Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Prevalence Of Online Piracy - 929 Words

The music and movie piracy has been one of the major issues, which the world has been facing and challenging for years. Illegal music and movie downloading became more prevalent as technology improved. According to the statistics by Ipsos, â€Å"30% of the UK population is active in some form of piracy, either through streaming content online or buying counterfeit DVDs† (Lodderhose, 2014). Some people argue that music and movie piracy could be considered as same as theft which could have significant impacts on music and movie industries while others do not concern about it. This essay will examine the reasons behind the prevalence of online piracy and will discuss the positive and negative impacts of online piracy. There are considerable numbers of accounts for downloading movies and music illegally. First of all according to the article by Sudler (2013), the digital revolution is one of the major aspects, which has contributed the increase in piracy levels as it has allowed people to store information digitally. Moreover, the invention of World Wide Web is classified as one of the other significant causes since it has resulted in expanding on the Internet piracy considerably (ibid). Furthermore, high-speed networks and developments in broadband technology have been playing a significant role on the Internet piracy (ibid). In addition, some people argue that online information ought to available for free, even children and teens. According to the statistics by YouGov,Show MoreRelatedThe Major Categories Of Computer Crimes Essay996 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause the crimes have change so has the definition There are four major categories of computer crimes: Computer as the Target, Computer as the Instrumentality of the Crime, Computer Is Incidental to Other Crimes, and Crimes Associated with the Prevalence of Computers. -When using the computer as a target, they must do two things: intrusion meaning to gain access to the computer and deny the owner of the computer access to the service and data. Intrusion is when the individual alters the data. ToRead MoreThe Four Major Categories Of Computer Crimes Essay1341 Words   |  6 Pagesdiscovered that the financial institution laundered money for drug traffickers, terrorists, and other organized crime groups throughout Iran (Money Laundering , 2015). - Crimes associated with the prevalence of computers only existence because of the creation of computers. These crimes include software piracy/counterfeiting, copyright violation of computer programs, counterfeit equipment, black market computer equipment and programs, and theft of technological equipment (MacLean, 2009). Bruce EdwardRead MoreComputer Crime Essay846 Words   |  4 Pagesare used to commit crimes. These crimes are separated into four categories. These categories are as follows, the computer as a target, the computer as an instrument of crime, the computer as incidental to a crime, and crimes associated with the prevalence of computers. In example of the computer as a target, is a case of Kevin Mitnick. Kevin Mitnick was once known as the worlds most wanted social engineering computer hacker. From the 1970s up to his arrest in 1995, Mitnick was able to elude themRead MoreIncreasing Frequency And Normality Of Piracy2055 Words   |  9 Pagesincreasing frequency and normality of piracy as a crime in addition to its strong relationship with Australia. In particular, the purpose of this research project is to explore ‘How the rate of piracy in Australia can be reduced’ in addition to analysing the fundamental factors behind the increase in the frequency of piracy, furthermore investigating methods to reduce such criminal acts, including legal consequences. Definition of Digital Piracy Digital piracy or copyright infringement is essentiallyRead MoreWho owns the Internet? Essay1204 Words   |  5 Pagesback to U.S. defense research in the late 1950’s at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) when scientists wished to link Radar stations together as a defense against the threat of a Russian nuclear arms attack (Waldrop 78-79). As the prevalence of computers has grown, so has the Internet, transforming it from a utility used for governmental defense into a consumer resource out of government jurisdiction. The ubiquity of the Internet, and nowadays, the Internet of Things, which is the ideaRead MoreDigital Piracy and Jewish Law Essay2268 Words   |  10 Pagestravel (When does one crossing the International Date Line celebrate a holiday?) to home appliances (Under what circumstances may one use a refrigerator on the Sabbath?). One issue that has been particularly relevant in recent years is that of digital piracy. The ubiquity of personal computer s, the Internet, and the spread of peer-to-peer programs like Napster and BitTorrent have made a never-ending stream of media accessible to many Orthodox Jews. Naturally, this has kindled an interest in the matterRead MoreEbook Advantage965 Words   |  4 Pagesa long way to go? Since the turn of the century, computers have become more portable, and technology has made many aspects of life more portable. Even books have been become more mobile in recent years with the popularization of e-books available online and e-readers that allow a person to carry a virtual library anywhere. With all the changes, there are some advantages and disadvantages brought by e-books. Is it feasible that it will disappear one day as its disadvantages outweigh its advantagesRead MoreShould Copyright Law Be Changed?1949 Words   |  8 Pagescopyright claim. Also, listening to Pandora radio for an extended period of time will leave users with a prompt to verify they are still there. These are examples of the consequences of copyright law; but what exactly is it? Despite copyright law s prevalence in out everyday life, few are wary of the potential risks of its uncontested expansion. The law has been allowed to continuously expand with little or no opposition due to a lack of public awareness surrounding the issue. That was until the mufti-corporationRead MoreDigital Music Piracy - Cant Stop, Wont Stop3565 Words   |  15 PagesDigital Music Piracy Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Digital music piracy, or the unlawful downloading of copyrighted music, has been a controversial topic for more than a decade now. The issue was first brought to attention in 1998 when Shawn Fanning created Napster. Though the MP3 file was originally developed in 1987, Napster represented the first mainstream and user-friendly program to transfer and download these files. Napster, a peer-to-peer (P2P) program, allowed online users to connect withRead MoreIllegal Downloads and the Affect on the Film Industry13468 Words   |  54 PagesCompiled by Dr. Bart Cammaerts and Dr. Nick Anstead Why pay if it’s free? Streaming, downloading, and digital music consumption in the â€Å"iTunes era† Theodore Giletti, MSc in Media Communications Other dissertations of the series are available online here: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/media@lse/mediaWorkingPapers/ Dissertation submitted to the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, August 2011, in partial fulfilment of the requirements

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Moment Of Truth Happy Ending Essay Example For Students

The Moment Of Truth: Happy Ending Essay Wake up, breakfast is ready!   Mum shouted from the staircase, You will be late for your flight!   I excitedly but reluctantly went to the bathroom to freshen up. Morning mum, hey Dad!   I said as I took a piece of sandwich and sat next to my little brother Mike. I and my best friend Kamdy were going on a two weeks trip to visit my grandparents in South Africa. My parents thought it was a good idea to send me to my grandparents as a surprise for the great performance I had in school last spring. So I was deep in thoughts imagining what South Africa looks like, their food and culture when I was suddenly brought back to reality by my parents argument. Isabel, you should learn to be less negative about Africa. It is really a nice place  , Dad said. Sweetie, I am only talking from experience. Though the place is nice, your parents never welcomed me into their home  , Mum said. Although Mum is my role model, I knew that interacting with her in-laws was something she was not good at. She is kind of an introvert who would like to stay out of trouble and undergo any kind of difficulty to protect her kids. She made sure she brought us up without a silver spoon. On the other hand, Dad would buy the world for us and provide us with money to make sure we were satisfied. Melisa, are you ready for your speech?   Mr. Andrew asked. He loved Literature and therefore he thought it for living. Mr. Andrew is a tall, skinny, good-looking man from the Upper East Side of Manhattan who loved and like being around kids. He always had his geek glasses on, smiling and showing off those teeth of his that were as white as snow. He is kind, a good listener and was also ready to learn from his students. But there was a problem; he was going to clock forty and have not found himself a bride. I knew deep down inside me that it was his greatest challenge. But why has he not got married yet?   I asked myself. Poor him! He was always eating from the vending machine. Maybe I and Kamdy should surprise him with a well-balanced meal one of these days  , I thought to myself. Oliver Twist is the story of a young orphan, Oliver, and his attempts to stay good in a society that refuses to help  , I read out to the class. . The class was such a brief one. I guess Mr. Andrew understood literature was boring so he let us leave earlier than expected. We all headed up to the cafeteria where you will come across different students with their mode of dressing and their eating habits. The dining hall was divided into three different categories; the geeks and nerds, the jerks and the popular kids. The geeks and nerds were the book worms. They always ate in a wired way. Trying to figure out the chemistry of the food; how the food was prepared, the ingredients and so on. You would see them at times eating, reading and whispering to themselves. You can never hear a word of what they are saying. On the other hand, the jerks were opposite of the nerds. They would dance and scream to the top of their voices while eating. As it is said, Empty vessels make most noise  , that was their definition. The jerks always threw food items to students while passing their table so students were careful of annoying them in order to avoid the embarrassment. Last, were the popular kids, my category, were students ate like the food was poisoned. They are the picky eaters that ate some and wasted the remainder. I never really liked this group; it had the bitches that looked down on other students. .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .postImageUrl , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:hover , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:visited , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:active { border:0!important; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:active , .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf32ba8361517486127264984f1f4e4fa:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Death Penalty: To Be or Not to Be... EssayThough I hated this group for their snobby altitude towards others, I could not resist being their mist because of my golf game. The group consisted of students that participated in different sports like the football, soccer, the cheers, the basketball team, and the golf team in which I took part in. Disgusting! Ty just puked! Ty was the schools bully; he was as big as a cow. He could eat a pot of food and ask for more. He always sat alone and never had any friend because of his size. I took my food to the extreme end of the room where there was less drama. Hey guys  , I said as I sat close to my best friend Kamdy. We all ar e going to bring back the trophy this season  , Michael said courageously, we will not allow the Lagoons get away with it. Michael was one of the golf player was ready to sacrifice his money for the game. He was an only spoilt child of his parents. As being one of the students that always brought back the trophy and gold medals every season, I knew we had to put in our best in other to get this years golf trophy. Pasta was not that bad for lunch  , I thought to myself as I made my way through the hall way for the next period. Lucius! Lucius!!! Wait up. Hope you are ready to lead us this season? You will remain the captain as long as the team is standing  , I said as we made our way to the math class. Lucius was the calm and hilarious team captain, a Christian who worshipped in non-denim nous churches. We made him the team captain because of these great personalities of his. Hello class, most of your performances was not as good as the previous test  , Mr. Thompson said. Though math was my favorite, Mr. Thompson was my worst teacher. He teaches well but he had some personal character he needed to amend. He was more of a troublemaker who eats while teaching and other his students not to eat. As he always says, I am in charge of this class; you can eat when you leave  . Students said that he was funny when you get close to him but getting close was the least thing I would ever imagine. He passed the script out to the class. I could see the negative remarks on the students face as they got hold of their papers. I screamed on seeing my paper, I made a D  . How am I going to face Mum? Dad will definitely understand, he is a golf person but I had no good reason for dropping drastically in class. B was not an option in my family, you have to get an A in your courses or you never talk about your extra curriculum. Melisa, you got detention after school  , said Mr. Thompson. I saw that coming because I could not answer the arithmetic he told me to solve. Freak   I said regrettably as I walked pass the professor. I felt really pissed off and had to figure out a way to make up for my grades. Detention was the worst place to spend for the rest of the day. It was like hell on earth. The detention room was found at the end of the building close to the dirtiest restroom in school. Everything was wrong with this room; the filthy smell that was oozing out of the room, the way students in the room mopped at anyone who came into room, the way they interacted with one another, that is, some were shouting to the top of their voices and others whispering. What was wrong with me? Why was everything around me getting so messed up?   I kept on asking myself. It was the second time in three days I found myself in this same place, the detention room. I spent an hour and some minutes in the room. The end of the semester alongside with the game was fast coming to an end and I felt like I had not achieved anything. .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .postImageUrl , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:hover , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:visited , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:active { border:0!important; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:active , .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6cbda564a218c3d798819bcc07789a1d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: How Historical Architecture Elements Have Been Destroyed Analysis EssaySo I sacrificed my part time job as a sales girl at Wal-Mart in other to help my professors in cleaning up their offices and arranging students files for extra credit. I knew that the game had got into my head that I became less concerned about studying. It was award giving day and I was nervous on seeing my parents because I was scared that I was not going to be given any award for the section. I was between the devils basket and the deep blue sea to an extent that I wished to kick the bucket at the moment or the ground opening up to swallow me. The long awaited time came for the award of courses to be given out and to my greatest surprise; I made the top ten in Science, English and Math. Being among the top ten was what I least expected because I had never gone below third in the school. Then I realized that it pays to try hard to get whatever you seek for. Last but not the least, we made it through the game  , Lucius said to the rejoicing crowd. It was such an amazing day that my parents let me pick out the restaurant I wanted to have my lunch. The Doves (my team mates and I), had an after party at the captains house to celebrate our unbeatable success. That spring section thought me never to play with my studies (Summer break) Ding Dong  , the house bell rang. Melisa  , in mums normal calm tone, called out to me, Kamdy is here  . Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Fields   as light- skinned colored Kamdy greeted my parents and made her way to Menorah, my baby sister. I reached out for my luggage and beaded my family goodbye. South Africa here we come  , I said to Kamdy as we boarded the flight

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

A variation of the Stroop effect experiment free essay sample

An experiment to investigate the Stroop effect in which participants are asked to name the colour in which a word is written, that word having either a colour- association or a neutral association. ABSTRACT. This study was an investigation of the cognitive processes at work during a variation of the classic Stroop test and effect, in which the degree of intrusion into automatic thought processes may be witnessed in a colour identification task. It was found that the rate of word identification was slower where the list contained words which had association with colour than when colour neutral words were being read thereby leading to inference that interruptions to unconscious somatic processing were taking place in the former condition. INTRODUCTION The Stroop effect is a well- established robust phenomenon which deals with the interruption to automatic thought processing by a certain task. Although first described by John Stroop in 1935 the experiment had been first carried out by scientists in Germany, (Jaensch, E. We will write a custom essay sample on A variation of the Stroop effect experiment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page R. 1929). The ‘effect’ refers to the amount of difficulty experienced by participants in excluding information, both sensory and learned , that conflicts with the task. It is also concerned with the prioritisation that takes place regarding one mental operation over another, (Broadbent,D. E. 1958), or how one operates to the detriment of another. The classic experiment uses colour words, i. e. red, green , blue etc. and has them printed in non -corresponding/incongruent coloured ink which participants are then asked to read out against the clock, times being recorded in each instance and also mistakes. The first list of words, (condition 1), which they have previously read out are non- colour words which are also printed in the same coloured inks as the second list,( condition 2), and have no colour association whatsoever. The effect is noted when there is a significant difference/increase in the time taken to read out the list of colour words showing that the automatic process of reading, ( Reed. 1988), is being disrupted. The cause of the disruption is the recognition of the colour words and the colour ink confused by the fact that they are incongruent. There is therefore competition for conscious attention, ( Cherry. E. C. 1953), and this slows down the ability to perform the task. The experiment pertaining to this particular report was a variation upon the classic Stroop experiment. The first list of words, condition 1, was carefully selected so as to have no colour association at all and was printed in the same colour inks in the same randomisation and numbers as the second list, the colour associated words . None of the colour associated words were printed in the associated colour. Given the results of previous research into the classic effect, (Siegrist, 1995,1997 ;Strauss,Allen, Jorgenson Cramer2005. ), the one tailed hypothesis for this experiment was that, in this variation, there would be a slower response time in the colour associated list than for the control list but that the colour associated list response times in this experiment would be faster than if a colour word list had been used. So the main reason for this experiment was to find out the degree of interruption to automatic thought processes as the direct colour connection with words is weakened, i. e. words that represent actual colour are dropped in favour of words with a distinct but less absolute association with specific colours. The null hypothesis was that any relationship between response times and lists would be down to chance. METHOD. DESIGN. This was a one tailed, within participant, repeated- measures hypothesis related study. It was expected that the response times for the colour-associated list of words would be higher than for the list which had no colour associations. The I/V,( Independent variable), was the colour of the inks used to print the words in both lists. The D/V, Dependant Variable, was the RT,( response time), for the performance of the task. The coloured ink used to print each list was randomised and sequential. The RT was measured in seconds, to the nearest second. The participants had no contact with each other during the process, and the instructions and ‘researcher script’ for discussing this prior to start were identical. There was no researcher deception involved in the project as all participants were made aware of the aim of the project in broad terms and that they would be asked to read out lists of words with reaction times being recorded. MATERIALS. A stop watch was used to time the responses. A colour printer was needed to print out the lists. There was a list of instructions and also an informed consent form provided for discussion with the researcher. Two lists of thirty words were provided for the actual test and for the pilot. The lists were printed in Arial 36 font on white matt A4 sheets of paper. One contained a list of colour neutral words and the other list was colour-associated words. On the back of one list was printed in the same font â€Å"Condition one† and on the other list, â€Å"Condition two†. There were six colours of ink used and the colours were randomly assigned to the words in sequence for both lists. PARTICIPANTS. Twenty participants were recruited in all. Sixteen from the Open University, and four more locally. The raw data from the O. U. were sent for inclusion in the final results. There were 9 males and 11 females between the ages of 18 and 68. All participants were subject to a preliminary interview/screening in order to address such extraneous variables as sight, hearing and speech problems that may have impacted on the outcomes. The ability to understand and co-operate with the process was also addressed at this point. Researchers sought and obtained informed consent from participants and the forms were signed and collected for safe- keeping with other confidential materials. Ethical issues were also discussed at this time with each participant and they all confirmed that they were aware of their right to withdraw from the project at any point without having to give reasons as well as being entitled to skilled debriefing and support from identified confidential sources if required. Confidentiality regarding the information to be gathered and its storage and disposal was discussed with participants as too was Privacy, which in this case meant the amount of personal control over information they had and the flow of information between researchers. PROCEDURE. Participants were provided with a desk and seat in a quiet and well lit room with the lists turned over on the desk top. They were re-informed of their right to withdraw at any point and were provided with the informed consent form which was discussed with the researcher and the list of instructions for the test was also provided and discussed at this time, whilst working through the example/pilot in order to familiarise each participant with the task . The demographic information was requested and noted for the relevant form. The instructions were read out to them and given to them. The participant was ‘counted in’ using the stop watch and turned over ‘condition one’ list on zero. The list having been read, the response time to the nearest second was recorded. The procedure was repeated for the list labelled ‘condition two’. The order of list presentation was reversed for each alternate participant, i. e. list 1 followed by 2 , and then list 2 followed by 1, and back to 1 and 2. After the test the participants were invited to attend either a private or communal debrief session , (during which a Q and A session was to be encouraged), and were thanked at this time for their input. It was reiterated that their data were confidential and that they could still choose to withdraw from the project even at this stage. RESULTS. Data were collated and tabled, see Figure 1, with attention to the mean response times . Researchers applied the t test,(paired samples ), to the collected data using SPSS 20,( see appendix 4),and obtained a t value of 4. 262, a d value of 19 and a p value-probability of 0. 000. This meant that there was a high statistical significance in the results showing that Reaction Times were unlikely to have occurred due to chance. This also meant that it was possible to reject the Null Hypothesis at this stage. Figure 1. CONDITION. MEAN RESPONSE TIME-IN SECONDS STANDARD DEVIATION. Condition 1. (Colour related words). Time (seconds). 26. 40 6. 660 Condition 2. (Neutral words). Time (seconds). 22. 95 5. 987 DISCUSSION. The results of the experiment show that it took longer for participants to respond when reading out the list composed of colour-associated words printed in incongruent coloured inks than for reading out the neutral association list also printed in the various coloured inks. This means that there was a definite and marked interruption to the automatic process of reading to such a degree that the task was impeded. It was therefore possible to rule out that the results had occurred by chance and rule out the Null Hypothesis. It was noted that there was a 10% anomaly in the raw data in that two of the participants appear to have read out the colour associated –list faster than they did the neutral list. The rest of the data supported expectations based upon results from previous research in this area,(Stroop, J. R. 1935). The anomalous data were amongst those received from the Open University rather than from those collected locally therefore it is not possible for any contributing variables to be investigated at this point by this researcher. Conjecture might suggest the presence of practise effect or that the two participants may have been adept at one of the forms of speed/skim reading that concentrate less upon specific words and more upon overall content and meaning, (University of Cambridge 2012). In evaluating this particular experiment it shows that it is of the highest necessity for a researcher to be involved at all stages of their research from the recruitment phase onwards. Without this it is virtually impossible to address such things as anomaly with any credibility, or for them to draw meaningful conclusions about the validity of any results. Although the results of this study show a marked difference in the times taken to read the two lists it is worth noting that a higher number of participants would need to be involved if there was to be a serious attempt at generalisation from the results. The classic Stroop experiment has been adapted and evolved for use in the investigation of subtler areas of attention and cognition interruption e. g. exploration of the role of emotions in the automatic mental processes, (Cothran, R. D. Larson, R. 2008. ). There has also been more recent research into methods of carrying out stroop- testing , (Chafetz,M. D. Matthews, L. H. 2004), where Neuropsychological techniques are used to test and to gather results. It is held that these methods gather more accurate results and are also able to indicate the parts of the brain at work during the task and therefore enhance the usefulness of the study A pertinent and practical application for further use of the stroop- test template as a means to research interruption to automatic somatic thought processes would be one that addresses the topical issue of whether someone driving a moving vehicle has their performance impaired by also trying to hold a telephone conversation at same time. Used in conjunction with Neuropsychological technologies, it may be possible to investigate exactly which part of the brain is dealing with which task and how priority of functioning is attained .

Monday, March 9, 2020

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy American inventor Thomas Edison often gets a bad rap from environmentalists. After all, he invented those incandescent light bulbs we are all so busy replacing with more efficient models.  He developed many industrial chemicals in conditions that would alarm modern environmental cleanup crews. And of course, he is known best for inventing or improving  a whole slew of power-thirsty electric machines and appliances- from the phonograph to the motion picture camera. Edison merged his own company to create General Electric, one of the worlds largest corporation. By the end of his life, Edison had been awarded more than 1,300 individual patents. Almost single-handedly, it seems, Edisons work at the end of the 19th century made modern civilization dependent on electricity- and the natural resources required to generate it. Edison Experimented With Renewable Energy More than a tireless promoter of electricity, Thomas Edison was also a pioneer in renewable energy and green technology. He experimented with home-based wind turbines to generate electricity that could replenish batteries to provide homeowners with an independent source of power, and he teamed up with his friend Henry Ford to develop an electric car that would run on rechargeable batteries. He saw electric cars as a cleaner alternative for moving people in smoke-filled cities. Most of all, Edison’s keen mind and insatiable curiosity kept him thinking and experimenting throughout his long life- and renewable energy was one of his favorite topics. He had a deep respect for nature and loathed damage made to it. He was a renown vegetarian, extending his non-violence values to animals.   Edison Favored Renewable Energy Over Fossil Fuels Thomas Edison knew that fossil fuels such as oil and coal were not ideal power sources. He was very aware of the air pollution problems fossil fuels created, and he recognized that those resources were not infinite, shortages would become a problem in the future. He saw the virtually untapped potential of renewable energy sources- such as wind power and solar power- that could be harnessed and put to work for the benefit of mankind. In 1931, the same year he died, Edison confided his concerns to  his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, who by then were retirement neighbors in Florida: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using natures inexhaustible sources of energy - sun, wind,  and tide. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.† Edited by Frederic Beaudry

Friday, February 21, 2020

Key Concepts of Organizational Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Key Concepts of Organizational Design - Essay Example On the same note, the organizational processes are integral to the design adopted. In other words, organizational design outlines the relationship between the said strategies, structure and organizational processes. Importance of Organizational Design Choices Design choices are highly dependent on the developed strategies within an organization. All operations in an organization take into account that organization’s purpose in the short run and long run, define organizational culture and give an outlay of that organization’s operational and performance processes. Choosing the right organization design is beneficial, in that it promotes competitive level of an organization. On the same note, it enhances technology integration into the organization’s operational processes. Design choices aid the process of management control. The management addresses emerging issues within an organization, alongside overseeing actual performance of the firm in the various fields of interest. Making the right choices can improve control by the management and vice versa. Improved control would require that the firm be efficient, given that firm’s optimal performance. Consumer and competitor issues are properly addressed within the right design choices (www.leadership-and-motivation-training.com). On the same note, optimal performance of an organization is highly dependent on the business framework adopted. ... This may take the form of change in organizational culture to suit the desired outcome. In this regard, growth and development of the organization makes designs adapted by that organization complex over time. Therefore, making the right design choice is core to the organization’s performance efficiency. Organizational Structures One fundamental point to note is that organizational structure is different from organizational designs. An organizational structure relates to powers and authority within the organization. It presents the distribution of power and authority within the organization. The organization has goals, objectives and values to uphold (Galbraith, 2002). These factors are encompassed in the design and not the structure. The organizational structure oversees the process through which the design is operationalized. Mechanistic structure This structure relates to people’s behavior, inside and outside the organization. Accountability in such behaviors is of cr itical importance. Communication is a fundamental component of this structure and it observes hierarchical rankings in the organization. This structure is important because it defines duties and responsibilities of individuals prior to the operations of the firm. Individual-task correspondence is an advantage in this structure. It encourages a sense of responsibility and regulates occurrences of inappropriate behaviors in the organization. This structure is however characterized by a number of disadvantages. This structure is not suited to complex mechanisms, and therefore its integration in complex operation and performance mechanisms is significantly challenging. The structure does not foster power delegation due to its

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - Dramatic Monologue Essay

God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - Dramatic Monologue - Essay Example Do you think that you alone are the protector of Purity of the future generations! Purity! What sins you all continue to commit in the name of Purity! You’re so ruthless against Velutha as if he were no human being at all! You are a liar and commit perjury, and you brag about your self-righteous actions! You always deal with me with your famous double standards! Chacko marrying an English woman is an adventure and my marriage to a Bengali and Hindu is a sin according to your caste mentality! You cruelly dislike my children for being Hindu hybrids! You condemn me and condone Chacko! Why do you go hysterical for my being with Velutha? Does he not have man’s needs? Who are you to impose restrictions on my biological needs, my progression and regression? You call me an animal just because I refuse to be docile and submissive? I hate your ideal role models of women like Sita or Parvati. I want to walk out to a better, happier place with Velutha. You attack my life like a sui cide bomber bent on destroying me—emotionally! I am not willing to stay on the dividing line based on castes! You are out to destroy my only future—Velutha—and for that you plan to murder him legally, through the brutalized police department. You have broken him and me physically and mentally at the altar of phantasms of purity. I hate your maternal and martial conventionality from the bottom of my heart, and you have no business to lock me up at the altar of love defined as per your wicked mathematics, and I will continue to resist you for your efforts to destroy my identity. Cannot an ‘untouchable’ pursue happiness? I consider it my duty to love him and support his love for me by challenging these humiliating political and social structures. We both seek emancipation from the exploitation of the worst order. Rahel and Estha look up to Velutha as a father-figure. What’s wrong about it? They are unfortunate to have been denied love from their father.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Femme Fatale in Early Silent Cinema and Classic Film Noir

Femme Fatale in Early Silent Cinema and Classic Film Noir Introduction The quintessential ideal of the femme fatale was a woman who was mysterious, manipulative, and desperate with a male protagonist that in following the dangerous, yet desirable wishes of these women, would submit themselves as victims that evolved from a twisted form of love. The femme fatale grew out of earlier literature and other genres of artistic composition. Although the prototypical representation for the femme fatale dates back much earlier than the beginning of the 20th century, spanning backwards in time many centuries (Thorpe), research and examination for this paper takes place during later early silent cinema circa 1910-1919 and classic film noir 1940-1959. The paradigm of the femme fatale made its appearance by way of American cultural ideology at the time of their appearance in film, and two movies, A Fool There Was, and, Mildred Pierce, provide evidence for psychological disorder due to the progressive, ideological reforms that were fought for during these time periods, whether through mental illness, or personality disturbances. The embodiment of the components evident in the character makeup of the femme fatale characters in these films manifests themselves onscreen and showcases the intense fear that men had of a liberated and independent woman, and results in the repudiation of patriarchal oppression by the infringement of the boundaries for what was considered proper behavior for a woman by being independent, smart, and/or having menacing actions. Women and the 1910s The women that were a product of World War I did not have a good life, initially. At the beginning of the war, women were viewed as second class citizens, a view that had been held of women for many years prior. Women were the recipients of restrictions on most of their basic rights, such as not being allowed to vote, and because of this there was an infringement upon their right of choice, as they had no say in what leaders would be chosen to represent their country. Additionally, a division of socioeconomic classes was evidenced, as lower class women were employed in areas of education, nursing, shop clerks, seamstresses, secretaries, and most of all, domestic servants. On the other hand, women of upper class stature were mostly confined to their homes as domestic tradeswomen taking care of the children and looking after the home, in what most would term, the cult of domesticity. Also, upper class women would participate within the realm of charitable work, and be an overseer to a household of servants since employment that took place outside of the domesticated way of life that these women were used to was still reserved predominately for upper class men. With the arrival of World War I, opportunities became available for women to work outside of the home by giving them the chance to take over the jobs of men who were engaged in the war, which up to this point was something that women were not allowed to do. The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research published an article in Spring 1999 titled, Destructive Women and Little Men: Masculinity, the New Woman, and Power in 1910s Popular Media, that outlines the decade of the 1910s by making an argument about the Progressive-era womens reform work that was taking place at that time and how the womens suffrage movement was in its final chapter. Carolyn Kitch from Northwestern University acknowledges that there was an expansive effort underway at that time to give women more opportunities for social, political, and economic growth. Upon evaluation of the research conducted there is evidence verifying Kitchs claim of these opportunities for social, political, and economic growth slightly pr ior to, and during the period of World War I, leading into the period of classic film noir. Women in the workplace during the war gave women a vehicle upon which to showcase their talents, and this in turn brought them to the forefront of social reforms such as the right to vote, working outside of the home, and demand for better working conditions, wages, and higher education. Women of the 1910s started to see their lives change because of industrialization and technological change, and this fabricated a scenario where there was a resistance to reform, a situation that occurred where women were trying to break away from their traditional roles as domestic engineers but were met with opposition from all levels of society, including other women, who believed that women should remain in their traditional roles as wives and mothers. Although the Victorian era was finished around 15 years before World War I, the passive, innocent Victorian ideal of the fragile, pious, domestic, and sexual innocent (Sharot, 73) woman and her role in the domestic sphere had not changed. During this period of progressive reform there was a radical change in the image of the woman as the female body was starting to become freed from the 19th century constraints of dress that had kept a woman shackled to her domestic roles within the household. This reform fostered a rebellion against the traditional forms of dress: long dresses, long skirts, and long hair. This level of independence among women started showing up in cinema, too, because at that time the entertainment industry started to revere the female body and it became one of its primary attractions. Women during the decade of the 1910s were taking control of their lives, destinies, fortunes, and even their sexualities. The combination between the liberation of the female and the potential erotic components of cinema in the 1910s gave rise to a new kind of woman, The Vamp. The Vamp of Early Silent Cinema and Psychological Disorders The Vamp character of early silent cinema provides evidence for psychological disorders that come in the form of mental illness. The radical progressive ideological reforms that women were fighting for at the time made its way into cinema and appeared, and played out, as The Vamp character, and the social ideals that she personified were disordered because vamps were feminist revolutionaries and this was delineated as mental illness. Martins mentions that the Vamp cast by Theda Bara is a symbol of equal rights activism and the suffrage movement of the 1910s, and this was the showing of progressive ideals by a movie icon in a conservative film industry (95). Because the first wave of feminism was starting to take shape at that time, sexual and reproductive matters were at the forefront, but also women had this idea that they had the ability to make contributions to society at rates equal to, if not more than men. Mental illness during the period of the 1910s developed in women because of the lifestyle that the domestic sphere thrust upon them, as seen by oppression and societal expectations from the Victorian ideals that came before. Imprisonment of the kind related to the oppression of women is portrayed as madness because of the nature of the societal role in which she inhabits, leaving her prisoner in her own body (SigurÃÆ' °ardà ³ttir, 9). This discouraged women from looking to new roles because of the lens in which they are viewed. Women who were found to be in rebellion of the proper codes of conduct were deemed mad because the behavior was considered to be unnatural, and not very womanly, and was seen in some aspects as masculine behavior, where women, like their male counterparts, could display deviant behavior. By regulating a womans body, one could also regulate her mind. This sexual deviancy was seen as psychologically abnormal. As women started to become liberated, deemed demo nic by the social and cultural institutions within the middle and upper classes because of the fears of social mobility that is felt will take place, they have no hope of surviving the societal boundaries upon which they crossed, and this makes these women appear as if they are mad women. The character of the Vamp shows similarity to Dracula movies where the vampire is a terrible monster, and Dracula himself turns women into vampiresses and by doing so, releases their sexuality and carnal desires, and once this sexuality is unleashed and embraced by women it gives them power over men. The new vampiress, resurrected from the bite of Dracula, bears a direct similarity to the Vamp character in early silent cinema. World War I, symbolically, becomes the bite of Dracula that unhinges this unleashed sexuality that is viewed as dangerous for men. One example, Theda Bara, who played the character of Vampire (Dirks) in the 1915 film, A Fool There Was spoke her most famous line of all, Kiss me my fool (Dirks). The term the Vamp came into existence because of the predatory nature of the character, but also because the character construction was that of a sex goddess. This is evidenced in the cinematic production whenTheda Bara plays the part of a scheming vampire, a seductress f amous for luring men, and using them; leaving them ruined. On a business cruise to England, a man, John Schuyler, traveling without his wife and daughter was easily fooled and targeted by the irresistible Vampire aboard the ship and became her willing victim when he becomes addicted to Theda Baras character in the film by allowing her to spend all his money and driving him to drug addiction which makes him lose everything. Despite the drug addiction that John Schuyler himself experiences because of the manipulative ways of Theda Baras vamp character in, A Fool There Was, the evidence presented illustrates vampirism, a metaphorical characterization for addiction, and provides confirmation for mental disorder, a component of psychological disturbance. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, in the film, A Fool There Was, John Schuyler was driven to drug addiction by this vamp character that takes his money and makes him lose everything. Drug addiction is considered a mental illness by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which states: Drug addiction is centrally responsible for the altered states of the brain in which the addiction changes the brain so that a person no longer has needs or desires of a non-drug addict. The addiction creates new priorities that are affiliated with the use and procurement of using the drug in question. This results in behaviors that are compulsive that do not allow the addict the ability to control impulses despite the consequences. Love, in and of itself, is a drug and the Vamp character compares to a physical drug that causes addiction. By the end of the movie, Schuyler is a physical wreck and loses everything. He is powerless to turn away from the vamp, even at the expense of losing his wife and daughter, much in the same way that a drug addict loses everything and cannot pull away from his fix. The attraction of a male victim to a vamp is like the attraction of the addict to his drug. Both are destructive, and the vamp can command the loyalty of those male victims under her spell, controlling any man she encounters. Once she marks her prey she will change the life of all that she consumes, leaving the male victim in the clutches thinking about nothing but her. This hold that the vamp has on her male victims can be so consuming to the male prey that it takes over their life because of their need for more. Vampirism mirrors, in its entirety, the fundamental processes involved with addiction. This metaphor for addiction, vampirism, shows that by awakening the carnal desires and sexuality of women, which was the case during World War I when women realized their potential and what they had to offer in comparison to men, that they had power over men. Tom Pollard argues in his book, Loving Vampires: Our Undead Obsession, that the analysis of sexuality in vampire culture reveals changes to the societal dynamic and evolving issues that were currently taking place (60). These changes to the societal dynamic frightened men because the perception of women, as characterized through Theda Baras character of the Vamp onscreen, provides substantiated affirmation for not only a psychological disorder in the form of a mental illness, but emerging attitudes and beliefs about sexuality. In SigurÃÆ' °ardà ³ttirs essay titled, Women and Madness in the 19th Century: The Effects of Oppression on Womens Mental Health, she talks about Bram Stokers book, Dracula, which was published in 1897. Her interpretation was that all victims of Dracula have symptoms resembling depression, or even hysteria. Then she goes on to mention that the first victims of Dracula are male, and Jonathan Harker, the male character in the book shows symptoms of nervousness and depression, but that it was interesting how the male character, Jonathan Harker, suffers a far worse mental breakdown than the women of the story (22-23). This aligns with the ideology of the men having a fear so great that it aligns with the appearance of a hysteria which stems from the fear of a liberated and independent woman, and this fear was even greater than the fear brought about by the threat of opposing nations in World War I. Sigmund Freuds perspective on Dracula would be that the symptoms suffered by women were caused by the repression of sexual feelings and this was a threat to the pious and angelic woman that eluded Victorian society. In her thesis, Annelise Difilippantonio, discussed about Freuds psychoanalytic theory on Dracula, and argued that Freud had theories about sexuality that showed the fear of expressing sexual feelingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but that psychoanalysis is central to the examination of the unconscious and the powerful role of the sexuality in human beings, both in females and males (4-5) Also, she goes on to say that the repression of these desires inherent in individuals cannot be brought to a conscious state because it is seen as unacceptable behavior (5). Theda Baras character in, A Fool There Was, was a cinematic production that showcased the unleashed sexuality that some women of the decade of the 1910s started experiencing, which was seen as unacceptable. Theda Baras character was a symbol of the unrecognizability of women because of the change of image of women at that time from pious, domestic women to that of madwomen. Theda Bara as a Vamp represents the paradigm of the femme fatale because she is a danger to men because men become victim to her madness and sexuality, which was the case of John Schuyler whose whole life got destroyed because he became victim to her manipulative ways. The portrayal of the Vamp onscreen, most specifically Theda Baras vamp character in, A Fool There Was, has the lips of crimson which look like fresh blood, and a certain look to her clothing, which almost has this death robe appearance to it. The purity of the clothing goes along with her whole being: stained, but she is changed. As women of the 1910s were viewed by their men as angelic in nature by displaying piety, their death was replaced by a demonic looking figure; a madwoman, which is symbolic of a female rebellion which must be silenced. This awakening of female sexuali ty was the moral undoing of society and was considered evil because a liberated and independent woman potentially held the key to declaring their equality with men, therefore repudiating patriarchal oppression. Additionally, important to the argument of the archetype of the femme fatale is the feminine part of a mans personality called the anima, which was first coined by modern psychologist, Carl Jung. The anima is the female personification of all psychological tendencies in the male unconscious (Jung, 177) and the anima is normally ruled by the influence of the mother. Any negative anima could result, using Carl Jungs argument, in a man being lured to commit suicide because the anima will present itself as an insecurity or depression, and in this case this anima becomes the equivalent of a death demon. This is frequently the description given to the paradigm of these femme fatales. However, sometimes this anima can be positive because of a good experience with his mother and this will result in his anima that gets preyed upon by women leaving the man the inability to cope with his hardships as they come along in his life (Jung, 179). This binding effect of a dangerous female figure whose sexuality dooms the male, regardless of his negative or positive anima, mirrors the prototype of the femme fatale. The decade of the 1910s, and World War I, forever changed the economy going forward into the future from that point because it lifted many women out of the realm of domestic service. Because of this, women were transformed and were seen by many as madwomen upon the awakening of their sexuality. This slowly led to the era of the rising middle class of the 1940s and 1950s and the femme fatale of classic film noir that was birthed from the independence that World War II afforded women when it came to their place in the workforce to fill the vacancies that the men left behind when they went off to fight in the war. Women of the 1940s and 1950s Like World War I before it, World War II also had women called upon by the government to fill the traditionally male jobs and roles that were available while the men went off to war. Women joined everything from nurse corps to jobs in defense. Women became a crucial part of the war effort and the workforce and because of this they reshaped the prescribed gender norms and roles that were taking place at this time in history. The job opportunities offered during World War II were targeted for fulfillment by married women that lived in the cities, and those women who had experience that came from the domestic sphere because they never worked outside of the home. The war provided women with an opportunity to learn job skills that they may have otherwise never been able to learn, and by providing women with employment, job training, and skills, women became liberated and this led to the deviation of women from traditional roles in the domestic realm. During this time, women outnumbered me n in the workforce and men began to have problems with the idea of women as wage laborers because they saw it as a threat to the traditional marriage and family roles that had women as the iconic representation of piety, submissiveness, and stay at home wife and mother. Melissa A. McEuen, argues that there was a certain social stigma attached to women working and that a challenge would ensue in getting it removed (2). World War II for a lot of women during this time was about gaining strength, and as more men were leaving their homes and families to be deployed away from home to fight in the war, women gave up their roles as domestic engineer to take on traditionally male roles as wage earners. Femme Fatale of Classic Film Noir The women who took part in the workforce while the men went off to war were seen as placeholders and attempts were made to push these women back into the traditional roles they held prior to the war. The femme fatale of classic film noir was birthed as a result of this push back into traditional roles. In the journal article, Female monsters: Horror, the Femme Fatale and World War II, Mark Jancovich contends that at the end of the war the femme fatale makes its appearance and is demonstrative of a historical reconstruction of an economy based on a division of labor in which men were the sole means of production (133). Approximately 18 years after the end of World War II, Betty Friedan, wrote the book, The Feminine Mystique, which outlined the main ideology that was associated with women, not only before the war, but after as well, due in part to media exposure at the time that pressured women into taking subordinate roles. This fit under the concept of the feminine mystique because c ultural domesticity in women at that time was the societal ideal (20). While womens roles were in a period of expansion, the level of domesticity within the feminine domain was influenced by American culture and media and was in the instrumental stages of collapsing under patriarchal oppression. Jancovich contends that after World War II the patriarchal order starts to fail and in order for it to be reconstructed women have to give up the jobs they held and return to the domestic sphere (135). This caused women to fight to keep their jobs, and men, feeling threatened by their independence, started to view these women as harbingers of deviant behavior because men were always the head of the household, and the primary breadwinners. This freedom afforded to women made men feel emasculated and they became fearful of a reverse of patriarchal control. It was at this point that dissatisfaction starts to flare up in regards to the domestic roles to which these women were expected to take part in as confusion surrounding the roles of men and women starts to shape the workplace and the home. The femme fatale in classic film noir was a representation of the bewilderment of women in society at that time in history and was a threat to the status quo. The cinematic representation of, Mildred Pierce, is a film from the 1940s that shows us what anxieties there were for working women, in this case the protagonist (Mildred), and how she was viewed as a threat to the society in which she lived. Throughout the film Mildred constantly passes back and forth through two different worlds: domestic realm as a mother, and public sphere as a career business woman. Like many other mothers of post-World War II America, Mildred occupies both spheres. This fostered the development of psychological conditions that were showcased onscreen that surround the femme fatale of classic film noir, as she was a product of the shifting cultural ideals, and a change in the role of American women after the period of World War II. This was reflective of a large amount of frustration within women because o f the label their gender carried as some kind of traditional domesticated servant within their households, in addition, there was a search for their own autonomy and self-sufficiency. At this point, there is a turning of the tides where women start challenging their place within society and there is a transformational shift that takes place that changes how women are seen in the future. Psychological Conditions surrounding the Femme Fatale of Classic Film Noir Psychological conditions that drive my argument deals with personality disorder, which is a deeply ingrained pattern of behavior where the person acts counterproductive to their environment where it can cause difficulty in the functioning of society (Mayo Clinic). Specific personality disorders would be those in the cluster B group because the femme fatale of classic film noir withstood various cinematic productions where this fatal woman who manipulates men into these dangerous or compromising situations was created. In the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, Scott Snyder, affirms in his article, Personality Disorder and the Film Noir Femme Fatale, that film noir depicts this societal view of American culture that is in degradation, full of crime and corruption, and this leads to this view of humanity as disparaging and meaningless, but at the same time is unprincipled and has this mysterious existence. The cinematic quality that is representative of some form of charac ter pathology in classic film noir is the femme fatale herself. Mark Jancovich agrees with this claim when he argues in his article, Vicious Womanhood: Genre, The Femme Fatale and Post War America, that there was a shift that took place in these films that present these vicious women as the sufferers of psychological disturbance and compulsion (107). This eccentric woman is like a black widow spider, as her bite is fatal, and like the black widow, lures the male into dangerous situations that mostly result in harm, and sometimes death. The nature of these femme fatale women leads to the destruction of the male (prey) and challenges the integrity of his morality, if not destroying it altogether. Her behavior exemplifies these hidden symptoms of psychological conditions that present during Cluster B personality disorders. The first Cluster B personality disorder, histrionic, is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early adulthood. These individuals are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. One example of histrionic personality disorder is evident in the movie, Mildred Pierce. In this movie, Mildred Pierce, a middle-class housewife, has a difficult relationship with her manipulative and greedy daughter, Veda and becomes a waitress but does not tell Veda because it would make her ashamed. Mildred works hard to please her ungrateful daughter who appreciates none of it. Veda constantly is the attention seeker who works hard to acquire the worship of others through her beauty, and later through her ability to sing. Veda controls the men in her life, including her mothers l overs, with her sexuality because of her constant demands for more luxury (Cook. qtd in Jancovich, pg. 144). As the definition from the American Psychiatric Association outlines, these behaviors normally take place beginning in early adulthood, and this is when the film takes place, while Veda is 17 years old. Veda has sexual relationships with men as an attempt to seek more admiration. Veda demonstrates the lively, dramatic, seductress that comprises histrionic personality disorder. Jancovich argues that the women in question oftentimes are a product of domesticity, in which case they are in direct opposition to women that were viewed as independent. These women were women that were sluggish and lazy (134). In, Mildred Pierce, Veda is a product of domesticity and is the antagonist to her own protagonist mother. Mildred, who opened her own restaurant business and, therefore, was considered independent, was viewed as a monster to those from the domestic realm, including her own daughter Veda. The femme fatale that was displayed in the cinematic productions of classic film noir have been viewed as some kind of force that exudes energy, intelligence, and power, but are able to receive strength from the sexuality that they display. American filmmakers at that time tried to depict the femme fatale as some kind of genuine, yet mildly harsh sexually overcharged women that has the potential to murder, engage in corruption, and take part in greed, just like any male actor counterpart in film. The persistent effort to push women back into their culture of domesticity resulted in a demonization of independent working women (Jancovich, pg 100) who would not surrender their jobs they held during the war. The femme fatale decides on the course of her own sexuality, which sets her (femme fatale) apart from the patriarchal system that previously had suppressed her. Snyder argues: There was this cultural ideation concerning the femme fatale in classic film noir that allowed women to break away from the traditional power structures of the ruling patriarchal authority. The vision of a woman that wraps her finger around the trigger of a pistol erases the idea of the genetic predilection that women were a product of cultural repression. For the femme fatale, she becomes every mans most mistrusted fantasy, and exemplifies histrionic personality disorder. The second personality construct of the disordered femme fatale of classic film noir is that of narcissism. With narcissism there is likely to be a need for an increased level of sexual coercion that is brought on by the femme fatales own cognitive distortions that emanate from her need to preserve her self-esteem and keep the perception of herself in high regard. Normally, with narcissism there is an excessive need for self-admiration, and a deep lack of empathy. In the case of Veda in Mildred Pierce, the deep lack of empathy shows its face in the scene where Veda feigns pregnancy to funnel money from her soon to be ex-husband: the son of Mrs. Forrester, in an attempt to get away from her mother (Mildred) and shows no shame for doing so. With the femme fatale, the narcissism can also be demonstrated by the appearance of mirrors throughout the film, whether the mirror is used for her own gaze, or as a means to showcase a double identity. The woman becomes totally self absorbed into her own self. Femme fatale women are often in scenes that use some type of involvement with mirrors. This may personify the deviousness, as well as, the cunning nature of these women, where nothing and no one is what it seems (Snyder). In film noir, mirrors are a technique that is prevalent in cinema that show the visual caricature of this idea of the self indulged narcissist. In, Mildred Pierce, there is a mirror that was used in the film and it was a crucial part of the narrative for moving Mildred back and forth, as mentioned earlier in this paper, through the domestic and public sphere. This mirror gives evidence for narcissistic behavior throughout the film. Veda is the shadow that illustrates Mildreds dark double. Veda is the femme fa tale of the story who is a deadly woman that hinders Mildreds ability to be a good mother. Veda preys on everyone who is close to her for her own selfish gains and , although she sees her mother working outside of the domestic realm as evil, she has no problems in spending all of the money her mother earns. Veda steals her mothers husband and then murders him. Mildred and Veda are so intertwined with each other that it takes the detectives at the end of the film to separate the two. This separation is foreshadowed by the pierced mirror (Mancini, 24) in the beach house that was hit by the bullet of Veda when she shot and killed Monty. Mildred herself, although mild mannered and hard working in the restaurant business, also displays narcissistic behavior, but unlike her daughter Veda, hides it extremely well. Mildred, too, in her own way is just as manipulative and exploitative. In an article, The Ultimate Femme Fatale? Narcissism Predicts Serious and Aggressive Sexually Coercive Behavior in Females, Blinkhorn et al quote Morf and Rhodewalt, 2001 as saying that when it comes to narcissism that women can sometimes use more indirect and discreet ways of fulfilling their narcissistic goals (220). That becomes evident during an argument that took place between Mildred and Veda in the film when Veda insists that her mother has no right to criticize her for trying to get what she wants because she (Veda) argued that her mother Mildred really is not that much different than she is because, Father, Monty, Wallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦you take what you need. There is some truth to Vedas claims because Mildred does not care at all fo r Wally and uses him to do her legal bidding, and Monty does not appear to garner her interest even though she is fascinated by him. Mildred uses Monty to fulfill her sexual needs and to chauffer the younger Veda around, but later to lure her back home. Snyder argues that the femme fatale have wishes and receive those wishes by becoming the growth on the side of men who are rich, but also those they believe to be powerful. These women marry to achieve financial freedom or social advancement but in the process they manipulate the very desire that men hold for them (161). Despite her drive to be successful, as well as, the inner strength that she carries within her, Mildred does not have no real ingredients for self-respect, rather she ascribes to a form of desperate narcissism that wants to be privy to an ideal, yet glamorous life, even if it is for her parasitic, unappreciative daughter. Conclusion The paradigmatic representation of the femme fatale c