Film review Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Film - Movie Review Example Thesis statement Success in moviemaking demands the incorporation of a good plotline, believable characters and a socio-cultural strong theme, as is seen in the movie Mean Streets. Summary of the Plot Charlie is the protagonist in the film. He works for his uncle, Mr. Giovanni who is the head of a New York mafia gang. Charlie attempts to rise through the ranks of mafia organization, but his Catholic convictions and sense of responsibility towards his friend Johnny Boy dissuade him. Charlie is having a secret affair with Teresa, Johnny’s cousin who is ostracized because she is epileptic. Charlie attempts to secure redemption from the Catholic Church, unsuccessfully. He resorts to succoring Johnny as a way of realizing this redemption. Johnny goes to Michael’s bar, where Michael unsuccessfully coerces him into settling his debts. This leads to a brawl between the two. Later on, Michael and his henchmen trail the Johnny, Charlie and Teresa, engaging them into a drive-by sh ooting. Johnny is shot in the neck and Charlie who is also the driver, in the hand. This causes the car to crush. An ambulance arrives and its paramedics whisk away the three to a hospital (Mean Streets, 1). Dimensions and Criteria for Evaluating the Film Different dimensions can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a movie. The four main dimensions include: the use of sound; composition of the movie; theatrical dimensions of the film image; and the dimensions between artistic traditions and the movie. The theatrical dimension which mainly factors the film image is well seen in the way Scorsese as the movie director uses lighting and its different entities. For example, at an instance, Giovanni as the leader of the New York Mafia gang is depicted against a dark background, in his secret rendezvous. Herein, Giovanni has a cigar in his hand, convincing Charlie to severe his association with his Johnny Boy, since honorable men hang with honorable men. This clearly helps the audienc e identify Giovanni as a villain and his rendezvous as a crime den. There are several criteria that are applicable in evaluating the film. The story, characters, direction and overall effectiveness of the film are some of the criteria that can be used to evaluate Mean Streets. Touching the criterion which is the storyline, Mean Streets is a success because the storyline has complete concomitance with the intent of the movie. It is obvious that the author intended to bring out the aspect of democratization of religion, in the movie. The movie’s storyline brings out this aspect successfully. Charlie is good-willed, despite the rut he finds himself in. The convictions he has for Catholicism is still deeply etched in his person and he resultantly seeks redemption in the Catholic Church, albeit unsuccessfully. He sacrifices himself for his friend Johnny to gain this redemption. The church’s act of turning down Charlie’s noble intent effectively brings out the failure of religion to democratize. This also serves as a clarion call for change. The characters remain believable throughout the movie. Cesare Danova as Giovanni possesses a serious mien which fits the role he plays as the local caporegime. Giovanni sits in his office well dressed and smoking a cigar. He tells Charlie that honorable men go with honorable men. This helps portray Giovanni as the ringleader of the mafia group. At the same time, the same

Heartsaver EAD Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heartsaver EAD - Personal Statement Example My goals in taking this training were to learn basic lifesaving skills. These included CPR techniques for both adults and children, using barrier devices to conduct CPR, and how to stop someone from choking. I also wished to learn the signs of severe medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, choking, heart attack, and stroke. I also wanted to learn about the Heartsaver AED, which is also known as an automated external defibrillator. I learned that it delivers a shock to the heart and can save the life of someone who is suffering from a heart attack, as well as learning how to use it. I wanted to be fully prepared to use the device in case I am ever in a situation where someone's life around me depends on it. Also, I wanted to polish my CPR skills. Learning these things was, to me, a way to show my community that I care about their safety and health and want to do my part to help protect it. It is difficult to pick a principle or two that stands out from the others, because they are all equally important to me. It does not matter if a person is having a heart attack or if they are choking: they still need someone fully trained to step in and save their life. I liked this course since I found that it taught me first aid on the four major life-threatening emergencies. References Heartsaver AED. (2008). American Heart Association. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from

The Bane of Living in the Cities Essay Example for Free

The Bane of Living in the Cities Essay When we discuss about living in big cities or small towns, different people have different point of view. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. From my personal opinion, big cities have more advantages as compared to small towns, which I quiet disagree with the topic. There are three points I would like to highlight here on why I said living in big cities brings more benefits. Firstly, big cities have far better quality education from lower to higher education. What I am trying to emphasize here is big cities can provide us with modern and adequate academic environment which I find it is very important as education is the key for success in the future career. Therefore, students in big cities can get several benefits from the modern education offered such as multimedia teaching, electronic library and also internet. see more:advantage and disadvantage of living in the city By contrast, those who are living in small towns cannot take the opportunity as much as in big cities because there are not enough modern facilities provided in small towns. Secondly, we can see that more and more people especially the young people migrate to big cities because they see many opportunities in employment. As we all know, most of the local and international companies are situated in big cities so there are many places that they can work as opposed to small towns. Consequently, they have bigger chances in achieving their dreamed career and also pursue in what they like. In addition to this, most of the jobs offered in big cities have bigger salaries so that is why it is one of the attractions for the young people to live in big cities. Last but not least, people live in big cities can enjoy several entertainments and closer to better services like hospitals. To illustrate, in big cities there are many shopping centers, entertainment parks and also many of the international events are held here. We can enjoy our quality time with our family in the entertainment parks but not for those who live in small towns because there is no such thing there. Furthermore, hospitals are nearer to you in big cities and the services offered are better compared to hospitals in small towns as they are fully equipped with modern equipments and also most of the specialists work there, It is true that despite these benefits of living in big cities, there are certain disadvantages to it. However, when compared both, I tend to see the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so that is why I am more on living in big cities. In a nutshell, no matter where we live it depends on an individual to make the decision to continue living your life.

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration

Differences on Reaction Time and Accuracy During Enumeration Visual field differences on reaction time and accuracy during enumeration ABSTRACT This experiment tests the difference in performance of reaction time and level of accuracy between visual fields during enumeration. The results show that the left visual field has an advantage over the right visual field for reaction time and level of accuracy. However, the results of the repeated measures t-test found that there was a significant difference between visual fields for reaction time, but no significant difference for accuracy. Results show some support for our hypothesis that there are visual field differences in performances during enumeration. However, this experiment has to be further tested for validity. INTRODUCTION When people are shown an array of items, reaction times have been found to remain relatively constant till three or four items with few errors. However beyond that number, reaction times start to increase rapidly with more errors. This difference is known to be from subitizing and counting. The word subitizing was first introduced by Kaufman, Lord, Reese, and Volkmann (1949). Subitizing is the ability to know the sum of items without counting, with speed and accuracy. However, counting is a slower process, and used for larger array of items. Jackson Coney (2004) study examined 32 psychology undergraduates on enumeration. Their results showed support for differences between visual field on subitizing. There was no effect of gender or from hand used for response of answers. They found that there was a significant effect of visual fields on response times. There was faster reaction times and higher accuracy for the left visual field. They also found there were no significant beneficial effects of visual field on response time beyond 3 items. Participants had lesser errors in the left visual field than the right. Better performance in the left visual field is linked to processing in the right hemisphere. Also, a significant effect between visual field and number of items was found. The left visual field appears to have a better advantage when enumerating 2 to 4 items. They also found a significant effect of number of items, response time increased with number of items displayed. The largest increase in mean response time wa s between 2 and 3 items, and was highly significant. Accuracy also dropped as number of items increased. Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) tested 14 right-handed, paid subjects on enumeration with an extra condition of distractors present. Their event related potential (ERP) was also recorded while they performed the experiment. Their results showed that reaction times generally increased with number of targets and distracter items. Further tests showed that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. Their results do not support the theory of subitizing and counting. In addition, there was no evidence of differences between accuracy rates and number of targets. There was also no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance in subitizing or counting. This experiment will be examining difference in performance between visual fields, and reaction time on enumeration. This experiment is a modified replication of the Jackson Coney (2004) study, we will only be comparing data from 4 items and only from right handed participants. This experiment will aim to determine if their results of right hemispheric dominance can be replicated. This is useful as it would give a better insight about processes in the brain. My hypothesis is that there will be a difference in performance of reaction times and accuracy between visual fields on the task of enumeration. METHODS Design The independent variable is the visual field of the participant. There are two dependent variables, the response time, and accuracy of reponses. This is a within group design. A repeated t-test was used. Participants All 30 participants were voluntary, and are female psychology undergraduates. Participants were split into left and right handed group, but only the right handed group data were analysed. Apparatus Participants are seated in a cubicle room with adequate light with an Amiga 1200 microcomputer and 1084S monitor. This computer controlled the trial procedure, displaying and timing of stimulus and recorded results. The computer was linked to a monitor outside the cubicle, which displayed error and reaction time scores to the experimenter. Response is indicated by participants pressing 1 of 3 buttons, which correspond to the estimate of 3, 4 or 5 items shown. A chin rest was provided to ensure the participant’s head was 45 cm away and in the middle of the screen. Also, eye movements are tracked using a closed-circuit television system. Procedure Participants are seated in front of the screen and chin rest was adjusted to ensure they are at a relaxed and steady head position. Participants are first shown a blank screen (1000ms), and then a central cross appears for central fixation (1000ms). Stimuli are presented as black dots on a white background (150ms) and the blank screen reappears until they give a response. The whole cycle is repeated again. The number of stimulus ranges from 3-5. They were asked to indicate using fingers to press 1 of 3 buttons. The buttons correspond to 3, 4 or 5 number of items. Half of the participants were told to respond by pressing the button with their left hand and the other half were told to respond using their right hand. This is to control handedness response effects, however the responses from left handed participants are not analysed. Participants were also told to place index finger of their assigned hand above the â€Å"3† button and the other fingers on the other buttons. Before the real experiment started, participants are given 10 practice trial runs, but results are not taken into account and the experimental trial is followed immediately. For each trial, stimuli will have equal chance to be either shown on the left or right of the visual field. The locations of the stimuli are determined by randomly placing them in the slots of a theoretical 44 grid of the screen. Stimuli cannot be placed into neighboring spots in the grid. There are a total of 30 randomized trials. 10 trials will show 3 items, 10 trials will show 4 items and 10 trials will show 5 items. If an error is made, participants will hear the feedback from an auditory tone. Their reaction and accuracy of responses are recorded. Participants are told to estimate the number of stimuli on screen with priority on accuracy of response over speed. Only data from 4 item displays were analysed. RESULTS Mean reaction time for left visual field is 844.57ms (SD= 5.91ms), and 854.95ms (SD=6.27ms) for the right visual field. The average correct percentage for the left visual field is 84% (SD= 18%), and 86 %( SD=11%) for the right visual field. A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare visual field and reaction times. There was a significant difference found, t (4) =6.29, p A repeated measures t-test was conducted to compare accuracy between visual fields. There was no significant difference found, and thus we have to reject our hypothesis. We cannot accept the research hypothesis. T (4) =0.172, p Graph 1: shows the mean of reaction times in ms between left and right visual fields. Graph 2: shows the mean of errors in percentage between visual fields. DISCUSSION The results from the repeated t-test for reaction times show that there are significant differences in the mean of reaction times between visual fields. The results from the repeated t-test for accuracy levels show that there a no significant differences in the mean average percentage of correct responses between visual fields. These results are supported by Jackson Coney (2004) study to a certain extent, they found that there was significant differences between visual field on reaction times and accuracy. Our study found that there were faster reaction times, higher accuracy for the left visual field. However the t-test found significant differences for reaction times, but not accuracy of responses. The results are in contradiction of what Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) found in their study. They found that there was a significant difference in reaction times between numbers of targets in each condition. They also found no evidence of hemispheric dominance in performance during subitizing or counting. However, we did not analyze data between numbers of objects. We can only conclude that our findings show slight support for our hypothesis, as the overall findings do not fully support our hypothesis that there will be a difference between visual field on the task of enumeration. However, there is possibility that having significantly faster reaction time is due to strategies employed by participants unknowingly. Trick and Pylyshyn (1994) suggested that people use methods to help them estimate number of items, such as using patterns. This indicates that the differences in results could not be due to hemispheric dominance, but because of these strategies. In Nan, Knà ¶sche and Luo (2006) study, reaction times for with 6 items display had shorter reaction times compared to the 5 items. Study by Piazza, Mechelli, Butterworth and Price (2002) tested 9 male participants. Participants were shown a total of 32 different stimuli consisting of black dots on a white background. PET scans were also obtained during the experiment. Piazza et al. (2002) PET scans showed that areas linked to object recognition were activated in both canonical and without canonical arrangements. It suggests that pattern recognition was used in all conditions. These studies suggest that ther e was evidence of participants using pattern recognition to count items. As a result, these data could skew our data as the differences in reaction time could be due to other factors such as pattern recognition that aid in enumeration. Enumeration requires the assimilation of information received from visual stimulus has to be integrated first before it can be understood. According to this theory, the process would speed up if the visual stimulus is presented in one visual field. However, Delvenne, Castronovo,Demeyere and Humphreys (2011) propose an alternative hypothesis. They propose that high level tasks perform better when there is bilateral visual field presentation. Their study found that visual enumeration has fewer errors when the items are shown in two visual fields rather than in a single visual field. This bilateral field advantage is seen when more than four items are shown. The authors suggest that this effect is only seen when the task becomes too taxing for our attention. Further tests should also include results with gender being controlled for, and compare results between unilateral processing and bilateral processing of enumeration. Also, this experiment has threats to external validity as there is sampling bias. It cannot be generalised to the population, because only women participant data was taken into account. Also, if we are testing for visual field differences the results would be skewed if we only take results from the right handed participants. Previous studies such as Bourne and Todd (2004) have shown that handedness does affect hemi field bias in processing. As such, we can propose there could also be a processing bias for enumeration. In conclusion, the results have found that there was significant difference between visual fields for reaction times but not for accuracy of responses. The results suggest that there is some support for our hypothesis that there are differences in performance between visual fields during enumeration. However, further study should be done to check for validity of study. REFERENCES Bourne, V.J. Todd, B.K. (2004). When left means right: an explanation of the left cradling bias in terms of right hemisphere specializations, Developmental Science, 7, 19-24. Delvenne, J.-F., Castronovo, J.,Demeyere, N. Humphreys, G.W. (2011). Bilateral Field Advantage in Visual Enumeration. PLoS One, 6, e17743. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017743. Jackson, N. Coney, J. (2004). Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. Brain and Cognition, 9, 53-66. Kaufman, E.L., Lord, M.W., Reese, T.W. Volkmann, J. (1949). The Discrimination of Visual Number. American Journal of Psychology, 62, 498–525. Nan, Y., Knosche, T. R., Luo, Y.J. (2006). Counting in everyday life: Discrimination and enumeration.  Neuropsychologia, 44, 1103–1113. Piazza, M., Mechelli, A., Butterworth, B. Price, C.J. (2002). Are Subitizing and Counting Implemented as Separate or Functionally Overlapping Processes? NeuroImage, 15, 435–446. Trick, L.M. Pylyshyn, Z.W. (1994). Why are small and large numbers enumerated differently? A limited-capacity preattentive stage in vision. Psychol Rev, 101, 80-102

Diminishing Discrimination :: Essays Papers

Diminishing Discrimination Times are changing; people who used to be discriminated against are now starting to be treated with more equality and respect. The disrespect and abuse that the disabled community has gotten in the past is a very dark topic that comes with many sad and scary truths. There are many groups and laws at the present time that are helping this community grow. By integrating more disabled people into public services helps them gain a higher esteem for themselves. The abuse problem amongst the developmentally disabled still does exist today. The most controversial abuse problem happened behind closed doors, in the institutions. The one institution that was in Tucson was called Arizona Training Program Tucson (ATPT). In these such institutions, people with all many varieties of disabilities. This problem of institutional abuse was recognized for at least two centuries (Sobsey, 89). The term institutional abuse refers to neglectful, psychological, physical, an/or sexual abuse that took place in the managed institutional car of human beings (Sobsey, 89-90). Hearing stories from both the patients in these institutions to the workers is horrifying. Some of the things the staff would do to the patients: use heavy sedation, locks, restraints, sexually abuse them, take inappropriate pictures, time outs for long periods of time, and takedowns with several large staff. Other things that were done to the patients was doing the same r outine over and over never teaching new tasks, no outside contact, and no luxury items just bed dresser and clothes. Yes, ATPT was one of the better institutions there were. Many were worse. Institutional abuse is characterized by the extreme power iniquities that exist between staff and residents. In extreme cases, staff control when residents wake up, sleep, eat go to the bathroom, wash, communicate, exercise, rest, and virtually every other aspect of their lives. These extreme disempowerment of institutional residents is rationalized by the paradoxical notion of â€Å"good intentions† (Sobsey, 90). The public was hidden from the real truth till recently when they were shut down or changed into day programs and smaller residential settings, to be more like a home environment.

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment :: essays research papers

Circadian Rhythms: Experiment Circadian Rhythms are the times of day that you get either hungry, tired, or energetic. This paper is to describe an experiment that I have thought up that will test to see if circadian rhythms differ from people who perceive themselves as night-time people and people who perceive themselves as morning people. What is your hypothesis?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My hypothesis is that night-time people's circadian rhythms are extremely different than morning people's circadian rhythms. What population are you going to study? How will you sample this population?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Participants for my experiment will be ninety-nine undergraduate female students from Iowa State University. Prior to the experiment all participants will have to fill out a questionnaire. This questionnaire will primarily determine if they feel themselves as being either morning or night types of people. Subjects for my experiment will be randomly chosen from these questionnaires. I will select three night-time people and three morning-time people. I will then give each of them a journal. In this journal each subject will write in it the time that they become hungry, or the time that they became tired. They will do this for three days. At the end of the three days they will come back to my laboratory. They will then be put in an isolation booths. In one of the booths there will be a clock that doesn't have the right time on it. In another one there will be a window so that they can see where the sun is. In the third one there will be no windows and no clocks. All they would have is a light bulb in the ceiling. All the booths will have a bed and a bright red button on the far wall. The button will be for ringing. They will ring when they are tired, hungry, or need to use the facilities. My assistants and I will record when they become hungry and when they become tired. They will be in this room for three days. At the end of the three days my assistants and I will make sure that they are all right and can return to the world unharmed. What is your independent variable(s)? What is your dependent variable? How will you measure the dependent variable?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My independent variable will be one of the three that I give a clock and another one that I give a view of where the sun is. The dependent variable will be the one that will be completely isolated. Without sunlight they will not know what time it is and therefore not know when to become tired or hungry.

Deterioration of the environment Essay

The world hunger problem is characterized by an imbalance or inadequate distribution of people and food, and has both immediate and long-run features that threaten the welfare of millions. Instances of hunger and malnutrition occur when people are unable to obtain an adequate share of the world’s supply of food. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) estimates that as many as 500 million people suffer from hunger and the effects of malnutrition. The Overseas Development Council (ODC) estimates that in 1980, as many as 400 million people in developing nations lived in absolute poverty. The Hunger Project estimates that 13 to 18 million people die each year from hunger. For the most part, these conditions are chronic. They are a daily fact of life. All African countries in are considered as third world countries and that is very true that they encounter all the above problems that environmental degradation, political representation and poverty which to a larger extent are interrelated hence rendering the fact that one’s cause leads to another’s effect. Before we go further into this discussion it always important to know deeply the meanings of the key words being discussed. In a day man’s language environmental degradation is to disgrace or debase or reduce the value of the environment (in this case). It can be reducing its value for instance through soil erosion, air pollution by chemicals from industries, water pollution by direct sewerage linked to a nearby river and many more. For sure this happens in most third world countries not only in Africa. Literature review Poverty Poverty simply means a state of want or lacking means or inadequacy especially in terms of the basic needs. It is the inability of people to meet their basic needs in life. In developing countries people encounter both Primary poverty and secondary poverty. Primary poverty in this case is where families’ total incomes are insufficient to enable them purchase or maintain the minimum necessities of life. Secondary poverty is whereby individuals or families can earn adequate income but spend it on useless items and as a result lack the basic necessities of life for example by alcohol, poor budgeting. People in these three named countries mostly live under poverty line. Poverty line means the minimum level of income or standard of living in a society depending on the cost of availability of basic necessities. United Nations has defined poverty as â€Å"is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and cloth a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation† (UNICEF, 2005) Periodically, conditions worsen dramatically and people in famine-affected regions are thrown into a food crisis that subjects them to starvation and the increased threat of immediate death. These short-run crises are usually precipitated by political unrest, drought, or floods that create even greater disequilibrium between food supplies and people. Food crises are part of the anatomy of the world hunger problem, but while they are most often the outgrowth of chronic conditions made worse, they are not the essence of the long-term problem that confronts the less fortunate people of the world. That problem is typified by the insidious advance of malnutrition and hunger into the lives of millions of people, subjecting them to rampant disease, excessive infant mortality, limited life expectancy, and a truly substandard quality of life. Food shortages, inadequate food distribution, and other conditions that are often dramatized to focus on the world hunger problem are merely symptomatic expressions of more fundamental causes of world hunger, the principal one of which is poverty. People are chronically hungry and malnourished because they are poor. In Less Developed Countries, poverty first limits the ability of people to purchase food. (Poor people have little, if any, money to spend on food. ) At the same time, people in LDCs also lack the money and energy to invest in learning and applying production-increasing technology to produce food for their families. The hunger problem is thus a poverty-induced dilemma with two horns: too little money-backed demand (people need food but cannot buy enough) and too little supply. Combine aggregate poverty with unprogressive agriculture; soaring population growth; poor income distribution; and inadequate social, political, and economic systems and policies, and the result is a dilemma of staggering complexity. At its apex, however, is the inability of people to purchase and produce adequate amounts of food.