Saturday, August 31, 2019

The constitution 1850-1861

There were many causes for the separation of the union. Many people argue that the Constitution, which was a symbol of the national unity, contributed to its division. This is true in some ways, but it did not happen immediately. Many events, such as the passing of the Fugitive Slave and Kentucky-Nebraska Acts, gradually built up the tension between North and South, until the union collapsed. Even though the Compromise of 1850 was meant to solve the crisis, it only created more tension between the north and south.The main purposes of the compromise were to admit California into the union as a free state, and divide the Mexican Cession into two territories – Utah and New Mexico. The slavery issue in these states was do be decided by popular sovereignty. The compromise also proved for a Fugitive Slave Law, and banned the slave trade in the District of Columbia. The Fugitive Slave Law, which was part of the compromise, also caused a lot of controversy. The main purpose of the law was to allow the capture and return of slaves that escaped into the northern states back to their original owners.Special commissioners were authorized to arrest the escapees. Even if the captured person was a free black, they were still denied the right of a fair trial. Anyone who opposed the arrest of a slave was to be punished. The Southerners were not entirely favorable to the law, because they were forced to loose California. The North also reacted negatively to the enforcement of the new law. Many people like Ralph Waldo Emerson said that the Fugitive Slave Law was in a way contradictory to the Constitution itself. He said that it is considered a crime to enslave a man in Africa, while it is also â€Å"high crime and misdemeanor, punishable with fine and imprisonment, to resist the reenslaving a man on the coast of America† (Emerson).Another example of this would be the President James Buchanan's fourth annual message to congress. Buchanan did not want the southern sta tes to secede. However he did not want to use armed forces to stop them either. Buchanan argued that the Congress had no power to stop a state from withdrawing from the union. He said â€Å"that no such power has been delegated to congress† (Buchanan). The Kansas-Nebraska bill was another good example. The bill proposed that the Nebraska territory was to be divided into Kansas and Nebraska territories. The settlers would then decide whether slavery should be allowed. Southern slave owners favored this bill because it removed the boundaries set by the Missouri Compromise.The southerners were  in a way â€Å"forcing slavery down the throat of the freesoliers† in Kansas. The law outraged northern Democrats, and this created even more tension. Though not the only reason, disputes over the meaning of the Constitution played a big role leading up to the Civil War. What was once established to unite the nation now lead to its separation.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Literary Analysis: Sonny’s Blues

In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† by James Baldwin, the two main characters, Sonny and the narrator, face many conflicts with each other. These conflicts all contribute and lead to the climax of the story, the scene in the narrator’s apartment. The first conflict between these two characters occurs after their mother dies when the narrator discovers Sonny’s dream to become a jazz piano player, which the narrator believes is a waste of his life. Their inability to see eye-to-eye on this matter is what causes so much tension in their relationship throughout the rest of their lives. The narrator feels that it was his job to steer Sonny in the right direction after remembering the promise he made to his mother, a promise he made before she died. To help his brother, the narrator decides Sonny should live with his wife’s family, Sonny reluctantly agrees, which leads to the next conflict. The narrator believes that it is in Sonny’s best interest for him to live with his wife’s family while he is finishing college. Sonny is not thrilled with the idea but reluctantly agrees in order to avoid another argument. While living with his sister-in-law’s family, Sonny spends all of his spare time practicing the piano, which his hosts do not care for. Then, despite Sonny’s efforts to hide it, his sister-in-law’s mother discovers Sonny’s truancy. The two fight and Sonny understands the burden he has put onto the family, causing him to join the navy. When Sonny finally comes back from the war, the two brothers finally see each other weeks after Sonny returned home, leading to the climax of the story. When Sonny returned from the war to New York, the two brothers did not see each other for quite some time. When they finally did see each other they get into a huge fight about Sonny’s decisions in life. The narrator is upset about Sonny’s drug abuse and decision to waste his life and become a jazz pianist. Sonny is angered at his brother for abandoning him when he needed his brother most and for his brother’s inability to see him as a musician. The narrator learns about Sonny’s frustration but still cannot see his brother’s point of view and ends up walking away commenting on how Sonny will need him one day. This brutally honest argument serves as the climax between these brothers in the story. The two conflicts at the beginning of the story pave the way to the major argument towards the end of the story. The reoccurring problem between these two is the narrator’s inability to understand and be there for his brother. Each of the conflict between the two never gets resolved, just brushed off to the side, building up tensions between the two and end up boiling over. The narrator believes that his brother is below him because of his drug abuse and life choices. Most of his life he wants nothing to do with him because he cannot understand him. He ends up pushing Sonny away for most of the story after each conflict, not caring where Sonny is or whether he is alive or not. Unfortunately this is a reoccurring problem with sibling, especially with the older sibling. Like the narrator, many older siblings believe that they know best for their younger sibling, and when their brother/sister goes against what they say the two begin to become distant. Luckily for Sonny and the narrator, they were able to put aside their differences and the narrator was there for Sonny when he performed, and watching him on stage allows the narrator to finally understand Sonny and realize what he is made of. Due to their upbringing and the differences between Sonny and the narrator, they went through many conflicts in the story which all led up to the climax of the story. Their arguments all consisted of the narrator’s misunderstanding of Sonny and who he really is, and trying to change who he wanted to be. Also, each of their arguments never were really solved, just brushed of to the side causing more tension between the two. All these arguments eventually add up to the final big argument between the two. Surprisingly enough, this argument is what brings them together and allows the narrator to get to know Sonny and learn that he never really knew who his brother was.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A Comparison of Death in The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia Essay

Importance of Death in The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia       It is universally acknowledged that one who comes into this world must also leave. Just like everything else, even life and death is a binary composition. You cannot have one without the other. Although not many people like to think about it, death is a very important factor not only in life, but also in literature. Most often, death is portrayed as evil or gruesome, especially in commercial fiction. However, there are literary texts, which portray death through other factors. Through the depiction of the deaths of Arthur Dimmesdale and Mr. Shimerdas in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Willa Cather's My Antonia, respectively, the reader is able to associate the significance of such issues as guilt, revenge/murder, religion, and the consequences of the two deaths. It may seem odd that instead of concentrating on the central female characters to portray these important issues, I have chosen two male characters. However, it is through the deaths of the male chara cters that the central females, Hester and Antonia are able to shine as women.    In both these novels, the death scenes of the characters are ambiguous. In relation to one issue or another there is always something vague or missing, which leaves the readers to judge for themselves. The death scene in The Scarlet Letter is very powerful and full of remorse .    Arthur collapsing into the arms of his loved one, after pleading with the people to look at Hester's scarlet letter once again, showing Roger how he had sinned as well, acknowledging Pearl and relieving her of her "...errand as a messenger of anguish" (Hawthorne 222) by kissing her, and fin moil and keep her father's past alive. Both deaths also imply more than what meets the eye. While Arthur's death is surrounded by the possibility of revenge, Mr. Shimerdas' death is encircled by the likelihood of murder. The two deaths also highlight the importance of religion. Arthur, being a Reverend, is given the strength by God to confront his sins, while Mr. Shimerdas, also a Reverend of sorts, is buried and forced to live an afterlife of uncertain paths due to his faith. Lastly, the aftermaths of these deaths, is what makes The Scarlet Letter and My Antonia two great works of literature. Through Arthur's death, Hester is once again able to display her inner strength by making her own choices and standing by her love, whereas Antonia through the death of her father is able to excel in a man's world, while not forgetting her womanhood.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Critique a research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critique a research - Assignment Example This essay critics the procedures and the methods of the research to identify if the research is credible and any weaknesses that could affect its conclusions. The problem statement of the research centered on the shortage of nursing based intervention measures to help the Post-Stroke patients to regain strength as soon as they recover. The research addresses a very important aspect of nursing that is gaining relevance today. In the recent past, there has been an increase in the number cases of stroke, demanding more serious intervention measures. Therefore the research by Kim (2012) was crucial and relevant for a growing problem in the nursing practice. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of the enjoyable games as intervention measures for post-stroke patients. The purpose of this study is of great significance to the nursing profession. For long it has been the wish of the nursing professionals to provide efficient intervention measures to replace the medical based treatment procedures that have proved inefficient (Byun, 2012). Therefore, the research is meant to improve the provision of treatment and care for post-stroke patients. Since this has been a major problem in the past, such a research by Kim (2009) is a major contribution to the nursing care. The researcher did not formulate any research questions for the purpose of this research. However, the research seems to be based on the question of whether there enjoyable intervention measures can be used to improve the physical fitness of the post stroke patients. From the purpose of the research, it is clear that the research is meant to investigate whether nursing based intervention measures are efficient in improving the strength of these patients (Byun, 2012). Although, the researcher does not state the research questions, he remains clear on the direction of the research, which makes it possible for one to identify the issues he intends to address with his

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Poverty and Crimes Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poverty and Crimes - Annotated Bibliography Example It is useful because he used actual people who were involved as crimes as both a victim and one who created the crime. When looking at specific poverty areas and this article gives insights as to how it looks from the other side of victimization. Bausman and Goe discuss "economic marginalization" and how it has more to do with an environment that can perpetrate crime instead of only economics. They say that most researchers only look at the economics but there are many other factors that create crime. This article is interesting because it points out that people who are unemployed have a challenge because they have to meet their needs in some way. They state that unemployment is a large factor that can create more property crime and that unemployment can create more crime in any area. Since I am looking at the fact that poverty causes crimes this article shows a link between lack of employment as one of the factors in crime. It is important to find out what factors make juveniles commit crime. In order to create prevention programs these authors felt it important to identify characteristics and circumstances that make juveniles create crimes. The authors wanted to create a profile of what a juvenile would look like who creates crimes. Part of my paper will deal with what we can do to stop crime. Since there are problems that our society cannot fix it is important to identify what characteristics may lead an individual to commit a crime. This article gives some ideas of what this would be like and will fit into the last aspects of my paper. This is a discussion of how alcohol and drugs influence crime and which crimes are committed. The authors have created a scientific study of how drugs and crime work and they have given a thorough study. Chapter 5 details the drug and crime connection and how they work together to create problems in the community.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Assignment of Priciples and practices of management Essay

Assignment of Priciples and practices of management - Essay Example (A) Organizational behavior 2 5 During his first year of working at a law firm, Danny earned the respect of his supervisors by consistently producing very high quality work. Though the quality of Dannys work declined in his second year of employment, his supervisors continued to view his work very positively. This is an example of the (B) primacy affect. 6 A celebrity has fired several of her personal assistants because each time she asks them a question about her appearance or how her performance was, they always tell her how great and wonderful she is. She is looking for a more honest personal assistant. What should be a quality she looks for in her next employee? (D) Low on self monitoring 7 Revlon was once the worlds biggest cosmetics company. But over the past few years, its brands have lost sales and struggled through a series of management setbacks, but still it was reluctant to give up divisions that were no longer profitable. Which grand strategy does Revlon need to implement if it is to stay in business? (C) Retrenchment3 8 Players in the cosmetics industry include Procter & Gamble, which owns Cover Girl and Max Factor brands, LOreal, which owns LOreal and Maybelline brands, Revlon, which owns Revlon and Almay brands, and Està ©e Lauder. According to Porter, (C) threat of substitute products4 has the most influence on these companys profits. 10 Herman is the coach of the city football team. As a successful coach, he has to schedule structured practices, emphasize careful planning, and assign tasks. He also has to show the players that he genuinely cares about them as people. According to the Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid, Herman would be characterized as: D team management a Planning is one of the four management functions, and it is often called the primary management function because it establishes the basis for all the other things that managers do. What types

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Starbucks ethics negative side Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Starbucks ethics negative side - Assignment Example Interest of the enterprises to follow and adopt business ethics as part of their functioning has fallen down during the recession period, with unethical practices indirectly leading to recession. (Purlys 711). Starbucks is under this ethical scanner for a long time, and now the global changes on how companies should function ethically, make it imperative on the part of Starbucks to be more ethically sound, but that is not the case, with Starbucks facing problems in organizing in the changing global environment. Although, Starbucks wants to establish itself as the most recognized and respected brand in the world, it is facing some ethical issues and it is negatively affecting its organizing efforts in the changing environment. Starbucks is facing criticism for unethical as well as controversial activities like not compulsorily providing Fair Trade Coffee in all its stores and because of the use of Bovine Growth Hormone milk in its coffees and ice-creams. Fair Trade Coffee is the term given to the coffee beans, which are purchased by Starbucks or other coffee makers through ethical means like providing fair and industry standard prices to the coffee growers in the Home country as well as in the Third World countries. Also, Fair Trade activities including Fair Trade Coffee support and intersect with other community development efforts, grounding and enhancing the resulting benefits (Raynolds, Murray and Taylor 1116). However, Starbucks is accused of not selling these Fair Trade coffees in all its stores compulsorily, instead selling only to the clients, who ask for it or demand it. This way, they still selling non-Fair Trade coffees and because of this unethical practice, they are giving very low prices to the farmers, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt, and also not doing enough community services for them. Although, Starbucks’ chairman, Howard Schultz mandated that coffee farmers from its major sources in the African countries

Position paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Position paper - Essay Example The scientific community has conducted many studies that have shown that not only are men and women conditioned differently, but that these differences are often inborn. The human brain is, from birth, â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"feminine,† which is to say that there are various differences between the brains of the two sexes that result in their different development and behavior. Such differences were caused by evolution in a bid to help the sexes perform the different roles they had to play, and since the gender defined roles have only just begun to be questioned, it is not right to expect evolutionary changes occurring in our brains just yet. The MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and PET scans (Positronic Emission Tomography) done on human brains have made it clear that â€Å"the male and female brain are ‘male’ and ‘female’ regardless of the culture or the continent on which the men and women are raised† (Gurian 6). These differences are not limited to the brain alone; there are physical and hormonal differences between the two sexes that cannot be denied at all. Therefore, it is very hard, not to mention unrealistic, for someone in a relationship to expect their partner to behave and act like them. These differences cause both men and women to enter into a relationship with different expectations and aspirations. This is where the relationship can, and often does, go awry; often both the man and the woman do not understand that they are essentially different beings and, hence, have different needs from a relationship. In the relationship both of them give to the other what they want for themselves, without considering the fact that since both of them are tuned differently, it is only natural that both of them would want different things from each other. Men usually want sex more than women, for instance; Gurian asserts that it is because at ejaculation the level of oxytocin (or the bonding chemical) in their br ain reaches a high level, thus helping them bond with the person they are having sex with (110). It is perhaps because of this reason that the women often get confused when the man seems completely in love with them during sex, but withdraws afterwards, or does not seem connected at all. Interestingly enough, women have the same level of oxytocin normally, which man attain at ejaculation. The fact that there are higher oxytocin levels in women’s brains than in men’s (sometimes ten times higher), proves that it is a natural impulse for the women to â€Å"tend-and-befriend† (Gurian 12). This results in the woman being perceived as â€Å"too clingy† by the man, whereas the man seems â€Å"too aloof† from the relationship, hence, more resentment and creating rifts between the two is caused. These differences result in, as per Gray, men and women having a different approach to their relationship. Often, both the sexes do not realize that, thus, the chan ces of them having a mutually fulfilling and loving relationship are reduced substantially, where they engage in many an argument. Men function spatially and women function verbally, it is no wonder that men do not engage in conversations unless and until it is required. Women, on the other hand, need to verbally lay out everything and thus connect/bond with the other person. It is very frustrating for a woman to get her man to talk to her when he is going through some

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Security Managers Should Be Managers First And Security Specialist Essay

Security Managers Should Be Managers First And Security Specialist Second - Essay Example Most companies are still far from having an elevated, coordinated security unit. However, the kind of leadership and management drives an organization or a company towards either success or failure. Though everything can be learned and mastered after further experiences and further studies, present activities and accomplishments are qualifications for higher and bigger opportunities that influence others to get involved in the stated missions and visions. Managing and addressing security carries a significant and potential critical responsibility on whatever number of human resource. Security managers' extensive scope of responsibilities require a trivial task - from risk assessment to the implementation of security policies, from human resource issues to the definition of security duties, including global exposure, and strategic planning, must be embraced and managed. The assertion that, security managers should be managers first, and security specialists second, it is but right to present the role of a security manager in the arena of securing potential assets. Where and how they're involved, and let the evidences for qualifications, be seen on why they should be managers first. The importance of continuous attention ... Such attention is important for all types of internal controls, because of the factors that affect security are constantly changing in today's dynamic environment. Managing the increased risks associated with a highly interconnected computing environment demands increased central coordination to ensure that weaknesses in one organizational unit's systems do not place the entire organization's information assets at undue risk. Security managers on the other hand, should filter what senior managers see, and even before that, ensure they only collect information someone both cares about and takes responsibility, for Security managers need to easily position information in the context of risk policy, policy enforcement, and related business imperatives. Risk assessments improve business managers' ability to make decisions on controls needed in the absence of quantified risk assessment results, and engender support for policies and controls adopted, thus helping to ensure that policies and controls would operate as intended. Through the reporting procedure, business managers take responsibility for either tolerating or mitigating security risks associated with their operations. And such procedures provide a relatively quick and consistent means of exploring risk with business managers, selecting cost-effective controls, and documenting conclusions and business managers' acceptance of final determinations regarding what controls were needed and what risks could be tolerated. ...global exposure and strategic planning... What an organization can and can't do strategy wise is always constrained by what is legal, by what complies with

Friday, August 23, 2019

Organisational Behavior Research Report Assignment

Organisational Behavior Research Report - Assignment Example This part of the paper will highlight the workforce changes of the recent time and the possible implications for organizational policies to cater to these trends. Increased globalization and the minority population in the key developing world bring us to the first trend of diversity. Skilled labor from different parts of the world isattractedtowards thedeveloped world for employment as they offer a better environment for them to grow professionally as well as financially. With greater workforce equality and empowered employees, it has become almost necessary to take into account workplace diversity, whether it is females, blacks, handicapped or other ethnocentric groups, at the time of employment. A healthy organization boasts of a diverse workforce that treats all its employees equally(Dol.gov 2014). With trends like feminism, racial equality and minority rights groups, organizations have to keep an out for possible accusations that may lead to a bad name. Narrowing gaps between minorities and an increase in the number of female employees stepping into the professional world has made it imperative that they are made to feel equally welcome and acknowledged. Gone are the days when men were the sole bread earners in the family and women were responsible about family. With women stepping out and equally contributing to the financials of a family, it has become a responsibility of both the men and the women to take care of the family and kids. Thus, it has become important for both the sexes to have job flexibility that allows them to give reasonable time at home and meet family challenges that are now equally shared by the parents. With the advent of technology, workplaces have become more automated. Thus, the most sought after skill is web and computer orientation, making manual labor obsolete. In order to keep up with the pace of change in

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Change models Essay Example for Free

Change models Essay Scenario Planning: Supplementing Traditional Strategic Planning It is clear the rate of change in todays work environments has been aggravating with more emphasis nowadays on smaller teams, incremental and rapid delivery, faster payback, and frequent project status reporting. This acceleration has instigated uncertainty that forced organisations to start supporting their strategic planning with a longer term perspective of planning called scenario planning or scenario thinking/analysis. Scenario Read More A Simple Method to Split a WordPress Post into Multiple Pages One of the most effective ways to increase the number of page views and decrease the bounce rate of your site is by splitting your long posts into several pages. In the first part of the article, you will learn in 2 steps how to split a post in WordPress using the codex function wp_link_pages() and the tag. In the second Read More Boosting Your WordPress Sites Performance By Enabling GZIP Compression Ever heard of GZIP? It is a simple software application that compresses/decompresses files based on an algorithm named DEFLATE. It works by finding similar strings in a text file and replacing them temporarily to make the overall file size smaller which would drastically improve the performance of your website. The algorithm perfectly works with CSS and HTML filetypes which typically Read More Improving Quality of Project Estimation It is clear that estimating a project is important for the project manager to determine how long the project would take, to figure out how much the project would cost, to decide whether the project is worth doing, to measure variances against the baseline plan, and to take corrective actions. However some project managers nowadays tend to put minimum effort Read More Avoiding Common Pitfalls of High Performance Project Teams Previously in one of my earlier articles, I discussed the key qualities required for a project manager to be effective in building a high performance project team. Believe it or not, though high performance project teams can produce incredible outcomes, there still remain some serious pitfalls that project managers need to be aware of in order not to fall victims Read More Contract Management Must-Knows For Project Managers Contract management constitutes a major component of a project procurement system. Most work done nowadays on projects involves dealing with contracts or has a contractual nature. Although some companies have purchasing departments that specialize in procurement, one of the basic knowledge and skills of a project manager is to be able to read and manage contracts. This post basically discusses Read More Understanding And Managing Your Boss The idea of â€Å"managing your boss† may sound quite unusual for some managers, considering the widespread adoption of the traditional top down management  approach in most organizations. Even though talented and aggressive managers nowadays carefully control and administer their subordinates, services, and products, they might reveal, on the other hand, a passive stand with their bosses (Gabarro and Kotter 1993). Read More Changes in Project Management Processes Between PMBOK 4 And PMBOK 5 This post presents a tabulated summary of diff erences in the names, inputs, tools, and outputs of project management processes between PMBOK 4 and PMBOK 5. Note that terms in Red which exist in PMBOK 4 have been removed or replaced in PMBOK 5, terms in Blue have been newly added into PMBOK 5, and terms in Black have not Read More Critical Analysis of Porters Five Forces Model Information Technology (IT) Industry In order to appropriately formulate their corporate strategies and distinctively compete in the market, organizations are in a need for a framework that would help them in understanding industry structure and in overcoming rivalry. This essay aims at discussing, analyzing, and criticizing Porter’s Five Forces model using a wide variety of academic literature. The first part introduces the model, discusses Read More Key Qualities For An Effective Project Manager This post describes key qualities needed for an effective project manager. It discusses the differences between leading and managing a project, explains the importance of managing stakeholders, describes how to gain influence by reciprocity, stresses on the significance of leading by example and managing by wandering around (MBWA), explores how to deal with the contradictory nature of work, and finally Read More 12345678910 Home ; Change Management ; Change Management Diagnostic Models – Case Study â€Å"Jamie’s Food Revolution† Change Management Diagnostic Models – Case Study â€Å"Jamie’s Food Revolution† April 14th, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments This essay presents three different diagnostic models that serve as a change management guidance for organizations by helping them in considering what factors are important for this change and how these factors are interrelated together (Nadler and Tushman 1980). The main purpose of these models is to help in reducing the complexity of the change situation by identifying what change variables require attention by the organization, what sequence of activities to adopt in dealing with the change situation, and how the various organizational properties are interconnected (Ian Palmer 2009). The essay compares and contrasts Burke-Litwin, Six-Box Weisbord, and Congruence models, pinpoints their strengths and weaknesses, and then applies one of these models to the case study â€Å"Jamie’s Food Revolution†. The first organizational and causal model to be discussed is the Burke-Litwin model. The strength of this model lies on the fact that it consists of twelve key variables, at three different organizational levels (external environment, leadership, strategy, and culture at the total system level; structure, management practices, systems and climate at the group or work unit level; and tasks, motivation, needs, and values at the individual level)(Burke and Litwin 1992). The variables on the top have a stronger influence on systems than the bottom variables (Leadersphere 2008). The model is based on an open systems principle whereby it considers the external environment as an input and the organization performance as output with a bidirectional feedback between them (Jackie Alexander Di 2002). What makes this model unique is that it houses almost all of the variables considered in the 7-S, Six-Box Weisbord and Congruence models (Burke and Litwin 1992) and it also stresses on the point that changes can lead to transformational organization-wide (leadership, strategy, and mission) as well as internal transactional (management, structure, system, individual needs, tasks) dynamics which altogether affect individual and organization performance (Jackie Alexander Di 2002). Burke and Jackson (1991) demonstrated the scenario of a successful merge between two companies, SmithKline and Beecham, which concentrated on establishing a unique culture with a loose-tight behavioral leadership, and on adopting a customized Burke-Litwin model to increase its performance. This model however may impose some complexity in its usage. Dana (2004), in her study to apply this model to a quality management system, has limited her research to specific variables for this model because of the big amount of information required to be gathered on each variable. Also, a quantitative study done by Jackie Alexander Di (2002) on the model’s variables failed to reveal the hidden communication variable, which shows that this model may not foresee all organizational problems. The second model to be discussed is the one developed by David Nadler and Michael Tushman, the Congruence model. Like the Burke-Litwin model, the pragmatic Congruence model is based on the open system’s principle (input environment, transformation, output)(Nadler 1982) and deals with the organization as a whole dynamic and social system where the purpose lies in realizing the state of congruence among the various subparts or components of the organization (Nadler and Tushman 1980). The measure of organizational effectiveness depends on the total degree of congruence as a normative approach to ensure fit among these components (Hatton and Raymond 1994). Nevertheless adopting this model is dynamic (should be changed with time) and poses a lot of challenges including the management of political dynamics, the anxiety created by the change, and the control of the transition state (Nadler and Tushman 1989). Additionally, it requires special care to ensure appropriate fit between strategy and environmental conditions, as well as among the four organizational components (work, people, formal structures and process, and informal structures and processes). Burke ; Litwin (1992) state that the number of items to be matched for congruence is great and the Congruence model fails to provide a mechanism for determining which of these items are important and what level of congruence yields desirable results. For further help, several studies have presented major efforts to discuss strategies to attain the maximum congruence. Hatton and Raymond (1994) concluded with several postulates that describe how congruence can be achieved by interrelating together specific dimensions of these key variables (environment, strategy, technology, task, structure, and individual). Also, Nadler and Tushman (1989), in their view of organizations as political systems, posit that there is no general way for dealing with change. They stressed that managers should understand these political dynamics of change by diagnosing the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, developing a clear vision, creating energy within teams, and possessing active leadership, thus achieving the congruence between strategy and environmental conditions, as well as among the four organizational components.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Ethical Issues in Management Essay Example for Free

Ethical Issues in Management Essay Every so often we hear the phrase â€Å"Business is business and a cup of tea is a cup of tea†. The contemporary business managers think quite on the contrary. Morals and ethics are the new paradigm and have taken the driving seat in the day to day working of the Management. Ethics contains code of conduct for a person to blend with others keeping in view the righteousness and goodness of the trade; whereas, morals are not primarily written but acted upon by most of society with rectitude. The modern manager faces several issues on the moral and ethical front as more teamwork is required to accomplish collective goals. Fraud, discrimination, nepotism, false marketing in advertorial manner is the name of the game for unethical pseudo professionals and to cope with them always remain a challenge for the socially and ethically responsible manager. The moral values of a professional lie deep within, starting with the core communications between his superiors, peers and subordinates. The levelheaded working style of a manager speaks volume of not only his good ethical behavior but also keen sense of judgment and ability to lead his subordinates in a fair and square manner. An ethically responsible manager not only tells people what to do but shows them how to do it. A Manager must be the role model to other employees of the company; therefore, he is accountable for the training and guidance of his coworkers and associates. The management must device an ethical education management and assessment of behavioral integrity of the employees to extract more productivity (Wankel, 2011). It is rightly said that â€Å"Charity begins at home†, the same is applied to morals of the management. Ethically responsible management practices enforced by a company ensure that the company declines any shady business practices and eventually fraudulent functioning of the employees. The old business model has drastically changed over the years as accountability and transparency have become norms of progressive business (Carroll, 2012). In this context, the burden on the shoulders of whistles blowers have increased radically. They should be encouraged to report organizational misconduct in any form or manifestation. It is the responsibility of the management to encourage its employees to report any fraud or delinquency. Fortification of the whistle blower from coworkers is the responsibility of the company also which in return shall endorse the trust of the employees on the management. There are many example of ethical dilemma which arises due to the fact that the people in power not realize the repercussion of their decisions. Although society gives so much for the business to prosper, mostly none is returned to the society. A classical example would be the industrial waste coming out of a process industry which gravely affects the flora and fauna of the milieu. The decision of the management to spill industrial drainage without treatment is a solemn ethical breach. The environmental agencies have formalized various codes and standards like OSHAS which should have been followed prior to any drainage of detrimental waste water. Ethically responsible management practices and social issues bear close rapport. Hence the management must always have an insight to resolve these issues as they are always involved in dealing with the community directly or indirectly related to the business. The managers may have to take stern decisions to alleviate unethical demeanor yet it is bound to return back in folds.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers

Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers: Group Literature Review. Manissha Kaur Nicole Li Xian Nirmaljit Kaur Shakila Binti Shamsudin Down syndrome is the most frequently identified genetic form of mental retardation (Sherman, Allen, Bean Freeman, 2007). It is the prominent root of medical conditions and specific birth defects (Sherman, et al., 2007). It is caused by the malsegragation of the chromosome 21, where there is a third copy of the chromosome (Sherman, et al., 2007). Down syndrome cannot be cured, but it can be diagnosed at an early stage itself; during pregnancy. There are several ways of identifying Down syndrome, which usually can be identified by the child’s physical features and intellectual disabilities. Many early intervention programs, treatments and facilities have been provided for the families and caretakers to help them with the child with a down syndrome. People with Down syndrome have physical features that can be identified. The physical features that are normally notified are the flat nose, the folds in the corners of their upwardly slanting eyes, and the small mouth with a flat roof that makes the tongue stick out somewhat (Barlow Durand, 2012). Down syndrome does not have specific psychological problems but they are still susceptible to having mental health and behavioural issues. In a research done, it was shown that they are prone to problems like depression, anxiety and obsessions (Spendelow, 2011). Apart from psychological and cognitive issues, Down syndrome is also vulnerable to many medical issues, like heart disease and dementia (Zigman Lott as cited in Spendelow, 2011). In this paper, we will be looking at the interactions of the family and peers with the down syndrome children. According to Fogel,; Greenspan; Harris, Kasari, Sigman; Marfo, Cynthia, Dedrick, Barbour; Marcheschi, Millepiedi, Bargagna; Pino; Sander; Sroufe; Venuti, de Falco, Giusti, Bornstein, as cited in Falco, Venuti, Esposito, Bornstein (2009) parent’s association is as crucial to the early improvement of children with extraordinary needs as it is for youngsters experiencing ordinary advancement. As in our perspective, parents are suggested as the majority of the obligations regarding their children to develop mentally. It is exceptionally essential for a child to figure out how to correspond with others, as it is one of the principle methodologies to trade feeling and sentiments. A common youngster may postulate on how to confer as it creates a more established interaction rather than a futile Down syndrome youngster. Concerning this, parents should take more activity to allow them to figure out how to express and impart their insights. According to Bornstein, Putnik, et al.; Martin, Clements, Crnic; Weinberg Tronickas, as cited in Falco et al., (2009) down syndrome kids expresses emotions through their voices, activities whereby folks are able to enamour their young people, guide and maintain adolescent attention, and build the state of mind of expectable dyadic companionship. According to Falco et al., (2009) the study designed on 44 parents–child dyads, 22 children were first conducted with 10 minutes of video as the observations of mental developments of their children. After that, the children were given age-appropriate toys, the parents (mother-child and father-child) were asked to play along with them by using those toys, and their emotional evaluation was recorded and analysed by the video observations. The parents were asked to play individually and together later on, to investigate the gender differences, which focus on emotional evaluation to the Down syndrome children. The results show that during the chronological age of the child, the responsiveness and involvement showed positive effect on the father side rather than the mothers. As such, it may be the case that discerning the uncommon child rearing requirements of their youngsters. Fathers tailor their association style considering their children passionate trades. The moderate level of strength confirms that the child emotional availability, which is additionally identified with singular parental intuitive style, that is most likely due to the historical backdrop of the parental-child relationship. Children with Down syndrome in the study landed at a sufficient level in responsiveness, which showed that they were generally positive and enthusiastically receptive. This does not include their childhood where they demonstrated less clear happiness or adaptation of a situation with more response than being anticipated ideally Biringen et al., (1998). Dyads were similarly conveyed over bunches for the both mother and father relationship with their children. Dealing with Down syndrome children may need extra understanding and extra efforts to bring out their emotional expression as Down syndrome children may not indicate interest by their facial expressions, however they keep their feelings or interest to themselves (Falco et al., 2009), we must handle our children with care especially if they are mentally challenged. It is an undeniable fact that the development of language involves the negotiation between two individuals. Down syndrome individuals are also bound to have difficulties in communicating with typical individuals. Parents play a significant role in early intervention of Down syndrome individual. According to a research that was done, both fathers and mothers display different levels of interactions among typical children and Down syndrome children. Graham and Scudder (2007) have stated that the development of both verbal communication and sign language in Down syndrome children highly depends on both the parents of the child. Both Graham and Schudder have videotaped the interactions of a father and mother with their twins where one child is a Down syndrome, and the other a typical child. The mother of the twins chose to be videotaped when she took the twins out for a walk alone and the mother with both the children reading books. The father on the other hands chose to be videotaped when he bathed the twins one at a time and when he played chase-and-tickle with the twins. As a result, both twins had almost three times more vocalizations when interacting with their mother. The twins were more vocal with their mother when they were with her alone, but were more vocal to their father when they were together. It has also been noted that the mother used more sign language towards the Down syndrome child and more verbal interactions with the typical child. In contrast, the father did not show sign language but used verbal interactions with both the children. The factors that were taken into consideration is the surrounding situation in the house as the mother would not have free time to spend with the Down Syndrome child as she has seven children to look after. The parents would also have been more cautious about their behaviour as they were conscious that they were being videotaped. As a conclusion, this study has showed that both parents play significant roles in the development of the child’s language. Apart from what is explained above, the other part of a family that plays an equal vital role in the life of a person even a Down syndrome child are siblings. Based on the research by Rampton, Rosemann, Aimee, Latta, Mandleco, Roper Dyches (2007) siblings of children that are down syndrome preferred to take photographs of CWDS(children with down syndrome) simply because some of them implied that they could now identify and understand people who had disabilities. The siblings also mentioned during the experiment that they like their sibling, which has disability and that some they makes them a better person. Even though the central focus of this research was on the siblings of children with Down syndrome, this positive affection, love and care does affects the child that has Down syndrome as they too have feelings and are as human as a typically develop child. This clearly shows that siblings are important in the life of a Down syndrome child. The age group difference brings another aspect to the research as age differences delivers different results. Saying this, based on Rampton etc. (2007), siblings at the age of 7-9 years old are more involved in the success and triumph of themselves as they are in the industry vs inferiority stage as seen in Erikson’s theory. They tend to take more photos of themselves rather than the CWDS. In contrast, siblings at the age of 13-15 years old are more engaged with the CWDS as they tend be more likely to provide attention and concern towards CWDS than the younger children as the older sibling have greater than before obligation to be concerned for their siblings. One can come up to the assumption that siblings do play an importance on the life of a Down syndrome child as the siblings to express care and love towards their siblings that has a disability. The other interaction that plays yet another significant role in Down syndrome children lives are peers. Peers, as we are aware off, play an equal important role whether in a typically functioning child or a child with disability. Based on the research conducted by Guralnick, Connor Johnson (2009), the social contacts with peers for children that are Down syndrome is comparatively rare. Only a lesser amount of children are capable to form real camaraderie and the large amount of children tend to fall back alone and into aloneness which leads them to make a choice to play unaccompanied rather with peers. Postulating from the above content, one may tend to assume that a Down syndrome child might face challenges to interact with a peer Guralnick, Connor Johnson (2009). On the contrary, according to Iarocci, Yager, Rombough McLaughlin (n.d) Down syndrome children have been, portrayed as friendly with their peers, well behaved in societal condition and relatively energetic in fitting t ogether in a peer group. In conclusion, children who have Down syndrome have limited form of communication as compared to a child who performs normally and having said that, children are still able to interact with their families even given at a minimal scale. It is difficult for them to go out to the society, as they might be bullied or worst still they are unable to voice out or defend as their physical movements too are challenged. Families of Down syndrome children are urged to always keep an eye on their children like a shadow. It is important for parents to know their whereabouts and have a close relationship with them to enable good rapport. There is no cure for Down syndrome and more research ought to be conducted on how to bring more new and effective insights for Down syndrome children, which may prove to be more helpful. References Barlow, D. H. and Durand, V. M. (2012). Abnormal Psychology An Integrative Approach (6th ed.). USA. Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning. Falco,S.D., Venuti,P., Esposito,G., Bornstein,M.H. (2009). Mother–child and father–child emotional availability in families of children with down syndrome. Parenting: Science And Practice, 9,198-215. doi:10.1080/15295190902844381 Graham, T. K., Scudder, R. R. (2007). Parent interactions with twins who are developmentally different: A case study.Communication Disorders Quarterly,28(2), 107-115. Retrieved March 11, 2014 from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/[emailprotected]vid=5hid=114 Guralnick, M, J., Connor, R, T., Johnson, L, C. (2009). Home-based peer social networks of young children with down syndrome: a developmental perspective. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil, 114(5) 340-355. Iarocci, G., Yager, J., Rombough, A., McLaughlin, J. (n.d). The development of social competence among persons with down syndrome across the lifespan: from survival to social inclusion. Retrieved March 10, 2014 from http://autismlab.psyc.sfu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/iarocci_etal_2008_social_competence.pdf Rampton, T,B., Rosemann, J, L., Latta, A, L., Mandleco, B, L., Roper, S, O., Dyches, T, T. (2007). Images in life: Siblings of children with down syndrome. Journal of Family Nursing, 13(4), 420-442. doi:10.1177/1074840707308580 Sherman, S. L., Allen, E. G., Bean, L. H. and Freeman, S. B. (2007). Epidemiology of Down syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13,221–227. doi:10.1002/mrdd.20157 Spendelow, J. S. (2011). Assessment of mental health problems in people with Down syndrome: key considerations. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 306–313. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3156.2010.00670.x

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis :: Lion Witch Wardrobe Essays

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis The main characters in this story are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. During a war in London they were sent to a professor's house outside London. Lucy, while exploring with her brothers and sister, found a secret passage through the wardrobe to Naria,a secret world. In Naria there are other characters. One of them is the White Witch,also known as the Queen of Naria, who was like a tyrant. If anyone disobeyed her she turned them to stone. Another character Aslan, a lion, saved Naria from the rule of the White Witch. Most of this story takes place in Naria. The main conflict is how Naria can live under the rule of the White Witch. The Beavers set out to take Peter, Susan, and Lucy (not Edmund because he went to the witch ) to the four thrones so they ( four children united ) can rule over Naria and destroy the witch. The Beavers and the three children were walking in the snow because there it was always winter. Although it was always winter Christmas never arrived. After they awoke th e next day they saw Father Christmas who gave them gifts.Mrs. Beaver received a new sewing machine. Mr. Beaver's dam was fixed and finished. Peter was given a shield and sword. Susan received a bow, arrows, and a horn. Lucy's gift was a bottle of healing juice and a dagger. that was the climax of the book because the spell of the White Witch was fading. Then they met up with Aslan and he freed all the stone figures and made them his army. The resolution of the book is when Aslan's army and the witches army confront and Aslan's army wins. Peter kills the witch at the end of the battle. The impression I got from this book is that Naria is a land of surprises and I'm excited that this years assignment will allow me to read more of " The Chronicles of Naria " .

Fishing †The Best Hobby Essay -- Essays Papers Sports Recreation

Fishing – The Best Hobby Work—just the word is enough to make me nauseous sometimes. Look at the definition of the word: work—effort exerted to do or make something; labor, toil. It isn’t exactly the definition of fun. Okay, granted work isn’t always awful. There are plenty of people who like their jobs, and work can even be fun. But for the most part, we all know that we’d rather be doing just about anything other than working. Luckily for us, we don’t work all the time. No, we sleep, eat, drink, and have fun. How do we have fun? Well, some of us might get our pleasure from eating or drinking, sometimes a little too often. Others of us might have fun spending time with our companions or family, but usually when we think of having fun, we think of actually doing something: playing a game, reading a book, going swimming, whatever it may be. We call these ways that we have fun our hobbies. There are quite possibly an infinite number of hobbies. Who knows how many d ifferent ways there are for people to have fun. When it comes to me and my hobbies, however, there is one in particular that stands out above the rest. Fishing is definitely the best way to have fun. Fishing is the best hobby there is. Why am I so excited about fishing? Why am I so certain that it is my favorite hobby? While I could go on and on about the joys of fishing, there are three major reasons why I think it’s so great. They are that it is a relatively inexpensive hobby, it is very easy, and, most importantly, there are so many ways, and so many people who can have fun doing it. Fishing is cheap. If you’ve ever looked at a bait and tackle magazine, you might be thinking, yeah, right. You know, you’ve looked in one of those magazines and seen rods and reels that cost over a thousand dollars and lures that are upwards of twenty bucks, just for one lure. If you are thinking this, then you’re right. If you want to fish with professional quality equipment, you are going to spend those kinds of prices. But that’s true for any hobby; professional-grade equipment is going to be very expensive. An official major league baseball, identical to the ones they use in games, costs over ten dollars. When was the last time any of you went out and spent ten dollars for a baseball to play catch with. No, I’m not talking about being a professional fisherman; admittedly, that isn’t cheap. W... ...ve as much fun just riding in the boat as you do catching fish. Another person might think of fishing from a boat, but that person’s perfect fishing trip might be floating in a canoe down a country river. Believe it or not, fishing can even be fun for people who are petrified of the water. Some of the biggest fish ever caught are hooked from riverbanks, fishing piers, or bridges, without the fisherman getting so much as a toe wet. This is why fishing is so great, and I’m not going to even bother comparing it to another hobby, because there is none like it. No, there is no other hobby that can be enjoyed by so many people, in so many places, for so many reasons. As I said before, there are an infinite number of hobbies that people have and it’s very unlikely fishing is your favorite hobby. I’m sure you can spit right back in my face any number of reasons why your hobby is so great, and you’d probably be right. But before you do that, stop and think about this. Is your hobby or any other hobby you can think of as inexpensive, as easy to learn, or as enjoyed by so many different people as fishing? I doubt it. That is why I love fishing so much; that is why fishing is the best.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Southern Racial Inequality in Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses Essay -- Faulk

Southern Racial Inequality in Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses All the stories in Go Down, Moses had a common thread: the McCaslin family. One story, however, stood out from the rest for lacking a McCaslin main character. This story was, of course, â€Å"Pantaloon in Black.† At first, I thought this story of grief was almost a beautiful love story. When Rider lost his wife and first love, he was so grief-stricken he didn’t even care to live. However, the conclusion on the story took any beauty out of this tragedy. The matter-of-fact way the deputy tells his wife the story, and the even more apathetic way that she accepts/ignores it, was Faulkner’s way of reminding us of the racial inequality in the South. Waiting until the end of the story to throw at the reader the key to the story is typical of Faulkner. We saw him waiting to shock us at the end of Sanctuary with the circumstances of Popeye’s life. He waited until near the end of Absalom, Absalom! to put together all the pieces of that puzzle. While the reader didn’t find out any shocking news at the end of â€Å"Pantaloon in Black,† we were...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Us Soldiers Imaging the Iraq War

Popular Communication, 7: 17–27, 2009 Copyright  © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1540-5702 print / 1540-5710 online DOI: 10. 1080/15405700802584304 Popular Communication, 1540-5710 1540-5702 HPPC Communication Vol. 7, No. 1, Nov 2008: pp. 0–0 US Soldiers Imaging the Iraq War on YouTube Kari Anden-Papadopoulos Stockholm University Anden-Papadopoulos US Soldiers Imaging the Iraq War on YouTube This article examines the homemade videos uploaded to YouTube by coalition soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.I interrogate how perceptions of war, and the conventions of war reporting, change as new media technologies allow soldiers to log on to the Web and upload personal views from the frontlines. The Iraqi conflict is emerging as the first YouTube war, where homemade soldiers’ videos throw into sharp relief the reportorial conventions of the mainstream news coverage. I take into consideration the format, meanings and communicative functions of these amateur videos, and the distinctive ways in which they reconfigure professional standards of ethics and authenticity.The firsthand testimonials by soldiers offer the public uncensored insights into the experience of warfare and may provide the basis for a questioning of the authority and activity of U. S. foreign policy. INTRODUCTION This article considers the specific challenges that the online proliferation of alternative imagery of violent international conflict raises for traditional journalism and its standards of ethics and credibility.I examine how modern communication technologies that allow active duty soldiers to log on to the Web from Afghanistan and Iraq, and upload personal and at times shockingly brutal views from the frontlines, can alter our perception of war and the conventions of war reporting. The most graphic images show the gruesome aftermath of suicide bombings and fierce gunfights between coalition forces and insurgents. Sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Google Video, L iveLeak, and military. com abound with violent videos and stills from combat soldiers, some set to heavy metal or rap music, and include troops using obscene language.My article examines the homemade videos uploaded to YouTube by coalition soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. These personal, poignant and sometimes shockingly brutal video testimonies clearly diverge from, and subvert traditional forms and standards for war reporting. I take into consideration the format, meanings, and communicative functions of these amateur videos, and the distinctive ways in which they reconfigure professional standards of ethics and authenticity.The soldiers’ firsthand accounts of the war have introduced new and sometimes highly controversial perspectives into the documentation of warfare that military and media elites are struggling to contain. The most contentious imagery uploaded to YouTube is undoubtedly Correspondence should be addressed to Kari Anden-Papadopoulos, Department of Journalism, Media, and Communication, Stockholm University, Karlavagen 104, P. O. Box 27 861, 115 93 Stockholm. E-mail: [email  protected] jmk. su. se 18 ANDEN-PAPADOPOULOS he live recordings of violent confrontations, in which U. S. troops can be seen taking part in aggressive and seemingly indiscriminate killings of Iraqi citizens. However, some of the soldier videos that have caused most public outrage are shot behind the scenes of combat, showing troops entertaining themselves by demeaning Iraqi children or abusing pet animals. Also, the recurrent video tributes to fallen soldiers foreground a controversial and highly emotional subject: the premature and violent deaths of young U. S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.My analysis suggests that these audiovisual productions by active duty soldiers can provide us with the kind of critical perspectives needed for a more open democratic questioning of U. S. foreign policy and the conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IMAGE W ARS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY During almost all major wars in modern times, governments have made systematic efforts to shape the visual experience of the citizenry (Brothers, 1997; Campbell, 2003; Griffin, 1999, 2004; Moeller, 1989; Roeder, 1993; Taylor, 1991, 1998; Zelizer, 1998, 2004).In recent years, increasingly professional government media management strategies have strengthened the dominance of official perspectives in the U. S. and UK mainstream news media (Robinson, 2004). The media tend to support the government course of action during military operations and privilege the official version of events (Allan & Zelizer, 2004; Thussu & Freedman, 2003; Tumber & Palmer, 2004). Central to the manufacture of this version is the representation of warfare as clinical and even compassionate.What is most striking about traditional war coverage in the Anglo-American news media is that the images are relatively bloodless and seldom hint at the capacity of modern warfare machinery to injure the human body. However, cable and satellite television, as well as new media technology, have made it more difficult for nation states to control the information crossing their borders (Webster, 2003). The information front is no longer confined to traditional mass media but extended to an increasingly porous and fast global communication space (Taylor, 2003).Alternative imagery of violent international conflict that has not been created or disseminated by mainstream media is exploding onto these new nonfiltered public spheres, and often finds its way to conventional news outlets. It includes stills and videos created by active duty soldiers and imagery produced by civilians in the war zone. Iraqi insurgent imagery is also prevalent, showing the bloody work of sectarian death squads, and U. S. soldiers being shot and blown up (Johnson, 2007).The insurgent videos, set to inspiring religious soundtracks or chanting, are not only aimed at drawing new recruits and donations but also at terrorizing of the enemy with the violent spectacle. Increasingly, these spectacles of terror are staged primarily to generate footage to be circulated in the media and thereby subject potential mass audiences to the shocking displays of destruction. The proliferation of vernacular imagery of international conflict has become a key issue of concern for both military and media elites (Kennedy, 2008).The military is uneasy with the threat such communications pose to operational security and also with their potential to subvert the understandings of war and foreign policy so powerfully framed by government and military powers. For the media, the main concern with the advent of citizen journalism is that it bypasses the established forms of news production and representation and even challenges the professional status of journalists. The popularity of internet communications in war zones has led the US SOLDIERS IMAGING THE IRAQ WAR ON YOUTUBE 19Pentagon to begin closely monitori ng what its troops post online, with special attention being paid to images that show the aftermath of combat (Greene, 2006). A policy instituted in the spring of 2005, however, requires all military bloggers inside Iraq to register with their units. It gives unit commanders the authority to review blogs and other communications before they are sent to make sure there are no violations of operational security. The internet has become a key battleground of information and image warfare, a territory long dominated by Islamist extremist groups that have demonstrated greater sophistication than the U.S. Army in their use of Web 2. 0 tools. They utilize the net for â€Å"fundraising and recruitment, training and instruction, and propaganda and psychological warfare, and for gathering open-source information with which to plan attacks† (Weimann, 2006, p. x). The online response from official U. S. military sources has been fairly subdued, characterized by an unwillingness to exploi t new media to get their message out. However, in March 2007, the U. S. Defense Department made a significant move into the cyberspace battleground with the launch of its own channel on YouTube, called Multi-National Force – Iraq. The videos uploaded to the site adhere to traditional norms of propaganda, showing American soldiers succeeding in â€Å"clinical† combat and aiding local Iraqi citizens (Christensen, 2008). The channel is a direct attempt by the U. S. Defense Department to counteract the prolific posting of damaging video clips by its own troops, an attempt at online visual management accompanied by what appears to be a concerted effort to suppress online publications by troops in the field.In May 2007, the U. S. military announced that it had blocked troops from accessing popular video-sharing sites, including YouTube and MySpace, on military computers. Shortly after, YouTube removed dozens of soldiers’ videos from its archives and suspended the acco unts of some users who had posted them. The U. S. Army is facing a dilemma over how to manage internet access by its troops. On the one hand, online communication clearly serves to boost battlefield performance and morale.Soldiers and their families visit social networking sites to exchange notes, swap images, and share recorded messages – a form of instant communication that, together with e-mail, has largely replaced the mail call. Moreover, a large majority of military bloggers in the war zone express unabashed support for the operations in Iraq and elsewhere and, most importantly, lend them a human face, which provides invaluable PR for the military. On the other hand, the Pentagon knows that enemies are proficient at mining the Web to collect intelligence on potential targets.In addition, the occasional posting of gruesome battle photographs and videos by serving soldiers not only jeopardizes operational security but also contradicts the carefully crafted image of modern warfare as clean, rational, and even humanitarian. THE â€Å"YOUTUBE WAR† A new digital generation of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq is turning to the internet in a strongly felt urge to communicate and come to terms with the realities of experiencing a war up close. Today’s soldiers are equipped with the same digital tools and technology as the media, which enable them to share their experiences with potentially vast audiences.The omnipresence of digital cameras and camcorders among serving soldiers means that they â€Å"exist in a new relationship to their experience of war, they are now potential witnesses and sources within the 1 http://youtube. com/profile? user=MNFIRAQ 20 ANDEN-PAPADOPOULOS documentation of events† (Kennedy, 2008 p. 4; see also Mortensen, 2007). This also means that the boundaries between those who are fighting and those who are documenting the war are becoming more and more blurred. In the age of digital media, the waging and represent ing of war are enmeshed almost to the point of being inseparable.Much of the imagery that coalition soldiers produce of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan is shared primarily with close family and friends, and within their units, via e-mail or burned to CDs. Still, a large amount of the imagery is made available to the public via a wide range of internet venues, in particular through the rapidly growing subculture of â€Å"milbloggers† – firstperson online diaries by serving troops. Since their first appearance in 2003, the number of milblogs has increased rapidly. Today it is estimated there are more than 2,500 milblogs (Kennedy, 2008).More recently, video-sharing platforms such as YouTube have become popular outlets for soldiers to publicize their audiovisual productions. YouTube has become one of the fastest-growing Web sites in the world – in January 2008 alone almost 79 million users watched more than 3 billion videos on the site. 2 By offering users the unprecedented ability to share their experiences inexpensively and instantly with a potential mass audience, YouTube has turned video sharing into one of the most significant features of contemporary internet culture.The Web site’s community guidelines forbid the uploading of material likely to be perceived as inappropriate or offensive, such as videos containing pornography or sexually explicit content, animal abuse, bomb making, graphic or gratuitous violence, or dead bodies. 3 Still, the enforcement of these guidelines is relatively weak, and videos that clearly violate YouTube’s terms of use are proliferating on the website (Gimeno, 2008). 4 The video clips uploaded by U. S. oldiers on YouTube cover a range of settings, activities, and emotions: combat action, routine patrolling, colloquial interaction with Iraqi civilians, recreation in the barracks, and tributes to fallen comrades. 5 It is often the case that several or all of these five general thematic cat egories can be found in individual video clips. The videos contain not only private footage created by the troops themselves but also imagery appropriated from other sources such as official military recordings, news broadcasts, music videos, and so forth.There is a significant degree of visual redundancy in these videos in the sense that certain stills and moving images tend to reappear time and again. This is also to say that the question of authorship and authenticity is difficult to decide when it comes to this type of image production. The Iraq war is being fought by what has been called the first Playstation generation, raised on Hollywood war films, graphic video games, and internet porn.When this generation of soldiers now documents and tries to communicate their experiences of actual warfare, they fall back on contemporary popular culture and its broad repertoire of war as entertainment. The video clips follow an MTV style of format, with a montage of stills and live footag e cut rapidly to music. The more violent scenes are typically edited to heavy metal or rap music, while the recurrent themes of brotherhood, mourning, and loss are set to power ballads. In creating, posing http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Youtube http://www. youtube. om/t/community_guidelines 4 Thousands of videos on the website are for example explicitly tagged with human rights violation terms such as â€Å"execution,† â€Å"torture,† â€Å"rape and sexual abuse,† and â€Å"mass killings† (Gimeno, 2008). 5 A sixth type of content is the dissenting soldier testimony: Iraq war veterans bearing public witness to dark war experiences, such as killing unarmed civilians with the consent of their superiors. Since this is a specific genre that does not entail images that document the controversial aspects of warfare, I will not consider it further in this article. 2 US SOLDIERS IMAGING THE IRAQ WAR ON YOUTUBE 21 for, and uploading these videos the American soldie rs also follow the trend in contemporary â€Å"confessional† media culture to employ digital technologies as tools for exposing and exhibiting the self on the internet or other media venues. They are part of the recent explosion of (until now) private discourses in public spaces, such as swapping intimate details about your life via MySpace and Facebook. The troops can and do post footage on personal Web sites, but the networking sites and video-sharing platforms rovide a more public arena where the videos become open to global audiences who can communicate directly with the soldiers and give feedback on their audiovisual productions. COMBAT ACTION Since the Vietnam War, news organizations and media scholars have debated the question of whether, and how, explicit images of the violence and carnage of war should be broadcast. For the soldiers serving in Iraq, however, this is not an issue. They are clearly not impartial or external observers of the war, who abide by the dictat e to serve the so-called â€Å"public interest. † They are combatants documenting the war as they wage and experience it.Many combat videos focus on the physical actions of the U. S. troops, shooting or blowing up targets that are in the distance. Most of them are edited to music, but some present live action footage with original sound, showing troops engaged in intense street battles and gunfights. Young soldiers often take what appears to be a near-sexual pleasure in the violent fighting – you hear them breathe heavily, moan, and make excited comments. One example is an entry on YouTube titled â€Å"Iraq Witness War Crimes U. S. Soldiers Murder Unarmed Civilians. †6 The clip shows a group of U. S. oldiers open fire on unidentified targets across the street from a rooftop in Ramadi. The troops cheer and laugh loudly as they fire on two cars that apparently by chance drive into the line of fire. The unarmed passengers leave the cars running in an attempt to see k protection in the nearby buildings but are summarily gunned down by the soldiers. The boasting comments made by different soldiers on the video make the scene of what appears to be unprovoked aggression even more disturbing: â€Å"See that car, I lit that fucker up! He got 30 rounds in that bitch! † â€Å"Oooh, my bitch is fucking done dude! â€Å"Dude, look at it! We fucked those people all to shit down there! † The edited to music combat videos are typically made in a fragmented style with a rapid succession of various battle scenarios. They are often set to hard rock music – a symbolic expression of the adrenaline rush felt by soldiers going into a fight. In some cases, these videos seem to glorify violence and promote a kind of adolescent machismo with soldiers taking keen delight in shooting or blowing up targets. Other combat videos however clearly distance themselves from such a pro-war sensibility and militaristic celebration of power.One example is a video titled â€Å"U. S. Army, Marines-Iraq War-Kill Insurgents (4th video Battle). † Set to the heavy metal song â€Å"Eyes of the Insane† by Slayer, it is a montage of stills and moving images that shows U. S. troops engaged in various spectacular combat scenes. The lyrics of the song are the guiding principle 6 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=JWYNn1pTwPM Added February 22, 2008, by â€Å"Slavesrevolt. † Accessed June 15, 2008. 22 ANDEN-PAPADOPOULOS for the set up of the video, taking the point of view of a soldier who suffers from the traumatic effects of war.He testifies to the â€Å"devastating insanity† of war which he keeps re-experiencing in the form of intrusive images: â€Å"I keep seeing mutilated faces/Even in my dreams/Distorted images/Flashing rapidly /Psychotically abusing me/Devouring my brain. † The video starts with an extreme close-up of an eye, in which the reflection of a soldier can be seen. This visual effect emphasizes th at the rapid flashes of violent battle imagery in the video represent horrific war experiences as they are reflected – and compulsively replayed – in the eyes and mind of a traumatized soldier.One scene shows what appears to be an unarmed Iraqi civilian driving a motorcycle being gunned down from across the street by U. S. troops. Another shows two unidentified men running for their lives down a dusty Iraqi street before they are killed by U. S. troops in a Humvee. Yet another shows three marines on a balcony as they are hit by shrapnel blasting back at high speed from a distant exploding building. The video documents and expresses the maker’s own experience of the insanity of war – the chaos, panic, vulnerability, and kill-or-get-killed logic that compels soldiers to use sometimes indiscriminate violence.It presents warfare as a traumatizing experience that leaves the soldier full of questions and disturbing memories. In many cases, the videos contain im agery that originates from military surveillance devices such as night vision cameras and aerial surveillance technologies. Here, the representation of war becomes one with the waging of war itself. One example is a clip titled â€Å"Apache Kills in Iraq,† which consists of guncam footage taken at night from an Apache helicopter. 7 The video shows a U. S. ttack aircraft using high power ammunition to eliminate three suspected weapon smugglers on the ground. The clip is disturbing not only because the Iraqi men apparently are gunned down without a confirmed identification, but also because it visualizes the devastating impact of high power artillery when used against humans. The thermal imaging system used at night shows the glowing presence of the warm human body against the dark surroundings, making the effect of impact shockingly apparent: When the 30mm rounds hit the Iraqi men, you literally see warm viscera scattering in all directions.As one of the three victims lies hel pless and wounded on the ground, the Apache pilots take aim and kill him with a second salvo, an action that would seem to qualify as a war crime. â€Å"OPERATION IRAQI BOREDOM† Soldiers have privileged access to the frontline of war and also to its back stage. They can go behind the scenes and document the more private settings, activities, and feelings that professional photographers cannot access and would not necessarily attribute news value to.The soldiers perform not only in front of the camera, but apparently even for the camera, often in playful, intimate, and humorous ways that clearly defy the more formal and distancing conventions of professional journalism. They often film themselves and their comrades goofing off for the camera, playing pranks such as capturing and overtaking a port-a-John housing a soldier dressed mockingly as a terrorist. 8 Frat-style humor is a key feature not only of these recurrent http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=LoFq9jYB2wo. Added July 24 , 2006, by â€Å"acdclights. Accessed June 19, 2008. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=XvMLREePkyY&NR=1. Added June 16, 2007, by â€Å"Sensicane. † Accessed June 29, 2008. 8 7 US SOLDIERS IMAGING THE IRAQ WAR ON YOUTUBE 23 â€Å"toilet action† clips, but of many of the videos that show troops in downtime activities. The soldiers waste time in measured nonsensical performances such as taping a comrade to the front of a Humvee, dancing poorly in their underwear, drinking maple syrup, or pouring canned air – which boils at room temperature – into the palm of their hand and watching as it burns the skin.These videos testify to the boredom that soldiers feel when not in action. Making videos is a way to offset the monotony, and also to release stress and frustration. Some of them are rather creative and witty, such as the celebrated rap song spoof about Ramadi titled â€Å"Lazy Ramadi. †9 This is a battle zone parody of the widely popular Saturday Nigh t Live’s â€Å"Lazy Sunday,† created by and starring two National Guard staff sergeants who rap jokily about insurgents, body armor, Jell-O, and their hometown Muncie, Indiana. The clip evidently struck a pop-cultural chord.It became an overnight internet sensation that has been viewed millions of times on different internet venues. Ramadi is considered to be the most dangerous city in Iraq. The rap skit makes light of a hazardous and high stress situation, providing comic relief for both soldiers and the home front. â€Å"Lazy Ramadi† has many imitators on YouTube, with music video parodies that mock the grim conditions of war. There are also more controversial examples of activities that soldiers resort to in order to entertain themselves and their YouTube audiences. A clip posted in March of 2008 shows a U.S. Marine, David Motari, throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. 10 The 17-second clip generated international attention and sparked outrage from animal right groups around the world when it came to light. In the video, Motari smiles and jokes with his comrades before he hurls the puppy over a cliff as it yelps. An unknown person operating the video camera is heard laughing and another voice saying, â€Å"That’s mean. That’s mean, Motari. † The video clip caused the Marine Corps to expel David Motari and to take disciplinary measures against a second Marine involved.TRIBUTES TO THE FALLEN US SOLDIERS Tribute videos foreground a controversial and highly emotional topic: the deaths of U. S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are made as specific tributes to individual soldiers or as a generic homage to the U. S. troops serving and dying overseas. The former are typically created by close family members or friends and show private recordings from the funeral ceremonies interspersed with snapshots from family albums. The latter often present melancholic meditations on the ordeals U. S. troops face in Iraq, highlighting the harsh conditions and consequences of their mission.These memorial videos almost obsessively parade images of coffins draped in the American flag, a motif that inevitably conjures up the ghosts of Vietnam. In contrast to much official imagery, they also show seriously wounded American soldiers, soldiers being hit, and soldiers breaking down and crying. The Pentagon and the Bush administration have gone to great length to avoid images of U. S. casualties being broadcast or published in the U. S. media and have enforced a ban on pictures of the flag-draped coffins returning home from Iraq and 9 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=5k3L-_Snu7k.Added May 15, 2006 by SSG Matt Wright and SSG Josh Dobbs. Accessed June 30, 2008. See also Lazy Ramadi’s official site at http://lazyramadi. com 10 The video was viewed tens of thousands of times before YouTube took it down because of a violation of the site’s terms of use. The clip is still widely available on t he internet, however. 24 ANDEN-PAPADOPOULOS Afghanistan. Military and governmental officials always have been careful to prevent images that show their own troops dead or seriously wounded, since such sights might arouse fears about war’s personal and social consequences and undermine faith in the cause.What makes these images so contentious is not only the disturbing sight – actual or symbolic – of dead bodies, but the repressed question that they might evoke: Is the war worth the cost? Hence, official narratives have persistently sought to put depictions of American death in a meaningful context. Blood is sacrifice, spilled for sovereignty and freedom. Corpses are swiftly transformed into martyrs, whose surrender warrants our redemption. Mortality is relied on to project immortality, impregnability, and a reinvigorated sense of national purpose.In contrast, soldier tribute videos present more mixed messages. The themes of bravery, camaraderie, and patriotic pr ide are counterbalanced or even nullified by distressing expressions of pain, vulnerability, and irretrievable personal loss. One example is an entry on YouTube titled â€Å"Final Salute: American Soldiers in Iraq. †11 The clip starts with footage taken from a moving military vehicle, shot through the front windshield. After a couple of seconds, a roadside bomb explodes and shatters the windshield right before our eyes, as smoke and fire fill the screen.The spectacular scene positions the viewer with the vulnerable soldiers, making palpable the experience of lethal danger. This is followed by a slide show with images of soldiers crying, embracing, and paying tribute to fallen comrades. A recurring motif is the ritual shrines assembled of the dead soldier’s military gear. These memorials symbolically resurrect the dead soldier, with the rifle as a body placed in the boots, crowned by the helmet and dog tag. Sometimes they also include a formal portrait of the deceased. Images of flag-draped coffins are also repeatedly shown in the video, as are photographs of wounded U.S. soldiers. Some of the latter are extremely graphic, such as a close-up of the remains of a soldier’s blown-off feet. The overall theme of many tribute videos is the anguish and grief that the casualties of war cause for the U. S. soldiers and their families. They ask us to remember and fully appreciate the sacrifice of the young men and women serving overseas. Where the military and government elites attempt to spin American death into a political weapon, used to reinforce loyalty to the nation and to the military effort, tribute videos lament the loss of young lives in their own right.They insist that we recognize and recall the fallen American soldiers as persons, as unique individuals, whose sacrifice can only truly be measured through the consideration of what they meant to those who knew and loved them. INTERACTION WITH IRAQI CIVILIANS A great number of the soldier vi deos contain images of Iraqi children, the epitome of innocence and hope for the future. Many clips clearly attempt to cultivate the image of a good relationship between U. S. forces and local civilians, showing troops in amiable exchanges with Iraqi children and families. 2 The soldiers hand out candy, toys, and books to happy children, play with them, and give them medical care. The Iraqi children laugh, give a â€Å"thumbs up,† and wave 11 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=WIw-BP4zfW4. Added August 27, 2006, by â€Å"prezjackie. † Accessed June 27, 2008. 12 â€Å"Iraq War: The Soldiers,† at http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=FUm05_I8xJ4. Accessed July 16, 2008. Iraq video â€Å"Why† at http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=hPVPqERfTM4. Accessed July 16, 2008. US SOLDIERS IMAGING THE IRAQ WAR ON YOUTUBE 25 small American flags, and are often seen embracing and even kissing the troops.These clips are obviously intended to project an image of the U. S. and coa lition soldiers as humane and compassionate. They reflect and reinforce the official U. S. framing of the Iraq conflict as a â€Å"war of liberation† – the troops appear as the longed-for saviors of an undeveloped nation in need of paternal guidance. Other clips, however, employ the symbolic power of the innocent child to communicate strong anti-war messages. 13 Here, the Iraqi children are foregrounded as defenseless victims who cry out for us to take a critical stand on a conflict that deprives even infants of their tender life and limb.These videos contain graphic depictions of children seriously wounded, bleeding, screaming, and crying – often with a direct address to the camera, imploring us to act upon their unjust suffering. Such imagery evidently reflects negatively on the military effort in Iraq. By implication, if not explicitly, the U. S. forces are portrayed as cruel assaulters – rather than fatherly protectors – of the people of Iraq, bringing injury, death, and destruction to the country. In contrast to the feel good visuals of smiling Iraqi children, these depictions present the war as immoral and misguided.Apart from the clips that implicate U. S. soldiers in physical cruelties, there are also videos that document troops abusing Iraqi children in a more psychological sense. A notorious clip, â€Å"Iraqi Kids Run for Water,† shows U. S. soldiers dangle bottles of clean water over the back of a truck. 14 Much to the amusement of the soldiers, the trick makes Iraqi children run after the truck for a long period in a vain attempt to reach the bottles. Another clip shows U. S. soldiers entertaining themselves by teaching a group of Iraqi children (who apparently do not understand English) to say â€Å"Fuck Iraq. 15 In another video, a U. S. soldier dupes a clueless Iraqi boy to admit that he has â€Å"fucked donkey. †16 Needless to say, the humanitarian halo fades in the light of such stark enactment s of patronizing, neo-colonial arrogance. CONCLUSIONS The frames of media and military elites no doubt remain powerful controls on the public understanding of international affairs. Still, the explosion of vernacular imagery of international conflict is becoming an increasingly important factor in the representation and shaping of the news and the newsworthy, and in mediating perceptions of war and foreign policy.The Iraqi conflict is emerging as the first YouTube war, where homemade soldiers’ videos throw into sharp relief the reportorial conventions of mainstream news coverage. Contrary to the myths of national glory, macho heroism, and clinical warfare manufactured by military and media elites, the firsthand testimonials by soldiers actually living the war offer the public uncensored insights into the mundane, violent, and even depraved faces of warfare. They challenge traditional 13 â€Å"War in Iraq† at http://www. youtube. com/watch? =4Gu7pswE43Y&mode=related&sea rch=. Accessed July 16, 2008. â€Å"Iraq anti war video† at http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=3wKG9T1xPwY. Accessed July 16, 2008. 14 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=L71Y1galpyA. Accessed July 2007, 2008. This clip has been submitted to YouTube numerous times by different users. 15 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=eBGi8jr_CBE&feature=related. Added December 18, 2006, by â€Å"tmacdagreat. † Accessed July 27, 2008. 16 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=kpHWaUSfYj8&feature=related. Added February 7, 2007, by â€Å"666stunts666. Accessed July 27, 2008. 26 ANDEN-PAPADOPOULOS journalism’s claim to authenticity and credibility precisely by showing that which the mainstream news will not show and thus rendering dubious the professional practices of selection, framing, and editing. The authenticity of the soldiers’ experience lends a heightened sense of veracity and immediacy to their representations of war. The â€Å"reality effect† is further undersco red by the soldiers’ personal points of view and the often raw emotionalism and poor technical quality of their amateur videos.Many of the soldier videos not only conflict with the official message that the military mission in Iraq is about rebuilding and peace but also with the persistent marketing – and popular perception – of â€Å"our† troops as fair, courageous, and caring. They show aggressive fighting by U. S. and coalition troops that at times revel in violently destroying the enemy. Other recordings contradict the image of a benign American presence in Iraq by showing troops unscrupulously abusing Iraqi children and pets – the embodiment of a degenerate abuse of power.The soldier videos also challenge the mainstream news convention of hiding the disturbing sight of dead and badly injured bodies from public view. They display gruesome images of dead and mutilated Iraqi insurgents and civilians, and also of U. S. casualties. The many memoria l videos also defy the mainstream practice of transforming dead soldiers into generic symbols of national purpose and rectitude. Instead, they urge us to remember the fallen soldier as a specific individual whose death has devastating consequences for the loved ones left behind.This highlighting of war’s personal and social consequences undermines the official attempts at concealing these costs of war. Another sight not often found in official imagery, but frequently so in the soldier videos, is of troops crying. Here, the soldiers openly express their vulnerability when faced with the fatalities of war. If such a display of emotions contradicts the ideal of macho heroism, this is even true of some of the mundane imagery showing troops killing time in the barracks.Their playful performances for the camera abound with obscenities and adolescent humor, showing an unruly, even silly side of the troops that works against the official image of the regimented U. S. soldier. Yet the y serve to put a human face on the U. S. military. For better and worse, many of the soldier videos bring us closer to the troops as real people, as opposed to prescribed images of dutiful soldiers who place their lives at risk in order to restore security to the sacred homeland.The homemade soldier videos represent a way of dealing with the stress, agony, and boredom of experiencing a war first-hand. Making these videos, though often a form of entertainment, can be seen as a coping mechanism, helping the soldiers to make sense of and communicate about a war that has gotten more and more complicated since Saddam’s statue fell. These new sources allow for more diverse points of view that complement, and at times disrupt the traditional framings of war.As my analysis of the soldier videos makes apparent, these nonprofessional contributions can provide us with critical insights into the complex, painful realities of experiencing a war directly, thereby offering the basis for a m ore open and democratic questioning of the authority and activity of U. S. foreign policy. It may be that these dispatches lack a coherent explanation for why the bombs are going off, and that it is often difficult to ascertain what is going on in each video, when and where it was shot and who shot it.Still, it is precisely the lack of prescribed framings and official narratives that make the soldier videos valuable, in that they provide raw, often unfiltered views that resist an all too neat packaging of war by those who direct it. The soldiers, as war insiders, can record, synthesize, and disseminate information that circumvents official channels of discourse. Their productions include the messy, visceral, chaotic, mundane, and emotional aspects of war often left out in the sanitized reports available on the network news. These, along with videos from insurgents, are transforming YouTube andUS SOLDIERS IMAGING THE IRAQ WAR ON YOUTUBE 27 other video-sharing sites into alternative n ews networks. This multiplying of perspectives, accessible on the World Wide Web, empowers internet users to go beyond the one-way broadcasts directed at them and to actively seek out other points of view on the tangled realities of war and its policies. REFERENCES Allan, S. , & Zelizer, B. (Eds. ). (2004). Reporting war: Journalism in wartime. London and New York: Routledge. Brothers, C. (1997). War and photography: A cultural history. London and New York: Routledge. Campbell, D. (2003). 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