Friday, January 24, 2020

Intertextuality in Buffy The Vampire Slayer :: Television Shows TV Essays

Intertextuality in Buffy The Vampire Slayer A vivid and 'realistic' subjective experience of TV dramatic fiction is almost axiomatic of viewer enjoyment. To feel a personal engagement with the depicted events, to experience a sense of the fictional space as subjectively real and to become drawn into that space are arguably defining features of enjoyable television viewing, as they are of film and of literature. In this paper, I will argue that certain forms of intertextuality play a key role in producing this experience. In cult TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), these forms of intertextuality are used in abundance, and BtVS is therefore an excellent vehicle for exploring their psychological impact. Krzywinska (2002) notes that BtVS demands a sophisticated level of engagement by viewers, and that this is encouraged by a number of strategies, including intertextual references. She notes that the show makes many references, for example to shows such as Xena and the novels of Anne Rice, and that these are 'Part of a common cultural vocabulary that connects characters to a broader "real" world culture. Such references lend the series a greater sense of meaningfulness, and textual richness, further encouraging discussion between viewers and helping to interlace the Buffyverse with everyday life' (p 190). Other references to the 'real' world (for example the fact that Giles is said to have brought many of his books from the British Library, and the frequent use of the Internet): provide an important way of linking the diegetic world to other texts, to history, and to viewers' cultural knowledge This is important to the series' project of making connections with viewers' lives: the aim of which is to build a cultural vocabulary gleaned from the "real" world that is common to both viewers and characters' (pp 192 3). For Krzywinska, such devices make the audience attentive and make the viewing experience richer and more rewarding. However, the argument presented here will be that such intertextuality has further psychological effects that serve to draw the viewer into the fantasy world of BtVS and to intensify the feeling of involvement. So that the rewards for the viewer go beyond merely 'catching the references'. At this point, it seems necessary to enter into a brief discussion of what I am assuming by the term 'the viewer'. What follows is fundamentally a textual analysis of the positions that BtVS makes available or offers us, and invites us to take up (however, as will become clear, I am in no way suggesting that these subject positions are identificatory in the usual sense.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Financial Leverage, Eps and Profit Margin Essay

Profits might be compared with sales, assets, or stockholders’ equity. Why might all three bases be used? Will trends in these ratios always move in the same direction? All the three bases are used to find the return earned with respective to sales as well as investment made. When the profit is compared with sales, it is called as the net profit margin. When the profit is compared with assets, it is called as return earned on total investment and when profit is compared with stockholders’ equity, it is called as return on equity. All these are profitability ratios and help to analyze the profitability at a particular period with respect to various bases. The trend in these ratios may not always move in the same direction. For example, return on assets may increase from one period to another, but not necessarily the return on equity. A cause for this may be due to change in capital structure and mix of debt and equity. Would you expect the profit margin in a quality jewelry store to differ from that of a grocery store? Comment. Yes. The profit margin in a quality jewelry store may differ from that of a grocery store. A jewelry store’s profit margin would be much higher than of a grocery store. A grocery store will have a lower profit margin with respect to sales and earns its profits by selling more volume. But in the case of a jewelry store, the profit margin earned on each unit would be higher. Give a simple definition of earnings per share. Earnings per share can be defined as the earnings available to equity shareholders after the payment of preferred dividends, if any, with respect to one share. It is calculated as net income available to equity shareholders divided by the number of outstanding equity shares. Define financial leverage. What is its effect on earnings? When is the use of financial leverage advantageous and disadvantageous? The extent to which a firm uses fixed income securities can be termed as a financial leverage. The fixed income securities include bonds and debentures. The effect on earnings includes reduction of profits due to payment of fixed interest on these securities. The use of financial leverage is advantageous especially when the leverage is at the optimum level. At this level, the existence of leverage maximizes the earnings per share of the equity holders. This is because all the excess profits after the payment of interest go to the equity holders. The use of financial leverage is disadvantageous when it exceeds the optimal level. When the leverage is too high, it increases the risk of the company as well as the cost of capital. This also reduces the long term solvency of the business.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Sports Pay For Play - 2343 Words

Amateurism in College Sports: Pay for Play? Dating back to ancient Greek culture, humans have always enjoyed partaking and watching athletic events. People would travel from all over the globe to see some of these sporting events. The same holds true today, with people from all over the world travelling to play and watch both amateur and professional sports. Amateur competition is viewed as one of the ground rules of college sports. It’s what separates the college men and women from the professional men and women. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) defines amateurism of its athletes as follows: â€Å"Student-athletes shall be amateurs in an intercollegiate sport, and their participation should be motivated primarily by†¦show more content†¦While collegiate athletes are not eligible for pay without losing their amateurism within the NCAA, colleges and universities make millions of dollars off of these athletes. In order to retain their amateur status with the NCAA, college students must not be guilty of having or partaking in any of the following: â€Å"contracts with professional teams, salary for participating in athletics, prize money above actual and necessary expenses, play with professionals, tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team, benefits from an agent or prospective agent, agreement to be represented by an agent, or delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition† (Fitt). If a player is to be found guilty of any of these, they immediately lose their amateur status in the NCAA. Due to the large salaries of professional athletes, colleges and universities also have a tough time keeping their athletes enrolled in school, many athletes leave school after their first or second year to earn the massive salaries they will receive playing the same sport they did in for free college, professionally; where athletes can be paid millions for their talents. The National Collegiate Athletic Association views its student-athletes as strictly that, however many argue that the athletes go well above and beyond to succeed both in, and out, of athletics and deserve more compensation and rewards for doing so. In â€Å"The