Integral part of British culture Essay Example for Free

Integral part of British culture Essay Soaps are contemporary, which means they are written in the same rime that they are being acted. Some viewers develop whats called social critism or social commentary, when as I mentioned before, viewers get lost in the plots and get carried away with their feelings. You sometimes hear about people trying to kill characters that they dont like. I just think how pathetic they are that they cant differenciate between a soap opera and reality. Political bias is another issue, which tends to sway the minds of viewers. This happens when a character is portrayed to have a specific political view on a matter. For example if a character is strongly against the Labour Party, their views may rub off on to the public, and then the public assume that that is their real belief. Really the actors/actresses are shoved a script to learn. They dont mess about and argue with the script writers just because their views differ to their characters. Many potentially controversial issues are embarked upon in soaps. For example, when the first lesbian kiss was screened on Brookside a few years ago everyone was horrified. On the otherhand, it encouraged real life lesbian couples to go public, not being ashamed of their sexuality. Soap operas are a form of voyeurism which means you can enjoy watching without participating, which is just up some peoples street. Its nice to come in from school, make a cuppa and be entertained by people for half an hour, from a distance, without having to participate. Some people believe soaps are anti-depressants. This is true when you are experiencing serious problems in your life. It is comforting when you switch on the tv and find a character with a much worse problem than yours. It puts everything into perspective, and demonstrates that it is quite possible to overcome such problems. Soap operas prove to be relief from everyday pressures, albeit temporary. This is especially true for me. My artistic merit is Neighbours. Sometimes I cant wait till 5. 35pm, because I know that I can relax during the twenty five minutes it is on. Soaps are very informative about occupations. You get to know what a characters job involves and requires. For example, Joe Scully is a builder in Neighbours, Paddy is a vet in Emmerdale and Karl Kennedy, a doctor in Neighbours. All these characters provide good insights into these careers, which may help you to choose which job suits you. Soaps allow you to study lifestyles. This is especially useful for sociology and psychology students who are required to research different lifestyles and the way they affect our personalities. Using these studies they can compare the lifestyles of regions or countries, and how they differ. Soaps are used as message propaganda. This is when truths or quotes are twisted and end up only half true. Journalists use this technique. Since video recorders developed, soaps have given them a revolution. Before technology developed viewers who were unable to watch an episode simply missed it. Now, it is popular to record programmes when you are out, or viewing on another channel. This revolution has increased the viewing figures by thousands. Producers of soap operas have many promotion techniques. Some of these include advertising, omnibus episodes, special length episodes with exciting content, ie, a birth or a wedding. All of these attract the viewer and send the ratings rocketing. There are two types of soaps: Imported and home grown. Imported is self-explanatory-the soap is imported from other countries to our screens, Home and Away and Neighbours are examples. Home grown is the screening of soaps from their own country. Wealth and power V class consciousness is an issue in soaps. An example of wealth and power is Mike Bawldin in Coronation Street. He is portrayed as a filthy rich business man. On the otherhand the employees that work for him in his factory are examples of class consciousness. They are of the working class. In my opinion this is wrong because it demonstrates that people of different classes should be treated differently, when really people should be treated with the same amount of respect. Soaps are a form of escapism, as viewers can escape from the real world to the soap world. Soaps provide a vicarious experience, which means that the viewers experience the soap at second hand. The cast experience at first hand. Soap opera producers use romanticism to enchance love affairs, to give the viewer a rose-tinted image of the issue. Usually the characters chosen to have love affairs are beautiful, psycially desirable people. We all know that in the real world this stereotypical image is not always true to life. Soap operas move with the times in all aspects such as decor and design in houses and settings, up to the minute technology, lifestyles and relationships, entertainment and the cultural scene (mores), eg drugs, alcohol abuse. This can have a powerful impact on the viewers who will emulate a particular home or lifestyle. Overall, I think soap operas are enjoyable and fulfilling, but if watched over prolongued periods of time can lead to unhealthy addiction.

commentry on the handsmaid tale Essay -- essays research papers

This novel is an account of the near future, a dystopia, wherepollution and radiation has rendered countless women sterile, and the birthrates of North America are dangerously declining. A puritan theocracy nowcontrols the former United States called the Republic of Gilead andHandmaids are recruited to repopulate the state. This novel containsAtwood's strong sense of social awareness, as seen in the use of satire tocomment on different social conditions in the novel. The Handmaid'sTale is a warning to young women of the 'post-feminist' 1980s and after,who began taking for granted the rights that had been secured for womenby the women before them. The environmental danger of pollution and radiation run off from powerplants is commented on in the novel. Atwood is voicing her concernsabout the destruction of the environment here, and warns us of thepossibilities if the destruction continues in our world. Her view is extremeof course, made to shock people into thinking about the potentialdanger. In the novel, pollution and radiation had overwhelmed thepopulation causing sterility in both men and women. Babies were often borndeformed, (these were called 'Unbabies') or died during pregnancy orshortly after birth. At one point in the novel, a funeral is described bythe main character Offred, she said "the first one is bereaved, themother; she carries a small black jar. From the size of the jar you cantell how old it was when it foundered, inside her, flowed to its death.Two or three months, too early to tell whether or not it was an Unbaby"(Atwood, 55). The infertile women, rebels and feminists were sent tothe 'colonies' t o clean toxic waste, where of course they die of eitherdisease or radiation. Atwood incorporated the environmental disasterinto her novel as a warning, her point being that it could happen, andif it did, here is what might happen; mankind could go to an extreme,religious, totalitarian state: the Republic of Gilead. Gilead, the ultra religious military regime is a reaction to thedramatic drop in birth rate. In the novel, Aunt Lydia, one of the women incharge of the Red Centre where handmaids are trained described Gilead;she said "the republic of Gilead knows no bounds. Gilead is withinyou." (Atwood, 29). Offred, replied inwardly "doctors lived here once,lawyers, university professors. There are no lawyers anymore, and th... ...sue; they keep us fromseeing, but also from being seen. I never looked good in red, it's notmy colour" (Atwood, 9). The bulky red dress is designed to hide the Handmaid's bodies and thewings are made to keep the women from being seen. The women are taughtto bow their heads when they walk so that their faces can not be seen.This is a further example of the domination of women in this novel.Atwood's point in demonstrating the oppression of women is not to beultra feminist or to put down men, but to show the dangers of such a regimeas Gilead, because it became such a patriarchal state, and in its wake,women were utterly repressed. It happened so fast, that women did nothave time to revolt, and after Gilead came to power, if women did speakup they would be sent to the colonies. Social commentary is rampant in this novel. Margaret Atwood purposelywrote this shocking and absurd tale to shock people into thinking aboutsuch problems as toxic waste, pollution and radiation. Not onlyenvironmental concerns were voiced in this novel, but social ills such asfemale repression and the dangers of a theocracy as well. Reading thisnovel was a wake up call, and I have since taken up recycling

Psychology of Health in the Workplace Essay

Health and psychology by some might seem to be intertwined as one and the same; by others health and psychology are two separate aspects in ones life. Ones physical health can depend on many things for example gender, family history and dynamics, stress, type of career and what type of environment one lives in. If one lives near a coal mine and works at the mine they may experience respiratory issues, depression and possibly post traumatic stress syndrome from working underground in a dangerous situation for long periods of time. Physicians have very stressful jobs, one subspecialty that is reputed to be extremely stressful are neonatologists. Many work under severely stressful conditions and over a 5-year period suffer some type of stress-related illness. Having worked for a group of neonatologists it was evident that they all experienced high levels of stress and many-experienced career burn out. They loved what they did but knew that after a period of time they would have to change specialties. Understanding that their choice in careers at some point would affect their physical and mental health. The brain is a powerful thing; power of the mind is an amazing thing when one is sick or feeling down. Having a positive attitude towards life and ones health at times can be better than medicine. I have personally witnessed the difference in patients that are receiving chemo treatment and the differences in there mental attitudes. The ones that have a good positive attitude seem to do much better than the patients with negative attitudes, they seem to complain more and just over all have a hard time. The positive attitude patients seem to do they best they can to keep their lives normal doing as they did before. Knowing that they will experience bad days and making the most out of the days they feel better. I watched the movie Soul Surfer about the young girl who was attacked by a shark while surfing and lost an arm. It was an amazing story on how she recovered keeping an amazing attitude towards life. She trained to surf again with her disability winning a competition. She did not sit back and feel sorry for herself; she pushed herself to accomplish her goals. Health and psychology in the work place is about the choices we make with our career choice. With the economy the way it is today it is tough for many people. Those that have jobs may be over worked due to cutbacks and maybe unhappy or stressed out. Stress can cause many health issues such as high blood pressure, depression, headaches, lack of motivation and lack of energy. For the people without jobs possibly living on unemployment or not receiving an income at all can be devastating. The feeling of helplessness, low self esteem and depression can take a drastic toll on one both physically and emotionally. This can cause major health issues as well, knowing your depressed and trying to get out of that state of mind can be very difficult. To prevent illness and enhance ones life to a healthier way of living sometimes may take a total life style change. Exercise is a very important part even if it is just walking 15 minutes a day. By exercising the body produces chemicals that work like an antidepressant making one feel happy and better about themselves. Changing ones eating habits, eating more fruits and vegetable staying away from sugars and starch. If a person is overweight and they change their diet and see they are losing a few pounds can give them the motivation to continue. With a positive attitude thing’s that may have stressed one out before may seem not as important now. Do things to try and reduce the stress level at work as well as at home, leave a little time in the day to just unwind. Something’s we cannot change but what we can change is how we handle them whether it is part of the job or a person one has to deal with. Look at things outside of the box; if the way it is being handled isn’t working then try another way.

British Petroleum As A Company - 2382 Words

Intro and Background British Petroleum as a company was founded in 1954, however its roots go back another half century. British geologists discovered oil underneath Iran in 1908 and by 1909 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) began drilling for the British government. APOC benefited from World War I as it was predicted all British naval ships will soon be converted from coal to oil and the company could spread further into Europe. Refineries were built in Whales, Scotland and were bought in France and Australia. In 1935, APOC was officially changed to Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) due to Persia being referred to as Iran. World War II gave rise to nationalism inside the Arab countries including Iran. The Iranian government in 1951 obtained control of the Iranian oil industry forming the National Iranian Oil Company and consequently pushing out the AIOC. The American and British governments worked to over throw the Iranian government in 1953 to regain control of oil in Iran. AIOC became the British Petroleum Company (BP) in 1954 after a holding company Iranian Oil Participants (IOP) brought Iranian oil back to the western market. BP expanded into Canada, Libya and the United States by buying out existing companies and was the first oil company to strike oil in the North Sea. Known for its risky business ventures, BP quickly became the world s third largest oil company by acquiring other oil companies such as the Standard Oil of Ohio and Amoco. The company s rapidShow MoreRelatedThe British Petroleum Company Plc1946 Words   |  8 PagesThe British Petroleum Company plc (BP) is one of the five largest oil companies in the world today. It is United Kingdom’s largest corporation. BP discovered oil in Iran before World War I. By the mid 1990’s it produced over 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas every day. It has more than 16,400 service stations around the world. It is an integrated oil and gas company. The company provides its customers fuel used in transportation, petrochemical products that are used in making paints, clothesRead MoreCompany Background Of British Petroleum1777 Words   |  8 Pages1. Problem Analysis: Company Background: British Petroleum(BP) is one of the world’s top oil and gas companies, it is also United Kingdom’s largest corporation. They mainly deal with Oil but since the last 40 years or so they have shown great interest in chemicals and plastics, including a range of specialty products such as detergents, advanced composite materials, and advanced ceramic engineered materials. BP has more than 16,000 service stations around the world. Around 13% of their revenue isRead MoreBp Is A British Petroleum Company Essay2194 Words   |  9 PagesBP is a British petroleum company that has plants throughout the world. BP is a company that has been through out many ups and downs in the past few years. 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This select group of firms has control over the price and, like a monopoly, an oligopoly has high barriers to entry. The products that the oligopolistic firms produce are often differentiated and, therefore, the companies, which are competing