'To live is to be photographed (Sontag 2004). Does photography have a Essay

'To live is to be photographed (Sontag 2004). Does photography have a special role in the mediation of our lives, and how, according to Sontag, is this role changing - Essay Example There is a big role of photography in the conception of the history of the world. Photographs have historically provided an objective record of the events of the real world. They have served as a key in confirming the ravages of the Civil War for the public. â€Å"Roland Barthes, a preeminent theorist of photography, said that photograph is the "sovereign contingency," meaning it is dependent on something else happening† (Huds, 2013). In the earlier times, photography was considered as the domain of only the rich people in the world. The power of photography was spread to the general public’s hands after the invention of the instant camera by the Eastman Kodak company (Huds, 2013). Using this camera and the cheap 35 mm film, it was possible for any individual, rich or poor, to capture an image by clicking the camera, thus making photography evolve as the most popular art form. Photographs do play a special role in the mediation of our lives. There is an insuperable powe r in photographs that helps them determine what can be recalled in the events. Photography brings the memories of childhood back to us. Photographs help us recall a sad or happy moment that we can share with others. The power of picture is that it captures a single moment’s quintessence and makes it permanent so that it can be reviewed over and over again. Photographs help us keep record of our past as well as present. ... r is to convey the actual fear and horror prevailing in the battle-field to the people in an attempt to discourage the occurrence of wars in the future. Once, a photographer said, â€Å"I thought I was going to save the world with my photographs† (The Free Library, 2013). Thousands of photographs of the Vietnam War were taken and almost all of them were viewed by people in different parts of the world within only few days of their being made. Those photographs were basically meant to be seen as soon as possible. The photographs were disturbing and affected people emotionally and psychologically. They made the audiences feel sickened. It is a fact that some photographs, particularly those of the war, are intentionally taken to shock the audience because the images recalled are the ones that are the most horrifying and compelling. Such photographs are imprinted on the minds of the audience. A memorable photograph is one that has an impact. It is a form of a visual impression tha t awakens the individual looking at it in a positive or a negative way. A horrifying photograph spurs anger and frustration in the audience. It evokes an emotional response that makes the audience think upon the context that reflects from the photograph. A photographer making a documentary focuses the camera at the real world to capture the drama of life, death, and all that lies in between the two. The audiences have been brought quite close to the important events of the world by the photojournalists. They have helped the audiences see the world as it is in reality rather than the way it is projected in the news. The medium of photography has even made the armchair participants completely aware citizens of this world. In the present age, the importance of photographs cannot be overestimated.

Wage Earnings in Canada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wage Earnings in Canada - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, the paper will discuss issues related to wages earnings in Canada. There was legislation as a form of government intervention in the labor market, whereby in Canada the minimum wage laws focused on women, who were in certain types of employment. The scope of the legislation was later spread to cater for the workers and men. In fact, by 1960, numerous workers had been covered with the laws of minimum wages (Fisher & Hostland, 2002). During that time, women and children were the prime focus of the legislation since they were subjects of exploitation by employers due to their vulnerability. In addition, the legislation was focused on imposing the minimum standards conditions of employment in order to introduce a health-working environment or the workers. The minimum wage legislation had a key objective that concerning guaranteeing the workers a decent and fair wage in all sectors, and this legislation has other intended and unintended impact on the labor market. There were unfavorable effects on employment due to principles of minimum wage legislation; hence, it was justified only on the grounds of offering incentives for leaving income maintenance programs in the form of welfare. Moreover, in the case where monetary returns to work are high, there are incentives of engagement in the labor market were opposed through an income maintenance programs. Moreover, this is considered to be saving to taxpayers, and it was preferred by transfer receipts, since workers prefer to work if the wages are sufficient. There has been a lower real life time earnings in the resent worker compared to the previous workers, whereby the tenure are not higher compared to those of preceding cohorts. Therefore, the patterns are related to effect of approximately 35percent of the Canadian workforce has workers are experiencing stagnation or reduction of wages (Baker & Stanger, 2008). Consequently, there has been a decline of society tolerance, due to the problems experienced b y low skilled workers, and this is transmitted through political economy effects. Canadian workers, despite the job tenure has median real hourly earnings with an overall decline in the real median wage that was 12percent and for the new entrants, the median real hourly wage plummeted in the recession experienced during 1980s. There was a recovery through an economic boom during the late 1980s, though this was succeeded by another recession in early 1990s. Median hourly earnings were less than 26percent in 1997 compared with 1981, due to the increase of the wages entrants. Hourly wage did not change much though it increased by 2007, whereby there was a 15percent below the value in 1981. There has been a similar pattern of wages for a worker in a period of five years, due to the entrants and a decline with a smaller magnitude. Median income of fulltime worker in Canada, during 2008 experienced an increase of $53, from $41,348 in 1980 and $41,401 in 2005, while entire economy labor yi eld during the same period was 37.4 percent (Larson, 2012). There were issue that were identified in the same year, which include; inequality in earnings, reducing terms of trade of labor measurement issues and a reduction in the labor share. Currently, the minimum wage earners various Canadian provinces has been rising over five percent and Labor Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan made has recently made an announcement of a rise in