† I said. â€Å"Only the demonstrativeness: as if to show that she ishis and he is hers.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"What about the demonstrativeness of puttering about her garden in very shortshorts?† Belle asked.â€Å"When you visited the area for the first time to see the cottages, was he looking atthe cottages too-and the third time?† I asked.â€Å"He was going to look at the cottages himself,† Belle said. â€Å"He was only beingfriendly.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"And the second time you looked at the cottages, he was looking at the cottagestoo-and the third time?† I asked.â€Å"That was for our going to be neighbors,† Belle said.â€Å"There are forty cottages in this area,† I said. â€Å"Why did we have to pick up thisone right next to theirs?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"It was as much your choice as it was mine,† Belle said.â€Å"So it was,† I said. â€Å"So it can’t be helped.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"No, it can’t,† Belle s aid.â€Å"All right, then. Get off. Get off them and get off me,† I said. â€Å"But you must do something,† Belle said.â€Å"What about?† I asked.â€Å"They didn’t set the adobe markers right,† Belle said. â€Å"They have been laidnearer our cottage than theirs. Their half of the lawn is bigger than ours.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Is that right?† I asked. I walked to the window. It wasn’t too dark to see theadobe markers gleaming in the ghostly light. I saw the flowers, too-the roses, the zinnias,the dahlias, the African daisies-swaying like specters in the night. Walking back to mychair, I looked up at the clock. It was getting on a quarter to nine. The clock began tochime just as I got to the lounging chair. I sat down and put my feet up on the stool.â€Å"Their half of the lawn is bigger than ours,† Belle said.â€Å"Maybe they need all the lawn they can get so she can plant them all to flowers,† Isaid. â€Å"They haven’t divided the lawn fairly,† Belle said.â€Å"You mean the halves are not equal? The halves are not halves? I asked.â€Å"What’s the matter with you?† Belle said.â€Å"What’s the matter with him?† I asked. â€Å"Isn’t he a doctor of mathematics or something? A fine doctor of mathematics he’s turned out to be if he can’t even divide bytwo!†Ã¢â‚¬Å"What’s eating you?† Belle asked.â€Å"Maybe he should have brought a survey team with him and used a transit, a plumbline, and a pole,† I said. â€Å"Maybe he could divide by two then. Maybe he couldeven divide by ten.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Don’t tell me,† Belle said, â€Å"Tell him. Tell them.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"For crying out loud.† I said.â€Å"Go ahead,† Belle said. â€Å"Go over. Tell them off. Tell them where to get off.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Get off, Belle,† I said. â€Å"Get off them.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"If you won’t, I shall,† Belle said.â€Å"Get off me,† I said.â€Å"If you don’t, I shall,† Belle said. â€Å"I shall right now.† She started for the door.â€Å"For crying out loud, Belle,† I said. â€Å"I don’t know them well enough to speak tothem. I shall write them a note.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"All right,† Belle said.The portable typewriter was in the case under my bed. I set it up at the head of the dining table. When I pulled my hands away from lifting the case, they were coveredwith dust. I removed the lid but didn’t take the machine off its base. The inside cornersof the lid were spun with cobwebs. There were webs between the machine and the ridgeof the base. I couldn’t find any white paper anywhere so I decided to use one sheet fromthe legal size pad of rules yellow paper.I didn’t date the note. I made it short and to the point. It was fascinating to watchthe keys falling forward and then back leaving the black marks on the yellow sheet. As Ityped I heard the opening bars of Marriage of Figaro from the high fidelity radio- phonograph next door. (â€Å"Mathematics and Mozart,† I said. â€Å"Mozart and Mathematics.†)I typed on my name but didn’t sign it. When I saw that I had not quite filled half the sheet, I folded it once and tore it in half. I fed the clean half back to the machine andhanded the other half to Belle. â€Å"There you are.† I said. â€Å"Short and sweet: I hope helikes it.†Belle read the note. After she finished, she didn’t say a word. â€Å"Is it all right?† Iasked.â€Å"Yes,† Belle said. â€Å"Then send it off,† I said.â€Å"All right,† Belle said. She called Nata and had the note delivered at once.I didn’t get to hear Mozart to the end of the night. About halfway through theopera (that would be after Face I of the long playing record), the player was snapped off.Then I saw him leave their cottage.I sat up erect in my chair and watched him head bob up and down as he walkedout to Finchshafen road. When he turned up the road and I knew where he was going, Istood up. I walked up to the screen door and watched him walk up the concrete walk tothe porch steps. He stopped at the foot of the stairs. I looked down through thewirescreen at his upturned face.â€Å"Yes?† I asked.â€Å"Can I see you for a minute?† he asked.â€Å"Me?† I asked.â€Å"Yes, you,† he said.â€Å"Won’t you come up?† I asked.â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I’d much rather talk to you on the street.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"If that’s the way you feel about it.†I joined him at the foot of the porch steps. We walked down the cement walk together. As we went past the shelter of the cottage, a blast of the cold night air struck my face. I felt my left cheek twitching.â€Å"Yes?† I asked. â€Å"What’s on your mind?† We walked down Finchshafen road. He didn’t say anything for a long time. Ilooked at him. I had never spoken to him before. He considered a long time, longenough for me to be able to look back at the house to see if Belle was at the windowwatching.When he spoke, his first words were: â€Å"Have you and Belle been fighting?† Itwas not only words, it was also the way he said them: my left cheek was twitching so badly it was almost spastic. He had spoken so softly and in such a low-pitched voice I barely heard him. It was as if he didn’t wish either his house or my house to hear; as if we were conspirators both and we were plotting a conspiracy together.â€Å"Fighting?† I asked. â€Å"What about? What for? What are you talking about?† Isought his face for the guilt that could only be the mirror of the guilt in my own. We stood in Finchshafen road halway between out cottages; we were waiting tocatch the guilt upon our faces which nonetheless we were mortally afraid to see? I stoodon the upper slope of the road towards our house and he stood on the lower slope in thedirection of his.â€Å"Your note wasn’t very friendly,† he said. â€Å"It wasn’t very neighborly.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why should it be?† I added. â€Å"It wasn’t meant to be.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, so,† he said. â€Å"It wasn’t meant to be.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You bet your life it wasn’t,† I said.â€Å"Well, if that’s the way you feel about it,† he said.â€Å"How else did you expect me to feel?† I asked.â€Å"In that case then,† he said. â€Å"You can appeal to authority and I shall not move theadobe blocks an inch.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"For Christ sake,† I said. â€Å"Who is talking about authority? Who is talking aboutadobe blocks?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Don’t raise you r voice,† he said.â€Å"Why shouldn’t I raise my voice?† I asked.â€Å"Don’t shout at me,† he said.â€Å"I shall shout at you if you please,† I said. It was a cool clear lovely night. The sky was clear and cool and full of stars. Thesky and the stars seemed very far away but the air was clear and you could see all theway up to the sky and the stars and it seemed a long, long way. There was a very palemoon and a very cool wind was sweeping the pale moon and the white clouds before itall the way across the sky.Across and up and down Finchshafen road in the cottages, people were comingout of their porches to listen and to watch. I looked back at out house to see if Belle wasthere standing behind the window wirescreen and I looked at their house too.â€Å"A plague on both our houses,† I said.Belle wasn’t on our porch when I looked; I didn’t hear her go down the porchsteps, down the concrete walk, out to and down Finchshafen road.â€Å"I shouldn’t even be talking to you; this is pestilence,† I said.I didn’t feel Belle around until I heard her voice rising shrill and clear and abovethe snarl of our voices. She was standing beside me and before him and shouting in hisface.â€Å"For Christ sake, Belle,† I said. â€Å"Let go. This is man’s work.†She couldn’t hear me.Her voice rose clear and passionate, piercing and shrill in the inviolate night. I pulled at her arm to make her turn to me. I thrust my face savagely before her.â€Å"For Christ sake, Belle,† I said. â€Å"Get off. This is my fight and the adversary ismine.†Belle couldn’t see me for the fury that possessed her purely.I sought her face but couldn’t look there long. Even as I turned away I had afleeting glimpse of my declared adversary’s face: the shock there was not more than theshock of mine.â€Å"For Christ sake, Belle, let go. This is man’s work. I have met the enemy and heis mine. Let go, get off. This is my fight, not yours. The enemy is mine,† I said as I pulled her and dragged her bodily away.

Review of Universal History of Infamy Essay

The word ‘Magical realism’ first introduced by Franz Roh, a German art critic, conjures up images of the fantastic and the profane in the minds of the reader transporting him into a world whose edges are as blurred as the characters or the situations the stories portray. The works of Jorge Luis Borges are characterised by this style of literature. Though ‘Magical realism’ is not considered a genre by itself, it has all the makings of one and is profoundly illustrated in all the works of Borges. David Mullan in his article Magic Realism: A Problem says ‘†¦. Angel Flores applied the term (with some modification – he referred to it as â€Å"magical realism†) to Spanish-American writing. Flores put forward Borges as the master of this form†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ’ ‘In his first series of fiction Historia Universal de la Infamia (‘A Universal History of Infamy’) he took real and mythical characters and created new stories around them. Sometimes creating new events for fictional characters, at other times creating fantastic incidents involving real life characters. In these stories, again published in newspapers, it can be said he laid the foundations for Latin American Magical Realism’ (BBC, 2003). 2. 0 Overview This article attempts to show how Borges rewrites/reconstructs history/historical figures that are seen as infamous legendary figures in the book ‘The Universal History of Infamy. ’ An attempt has been made to identify history, lie and legend lacing the characters and events presented in the stories. The link between Oscar Wilde`s essay, `The Decay of Lying` and Borges book has been brought out. Other works by Borges such as ‘The Ficciones’ ,`The secret miracle`, and `The South` have also been used for the purpose of this discussion. 3. 0 Literature Review: ‘A Universal History of Infamy’ is a collection of stories that first appeared in Critica, a Buenos Aires newspaper, August 1933 to January 1934. The remarkable element which flows through this collection is violence and death and as with many other stories of Borges, contains the occasional twist as the story unfolds. For the purpose of this article the stories ‘The South’ and the Secret Miracle’ of Borges have also been taken into consideration. Before we venture further given below a summary of the above said stories so that we will be able to appreciate Borges better as well as render justice to the topic for discussion. In ‘The South’, Juan Dahlmann, the protagonist, while taking a copy of the Arabian Nights home, gets injured on his forehead on a window and is forced to be in bed for a number of days before his doctors move him to the hospital. In the words of Borges, ‘Fever wasted him and the pictures in The Thousand and One Nights served to illustrate nightmares. ’ Learning that he is dying of septicemia, he travels to his ranch to convalesce. Reaching his destination, he enters a restaurant to have his food before proceeding. The locals at the restaurant taunt him by throwing bread crumbs at him and challenge him to a duel, one even providing him with a knife. Though Dahlmann is aware that he would lose if he were to accept the challenge, he feels that that would be the death he would prefer. In the words of Gorges, ‘As he crossed the threshold, he felt that to die in a knife fight, under the open sky, and going forward to the attack, would have been a liberation, a joy, and a festive occasion, on the first night in the sanitarium, when they stuck him with the needle. He felt that if he had been able to choose, then, or to dream his death, this would have been the death he would have chosen or dreamt. ’ In the â€Å"The Secret Miracle† the protagonist is Jaromir Hladik, who is arrested for the two reasons: i) being a Jew and ii) for opposing the Anschluss, and consequently sentenced to die by firing squad. Borges says,’ The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part of the authorities to act slowly and impersonally, in the manner of planets or vegetables. ’ Though appalled at first by the fact of his inevitable and impending death Hladik turns his attention to his unfinished play, ‘The Enemies’ which he resolves to complete before his execution. The night before his death, Hladik prays to God to grant him one year to finish his play. At night he dreams of a voice that says: ‘The time for your labor has been granted. ’ The next day at the moment the sergeant gives order to the firing squad, time stops and Hladik, though motionless like all others, completes the play mentally and after he completes, the bullets from the firing squad end his life. Borges works seem to defy the proposition of Wilde that, ‘One of the chief causes that can be assigned for the curiously commonplace character of most of the literature of our age is undoubtedly the decay of Lying as an art, a science, and a social pleasure. The ancient historians gave us delightful fiction in the form of fact; the modern novelist presents us with dull facts under the guise of fiction. ’ (David Scott-Okamura, 1998) It is not hard to see that Borges created fantastic worlds out of legends , humanizing them and making them more real as if made of flesh and blood as the examples quoted in this write-up would show which is in line with Wilde’s observation : ‘The only real people are the people who never existed, and if a novelist is base enough to go to life for his personages he should at least pretend that they are creations and not boast of them as copies. The justification of a character in a novel is not that other persons are what they are, but that the author is what he is’. (David Scott-Okamura, 1998). Wilde is right when to emphasize his theory that fiction is more interesting than fact, he says, ‘In fact what is interesting about people in good society†¦ is the mask each one of them wears, not the reality that lies behind the mask. ’ Borges’ portrayal of the character in his stories adds credence to this observation.

Steve Jobs Leadership

Some would say that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers Inc. , was an exceptional leader. However, there are many who would disagree with that statement. Jobs could define leadership in some aspects, yet he fell short in others. Jobs’ leadership style is difficult to pin down because his position fit very many styles. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 and in 1984 he created the Macintosh, the first small computer with a graphic interface. Unfortunately in 1985 Jobs was forced to leave after an internal power struggle with the companies CEO. Jobs later returned to a struggling Apple after 12 years and turned the company around. During the 12 years he was away, Steve Jobs created successful companies such as Pixar and NeXT. Pixar was acquired by Disney and NeXT was acquired by Apple Computers upon Jobs’ return. Jobs created such technological staples as the Ipad, Ipod, and Iphone. Steve Jobs was also known for his excellent speeches and captivating his audience. Unfortunately in 2011, Steve Jobs lost a long battle to pancreatic cancer. The characteristics of a superior leader are not hard to identify. Drive, integrity, self-confidence, and knowledge of business are characteristics of an exceptional leader. All of the above described Steve Jobs. Jobs was a very driven man, not for money, or power. Jobs believed that power is a necessity for what actually drove him: achievement itself. Jobs’ persistence was shown even more after leaving Apple. Steve could have spent his life dwelling over his loss, but instead he created two new, very successful companies. Maybe this drive is why Forbes named Jobs 2007’s most powerful person in business. Integrity was important to Jobs; his drive would push him to live up to what he promised. At times, following through with his promise would not always come out in the â€Å"nicest† way. Jobs was known to be difficult to get along with, especially in team meetings. Steve Jobs’ self-confidence was over flowing and considered arrogant by some, but he always believed in what he was trying to accomplish. Jobs’ knowledge of his business was extraordinary, revolutionizing technology at every turn. One of Jobs’ greatest quotes on leadership is â€Å"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower† (Jobs, 2006). Steve Jobs’ leadership style is very difficult to clearly identify. Jobs’ characteristics and traits sporadically fit into different leadership styles. Jobs would be classified as an autocratic leader, he tells people what to do, asserting themselves, and serving as a model team member. Jobs was definitely not a democratic leader, it has been said that Jobs hated team meetings and was rather rude when employees spoke their mind. Steve Jobs could also be classified as entrepreneurial, despite the fact that he is a multibillionaire, his work ethic never changed. Andrew Dubrin defines an entrepreneur as â€Å"someone with a strong will for achievement and a sensible risk taking, high degree of enthusiasm, tendency to act quickly on opportunity, being impatient, visionary, amongst others† (Dubrin, 2010). Dubrin’s definition describes Steve Jobs to a tee. A transformational leader is one who â€Å"brings about major, positive change for the group, organization or society† (Dubrin, 2010). Jobs’ leadership showed many similarities to a transformational leader except one, Jobs lacked the humane qualities necessary. Jobs’ could also be considered a charismatic leader. Steve’s exceptional ability to captivate his audience during a speech is the time his charisma can be clearly seen. Jobs could fit himself into whichever scenario necessary to reach his audience. Steve Jobs is such an exceptional businessman, leader, and innovator. I have enjoyed learning more about his leadership and his career. Jobs has made me realize that there is no cookie cutter style of leadership that one person can follow. I found it helpful to relate different leadership styles to an actual person. To have a detailed explanation about how the text about leadership changes into real life is useful. He has made me open my eyes to the possibility that no one leadership position is more effective than another. Jobs was not necessarily the warmest of bosses yet he was still able to find that personal connection with his customers. Steve Jobs was able to interest and excite the consumer to have his latest â€Å"miracle. † Not every leader is great at everything, even the best struggle with certain aspects of their leadership. For me, I can see how the lessons that I have learned in my research will apply in my future. I have learned not to ever give up, always keep your eyes focused on the goal ahead. No matter how big or small the project is, the end goal is the same; success. Steve Jobs’ ability to rise above disappointment or despair and move on with such drive to succeed is extraordinary. This drive has motivated me to want to strive for the same. Steve Jobs has given me the examples of leadership that shows that how a strong leader can revolutionize the world. Think of how many homes have Iphones, Ipads, Ipods, or any other Apple product in their home. The products have become the â€Å"norm† in many homes. What a feeling of accomplishment Steve Jobs’ must have felt. All of his hard work and ingenuity is shown in the excitement his customers show with his inventions. I would consider Steve Jobs to be one of the most effective leaders that I have had the pleasure of researching. Being able to overcome being pushed out of the company that he co-founded is unbelievable. Only to later come back to that company and be able to turn around the sinking company. What a display of true leadership Steve Jobs showed the country. Steve was able to show not only his fellow Apple employees but everyone in the world how drive and perseverance can inspire anyone to reach for the stars. References Bateman, . & Snell, . (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook]. : . Retrieved from, MGT330 website. Jobs, S. (2006, January 24). The leader-follower [Video file]. Retrieved from Subconscious Films website: http://www. subconsciousfilms. Kramer, D. (2010). david. kramer. wordpress. com. Retrieved from http://davidkramer. wordpress. com/2010/02/15/leadership-behaviours-and-attitudes-of-steve-jobs/ Steve Jobs Leadership Case Study. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. leadership-with-you. com/steve-jobs-leadership. html

The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with APA Essay

The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with APA - Essay Example This is beneficial to the writer in that it allows them to include commonly known information into a paper without having to identify the proof for any, and all, facts that are included in that paper. The serial comma is a comma that is used when three or more items are listed, and is located at the end of the series of commas (Becker, 2011). This is helpful for the writer as it can be used to clarify potentially confusing lists of names. Furthermore, it allows the writer to include longer lists of information without creating ambiguity in their writing style. Finally, the APA has released a new way to identify online sources which is called a Digital Object Identifier or DOI (Lewis, 2008). This DOI allows writers to have continued access to a file once it has been found as this number is permanently attached to this article by an approved agency. This process is helpful in that is negates the need for a URL and retrieval date when citing online