Evaluation of Agency's personnel administration Essay

Evaluation of Agency's personnel administration - Essay Example Furthermore, they provide for training of labor and instill the organizations values in them so that they can conform to the requirements of the organization both within and outside environment (Leigh & Blakely, 2013). The urban planning human resource also ensures staffs awards are assured while offer punishment to those who break the policy. Therefore, the underlined factors above makes the human resource be a stronger department. Nonetheless, the committee also finds it hard to find the right personnel that provide a perfect fit for the organization. The agency is also thriving to reach the international standards of personnel management such as the level required by the United Nations labor management. This includes actions and not limited to utility theory approach. But incase the personnel department becomes inefficient, the agency outsources to provide for technical assistance (Buller, & McEvoy, 2012). It ensures that their employees are well managed, and the human resource acquires extra skills on how to deal with the staffs. As a result, global standards are maintained that makes the agency one of the best performing in the industry. The human resource department of the urban planning is tasked with hiring the right employees for the organization. The recruitment process begins by the department advertising the available opportunities that the qualified candidates will send the application to. They then review the applications and determine the best candidates who are then taken for interviews to determine their suitability (Breaugh, 2014). In doing so, they have to conduct a background check on the applicants since the personnel must be of integrity before they can be hired. The final component is the hiring criteria. The selected candidates are notified and provided with the employment contract letters. In the process, they are expected to provide to undergo medical tests to

Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Conclusion - Essay Example Migraine has various negative effects on the lives of the patients suffering from it. After depressive disorders, migraine is the main reason why women take days off work, in high-income countries. Not only does it affect working women, but the onset of migraine in adolescents is also very common (Iseri & CabioÄŸlu, 2012). Migraine patients often feel that the headaches control their lives. Research has proven that patients think that migraine affects their quality of life and at times makes it impossible for them to live their life freely. However, it is one of those disorders, the effects of which, extend to the entire family, friends and other relationships (Rutberg & Ã" ¦hrling, 2009). Even though there have been various interventions and research studies regarding migraines, it has been very difficult for the nurses to help migraine patients deal with the symptoms. Both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments have been used to treat migraines in women. Acupuncture is a non-pharmacological treatment that has been found to be very effective when treating migraine headaches. Numerous research studies have been conducted over time to test the effectiveness of acupuncture for curing migraine (Iseri & CabioÄŸlu, 2012). The objective of this paper is to review and analyze the effectiveness of acupuncture against migraine in females. The paper investigates how acupuncture is more effective, and determine the veracity of it exhibiting fewer side effects, than analgesics for alleviation of migraine, in females between 25 to 55 years old, during the first few hours of administration. Therefore, the clinical question of interest is: from among female patients be tween the ages of 25 through 55 that had been diagnosed with migraine, is acupuncture more effective as it allegedly exhibit lesser side effects than analgesics, for alleviating the symptoms? Acupuncture is

Research paper on three plays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research paper on three plays - Essay Example an, narrates the story of a tragic character so engrossed in his false belief, that reality and illusion merge, resulting in an internal struggle that leads to his downfall. Each play portrays the internal battle of a man struggling to come to terms with his own, bitter reality and departing from his fantasy world. In selecting the frailty of illusion over the constancy of reality, the protagonists meet their inevitable disaster. From the start of Sophocles’ tragic play, Oedipus takes many actions and makes many choices leading to his own downfall. Oedipus selects to disregard numerous warnings, involving truth of his life and family background. Teiresias supplies Oedipus with everything he has to know regarding his fate by stating, â€Å"You, yourself, are the pollution of this country,† (634). Notwithstanding this evident assertion of truth, Oedipus chooses to delude in his comfortable fantasy, that he has escaped his inevitable fate. He chooses to ignore the prophecy of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus tries to resist the gods by escaping from his homeland, Corinth, but instead throws himself directly into the hands of fate. Oedipus ignores another warning of truth in ignoring the words of Teiresias. He thinks that he has successfully evaded his own destiny; however, he could not have been farther from the truth. Oedipus’ imprudent decisions finally lead to hi s ruin in the play. Oedipus’ most irrational choice succeeds throughout the play: the choice of illusion over reality in the end costs him his life. Similar to the Oedipus’ inability to accept the truth, Hamlet persists in blinding himself. Even after the ghost narrates to Hamlet how his father was killed, Hamlet has the players act it out, in order to be convinced. His obscurity of the truth remains consistent. Although the king gives himself away after seeing the replay of his brother’s murder, by yelling, â€Å"Give me some light. Away!† (79), Hamlet is still undecided.

CSR Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CSR - Coursework Example the interests of the society by being considerate of its impact on the society, customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees, communities and the environment in which the business operates from. Socially responsible organizations take the initiative of following the laid down legislation and also takes care of its employees and their families voluntarily without being under any obligations (p.199). They continue to say that CSR just means the strategies that organizations use to conduct their business ethically by being society friendly. CSR involves a lot of activities like partnering with local communities, investing in socially sensitive ventures, having an excellent employee, customers and family relations and lastly being involved in environment conservation activities (Ismail, 2009, p.199). According Gotherstrom (2012), organizations like H&M can use the Stakeholder theory of CSR. It involves the organization management putting into consideration economic and social factors that affect the business during its decision making in its operation.in this case the stakeholders involved include investors, political groups, communities’ employees, trade associations, government etc. These all stakeholders affect the business in one way or another but the business has to find ways and means of keeping them happy. This theory is not only how the shareholders can make more profits but also of how the organization can make decisions that will affect how the society views (p.8). The application of this theory has been on the rise especially due to the rise activists and environmental groups. (p.9) In the case of H&M, we find that it is involved in its CSR activities to atone for the condemnation that it received from Greenpeace in the year 2011for discharging hazardous waste water with chemicals which could affect the environment negatively. This is demonstrated by the way it partners UNICEF to help children in Bangladesh. The next CSR is Legitimacy Theory; this

A History, a past, and a Trail Essay Example for Free

A History, a past, and a Trail Essay The discovery of the North American continent created, literally, an entirely new world. With the congestion of Europe and a desire for agricultural land, many from the East loaded upon massive carrier ships in sight of a new life. It was a long voyage across the Atlantic. The sight of the new world from off-shore had been described as salvation. What these settlers did not know was that they were entering into shore-side cities that were even more cramped than their original location. The flocking to America is what attributed to the congestion and size of New York itself. This degraded living conditions and created an entirely new form of social status that had never been seen by Europeans. Something needed to be done to spread out the population of the Eastern shore side. Luckily our rookie government, fresh out of a war, had a creative idea to promote a move to the West. These politicians, in a vote of fifty-two to fifty. decided to intervene by offering any married couple six-hundred and forty acres of land. This was the equivalent to one square mile of land. They labeled the effort: Manifest Destiny. One can imagine how tempting this sounds to factory workers and small time farmers. Previously to this, some early explorers thought it necessary to devise a route from East to West. Lewis and Clark were the first to map the journey. The route they took covered 2,170 miles and practically covered all of the land that was accessible to wagons(Wiki). After a little fine-tuning by John Jacob Astor, to avoid dangerous areas of the Rocky Mountains and hostile Blackfeet Indians, the Oregon Trail was set in stone. This sparked many to make the dangerous move from East to West. Settlers that lived in cramped suburbs and local Camp Towns now had the motivation to spread out their horizons in a search for wealth and happiness. Manifest Destiny developed from a dream to a reality. With all of this came the hearsay and rumors that many viewed as dangerous. Many had heard of the Dead Lands located in the South Western dessert. Fatal stories were told about land that was not suited for farming. Although this caused a delay among some settlers, many had no choice to move westward, and set off on to their destination. Starting in Kansas City, the Oregon Trail began following the Santa Fe Trail. The growth of Kansas City can be attributed to being at the start of the massive trail; Local business sky-rocketed within a few years (END). The need for supplies caused many stores to become profitable overnight. Since there wasnt much along the route to Oregon, many had to stock up for the long journey. Horses, food, and spare parts were just some of the many items a traveler would need to complete the journey (END). Many referred to the Kansas City area as The Docks, in reference to it being a loading dock for the expansion. After leaving Kansas City, and sticking to the rules of survival, wagons would use the natural terrain to their advantage. Many would stick to lower valleys that followed the river. After a few years, the trail was actually visible to those who traveled it; however, this does not seem to hold true for the remainder of the trip. Nebraska was in sight for most that started the trip. After crossing the Blue River it was just one river after another until arriving at the Rocky Mountains. Along the way, settlements began to form, which made the journey easier. The more who traveled, the easier it became. Many did not actually travel the entire route. If a good location or opportunity arose, families would start their new lives at that very spot along the trail (Wiki). Since many had no idea of where they were going to live when they completed their journey, it made sense that, if a good location was spotted along the way, that became their home. This is what forged cities and trade routes along the way. Even in the Rocky Mountains people began to settle. Mountain towns became good places to start the logging industry. With the rivers along the Oregon Trail flowing from North to South, logs from the Rockies found their way back down the trail to Kansas City. The direction of trade, however, was not a one-way street. The towns that were created along the trail needed supplies too. Many who traveled beyond the Rocky Mountains were sure to bring over-stocked supplies with them. Supplies were almost as valuable as gold on the Oregon Trail. Beyond the Rockies, it was pretty much a straight shot to Oregon. Following rivers one could go as far as Washington State. Many started homes in the forests of Oregon. After avoiding the southern desserts, it was clear that this area was suitable for cultivation and living. The only problem was that Oregon had harsh winters and very short windows of time for farming. New ways, such as the gold rush, were what sealed the fate of the northwestern states as being a contributing district of America. The settlers of western America were not just poor people looking for a way out of trouble. Many rich tycoons took advantage of the rising boom towns. When starting any venture, most people need a lender. Banks started to sprout at several points along the trail. In terms of business, it was common practice for towns to make their start, purely on credit. Many say that this is the reason the west side of the continent received venues for big business. It was until a newer improved method of transportation was devised that the Oregon Trail became the secondary path to the west. Until the invention of the Transcontinental Rail Road, the Oregon Trail was the main route for traversing the middle section of the country (Vance, 1961). People still relied on animal-based transportation and inefficient ways to cultivate their lands . This is where a change needed to take place the most in our country. Since the land was harder to farm and many were having a hard time finding the resources to do so, many believe that ingenuity was the only answer to the wests problems. The need of the settlers is what sparked the inventions that farmers were looking for. New methods of plowing and irrigation were among the advancements along the trail. It seems, though, that pure luck and not the Oregon Trail is the hammer that etched the fate of the western states into stone. The Gold Rush of 1848-1855 drove the remainder of the population to the west . The search for gold and prosperity could be seen in people throughout the country. Although most were left empty handed, they had at least gained a new home in the left side of our country. This new home would suit them nicely. In the end, the Oregon Trail can be said to have carved a path of prosperity along the horizon of our nation. The details of this can often be seen in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Many started on a destination of uncertainty and ended up with more than they had bargained for. The rest worked hard and put food on the plate. History is the only area that the Oregon Trail is used today. Even though US Highway number 26 practically parallels the trail, the duration of the trail stays in the culture and heritage of families that live in the Western United States. Works Cited http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/histhome.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail

Factors That Lead Youth To Join Gangs Essay Example for Free

Factors That Lead Youth To Join Gangs Essay Youth violence in American society has escalated in an alarming rate. Violence in schools, spree killings, and risk taking behavior seem to have become more commonplace than a decade ago. Most social scientists have pointed out that youth violence is directly related to later criminal behavior, such that a child who has been exposed to violence early in life would seek violence or become involved in criminal activities. One of the most alarming social groups that perpetuate violence is street gangs, and the youth are generally drawn into these gangs. Gangs had existed since societies were formed and social norms and expectations were required of all members of society. Gangs were first formed as a social group espousing brotherhood and friendship, however, gangs evolved to become anti-social groups involved in crimes such as drug trafficking, selling and manufacturing, murder, assault, and riots. Since most gangs recruit adolescent members, it is important to understand what and why adolescents join gangs. This paper seeks to examine the factors that influence the youth’s decision to join gangs. Background of the Study The marked increase in youth violence and delinquency was observed two decades ago, at which point membership in gangs had also increased. Youth gangs were prevalent in large urban cities, but at its peak, it made its way even to smaller cities and the more rural areas across the country. Researchers had found a link between the rises of  youth gangs to youth violence because gang members have access to guns and other weapons as compared to delinquents. Another factor considered in the rise of gangs and violence is the increase in drug trade in the area or locality, it is expected that those who deal illegal drugs have guns, weapons, and have more tendency to commit violence. At present, the number of youth gangs in American society have continued to rise and gain more members. Youth gangs had existed even before American society had developed to what it is now, previously, youth gangs were organized in order to serve some social purpose, but with more tendencies for vandalism, fighting with other gangs and establishing their territories. Gangs had now become the epitome of what is anti-social behavior, thus, gangs are viewed as troublemakers, violent, illegal, unscrupulous, to be feared and woe to the parent who have lost a child to gangs. Many studies had been conducted to explore and understand the dynamics of gangs and gang membership, most had been able to identify the factors associated with gang membership and how gang members behave as well as their organizational structure. One thing is for sure, gangs are anything but simple, gangs have a complex organizational structure, and studying gangs have not been conclusive to date. Gangs had been difficult to study and understand especially that more people and even the youth know that gangs are negatively perceived in society and that it can be dangerous to join gangs. The difficulty lies in the lack of consensus among researchers and the public as to what is a gang and how it is different from other social groups. Loosely defined, youth gangs is an organization with a set of leaders and members that  are engaged in criminal acts, on the other hand, motorcycle gangs, prison gangs and hate gangs are more hard core, have more structure and hierarchy and are different from youth gangs. Moreover, gangs are more likely to be composed of males rather than females, but there has been a marked increase in the number of female gangs and female members. The relationship between membership in youth gangs and later criminal behavior had been espoused by a number of researchers and studies. Thus, it would follow that gang membership may predict violent behavior and criminal behavior. At this point, understanding why adolescents want to join youth gangs would help police, parents, schools and the public to make better decisions and provide programs that would keep the youth from joining gangs. This study hopes to explore and understand the factors that influence the youth’s decision to become a member of a youth gang. Problem Statement This study seeks to explore and understand the factors that contribute to the adolescent’s desire to join a gang. It is a reality that being a member of a youth gang is risky and disadvantageous in the sense that one is more likely to engage in criminal behavior, more likely to be involved in illegal activities and more likely to be caught and imprisoned. Nevertheless, youth gangs still enjoy the popularity and social status that they have in our society. More and more teenagers become gang members wherein they learn anti-social behaviors that only place them at risk. Due to the presence of youth gangs and the increasing membership of the said gangs, there has been a marked increase in violent crimes and criminal acts in almost all  cities in the country. This social problem have contributed to the increase in the number of convicted juvenile delinquents, the increase in high school drop out rates and even the violence that occurs in our schools. If the youth focus only on what is essential, and that is to go to school, learn the skills that would help them become productive members of society and to serve as examples for the younger generation, then our society would be in a better position than it is now. If the youth today stay away from gangs, ultimately, gangs would die and end its existence because there are no members to sustain it. By studying the factors that lead teenagers to join gangs, we would be in a better position to provide programs and information that would keep them from joining gangs; hence, we would have a better society, a more positive, creative, and promising youth and less crimes, delinquency and violence. This study specifically aims to answer the research question â€Å"What factors lead the youth to seek membership in gangs?† In order to answer the main research question, the study also seeks to determine the following: Who is the typical gang member? What are his/her personal characteristics, educational attainment, and interests? When and how does a person become a gang member? What factors predispose the youth to join gangs? What factors influence the youth to join gangs? Purpose and Objectives of the Study This study seeks to explore and determine the factors that lead the youth to join gangs. At the outset, this study is not one-dimensional; it takes into account that there  could be a myriad of factors that engage the youth to become gang members. Thus, this study was designed to provide answers to the following questions: Who is the typical gang member? What are his/her personal characteristics, educational attainment, and interests? When and how does a person become a gang member? What factors predispose the youth to join gangs? What factors influence the youth to join gangs? Just as some people are drawn to gangs, there are also those who do not want to become a member of any gang, thus in order to sufficiently answer the main research question, it is also important that the personal characteristics of the gang member should be examined. By knowing the personal characteristics, educational attainment and interest of the gang members, we would be able to identify who among the youth are drawn to gangs and thus, we could provide interventions or prevention strategies targeted at the said persons to keep them from joining gangs. Knowing what goes on in gangs and how individuals are recruited and the process in which members are accepted into gangs will provide answers to the question of what is in gangs that make them attractive to the youth of today. Understanding what attracts them to join gangs also enables us to provide a more specific intervention strategy or campaign that would help individuals become prey to gangs. The term predispose means the propensity or likelihood of joining gangs, in this question, it is desired that the family set-up, academic performance, social skills and needs of the youth are examined and whether this contributes to the decision to join  groups. This question can be answered by individuals who have not yet officially joined any gang but desires to become part of a gang, as such we would be able to identify what mitigating factors increase the likelihood of joining gangs. The last question is designed to identify the factors that lead the youth to join gangs. As such, the individuals are asked to specify the factors whether it be personal social, educational, economic or psychological that have influenced their decision to join gangs. This question can be adequately answered by individuals who are already gang members.

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie Alice Sebolds bestseller The Lovely Bones is another book that you dont quite know what to expect when you pick it up, but when you read it you get it very quickly. It affects you emotionally as a reader and makes it interesting. Mass market book publishing is, like movies, a calculated and repetitive business. Sebold came with something really different. She was lucky to get her book published, and when she did, no one expected it to sell over 2 million copies or be on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year (Bradshaw). This bestselling book became the basis for the film, taking on the same name, and directed by Peter Jackson; who also is known for directing Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, and The Lord of The Rings the Return of the Ring (York). Having read The Lovely Bones and then watching the film it became clear that not only was there an obvious difference between the movie and book cover, but there were many differenc es and changes that were made on behalf of the film. The Lovely Bones is set in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the early seventies. Its about the Salmon Family; husband, wife, three children and the tragedy that occurs within the family. They were in the prime of their lives, the next thing you know the police have arrived and nobody really knows what happened to the main character, Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered in a corn field just beyond the back of her house. In the book Susie is going through her process of going up into Heaven and looking down on her family struggling to deal with the death of their daughter and sister. A major aspect of the book is how she directs her family towards her killer in some sort of retribution (Sebold). As the book was translated to film the differences that are often seen in book to film translations can be more evident as it goes along. As the process of translating The Lovely Bones to film was approached it became the ultimate puzzle for screen writers according to the director Peter Jackson. (Filming) Getting films out to the public for directors or the marketing team of any movie has become easier and easier with Amazon, YouTube, eBay, and personal websites, filmmakers have direct access to the public (Garon xix). Jackson seemed to hope for a similar outcome from the movie as the book. If he had stayed truer to the book, he may have gotten what he wanted. In an attempt to produce from within the pages of the novel, the film, and book, take place during the nineteen seventies and is narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon. She is a passionate photographer, has the love and support of her family, and is even getting looks from the boy she has a crush on in school. Life is all good. And then she is brutally murdered by her creepy neighbor George Harvey. (The Lovely Bones) It begins with the same line from the first page of the book: My name is Salmon, like the fish, first name Susie (Sebold 6). Even though the book and film begin the same, the story in the film and the story in the book are very, very different. In the book the actual process and the crisis of the death in the beginning of the book is covered in the first chapter. This first chapter covers forty five to fifty minutes of the film, which is most of the movie. Susie Salmon the lead in the movie, played by Saoirse Ronan, and the main character of the book is portrayed amazingly. She really does capture the tone and the innocence along with the development away from the innocence of the character of Susie in the original text. Mark Walberg plays the father and is a massive character in the book. The best casting to the book is Susan Sarandon, as the Grandmother, even though physically they have a completely different description of the Grandmother in the book (USA). However, translation to film does not detail you the torment that the family goes through chapter after chapter. For example, the destruction of the family unit, the extended leave of the mother, sleepless nights of the sister and obsessive focus on finding Susie and her killer. There is no depiction in the film of the horrific nature of the abduction, murder, or more specifically the graphic rape and dismemberment of Susie. The movie is quite sugar coated compared to the book. It almost appears that the screenwriters for this movie pulled an old teenage trick of reading the first chapter and then skipping to the last. (York) Many differences continue to unfold as the movie shows Susie feeling life fading away from her as she grabs onto the top of a flower, forcing herself into the in-between. There, she is confused and alone until she meets Holly, who helps her navigate her new world. Its just the two of them in utopia, a perfect world of their own making, at first. As it plays out Susie and Holly only exist with a growing number of girls that Harvey has killed. Jackson creates a visual basis for the in-between that is almost like a dream. Creative license took shape when the director places visions of ghostly Susie entering the realm of the real world to inspire changes in events. (The Lovely Bones) Among one of the larger differences in the film to book translation, which wasnt a problem until the viewing of the film, was it became unclear in the book what kind of state or status Susie was in when she died; rather she was in a kind of purgatory or they call it the in-between in both the book and film. It was made clearer in the movie that she was going on a specific journey, and they actually created that world very visually, which was very good. The only issue with these visuals was as a reader you have your own images in your head that were previously described in the book. Visually the film is spectacular, but for a reader there are no huge bottles with ships inside and visions of her in the eyes of her family. These events just dont exist in the text. Contrary to the production, book Susie puts her dismembered body back together and meets Franny, her intake specialist, who helps her navigate this new world. Susie refuses to go to heaven until she can reach her family and help catch her killer (Sebold 8). Only then does she meet Holly, her roommate (Sebold 17). Susie lives in her vision, with people everywhere throwing javelins and wandering around in their own versions in the distance, similar to the real world. She creates cool swing sets and a duplex that she always wanted and shares it with her new friend Holly. Susies interpretation of heaven is populated with real men and women, of all ages, from all background, who died and now resides in overlapping worlds (Sebold 19). Because this movie is based off a three hundred page book it feels like it moves too fast missing key components in the timeline. Several minutes into the film George Harvey lures her to his hidden den in a field, sparking excitement and interest in Susie. Harvey tries to hide his deed and find other victims as her family tries to deal with the tragedy as well as trying to find out just who is responsible for her murder (Filming). It then becomes confusing for readers when the movie cuts to a point where Susie appears to escape from the underground lair in the corn field and then is running through the streets. Its not immediately apparent that she is dead or how she died. This ghostly appearance does not occur and the death scene is clearer in the text. The book is detailed and sharp which leads to the confusion of the timeline within the movie. Timelines within the film get more blurred as we read further into the novel. It graphically describes the rape followed by him murdering her with a shaving razor (Sebold 12). Then, he dismembers her body, putting her remains in a safe that he dumps in a sinkhole (Sebold 53). This timeline is skipped in the film as they focus more on Jack, Susies father, and his search for a killer. He is obsessively seen collecting personal files and digging up tax records on a number of shady men, every man he can think of (The Lovely Bones), although, Mr. Harvey is the first, and only, suspect of Jack in the book. He knows it and feels it after helping Mr. Harvey with a project in his backyard, bringing about another difference, a ceremonial tent in the book and a duck blind in the movie. However, this occurs two years later in the movie. Its within the first month in the book. It takes eleven months before the police even turn up Susies hand-knit hat. Within the book Susies elbow turns up three d ays later, the hat within weeks. The film skips or twists more and more detail and leaves you expecting and waiting for them to unfold but, some never come and others dont come until almost the end, and then it is vague and contained in sudden flashbacks with no explanation. (Sebold 55) (The Lovely Bones) In terms of the plot line the film attempts to get it, though it does not go into the depth that they do in the book. Jackson takes his time in carefully setting up the plot just enough so that we have a good hold on the world of the story the entire time (USA). The time period is reflected well and the main character is likeable and someone who we can sympathize with easily, but not because she is a teenage girl that dies. Her personality and narrations are what do it instead. The film moves back and forth between what the book and movie call the in-between or afterlife and the real world and comes across in the movie very visually (Visual). The visuals are just stunning and there is a unique feel about them as though you are in a dream while they play in front of you. The structuring of this movie is also kind of weird; thankfully with so many other differences this didnt make the movie so confusing as to lose the audience completely (Filming). In film it diverts back and forth to Susie focusing on having her first kiss with Ray, the visually extravagant in-between, and warning her family; whereas the book, although narrated by Susie, explores so many other characters and life experiences. In contrast to the movie, the book is more of a coming of age story about a girl who will never get the chance to grow up. Susie can only grow spiritually by watching her family and friends as they each reach milestones, leave for college, get married and have kids of their own. For book readers shes already had her first kiss and after watching her sister and Samuel make love she longs to do the same with Ray, the boy who was going to go out with her, her crush (Sebold 237). Susie later possesses Ruth, her former classmate and friend. Ruth, who has a spiritual connection with Susie, is overwhelmed by the feeling of her presence. Susie then enters Ruths body and makes love to Ray, which is again graphically described in text (Sebold 300). The movie focus again takes away from the book journey eliminating this sexual growth aspect to the teenage girl. Like many adaptations found with book to film projects; you do lose a vast number of really important events. Such that, the scenes where we follow Harvey are well thought out in just how they show his life and his way of thinking in the film very vaguely. His apparent odd psychological state of mind, expressed with his need for an alarm to prompt him to open his window shades, does not translate as well in the movie (The Lovely Bones). His odd psychological state and inability to follow social norms are described in detail within the chapters as he devices ways to appear normal to the outside world (Sebold 130). In the book you get more in depth descriptions which develops the characters of not just Harvey and Susie but, her sister, her father and, especially, her mother. You learn a lot about her mother which is important however, in the film you learn very little. It is played out in the text that Abigail, Susies mother, never wanted children, withdraws from her family and has an affair with police detective Len Fenerman, the investigator to Susies case (Sebold 196). You also dont learn in the movie that the mother abandoned the father, sister and brother. You see her in the film leave with one suitcase in a cab as though she is taking a vacation or just a getaway to clear her head. However, in the book narrations she abruptly leaves and takes a job at a winery in California and attends College. Abigail leaves and creates a life for herself with her boyfriend, Samuel Heckler, who she becomes engaged to after finishing college. Only after hearing that Jack has had a heart attack does she return eight years later (Sebold 220). This huge gap in time and events are not portrayed in the movie. The relationship between Abigail and her children is then laid out in detail as their son Buckley expresses bitterness for her abandoning the family for most of his childhood (Sebold 264). The filmmakers cut this out completely never even giving a hint that this fracture happened within the family. She is nearly ignored in the movie by giving us just small glimpses of an upset and lost mom, until Jack is nearly beaten to death and then appears again creating an image that she was there the whole time, perhaps distant in her mourning (The Lovely Bones). This information could have made the film come to life as more realistic, instead it is projected on the screen that the family also lives in their own utopia of sorts. Both the book and film end with a similar event. Mr. Harvey, her rapist, her murderer, and the evil man that exists in the world is killed in the book when he is attempting to violate a young girl and an ice sickle falls from a tree hitting his shoulder. As it hits him he is put off balance and falls into a deep ravine. He lies there, being buried by the cold snow, not to be found for weeks (Sebold 327). It is similar in the movie; he is also hit by an ice cycle and falls down a large ravine then abruptly ends. You have an idea that he is dead from the graphic fall, but still no closure, it is left open ended. (New Zealand). When watching the movie you find that it seems to intertwine three story lines. First, is that of Susie in the in-between, the second deals with her mourning family and the third, interestingly, deals with her killer. Although this movie has a serial killer on the loose and its share of cops it is in no way like a crime or revenge story. Instead this is a movie about family bonds and about a loss. Its about the presence people can have in our lives even when they are gone; its about understanding what closure really means, and differs from the novel. The Lovely Bones is a very compassionate story the way it is told from the girls point of view and the innocence that she has in the way she looks at the world she has left behind. Alice Sebold gives us a look at how the Salmon Family is forever changed as a result of Susies murder. Susie watches as her parents drift apart and her siblings and friends grow up and have experiences Susie can only witness. Through the experiences of the Salmon Family in The Lovely Bones, readers can examine their own feelings and reactions to loss and mourning. Susie is on this incredible adventure into the world of the afterlife, described as the in-between. The rules of our world no longer apply. She has to come to terms with where she is and has to somehow influence events back down on earth that enable her killer to be caught. It is an incredibly layered story getting its title from a section at the end of the book (Mehegan). These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent-that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were primarily that the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life (Sebold 320). Throughout this discussion you can see that as the book was translated to film, by director Peter Jackson, the differences that are often seen in book to film translations are more evident and clear as it goes along. Due to time constraints and interpretation, we find that a majority of book to film projects do not hold faithfulness to the authors. It has also been found that many books to film correlations create added characters or eliminate characters for theatrical benefit (Cohen 1). It may even be better to watch the film and then read the book. This might prevent you from making judgments about this film on the basis of the book such as, visual effects, timeline, and content, due to it being three hundred pages turned into two hours, which in text form are actually only about one hundred pages. Predictably, Peter Jacksons interpretation of The Lovely Bones is not equal to the interpretation of the author Alice Sebold. Clearly you can see that this story has been interpreted in very different ways, both in film and in text. Differences within the movie create a watered down and non-confrontational approach to the real subject matter of the novel. Therefore, if you are looking to research any book by watching its movie remember you are probably going to be missing about two thirds of the book, if not more. As exampled here, with The Lovely Bones, the differences between book and film translations can be extreme causing confusion and distorted reality of the content and subject matter of the authors original concepts. Work Cited Bradshaw, Peter. Guardian. 2002. 14 Nov. 2012 http://books.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/18/the-lovely-bones-review. Cohen, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. The Road Movie Book. Routledge. New York, NY. 1997. Filming the Lovely Bones (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Garon, Jon. The Independent Filmmakers Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent and Digital Films. Chicago Review Press. Chicago, IL- 2nd Edition. 2009. Mehegan, David. Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Words to Live by (Supplementary interview). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. New Zealand Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. Sebold, Alive. The Lovely Bones. The Oddity of Suburbia. (Supplementary essay). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. The Lovely Bones-Free Online Study Guide. The Best Notes. 2008. 14 Nov. 2012. http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/lovely_bones_sebold. The Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson. DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. USA Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. Visual Effects (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. York, April. Book vs. Film: The Lovely Bones. 2010. 14 Nov. 2012. http://culturemagazine.ca/cinema/book_vs_film_the_lovely_bones.html.