Love and Marriage in Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales

Love and Marriage in Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales Love and Marriage Insanities Making sense out of love and marriage ideals is not an easy task, especially as human actions in emotional circumstances do not follow any logic. It is a fact that has been proven consistently over time, across cultures and is also corroborated by many of the stories within Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales. In particular, The Knights Tale and The Millers Tale, that take place in two different social settings, make fun of conventional beliefs about love and marriage in the context of values such as bravery, street smartness, morality, and faithfulness. Through their plots, the narrators styles, and the contrast they set up between cherished and practiced values, the two tales highlight that human behavior in romantic situations is often unpredictable, crazy and colored by ones social class, confirming that there is no such thing as a model love or marriage. Although The Knights Tale plot is set in the halo of honor, chivalry and courtesy, the storys events and the characters actions show the silliness in how they treat love. As an example, the two cousins, Arcite and Palamon, are ready to kill each other for a woman neither of them has talked to. After escaping from the prison, Palamon discovers Arcites love for Emily and angrily challenges Arcite to a fight. Arcite responds, And I denounce all covenants that stand / Or are alleged, between you and me / remember love is free / And I will love her! I defy your might. (Chaucer 46) It is ironic that Arcite, who as a knight should keep his word and follow principles, is willing to break his earlier oath not to come in the way of his cousins love pursuit. Arcite justifies breaking his vow because as a free person he is not constrained whom he loves. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get Emily and doesnt care how strong Palamon is. Even though people can behave irrationally in matters involving love, both Palamon and Arcite are being stupid in this instance. Neither of them knows what Emily thinks. Isnt it exemplary love a two-way relationship? Whom are they courting and quarreling about? Are they willing to go to the extremes of killing each other for a woman who at this moment doesnt represent anything other than an image, symbol or trophy that theyve seen from a distance? What makes this even more bizarre is that Emily doesnt even want to get married. She prays to Goddess Diana, That I would be virgin all my life, / And would be neither mistress, no, nor wife. / of thy company, / A huntress walk the woodlands wild. (Chaucer 65) Emily doesnt like a mans company, prefers hunting and doesnt want to marry or bear children. This exposes the foolishness of what Arcite and Palamon were up to, even though they supposedly follow all the ideals of aristocratic class such as bravery, honor, bond and courtly love. The Knights Tale depiction of love is strongly influenced by its narrator, a knight, and his worldview. In the Prologue, the narrator is introduced as someone who followed chivalry, Truth, honour, generousness and courtesy. (Chaucer 4) Since in a knights world, bravery and physical fights resolve disputes, it is no wonder that in his story, a tournament clash is the best way to settle the rivalry between Emilys two suitors. She is no better than a trophy to be won in a contest. The King Theseus treats Emily, in the traditions of the aristocratic class, as a gift to win peace and harmony. Even though she apparently doesnt have any say, her suitors try to woo her with flowery language as per their traditions, customs and code of conduct. As an example, Arcite, while in prison, describes his feelings towards Emily to Palamon, And with a deep and piteous sigh he said: / The freshness of her beauty strikes me dead / Unless I at least see her day by day, / I am but dead (Chaucer 33) Arcit e is using fancy language to say that hell die if he doesnt the object of his love every day. Although the story represents love in flowery terms and as a bravery contest, reflecting the narrators perspective, the plot and characters actions speak of the irrational twists and turns in romantic pursuits. In contrast to the polished language and high-minded principles of the knights world, The Millers Tale depicts romantic situations in vulgar and comical tones, and in the process, makes fun of conventional dos and donts about love and marriage. As an example, the way Alison handles her two suitors, Nicholas and Absalon, is not only hilarious but also a not so subtle middle-class snub of the upper-class imposed view about love. When Alisons husband leaves for work, Nicholas tries to woo her with aggressive sexual advances. In response, she reacts, Swearing shed love him, with a solemn promise / To be at his disposal / When she could spy an opportunity. (Chaucer 91) She is so attracted to the street-smart Nicholas that she has no problems in being at his disposal. She just wants to wait for the right opportunity when it is safe for her to cheat on her husband. In stark contrast to falling for the physical advances of Nicholas, Alison refuses the dignified courtship of the parish clerk Absalon. Not only does she spurn his affection, she does so by tricking him to kiss her genitals. After this trickery, Teehee! she laughed, and clapped the, window to; / Off went poor Absalon sadly through the dark. (Chaucer 103) Alisons contrasting responses, towards her suitors, highlight the qualities, a middle-class girl like her, admires the most: street smartness, boldness and physical attraction represented by Nicholas. On the other hand, she humiliates Absalon, making a mockery of his gentlemanly approaches and sweet words. Further, by being part of an extra-marital affair, she is being unfaithful to her husband. She also participates in Nicholass scheme to deceive her naive husband, that ends up making him a laughing-stock of the town. When John fell from the boat and no one listened to him, Alison and Nicholas told the town people, That he was mad, Some sort of nonsense about Nowels Flood All started laughing at this lunacy. (Chaucer 105) This episode, in addition to her i nfidelity, was Alisons payback for her marriage with the much older carpenter and his extraordinary protective nature. Maybe, she was married to him because he was rich, a practice that was common in arranged marriages in the medieval middle class. The Millers Tale narrators drunkenness and middle-class perspective shapes his story in direct, crude, and vulgar terms. In the Prologue, he proudly states that One shouldnt be too inquisitive in life / Either about Gods secrets or ones wife. /Gods plenty all you could desire / better not enquire. (Chaucer 88) Through these words, the narrator expresses his view that men shouldnt care about their wives or Gods private affairs. There are lots of women in this world to choose from and men shouldnt ask about the rest. Maybe the narrator has loose morals. Or, his middle-class outlook conditions him to talk frankly about subjects like physical sex and infidelity. In the narrators real world, instant gratification is more practical than high-minded principles or morals. Its also an environment that rewards street smartness and land grab mindset of Nicholas and looks down upon the poetic verbiage of Absalon. In any case, the narrators choice of words and the substance of his tale sets up a significant contrast with the polished language and plot of the Knights Tale. Although the two tales, set in different social contexts, are influenced by their narrators style and language, both stories spotlight that there is no universal standard one can use to judge human actions in love and marriage. The Knights Tale, despite its depictions of idolized values such as honor, bravery, and courteousness, boils love down to essentially a competition instead of a two-way relationship. The Millers Tale, despite its vulgarity and crudeness, presents the day-to-day happenings in love and marriage in ordinary folks lives, in stark contrast to the ivory tower world of the aristocratic class. Both stories, however, confirm that human behavior in love and marriage circumstances is often moody, irrational and erratic. It is, therefore, foolish to make predictions about human behavior in such matters where ones heart rules the brain.

Essay --

Over the years, much has been written about the two novels, both positive and negative. For example, Ben Clarke of the University of North Carolina has written extensively about Orwell, and asserts that although mainly acclaimed for his non-fiction works, Orwell’s fiction writing had significant value, and was generally under-rated (Clarke). Orwell’s only novel to receive critical acclaim was Nineteen Eighty-four. Even this novel, when studied, is considered for its historical significance rather than its literary contribution (Clarke). Clarke also suggests that Orwell’s female characters reflect Orwell’s views of masculinity and femininity. Though he recognizes the limited choices that women had in society, he shows showed little originality in their portrayal (Clarke). Certainly Julia, in Nineteen Eighty-Four is portrayed as a woman engaging in sexual relationships with Party members more out of boredom than from any real disagreement with the poli tics of the Party. She depicted as being accepting of the status quo, and follows Winston’s lead in his rebellious activities. This is similar to the way that women in Orwell’s time period were viewed, as passive but supportive components in society. The restrictive bounds on society trigger rebellion by the major characters in both novels. By restricting the knowledge and information available, the governments in both novels maintain tight control on their citizens. In Nineteen Eighty-four, the public is manipulated by propaganda to believe what the Party wants it to believe. There are laws against even thinking of anything that creates individuality or harms the Party in any way, labelled by Orwell as â€Å"thoughtcrime†. â€Å"Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concea... ..., Winston’s search for the truth drives him to rebel in small ways initially. Driven to create something that will not be re-written at the whim of the Party, he writes in an illicitly obtained diary to a nameless future reader from â€Å"a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone† (Orwell 28). His next step on the path to rebellion is to begin a forbidden sexual relationship with a woman he works with. He has longed for a relationship where he is free to love without the purpose of procreation. Even more important to him, however, is that his actions undermine the Party. When Julia, his girlfriend, tells him that he has done this "Hundreds of times -well, scores of times†, Winston is not upset; instead, he is thrilled because that means there were many others who are â€Å"corrupt to the bones† and were also rebelling against the Party (Orwell 112). Essay -- Over the years, much has been written about the two novels, both positive and negative. For example, Ben Clarke of the University of North Carolina has written extensively about Orwell, and asserts that although mainly acclaimed for his non-fiction works, Orwell’s fiction writing had significant value, and was generally under-rated (Clarke). Orwell’s only novel to receive critical acclaim was Nineteen Eighty-four. Even this novel, when studied, is considered for its historical significance rather than its literary contribution (Clarke). Clarke also suggests that Orwell’s female characters reflect Orwell’s views of masculinity and femininity. Though he recognizes the limited choices that women had in society, he shows showed little originality in their portrayal (Clarke). Certainly Julia, in Nineteen Eighty-Four is portrayed as a woman engaging in sexual relationships with Party members more out of boredom than from any real disagreement with the poli tics of the Party. She depicted as being accepting of the status quo, and follows Winston’s lead in his rebellious activities. This is similar to the way that women in Orwell’s time period were viewed, as passive but supportive components in society. The restrictive bounds on society trigger rebellion by the major characters in both novels. By restricting the knowledge and information available, the governments in both novels maintain tight control on their citizens. In Nineteen Eighty-four, the public is manipulated by propaganda to believe what the Party wants it to believe. There are laws against even thinking of anything that creates individuality or harms the Party in any way, labelled by Orwell as â€Å"thoughtcrime†. â€Å"Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concea... ..., Winston’s search for the truth drives him to rebel in small ways initially. Driven to create something that will not be re-written at the whim of the Party, he writes in an illicitly obtained diary to a nameless future reader from â€Å"a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone† (Orwell 28). His next step on the path to rebellion is to begin a forbidden sexual relationship with a woman he works with. He has longed for a relationship where he is free to love without the purpose of procreation. Even more important to him, however, is that his actions undermine the Party. When Julia, his girlfriend, tells him that he has done this "Hundreds of times -well, scores of times†, Winston is not upset; instead, he is thrilled because that means there were many others who are â€Å"corrupt to the bones† and were also rebelling against the Party (Orwell 112).

should cookies be banned :: essays research papers

Over the years internet privacy has been major concern worldwide. Even with such advanced technology we still can’t perfect the intrusion technology. But first before we try to ban cookies we should realize what we tend to loose. All cookies are not intrusive but a navigation tool as well. Internet cookies are extremely valuable to consumers and website operators alike, despite concerns that they threaten web users’ personal privacy. Without cookies, the Internet would be slower, the electronic marketplace, a difficult place to navigate and the entire online experience frustrating. The Internet Alliance urges lawmakers not to regulate cookies but to work with industry to address the underlying issues: privacy and security. Together we must alert consumers on how to use technology and common sense to protect their own personal privacy online. First, it is important to understand what cookies are and how they benefit the web browser. A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser when you access a particular site. When a cookie arrives, your browser saves this information to your hard drive; when you return to that site, some of the stored information is sent back to the web server. But a cookie is not an executable program; it cannot scan your hard drive or be used to find out information you have not given the web site. Without cookies, a consumer in an online bookstore, for example, could not put items in a shopping basket. Each item would have to be selected and purchased separately. The common practice of refining queries through a search engine would not be possible because without a cookie, there would be no record of the previous query. Cookies also allow web servers to collect and add specific data about a consumer and their browsing habits. Some use that data to send marketing information to consumers. It is this practice that raises privacy concerns. The Internet Alliance believes that consumers should be able to set the level of privacy they want when surfing the Web. If they want to be anonymous, they should have that right. Only technology can make that possible. Only an educated consumer, armed with technology can establish real online privacy protection. So what should consumers do? First, Web servers can and do track who visits their site. They collect information. So browsing habits determine the cookie you receive, who has access to your information and what advertising you get.

Jealousy in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello essays Shakespeare

Jealousy in Shakespeare's Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚   Othello features jealousy as the dominant motive for action and therefore just as reflected in real life we bare witness to jealousy influencing the characters of Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo, and Othello. In this essay I shall be attempting to examine this theme in depth drawing comparison between jealousy and the consequential action.   The dominance of jealousy as the chief causative force of action in the drama is very obvious to most critics. In William Shakespeare: The Tragedies, Paul A. Jorgensen exposes the main motivation in the story: In 'roundest' terms, Othello is a story of raging sexual jealousy prompted apparently by the least credible of motives. Othello has eloped with Desdemona, the white, refined, and pure daughter of a Venetian senator, Brabantio. [. . .] The marriage might have succeeded had it not been for one of the most hateful characters ever created: Iago. This essentially puny man is, he tells his dupe Roderigo, jealous because his general Othello has appointed as lieutenant not the seasoned plain veteran Iago but a learned soldier of the new type, Cassio. In soliloquy (1.3.377), Iago tells us also of the reasons for his jealousy and proposed revenge, all of them sexual: he claims both Cassio and Othello have seduced his wife, Emilia, a warm-hearted, simple wom... ...n Shakespeare?s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55) Jorgensen, Paul A. William Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985. Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare?s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90) Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. (page 23-37)

Advertising-Critical Appraisal Essay

Abstract: The paper traces the journey of television in India which started for promoting development and serving the cause of the poor and the underprivileged. While some efforts were made to fulfil these brave goals, television also earned the unholy reputation of being a vehicle for government propaganda. Doordarshan – the public service broadcaster was the only available terrestrial network till 1991 when transnational satellite television channels began to make forays into the country. Soon Indian players entered the television industry thereby leading to enormous expansion. Since then, the very nature of Indian broadcasting has changed. Television has transformed from a medium devoted to development communication and the cause of the marginalised, to a true middle-class medium. Contemporary Indian television is divorced from the realities of the ‘other half of India that lives in abject poverty and deprivation, thus presenting a distorted view of social reality. This paper seeks to examine these and other related issues, and make some suggestions for policy initiatives to put the development agenda back on television. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Keywords: Indian television, Doordarshan, television and development communication, public service broadcasting, commercialisation of Indian television, broadcast regulation 1 Introduction Out of the different mass media such as newspapers, radio, television, internet among others, the one introduced in the country with the aim of promoting development was television. Television began in India in 1959 as an educational project supported by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Ford Foundation. Television was based on the model of a public broadcasting system prevalent in many countries of Europe. In independent India, the political leaders recognised the value of information and its use for accelerating the process of development. Thus was started a model of public broadcasting committed to inform, educate and entertain the people. The then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru decided to have full government control over broadcasting for the time being. In retrospect, many observers feel that it was the hangover of the colonial legacy of controlling the media and fears about the power of the mass media to inflame social conflicts that prevented Indian policy makers from thinking creatively about radio and television in the country (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006; Jeffrey, 2006). In the decades since 1959, vast changes took place in the television landscape of India. In its early years, apart from being used as an educational tool, television was also misused as a mouthpiece for the central government and the party in power. Programming was primarily in Hindi and much of the news and current affairs focussed on Delhi – the seat of political power (Johnson, 2000; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Thus, while television was entrusted with the brave goal of promoting national integration, the same medium was found to reinforce a sense of alienation in many parts of the country particularly in the north-eastern states (Joshi, 1985; Ninan, 1995; Page and Crawley, 2001). Despite being the world leader in experimenting with television and satellite technology, India failed to capitalise on the lessons learnt from early development communication projects such as the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) and the much acclaimed Kheda Communication Project (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Contemporary Indian television is criticised by many for having shifted from its humanitarian goals and becoming a medium for the urban middle class. It is this class which owns and operate most of the television industry in India. It is the same class which is transmitting its own values, principles, and opinions to the rest of India (Johnson, 2000). Consequently, the cause of the poor, underprivileged people for whose development the medium was brought to the country has suffered a setback. Changes in the television system did not occur in India alone. There was a worldwide trend during the 1980s towards the commercialisation of television. Herman and Mc Chesney (2001) argue that during this decade the policies of deregulation and privatisation were applied to national broadcasting and telecommunication systems that were traditionally regulated and often publicly owned and operated. This had a detrimental impact on public service programs which were replaced with more and more entertainment programming. The subsequent sections in the paper examine the divergence between the rhetoric of television for development and actual practice. Some of the ground-breaking initiatives in development communication using television are also captured. Before that, it becomes essential to dwell on the concept of development communication and the role of media is social change. Role of Media in Development It is important at this point to clarify the meaning of „development communication‟ for the term has a wide variety of connotations. Development communication is more than agricultural extension or rural communication. It doesn‟t restrict itself merely to the development of rural areas, nor is it concerned with agricultural development alone. It is oriented towards development whether it be in rural or urban areas, or in areas such as agriculture, family planning, or nutrition (Gupta, 1995). Theory and research suggests that mass communication can act as a positive agent of social change for some people while impeding and obstructing change for others (Johnson, 2000). There are many who dispute the role played by the mass media in bringing about social change (Gupta, 1995; Rodrigues, 2010; Vilanilam, 2005). Gupta (1995) asserts that radio and television are the best sources for creating awareness and interest among the audience regarding a new message or idea â€Å"but when it comes to adoption of the idea, interpersonal sources such as extension agents, friends, neighbours, family members are the most effective† (Gupta, 1995, p.72). In the 1960s, communication scholars and media experts were quite sure that television and the other media of mass communication would help national development. The media were considered the prime motivators of development. Eminent communication scholars such as Daniel Lerner, Wilbur Schramm and Everett M. Rogers, who based their theories of development and media efficacy on the important work of Walter Rostow, namely, The Stages of Economic Growth, stressed that the economic and technological development achieved by the Western nations were the result of increased media use (Vilanilam, 2005). However, since the 1970s the dominant paradigms of development have been challenged by different disciplines (Gupta, 1995; Vilanilam, 2005). It has been realised that distribution of goods and services along with economic and political opportunities among the majority is a pre-requisite for development. An information revolution ushered into a largely private society without appropriate changes in the social structure will not benefit the large majority of the people (Vilanilam, 2005). Everett M. Rogers and many other theorists criticised the dominant paradigm of development (as cited in Rodrigues, 2010) and broadened its definition from one that centred on materialistic economic growth to other social values such as social advancement. The concept of development in the 1970s was expanded as a widely participatory process of social change in a society, intended to bring about both social and material advancement, including greater equality, freedom, and other valued qualities, for the majority of the people by giving them greater control over their environment. Similarly, the new concept of development communication that began to emerge dealt with the promotion of social change leading to improvement in people‟s quality of living, by encouraging better health, higher literacy and higher production of goods through more effective communication (Rodrigues, 2010). There was also a tendency in communication theory and practice to regard the television audience as passive beings moulded and manipulated by those who create the media messages (Johnson, 2000). Many development communication campaigns suffered on this count. However, it is increasingly being realised that for such messages to be effective, people must be involved at all stages – planning, production, and presentation. The need for localisation of development communication has been emphasised by many researchers and commentators (Joshi, 1985; Page and Crawley, 2001; Singhal and Rogers, 2001; Verghese, 1978). The Beginning of Television in India: In the name of Development When television was introduced in the country in 1959, it started as an experiment in social communication for which small teleclubs were organised in Delhi and provided with community television sets. Educational television began in 1961 to support middle and higher secondary school education. Its experiments in teaching of science, mathematics, and language proved successful and received appreciation from many UNESCO experts (Kumar, 2000). A few years later telecasts for farmers began in the form of Krishi Darshan. It was telecast on Wednesdays and Fridays for 20 minutes each day and served 80 villages (around Delhi) provided with community television sets. This pilot project was initiated by the Department of Atomic Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, All India Radio, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and the Delhi Administration (Kumar, 2000). Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of India‟s satellite communication experiments, in 1969 presented a paper entitled â€Å"Television for Development† at the Society for International Development Conference in New Delhi. The idea that the backward countries can and should tap the most advanced communication technologies including television for leapfrogging into rapid economic growth and social transformation was first presented here (Joshi, 1985). Indian television in its infancy was managed by All India Radio. In 1976, television was separated from radio and given a new name – Doordarshan. This adjunct arrangement is seen by some commentators as an impediment to the natural development of television in its initial years (Page and Crawley, 2001). The public service broadcaster – Doordarshan has been used over the years to deliver a number of useful messages. These include messages on family planning, immunization, nutrition of the mother and the child, the need to stem bias against the girl child, among others. Experience suggests that some communication campaigns have worked better than others. A key reason for the failure of many development communication campaigns was the lack of co-ordination with field level agencies (Ninan, 1995; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Ninan (1995) explains just why the family planning message, the mainstay of development communication messages on television, failed to work. She attributes the failure to the inability of state agencies to provide back-up facilities in rural areas that were required to make the campaign successful. On the other hand, certain messages conveyed through television have worked well. Notable in this category are the health, hygiene, sanitation, and oral rehydration messages which people have adopted to a large extent (Ninan, 1995). Educational Television is another area in which Doordarshan has made significant contribution. Ever since the inception of television in India in 1959, one major responsibility entrusted to it is to provide support for the education system in the country. School television (STV) was launched in October 1961 as an organised, systematic and sequential support to formal school instruction. Teachers appreciated STV as a tool for teaching and presentation of content (Kumar, 2000). The country-wide classroom initiative of the University Grants Commission dedicated to higher education started its telecast on Doordarshan in 1984 with one-hour educational programmes. Though the urban youth may not even be aware of such programmes, these were found to be very useful in the small towns and remote areas of the country where people had less access to other sources of information (Ninan, 1995). In order to boost educational telecasts, a satellite channel devoted exclusively to education Gyandarshan was launched in 2000 in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Gyandarshan offers interesting and informative programmes of relevance to special categories – pre-school kids, primary and secondary school children, college and university students, youth seeking career opportunities, housewives, adults, and many others. In addition to educational fare, programmes from abroad are also broadcast to offer viewers a window to the world (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006). For three decades ever since the inception of television, the dominant theme was communication for development so as to improve the quality of life for the vast rural majority. The logic was that in an underdeveloped, largely rural country; television could be used to convey messages on agricultural improvement, health care, and family planning to millions of people without depending on the extension infrastructure such a task would normally require. But the irony was that none of this was done imaginatively or consistently (Ninan, 1995). Commenting on the weaknesses of India‟s educational and instructional broadcasts, the Verghese Committee set up in 1977 to suggest an autonomous framework for broadcasting, noted that in the absence of co-ordination with concerned government departments and educational institutions; the health, farm and educational broadcasts have not been very effective. Another area where it felt the broadcast media was found inadequate was in promoting social justice and educating the underprivileged about their rights (Verghese, 1978). Despite some such shortcomings, Indian television also has to its credit significant initiatives of promoting social change in rural areas. Notable among them are SITE, the educational telecasts and the Kheda Communication Project. One of the most extensive educational and social research projects, perhaps the largest national television experiment in the world, has been SITE (Vilanilam, 2005). Some of these landmark initiatives are discussed in the next section. Landmark Initiatives in Development Communication using Television The journey of television in India took a new turn with the launch of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment in 1975-76. It was a one year pilot-project using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration‟s ATS-6 satellite to broadcast educational messages through satellite to 2400 villages in the six states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Its objectives were to improve rural primary education, provide teacher training, improve agriculture, health and hygiene, and nutritional practices and contribute to family planning and national integration (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). SITE was â€Å"an unqualified success in terms of hardware but the software wasn‟t specific enough to the area and audience in content or language, and therefore was not so useful and comprehensible† (Joshi, 1985, p.32). The important lesson learnt was that the software has to be area-specific, relevant to the needs and aspirations of the audience, and has to be in the local language (Page and Crawley, 2001; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). The Kheda Communication Project (KCP) launched in 1976 remains to-date the most innovative experiment in using television for empowerment and participatory rural development. Initially known as Pij TV, it used a one-kilowatt transmitter. The Pij transmitter could be received in a radius of about 30 km from Pij village (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006). It was India‟s first effort at decentralised community television broadcasting and received the prestigious UNESCO-IPDC prize for rural communication effectiveness. Some 650 community television sets were provided to 400 villages and installed in public places. One of the reasons for the success of the KCP was due to its ability to tap into the existing development infrastructure of Kheda district. It collaborated with extension agencies working in dairying, agriculture and health services, with local banks, cooperatives and employment exchanges (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). The accent was on participatory programme making, the themes were often local, dared to deal with controversial subjects such as caste discrimination, alcoholism etc., and for the first time systemic audience research was carried out (Thomas, 2010). Recognising it contribution, UNESCO noted, â€Å"Kheda was an exceptional example of the combining of modern technologies with a participatory approach to communication. The project employed traditional cultural expressions of a rural community in the creation of its audiovisual programmes, while using modern evaluation techniques for its programme planning. Overall, this project proved to be a good example of the applications of 9 communication for the promotion of human development, particularly of the rural poor, women and children† (UNESCO website, 2011, para. 14). Despite being such a success, the Kheda Project was carried out in splendid isolation from the mainstream and its lessons were not allowed to influence the development and programme trajectory adopted by Doordarshan (Thomas, 2010).

Leadership Process Essay

First Section Leadership is a process by which one person influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others. Leaders set a direction for the rest of us; they help us see what lies ahead; they help us visualize what we might achieve; they encourage us and inspire us. Level 5 leadership refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities that we identified during our research. Leaders at the other four levels in the hierarchy can produce high degrees of success but not enough to elevate companies from mediocrity to sustained excellence. And while Level 5 leadership is not the only requirement for transforming a good company into a great one—other factors include getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and creating a culture of discipline—our research shows it to be essential. Good-to-great transformations don’t happen without Level 5 leaders at the helm. They just don’t. (Traylor, 2001) The Level 5 leader sits on top of a hierarchy of capabilities and is, according to our research, a necessary requirement for transforming an organization from good to great. But what lies beneath? Four other layers, each one appropriate in its own right but none with the power of Level 5. Individuals do not need to proceed sequentially through each level of the hierarchy to reach the top, but to be a full-fledged Level 5 requires the capabilities of all the lower levels, plus the special characteristics of Level 5. (HBR, 2001) It differs from other leadership styles as the leaders come from the grass root of the organization. Meaning, it is the leader who has grown and developed from the ground level of the organization and has gradually escalated towards the top most level. This allows an employee to go through all phases and nurture to the top level of the organization i.e. CEO level. A few years ago in Strategy & Leadership, Michael Raynor debunked the premises on which the shareholder-first model rests, and a few months ago Michael Porter criticized the current belief that looking beyond the business is bad for business. In the January/February Harvard Business Review he argues that companies should be considering other stakeholders, and so generates economic value by creating societal value. These respected thinkers offer another answer to the question about the purpose of a business: the firm should see itself as an interdependent part of a community that consists of multiple stakeholders whose interests are integral to business success. In this view, an enterprise can be seen as a system of long-term cooperative relationships between affected parties. (Collins, 2001) These include the firm’s managers and employees, customers and clients, investors, suppliers, the towns, states and nations where the firm is located or sells goods and services and even future generations of stakeholders. In such a system, stakeholder influence generates pressure for the organization to behave in ethical and environmentally and socially responsible ways, and in turn, this interdependency helps the firm be sustainable and resilient. This alternative approach to leadership is variously referred to as ‘‘sustainable,’’ ‘‘Rhineland’’ or ‘‘honeybee’’ leadership. By sustainable we don’t just mean a firm is being green and socially responsible. Research and observations in over 50 firms around the world, including in many listed corporations, suggest that sustainable leadership requires taking a long-term perspective in making decisions; fostering systemic innovation aimed at increasing customer value; developing a skilled, loyal and highly engaged workforce; and offering quality products, services and solutions. (Caroselli, 2003) Second Section In 2005, Lee Scott, ex-CEO and President of Wal-Mart Stores and now Chairman of its Executive Committee, announced that the company would essentially adopt sustainable leadership principles going forward, although he did not use that term. Financial performance was solid, but the company was the target of many complainants – employees, local communities, suppliers, and environmentalists. Scott decreed that Wal-Mart, one of largest Fortune 500 corporations, would become more ethical, and more socially and environmentally responsible. The company would use its political might to benefit ordinary Americans in healthcare and energy savings, and make people’s lives better. Scott even advocated paying more for products from ethical suppliers – an extraordinary reversal by an enterprise built around a low-cost strategy. In the years since, Wal-Mart has experimented with environmentally-friendly stores and other socially-responsible measures. Interestingly, its bottom line has not suffered during this process, posting net sales increases for the past five years, according to Wal-Mart’s 2009 annual report. In recent months, in a move to improve the healthiness of its products, the firm announced plans to reduce the fat and salt in its house brand groceries and cut prices on fresh produce. (Shaw, 2005) A considerable body of evidence shows that sustainable practices are more likely to enhance business performance than the shareholder-first approach. First, various writers have examined and compared the Anglo/US system with its Rhineland counterpart, concluding that Rhineland principles are more sustainable and lead to better outcomes than the shareholder-first approach. Second, Avery and Bergsteiner have gathered extensive evidence for each of the individual practices in their pyramid model, showing how they are more likely to contribute to positive business outcomes than their counterparts under the shareholder-first model. For example, a major difference between shareholder-first and sustainable practices lies in whether they retain people or lay them off when times get difficult. Staff retention is regarded as a foundation element in the pyramid because conditions aimed at keeping staff can be initiated at any time. However, retaining staff supports various higher order outcomes in the pyramid; it allows knowledge to be retained, and supports quality, trust, and innovation, for example, and enhances financial performance, as well as staff and customer satisfaction. Similar cases can be made for the other 22 elements. (Cooke, 2008) What senior executive would reject these as legitimate goals for an enterprise seeking to both thrive and endure? To some cynics, sustainable leadership – a management approach aimed at delivering better and more sustainable returns, reducing unwanted employee turnover and accelerating innovation – sounds too good to be true. They dismiss it as just another form of humanistic management, merely good management practices, or as following old-fashioned values. There is some truth in each of these characterizations. Certainly, sustainable leadership embraces aspects of humanistic management in that it includes valuing people and considering the firm as a contributor to social well being. The individual practices of sustainable leadership are not new: B Warren Bennis advocated recruiting, training, and employing an effective top leadership team rather than just relying on the heroic CEO. He also proposed that firms become financially transparent as a step to becoming more ethical. B Peter Drucker wanted managers to promote change and allow innovations to come from all over the organization, thereby enabling ordinary people to make extraordinary things happen. B Stephen Covey urged using the knowledge and engagement of a firm’s employees. What is new is the understanding that these practices form a self-reinforcing leadership system that enhances the performance of a business and its prospects for survival. What is also significant is that sustainable leadership practices are diametrically opposed to the typical shareholder-first approach, which business schools, management journals, the media, and many practitioners continue to promote. (Branson, 2010) Sustainable leadership in practice Sustainably-led organizations have been identified across different sectors, countries, institutional contexts, and markets. Examples of successful enterprises that consistently embrace sustainable leadership principles abound, particularly among privately-held firms and SMEs. Unlisted companies displaying virtually all of the 23 characteristics of a sustainable enterprise include: in the USA, WL Gore & Associates (Goretexw and other products) and SAS (software); in Germany, Giesecke & Devrient (bank notes and securities) and Ka ¨rcher (cleaning solutions); and in Switzerland, Endress & Hauser (flow technologies) and Migros (retail conglomerate). However, it is likely to be more difficult for listed corporations or private equity groups to operate on sustainable principles because of the pressures on them to achieve short-term performance goals. Yet numerous listed enterprises manage to operate sustainably, if necessary by standing up to or managing their relationships with the financial markets. Well-known examples include Germany’s Munich Re from the finance industry; Colgate (consumer goods) based in the USA; Britain’s BT Group (telecommunications); the Thai construction corporation, Siam Cement Group, and its competitor from Switzerland, Holcim. (Streshly & Gray, 2010) Third Section There are many obstacles in changing to sustainable leadership. First, sticking with conventional wisdom is comfortable and easy – it’s business as usual. Second, change is disruptive and initially creates both financial and intangible costs, although as the Wal-Mart case shows these may not slow growth and profits. Third, most people disregard hard evidence and make their decisions on the basis of ideological beliefs. Managers are no exception to this human foible despite their training and experience in decision making. Fourth, major change involves risks, bringing with it the chance of a drop in short-term performance, so stakeholders need to be prepared to focus on the long term. Finally, radical change can take a long time to embed and then maintain. A major Australian bank converted from a shareholder-first strategy to a sustainable leadership model. The change took a decade to take hold, with outstanding results, but unraveled in only a few years to under a new CEO with a different agenda. The choice to adopt a more sustainable strategy, one that research and practice show leads to higher resilience and performance over the long term, remains in the hands of each executive team. Unfortunately, executives remunerated on a short-term basis may have no incentive for seriously pursuing long-term change, to the detriment of shareholders and other stakeholders. This is where the fundamental short-term focus of the shareholder-first or business-as-usual model begins to destroy shareholder value and endanger a firm’s very survival. (Brown, 2005) References Branson, D. M. (2010). The last male bastion: gender and the CEO suite in America’s public companies. Taylor & Francis. Brown, M. T. (2005). Corporate integrity: rethinking organizational ethics, and leadership. Cambridge University Press. Caroselli, M. (2003). The business ethics activity book: 50 exercises for promoting integrity at work. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Collins, J. C. ( 2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap–and others don’t. Harper Business. Cooke, P. (2008). Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Make a Difference and Other’s Don’t. Gospel Light. Shaw, K. A. (2005). The intentional leader. Syracuse University Press. Streshly, W. A., & Gray, S. P. (2010). Leading Good Schools to Greatness: Mastering What Great Principals Do Well. Corwin Press. Traylor, P. S. (2001). IT Takes Two. CIO Magazine , Vol.15, No.4, November 15

Hate Crimes Essay

A hate crime is an act of violence, a threat, harassment, or property damage motivated by bigotry and prejudice against the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of another group or individual. These acts are not only against the victim(s), but also the particular group as a whole. Hate crimes are very common and often times it is hard to tell whether or not the crime is motivated by hate. I chose this topic because I was watching a TV show call Criminal that told true stories of hate crimes. The one that got me interested was â€Å"Punks vs. Preps,† there had been an ongoing feud between the two groups, which ended in a teen losing his life. This episode showed one of the many cases of hate crimes that have plagued our nation. Watching it caused me to grow curious about how often these terrible events happened, as well as, what is being done to prevent future breakouts of hate crimes. Many people assume that hate crime offenders are hate-filled Nazi’s or â€Å"skinheads†. But research by a clinical psychologist at the University of California shows that out of 1,459 cases in the span of a year less than 5 percent were members of a hate group (http://www.hatecrime.org). Most hate crimes are carried out by, seemingly, law-abiding young people who do not think their actions are wrong. Sometimes drugs and alcohol help initiate these crimes, but the main factor appears to be personal prejudice. Personal prejudice is what blinds a person from seeing the wrong in what they are doing. Most times this prejudice comes from an environment that sees differences as threats. The worst hate crimes are often committed by people with a history of antisocial behavior. One of these examples took place in June of 1998 in Jasper, Texas. Three men, with jail records, offered a ride to a black man with a limp. After beating him to death, they dragged him behind their truck until his body was partially dismembered (http://hatecrime.org). According to the FBI, about thirty percent of all hate crimes in 1996 were crimes against property. They involved robbing, vandalizing, destroying, stealing, and/or arson. Approximately seventy percent involve an attack  against a person. This can range from simple assault (without a weapon) to aggravated assault, rape, and murder. This type of attack has two levels of injury, on a person’s physical self and also on a person’s identity (http://www.stopthehate.org). Educated guesses of the presence of hate crimes in a society are difficult because each state defines and reports these crimes differently. The Hate Crime Statistics Act was enacted in 1990, but federal law enforcement officials did not begin collecting nationwide statistics until the following year. Another obstacle to gaining an accurate count of hate crimes is that many victims are afraid to report the attacks. This comes from the trauma they have experienced and fear of retaliation or future contact with the offender(s). Another reason is that it is difficult to identify a biased motive. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is often caused by hate crimes. Some symptoms are intense feelings of vulnerability, anger, and depression, learning problems, and difficulty with relationships (both physical and emotional). Studies have shown that some victims have taken as long as five years to overcome the feelings. They may heal more quickly if support is available soon after the incident (Punks vs. Preps). Hate crimes not only affect the victim himself, but they also affect the particular group the victim is from or thought to be from. When the result of the attack is serious injury or the loss of a life then it also affects the family and friends of the victim. Racial Hatred is by far the most common type of hate crime with African Americans as the group at greatest risk. In 1996, sixty percent (4,831 of 7,947) of hate crimes were committed because of race; two-thirds of these crimes were targeting African Americans (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr). The type of crimes committed against this group has not changed since the nineteenth century; they still include murder, cross burnings, vandalizing churches, and bombings. As for the other racially motivated crimes, about twenty-five percent were against white people, seven percent against Asian Pacific Americans, less than five percent against multiracial groups, and one percent against Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. Ethnic minorities in the United States are often targeted because they are  thought to be new to the country even if their families have been here for generations. Other times they are targeted just because they are seen as different from the majority population.