Saturday, August 31, 2019

Selling to Cynics

Summary – Shock advertising Generation X is society’s trendiest group, it is realistic and under the age of thirty. Advertisers have recently discovered this segment and are willing to sell directly to them now, but also would like to start a relationship that goes beyond this generation. The problem is that Generation X doesn’t trust advertisers, they are aware of the fact that there are companies willing to sell them products they don’t want. These companies are desperate to reach this new segment with the help of advertisement agencies who speak â€Å"their language†.Tim Delaney made the advertisement for Pepe jeans, which is an advertisement with the darker values of generation X, as it shows disturbing images and alienated teenagers. Pepe Jeans wants to dissociate itself from the corporate culture. They think their advertisement did not offend their targeted audience, as the idea of how negative or dark these thoughts are, are in the eye (or mi nd) of the beholder. Jiro Ejaife from â€Å"don’t tell it magazine† wanted an advertisement based on the â€Å"amusing† violence in cult movies. Their advertisement shows a teenager being shot repeatedly.He made the advertisement intentionally over the top, and thinks the question of morality should lie with the church, family and schools. The test viewing shows that teenagers disagree about the violence used in this advertisement. Some think the advertisement is unacceptable, others are not offended, as nowadays there is much more violence in movies. The advertisement industry is disputing the use of â€Å"Shock advertising†, and the moral cause of this new tactic, as advertising doesn’t only sell a product, but also sells behavior and attitude with the same efficiency.Adrian Holmes of Howard-Spink advertising is one of the acceptable advertisers, he thinks it is in the moral interest of the country and the commercial interest of the industry that these â€Å"shock advertisers† should be brought into line. These types of advertisements give ammunition to the anti-advertising lobby, which will use it against all advertisers and curtail whatever creator freedom they still have. Christopher Ogden of the advertising standards authority relies on the self regulation system where advertisers themselves behave responsibly. The authority itself however would act hard if the advertisers use anti-social advertisements.The idea of Professor Malcolm Mc Donald of the Cranfield School of management is that advertisers who chose for short term sensational game always lose in the long run, as there are not only the shareholders to please but also other stakeholders like employees, pressure groups, etc. Finally Geoffrey Ellerton of midland bank thinks the more you target and advertisement very specifically for a particular market niche like the teenage audience, the greater the risk that you give any other audience the idea that the o rganization is not for them but for a younger aged group.Midland bank uses an advertisement which shows an adolescent person leaving his parents to live on his own. Test viewing has shown that teenagers are indifferent to this kind of advertisement as it did not make an impact on them. We can conclude that the advertisement business is caught between two worlds, the moralists and the mainstream on the one hand and a young market with entirely different ethical ideas on the other hand. Generation X might just turn their backs to the advertisers.

Friday, August 30, 2019

How Do People and Themes, Change Throughout the Course of the Story

‘The Darkness Out There’ by Penelope Lively Jordan Roberts How do people and themes, change throughout the course of the story? ‘The Darkness Out There’ combines the author’s narration with the thoughts and feelings of Sandra, a girl belonging to the ‘Good Neighbours Club’. She goes to help out an old lady, Mrs. Rutter, with the help of a boy called Kerry. Mrs. Rutter lives in the countryside; next to a wood called Packers End, feared by Sandra because of its supposed supernatural qualities. Mrs. Rutter has a secret, that when told, horrifies the children.This sub story is of the German she found and left to die back when she was a girl in the war. Penelope Lively develops Mrs. Rutters character in many ways, with clues early on to her true self. Sandra’s views on the characters change by the end, as well as her whole out look of life as a result. There are several themes within this short story this paragraph, deals firstly with t he theme of darkness, and light it covers the darkness around us In Packer's End â€Å"It was a rank place, all whippy saplings and brambles and a gully with a dumped mattress and a bedstead and an old fridge.And, somewhere, presumably, the crumbling rusty scraps of metal and cloth and †¦. bones? † This evokes a sense of desolation a hostile haunted kind of place, somewhere you don't really want to be, nasty things could happen, this sets the mood of the woods also this was set in the past and the present, at one point the writer graphically describes the trees when the German plane went down, â€Å"The branch shapes to look like faces and clawed hands† and â€Å"You couldn't quite see into, the clotted shifting depths of the place. This makes you kind of hold your breath in anticipation wondering what will happen there, you know it is horrible from the descriptive words used. It also tells you of the girl that was possibly sexually assaulted by a knife wielding men so you know now it is definitely are not the place for a young girl to be. The other aspect of Darkness covered in this story is the darkness of badness, evil, human wickedness, vengeance which is never a pretty thing.The dark blot on Mrs Rutter's soul for leaving that poor man to die, obviously drawn out over several days so no doubt a painful, lonely death and he was a mere boy really barely reaching manhood about 20 yrs. old, but she saw it as ok, she â€Å"Licked her lips† she enjoyed the redemption as she signified these injured German pilots as those who in fact killed her own husband.Another key theme is the supernatural, and the mysterious ‘Packers End’ which is often conveyed as the so called ‘Darkness out there’ as her fears change throughout the story. She fears â€Å"German Ghosts† who are said to in fact haunt ‘Packers End’. But lively changes Sandra’s fears almost in correlation as We, the reader see her g row up. As the story starts she fears ‘German Ghosts’ but as the story develops she then fears a ‘knife wielding rapist’ and this shows the fears of a girl and the fears of then the fears of a woman.Furthermore, a key theme throughout the story is growing up as we see Sandra and Kerry realising the changes there body is going through as Sandra â€Å"her breast popping out her shirt† shows the stages of puberty her body is going through as her character becomes more developed mentally so does she physically as she begins to notice the changes happening with her body. Kerry is the same describing his chin â€Å"covered in acne† Her opinion of Kerry changes as lively further develops his character as Sandra does not really know Kerry, but she shares her friends' opinion of him, â€Å"Kerry Stevens that none of her lot reckoned much on†.But at the end of the story she changes her mind. Kerry seems a bit of a stereotype because he works part -time in a garage, and will have a full-time job there when he leaves school. He identifies Sandra's dad by the make and colour of his car. But however lively suggests clues that suggest Kerry is not as Sandra sees him, for example, he is ready to spend his free time helping old people, and he asks Mrs. Rutter what she wants them to do, then gets on with it steadily. At the end of the story however it is Kerry who takes the initiative, and passes judgement on Mrs. Rutter. In Sandra's eyes he had grown; he had got older and larger†¦ † Which furthers the point that Sandra had in fact misjudged, Kerry but this furthermore foreshadows him growing up through the course of the story. Another key point of the story is when he offers her a piece of the Aero bar before he has some himself a subtle message, of which foreshadows the end of the story showing his unselfish nature. One of the ways Mrs. Rutter’s character is portrayed by Penelope Lively is through her environment , both historically and geographically. The house is introduced sending out two different messages. One is that of a quaint homely place.This can be recognized through the descriptions of the china ornaments, â€Å"big-eyed flop-eared rabbits and beribboned kittens and flowery milkmaids and a pair of naked chubby children wearing daisy chains†. Firstly, this gives the impression of a cuddly ‘grandmother’ figure, but then the picture is broken with the mention of the â€Å"smell of cabbage†. This comment conflicts with the otherwise friendly scene to suggest something is not rite. The house reflects Mrs. Rutter’s character. An example of this is â€Å"her eyes investigated quick as mice†. Later, the house mirrors this comment by the author describing that it â€Å"smelt of damp and mouse†.Animals and flowers are frequently mentioned in the description of the ornaments and her love of plants, â€Å"You should see the wood in spring, wit h all the bluebells†. This constant reference to nature implies there is a link with Mrs. Rutter, for nature is changeable and not always as it seems. There is also evidence to suggest she is an old lady whose mind is still stuck in the past, such as her collection of â€Å"old calendars and pictures torn from magazines†. This could later explain why her memory of the German plane and dying soldier is still vivid as ever. The effect of what Mrs.Rutter says and does also reveals sides of her character. She welcomes Kerry and Sandra into her house. But rite at the beginning there is a contrast in description, â€Å"a creamy smiling pool of a face in which her eyes snapped and darted† sounds friendly and comforting but subliminally uneasy and then later sinister as her character becomes more developed. She’s a very judgmental woman. She sends the boy straight away outside to do the manual work and leaves Sandra the light chores indoors. She makes conversation with the girl, but not with Kerry, thinking he’ll have nothing interesting to say.This is because she doesn’t think much of his ambitions, smiling falsely while he tells her that he wants to work as a car mechanic. She insults him, â€Å"well, I expect that’s good steady money if you’d nothing special in mind. Sugar? † then moves on quickly to a gesture of hospitality, trying to conceal the jibe aimed at Kerry. This is also a key theme throughout the story the ideal of certain roles and pre-conceived stereotypes of what a man or woman should be, Mrs. Rutter upholds very traditional stereotypes. She’s patronizing too, with comments like â€Å"You’re a little dress maker, too,† and â€Å"Chocky? She asks Sandra to offer Kerry a chocolate too, but has already forgotten his name â€Å"Take them out and see if what’s-‘s-name would like one? † showing his insignificance in her mind. One reason why she does this may be because she has no children of her own, so she goes on stereotypical ideas. She also makes the reader feel uneasy, â€Å"Mind your pretty skirt, pull it up a bit, there’s only me to see if you’re showing a bit of bum. † This provokes the thought that she has a slightly warped mind. She starts to tell Sandra about her husband who was killed in the war. He died rite at the beginning, and she hasn’t formed any relationships since.This can make the reader feel a little bit sympathetic towards her. Penelope Lively lets us know what others think of Mrs. Rutter as Kerry builds a profile on her character when he talks with Sandra. He shows his dislike of the woman, â€Å"I don’t go much on her† and â€Å"I dunno. The way she talks and that. † Sandra encourages him to feel sorry for her by telling him of her tragedy, but he explains that â€Å"There’s lots of people done that† dismissing the excuse for her peculiar and dis turbing behavior by implying that she wasn’t the only one to loose somebody in the war.The way Mrs. Rutter always watches Sandra and â€Å"glinting from the cushions† gives an uneasy feel towards her. When Kerry returns inside Mrs. Rutter begins her anecdote. He asks if she saw the plane come down and she chuckles, seeming to delight in the idea. She explains how her and her sister went to investigate the scene and was only going to get help if it was an allied plane. This alarms Kerry. Her twisted side becomes more apparent when she says; â€Å"We cheered, I can tell you† as they realized it was German. Sandra is alarmed and quips how awful it was, but Mrs.Rutter, who disregards her discomfort, abruptly interrupts her she is so involved in telling the story. She tries to soften what she is saying by ‘sugaring the pill’, for example friendly additives such as â€Å"my duck† to unsettling sentences. She refers to the injured man in the broken plane as â€Å"that site†. She mentions nothing about the man himself but just remarks how â€Å"it wasn’t a pretty site†. She is unmoved when the German was crying â€Å"mutter, mutter†. This shows she is a cold, heartless woman. She recollects easily how she left the man in pain because it was raining.This shows she has no feeling of mutual human kindness and doesn’t feel obliged to help. Again, she is not bothered with the fact he is in his late teens. Which shows her becoming more and more distant from her ‘grandmother’ stereotype, showing how lively makes the reader question the fact that not all as it in fact seems. Mrs. Rutter is bitter and resentful because of the death of her husband. She delights in the German's death, â€Å"I thought, oh no, you had this coming to you, mate, there’s a war on. † She seems surprised when Kerry and Sandra suddenly get up to leave, disgusted with her tale.She has no remorse and doe sn’t realize there was anything wrong with what she did, her conscience still not activated all these years later. Rite from the beginning there had been implicit clues to her nasty inner character, not just from the story she told which revealed it explicitly towards the end. Penelope Lively through other means, like metaphors, reveals the character. Like her body, her personality is not clear-cut. The author suggests this when she explains â€Å"she seemed composed of circles†. Introduced as â€Å"a cottage loaf of a woman†, gives the misleading impression of a warm, traditional, safe, chunky, old woman.But following this is in fact another metaphor, â€Å"with a face below which chins collapsed one into another,† implicitly meaning she had different guises, was false and two- faced. Someone not to be trusted. On balance, it seems that Mrs. Rutter was a twisted old lady, unable to let go of the bitterness she acquired from her husband’s killing a nd sick because of the fact she relished in the idea of the young German soldier left to die. Her historical background, the fact she lived through the horrors of war is no excuse.She believes herself to be an innocent old lady; blind to her own faults and separated from the outside world. Penelope Lively used various characterization techniques to skilfully convey the character of Mrs. Rutter well. Also by the end of the novel, Mrs. Rutter’s character development changes almost full circle as she is converted from an â€Å"old popper† to what Kerry calls her â€Å"a bitch†. This is used by lively to convey the ideal that not all things are as they seem. And it is not in fact ‘the darkness out there’ but in fact the darkness within people, and as we reveal more and more of Mrs.Rutter’s character we can clearly see a warped women, who left someone to die, with no element of remorse what so ever. In conclusion, a reason why the original thought s of Mrs. Rutter were so misleading was because Sandra didn’t realize her disguise. ‘The Darkness Out There’ was a collaboration of 1st and 3rd person text. Unless the audience was very analytical and close readers, they would generally go along with what Sandra was thinking, they wouldn’t know any better. When Mrs. Rutter is exposed by her evil characteristics the audience learns and was guilty with Sandra.They make the same mistakes of stereotyping as her. As a result, they are more emotionally involved and affected by the moral ending message. The themes and people almost change completely as the fears of Sandra develop from ‘ghosts’ to in fact the darkest part of people’s souls. Sandra becomes forced to question everything she believes in like Kerry a pre-conceived nobody in her eyes but is in fact a good person who offers her chocolate before in fact himself showing an unselfish nature. The title is of course used to question are i nnermost fears the darkness is in fact closer than it may seem.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Food - Essay Example Visiting the streets of down town Chicago demonstrates a cultural variety of foods. As you walk down the street the various smells hit you. But the question still remains what types of foods are safe to eat? However, this question extends past the Chicago land area but to the whole United States. Visiting the United States brings a large variety of different foods. Yet many of the differences in the cultural foods are associated with the use of different spices, not necessarily the actual food. Skeptics may choose not to eat a certain type of food due to stereotyping. This behavior is often seen after a mass recall is publicized on the media. Unfortunately, food associated pathogens do not discriminate to one specific type of food group. From eggs, cows and vegetables these different groups represent may of the variety of foods found in the United States. Visiting this country can bring the eater great satisfaction to find such a vast variety of foods. But these foods are never really free E. Coli, Salmonella or Listeria. Still many individuals exhibit preferences when grocery shopping towards organic or hormone free choices. According to Newsweek (n.d.), â€Å"Buying organic or local doesn’t necessarily mean you’re protected from diseases† (3). This is evident as many of the nations foods come from a few growers located in different regions of the country. Yet visitors may not be aware of the potential illnesses that could affect them as they get lost in the aromas of foods while walking down a street late at night in the United States. As a visitor you associate the smell of food with a great vacation. However, the smell of food and safety may contradict each other at times. Still as you visit this country you cannot help but enjoy the vast amounts of foods from different cultural

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Research Paper On the RHETORIC of Science (Specifically Addressing the

On the RHETORIC of Science (Specifically Addressing the Form of Scientific Reports) - Research Paper Example Collectively, these diverse motivated and organized examinations contribute to a common representation of writing practices in the various disciplines and the connection of the procedures. The inspections of these fields help readers understand the procedures different disciplines employ to construct knowledge. This can be through different textual forms and types of challenges people must meet when learning to write within their respective fields. On the rhetoric of science and form, different linguists question the essence of analyzing the written work of scientists. Since past years, it has been common knowledge that scientists report their basic hypothesis and experimental results hence no need for in-depth analysis of their works. However, in the contemporary times, there has been an urgent need to analyze the scientific reports and experiments. This is because of the scientists need to gain followers for a given viewpoint or claim precedence for a discovery. The steps undertake n by scientists to convince their contemporaries and control them through peer review are a significant focus point for developing consensus. Despite this need to analyze scientific writings, some scientists argue and cite the steps taken in reviewing the writings. Science is a field that only few people venture in to and allowing analysis of scientific writings by unqualified people may not be appropriate. Reviewers have little knowledge of the science field hence any analysis made might be faulty. For any successful analysis to be done, reviewers need to understand the underlying science in the first place before any remarks can be made. On the other hand, analysts and reviewers argue that science is a field that is also susceptible to rhetoric. For instance, there have been non-scientists making successful reviews on science writings. The perfect example of such a reviewer is Thomas Kuhn analyzed how scientific paradigms transform as new interpretations of the problematic space a nd what counts as substantiation within the space take place. Rhetoric refers to the art of public communication and a body of principles pertaining to the field’s practices. Knowledge of rhetoric enables individuals to comprehend communication steps as they pertain to decision making. Rhetoric is a subject of significance since its learning enables individuals to understand the steps of communication which underpin decision making in free societies. Decisions and assumptions of public policy find their background from rhetoric, and so comprehending any of society’s rhetoric will expand people’s knowledge concerning its ideology, laws, customs, and beliefs. In relation to rhetoric of science and form, there is a popular and widespread misconception that methodical communication is conspicuously dissimilar from other customs of unrestricted communication. Science is a master of disguise hence the need for public communication on the findings and experiments carri ed out in the field. Prior scientists played a vital role in placing science in English society. This was through creating the assumption that science deals with inevitabilities rather than probabilities, demonstrations, and arguments. Scientific communication contains all similar kinds of properties which other fields of communication possess. Majorly, scientists seem to be at the top of frontier knowledge, and most have no concern

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Report about the National Transportation Safety Board Essay

Report about the National Transportation Safety Board - Essay Example In cases of suspected criminal activity, certain other federal agencies might get involved in the investigation process. Meticulous reporting is done and recommendations are issued at the end of any investigation as it is the primary goal. NTSB also undertakes specialised research on transportation safety to create new knowledge to make effective recommendations. NTSB also engages in safety advocacy by issuing safety alerts for the public and transportation providers. For instance, recommended actions to â€Å"prevent aerodynamic stalls at low altitudes† (NTSB, n.d.) is for the pilots and technicians, while various alerts regarding highway safety addresses the public. These could be accessed on NTSB website and appear to be highly useful. Another key division of NTSB is its Transport Disaster Assistance (TDA) division that functions as a coordinator after any transport accident in order to provide various support services to the victims and their families. To name a few, TDA coordinates forensic services, counselling, translation and interaction with foreign governments. TDA acts as the coordinator between those who respond to an accident and those affected, that is the state and federal agencies or volunteer organisation and the respective transport carriers. It also helps in planning disaster assistance. Throughout the period of investigation, TDA serves as the information source for the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Secrets of Sense and sensibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Secrets of Sense and sensibility - Essay Example It was essential then that the discourse of meaning in which these two characters appear though the passages within the novel be able to understand discreet measures in which women and women relationships were being censored by society. To show that Elinor and Marianne are able to use secrets as a measure of passing information and meaning to the other characters I have chosen two scenarios from the book to illustrate my point. The first scene that I would like to explore is when Marianne was having an intense relationship with Willoughby and an attachment so strong between the two of them that in the minds of the adults it was almost an assured attachment that would lead to marriage. However, in the eyes of pre-pubescent Margaret she could not understand that such daily contact between the two could excite into marriage. It was only when she witnessed that Willoughby had taken a lock of Marianne’s hair as a sign of fixed attachment did Margaret presume that the two will soon be engaged; Margaret related something to her the next day, which placed this matter in a still clearer light. Willoughby had spend the preceding evening with them, and Margaret, by being left some time in the parlour with only him and Marianne, had had opportunity for observations, which with a most important face, she communicated to her eldest sister, when they were next by themselves. The secret in question was the lock of hair obtained by Willoughby from Marianne that signifies their strong attachment from one another. However, we know this to be beside the case when Willoughby has a secret of his own to conceal that he may not marry Marianne. The eyes of a child, in this case, Margaret who’s pre-pubescent and slowly learning the art of conveying meaning without declaring it to the public world allows Marianne to be subtly disgraced without the knowledge of the public sphere thus securing

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Question #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Question #1 - Essay Example For these variables, almost all random variables correspond to the measures of tendency. However, in B5 it should be noted that the measures of central tendency are far from each other. In fact, there exist two modes for the variable. Also since the mean and the median are calculated and are not in the sample, the chance of picking a random variable which is the same as these two measures is zero. If the data is significantly skewed, the mean becomes an inappropriate measure of central tendency. It should be noted that the mean will be more likely to be found on the dataset where the skewness can be found. For example, a data set which ranges from 7-40 which is positively skewed can have a mean which is 15 only because most of the data range from 7-18 for instance. The presence of outliers which are extremely low or high data can also adversely affect the effectiveness of the mean as a measure of central tendency. If data is significantly skewed, the mode becomes the best approximation of the data's center. Mean cannot be relied upon because of the presence of outliers while median can also be misleading. Thus, mode which represents the most number of variable can be best represent the data's center at this situation. If the data is significantly skewed, the range will not be affected. ... PART 2. a. Determine the range, sample standard deviation , and IQR for each of these random variables: D1, D5, D6, D7, SBC1, SBC8, B5. Critical thinking: b. How would the range, sample standard deviation , and IQR be affected when data is significantly skewed If the data is significantly skewed, the range will not be affected. It should be noted that as the range is only a measure of the dispersion of data, it does not indicate how the data looks like. The range is simply a measurement of the values within the data set. However, it should also be noted that the presence of outliers in the data set will make the range very high. A symmetrical data is expected to have a skewness of 0 because the standard deviation is zero. Thus, when the standard deviation of a data set is computed as zero, it follows that it is normally distributed. The interquartile range is affected by the dispersion of the data set. It should be noted that as it looks at the 50% of the data set, the gap between the 3rd and the 1st quartile cannot fully indicate the dispersion because of the presence of observations which are in the lowest or highest quartiles. However, it is effective in removing the possibility of being misled by the presence of outliers. c. If data is significantly skewed, what measure would be the best approximation of the data's dispersion If the data is significantly skewed, the interquartile range serves as the best measure of dispersion. It should be noted that the interquartile range measures the dispersion by looking at the 50% of the observation. It removes the possibility of having misleading measures of central tendency by capturing the middle of the data and leaving the outliers behind. This is in contrast with range which is

Volcker Rule Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Volcker Rule - Essay Example These governments argue that the rule would make it hard for them to access loans for their public operations and projects (Goldfarb and Schneider 2012, par. 1). The business community argues that the rule should be made more permissive in case it restricts the bank’s capability to procure capital and loans (Eichler 2012, par. 7). Local and state officials state that the Volcker Rule will make it more costly for them to gather money from investors to pay for expenditures such as housing assistance and environmental cleanup. Within the Washington region, the rule could influence borrowing costs for various agencies. Authorities that can be adversely affected by the rule include those that operate Dulles International airport, Reagan National airport, and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (Goldfarb and Schneider 2012, par. 2). The European governments caution that the rule could further worsen the debt crisis which is already affecting the global financial markets. Foreign governments and municipalities are complaining that the legislation will considerably limit their purchasing of bonds by the banks. Thus, it will increase the interest rates that the issuers of bonds have to pay in order to attract investors (Goldfarb and Schneider 2012, par. 8). If the Volcker Rule would be implemented, it would indicate that the banks will have to close their prop trading desks and consequently, 10,000 employees will probably lose their jobs. There are also concerns in relation to how the United States’ banks will be able to compete with the financial institutions in Europe that are less affected by the proposed legislation. Most of the US banks’ business model will be influenced by the proposal indicating that they will have lower competitive advantage in comparison with their counterparts in Europe (Brinded 2011, p1; Lynch 2012, par. 1). The huge US banks fixed income business models offer a considerable amount of prop

Saturday, August 24, 2019

US policy towards Latin America after the cold war Essay

US policy towards Latin America after the cold war - Essay Example In 1947 the Truman Doctrine forever changed America's foreign policy from an isolationist one to a more active policy of involvement with other countries in order to curb what they perceived as a Communist threat to the world and hence their own democratic stability.The United States fear of communist dominance has a direct bearing on the policy they adopted towards Latin American countries. The Truman policy was directly responsible for establishing the Cold War, and then the focus of the policy was the prevention of the rise of Communism. This has especial relevance in the context of its policy towards Latin America. During the Cold War years, the United States adopted a very aggressive interference in Latin American affairs in its attempt to weed out communism. In the Post Cold War years though, the policy while still against the influence of Communism, has softened considerably and has shifted focus to stabilizing countries democratically and economically - a result of understand ing that the spread of Communism arises from poverty and exploitation.The thrust of American policy concerning Latin America can broadly be divided into four areas: democratic stabilization, free trade and the economic opportunities it offers, the immigration problem and the war on drugs.Democratic stabilization is a key focus in America's policy. Originating from the desire to stop the spread of Communism, the U.S.A has, since the Cold war, focused on helping to stabilize democracies, which they feel are better alternatives and which do not threaten the U.S.' own security. A notable example is their support of the Mesa government in Bolivia and Enrique Bolanos' presidency in Nicaragua (Roger Noriega). However, despite the fact that their support for democracy is well intentioned, the failure of the Mesa administration in Bolivia (culminating in his resignation in 2005) highlights the fact that while democracy is a good thing, the U.S. needs to focus also on the effectiveness of the governments they choose to support, and the government's ability to handle the political and economic situation of the country. The U.S. has always publicly stated their support for democratic protestors in Cuba as well, and promised support in the event of a democratic revolution. This sort of heavy handed "Big Brothering" has also caused much resentment as the people of that country feel that the U.S is really disguising its dictatorship in the form of aid. Venezuela's Chavez has vehemently refused to accept any of U.S aid with the inevitable strings attached to it. Stemming from their support of democracy also came the realization that democracies, no matter how well intentioned, could not effectively stabilize a country unless it was economically stable as well. The majority of Latin American countries are impoverished and this is a vital cause of political instability and also revolution. Thus the second focus of policy on increasing Free trade. Free trade would open up economic opportunities and make available goods and services to economically challenged regions without the stifling taxes and tariffs imposed. LatinAmerica has been important to the U.S. in this regard as it is a major importer of American goods and services. Many raw materials are also sourced from the Latin countries. (http://www.wesfryer.com/uslapolicy.html). However protectionism has been a problem with many Latin countries, as well as with America. The grumbles on outsourcing by U.S. politicians have severely affected free trade agreements with Latin countries, and in t he case of Mexico stalled the NAFTA act for a while. However the passing of NAFTA, finally meant the lowering of tariffs on many aspects -vehicles, textiles, computers etc. Investment restrictions also eased. By advocating free trade the economic restrictions lessen and the opportunities for growth open up. There is scope for employment and a better standard of life. The U.S. focus on this aspect has therefore also helped them to address another