Childbirth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Childbirth - Essay Example The rate of vaginal birth after previous cesarean increased from1989 till 1996 and declined between 1996 and 2003. In the year 2003, 27.6% of all births in the United States resulted from cesarean deliveries. (MMWR, 54(02), 46) An institutional culture that views childbirth as pathological might have contributed to an extent for the increase in cesarean deliveries in the United States. The number of voices urging to make childbirth a human and social, rather than a medical, event signifies this. However, the institutional culture is not the sole reason for these undesirable results. The safety issues of mother and child and medico legal considerations appear to have contributed to the rise. A doctor is more likely to be sued for not doing a cesarean than for doing one. In addition, a high rate of malpractice by the midwives and the insurance costs favored the pregnant women to seek the services of an obstetrician. Childbirth is either by means of a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section. Cesarean sections are carried out by obstetricians. A few alternatives to a normal natural vaginal delivery are there for women in US. They are natural birth with pain medication, aromatherapy at birth, home birth, midwife delivery, birthing centers, water birth and Doula assistance. In a natural birth with pain medication, medication is given to alleviate the

Balanced Diet for an Adult Essay Example for Free

Balanced Diet for an Adult Essay Food is an integral part of human life providing energy for cellular activities to keep us healthy. According to World Health Organization (2013), healthy nutrition is ingesting an adequate and well balanced diet in relation to the body’s dietary needs and when combined with regular physical activities is the cornerstone to good health. A diet containing the right portions of all the five food groups of the Eatwell Plate (figure1 and appendix1 for recommended servings) known as a balanced diet will provide the organic macronutrients including proteins, carbohydrates and lipids and the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals to sustain life. Only ingested carbohydrates, proteins and lipids will count towards total caloric intake and will be digested into monomers like glucose for absorption and assimilation. National Health Service (2012) recommends daily caloric intake of 2500Kcal and 2000Kcal which will be derived from the proteins, lipids and carbohydrate sources in a diet for average adult males and females respectively. Age, sex, health condition and physical activities influence dietary needs. This essay will discuss a balanced diet for an adult including the structure, sources, functions, recommended daily allowance (RDAs), deficiency and excessive effects of the macronutrients. Also the micronutrients and water which are not considered as nutrients will be discussed. THE FOOD PYRAMID [pic]Figure1 (NHS 2011) Carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. British Nutrition Foundation (2013), recommends that 47.7% (203g) and 48.5% (275g) of daily energy should come from carbohydrates for females and males respectively with 29g being roughages. Carbohydrates exist naturally or refined as monosaccharides that are reducing sugars. Monosaccharides build the complex carbohydrates, disaccharides and polysaccharides through dehydration synthesis. Monosaccharides have general formula (CH2O)n where ‘n’ determines whether pentose(5Carbons) or hexose (6Carbons). Glucose found in maple syrup, fructose in corn syrup and galactose in honey are hexose-isomers; having the same formula, C6H12O6 but different structures. The disaccharides with the general formula C12H22O11 are sucrose made from fructose and glucose, maltose from two glucose molecules and lactose from galactose and glucose. Sucrose is derived from beet sugar, lactose from milk and maltose from vinegar. The polysaccharides with general formula (C6H10O5)n where 40≠¤n≠¤3000, exist as starch or non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) which can be soluble or insoluble. Starch consists of glucose molecules joined by glycosidic bonds. The NSPs include oligosaccharide (raffinose) and cellulose (dietary fibre). Potatoes, yams and cassava are rich in starch and are very digestible. Whole grain cereals, legumes (appendix2), fruits and storage vegetables like asparagus and cabbage are rich in the NSPs. Raffinose is an indigestible trisaccharide of fructose,glucose and galactose with formula C18H32O16. Animal sources of carbohydrates are liver and scallops. Carbohydrates provide sweetness and are the primary source of energy especially for brain and blood cells. Cellular respiration converts glucose monomers into ATP. Fats cannot be oxidised without glucose. Most NSPs are partially digestible or indigestible due to lack of ÃŽ ±-galactosidae (enzyme) in GI Tract. They reduce glycaemia index and plasma cholesterol levels, increase bile acid excretion, promote normal laxation and prevent breast cancer, gallstones, haemorrhoids, and irritable bowel syndrome (Kumar et all 2012). Furthermore, Kumar (2012) concluded that excessive carbohydrates will cause dental decay, kidney damage, stroke, diabetes due to obesity and short term conditions like hyperglycaemia. Carbohydrate deficiency will cause constipation, fatigue, weak immunity, muscle cramps and ketosis; this is very rare as 50g/day of carbohydrate is needed to prevent ketosis. THE DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS TO FORM MALTOSE [pic]Figure2 EQUATION: (C6H12O6 + C6H12O6 = C12H22O11 + H2O) (Marshall University 2012) Proteins or polypeptides consist of three to 100000 or more long chains of the organic molecules called amino acids joined together by covalent peptide bonds. A protein of two amino acids is called a dipeptide. There are 20 common forms of amino acids either termed non-essential (synthesised by the liver) and essential that needs to be ingested. Proteins consist of a central carbon atom, a hydrogen atom, amino group (-NH2), Carboxylic group (-COOH) and the variable R group (figure3). The term amino acid is derived from the amino and carboxylic groups that all amino acids have in common. According Kuil (2012), principal sources of proteins are lean meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, cereals, legumes (refer to appendix3), cereals and processed food like low-fat milk. Proteins form about 45% of human body and perform the following seven essential functions: structural (hair, ligaments), contractile (muscles), transport (haemoglobin), metabolic regulation (enzymes), buffering, defence (antibodies) and coordination and control (hormones) (Martini 2006). Haemoglobin transports oxygen and a lack of protein (haemoglobin) can deny vital organs the needed oxygen for metabolism. Protein deficiency can also cause fatigue, anaemia, weak immunity, skin problems, impairment of cognition and mental health problems. Whereas excessive proteins can cause obesity, osteoporosis and kidney stones (Georgetown University 2012). About 15% of an adults’ caloric intake should come from protein equivalent to 56g and 46g for male and female respectively (Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2012). DEHYDRATION OF AMINO ACIDS TO FORM DIPEPTIDE PROTEINS [pic]Figure3 (Marshall University 2012) Lipids are made up of an even number of carbon from 12 to 20, oxygen, hydrogen and sometimes traces of phosphorus, sulphur or nitrogen. Lipids are grouped into 4: steroids, phospholipids, waxes and glycerides. Most of the 70 identified lipids are synthesised by the body whereas linoleic (omega6) and alpha-linolenic (omega3) acids are two essential lipids to be ingested. They are mostly insoluble due to the long chain of hydrophobic carbon-carbon end bonded to a short hydrophilic carboxyl group. The double covalent bond, (C=C) determines whether saturated (no C=C) or monounsaturated (1 C=C) or polyunsaturated (2 or more C=C). Glycerides are made up of glycerol bonded to 1 or more fatty acids by dehydration synthesis, triglyceride with 3 fatty acids is the predominant of the lipids (refer figure4). Unsaturated sources of lipids are olive oil, peanut, salmon, halibut and avocados. Saturated sources are butter, sausage and hydrogenated oil. According to British Dietetic Association (2013), adults should consume not more than 20-30g of saturated-fat with 5g or less being trans-fat since saturated lipids are high in cholesterol. The structural lipids form cell membranes. Also fat cushions and protects organs including liver, heart, and kidney, energy source; twice as much as carbohydrates and proteins, thermoregulation (insulation), sex hormones, transport vitamins and monounsaturated fat can decrease cholesterol levels (USA Department of Agriculture, 2010). Excessive consumption of lipids will lead to obesity which is characterised by high BMI as shown in appendix 2, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, colorectal cancer and diabetes, whereas deficiency will result in the body lacking the vital vitamins A,D,E and K (Schenker, 2012). DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS TO FORM TRIGLYCERIDE [pic]Figure4 (Marshall University 2012) The micronutrients, vitamins and minerals are needed in minute quantities. Minerals can be classified as major or trace of which a few are essential including sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, iodine, etc. (refer to appendix4 for RDAs). According to Higdon and Drake (2011), sources of minerals are plants that derive them from the soil and move on the food chain to the herbivores like cattle that eat them. Spinach, legumes, whole grains, dairy products, red meat, soybeans, salmon, cod, iodised table salt (iodine, sodium, chlorine) and eggs are excellent sources of minerals. According to Whitley and Rolfes (2011), minerals perform the following functions: the electrolytes, sodium, potassium and chlorine transmit nerve impulses, control fluid balance (providing optimum pH for enzyme activities), control blood pressure and relax and contract muscles. Zinc, copper and selenium are antioxidants; they reduce the risk of heart diseases. Iron forms haemoglobin. Sodium and potassium coregulate ATP production. Calcium and phosphorus control blood clotting and together with magnesium build bones, teeth, maintain muscle and nerve cells. Iodine is needed for the production of thyroxin; deficiency will cause goitre. Since some minerals are coenzymes, deficiency will cause malfunctioning cellular activities (digestion, metabolism). Iron deficiency causes anaemia whereas calcium, phosphorus and magnesium (hypocalcaemia) deficiency will cause osteoporosis. Calcium, magnesium and the electrolytes deficiencies will cause weakness, muscle cramps and impaired alertness. Zinc deficiency causes diarrhoea, skin and prostate cancers. Their intake should be balanced with use and excretion as excess may cause Hyperkalaemia (potassium), kidney-stones (calcium) and hypernatremia (sodium). Vitamins are grouped into water soluble (WSV) including C and B complex vitamins; they cannot be stored and therefore, it is imperative to be part of a balanced diet, and fat soluble (FS) including vitamins K,E,D, and A; they can be stored (refer appendix 5 for RDA). Green leafy vegetables (lettuce), oranges, kiwi fruit, avocados, whole grains and cereals, banana, dairy products, liver, poultry, pork, oily fish, eggs, soybeans, chickpeas and nuts are excellent sources of the vitamins (Firth 2011). Vitamin K can be synthesised in the intestine which helps the blood clot whereas Vitamin D can be synthesised by the body using sunlight to help the absorption of calcium and phosphorus (Cranney et al (2010). Vitamins A and C build immunity. Vitamins B1,B2,B3, and biotin help release energy. Vitamin A, niacin and pantothenic acid aid the absorption and use of macronutrients monomers. Vitamin C makes collagen and enhances folate absorption. Vitamin deficiency generally causes weak immunity and osteoporosis (Vitamin D), scurvy (Vitamin C), beriberi (B1), anaemia (B12 and folate) and night blindness (Vitamin A). Excessive amounts of vitamins E and K are usually not harmful but excess A,D and the WSV which can be excreted cause kidney problems and hypercalcaemia (excess D). Excessive vitamin C causes diarrhoea (NHS 2012). In conclusion, spending excessively on supplements and creams as well as engaging in dangerous diets like the Atkins Diet are not necessary. The secret to healthy living is carefully selecting the right proportions of food from the Eatwell plate, drinking enough water in combination with regular exercises. Figure 5 and appendix 6 show functions of water. Consider the positives and negatives when selecting food products such as red meat; rich in protein but high in cholesterol whereas fatty fish enhances calcium absorption. Soybean, liver, green leafy vegetables, whole grains and legumes will provide almost all the nutrients; combine them in your diet in right proportions for optimal hormonal, metabolic, mental and physical functions of the body. It is important to consult a doctor before starting any diet as nutritional needs are affected by health and some medications affect absorption of nutrients. FUNCTIONS OF WATER IN THE BODY [pic]Figure 5 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2013 LIST OF APPENDIXES APPENDIX 1 |FOOD GROUP |SERVINGS PER DAY | |Carbohydrates including bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and other starchy foods |6-10 servings | |Fruits and vegetables |3-5 servings | |Meat, fish, eggs, beans and nuts |2-3 servings | |Milk and dairy foods |2-3 servings | |Food and drinks high in fat and/or in sugar |Use sparingly | University of Michigan Integrative Medicine, 2010 APPENDIX 2: OBESITY AND BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) |BMI |LEVEL OF OBESITY | |Below 18.5 |Underweight | |From 18.5-24.9 |Healthy Range | |From 25-30 |Pre Obese | |Above 30 |Obese | NHS, 2012 APPENDIX 3: FOOD GROUPS AND EXAMPLES |FOOD GROUP |EXAMPLES | |Legumes |Beans, Lentils, Peas, Chickpeas, French beans, Kidney , soybeans, Coco beans etc. | |Whole grains |Barley, Corn, Millet, Oats, Rice, Milo, Wheat | |Green leafy vegetables |Spinach, Broccoli, Lettuce, Cabbage, Mustard green, Kale examples | APPENDIX 4: MINERALS AND THEIR RDA |SYMBLE |SOURCES |RDA | |Na (Sodium) |Table Salt, Sea vegetables, spinach, milk |6g | |Ca (Calcium) |Salmon, Sardine, eggs, dairy products, nuts, oregano |700mg | |K (Potassium) |Spinach, legumes, tomatoes, banana, avocado, whole grains and |3500mg | | |yams | | |P (Phosphate) |Fish, poultry, oats, rice, red meat, |700mg | |Fe (Iron) |Eggs, spinach, shrimps, soybeans, lentils, tomatoes, olives, |M=8.7mg / F=4.8mg | | |tomatoes | | |Mg (Magnesium) |Spinach, soybean, sea vegetables, tomatoes, beans, brazil nuts|M=300mg / F=270mg | |I (Iodine) |Eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, yoghurt, strawberries, iodised |0.14mg | | |salt | | |Se (Selenium) |Cod, salmon, garlic, lamb, cheese, calf liver, barley, brazil |75mcg | | |nuts | | |Zn (Zinc) |Calf liver, spinach, eggs, oats, oyster, lean pork and beef, |M=5.5-9.5mg / F=4-7mg | | |asparagus | | USA Department of Agriculture / Department of Health, 2010 APPENDIX 5: VITAMINS AND THEIR RDA’S |VITAMIN |SOURCES |RDA | |Retinol (A) |Liver, fish oil, carotenoids, milk fortified |M=0.7mg / F=0.6mg | |Ascorbic acid (C) |Citrus (oranges), kiwi fruit, broccoli |40mg | |Thiamin (B1) |Liver, pork, whole grains and products |M=1mg / F=0.8mg | |Riboflavin (B2) |Liver, eggs, milk, rice, mushrooms |M=1.3mg / F=1.1mg | |Niacin (B3) |Poultry, fish, beef, peanut butter, legumes |M=17mg / F=13mg | |Pyridoxine (B6) |Liver, pork, legumes, fish, whole grains |M=1.4mg / F=1.2mg | |Cobalamin (B12) |Beef, poultry, cod, salmon, cheese, eggs |0.0015mg | |Vitamin E |Vegetable oil, green vegetables, nuts |12mg | |Folate |Broccoli, peas, asparagus, brown rice |0.2mg | |Pantothenic acid |Milk, fruits, veggies, meat, fish, grains |10mg | |Biotin |Cottage cheese, liver, eggs, peanut, grain |300mcg | |Vitamin K |Green vegetables, fruits, nuts |75mg | |Note that Vitamin K can be synthesised in the intestine whereas Vitamin D can be derived salmon, fortified cereals and juices, milk and | |sunlight (No RD A but 15minutes in the sun thrice a week is enough) | USA Department of Agriculture / Department of Health, 2010 APPENDIX 6: RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE FOR WATER |SEX |RDA FOR WATER | |MALE |3.7L with no upper limit increase with exercise to rehydrate | |FEMALE |2.7L with no upper limit increase with exercise to rehydrate and increase intake when | | |breast feeding. | INSTITUTE OF MEDICENE 2004 REFERENCE LIST ONLINE âž ¢ British Dietetic Association (2013) Food fact sheet: cholesterol [Online] Available from: http://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/cholesterol.pdf [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ British Nutrition Foundation (2013) Confusion on fat and heart health [Online]. Available from: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritioninthenews/headlines/fats [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (2012) Nutrition for everyone: Protein [Online] Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html [Accessed on 19/12/2013]. âž ¢ Cranney et al, (2007) Effectiveness and safety of vitamin D in relation to bone health [Online] Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18088161?dopt=Abstract [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. (2004) Dietary reference intakes: Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride and Sulphate. Washington DC: Institute of Medicine. [Online]. Available from: www.iom.edu/Reports/2004/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-Water-Potassium- [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board (2010) Dietary reference intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington DC: Institute of Medicine. [Online]. Available from: http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Fil.pdf [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Marshall University (2012) [Online] Available from: http://science.marshall.edu/murraye/alpha_amylase.htm [Accessed on 18/02/2013]. âž ¢ Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research [no date] Nutrition and healthy eating: functions of water in the body. [Online] Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM00594 [Accessed on 19/02/2013]. âž ¢ National Health Service (2011) [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eatwell-plate.aspx [Accessed on 17/02/2013]. âž ¢ National Health Service (2011) [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/3215.aspx?CategoryID=51 [Accessed on 17/02/2013]. âž ¢ National Health Service (2012) [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1126.aspx?CategoryID=51SubCategoryID=164 [Accessed on 17/02/2013]. âž ¢ United States of America. Department of Agriculture/Department of Health and Human Services (2010), Dietary guidelines for Americans, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. [Online] Available from: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf [Accessed: 19/02/2013]. âž ¢ University of Michigan Integrative Medicine (2010) Healing foods pyramid [Online] Available from: http://www.med.umich.edu/umim/food-pyramid/fats.htm [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ World Health Organisation (2013) [Online] Available from: http://www.who.int/topics/nutrition/en/ [Accessed: 17/02/2013]. ONLINE JOURNALS âž ¢ Kumar et all (2012) Dietary roles of non-starch polysaccharides in human nutrition: a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Volume 52(10). [Online] Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2010.512671?url_ver=Z39.88-2003rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.orgrfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed. [Accessed on 23/02/2013]. âž ¢ Schenker S. (2012). UK recommendations for dietary fat: should they be reassessed in light of the recent FAO/WHO recommendations? Nutrition Bulletin, 37(1), pp. 37-46. [Online] Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2011.01946.x/full [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. BOOKS âž ¢ Firth L. (2011) Nutrition and diet. Issues 205, Cambridge: Independence Educational Press. âž ¢ Higdon, J. and Drake, V. J. (2011) An evidenced-based approach to vitamins and minerals: health benefits and intake recommendation. 2nd Edition. New York: Thieme. âž ¢ Kuil W. A D. (2012) Sources of dietary protein and risk of hypertension in a general Dutch population, British Journal of Nutrition, 108 (10), pp. 1897-1903. âž ¢ Martini F. H. (2006) Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology. 7th Edition. San Francisco: Pearson Education. pp. 39-58. âž ¢ Whitney, E. and Rolfes S. R. (2011) Understanding nutrition. 12th Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth. BIBLIOGRAPHY ONLINE âž ¢ British Dietetic Association (2013) Food fact sheet: sugar [Online] Available from: http://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/Sugar.pdf [Accessed on 20/02/02013] âž ¢ Georgetown University (2012) Proteins: what does it do? [Online] Available from: http://www.georgetown.edu/admin/auxiliarysrv/dining/nutrition/protein.html [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Stoner, L et al (2012) Preventing a Cardiovascular Disease Epidemic among Indigenous Populations through Lifestyle Changes. [Online] Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354392/ [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. BOOKS âž ¢ Blomhoff R, et al. Health benefits of nuts: potential role of antioxidants. British Journal of Nutrition. 2006; 96. âž ¢ New Zealand. Ministry of Health (2003), Food and nutrition guideline for healthy adults: a background paper, Wellington: Ministry of Health. âž ¢ Rolfes, S. R. et al (2009) Understanding normal and clinical nutrition. 8th Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth. ONLINE VIDEOS âž ¢ Dairy: essential nutrition or health saboteur? – Keon, J. (2011) [Online video]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp9MwjW5QX0 [Accessed on 20/02/2013]. âž ¢ Good nutrition made easy: how to grow a healthy adult Davidson, L. (2012) [Online video]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qAeAzreESg [Accessed on 20/02/2013].

Personality and Finding Out Who You Are Essay -- Personality Psycholog

Personality and Finding Out Who You Are Many people go throughout life not knowing exactly who they are. The personality of some one is who they are. Many psychologists have tried to define what they envisioned personality to be, and by analyzing their theories I will try to find out who I am. Carl Jung developed the concept of introverts and extroverts. Introverts are people who tend to be preoccupied with the internal world of their own thought, feelings, and experiences. Extroverts are people who tend to be interested in the external world of people and things. Personally I do not believe personality can be put into just two columns as Jung has filtered it into. I do not feel like I am extroverted or introverted. It all depends upon what mood and situation I am in. The Big Five theory has a better description of personality. It is based on five categories, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Within these categories there are traits that people have, and personality can be based through the traits of the categories. I feel like this gives a better idea of some one’s personality because going through the categories I can tell that I am imaginative, conscientious, optimistic, good natured and sometimes relaxed, but also sometimes anxious. This gives a much better idea of what my personality is than saying my personality is somewhere in between introversion and extroversion. Sigmund Freud claims that personality ...

‘The Passenger’ in Terms of David Bordwell’s

Essay Question: Discuss The Passenger in terms of David Bordwell’s analysis of the elements that characterise art cinema. Cherish Perez de Tagle (12339949) [email  protected] com European Cinema Since 1945 Module Code: 2FLM7H9 Ian Green January 10, 2011 Bordwell (1979) criticizes the idea that art cinema exists as an offshoot of classic narrative cinema. He argues that it is a way of storytelling in its own right. According to him, art cinema has a set of formal conventions relating to modes of production/consumption as well as having a discrete film practice and particular viewing conventions.Art cinema is likewise situated within the historical existence of film practice. In this essay I will discuss how Antonioni’s The Passenger (1975) can be classed as an art film according to the elements that characterise art cinema as put forth by Bordwell. Historically speaking, the Passenger was made in 1975, post World War II, one of the conditions Bordwell states as being a contributor to the emergence of art cinema. Changes to the court’s statutes regarding film, the wane of the dominance of Hollywood cinema, together with an increase in international commerce, made the production of films for an international audience desirable.Correspondingly, branching out into foreign markets opened up a niche for co-productions. The Passenger was likewise an Italian-French-Spanish co-production with American star Jack Nicholson, shot on location in Spain, Germany, North Africa, and the UK. Bordwell argues that whilst themes may differ across the broad range of films classified as art cinema, the functions of these themes within the individual films are in fact consistent and make use of certain narrative and stylistic principles. Of these he cites three principal traits that can be identified with art cinema – realism, authorship, and ambiguity.It can be argued that in terms of these traits The Passenger is a good example of art cinema. Realism Tak en in opposition to the classical narrative structure of dominant Hollywood cinema, a number of differing characteristics can be drawn in contrast to art cinema. In classical narratives, a narrative structure based on cause and effect logic motivates the cinematic representation. This is generally present alongside narrative parallelism or psychologically defined, goal-oriented characters. To this end narrative time and space are constructed to serve the telling of the story in a linear fashion.In terms of cinematic style, the use of specific types of cutting such as continuity, cross-cutting, and montage serve these ends, and characteristics of the mise-en-scene, cinematography, and sound further the plausibility and unity of the story-world. These techniques are employed for the primary goal of advancing the story. Other devices are utilized to create this unity of form such as the use of genre in order to not only create and likewise fulfil audience expectations but also to creat e discrete markets for production and distribution.Whereas classical narrative cinema is founded on the above, Bordwell argues that the structure of art cinema is far looser, and not driven by the cause-effect linkage of events insomuch as the motivations of art cinema differ form those of classical narrative. Of the three predominant characteristics of art cinema identified, Bordwell states that the use of realism and authorship create unity and serve as the motivations in the art film rather than cause and effect or the pursuit of a goal.Realism, meaning the use of real locations and real problems, also refers to what is considered â€Å"realistic†. By this, what is meant is psychologically complex characters and psychological causation as opposed to external situations and events that serve as the motivations for action or moving the story forward. Whereas in the classical narrative film the characters are defined by clearly defined goals/desires/objectives and clearly def ined traits, art cinema characters can be inconsistent, and prone to question themselves about their goals.Their choices are vague or non-existent. Realism in The Passenger After an initial decision to assume the identity of an acquaintance he finds dead in an adjacent room, protagonist David Locke throughout the rest of the film finds himself caught within situations as opposed to activating those situations. Superficially resembling a film from the thriller genre, Locke moves from city to city, according to a set of appointments defined by the diary of the deceased Robertson.Upon changing identities by swapping passport pictures, Locke is taken from one situation to the next by events not of his own design but by those determined by the identity he has assumed. He finds plane tickets directing him to his next destination, and he goes to an airport security locker not knowing what he will find inside. Following the appointments, the man who was David Robertson unfolds, his work in Africa and elsewhere, his drives and purpose as a gunrunner to the African rebels.There ensue further mysteries as Locke follows the trail of the diary including the unresolved mystery of the names within it. Who is Daisy? Inasmuch as these motivations are revealed to Locke they do not enable him to internally take them on for himself. Whilst externally assuming the person of Robertson the gunrunner, he is internally and psychologically trapped to forever be himself, David Locke. He questions himself throughout the film in regards to whether he will continue to live out Robertson’s mission as when he falters about whether or not to go to the appointment in Tangier.Although he follows Robertson’s real and situation-driven commitments, his own reasons for taking on the new identity are psychologically driven. This psychological causation is what defines Nicholson’s character and the realism of his inner psychological torment. The desire to be someone other than hi mself, to run away from himself and his reality, are what drive him. Even so, these are not stated or admitted to himself. The film has little dialogue, and likewise even less of what could be considered as exposition. It is through the treatment of the film that Locke’s psychological drives are indicated.Long shots, choice of framings in the extreme wide, focus on what may be regarded as empty space, and a drifting camera, serve to show not what would be thought of as important or regarded as the focal point in classical narrative. Rather the protagonist is placed in the context of the landscape, places, and situations around him. The camera seems at many times distant, disengaged from the action, wandering across a car-rental sign, or onto a small detail such as ants walking up a wall, or sometimes panning to nothing.Thusly it is the opposite of causality in the classical narrative sense. In the way the camera moves are not motivated by an action, they emphasise isolation, leaving and being left. Rather than being told what to think via exposition, the audience is given opportunity to think about how the outer despondence of the central character are linked to his inner psychological workings, as those of a man in regards to his feeling of alienation; his failures in life are placed in context by the images of the barren, desolate, suburban landscape juxtaposed against him.Likewise the realistic construction of Locke’s world is also achieved through the film’s use of sound. Throughout the entire film there are only four pieces of music. The choice to use a minimal use of music, instead emphasising the background, diagetic sounds draw attention to the feeling of being in Locke’s world, â€Å"You practically hear Nicholson’s sweat, hear his breath, feel his pulse†. [1] Moreover the quality of self-consciousness and the de-dramatisation of the action result in acting and characterization that are spare, subtle, restrain ed, forcing us to pay attention to every small movement or look.The character is naturalistically portrayed through the understated use of body language and gestures. Although little action is occurring, the reading is directed toward tiny mimics, the look in Nicholson’s eyes, a flapping of his arms. Nicholson as a character and as an actor can also be said to be on his own in the film. He is psychologically alone, and physically there is no competition with other cast members. Even the female protagonist goes as â€Å"The Girl† in the credits.And while the audience is on the one hand observing him from afar by way of the wide shots that don’t â€Å"get in there†, at the same time it is intertwined in Locke’s fate through a foreknowledge that he is doomed. Authorship According to Bordwell, authorial expressivity is the second salient characteristic of art cinema. Through the use of various conventions of style including technical touches, motifs, r eferencing to other films, and conscious choices in storytelling, the author is foregrounded as the narrative intelligence, as the shaping hand of the film. This is achieved by ay of certain authorial codes, including the conscious production of enigmas, not in terms of story, but of plot. For instance, rather than questioning who the murderer is, the audience is made to question who is telling the story, or why it is being told from a certain point of view as opposed to another. Other evidence of authorship include reference to other films as a means of situating the film within a certain ouvre, as well as playing with the idea of genre in order to set itself against genre as it is regarded and understood in classical narrative film.For while The Passenger from the outset could be regarded as a thriller with the motifs of changing identity, the mystery surrounding the Robertson character, and the idea of being chased, the way in which these elements are treated do not hold true to the genre’s stereotypes in terms of moving the story forward or playing to audience expectations. Although these elements are utilized they do not pan out according to the expectations and outcomes they hold in the classical narrative genre film.In the car chase sequence, the pursuit of Locke by the â€Å"bad guys†, would in a classical narrative genre film would be utilised for the building of tension and would end with a predictably expected getaway. In The Passenger, the car chase begins then ends abruptly and without the excitement of the good guys smartly and swiftly getting away. Likewise, the mystery of unravelling the Robertson character, of finding out who he actually was, is secondary to understanding the psychology of Locke that prompts his identity change.And despite the fact that the penultimate scene fits in with the idea of a â€Å"big ending† characteristic of a thriller, it is done in an art house way. Authorship in The Passenger In The Passenge r the camera functions as a character/protagonist in its own right. The audience sees what the camera chooses it see. And in this way, the audience sees what the author chooses it to see, at what time, and from what vantage point. These choices highlight the author’s presence in the shaping of the narrative.Antonioni is notably known for his use of technical style and motifs in the film, for which alone the film has become famous. While some touches are more subtle and could go by almost unnoticed or are even noted only within the subconscious, others have become a spectacle discussed throughout film circles since the film’s release. Smaller motifs include the use of duplications such as when Locke sees The Girl in both London and Barcelona sitting in the same position. Others are the use of the image of a ceiling fan in different locations.Homage or reference is also made to other films and directorial styles such as in the scene in the cafe where the focus does not s tay on the characters but moves across to the cars outside reminiscent of scenes from Godard films like in the conversation between Paul and Camille in their apartment in Le Mepris. Self-reflexivity is also widely used as when Locke reads his own obituary or watches his obituary film on TV. Other instances include images of a film within a film, in news reports on TV, and interviews framed within a TV in the news room.A highly notable way in which the author’s hand is evidenced in the film is through the disjunctures in time and space and how these are created. Antonioni utilizes elaborate set-ups both aurally and visually in order to achieve jumps in time without cutting in the camera. For example aural devices such as the sound of a knock are used when Locke is listening to a tape recording of a conversation he had with Robertson. The knock on the tape recording transitions the scene into the past when Robertson knocks and enters the room.The use of the aural transition is further used when during the tape recording conversation the conversation with Robertson on the balcony flows seamlessly from present to past and back again. If this were not impressive enough, the flashback aural syncing is combined with a visual technical flourish when the camera pans from Locke in present time swapping photos between passports, to the window which frames Locke in the past with Robertson, their conversation from the tape recording flowing into the flashback.The action within the onscreen image is able to remain fluid throughout these changes in time. In another instance Locke is about to meet the rebel supporters and the church he enters shifts from a site of a funeral to a wedding, separated by a shot of his feet walking over petals on the floor. The sophistication in which Antonioni blends the aural, visual, time and space in this scene are then repeated if not trumped by the much talked about penultimate scene of the film, regarded by some as the most famous sc ene in film history.Although discussed countless times, this essay would not seem to do justice to the analysis of The Passenger without detailing it yet again in brief. In this seven-minute shot the camera captures Locke lying on his bed as The Girl leaves the room. Without any cutting in the shot, the camera tracks forwards, out the bars of the window, and into the courtyard and back round to frame the room from outside the bars wherein the next time Locke’s body is seen through the window from afar he is dead. In this scene, once again the hand of the author is seen on multiple levels.On the most obvious level is the visual technique, on another is the use of sound and image to create ambiguities. These ambiguities will be discussed further in the next section. Ambiguity For Bordwell ambiguity in the art film is the way by which the contradiction between the disjuncture created by the interplay of realism and authorship can be resolved. Through the conscious and deliberate use of ambiguity, the gaps created by the contradictory use of realism and very self-conscious authorial commentary are resituated so that the violation of the norm is made to be questioned as part of the meaning of the film.The conscious use of ambiguity forces the audience, when presented with a gap, to ask itself the question whether that gap was the result of a realistic motivation, psychologically driven, or an authorially significant statement or comment about the place of that event or situation in philosophical terms; whether that gap is something to be considered in the context of the world in which the characters, and moreover, people in life are faced with.Antonioni, talking about The Passenger says that â€Å"I [also] consider it a political film as it is topical and fits with the dramatic rapport of the individual in today’s society†¦We are all dissatisfied†¦The international situation, politically and otherwise, is so unstable that the lack of stabil ity is reflected within each individual. † (Dignam, 1975).Consequently, in The Passenger one is made to question the impact of the Third World struggle, the banality and norms of modern Western life, the alienation of the individual in society, and death amongst other things. Ambiguity in The Passenger Ambiguity is used throughout the film and even into the film’s end where the lack of clear-cut resolution creates an open-ended narrative, in which â€Å"the play of thematic interpretation† continues after the film’s end thereby baring the complexities of life. The art film reasserts that ambiguity is the dominant principle of intelligibility, that we are to watch less for the tale than the telling† (Bordwell, 1979:61) Ambiguity, lack of resolution, things leading to nowhere, are made explicit from the start when a man riding a camel approaches Locke in the desert and leaves, ignoring Locke’s attempt at greeting; furthermore the camera chooses to follow the man riding the camel as opposed to staying on Locke, illustrating immediately upon the film’s commencement the film’s major themes of alienation, being an outsider in the world, what it is to be invisible/meaningless (Walsh).Likewise the identity of Nicholson’s character within the film is ambiguous. As a British reporter raised in America played by the quintessentially American Nicholson, inherent contradictions and questions foreground the film from the onset. His occupation as a reporter/foreign correspondent and what that is generally thought to evoke includes stereotypes of a thoughtful, politically attuned, ideals-driven individual.If these stereotypes may have been held by the viewer at the outset, they are immediately challenged and stripped away in the first scenes where Locke’s helplessness, despondence, ideological weakness, and lack of inner purpose are revealed. When his jeep breaks down he futilely beats against the wheels with a shovel and in a position of weakness, failure, and submission he kneels beside the jeep stuck in the sand and throws up his arms saying â€Å"I don’t care†.This is matched by further series of events that show his repeated failure: he fails to get information from the child he questions about the location of the rebel hideouts, only later to the trek up the rock face with a guide who is supposed to be taking him to the hideout but subsequently abandons him. Later in an interview with a rebel leader, the leader remarks without malice that the questions posed by the interviewer can be much more telling about the person asking the questions than the responses from the person they are asked of.These instances early on reveal and challenge any such stereotypes and give the viewer an insight into Locke’s psychology from the outset. Meanwhile, on more obvious levels ambiguity is created in the resemblance between Locke and Robertson as in the fact that both of their first names are David. Throughout the film ambiguity, interchangeability and recurrence are used and explored (Gilliatt, 1975:6). The Passenger is rife with metaphors and double entendres.In the scene with the cable car, Locke flaps his arms in a gesture that implies freedom, yet framed in the tiny car, dangling above the sea, Locke does not take on the look of the carefree. Instead the scene carries a weight of tension as he hovers, arms flapping as though not in control; quite the opposite to a show of joy or exhilaration. Later, when The Girl asks Locke what he is escaping from, he tells her to turn around while they are driving in the open-top car through the tree-lined boulevard. Memorable too is the story of the blind man Locke tells The Girl, one of the only keys the protagonist openly and verbally shares of himself.Where metaphors colour the film, the contradictions which abound likewise serve to form a unified whole. The story, or perhaps better put, what is to be taken aw ay by the audience from the lack of story, is made more striking and powerful through the interplay of such contradictory devices. For one thing Locke is a foreign correspondent yet he has an embarrassingly poor grasp of foreign languages, French and Spanish. He is a ridicule, a farce in his attempts to communicate or garner information. In the scene where Locke returns home, he approaches his own house but he approaches suspiciously as a burglar would.The familiar is far-removed; the foreign is comforting; the distant places he travels to with The Girl are the only time it seems he can truly relax. Although she is a stranger she offers more support and comfort than the people in his family such as his wife and the adopted child that the film only so fleetingly refers to. His wife, his home, the familiar and close—these are the very things which undermine him and which he is trying to run away from; the foreign is where he is more at home and where he can simply stop and look at the view. Alternately, we are not made to empathize with the character.The use of predominantly subjective shots results in creating little sympathy for Locke, nor do the depiction of his character as unprincipled, weak, and lacking in self-determination. Yet on the other hand we are made to see the universality of his situation, as an everyman character, he is made to represent the dissatisfaction inherent within modern society. Through him and his psychological plight the audience is made to question social norms through the vehicle of a subjective character study. Inevitably the viewer cannot but ask himself questions.Antonioni uses all these aspects of camera, sound, non-linear structure, and ambiguity, so that the viewer cannot escape the philosophic questions of man’s place in the world, the search for meaning or non-search for it, as when witnessing the discontent, dissatisfaction, and desperation of the Locke character who on the surface fails to ask himself the s tringent questions of life. Yet over the course of the film, the internal psychological workings of what he is not saying become inescapable even as we watch a man who seems to suppress asking himself those questions.In the silences, as we are made to watch the details that he himself sees, we are brought to think about what is going on in the inner-workings of his mind, revealed only by his eyes, looks, gestures, and subtle movements. There are numerous narrative ambiguities or enigmas, random events that lead to nothing, as when Locke is waiting for someone on a bench when an old man approaches, stops to chat and makes a diversion from the story at hand to tell his life story. The image then changes as the man’s story is told against a newsreel of executions on a beach.These then take the audience back to the newsroom where it is left to make the connection for itself of the relation between these events to one another. And what about The Girl? Does he really see her twice, sitting in the same position? If so what does this represent? Even as the penultimate scene serves a visual and technical spectacle tying up all the various threads of the story, ambiguity remains and is further generated in this scene. Is the sound of the car engine kicking actually the sound of a gunshot? Is The Girl implicated in Locke’s murder? Was she actually Robertson’s wife? 2] Locke is in the backseat, he is the passenger—the passenger in the former life he exchanged (his wife was cheating on him, he was not finding success in his job); a passenger in terms of life in a larger sense – without purpose or motivations of his own and simply taking on those of the new identity he’s adopted; passenger even as he’s taken on a new identity, his last chance so to speak, as he contemplates over whether to go to the next appointment in the diary in Tangier to fulfil a commitment that is not his own for a purpose that he cannot embody despite taking on the persona.His very name â€Å"Locke† speaks to the plight of the character’s situation itself—he is locked in, running away, trapped. Multi-layered, open-ended, and open to multiple interpretations, the ambiguity that surround the meaning of the film’s title itself have sparked debate. Whether the title refers to the originally designed script wherein Locke is the passenger in the car[3], or whether it refers to The Girl in that she is the real hero of the film (Gilliat, 1975:7) attests to the success with which the film has and will continually challenge and provoke.With each layer exposed, another unfolds. By all intents and purposes, art cinema as described by Bordwell is exemplified to the highest degree in Antonioni’s timeless masterpiece. Bibliography Bordwell, David. ‘The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice’, Film Criticism, vol. IV, no. 1 (Fall 1979). Bordwell, David. Narration in the Fiction Film (Chapter 10) Met huen, 1985). Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey. ‘Art Cinema’, in Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (ed. The Oxford History of World Cinema (Oxford, 1996). Lev, Peter. ‘The Art Film’, from his The Euro-American Cinema (University of Texas Press, 1993). Rosenbaum, Jonathon. Profesione: Reporter (The Passenger). Gilliatt, Penelope. ‘About Reprieve† from Dossier of Reviews: The Passenger in The New Yorker (14/04/1975). Robinson, David. The Passenger review in The Times (06/06/1975). Dignam, Virginia. The Passenger review in Morning Star (06/06/1975).Andrews, Nigel. The Passenger review in Financial Times (06/06/1975). Walsh, Martin. Program Notes. (from reading packet given in the lectures) http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0073580/usercomments http://www. bookrags. com/wiki/The_Passenger_(film) ———————– [1] http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0073580/usercomments [2] http://www. bookrags. com/wiki/The_Passenger_(film) [3] htt p://www. bookrags. com/wiki/The_Passenger_(film)

Process Proposal Essay

The process that is being analyzed is the payroll process at a firm. The process can be viewed as a series of steps done on a daily basis and then at month end when salaries are to be distributed. Their process flow along with diagrams is given below. Daily: The work of the system starts as soon as an employee enters and checks in for the days work. Every employee owns a magnetic swipe card which is given to him/her upon employment at dollar. The swipe card machine notes and stores the time of entry and exit for every employee along with other necessary information such as employee number, name etc. at the day end, this data is imported to the current system database (running on FoxPro) using a third party software. Issues such as total time worked per day (depending on employee type), overtime, absences and leaves are resolved then and there. Every employee, in case of over time put in, is handed a sheet at the day end called the ‘Overtime Sheet’. Records of it are maintained by respective supervisors as well as the current system. Monthly: At month end, the data that has been accumulated over the whole period along with the overtime sheets that every employee submits is used to calculate total salaries of the employees and then paid to them in the form of payslips. All deductions and additions regarding overtimes, absences, leaves etc. are resolved and then sent to the supervisors for verification. Upon verification, deductions regarding gratuities and additions such as benefits, allowances etc. are verified from the HR system records and then forwarded to the account system for tax deductions. The final process is then to transfer funds to each employee’s personal account and distribute payslips to each one of them. The transfer is carried out by the accounts department in co-ordination with the HR system and the payslips are distributed via supervisors. A diagram that illustrates this process is given below: As it can be seen, the process has various repetitive steps that can easily be eliminated if a computerized system is used. Especially the processes at month end, these can be shortened a lot if redesigned and enabled with IT.