The Financial Detective 2005

[The Financial Detective 2005 Introduction Each industry is distinctive. One might be unique in its high fixed assets; other would be differentiated of its increasing intangible assets and many other financial footprints that each industry leaves on its balance sheet. Nonetheless, industries are distinguished furthermore; fingers of one hand are not the same as said. Businesses in the same industry can be characterized differently according to their strategic plan and capital structure. The following case highlighted some characteristics of different industries and different businesses within those industries. From pharmaceuticals to music and books, those differences, supported by numerical financial data, are explained in the following section. Books & Music General information provided: Company 1 1. Selling through a vast retail-store presence 2. Traditional book retailing 3. Online presence and owns publishing imprint Company 2 1. Sells books, music, videos solely through the internet website 2. Three quarters of the sales are media 3. Sells electronics and other merchandise 4. Recently became profitable 5. Followed a strategy of acquiring retailed online business recently Assessing the provided information about the two companies and looking deeply at some of the financial data, it was concluded that company 1 is designated by the letter H and company 2 is designated by the letter G in Exhibit 1 (see appendix 1). Investigating the financial data, it was found that Company 1 (H) had a higher inventories account of 38. 6 this supports the fact that it is a traditional book store that needed to keep book inventories at all times to maintain its retail presence. This is further seen in its inventory turnover, is has a lower turnover of 2. 2x this reflects the nature of the company which traditional book retailer that experience slow turnover. Moreover, company 1 (H) has an 11. 1 in intangible assets, again this reflects the companies intangible assets such as publishing imprints. Also, company 1 (H) owns about 24. 4 in fixed assets as a results of its vast retail network. For company 2 (G) , inventory account is much lower than company one (14. 8) this reflects the fact that company 2 is online based business that sells mostly digital products such as media along with few other general electronics and merchandise. Thus, its inventory turnover is much higher (13. 56x) correspondent to the nature of most of the sold product (digital media) that are highly demanded and easily accessible. Regarding its fixed assets account, company 2 (b) has lower fixed assets of 7. 6 this mainly reflects the activities related to electronics and other merchandise that probably requires some fixed assets, but for its E-commerce, it needs minimal- none fixed assets. Considering the type of this business (online based) it was noticed that its receivables account is very minimal compared to company 1. This is probably due to the fact that online products are delivered upon payment, thus it is rare to purchase music on credit. Assessing some of the income statements components, depreciation is recognized to be low (1. 1) this is highly related to its low fixed assets. Last but not least, SG& A expenses of 16. 9 is lower than company 1 , this is logical because company 1 depends on a network of retailers that impose higher general and administrative expenses while company 2 depends solely on its o0nline channel. Finally, net profit of 8. 5 (which is higher than company 1) indicates the mentioned recent profitability. Newspapers Information provided: Company 1 1. Centered largely on one product 2. Fierce competition 3. Recently built a large office building for its headquarters. 4. international Company 2 1. Owns a number of local newspapers 2. Has a significant amount of goodwill 3. Recent acquisitions 4. Decentralized decision making and administration Taking a closer look to the provided data, it was concluded that company 1 is designated by letter P and company 2 is designated by letter O (see Exhibit 1) this selection was based on a number of factors: company 1 (P) have more receivables ( 9. ) than company 2 O, this is due to the fact that company 1 (P) operates on a larger, international scale than company 2, this larger customer base requires better and more receivable terms. Whereas company 2 , which operates on a smaller local level has lower receivables of 4. 6. Company 1 (P) has almost the double in fixed assets account t in company 2 (o) (34. 6, 14. 1) explaining the new purchase of th e headquarter building by company (p). Assessing the intangibles account of both companies, it was noticed that company 2 (O) enjoys a high level of goodwill (76. ) while company 1 (P) has far less intangibles of 37. 1. Evaluating company’s 1 (p) focused and centralized strategy of producing and distributing one newspaper internationally, it was noted that this focus led to a decreased cost of goods sold (cost/ unit is inexpensive) this is evidenced in the lower COGS of 40. 5 compared to 49. 7 in company 2 (o). moreover, company’s 1 (P) Debt/ asset ratio is higher than company 2 (O) ( 26. 81 compared to 15. 2) this indicated that it is more cost efficient for company 1 that operates internationally to finance its strategy implementation by using more debt than equity. This boosted the ROE of company 1 to reach 20. 89 relative to a lower ROE of company 2 (9. 86) which follow a more conservative financing mix. As a final point, looking at the SG&A expenses, it was observ ed that company 1 (P) has higher admin expenses due to its strategy of operating internationally while company 2 enjoyed less Admin expenses due to its local strategy ( 39. 7 compared to 23 ).

Consumer Culture in the Twenty First Century Essay

Consumer Culture plays a significant role in our everyday lives. The articles In Praise of Consumerism and Needing The Unnecessary; The Democratization of Luxury by James Twitchell show strong arguments in favour of consumer culture. Both articles focus on how important consumerism has become in the modern commercial world and how more people wealthy or middle class are buying luxury items to be accepted by others in society. People in today’s society who buy luxury items find it â€Å"arousal seeking† and it is believed that consumerism will soon be the new world culture. These two articles show similar views on consumerism and hold valid information in favour of consumer culture. Korten shows that the transition from an Empire to Earth Community would be alot easier without the increase in consumerism in the 21st century. James Twitchell wrote an article In Praise of Consumerism about how consumerism is a significant part of everyday life. Commercialism is in practically everything that we encounter on a day to day basis. It is in the water we swim in, the air we breathe, our sunlight and shade. In our society you can’t consume an object without consuming meaning which is a major part of the modern commercial world. People like having things and it has come down to the quality and quantity of what you have as to how you are perceived by others in society. Twitchell states in his article that the American Century will be the next era and that it will likely be the commandeer of the 21st century. So basically American culture is well on its way to being recognized and used by cultures all over the world. It will soon be the new world culture. Korten states that the United States has been the world’s most aggressive national proponent of economic growth and consumerism as the tickets to happiness; however what did clearly increase in the United States over this period were measures of depression, anxiety, distrust and psychological dysfunction. Although this article focuses on consumerism being a positive development for the 21st century, Korten shows that along with consumerism comes many personal and social issues. In the article Needing The Unnecessary: The Democratization of Luxury he talks about how consumerism has changed from the 1950s to the twenty first century. In the 1950’s the wealthy upper class people were the ones who had  the luxury items and they could flaunt what they had. But if you were a middle class person who had luxury items you had to be very subtle about it. If you flaunted what you had you were frowned upon by other people in society because luxury items were lightly tainted with shame. In the 21st century it is completely the opposite. Since the 1980’s more middle class people have been buying more luxury items as opposed to the wealthy. Alot of people are buying things they can’t afford with money they don’t have by using credit cards, loans, mortgages and cash advances. This allows more middle class people to buy more luxury items as opposed to wealthy people, but this doesn’t mean they can actually afford it which in time can cau se many more problems. According to Twitchell to understand the material culture in the beginning of the 21st century, you have to understand the high importance of unnecessary material. It is believed that you are what you consume and practically everything you consume is not needed. Consumer culture focuses on community. People regardless of their class are buying more luxury items to look cool and also to be admired and welcomed by others of the same lifestyles. Earth Community offers an alternative to the alienation and the sorrows of Empire, a way of living that places life values ahead of financial principles of domination. Korten shows that in an Earth Community you don’t need luxury items to be accepted by society. Consumerism focuses on providing society with its unnecessary and necessary needs. Twitchell believes that in this post modern world we have replaced the knowledge of production with the knowledge of consumption. To justify this way of thinking many people feel that nowadays not everyone is a worker but everyone is a consumer. So why not focus on educating society on the area that will be useful for all. Twitchell believes that what you buy becomes more important than what you make therefore luxury is not a goal, it is a necessity. Twitchell believes that Humans are consumers by nature. Consuming luxury has gone from telic (arousal reducing) to paratelic (arousal seeking). Consumerism provides individuals with a temporary â€Å"high on life†. Buying new things makes them feel momentarily happy, powerful and superior. These are all good feelings however they don’t last and many people who don’t have the resources to buy luxury items are buying them. This creates  for them debt, stress, frustration and competitiveness. Those who can’t afford these luxury items show resentment for the ones who can. This causes tension in society and can create an Empire where people are competitive and hostile. The golden rule of Earth Community is do unto your neighbours as you would have your neighbour do unto you as you work together to create a better life for all. Consumerism is focused towards making individuals happy as opposed to everyone. Those people who can’t afford to have the nice things are forced to live with daily reminders through advertisements of things they want but cannot have. Consumerism doesn’t create a better life for all but creates one for those who can afford it. Consumers are fully aware that they are more interested in consuming appearances rather than the object. They enjoy the status that surrounds the objects they buy/own. Korten’s concept of Earth Community is in favour of creating relationships and developing communities by bringing people together. Twitchell makes a good argument showing how consumerism has brought people together. People can now blend into society by simply buying the latest fashions and are no longer being excluded due to their ethnicity, social status, family name, language or religion. High-end items are decreasing the past social restrictions for the 21st century. Twithcell states that high-end consumption promises to do exactly what critics of stuff have always yearned from namely, to bring us together, often traumatically. The transgenerational poor are excluded, as the bottom fifth of our population has not budged an inch in the luxe explosion. Yet more people than ever are entering the much-vaunted global village because of consumption, not despite it. Consumerism is allowing for most people similarities that connect them together and eliminate the previous gaps between social classes. Korten states that relationships, not money are the true measure of well-being. What matters most is our connection to and participation in the life of community. If we were to define human progress by the measure of human happiness we would devote far less of our resources to making money and far more to building community. Korten shows that relationships are more important than money and Twitchell shows that consumerism can help build relationships. As a supporter of David Korten’s concept of Earth Community consumerism makes people more interested in material possessions than community. Consumerism does have some good affects on the community but it restricts people moving away from an Empire towards an Earth Community. If people weren’t so busy trying to get the things they desired they would focus more on meaningful relationships. Korten shows that people who have lots of money are just as happy as people who don’t. When surrounded in a caring community money makes little difference in regards to happiness. Twitchell makes an interesting argument in favour of consumerism and shows that consumerism has an ability to fade the lines between social classes. Consumerism still ignores the extremely poor; however, it can create a larger community of middle and upper class. Works Cited Look Smart; In Praise of Consumerism. James B. Twitchell, Online Edition. Look Smart; Needing the Unnecessary: The Democratization of Luxury. James B. Twitchell, Online Edition. Berrett-Koehler Publishers; The Great Turning from Empire to Earth Community. David C. Korten, San Francisco, CA

Cricket Spectacle to Help Spur the Bangladesh Economy

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are co-hosting one of the biggest spectacles of the world- ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011. There is indeed a thrilling atmosphere going on, in these three countries, but this thrilling moment adds an enormous sensation in Bangladesh as it is going to be the host for such a mega event for the first time ever in the history. Question is what we look from this event. Is this just like a sporting event that should be organised with perfection only, or we try to capitalise this event to add a dimension in our country that would help us place ourselves in far better position? Undeniably such a mega event like the world cup crocket can make a significant impact on local economy and could also have a positive effect in society, which beyond any doubt Bangladesh needs to pursue. We simply cannot let this moments go away; this is the moment through which we can exalt our overall image and can surely elevate country's economy. A successful organisation of the world cup would mean a lot to Bangladesh and it would give it a great exposure. The Bangladesh economy, through this mega event, would have a positive impact and the organisers need to make sure that they do not lose this opportunity. Enhancing the name value of the region should be a major incentive for localities hosting either World Cup games or training camps. Through this world cup, we would be able to reroute global tourist flows and would be able to establish new places as tourist destinations. For those people who would be in Bangladesh to watch the world cup matches, our goal would be to show the potentialities of our countries to them. There would be many investors from around the globe here during this event and if we could have a proper exposition of our country, they would be more than happy to come back here with their businesses in Bangladesh. We must see this world cup cricket as a worthwhile endeavour for corporate sponsors and media companies, or the local organisers and the economies of the venue cities. It would be the time when Bangladeshi TV channels can show their potentialities to be awarded the rights in future to telecast some cricket events exclusively. Representatives from giant companies like Adidas, Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Emirates, and so on would be here during the world cup and the successful completion of this event would help them to understand the potentialities of Bangladesh market; these companies would sponsor Bangladesh cricket officially in future that would anyway impact the Bangladesh economy in a very constructive way. Since such a mega event is going to take place in Bangladesh for the first time ever, people would be keener to watch if Bangladesh successfully synchronises every step of this world cup event. A successful completion of this event would have greater upbeat effects on revenue generation, infrastructure legacy, and, in the longer term, on tourism and economic activity through media spotlight and return visits. Through this event Bangladesh must aim at longer-term beneficial effects, additional to direct expenditure which this event would definitely involve. Hypothetically it would occur through both return visit by the spectators and more importantly, through the increased investment and tourism activity that such an exposition brings. Studies on the propensity of visitors to major events to return to the host region have shown a pragmatic, if not staggering effect. Not only in the economic area, the event would also have a positive effect on society as well. One famous sociologist defined mega-events as ‘large scale cultural events' of mass popular appeal and international importance which are typically stage-managed by a combination of national governmental and international nongovernmental actors. Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium could be the center-piece of not only cricketing events, but also of hosting of other international events, since it has been renovated with lots of facilities that could attract many people to use it for many international events. This could be the time when Bangladesh might offer Pakistan to arrange international cricket in Dhaka as their home ground, instead of going to the UAE or England. Right before starting this event, Bangladesh could establish an internet site to market the host region for this spectacle. This internet site could represent Bangladesh in various ways and can show the potentialities of this country. The inauguration of such a site, especially at this moment, would amplify the momentum of our country. The whole world would be looking at Bangladesh and we have got to make sure to utilize every bit of it. Mega-events such as the World Cup Cricket should be utilised by dominant forces in society to convey particular world views of the present and memories of the past. This world cup will bear out the close relationship between mega-events and the globalisation process: such events are concurrently driven by globalization, and promote globalisation. This spectacle has such promising aspects through which our economy can be boosted to a greater magnitude. Organising such an event means the capabilities of doing something different, which Bangladesh must realize and must utilize this momentum. There will be people watching this spectacle not in stadiums only, but people from all around the globe will be watching this event from their homes. Bangladesh has just got a huge opportunity to get closer to millions of people through which the image of our country would be elevated. It will, thus, give an opportunity to Bangladesh to change the momentum of its economy.

E-recruitment practices Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

E-recruitment practices - Literature review Example The Internet explosion and the high trend towards the digital environment have also moved recruitment to the online environment. Poorangi, Razavi and Rahmani (2011:74) define e-recruitment as the use of information technology in the recruitment process, to speed it up, improve it and ensure efficiency in recruitments. Barber (2006:1) refers to it as online recruitment, web-based recruitment or internet recruitment. Currently, a wide array of organizations has e-recruitment portals in their websites, or they conduct online recruitment through online job boards. Research done by institute of Employment studies (Barber, 2006:3) showed that most organisations use some form of online recruiting with most of them allowing applicants to apply for the jobs through corporate career sites. This research also projected that the only form of recruitment in the next decade would be through e-recruitment as more ways of making recruitment more efficient are developed. With increased efficiencies and competitiveness in the way that organisations acquire talented employees, e-recruitment practices between organisations differ in various ways. This is based on the kind of employees sought, the type of organisation and the cultural aspect of the targeted population. Therefore, e -recruitment is a process of hiring employees through internet enabled online electronic systems, such as websites. In order to use e- recruitment, it is important to have a system for administering the hiring process and enable targeted applicants to submit their details electronically. (Elkington, 2005). Thus, e- recruitment involves application of various electronic mediums such as websites, internet and online recruitment systems to hire employees in an organization. This study seeks to examine and evaluate the e-recruitment practices in employing customer service staff in Lloyds TSB in the UK and those in employing customer service staff in Bank ICICI in India. The study also seeks to examine the factors that influence e-recruitment practices, the importance of e-recruitment practices, and the role of culture in recruitment practises Factors that influence e-recruitment practices and importance of e-recruitment practices Before investigating factors that influence e-recruitment practices, it is important to examine the effects of the process on new recruitment methods. Conventional recruitment methods apply formal procedures such as job advertisement. The methods begin by determining the required applicants and their location in the job market. Then, the recruiting department embarks on the activities of attracting and persuading applicants to apply the advertised job vacancy through medium such as newspapers, magazines, radio, magazines and TV among others. When the paper applications are received, they are sorted and shortlisted. They are filed and registered to enhance assessment and monitoring during recruitment process. This is followed by com municating to the shortlisted candidates for a formal interview and further assessments. Similarly, formal letters are sent to unsuccessful applicants (Aurelia & Fallery, 2010). E-recruitment comprises of three major steps, namely attracting, sorting and contacting the successful candidates (Elkington, 2005). To attract candidates, the recruiting firm designs web pages, which apply electronic networks to advertise and locate potential applicants on the internet and online databases. Potential applicants

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Bullying - Essay Example Bullying is still widely prevalent across many schools in the US according to recent statistics. This form of behavior has a negative impact on those who are being victimized and also promotes aggressive and violent behavior among those who take on the role of a bully. Bullying can have several physical, social, emotional and psychological consequences on those who are being victimized (Bullying Overview, 2014). Bullying which was thought to have originated in Scandinavia is now widespread in many countries around the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom (Olweus, 2001). In the United States, several policies and laws are being implemented in schools across the country to prevent and protect children from the effects of bullying (Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies, 2011). School authorities play a major role in implementing and coordinating the various anti-bullying policies and laws along with the support of teachers, parents an d support staff such as practicing school psychologists. The main objectives of the anti-bullying policies in schools involve establishment of a school mission statement, code of conduct and a student bill of rights. Any updates on the policies need to be incorporated in the school rules and passed on to the staff, students and parents. These policies provide a means of early intervention in preventing bullying and they do not propose any kind of harsh punishments to those who involve in bullying their peers. Instead it recommends using a restorative justice approach in correcting the behavior of the perpetrators and offers suitable counseling to them as well as to those who have been victimized (Bullying, n.d; Sherer & Nickerson, 2010) 5. Analysis of these policies has revealed that they have been effective in reducing the rate of bullying in schools (Effective Evidence -based Practices, n.d). Bullying, which is defined as repeated exposure to

Professional Sports - NBA Players are Greedy Essay

Professional Sports - NBA Players are Greedy - Essay Example haritable causes or other community-focused tactics to show their support for ethics and social integrity, the root of their motivations is greed and it can be supported with solid evidence. â€Å"NBA players are much in demand by groupies, partiers and wife wannabes† (Bender and Jackson, 2000, p.28). Because there is a high social demand for basketball, these games are televised and broadcast both nationally and internationally in an environment with much spectacle and bright, flashing lights. This type of environment appeals to the social personality type who likes the thrill of ongoing excitement, making the NBA player the obvious object of these complicated emotions. Basically, the thrill of the sports broadcast and the theatrics of the arena provide fanatics with the idea that they should be chasing potential relationships or parties with these players. At the psychological level, greed does not necessarily have to involve financial desire, greed can include the need for the spotlight and to be surrounded by attractive young women. The message, at the social and marketing level, keeps getting reinforced that basketball players deserve celebrity status. NBA p layers begin to believe this and begin defining themselves and their future ambitions by the smoke and mirrors of sports broadcasting and marketing. This sets an initial seed of greed into aspiring basketball players who believe that when exposed as a high-performing player, they will have their own dedicated group of followers, fanatics, and relationship-minded con artists. NBA players are so greedy that they even are willing for forfeit education just to have this money and social spotlight. One professional in higher education offers that an ambition to be an NBA player is â€Å"a recipe for disaster† and â€Å"instead of athletic ability serving as a means to a valuable end (education), the hoop dream has become the goal itself† (Graves, 2004, p.10). Students who believe that they are going to become the

Personnel Hazards of Dry Chemical Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personnel Hazards of Dry Chemical Systems - Essay Example Dry chemical systems that include mica, clay and amorphous silica can contain small quantities of quartz or crystalline silica. Inhalation above the exposure limits (about 3 mg/m3) and prolonged respiratory exposure can increase the possibility of developing a disabling disease called as silicosis. The condition induces inflammation and scarring of nodular lobes in the lungs. It can induce chronic coughing and fever. Deposits of crystalline silica were also identified as carcinogenic to the human body though this is yet subject to further verification. Decompositions of compounds also include hazardous products such as ammonia, carbon oxides and phosphorous oxides. These can induce negative health effects such as fever and respiratory problems. Dry chemical compounds are also extremely corrosive and abrasive to metals indicating that it can also cause skin diseases like dermatitis and other complications to eyes and other parts of the body. However, many dry chemicals in the market do not require extensive protective equipment especially in local applications. There is also the possibility of explosion of pressurized containers though this is quite unusual but possible. (Acme Fire, 2007)

Modern Theatre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Modern Theatre - Essay Example By the same token, evolutionist historians have also privileged those plays which most nearly conform to this overarching narrative about the demise f melodrama and the all-conquering triumph f realism. Tom Robertson's cup-and-saucer dramas and the cordial 'goodheartedness' (Jenkins 1991) f Arthur Wing Pinero's farcical protagonists, for example, represent two important staging posts on this Whiggish journey. In passing, it's interesting to note an unacknowledged separation f theatrical spheres in these arguments. Although it is women who are usually portrayed as the heroes f managerial reform, slowly transforming dirty, communal playhouses into elegant, comfortable, quasidomestic arenas, the credit for dramatic reform has invariably been attributed to male playwrights. Several consequences arise from this evolutionist history. First, the 'rise f realism' thesis portrays the theatre f the late 1880s and 1890s as a beacon f dramatic light, at the end f the dark tunnel f institutional decadence and theatrical unrespectability. Not only does this entail a strategic and rather narrow selection f the theatrical record, but, at least as importantly, fin-de-siecle drama and theatrical institutions have acquired the status f self-fulfilling prophecies. In other words, the theatre f the 1890s tends to be valued in direct proportion to its difference from -- and satirical critiques of-Victorian drama rather than in terms f its intricate and complex relationships to earlier conventions and dramatic traditions. Michael Baker's The Rise f the Victorian Actor (1978) and Anthony Jenkins' history, The Making f Victorian Drama (1991) are two influential and distinguished examples f this evolutionist approach. Baker's work traces the gradual emergence f acting as a profession in the nineteenth century. In general, he writes, 'the actor f 1830 was a social and artistic outcast and the theatre an outlawed sector f private enterprise'; (Baker 1978) by the 1880s, however, the actor had finally 'arrived' in Victorian society. The rise f journalism and the new status f the man f letters contributed to the creation f new middlebrow audiences, whilst the emergence f a mass market leisure industry helped to provide a solid framework for the gentrification f the acting profession. For Anthony Jenkins, Victorian theatre can be construed in terms f the eventual liberation f drama from the tyranny f a popular, unthinking public. 'The attempt to rescue British Drama from the theatre's rowdy spectacle', he declares at the opening f his first chapter (pointedly entitled, 'Breaking through the darkness'), 'began a few months before Princess Victoria became Queen'. In Victoria's reign, Jenkins locates the gradual emergence f a 'serious' drama whose genealogy can be traced in the plays f Edward Bulwer Lytton, Tom Robertson, William Gilbert, and Henry Arthur Jones; its apex is represented by George Bernard Shaw's final conversion f the Victorian theatre's 'sideshow' into a momentous 'sacred

Impact of the war on terror on Rules of Evidence Essay

Impact of the war on terror on Rules of Evidence - Essay Example However the alteration of the U.S. security system after 9/11 and various fresh national security agendas have produced extensive anxiety over the safeguard of international human rights, democratic standards, and several rights preserved in the U.S. Constitution that outline the civil liberties of the American citizens. Since the United States has not experienced any more attack on U.S. soil, which shows the efficiency of different U.S. counterterrorism efforts. But the 9/11 terrorist attack led the U.S. administration to review several existing laws and strategies and to make fresh ones, mistakes and exceeding the limit associated with these labors added grave erosion of faith in U.S. guiding principles and direction. In foreign countries, exposures of extrajudicial apprehensions and detainee mistreatment have damaged U.S. status and sincerity. Further it hindered counterterrorism collaboration with allies, and endowed with provocative misinformation that helps terrorist radicalization. Internally, policy deviations over security and civil liberties have been recurrent, extensively revealed, and sensitively charged, creating a situation of animosity and doubt that has confronted the people’s faith in the administration, caused division among supporters, and destabilized collaboration among the political branches of government. (Prieto, 2009). Criminal laws of US normally focus on dealing with criminal actions that have already happened, and are less effective in attaining the counterterrorism aim of preventing future attack. Criminal laws face a lot of disputes in tackling the terrorist threat. Even after a person is detained, a number of challenges face a successful criminal trial. Before 9/11, criminal trials relied on involving the defendant to a specific violent act or a plot to perform such an attack. The admissibility of evidence causes an additional challenge. Information that may be suitable in an intelligence framework may fail to suit the

Chocolate liquor Essay Example for Free

Chocolate liquor Essay Chocolate is a confection made from cacao beans, the seeds of the cacao plant. There are a large number of products made from it on the market, from powdered cocoa for making drinks to white chocolate, and most markets carry a cross-section of confections for their customers. In addition to being available at general markets and grocery stores, chocolate can also be purchased from specialty companies which make luxury and distinctive confections. Making chocolate is a time consuming process. Cacao plants are grown on plantations in South America, where the plant is native, and in parts of Africa. There are actually several varieties of cacao plant, all of which produce chocolates with slightly different flavors, and the flavor is also impacted by where the plant it grown, how it is handled after harvest, and how it is processed. Companies invest a great deal of money in developing ideal blends of cacao beans to create the flavors their consumers are used to. Cacao beans grow in large pods which are harvested once they ripen and then allowed to ferment. Initially, the cacao beans are extremely bitter; the fermentation process softens the bitterness, allowing producers to move on the next steps, roasting and hulling. Roasting helps to develop the flavor of the beans, while shelling exposes the cacao nibs, the portion of the bean which has all the flavor. Once cacao nibs are extracted, they must be ground into a substance known as chocolate liquor. This liquor isnt something youd want to eat: it is extremely fatty, thanks to the cocoa butter it contains, and it is gritty and bitter. This liquid is then pressed to create what is known as press cake, a substance consisting primarily of cocoa solids, while the cocoa butter is allowed to drain away. Once press cake has been created, producers have a number of options. To make cocoa, they can squeeze the press cake even more to isolate the cocoa solids before allowing it to dry and then pulverizing it. They can also blend some of the cocoa butter back in, along with sugar and other ingredients, to produce eating chocolate, which is subjected to a process called conching to create a smooth, creamy confection without any traces of grittiness. Eating varieties can also be adulterated with milk, creating milk chocolate, and the level of sweetness can vary widely. For white chocolate, cocoa butter is mixed with vanilla and milk. The history of chocolate is almost as interesting as the confection itself. In its native South America, it was prepared in drinks reserved for royalty and high ranking members of society. When European explorers visited, they were introduced to chocolate, and upon bringing the food back to Europe, it became a big hit. Eventually, Europeans started experimenting, adding sugar and other ingredients and ultimately developing a process which would allow them to make bars in addition to drinks. With the development of bar chocolate, confectioners realized that it had a wide range of possibilities, from candy bar coating to truffles, and the once rare luxury turned into an extremely profitable global industry.

Media: Government Transparency And Accountability

Media: Government Transparency And Accountability The media plays significant roles in acting as a medium in transferring the information between the government and the public. The information that the public received have ability to influence the perception and the decision making of the public. The media and the government have dependent relationship. Each of them has an influence on each other. However, the media, especially newspaper and television, are outlets that are likely to be influenced, by either the government or private interests. The intervention on the media may prevent the freedom of expression provided by the democracy. These interventions can be counted as corruption. Corruption is one way to reflect government transparency and accountability. Introduction It is obviously seen that nowadays the media plays a very important role in the development of the country. The development of the society, culture, economics, education, or politics are depending on the media since the media act as a major instrument in transferring the information between different people in the society. The media can have a strong influence to the people. What are written in the newspaper, what are shown on the television, or what are spoken through the radio can change the perception of the people. During the time when Thailand was under the absolute monarchy system, media was a significant part that helped moving Thai society toward modernization. However, after Thailand changed to the democratic system, the freedom of expression of the media was emphasized. Democracy can prosper only in societies where information and ideas can flow freely. The most accessible media in Thai society are newspaper and radio. However, the sources of media that are easy to capture by the government are the newspaper as well as the television. We will then focus on these two outlets in our study. The print media, the earliest kind of media in Thai society, are limited to only small number of people in the early period. However, as time passed, the situation was changing. There were papers with criticisms about the ruling class and government officials, as well as papers that were provided with some entertainment features. The role of the press then changed from serving the ruling class, government officials and foreigners to providing information for common Thai people. The newspaper industry grew along with Thailands economic growth. However, Thailands economic crisis in 1997 was a time when newspaper industry was affected by the economic downturn. When we look at the newspaper business in Thailand today, it is obviously seen that the newspaper business has constantly become more competitive. For the daily newspaper of Thai-language, the market shares are gained mostly by Thai Rath, accounted for 34per cent, and Daily News 19per cent. The two leading newspapers, Thai Rath and Daily News, are conservative in their political disposition. For the Business Daily Newspaper, Krungthep Thurakit is the dominant player, contributing for 85per cent of the maket share, while Puchadkarn and Post Today are taken for the other 15 per cen. For the English Daily papers, Bangkok Post and the Nation are the two players, taking about 55 per cent and 45 per cent of the market share respectively. Still, there are political influences in the newspaper business. The government has ability to influence the news contents or to make adjustments that created the desirable situations for them. The politicians can directly give bribery or they can give something not in the form of money but in kind of gifts or other kind of influences. For example, according to Who Owns the Asian Media: Thailand Media Report By Ubonrat Siriyuvasak, during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatras second term in 2005, the Bangkok Posts front-page report on an alleged crack on the runway of the new Suvarnabhumi airport. The time of the report was the time when the government was under the investigation by the Opposition Party about the corruption of the constructing of the new airport. After the published of this report, the news editor, Chadin Thepwan was forced to resign by the Bangkok Post. This case showed that even though the government was not directly managed the newspaper or the news contents; it could do something to influence the business to be according to its way. For the most-consumed media in Thailand, the television, 86 per cent of the Thai population watching TV on a daily basis. Previously, there are six television stations in Thailand which broadcast freely on air and nation-wide. Three of the channels: Channels 5, 9, and 11, were operated by State operators, while the other three: Channels 3, 7 and iTV are operated by private concessionaires. iTV or Independent Television, was launched in 1996 as the first television station that was not owned by the State. It seemed to provide independent and critical programs for the people as well as act as a voice of democracy. However, iTV is becoming more and more profit-oriented and after the economic crisis in 1997, the company faced massive debts and finally, Shin Corporation of Thaksin Shinawatra took over iTV in 2000 before the Thai Rak Thai Party won the election in January 2001. Since the Thai Rak Thai and Thaksins Shin Corporation were related, during the election campaign, the news agenda and the contents were controlled by the new executive team. Journalists who went against such interference were fired. As a result, the pro-Thai Rak Thai news campaign was one factor that led the party to win in the election. A survey by the ABAC poll showed that television news coverage was overwhelmingly biased towards Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai government However, iTV, who was not able to pay back high debts after the crisis, was forced to stop broadcasting, now has continued broadcasting again under the Thai PBS name. Moreover, Channel 9 has been changed to MODERN 9 under the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand (MCOT) regulation; Channel 11 to NBT and are under the Public Relations Department. Since media are the powerful sources of information, many sectors, including both the private and the government, are trying to gain control of the media in order to manage the information sent to the public. Because the media has the ability to influence people as well as government, the government who depends on media by using media to get into the people, is the one who wish to take control, as we have seen in the previous examples. Every day, the media reports political news, telling the current government movements and government actions that show people how the government is working to help develop the country and solve the problems. The credibility and the image of the government are then depended on the information and the pictures that the media send out to the people. The government, therefore, wants to limit the information and take control of the media so that only the good things are presented to the public. As a result, many media are under the government intervention. From the measurement of transparency international; the global coalition against corruption website, it shows that the corruption perceptions index (CPI) of Thailand, according to the survey in 2009, is about 3.4 and is ranked on 84th from 180 countries around the world. Since the government intervention in media is associated with the corruption, Thailand who claims to be governed by democracy may not be able to say we are governed by complete democracy. Thailand has been involved with the problem of corruption for long time ago, in the past people may not know terminology and its importance since the corruption might be embedded with Thai culture so that people get used to it or it was known in other names. The problem of corruption also relates to the administrative system of the country. From Sukhothaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢the first era of Thailandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢up to the present, Thailand has been ruling by various forms of administrative systems depending on the influences or situations at the time so that the forms of administrative system are different in each era. We would like to talk about the administrative system in each era in order to make them as the basis for explaining corruption and how it came from. In Sukhothai era, the beginning era of Thailand, the administrative system was in the form of Father-Son or Paternalistic. King played a role as father while public played role as his children or family ruled in hierarchical pattern. It created good relationship among parties. After Sukhothai era exhausted its power, Ayutthaya era was replaced. The administrative was changed from Paternalistic to the Divine Rights system. This system was distinguishingly characterized as states come into existence by Gods will, God chooses the rulers of the states, and the rulers are responsible only to God. Divine Rights system was derived from Hindu influence, this system is unlike Father-Son system as it separated the rulers and public leading to different classes and privileges; the public were under the control of the rulers. This form of administration gave King the absolute power causing the distance between King and public. After very long period of powerful, Ayutthaya era was eventually fall. Thonburi era had been replaced, since King Taksin aimed to collect power to build the new kingdom, the administrative system was not different from Ayutthaya era. After Thonburi era, the current era, Rattanakosin era, has flourished instead. For Rattanakosin era, we would like to divide the era into early and lately Rattanakosin because in the period of King Rama V, there was dramatically change in Thailands administrative system; the abolishment of slavery, the education support, and the idea of reformation in administrative system to democracy. However, the idea of reformation to democracy was not shown up in the period of King Rama V, the idea has been established in Thailand and public began to participate in the administration. So,the administrative system in the early Rattanakosin before period of King Rama V still be the same as in Ayutthaya era. In the lately Rattanakosin era and after King Rama VII period, Thailand is governed by democracy up to the present. The Constitution of Thailand have been giving the freedom of expression to individual and the press since Thais ruling system was changed from absolute monarchy to democracy for almost 78 years, however, there have always been criticisms about the degree of freedom of expression of Individual and the press in Thai society since it came to associate with the government. The media still has freedom, but now its freedom is decreasing as the government tries to put its hands in. The objective of this study is to combine theoretical, empirical and other evidences in order to understand the relationships and their interactions among the media, the government and the public in Thailand. Understanding all these things will explain how media affect the transparency and the accountability of the Thai government. The role that the government plays in the media and the role that the media plays in the government are being interested increasingly by the society in these recent days. Therefore, as part of the Thai society, we would like to focus on performance of the media and government, particularly the effects from media on government accountability and transparency occurred within Thailand. When government tries to control media, this can be considered as corruption, so, the corruption problems will be highlighted as they play role in indicating the transparency of the government. As corruption can be categorized into private-to-private corruption and public corruption, our concentration will be only on public corruption; according to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School, public corruption is defined as a government official, whether elected, appointed or hired, may violate federal law when he/she asks, demands, solicits, accepts, or agrees to receive anything of value in return for being influenced in the performance of their official duties, and the further use of word corruption refers to this. Corruption can be one indicator to point out government transparency and accountability as well as a degree of democracy. The study will include; the corruption in election since the incumbents intervene on the media in order to present themselves i n a positive ways, the intervention of the government on media in sense of taking ownership and capturing the media such as television and newspaper. We will mainly focus on television and newspaper as the representatives of all kinds of media. Looking at the ownership of the television station and the newspaper outlet, these can point out the degree of government intervention and media capture since media have influence on government. Still, our study has some comparisons in some particular parts with other countries in order to make our analysis more clearly. Literature Review Matias Warsta (2004) described the overall frameworks about corruption problem in Thailand, as well as the suggestions for solving the problems. This empirical literature argues that the problem of corruption has been in Thailand for a long time and also deeply rooted as a part of Thai culture. The corruption problem has a great impact on the economic growth of a country. Warsta (2004) pointed out the relationships among government, media, and public in the corruption problem. Government tries to use its power to control media to get its desirable outcome since media has ability to communicate as well as to influence the public which can affect their perceptions about the credibility and the image of government. There are many reasons for corruption shown in this literature. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is referred as the measurement of perception of corruption ranked form 0 to 10 where 0 means a country seems totally corrupt and 10 means no corruption. As CPI 2009 shown, Thaila nd entitled to 84th rank on the list of 180 countries which is interpreted as equitably high. Free media is one of the characteristic of democracy which plays a significant role as the watchdog to ensure that things are performed in the democratic way. However, government and politicians tend to increasingly get into the media by buying shares of the media or granting the money to media. Thailand attempts to reduce the problem of corruption by using various methods, but this literature gave the suggestion that in the long run Thailands key to success to reduce this problem is to reduce the huge gap between the rich and the poor as this gap is the top of the corruption problem in Thailand. Besley and Prat (2005) developed a baseline model suggesting that there is a possibility for the government to capture media and therefore influence political outcomes. The model states that the media plays role in providing information for the voters in the time election. The voters use the available information to make their voting decision. Besley and Prat (2005) show the relationship between media and political activities through the baseline model, which is a pure adverse selection model where the policy outcome is depended on the politicians type; whether the politician is good, giving benefit to the voters, or bad, giving no benefit to the voters. The model is set up as a game, having two components, a bargaining game and an election game. The bargaining game between the media and the politician determines whether the media is an effective information provider or not, since the politicians have abilities to hide bad news by make an offer to the media outlets. Those who accept the offers suppress the signal about the bad politicians. When the media receives a transfer in exchange for silence, the media is captured. On the other hand, the media is independent. The model and its extensions give number of predictions on the relationship between features of the media industry, media capture as well as political outcomes. John Zaller (1999) analyzes that the outcome of the media politics come from the goal-oriented and strategic behaviors. Zallers basic theoretical posture is that politicians, journalists, and citizens behave in ways that generally reflect individual goals and interests that in pursuing their various goals. He emphasizes the role of journalists, which the journalists have their own roles in acting as a voice of the politicians to communicate with voters. However, they can choose what to report. The journalists can add or reduce something before reporting in the news. The politicians also want the space about themselves in a good way in the news as well. This then create conflict between politicians and journalists for the control of the news. They are struggling to control news content within constraints set by the mass audience. ARTICLE 19 (2005) described the background of Thailand in many aspects, the history of media in Thailand, the media situation. All these provide good fundamental understanding about the media in Thailand. The empirical literature suggested that for the media to protect their freedom of expression, it is necessary that the media should be permitted to operate independently without the control from the government. This necessity should be held when the media claimed to have freedom of expression to ensure that the media play role as the watchdog and also serve the public interests. This literature argued that, for people, to understand the media in Thailand, they have to go far beyond the understanding of their function as the communicator among participants in the society, they have to bear in mind that the media are the business associations who seek for the profits from their self-interest. The literature has categorized the media ownership into the state-owned media and the private media. There are statistical shown that television and radio are the most accessible media among Thai public. Freedom of expression is also supported by Ubonrat Siriyuvasak (2006). The empirical analysis criticizes the lack of freedom in the media business in the recent year. Ubonrat provides the statistical data about the ownerships of the media, including the state and private ownerships of the radio and television stations, as well as the ownership of the newspaper. This literature criticizes the aim to control the media by the government, especially in the time of Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai government. Since during the Thaksin government, there were many changed took place including the change in media business, the paper then gives evidences of how the media outlet, especially, the newspaper and the television, were influenced by the government power. The question of who really own the media was emphasized by the author. Chapter 3 Analysis Since Thailand is governed under the democratic system, with democracy, it allows the equality, rights, and freedom to people in the society; people can enjoy all these things as long as they do not violate the others in the society. The provision of rights and freedom are in many aspects; freedom of expression is one of those aspects that relates to our paper. People in the democratic society can freely express what they think. In some societies, an opposing and unfriendliness relationship between media and government represents a vital and healthy element of fully functioning democratic system. However, the media and government depend on each others. Sometimes the media overlaps other functional areas of democracy and governance. Since the government nowadays can do some media managements or even can capture the media, the goal of media development should be to move the media from one that is directed or even controlled by government or private interests, to one that is more open and has a degree of editorial independence that serves the public interest. Many different kinds of mass media can create transparency. But the dominant medium of political communication and hence the dominant medium of political transparency is television. When we use television to understand politics, we see things in the way that television allows us to see. Television can create new forms of political reality that exist because they are seen on television. Television tends to emphasise entertainment value. People tend to interest in the entertaining things. The more entertaining news is more likely to survive in the broadcast world. Therefore, most television programs, public events, politics, and even law, are made to grab the attention of the viewers by entertaining them. They will launch the programs and present the news in the way that they think can catch the viewers. In the political news, television coverage of politics tends to focus less on substantive policy issues than on the other interesting news such as the inside stories about strategy and achieving political advantage. People tend to be interested on the issue of who the winner is and how they achieve their victory. These kinds of news tend to dominate in the television. Since the media, especially the television can portray the political issues in the ways it preferred, this affect the politicians as well as the government. Politicians and government understand that media become an important tool to influence the people and to retain their power. They therefore want to make sure that those things on the television are beneficial for their image and for the political situation. There are number of ways that the politicians and the government can influence the political contents in the media. Being part of the media can made it easier for them to influence the political contents. The ownership of the media, especially the television stations, is often under the state ownership. The state ownership of the media increases the likelihood that the media are being captured. Media ownerships are ranged from the private ownership to the state ownership. In theory, media ownership can be categorized into 2 groups: State-owned media, which often view information as a public commodity to be protected against a private sector monopoly in the public interest; and Private media, which, although they may distort information under the influence of political parties or commercial pressures, are at least not government controlled. There are laws and regulations that established to support for the independent of the media. The new Broadcast Act requires that all radio and TV stations be subject to license. Thai television channels remain under the tight control of various government agencies. Table 1: Owners and operators of Thai Television channels TV channel Owner Operator Channel 3 MCOT Bangkok Entertainment Co. Ltd. Channel 5 Royal Thai Army Royal Thai Army Channel 7 Royal Thai Army Bangkok Broadcasting Television Company (BBTV) Modernine TV (MCOT) MCOT MCOT National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Thai Public Broadcast Station or TPBS (TPBS) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Private Channel 3 is owned by MCOT a former state enterprise under the ownership of government and the Royal Thai Army. It is operated by Bangkok Entertainment Co. Ltd. a subsidiary company of BEC World Public Co. Ltd., under contract. Channel 5 is both owned and operated by the Royal Thai Army. Channel 7 is owned by the Royal Thai Army and operated by the Bangkok Broadcasting Television Company (BBTV) under contract. Modernine TV or MCOT is both owned and operated by MCOT. National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) owned and operated by the governments Public Relations Department (PRD) of the Prime Ministers Office, and TPBS, previously iTV, is now a privately run independent TV station. TPBS is free from government control or influence, with its budget financed by sin tax. It is less likely to get any intervention from politicians or state power. According to table 1 showing the owners and operators of Thai television channels, the broadcast media are entirely owned by the state. However, the state has the ability to give concessions to the private operators in a limited number. The concessions were often given on a privileged patronage relationship. Those who had political powers or have connections with the concessionaries would have the priority to get the concessions which are given either in the short-term or in the long-term. As a result of the limited concessions, the state and a small number of media corporations have monopolized the channel on the rights and freedom of information and communication, for which ideas and culture are distributed. Moreover, since the state owns most of the countrys television stations, no broadcasting about corruption are not unusual. Not only the television can be bribed or influenced, the newspaper can be in the same situation as well. For the newspaper industry in Thailand, they are strongly owned by a single family or small groups of investors who share familial relationship, or a publishing group. Even they are privately owned, not being captured because of the state ownership, they can still be influenced as well. Table 2: Owner of Thai Newspapers Newspaper Owner Thai Rath Vacharaphol Family Daily News Hetrakul Family Khao Sod Matichon Pcl, a publishing group Kom Chad Luek Nation Multimedia Group Krungthep Turakij Nation Multimedia Group Post Today Post Publishing Pcl Phoojadkarn Daily Manager Media Group. Bangkok Post Chirathivat family, the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong, GMM Grammy Pcl. The Nation- Nation Multimedia Group Each newspaper has its own political stance, and they serve different group of readers. However, even the newspapers in Thailand are privately owned, they can still be under the political pressure as well. Being under the pressure, newspapers then have the ability to present the news contents in which bias toward government or against the government, depending on who pressure them. In addition to the direct political pressure, if the owner of the newspaper is interested in which side or political groups, he is more likely to accept the bribery. The side they take depends heavily on sponsorship by and private relationships developed between the newspaper and influential individuals or groups. Bribery can be in form of money and non-money, even though, the owner does not get money in order to support that side, he is still willing to receive the bribe in form of the special privilege or some kind of protections.. If the government or the politicians want the news to present information that is desirable for them, they can choose to pressure or bribe them. We can see that there is still a chance for the politicians or the government to influence the news. Most of media in Thailand are subjected to the influence of either government or groups of people. For the television, most of the channels belong to the state, indicating the lack of freedom of expression and the ability to influence outcome. For newspaper, the influence comes in form of bribery rather taking ownership. The state will get into the media, trying to manage their working process. It can arrange the information received and released by the media in order to control the information to be in its desirable outcome. With this action of state, the information is distorted, some truths are not revealed. The benefits of the distortion or the concealment will fall into hands of a group of people, not the whole. Thus, the intervention of state on the media is not desirable outcome for the society as a whole and it is inefficiency. Therefore, this is the way that can lead to the corruption problem. Corruption problem is one of the major issues in Thailand which tends to be more important through time. This does not mean that in the past Thailand had no corruption. Actually, the problem of corruption has been rooted in Thailand for ages but it may not be concerned or realized much as in the present. The possible reason is that the administrative system in the past gave absolute power to the king, the gap between king and public was quite large and classes in the society were existed. Moreover, people had no ability to make decisions in all kind of things, in other words, they had no rights and freedom in their own life. Since the administrative system of Thailand has changed to democracy and the country has developed, things have been improved especially the communication that tends to be more advanced. Because of rights and freedom people are allowed to enjoy especially the freedom in expressing opinion, so what people perform will have more opportunity to be revealed to public for them to realize unlike in the past that there was no freedom, thats why things were kept as with those who were relevant while the public could not know the truth at that time. Corruption problem that has been in Thailand for a long time starts to be recognized and people also start to realize that it is bad thing since it is extremely destroying the pattern of interaction for the society as a whole, it also creates the distortion and inefficiency in economic development, so the country cannot develop to its highest or even expected position with this constraint. Furthermore, corruption in Thailand may come from many possible reasons including low salaries of public servants, low education of people, big financial gaps between social classes, lacking transparency of governance, unstable political situation, lack of democracy, lack of freedom of word, heavy bureaucracy, and centralized power. However, in this paper, we will scope the reasons to the lack of transparency of governance, the lack of democracy, and the lack of democracy. In democratic society, people can participate in governing the country by electing the representatives to work and serve their interests. People can choose their representatives through election holding the principle of majority voting, in other words, those who get the highest voting will be the representatives. However, we can see that Thailand does not govern by complete democracy; Thailand is governed by semi-democracy, the possible reasons may come from many aspects such as culture that make the country cannot be governed by complete democracy. However, we are not able to judge whether complete democracy is suitable for Thailand because the country may have constraints or facts that the complete democracy cannot be used. Furthermore, the corruption problem can have great impact on transparency and accountability of the government as well as the image of the country. One of measure of transparency and accountability of government can be shown by election. Media provide information to public which influence their decision making in voting. Politicians may present themselves by using media since media can reach the majority of people. Moreover, as politicians desire to win the election, positive image is necessary, so they need desirable information to be sent out to public. The possible way to reach the target is bribery. As Thailand is governed by democracy system, the right in freedom of expression is provided to both public as well as the media. Thus, the interventions from government and politicians in the media companies contradict to their providing right. Moreover, such interv

Purpose And Production Of Movie Posters

Purpose And Production Of Movie Posters A poster can be defined as a placard or bill, usually large and often incorporating photographs or illustrations, posted up for advertising or publicity or for decorative purposes. The functions of those which advertise include communication, selling and persuading. This does not preclude them being decorative. Indeed the first job of a poster is to attract the attention of the passerby and only once this is done can a message be delivered. A good poster then is one which is attention-grabbing, succinct, convincing and memorable. To achieve these aims designers may use a large format and bold colour, simple and minimal text and attractive illustrations which psychologically support and reinforce the written words. At the same time designers must consider the constraints imposed by the methods and places of display and competition from other posters whose messages may be as urgent and emphatic. Poster design combines the fine and applied arts, incorporating painting, graphic design, collage, and photography. In countries where television is not a major advertising medium, the poster remains a transient yet effective means of reaching the widest audience on behalf of culture, commerce, and ideology. Posters have become an integral part of the cityscape. They are pasted next to each other on large plywood hoardings attached to windowless walls of old buildings or onto fences surrounding parks and construction sites. Officially designated for poster display, these well-kept colourful quilts of public billboards not only disseminate information on cultural, sports, and political events but also serve as constantly changing outdoor exhibitions of graphic art. Through such widespread and continuous exposure, poster design has become one of the most accessible and effective art forms, reaching out and influencing even that part of the public that does not frequent museums or galleries. In juried exhibitions, the best posters achieve national exposure, and for many graphic artists, book illustration and poster design are important vehicles for a wider recognition of their personal style both at home and abroad. A feature common to all the designers is their striving for self-expression in an environment that demands political conformity. They seem intent on designing posters that have an emotional impact and appeal to the sense but that also challenge the viewer to an intellectual response. Their imagery includes lyrical and neo-surrealist overtones, drama, irony, or playful humor, and the message is delivered in a variety of styles. A poster constitutes a mirror for the times it is created in. Like a mirror it reflects the political and the social situation, it informs about the repertoire of movie theaters and dramatic theaters, it announces sporting events, it encourages purchasing certain goods. The socio-political poster plays a specific propaganda role. Those who commission it expect that effective impact of the work of art upon the viewer will allow them to get closer to their desired goal. The goal varies depending on the circumstances: winning a war, or a presidential election, or a parliamentary campaign; a struggle to alter social behaviours or attitudes. History of the art of movie poster Cinema and film posters are the physical incarnation of the special movies we have enjoyed through the years. Although there is a big market for collecting film posters, they were never intended or created to be sold to the public. They were merely meant to promote and entice viewers to come to the local theatres that were screening the films. Today these rare original movie posters are in great demand. They are the tangible souvenirs of favourite films and stars whose characters we fell in love with. Ironically in the early days of movie making actors were not usually depicted on the film posters. The title of the film and the producer and directors names were usually the attraction until Hollywood realized that it was the actors who brought in the viewers. It was at that time that the stars of movies were then plastered on each poster giving life to a new era in the film industry. Movie posters created before the eighties were mainly returned to the studios or poster sources and destroyed when the archives became full or the films run had ended. Unfortunately many early film posters made for hit movies such as Casablanca, King Kong, Frankenstein and The Wizard of Oz were destroyed as a result of natural disasters that occurred during World War II. As people became more aware of their value theatre owners began to ignore return policies and those film posters that were spared are widely sought today by collectors and dealers. Before 1940, each film studio maintained its own offices (or exchange) in every major city. The studios would send the films and their posters to all the exchanges and from there; they would be distributed to the surrounding theatres. The big city theatres would just go to the exchange and pick up the films and posters right before they would show them (for big films they might order extra posters in advance of the opening to create an elaborate display). Theatres in smaller towns would often receive their films via Greyhound bus, which back then serviced just about every town in the country. The films would be in containers that would have the posters (often just one or two one-sheets and a set of lobby cards) tucked in a pouch on the outside of the container. Most theatres would show a film for 3 or 4 days (as part of a program that might include 2 features, a cartoon, a newsreel, and possibly a serial chapter), and then send it on (via bus) to the next theatre. Often the theatre manager would put the film on a late night bus right after his last showing and it would arrive at the next theatre the following morning, in time to be displayed for that nights show. The film might go by bus through a circuit of many theatres before returning to an exchange. After the film returned to the exchange, it would go back out to other theatres, and often the posters had to be replaced, as they were torn and tattered from being put up and taken down several times. This more than anything explains why posters from before 1940 are extremely rare. Theatre owners couldnt give their posters to collectors, no matter how hard they begged, because they were needed at the next theatre. This whole system of having to deal with each studio separately might sound very inefficient, but remember that in the 1920s and 1930s many theatres were owned by the studios and so only showed that studios product; and most of the independents would only get their films from a couple of studios, so it wasnt that complicated. But if all the posters were returned with the films, how are there any posters at all from before 1940? For one thing, one type of poster, window cards (14 x 22) were bought in large quantities by an individual theatre and (after they added their name and play dates to the top) distributed to store windows around town. Those were given away after the film was done playing. Another way they survive is in the backs of old picture frames, for framers would often use window cards (obtainable for free) as backing boards. But as for other posters remaining today, a huge amount come from other countries, for those did not have to be returned to the U.S.; at the time, the value of the posters was less than the cost of the postage to return them. There have been huge finds of pre-1940 U.S. posters in Canada, Columbia, and many other countries. In addition there have been some great finds in the U.S., such as the Cozy Theater Collection in Los Angeles. This was a theatre that maintained its own exchange of posters from the early 1930s to the 1950s for distribution to Los Angeles theatres. In 1968 the theatre owner offered his entire collection of posters (containing tens of thousands of posters and lobby cards, and hundreds of thousands of stills) for sale for $25,000, and it was hard to find a buyer! At todays prices, the collection would sell for millions of dollars. Other than the huge finds (which probably account for 90% of the pre-1938 posters known), posters also are sometimes found in one other main way. In the 1910s and 1920s (and to a lesser extent in the 1930s), builders would often look for material to put within the walls of buildings (or under the floors) to serve as insulation. Some enterprising builders hooked up with poster exchanges to take large amounts of outdated posters and put them in the walls of their new homes. I know of at least ten occasions where someone has been remodelling their house in the 1990s and discovered posters in the walls or under the floor. Sometimes they are mouldy and mildewed and require large amounts of restoration, but sometimes they are so tightly pressed together that they survive in relatively excellent condition. The vast majority of pre-1938 posters known were found in one of the above ways. Very rarely a theatre owner (such as the legendary Charles Dyas, who started collecting in 1922) might order extra posters to keep, or someone who had access to posters might keep a particular poster as a keepsake, but by and large absolutely everybody who handled posters viewed them as disposable advertising, much like newspapers. Old newspapers (like comics books or baseball cards) survive in quantity only because they were sold by the millions, and some people never throw out anything. Movie posters, on the other hand, were never obtainable by the general public. It does seem particularly amazing that the studios themselves never thought to maintain an archive of their posters. In recent years some of them have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying back a tiny percentage of the posters that they literally sold for pennies each! am not understating the rarity of pre-1938 posters when I say that for at least a large number of films not a single poster or lobby card is known, and for many others only lobby cards or window cards are known. It is very unusual to find a film from before 1938 from a major studio on which more than ten copies of a one-sheet is known. (Posters from lesser studios are often found in large quantity because when the studio goes out of business they often have hundreds of copies of each poster on hand. An example is the Norman Film Company, which made all-black cast films. Huge supplies of these posters were found, and they are among the most common of all silent posters.) The system of every studio maintaining its own supply of posters in every one of its branch offices became very cumbersome, and in 1940, National Screen Service was formed. Warehouses (called poster exchanges) were set up in most major cities across the U.S., and each studio contributed its posters from the last couple of years to get it started (Exchanges definitely had posters from 1937-39 in abundance, but nothing like the quantities they would have of post-1940 material. The exchanges had virtually nothing from before 1937, which explains the vast rarity difference between pre-1937 and post-1940 material. For each new release in 1940, the printers put National Screen Service (NSS) numbers on the bottom right of every poster. For 1940 only, they used a first number that began with 40, followed by a slash mark and more numbers (for example 4011/524). The 40 referred to 1940, and the rest of the numbers referred to in what order the poster had been printed, to make it easier for people to find the posters when stored in a large warehouse (many films had similar or the same titles). In 1941, the simplified the code to be just 41, followed by a slash mark and three numbers (for example 41/245). This was unfortunate, for in the present day it has resulted in acknowledgeable collectors assuming that they had a limited edition poster (in the previous case, #41 out of an edition of 245). This system continued all the way through the late 1970s, and makes identifying the year of 1940-1979 posters extremely easy. It also makes identifying re-issues simple, for they would put the re-issue year in the NSS number, and put a big capital R in front of it. So in the above example, if the 1941 film, NSS #41/245, was re-issued in 1954, it would have a new number such as R54/621. It appears each exchange received a huge number of each poster (at least). I say this for two reasons. One is the economics of full-colour printing are such that once you get the presses rolling, it is very cheap to keep on printing, and it is much more expensive to reprint items. Thus, it just would not make sense to print less than say five or ten thousand of a full-colour item. Second, when exchanges were bought out in the 1960s (see below), it was not at all uncommon for a single exchange to have well over 100 of a single item, even after years of distributing that item. Of course there was not an even distribution of items, but I think it fair to say that for most items that were in exchanges, hundreds of each survives today. I also think it fair to say that for most pre-1937 items less than ten of each survive today (with the exception of those items that were found in huge quantities, such as the Norman Film Company posters). In the 1940s, the studios would charge a rental fee to the theatre, which would return the poster after using it (hence the warning that has frightened collectors for years, beginning This poster is the property of National Screen Service). At some point NSS realized that it was easier to just print more posters and sell them outright (probably this was due to rising postal rates. I have owned many posters that were mailed folded in the 1940s, without an envelope, and the cost was three cents!) I have brochures from exchanges from the early 1960s, where they offer new one-sheets for 25 cents each, with other prices on other sizes. The brochure might say 1964 and 1965 one-sheets, 25 cents each, 1963 and earlier 15 cents each! This shows they had no clue that these posters had collectible value, but also that there were next to no collectors before the early 1960s (just like comic book collecting). The few collectors there were in the 1950s kept buying all the posters they could afford from exchanges and didnt talk about it. Then in the mid-1960s, some enterprising individuals began to buy the individual poster exchanges. I have no idea what they paid, but I have no doubt it was an absolute steal, as the exchanges thought they had warehouses full of practically worthless old paper. (Of course I admire these individuals, for that one business decision made them, financially set for life. They saw an opportunity no one else saw, and they took advantage of it.) The new owners began offering old posters at collectors prices, usually around $1.00 or $1.50 for an older one-sheet. They did next to no advertising, and they often sold a great deal to the local collectors, who heard about them by word of mouth. Some individuals, such as Tanner Miles, would buy posters from the exchanges in huge quantities and try to double their money at collectible shows. (My own personal introduction to movie posters came in 1968 at an Oklahoma City collectibles show, where I, being a full-time comic book dealer, was intrigued b y the many boxes of movie posters I saw at Tanner Miles tables. I spent over $40 with him, a huge amount of money for me at the time, and I went home with a large box of posters and lobby sets). But it didnt take long for the dealers to see that they were rapidly running out of the most popular titles (particularly horror and sci-fi) and they started raising prices on popular titles. The two exchanges that were best organized and sold the most posters to collectors were Theatre Poster Exchange in Memphis, Tennessee, and Movie Poster Service in Canton, Oklahoma (both are still in business and both give excellent service). I remember seeing better quality posters priced at $20 in the early 1970s, and wondering how much higher prices could go! But it is important to realize that pre-1937 posters were always scarce, even in 1965. I remember seeing a Valentino lobby card in 1969, and the price was $20, when virtually no post-1940 item sold for as much. The price was high because even then, silent items were virtually unheard of. I have heard old-time collectors talk of the days when they bought Frankenstein and Dracula lobby sets from exchanges, but I know this never happened (ma ybe it was House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula and the stories got embellished over the years). Sometime in the late 1970s, those who printed movie posters began printing huge numbers of extra posters which they did not fold in the regular way, but instead left unfolded (rolled). It is not clear to me if this was done with the studios permission or knowledge, or if it was done independently by the printers. I would think it may well have started around the time of Star Wars or especially Return/Revenge of the Jedi, when these posters instantly began selling for collectible prices. Maybe someone contacted someone at the printers and persuaded them to print a bunch of extra posters. Unfortunately if this was done without the studios knowledge, then well probably never know the full story, for the principals involved are unlikely to admit to it. At this time, several collectibles dealers became tied to whoever supplied rolled one-sheets, and began offering them to collectors. The odd thing is that it remained a very clandestine business, shrouded in mystery. Even today, I have no idea who prints the rolled one sheets, how they can be contacted, how they can be purchased directly, and so forth. Of course those who act as middlemen for distributing these posters dont want the answers to get out, but its just a matter of time before it happens. The artist given credit for creating the movie poster was Jules Cheret who created two posters in the 1890s. One was a film short called Projections Artistiques, and the other a Theatre program called Pantomimes Lumineuses. During this early time movie posters would not contain the title of a film short but just the name of the company who made them. 1896 marked the first time a poster would be made for a specific movie and not just a movie company. The film was called LArroseur Arrose. It was about a kid getting into trouble with a water hose spraying a gardener. The 1900s would mark the beginning of the utilization of modern film techniques which would be used in the American movie The Great Train Robbery. The movie only last eleven minutes and was extremely popular. By the end of the first decade of the last century movies had become a great source of entertainment for the public with movie companies growing in greater numbers. From this time period, the movie poster would get a standard size known as the one sheet measuring 27 x 41. The Genesis of the Modern Film Poster A common format of the film posters from the period preceding the Nickelodeon Boom of 1905-6 was what Kathryn Helgessen Fuller refers to as the audience image. (Kathryn, 1999) From Edisons 1901 poster for a Vitascope exhibition in Birmingham to a Cook and Harris advertisement for a 1905 showing at the Elks Opera House in New York, the audience is shown in almost stock fashion in these images, namely, enthralled by the wonder of the new medium. On these grounds, Fuller identifies the audience image with what Tom Gunning has called the cinema of attractions, a mode of spectatorship and film production which preceded the arrival of narrative cinema and in which the apparatus and its illusion of motion was itself the star attraction (Tom, 1990). In these terms, the audience functions in conjunction with a larger attempt to foreground the apparatus and the uncanny illusion of reality it produced rather than to advertise the content of the film. The latter is utilized only secondarily, that is, only in so far as it magnifies the former (Michal, 1992). While Fuller is eager to establish the virtual disappearance of the audience image from film advertising as coinciding with the movement away from actualities and toward narrative cinema, the audience does not necessarily disappear from film posters after the first decade of the twentieth century (Sandy, 1994). Rather, they that take on a new role, one that is best illustrated by a Mutual Movies ad from 1913. Here, the audience is divorced from the apparatus. Gone are the catatonic viewers of the Edison images. Instead, these well-dressed filmgoers serve to assuage the fear of the middle class audience that theatre owners were now courting and to counter campaigns waged by activists like Jane Addams who saw the Nickelodeon as a house of vice. While the waning of the 19th-century fascination and astonishment with the cinematic apparatus certainly transformed the audience image, its disappearance only occurs after the middle class audience had been successfully procured by the film ind ustry (Sandy, 1994). From this point on, it is the moving image itself, rather than the apparatus or the spectators that comes to take precedence 87 in publicity material. As the pair of posters for D.W. Griffith 1915 film Birth of A Nation illustrate, for the most part, this meant either lithographs which took from the circus and other promotional material a bold and dramatic style, or posters based upon still photographs from the film (David, 1995). It is crucial to understand this movement toward the still in the context of the 1909 drive of the Motion Picture Patent Company (MPPC) to consolidate and standardize distribution and exhibition (Pafic News Service, 1995). First, through what Richard Abel calls a combined strategy of lawsuits and licensing and second, through the formation of the conglomerate General Film Company in 1910, the MPPC established film distribution and exhibition as, for all intents and purposes, a closed market(Nancy, 1999). In light of this consolidation, underway in virtually all aspects of the industry, the still offered an additional benefit. Since producing ads for specific theatres would be impractical for a company such as the GFC, which served an extensive and diverse group of exhibitors, the still presented an image devoid of the geographical specificity of the audience image, one that could be mass produced without variation. What ensues is a standardization that begins with the reconfiguration of the poster itself. For example, in 1909, the Klame Company began creating pos ters in dimensions that would be equal to the size of eight lobby cards (seven scenes and a title card), allowing streamlined shipping and standardized lobby displays (Engineering News-Record, 1999). The standardization of form was followed by the standardization of content as printers such as Hernegan and Donaldson in Cincinnati created a line of stock posters that represented the prevailing subjects of the films of the time and that could easily be tweaked to represent a given show (Alan, 1999). With shipping expedited and printing costs minimized, film manufacturers soon began sending vast quantities of literatureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦free to every exhibitor,(Moving Picture world, 1911) and trade publications such as Moving Picture World began offering advice to exhibitors on lobby displays, promotional tie-ins and publicity stunts (Parsons, 1927). In an article entitled Theatre Managers, Wake Up! the trade journal encourages the obsessive decoration of the Nickelodeon It is all well en ough to let the storefront make the circus display outside his place in order to attract a crowd (Parsons, 1927). However, the shift from the audience image to the still image initiated a standardization that does not alone account for the interconnectedness or metonymic exchange between image and film that began this inquiry. The latter must be understood in conjunction with an exhibition practice that preceded both the establishment of conglomerates and subsequent standardization of exhibition. As Tom Gunning points out, it was common practice in the 19th century to begin a showing with a projected still image which would, after a dramatic pause, suddenly be granted movement (Tom, 1999). In fact; Albert E. Smith developed a water cell between the film and the light source that would allow the projector to hold the still without catching fire precisely for this purpose (Andre While the aesthetic of astonishment and the cinema of attractions were relatively short-lived modes of spec tatorship, this residual connection between the still and its magical transformation gained a new currency within the film poster. In focusing on dramatic, climactic scenes, posters such as Griffiths Birth of A Nation presented images that were themselves caught between motion and stillness and as such asked the audience to internally re-enact this early practice. From the point of view of spectatorship, the result of this standardization between images in combination with the implied motion of the still itself is a peculiar displacement that Andrà © Bazin would later diagnosis as the art of not seeing films. In a 1944 article of the same name, Bazin, perhaps the ultimate cinephile, makes the provocative claim that a film can be legitimately be read, at least with seventy-five percent accuracy, by the posters which advertise it. In essence, by reading the image through an elaborate graphology the image gives way to the film proper and in those cases where the film one sees through the poster is of inferior quality one can safely choose not to attend its showing. Seeing the film no longer necessitates the theatre or even the film itself. The arrival of the still as the dominant graphical reference to film experience in combination with the standardization or codification of advertising practices make possible the metonymic exchange between the poster and the moving image of the film. With the web of standardization established between images, the film poster appropriates the ability of the filmic image, both moving and still, to exceed itself only to recuperate this excess elsewhere. This inquiry has focused on the poster and obviously each visual mode of extension constitutes its own unique discourse that must be approached on its own terms. However, one cant help but think that in a general sense it is this dispersal, endemic to the filmic form and perfected with the commercialization of the film industry, that grants film, a by now thoroughly antiquated technology, its continued relevance and vitality. In these terms, the evolution we have traced through the film poster is not all together different from the curre nt migration of the cinematic across media and in turn time and space. The artefact that Barthes finds in the trail of posters is therefore both the anomalous element within our conventional understanding of the cinematic experience and also a record of the past. The latter, however, points simultaneously back to the birth of commercial cinema at the same time it prefigures the migration of the cinema across digitized formats where the materiality of the film and its space of presentation bring this process of portability to near completion. The Change of movie posters over decades 1910s 1920s In the early days movie stars werent known, so the names of actors did not appear on the posters. Besides the movie studios liked it that way so they wouldnt have to pay more money to actors. Things certainly have changed with actors like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis commonly getting checks over or around 20 million dollars per movie. During this early period in movie history movie studios realized that movie stars were as much an attraction for the moviegoer as the movie itself. So the movie star was born, and movie posters started showcasing the names of the actors as well as the title of the movie. The bigger the star the bigger their name appeared on the poster. Other promotional materials were soon used such as the lobby card and the press book. In the 1920s, the golden age of the silent movies, posters became more artistic and spectacular. Accomplished Artists were hired to paint portraits of the stars for the movie studios to be used as movie posters. By the mid 1920s talkies as they were called were introduced. Movie attendance shot up to 110 million by 1929 from 60 million in 1927. During this time movie poster images would become sharper due to a new printing process by the Morgan Litho Company. 1930s The Golden Age of Movies as it is known in the movie industry saw the beginning of great musicals, gangster movies, westerns, and horror movies created for the growing public hunger for movies. One of the biggest money makers of all time came from the end of this decade, a little picture called Gone with the Wind. Two styles of movie poster were created, one sheets and half sheets. Major movies would sometimes get more than the two different styles. However due to the depression of the time a lot of movie materials had been created more cheaply, causing movie posters to lose some of the quality as they had previously. 1940s 1950s World War II came and war movies were the biggest theme for movies of the time. A number of movie stars joined the military and the entire industry did what they could for the war effort. The movie industry cut advertising costs using cheaper paper for posters due to the paper shortage of the war time. The 1950s would see the invention of the movie industrys biggest competitor, the television set. The movie industry came out with bigger screens for large scale movies like Ben Hur, and 3-D movies. Drive-in movies were at their peak, and movie posters adopted a style of the new fan magazines with colour photographs of the major movie stars and large stock lettering. 1960s 1970s Teen movies were the big thing in the early sixties. Beach movies and Elvis Presley ruled the movie theatres. James Bond stirred up the action genre, but by the end of the sixties into the seventies times were a changing and posters reflected this change of attitude towards sex and violence. The 1970s were more of the same as everything changed. Gone were the simple days of Andy Griffith and Mayberry. Hello Dirty Harry! Before the decade was over Clint Eastwood would make our day, we would see gangsters in The Godfather, cheer Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, race off to other parts of the galaxy in Star Wars and Star Trek and be made to believe a man can fly in Superman. Movie posters used photography occasionally using drawing and painting styles. Star Wars and Star Trek posters were the most popular creating collectors out of many today. Movie posters at this time were now being printed on a clay-coated paper which gave them a glossy finish. 1980s 1990s The age of special effects blockbusters, the 1980s broke records with awesome films like The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, E.T., more Superman movies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2 more Indiana Jones movies, more James Bond movies, Ghostbusters, Batman, Back to the Future, The Terminator, more Rocky movies, and dont forget Rambo. This decade meant more screens per theatre and more advertising material. The mini sheet was invented, and the video store became popular creating the video store poster. The 1990s saw the beginning of new computerization technology used in films like Jurassic Park. Batman was forever until the movie Batman and Robin, Arnold was back, and Independence Day blew away the competition. The one sheet continued to be used for posters as well as the mini sheet. 2000- Today Spider-man has web spun his way into the record books, DVDs are slowly replacing the VHS video, and posters are sold in many stores with reprints of movie posters currently being mass produced. The beginning movie po