Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate finance - Essay Example Business firms generally find difficulty in raising capital for their further expansion.In the case of very big business projects,the founder alone cannot meet the firm’s initial capital requirements.Under such circumstances,companies issue shares of specific value to the general public with intent to raise capital for meeting business operation expenses. Share price refers to the price of a single share that company issues for subscription. While taking decision on share subscription, an investor compares the share price with company’s financial statements. If a company cannot raise an attractive surplus from its operation, it cannot fix a high price for its shares. It is observed that the market stature of a company has a direct impact on its share price. Every firm aims at maximizing its share value by improving profitability. Empirical evidences suggest that share prices may be affected by an array of factors. Share price is mainly categorized into two such as inter nal and external variables. This paper will explore how these factors affect share prices. Internal variables affecting share prices Internal variables are the strengths or weaknesses of a business which may largely affect the share prices more than any other factor. Profitability, leverage, size, bonus issue, and warrant exercise are the main internal variables that influence the share price to a large extent. They are described below in detail. 1. Profitability Obviously, the ultimate objective of every business is wealth maximization. Therefore, an investor is always curious about the economical status of the company in which he wishes to invest. A firm’s audited financial statements prepared at the end of the fiscal year give vital information to investors and other shareholders. An investor mainly considers the company’s total revenue, expenses, and profitability so as to assess its current market position. For making an investment decision, an investor may give h igh emphasis on the firm’s Earning Per Share (EPS) that represents rate of return on a share at the end of the financial year. In other words, when the EPS rises, investors are more likely to invest with the company. 2. Leverage Leverage is a business term that indicates the amount of money borrowed to finance the purchase of assets; and it can be determined by calculating Debt-to-equity ratio. Although leverage is beneficial for the company to promote growth through the purchase of assets, a high leverage would raise high risks including the drop of share price. An investor would never like to purchase the assets of a company that owes huge debts to other entities because investors are less likely to support a risky venture. Hence, a low leverage may benefit the business to maximize its share price. For instance, as Chatterjee (2011) reports, the Reliance Communications have recently cut down share price target for December by 49 percent to 82 rupees mainly as a result of hi gh leverage. 3. Size Fernando, Gatchev, and Spindt argues that the size of the firm can directly influence the share price; an increase in firm’ size causes a proportional increase in share price and vice versa. Generally, it is believed that huge firms would have abundant potential financial sources that can be effectively employed to meet different business needs. Similarly, large sized firms would probably maintain many potential market segments which would assist the firm to confront with difficulties in times of business contingencies. Moreover, large firms would be well established in the market and therefore, they can keep stable market demand to some extent regardless of the changes in market trends. These factors offer a minimum profit guarantee to investors even if the business faces unexpected losses. Schutts points out that Wal-Mart’s large size has assisted the firm maintain its share price steadily. 4. Bonus issue Bonus issue indicates the act of issuing additional shares to the firm’

Cultural studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Cultural studies - Essay Example This is possible when the spirit is free from the influence of the universal will and instead it should be moved by the pure will or pure knowing. â€Å"Hegel believes that the idea of individual consciousness is closely connected with the Notion of Utility† (p.355). (G.W.F Hegel, 1977). It is this Notion of Utility which gives a new shape to the human consciousness-that of absolute freedom which Hegel considers as the ‘essence of all actuality’. Thus Spirit, in this absolute freedom, is aware of its own pure personality and of all spiritual reality which is a product of the general will of all individuals as such (p. 356). But there is a tendency for the consciousness to abolish all the ‘social groups or classes which are the spiritual spheres into which the whole is articulated’ (p. 357). Thus, it is necessary to bring about a balanced notion regarding the concept of absolute freedom and the way it creates difference between the individual and the universal consciousness. According to Hegel, the individual needs to respond to both the universal consciousness and his own personal consciousness . On the other hand he should also make sure that he doesn’t adhere himself to the dictates of the universal consciousness. The element of being is the key to nourish one’s self-consciousness. The self- consciousness should never be allowed to live in a world of illusion thinking that it is accomplishing a particular work while fulfilling the universal work itself. (p. 359). Hegel is of the opinion that the universal will represents only one actual will in a self whereas all other individual will are excluded from it. That is why he considers government as the ‘individuality of the universal will’ which represents only the ‘victorious faction’ (p. 360). Therefore, any attempt to bring together the universal will with that of the individual will is quite impossible and one should negate the very notion of â€Å"the individual as a being existing

Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Going Public - Essay Example Advantages for an organization for going public Although going public is an expensive process but there are several advantages. Some of the most important advantages for going public are as follows: More capital can be raised by a company if it starts floating its share in the market. By floating shares in the market, company can have a better growth rate. People know and recognize more about companies whose shares are in the market rather than firms that are privately owned. Going public is a way to brand and market the company as well. It also builds the brand image of the company and the company becomes more reliable and trustworthy (Glueck , 1980). Because of being a better and more renowned company, a public company is able to attract and retain better human resource which helps in improving productivity level of the company. While acquisitions, shares of the company can be used instead of cash. Debt to equity ratio of the company improves because of going public as the capital raised is included in the equity section rather than liabilities. Debt to equity ratio is one of the ways lenders analyze and assess the risk of the company and it explains the amount of debt the company has in comparison to its liabilities. Organizations can motivate employees by offering them stock options which are considered more valuable than other rewards like cash and bonuses. Disadvantages for an organization for going public Besides the advantages of going public, there are several disadvantages because of which many organizations do not go public and float their shares in the market. The most important disadvantages which restrict an organization from going to public are as follows: Going public is an expensive process and if an organization has other ways or options to raise money then it should go with the alternatives rather than floating shares in the market. There are several fees and costs associated with going public like accounting fees, expense allowance of underw riter, filing fees, cost of travelling, cost of printing and legal fees and all these costs are to be included while analyzing whether the firm would go public or not (Hoch, Kim, Montgomery, and Rossi, 1995). In addition to this, if the management of the company is not aware about the process of going public then it should not indulge in such activities because it is a difficult process and they should go public only when the management is not aware about the whole process and complications involved in it. Information about the company increases and more people know about the organization in comparison to the time when the organization was operating as a privately held company. Customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors, analysts, and other stakeholders of the company tend to focus a lot on the organization and strategies which it has adopted. As the company goes public, it has to follow the requirements of SEC and financial reporting of the company has to be in accordance with t he rules and guidelines provided by SEC (Kaplan, and Atkinson, 1998). Top management or entrepreneurs could feel like as if they have lost the control of the organization and thus it can have an impact on their decision making and productivity. Remuneration and compensation packages paid to the top management of the organization are known to others because public information and everyone would be aware about the salaries of people at the top managerial level. Because of going public, risk of shareholder litigation increases. Many shareholders are

Human Trafficking in America Essay Example for Free

Human Trafficking in America Essay According to the report submitted to the U. S. Department of State in 2004, every year there is an estimated account of 600,000 to 800,000 people being trafficked for force labor and sex worldwide. In the United States alone, there are around 14, 000 to 17,000 men, women and children of different nationalities being trafficked each year passing discreetly international borders just to come inside the territories of the United States. Of these numbers, 70 percent are female while 50 percent are children or minors and most of them end up working forcibly in the illegal sex industry. The report also said that most of these trafficked foreign nationals mostly come from Asia. In America, however, an estimated 200,000 missing American children (minors usually women) from the past years are also getting the risk of having trafficked also in the sex industry (Shurter). While the United States has an open policy in accepting foreign nationals to its territories, the succeeding events of terrorism in the American soil during the past years has reorganized its system of policies and became more aware in allowing foreign nationals to stay in America. But then America remained to be the main transit and destination country for trafficking people if compared to other countries in the world. To adhere to the strong commitment of fighting human trafficking in the US and other countries, the US government has enacted The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 or the TVPA to redefine pre-existing criminal penalties and provide better protection for the victims of human trafficking. This act establishes Cabinet-level federal interagency task force to use their federal program in providing services to the trafficked victims. Initially the monitoring program done by the US in the early 1990s was primarily focused on trafficking women for the sex industry. But ever since the U. S. Department of State has included in their report in 1994 that not only women are being trafficked, the department began monitoring all persons with questionable citizenship status in the US beginning in that same year. To greatly reduce human trafficking, the U. S. has begun initiating anti-trafficking programs to aid countries fight this illegal trade. The office of the TVPA was assigned to monitor and allowed by the US State Department to combat human trafficking in the international level while millions of dollars were poured out as grants to organizations around the world to implement programs combating human trafficking. The U. S. has also helped these countries in enacting their laws for anti-trafficking legislation and provided training to law enforcers, prosecutors, border guards and judicial officers in determining, investigating and prosecution of traffickers and providing protection for the victims. Two years after the resolution of TVPA, The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2000 was reformulated to 2003 to provide resources and initiatives in helping the 18,000 to 20,000 victims of human trafficking saved in the US. Then in 2006, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 was signed into a stronger law (Justice). To show that there is clearly the cause for alarm with human trafficking which brought about white slavery in the United States, CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith explores and exposes the world of human trafficking in America by making her own series of research in America’s suburbs and reported her findings for The Early Show in series. Tracy interviewed a number of people who were victims of illegal sex trade and one of these is Shauna. Shauna is a 17 year old girl from Florida who was looking for friends in school because she was the new girl in the campus. Finally she was befriended by another student and invited her for a sleepover in her house. But a man who posed as the friend’s father drugged her drink and woke up to a nightmare. She found herself tied still dizzy with the drug. Not long after, she was brought to a place where she was sold. She was raped and beaten if she refused to have sex. Her parents searched for her and finally she was found by investigator Brad Dennis in a club. According to Dennis, Shauna was a victim of human trafficking which becomes the growing problem in the suburbs of Florida. Tracy Smith has discovered that the syndicates who are behind the kidnapping and human trafficking know the profile of the most potential targets that can be used for their sex trade. In this manner they connive with other people to do their deeds. Dennis said usually girls who are victims of human trafficking are moved around a circuit by their captors hitting major hotels and convention centers looking for potential and moneyed clients. Wan Kim of the U. S. Justice Department said that this kind of business has now developed into a very prolific business and usually undetected. The problem for the authorities is that the people behind this crime have wide connections and they have become even wiser with the trade. They can keep women for years without people knowing they live there as sex slaves. In the case of Shauna, her case has never been pursued because until today her captors remained at large (Smith). Human trafficking has developed into a lucrative business formed by different individuals grouped together to run a ring of syndicate. However, this is not always the case. In 2008, Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez, a 28-year old Guatemalan woman was arrested in Los Angeles for her involvement in her family’s human trafficking business. She was the sixth member of her family who was nabbed by immigration authorities as she was charged with 50 counts of human trafficking cases specifically luring Guatemalan minors to the United States with a promise of well-paid jobs but all ends up being prostitutes. Vasquez who was known as the â€Å"L. A. Madam† by her clients was posted on television as one of â€Å"America’s Most Wanted†. But Vasquez’ case was only one of the few cases of human trafficking that was highlighted by the media which makes people believe cases of immigrant sex trafficking are not literally important to be known by the masses. Lisette Arsuaga, director of Development for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in Los Angeles said we have a clear reality that human trafficking operates in every American city and even to towns but it is craftily hidden it is hard to uncover (Johnson and Rodriguez). The state of San Francisco is known for its liberalism toward sex and it has continuing history of arresting prostitutes around the city. Unfortunately it has also become one of the top American cities to be the favorite sanctuary of international sex traffickers and so large numbers of illegal immigrants pour out to the city each year. This is because sex trafficking is now an $8 billion international business and sadly traffickers consider San Francisco to be the best place to operate their largest commercial trades. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who is not ignorant about this trade said although the city despised such reputation, being underground with unending source of clients makes the state helpless. Mayor Newsom said girls are forced to come to America because their families are being threatened and so the cases of human trafficking seem to be endless. While the U. S. Department of Justice states that thousands of illegal immigrants are being brought to the United States each year, there are still no quantifying data which assure that many of them fall as sex or force labor victims. The CIA is now involved to stop this trade and it has used its significant methods to come up with reliable sources of illegal immigrants. They now rely on law enforcement data, government data, international reports and academic research just to come up with backed-up information and track the sources of this trade. The CIA also confirmed that trafficked women for the sex industry generally come from Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union and also South America. As usual, they are lured to work in the United States for more meaningful opportunities but once they are in, they are held captives and sold to brothels, strip clubs and outcall services. Even high-society call girls who come to the United States admit to the Federal investigators that being in captivity and held as sex slaves can be the most degrading and unimaginably unacceptable. In other parts of the world, human trafficking has also become an insatiable growing business which has overtaken drugs and arms trafficking. According to Barry Tang who is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement attache with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security in Korea, human traffickers in Korea are now highly organized with full logistical network between Korea and the United States. They have recruiters, intermediaries, brokers and even designated taxi drivers and influential pimps. On other countries, women are the usual traffickers and they acquire women from clubs, bars, colleges, restaurants and even pool halls. Their international contacts target mostly developed countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia because this is where the money is. When everything is settled in these countries, they even set up their own shops in the main cities particularly in California, New York, Las Vegas and Texas (May). As a conclusion, we may never stop human trafficking for the moment because it has already rooted itself in our societies. Not even America who advocates for human rights and preservation of human dignity find it hard to control such a phenomenal dilemma. But though this has become an uncontrollable ailment because it made its evil influence to the different form of culture and societies, we might still reduce its havoc in degrading human dignity by involving ourselves and be guardians for the sake of our children and our society. The governments are trying hard to pursue what is necessary but they cannot do it alone. We might not be the victims here but our children maybe their next target. Works Cited: Johnson, Alex, and Cesar Rodriguez. Human Trafficking in America. The World Race (2008). April 14, 2009 http://matthewsnyder. theworldrace. org/? filename=human-trafficking-in-america. Justice, U. S. Department of. Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking: Fiscal Years 2001 2005. (2006). April 15, 2009 http://www. humantrafficking. org/countries/united_states_of_america. May, Meredith. Sex Trafficking: San Francisco Is a Major Center for International Crime Networks That Smuggle and Enslave. San Francisco Chronicle2006. Shurter, David. The Problem with Human Trafficking in America. Now Public: Crowd Powered Media (2009). April 15, 2009 http://www. nowpublic. com/world/problem-human-trafficking-america. Smith, Tracy. Slavery in the Suburbs. United States, 2007. CBS Evening News. (September 12, 2007): CBS Interactive, Inc. http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2007/09/12/eveningnews/main3254966. shtml

History Of Mass Media From Traditional Age

History Of Mass Media From Traditional Age Mass media has coexisted with Homo sapiens since the brink of time as its history stretches back beyond the dawns of recorded history to the individual who then wanted to reach out to a larger group of audience through any form of communication, regardless a painting on the wall of a cave, or just by telling a story to a group of people. History of mass media can be traced back to the early days of dramas that were performed in various cultures. The word media was first mentioned in the 1920s, but back then, it referred to something that had its origin much further in the past and the term Mass Media originated with the print media that was also its first example. The first newspaper was printed in China 868 A.D, but due to the high cost of paper and illiteracy amongst people, it didnt prosper. It was Johannes Gutenberg, who for the first time printed a book in a printing press in 1453. However, the invention of printing press in the late 15th century gave rise to the first forms of mass communication, enabling publication of books and newspapers on a larger scale than previously possible. According to Wikipedia, mass media refers collectively to all media technologies, including the Internet, television, newspapers and radio, which are used for mass communications, and to organizations which control these technologies. Over the years, during the period post-Second World War, radio, television and video were introduced. The audio-visual facilities became immensely popular as they provided information and entertainment. Of late, it is the Internet which has become the latest and most dominant of all the mass media. Here, information is been generated through various websites and search engines. One can play games, listen to radio while working and chat with friends and relatives, irrespective of location. It also gives information on various topics such as literature, politics, science, sports, fashion, movies, education, career, jobs etc. similar to other types of mass media. Indubitably, one of the biggest influences in our modern lives today, is the force of mass media. Without this medium of communication, our way of live and our civilization would be much more backward than where we are today. We humans are still immature as we definitely have a lot of growing up to do as a race, and mass media is a tool that is supposed to aid us in achieving the aim of fulfillment. Mass media comprises of two parts; print media and the broadcast or also known as electronic media. The print media refers primarily to newspapers and magazines. Radio, television and the Internet constitute the broadcast media. Mass media is simply a section of the media that spreads to a large audience simultaneously, through various types of media. The simplest way to understand what mass media is about is to take a look at newspapers. The first high-circulation newspapers arose in the eastern United States in the early 1800s, and were made possible by the invention of high-speed rotary steam printing presses and railroads which allowed large-scale distribution over wide geographical areas. However, mass production of newspapers had a downfall. The increased rate of circulation led to deteriorate in feedback and interactivity from the readers, which made newspapers a one-way medium. Newspapers first appeared in Europe in the mid-17th century. They evolved gradually from a similar type of publication called broadsheet a single sheet of paper that responded to unusual events. Although newspapers of today and those in the past are quite similar in almost every aspect, newspapers and their content have changed over time. Newspapers in different communities often contain dissimilar contents. The future for newspaper industries seems to fade over time as people look to the Internet for news and young people turn away from papers, paid-for circulations are falling year after year. Papers are also losing their share of advertising spending. Classified advertising is quickly moving online. Inevitably, the newspaper industries which was once experienced explosive growth now faces cyclical trough as new technology such as the existence of e-book has rendered obsolete newspapers in their traditional format. Revenue has plummeted since fierce competition from internet media has squeezed older print publishers. The number of people reading newspapers and magazine has decreased over the years, and polls indicate that the public has more confidence in the accuracy of stories aired on television than in the papers. On the other hand, those who get their news from the print media are better informed. On the bright side, reading newspapers has a lower impact on global warming than reading online. This is so because the impact from powering a computer itself outweighs the impact from creating newsprint. According to Torraspapels Paper, Reading a newspaper generates lower impact on global warming than reading the news online for 30 minutes. Most newspapers today focus on local coverage. There are only a few that cover national issues in depth, and whose editorials can influence national policy. How important the print media is to the individual is subject to debate, however. Magazines, on the other hand, were known to exist since the 1700s in which it resembled books. Based on historical research, the first magazine ever produced was called The Gentlemans Magazine, released in January, 1731 by well-known writer of his prime, Edward Cave. The main idea of Edward was to compile a monthly issue of news and commentary on topics the public were interested in. The difference between magazines and newspapers is that magazine has a relaxed style of writing, while giving and sharing opinions in a magazine is encouraged. However, newspapers during that era were more fixed and straight-to-the-point, following strictly to collected data and statistics. Magazines from the past have a similar purpose to newspapers, criticizing organizations. For instance, Daniel Defoes first English magazine, The Review was published to criticize the Catholic Churches of England. The magazine was also released during the 1700s but published magazines then only lasted for a few months as publishers are geographically limited and the cost of magazine printing is very expensive. More than five decades after magazines were introduced, mass circulation was made possible. Magazines which was once only affordable by the buying elite, now available for the working class as well, and the subject matter had shifted mostly to entertainment sake as well. Magazines are now very affordable to the public. This was made possible by the lesser cost in printing and a bulk of the cost is also reduced due to the many advertisers that the magazines have. This is why that it is in magazines that advertising went full-blast. They can secure one whole page for their products in colored form unlike that in newspaper. Admittedly, this can cost more than the dailies but the potential buyer would be enticed more about the product as the ad would be more attractive in color. Nevertheless, from there, the concept of magazines expanded to various interests, ranging from sports to entertainment, general knowledge and more during todays popular culture. Magazines have a more casual style of reading as literary freedom is practiced. With this, venturing into each interests or fields is easier and more fun as magazine writers have freedom to express their ideas on the subject, as collected data comes second in magazine writing. Today, magazines can be found in almost every newsstand, divided into categories; some of them include IT, fashion and family. Successful magazines include Readers Digest, National Geographic and Peoples Magazine which are also placed in the Top 10 most subscribed magazines in the world. Readers can now also choose from the subscription options that publishing companies offer their customers. They can choose to be subscribed on a daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually or annually on their magazine of choice. It is also great for short reading for its articles would not really be so mind-boggling but not that shallow either. This is why a lot of readers prefer magazine as well because they are not intimidated by the number of pages within, and they can stop at one article anytime they like and read the other articles any time they want. Book reading gives a much more different experience in which if you stopped at a section, you have to read the rest immediately if you dont want to risk losing yourself or being confused with the story. Magazines really had gone a long way since then as it already evolved itself in just less than three centuries and it was able to stand on its own with its own share of loyal followers. It is already an industry on its own and the evolution doesnt stop there. Magazines would still evolve and change but rest assured that its followers would be with them all the way. Commercial radio first began to broadcast in 1920, and got into politics very quickly carrying the results of that years presidential election. The 32nd President of the United States, President Franklin Roosevelt effectively used radio to communicate directly with the American people through his fireside chats during the worst days of the Depression. Radios are the earliest form of televisions, developed over 80 years ago when wireless communication was never a thought even in the most brilliant scientists minds. It was until the late nineteenth century that James Clerk Maxwell developed the first radio-wave theorem in 1864. Mathematically, he proved that if an electrical interruption is of short distance from the point at which it occurred, there would be effect or passage of electrical current due to a type of wave that moves at the speed of light, in which the electromagnetic energy would travel. Heinrich Hertz experimented with Maxwells thesis in 1888 and demonstrated that waves travelled in straight lines and could be reflected by a metal sheet. Augusto Righi, an Italian physicist, continued and refined Hertzs work, establishing the equality between electrical and optical vibrations. Another scientist, Temistocle Calzecchi-Onesti, constructed, in 1888, a tube due to his belief that electrical discharges of atmospheric perturbations influence iron filings. In 1894, Oliver Lodge named Temistocles famous tube the coherer and increased the reception gain of the hertzian waves. Alexander Popoff then created a vertical metal pole by using Lodges coherer and collecting atmospheric disturbances in a rudimentary antenna. The invention of these instruments helped Guglielmo Marconis discovery who verified that electromagnetic waves travel between two points separated by an obstacle which led to the creation of the first radio transmitter. This experiment was repeated with larger spark gaps starting with 5 feet; expanded up to 100km and radiotelegraphy was born. The first radio station began operation in the 1920s. The broadcasting radio station was KDKA in Pittsburgh. This service became very popular and soon the concept spread around the globe. Early uses of radios were maritime, for sending telegraphic messages using Morse code between ships and land. Radios were used to pass on orders and to communicate between armies and navies on both sides in World War I. Germany used radio communications for diplomatic messages once it discovered British had tapped its submarine cables. Besides broadcasting purposes, point-to-point broadcasting, including telephone messages and relays of radio programs became common in the 1920s and the 1930s. In the pre-war years, radios were the development of detection and locating aircrafts and ships by radars. As time progressed, so did the development of radio. Today, the concepts used in radios are also used in many modern devices that are now essential to our modern lives. Inventions of radios ultimately lead to telephony (Mobile phones), videos (Television sends the picture as AM and the sound as AM or FM, with the sound carrier a fixed frequency), satellite navigation systems (Satellites with precision clocks, the satellite then transmits its position, and the time of the transmission, the receiver listens to four satellites, and can figure its position as being on a line that is tangent to a spherical shell around each satellite, determined by the time-of-flight of the radio signals from the satellite. A computer in the receiver does the math), radars (Detects objects at a distance by bouncing radio waves off them. The delay caused by the echo measures the distance and the direction of the beam determines the direction of the reflection), radio remote control (Radio remote controls use radio waves to transmit control data to a remote object as in some early forms of guided missile, some early TV remotes and a range of model boats, cars and airplanes while large industrial remote-controlled equipment such as cranes and switching locomotives now usually use digital radio techniques to ensure safety and reliability), heating (Radio-frequency energy generated for heating of objects is generally not intended to radiate outside of the generating equipment, to prevent interference with other radio signals. Microwave ovens use intense radio waves to heat food. Diathermy equipment is used in surgery for sealing of blood vessels. Induction furnaces are used for melting metal for casting, and induction hobs for cooking), and even radio services. Radio became the dominant form of media during and after World War II, as it could provide war information much faster than newspapers, and people desired current news of the war situation and of their relatives fighting overseas. However newspapers still supplied daily information and advertising. Radios importance as a news and information source declined however with the introduction of television in the late 1940s. Television dominated the media industry in 1950s. Radio and print media was to compete with television that seemed to give the best of both media: pictures and sound. With the advent of television in the 1950s, print media and radio were forced to rethink their approaches towards news and entertainment. The new media changed the nature of running for the United States presidential office, the first campaign ads for a presidential candidate appeared on television in 1952 and the first presidential debate was aired in 1960 between Senator John Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon. The television however was not invented by a single inventor, instead by many who contributed to the evolution of television. It was Joseph Henrys and Michael Faradays work with electromagnetism in 1831 that jumpstarted the evolution of electronic communication. In 1862, the very first still image was transferred over wires by Abbe Giovanna Caselli, the first person to accomplish such feat in the history of mankind using his brilliant invention, the Pantelegraph. Scientists May and Smith then experimented with selenium and light, which eventually revealed the possibility of transforming images into electronic signals in 1873. Boston civil servant George Carey thought about complete television systems and in 1877 he put forward drawings for what he called a selenium camera that would allow people to see by electricity. By 1880, great inventors, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison theorize about telephone devices that were capable of transmitting images as well as sounds. Alexander invented the photophone, a device that used light to transmit sounds but he wanted to advance his device for image sending. Four years later, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, first to engineer a rotating-disc technology that was able to transmit pictures over wire, making Paul Nipkow the father of mechanical televisions. He was the first human ever to discover televisions scanning principle, in which light intensities of small portions of an image are analyzed and transmitted, making Paul Nipkow the forerunner of televisions. At the Worlds Fair in Paris, the first International Congress of Electricity was held. That is where Russian Constantin Perskyi made the first known use of the word television. At the dawn of the 20th century, the momentum of ideas and discussions shifted to physical development of television systems. Inventors around the globe attempted to build mechanical television systems based on Paul Nipkows rotating disks and electronic television systems based on cathode ray tubules developed independently in the 1907 by English inventor Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton and Russian scientist, Boris Rosing. Electronic television systems lagged behind mechanical systems for several years as mechanical television was cheaper to build and delicate parts was not used. Besides, it was difficult to get financial backing to develop electronic television when mechanical television worked so much better at that time and with a cheaper working system, the public didnt see the need to change. However, Vladmir Kosmo Zworykin and Philo Taylor Farnsworth made some critical breakthrough, and electronic televisions began to catch up. Electronic television systems eventually replaced mechanical systems. Peter Goldmark, working for Columbia Broadcast System, demonstrated color television to the Federal Communication Commision in 1946. His system produced color pictures from a red-blue-green wheel spin in front of a cathode ray tube. Cable television, formerly known as Community Antenna Television or CATV, was born in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the late 1940s. The first successful color television system began commercial broadcasting on December 17, 1953 based on a system designed by Radio Corporation of America. On June of 1956, practical television remote controller first entered the homes of Americans. The Germans however used remote control motorboats during World War I. In the late 1940s, the first non-military uses for remote controls appeared. The very first prototype for a plasma display monitor was invented in July 1964 at the University of Illinois by professors Donald Bitzer and Gene Slottow, and then graduate student Robert Willson. However, it was not until after the advent of digital and other technologies that successful plasma televisions became possible. There was an explosive growth of the media in the 1980s, especially television. Satellite television reported events across the world live. With competition from 24-hour cable television news, many newspapers disappeared. Cable news and subscription cable television also rose in popularity, competing with network television. According to a Media Research in May 1994, 98 percent of all American houses has at least one TV set. 63 percent received at least basic cable. It is estimated that the average American spends 20-25% of his or her time with the television on. According to a Newsweek article on June 7 1999, the United States is the largest exporter of television programs and American movies are in prime time television all over the world. However, the Europeans are now making more of their own shows and sitcoms that have more local flavour. As in the 80s, parents continue to question the appropriateness and value of media programming for children of different ages. As the 20th century was coming to an end, a new media was born the Internet. It links people together through their computer terminals with modems connected to telephone lines and with the Internet electronic publishing and chat rooms sprang up, allowing individuals to express their opinions freely to a large global audience, giving printed media a challenge to survive. With minimal technical information, any individual will be capable of commenting personal views on air without the huge expense as of in traditional publishing. The Internet also gave advertising a whole new platform to promote their products and delivering their message. The future of mass media is yet to be unknown as there are possibilities of new medium yet to be invented and because of the widespread distribution of cellphones and the Internet, it is easy to forget that both technologies are at their immature stage. However, it is unlikely that we, as of living in this society are able to focus on the lens of history with clarity upon what these technologies have or might have effect upon us in the future. Mass communication is truly the mass power to shape the future of human culture as communication is culture and since humans are searching for new forms of communication, indubitably, we are indirectly looking at new forms of utilizing power, new forms of controlling individuals and new forms of shaping the human culture to come.

The Concept Of Imprisonment And Human Rights Criminology Essay

The Concept Of Imprisonment And Human Rights Criminology Essay The terms prison and imprisonment are used interchangeably in a way that the existence of the first term is a mandatory precondition for the existence of the latter one, or vice-versa. In other words in criminal justices process, the first term prison refers to the place where in the latter term imprisonment is to be taken place; and imprisonment indicates the limitation of inmates liberty. However, different terms are used by different countries and legal systems to explain terms prisoner, prison and imprisonment. For example in the US different states use different terminologies like inmate and prisoner; correction and imprisonment interchangeably.  [1]   Of course some legal systems use detention instead of imprisonment and detainee instead of prisoner.  [2]  Hence, these above discussed facts show that there is no uniformity in the use of terms in the criminal justice system of different states. However, after the establishment of the United Nations organization (UN) and the regional organizations states are adopting uniform usage of terms through the ratification of binding and normative treaties and standards. In order to avoid ambiguity during the writing and reading this research paper, the writer will use the term prison to mean a place where individuals deprived of personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offence serve their conviction  [3]  emphasis added. Likewise, the term prisoner will be used to refer to an individual deprived of personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offence.  [4]  Finally, the term imprisonment will be used to mean deprivation of liberty as a result of conviction.  [5]  However, readers should be aware that the term inmate to mean prisoner may be used in some parts of this research paper. Evolution Indeed, crimes as a source of social evil emerged from the biblical times; however with the change of socio-economic situations its nature and techniques also changed; in line with this, the modes of control and punishment used by the state changed.  [6]  Therefore, prisons as we know today are result of recent developments compared to the age of commission of crimes. From these facts one can understand that before the coming of the contemporary prison system there were other modes of punishment against wrongdoers. To borrow the words of Thorsten Sellin; [s]societys offenders have been dealt with in many ways. Until recent times, historically speaking, punishment was harsh; criminals were exiled, enslaved, tortured, mutilated, and executed. The use of imprisonment as a method of treating the offender is relatively new, dating back no further than the last quarter of the 18th century. Of course, jails, lockups, and places of detention of various kinds have been in existence for hundreds of years. But it was only 200 years ago that they were used for anything other than places of detention for offenders awaiting a harsher kind of punishment.  [7]   During the Roman Empire, prisons were used to detain offenders pending trial or execution and to punish defiant servants.  [8]  Hence, it was not used to imprison convicted individuals like the practice today. The English prison was used for the same purpose with Roman ones in the 9th and 11th centuries. However, unlike the contemporary situation, all costs incurred during the stay of a prisoner in the prison, including salaries for sheriffs, would be covered by the prisoner himself.  [9]  To rectify the rising of petty offences in Europe, prison labor was introduced in correction centers in the sixteenth century.  [10]  This new system was aimed at rehabilitating prisoners so that they can serve the society after release. Latter on transporting prisoners from Europe to colonies, which was aimed at engaging them in the farm lands in America and Australia was introduced.  [11]  This system ended together with the end of colonialism in the Northern America and Australia . In America the concept of prison is related with the Quakers, a protestant religious sect, who were highly concerned about the cruelty and harshness of the then system.  [12]  As a result of their concern about the redemption of the souls of the criminals they came up with the idea of the penitentiary, a place of separation where criminals could think upon their evil deeds and repent.  [13]  Though it is debating, there is a view that prisons as a means of social institutions emerged in Pennsylvania in the last part of the eighteenth century.  [14]  In general the need to reform young offenders, the detention of those politically in disfavored and banishment constituted to the 19th century prisons. Function of imprisonment From the historical point of view imprisonment has had different objectives at different times. As mentioned above, prisons used to serve as a place where detainees awaiting trial or execution stay. In this case its purpose is aimed at keeping the individuals until conviction or execution. It is widely known that the purpose of imprisonment is firmly related with the objective of criminal punishment. Accordingly, the best way to discuss about the function of imprisonment would be to look in light of the objectives of criminal law. However, looking at the historical point of view on the treatment of prisoners is of worth. Typically, inmates in ancient times were put to death or used as slave labor force, but, in most of these cases, a period of incarceration or detention was preceded. When they were not otherwise engaged in labor they were held in remote and hostile surroundings, making escape virtually impossible and these drastic sanctions and inhuman treatments continued until the coming of 18th c Enlightenment.  [15]   The 17th c colonial jails and earlier various confinement and detention facilities hardly resembled the institutions that the term prison implies today. That is because such places were solely for the purpose of detention and confinement with no pretence of rehabilitation or reformation and such places were called penal institutions or penitentiaries.  [16]   However, following the coming of 18thc Enlightenment, prison officials began to develop the ideas of reformation and rehabilitation programs to their inmates. For instance, during the 1800s; New York prison officials developed two major systems of prison organization.  [17]  The first system was introduced in 1821 and under this system; prisoners stayed in solitary confinement at night and worked together during the day and it emphasized silence. That is to mean prisoners could not speak to, or even look at, one another because prison officials hoped that this silence and isolation would cause inmates to think about their crimes and reform. However this system failed without fully achieving its purpose partly because the rigid rules and isolation drove inmates insane. The 2nd system, however, was different both in methods of admission and treatment. It was opened in 1876 as a model person for offenders between the ages of 16 and 30 and this system made use of flexible sentences and allowed inmates to earn early release for good behavior and, moreover, it offered physical exercise, military training and an educational program which generally used education as a means of rehabilitation.  [18]  But the institution did not fully achieve its high expectations, largely because it judged inmates on their prison behavior and conduct instead of on their actual fitness for release. Further improvement and modification have been made in the 1900s. For instance, in the 1930s prison officials began to develop rehabilitation programs based on the background, personality, and physical condition of the individual inmate and this approach made rehabilitating and reforming programs more meaningful.  [19]  This is indication of well-developing system that laid the foundation for cotemporary rehabilitation and correction systems. But despite such efforts attempts to rehabilitate and reform inmates could not bring the desired results largely because of poorly trained staffs, lack of funds, and ill-defined goals. An extension of these rehabilitating and reforming process further strengthened and enlarged in 1960s and many people in the field of corrections felt that inmates could be helped better outside prison. As a result, community correctional facilities and halfway houses were established in 1960s and inmates lived in these facilities just before release and received counseling to help them adjust their life outside prison.  [20]  Following the emergence of rehabilitation and reformation programs, modifications of the various prison terminologies became feasible. As mentioned above, in the past, prisons were called penitentiaries or penal intuitions. Now days, however, the popular name is correctional institutions or correctional facilities. Similarly a modification is made from the term guard to correctional officers and these modifications in nomenclature emerged with the professionalism of the field of corrections during recent decades and the desire to modify the harsh images eluted by the terms prison and guard. In the past and still now, there has been a lively debate regarding the purposes for establishment of prisons and sending inmates in to these institutions. Some commentators argue that prisons are established only to imprison convicted criminals.  [21]  That is to say their purpose is to punish convicted law-breakers using imprisonment as a means of retribution. Indeed as Edward Kaufman said, retributive purpose of imprisonment is necessary for the society, however it is considered as barbaric now days.  [22]  He further mentioned that; [I]imprisonment for retribution may drive a delinquent further along the road of crime through forcing association with criminal elements and increasing rage toward and alienation from society. Permitting brutal retribution may stimulate brutal responses not only in the individual but in society as a whole, as in riot control and war.  [23]   Based on the above stated reasonable pitfalls, it is fair to suggest that retribution as a purpose should be supported by rehabilitation to halt further wrongdoings in the community. Others insist that their main purpose is to deter offenders from committing further crimes after they are released and to deter those potential law-breakers from committing crime in the future.  [24]  That is to mean the purpose of these institutions is to present convicted offenders from relapsing in to crime after their release by taking lessons from their first incarceration and the existence of prisons as penal institutions will make potential law-breakers to be refrained from committing crimes as well. However, there is an idea that sending someone to prison might not deter him/her from committing crime inside the prison compound.  [25]  The same problem can be deducted from the third objective of imprisonment incapacitation which is aimed at halting possible commission of crime by the individual prisoner by putting him in prison. Therefore, the deterrence and incapacitation objectives of imprisonment lonely cannot realize the aimed purpose of deterring or incapacitating unless it is supported by other mechanisms like rehabilitation. Still others advocate that inmates are sent to correctional institutions to be reformed or rehabilitated.  [26]  That is to say during their stay in the institutions they will come to realize and learn the wrongfulness and hazardous effects of committing crime and will further learn skills which will help them to be a law abiding and productive citizens when they are released. In practical terms, the purposes for the establishment of prisons could be interpreted as a combination of the above reasons and, therefore, they are established for more than custody and control. Now days, the concept of rehabilitation is being claimed as a right based on different international and regional treaties and standards. This is aimed at striking the balance between the two seemingly contradicting duties of prison centers humane treatment of prisoners and its punitive nature to maintaining peace and security. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), under its article 10 deals on human treatment of prisoners. It further states that [t]he penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.  [27]  As per this provision, states parties have the obligation to employ rehabilitation as a main purpose of imprisonment in their criminal justice system. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules (UNSMR), which interprets the rights of prisoners under the International bill of rights, states that; [t]he purpose and justification of a sentence of imprisonment or a similar measure derivative of liberty is ultimately to protect society against crime. This end can only be achieved if the period of imprisonment is used to ensure that upon his return to society, the offender is not only willing but able to lead a law-abiding and self-supporting life.  [28]   In a similar way of expression, under its general comment No. 21, the ICCPR human rights committee has stated that no penitentiary system should be only retributory; it should essentially seek the reformation and social rehabilitation of the prisoner.  [29]  Similar way of expression is used in different regional treaties and standards.  [30]   Generally, the above discussed arguments together with the biding and normative international and regional treaties tell us that rehabilitation is the main purpose of imprisonment in todays criminal justice system. Accordingly, it imposes obligation against states in general and prison centers in particular to use rehabilitation tools for their prisoners. But, this does not mean the other purposes of imprisonment will be totally disregarded they will rather use them side by side. Prisoners rights: Do Prisoners have a right? Some people believe that inmates should have no rights for the reason that any rights that they once had were forfeited, while they were incarcerated as part of the price they had to pay for their crimes.  [31]  Of course, rights namely human rights and freedoms are not absolute and, thus, they may be subject to limitations so as to protect the rights of others and the interests of the society. On the other hand, the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), dictates that, All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. However, equal enjoyment of rights might not be practicable due to various grounds where imprisonment is one among these. The above stated arguments and other factors pose the question do prisoners have rights once imprisoned? Researches show that, many people are of the opinion that imprisonment results in forfeiture of rights of prisoners in general.  [32]  Sometimes this assertion is confirmed by court decisions. In the famous price v Johnston  [33]  case the US Supreme Court declared that lawful incarceration brings about the necessary withdrawal or limitation of privileges and rights. Indeed history tells us that prisoners were facing the worst punishments in prisons because it is believed that they forfeit their rights. But what about human rights, which follow human beings where ever they go? Are prison center unreachable for human rights? Is it an exception to the universal application of human rights? The above decision of the US Supreme Court is a reflection of the belief of the then society. However, after the establishment of the UN and adoption of the UDHR, SMR, ICCPR and other regional Treaties the perception that imprisonment forfeits rights changed. This is because issues related to the rights of prisoners were included in all the International and Regional Human rights Treaties and Standards. Indeed the concept of regulating the rights of prisoners in the international level was raised during the League of Nations. For this reason the then Penal and Penitentiary commission has prepared rules on the treatment of prisoners which was approved by the League of Nations Assembly in 1934.  [34]  These rules were finally inapplicable and latter on revised by the UN secretariat and finally approved by the UN ECOSOC as Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) in 1957.  [35]  These standards are now implemented through many regional and domestic legislation s and standards to gain binding status. Particularly, Europe through its European prison Rules and the US the 1962 model penal code and standard correction rules of the 1973 are considered as Bill of Rights for prisoners.  [36]   It is after such an international effort of the UN and other regional organizations that courts began to pronounce that rights follow human beings. The same court of the US (the Supreme Court) in the coffin v Reichard case decided that -a prisoner retains all the rights of ordinary citizen except those expressly or by necessary implication taken from him by law.  [37]  This decision was a stepping stone for further realization of rights of prisoners in the US and all over the world. In strengthening the above decision of the Supreme Court, Justice Blackmun said, Fundamental rights follow the prisoner through the walls which incarcerate him, but always with appropriate limitations.  [38]  But the main point that has to be asked is what are the limitations and how one can know what his rights are and what are not in prison. Justice Blackmun said that the court shall use a Balancing test of protecting the interest of the individual and restricting them for different reasons. The UN general assembly in the adoption of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners has declared the same and urged states parties to apply the standards and international or regional treaties where they are party to. As mentioned above determining what rights of prisoners will be limited during their imprisonment is crucial. There are some people who argue that the rights that are limited and retained by prisoner during his imprisonment could be easily identified by the purpose of punishment intended.  [39]  Form this proposition we can easily understand that except for rehabilitation, most of the other purposes of imprisonment discussed above results in forfeiture of most of the rights of prisoners. Basically, Richard L. Lippke suggested certain criticisms against those who said prisoners forfeit their rights during imprisonment. He said that, in practice it is only state officials who can impose penalties on prisoners, however if their rights are forfeited during imprisonment it is not clear why any ordinary person cannot impose same.  [40]  The other problem identified is the duration of forfeiture, which according to Lippke is difficult to know for the reason that; [M]any criminals violate their victims rights only briefly, though they do them great harm in the process. If we tie the duration of forfeiture to the time it takes victims to recover, the problem is that some victims may never recover from brief, but devastating, right violations. Yet not all right violators can justly be punished indefinitely, not even all serious right-violators who do their victims permanent or irreversible damage.  [41]   The third problem is related to breadth or scope of the forfeiture. Accordingly, this poses a question Does someone who punches another person in the nose forfeit the relatively narrow right to not be punched in the nose, or the broader right to bodily autonomy? For him both the narrower and broader approaches are problematic since the narrower gives dubious ground for officers where as the broader approach authorizes forfeiture of rights which can be claimed not violated by the prisoner.  [42]   Now it seems fairly clear that prisoners retain their rights except those deprived specifically by law and due to their deprivation of liberty. However, there is well known perception and practice that the retained prisoners rights is less stringent than ordinary persons rights, therefore can be overridden for the benefit of less weighty ordinary persons rights.  [43]  It is not clear why a state discriminates between its citizens based on status, in this case prisoner and ordinary citizen despite its prohibition in different treaties including the UDHR. Rights retained Identifying rights retained is highly related with the purpose of imprisonment that we deserved to attain. Most obviously, this involves severe curtailment of their rights to freedom of movement for some period of time. We might also have to curtail their rights to freedom of association and intrude upon their privacy, though to what extent in each case are matters that require further substantive analysis. Prisoners would fully retain other moral rights. These might include rights securing interests in political participation, freedom of speech and conscience, control over labor, subsistence, health care, visitation with family and friends, and access to culture and entertainment. Pp 134 Incapacitation It is hard to see how more extensive restrictions on the rights of prisoners will reduce threats to the rights of others in ways that are clearly greater in magnitude than the direct burdens such restrictions will impose on inmates. Pp135 Keeping prisoners locked in cells most of the time with few opportunities to exercise their autonomy or to maintain or develop social and labor skills may marginally reduce crime within prisons in the short-term. However, such an approach seems a prescription for disaster in the longer term if our aim is to reduce crime. The vast majority of prison inmates will eventually be released from prison, most sooner rather than later. 136 (If prison life is better than life outside prison (an unlikely proposition in any case), the solution might be to improve the living conditions of the least advantaged members of civil society). It should be apparent that rehabilitative crime reduction considerations point us away from harsh prison regimes toward those that impose moderate or minimal deprivations on offenders. Prisoners are unlikely to become better functioning members of civil society if they are kept under conditions that deny them access to education, meaningful work, mental health treatment, and ready access to the family members and friends who care about them.. 138 retribution Retributive logic demands that serious offenders suffer losses or deprivations commensurate with their crimes. In all probability, penal confinement will always satisfy that demand. Thus, the only point of contention among retributivists will likely be about precisely which rights must be maintained and facilitated if prisoners are to retain the capacities vital to moral personality. Pp 141 More intriguing is Edgardo Rotmans claim that prisoners have a moral right to rehabilitation (Rotman 1990, 10-13). Rotman interprets this right both negatively, as a right not to be allowed to deteriorate in prison, and positively, as a right to improvement in such things as work skills and mental health while in prison. His primary argument for this right is that deprivation of freedom is the sine qua non of modern legal punishment. Freedom is the highest value and its loss is what offenders appropriately suffer. The other things (mostly bad, unfortunately) that happen to them in prison are not part of punishment, so prisoners should be protected from them. Moreover, many offenders come from socially and economically deprived backgrounds, and this requires the state to not only prevent them from deteriorating while in prison but to actually improve their lives. Pp 143 critics Even if we grant that freedom is the highest value in modern societies, it does not follow that its loss, or its loss alone, is all that offenders should suffer However, the detention or incarceration of prisoners does not mean that all the rights they have are lost as a result of such detention or incarceration. That is because certain rights like the right to respect inherent human dignity and human ways of treatment, the right to food and health care, shelter and Freedoms like freedom of thought, belief and so on are fundamental to human existence and they are inherent entitlements that come to every person as a result of being human. As a result, inmates under detention or imprisonment have such and the like fundamental human rights and freedoms and retain these rights with the exception of those that have been lost as a result of deprivation of liberty. Following the declaration of the UDHR in 1948, states have developed considerable number of human rights instruments including the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (BPT), Standard Minimum Rules of the Treatment of Persons (SMR) and other instruments specifically dealing with the rights and human treatments of prisoners at the national, regional and international level. These basic principles and minimum standard rules form part of customary international law, which means that they are binding, regardless of whether a state has ratified international treaties concerning these instruments. Moreover, states have undertaken obligations under international and domestic legislations both to promote and protect the wide variety of human rights in general and that of prisoners in particular.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Storm the Battlefronts :: Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essays

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Storm the Battlefronts I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings   Maya Angelou's novel is a classic tale of growing up black in the American South in the 1930s and 40s. Even though Marguerite's and her brother Bailey's childhood and early youth are probably far from typical for the average black family of that time, the book nonetheless can be read as a parable of what it meant and still means to be a black person in an overwhelmingly white society. The story is told from a "black" point of view and is thus a more "politically correct" representation of race relationship and prejudice than Harper Lee's equally famous To Kill a Mockingbird. The two children are moved back and forth between their parents and their grandmother "Momma," between St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the rural Southern town of Stamps, Arkansas, where they spend the bulk of their childhood. As the owner of a small shop their grandmother is rather well-off for a rural black woman. The children consequently don't suffer from any economic hardships - not even during the worst depression years. Still, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is no story about an easy coming-of-age: Maya is permanently puzzled by the adult world. Her grandmother is extremely religious and strict, the children "should be seen but not heard," (p. 34) and she is deeply worried about their relationship to their parents. Worse still, she is raped by her mother's boyfriend while living with her in St. Louis and refuses to talk to anyone but her brother for over a year after the trial. Moreover, she often encounters "white" prejudice, rejection or indifference, when she is working for a white woman or tries to get treatment from a white dentist. The book thus explores a wide range of timeless topics: child abuse, race relations and a lot of important general issues of adolescence such as awakening sexuality, tension between the children and their parents and friendship. Angelou basically tells us the story of her search for her place in the world - in warm and touching prose that makes it possible to identify with her problems, needs and dreams. This personal appeal and the fact that the novel touches a lot of common "black" issues make its ideal for use in the literature classroom - together with To Kill a Mockingbird (even though in a way it directs your reading of I Know. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Storm the Battlefronts :: Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essays I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Storm the Battlefronts I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings   Maya Angelou's novel is a classic tale of growing up black in the American South in the 1930s and 40s. Even though Marguerite's and her brother Bailey's childhood and early youth are probably far from typical for the average black family of that time, the book nonetheless can be read as a parable of what it meant and still means to be a black person in an overwhelmingly white society. The story is told from a "black" point of view and is thus a more "politically correct" representation of race relationship and prejudice than Harper Lee's equally famous To Kill a Mockingbird. The two children are moved back and forth between their parents and their grandmother "Momma," between St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the rural Southern town of Stamps, Arkansas, where they spend the bulk of their childhood. As the owner of a small shop their grandmother is rather well-off for a rural black woman. The children consequently don't suffer from any economic hardships - not even during the worst depression years. Still, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is no story about an easy coming-of-age: Maya is permanently puzzled by the adult world. Her grandmother is extremely religious and strict, the children "should be seen but not heard," (p. 34) and she is deeply worried about their relationship to their parents. Worse still, she is raped by her mother's boyfriend while living with her in St. Louis and refuses to talk to anyone but her brother for over a year after the trial. Moreover, she often encounters "white" prejudice, rejection or indifference, when she is working for a white woman or tries to get treatment from a white dentist. The book thus explores a wide range of timeless topics: child abuse, race relations and a lot of important general issues of adolescence such as awakening sexuality, tension between the children and their parents and friendship. Angelou basically tells us the story of her search for her place in the world - in warm and touching prose that makes it possible to identify with her problems, needs and dreams. This personal appeal and the fact that the novel touches a lot of common "black" issues make its ideal for use in the literature classroom - together with To Kill a Mockingbird (even though in a way it directs your reading of I Know.