Mean Girls

Celebrity Culture in Mean Girls Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters, takes Its viewers through high school from the perspective of Caddy Heron, a young girl who never known what â€Å"high school† genuinely meant. Upon arrival, she makes friends with Janis and Diana, who were in the stereotypical â€Å"unpopular† crowd. They warn her to stay away from â€Å"The Plastics†, an exclusive clique that includes three drama-filled girls who are superficial, spiteful, and have vicious attitudes that obtain their power and fame from beauty and glamour.However, â€Å"The Plastics† ask Caddy to Join them. Caddy, Janis, and Diana together plot against the leader of The Plastics, Regina George, the most monstrous of them all. In reality, the more time Caddy spends with The Plastics, the more she starts to actually become one. The Plastics themselves show how monstrous qualities are formed in celebrity culture, while the use of Caddy is the perfe ct example of how culture builds up celebrities to break them back down. The Plastics took Caddy, someone who was naive and candid, and turned her Into something she Is not through the manipulation of their own standards and rules.Celebrity culture heavily relies on qualities of manipulation. This was done through thru burn book, etc Rumors and lies are one are heavily used in manipulation. This is the epitome of celebrity gossip, shown in Mean Girls through Regina George. Regina finds out Caddy has a crush on Aaron Samuels, her ex boyfriend, and promises Caddy that she would talk to Aaron for her; however, Regina fabricates lies to Aaron; â€Å"She [Caddy] writes all over her notebook ‘Mrs.. Aaron Samuels'. And she made this tee-shirt that says, ‘l heart Aaron', and she wears it under all her clothes†¦She saved this Kleenex you used and she said she's going to do some kind of African voodoo with it to make you like her†. Evidence In nineteenth century litera ture Is provided In Frankincense, when Victor Frankincense manipulates his monster through lies: He tells his monster he would create a female companion for him, and afterward declares â€Å"Bygone! I do break my promise: never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness† and proceeds â€Å"to [tear] to pieces the thing on which [he] was engaged† (175).Both Regina and Victor broke their promises, developing a kind of behavior that is so focused on policing others, they almost seem to lose track of themselves; they are so busy broadcasting what they hate, and so focused on consumption of their rival with their loathsome fascination, they do not realize their own personalities turn monstrous. They become so engrossed in this idea, they are unable to distinguish that this hate they developed is the sole reason for their viciousness and misery.This happens when one must realize one's own identity Is crafted from the act of hating. It almost seems Like superficial celebrities In celebrity ultra love, yet hate, to be hated; yet they love the act of hating, and use this hate to surround their world. This kind of â€Å"high school† attitude filled with rumors and Lies that Regina possesses exists in the celebrity world, and if it continues, it will influence animosity and disgust, that a world of peace, accuracy, and love may no longer be accomplished. Another key to manipulation is secrecy.There are countless examples of this in Mean Girls. For example, the scene of The Plastics when they are all on the phone; When Gretchen was on the phone with Caddy, it turned out to be a three-way call with Regina, but Caddy didn't know. This complexity progress when viewers realize the girls are all interlinked, all on the phone with each other on separate lines; Karen gets a call from Regina, puts her on hold, and proceeds to talk to Gretchen and says, â€Å"It's Regina, she wants to hang out tonight but she told me not to tell yo u†.This is similar to the theme of secrecy in Frankincense: Victor states, â€Å"The world to me, is a secret, which I desired to discover† (26), â€Å"l have one secret, Elizabeth, a dreadful one; when revealed to you, it will chill your frame with horror† (218), and he refuses to tell the secret to his audience, telling them to â€Å"listen patiently until the end of [his] story, with which [he] is acquainted with† (44). This is similar to Mantilla, where â€Å"[her father] has a secret grief that destroys [them] both: but [he] must permit [Mantilla] to win this secret from [him]† (47).The fact that one possesses a secret, holds it vital, and purposely shields it from the world acknowledges a kind of unmoral sin, or practical wrongdoing; celebrities allow these secrets to internally eat them alive like in Frankincense and Mantilla, or whether it makes their behavior more aggressive eke in Mean Girls, these secrets have the ability to change and ma nipulate others. In celebrity culture, a secret is a form of power, yet vulnerability – a secret itself could stand for everything one can't see.The public blows these secrets up with crazy ideas and provides evidence with the theories they project onto it. The secret could mean nothing, yet everything, at the same time. This is because that a secret exists. It does not matter what the secret actually is, because the people who spread the knowledge of the secret form its monstrosity. The people have ample opportunity to take control, seceding as a whole or individuals whether they want to make up a rumor, lie, tell the truth, say nothing, or contribute to the situation.The people are monsters, because they take complete control over the situation. An example of this is all of Lord's â€Å"fans† who (most likely) made her miserable because they did not approve of the physical appearance of her boyfriend. [A concluding sentence is needed here] Manipulation is also acquir ed through self-pity, which is shown in Mean Girls with the Burn Book. The Burn Book, which belongs to Regina George, is a book essentially signed to bully her classmates: it has students' pictures with mean phrases, secrets, and other things about them.Regina takes her book, puts her own picture on it, and writes something mean about herself. She then reports it to her school's principal and says, â€Å"l found it in the girl's bathroom! It's so mean†. This is similar to when Victor seeks sympathy from Elizabeth in Frankincense: â€Å"If you knew what I have suffered from, and what I may yet endure, you would endeavor to let me taste the quiet, and freedom from despair, that this one day at least permits me to enjoy' (222).In The Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats, in a short poem called â€Å"When I have Fears†, self-pity is asked for when Keats shows he is in pain, likes the pain, and wants to be acknowledged for his pain: â€Å"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink† (301). Just like Keats and Shelley, their own needs. Regina did this Just so she could get Caddy in trouble, Frankincense did this to make it look like it wasn't entirely his fault for the monster's actions, and Keats uses his fans' sympathy to become liked.The public falls into a part of this ultra, where one blames someone else; even the victims themselves get blamed for fault. Besides from celebrities' success, looks, and wealth, it is not uncommon for the public to condone that they are people, humans, Just like them. The public is essentially casting a negative eye upon themselves. Celebrities have people who work with them to help mold their image, but the impossible standards of beauty and perfection they try to fulfill originates from the endless, harsh scrutiny the public places upon them.When a celebrity breaks this image, or differs from the norm, they automatically are seen as monstrous, resulting in sneering and degrading comments from fans. This monstrosity on the celebrities has a counter-effect on the fans; every time there is a mean comment, they are normalizing harsh Judgment, extreme reactions, and offensive language. Celebrity culture takes the blame on how the public has developed a cruel society, through self-pity. Another quality of manipulation used in celebrity culture is feigning their own innocence; this is seen quite often in Mean Girls.Gretchen bullies Regina for violating the rules of their â€Å"girl world† by wearing sweatpants on Monday, and Regina lams she is forced to wear sweatpants because, â€Å"sweatpants are all that fits [her] right now', implying she is â€Å"innocent† because it is not her fault she has to wear those. Another scene is where Regina claims innocence is during lecture, (â€Å"workshop†), in the gym, after the Burn Book is discovered: Regina claims, â€Å"Can I Just say we don't have a clique problem at this sch ool, and some of us shouldn't have to take this workshops because some of us are victims in this situation? Regina implies she is â€Å"innocent†, and she herself is a victim. The teacher responds, â€Å"That's probably rue, how many of you have ever felt personally victimize by Regina George? † Actual innocence and feigning innocence is a huge role in Frankincense: though Victor blames himself for the monster killing his family, despite his creation, he convinces himself that he is â€Å"innocent† and expresses how he feels like the victim. Victor is a contradiction: he is innocent, yet, uses that to his advantage to feign his innocence.He is innocent because he has never intended his creation to turn into an actual form of monstrosity, but yet, feigns innocence by his hiding his guilt and hiding his knowledge about his family's deaths. Victor's innocence decreases over time throughout the novel; his â€Å"UN-innocent† behavior destroys the monster's inn ocence. Victor is performing an act that could be considered â€Å"monstrous† in manipulation by taking away the genuine innocence of one who was never given a chance to prove that innocence. At first Victor decides to â€Å"at least listen to [the monster's] tale† (105), but later on, he decides to â€Å"tore to pieces†¦ The thing on which the creature's] future existence he depended for happiness† (190), not giving the monster a chance to uphold its promise. Celebrities start out with genuine innocence, become corrupted, and may attempt to feign their innocence through their roles – However, once celebrities feign their innocence they are portrayed as â€Å"monstrous†, they are not given a chance to stick up for themselves properly without media and public interference. Lindsay Loan, off the set of Mean Girls, got into drugs, which could â€Å"feign innocence†, and assume that she had no role in her fans doing drugs.According to Good Charlotte, this kind of manipulation is the price of having a lifestyle of â€Å"the rich and the famous† (song lyrics). The most vital quality in manipulation is the key tactic in order to be able to get away with spreading rumors and lies, maintain secrecy, create self-pity, and feign illness. Control itself is the piece that connects all of these qualities. Throughout Mean Girls, there are many scenes were one of The Plastics are in control: At the talent show at school, Regina demands for Gretchen to switch sides with Caddy. When Gretchen protests, Regina says, â€Å"Right now you're getting on my last nerve.Switch! † Gretchen acknowledges this control by obeying. Caddy was also acknowledging control hen she fulfills Region's invite to eat lunch with them â€Å"everyday for the rest of the week†. In the beginning of the movie, Regina took control of Caddy social life. Halfway through, Caddy became the center of attention; she gained control of Region's previ ous fame and publicity and made it her own. The previous examples also hint at some aspect of control. Control is also seen in Frankincense, where the monster says, Mimi are my creator, but I am your master;-obey! (174). Victor chooses condone the monster, and the monster responds by taking control, killing all of Victor's family embers. Control in Charitable is implied when Geraldine takes on a role of masculinity: â€Å"lay down by the maiden's side: And in her arms the maid she took† (250-251). In The Major Works, â€Å"Farewell to a Lady' by Lord Byron shows how a woman's beauty takes control of his life: â€Å"In flight I shall be surely wise, Escaping from temptation's snare; I cannot view my Paradise, Without the wish of dwelling there† (1).By the word â€Å"flight†, viewers can assume he is going to commit suicide as a means to control the elimination of all ties with the Earthly Paradise's temptation. This kind of intro can relate to monstrosity and ce lebrity culture in a number of ways; first, one can see that the society of celebrity culture is so monstrously powerful, it is out of the control of the public to change it. Only the celebrities themselves have control of their own lives and culture and how they want to live it.Second, celebrity culture has so much control and influence over their audience, that they are not only controlling their own lives, but dominating American culture as a whole. By celebrities constantly sleeping with one another, taking part in the lies, secrecy, self-pity, and feigning their innocence inspires the public to act in the same manner. Third, by the news being so obsessed with the daily lives of celebrities, it almost implies as if they are encouraging the public to become more and more like celebrity stalkers.Lastly, they manipulate the public into believing their redefined definition of happiness, which solely consists of money, fame, and beauty. Rumors, lies, secrecy, self-pity, feigning inno cence, and control all tangle together to layer and overlap and form manipulation; celebrity manipulators do not only have control of their own world, but also wish to control the world of others. This allows them to occupy both worlds at the same time, with their rules, in their way: how much more control could a person possibly want?These qualities of manipulation in celebrity culture are allowing people to lose touch with things that are the most important in life, like friends and family. Celebrity culture is so controlling that it even takes over the roles of others. In Celebrity Culture: Are Americans Too Focused on Celebrities, Tompkins, a group an example of how celebrities are taking the roles of [super] heroes: â€Å"When I ask allege and high school students who their heroes are, they usually name celebrities, such as athletes or movie stars, not names that did something heroic or noteworthy. (Tompkins 4). Celebrity culture is now one of our prime sources of entertainmen t; ultimately, celebrity culture manipulates to control their audience's society in such a monstrous way so they are not able to distinguish the difference between genuine importance and the importance of celebrity news. One day, I fear genuinely important news, (politics, world news, emergency issues) will be ignored unless it is presented as a source of entertainment, like celebrity culture. Mean Girls Stacy Gregg Sociology M/W 11:30 Sociological Themes Sociology is everywhere we look, its everything thing we are, and can be described within everything we do. The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge.Looking through films you can see many sociological themes. I chose to look at â€Å"Mean Girls† and pull the sociological themes out. Mean Girls is a movie about a girl, Cady, who moves to the US from Africa and starts at a new school. She immediately befriends two outcasts, who explain the school's social scene. There are a group of three girls ( the â€Å"Plastics†) who are popular, malicious and rule the school. As a trick, these three girls befriend Cady.Her outcast friends encourage her to hang out with the Plastics to see what they do. But as she spends more time with them, she becomes more and more like them, backstabbing, mean, self-obsessed, and superficial. When Cady and the leader of the Plastics go after the same guy, she begins to plot their destruction, and starts sabotaging the girls in worse and worse ways. Eventually she separates from her original friends and her Plastic friends.When the entire school finds out about some of the terrible things the Plastics have said about them by finding a â€Å"Burn Book† everyone turns against the Plastics and Cady. Eventually, she must apologize to everyone she hurt and begin to find a way to become a better person. The first sociological theme I would like to address is stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as a widely held but fixed and oversimplified imag e or idea of a particular type of person or thing.Mean Girls portrays high school stereo types rather well, at school there are groups such as try-hards, wannabes, burn-outs, band geeks, nerds, the popular girls, the jocks and art freaks. All the girls wants to be a plastic so to speak and they all display it in different ways like how the girls who eat nothing are trying to be thin so they can be like the plastics, but the girls who eat their feelings are also trying to be a plastic but by eating they are showing I don’t care what anybody thinks of me, which is a popular trait.Then when everyone is explaining Regina George and one girl says â€Å"One time she punched me in the face†¦ It was awesome! † this implies that this â€Å"wannabe† made contact with Regina George even though it is contact most people don't what it is contact nonetheless which she hopes has passed on a bit of Regina George's popularity. References: (2011, 04). â€Å"Mean Girls† Analysis. StudyMode. com. Retrieved 04, 2011, from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Mean-Girls-Analysis-676080. html Mean Girls Celebrity Culture in Mean Girls Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters, takes Its viewers through high school from the perspective of Caddy Heron, a young girl who never known what â€Å"high school† genuinely meant. Upon arrival, she makes friends with Janis and Diana, who were in the stereotypical â€Å"unpopular† crowd. They warn her to stay away from â€Å"The Plastics†, an exclusive clique that includes three drama-filled girls who are superficial, spiteful, and have vicious attitudes that obtain their power and fame from beauty and glamour.However, â€Å"The Plastics† ask Caddy to Join them. Caddy, Janis, and Diana together plot against the leader of The Plastics, Regina George, the most monstrous of them all. In reality, the more time Caddy spends with The Plastics, the more she starts to actually become one. The Plastics themselves show how monstrous qualities are formed in celebrity culture, while the use of Caddy is the perfe ct example of how culture builds up celebrities to break them back down. The Plastics took Caddy, someone who was naive and candid, and turned her Into something she Is not through the manipulation of their own standards and rules.Celebrity culture heavily relies on qualities of manipulation. This was done through thru burn book, etc Rumors and lies are one are heavily used in manipulation. This is the epitome of celebrity gossip, shown in Mean Girls through Regina George. Regina finds out Caddy has a crush on Aaron Samuels, her ex boyfriend, and promises Caddy that she would talk to Aaron for her; however, Regina fabricates lies to Aaron; â€Å"She [Caddy] writes all over her notebook ‘Mrs.. Aaron Samuels'. And she made this tee-shirt that says, ‘l heart Aaron', and she wears it under all her clothes†¦She saved this Kleenex you used and she said she's going to do some kind of African voodoo with it to make you like her†. Evidence In nineteenth century litera ture Is provided In Frankincense, when Victor Frankincense manipulates his monster through lies: He tells his monster he would create a female companion for him, and afterward declares â€Å"Bygone! I do break my promise: never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness† and proceeds â€Å"to [tear] to pieces the thing on which [he] was engaged† (175).Both Regina and Victor broke their promises, developing a kind of behavior that is so focused on policing others, they almost seem to lose track of themselves; they are so busy broadcasting what they hate, and so focused on consumption of their rival with their loathsome fascination, they do not realize their own personalities turn monstrous. They become so engrossed in this idea, they are unable to distinguish that this hate they developed is the sole reason for their viciousness and misery.This happens when one must realize one's own identity Is crafted from the act of hating. It almost seems Like superficial celebrities In celebrity ultra love, yet hate, to be hated; yet they love the act of hating, and use this hate to surround their world. This kind of â€Å"high school† attitude filled with rumors and Lies that Regina possesses exists in the celebrity world, and if it continues, it will influence animosity and disgust, that a world of peace, accuracy, and love may no longer be accomplished. Another key to manipulation is secrecy.There are countless examples of this in Mean Girls. For example, the scene of The Plastics when they are all on the phone; When Gretchen was on the phone with Caddy, it turned out to be a three-way call with Regina, but Caddy didn't know. This complexity progress when viewers realize the girls are all interlinked, all on the phone with each other on separate lines; Karen gets a call from Regina, puts her on hold, and proceeds to talk to Gretchen and says, â€Å"It's Regina, she wants to hang out tonight but she told me not to tell yo u†.This is similar to the theme of secrecy in Frankincense: Victor states, â€Å"The world to me, is a secret, which I desired to discover† (26), â€Å"l have one secret, Elizabeth, a dreadful one; when revealed to you, it will chill your frame with horror† (218), and he refuses to tell the secret to his audience, telling them to â€Å"listen patiently until the end of [his] story, with which [he] is acquainted with† (44). This is similar to Mantilla, where â€Å"[her father] has a secret grief that destroys [them] both: but [he] must permit [Mantilla] to win this secret from [him]† (47).The fact that one possesses a secret, holds it vital, and purposely shields it from the world acknowledges a kind of unmoral sin, or practical wrongdoing; celebrities allow these secrets to internally eat them alive like in Frankincense and Mantilla, or whether it makes their behavior more aggressive eke in Mean Girls, these secrets have the ability to change and ma nipulate others. In celebrity culture, a secret is a form of power, yet vulnerability – a secret itself could stand for everything one can't see.The public blows these secrets up with crazy ideas and provides evidence with the theories they project onto it. The secret could mean nothing, yet everything, at the same time. This is because that a secret exists. It does not matter what the secret actually is, because the people who spread the knowledge of the secret form its monstrosity. The people have ample opportunity to take control, seceding as a whole or individuals whether they want to make up a rumor, lie, tell the truth, say nothing, or contribute to the situation.The people are monsters, because they take complete control over the situation. An example of this is all of Lord's â€Å"fans† who (most likely) made her miserable because they did not approve of the physical appearance of her boyfriend. [A concluding sentence is needed here] Manipulation is also acquir ed through self-pity, which is shown in Mean Girls with the Burn Book. The Burn Book, which belongs to Regina George, is a book essentially signed to bully her classmates: it has students' pictures with mean phrases, secrets, and other things about them.Regina takes her book, puts her own picture on it, and writes something mean about herself. She then reports it to her school's principal and says, â€Å"l found it in the girl's bathroom! It's so mean†. This is similar to when Victor seeks sympathy from Elizabeth in Frankincense: â€Å"If you knew what I have suffered from, and what I may yet endure, you would endeavor to let me taste the quiet, and freedom from despair, that this one day at least permits me to enjoy' (222).In The Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats, in a short poem called â€Å"When I have Fears†, self-pity is asked for when Keats shows he is in pain, likes the pain, and wants to be acknowledged for his pain: â€Å"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink† (301). Just like Keats and Shelley, their own needs. Regina did this Just so she could get Caddy in trouble, Frankincense did this to make it look like it wasn't entirely his fault for the monster's actions, and Keats uses his fans' sympathy to become liked.The public falls into a part of this ultra, where one blames someone else; even the victims themselves get blamed for fault. Besides from celebrities' success, looks, and wealth, it is not uncommon for the public to condone that they are people, humans, Just like them. The public is essentially casting a negative eye upon themselves. Celebrities have people who work with them to help mold their image, but the impossible standards of beauty and perfection they try to fulfill originates from the endless, harsh scrutiny the public places upon them.When a celebrity breaks this image, or differs from the norm, they automatically are seen as monstrous, resulting in sneering and degrading comments from fans. This monstrosity on the celebrities has a counter-effect on the fans; every time there is a mean comment, they are normalizing harsh Judgment, extreme reactions, and offensive language. Celebrity culture takes the blame on how the public has developed a cruel society, through self-pity. Another quality of manipulation used in celebrity culture is feigning their own innocence; this is seen quite often in Mean Girls.Gretchen bullies Regina for violating the rules of their â€Å"girl world† by wearing sweatpants on Monday, and Regina lams she is forced to wear sweatpants because, â€Å"sweatpants are all that fits [her] right now', implying she is â€Å"innocent† because it is not her fault she has to wear those. Another scene is where Regina claims innocence is during lecture, (â€Å"workshop†), in the gym, after the Burn Book is discovered: Regina claims, â€Å"Can I Just say we don't have a clique problem at this sch ool, and some of us shouldn't have to take this workshops because some of us are victims in this situation? Regina implies she is â€Å"innocent†, and she herself is a victim. The teacher responds, â€Å"That's probably rue, how many of you have ever felt personally victimize by Regina George? † Actual innocence and feigning innocence is a huge role in Frankincense: though Victor blames himself for the monster killing his family, despite his creation, he convinces himself that he is â€Å"innocent† and expresses how he feels like the victim. Victor is a contradiction: he is innocent, yet, uses that to his advantage to feign his innocence.He is innocent because he has never intended his creation to turn into an actual form of monstrosity, but yet, feigns innocence by his hiding his guilt and hiding his knowledge about his family's deaths. Victor's innocence decreases over time throughout the novel; his â€Å"UN-innocent† behavior destroys the monster's inn ocence. Victor is performing an act that could be considered â€Å"monstrous† in manipulation by taking away the genuine innocence of one who was never given a chance to prove that innocence. At first Victor decides to â€Å"at least listen to [the monster's] tale† (105), but later on, he decides to â€Å"tore to pieces†¦ The thing on which the creature's] future existence he depended for happiness† (190), not giving the monster a chance to uphold its promise. Celebrities start out with genuine innocence, become corrupted, and may attempt to feign their innocence through their roles – However, once celebrities feign their innocence they are portrayed as â€Å"monstrous†, they are not given a chance to stick up for themselves properly without media and public interference. Lindsay Loan, off the set of Mean Girls, got into drugs, which could â€Å"feign innocence†, and assume that she had no role in her fans doing drugs.According to Good Charlotte, this kind of manipulation is the price of having a lifestyle of â€Å"the rich and the famous† (song lyrics). The most vital quality in manipulation is the key tactic in order to be able to get away with spreading rumors and lies, maintain secrecy, create self-pity, and feign illness. Control itself is the piece that connects all of these qualities. Throughout Mean Girls, there are many scenes were one of The Plastics are in control: At the talent show at school, Regina demands for Gretchen to switch sides with Caddy. When Gretchen protests, Regina says, â€Å"Right now you're getting on my last nerve.Switch! † Gretchen acknowledges this control by obeying. Caddy was also acknowledging control hen she fulfills Region's invite to eat lunch with them â€Å"everyday for the rest of the week†. In the beginning of the movie, Regina took control of Caddy social life. Halfway through, Caddy became the center of attention; she gained control of Region's previ ous fame and publicity and made it her own. The previous examples also hint at some aspect of control. Control is also seen in Frankincense, where the monster says, Mimi are my creator, but I am your master;-obey! (174). Victor chooses condone the monster, and the monster responds by taking control, killing all of Victor's family embers. Control in Charitable is implied when Geraldine takes on a role of masculinity: â€Å"lay down by the maiden's side: And in her arms the maid she took† (250-251). In The Major Works, â€Å"Farewell to a Lady' by Lord Byron shows how a woman's beauty takes control of his life: â€Å"In flight I shall be surely wise, Escaping from temptation's snare; I cannot view my Paradise, Without the wish of dwelling there† (1).By the word â€Å"flight†, viewers can assume he is going to commit suicide as a means to control the elimination of all ties with the Earthly Paradise's temptation. This kind of intro can relate to monstrosity and ce lebrity culture in a number of ways; first, one can see that the society of celebrity culture is so monstrously powerful, it is out of the control of the public to change it. Only the celebrities themselves have control of their own lives and culture and how they want to live it.Second, celebrity culture has so much control and influence over their audience, that they are not only controlling their own lives, but dominating American culture as a whole. By celebrities constantly sleeping with one another, taking part in the lies, secrecy, self-pity, and feigning their innocence inspires the public to act in the same manner. Third, by the news being so obsessed with the daily lives of celebrities, it almost implies as if they are encouraging the public to become more and more like celebrity stalkers.Lastly, they manipulate the public into believing their redefined definition of happiness, which solely consists of money, fame, and beauty. Rumors, lies, secrecy, self-pity, feigning inno cence, and control all tangle together to layer and overlap and form manipulation; celebrity manipulators do not only have control of their own world, but also wish to control the world of others. This allows them to occupy both worlds at the same time, with their rules, in their way: how much more control could a person possibly want?These qualities of manipulation in celebrity culture are allowing people to lose touch with things that are the most important in life, like friends and family. Celebrity culture is so controlling that it even takes over the roles of others. In Celebrity Culture: Are Americans Too Focused on Celebrities, Tompkins, a group an example of how celebrities are taking the roles of [super] heroes: â€Å"When I ask allege and high school students who their heroes are, they usually name celebrities, such as athletes or movie stars, not names that did something heroic or noteworthy. (Tompkins 4). Celebrity culture is now one of our prime sources of entertainmen t; ultimately, celebrity culture manipulates to control their audience's society in such a monstrous way so they are not able to distinguish the difference between genuine importance and the importance of celebrity news. One day, I fear genuinely important news, (politics, world news, emergency issues) will be ignored unless it is presented as a source of entertainment, like celebrity culture.

My IB chemistry research project Essay

Molecular gastronomy is often thought about in the way of cooking in terms of chemical transformations within food. The real meaning behind molecular gastronomy is a practiced cooking method used both scientists and food professionals that study the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. [Feast for the Eyes] Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary. [Food for Tomorrow?] By studying this topic, it can be applied to the real world, by the means of the whole process of preparing, eating, sensing, and enjoying food involves tremendously on complex chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. Within the lab, I’ll perform control experiments. To complete this experiment, I will cook several versions of the same dish with slight variations, followed by a blind tasting to see if the variations are significant. My IB chemistry IRP will be laid out in this EDD form. Introduction- Research Question: Can we devise new cooking methods that produce unusual and improved results on the texture and flavor of food? * Application Statement: The purpose of this experiment is to determine new culinary technique to create a new and uncommon and enhanced outcome to food. The whole process of preparing, eating, sensing, and enjoying food involves tremendously complex chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. For years, a new culinary trend called ‘molecular cooking’ has been touted as the most exciting development in haute cuisine. [Culinate – Eat to Your Ideal] Molecular Gastronomy will be the change to how we perceive food to our taste buds, and how it will affect the mood we’re in. [Kitchen Chemistry] * Hypothesis: If we are trying to change a main ingredient and the way we cook the dish in a very appetizing dish by adding a new or odd element and new culinary catering skill, then I think that the flavor and texture of the dish made with the new cooking ingredient/cooking method will taste better then the original and have a positive effect on the mood of the taste tester. * Independent Variable (I.V.): The main ingredient of a dish and food preparation process * Dependent Variable (D.V.): The effect of the finished cuisine has on the tester, and how the texture/flavor have changed from the original dish. * Constants (C.V.): * * Same cooking Pan * Same Food products * All the same utensils * For the olives: * 1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and finely chopped * 1 tablespoon agave nectar, or light maple syrup * 1 teaspoon sugar * Salt * For the fennel: * 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil * 2 tablespoons butter * Blind Fold * 1 large bulb fennel, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 8 pieces with the core intact * Salt and freshly ground black pepper * Cup dry white wine * 2 to 3 cups chicken broth * 1 teaspoons honey * 20 raisins * For the snapper: 4 (6-ounce) skin-on red snapper fillets, deboned * Salt * 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil * Passion-fruit vinegar (optional). * Beef * Variety of veggies * Procedure: 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, stir together the olives, agave nectar, sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. (They will be sticky.) Let cool. They can be stored in a cool, dry place for several days. 2. Place the oil and butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to brown, add the fennel. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the fennel begins to color around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. 3. Add the wine, bring to a boil and let reduce by half. Pour in at least 2 cups chicken broth to almost cover the fennel. Stir in the honey and raisins. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tip of a paring knife easily pierces the core of the fennel, 20 to 25 minutes. Season the broth and fennel with salt to taste. 4. When ready to serve, generously season the fish on all sides with salt. Pour the oil in a large nonstick skillet set over high heat. When the oil is hot, add a piece of fish, skin-side down, pressing on the flesh with a fish spatula for the first few seconds to keep it from curling. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Cook until the edges of the skin are golden and three-fourths of the flesh turns opaque, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. 5. To serve, place two pieces of fennel, 2 to 3 tablespoons of the braising liquid and a few raisins in the center of a shallow bowl. Lay the fish, skin-side up, against the fennel and place about 1 tablespoon of the candied olives on top. If desired, drizzle the edge of the plate with a few drops of passion-fruit vinegar. 6. Repeat steps two through nine as trial two and three, but with the ingredient of beef and veggies, instead of red snapper. 7. Have tester be blindfolded and have them taste the variety of food after each trial, and record data. 8. Once done clean up area and dispose of dirty ingredients/ package up non-used food. Data Collecting & Processing- Data Table: Flavor of the dish before and after cooking on scale of Bad (1) to excellent (10). Testers Trial 1 (Fish) Before After Trial 2 (Beef) Before After Trial 3 (Veggies) Before After Texture Test Before and after the cooking on scale of soft (1)- rough (10). Testers Trial 1 Before After Trial 2 Before After Trial 3 Before After Qualitative Data: Quantitative Data: Conclusion & Evaluation: Since I will complete this experiment, I hopefully will be able to conclude and make a distinct correlation on how ingredients are changed by different cooking methods, how all the senses play their own roles in our appreciation of food, how cooking methods affect the eventual flavor and texture of food ingredients, how new cooking methods might produce improved results of texture and flavor, how our enjoyment of food is affected by other influences, our environment, our mood, how it is presented, who prepares it. Work Cited Barham, Peter. â€Å"Kitchen Chemistry: Taste and Flavour Facts – Feature – Discovery Channel.† Discovery Channel International. Web. 13 Oct. 2010. . Crain, Liz. â€Å"Edible Experiments – A Norwegian Blogger Goes Molecular :: by Liz Crain :: Culinate.† Culinate – Eat to Your Ideal. 9 Aug. 2007. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. . Goldberg, Elyssa. â€Å"Feast for the Eyes: Molecular Gastronomy Puts Chemistry to Work in the Kitchen.† Columbia Daily Spectator | News, Sports, and Entertainment Coverage for Morningside Heights. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. . MUHLKE, CHRISTINE. â€Å"Too Cool for School.† New York Times. 30 Sept. 2007. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. . This, Hervà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. â€Å"Food for Tomorrow? : Article : EMBO Reports.† Nature Publishing Group : Science Journals, Jobs, and Information. July-Aug. 1999. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. .

Historical development of management Assignment

Historical development of management - Assignment Example Historical development of management The industrial revolution was to further impact the theory and practice of management with its new demands during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries due to the opening of factories, which demanded new styles, and practices in order to monitor, control. The practice of managing initially fell on owners of commercial enterprises but was gradually expanded to incorporate employees who were recruited for the sole purpose of managing. The non-owner managers became more and more popular as commercial organizations grew in size and complexity. Though management as a practice according to some definitions has existed for many centuries, some written works have been thought to have great influence on modern management theories. In fact, even ancient military texts have been credited with having contributing to management practice by their emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of one’s adversary as well as oneself. The great general Sun Tzu of China wrote of the great benefits of the correct evaluation of one’s foes and self in the â€Å"The Art of War†. Other works were written for the purpose of training and guiding leaders in the area of decision-making. Famous for Machiavellianism was Niccolo Machiavelli who is still talked of in modern management studies though in a negative sense for his promotion of mistrust of employees and class stratification based on economic and position power.

Any American Reform Movements since 1877 Term Paper

Any American Reform Movements since 1877 - Term Paper Example Progressives used wealth and intellectual arguments to garner political influence. By 1910, progressives had enough political influence to sway major legal amendments and enact their progressivist ideas into law. However, progressivism received a lot of criticism because of its impacts on government, society, and especially the economy. The following paper critically analyses the progressivism reform movement as a controversial issue in United States history. Many Americans shared a series of beliefs about the motive of government, its organization, and policies briefly following the civil war. This consensus was shaped by the principles of the founding fathers.1 However, a new orientation slowly started to replace this early one between 1877 and 1920.2 The new orientation, progressivism, became more and more widespread and extreme through its conversion into modern liberalism. The progressives did not have a definite explanation for their identity. The progressives lacked a political party and instead included a number of them. These parties supported diverse representative and workplace reforms that frequently discriminated against minorities or just demeaned them. Founders of the progressive reform movement argued that God created human beings equally and gave them absolute rights.3 As a result, all human beings had to abide by the natural law that gives all men rights and responsibilities. Latter progressives like John Dewey rejected the founders’ idea of natural law and equality stating it is naà ¯ve and unhistorical as God did not create all men free4. Gradually, Dewey and other latter progressives deduced there are no permanent criteria of rights.5 The motive of government was not as important as a man’s existence and independence for the founders of the progressive reform movement. Dewey later argued against this motive of government by stating that the government is obliged to form institutes that

Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Governance - Essay Example Most people in European society mainly prefer the bureaucracy mode of role which they actually relate it as the process of good governance. According to the Rome treaty all the states were required to practice and implement various strategic means that will ensure there is good governance, if a state failed to recognize the changes there were going to be tough measures that would be taken against its heads. Therefore the states were required to observe and put into consideration the following changes. All the citizens were required to participate in the nation building regardless of their gender background. This meant that there was the freedom of expression; therefore all ordinary citizens were required to engage themselves in the nation building programs. As a result of the communal wok the nations started developing both socially as there was the inter mixture of both the genders and economically as all citizens participated in the nation building programs. Therefore these participation changes brought in good governance in the entire whole region. The other change that was put in place was the need of transparency; this is where the decision making was to be done in a process where the rules are being put in place and followed. The common citizens were to contribute some ideas of how the country was to be governed by may be deciding on how the rules and regulations were to be observed. Also transparency changes were to ensure that there is the effective flow and direct feed back without some barriers. These transformation changes also contributed greatly to the aspect of good governance in the whole continent. Moreover, the European society was required to put in laws that were to be followed and respected by everybody in the region without considering their positions. These law changes made the countries free of illegal deeds including the 'crime' of corruption, as the seniors and the juniors' feared prosecution from the law. By the end of that year the public resources were run out commendably and therefore the countries could start enjoying their good fruits which were brought in by the good governance processes. Finally there was the need for the top officials to put into consideration efficiency and effective measures, whereby all the outcomes meet the common citizen demand. This could well be catalysed by the government ensuring that those people who may have been assigned or given a tender are highly qualified and recognized by the society. Now the region was in a directive way and shape for good governance with all these 'disciplines' brought in by transformation changes. In some situations not all transformation changes bring in good governance but some of them bear bad governance especially when a given region is mainly used to changes. Continuous process of transformation will end up bringing in some unwanted changes to the institution therefore scaring away the investors. Continuing Tradition To some extent continued tradition has also some positive impacts and negative impacts on the governance system. The positive impacts are brought in by strongly believing in your customs since an individual will like to observe and follow his or her own discoveries without having to just keep on relying on the 'donors'. In European Union culture is highly recognised

Central Processing Time Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Central Processing Time - Lab Report Example The methods used in achieving the results in this experiment via the use of a standard deck of playing cards and the involvement of one subject or individual. The participant in this case is a male individual, weighing 120 pounds, is 5 foot 9’ and is 26 years old. The three tasks to be performed are listed below: The mean processing time varies across the 3 sorting tasks set for the experiment. The second task – Suit Sort took a longer processing time compared to the last task – Color Sort with Preview. The facts are listed down on the data sheet. The processing time is dependent on complexity of the task to be performed and the type of hand used, if either it is the dominant one or the non-dominant one. The color sort with preview process took a lesser processing time because it involved the preview and use of the dominant hand. The computer generated graph for the mean processing time across the three tasks is represented below: The graph is plotted to show the output relation of the plot processing time against that of the class average time for the three tasks

Ethics in decision making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in decision making - Assignment Example Moral development of the charactersAccording to moral standards, we can rate the characters from the highest to the lowest as follows: the second hermit, the boy, the first hermit, the girl and lastly the captain. The moral development of the girl is questionable but to some extent it depends on the advice she gets and the critical decisions she has to make, in this case, visit the boy for one more last time, before he goes on a long journey (Polillo, 2015). The girl does not quickly accept the offer the captain but after the advice of the first hermit especially on sacrifice, she decides to visit the boy at all cost even though this will affect her moral standing. The boy shows great moral development and his inquiries from the girl how she came through she had no money. The boy hears her answer, refuses to be associated with, and breaks their relationship. The boy exhibits moral uprightness in that he leaves the girl because she has lowered her morals in accepting the captainâ€⠄¢s offer. The second hermit is morally upright in that he helps the girls with no strings attached when compared to the captain. The captain has low morals in that he opts to spend the night with the girl in exchange for transportation to the boy's island. The shows courage and thus confident in that she goes against all odds to get to meet with the boy. She consults the first hermit than the second hermit and does not give up on her quest to meet the boy even when the captain wants her to compromise on her values.  

For whom the bell tolls Hemingway Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

For whom the bell tolls Hemingway - Essay Example He takes sides with the natives of Spain fighting against the Nationalist Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Robert Jordan leaves the comforts of his home and the safety of his career to face the challenges of guerilla life. The â€Å"pine needle floor of the forest† (1) is what he chooses when he leaves America, and all the dangers involved with guerilla warfare. A strong sense of duty compels him to make this choice. It is the result of his realization that the suffering of others is not something one can watch from the safety of one’s own home. Instead, it is a call for action to help alleviate the suffering if it is within one’s power. Every suffering individual is not someone different from each one of us, but we ourselves. This is the driving force that brings all the members of this guerilla band together. The intense comradeship felt among the guerillas is remarkable. This feeling reinforces the conviction of the individuals involved that no man is an I-land. The self does not come into concern. It is the others, the common cause that is of vital significance. The sense of belonging to the larger humanity than to a narrow, small group of people is the pervading feeling that binds the people together. The lack of modern machinery and the versatility, power and speed that comes with it are absent among the guerillas. Against the modern, well-equipped, powerful enemies, all that the guerilla group has is quite limited. A comparatively smaller number of people with real commitment, a few horses and some explosives – these are their only strongholds. But what gives them real strength is the intense companionship – the feeling that they are all one entity – for that matter all those in the whole world who are sympathetic towards them. The readiness to let go of themselves for the sake of the common cause, for the sake of others is the hallmark of the guerilla band. Robert Jordan and his elderly guide Auselmo are all geared to face

An overview of YouTube Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An overview of YouTube - Essay Example An overview of YouTube â€Å"YouTube was founded by three former PayPal employees, who, witnessing the boom of online grassroots video, realized the need for a decent service that made the process of uploading, watching and sharing videos hassle-free† (Yadav). It was on February 15, 2005 that they registered the domain YouTube. In the initial periods YouTube came out with many contests in order to publicize the domain. The major target of YouTube was teenagers and college students. They offered attractive gifts for the winners of the contest. This created more traffic in the website. A person can watch the videos in YouTube even without registering. But if he intends to upload a video into YouTube, he should at first create an account with it. Both signing up process and uploading video are made simpler than what was during the initial stages. YouTube uses Adobe flash technology for enabling the videos to be watched on the internet. YouTube and Web 2.0: Web 2.0 is referred to as the network of websites that are used regularly by ordinary users. The ordinary users of the web are referred to the students, hobbyists, diarists etc. The ordinary users express themselves through their avatar in various social networking sites and blogs. â€Å"You can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core† (Tim). Thus they look for an opportunity to express them through internet.

Discuss the findings of the OFGEM report with regards to the UK energy Assignment

Discuss the findings of the OFGEM report with regards to the UK energy market; and discuss if more competition between the big six UK energy firms may benefit UK consumers - Assignment Example as proposed a number of reforms that should be employed in order to make the market more transparent, functional, and effective and consumer oriented in nature. The main objective for this essay is to study the report prepared and published by the OFGEM about the United Kingdom energy sector and analyze the proposals and reforms suggested by the same. This would be done by evaluating the economic aspects of this sector like the market structure, the price and demand elasticity, the present condition of the sector, the entry barriers and common strategies, the areas of the sector that need immediate interference and change and the propose reforms as suggested by the OFGEM. The UK energy sector is an intensely concentrated market in which the Big Six energy suppliers control the way the market functions. Also, the pricing strategies of one of these companies tend to affect that of the other companies in a direct and significant manner. The consumer groups for this market have been identified to have low involvement and low level of trust since the influence of the customers have become restrained due to the less number of options available to them. The low degree of consumer engagement has stemmed from a number of factors like the intrinsic nature of the energy products, the long periods required for switching suppliers, the excessive influence of the energy suppliers on the market and the lack of proper government interference and regulations for monitoring and supporting the interests of the consumer groups. These factors are identified to be hazardous for the future sustainability and health of the market structure because a significant lack of comp etition among the enmities in the market, a lack of interest and engagement of the consumers and excessive control of a handful of energy suppliers are noted in this sector. Other data given in Appendices 1-5 are suggestive of the above identified factors and features of this sector. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index

Physical Education and Academic Achievement in 10th grade Essay Example for Free

Physical Education and Academic Achievement in 10th grade Essay Physical education in high schools in the United States of America is the one branch of academic filed which is gaining fast attention on the side of the Government policy, the schools administration. More and more emphasis-shift is being observed toward orientation of the students and their parents with regard to the importance of physical education and its connection with real life, health, and, above all, with higher academic achievement. In schools, although all grades bear importance with relation to physical education and higher academic achievement and attendance rate, it is, however, the ninth and tenth-grades where there is a turning point for the students. Therefore, it is the time for the schools administration to pay more attention toward the planning and application of the physical education in these grades. â€Å"Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health. The goal of physical education is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity† (aahperd. org) It is apt to say that the way their physical education is planned and implemented required different parameters. This is so because the demands of students are different. They need to be exposed to such physical activities which not only excite them but also create a sense of responsibility in them; the main focus of such activities should then be to prepare them for real-life situation and challenges. Read more:  Physical Education Essays The present paper examines the link between physical education in 10th-grade and higher academic achievement in secondary schools of the United States of America. It also focuses on the link between physical education and its advantages when it comes to higher attendance rate and so on. The paper also investigates the findings of some major studies conducted in the area of academic achievement and its hypothesized relationship with such other diverse areas as after-school pursuits, homework phenomena, types of activities in and out of school, cross gender and ethnicity issues. This is to give the reader a proper understanding of the major issues in the present debate of achievement in high school and particularly of the tenth-graders. Review of Literature Physical education is a â€Å"systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program† (infoplease. com). Thus, there are certain goals to be met by implementing the physical education scenario. There have been considerable attempts in encircling the physical education curriculum in the United States of America. However, it is only recently that more and more emphasis is being laid on the importance of physical education and its link between higher academic achievement and proportionate significance of attendance rate. Since the year 1987, NASPE (the National Association for Sport and Physical Education) has been in constant pursuit in the updated information about the awareness in public of physical education in US education system. There are certain reservations that come to us in this regard. Three of them are mainly discussed in the present literature about physical education in the US educational system. These are: (1) There is no federal law, as yet, which says that physical education is to be provided to the students in the US education system; also there are not listed any incentives to offer physical education programs. 2) Although states may come up with some ground for the physical education policies, the state schools are free to work on their own in promoting, retaining, reducing the physical education portfolio in their own way. ) Another issue is that many states let go the responsibility for all content taught in schools to local school districts. (pe4life. com) The evidence is also found on other literature and net resources that plainly make it public that in the United States of America, physical education is not something prioritized. Even physical education in high school and elsewhere are â€Å"in sorry shape† and that the physical education â€Å"has been squeezed out of school by new curriculum requirements and other factors† (ducationworld. om). Apart from this, there is now word by such professionals as physicians who see that physical education is very necessary for a better future generation. More solid evidence comes form the Report to the President: Promoting Better Health for Young People through Physical Activity and Sports. In this report, Donna Shalala, Health and Human Services Secretary, and Richard Riley, Education Secretary, boldly wrote: â€Å"Our nation’s young people are, in large measure, inactive, unfit, and increasingly overweight. This report should stimulate action to make sure that daily physical activity for young people becomes the norm in our nation† (pe4life. com). Although we can see that today more and more attention is being paid to the physical education policy in US education system, there are grave critical areas that need to be addressed for a better physical education policy. For example there are trends of abating physical education time in schools because of pressure from academic side. This is very much a problem present in today’s education system. The simple fact is that more and more research findings are coming along with results that show that the old maxim â€Å"sound mind in a sound body† is aptly right. Thus it is now acknowledged that the students who are physically fit perform better on the academic side as well. In this connection we see that: â€Å"a 2002 California Department of Education study found a direct correlation between higher levels of physical fitness and higher academic test scores. According to Delaine Eastin, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, We now have the proof weve been looking for: students achieve best when they are physically fit† (pe4life. com (b)). As such, a new educational approach is now being said to be coming up on the educational front of the US schools that is called ‘total mind, total body educational approach’. In addition to the above, U. S. Surgeon General Report states that â€Å"Nearly two out of three adult Americans, or 130 million of us, are overweight or obese†; as such The health problems related to our growing girths are well known – more heart diseases, diabetes and other weigh-related ailments that send 300,000 Americans to an early grave every year. In fact, if childhood obesity continues to grow at current levels, some health officials contend, this generation of youngsters may actually have a shorter lifespan than their parents – a first in history† (smc. edu). When the report gives this alerting call to the nation, it is of much relief that in the same report the U. S. surgeons also carve out some strategies to overcome the problem. Among these strategies, the most prominent place is give to the physical education for the youths in the high schools. However, this is also not wrong to state that with the advent of the recognition of physical education in high schools, specially in ninth- and tenth-grades, another debate has taken birth: Whether or not physical education grade be included in high school students’ GPA. This school of thought considers that inclusion of physical education grades in student’s GPA will boost up students’ morale and will encourage them to do better in the physical education class because â€Å"Physical education is truly a microcosm of life, and every lesson taught has the potential to translate into the real world and prepare students to become healthy, productive members of society† (elibrary. bigchalk. com). Whatever the arguments are, we can be certain that in today’s literature about physical activity and high schools, physical education is something that needs more and more space in schools policies so that a better tomorrow can be handed down to our future generation that is already getting more pressure from academic side. If we look at the schools curriculum regarding physical education of ninth- and tenth-grades, we find that there are no serious attempts at defining the education. For example, a school in US states only three basic goals for physical education for the ninth- and tenth-grades (benton. k12. wi. us). Another school very shortly gives only the names of the physical activities to be observed by the students (rockingham. k12. va. us). This kind of treatment is in abundance and needs serious attention on the part of the government and school administrations to bring solid measures for the improvement in this area. Physical Education and Academic Achievement in 10th-grade When it comes to physical education in high schools, we find that it is very important for people who are in grades ninth and tenth because â€Å"This is an age when students begin to impose self-judgement in terms of accepting their physical appearance and their willingness to involve themselves in positive physical activities† (teacherweb. com). According to the Physical Activity and Health (a report of the surgeon genera) there is deep linkage between physical education and academic achievement. Physical education makes it possible for a better and healthy start in life enabling students to go for challenges that are not touched upon by those who are not active through physical activity. Moreover, the report suggests that schools should create such programs that can offer students opportunities by which they can get into physical activity. At this stage, this becomes more important because that report informs that as people grow, they show more and more declination in goring for physical activity: â€Å"Physical activity declines dramatically with age during adolescence† (cdc. gov). Thus, there is stark need that students of ninth and tenth-grade must be made aware of the importance of physical education and their academic achievement. The physical education should also be given priority by the school administration so that a sound educational environment can be achieved for healthier and academically better grounds for the students of high schools. This has been found through the research that physical activities may enhance cognitive functioning of the brain. This, as a result, may explain the relationship found between the students’ involvement in physical activities and their academic success (nps. 12. va. us). There are three major findings in the literature that relate physical activity involvement and the cognitive functioning. These are: 1) There is a significantly â€Å"positive relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning in children†; 2) â€Å"Results support possibility that participation in physical activity causes improvements in cognitive function†; 3) â€Å"Acute bouts of physical activity exert short-term positive benefits on the behavioural and cognitive functioning of youths†; ) It has also been found that â€Å"Being on a school sports team and having a positive achievement orientation were positively associated with physical activity levels† (holidaycalendar. dsr. wa). Therefore, from this very analysis it becomes pretty clear that in 10th grade (or roughly in high school), physical education plays a very important role as far as the phenomena of long, healthy life is concerned; as far as real-life active participation by the youth is concerned; and, above all, their academic achievement is concerned. However, looking at the picture more closely, we find that the present scenario in the United States of America, when it comes to physical education, academic success, link between physical education and academic success and real-life situation; there are certain challenges present to the Government. For example, â€Å"Nearly half of young people aged 12-21 are not vigorously active on a regular basis and physical activity declines dramatically with age during adolescence† (arlington. k12. va. us). And this has surely given the government a call of high alert because it is simply suggested that less physical activity on the side of the youth will give rise to ailments that will in return proportionately affect academic achievement of the students. Thus, today we can see that the United States of America is building more solid policies for coping up with the situation. In this very connection, a recent example is the President’s Challenge program, which purely focuses on bringing the people of the U.  S. to the physical activity grounds so that a healthier society for the future can be the possibility. This is â€Å"a program that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives. No matter what your activity and fitness level, the Presidents Challenge can help motivate you to improve† (presidentschallenge. org). The Presidential Challenge program is all about remaining with an active lifestyle and the program specifically focuses on how to assess the citizens in this regard. This program also introduces some rewards for the participants of the program like PALA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (presidentschallenge. org). This simply gives us the idea that the government of the U. S. has come up with grave policies which focus on the physical fitness of the citizens for a better tomorrow and a healthy society. Physical Education and Academic Achievement Debate  There are different schools of thoughts within the research that circle around the relationship between academic achievement in students and such other phenomena as physical education, homework, social loafing, and so forth. A considerable area of research exists that especially takes into examination the students of eighth to tenth grade. For example the article After-school pursuits, ethnicity, and achievement for 8th- and 10th-grade students which is one of the remarkable piece showing the contribution of people like James B.  Schreiber , Elisha A. Chambers, Walberg, Paschal, Weinstein, Cooper, and so on. Thus the proponents of homework suggest that â€Å"Homework has been shown to have a positive relationship with† academic achievement. And that there is also a proportionate difference between the amount of time spent on homework (After-School Pursuits). However, the other side of the pole comes up with the argument that there is not total contribution that can be related to homework alone when looking into the matter of higher academic achievement. This school of though aptly analyzes the effects of physical education on academic achievement of the students. For example, a research review by Holland and Andre in the year 1987 brought into their examination the relationship, if any, between physical education or athletic participation and academic achievement in the students. Their findings brought some more elements of debate in the intellectual circle because they found that there were sex-related differences among students as far as physical education and academic achievement is concerned. They reported that the research demonstrated that male high school athletes received somewhat higher grade point averages (GPAs) than did nonathletes. However, when one considers standardized achievement or aptitude tests, boys whose only after-school activity was sports scored lower than national averages on the Standardized achievement Test. No significant differences in GPAs or standardized tests were observed between female athletes and nonathletes† (After-School Pursuits).

Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC)

Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC) Introduction: Communication is one of human basic needs. It is an essential part of life that no one can live without it. It is a process of transferring information, ideas, attitudes, or feelings from an individual to another individual or to a group of individuals. The process includes the exchange of experiences between individuals; under the shared common understandings of media or symbols that contain the information in the messages. Communication can occur with at least 2 persons; each being both message senders and receivers simultaneously through the interchanging of these 2 roles. Sending or receiving messages can both be in verbal and nonverbal forms. The verbal communication is considered the basic form of communication. In verbal communications, an individual needs to use several organs such as larynx, vocal cords, tongue, mouth, lips, teeth, and jaws, in order to produce sounds (Ruben, 1983). One can express ones needs to others with the verbal communications. They require fewer interpretations, given that both parties use the same language. Nonverbal communications, on the other hand, include communications through gesturing, nodding, or shaking ones head, touching, facial expressing, moving lips, writing on paper, using pictures, having eye contacts, and etc. They are used as a complimentary of the verbal communications, or are used when verbal communication is impossible (Peel, 1995; Beis, 1996; Sundee, et al., 1998). The nonverbal communications may occur when persons are in quiet places where no voice is allowed, when both parties are in distant and sound cannot be sent from one to another, or when a person has physical conditions that ability to speak is limited, for example in patients on respirator with endotracheal tubes (Verity, 1996; Happ, Garret, oesch, 2003). Normally, the vocal cord vibrates and produces sound when the air flows through it. When the endotracheal tube is inserted, air will flow through the tube introduction not through the trachea and the vocal cord (Ruben, 1984; Guyton Hall, 2000) obstructing the sound making process (Sitzer, 1993; Hafsteindottir, 1996). Patients with good conscious, who cannot verbally communicate, are affected both physically and emotionally by inability of speaking. Need for Study: Clients with endotracheal tube on Mechanical Ventilation tube experienced pain and discomforts. Several complications that can occur include injuries and irritations of the oral mucosa, throat, trachea, pharynx, and larynx. Psychological effects included anxiety, stress, fear, sleeplessness, and in some clients the feeling of social separations. Clients with good conscious, who cannot verbally communicate, are affected both physically and emotionally by inability of speaking. Communication is important in order to provide effective nursing care that respond to clients needs. Effective communication improves the quality of care. The literature suggests that in many facilities AAC intervention is inadequate and that there is a need for increased education of nurses and other caregivers in the area of communication . Leathart observed 8 nurse-patient interactions in an intensive therapy unit (ITU). Patients were intubated but alert and able to com-municate. Patients communication was mainly comprised of replying to yesà no questions. Seven of 8 nurses reported dificulty communicating with patients in ITUs. Reasons cited were dificulty lip-reading, lack of patient feedback, Hafsteind-ttir (1996) described patient frustration with alternative means of communication. The frustrations stemmed from physical weakness, poor vision, and hand tremors (associated with dificulty writing). None of the patients recalled receiving instructions about communication methods. Over half of ventilated patients who participated in a study by Lohmeier and Hoit (2003) reported that they had no history of speech therapy, and only 5 of the 50 respondents had ever received AAC interventions. Problems or frustrations with speech were reported by 36 participants, suggesting a need for increased communication intervention for this population. Happ et al. (2004) investigated 36 records of patients who received mechanical vVentilation and who died during hospitalization in 8 ICUs during a 12-month period. No uses of picture boards, letter boards, or electrolarynx devices were documented. Their findings indicated that most communication consisted of yes/no responses to caregivers questions about orientation or pain, suggesting that nurses controlled the communicative interactions. Wojnicki-Johansson (2001) asked nurses to evaluate the communication of 22 patients who had been mechanically ventilated in the ICU. Nurses reported functional communication in 19 patients, however, this conflicted with the reports of 13 of the patients, who indicated that nurses had failed to understand their needs during their stay in ICU. Six patients reported that no functional communication was achieved, whereas nurses reported this to be the case for only 2 patients. Eight patients reported that nurses were unable to understand their messages. The author suggested that nurses should critically evaluate their communication skills and frequently verify the content of communication with patients. Fried-Oken et al. (1991) interviewed 5 patients who reported negative emotional responses to the sudden onset of communication difficulties, the most common response being fear. Patients reported that some caregivers and family members did not know how to use their AAC systems and emphasized the need for increased training in this area. Hall (1996) studied communication by observing interactions between nurses and their patients who were on ventilators. Hall concluded nurses seemed more concerned about meeting their need to provide specific information to the patient than to discover what the patient might want. The author questioned whether nurses have the skills and knowledge to respond to and/or assess nonverbal communication and felt that this warranted continued investigation. Statement of the problem: A study to assess the effectiveness of Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC) towards fulfilling the needs and satisfaction of among the clients with endotracheal tube on Mechanical Ventilation in Govt Rajaji Hospital. Madurai. Objectives of the study: The objectives of this study are to: To assess the level of patients fulfilling needs and satisfaction after administering the aided augmentative and alternative communication. To evaluate the effectiveness of administering the aided augmentative and alternative communication. To associates the level of Satisfaction and selected demographic variable. Hypothesis: 1. There will be no significant association between the level of satisfaction and selected demographic variables 2. There will be a significant difference between the level of communication and patient satisfaction among the endotracheal tube on Mechanical Ventilation patients after administering the augmentative and alternative communication. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION Effectiveness It refers that effectiveness relates to how well a AAC works in practice or what the indent results Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) refers way of communication that provide an alternative method by using devices such as paper and pencil and picture board etc Needs In this study need refers that patient fulfill his physical, physiological, therapeutic, social, psychological, spiritual needs by means of alternative communication. Endotracheal tube on Mechanical Ventilation It is a surgical procedure and after the surgical procedure the patients are having impaired verbal communication. Assumption Delimitation

Objectives And Goals Of Central Banks Finance Essay

Objectives And Goals Of Central Banks Finance Essay Every central bank is responsible of implementing a monetary policy which aims at ensuring economic growth, low inflation and currency stability and to do that lowering inflation is the best way for enhancing economic growth and development. So eventually every year central banks with the help of the governments set indicative inflation target and try to maintain it within the target band. In addition central banks need to ensure price stability and regulate the money flow in order to control inflation and this is done by 2 ways: Inject the market with liquidity: By tradition, the Fed uses the produce-money-and-purchase approach (PMP): the Fed produces money in their computers and uses it to buy US Treasuries from the banking system. In exchange for the US Treasuries, the Fed creates money on the account that the selling bank holds at the Fed. The ECB, in contrast, uses the produce-money-and-lend (PML) approach. It produces money and lends it to the banking system for one week or three months. The preferred collateral for these loans to banks is government bonds. As a result of PMP and PML, banks receive new base money. Or Absorb extra funds by issuing treasury bills or central bank bills. So to conclude, a compromise has to be found between decreasing interest rates and encouraging borrowing and increasing inflation. Microeconomic Objectives When a bank finds itself in shortage of liquidity in order to meet fulfill its role, the central bank can lend additional funds to avoid bankruptcy of banks or other institutions deemed systemically important or too big to fail. Central Banks must be impartial in its lending process, thats why Central Banks are independent. Central banks can also require deposit insurance from commercial banks. Some central banks will hold commercial-bank reserves that are based on a ratio of each commercial banks deposits. This is also a way of controlling money supply in the market. The rate at which commercial banks and other lending facilities can borrow short-term funds from the central bank is called the discount rate (which is set by the central bank and provides a base rate for interest rates). It has been argued that, for open market transactions to become more efficient, the discount rate should keep the banks from perpetual borrowing, which would disrupt the markets money supply and the central banks monetary policy. By borrowing too much, the commercial bank will be circulating more money in the system. Use of the discount rate can be restricted by making it unattractive when used repeatedly. A third objective of central banks can also be added. It concerns long-term strategic objectives of financial sector development including the development of an effective payments system and secure the financial markets and transactions. Functions The major functions of central banks are the following: Monetary Policy Implementation and Money Supply Control Bank of Note issue lender of last resort and governments bank interest rate interventions Clearing Agent Banker, agent and adviser to the government banking supervision and regulation The central bank can also be entrusted with other crucial functions like credit control, management of public debts, rediscounting of bills, and custodian of foreign exchangeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Monetary Policy Implementation and Money Supply Control The aim of an effective monetary policy is to create employment in the country, resist undue inflation and achieve a favorable balance of payment. Central banks implement a countrys chosen monetary policy by choosing the type of the currency and by determining the size and rate of growth of the money supply, which in turn affects interest rates. Bank of Note issue Earlier every banks notes lacked uniformity and were different from each others in color, size, value and even market goodwill. Hence the paper currency system was unstable, unreliable, and used to yield to gold and silver currencies. It was then necessary for a single bank to centrally issue currency notes for different reasons: It brings uniformity in the monetary system The central bank can exercise better control over the money supply in the country. ==> it increases public confidence in the monetary system. Monetary management of the paper currency becomes easier. Being the supreme bank of the country, the central bank has full information about the monetary requirements of the economy and, therefore, can change the quantity of currency accordingly. It enables the central bank to exercise control over the creation of credit by the commercial banks. The central bank earns money by issuing currency notes and selling them to the public for interest-bearing assets, such as government bonds. Since currency usually pays no interest, the difference in interest generates income. In most central banking systems, this income is remitted to the government. Granting of monopoly right of note issue to the central bank avoids the political interference in the matter of note issue. Lender of Last Resort The central bank is the lender of last resort in cases of banking insolvency or illiquidity, which means that it is responsible for providing its economy with funds when commercial banks cannot cover a supply shortage. In other words, the central bank prevents the countrys banking system from failing by acting as a bank to commercial banks. By acting this way, central banks: Increases the elasticity and liquidity of the whole credit structure of the economy, Enables the commercial banks to carry on their activities, Provides financial help to the commercial banks in time of emergency, Enables the central bank to exercise its control over banking system of the country. Interest rate Interventions The central bank sets the official interest rate in order to manage both inflation and the countrys exchange rate and to ensure that this rate takes effect via a variety of policy mechanisms. Typically a central bank controls certain types of short-term interest rates. These influence the stock and bond markets as well as mortgage and other interest rates. Clearing agent As the custodian of the cash reserves of the commercial banks, the central bank acts as the clearing house for these banks. Since all banks have their accounts with the central bank, the central bank can easily settle the claims of various banks against each other with least use of cash. The clearing house function of the central bank has the following advantages: It economies the use of cash by banks while settling their claims and counter-claims. It reduces the withdrawals of cash and these enable the commercial banks to create credit on a large scale. It keeps the central bank fully informed about the liquidity position of the commercial banks. Banker, agent and adviser to the governments First As a banker to government, the central bank performs the same functions for the government as a commercial bank performs for its customers. It maintains the accounts of the central as well as state government; it receives deposits from government; it makes short-term advances to the government; it collects cheques and drafts deposited in the government account; it provides foreign exchange resources to the government for repaying external debt or purchasing foreign goods or making other payments; Second as an Agent to the government, the central bank collects taxes and other payments on behalf of the government. It raises loans from the public and thus manages public debt. It also represents the government in the international financial institutions and conferences; and finally As a financial advisor, the central bank gives advice to the government on economic, monetary, financial and fiscal matters such as deficit financing, devaluation, trade policy, foreign exchange policyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Banking Supervision and Regulation In some countries a central bank controls and monitors the banking sector. It examines the banks balance sheets and behavior and policies toward consumers. Apart from refinancing, it also provides banks with services such as transfer of funds, bank notes and coins or foreign currency. The subprime crisis Markets Pre-Crisis Situation Following the 2000 burst in the dotcom bubble, investors lost confidence in the equity markets and concentrated their investments in government bonds, and secure assets. However, this lack of confidence started to turn around at the end of 2003, fueled by: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The rise of real estate prices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ improving figures of world economy and in particular the U.S. economy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the intervention of the Federal Reserve, helping banks by providing liquidity at particularly easy conditions (this liquidity injection by the Federal Reserve did not solve the problem, but only postponed it to blow up again in July 2007 in the form of the subprime crisis) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The short memory of investors To fully understand the origins and the impact of the current crisis on the world economy, it is crucial to understand the subprime loans and their use in the credit derivatives and structured products world. The term subprime lending refers to the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for market interest rates due to various risk factors, such as income level, size of the down payment made, credit history and employment status. Subprime loans are considered risky for both the borrower and the lender. Its risky for the lender because borrowers usually have lower incomes and a poor record of paying debt which increases their default probability. It is also risky for borrowers. To offset the risk of defaults, lenders will charge high rates of interest to offset the risk. The high interest rates however are strenuous for borrowers which further increases their likelihood of default. Two aspects of the subprime loans could give us a clearer image of the causes of the crisis. First, borrowers not being able to pay the interest rates on their mortgages have used the continuing rise in the value of their real estate to refinance their debt, thus taking on a higher debt. Second , every couple of years the interest rates on the subprime loans is reset in a way to take into account, the moves that have taken into the market. The final piece of the puzzle is the understanding of how these local loans issued by local brokers have made their way into the hands of Wall Street firms. Brokers match prospective borrowers with lenders who further lure borrower with exotic mortgages such as no doc mortgages, which do not require any evidence of income or savings. Bing banks and wholesale lenders buy the debt, repackage them and sell them to investment banks. These investment houses further repackage these loans in mortgage backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO). These structured products very often yield high rates of return and are sold to pension funds, hedge funds and institutions. It all started out in the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, when the rise of real estate that started in 1997 showed sign of slowing down. Not being able to refinance their debt, subprime borrowers found themselves in default, and faced foreclosure. In March 2007, General Motors announced that earnings plunged 90% during the first 3 months. The reason was due to losses at its mortgage loan subsidiary GMAC. UBS said that it will shut down its Dillon Read Capital Management arm after the hedge fund lost 150 million Swiss Francs on subprime investments. Finally, on June 21st 2007 data was released showing the record number of foreclosure, with biggest increase in the subprime sector. These signs are the start of a crisis that would cost investors, banks and almost all financial institutions enormous losses, thus forcing central banks around the world to intervene in order to maintain the grip on the financial system. Timeline of the subprime crisis: The pre-crisis 2001: Crises of confidence on the American Stock Exchange (Internet bubble, terrorist attacks of September 2009). The Fed lowered interest rates. 2002-2004: Invention of the subprime, low loan rate credit for 2 years, then variable rate based on the market rate: for households that have a high risk of non-repayment. if they cant reimburse it, their properties are seized by the bank. 2002-2004: The low interest rate allows an increase in the real estate purchases, which leads to higher market prices 2004: higher Inflation due to rising in oil prices. 2004-2007: interest rates increased by the Fed. 2006: real estate prices went down 2007: Increase in foreclosures in the United States due to the non-repayment of subprime loans. The crisis of 2008: 8 February 2007: HSBC global investment bank was the first to announce a liquidity problem due to the non-reimbursement of the subprime loans. June 2007: Bear Stearns, the U.S. investment bank, closes two of their investment fund related to real estate market. October 29, 2007: Merrill Lynch, the U.S. investment bank, announced $ 2 billion losses. Few months later other banks (American Bear Sterns, the French Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale, UBS Switzerlandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦)will announce identical losses. March 16, 2008: Bear Stearns was saved from bankruptcy by JPMorgan with the help of the U.S. government. 13 July 2008: Henri Paulson announces the refinancing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two funds that guarantee mortgages in the United States. 7 September 2008: Refinancing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by nationalizing them. September 15, 2008: Bankruptcy, the first of a long list started by Lehmann Brothers. Merrill Lynch was saved by Bank of America. September 16, 2008: AIG the American insurance went bankrupt.it was bought later by the U.S. government. September 26, 2008: Bankruptcy of the first retail bank, Washington Mutual was bought by JPMorgan. September 30, 2008: Dexia went bankrupt; refinanced later by the Belgian and French governments. October 3rd, 2008: American Congress Voted for the Paulson rescue plan to save the financial market. 6 October 2008: The historical fall of the CAC40 and the Dow Jones, this continued throughout the week. October 8, 2008: Major central banks have lowered their interest rates based on a mutual agreement. October 12, 2008: European Union announced a bailout of the financial market. October 15, 2008: The French Parliament voted for a bailout of the banks. Quick remind of the banks losses: Banks Losses % of total losses recapitalization Citigroup 55,1 11,0% 49,1 Merrill Lynch 52,2 10,4% bought by Bank of America UBS 44,2 8,8% 28,4 HSBC 27,4 5,5% 3,9 Wachovia 22,7 4,5% bought by Citigroup Bank of America 21,2 4,2% 20,7 Morgan Stanley 15,7 3,1% 5,6 IKB Deutched 15,1 3,0% 12,4 Washington Mutual 14,8 3,0% bought by JP Morgan Chase Royal Bank of Scotland 14,5 2,9% 23,8 JP.Morgan Chase 14,3 2,9% 9,7 Lehman Brothers 13,8 2,8% Bankrupt Deutsche Bank 10,6 2,1% 6,2 Crà ©dit Suisse 10,5 2,1% 3,0 Wells Fargo 10,0 2,0% 5,8 French banks Crà ©dit Agricole 9,0 1,8% 8,7 Fortis 7,3 1,5% Nationalized Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale 6,7 1,3% 9,6 Natixis 5,4 1,1% 12,1 BNP Paribas 3,9 0,8% 0 Dexia 1,7 0,3% Source: Bloomberg Nationalized Caisse dà ©pargne 1,2 0,2% 0 Total 501,1 352,9 What the ECB did during the crisis : 2 big phases The first phase of the turbulence During the first phase of the turbulence on the capital markets, which lasted from August 2007 to mid-September 2008 and was characterized by a systemic shortage of liquidity, the ECB has amended the terms of the provision of technical applying liquidity in normal times. It has, at the same time, fully utilizing the flexibility offered by its operational framework for the implementation of monetary policy. First, the Eurosystem has adjusted the distribution of liquidity during the period of reserve in advance by providing liquidity, compared to what it does in normal times. Thus, at the beginning of the maintenance period, ECB systematically allocated volume of liquidity than the usual theoretical reference in its main refinancing operations, while still aiming for balanced liquidity conditions at the end of the maintenance period. In this way, the total supply of liquidity throughout the period remained unchanged. These measures tended to take into account changes in the profile of the liquidity demand made by the banks. Second, the Eurosystem has also provided liquidity to the banking system through procedures open market that had been little or no use before the onset of turbulence. Particularly in response to the increased demand for bank financing in the longer term, the Eurosystem has significantly extended the average maturity of its loans to banks in the euro area. Accordingly, and to leave unchanged the total outstanding refinancing, the amount of liquidity provided through MROs in a week was reduced in corresponding proportions. The second phase of the turbulence In mid-September 2008, however, concerns about credit risk have greatly increased, tensions immediately propagated in the United States in the euro area, and the money market has virtually ceased to function. Therefore, the Eurosystem has intensified its efforts to allow solvent banks to continue their activities. And several additional measures were taken unprecedented in this direction. Thus, in mid-October, the ECB adopted as quite exceptional, a tendering procedure fixed rate full allotment for all main refinancing operations and the weekly refinancing operations more long term, with maturities ranging from one week to six months. This procedure will remain in effect as long as necessary in light of the market situation. It also increased the number and frequency of refinancing longer term by three months each additional refinancing operations, two for a term of three months and a period of six months, and introducing a special-term refinancing operation with a maturity corresponding to the duration of the period of reserve. Meanwhile, the ECB has implemented a new series of exceptional measures to temporarily expand the list of assets eligible as collateral in credit operations by the Eurosystem. Finally, the ECB has increased the supply of dollars in funding to its counterparties in conducting tenders fixed rate, full allotment and maturities from one week to three months, through swap agreements with the Federal Reserve System of the United States. These measures, which reflect the important role of strengthening intermediation taken by the Eurosystem during this turbulent period helped ensure the continued access of solvent banks to liquidity despite the monetary market failure. In addition, they have helped to reduce tensions in some segments of the money market. For example, the difference between the rates of unsecured long-term Euribor rate and index swaps on a daily basis is significantly reduced, even if it remains at a level high, significantly higher than the levels observed prior to September 2008. In practice, these measures imply that banks in the euro area can get as much euro liquidity they wish, through both our weekly operations as our futures, and this by using a wide range of assets as collateral. In total, the balance sheet of the Eurosystem increased by a total of approximately EUR 600 billion since the end of June 2007 until today, an increase in the size of 65%, the assets reflecting the sharp rise in the volume of liquidity provided and liabilities resulting from concomitant use banks to the deposit facility. These measures were effective to address the shortage of liquidity in the interbank market. They cannot, however, remove the heightened concerns regarding credit risk. In this regard, the money market conditions are not yet standardized and remain strongly affected by a high degree of risk aversion. The increase in the intermediation role of the Eurosystem has proved a necessary measure to cope with the current money market malfunction, but it can, and should, be considered as a temporary measure. The Eurosystem would naturally resume interbank lending and traditional intermediation activity of banks. The recent decision of the ECB to reduce the corridor of standing facility rates to 200 basis points around the interest rate on the main refinancing operations aims to stimulate interbank activity. That s why we observe, in this context, a reduction in the demand for bank refinancing operations during our open market and a corresponding decrease in the use of the deposit facility. We see a parallel increase in the volumes underlying the calculation of the EONIA. What the fed did during the crisis : 5 big phases Phase 1: 2007 / mid-March 2008 | From late spring, the Fed began to note that the growth in the U.S.is slowing down and targets need to be lowered. However, the inflation and underlying inflation are going up. The Fed believes that with this rate of inflation the Fed Funds rate should stay at 5.25%. But in August 2007, the subprime crisis and tensions within the bank market appeared. On 10 August 2007, the Fed announced the first corrective measures to the problems, by injecting liquidity into the market via refinancing operations. The liquidity crisis remains stable, and the Fed lowers the penalty on the discount rate. on August 17, Penalty decreased from 100 bp to 50 bp. The Fed lost any hope of a possible economic growth so they lowered their key lending rate despite a strong inflation. The rate reaches the 3% after his 5.25% in only 6 months which is one of the fastest decline the USA ever had. At the same time, the Fed put in place specific measures to facilitate access to liquidity for U.S. and international banks. Refinancing operations are going up. Then the Fed launches in December 12th the Term Auction Credit Facility (TAF). It consists in lending $ 60 billion within 28 days by accepting as collateral a large range of assets at a lower rate (discount rate). Line Swaps had been implemented with European banks. Nevertheless, the crisis has continued to expand, hitting after the interbank market, the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) guaranteed by Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE, primarily Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and the credit and equity markets. From March 2008, the Fed further increases its liquidity loans with the creation of the Term Repurchase Transaction ($ 80 billion) and the TAF increased from $ 60 billion to $ 100 billion. Then they created the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) which can lend up to $ 200 billion. In 14 of March, the Fed saved the Bear Stearns bank which was one of the best news since the beginning of the crisis. Its the first time that the Fed intervenes directly on the market, since 1929 and rescues a bank on behalf of the Too big to fail. Disturbances become wider for that time, so the Fed decided to gives access to a last resort facility to the investment banks that remain. In addition, the penalty discount rate is reduced to 25 basis points against 100 bp before the crisis. Finally, the Fed decides to lower its key lending rate, from 3% to 2.25% in March and 2% in May. Then follows minor adjustments to the lending facilities (TAF increased to $ 150 billion, with an extend in the loans maturity, larger swap lines with other central banks). The Fed believes that the financial situation has stabilized and that the U.S. economy does not need more monetary stimulus. The rate is stable until September. we should notice that the money lent by the Fed do not inflate the monetary base: they sell bonds to finance its loans. Phase 2: September 2008 / February 2009 In September 2008, the market turmoil began with the announcement of the tutelage of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae on September 7. Between Monday 8 and Friday 12, a lot of rumors alarmed the financial markets about financial stocks and a fall in prices. Sunday 14 September 2008, the announcement of the Lehman bankruptcy, but also the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America and the profound difficulties of AIG and Washington Mutual, will be the trigger of one of the most tempestuous financial crisis. The Fed will react very quickly to ensure market stability and mitigate systemic risks. Then, to counteract deflationary pressures, it prepares the transition to an unconventional monetary policy. Without going into the details of all measures taken between September and December 2008, the Fed will support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to participate in the rescue of financial institutions significantly expand the scope of collateral accepted for loans, buy directly from financial assets (MBS, GSE debt, short-term debt) and lower at lower interest rates. The risks to the global economy is now cataclysmic Fed with the ECB, SNB, Bank of Canada and the Riksbank (Sweden) undertake the first rate cut concerted history (-50 bp), the October 8, 2008. The U.S. rate is brought to the lowest in December (band 0% / 0.25%). Remember that this phase is that the Fed reduces interest rates to a minimum and that the liquidity injected quickly becomes unsterilized. Is to do quantitative easing without saying. From September 2008, the liquidity injected exceeds the amount of Treasuries (debt U.S. State) remaining on the balance sheet of the Fed. At first, the U.S. Treasury this imbalance, but the beginning of October, the dam broke. The Fed then engages in a policy of balance sheet expansion unsterilized, with an increase in the monetary base (reserve money). It passes 900 billion to $ 1 $ 800 billion between September 2008 and March 2009. Phase 3: March 2009 / July 2010 | 1 quantitative easing QE 1 From early 2009, the Fed began to wonder how to stimulate the economy with rates at 0%? In a speech on 13 January 2009, the Bernanke Doctrine is exposed. It is anchored rate expectations at low levels, changes in the composition of assets held by the central bank to increase the size of the balance sheet of the central bank (quantitativism). At the FOMC March 18, 2009, the central bank crossed the Rubicon and one announces quantitative easing targets for unsterilized purchases of debt: debt GSE ($ 200 billion), MBS ($ 750 billion) and debt (300 billion $). The program runs until the end of 2009. In addition, the Fed introduced the famous sentence The Committee will Maintain the ranks for the target federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and anticipates economic terms That are Likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for year extended period . It is committed over a long period (years) to keep rates low. Until late 2009, the U.S. economy out of the recession, there will be more movement towards monetary policy. Speech on growth becomes increasingly positive. The amount of purchased debt agency will even reduced to $ 175 billion. From the spring, the FOMC no longer evokes purchases in its communiquà ©s. It should be noted that liquidity injections become less important, quantitative easing 1 (EQ 1) resulting in an excess supply of liquidity growing. Loan facilities are largely removed. Phase 4: August 2010 / August 2011 | First fear of double dip QE 1.2 and QE 2 The Fed noted that the growth was not as strong as expected, that the labor market remains very poor and that underlying inflation plunges more. She decided in August not to allow its balance sheet to deflate some debt maturing (ie destruction of money injected). She reinvested the money recovered in U.S. government bonds so that the long-term balance sheet size remains unchanged. There is no additional injection, just a re-investment (EQ 1.2). Continuing economic deterioration (rising unemployment, inflation at its lowest for 50 years), the Fed launches quantitative easing 2 (QE2). She decided in November 2010 to buy $ 600 billion of debt] b (from November 2010 to mid-2011) and continue to reinvest. The balance begins to swell until June 2011. FOMC releases are progressively more positive, even if economic activity is considered at best a phase of moderate recovery. Then, from the late spring, it deteriorates again. Following the August 2011 FOMC, the Fed announced that it will keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged until mid-2013 (at least 2 years). The idea is to anchor expectations on Fed Funds, thus lowering the rate to maturity longer. Phase 5: September 2011 / | The twist, QE 2.2 Fear of double dip continues to strengthen. At the end of September 2011 FOMC, the Fed announces a twist. It extends the maturity of its holdings of U.S. government bonds. This operation twist is to sell the bonds in the short term (less than 3 years) to buy long-term loans (between 6 and 30 years). The Fed will twister for $ 400 billion. This was already implemented in the 60s (1961-1963). The Fed will now reinvest the money recovered on refunds of MBS and agency debt and MBS in more in bonds to support the mortgage market in the USA. The idea is to lower interest rates in the long term, short-term ones are already almost at its lowest. These two transactions will not generate inflation balance as purchases will be offset by sales or repayments (no printing money, no QE3 but QE 2.2). Comparison  : ECB vs FED Similarities: The European System of Central Banks and the US Federal Reserve are the two biggest and most active central banks. Although they present many apparent differences, they still have several similarities: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They are independent from any direct political authority and hence are protected from political interferences. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They have decentralized structures: a system of national/regional banks coordinating with a central entity, i.e. the Board of Governors. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They modify the interest rate structure by targeting short-term money-market rates, specially the Marginal Lending Rate in the EU or the discount window in the US and the inter-bank rates (Federal Funds rate in the US). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They use the basic monetary policy tools to achieve their objectives: reserve requirements, discount window lending and open-market operations. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They share the s