History of Security in the United States Essay Example for Free

History of Security in the United States Essay Abstract Security in America has evolved from the time of the first settlers to today’s well-trained forces. Factors leading to the significant growth of private security from pre-Civil War to post World War II consisted of a lack of public police and large monetary loss by private industry. Today, security is global and faces challenges and changes, with increases in terrorism and technology crimes. It must maintain a high level of professionalism and maintain technological innovation remain a respected industry. History of Security in the United States Nineteenth Century The nineteenth century saw the private security industry fill in many of the gaps left by public law enforcement in both manpower and ingenuity. The development of public police forces was slow in the infancy of the United States. In the latter half of the 1800’s, police departments were fragmented, decentralized and often corrupt, creating a need for private security. The American frontier saw an extreme shortage of law enforcement, as they had to resort to deputizing civilians and forming posses. Citizens often had to resort to vigilante justice due to a lack of law enforcement. In 1850, Henry Wells and William Fargo established American Express and Wells Fargo cargo companies and in 1851 Allen Pinkerton established the first national private security and investigations service (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 10). Pinkerton provided security and investigative service to the railroad, offered private detective services and was actually the intelligence arm of the Union Army during the first half of the Civil War. In 1853 August Perry patented the first burglar alarm followed by Edwin Holmes in 1858, who produced the first central station burglar alarm. That same year, Washington Perry Brinks introduced the armored carriage for the transportation of valuables and money (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 10). Twentieth Century The quelling of labor unrest brought about a poor reputation to private security leading up to the Great Depression. Decades earlier, industries such as manufacturing, transportation and mining turned to agencies like Pinkerton for not only asset protection, but also to combat labor violence and break strikes. There were numerous violent incidents involving strikes resulting in civilian injury, deaths and job losses. One incident in particular was the Homestead Strike of 1892 in Pennsylvania, which culminated in a gun battle between Pinkerton agents and the strikers (Lipson, 1988). Incidents such as this eventually led to private security being viewed as ‘Knights of Capitalism’ by the public. Security companies were banned from carrying weapons and crossing state lines to break strikes in some states (Joh, 2006). There was a decline in the employment of private security during the Great Depression. According to The HUB, â€Å"There seems to be some controversy as to whe n the first proprietary security forces arose, but many sources attribute Henry Ford as the man who refined ‘in house’ security to factory work. As the automobile gained popularity so the industries providing the necessary materials for the factories producing them across the nation needed and utilized private security personnel. With the high unemployment and possibility of crime due to the Great Depression, private security further embedded itself within industry† (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-Private-Security). There was an expansion of private security leading up to and during World War II due to infrastructure, military and industrial security concerns. Post World War II saw an increase in the professionalism of private security, as returning veterans with military police experience began to seek employment in the security industry. Anti-espionage procedures established by the government during World War II carried over into the Cold War era, with the government insisting on a quality security force and plans, to protect defense contractors and government assets. The private security industry followed the government’s lead, thus entering the era of the security manager (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-Private-Security). The security industry increased in size in the mid twentieth century, as did the crime rate and police were unable to protect private property. Many organizations realized the value of protecting their personnel and property during this time. In 1955, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) was formed and today is the world’s largest organization of security professionals. ASIS continues to formulate security policy and direct security programs in a vast number of businesses, industries and government operations (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 11-12). In 1970, private security continued to grow and matched the number of police personnel at 500,000. In 1976, the Task Force Report on Private Security was published and it was addressed for the first time that private security was an essential element to public safety. The Task Force recommended that the private sector be encouraged to nurture and improve the quality of security services and work with law enforcement to fight crime. This created an environment that saw the security industry continue to grow due to concerns over increased crime and limited law enforcement resources. By 1991, the number of security personnel had nearly tripled that of law enforcement and by the year 2000, private security personnel numbers rose to two million, clearly showing private security is the primary protective service (Ortmeirer, 2009, pg. 6-7, 13). Future The private security industry has made giant steps since the nineteenth century. It is clear from history that the private security industry must continue to complement the public police forces by providing innovative and needed support to industry and government. It must maintain and constantly improve upon its procedures and training, to keep the respect of the public, which it currently commands. It must above all remain one step ahead in today’s technological world, as M. Lipson (1988) stated, â€Å"The history of the ancient craft of private security may be illustrative of opportunities for those of the industry with foresight† (Lipson, 1988). It is crucial private security continue with its current expertise in antiterrorism and computer security operations. It is also imperative private security continue to foster the close, post-911relationships that were developed with law enforcement, from federal to state to local police agencies, to successfully move into th e future. References Joh, E.E. (2006). The Forgotten Threat: Private Policing and the State. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 13(2), 364. Lipson, M. (1988). Private Security: A Retrospective. Annals Of The American Academy Of Political Social Science, 49811-22. Ortmeirer, P.J. (2009). Introduction to Security. Prentice Hall. The Hub (2009). (Hub pages, http://dyonder.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-PrivateSecurity).

The Critical Review Of Screening Trauma Film Studies Essay

The Critical Review Of Screening Trauma Film Studies Essay Cinema and its relationship with psychology, history and memory is a wide area which can be shaped by visual media and identification of culture. Susannah Radstone( 2000) analyses the movie of Forrest Gump( Robert Zemeckis, US, 1994) with examinations and expressions that have been accompanied with screening trauma in her study. Also the theoretical and methodological tension over memory and inclusive cultural framework shapes these film analyses with further details, especially in cinepsychoanalysis and memory/ history. This review will highlight the main points as a summary with some critiques of Radstone s perception of critical thinkers and this academic work s relationship with the comprehension of visual culture and memory.As an aim, this study will try to show cinema s effects on shaping the human perception of history also memory s relationship with history in the context of psychology, especially with the movie of Forrest Gump( Robert Zemeckis, US, 1994) . SUMMARY : In the study of Screening Trauma: Forrest Gump, Film and Memory (Radstone, 2000) Radstone starts by emphasising that Forrest Gump ( Robert Zemeckis, US, 1994) , which contains the last three decades of US history as from 1964 nearly, with the associations between memory and history from the protagonist s unconscious perception in the context of manipulations of technology which is fed by contemporary Western culture. After that memory s connection with cinema adresses cinepsychoanalysis paradoxically due to the fact that memory s visual usage recalls traumatic events childhood seduction or abuse ( Freud and Breuer [ 1893- 5] 1974, cited in Radstone 2000: 82) Freud later and famously abandoned this seduction theory for an understanding of hysteria that connected its symptoms, rather, to unacknowledgeable fantasies of a sexual nature ( Freud [ 1905] 1977, cited in Radstone 2000: 82) . Radstone tries to emphasise the interweaving of trauma, fantasy and memory in the psychoanalytic u nderstanding of the letter in order to answer this question: What is the relation between memories of traumatic events and physical predispositions which entails dominant fantasy scenarios in the context of the movie of Forrest Gump ? Other disciplines offer different accessions to memory research within cultural studies and history which are not untouched by psychoanalytic ideas ( Kuhn 1995; King 1997; Vidali 1997, cited in Radstone 2000: 85) . For example; in the work of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies( 1982, cited in Radstone 2000: 84) , analyses of autobiographical memories revealed both how public history shaped identity and, conversely, how marginal memories could overturn established histories. At this point of the Radstones study, these disciplines like history and cultural studies are combined with the psychoanalytic understanding of memory because Radstone says that if psychoanalytic points of view contribute memory s understanding, its insights will be more understandable or assimilable within history and cultural studies. In this manner, Radstone points out that the concept of Afterwardsness ( Laplanche, 1992, cited in Radstone 2000: 85) refers to a process of deferred revision, where experiences, impressions and memory- traces may be revised at a later date to fit in with fresh experiences or with the attainment of a new stage of development ( Laplanche and Pontalis 1988: 111, cited in Radstone 2000: 85). Radstone tries to search for the truth of an occurrence and the experiences of its results in the context of Afterwardness which suggests that determinations of memory s tropes can not reach the truth of the past but it can be only a revision of the past as reporte d by Radstone. Under these influences, she tries to argue the history s trustworthiness in the context of changeable memory, which can be shaped by past especially repressed effects of experiences, in Forrest Gump( Robert Zemeckis, US, 1994) . Moreover, after these reviews of Forrest Gump, Radstone emphasizes that Burgoyne s Prosthetic Memory/ Prosthetic Nation forms part of a collection addressing the construction of nation in selected US contemporary history films. In the context of Forrest Gump, Burgoyne emphasizes throughout both the dissociation between Gump s memories and that history of violence which is in effect noted but bracketed in the film ( ibid: 112, cited in Radstone 2000: 96) , and Forrest s incapacity to understand that same history which he is, unbeknownst to himself, shaping: Only Gump s ignorance protects him from the scarifications of history and the resulting distortions of character that plague most of the other figures who populate the film ( ibid: 109, cited in Radstone 2000: 96) . Radstone argues that the film s effect was linked only to Forrest s ignorance, and that the film was therefore trading in a historical common sense, or Gump that might be likened to false memory . She tries to inte rrogate the movie of Forrest Gump not also with the complex inner world of human being but also with the complexities of historical agency and responsibility. CRITIQUE : If Radstone s essay is analysed in a general way before the analysis of Forrest Gump; my critique will start with this question: How might the relationship between memory, history and cinema can be understood in a simple way with the association of the other areas like psychoanalysis and humanities? Because Radstone s explanations are so impetuous and compound. This situation creates the concept of transdisciplinarity which carries risk in order to analyse the movie. Transdisciplinarity produces travelling concept ( Bal , 2002,cited in Radstone 2008: 35) concepts that may be attached very quickly to various occurrences including reviews, forms and cultures. Concepts such as trauma and memory start to be a bridge between the various disciplines in a complex way. In addition, she elaborates the thinkers points of view exceedingly. Does she try to analyse the movie of Forrest Gump in the context of these disciplines or does she want to explain these disciplines deep points to reader ? After the general critique of the study of Radstone, in order to understand the role of Forrest Gump in US history my review will compare the thoughts of Vivian Sobchack and Robert Burgoyne in the context of Susannah Radstone s study. Radstone uses the study of Prosthetic Memory / National Memory: Forrest Gump ( Burgoyne , 1997) in order to analyse the usage of memory in movies and the effects of this usage on real history, especially with the protagonist s ignorance as Gump. The emergence of mass cultural technologies of memory, moreover, provides vivid experiences of the past that can shape and inform subjectivity. ( Burgoyne, 1997: 105) Burgoyne argues that what might be the media s effects on representing history through the cinema. He believes that cinema might shape the history and it might affect people memory like forming false memory ,especially with Gumps ignorance. In this manner Radstone tries to make comparisons between the study of History Happens which was written by Vivian Sobchack ( 1996) and the study of Prosthetic Memory / National Memory : Forrest Gump ( Burgoyne, 1997) . Sobchack believes that one of the media s parts which is cinema might create the consciousness about the history through the movies like Forrest Gump with new technologies. Sobchack figures out a sense in which we believe we can go right out and be in history ( Sobchack, 1996 : 5) . After these points of view, Radstone analyses history s usage in cinema might be likened to false memory or it might remind history to society. So that there is a paradox which comes from different interpretations. I suppose that the history s us age in cinema can be understood as media s atrocious effect or , at the same time, its a freeway to be in history even if it is represented from innocent protagonist s perception as Sobchack supports. In order to analyse the movie of Forrest Gump ( Robert Zemeckis, US, 1994) in the context of Afterwardsness, phantasy- memory psychologically; firstly Radstone starts by emphasising Afterwardness, which is stated as the cause of memorys representations of the past by Radstone , is the summary interpretation which reduces the psychoanalytic view of the subject s history to a linear determinism envisaging nothing bot the action of the past upon the present ( Laplanche and Pontalis 1988: 111- 12, cited in Radstone 2000: 86 ) . In this manner, i support Laplanche and Pontalis ideas that Afterwardsness s relationship with temporality, which contains repressed experiences of the event, creates the issue of losing real history. Secondly, Radstone indicates For Freud, at least, the physical reality revealed in memories was understood to be more closely associated with primal fantasies than with historical reality. ( Radstone, 2000). So that with the theory of primal fantasies, which suggests that inner reality is shaped by fantasies generally, Laplanche and Pontalis points out it is only as a memory that the first scene becomes pathogenic by deferred action ( Laplanche and Pontalis 1988: 467- 8, cited in Radstone 2000: 87) . Under the influences of the comments of Laplanche and Pontalis about Freud; i support Radstone s analyse which, shows lived experience and subjectivity differentiate from historys earlier relationship with objectivity, tries to analyse Forrest Gump in the context of temporality,memory and history. CONCLUSION : Visual culture and memory is a comprehensive area which memory s situation can be researched into visual media in the context of cinepsychoanalysis. This study tries to focus how media, which is the part of visual culture, can affect societies perceptions of history objectively and memory subjectively on psychology framework. Societies are able to understand the US history and they can constitute their memory positively or negatively from the movie. In this manner, visual culture and memory are associated that cinema can shape societies perceptions about history which can be understood by the help of this study.

The Life Of Walt Disney Film Studies Essay

The Life Of Walt Disney Film Studies Essay When he arrived back to the United States, Walt moved back to Kansas City where he worked on several different jobs as a commercial artist and a cartoonist. One of these jobs was a temporary contract with the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio where he created ads for newspapers, magazines and movie theatres. It was at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio where Walt met Ubbe Iwerks with whom he set up Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists, which Disney soon left and began working at Kansas City Film Ad Company where he made cut out animation commercials. Disney decided he wanted to become an animator, he read a book called Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development through which he learned about cel animation which he found to be much more promising then cutout animation. He was allowed to borrow a camera from work to experiment at home. He recruited fellow Kansas City Film Ad Company employee, Fred Harman as his own first employee and the two secured a deal with local theatre owner F rank L. Newman to screen their cartoons which they titled Laugh-O-Grams. The cartoons were hugely successful in the Kansas City area and from their success Disney was able to set up his own studio also called Laugh-O-Gram and also hire a number of animators including Fred Harman and Ubbe Iwerks. The company soon went bankrupt as the studios profits were unable to pay for the animators high salaries and Walt was unable to manage the money. After the failure of Laugh-O-Grams, Walt set his sights on Hollywood, where he met up with his older brother Roy and using the twos collective funds they set up a cartoon studio. At this stage a New York distributor Margaret Winkler signed a deal for some live-action/animated shorts based upon Alices Wonderland, which Walt had worked on in Kansas City with Iwerks. Walt and Roy had now set up Disney Brothers Studio, a single story building on Hyperion Avenue, LA where the company remained until 1939. The Alice Comedies were quite successful until finishing up in 1927 by which time the focus was mostly on the animated characters in the series rather than the live action Alice, especially Julius, a black cat that resembled Felix the Cat. In 1925, Disney had hired Lillian Bounds to ink and paint celluloid, Walt dated Lillian for a brief time and two got married in the same year. In 1927, Margaret Winklers husband, Charles B. Mintz had taken over her business and ordered Disney Studios to make a new animated series to be distributed through Universal Pictures. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was the new series and was an instant success. Oswald, a character drawn and created by Iwerks became a popular figure. The company was doing so well that Walt hired 4 more animators. In February 1928, Mintz and Disney met to discuss a new fee for the shorts. Disney was looking for a higher payment but Mintz informed him that not only was he reducing the fee per short but that he had taken most of his main animators (except notably Iwerks) under contract and could begin his own studio if Disney did not accept the cuts and that Universal, not Disney, owned the trademark of Oswald the Rabbit so they could continue to make the films without Disney. Disney declined Charles Mintzs offer and lost the majority of his animation staff and his beloved Oswald the Rabbit. After losing Oswald, Walt Disney felt like he needed a new approach to his cartoons and new character to replace Oswald. The new character was based on a mouse that Walt had adopted as a pet while working in Kansas City. Ub Iwerks took Disneys rough sketches of the mouse, making it easier to animate. The mouse was originally called Mortimer, but later christened Mickey by Lillian Disney who thought the name Mortimer was too stiff and convinced him to go with Mickey instead. Mortimer later became Mickeys rival for Minnie. Mickey first starred in two silent films called Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho, both these films failed to find a distributor. By this time other film studios in Hollywood had began using sound in their movies and after Walt had seen The Jazz Singer, the first movie with sound, Disney decided to make the fist all-sound, talking and music cartoon with Mickey Mouse starring as Steamboat Willie which was distributed by Cinephone (1928). Eight years later, in 1936 c ritics and fans all over the world agreed that Mickey Mouse was the most recognized figure on the planet. It was Walt himself that provided Mickeys voice until 1946. Although he had stopped actually drawing the cartoons himself in 1927, Disney relied on his animators to implement his ideas which included launching many other successful cartoon characters over this time including Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. In 1932, Disney received a special Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Disneys Success continued to soar throughout the 30s and 40s, with 1937 1941 being known as The Golden Age of Animation. In 1934 Disney began making plans for a full length feature animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with an estimated budget of $150,000 that ended up costing Disney $1.5 million. The studio actually ran out of money mid 1937 and had to show a rough cut of the film to loan officers at the Bank of America who gave them money to finish production. The premiere on the 21st December 1937 was met with a standing ovation. The film was released in February 1938 and earned over $8 million on its first theatrical release, at a time when the average ticket price was 25 cents. On the success of Snow White, Disney was able to build brand new studios in Burbank, which opened for business in December 1939. Over the next four years, Disney produced Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and Dumbo and early production work had started on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Although the ear ly forties proved difficult for Disney as many of the top animators went on strike. Personal Politics Throughout his life Walt Disney gave off the perfect public persona, but Walt has had many critics during his life and since his death. In the studios in Hyperion Ave, his employees knew him as Uncle Walt which at the time was a term of endearment and it seemed like a privilege to them not to have to call their boss Sir or Mr. Disney. The animators worked long hard hours to meet Disneys high standard of perfection, Everybody loved the studio, everybody joyfully worked over-time putting in all the hours needed without any pay, everybody liked each other and liked Walt Bill Melendez, animator at Disney Studios 1937-1941. But when the studios moved to the new location at Burbank, Disney introduced a high degree of specialization among his work force transforming animation into a production line process, here at last was the rationally planned factory Disney had dreamed of. Walt showed off the studio is a film called the reluctant dragon in which smiley white coated worked go happily abo ut their day. But reality at the new studios wasnt all that it seemed. The workers had been promised that the move from Hyperion was good for them as well as Walt, but this was not the case, in fact some workers fell that is was in some ways a deterioration in their working conditions. Marie Beardsley was one of the artists who made the move everything was segregated, everything got too big and too impersonal and I think thats where the trouble started. Through using this factory like method in the studio had created a hierarchy of jobs, at the top being the animators, all male and all hand picked by Disney beneath them was hundred of inkers and painters, who coloured in the thousands of pictures that made each scene. They were all women. Marie Beardsley said it probably never even occurred to Walt to put a man in the inking and paintingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ That was demeaning work, she recall supervisors walking around and standing behind and other women to see how well they were inking and how fast they were painting. They were timed to see were they worth keeping on. Bill Melendez recalls Walt saying that women were Ok to be used in a menial capacity because once they reached the age of thirty the hand got shaky so it was time to get rid of them. Things had changed in the new studio and Disneys increasingly tyrannical style of management meant for some that the words Uncle Walt took on a much more sinister meaning. Disney was unusually straight-laced for a Hollywood big shot; Marie Beardsley recalls a memo being sent around to all the girls in inking and painting saying that The married men in Disney were happily married and we want all of the girls to understand that, he disliked any sort of sexuality or even socialising amongst his employees. He and Lillian were together for forty years until his death and no one at Disney Studios recalls him ever showing any interest in any other women. He actually told one of his animators that he loved Mickey Mouse more than any girl hed ever known. On Walts 35th Birthday two of the animators made a film of Mickey and Minnie consummating their relationship, at the end of the film Walt stood up and said that it was great animation, he then asked who had made it, the animators who made it stood up and Walt fired them on the spot. Case Study: Disney Corporation vs Fitzpatrick In 2001, Denise and Francis Fitzpatrick, a young professional couple from Ireland did the impossible and defeated The Walt Disney Company in a legal battle over the rights to the name of their character Piggley Pooh for a TV series they wanted to develop. In 1999 Denise and Francis received a letter from Disney saying that the company was opposing their application for the trademark of Piggley Pooh in Europe because of Disneys character Winnie The Pooh. The Fitzpatricks faced an almost 3 year long battle with one of the biggest entertainment corporations in the world. In which they became emotionally, physically and financially broken. Winnie the Pooh is character from books written by A.A Milne in 1926.in 1930 Steven Slesinger purchased the rights to Winnie the Pooh from Milne for a $1000 advance and 66% of Slesingers income, by November 1931 Slesinger had turned Winnie the pooh into a $50 million a year business. Walt Disney bought Winnie the Pooh off Slesinger in 1961 and was paying twice yearly royalties to A.A Milnes beneficiaries until 2001 when they paid a lump sum of $350 million. The lump sum was spread out between the Royal Literary Society, the Westminster School and the Garrick Club and family of A.A Milne. Winnie the Pooh now raises at least $6 billion revenues for Disney each year. As a young girl on her grandmothers farm in Co Meath, Denise had a fascination with the pigs that were there, she used to visit them every time she was on her grandmothers farm and loved to make up stories about them. The main character in all her stories was Piggley Pooh. Denise says she had never heard of Winnie the Pooh or Piglet or any of the animals in 100 Acre Wood during her childhood in the 1960s and 1970s, like most Irish children she read Enid Blyton and other English wirters. Her imagination ran wild throughout her childhood as to what this marvellous little Pigley Pooh would be getting up to. Denise also had a love for stories from Celtic mythology and old Irish seanchaà ­s throughout her life. This is what she wanted the Piggley Pooh TV series to be based on, a simple story for children, with a moral lesson behind it. Disney were adamant the Fitzpatricks stop the production of the Piggley Pooh TV series, or at least change the name, something Denise was thoroughly against, she would not even hear of having the h at the end of pooh dropped. After the letter in January in 1999, they decided not to let the giant corporation ruin Denises childhood dreams. Piggley Pooh was already a registered trademark in the U.S, but they were objecting to the name becoming a registered trademark in Japan and Europe. Francis met with their Trademark Agents who were quite confident that they has a pretty strong case. Disney were trying to prove that their ownership of the name Winnie the Pooh was being stolen by the use of the word pooh in Piggley Poohs name. In 2000, Denise and Francis flew over to L.A for a meeting with Steve Ackerman, Disneys chief counsel worldwide. After many attempts to postpone their meeting, Francis arrived at the Burbank Studios where Ackerman showed up 40 minutes late for their meeting without a word of apology. Ackerman straight out told Francis that the problem they had was one of theft, they had stolen two names from Disney. Pooh and Piglet. Although they had slightly altered Piglet, they had still put it side by side with Pooh, and hoped to make millions from it. This is what the Disney Corporation thought about Francis and his wife and family and it looked as if they were not going to stop at anything to get their names back. The meeting was a hostile one, with Ackerman claiming that Disney could prove that there were Winnie the Pooh books in circulation in Ireland at the time of Denises childhood. Francis was called a thief many times and an Irish bastard. But things came to a head when Ackerman threatened the Fitzpatricks children Listen Francisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Youre not going to get the better of the Disney Corporation. Nobody gets the better of Disney. We got the recourses. We got the time. We got right on our side. Well go after you all around the world and bankrupt you. Youre a family man. You got children. You need to think again Youve got young childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You and your wife have to look after them, not waste their future Francis flipped telling the corporate giant never to mention his children again. Telling him that Disney were the thieves in all this, stealing peoples dreams, peoples rights to tell stories and stealing something that had been a part of Denises life since she was a child. After this outburst, Ackerman realised that the Fitzpatricks were serious about this and would not be backing down anytime soon. The two men continued the meeting in a civil manner, with Disney proposing a settlement out of court of $500,000 for the Fitzpatricks to give up the Piggey Pooh name. They refused this offer and met the Disney Company in the European Trademark courts in Alicante, Spain in January 2001 but no oral hearing happened, it was done behind closed doors. Three months later Francis has a phone call from their Trademark Agents telling him it was good news. They had won, Disneys objection had been overruled and they were entitled to registration as owner of the trademark. But this wasnt the end for the battle for the name Piggley Pooh. In March 2002, Royal Bank of Scotland, the bank funding the TV series decided that the name Pooh must come out of the name Piggley Pooh because of Disneys powerful stance in the marketplace was too threatening to the brand of Piggley Pooh. If a Piggley Pooh soft toy were on sale for $10 in childrens shops, Disney would sell Winnie the Pooh for $8. The Fitzpatricks were back to square one. Although they had beat the Disney Corporation in the courts they had not fully won. Out of this Piggley Winks was born and turned into a successful animated TV series.

Street racing: On The Inside :: essays research papers

For 19-year-old Jeff, weekends begin on a long strip of highway near Atlanta. rather than browsing the mall or going to the movies like others his age. Jeff joins a group of his comrades and spectators to witness a spectacular show of speed. As we pulled up to the meeting spot he looks over at me and says, â€Å"Welcome to the world of illegal street racing.† "We have a cruising area where all the cars go and just chill. If someone wants to race," says Jeff, "they just ask...most of our races are with people you know pretty well...we don't have the major race nights like they have in other areas." The other areas Jeff refers to are about as common as can be and can probably be found on a straightaway near you. "Motorsports has made incredible progress as a legitimate sporting event in the last decade," says Editorial Director of NHRA Publications Phil Burgess. "Corporate America has taken a keen interest in motorsports, which has led to the proliferation of not just racing teams, but racing venues, where racers and fans can go to enjoy the fast-paced excitement that the varied forms of racing have to offer. Many sanctioning bodies offer grassroots-level racing, often where families can enter a race car literally off the street and compete against similar entries." Contrary to popular belief, street racing isn't only found on the fast moving streets of the major cities, its going on all over the country. Recent articles published on MSNBC.com report on street drag racing as an increasing problems in such out of the way places as Spokane, Washington and Forth Worth, Texas; other articles found on www.abc.com report on accidents and coverage of events in Washington D.C., Boston and New York City. Los Angeles County is a big street racing scene however, was recently given a $200,000 state grant to crack down on the illegal street racing activity. Penalties for racing vary from state to state and offense to offense, but can range from a slap on the wrist ticket to arrest and impounding of the vehicle as was the case last January when police in Sylmar-Sun Valley arrested 32 people and impounded 72 vehicles after a sweep. With such heavy impending penalties why would anyone set themselves up for what seems imminent trouble? "Everyone's got a hobby," says Jeff. "And this just happens to be mine.

Casablanca and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

Casablanca and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How can a hero survive in a world gone mad?   Both Casablanca, the classic 1940s film, and 1984, a piece of classic literature by George Orwell, revolve around a world in chaos, where it is impossible to trust anyone, and a war wages on within and without.   In 1984, the protagonist, Winston, hides from a totalitarian, thought controlling government, that is out to stomp out all aggression against the Party.   In Casablanca, the lead character, Rick, dealt with a world rocked by the impacts of World War II, where everyone was a spy, and even the spies were spied on.   Both wish for hope and courage in their mutually exclusive worlds, yet only Rick finds hope in his.   Winston dies with utter hopelessness, where no one will ever know of his life or deeds, yet he dies a hero.   Rick is a cynic, tossed into a chaotic yet romantic world, and comes forth victorious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Casablanca, we emerge with a feeling of hope, and joy, that the forces of good can win, and that eventually we will triumph over our enemies, wherever or whatever they may be.   While slochky and romantic, Casablanca is a touching movie, and probably one of the best ever made.   1984 on the other hand, is a deep psychological thriller.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In the world of utter thought-control, we find that even a strong hero such as Winston, is struck down by the party, for simply being alive, and that the virtuosity within humanity will eventually be overcome by our greed and lust.   Their struggles are that of man against the oppressor.   Both 1984 and Casablanca deal with a world gone mad, and the struggles of not-so-ordinary people.   Oftentimes, parallels can be made between characters in the two.   Renault can be compared with O'Brien, because both are 'double agents' in their own ways, and one never knows for which side they work for.   Of course, in the end O'Brien is an agent of the Party, and Renault is a sympathetic Frenchman, who befriends Rick - Louis, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sam of course, is stability.   He can't be bought or sold, and is seemingly a constant, always there and never too deep into the problems of the world.   Sam represents the carefree aspect in all of us, the feeling that we'd just as soon turn our attention away from the war and hum a tune.

Small Pox Journal :: Journals Diary Small Pox Essays

Small Pox Journal April 22, 2005--I had a long week so I decided I should write about it on my web journal. After having several papers, quizzes, and having to work 40 hours I have been feeling a little under the weather. However, I mostly assume it has been from the lack of sleep I have been getting. But no worries, since I intend on making it up during the weekend. But tonight I have decided to party it up and go to my friend's apartment. Till then I'll just take some aspirin and lay down till I go out. I'm sure I will be fine by then. April 23, 2005--Well to recap last night events, I woke up from my nap; the aspirin appeared to have not worked. I was feeling really achy but I did not let that impede my wanting to party. I asked my mom to feel my forehead, to see if I was hot, and she confirmed it. So I decided to take my temperature, 102 degrees, not good. But I still went to the party, being stubborn. I ended up drinking too much, to try and ease the achy feeling, and it did not sit well. I ended up having to throw up in the bushes. People were laughing at me, telling me I could not handle my liquor. Ha-ha, it was funny though. April 24, 2005--However, when I did wake up I noticed some kind of bumps forming in my mouth. This is really strange since I never have had bumps like these in my mouth. Oh well, I am sure they will go away in a few days. I am not feeling well at all. I don't think it was just the long week that was affecting my health, but I might be genuinely sick, maybe just a fever or the flu? My girlfriend told me she has been going through the same thing. I don't think this is a good sign. However, being a typical guy I will wait it out and see what develops. April 25, 2005--Still feeling unwell and apparently the bumps in my mouth seem to be breaking, which I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. There were several of them and only but a few have yet to burst.

How Significant a Role Do Multinational Corporations (Mncs) Play in Today’s Uk Economy in Terms of Their Impact on Employment Relations (Er) and Labour Conditions?

How significant a role do multinational corporations (MNCs) play in today’s UK economy in terms of their impact on employment relations (ER) and labour conditions? This is the question the paper attempts to evaluate through drawing on academic literature and empirical evidence from the 2004 Wers survey. The first section profiles MNCs in the UK, currently dominated by US and German firms. Following this, there is a brief analysis of employment relations in the UK. The third section reviews literature from leading commentators on the subject, highlighting contrasting views and evidence of foreign IR and ER practices. The fourth section looks at key factors that influence the way labour is managed within MNCs subsidiaries. The country of origin effect, the home country effect, the global dominance effect and a global interaction effect as identified by Edwards and Ferner. This is important to assess to what extent MNCs use these factors in the management of labour. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn and a consideration whether MNCs have diffused home country employment relations practices to their UK foreign subsidiaries and if they have affected labour conditions for the UK workforce. Introduction Foreign direct investment (FDI) as a percentage of GDP (Ferner Industrial) in the UK is the highest of any developed country in the world. Since the deregulation of the labour market in the 1980’s the UK has seen a rise in foreign owned companies. According to the WERS 2004 survey, 19 per cent of private sector workplaces with 10 or more employees had some degree of foreign ownership, an increase of 4 per cent on the 1998 survey. Similarly, a rise from 8 per cent to12 per cent of companies were predominantly foreign owned and controlled. For what reason do MNCs choose to set up subsidiaries in the UK? Could it be to take advantage of the nature of the 1 open and deregulated national business system and transfer home country ER practices? Margaret Thatcher and the conservative government came to power in 1979 and in favour of capital markets rather than labour markets; legislations were put in place to weaken the power of unions. The national business system has changed dramatically resulting in an institutionally weak British system. These factors have altered the employment relationship, weakening the statutory and long established support for collective representation. A small proportion of the UK workforce is now covered by collective bargaining (McDonalds) in the employment relationship, although remains the principal form of pay setting (Primarily in the public sector). Union membership has decreased from 13. 2 million members at its peak in 1979 to 6. 7 million in 2005 and union density1 has declined from 32 per cent in 1995 to 29 per cent in 2005. Commentators suggest that MNCs are an important source of innovative work practices, such as a specialist HRM functions. Moreover, that they are able to transfer business models from parent companies, the ‘country of origin effect’ to UK subsidiaries with relative ease. This has been described as a ‘forward diffusion’ of practices. However, evidence suggests that some MNCs, dependant on their country of origin, will adhere to the host country practices even though they conflict with the parent companies policies and practices. This will be explored in more detail further into the paper. The following section of the paper will profile MNCs in the UK. Profile of MNCs MNCs are not homogeneous but are now heterogeneous and are spread across sectors, although are dominant in the fast food and manufacturing industries in the UK. At the 1 The unionised workforce expressed as a percentage of potential membership 2 turn of the century there were 18000 foreign subsidiaries (Contemporary Employment Relations) operating in Britain, with 5000 of these employing more than 1000 employees. They stem from the US, Europe and Asia. The US is dominant with 25 per cent of total FDI to the UK followed by Germany (Bach) with 21 per cent. Foreign subsidiaries employ 18 per cent (Warwick) of the workforce in the production sector in the UK and the incidence of foreign-ownership of UK workplaces has risen since 1998 (Wers 2004) by approximately a quarter. They tend to have commonality it its products and services across its subsidiaries with 52 per cent (Warwick) having an international product. It could be argued that for these reasons they have significant economic and political power and the potential to significantly impact UK employment relations and labour conditions. Employment Relations and Labour conditions in the UK Throughout the 1980’s the Thatcher government and the neo-liberal labour movement stripped unions of their power, collapsing the traditional IR pluralist system under the previous labour governments. Historically unions played a powerful role in the UK economy, with the emphasis on centralised collective bargaining over the employment relationship. Union recognition and membership has since been on the decline. Although, sectorial shifts from manufacturing industries were unionization was predominant to an increase in the services sector is a possible conclusion. Moreover, the increase in small enterprises were unions find it hard to organise is another possible answer. It is evident that unionisation in the UK has lost its appeal and there is a marked shift towards alternative means by firms to regulate the employment relationship. The emphasis is shifting away from the pluralist view to the unitarist view on the role of the individual. Successive Labour government under Tony Blair 3 supported the regulative reforms of the conservative government, although amended the union recognition procedure. This stipulates that unions must be recognised in a workplace if there is a majority consensus of employees. The UK is now under EU directives, most recently the information and consultative directive (ICE) which came into force in 2005. This stipulates that companies with more than 1000 employees must establish a works council. This gives the workers rights to information and consultation on company decisions. Employees are also protected by many employment legislations in areas such as discrimination, unfair dismissal, minimum wage and working time regulations, directives from both the EU and the UK. With the general trend away from union involvement and collective agreements there has been a rise in union substitution strategies in the form of HRM policies in domestic firms. ER in Foreign Subsidiaries The following section reviews business systems of different countries that have foreign subsidiaries in the UK and their stance towards trade unions and practices and policies on employment relations. The US is similar to the UK with respect to the national business system. The framework for union representation in the US is weak and the support for collective bargaining is declining. Throughout the 1990’s unionization rates have declined rapidly from 30 to14 percent (Policies) in US firms leading to widespread non-unionism and anti-unionism. Do US firms then transfer this stance to their subsidaireis? One argument is that many US MNCs, especially in the services sector, with low paid, low skilled workers will use strong union avoidance strategies, the ‘low road’ approach to industrial relations. McDonalds is a key example of this with union membership (MCDonalds) bordering at zero. UK 4 unions find it impossible to organise in the company. According to Royle, a possible reason is the strength of the corporate culture disseminated by management. The chief executive of McDonalds stated that ‘unions do not bring much to the equation of the company’s philosophy of service and employee motivation’. To many US MNCs unions are seen as conflicting with their corporate strategy, the philosophy geared towards shareholder value. This gives them the competitive edge in terms of financial markets in the ever increasing globalising world. However, this has only been observed in certain sectors and it is argued that strong anti-unionism is only existent in few MNCs. If it is existent then exploitative HR policies are commonplace (Policies) which is a ‘Bleak house’ model. Non-union US MNCs use innovative union substitution polices, introducing incentives such as favourable pay and conditions to gain commitment from employees. US firms are characterised by centralised decision making and formalised procedures stemming from the HQ. There is a high degree of employee participation involving direct communication and individualised HR function and pay is predominantly performance related. In contrast to the US and UK, Germany has a strong institutional framework to protect the rights of workers. Collective bargaining in firms is under the force of the law (Royle) and 80 to 90 per cent of the workforce is covered by collective agreements. Conversely to the US, German MNCs tend to adapt to their host country environment, not recognising unions in their subsidiaries, which is divergent to their home country practices. 5 Influences on Labour Management According to Ferner and Edwards there are key influences that affect the way labour is managed in MNCs. Firstly, the ‘country of origin’ effect as mentioned earlier. This is when the MNC exerts its parent company’s management style to their foreign subsidiaries. This contends that MNCs transfer ER practices to subsidiaries in order to converge the firm’s practices and policies across international boundaries. This comes under the convergence theory, were globalisation is pressurising companies to standardize ‘best practice’ policies across its international operations. According to Bach, the pace of convergence is increasing with growth of international trade and integrated financial systems, resulting in the erosion of distinctive national differences in the field of ER and industrial relations. This theory is argued by Traxler, who states that national differences remain intact and national variances will always occur due to differing cultural approaches. This is important as it determines the way employees are managed. Autonomy is not left to the subsidiary and policy making is in the hands of the parent company. This is evident in the report by Warwick that identified 61 per cent of MNCs having a worldwide philosophy on the management of employees. With a loosely regulated framework in the UK it is possible for MNCs do ‘forward diffuse’ certain practices and are able to circumvent the national business system if it is in their interests. The characteristics of a flexible workforce and the ease of dismissal in the UK is an example. This is taking advantage of the host country’s business system. Whether this is a positive or negative impact is dependant on the parent company’s country of origin, the culture of management and the sector of operations and of course their strategic objectives. The extent to which they are able to impact on UK ER through the country of origin effect is questionable. US MNCs 6 are the most likely to diffuse home country practices such as union avoidance and antunionism, as evidence suggests. It is argued that US MNCs will challenge traditional pluralist industrial relations. Although, it is evident that union recognition has been declining in the UK over the last twenty years so to suggest that US MNCs are at the forefront of this change is unsound. Companies are finding alternative methods of managing the employment relationship without the need for intermediaries (unions). A further example of forward diffusion is that of Japanese work practices transferred in the 1980’s. Renowned for the innovative work practice of lean production which was successfully transferred to their UK subsidiaries in the manufacturing industry. The ‘host country effect’ is when the MNC is influenced by the country of operation. Certain factors attribute to the extent to which subsidiaries adopt host countries practices. The regulatory framework of the UK is weak compared to its European counterparts so; therefore, open to MNCs devising policies to suit their strategies and the environment. The global dominance effect is associated with how dominant the MNC is and its country of origin in the global economy. It may either enable or constrain (Edwards, Ferner) MNCs to implement ER practices to foreign operations. This has an effect alongside the home country effect. The US is dominant in the global economy thus its practices of ER are seen as influential and innovative, as did the Japanese form of work organisation. There is evidence to suggest that European countries will adopt such characteristics of this liberal model in order to compete effectively in the ever increasing competitive global economy. The US has brought specialised HRM practices, such as recruitment and training and implemented them across foreign sites. 7 The global integration effect is when the MNC is globally integrated on their policies thus becomes one powerful global company. The best practice to standardise all operations in order to meet their oibjectives. Conclusion It is apparent that MNCs have the economic and political power to impact UK employment relations and labour conditions. Foreign direct investment is crucial in ensuring a progressive economy and creating employment. Margaret Thatcher favoured capital thus deregulated the labour market to encourage FDI. The institutional framework of the UK is now weak and open to the transfer of MNCs IR policies. There is evidence that foreign companies will take on union avoidance strategies but there are few that openly challenge the UK IR system. A possible reason to adhere to the national system could be to ‘keep the peace’ with employees and to maintain good community relations within the areas they operate. The UK environment is such that models of unionism, non-unionism and the ‘Bleak house’ exist in MNCs in the UK and that a cross fertilization of these strategies are forming. There is little impact on the UK framework for IR as it is already evolving from collectivism since the 1980’s towards individualism. Although, there is an increase in the services sector were MNCs are dominant and non-unionism is the preferred strategy. The global dominance effect is a crucial factor on the impact of employment relations in the UK. This is closely related to the country of origin effect and global integration effect. The US at present is the most dominant. The main emphasis is now geared towards the shareholder and a short-termist view is the leading strategy. This is impacting on the labour force as MNCs will use their power to dismiss employees if 8 the strategy is focused on shareholders returns. ER is fairly regulated in the UK, workers are protected by legislation, although MNCs do have the power to circumvent some areas. However, there is evidence that they have been influential in terms of HRM in the UK. There impact can be seen in other foreign subsidiaries and indigenous MNCs in creating specialised HR. The main issue is the speed of globalisation and firms will want to compete in countries that have a weak institutional framework, as capital is favoured compared to labour. It will be difficult for countries to keep their national identities with regard to their IR and ER framework. 9 References Alpin, C, Kersley, B (2006) Inside the Workplace: Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey, Routledge Chapter 2, 11. Clark, I and Almond, P (2004) ‘Dynamism and embeddedness: towards a lower road? British subsidiaries of American multinationals. Industrial Relations Journal (IRJ), 35:6. Edwards, T. , Ferner, F, Bach, S (2002) ‘The renewed ‘American Challenge’: a review of employment practice in US multinationals’. Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 94-108. Edwards, T and Ferner, A (2005) ‘Managing Human Resources in Multinational Companies’. Managing Human Resources: Personnel Management in Transition (4th Edn), Oxford: Blackwell, Chapter 3. Ferner, A (2003) ‘Foreign Multunationals and Industrial Relations in Britain’, in Edwards, P (2003) Industrial Relations Theory and Practice (2nd Edn), Oxford: Blackwell, Chapter 4. Ferner, A et al (2005) ‘Policies on Union Representaion in US Multinationals in the UK: Between Micro-Politics and Macro-Institutions’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 43:4. Lee, E (1997) ‘Globalisation and Labour Standards: a review of the issues’, International Labour Review, 136:2. Michael Muller-Camen, Phil Almond, Patrick Gunnigle, Javier Quintanilla, Anne Tempel (2001) Between Home and Host Country: Multinationals and Employment Relations in Europe Industrial RelIations Journal 32 (5) , 435–448 doi:10. 1111/1468-2338. 00210 Royle, T (1999) ‘The reluctant bargainers? McDonalds, unions and pay determination in Germany and the UK’. IRJ, 30:2. Tuselmann, H. , McDonald, F. , Heise, A. (2002). ‘Globalisation, nationality of ownership and employee relations – German multinationals in the UK’. Personnel Review, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 27-43. Williams, S and Adam-Smith, D (2006) Contemporary Employment Relations: A Critical Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp 61-82. http://www. berr. gov. uk/files/file11423. pdf http://www2. warwick. ac. uk/fac/soc/wbs/projects/mncemployment/conference_papers/ voice_in_mncs. pdf http://www. certoffice. org/annualReport/index. cfm? pageID=annual 10 11