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Sunday, November 3, 2019
A'state of play' assessment of the investment climate in Bolivia Essay
A'state of play' assessment of the investment climate in Bolivia - Essay Example But it is unable to exploit these natural reserves due to political instability and anti-privatization sentiments. There is literacy rate of 87%. Chiquitania is located in the eastern parts of Bolivia and it is a peaceful place composed of a unique culture and history. Although modernization is taking place, its pace is slower than what it should be. Corruption and red tape is responsible for the slow growth. Bolivia is one of Latin America's poorest countries where education and health are below the regional average. The roads, water supply, and telecom services are of poor quality (Bolivia Microeconomic Constraints and Opportunities for Higher Growth, p6). Chiquitania has tremendous potential for the tourism industry. But it is bogged down due to frequent road stoppages and poor road system. Hitherto, political conditions and bureaucratic requirements have discouraged tourism from reaching its peak level. Of course, the government may not be keen to push tourism at the cost of environmental degradation. Nevertheless, the overall economic climate is not favorable to industry. Of the industries present in the market in a study in 2000, tourism is conspicuous by its absence. There is no mention of tourism anywhere. Or if it is there, it is in the informal sector. Officially, tourism is almost non-existent (See Fig.3). Foods and drinks take the first spot, followed by furniture. The Bolivians like to eat and drink. They also have fondness for furniture. However, the zeal to push tourism is nowhere in the scheme of things for them. The real problem lies in the nature of the market in Bolivia. The size of the formal market is significantly smaller than the informal market. The problems in formalizing business far outweigh the benefits. Formidable bureaucratic controls including corruption choke a layman's inclination to run a legitimate business. Information to run business on statutory guidelines is lost in the maze of bureaucratic controls. Also, the cost to run a legitimate business is high due to taxes and other expenses. The problem is not isolated to tourism alone. It is faced by every industry. This has given rise to tightly regulated market where much of what is manufactured is consumed by the department itself. There is little scope for exports. For instance, in La Paz 70% of the sales was consumed within the city in the year 2000. So also in the cases of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba it was 74% and 51% respectively. Poor transport infrastructure is the main cause for the lack of exports by the firms to other regions. Figure 1 First of all, lack of political stability does not allow for big time investments. Then there is the tight bureaucratic control over formally establishing and maintaining tourist spots. Macroeconomic stabilization, trade
Friday, November 1, 2019
Pandemic Flu Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Pandemic Flu Planning - Assignment Example In ensuring effective control, I will recommend the following steps whereby most of them are community-based strategies. The first step will encompass devising effective preparedness, response and containment policies intended to avoid further spreading of the pandemic in the region (Tae-Chang, Yasuhiro, Shingo, & Jung, 2009). Secondly, I will Isolate and administer antiviral medications to the people confirmed medically to have contracted the influenza disease. Isolation in this case may be in both hospitals and homes though the latter will be extremely complicated due to the pandemic’s nature of spreading (CDCP, 2007). Isolation will also encompass quarantine especially in homes or other social places whereby it hard to dismiss their members like congregational centers that normally house nuns, priests or other religious members. The other effective measure will encompass closure of schools together with advising their respective administration to take the ailing students to the hospital (Cannaday & Cox, 2008). In addition, there will be a will be a need to sensitize the entire public to avoid human contact as well as embrace good health, for instance, washing of hands with alcohol-based rub gel together with intake of fluids (Flu.gov, n.d). Some of the involved legal authorities in this mitigation process include, Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (COVEOP), National Response Framework (NRF), National Incident Management System (NIMS), Virginia Department of Education and governor’s office. The latte’s core role is to declare the state of emergency based on the pandemic’s rate of spreading as well as compelling reluctant institutions to adhere to the mitigation policies. The success of this plan will depend on public’s level of compliance in adopting the stipulated measures. Entities involved in this category include employers and
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Black & Decker - Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative Case Study
Black & Decker - Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative - Case Study Example Lancaster knows that to beat the competition, the Eastern Hemisphere organization would need to build its own internal capacity which starts from the top, its executives. Black & Decker was fully committed to improving the performance of its Eastern Hemisphere as demonstrated by its commitment to spend nearly $80 million to set up its Singapore headquarters and build factories in Singapore, India and China (Morrison and Black 3). Unfortunately for Lancaster, these growth plans would lead to significant increase in employment opportunities whose large percentage would be for management positions (Morrison and Black 4), which was the Eastern Hemisphere’s Achilles’ heel. From analyzing the intensity of competition in Asia, Lancaster understood that the Eastern Hemisphere would require a new kind of managers, those who freely share ideas and expertise across the company, nurture and develop careers for their subordinates within the organization while remaining fiercely committed to business unit performance. Lancaster’s cause for concern was that there was a major disparity in management styles within the Eastern Hemisphere. Moreover, some of the managers were out rightly bad managers. With so many management styles it would be difficult to effectively execute organizational strategies at the lower levels of the firm. Another concern was the apparent lack of opportunities for growth and development made available to staff members. Lancaster noticed that 70 percent of management and supervisory roles were filled by outsiders (Morrison and Black 4). The ADP would infuse into the Eastern Hemisphere several best practices that would strengthen the management function. First of all the 3600 view would give managers more in-depth knowledge of their employees. With this knowledge they will be able to more effectively assist their staff to grow, develop and attain their career objectives while improving the performance of their business units. Fo r example, from the 3600 view would give managers information which they could use to create better teams, identify employees who were ready for more leadership opportunities and so on. This would reduce the need for seeking managers and supervisors externally since the organization will have identified and nurtured talent from within. Secondly, the entire ADP process increases staff awareness of the 14 different performance dimensions. With increased awareness it can be expected that management and other staff at the Eastern Hemisphere would naturally be motivated to improve themselves which would indirectly lead to an overall better organizational performance. What concerns do Asian managers have about ADP? How substantive are these concerns? Asian managers have numerous concerns about ADP. The substantive concerns are the following: culture, language barrier, heterogeneity of the region and scarce opportunities for development. The non-substantive ones are: managers having limite d time to handle ADP, presence of many managers who are used to performing their duties in a certain way and notion that it is too radical a change. These are non-substantive because they are often cited as reasons for maintaining status quo. On the other hand, culture is among the most acknowledged and researched challenges for global business. In Asian cultures subordinates are not to question their seniors. This essentially removes the ability of a manager and his subordinate to be either open or criticize each other. The ADP cannot work without this sincere conversation between subordinates and their superiors. Language barrier is huge especially outside Singapore where almost all countries have their own unique dialect.
Monday, October 28, 2019
The degree of operating leverage Essay Example for Free
The degree of operating leverage Essay 1. The degree of operating leverage is equal to the ____ change in ____ divided by the ____ change in ____. 2. In the linear breakeven model, the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit is referred to as: 3). Break-even analysis usually assumes all of the following except: 4).The short-run cost function is: 5). In the short-run for a purely competitive market, a manufacturer will stop production when: 6). In the long-run, firms in a monopolistically competitive industry will 7). A search good is: 8). All of the following are true for both competition and monopolistic competition in the long run, except one of them. Which is it? 9). Regulatory agencies engage in all of the following activities except _______. 10). In the electric power industry, residential customers have relatively ____ demand for electricity compared with large industrial users. But contrary to price discrimination, large industrial users generally are charged ____ rates. 11). When the cross elasticity of demand between one product and all other products is low, one is generally referring to a(n) ____ situation. 13). In natural monopoly, AC continuously declines due to economies in distribution or in production, which tends to found in industries which face increasing returns to scale. If price were set equal to marginal cost, then: 14). A(n) ____ is characterized by a relatively small number of firms producing a product. 15). In the Cournot duopoly model, each of the two firms, in determining its profit-maximizing price-output level, assumes that the other firms ____ will not change. 16). The existence of a kinked demand curve under oligopoly conditions may result in 17). Conscious parallelism of action among oligopolistic firms is an example of ____. 18). A key to analyzing subgame perfect equilibrium strategy in sequential games is 19). Credible promises and hostage mechanisms can support a continuous stream of cooperative exchanges except when 20). In making promises that are not guaranteed by third parties and in imposing penalties that are not enforced by third parties, all of the following are credibility-enhancing mechanisms except 21). In a game, a dominated strategy is one where: The segmenting of customers into several small groups such as household, institutional, commercial, and industrial users, and establishing a different rate schedule for each group is known as: 22) The following are possible examples of price discrimination, EXCEPT: 23). The optimal mark-up is: m = -1/ (E+1). When the mark-up on cookware equals 50%, then demand elasticity (E) for cookware is: 24). To maximize profits, a monopolist that engages in price discrimination must allocate output in such a way as to make identical the ____ in all markets. 25). Non-redeployable durable assets that are dependent upon unique complementary and perfectly redeployable assets to achieve substantial value-added will typically be organized as 26). When retail bicycle dealers advertise and perform warranty repairs but do not deliver the personal selling message that Schwinn has designed as part of the marketing plan but cannot observe at less than prohibitive cost, the manufacturer has encountered a problem of ____. 27). When manufacturers and distributors establish credible commitments to one another, they often employ 28). Reliant assets are always all of the following except: 29). The sentiment for increased deregulation in the late 1970s and early 1980s has been felt most significantly in the price regulation of 30). The antitrust laws regulate all of the following business decisions except ____. 31). The ____ is equal to the some of the squares of the market shares of all the firms in an industry. 32). The lower the barriers to entry and exit, the more nearly a market structure fits the ____ market model. 33). The ____ depicts the risk-return relationship in the market for all securities: 34). Any current outlay that is expected to yield a flow of benefits beyond one year in the future is: 35). In order to help assure that all relevant factors will be considered, the capital-expenditure selection process should include the following steps except: 36). Which of the following would not be classified as a capital expenditure for decision-making purposes?
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Yoga Essay -- essays research papers
The term Yoga has a few meanings. It's both a school of thought in the Hindu religion, and a system of mental and physical exercise developed by this school. All forms of yoga originated in India. People who follow this school, and practice any form of yoga are called yogis, or yogins. Students study under prolonged and careful guidance of the teacher, known as the guru. The first syllable 'gu,'; in Sanskrit means light; the second syllable, 'ru'; means light. A guru is a spiritual teacher who leads the pupil from darkness to light. Literally, yoga means 'the union of mind and body.'; In Sanskrit, the language of India, yoga means discipline. Many people in western countries practice some form of yoga exercise in hope of improving their health, and achieving peace of mind. Various forms of yoga have become popular in Europe and the United States. Transcendental Meditation is a simplified version of the yoga of Hinduism. Bhakti-Yoga involves the dedication of all actions and thoughts to a chosen God. Hatha-Yoga, stresses difficult bodily postures and breathing techniques. It has become very popular as a method of gaining and improving health. Certain people also study this form of yoga because of the control they develop over certain bodily functions. A new concept in fitness combines gentle stretching with techniques from Hatha Yoga to perform the most effective, relaxing ways of exercising. It is called Yogacise. There are other forms of yoga that are practiced in India. T...
Thursday, October 24, 2019
New Business Plan for a Gas Station Start Up
The customer need that will be satisfied is that my gas station will have gasoline, diesel, and a service station to get the repairs or inspections they will need to have. There will be a free air pump, so they can have the option of filling up their tires. I will also have coffee, snacks and different beverages the customer can purchase as well, so they can also fuel up their bodies as well for the ride they are going to make.The product will be unique by my station having a self service, but also a full service section for customers at no extra cost, but if the customer is getting 5 gallons or less than there will be a slight increase on the price per gallon. I will have two self service gasoline pumps; two full service gasoline pumps that are double sided so that’s make 8 pumps for gasoline. I will have one diesel pump, which the one side will be self service and the other side will be full service.The full service section will have a line on the ground that when they ride over it a bell will ring and the employee will know there is someone waiting to get full service. Along with the full service I will have the employee offer them if they would like their windows to be cleaned, their oil to be checked, and if they would like a beverage or a snack while they are waiting for their fuel. I will also make sure that the pavement is cleaned every day. There will be a canopy to cover the fuel pumps and will make sure there is proper lighting and have some calming music playing while the customer waits.I will have a great color scheme to my gas station to make it stand out. There will be neon lights that will trim the canopy and pumps, so at night it will make it more appealing to the customer and hopefully will draw them in. I will also offer a card that can be scanned at the pump when they pull up that will have a record of their purchases and for every $100. 00 they have spent, not including the service station, I will offer them $. 10 off a gallon. This offer can be accumulated over a month, so depending on how much they spend they can accumulate up to getting $. 0 off a gallon. Though, this offer is only valid for the month pertaining to the purchases they made, so if they do not use the discount then the next month it will be erased and will start over again. The customers that will be coming to my gas station are ones with gasoline, diesel, or even hybrid cars and motorcycles that need to be taken care of. There will even be landscaping and other similar customers coming to filling up their small engines. I will also have customers that will be coming for the service station to get repairs or inspections done to their cars.I will not be able to service 18-wheelers though, but they can still get their diesel. I will also not be able to have a mechanic for motorcycles unless he/she has the proper training along with their automotive training. Their profiles are people who range from the lower upper-class to the middle upper-class. There will be both male and female’s who are coming to the station with their ages being from 18 and up. They’ll be high school and college students along with people who are working and even people who aren’t working that just are getting gas for whatever they are putting the fuel in. In the town my gas station resides, the population is %54. 4 African Americans, %29. 6 Caucasian, %8. 7 Asian American, %4. 3 Hispanic, %2. 4 with two or more races, %0. 2 native Hawaiian and other Pacific islanders, %0. 2 other race, and %0. 1 American Indian, which is a total of 2668 thousand residents†(Advameg, Inc, 2011) These people will be living in the area of my gas station or in the surrounding area of East Lansdowne, PA. They may work in the area at the local stores that surround my gas station. They may work in center city or in the west/south west Philadelphia region.The customer may also work out towards the Springfield mall up Baltimore avenue I may also get people who are going to the gym or going out for the day or night to have a day of fun on the weekend or a day off from their jobs. The customer wants a gas station that will allow them to be in and out as quick as possible so they can continue on with where they are going to go. The customers’ needs are that they feel that this is a place that will take care of them and will treat them with the most upstanding customer service so they will keep on coming back.With the amenities I will provide I will hopefully be going above and beyond their expectations of the service they would receive at another gas station. The customer may need to use the service station, and they’re vehicle will be treated with the proper care it deserves. The Exxon station, located at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Church lane in East Lansdowne, PA. The Giant supermarket that has a gas station that’s located right by Baltimore avenue and Union avenue in east Lansdowne, PA. The Exxon s tation’s strengths are that they sell cigarettes and have the lottery.They also have a convenience store that you can go inside with an ATM machine in it. Their weaknesses are that there is only one employee that works there. They have an air pump and vacuum section that you have to pay for. They do not have a full service option, nor do they have a service station to work on vehicles or a diesel fuel pump. It also isn’t a very clean or well maintained place. The Giant supermarket’s strengths are that they have the same option of accumulating points from purchases made inside of their supermarket.They also have an entire supermarket that their customers can do their shopping and then head over to the gas pump after with a free air pump as well. Their weaknesses are that in order to get the discount on the gas you have to buy products from their supermarket, whereas at my station the gas is included in the point system. They also do not offer a full service optio n even though there is a gas attendant there to supervise the gas station section. Their other weakness is that the gas station is in the very back of the property so some customer’s may only think there is just the supermarket.They also do not have a service station for repairs, nor do they carry diesel fuel. They Exxon station might try to add a full service feature, but that would be hard with only one attendant there working inside the convenience store. They may to try and make their air pump free for customers. They may also try to add a diesel pump. The Giant supermarket has a little more trouble trying to do a lot of changes because it’s a big company so they’d have to get the OK from the higher ups, but they may also try to add a full service option along with adding the diesel option.I feel neither of them would be able to match the service station part because Exxon has limited room and the Giant probably doesn’t have any intentions of adding t hat because their main focus is the supermarket with the gas being a side thing. â€Å"Sunoco is committed to sustainable business practices. Sunoco adopts business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the business and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. †(Sunoco, Inc. 2013) â€Å"A promoter of clean energy alternatives, BJ’s Wholesale Club strives to implement environmentally conscious business practices when possible. BJ’s Wholesale promotes energy efficient methods of harvesting electricity, and many BJ’s stores use solar panels to harvest energy. BJ’s stores also participate in local recycling and waste management programs†¦. Primarily operating from large warehouse-style retail locations, BJ’s Wholesale Club offers club members a wide range of products and services. BJ’s sells everything from food and clothing to ga soline and home office supplies. BJ’s also operates an online store. (BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc, 2013) I plan on being an independent gas station and plan on getting my gas and diesel from the Sunoco/Carlyle Group, which is located at 3144 W Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA. I plan on buying my coffee and snacks from BJ’s, which is located at 1260 E. Woodland Ave. Springfield, PA 19064. I do not want to have a franchise with Sunoco, so it will be considered an â€Å"unbranded fuel†. (Sunoco, Inc. , 2013) I expect the relationship with Sunoco/Carlyle Group to be one that I can have a regular set date or dates that they will come and top off what fuels I need.With BJ’s I just expect to pay their â€Å"BJ’s Business yearly payment of $50 to get the items I need, and with the business card I am able to have my items be tax-exempt and have them available for resale. †(BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. , 2013) The location cost for the property I plan to bu y is $600,000 as is and it’s because it is a closed down gas station. (County of Delaware, 2013) The legalities to having a gas station is that there have to be yearly inspections done by the state to make sure everything is ok.They check the soil for contamination and check to make sure the underground tanks are at the right depth. The state inspectors make sure that each pump is properly working and up to date with the correct parts. â€Å"The ‘U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’ that the pumps are only pumping 10 gallons per minute. †(U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 1997) They also make sure that all my licenses are up to date and make sure that we are operating under the proper protocols provided by the state. I would want to own and refurbish a facility.There is one at 401 East Baltimore Avenue that has exactly what I am looking for. It was recently a Sunoco station, but all the Sunoco signs and words have been taken down so it looks like a blank slate. It has a three car garage with the lifts still in it and an air pump already in place. The only thing I would have to add is the diesel pump to the facility and to have the underground tank for the diesel to be placed in. I would have to have someone come out and make sure that the pumps work and have someone come in and check out the lifts in the garage to make sure they are up to par as well.I will purchase any necessary parts that the maintenance guys found wrong with the pumps and the lifts in the service station. I will have to purchase the line that runs on the ground for the full service section of the gas station to let the employee know the customer is there. I will also have to invest in the tools required for the service station so that the employees have the proper equipment needed to work on the vehicle. I need to have the signs and all the proper naming of my gas station placed on the property along with the neon lighting. I will purchase the speakers tha t will be playing the calming music for the customers.I will have to get the proper licensing from the state to be able to give inspections to vehicles. I will be open 7 days a week from 5am until 11pm, but the service station will only be open from 8am until 8 pm. I will need to have an employee who is in charge of the cash register and assigning the gas to the right pump. I will need to have a mechanic that will take care of the service station. I will need to hire an employee that can take care of the full service part of the gas station. I will have at least 2 to 3 cashiers that will be able to work part-time shifts.I will need to have at least 2 to 3 mechanics that will be able to work part-time or full-time shifts, but only will need one mechanic available during each shift. If there are days that the service station is overloaded with cars I may need to call in one of the other mechanics to come in and help out. I will need at least 2 to 3 part-time employees that will need t o be in charge of the full service section, but will only need one employee at a time during the shift. I will also be at the gas station from time to time to make sure things are the way they are supposed to be.The cashier person will need to be able to work the cashier and be able to set the right amount of gas to the right pump for the customer with the proper customer service skill to keep the customer happy. The cashier will also have to differentiate whether the person is at the self service or the full service station to make the right adjustments in prices and know about the 5 gallon or less rule. The mechanics will have to give me a proper resume or some sort of certification that they are real mechanics and are able to work on different brand vehicles.The mechanic should be responsible for removing, installing, diagnosing, repairing, disassembling and assembling parts, components and engines while performing all duties according to safety procedures. (Salary. com, 2013) Th e mechanics should know how to properly approach the customer and kindly ask them what it is they need. The employee in charge of the full service station is going to need to be properly dressed in a uniform; while wearing a new pair of gloves for every customer they service.The full service employee will also need to know how to clean the windows properly and be able to check to make sure the oil level is correct in the car if they are asked to check for that. The full service employee will also need to have the best customer service skills to keep the customer pleased and will need to be able to communicate with the cashier on what their total will be when they are asking if they can get the customer a beverage or a snack while the customer waits to be fueled up. The cost of the cashier position per hour will be $8. 00 an hour with the potential to gain a raise every 6 months. (Salary. om, 2013) The mechanics will be working for $18. 00 an hour and also have the potential to get a raise every 6 months and/or if they show they work at a fast rate with quality work being done. (Salary. com, 2013) The full service employee will receive $8. 00 an hour with the potential to gain a raise every 6 months and/or if they show fast, quality customer service. (Salary. com, 2013) At the end of the year, excluding leap years, I would potentially be paying my cashiers’ and full service employees’ $52,560 (gross pay). At the end of the year, excluding leap years, I would potentially be paying my mechanics’ $78,840 (gross pay).Works Cited Advameg, Inc. (2011). East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Retrieved from city-data. com: http://www. city-data. com/city/East-Lansdowne-Pennsylvania. html BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (2013). About Us. Retrieved from bjs. com: http://www. bjs. com/about-us. content. about. A BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (2013). Membership Options/Join. Retrieved from bjs. com: http://www. bjs. com/info. aboutmembership. options County of Delaware. (2013). Delaware County Real Estate Parcels & Tax Records System. Retrieved from w01. co. delaware. pa. us: http://w01. co. delaware. pa. us/publicaccess. asp? unicipality=00&realdistaddress=Submit&HNumber=&Street=a&Folio=&Map=&UAYN=Y Salary. com. (2013). Automotive Mechanic. Retrieved from Salary. com: http://swz. salary. com/salarywizard/Automotive-Mechanic-II-Hourly-Salary-Details. aspx Salary. com. (2013). Cashier. Retrieved from Salary. com: http://swz. salary. com/SalaryWizard/Retail-Cashier-Full-Time-Hourly-Salary-Details. aspx Salary. com. (2013). Job Details . Retrieved from Salary. com: http://swz. salary. com/salarywizard/Automotive-Mechanic-II-Job-Description. aspx Salary. com. (2013). Service Station Attendant.Retrieved from Salary. com: http://swz. salary. com/salarywizard/Service-Station-Attendant-Hourly-Salary-Details. aspx Sunoco, Inc. (2013). Corporate Responsibility. Retrieved from hesreport. sunocoinc. com: http://hesreport. sunocoinc. com/fw/main/Home-1192. html Sunoco, Inc. (2013). Wholesale Marketing. Retrieved from sunocoinc. com: https://www. sunocoinc. com/retail/wholesale-marketing/index U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (1997, 09 24). the EPA 10 gallon per minuter fuel dispensing limit. Retrieved from epa. gov: http://www. epa. gov/oms/regs/ld-hwy/evap/spitback. txt
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Year One Ba-Hons Photography Image Analysis
Photographs are one of the media or instruments of visual representations. It is an embodiment of visual elements which appear as symbols and are linked together to convey several meanings. According to McLean (1973), they are pictures which have many characteristics and attributes in common with other images (quoted in Noth 1995: 461). They play an important role, along with film, in broadening the visual field for examination and analysis and in molding critical approaches to visual representation (Chaplin 1994: 80). This paper aims to present an image analysis of Nick Ut’s Trang Bang (1972). It will narrate a brief biography of the artist then it will reveal the photograph’s visual elements and their corresponding meanings. It will also identify the underlying symbols behind the image and demonstrate their impact on the society. Furthermore, it endeavors to express and to show the implication of photographs with regards to visual culture and visual literacy. Nick Ut (b. March 29, 1951- ) whose real name is Ut Cong Huynh is a Vietnamese photographer. His photography career begins when he has been introduced by his mother to the Associated Press office in Saigon; he is 14 years old then. The occurrence on the rainy day of the 8th of June, 1972, the epoch when the Americans and South Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, draws attention with his career when he shoots Kim Phucâ€â€a nine year old girlâ€â€running and blaring naked in down Route 1 (Ut 2007); the photograph is entitled as T rang Bang. Trang Bang, a gelatin silver print, depicts the June 8, 1972 event when the children and their families run away and flee the village of Trang Bang down Route 1; their bodies are being burned and seared by napalm (Faas and Fulton n. d. ). The image encompasses five children that are running and screaming and behind them are militant troops, walking after the terrified kids. The focus of the picture is the naked little girl who is squealing. Figure 1 Children Fleeing an American Napalm Strike, Trang Bang, June 8, 1972 Her stretched arms bestow a line element in the image which illustrates balance and symmetry. The eyes of the spectator will usually fix on the dead center due to the strong and powerful expression of Kim Phuc, revealing an excruciating pain. Nevertheless, if the focus of the picture will be given to the screaming boy on the foreground whom is said to be Kim Phuc’s brother Phan Thanh Tam, technically speaking, Ut demonstrates the rule of thirds in his masterpiece due to his manipulation to the placement of the subject which is off the center; therefore the eyes of the spectator will definitely turn and fix with the other elements in the whole picture per se. He also displays a shallow depth of field in the photograph because only the subjects of interest or focus are enhancedâ€â€the shrieking and running children, the other elementâ€â€the troopsâ€â€is quite out of focus due to the blurry details of the figures. The black smoke on the background gives a strong contrast in the picture. The said photograph is a historical account that records and synthesizes the incident of June 1972. It analyzes and demonstrates the notion of horror and agony during wars which can be pulled out from the facial expressions of the children especially Phan Thanh Tam’s. He summarizes and encapsulates the terror, fear and affliction of the people during the Vietnam War (Pyle 2000). That image can imply a lot of things if it will be based to John Berger’s Way of Seeing theory (1972): it is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe (Berger 1972: 7-8). With that, it can be hauled that whatever the interpretation or analysis of the spectators with the image, it will still be anchored on what he or she knows regarding the event that has transpired in Vietnam during the year 1972. The photograph is a representation of the reality that it portrays (Noth 1997: 46). However, Eco (1984) disagrees because according to him, a photograph can lie (quoted in Noth 1997: 461), by which Berger (1984) states that the result of the treatment and manipulation of the reality is that to a definite level, â€Å"the photographer creates the reality of the photograph (quoted in Noth: 461). Nevertheless, in the case of Nick Ut’s Trang Bang, it cannot be implied that the photographer has altered and manipulated the reality that he has documented during the occurrence in 1972 because the reproduction of the image, which have been placed in newspapers, magazines, etc. , creates a different perspective from the original photo that is taken by Ut. The reproduction delineates a cropped image of the original (Look at figure 1 and 2). Figure 2 Napalm Bomb Attack, Vietnam It shows that the original, which has been signed by Ut, encompasses other elements in the picture, for instance, the official member of the press who looks like fixing his camera, the lines on the background which probably signifies the napalm. The manipulated image appears more closely to the spectators and constructs a more focused representation of the event. Because of the reproductions, Ut cannot be blamed for the cropped photo because of the intervention of the press with regards to the dissemination of the image to narrate the historical event. It is definitely the press’ responsibility as to how they will broadcast and transmit the information with wide, visual consumers all over the world. According to Gillian Rose in her Visual Methodologies (2001), the novelty and advantage of photography branch out from its most evident potential: it is about rendering that particular moment in time (quoted Mirzoeff 1999: 67) by which Ut demonstrates in his Trang Bang. In accordance with what he said during an interview, â€Å"the girl was running with her arms out. She was crying, ‘nong qua! Nong qua! (Too hot! Too hot! ). She had torn off all her clothes. When I saw she was burned, I dropped my camera beside the road. I knew I had a good picture. I got her into our van and took her and the family to the Cu Chi hospital. †(quoted in Pyle 2000). Moreover, his magnum opus implies that photography makes achievable ways of seeing what is unimaginable then (Mirzoeff 1999: 68). It does illustrate that the language and expression of the photograph is to combine naturalism and realism. The artifact then evolves to be reality (quoted Molyneaux 1997: 80). Nick Ut’s Trang Bang may be manipulated or not, it still conveys a scheme of meanings and symbols. The implication of an image is created from an interaction of a myriad of schemes and codes. A photograph is not a realistic illustration of what is real in spite of its appearances. It is a material that has been produced in an elaborate manner and approach of production and has been dispensed, circulated and consumed by a set of social relations (Forrester 1996: 140). Burgin (1982) has argued then that a photograph presents itself as something that cannot be disagreed with in which he states as â€Å"an offer you cannot refuse†(quoted in Forrester 1996: 142). Trang Bang being an object of representation communicates with its spectator about the Vietnam War that happens in mid-1972. Nick Ut, as one of the war photographers, has to deal with the lack of viewing space for his work because he is confined and restricted to what he sees in the lens compared to other artists who can demonstrate an array of symbols and emotionally-driven and affecting scenes however, war photographers are offered with revolutionizing and altering the reality into an allegorical and symbolic masterpieces (Marien 2006: 46).
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