Womens Leisure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Womens Leisure - Essay Example However, derby is popularly known as a type of rough contact sport. This is the reason why both male and female players may allow themselves some form of violence, roughness or even cheating strategies if they believe they have to win. At my school, athletes are perceived as physically healthy individuals and ones who are popular among members of the opposite sex. Moreover, the girls’ and boys’ athletic programs are usually perceived as a way for athletes to improve not only their physical health but also their self-esteem and popularity. Personally, I watch men’s professional sports more than women’s, especially basketball as NBA is more exciting to me than WNBA. It is hard to say why but as a man who is into basketball myself, I would usually prefer watching men play sports than women do it. Perhaps, it is the relatively higher level of aggression in men’s professional sports that makes them widely watched compared to women’s. Nevertheless, occasionally I am amazed whenever I see a woman doing a man’s job, especially when professional female athletes get to be really rough on the field, in the court or in the ring. Sports are basically all about competition, and so people are expecting a good and rough fight. This is akin to something that will maintain the adrenalin rush. This is also the same feeling the Romans perhaps once had while watching gladiators kill each other at the bottom of the Colosseum more than two thousand years ago. When it comes to the movie Whip It, Bliss seems to show doubt about trying out for the derby team because she herself is an indecisive woman with no idea about what the future would bring her. Moreover, she does not believe her mother Brooke would be proud of her if she played derby. Brooke wants her to be a beauty contestant like her in the past. Moreover, Bliss may be hesitant at attempting to do derby. This is because she knew that in order to be a professional derby player, on e has to be extra tough although one is female. She may have observed this since the first time she saw the Hurl Scouts and Holly Rollers played. Bliss and Brooke are very different from each other when it comes to leisure and recreation. Brooke likes shopping and is into beauty contests and other activities that bring out the refined woman in her. She views herself as usually right in her decisions, opinions and perspectives. Nevertheless, she shows her humility and love as a mother. This is evident when she tells Bliss that the latter need not join the Blue Bonnet pageant if she is only doing it for her mother. On the other hand, Bliss is into professional derby, men like Oliver, and something that will bring out the best in her. Bliss’ desire to bring out the best in her somehow translates as a desire to join the hurl Scouts and defeat the Holy Rollers. Little does she know that it is one way for her to prove her own worth to herself. In the process, she also indirectly pr oves to her mother that she can make decisions of her own. Nevertheless, at several instances in the movie, Bliss does not feel that she is making the right decisions. Thus, compared to her mother, who is righteous most of the time, Bliss shows some indecisiveness. Furthermore, perhaps this is the same way Bliss views herself at the beginning of the movie – a young woman with no direction. This view, however, changes in the end as her mother accepts her decision to be on the professional derby team. This is also the point where Bliss realizes her calling (Barrymore). The way I see it, Brooke is just the strict, conservative mother that mothers are supposed to be. On the other hand, Bliss is the picture of an ordinary girl who defies her own parents’

Hospitality and Tourism Strategic Planning Essay

Hospitality and Tourism Strategic Planning - Essay Example The rooms of this hotel had the facility of running water, though cold, and the air condition luxury in its public rooms. It was in the year 1947 when a hotel named Roosevelt Hilton was launched at New York City. This hotel pioneered in providing its guest rooms with televisions. By the year 1948, the Hilton Hotel was identified as the first hotel company to come up with the new system of multi–hotel reservation. This gave birth to the modern reservation system that is used today (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). As years passed, the company paced up its innovations and came up with new concepts and approaches every now and then. The introduction of sewing kit and a booklet containing important and useful names and numbers for the female travellers brought the company to limelight. Improvement in its technical side is characterized by the â€Å"brand–wide direct telephone service† launched by the company in the year 1957. The introduction of airport hotel based concept w as cheered by the business purpose travellers. Hilton came up with its first Airport hotel in the year 1963, the San Francisco Airport Hilton and was a pioneer in this approach. Ten years down the line from this period, i.e., by 1973 Hilton once again came up with an innovative idea of centralized reservation system making a breakthrough improvement in its customer care service (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). Again in the year 1987, Hilton was seen to introduce its first program for guest loyalty called the Hilton HHonors (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). It was later in the year 2008, when Hilton Vancouver Washington made history by being certified by both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) along with Green Seal (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). Its latest development was in the year 2010 with the launch of the spa facility at various locations such as the United States, China and Thailand (Hilton Worldwide, 2012). This paper intends to analyze the various strategies and the impacts of internal and external environment on Hilton Hotels & Resorts. An effort to develop a strategic plan emphasizing on the risk management factor of business strategy shall also be one of the highlighting sections of the paper. Environmental Analysis of Hilton Hotels & Resorts The purchasing of medium and small–sized hotels has been in Hilton’s practice right from 1970s. The attention towards acquiring a huge amount of real estate was the main focus of Hilton. The lodging assets of Hilton Group Plc amounted to GBP 3.3 billion in the year 2006, thus making Hilton the largest company in the field of lodging (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2005). There has been a recent change in trend of the company and it has shifted to expand its operations by the process of franchising instead of merely acquiring real estates. This company mainly operates in the United States but also has its presence in various other major city locations such as Sao Paulo, Toronto, Lo ndon, Sydney, Paris, Shanghai, Rome, Stockholm and Beijing (HotelsGrid, 2012). It was in the year 2007 when Hilton Hotel was acquired by the Blackstone Group for money worth of US$20.1 billion (Morrison, 2007). Prior to the event of

Engineering Design Process Essay Example for Free

Engineering Design Process Essay An Industrial Engineer is designing a procurement process for Spinney’s Supermarket and after studying the demand for cereals, he concludes that the demand for cereals follows a normal distribution and falls between 200 to 230 boxes per week. Therefore, the demand of the cereal is a random variable because the demand can fluctuate between 200 and 230 boxes however; the demand will not decrease or increase tremendously unless some unusual event occurs. Using this estimate, the industrial engineer can decide how much cereal to procure in a certain week so that demand can be fulfilled without storing extra inventory. During his study, he also finds out that the mean demand for cereal is 217 boxes per week and the standard deviation (which is the difference of the actual demand from the projected demand) is 15 boxes per week then he can find out the percentage of actual demand that is above 230 boxes per week since this will help him to decide whether to store extra inventory or not because if the probability of demand to exceed 230 is low then he might decide not to fulfill those orders since their chance of occurrence is low and holding cost is high. To determine the percentage of times the demand exceeds 230 boxes per week, the engineer will use the formula: P (X 230) = P [X (230 – 217) / 15] P (Z 0. 8667) = 1- 0. 8078 = 19. 22% Using this figure, the procurement department has to decide whether they should keep extra inventory or should they not be worrying about the 19. 22% of times when they might be having lost sales.

The Portrayal Of Women In Film Film Studies Essay

The Portrayal Of Women In Film Film Studies Essay I have chosen the following question. To what extent do you agree with the statement that the female in film is on display, passive and purely there because of her to be looked-at-ness? Women in my opinion have been the subject of eye candy in films and are not that often respected. Yes, there are a number of films about the power that woman can show along with the control to be on a par with men. But, they still show them as voyeuristic and sexual items. Most of Hollywoods films have men in control and makes use of the male gaze (that is, the audience sees what they see about the female). Women are characteristically on the receiving end of that gaze. According to Mulvey: In a world of sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy on the female figure which is styled accordingly. In my paper and my assessment of females on display I will be looking mainly at Tomb Raider (Simon West, US, 2001) about the adventures of Lara Croft. The character is played by and stars Angeline Jolie. I will also take a look at another film also starring Angelina Jolie Mr and Mrs Smith (Doug Liman, USA, 2005). Firstly Tomb Raider. This film follows the success of a popular video game where as an adventurer you are taken through many seemingly impossible swashbuckling events to win the game. Like other characters, she must save the world. But when interviewed about her movie and her part in it she even talks about her to-be-looked at character. Angelina Jolie states Cmon, Im not so flat chested to begin with, she said. So it wasnt like we had to completely change me. You know, we just had to enhance me a little. Im a 36C. Lara, shes a 36D. And in the game, shes a double D, so we took her down some. But we did give her a bit of padding there. For me, it was simply one size, so it was like having a padded bra. So we are looking here at an almost virtual body that can satisfy desires and highlights her enthusiasm to play a real human but at the same time to invest erotically in a fictional character. Can we see anything else at times other than her being on display? We are also looking at Tomb Raider as a voyeuristic gaze. Although Lara Croft is a woman she is giving us the female version of Indiana Jones but she lacks the fully realized three-dimensional qualities male counterparts usually show, as she is seen as Incredibly hot-n-juicy, and although playing probably the best action heroine the quality of the story dictates that she alone is probably the reason to see this movie. It appears that despite the move towards a masculine role as a woman the effort to mould her into a positive figure is difficult in a society because she is a woman. In an influential academic paper in 2002, Helen W. Kennedy said the question surrounding Lara Croft was simple is she a positive role model for young girls or just that perfect combination of eye and thumb candy for the boys?. It appears that (West) the producer wanted to set the film in a marketable form potentially appealing to both male and female audiences. Particularly to at the time girlpower and the emerging ladette culture. This as Helen Kennedy says centres around playing lads at their own game but still seen primarily addressing a male audience. Lets look at the first five minutes of Tomb Raider it gives an appropriate insite into what is to be seen in the rest of the film. The opening sequences spend a lot of time focussing on Laras body. To begin with the shot of her face is from a particularly low angle, perhaps to express her dominance over the impending scene, but is more likely for the audience to see empathised breasts. It goes on to show several gratuitous shots of Laras crotch and thighs. What is also interesting is that the sound has been exaggerated and the moans and screams while Lara is fighting the robot have clearly been digitised louder, thus supporting Mulveys theory of voyeurism. Take a look at the photo below of Lara Croft. Notice she looks directly at you as a person and could be construed as a gesture of her awareness of herself as the object of the male gaze. (2001) Tomb Raider [online image] http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/LetsCutTheBS/news/?a=7733 (Accessed 30th April 2010) Another film with Angelina Jolie that represents a completely different type of format is Mr and Mrs Smith (Doug Liman, USA, 2005). This time the film is about a bored married couple who are surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other. Whereas Lara Croft was shown very much eye candy, in this film the attempt is to show empowerment of woman to do the same role as a man. Uunfortunately Hollywood still insist on showing the female character as a tasteful, soft-core fantasy. Jolie (Janet Smith in the film) is depicted as a fiery, professional assassin. Just where the point in the film of her wearing a PVC corset with a little matching micro-skirt thing, bears no relationship at all to the genre the film is trying to depicts. This time looking at a still from the film which is themed as a nonstop action movie like the Bourne identity series (Doug Liman, USA, 2002) Angelina Jolie is still shown in parts of the film as a voyeuristic woman on display. (2005) Mr and Mrs Smith [online image] http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/mr_mrs_smith07.jpg (accessed 4th May 2010) Conclusion Of course I appreciate these are my personal opinions and how I see womans role in the film industry. One question comes to mind-why cant women be portrayed as strong, intelligent and empowered as well as being sexually attractive? I am not trying to say that women have to be either stupid, pretty, ugly or clever. I am not saying that beautiful women cant be empowered and vice versa, what it is merely questioning is why the film makers feel the need to spend more time focussing on the body, appearance and sexuality of the female characters than they do the male characters. There needs greater focus on the characters intelligence or ability and more focus on the aesthetic than on the plot itself. Which, really, is the reason most people go to watch a film in the first place. Bibliography Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975) Laura Mulvey Originally Published Screen 16.3 Autumn 1975 pp. 6-18 http://www.jahsonic.com/VPNC.htm Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?- Helen W Kennedy Originally Published-School of Cultural Studies, University of the West of England. pp. 4-5 http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/ Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) Copyright  © The 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved. pp. 5 http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/mr_mrs_smith07.jpg Movie minutiae Lara Croft Tomb Raider 2001 Originally published by Vivien Cuttle, 15th February 2008. pp.1 http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/2008/02/movie-minutia-1.html Back to the future for Lara Croft Originally published by the BBC on 10th May 2007. pp. 1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6641833.stm

Pearl Harbor And How It Came About :: American America History

Pearl Harbor And How It Came About By the year 1941, WWII was in full effect. Germany seemed to be the victor, gaining control of France and Poland as well as successfully bombing England. Many people believe that Germany would have indeed won the war if not for the intervention of the United States. Because of the horror Americans had witnessed in WWI, the United States did not originally want to get involved in the conflict. In the early morning of December 7th, 1941 all that changed when the Japanese air fleet scattered in the Pacific Ocean bombed Pearl Harbor. In September of 1940 Japan entered in alliance with Germany and Italy. The Japanese were in need of natural resources found in Southeast Asian countries newly conquered by Germany. Around the same time in the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to halt German and Japanese expansion but was urged by other government officials to leave the situation as it was. Japan feared America's reaction to their plans to seize Southeast Asia, yet did not let that fear get in their way. Japan completed their control of Indochina by seizing the southern half. The American government answered back by placing an embargo on oil shipments heading for Japan. The Japanese viewed this as an act of war, for they knew their military and industrial forces would not last long with out oil. The United States tried to resolve their differences with Japan, throughout 1941. Demands on each side were quite simple. The Japanese wanted the embargo lifted and permission to attempt an attack on China. The U.S. exclaimed they would only lift the embargo if Japan ceased its aggression towards China. The two powers refused to compromise and a war seemed inevitable. America realized Japan would not budge and strategically place military forces in the Pacific Ocean in preparation for a pending war. In fact, the most crucial element of American defense was the U.S. Pacific Fleet. With war looming the Pacific Fleet was moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on April 2nd , 1940. Pearl Harbor seemed to be the perfect place to rest the fleet. Situated between the Marshall Islands, where the Japanese fleet gathered and the west coast of America. The fleet wasn't supposed to stay in the harbor very long yet because of events in Europe, President Roosevelt felt if the fleet was left in the harbor it would diminish the possibility of a Japanese attack on the U.

Understanding Mathematics Essay -- Math History Learning Papers

Understanding Mathematics This paper is an attempt to explain the structure of the process of understanding mathematical objects such as notions, definitions, theorems, or mathematical theories. Understanding is an indirect process of cognition which consists in grasping the sense of what is to be understood, showing itself in the ability to apply what is understood in other circumstances and situations. Thus understanding should be treated functionally: as acquiring sense. We can distinguish three basic planes on which the process of understanding mathematics takes place. The first is the plane of understanding the meaning of notions and terms existing in mathematical considerations. A mathematician must have the knowledge of what the given symbols mean and what the corresponding notions denote. On the second plane, understanding concerns the structure of the object of understanding wherein it is the sense of the sequences of the applied notions and terms that is important. The third plane-understanding the 'role' of the object of understanding-consists in fixing the sense of the object of understanding in the context of a greater entity, i.e., it is an investigation of the background of the problem. Additionally, understanding mathematics, to be sufficiently comprehensive, should take into account (apart from the theoretical planes) at least three other connected considerations-historical, methodological and philosophical-as ignoring them results in a superficial and incomplete understanding of mathematics. In an outstanding book by P. J. Davis and R. Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, there is a small chapter devoted to the crisis of understanding mathematics. Alas, this fragment focuses only on the presentation of the d... ...an't learn mathematics without its thorough understanding. My postulate is that, in the process of teaching mathematics, we should take into account both the history and philosophy (with methodology) of mathematics, since neglecting them makes the understanding of mathematics superficial and incomplete. Bibliography 1. Philip J. Davis & Reuben Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, Birkhà ¤user Boston, 1981. 2. Izydora DÄ…mbska, W sprawie pojÄ™cia rozumienia, in: Ruch Filozoficzny 4, 1958. 3. John R.Searle, Minds, Brains and Programs, in: Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, Cambridge University Press 1980, p.417-424. 4. Danuta Gierulanka, Zagadnienie swoistoÅ›ci poznania matematycznego, Warszawa 1962. 5. Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, Oxsford University Press 1989. 6. Andrzej Lubomirski, O uogà ³lnieniu w matematyce, WrocÅ‚aw 1983. Understanding Mathematics Essay -- Math History Learning Papers Understanding Mathematics This paper is an attempt to explain the structure of the process of understanding mathematical objects such as notions, definitions, theorems, or mathematical theories. Understanding is an indirect process of cognition which consists in grasping the sense of what is to be understood, showing itself in the ability to apply what is understood in other circumstances and situations. Thus understanding should be treated functionally: as acquiring sense. We can distinguish three basic planes on which the process of understanding mathematics takes place. The first is the plane of understanding the meaning of notions and terms existing in mathematical considerations. A mathematician must have the knowledge of what the given symbols mean and what the corresponding notions denote. On the second plane, understanding concerns the structure of the object of understanding wherein it is the sense of the sequences of the applied notions and terms that is important. The third plane-understanding the 'role' of the object of understanding-consists in fixing the sense of the object of understanding in the context of a greater entity, i.e., it is an investigation of the background of the problem. Additionally, understanding mathematics, to be sufficiently comprehensive, should take into account (apart from the theoretical planes) at least three other connected considerations-historical, methodological and philosophical-as ignoring them results in a superficial and incomplete understanding of mathematics. In an outstanding book by P. J. Davis and R. Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, there is a small chapter devoted to the crisis of understanding mathematics. Alas, this fragment focuses only on the presentation of the d... ...an't learn mathematics without its thorough understanding. My postulate is that, in the process of teaching mathematics, we should take into account both the history and philosophy (with methodology) of mathematics, since neglecting them makes the understanding of mathematics superficial and incomplete. Bibliography 1. Philip J. Davis & Reuben Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, Birkhà ¤user Boston, 1981. 2. Izydora DÄ…mbska, W sprawie pojÄ™cia rozumienia, in: Ruch Filozoficzny 4, 1958. 3. John R.Searle, Minds, Brains and Programs, in: Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, Cambridge University Press 1980, p.417-424. 4. Danuta Gierulanka, Zagadnienie swoistoÅ›ci poznania matematycznego, Warszawa 1962. 5. Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, Oxsford University Press 1989. 6. Andrzej Lubomirski, O uogà ³lnieniu w matematyce, WrocÅ‚aw 1983.

Ethical Interpersonal Communication Essay

Ethics refers to standards of conduct, standards that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues, which themselves are derived from principles of right and wrong. The major determinant of whether communications are ethical or unethical can be found in the notion of choice. The underlying assumption is that people have a right to make their own choices. Interpersonal communications are ethical to the extent that they facilitate a person’s freedom of choice by presenting that person with accurate information. Communications are unethical to the extent that they interfere with the individual’s freedom of choice by preventing the person from securing information relevant to the choices he or she will make. Unethical communications, therefore, are those that force a person to make choices he or she would not normally make or to decline to make choices he or she would normally make or both. The ethical communicator provides others with the kind of information that is helpful in making their own choices. You have the right to information about yourself that others possess and that influences the choices you will make. Thus, for example, you have the right to face your accusers, to know the witnesses who will be called to testify against you, to see your credit ratings, to see your medical records, and so on. At the same time that you have the right to information bearing on your own choices, you also have the obligation to reveal information that you possess that bears on the choices of your society. Thus, for example, you have an obligation to identify wrongdoing that you witness, to identify someone in a police line up, to notify the police of criminal activity, and Ethical Interpersonal Communication 3 to testify at a trial when you posses pertinent information. This information is essential for society to accomplish its purposes and to make its legitimate choices. Similarly, the information presented must be accurate; obviously, reasonable choices depend on accuracy of information. Doubtful information must be presented with qualifications, whether it concerns a crime that you witnessed or things you have heard about others. At the same time that you have these obligations to communicate information, you also have the right to remain silent; you have a right to privacy, to withhold information that has no bearing on the matter at hand. Thus, for example, a man or woman’s previous relationship history, sexual orientation, or religion us usually irrelevant to the person’s ability to function as a doctor or police officer, for example, and may thus be kept private in most job-related situations. If these issues become relevant say, the person is about to enter a new relationship then there may be an obligation to reveal previous relationships, sexual orientation, or religion, for example, to the new partner. In a court, of course, you have the right to refuse to incriminate yourself, to reveal information about yourself that could be used against you. But you do not have the right to refuse to reveal information about the criminal activities of others. In Canada, only lawyers and marriage partners are exempt from this general rule if the â€Å"criminal† was a client or spouse. In this ethic based on choice, however, there are a few qualifications that may restrict your freedom. The ethic assumes that persons are of an age and mental condition that allows free choice to be reasonably executed and that the choices they make do not prevent others from doing likewise. A child 5 or 6 years old may not be ready to make certain choices, so someone Ethical Interpersonal Communication 4 else (a parent or legal guardian) must make them. Some adults, for example people with advancing Alzheimer’s disease, need others to make certain decisions (legal or financial decisions) for them.