Effects of Media Violence on Children and Family Essay

The National Television Violence Study defines â€Å"media violence as an overtly depiction of credible threat of physical force intended to physically harm an animate being or group of beings† (Bartholow, Dill, Anderson, & Lindsay, 2003, p. 3). Violent portrayal on television, video games, music videos, films or the Internet informs children that people are revengeful and retaliation is a natural response to conflict (â€Å"Media violence†). Children between ages of six and 10 are more compromised to the negative effects of television because they may conceive that most of what they see on television is real (â€Å"The effects†). Strasburger and Wilson (2003) mention that the prosocial-violent cartoon produced more imitative aggression among kindergartners than did the purely violent cartoon because the superhero’s violent behavior was more striking than his prosocial words were (p. 83). Playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior of children and is more harmful than violent television and movies because it is more interactive and requires the player to identify with the aggressor (â€Å"Violence in†). Boys who watched either violent or nonviolent rap videos have a high probability not to attend college or do not believe that they would ever finish school (Roberts, Christenson, and Gentile, 2003, p. 168). Research studies indicate that higher rate of television viewing are linked with increased habit of using tobacco, increased intake of alcoholic beverages and younger onset of sexual activity (â€Å"Facts about†). They also show that repeated exposure to media violence makes people to be less disturbed when they witness real life violence and have less sympathy for its victims (â€Å"Research on†). Cook (2000) suggests that parents should ensure that their children are thoughtful, critical consumers of media and should establish content and time limits on media use, monitor, and discuss the media their children use. References Bartholow, B. D. , Dill, K. E. , Anderson, K. B. , & Lindsay J. J. (2003). The proliferation of media violence and its economic underpinnings. In D. A. Gentile (Ed. ), Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals (pp. 1-18). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Cook, Donald (2000). Testimony of the American Academy of Pediatrics on Media Violence. Retrieved June 3, 2009, from http://www. aap. org/advocacy/releases/mediaviolencetestimony. pdf. Facts About Media Violence and Effects on the Family (2005). Retrieved June 3, 2009, from http://74. 125. 45. 132/search? q=cache:kiPT7NJfTWwJ:www. echeat. com/essay. php%3Ft%3D27026+effects+of+media+violence+on+family&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk Media violence: more than just child’s play? (2003). Facts of Life: Issue Briefings for Health Reporters 8(10). Retrieved June 3, 2009, from http://www. lionlamb. org/More_Than_Just_Childs_Play. htm

Exempt or Non Exempt Essay

1. Amy classified the shift leaders for exempt status because some of their job functions fall within the criteria of an exempt employee. The criteria’s she based the exemption status on were their responsibilities and duties which enabled them to have a certain amount of authority and other factors led to the consideration for the exemption status. The nature of their duties as managers allowed them the ability to delegate and assign the employee to the various work areas. They were further classified because of their day to day responsibility that included running the floor, making limited managerial decisions, ability to sit in on potential prospect interviews, knowing first hand who is about to be terminated as well as providing feedback for associates performance review to the assistant managers. In addition to the managerial duties which were done for a small portion of the day, they had to assume the role of the associates by assisting customers and ringing up sales for the greater portion of the day. Since the team leaders has some form of responsibilities as a manager Amy believes that she can appropriately classify them as exempt employees which qualifies for no overtime pay; she even reference the FLSA to Jane. By classifying the shift leaders as exempt allows for Amy to pay them a salary which is not clearly stated in the case. Also under the provisions of the FLSA if you are qualified as an exempt employee, you are not entitled to overtime pay.   Lastly, the department store is benefiting greatly because upper management is able to get more than the regular 40 hours out of the employees with the benefit of not having to pay them time in a half or overtime for the extra hours worked which gives Amy leverage because she’s able to keep her personnel budget down. 2. The shift leaders are not properly classified as exempt employees. In order for consideration for an employee to be exempt the employer must take into consideration several factors. Those factors consist of the type of position that is held by an individual which are executives, administrative, learned professional, creative professional, computer workers and outside sales are qualifications for an employer to consider an exemption status for the employee which falls in line with FLSA. According to the case, none of these leaders fall into any of the above category. The pay is another element that must be taken  into consideration. Although the case does not stipulate how much the team leaders are getting paid, we know for sure that they are not paid nearly as much as the assistant manager however they are paid slightly higher than the associates. Another factor is that they are associates majority of the time with a small portion of time being allocated to managerial duties. To further advocate why they should not be exempt, is due to the needed approval from the assistant manager and or the store manager for sales returns that exceed $50.00 which eliminates them from making any significant judgment calls that is allowed by managers. Finally, the team leaders do not hire they only sit in on interviews, they do not make the daily schedule for associates only the assistant manager does, they don’t give appraisals however they do give input and they are not involved in managerial decisions. In order for managers to be considered exempt they would need to have complete autonym to decision making and the maj ority of their time should be spent on managerial duties instead of doing the work of an associate most of the time. 3. The things that Amy needs to consider before classifying shift leaders as exempt or non exempt employees are the requirements of the FLSA which consist of the salary base test. If the employee are being paid hourly than they are non-exempt and qualifies for overtime, if they are salary than they don’t qualify for overtime. The employee rate of pay, job position (Executive, Administrative, Professional (both learned and creative professionals), Computer professional and Outside sales, as well as a job analysis needs to be done in order to classify the employee as exempt or non exempt. Also the fair Pay Rules that was implemented in 2004 have guidelines for which compensation determines if the employee is deemed exempt. If a careful analysis of manager’s duties was performed she would have been able to determine that they do not qualify as exempt employees; title alone can’t determine ones status. To expand things further her team leads were either quitting or complaining about not getting paid for all the extra hours worked so she should have consulted with HR to ensure that the proper status had been selected. In addition, she should have verified how many hours a exempt employee can work legally in excess of a 40 hour work week without getting compensated. Lastly other things she should have questioned before  stipulating status; are the team leads getting medical insurance, paid vacation, sick pay and all the benefits that is associated with a full time position that is considered exempt.

Nursing - Nursing Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nursing - Nursing Leadership - Research Paper Example It is about understanding the context in which a specific healthcare service is delivered. It may not be exactly about having a solid vision, but still it does involve having a nascent idea as to how things ought to be. It definitely involves having the ability to connect to other people. When one analyzes these salient attributes of nursing leadership, the one name that propitiously comes to my mind is that of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale not only revolutionized the nursing practices as they existed in her times, but also happened to be an instrument of change. Comparing oneself with such a leadership icon is indeed humbling. Still, on doing so I have realized that I do share some attributes with Florence Nightingale, while I need to strive hard to muster some other attributes ascribed to this great nursing leader. Florence Nightingale as a Nursing Leader The one attribute of Florence Nightingale was that she came into nursing with a sense of passion. She happened to be from a well to do family and could have opted for some easy life by marrying into a status family as her family wanted her to do (Donahue, 2007, p. 199). However, contrary to this, Florence decided to be a nurse at the age of twenty five. There is no denying the fact that Florence’s choice of a career was imbued with a sense of purpose, a marked sense of direction and a passion for doing something extraordinary in the career she choose. For Florence, it was not about doing something great, but rather about doing little things with great love. That is indeed true that Florence Nightingale was a luminary and it is not possible for every nurse to achieve that exalted level of vision and purpose, still, considering the present state of healthcare, one indeed pines for that level of passion and zeal in the nursing services. The other big thing about Florence was tha t she had a clear cut sense of how things were at her times and how they should have been. In the Crimean War, Florence, though still lacking much serious experience, was appalled by the circumstances at the hospital at Scutari (Donahue, 2007, p. 201). In fact, learning from such experience, when Florence proposed for change in the way military hospitals were run and managed, she witnessed a stiff resistance from most of the health care personnel deployed in the military hospitals (Donahue, 2007, p. 202). I intensely believe that no matter how inexperienced a nurse happens to be, still every health care professional has an innate sense of how the things should be, at least a vague idea. In that context, Florence Nightingale not only served as a leader who acted as an instrument of change, but also played a pivotal role in the management and administration of change. With little hope of help from the military establishment, Florence

Advantage and Disadvantages of different modes of transport on a Essay

Advantage and Disadvantages of different modes of transport on a global scale - Essay Example He could always perch himself on an horse or an elephant or sledge himself using his dogs for his own personal transport. But when it came to moving material that belonged to him, he found himself in a tough spot. He had to invent wheels which started off as large logs to all those modes of transport today that we are going to discuss in this paper.In order to appreciate the way the freight transport industry is progressing and the methodologies that they have been adopting, it is important hat we understand their history and hence get a total perspective of the whole industry. The freight industry was and continues to be most important economic requirement that any of the countries would need. Many times in the history of the civilization of Man we find that the country that had better logistics won many battles and hence the war. Many times they also won wars that they never fought both economical superiority and logistic superiority. When a country could produce and sell their pro ducts across the world then they end up superior to the people who are yet to come to grips with the logistics of movement of goods and services.Let us trace the history of freight transportation from 1800 to the modern days. If we see today, there are five modes of transport that are very much in vogue. 1. The railways. 2. The waterways 3. The airways 4. The roadways 5. the pipelines. The ships had their major technology change when the steam engine was invented and they were mounted on the hitherto paddled or wind powered boats to make gigantic ships that could literally rush through the sea. The same invention also changed the way people and material traveled over the land as well in the form of railways. Steam engines altered the modes of transport on sea in 1807 and on land in 1829. Transportation now became cheap and fast over all the surfaces of the earth both land and water. This brought in a revolution that literally changed the way industry was looked at. The IC engines brought in another round of change with technological upgrade. The world became smaller and smaller with faster traveling and transport mechanisms, men could pack their material and send it over railroads that traveled over 5 times as fast an horse would. Soon there were the trucks and the vehicles that plied the roads. The roadways also changed the very approach to traveling by individuals. It also changed the way people started looking at manufacturing processes. With a reach that spanned every corner of the country, roads brought the neighborhoods as close as close can be. Central production with a distribution set up started forming across the country making cheaper products a reality. With IC engines another major development in technology was also ushered in. This was the aircraft. With the invention of the aircraft, we find the transport time getting reduced by more than 10 times across the world, leading time a world wide integration of manufacturing. This also was rising the scale of production and an economics of scale and the economics of logistics went together to make things possible in the country. Pipes and conveyors also formed another set of transporting mechanisms that helped in putting together an easy but effective way of transporting material over longer distances and huge volumes. 3. The Industry and how it works The logistics industry or transport industry has the following major constituents. 1. The supplier or the sender of the material 2. The buyer or the receiver of the material 3. Transportation in the mode of transport that is suited 4. In case of multimodal, arranging so that the time taken is

Must complete a summary post at the end of the discussion reflecting Essay

Must complete a summary post at the end of the discussion reflecting on your learning - Essay Example For instance, in a huge economy such as the UK, marketers need to properly budget for marketing research so that they can obtain the much needed information to design effective strategies in their operations. Various strategies can be implemented in order to obtain information from different sources. For instance, the marketers can implement the interactive strategy with the targeted audiences in order to get their views about their needs and interests with regards to products offered. In the same vein, organizations can also seek information from their suppliers to help them make informed business decisions. Marketing research can be carried out in order to obtain this kind of information. Unit 6 also covers the concepts of Product and Price. Essentially, all businesses are primarily concerned with satisfying the needs of the targeted consumers in a profitable way. This means that a product or service offered by the organization should be clearly defined and the price should also be set in accordance with the market forces obtaining at a particular period in order to attract many buyers. Through the use of the marketing mix involving the product, price, place and promotion, the marketers are in a better position to determine all the factors that can help improve the offering to the targeted customers. The strategy can be implemented in both B2C and B2B marketing. The organization’s capability to define its product and to price it correctly plays a pivotal role in determining its success or failure in its operations. The other important element that should be taken into consideration when determining the price of a particular product is its life cycle. Pricing m echanisms are usually determined by the life cycle of the product mainly comprised of four stages namely: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The growth and maturity stages often attract high prices for the product since many customers would be interested in

Second language teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Second language teaching - Essay Example This infant stage is the appropriate period for a child, when cognitive and linguistic development can be observed among the children. Regarding this cognitive and linguistic level, it is identified that certain percentage of people witnesses this development very quickly during the early growth phase of a child. In addition, few numbers of children also experience cognitive and linguistic development certainly after the expected age. In this context, Gopnik and Meltzoff (p. 1523) argued that certain numbers of infants improve their cognitive and linguistic ability within nine or ten months after the birth, whereas few children experience their cognitive and linguistic development after little delay in time. During the 24th months after born or may even more than that period of time, children are identified to manipulate things in different categories such as boxes and boxes among others along with surrounding, which is the beginning of their learning. Additionally, interactions with children during the infancy is ascertained as an important consideration based on which children are able to develop their cognitive as well as linguistic skills (Anderson, Rasmussen and Strà ¸mme 2-9; Gopnik and Meltzoff 1523). Metalinguistic awareness signifies the ability through which children develop their language during the infant stage. In this regard, Anderson, Rasmussen and Stromme (pp. 2-9) argued that children are developing their linguistic knowledge and languages from its surroundings.

Affirmative action Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Affirmative action - Term Paper Example Some people have stated that no discrimination exists in America hence there is no need for affirmative action. Others acknowledge the presence of discrimination in various forms but argue that steps should be taken to wipe out this discrimination rather than giving favorable treatment to those who are discriminated against. Still others view affirmative action positively; however in these people are not in agreement over the means to implement it. Some people want only the pool of candidates for a job to be increased whereas other want preferential treatment to be given to minorities and women ; even arguing that reservations like the type seen in countries like India and South Africa should be enforced in America. But people have hardly argued over the most basic question –â€Å"what are the benefits of affirmative action of there are any?† Affirmative action had been started in America with the intention of negating the effects of discrimination which are regularly faced by women and minorities in the labor market. Although the discrimination has significantly reduced but research shows that certain classes of people continue to face many problems in the job market. Statistical analysis has shown that there is still a sizable sex and race wage gap. The number of men who reach the top echelons of corporate America is far greater than Women or American Africans who are able to reach the top. In addition to this there have been many court cases recently pointing to sex and race discrimination e.g. – the recently concluded $54million settlement of sex discrimination law suit against Morgan Stanley. (Winkler)Audit studies have concluded that equally qualified workers who apply for the same job, a white man is more likely to get an interview call when compared to women or minorities. Affirmative action started in America when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an executive order in 1965 which required federal contractors or

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY & QUESTIONNAIRE Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HOW TO WRITE AN & QUESTIONNAIRE - Essay Example One’s knowledge and writing skills, the ability to find appropriate literature to support one’s views and to add a greater number of perspectives, are expressed through the work. This paper proposes to provide guidelines on how to write an essay. The main parts of an essay are the introduction, the discussion or body of the essay and the conclusion. The essay may be structured further to organize the argument clearly under subtopics, if required. Spurr (2005) gives comprehensive guidelines on academic essay writing. To start with, it is important that the essay question or topic is understood clearly, without any ambiguity. Next, appropriate books, journals, newspaper and magazine articles where relevant, and recognized sources of information from the internet should be identified and accessed. Key arguments and theories which express the writer’s viewpoints should be summarized, and referencing should be done to support as well as counter these arguments. The introduction introduces the reader to the question at hand, explains the subject of the essay, defines terms and establishes the parameters of enquiry or investigation. An outline of the arguments that are to be put forth in the discussion and main theorists’ work that may be drawn upon will serve to present a map of the terrain that will be explored in the essay. The research topic is stated as a thesis statement, and this will form the focus point of the entire argument or discussion in the paper. A good introduction is essential because it helps to form a favourable impression about the essay in general. The discussion should remain focused on the main topic, throughout the work. Through extensive research, supporting approaches as well as counter arguments should be available for drawing upon. It is important to critically analyse the opinions and arguments of various scholars, in comparison with the writer’s viewpoints. To avoid plagiarism, other authors’ works should be

Economic Impacts of the National Transportation Safety Board on the Term Paper

Economic Impacts of the National Transportation Safety Board on the Airline Industry - Term Paper Example There were 21 recommendations in between 2006 and 2008 to this center to addresses the management to conduct more accident investigations and studies related to the safety of air-travels (Dillingham, 1). The NTSB training center follows cutting-edge management practices, conducts investigations after accidents and studies for safety measures. NTSB also studies the usages of the Information Technology can help the aircrafts avoid these fatalities and losses. The organization (NTSB) has staff strength of over 400. The budget of the organization is approximately $100 million (at present). It is in charge of each and every civil aircrafts accident in the United States. It has a training center, which was opened in 2003. The training center provides training for the investigators of the organization, as well as other professionals attached to safety of transportation (Dillingham, 1). This study will reflect upon the impact of NTSB on the Airplane Industry Findings of NTSB on an Airplane C rash: US Air flight 427 operated by USAir crashed near Aliquippa (Pennsylvania) on the 8th of September 1994. It was an aircraft of the type Boeing 737-300. NTSB collected data for the air-crash. The total team of NTSB examined the spot and took a couple of years to arrive at the conclusion. It was found that no evidence of any explosion or collision with bird occurred (Walters and Robert, 5-9). Moreover, no trace of in-flight fire was found. Due to bad weather a lot of information went missing. However, the parts of the aircraft and the engine were working with efficiency till before the hazard (as per the research conducted by the NTSB investigators). The investigators conducted computer generated simulations due to lack of apt evidences. NTSB and NASA aerodynamics experts created a wake turbulence model and concluded that under atmospheric conditions that evening caused the havoc. The wake vortices probably had descended to approximately 300 and 500 feet every minute Additionally , NTSB also found that this turbulence had led to the crash of three other air carriers over the years ranging from 1964 to 1972 (Walters and Robert, 5-9). Role of NTSB in Shaping Aviation Industry and Economy (last 20 years): NTSB has already introduced a bill which will reauthorize the Aviation Administration in the United States. It has implemented fully the three management recommendations given in the earlier meetings by the congress (as of April 2008) (Dillingham, 5). The recommendations in the bill are listed below: (1) To facilitate proper channel of communication between staff and management, (2) To align the structure of the organization and to implement the strategic plans, and (3) To rectify the Anti-deficiency Act Violation pertaining to the purchase of accidental death and the dismemberment insurance towards the employees who meet with such accidents while on official duties. In addition, NTSB has progressed on the seven proposed recommendations (management) since the year 2008. NTSB has initiated sending report to the Congress the status of the recommendations and the actions taken thereafter. Moreover, NTSB has started taking steps to implement all three IT-related recommendations of the Congress (Dillingham, 5). NTSB has learned by researching over many years that the various organizations input unique perspective as well as knowledge during the investigative process. The pilots who fly the airplanes know the

System Architectures Essay Example for Free

System Architectures Essay It is true that most companies now are looking at how to be competitive in their business, whether they improved their internal processes through improving manpower skills or improving customer service. But those improvements does not end there, most companies would also look into improving their systems through their computer systems and that is the main focus of this research as to how this will take on the future challenges of most organization. One of the most very prevalent these days when it comes to computer systems is the utmost availability of it to almost everybody, like most people these days can access their emails and systems through their mobile phone and can make orders at the comfort of their homes and could even provide them alarms and updates even without them asking for it. These are just some of the trends that continue to affect the business and how it brings business to end users. One of the future of computer systems includes the providing online data and information to everybody, which can be provided by systems that specializes for data sharing with high end technology for instant querying and report for any information that people needs. This kind of systems continues to be the demand and will be more very in demand in the future as most organization would need much information to help them prepared for bigger challenges. Some of these systems include these great features: (1) tailored data grids, (2) supports tailored fir RDBMS, and (3) adopts hybrid architecture of other systems, meaning it can constantly be adoptable and interconnected to other wide systems around the world. This will grow more on more in the future and it will be the information need of anybody that drives a lot to this kind of system. But, the implementation of this kind of system would take a lot of research and understanding to all the different challenges of any organization for it to be adoptable and be appreciative to the growing information public who would need it. (Comito, C. , Gournaris, A. , Sakellario, R. , Talia, D, 2008). Another future of computer systems will be more on the scientific and engineering side; this is because there are continuing focus on improvement on the research and development where it has been the vital part of the economic stability of any business. This continues to provide high efficiency and quality to any product it develops; due to its accuracy bound systems that help stabilize production in most scientific research organization. This also becomes a major need for most organization these days as they already identified the weakness of most products in the market that did not applied high end computerized systems which in result affects the appreciation of the greater meticulous market. The main emphasis here is that it provides high quality and originality to any product and that already is one major attraction and enticement to many end users and buyers around the world, because nowadays technology for them is important and it really matters the most. In line with this the future will also be going into web based scientific and engineering computing system that would also helps scientist and engineers in coming up with better upgrade and fix of their systems online and would not anymore be implemented within offices. This not only helps them to be more flexible but more importantly gives them productivity and efficiency since their systems can be access at their own convenience. This also attracts more business owners to also do business off shore and in return also gives them lesser cost in labor and other expense. (Future Generation of Computer Systems, n. d.). Work Cited Comito, C. , Gournaris, A. , Sakellario, R. , Talia, D. (2008). A service-oriented system for distributed data querying and integration on Grids. Science Direct. Retrieved 16 February 2009 from http://journalseek.net/

Definition And Scope Of Value Added Tax Economics Essay

Definition And Scope Of Value Added Tax Economics Essay Value Added Tax is currently the most common form of consumption tax system used around the world. The Parliament Ghana passed the Value Added Tax Act, Act 546 on 16th March 1998 to replace the Sales and Services Tax with the aim of generating more tax revenue to reduce the governments overdependence on donor funds for economic development. VAT is well known to be an efficient way to raise tax revenue for both developing and developed countries. However the success of VAT depends on a well designed and implemented system of VAT administration. VAT requires efficient monitoring and verification systems to be successful. This study is aimed at identifying and addressing the administrative challenges facing the Value Added Tax Service and the effective implementation of VAT to collect more Tax revenue for Ghana. This chapter covers a review of literature on VAT administration and the challenges confronting efficient VAT administration. The chapter will also review provisions made in sec tions of the Value Added tax Act, (Act 546) concerning VAT administration. DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF VALUE ADDED TAX Value Added Tax (VAT) is defined as a tax applied on the value added to goods and services at each stage in the production and distribution chain. (http://www.gra.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=4Itemid=22) This implies that Value Added tax is levied at any stage in the production and distribution chain where value is added to goods and services unless specifically exempted in the Act. The applicable VAT rate is effectively applied on the value added at each stage. This is achieved by charging the rate on the value of taxable output and deducting tax paid in taxable inputs. Value Added Tax is borne by the final consumer since the tax is added to the price of taxable goods and services. Section 1 of the Value Added Tax Act 1998, Act 546 provides that Value Added Tax must be charged on the following three categories of supplies unless otherwise exempted by the Act: (a) Supply of goods and services made in Ghana (b) Imported goods (c) Imported service. The tax is charged only on taxable supply of goods and services made by a taxable person in the course of his business (Value Added tax Act, Act 546 1998) . This implies that VAT is chargeable where: The supply is taxable within the definition of the Act The supply is made by a taxable person The supply is used in the course of business of the taxable person. THE SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF VAT ADMINISTRATION VAT is well known to be an efficient way to raise tax revenue for both developing and developed countries. However the success of VAT depends on a well designed and implemented system of VAT administration. VAT requires efficient monitoring and verification systems to be successful. The scope of VAT administration covers a range of related functions such as taxpayer identification and registration, invoicing controls, filing and payment requirements, refunds, VAT audits, penalties enforcement and any other incidental activities necessary for tax authorities to discharge the responsibilities entrusted to them (Jantscher 1990 P.56). The success of VAT depends on many factors, prominent among which is the way in which the VAT laws are administered by the organs entrusted with the collection of the tax for the government. Any weaknesses in how VAT administrators perform their duties will adversely affect the governments policy objectives as a whole. Tanzin and Pellechio (1995) (cited in Mikesell (2007)) observed that poor tax administration has implication on the manner in which taxation affects governments economic stabilization, resource allocation and redistribution of income. Most of the developing countries who have introduced VAT have copied the VAT systems of developed countries who have introduced VAT. It is important to know, however, that the challenges confronting developing countries in their VAT implementation are quite different from that of the developed countries they copy from. According to Bird and Gendron (2005), developing and transitional countries, unlike developed countries, face the problem of fragmented economies, dominant informal sectors, low tax morale, rampant evasion, and lack of trust between tax administrators and taxpayers. It is clear from the above that no developing countries can create a successful VAT system by just thus, coping a successful VATs design attributes of developed countries without considering the above tax administration and the socio-economic challenges of the country in question. Neville Howlett et (2006) were right in their assertion that, although the principles of the tax are broadly the same everywhere, the rules can be enacted and implemented differently in different countries so that the compliance burden on business varies considerably. Eduart Gjokutaj supports this view that the consistent support and advocacy of this form of taxation by the IMF and others in a variety of countries, encouraged and facilitated the adoption of VAT by countries with much less developed economic and administrative structures than those in the original EU member states http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Eduart_Gjokutaj. Keen and Lockwood (2007) have observed that, in most developing countries, the main justification for introducing VAT is that the system would enhance efforts to mobilize much needed tax revenue through wider improvements in tax administration and compliance(P.235). Many studies have concluded that Value Added Tax is better than possible alternatives in both developed and developing and transitional countries (Bird M. R, 2005). According to Bird (2005), so long as countries have general sales taxes, VAT remains the best choice in virtually all circumstances. However, Bird (2005) points out that the idea that VAT is most effective tax for developing countries seeking to alternative sources of revenue due to loss of income through traditional sources is valid only if VAT can be administered efficiently (P.237). Many studies have concluded that VAT is currently the best way to for the government to collect general consumption tax. But all the studies agree that the benefit of VAT cannot be realized with an efficient and effective system of VAT administration. In connection with this, Jantscher (1986) has stated that the real tax system is that which is administered, not that which appears in the formal law (P.18). THE INTRODUCTION OF VAT IN GHANA The PNDC government saw the need to improve the tax system in 1990 mainly due to the drastic fall in revenue from her traditional revenue source. Following the decline in revenue from exports due to decreasing world market price for primary goods including Cocoa and gold, tax revenue from traditional sources started declining and this put pressure on the capacity of government to increase revenue to meet expansion in recurrent and development expenditure. Like most developing and transitional economies, another major reasons for Ghana to adopt VAT in 1998 to replace the Sales and Services Tax was the International Monetary Funds (IMF) strong recommendation on VAT to economic transition countries including Ghana. According to Terkper, (1998), the introduction of Value Added Tax in Ghana was in-line with the policy of the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) which was launched in 1983 and which sought among other things to rationalize the tax system. The government therefore commissioned the Harvard Institute of International Development (USA) and the Crown Agent of the U.K. to conduct feasibility study in 1991. The study was to conduct a critical examination into the then existing tax system and suggest ways to improve it. The recommendations of the study led to the introduction of VAT in March 1995. The government introduced the VAT at the standard rate of 17.5%. Unfortunately, Ghana experienced rapid increases in the prices of goods and services immediately after the introduction of VAT. This led to public anti-VAT demonstrations in Accra and other major cities in Ghana. Clashes between demonstrators and government security agencies led to the shooting to death of some civilians. This ultimately forced the government to withdraw the VAT and reinstate the sales and services tax. The government did not abandoned the VAT agenda because most developing and transitional economies had successfully introduces VAT. After three years o f much wider public consultation, parliamentary passed the Value Added Tax Act 1998 (Act 546) to reintroduced the Value Added tax at a lower VAT rate of 10% in 1998. PROBLEMS OF VALUE ADDED TAX ADMINISTRATION IN GHANA Naiyeju (1996) contends that the positive result received from any tax depends on how the tax is administered and the extent of how the tax law is interpreted and implemented as well as the publicity brought into it. Sections 36 to 53 of the Value Added Tax Act cover the administration of Value Added Tax. The sections outline the establishment of the Value Added Tax Service and the functions assigned to the various organs of the Service. Cruce F (2011) has observed that there are six important conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to create a good VAT administration: simple, clear, stable tax laws; adequate service and support to tax payers in complying with tax obligations; simple procedures of registration, filing, payment, and refund; effective collection enforcement; reasonable audit coverage, strict application of penalties; and provisions for independent review. http://www.nek.lu.se/Publ/mfs/209.pdf An examination of the operations of the VAT Service indicates that Ghana has not fulfilled most of the above conditions. The Value Added Tax Act is quite simple and clear, but the VAT Service is not adequately resourced to provide the needed service and support to tax payers in complying with the provisions of the Act. Also the registration and filling system as well as the payment and refund systems are too cumbersome especially for the small businesses. All papers must be filled manually as there is no electronic filing system. This implies that that registered businesses must walk to the nearest VAT Office to pick forms and also to file returns. VAT offices are located only in the regional capitals so tax payers in other towns must travel long distances each month to the regional capitals to file their returns. According to Cruce (2011) to encourage every eligible tax payers to register to collect VAT, the tax authorities must make sure that their registration procedures are as simple as possible; establish an efficient verification system to verify new registrants in order to avoid fraud Regarding enforcement and audit, the VAT Service appears not to be doing enough when the taxpayer fails to pay a tax liability based on either a self-assessed tax return or an assessment resulting from audit activities. Baurer (2005) has outlined the following steps involved in collecting tax liability from defaulting tax payers: Contacting taxpayers and requesting payment of all delinquent and current taxes that are due. Interviewing taxpayers and third parties to secure information regarding sources of income and assets Reviewing taxpayer financial records and third party data to determine the taxpayers ability to pay delinquent taxes Determining the reason for non-payment Determining if the taxpayer should be granted additional time to pay a tax liability based on financial analysis and granting installment payment privileges where applicable Determining if a tax liability is collectible Conducting investigations to locate taxpayers and/or taxpayer assets Identifying assets of the taxpayer that can be attached or seized for non-payment of taxes due Taking enforced collection actions when taxpayer refuses to pay voluntarily Issuing attachment orders to banks to freeze and/or seize taxpayer accounts Issuing attachment orders to third parties to secure funds due to the taxpayer Conducting seizures of tangible assets as permitted by law (e.g., real property, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, etc.) Conducting public auction sales of taxpayer assets as permitted by law Buttery (2006) has pointed out that most proponents of VAT describe the procedure for collecting VAT without taking into account the fact that suppliers and producers must supply the information required for assessment to the VAT Authorities. According to him, in order to reduce the administrative burden in terms of information requirements, exemptions are usually granted to small tax payers in the informal sectors. It is on this ground that Emran and Stiglitz (2005) challenged the view that the VAT tax base in developing countries is generally broader than tariffs. Generally, the Value Added Tax Service has not yet lived up to expectation regarding the delivery of its mandate in the VAT Act. It appears there is no adequate machinery for effectively monitoring the collection and remittance of the value Added Tax to the government. Service lacks is not adequately resourced in terms of skilled manpower and technology to administer VAT efficiently. It is therefore important to assess the efficiency with which the various organs of the Value Added Tax Service perform their functions. The study examines the operations of the VAT Service to ascertain the challenges confronting the Value Added Tax Service in performing an efficient VAT administration and explore ways of improving on the efficiency of the Service. Ghana has designed a very comprehensive VAT Act but weaknesses in the administrative systems required to enforce the provisions of the Act have led to shortfall in revenue targets over the years. For example there is no efficient tracking system to identify organizations that become eligible to register to collect the Value added Tax. Most of the organizations who have registered to collect Value Added tax also fail to issue VAT receipts to customers who purchase taxable supplies from them as enshrined in the Act, even though their prizes are VAT inclusive. Many taxable persons also take cash to avoid having to issue VAT invoices. Such organizations, however, claim credit for VAT paid on their purchases leading to huge loss of revenue to the government. The problem of VAT administration in Ghana is exacerbated by the composition and functions of the Value added Tax Service. A review of the functions of the Service shows that the service needs more people with managerial skill. The inability on the part of the Value added Tax Service to deliver adequately on the managerial aspects of their mandate leads to refusal to complete tax return form, fraudulent declarations, smuggling etc. These lapses in tax administration explain why Ghanas tax ratio continues to fall below the average of 17% of total revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa. VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE Tax compliance has been defined as compliance with reporting requirements means that the taxpayer files all required tax returns at the proper time and that the returns accurately report tax liability in accordance with the internal revenue code, regulations, and court decisions applicable at the time return is filed (Roth et al,1989, p. 21) VAT thrives on voluntary compliance and effective monitoring. According to Allan (2007), without due attention to VAT administration and staffing, the details of theories and generalizations about VAT are less effective. Bird (2005) added that many developing counties have encountered VAT implementation problems mainly because of lack of self-assessment based tax return practices, the difficulties in establishing efficient VAT administration and control systems, a large share of shadow economy and tax fraud. Gjokutaj (2011) has said that, VAT is the recommended Tax for countries that need a simpler tax, but VAT does not always work well in developing countries principally because they are not yet so tax educated society ready for self-assessment. He adds that the voluntary compliance by tax payers depends largely on the degree of existing trust between officials and taxpayers and how quickly that trust can be built up sufficiently to support a self-assessment system. Most countries that have efficient VAT administration systems have over 70% voluntary compliance rate (Agyemang Duah 2011, p.231). Sweden which aims to be the country with the best tax administration in the OECD by 2012 have a focus on compliance, cost efficiency and effectiveness, e-filing, and tax gap measurement and management. http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/vat/key_documents/011_851_en.pdf According to Cruce (2011) to encourage every eligible tax payers to register to collect VAT, the tax authorities must make sure that their registration procedures are as simple as possible; establish an efficient verification system to verify new registrants in order to avoid fraud. Knowledge about the causes of non-compliant behaviour by citizens and businesses is also very important. According to the 2010 edition of the European Commissions Compliance Risk Management guide for Tax Administration, criminal sanctions are not the appropriate response (and may have an adverse effect) when non-compliance is caused by complex legislation or a lack of knowledge on the part of the taxpayer. The paper therefore recommends that tax administrators should match their compliance strategy to the taxpayers attitude and motives.. According to Alcantara et el (2010) countries that have adopted electronic filing and payment systems have drastically improved their voluntary compliance. The have also concluded that the frequency with which VAT returns are required and the amount of information requested have a significant impact on the time it takes to comply and that compliance takes longer where extra documentation has to be submitted with the return (Page 9). In addition, they established a correlation between the VAT compliance ease time taken to receive VAT refund. According to their study where it takes longer to receive a refund, it takes longer to comply. The study examines the procedures put in place by the VAT Service to encourage voluntary compliance and make recommendations for improvement THE STRUCTURE OF TAX ADMINISTRATION The efficiency of VAT administration also depends on the powers given to the revenue authority charged with VAT administration. According to Allan (2007) there is the Potential for cross-checking VAT and income Tax liability if VAT and income tax are placed under the same organization. He claims that as each trader s sales is someone elses purchase, the invoices required for a credit invoice VAT theoretically allows the authorities to cross-check a traders purchases by adding up the suppliers sales. Therefore the data on purchases and sales in VAT returns should provide a valuable input to the calculation of profits for the purpose of income taxation, thus improving the administration of direct taxes (p.234). Agyemang Duah (2011) has, however, expressed doubts about the efficiency of tax administration if the scope of the tax administration is expanded by placing both VAT and income tax under one wing of tax administration. In Ghana, although both VAT administration and income tax have been placed under the Ghana Revenue Authority, each tax is administered by a separate organ with little coordination between them. Income tax is administered by the Internal revenue service whilst VAT is administered by the Value Added tax service. The VAT Service has many organs but the highest decision making body of the Service is the Revenue Agencies Governing Board. The Board has the following functions: To ensure the effective, efficient and optimum collection of all taxes penalties and interest due to the state. To control the management of the Service To recommend to the Minister of Finance policies for the effective management of VAT as well as any exemptions required. To pay amount collected by the service into the consolidated fund. To pay amount collected by the service into the consolidated fund. Appoint, promote and discipline employees of the Service. Prescribe the terms and conditions of service of employees (Value Added Tax Act, Act 546, 1998) A review of the operations of the VAT service shows that the VAT system in Ghana is organized along geographical lines as existed in the erstwhile sales tax regime. Baurer L (2005) explains the three main ways to structure tax administration namely by type of tax; by type of taxpayer; or, by operating function. He adds that in countries that are in their early stage of development, tax is usually organized by type of tax but the structure chosen by a particular country must support her implementation strategy. Hasseldine (2007) is of the opinion that VAT is best administered by an organization which is organized along functional lines with each official focusing on carrying out one function instead of delivering all functions to a taxpayer. According to him, a functional design permits greater standardization of identical work processes, facilitates simplification of procedures for taxpayers, reduces taxpayer costs and enhances compliance and enables greater productivity. The study examines the current structure and scope of the VAT Service to identify any organizational lapses that may be contributing to inefficient VAT administration. THE VAT GAP The VAT gap has been defined as the difference between the net VAT liability and total VAT collections (Durner and Sedon, 2010). VAT gap results from fraudulent activities such as, evasion, failure to register, under-reporting of sales, false claims of input credits. It has also been argued that ignorance on the part of Vendors and buyers also lead to non-compliance, as opposed to fraud or evasion. According to Alan T (2010), Value Added Tax is expensive to administer because much money is collected only to be returned, and fraud is possible through suppression of sales figures, barter transactions, understated debtors, false invoices, multiple claims, and fictitious businesses. The main objectives of VAT administration are: (1) to ensure that total VAT collections are as close as possible to the total amount of VAT due, and (2) to keep costs related to the administration of the VAT as low as possible (Durner and Sedon, 2010). Agyemang Duah (2011) contends that, a significant portion of the VAT gap in Ghana is the result of lack of proper books of accounts upon which the VAT Service can perform any meaningful VAT assessments and audit. It is estimated that the VAT gap of Ghana is 40% whilst European countries like Ireland and Spain have VAT gap of only 2% (Durner Sedon, 2010; Agyemang Duah (2011). The study will examine the extent to which the above problems militate against efficient VAT administration in Ghana and explore ways of reducing the VAT gap. VAT ADMINISTRATION AND SMALL TAX PAYERS Domenico (2005) has stated that the task of administering VAT for a large number of small traders creates a considerable challenge because compliance costs of a VAT system as a percentage of business turnover, is considerably higher for small compared to larger businesses. Cruce (2011) argues that VAT is primarily a tax on the formal sector and hence inappropriate for circumstances where the informal sector is significant. The Ghana tax base, like most developing countries, is dominated by the informal small tax payers. It is in the light of the above that Ghana introduced a standard VAT rate of 3% for the informal sector of the economy in the year 2007. The aim was to simplify the VAT procedures for the small tax payers. Under the standard scheme, qualifying retailers are allowed to pay 3 percent (3%) of their annual turnover as VAT. Taxable persons under this scheme are not allowed to deduct any input tax from the VAT collected on their output. The 2012 budget statement also proposes the establishment of a single tax rate for VAT and income tax for small tax payers. It has been argued that such a simplified tax system will help to reduce tax evasion and compliance cost for small tax payers. However, in the view of Shome1 (2004) a single tax does not reduce evasion except by definition since, by design, it requires small taxpayers to pay less tax than their theoretical tax potential. He also argues that a single tax also leads to inefficiency since it reallocates resources from the higher rate tax sector to the lower-taxed sector. Modern tax experts therefore recommend tax simplification rather than separation between large, medium and small taxpayers. Shome1 (2004) further states that the ultimate goal for tax practices to fully reflect the original intentions of tax policy as expressed in the tax statute could be achieved if the complexity in the tax structure is reduced through a continuous process of tax simplification rather than using a single tax rate. The government of Ghana therefore needs to have a second look at the proposal for a single tax rate as proposed in the 2012 budget. The study will explore the benefits and challenges of a single tax system proposed by the government by reviewing similar systems adopted by other countries. ASSESSING VAT ON SERVICES According to section 10 of the Value Added Tax Act, the supply of taxable services is subject to VAT and NHIL at the standard rates of 12.5% and 2.5% respectivelyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The recipient of the service is required to account for VAT and NHIL by means of a reverse charge. The Act also provides that registered recipient would be entitled to reclaim the amount of VAT and NHIL paid, subject to certain restrictions. However the administration of Value added Tax on importation of taxable service presents one of the most difficult challenges to the VAT Services. Because services are intangible and difficult to quantify, the success of VAT administration depends largely on the faithfulness of the taxable persons. Monitoring the purchase and sale of services is very difficult since no inventory of services is available for stock taking. Administration of VAT on Services is even more complex when service is bought or sold from another country. Although services are economically equivalent to goods, their VAT border-crossing treatment differs. The current VAT Act does not have enough provisions to deal effectively with services whose location of supply or purchase is difficult to ascertain. The procedures for assessing taxable services in Ghana will be assessed through interviews and observation. VAT REFUNDS Another challenge of VAT administration in Ghana concerns VAT refund claims. Refund claims arise when a taxable person pays more VAT on purchases than it collects on sales. Tax payers always complain that there is too much delay by the VAT Service in processing VAT refund Claims. VAT officials are of the view that VAT refund delays are driven by the need to protect government revenue from the risks of false purchases invoices, falsified export documents, and understated taxable sales. According to Bird (2010) best practice in VAT refunds involves a risk-based system of selective inspections and auditsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦which allows most refunds to be paid promptly, subject to post-refund audit, and heavy penalties for false documentation. He argues further that this system is highly cost-effective, because the revenue risk from promptly paying low risk claims is small compared to the opportunity cost of having skilled tax personnel scrutinize every refund petition. Portugal has adopted a simplified VAT refund process using computerized risk-assessment and automatic payment for low-risk claims. Kenya has a system where their revenue authority pays all VAT refund claims that are certified by a professional accountant, with severe penalties for fraud by the accountants. Bird (2010) argues that this increases compliance cost to the tax payer since it amounts to out-sourcing the verification process at the taxpayers expense. Based on their review of VAT refund procedures in 36 countries, Harrison and Krelove (2005) identify the following features of an effective VAT refund system suitable for developing and transitional countries: The number of VAT payers should be kept at a level that can be realistically managed. VAT registration applications should be subject to proof of identity and other basic checks. Suitable forecasting and monitoring systems should be established to anticipate refund levels and ensure that sufficient funds are available to meet all legitimate refund claims. Refunds should be processed within a reasonable statutory period (e.g., 30 days from the refund claim), and the tax authority should report publicly on its performance. Interest should be paid on late refunds. Excess VAT credits should be offset against VAT and other tax arrears. Immediate refunds should always be paid promptly to exporters. Verification of VAT refund claims should integrated into a wider audit program, with pre-refund audits being limited to high-risk cases only. Preferential treatment should be given to regular exporters with sound compliance histories. Appropriate sanctions should be consistently applied to taxpayers who falsely claim refunds. Taxpayers should be entitled to appeal, on reasonable grounds, of a decision to withhold a refund. The tax administration should provide clear information to taxpayers about their rights and obligations and the procedures for making a valid refund claim The study assess the VAT refund procedures used by the Value Added Tax Service to see the extent to which they apply the above best practice principles and make recommendations for improvement. OFFENSES PENALTIES Sections 56 to 72 of the Value Added Tax Act provide a comprehensive list of offenses and penalties for failing to comply with the various provisions of the Act. Offenses relating to taxable persons include: failure to register, failure to issue tax invoice, presentation of false or misleading statement, falsification and alteration of documents, evasion of tax payment, failure to maintain proper records and obstruction of officers of the VAT Service. There Act also provides for offenses relating to Tax officials. Penalties range from various fines to imprisonment. Cruce (2011) has explained that penalties for VAT defaulters should be enforced rigorously and instantly and should be enforced without exception in order not to undermine the credibility of the system. He contends that this requires an efficient and well-functioning auditing procedures and tax-officials with the requisite investigating skills. Grandcolas (2010) has also added that the level of VAT compliance depends on the design of the VAT, the quality of the system of VAT administration and the consistent enforcement of penalties for default. Evidence from initial investigations indicates that many taxable persons fail to comply with the various provisions of the Act because penalties or offences are not enforced on defaulters. Agyemang Duah (2011) has established a relationship between tax compliance and the effectiveness of tax enforcement including the probability of detection and the size of fines. The study explores the extent, to which the offenses and penalties are enforced, the reasons for any lapses and how the situation can be improved. VAT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE Generally, VAT is levied using the destination basis. On this basis, imports are taxed in the country where

Identity Negotiation and Perception of Hair Essay -- African American

A woman’s hair is often referred to as her â€Å"crown and glory.† Hair is a salient physical characteristic of one’s self concept and how others view their level of attractiveness. One of the major intra-prejudice amongst African Americans is hair texture. This stigma is especially prevalent among African American women. For African American women, hair carries an even greater psychological complexity. Starting from slavery, African Americans were judged by the texture and curl pattern of their hair. For example, Blacks with lighter skin color and straight/wavy hair had certain advantages oppose to those Blacks who possessed more afro-centric features, such as darker skin and kinky hair (Myrdal, 1962; Neal & Wilson, 1989; Parrish 1944; Poussaint, 1975; Reuter, 1917). While a plethora of commentaries have been written on black hair, few empirical studies exist that have examined the reverberating consequences of slavery, as it relates to the western indoctr ination of hair and its impact on racial identity/self-concept among African American women. History of the Complexity of Hair among Black Women The origin of the controversy surrounding African American hair dates back to slavery. It was a major phenotypic characteristic used to classify African Americans’ racial identity, intelligence and attractiveness (Guthrie, 1998). European culture was used as the reference group of comparison. Whiteness became identified with all that is civilized, virtuous and beautiful, whereas Blackness was deemed as inferior, rebellious, and inadequate. Guthrie (1998) reported that the hair of the black man was wool, not hair. Subsequently, this racist ideology was internalized by many African Americans, which resulted in what Jones and Shorter-G... ...al, political and economic strides African Americans have made in society, are African American women still psychologically enslaved to their hair? The purpose of this study is to examine current perceptions of hair and its importance to racial identity and self concept among African American female college students. More specifically, this investigation addresses the following research question: Are perceptions of African American hair related to perceived attractiveness, self-concept, racial identity, and overall happiness? It is hypothesized that: 1) African American women are more likely to perceive mainstream hair texture, such as straight, permed hair, as more attractive than natural/ kinky hair; 2) An interactive effect is expected between skin-tone and hair texture on the dependent variables attractiveness, racial identity, self concept, and happiness.

Mummification Essay -- essays research papers

Mummification is the form of embalming practiced by the ancient Egyptians. The mummification process changed over time from the Old Kingdom, when only kings could be mummified to the New Kingdom, in which everyone could be mummified. The entire process of mummification to be completed took 70 days. After a body was delivered to the per nefer, which is where the embalmers conducted their tasks. The first thing that was done was put the deceased on a slanted table. The first thing that needed to be removed was the soft, moist body parts that would cause decay. As the embalmers removed these parts, blood and other bodily fluids came out and went down the table being collected into a bowl. During the old and Middle Kingdoms, the brain was left in the head, in which it just dried up over time. When these mummies are moved you can hear the hardened pieces of the brain rolling around in the mummies head. Then in the New Kingdom, the embalmers started removing the brain. They would break open the bone that separates the nasal cavity from the brain cavity. They did this by shoving a sharp instrument up the nose. After they broke the bone, the embalmers used a hook to either take the brain out piece by piece, or used the hook to stir the brain until it was liquefied. If it was liquefied they would turn the body face down so that the brain would spill out of the nostrils. The reason the Egyptians were so rough with the brain because they didn’t think that the brain had...

The Four Functions of Management Essay example -- Business Management

The Four Functions of Management The four functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Each provide the fundamentals needed in a company that is just starting or a company that has been established for many years. Planning is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals. Planning activities include analyzing current situations, anticipating the future, determining objectives, deciding in what types of activities the company will engage, choosing corporate and business strategies, and determining the resources needed to achieve the organization’s goals. Plans set the stage for action and for major achievements (Bateman, Snell, 43). At Pritchard Engineering, Inc., we are a service-oriented, not product, team that strives to provide the best for our clients. Our staff department heads meet every Monday morning to discuss what projects we will be working on and completing for the upcoming week. We have a round-table discussion to prioritize what areas are most important to the least important. Organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. Organizing activities include attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping jobs into work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people and things work together t...

Ode to Evening

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Ode to Evening – William Collins Introduction: â€Å"Ode to Evening,† is one among the most enduring poems of William Collins. It is a beautiful poem of fifty-two lines, addressed to a goddess figure representing evening. This nymph, or maid, who personifies dusk, is chaste, reserv’d, and meek, in contrast to the bright-hair’d sun, a male figure who withdraws into his tent, making way for night. Thus evening is presented as the transition between light and darkness. Collins’ Construction of Evening: Collins slowly constructs Evening as an allegorical figure with many attributes, and many aural and visual characteristics. Collins piles up epithets; Eve is â€Å"chaste,† â€Å"reserved,† â€Å"composed,† â€Å"calm,† â€Å"meekest†; her ear is â€Å"modest. † The figure of Eve so far is only yet a sketch, but her attributes add up to the idea of an attractive, calm woman who is not restless or forcefully active. Contrast of Evening with the Daytime: According to the poet, Evening possesses â€Å"solemn springs† and â€Å"dying gales† Daytime activity gives way to calm as the wind literally often dies down in the evening. Some activity now supplements our picture of Eve. The gentle movements of water and the air ensure that her figure is not static. Eve’s contrast with the daytime world is even more obvious when Collins compares her to the setting sun. The glaring â€Å"bright-haired sun† sits regally in his tent of clouds, the â€Å"skirts† or edges of which seem to be made of many-colored braided cloth. This ethereal (heavenly) cloth evokes a picture of a vivid sunset; the sun is descending to its â€Å"wavy bed,† behind an ocean or lake. The day is almost done, and the sun not at the height of vigor (he is in his tent), but the implication is that he rests only after an active day. The Journey of the Pilgrim into the world of Evening: After the sunset, at â€Å"twilight,† the world is not yet attuned to Eve’s mood. The air is hushed, except for some annoying sounds: the bat’s â€Å"short shrill shrieks† and sound of the beetle’s â€Å"small but sullen horn. † The bat’s weak eyes and â€Å"leathern wing† are not pleasant, nor are the many beetles as they are borne (by the a breeze, I assume) up against the pilgrim on his quasi-religious journey. The beetles’ horns together can be characterized a making a humming noise; in any case they are heedless of the annoyance they cause. The Poet in a Prayerful Mood: Up until now, Collins has simply been addressing Evening. The grammatical unit of the opening of the poem is not completed until Line 15: â€Å"Now teach me. † The mood of this verb is not imperative, but prayerful. In the drama of the poem, the speaker is at first unsure of himself but gradually gains confidence. Evening has finally arrived: darkening, still, genial, cheering, vital, and beloved. The poet prays for Eve to teach him to write a poem which praises her. This is Collins’ way. Description of Evening: Now the poem blossoms. Collins begins to build up, not a literal picture of Evening, but a picture of the allegorical figure of Evening composed of details which evoke more of her attributes. A â€Å"car† or processional vehicle is being prepared for Eve in which she can progress through the evening surrounded by her attendants. The picture Collins gives us of a ceremonial car would have been more familiar to his audience than to us. Her attendants add to her characterization. Her car is prepared by The Hours (goddesses who order the seasons and are given to adorn things), and accompanied by sprightly elves who sleep in flowers, river goddesses wreathed in sedge and shedding freshening dew, and pensive Pleasures. These are active and by-and-large beautiful figures, without being at all bustling or too dazzling. They all embellish the figure of Eve, delicately balancing her qualities: active yet calm, beautiful and cheerful yet chaste and reserved. The Spirit of Evening: Collins then asks Evening to lead on as she progresses to this lovely day’s end. She moves from the lowly heath, lighted now only by a reflection of a totally calm lake. Moving upward where Evening can be seen for the last time, the lake’s light cheers an ancient building and an upland field. Note that Eve is addressed a â€Å"vot’ress†; presumably like the poet she worships the spirit of Evening. The Other side of Evening: Collins now expands on his definition. So far, his description of Evening has been calm and beautiful. But Collins’ Evening is not just beautiful. She also includes â€Å"chill blustering winds† and â€Å"driving rain. † When he cannot walk about, the poet hopes to look out from a â€Å"hut† on a mountainside, rather like the place from which many Claude scenes are viewed. He will see wild scenery and flooding rivers, as well as the poem’s first traces of ordinary civilization: â€Å"hamlets brown, and dim-discovered spires. † Now night falls as Eve’s â€Å"dewy fingers draw / The gradual dusky veil. † Evening as seen through the Whole Year: Collins then takes Evening through the year. As before, some of the associations are not pleasant. Spring is nicely associated with both water and the movement of air (showers and â€Å"breathing tresses†), Summer with sport and half-light. Autumn is less lovely (sallow), but is generous with leaves. Winter is nasty, â€Å"yelling through the troublous air and attacking Eve’s train (of attendants? of her dress? ) and even rending her robes. Evening can be attacked and is vulnerable, but she is not defeated. Collin’s characterization leads us from the beautiful picture of the poems first 32 lines to a picture of Evening’s strength to endure through good and bad. All in all, Collins has accomplished what he evidently set out to do—catch lovely time of day in all its transitory aspects. Evening as a State of Mind: Lessons from Evening: From the beginning Collins has asked Evening to lead him on, to infuse his heart and mind with the ability to see her and write about her. The progress in the poem has not just been the gradual unfolding of Evening, but the gradual education of the poet about what Evening is—from the early visions of shadowy beauty to the qualities that endure through bad weather. These qualities have obvious human analogues. In short, Evening becomes, not only a time of day, but a state of mind that develops in the pilgrim/poet by contemplating and experiencing and writing about the literal evening. Literal evening is not just associated with but actually helps cause this wonderful calm, happy, contemplative, intelligent, happy, open, creative, sympathetic state of mind, the state that feeds Fancy (as in the writing of this poem), Friendship, Science (that is knowledge and learning), and for that matter physical, and by extension mental, health. It is no surprise that these qualities sing a hymn of praise to Evening—a hymn that is a sharp contrast to the yelling of winter a few lines before. [21] Conclusion: This poem points ahead. He is enabled by this state of mind and moves forward. Ode to Evening is one of the masterpieces of Collins. Collins’ odes, do not point morals. Rather they dramatically define their subject by building up a personified and vividly pictured allegorical character. it is the best of the mid-century odes and provides a good bridge to the great Romantic poets. – With due acknowledgements to Prof. George Soule

Why Fat People are Funny In Hollywood

The quote listed in the title comes from 2009 box-office hit The Hangover. The events that incite Mr. Chow (played by Ken Jeong) to say laughing â€Å"it's funny because he's fat† feature Alan Garner (played by Zach Galifianakis) charging at Mr. Chow, who is stomping on Alan's satchel, and exclaiming â€Å"Hey! There are skittles in there! † (Hangover 76:55; 76:45). In return Alan is punched in the stomach by one of Mr. Chow's henchmen, causing Mr. Chow to laugh hysterically and simultaneously slip â€Å"it's funny because he's fat† out of his mouth (Hangover 76:55).Clearly in the scene, the overweight character, Zach Galifianakis, is the butt of the joke as he is punched very hard in the stomach and then laughed at for his stupidity and weight. In modern movie making, overweight comedians have had a critical role in humor in films. Stars such as John Black, Seth Rogen, and Zach Galifianakis are modern examples of such characters, but in the last thirty years, ma ny other large comedians have developed and popularized similar roles in films.The overweight funny man in film has evolved into a more personal, relatable character due largely in part to their accurate reflection of the United States obesity problem. These characters have also created their own genre, a genre that has evolved out of slapstick comedy, yet remains in the realm of realism. This genre, which often involves immature and physical pain, yet remains plausible and not fake (like earlier slapstick humor), continues to bring new fans to the cinema and create greater love for this group of comedians.This paper will explain funny fat people's emergence, humor, and popularity in American cinema. Evolution of Slapstick Comedy in Films When was the first comedy film? John Montgomery suggests it â€Å"may well have been Fred Off's Sneeze, filmed in 1894 by William K. L. Dickson. The film was produced for Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope Company in the ‘Black Maria' Kinetographic Theatre which Dickson built for Edison in West Orange, New Jersey† (Montgomery 17). This film was released just three years after Edison's invention of the Kinetoscope in 1891.It is not a coincidence that a comedic piece of film was released soon after the production of the moving picture, but it simply suggests the necessity of comedic entertainment in American culture. From the early days of film, comedy became a staple on American cinema. In the early twentieth century, films were silent and featured many comedies. The initial type of comedy featured was slapstick comedy, which â€Å"was a gift to America from France† (Durgnat 67). The term slapstick evolved from â€Å"the double paddles formerly used by circus clowns to beat each other.The loud crack of the two paddle blades as they crashed together could always be depended upon to produce laughter and applause† (Dale 1). Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence and activities wh ich exceed the boundaries of common sense. The first American slapstick comedy producer was Mack Sennett, who with the help of actor/producer Charlie Chaplin, created many hilarious films loved by the American people (Durgnat 70). In these films, there was no audio component, requiring all humor to be dependent on physical actions (Montgomery 18).Raymond Durgnat states that â€Å"in early Chaplin, Dough and Dynamite (1915), the human body is all but reduced to an apparatus for punching, kicking, ducking and dodging† (Durgnat 69). Chaplin has been considered the â€Å"master clown† and in 1916, Chester Conklin, an actor and comedian, stated â€Å"without a doubt the one person who has been most successful in making people laugh is Charlie Chaplin† (Montgomery 108). Chaplin and others continued to produce silent slapstick comedy films through the Roaring Twenties, a time when film became increasingly popular and very successful.In 1926, Warner Brothers introduced the first film with audio attached. Because of the imperfections of the initial product and smaller budgets in the 1930s due to the Great Depression, films with an audio component remained imperfect, allowing silent films to retain their popularity and stay popular and not outdated. Following Chaplin and the others of the first generation of slapstick comedy was the Three Stooges: Larry Fine (born Louis Fienberg), Moe Howard (born Moses Horwitz), and Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz) (Matlin 163). This trio continued to produce popular short films and a few feature films until the late 1950s.The Three Stooges were the last true slapstick comedians, where Leonard Matlin argues that the use of â€Å"clever scripting and direction places the physical burden on others but still gives the Stooges elbowroom in which to clown† (Matlin 168). The Three Stooges were some of the last slapstick films, which essentially died out as many other forms of comedy emerged onto the film scene. One of these styles of humor Louise Dobson describes in a 2006 edition of Psychology Today as ‘hate-me humor', a style in which â€Å"you are the butt of the joke for the amusement of others† (Dobson 76).She continues stating this character is often the â€Å"familiar clown† or â€Å"fat guy† and includes examples like John Belushi and Chris Farley (Dobson 76). Dobson directly identifies the â€Å"fat guy† as an example of such comedy because of how popular these comedians have become. From this article it is evident that funny fat people are essential to American comedy, so much so that the author is able to classify them as the ‘fat guy' and American readers are able to identify with popular overweight comedians. Although there appears to be a reasonable argument that this comedy genre  falls into ‘hate-me-humor', I would suggest that these comedians exist as an of slapstick comedy.The laughs these characters receive come from the sa me qualities the original slapstick comedians, like Charlie Chaplin, shared. Raymond Durgnat describes this stating â€Å"Slapstick comedians are childlike, and in consequence act out the impulses which as adults we suppress† (Durgnat 72). If you replace Durgnat's word ‘slapstick' with overweight, the sentence would read: overweight comedians are childlike, and in consequence act out the impulses which as adults we suppress.Looking at many overweight comedians we see that this very well could be the case. The characters impulsive and childish actions are very common in their films (many examples to follow in next section) and generate laughs similar to those of traditional slapstick humor. In recent years, no director has released a true slapstick comedy film. The genre has been avoided (except in children's cartoons) in movies perhaps because the producers believe that the modern American culture is too advanced for this immature, simplistic, outdated humor.In reality, current comedy has progressed into a new form of slapstick comedy, where the exaggerations have been toned down and the humor has become a little more realistic. Looking through the last four decades we can see countless examples of films featuring this realistic slapstick humor. These characters tend to be lovable, goofy, wild and consistently overweight. Modernization of Slapstick Comedy: Realistic Physical Humor. In order to analyze the continuation of slapstick humor in American cinema, a look at the period immediately following the Three Stooges (the last true slapstick productions) is essential.In 1963, the release of the first Pink Panther film, starring Peter Sellers marked a new era for slapstick comedy. The Pink Panther series stretched nearly two decades with Sellers as the star, relied on slapstick humor, yet remained plausible. Most scenes from the Pink Panther movies are absurd and over the top in every manner, yet the events of the plot could be realistic, creating a new breed of slapstick comedy. At the end of the Pink Panther's dominance, National Lampoon released Animal House in 1978, starring several actors including John Belushi.Following the release of the film, Belushi evolved as the work’s centerpiece providing countless hysterical events. In the movie, John ‘Bluto' Blutarsky (played by John Belushi) appeared in about a dozen scenes, yet is the most memorable character of the film through his ridiculous actions. In the movie he rarely speaks, and acts very childish, both parallel pieces of the earliest slapstick comedians. Belushi has a handful of memorable quotes and scenes, most of which are truly ridiculous, yet believable.He has several immature one line quotes including: â€Å"Toga! Toga! †, â€Å"Blow-job!†, â€Å"Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit! †, and â€Å"Food Fight! † (Animal House 44:00; 63:55; 30:25; 35:37). All of these quotes fit perfectly into the description of â€Å"childlike a nd in consequence act out the impulses which as adults we suppress† that the classic slapstick comedians possessed (Durgnat 72). Bluto continues to act wildly doing many things including falling off of a ladder trying to peep in a sorority window, crushing a beer can on his head, smashing a guitar someone else is trying to play, and chugging an entire bottle of Jack Daniel's and smashing it on a car.All of these actions are absurd and exaggerations of what any human might do in a similar scenario, yet all are possibly plausible. A last scene from Animal House that demonstrates the evolution of slapstick comedy begins with Bluto (Belushi) going through the lunch line where he stacks a ridiculous amount of food on his tray and in his pockets. While doing this he also stuffs enormous amounts of the food in his mouth, including a hamburger in one bite. He then proceeds to sit down at a table filled with some clean cut preppy students.There he is ridiculed for his eating habits and called a â€Å"P. I. G. pig† (Animal House 34:35). In response to being classified as a pig, he attempts to be a zit, stuffing his mouth with mashed potatoes and spraying everybody at the table by mashing his cheeks with his hands as seen in the following picture (Animal House 34:55): The focus of the scene is the unrealistic quantity and grossly unhealthy quality of food Belushi eats as well as the animalistic, childish manner in which he feasts.Following the incident he proceeds to be chased around the cafeteria, ultimately ending in a brawl and food fight. The sequence of events in this scene all are extremely humorous, yet very childish and exaggerated beyond what any viewer would expect from a twenty year old man. However, all of the actions in the scene are perfectly capable of being true, making this portion of the film extremely humorous in its realistic slapstick fashion. Nearly a decade later, in 1987, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles featured John Candy, another ov erweight comedian.In this film, the progression of slapstick comedy continues paralleling Belushi's contributions to the genre. Candy acts extremely childish and wildly, yet his actions remain plausible, exhibiting similar humor to that of John Belushi. In Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Candy's humor can fully be grasped in a scene on a commercial plane flight. On the plane, co-star Steve Martin has just been downgraded from first class to coach seating, and finds his seat next to John Candy. It quickly becomes clear that Candy fills up way too much of the seat, creating an uncomfortable situation.To make things worse Candy proceeds to take off his shoes in order to help relax, clearly releasing a disgusting odor observed by others in seats around him. He continues his gross movements by taking off his socks and spinning them around to air them out. When doing so, his dirty sock is very close to Steve Martin's face, and based on the expression on Martin's character it is clear that the sock smells wretched. This act is unbelievable, childish, and ridiculous, all similar characteristics of slapstick comedy.Later in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, John Candy continues to provide humor through another similar evolution of slapstick comedy, where he accidentally spills several beers on the bed in which he (who barely fits on the bed alone because of his enormous frame) and a complete stranger share. The move is very careless and results in an incredibly uncomfortable situation that makes the audience laugh hysterically because of the continuation of unfortunate events all linked to Candy's childish careless actions.A last scene from this film takes place in a rental car, after the duo (Martin and Candy) have managed to run into every problem possible on a trip to Chicago to get home for Thanksgiving. In the car, Candy attempts to get comfortable by tampering with the seat position. He uses the buttons on the side of the seat, jerking the seat around for a few mi nutes, failing to find a satisfactory position. Although Martin has persistently told him to stop and that he will break the seat, he continues on until ultimately he breaks the seat, making it uncomfortable and unmovable.Following the seat incident, he continues his path of destruction. After smoking a cigarette, he drops the butt out the window. However due to the wind, it blows into the back seat of the car ultimately sending the back seat up in flames and roasting the entire car. In this quick scene, Candy manages to act immaturely and rambunctiously resulting in the destruction of the car. The remains of slapstick comedy are clearly evident in this scene, climaxing with the unreasonable fate of the rental car.The absurdity of someone so overweight that he breaks a seat and the reality of seeing a car explode in flames seem like a moment from a slapstick cartoon, yet the film is completely plausible due to the overweight and clumsy nature of Candy. Following John Candy's death i n the early 1990s, Chris Farley emerged as the next overweight star, both on television and in a few Hollywood films. His humor was similar to that of John Candy and also very comparable to the works of John Belushi.In an article praising the life of Chris Farley following his death in Rolling Stone magazine, the author states â€Å"we talked about his hero and Saturday Night Live predecessor, John Belushi. It was well known that Farley had been obsessed with Belushi, and people loved making much of this fact, since the two seemed to share a love of certain rather common excesses† (Hedegaard 39). Looking at Tommy Boy, produced in 1995, John Belushi's influence on Chris Farley becomes apparent through Farley's role and performance in the film.In Tommy Boy, Chris Farley stars as the protagonist, an immature and dimwitted heir to an auto parts factory who must save the business to keep it from take-over and away from evil relatives. Throughout the film, Farley's childish actions bring laughs to audiences of all ages. To begin the film, Tommy (Chris Farley) is shown in a flashback as a young school boy rushing to class, late as always. In this scene he runs full speed into a glass sliding door, shouting â€Å"Holy Schnike! † (Tommy Boy 0:44). The film then skips several years and shows an older Tommy, in his seventh year of college.Although the older character is much larger (Chris Farley was very large), he mirrors the young middle school version of Tommy because he is pictured doing the same action: rushing to class (late again). In this scene, he is scene trying to take a short cut through some hedges, but runs full speed into a newly put up fence, hitting his head very hard and exclaiming â€Å"Holy Schnike! † again (Tommy Boy 2:02). From these scenes which mesh together, we can clearly see the immaturity of the character, yet the viewer gets many laughs through the physical pain Farley endures.These actions take place in the first minute of the film, and really set the tone for the rest of the movie. In the film, Tommy is seen acting very foolishly on many accounts: he consistently runs into sliding glass doors, he gets hit in the head with a two-by-four piece of construction wood, he hits his head on a forklift after not listening to his father say heads up, he slips and gets covered in cow manure when trying to go cow tipping, and he rips his friends blue blazer because he is too big for it. Consistently, Tommy releases very childish comments, and he is largely responsible for destroying his friend’s beloved car.In the film, the actions Farley takes mirror concepts that defined slapstick comedy. His childish and extreme actions are all very similar to this genre of comedy. Farley extends this comedy to make it more personal and relatable as the protagonist becomes more developed. His actions are all very extreme and in many incidents would cause physical pain. Although painful or ridiculous, all actions tha t take place in the movie could take place in real-life, making the audience relate to the comedy. In one scene in particular, Tommy pushes the realm of reasonable office behavior.In an attempt to sell auto products for his company, he acts out an anecdote with his customer's nice model cars. In his story he gives two examples of how a similar scene could play out with two different brakes. In the first action, the car has on Callahan Brake Pads (his company’s) and is able to stop in front of a obstacle that is suddenly in front of the car (a lighter also on the desk). While showing this action he has a complete narrative stating â€Å"You're drivin' along, la-de-da, woo. All of a sudden there's a truck tire in the middle of the road. And you hit the brakes. EEEEEEEEE!Whoa, that was close† (Tommy Boy 35:30). He then proceeds stating â€Å"Now let's see what happens when you're driving with the â€Å"other guy's†[does quotation marks with fingers] brake pads. Yo u're drivin' along, you're drivin' along, the kids start shouting from the back seat, ‘I gotta go to the bathroom, Daddy! ‘ ‘Not now, damn it! ‘ Truck tire. EEEEEEEE! I CAN'T STOP! † (Tommy Boy 35:45). He then rams the model car into the lighter smashing the car of the customer. Farley then gets really into the story acting out voices of a narrator, the kids, the parents, and eventually the paramedics who respond to the scene.In the scene, some of his quotes include â€Å"No! I can't feel my legs †¦ Here comes the meat wagon †¦ And the medic gets out and says, ‘Oh my God. ‘†¦ New guy's around the corner puking his guts out† (Tommy Boy 36:05). He also finishes the crash by setting the crushed car on fire with the lighter and calmly collects himself making his point casually stating â€Å"All because you want to save a couple extra pennies† (Tommy Boy 36:20). This scene is a clear example of Farley taking over a sc ene that could have easily been executed much more peacefully, maturely, and professionally.But the director and Chris Farley decided to execute the scene wildly and immaturely so that viewers see the scene in awe as they cannot believe how overdone he makes the episode. The film is full of scenes like this one, which leave the audience in shock at how a human could act in such a manner. They key to the humor brought about in the film is much like that of Belushi and Candy, it remains believable: although unlikely, all actions in the film could possibly occur in a person's life. Through looking at these three overweight comedians we see the progression of the same genre of comedy.The slapstick comedy that first featured Charlie Chaplin and other silent film comedians progressed into slapstick comedy with audio, like the Three Stooges. Following the Three Stooges, the horseplay that was extreme and in many ways violent and not possible for a person to survive, died out. In return, se veral years later comedians like Belushi rediscovered the art of making a career out of horseplay in every film or television show in which they appeared. Following the mold Belushi made, many other actors have morphed their careers into similar roles.Through the years the importance of the overweight comedian has grown dramatically. In 1978, John Belushi was a minor character in Animal House. Although his few scenes (around a dozen) are the most memorable from the film, his role contained very few lines and he was never intended to be the star of the film. Looking forward nearly a decade later, John Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles promoted his role to the supporting actor, though not the protagonist of the film.In this film, we learn much more about the character (a back story, his emotions, etc.) than we did of Belushi in Animal House. Belushi's character, Bluto, has apparently been in college for several years and the odds of him graduating appear slim. Other than this, we have no other information on the character. For Candy's character, Del, we find out much more about his life as a shower ring salesman as he appears in nearly every scene and is a much better developed character. Finally looking at Tommy Boy, released almost two-decades after Belushi, the American audience sees the fat wild character as the protagonist of the work.Chris Farley's character, Tommy, is the clear protagonist of the film (the film is even titled after the character's name). Farley's character has a well developed character, as the viewer is well informed of the character's entire family and Tommy's flaws and strengths. Why Overweight? Following in the footsteps of the unrealistic, unsurvivable slapstick comedy to the more plausible realistic feature films, the role of the fat comedian progressed to the center of the film. Perhaps the movement towards realism reflects American’s recognition of their own overweight society.The United States is the world's most ob ese country. In an attempt to explain this epidemic, Greg Critser published Fat Land: How Americans became the fattest people in the world. This work highlights new research that claims cheap fats and sugars as the source which causes our calories to stick and shows why children are too often the chief metabolic culprits of such foods. He clearly claims that we (Americans) have been telling ourselves lies about how much we can eat and how little we can exercise.He attempts to expose the nutritional value (or lack thereof) in schools as well as political and cultural forces that have caused American’s fitness to continue to decrease (Critser 23). Critser debunks all eating patterns and even diet books in an attempt to explain why they do not work and only supplement the obesity problem in the United States. Although a slightly humorous book, Critser's message is very serious; the lack of a balanced nutritional diet (which he provides to the best of his understanding) and reduc ed exercise has set a death trap for many people in America, leading to an obesity problem.Hollywood has capitalized on the acceptability of overweight people, and has used and continues to use actors bearing this unhealthy lifestyle in order to provide entertainment (usually humorous) to the United States (Critser 25). The comedians explored in the previous pages share one common obvious trait, their weight. John Belushi, John Candy, and Chris Farley were all obese. The reason why they were overweight will never be fully understood, whether it was genetics, poor eating, lack of exercise, pressures of society, or bad habits. The fact is that all these men were huge, and remained large until their respective deaths.Not only were all of these men overweight, they were also well loved. In a People Magazine article following the death of John Candy, the author concludes â€Å"in the end, of course, no one can say for certain whether diet and self-denial would have prolonged Candy's lif e a single day. Only one thing is sure: Already Candy is missed† (Harmes 97). Similarly in a Canadian magazine an author begins â€Å"While all of us feel as though we've lost someone we knew personally,† showing another example of the attachment fans had with such comedians (Candy in both of these instances) (The Untimely Passing 9).Like Candy, Chris Farley had his fair share of praises in a Rolling Stone Magazine stating â€Å"almost everyone loved Farley, and it was a genuine love, not a Hollywood love† (Hedegaard 40). Through these accounts praising the lives of such overweight comedians, it becomes clear that the actors really connected with their audience and gained a sincere affection from their fans. The love they generated came through both the laughs they consistently provided America as well as their big loving appearance.Perhaps people connected with the characters because they thought their enormous build made them more resilient and therefore they c ould endure the slapstick comedy they provided. Maybe the reason they were admired was because their large appearance was not the typical Hollywood ‘Barbie'-like figure that so many stars posses, but a reflection of how America really looks: overweight. Or, perhaps their size made them more human because they embodied the flaws in all of us. By the simple act of laughing at and with them, the audience is put at ease and feels better about their own shortcomings.In any case, the success of these comedians came through their realistic appearance on stage. The people and actions in these films could occur in everyday American lives. The men were not living a sophisticated lifestyle and did not have special skills; they portrayed an overweight male (which is common in the United States) and shined in immature and physical humor evolving the slapstick genre that has been a staple of American comedy films since their beginning a century ago.