International Analysis of Organization Design Essay

International Analysis of Organization Design - Essay Example Despite the fact that the advances in technology has allowed for faster and easier communication among various countries, it is quite evident that the culture of each country or society continues to influence the organizational design of various entities. This in turn affects how a business or an organization performs in that particular market or country. China is one of the countries whose national culture has continued to influence organizational design. Despite the impact and influence of western cultures on the nation, various organizations are still designed in line with the Chinese culture. This is in terms of the structure of these entities, the corporate culture, the scanning practices and the human resource systems and structures within these firms (Baird 390). Various companies, both small and large have strived to come up with organizational structures to be in line with the existing Chinese culture. This has enabled them to operate effectively and achieve their goals and objectives in the wider China market. China has grown over the years to become one of the major powerhouses in the world in terms of manufacturing and commerce. This has somehow been attributed to the prevailing culture. One of the aspects that help in understanding the national culture of a country is the way that particular culture balances the esteem of the individual members of the society and the needs and the requirements of a group. Some societies promote individualism while others encourage collectivisms. According to Baird, China is a county that tends to encourage collectivism (384). Unlike western cultures where individualism and individual achievement is promoted, the Chinese culture values collective responsibility and group achievements. According to the Chinese culture, the members of the society or employees are normally required to subsume their individual or personal desires in preferences to the efforts of the group. This, therefore,

FACEBOOK AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS Research Proposal

FACEBOOK AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS - Research Proposal Example It is true in some cases that people with certain personalities such as jealousy may be prone to using Facebook and at the same time his frequency of being jealousy remains high. It is easily assumed that the use of Facebook has created peculiar and unnatural facets in romantic relationships which contributes to extra feelings of jealousy and mistrust in relationships. The impacts of these results are extremely important and relevant to pay attention to mainly because it is a modern challenge and it has not been remedied. A good number of people who took part in the survey confirmed that their relationships improved after they had stopped using Facebook. Quitting Facebook may not be an option that many people are interested in but, still there is a need to find a solution. Further and wider research is needed to come up with workable solutions that can remedy the problem. This can also provides us with effective ways on how to understand and cope with the elements of jealousy and mis trust that Facebook has introduced in romantic relationships. ... However due to its influence its popularity grew and the amount of people using it increased enormously and eventually had its way to other universities and the public. Gaining interest in Facebook means having interest in those who are in your online social environment and friends, this means that if you are dating you will also have some significant others in your romantic life. In another twist Facebook has several features that reveal relationship status of a person. It has options such as â€Å"In a relationship†, â€Å"Single†, â€Å"In an open relationship† and â€Å"married†. Facebook also provides users with options to upload pictures using computers, cameras and mobile phones these gives users a chance to display pictures showing them having a good time with their boyfriends or girlfriends. In another sense these shows that Facebook supports romantic relationship and allows it to thrive online. The big question is what happens if people being to misuse this opportunity and start perusing selfish interests? In this survey the ruining of offline romantic relationships linked to operation of Facebook is examined to establish how and why the problem occurs. Literature review The initial investigations and research about the relationship between Facebook and romantic relationship was carried out by Reis and Sprecher. They carried out their study on anonymous Facebook users, the majority of the sample people that they used consisted of people who were already in relationships. They used interviewing questions related to feelings of mistrust and jealousy as a product of using Facebook. Some of the questions asked included â€Å"how would a partner feel if his boyfriend or girlfriend has added an unknown member of an opposite sex as a friend? â€Å"In this study the

Advertising Coca Cola And Mcdonalds In Russia

Advertising Coca Cola And Mcdonalds In Russia Coke has been in operation for a long time and throughout this period, from as early as 1886, it has been very prosperous in its operations and market share acquisition. It was discovered by a curious pharmacist who on one evening mixed some few chemicals and took the mixture down to a friends chemist where it was mixed with carbonated water and some few customers sampled it, and upon tasting the mixture, they were delighted with the new creation and there and then, they pontificated it as a superior and novel drink that had not been seen before (Associated Press 2). A closely similar story is what McDonalds has been. This paper describes these two companies with the view of analyzing the different aspects of their operation and discusses unique cultures that they have that make them eccentric in their respective niche markets. Five cents a glass is the price that was charged for the drink which was sold in a chemist. Pemberton, who was the founders friends book keeper named the drink coca cola which is how the drink is known ever since then. It was received relatively slower in the market when it was introduced as only glasses were sold by Pemberton. Through the period of 1888-1891, businessman Assa Griggs Candler acquired the rights to the drink for a total of $2,300 (Pendergrast 47) and this made him the first president for the company who is on record to have creatively and ingeniously developed and popularized the companys vision. Candler who is characterized as a naturally born salesman identified the large market of the thirsty market and oversaw his drink quenching their thirst. He transformed Coca-Cola from a mere drink to a fully grown company. By 1985 Candler had already established a syrup firm in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. The drink was first packed into bottles by Mississippi business man Joseph Beidenharn. He sent 12 Samples to Candler who embraced the idea with enthusiasm. This dream was not realized until 1899 when two lawyers, Thomas Benjamin and Whitehead Joseph acquired the full rights to bottle and sell the beverage for only one dollar per bottle (BBC News 2). The Coca-Cola Company exists to provided refreshment, joy and quenching of thirst to its customers. It functions under a company called Coca-Cola Hellenic in the Russian region. The company first ventured into Russia in 2001. Coca-Cola Hellenic is based in Moscow and has 14 bottling branches scattered all over the country. It has an employee capacity of 10,000 and indirectly supports 5-10 times its supply chain making it one of the largest non-alcoholic beverages companies in the region (Lundy 23). The companys notable increased operations are traced back to 2005 when the Coca-Cola Company and the Coca-Cola Hellenic acquired Multon on a 50/50 ratio. The company has gradually built a strong business in Russia owing it to its diverse international premium brand and its extensive sale and distribution chain and Russia is considered as a high potential market (Mikkelson David 15). Given the increasingly complexity of the market Coca-Cola Hellenic Russia operates in, it has to adjust its business approach to meet the demand in the market. The company implemented a new strategic plan in 2006 as a way of ensuring business services offered met the consumers expectations. Basically the company is building a powerful route-to-market system and a strong partnership with its consumers to ensure that their sales in the market place are what is needed by the consumers. Coca-Cola Hellenic deals with merchandising equipment to offer consumers their right products that they want (Munizi 36). Consumers have different tastes and preferences considering their society and location. The Coca-Cola Hellenic company is adjusting to this preference so that it can provide the appropriate marketing activities and beverages to suit and connect the consumers. The Coca-Colas think locally, act locally marketing strategy allows it to fit into the market and determine the local market demands and determine how to understand and satisfy the demands of their target consumers (Murden 53). Coca-Cola advertisements have revolutionized the world of advertisings. Most of their advertisements are rooted in the image of a red Santa clause. The company began using the figure of Santa Clause in the year 1930 making it the first soft drink company to use that figure in the history of advertisement (Michaelssssss, 1). Before the thought of using Santa Clause, Coca-Cola depended on the use of smartly dressed young ladies to sell their beverages. In the year 1941 the company developed its official trademark nick name coke, this was followed by a series of advertisement aimed at informing the consumer that coke was coca-cola. Coca-Colas advertisements are pervasive and their main goal is to ensure that everybody on planet earth drinks coke as their preferred beverage. Most of Coca-Colas memorable advertisements were written by former Atlanta radio presenter Don Naylor during his span as a producer at McCann Erickson Advertising Agency. Most of the ancient coke advertisements featured musicians, movie personalities and sports icons (Pendergrast 34). Cola wars happened in the 1980s when Coca-Cola and Pepsi were fighting for a larger market share. Coca-Cola ran a number of advertisements to try and combat Pepsi and ended up tarnishing the image of Pepsi. In one of Coca-Colas advertisement, Coca-Cola compared the challenge that was posed by Pepsi to two chimpanzees that were deciding on which tennis ball that they had was furrier (Mohamed, 2). The wars later ended and Coca-Cola took back its popularity. In 1992 the Coca-Cola Company bought Colombia pictures and started using movies to advertise their brands. This was archived through inserting images of its products in most of the movies they produced. Coca-Cola has had two slogans since its introduction in Russia which are: à Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€˜Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ ³Ãƒ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ Ã‚ °CocaCola (1993-2009, which means Always Coca-Cola) and Coca-Cola à Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ Ã‚ ´Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ à Ã‚ ² à Ã‚ ´Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ Ã‚ ¼! (2010, which means Coca-Cola is going to the house!). Coca-Cola mainly uses the above lines for its advertisement and preferred using the media rather than personal encounters. One such advertisement is The Holidays are Coming which is characterized by a train of red delivery trucks covered in the name coke and decorated with lights all round. As the train moves on a snowy terrain it lights up for people to see as they pass. The advertisement was produced in the U.S by Doner Advertising Agency and it was also used as the companys worldwide campaign for many years (Smith 32). Coca-Cola has also designed a new way to advertise through sports. It began the spirit of sponsoring the Olympics back in 1928 Olympics which were held in Amsterdam and has continued sponsoring sports ever since. The Olympics games command a very large crowd of people which is what coke needed. The concept behind sponsoring the Olympics was that Coca-Cola products would be on display to a very large crowd of people simultaneously which was a very good advertisement strategy for coke. Coca-Cola has also been associated with the Fifa world cup and has been one of Fifas biggest sponsors since 1978. It is also the main soft drink for many collegiate teams in Russia and elsewhere (Watson 56). Coca-Cola Hellenic can be termed as one of the most successful businesses to advertise in the video world or above the line advertisement. All of its advertisements have taken the market with a storm and have generated a very high response. At one point consumers asked for the advertisement labeled, The Holidays are Coming, to be re-ran during the approach of Christmas holidays. This proves that the company has been successful in relaying its concept to the mass public. Due to the success of Coca-Cola video advertisements many books have picked its case up to be used a case study in many educational institutions (Watson 100). McDonalds Restaurants Another company that has made a very significant success in the field of video advertising is McDonalds. It is a company that deals in hamburger and fast foods where it serves well over 58 million customers on a daily basis. Its restaurants and stores are operated be either a franchisee, a given affiliate or by the corporation itself (Naruto 76). McDonalds basically sells Cheeseburgers, hamburger, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, shakes and dessert (Quidoo 65). Due to the rising cases of obesity in the western Nations and general criticism of lack of healthy meals, the company has been forced to edit its menu and squeeze in some healthier items such as salads, wraps, and fruits. McDonalds fast food came into existence in 1940 when two Brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald decided to open a restaurant in San Bernardino, California. These brothers are also responsible in bringing into existence the idea of fast food joints used in day-to-day life through a system they introduced called Spedee fast service . McDonalds first applied for U.S trade mark on the name McDonalds on May 4th 1961 with the slogan Driver-in Restaurant Services. McDonalds filled for a logo trademark using the symbol of M which is overlapping. The logo was later changed on September 6th 1962 to a single arch shaped M. The first McDonald restaurants were opened in United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Japan, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, El-Salvador, and Sweden in the order of opening (Tuner 206). The company entered into the public stock exchange in 1955 where Ray Kroc purchased the McDonalds Equity and led the company to venture worldwide. The McDonalds argued about the control of the company with Kroc as is documented in the autobiography of Kroc and that of the McDonalds where it was thought to have been a good thing for the company and due to its level of prominence it has become a topic of many public debates. McDonalds restaurants are fou nd in 119 countries and operate 31,000 restaurants in these countries. McDonalds also runs other joints such as pile cafà © Most McDonalds offer both on counter services or drive through services with indoor and at times outdoor serving. In order to inhabit the new trends of quality coffee the McDonalds was compelled to start McCafe as an accompaniment to McDrive. The company earns money through investments in properties, franchise of restaurants and managing restaurants. Around 15% of McDonalds managed by the McDonalds Corporation are owned directly by the McDonalds Corporation (Berger 121). As a renowned fast food corporation McDonalds is frequently under criticism for its menu, its expansion and its business practices. In a form of counter attack McDonalds has sought to add healthier foods to its menu and has even designed a new slogan to its recruitment posters which is Not for a Bad McJob. In 2007 the company launched an advertisement campaign with the slogan Would You Like a Career With That on Irish television outlining that their business had many prospects (Caro 1). McDonalds advertises in many ways apart from only video advertisements. They first begin with handling the companys publicity. This is accomplished through several ways one of which is captured in this quote: In April 2008 the Corporation announced that 11 of their Sheffield were operating under biomass under trial and this had cut its waste and carbon emission footprints by half in the area. In this trial waste from the restaurants was collected by Veolia environmental services and was recycled in a plant to produce energy for the restaurants (Grimes 122 123). In Europe McDonalds has been recycling vegetable waste into diesel that is used to fuel trucks. The United States has also commended McDonalds for its continuous efforts towards reducing solid waste by coming up with more efficient packaging products and promotion of recycled products. All these efforts are driven towards promoting a solid and creditable publicity. The theory here is that if the company does give back to the community then the community will recognize its efforts and the community will be more acquainted with the company hence increasing its market prominence percentagewise (Watson 210). McDonalds has for its lifespan had a very antic and extensive way of advertisement campaign. Majorly the company advertises through media that is T.V, Radio and e- advertising but aside from that the corporation also makes use of billboards and signage. Sponsoring sports events ranging from little leagues to the Olympics is also a way that the corporation is designing for its advertisement benefits just like its fellow company Coca-Cola. The company also advertises through making of products that bear the companys logo to operate in various events. Nevertheless television still remains their major mode of advertisement for McDonalds (Orozco Quintanilla 87). Children represent a great part of television viewers and are also a great deal of audience. Advertisers do not only know that children are easily swayed by advertisements but they also know that children have the ability to pursued grown-ups to purchase stuff of their (childrens) preference. If a child spots something and wants it he becomes disturbingly persistent and annoying to the parent and in most cases, obliges his/her parent into buying what he/she (the child) wants. This is one fact that McDonalds knows and has delved fully into its exploitation for its business growth. At one specific point McDonalds advised employees to specifically focus on kids in an advertisement labeled; Kids Are Stars. The employees were advised to pay extra attention to children eating at the restaurant in order to make sure that they had a positive view of the restaurant as they ate. This campaign was one of the most successful advertisement strategy McDonalds had ever come up with but was stopped due to criticism that it was immoral to use children as advertisement props (Orozco Quintanilla 90). Summary of the Analysis of the two Companies The overview that has just been made shows how these two great companies have utilized a great deal of advertisement in order to increase their respective audience market. These companies have some few similar methods of advertising. For instance the Coca-Cola advertisement comprising of a train was mainly targeted at affecting the child audience as is similar with McDonalds advertisement dubbed Kids Are Stars signifying that the two companies have identified that children are a viable target audience (Whyte Lauridsen 45). These companies also focus on giving back to the community in order to increase their publicity through elaborate and effective Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Still both of these companies extend their advertisement strategy to the play ground by acting as key sponsors of major and notable sports events like the Olympics (Murden 56). This notwithstanding, Coca-Cola and McDonalds do differ in their advertisement strategies in some ways. One way is that McDonalds only ventures into sponsorship of small sports events whereas Coca-Cola Majorly deals with promotion of sports of a higher caliber. McDonalds also produces adverts that are used by all the companys branches as compared to Coca-Cola that prefers that each region produces its own advertisement style according to the nature of the area it is located in. These two companies can be used to signify the power that advertisement holds.

Things They Carried Essay: A Cultural Studies Approach to Enemies

A Cultural Studies Approach to "Enemies" in The Things They Carried Two men who fight over a jackknife in "Enemies", a chapter in Tim O'Brien's work, The Things They Carried. A cultural studies approach to "Enemies" allows the reader to look much deeper into the meaning of the events that unfold in "Enemies". The fight over the knife could very well reflect the events occurring in society during that time. In short, "Enemies" is about two men, Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen, who are battling not only in a war but with each other. They were viciously fighting about a missing jackknife. A question that the reader might ask themselves is, why were they fighting over a jackknife? Did it have some special sentimental meaning? These questions cannot be answered; they can only be left to wonder. Vietnam was a very mentally and physically strenuous war to fight. At any given point any soldier could snap. That is exactly what happen...

Criminological Theory and Burglary Essay

Scarce research is available on active offenders due to their unwillingness to corporate with researchers and past and convicted offenders may have changed their perspectives after being convicted or left their lifestyle of crime. The most reliable data on these offenses and their perpetrators may come from active burglars themselves. Richard T. Wright and Scott Decker’s book, Burglars on the Job seeks to explain the reasons why burglars commit the crimes they do. They have taken their research to another level by gaining the trust of active offenders in the St.  Louis area and gaining inside knowledge of these criminals’ daily lives and their crimes. This paper will address anomie and bond theories and how it relates to the offenders in this study and the socialization of these subjects into criminality and the street culture in which they live. Conventional Goals? According to Robert Merton’s anomie theory, people are not born criminals; they conform to the environment in which they live. Conventional means of reaching a goal are often more readily available to some than others in our society. Merton suggests that crime is a result of this bias due to the anomic culture in America. Our society places great emphasis on the â€Å"American Dream† but conventional means of reaching this goal are denied to some unfortunate individuals, placing strain on them. The burglars in Wright and Decker’s book have conventional goals, but lack the capacity to achieve them by conventional means. Burglar #30 Mark Smith says, â€Å"I didn’t have the luxury of laying back in no damn pinstriped suit. I’m poor and I’m raggedy and I need some food and I need some shoes†¦ So I got to have some money some kind of way. If it’s got to be the wrong way, then so be it. †(pg. 7) This burglar has the conventional goal of buying food and shoes but, as anomie theory suggest, does not have the conventional means of getting what he wants, therefore he commits crime to obtain the money to buy what he desires. Not every burglar in this study claimed to have conventional goals, drugs were a popular desire among these offenders as well. These burglars want to get high and party continuously, but rather than gain lawful employment to supply their habits, they would rather burglarize a residence to gain the financial means to keep the party going. This is evident in one burglar’s response to why he chooses to commit the crimes he does. Burglar #009 Richard Jackson replies, â€Å"You ever had an urge before? Maybe a cigarette urge or a food urge, where you eat that and you get to have more and more? That’s how the crack is. You smoke it and it hits you in the back of the throat and you got to have more†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (pg. 39) The majority of these offenders’ wanted the status and appearance of being successful, the â€Å"American Dream†, but lacked the resources or drives to reach their goals conventionally. The book describes the majority of the offenders as having very few resources in which to work with. Wright and Decker write, â€Å"Decent employment opportunities are limited for inner city residents and the offenders, who by large are poorly educated, unskilled, and heavy illicit drugs and alcohol users, are not well placed to compete for the few good jobs available. †(pg. 50) When field researchers asked them why they chose burglary over other legitimate means some replied that they were unable to gain suitable employment or they just didn’t want a job to infringe on their current lifestyles. Burglar #085 Tony Scott replied, â€Å"I ain’t workin’ and too lazy to work and just all that. I like it to where I can just run around†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (pg. 48) Some burglars wished to gain lawful employment, Wright and Decker write, â€Å"43 of the 78 unemployed subjects who said they did burglaries mostly for the money claimed they would stop committing offenses if someone gave them a good job. †(pg. 49) Since the overall expectation of these offenders’ was financially motivated, conventional goals are present as is innovation. Some of these offenders’ burglarized for drug’s, even burglarizing their drug dealer’s home, making them rebels instead of innovators. Burglar #24 James Brown says, â€Å"My house burglaries are based on dope dealers. † (pg. 66) Merton describes rebels as those who lack conventional goals and the conventional means of reaching them. I would even describe some of them as retreatist, according to Merton’s theory, as they use drugs and criminal behavior as a way to escape the pressures or strains placed on them. One burglar, Ricky Davis #015 describes how he burglarizes and spends his money on drugs, alcohol, and prostitution. He has unconventional goals, with no apparent desire to live a conventional lifestyle. He says, â€Å"I spend the money on something to drink, then get me some marijuana. Then I’m gonna find me a duck. † (pg. 42) Weak Social bonds A bond theory explanation would suggest that the offenders lacked adequate social bonds which, in turn, gave them the freedom to commit crimes. They did not have the parental guidance to steer them away from crime. The social bonds in Travis Hirshi’s bond theory are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Several of these offenders seemed to be lacking in at least one of these areas. Attachment, or emotional closeness to others, was lacking in many of these offenders. They were more attached to the street culture than decent culture. Those offenders who did mention their families never spoke of engagement with them other than in the context of trying to borrow money from them or burglarizing them. This shows that these offenders had very weak, if any, attachment bonds. Most of these offenders’ had very little commitment either. As stated earlier, they had little education, no jobs, and no social networks to deter them from a life of crime. They had nothing or almost nothing to lose. The offenders’ involvement in conventional activities was also very limited. Their strongest involvements seemed to be with their â€Å"street life. † They felt that jobs or other conventional activities would damper their party time. Burglar #85 Scott says, â€Å"†¦ I ain’t got to go to bed at a certain time to get up at a certain time. Go to bed around one o’clock or whenever I want. Ain’t got to go to work and work eight hours. Just go in and do a five minute job, get that money, and that’s basically it. †(pg. 48) It is the quick and easy, with very little planning or effort, that makes burglary a choice crime for these offenders. While some offenders seemed to hold some conventional moral values, others seemed only to be thinking of themselves in their day to day activities. Burglar #13 Larry Washington states, â€Å"see, if you rob a person, they can identify you cause you lookin’ right at em’ you know? They lookin’ right at you and they can identify you. And armed robbery is what? Five to ten years? Or ten to fifteen years? † This offender prefers burglary over robbery out of fear of a harsher punishment for himself if caught. He shows no consideration of the victim. Burglar #79 Die Leo, on the other hand, did show some compassion for a victim in his statement, â€Å"I’d never personally rob a human being, like walk up to them and say, â€Å"Give me your wallet and give me your purse! † No Way! † Hirishi believed that all people are equally motivated to commit crimes but that motivation in itself was not strong enough to overpower their social bonds and push them into a life of crime. The lack of these social bonds gave them the freedom to commit their crimes, and the motivation was already present as it is in all people. The social bond theory generally sums up crime as it relates to their social bonds. As these bonds weaken and begin to deteriorate, the restraints that once bound you and kept you abiding by the law are loosened. This differs from anomie theory in that, anomie explains crime as being a result of strain placed on an individual from income inequality, socioeconomic status, etc. These theories are both plausible explanations as to why these offenders committed their crimes. High strain and lack of solid bonds may both play a vital role in criminal roles. Now let’s take a look at how socialization and self-control relate to crime. Socialization and Self Control Socialization into crime refers to an individual who conforms to the norms and roles in their given communities. I believe that these offenders criminality can be attributed to their socialization into an environment that values low self-control. The offenders in this study exhibited spontaneity in their decisions to commit burglaries, amplifying their lack of self-control. These offenders learned a great deal about their communities, the people who live in it and their vulnerabilities and so were able to commit their crimes putting forth little effort or planning. In my opinion there is a connection between criminality, low self-control, and the culture of immediate gratification. These offenders seem to have gone through a process starting off with socialization into street culture which leads them to a lack of self-control, and then the culture of immediate gratification. To simplify Gottfredson and Hirishi’s self-control theory, I would say that low self-control is related to crime and that need for immediate gratification and low self-control are connecting factors that contribute to criminal behavior. These offenders are accustomed to spending a lot of time on street corners with other offenders, learning the ways of the street, so to speak. This is their socialization period. Once they are socialized into crime they lose their sense of self control. These offenders apparently don’t have much guidance from their parents or others because they are allotted so much free time to commit their crimes. This tells me that their parents likely don’t have strong social control either. Once their social control is lost, they yearn for immediate gratification. They want things right now; they are not willing to wait until they can find a job and get it conventionally. All the research done by Wright and Decker has shed light on the lifestyle of an active burglar. As mentioned in the introduction, this research is scarce but could be much more reliable than research conducted with offenders who are no longer active burglars. This type of field research should be continued and expanded with all types of crimes, which may give us a better understanding of what drives people to commit them and in the long run may help us understand how to stop them.

The Right to Information Act

The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a landmark legislation in the history of independent India. Before the passing of this historic Act, there was â€Å"The Freedom of Information Act, 2002† But to ensure smoother and greater access to information and to make it more progressive, participatory, and meaningful certain important changes was felt necessary. The Government examined the suggestions made by the National Advisory Council and others and decided to make a number of changes in the said law. The Government in view of the significant changes proposed in the existing Act, decided to repeal the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. As a result, â€Å"The Right to Information Bill, 2005†, passed by Lok Sabha on 11th May, 2005 and by Rajya Sabha on 15th June, 2005 and received the assent of the President on 15th June,2005. The Right to Information Act, 2005 contains VI Chapters and 31 Sections. Some of the important Sections of the RTI Act can be stated as follows—- Under the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, any citizen can seek information in writing in the form of an application or by e-mail and should be addressed to the Public Information Officer (PIO) or Assistant PIO of the concerned office/public authority either in English Hindi or in the official language of the area. Even if one submits an application for an information to a PIO whose public authority is not in possession of information, has to accept the information and forward the same to the concerned public authority about such transfer [section 6(3)] In such cases, the second public authority becomes responsible for providing the applicant with the information that is requested within prescribed time limit [section 5(5)] Reason for securing information is not required to be stated in the application. Normally the PIO is to provide the information within 30 days. However in case of life and liberty, the PIO is bound to provide information within 48 hours. If the required information is part of a proactive disclosure of section 4 (I) (b), then it should be provided instantly by the PIO without any application fee, except the printing cost of the information. No prescribed format is necessary to apply under RTI Act,2005. An application on a plain paper comprising full postal address of the applicant, PIO or Assistant PIO’s address, details of information required with a statement that the information is sought under RTI Act 2005, are the basic requirements. Application fee of Rs. 10 (in case of Government of Assam office/organization) is required in case of a Government of Indian office/organization. If the applicant does not receive the information or is not satisfied with the information received from the PIO, he/she can file an appeal with the first appellate authority (FAA) under section 19 (I). There is no prescribed format for an appeal. Moreover, neither Govt. of India nor Govt. of Assam prescribed any fees for the first appeal till now. The Act prescribed maximum 45 days time for the disposal of first appeal by the FAA. If an applicant does not receive information within 45 days, then he/she can take the matter forward to the second appeal stage. The RTI Act, 2005 is a historic legislation and no such strong provision has been made in any Act or code in India till date. The right to information covers inspections of works, document, record and its certified copy and information in the form of diskettes, floppies, video cassettes in electronic form, taped or stored information in computers etc. Though certain information are prohibited, every public authority is under obligations to provide information on written request or request by electronic means with payment of fee. The Act vehemently provides for restrictions for third party information. It has been stated earlier that there is the appellate provision in the Act. As such, the appeal against the decision of central information officer and state information officer can be made to a senior officer in rank. The penalty for refusal to receive an application for information or for not providing information is Rs. 250 per day, but the total amount of penalty should not exceed Rs. 25000 The Central Information Commission is to be constituted by the Central Govt. and State Information Commission by the respective state governments. In spite of having the various important and powerful provisions the state Governments are not ready to implement the RTI Act, 2005, in letter and spirit. The case is pertinent in Assam too, which so far has seen the government drag its feet when it comes to implementing the various provisions under the Act. Consequently Assam is among those states where the State Information Commission has been unable to perform to the desired extent, or simply failed to bring in probity and transparency in matters of public finance. When state Government will come forward to implement the provisions of RTI Act then only the true objectives of the Act will be fulfilled. The Act will be able to curb corruption and misuse of taxpayer’s money will be stopped, and can be utilized for the sake of common good and welfare of the state. The posts of Information Commissioner should be filled up by qualified and impartial persons. Free legal education should be provided to the people, to be more conscious about the legal benefit of the Act and help to access the information and exert their rights in true spirit.

A controlled versus an uncontrolled narrative perspective Early German v. Early Russian Filmmaking essays

A controlled versus an uncontrolled narrative perspective Early German v. Early Russian Filmmaking essays The primary difference between the early Russian films of the first half of the 20th century, and those films that exemplify the artistic ethos of the German Expressionist movement is that of the significance given to narrative and to expressing a singular and coherent ideology for the viewer. While Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" has a clear narrative and ideological gloss, German Expressionistic films such as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" encourage viewers to accompany the director through a series of images that take him or her on an internal, expressive journey within him or herself, creating subjective associations within the unconscious that The way this effect is accomplished is through, in the case of Russian filmmakers such as Eisenstein, through what is termed an "associative process" of narrative interaction with the audience. In other words, the narrative and descriptive sequences of the film are manipulated over the course of the film to invest particular images and aspects of the film with great importance. The viewer remembers these images as important narrative markers, and also invests such images with an associative ideological context within the significance of the film. However these markers possess a relatively limited frame of significance in the sense that a viewer is not allowed carte blanche to assign meaning to these images, based purely on personal associations. Rather, the viewer is overwhelmed with copious quantities of shapes, objects, and lines, but all of a similar nature, thus giving meaning to and emphasizing an audience's response. For instance, in "Battleship Potemkin," the audience's experience of different members of the crew washing dishes, and cleaning the ship, all with circular motions, give a sense of continual, labored business. If the audience does not comprehend the busy quality of the ship, the implications ...