Comparison of Film Remakes: Poltergeist

Comparison of Film Remakes: Poltergeist INTRODUCTION In this essay Im going to compare two movies; original and its remake and focus on how visual effects were made for each movie. Firstly Im going to write about the original movie and then about its remake and how it has developed opposite the original. Im going to introduce the movie Poltergeist, its story and using my resources write about some of the most significant visual effects for the movie and how filmmakers achieved specific effects in that time using different techniques. Poltergeist is telling us a classic story about a family who came to a new house haunted by evil forces. Everything starts with the youngest daughter who senses ghosts calling her to help them. When she is taken by them to the other side, the family must come together to rescue her before she disappears forever. Poltergeist would prove to be one of the best horror movies of the 80s, thanks to its terrifying effects and creative storyline. The original moviewas awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Poltergeist (1982) / The Original Director: Tobe Hooper Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) VFX Supervisor: Richard Edlund Visual effects, if they are done well, are not obvious. The older effects may look lame and unsophisticated for first time viewers by todays standards. However, Poltergeist shows us that even using almost only practical effects created by hand can be very effective and breathtaking. The original Poltergeist scared a generation with its practical horror effects designed to disturb. These effects became legendary and inspired many filmmakers. It all began with a description in the script for Steven Spielbergs film Poltergeist: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and the house implodes. It is referring to a one of the most significant scene in the movie in which the house of the Freeling family becomes so possessed by spirits of the dead that it is destroyed by implosion it collapses upon itself and disappears. ILM was asked by Spielberg to create this effect and VFX supervisor Richard Edlund accepted this challenge. While the actors shot their parts on a blue screen set, ILM went through months of testing and development to achieve Spielbergs effect. They crafted a detailed model of the house out of balsa wood and corn flakes by a hand. The house had to break up into pieces and shrink into its center. It had to actually implode. Using vacuum system they finally achieved desired effect by threading thick steel cables through the model and funnel attached to a high powered vacuum. Whole scene was shot with a high-speed camera and done in one take. One of the most memorable set pieces involved Robbie (Oliver Robins) being pulled from his bed by an evil tree through his window. The tree they used was an entire mechanical tree that actually grab the kid. However, the scene was shot in reverse and despite of this the footage looked better this way. It gives the tree personality. Another significant and interesting shot was paranormal investigator Marty ripping his own melting face off. The VFX crew built a bust of the actor so there was no need to put special makeup on him. Spielberg was asked to rip the face flesh to bits because the production had only one bust to rip apart so the hands belong to Spielberg. Some of the scenes were huge to create. Building up set on a huge revolving gimbal is one of them. Scene where Carol Anne (Heather ORourke) is being dragged into closet is actually whole set turned 360 degrees so all the stuff just fell into closet. The key was attaching a static camera onto a rotating set. The same technique was used when esophagus is trying to devour the family. For this scene Spielberg wanted a full size enormous esophagus to engulf a bedroom. However, it was a model created by a hand, then filmed separately and then combined to the set. The scene is a masterpiece of optical compositing, as the miniature looks as it is actually part of the live-action set. One of the biggest parts of the movie was lightening. In Poltergeist lightening was the key to create a mysterious atmosphere. We can see a lot of special lightening effects such as blasting light. Very useful effect was achieved using tanks of water with fishes where they put a big reflector behind the tank so they could achieve the effect of optical flares coming out of the closet. Poltergeist (2015) / The Remake Director: Gil Kenan Shade VFX Supervisor: Bryan Godwin Soho VFX Supervisor: Keith Sellers In the early 1980s, there were no major computer generated visual effects but thats probably to this films advantage. Early CGI often looks dated. Having said that, the practical effects crafted by hand and shot with camera tricks in the original Poltergeist really do hold up for the most part. The remake has almost only CG effects. It also introduces a couple of innovative concepts like sending a drone with a camera into the other side. There was just too great of an opportunity to put a camera through to the other side and see what it looks like over there, Kenan said. I just couldnt resist. Most of the story remains the original but some of Kenans effects are not based on the original. For instance, the most significant effect the house implosion from the original Poltergeist doesnt take the place in the remake. They probably wanted to keep it more realistic so it ends only with the house falling apart without implosion. It is obvious that Kenan was trying to follow the melting face scene from the original regarding to a shot where we can see Erik (Sam Rockwell) in the kitchen seeing his face flowing black fluid. However, there is no melting face effect at all. I think he was only trying to keep the concept of someones face changing. On the other hand he created something that we couldnt see in the original movie Kenan decided to include the other side where Madison (Kennedi Clements) was being kept by ghosts. There we can see ghosts in another way than in the original. Using todays technique they decided to create more deadly-looking creatures than ordinary transparent ghosts. The movie takes us deep into the other side. The scene where Madison and her brother Griffin (Kyle Catlett) are talking inside the other side is visually very dramatic and dark. VFX artists created 3D models of ghosts as well as the environment of the other side so it was all CGI. For the dramatic closing sequence of the gate of the other side artists form Milk studio created four shots of the evil spirit creatures working with Framestore. Conclusion I admire the work on the house implosion effect. The technique used to create this kind of effect is creative and also very impressive. I admire the work of modelers who created the model to the detail so it looks exactly like the house in the movie and it is hardly noticeable. Another very impressive creation is perfectly done glass matte painting of graveyard in the original Poltergeist where Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Teague (James Karen) are standing next to while talking at the hill. I would use very precise digital painting technique combined with 3D models to achieve this effect. Of course, using todays advanced equipment it could be also done as a whole 3D environment combined with a real footage. My personal favorite is the melting face scene in the original movie. However, actors face suddenly changes into a bust and we can see it is not his face anymore. I would use different materials such as latex or silicone and make up technique on the actors face to make it more natural and avoid unwanted effect. The scene from the other side from the remade Poltergeist is very well done in my opinion. I like that the whole scene is based on the slow motion with lightening effect creating very mysterious feeling while camera is going through. In my opinion the original Poltergeist keeps its originality and horror feeling. Poltergeist has become one of the movies we will never forget. It take us to the world of classical effects and keeps us thinking how they achieved that. However, CGI opens the door to many opportunities today. The remake on the other hand is showing us how world of visual effects has developed. Some of the CGI effects in the remake are easily noticeable yet it still keeps its mysterious atmosphere during whole movie. Nowadays, filmmakers dont have to use almost any practical effect but sometimes the result may not be as desired. Bibliography FilmArchivesNYC. (2013). Poltergeist Behind the Scenes Footage (stock footage / archival footage). [image] youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzQuTcvYqCw/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2017]. fxguide. (2011). the vfx show #132: Poltergeist. [online] fxguide. Available at: https://www.fxguide.com/thevfxshow/the-vfx-show-132-poltergeist/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2017]. Woerner, M. (2013). 13 things you didnt know about Poltergeist. [online] io9. Available at: http://io9.gizmodo.com/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-poltergeist-1454934341/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2017]. Brown, C. (2006). Poltergeist (1982 film) [online] wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist_(1982_film)/   [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017]. ILM studio. Poltergeist. [online] ilm. Available at: http://www.ilm.com/vfx/poltergeist-2/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017]. BUF. (2016). POLTERGEIST | Visual Effects Making Of [image] vimeo. Available at:   https://vimeo.com/181774567/   [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017]. Milk. (2015). Poltergeist Feature Film, 2015 [online] milk-vfx. Available at: http://www.milk-vfx.com/project/poltergeist/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017]. Porter, S. (2015). Look Away! Practical Horror Effects in Classic Films. [online] premiumbeat. Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/look-away-practical-horror-effects-in-classic-films/   [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017]. Polowy, K. (2015). Poltergeist Director Gil Kenan Couldnt Resist Showing Us The Other Side This Time. [online] yahoo. Available at:   https://www.yahoo.com/movies/poltergeist-remake-behind-tv-screen-director-119617731497.html/ [Accessed 10 Jan. 2017]. Lowe, J. (2015). Poltergeist Film Review: A Solid Remake. [online] yahoo. Available at:   https://www.yahoo.com/movies/poltergeist-film-review-a-solid-remake-119372053762.html/   [Accessed 12 Jan. 2017].

Analyzing EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. with 11,200 employees worldwide, is the world†s leading supplier of intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval technology. EMC is a Fortune 500 company and was ranked ninth on Business Week†s 1998 â€Å"Info Tech 100†³ list of the world†s best-performing information technology companies. In 1998, EMC had an annual revenue of $3.9 billion. EMC designs systems for open system, mainframe, and midrange environments. EMC is the only company in the world entirely focused on rapidly delivering intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval solutions. This enables companies and organizations to leverage their growing volumes of information into profitability, growth and competitive advantage. EMC Enterprise Storage systems, software products, and services are the leading information access and storage solutions for every major computing platform in today†s business enterprise. EMC was founded in 1979 by Richard Egan and Robert Marino (the E and M in EMC) as a supplier of add-on memory boards. EMC†s rapid rise in the worldwide data storage market began its major surge in 1989, when the company revised its strategy to align itself with businesses† growing reliance on increasingly vast and complex amounts of electronic data. In 1990 with the introduction of EMC†s Symmetrix product line, EMC became the first company to provide intelligent storage systems based on arrays of small, commodity hard disk drives for the mainframe market. Since the in introduction of Symmetrix technology, more than 30,000 of these systems have been sold around the globe and EMC†s annual revenues have grown from $190 million in 1990 to $3.97 billion in 1998. With the introduction of Symmetrix Remote Data Facility in 1994, EMC became the world†s leading storage-based solution for business continuity and disaster recovery. EMC†s portfolio of storage software includes EMC TimeFinder, EMC Data Manager, EMC PowerPath and Symmetrix Manager. With its $445 million in software revenue in 1998, this makes EMC one of the world†s largest and fastest-growing software companies. The major customers of EMC include the world†s largest banks and financial services firms, telecommunications providers, airlines, retailers and manufacturers, as well as governments, universities, and scientific institutions. These customers rely on EMC†s innovative storage solutions for such applications as online reservation systems, transaction processing, customer billing, year 2000 compliance, the Internet and corporate intranets, business continuance/disaster recovery, data mining and data warehousing. EMC has also formed alliances with the world†s leading software, application and database companies, such as Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Baan, and PeopleSoft. EMC is a global organization, and is represented by more than 100 offices worldwide. The company manufactures its products in Massachusetts and Ireland. EMC has R&D facilities in Massachusetts, Colorado, Israel, and France. They also have Customer Support Centers in Massachusetts, Ireland, Japan, and Australia. EMC holds the most strict quality management certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001) and its manufacturing operations hold MRP II Class A certification. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Richard J. Egan- Founder and Chairman Egan is a founder of EMC Corporation.. He has served as Director since the companies inception in 1979. In 1988, Egan brought the company public and was elected Chairman of the Board. He held the position of President and CEO until January 1992. Michael C. Ruettgers- President and CEO Ruettgers has held the position of President and CEO of EMC Corporation, since January of 1992. Ruettgers joined the company in 1988 as executive Vice President of Operations and Customer Service, and from 1989 he was EMC†s President and Chief Operating Officer. 1979- EMC Corporation is founded by Richard j. Egan and Roger Marino in Newton, 1981- 64 kilobyte chip memory boards are developed for Prime Computers. 1982- EMC corporate headquarters moves to Natick, Massachusetts. -Annual sales surpass the $3 million mark. 1984- Five years after the company†s founding, annual sales reach $18.8 million, nearly tripling 1985- EMC is first to commercially ship denser memory upgrades using 1-megabit Random 1986- EMC goes public in April; makes initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange. -Total revenues double over 1985 to $66.6 million; net income more than doubles to $18.6 million. 1987- Corporate headquarters relocates to Hopkinton, Massachusetts. 1988- EMC opens its European manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland. -EMC stock lists for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange in March. 1989- Second major US corporate facility is opened in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. -EMC develops Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) subsystems with automated error thresholding for IBM System/38 and AS/400 computers. -Michael C. Ruettgers, is promoted from Executive Vice President of Operations and Customer Service, to President and Chief Operating Officer. Richard J. Egan continues his 1990- EMC redefines mainframes storage by introducing the Symmetrix 4200 Integrated Cached Disk Array (ICDA), a 24-gigabyte RAID mainframe storage system that replaces traditional 14†³ DASD disks with the mainframe industry†s first 5.25-inch disks. Performance is further enhanced through 4-gigabyte cache and 32-processor controller cards. -EMC institutes a Continuous Quality Improvement process, resulting in greatly enhanced product and process quality, as well as over $20 million saved to date (1995). 1991- Several enhancements to the Symmetrix ICDA product line give EMC the ability to compete in the Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) environment. 1992- Michael C. Ruettgers is named President and CEO and the company†s stock splits 2 for 3. 1993- EMC mainframe storage market share increases from 5% to 15%. 1994- EMC introduces the world†s first â€Å"terabyte box† and the company surpasses the $1 billion 1995- EMC introduces first Symmetrix storage systems for open systems and surpasses IBM as market share leader in mainframe disk storage capacity. 1996- EMC becomes leader in the open storage market. 1997- EMC extends lead in the enterprise storage and retrieval market. 1998- The EMC Effect is felt across the computing enterprise. 1999- EMC Corporation announces two-for-one stock split. There are five forces that shape competition in an industry, barriers to entry, power of suppliers, power of buyers, threat of substitutes, and rivalry & industry structure. These five forces that Porter developed have become a strong framework in helping strategic mangers find answers as to how, or why decision can have an impact on their firm, and the industry they operate in. When analyzed the collective strength of these forces show potential profits of an industry. The company being focused on is EMC, which is in the Computer Peripherals industry. Barriers to entry are forces that firms must overcome in order to enter an industry. These barriers can be caused from high initial investment, product differentiation, cost disadvantage, access to distribution channels, or restrictive government policies. An example of this could be the phone, or cable companies. There are very few companies that are able to compete within this industry because of the high capital requirements to start off. An enormous amount of time and money would have to be spent on installing lines throughout the country to supply you customers with the services they want. EMC is in a situation where it has created several barriers to entry. Capital requirements are one of the barriers that EMC has in its favor. In 1979 EMC started its business in data storage which it is now the leading company in its industry. It has offices all over the globe and is the only company in the world to be specifically focused on rapidly delivering intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval solutions. There are very few companies that can compete with EMC because of its name association and large international operation. New entrance into this industry would have to invest large amounts of time and money into research and development. EMC already has the technology and is constantly updating with more advanced services. Another barrier to entry is product differentiation. EMC is specialized in enterprise storage, which is much different than conventional storage. While conventional storage has been used to back up memory in case of a disaster or, to log companies transactions, EMC started a niche which it has made into a new industry. Enterprise storage has six specific parts that set it aside from conventional storage. They are as follows enterprise connectivity, information centricity, cascadability, information management, information sharing, and information protection. It can be clearly seen that this industry is constantly changing, and new products are coming out every day. If you are not the leader in this new technology then you will not survive. EMC has without a doubt developed barriers to entry. The threat of substitutes is how easily a product can be interchanged with another. For example if you are going to buy bottled water you decision will ultimately come down to price. An expensive flashy bottle of water can easily be exchanged for a generic store brand bottle at a fraction of the cost. However with services it is a different story. Lawyers for example could easily be substituted if you were looking at the cost. It would be very simple to find a cheap lawyer, however you might end up losing your case. To get a top of the line service you will have to pay a little extra. EMC is a top of the line service which also offers a very affordable pricing strategy. Its pricing very sensitive with the companies it works with, whether you are a world dominating bank, or a newly started Internet company. EMC has something to offer everyone. What makes EMC even more attractive is its unmatchable customer service. Customers are always kept in close and frequent contact whether it be for unforeseen problems, or to validate new features. Customers have found that EMC offers the best of both worlds, and that no other company so far can be substituted for it. â€Å"We need high capacity, fast performance, a scalable platform, and total data protections. With EMC, we found a complete solution from one provider.† Says the General Manager of information technology, at Komercni Banka. This clearly shows the EMC has eliminated its substitutes by offering something that no one else can match. Rivals in any given industry are a part of competition that businesses have to deal with. For the past several years EMC has not had to deal with many competitor since they offer services and customer support that surpasses any other company that has been looking to get into the the information storage industry. IBM, and Sun Microsystems are two companies that have recently been competing with EMC. These are both large established companies that deal in many different aspects of the technology industry. Both IBM and Sun Microsystems have begun to compete with EMC†s self started indusrty. The reason for this is because they both have large R&D departments with large budgets that allow development of product comparable to EMC. However since EMC is so focused in their niche market they have a mixture between service and product quality that hasn†t been matched by anyone. IBM Sun and the other competitor are not focused just on storage technology but they also have many other interest. This makes companies weary of handing over valuable information to a business that could be in direct competition with them. This gives EMC a competitive advantage over any other company since they are well known for tight security. Another advantage EMC has over its competitors is that they are now recognized as the â€Å"standard: in computer information back up and storage area.

Is the Death Penalty Right or Wrong?

â€Å"For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. † This was a quote from Albert Camus; he is questioning the death penalty, by declaring that crime rates haven’t decreased. The death penalty is a court sentence of death by execution. To many, the death penalty is right because it protects people from harm. To take one’s life as capital punishment is wrong, we, America should seek new disciplinary actions to stop crime. When a person is put on death row, mostly likely nobody exactly knows if the person actually did the crime, evidence shows many things but doesn’t accurately confirm if somebody did something. It isn’t right to kill someone and not know exactly if that person did the crime. According to the Death Penalty Information Center website since the year of 1973, 139 people in 26 states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. Also, of the 5,500 inmates currently on death row, at least 14 percent are believed to be innocent, according to the statistics provided by the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D. C. These two statements prove that people, who are put on death row, aren’t always the doers of the crime. Your life is basically over when your put on death row, to be on death row for a crime you didn’t even commit must be terrible. Various statistics show that the defendant’s income level has lots to do with either a person is put on death row. â€Å"Death sentences are imposed in a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent,† Bryan Stevenson explains. When you are getting treated better than another person, you are more likely going to get the better side in everything, so no death penalty for you, while the other person, who is poor and innocent, is getting the death penalty. To Helen Prejean, she believes that the poor are selected to die in this country and also that, money gets you good defense, which is why you’ll never see an O. J Simpson on death row. Helen is right, to me, because if you have money in this world you can practically buy almost everything, including a well respected lawyer. With the right resources a guilty man can be put off death row and into prison for maybe a few years unlike, an innocent man who doesn’t have the right resources, be put onto death row.

Ghosts, Superstitions, and The Supernatural essays

Ghosts, Superstitions, and The Supernatural essays Ghosts, Superstitions, and The Supernatural Late at night, a couple leaves the movie theater and head home. While driving, everything seems fine and normal for the both of them. All of a sudden, they end up driving on a road along the way that is isolated and known for strange happenings. The occurrences that happen for this couple thereafter spell doom for their lives since they never believed in any mumbo-jumbo like ghosts and superstitions. The stories told about this road are believed to involve a hitchhiker that appears out of nowhere. The hitchhiker appears to look normal except for the hood that it wears over its head. The story goes on to state that when this hitchhiker is approached and picked up, the driver of the car then realizes that the person has no head when they look in their rearview mirror. When the realization occurs, nothing deadly happens, but the ghost disappears and a curse is put upon them and their car. What has happened to this couple that night? What on earth did they approach alon! g the road? Was it really a hitchhiker playing a trick on them or was it really some type of supernatural being that is known to bring turmoil into peoples lives? The story then goes on to describe that this couple has not been seen since that night and clues or evidence cannot be found of their whereabouts. ...

Nellie Bly - Investigative Journalist

Nellie Bly - Investigative Journalist The reporter known as Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, where her father was a mill owner and county judge. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Pink, as she was known in childhood, was the youngest of 13 (or 15, according to other sources) of her fathers children from both of his marriages; Pink competed to keep up with her five older brothers. Her father died when she was only six. Her fathers money was divided among the children, leaving little for Nellie Bly and her mother to live on. Her mother remarried, but her new husband, John Jackson Ford, was violent and abusive, and in 1878 she filed for divorce. The divorce was final in June of 1879. Nellie Bly briefly attended college at Indiana State Normal School, intending to prepare to be a teacher, but funds ran out in the middle of her first semester there, and she left. She had discovered both a talent and interest in writing and talked her mother into moving to Pittsburgh to look for work in that field. But she did not find anything, and the family was forced to live in slum conditions. Finding Her First Reporting Job With her already-clear experience with the necessity of a woman working and the difficulty of finding work, she read an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch called What Girls Are Good For, which dismissed the qualifications of women workers. She wrote an angry letter to the editor as a response, signing it Lonely Orphan Girl- and the editor thought enough of her writing to offer her an opportunity to write for the paper. She wrote her first piece for the newspaper, on the status of working women in Pittsburgh, under the name Lonely Orphan Girl. When she was writing her second piece, on divorce, either she or her editor (the stories told differ) decided she needed a more appropriate pseudonym, and Nellie Bly became her nom de plume. The name was taken from the then-popular Stephen Foster tune, Nelly Bly. When Nellie Bly wrote human interest pieces exposing the conditions of poverty and discrimination in Pittsburgh, local leaders pressured her editor, George Madden, and he reassigned her to cover fashion and society- more typical womens interest articles. But those didnt hold Nellie Blys interest. Mexico Nellie Bly arranged to travel to Mexico as a reporter. She took her mother along as a chaperone, but her mother soon returned, leaving her daughter to travel unchaperoned, unusual for that time, and somewhat scandalous. Nellie Bly wrote about Mexican life, including its food and culture- but also about its poverty and the corruption of its officials. She was expelled from the country and returned to Pittsburgh, where she began reporting for the Dispatch again. She published her Mexican writings as a book, Six Months in Mexico, in 1888. But she was soon bored with that work, and quit, leaving a note for her editor, Im off for New York. Look out for me. Bly. Off for New York In New York, Nellie Bly found it difficult to find work as a newspaper reporter because she was a woman. She did some freelance writing for the Pittsburgh paper, including an article about her difficulty in finding work as a reporter. In 1887, Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World hired her, seeing her as fitting into his campaign to expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evil and abuses- part of the reformist trend in newspapers of that time. Ten Days in a Mad House For her first story, Nellie Bly had herself committed as insane. Using the name Nellie Brown, and pretending to be Spanish-speaking, she was first sent to Bellevue and then, on September 25, 1887, admitted to Blackwells Island Madhouse. After ten days, lawyers from the newspaper were able to get her released as planned. She wrote of her own experience where doctors, with little evidence, pronounced her insane and of other women who were probably just as sane as she was, but who didnt speak good English or were thought to be unfaithful. She wrote of the horrible food and living conditions, and the generally poor care. The articles were published in October 1887 and were widely reprinted across the country, making her famous. Her writings on her asylum experience were published in 1887 as Ten Days in a Mad House. She proposed a number of reforms- and, after a grand jury investigation, many of those reforms were adopted. More Investigative Reporting This was followed with investigations and exposà ©s on sweatshops, baby-buying, jails, and corruption in the legislature. She interviewed Belva Lockwood, the Woman Suffrage Party presidential candidate, and Buffalo Bill, as well as the wives of three presidents (Grant, Garfield, and Polk). She wrote about the Oneida Community, an account republished in book form. Around the World Her most famous stunt, though, was her competition with the fictional Around the World in 80 Days trip of Jules Vernes character, Phileas Fogg, an idea proposed by G. W. Turner. She left from New York to sail to Europe on November 14, 1889, taking only two dresses and one bag. Traveling by many means including boat, train, horse, and rickshaw, she made it back in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds. The last leg of the trip, from San Francisco to New York, was via a special train provided by the newspaper. The World published daily reports of her progress and held a contest to guess her return time, with over a million entries. In 1890, she published about her adventure in Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. She went on a lecture tour, including a trip to Amiens, France, where she interviewed Jules Verne. The Famous Female Reporter She was, now, the most famous female reporter of her time. She quit her job, writing serial fiction for three years for another New York publication- fiction that is far from memorable. In 1893 she returned to the World. She covered the Pullman strike, with her coverage having the unusual distinction of paying attention to the conditions of the strikers lives. She interviewed Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman. Chicago, Marriage In 1895, she left New York for a job in Chicago with the Times-Herald. She only worked there for six weeks. She met Brooklyn millionaire and industrialist Robert Seaman, who was 70 to her 31 (she claimed she was 28). In just two weeks, married him. The marriage had a rocky start. His heirs- and a previous common-law wife or mistress- were opposed to the match. She went off to cover a womens suffrage convention and interview Susan B. Anthony; Seaman had her followed, but she had the man he hired arrested and then published an article about being a good husband. She wrote an article in 1896 on why women should fight in the Spanish American War- and that was the last article she wrote until 1912. Nellie Bly, Businesswoman Nellie Bly- now Elizabeth Seaman- and her husband settled down, and she took an interest in his business. He died in 1904, and she took over the Ironclad Manufacturing Co. which made enameled ironware. She expanded the American Steel Barrel Co. with a barrel that she claimed to have invented, promoting it to increase the success appreciably of her late husbands business interests. She changed the method of payment of workers from piecework to a salary and even provided recreation centers for them. Unfortunately, a few of the long term employees were caught cheating the company, and a long legal battle ensued, ending in bankruptcy, and employees sued her. Impoverished, she began writing for the New York Evening Journal. In 1914, to avoid a warrant for obstructing justice, she fled to Vienna, Austria- just as World War I was breaking out. Vienna In Vienna, Nellie Bly was able to watch World War I unfolding. She sent a few articles to the Evening Journal. She visited the battlefields, even trying out the trenches, and promoted U.S. aid and involvement to save Austria from Bolsheviks. Back to New York In 1919, she returned to New York, where she successfully sued her mother and brother for the return of her house and what remained of the business she had inherited from her husband. She returned to the New York Evening Journal, this time writing an advice column. She also worked to help place orphans into adoptive homes and adopted a child herself at age 57. Nellie Bly was still writing for the Journal when she died of heart disease and pneumonia in 1922. In a column published the day after she died, famous reporter Arthur Brisbane called her the best reporter in America. Key Facts Family: Mother: Mary Jane Kennedy Cummings (her second marriage, the first was childless)Father: Michael Cochran (mill owner and county judge; had 10 [or 12?] children from a first marriage)Siblings: two full siblings, and 10 (or 12?) half-siblings from her fathers first marriageHusband: Robert Livingston Seaman (married April 5, 1895, when he was 70; millionaire industrialist)Children: none from her marriage, but adopted a child when she was 57 Education: early education at homeIndiana State Normal School, Indiana, Pennsylvania Known for: investigative reporting and sensationalist journalism, especially her commitment to an insane asylum and her around-the-world stunt Occupation: journalist, writer, reporter Dates: May 5, 1864-January 27, 1922; she claimed 1865 or 1867 as her birth year) Other Names: Elizabeth Jane Cochran (birth name), Elizabeth Cochrane (a spelling she adopted), Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (married name), Elizabeth Seaman, Nelly Bly, Pink Cochran (childhood nickname) Books by Nellie Bly Ten Days in a Mad-House; or Nellie Blys Experience on Blackwells Island. Feigning Insanity in order to Reveal Asylum Horrors.... 1887.Six Months in Mexico. 1888.The Mystery in Central Park. 1889.Outline of Bible Theology! Exacted from a Letter by a Lady to the New York World of 2nd June, 1889. 1889.Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. 1890. Books About Nellie Bly: Jason Marks. The Story of Nellie Bly. 1951.Nina Brown Baker. Nellie Bly. 1956.Iris Noble. Nellie Bly: First Woman Reporter. 1956.Mignon Rittenhouse. The Amazing Nellie Bly. 1956.Emily Hahn. Around the World with Nellie Bly. 1959.Terry Dunnahoo. Nellie Bly: A Portrait. 1970.Charles Parlin Graves. Nellie Bly, Reporter for the World. 1971.Ann Donegan Johnson. The Value of Fairness: The Story of Nellie Bly. 1977.Tom Lisker. Nellie Bly: First Woman of the News. 1978.Kathy Lynn Emerson. Making Headlines: A Biography of Nellie Bly. 1981.Judy Carlson. Nothing Is Impossible, Said Nellie Bly. 1989.Elizabeth Ehrlich. Nellie Bly. 1989.Martha E. Kendall. Nellie Bly: Reporter for the World. 1992.Marcia Schneider. First Woman of the News. 1993.Brooke Kroeger. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. 1994.

Business decision making - reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business decision making - reflection - Essay Example For example, we also kept in mind the availability of housing for hospital staff. Even if site A would seem less costly to develop; still, we cannot decide simply based on costs. Quality must always be part of the decision process because a hospital is not just about medical equipment, it is more on providing services to the patients as well as to the employees. We have to choose from the best possible alternative that can reward us with the greatest pay-off coupled with minimal issues. For this reason, we arrived at Site B because even the insects would receive some benefits that we have planned. The first stage that we went through is identifying the problems and problem definition. Using the rational model, we need to properly determine what are the potential causes of problems for each site that we have to consider. In a rational decision model, we have to look into all possible alternatives so every bit of information that we can get hold would prove useful. When we were identif ying the problems, we decided to set out the criteria which were required. Each site would have to meet these criteria in order to be chosen as the optimum site. The basic criteria were: †¢ Good access points to and from the hospital. †¢ Produce a 15 – 20% return on shareholders’ investments. †¢ Easy to obtain staff, particularly of the high-skilled variety. †¢ Aesthetically pleasing. †¢ Gaining political support. †¢ Replacing the older hospitals in the region For example, we really needed to verify if Site A was a hazardous dump because there were hear says about the site. The only way to confirm such beliefs was to objectively make an investigation of the facts, so there is no room for mistakes. Although the group members were keen about the information gathering process, we observed that each member became very analytical. Everyone wanted to provide the best possible solution to the point that we became obsessive-compulsive. In fact, we also became directive in approaching one another especially when expressing our viewpoints verbally, at times, quite harshly. Our personal commitments were subdued in the interest of choosing the best decision. This rather slowed-down the decision making process because we often argued at the claims we are presenting during group meetings. The good thing is that we have some members who act as facilitators and reminded us about the value of team-work. When we have to sit down and look at the widest range of alternatives, we need to start considering not only the technical or financial elements involved but other important factors as well. We have to consider the political element, since we don’t want any protests that would involve bad publicity. However, aside from looking at possible moral issues, each of us has to change our attitude and look within ourselves. The team leader involved everyone in participative decision-making and allowed us to present solutions that are c reative – like relocating the animals to another place like what Saintburys Supermarket accomplished. We knew that if all of us helped one another in choosing the best alternative, the whole group would benefit from such a decision. We wanted a win-win outcome that would have the least possible disadvantage to all stakeholders. For one, we considered the political factor by knowing if our decision would have any effect on the campaign of MP Thompson. Furthermore, we liked the idea that it would not

RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper Example It can also work against mutual understanding and cause a frustration in dialogue. Stereotypes play incredibly significant roles aspects related to propaganda in the current society. Since stereotypes are generalizations of basic or complex applications that groups or individuals follow based on appearances, beliefs or behaviors? Although the world is quickly improving from old ways, stereotyping has proved a difficult aspect to eliminate. Stereotypes having existed since the beginning of times, it has been known to influence politics, religion, and the media. In the media, humans use stereotypes to show humor, show beliefs or even in describing others (Branston 23). In most cases, they bring about both negative and positive changes with impacts on the media viewers. The media more often than not mislead people because of the nature of using stereotypes and misinterpreting others. Never, the less, people in the society still have significant belief in them and still accept the storie s as portrayed. As stated above, media has the obvious stereotypes categorized in four groups that include ethical prejudice, racism, sexism and religious prejudice. Although other additions are based on fat people as slothful slobs, professors as absent minded people and those that are out of touch, journalists as people with scruples, politicians as unethical and sleazy, and students as arrogant and lazy boozers( Martin, 6). In my opinion, these stereotypes are created in the midst of people probably in different groups but the media plays the role of distributing, sustaining and demonizing stereotypes. In the case of sustaining, they embrace on continuous reporting that is based on referencing the stereotyped aspect, which in other cases could have vanished. In distributing, they ensure a small aspect or a characteristic of a group is widely known in the entire world causing each person to associate globally that aspect with the people, hence stereotyping. However, in my opinion, the distributing factor is beneficial to both the groups since the stereotyped group might seek to emulate the behavior as reported or choose to live as they used to (Hujer, 7). Demonizing is the worst form of media stereotyping since it involves, identifying a certain group for instance, a minority group and pinning down blames upon them. This is difficult when done to single individual or unclear groups. However, as soon as a group is identified, targeting them on certain specification becomes incredibly easy. In this case, the media success is all about selling out ideas to viewers and that which sells most is termed as the best, even if a type of stereotype. Since entertainment was launched on to the media services, they have continually build and created stereotypes as well as feeding onto them (Martin, 5). However, it is important to note that media has gradually changed from the traditional to non-traditional medias where two different paradigms are offered sets of interesti ng perspectives. In my opinion, those that were and are still referred to as stereotypes are not stereotypes anymore. When thought in the perspective of media, they are process centric progression strategies that are associated in the current world. This only proves that, the current world has turned to be that of uncertainty, change and flux and it is essential to have this perspective and take happenings similarly. There