Pans Labyrinth Essay Example

Pans Labyrinth Essay Pans Labyrinth The director Guillero Del Torro uses many motifs and parallels in his film Pans Labyrinth. The most obvious parallel in the film is the parallel between the real world and the fantasy world of the character Ofelia. Both worlds are filled with danger. At any second in both of these worlds your life could be lost. Del Torro separates the real world from the fantasy world with many visual motifs. One of the visual motifs is the extreme differences in the color of the worlds. In the real world the director uses blues and green and other dark hues. The dark colors help to represent the dark realities that are taking place out side in the real world. The fantasy world is full of warmer colors such as red and gold. These warm colors help to give off a fairy tale type world and really help the audience to differentiate the two worlds. A example of the dark colors used in the real world is during the dinner of Captain Vidal. At the dinner there are many people from the community present each one is dressed in dark clothing. The dinning room is very dim and there is not very much light on the table. We will write a custom essay sample on Pans Labyrinth specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pans Labyrinth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pans Labyrinth specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The dinning room of the fantasy character pale face is a example of warm colors being used in the fantasy world. In the hall of pale face there is a lot light which lights up the room. The table is very lit up and the food on it can easily be seen. Mercedes the servant and the faun from the fantasy world is also a parallel which is in the film. Both characters share many of the same characteristics. Both character are very sneaky. Both character befriend the the young girl Ofelia and both have anterior motives to what they are doing. Mercedes is working for the Captain Vidal as a servant. She washes the Captains clothing and makes him dinner. She acts as if she is his friend but in reality she is a spy for the rebels and is taking advantage of working for the Captain to send the rebels supplies and tell them important information about the Captains army. The faun persuades Ofelia that he is helping her. She thinks that he is her friend but really he is using her so that he can get back to the underworld that he belongs to. The theme of the movie is making choices and being desobidiant and going against what everyone says is right or normal. Ofelia makes many choices in the film. She makes the choice to prove that she is worthy to return to the underworld. She makes the choice to crawl in the frog hole and she made the choice to eat the grapes in Pale Faces dinning room. The biggest choice that she makes though is the choice she makes to deny the Faun and not give him her baby brother. This choice turns out to be her most important choice that she will make. A example of disobedience is Mercedes. Mercedes was disobedient to the Captain. Her disobedience put her at great risk. She had to take chances. The chances she took ended up paying off in the end when the rebels finally ended up taking out the Captain and his army. From the film one can learn the importance of taking chances and making choices. The film also teaches us about disobedience. Are desobidance puts us at risk, but is important to do what we feel is right. The film also teaches the harsh realitys of war and how it can cause men to do terrible things.

Writing Sample Prompts For An Essay - Using a Writing Sample Prompt

Writing Sample Prompts For An Essay - Using a Writing Sample PromptWriting sample prompts for an essay are one of the most useful, yet underused techniques for enhancing your writing skills. Although the process is relatively simple, many students do not employ it because they do not believe that it will help them learn to improve their own writing skills. Actually, a writing sample prompt for an essay is a unique way to review what you have already written, and it can be the perfect way to start working on improving your writing skills before attempting a real assignment.This unique process is something that can be done with no cost or money outlay. For example, you can set up a mock test in which you write a series of essays on a topic that you know very little about. When you graduate from college, you will have to write a formal and comprehensive essay. In the time between when you completed your college coursework and when you sent your final grade, you will have written two or three papers that will serve as samples for your final exam.Throughout this process, when you read or write your essay, keep in mind the two themes that are running through it. The first theme is the major points that you want to bring out in your essay. As you work through your essay, you will find that there are several different ways that you can bring these points together. This is where the second theme comes into play: how you can integrate these points into your essay to make them more effective.So, when you go to write your essay, you should always be thinking about the first theme. You should not worry about integrating the other two themes in your essay until you have reached a stage in your writing where you feel confident about your overall composition. At this point, you will want to incorporate some of the other elements from your writing sample prompt for an essay, but you should not spend too much time thinking about these things.At this point, you should be complete ly satisfied with your essay, and you should have integrated the other two themes as well. You will then have spent just a few minutes working on each of the themes in your essay. The first three paragraphs of your essay, which has been strengthened by your integrated theme, will be strong enough to carry the attention of your reader.As soon as you reach this final stage in your writing, you will need to work on completing your essay. At this point, you will want to re-read your essay, and you will want to do so in the same way you would have worked on integrating the other themes in your essay.You will want to look for any gaps in your essay, and you will want to try to fix any issues that may have developed from the other themes that you had integrated. At this point, you should be able to realize that your essay is not only as good as the other examples of essays that you have seen, but it may also be better because you had added the second theme to your writing sample prompt for an essay.So, take your time when you are writing your essay, but do not allow this time to pass without first making sure that you have added the second theme to your composition. When you have finished writing your essay, you will be surprised at how much easier it will be for you to understand all of the information that you read, and you will also be pleased with the changes that you have made in your essay. As you continue working on your essay, you will continue to become better at writing, and you will continue to use this strategy when you attempt to improve your writing skills in the future.

Conveyor Belt Essay Example

Conveyor Belt Essay Example Conveyor Belt Paper Conveyor Belt Paper Conveyor Belt Project Part 1 Project Description The new computer-controlled conveyor belt is an exciting project that moves and positions items on the conveyor belt within J millimeter. The project will produce a new system for future installations, and for replacement of those in the field, at a low cost. The computer-controlled conveyor belt has the potential to be a critical unit in 30 percent of the systems installed in factories. The new system is also easier to update with future technologies. The Project Priority Matrix for the Conveyor Belt Project (CBP) is: Constrain Enhance Accept Assignment Develop the WBS outline using the software available to you. TABLE A2. 6 Conveyor Belt Project; WBS Conveyor Belt Project Hardware Hardware specifications Hardware design Hardware documentation Prototypes Order circuit boards Assemble preproduction models Kernel specifications Drivers Disk drivers Serial I/O drivers Memory management Operating system documentation NetWork interface Utilities specifications Routine utilities Complex utilities Utilities documentation Shell Architectural decisions Integration first phase System hard/software test Project documentation Integration acceptance testing Question Does this information (WBS) allow you to define any milestones of the project? Why why not? What are they? Remember: Save your file for future exercises! or Use your file from Part I and the information provided below to complete this exercise. (See Table A2. 7. ) 1. Each work package will represent an activity. 2. The project begins January 4, 2010. 3. The following holidays are observed: January I, Memorial Day (last Monday in May), July 4th, Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November), December 25 and 26. 4. If a holiday falls on a Saturday then Friday will be given as an extra day off, and if it falls on a Sunday, then Monday will be given as a day off. 5. The project team work eight-hour days, Monday through Friday. Warning: Experience has taught students to frequently make separate backup files for each exercise. The software is never as friendly as users expect! Construct a network schedule for the conveyor belt project and prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. When is the project estimated to be completed? How long will the project take? 2. What is the critical path(s) for the project? 3. Which activity has the greatest amount of slack? TABLE Al. 7 Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Conveyor Belt Project; Schedule Description Architectural decisions Hardware specifications Kernel specifications Utilities specifications Hardware design Disk drivers Memory management Operating system documentation Routine utilities Complex utilities Utilities documentation Hardware documentation Integration first phase Prototypes Serial I/O drivers System hard/software test Order circuit boards Network interface Shell Project documentation Assemble preproduction models Integrated acceptance testing Resource Design Development, design Design Development, design Design, development Assembly, development Development Design, documentation Development Development Documentation, design Documentation, design Assembly, development Assembly, development Development Assembly Purchasing Development Development Documentation, development Assembly, development Assembly, development Duration (days) 25 50 20 15 70 100 90 25 60 80 20 30 50 80 130 25 5 90 60 50 30 60 Preceding Activity 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6,7,8,9,10,11,12 13 13 14,15 16 16 16 16 17F-S, lag 50 days 18,19,20,21 4. How sensitive is this network? 5. Identify two sensible milestones and explain your choices. 6. Compare the advantages/disadvantages of displaying the schedule as a network versus a Gantt chart. Include the following printouts: A Gantt chart. A network diagram highlighting the critical path. A schedule table reporting. ES, LS, EF, LF, and slack for each activity. Hint: the project should be completed in 530 days. Remember: Save your file for future exercises! Remember the old saying, A project plan is not a schedule until resources are committed. This exercise illustrates this subtle, but very important, difference. Part A Using your files from Part 2 input resources and their costs if you have not already done so. All information is found in Tables A2. 7 and A2. 8. Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. Which if any of the resources are overallocated? 2. Assume that the project is time constrained and try to resolve any overallocation problems by leveling within slack. What happens? 3. What is the impact of leveling within slack on the sensitivity of the network? Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling within slack. 4. Assume the project is resource constrained and resolve any overallocation problems by leveling outside of slack. What happens? What are the managerial implications? 5. What options are available at this point in time? Include a Gantt chart with the schedule table after leveling outside of slack. Note: No splitting of activities is allowed. Note: No partial assignments (i. e. , 50 percent). All resources must be assigned 100 percent. When you show the resource-constrained network to top management, they are visibly shaken. After some explanation and negotiation they make the following compromise with you: The project must be completed no later than February 2, 2012 (530 days). You may assign two additional development teams. TABLE A2. 8 Organization Name Design Development Documentation Assembly/test Purchasing Group RD (2 teamsl RD (2 teams) RD (1 team) RD (1 team) Procurement (1 team) Cost ($/hr) $100 Resources 70 60 70 40 If this does not suffice, you may hire other development t eams from the outside. Hire as few external teams as possible because they cost $50 more per hour than your inside development people. Internal Development Add as many development units (teams) as needed to stay within the 530 days. If you need more than the two units, examine all possibilities. Select the cheapest possibilities! Change as few activities as possible. It is recommended you keep work packages which require cooperation of several organizational units inside your company. You decide how best to do this. Hint: Undo leveling prior to adding new resources. Once you have obtained a schedule that meets the time and resource constraints, prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: I. What changes did you make and why? 2. How long will the project take? 3. How did these changes affect the sensitivity of the network? Based on the file created at the end of Part 3, prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: I. How much will the project cost? 2. What does the cash flow statement tell you about how costs are distributed over the lifespan of the project? Include a monthly cash flow and a cost table for the project. Once you are confident that you have the final schedule, save the file as a baseline. Hint: Save a backup file just in case without baseline! Prepare status reports for each of the first four quarters of the project given the information provided here. This requires saving your resource schedule as a baseline and inserting the appropriate status report date in the program. Assume that no work has been completed on the day of the status report. Your status report should include a table containing the pv, EV, AC, BAC, EAC, Sv, Cv, and CPI for each activity and the whole project. The report should also address the following questions: I. How is the project progressing in terms of cost and schedule? 2. What activities have gone well? What activities have not gone well? 3. What do the pcm and PCIC indicate in terms of how much of the project has been accomplished to date? 4. What is the forecasted cost at completion (EACf)? What is the predicted VACf? 5. Report and interpret the TCPI for the project at this point in time. 6. What is the estimated date of completion? 7. How well is the project doing in terms of its priorities? 562 Appendix 2 Computer Project Exercises TABLE Al. 9 April 1, 2010 Activity Hardware specifications Kernel specifications Disk drivers Memory management Gp. ystems documentation Utilities specifications Complex utilities Architectural decisions Start Date Finish Date Actual Duration Remaining Duration 2/9/10 2/8/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/8/10 3/30/10 1/4/10 3/12/10 3/29/10 2/5/10 37 25 13 13 13 16 2 25 8 0 87 77 7 0 85 0 Try to present the above information in a form worthy of consideration by top management. Include a Tracking Gantt chart with each report. First Quarter, April 1, 2010 Table A2. 9 summarizes the information regarding activities accomplished to date. Be sure to save your file after each quarterly report and use it to build the next report! Second Quarter, July 1, 2010 Table A2. 1 0 summarizes the information regarding activities accomplished report. since the last Table A2. 1 summarizes the information regarding activities accomplished report. since the last Fourth Quarter, January 1, 2011 Table A2. 12 summarizes the information regarding activities accomplished report. since the last TABLE A2. 10 July 1,2010 Activity Hardware specifications Hardware design Kernel specifications Disk drivers Memory management Gp. systems documentation Utilities specifications Routine utilities* Complex utilities Utilities documentation Architectural decisions Start Date Finish Date Actual Duration Remaining Duration 2/9/10 4/13/10 2/8/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/8/10 4/2 6/10 3/30/10 5/3/10 1/4/10 4/12/10 3/12/10 4/16/10 3/29/10 6/2/10 2/5/10 45 56 25 77 77 25 16 47 66 22 25 11 0 33 19 0 0 18 25 0 0 The project manager for the external development team that was hired to perform routine utilities reported that due to commitments to other clients they would be able to start on that activity 4/26/1 O. Appendix 2 Computer Project Exercises 563 ing TABLE A2. 11 October 1,2010 Activity Start Date Finish Date In Actual Duration Remaining Duration ~nt. Hardware specifications Hardware design Hardware documentation Kernel specifications Disk drivers Memory management Op. systems documentation Utilities specifications Routine utilities Complex utilities Utilities documentation Architectural decisions Integration 1st phase /9/10 4/13/10 7/19/10 2/8/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/8/10 4/26/10 3/30/10 5/3/10 1/4/10 8/25/10 4/12/10 7/16/10 8/24/10 3/12/10 8/17/10 7/30/10 4/16/10 3/29/10 7/27/10 8/11/10 6/2/10 2/5/10 45 67 27 25 110 98 25 16 65 95 22 25 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 rt! TABLE A2. 12 January 1, 2011 Activity Start Date Finish Date Actual Duration Remaining Duration ast 1St .st Hardware specifications Hardware design Hardware documentation Prototypes Kernel specifications Disk drivers Serial I/O drivers Memory management Op. systems documentation Utilities specifications Routine utilities Complex utilities Utilities documentation Architectural decisions Integration 1st phase /9/10 4/13/10 7/19/10 11/11/10 2/8/10 3/15/10 11/11/10 3/15/10 3/15/10 3/8/10 4/26/10 3/30/10 5/3/10 1/4/10 8/25/10 4/12/10 7/16/10 8/24/10 3/12/10 8/17/10 7/30/10 4/16/10 3/29/10 7/27/10 8/11/10 6/2/10 2/5/10 11/10/10 45 67 27 34 25 110 34 98 25 16 65 95 22 25 55 0 0 0 44 0 0 119 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 You have received quarter: revised estimates for the remaining activities at the end of the fourth Prototypes will be completed on 3/8/11. Serial I/O drivers will be completed on 6130/11. System hardware/software test will start on 7/1/11 and take 25 days. O rder circuit boards will start on 8/8/11 and take 5 days. Assemble preproduction model will begin on 10/14/11 and take 18 days. Project ocumentation is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 55 days. Network interface is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 99 days. Shell is expected to start on 8/8/11 and will take 55 days. Integrated acceptance testing is expected to start on 12/29/11 and will take 54 days. Prepare a memo that addresses the following questions: 1. What is the new EAC for the project? How long should the project take given these revised estimates? 2. How happy will top management be with these forecasts given the priorities of the project? 3. What recommendations would you make? Include a revised schedule, a Tracking Gantt chart, and cost table with your memo.

A Review of Zoot Suit, a Book by Luis Valdez

A Review of Zoot Suit, a Book by Luis Valdez In Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit, the zoot suit has many conspicuous and inconspicuous meanings. The zoot suit is an ostentatious outfit that many Chicano gangsters wore in order to gain recognition of the police and the people of Los Angeles. The boys’ family members believe that the zoot suit symbolizes insubordination while police offers and press view it as delinquency. The boys of the Thirty-eighth Street Gang, who admire the zoot suits, regard the zoot suit as empowering. In the play, there is a clash of opinions as to whether the zoot suit represents power or delinquency. The zoot suit helps many chicano boys of the Thirty-eighth Street Gang identify themselves with the other boys as they face discrimination and aggression from the Downey Gang and police officers. In the beginning of the play, El Pachuco, who is Henry Reyna’s alter ego, expresses his appreciation and passion for the zoot suit. He describes putting on a zoot suit, â€Å"†¦makes [Chicancos] feel real root look like a diamond, sparkling, shinning†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Valdez 1.1.3). Rather than hiding, El Pachuco displays himself as if he is a radiate gem that all can fawn over because he dresses in style, and therefore should commands respect. The zoot suit gives the boys the confidence and swagger to gain esteem from their fellow boys and the Downey gang, a rival group. The boys use the zoot suit as a uniform symbolizing the ideology of a group of individuals fighting for common goal which was Chicano pride. Even more, El Pachuco, who dons the zoot suit, epitomizes the Chicano spirit because he reminds Henry Reyna to not waver from trying to gain respect from the police. In the end, El Pachuco states he is, â€Å"†¦the ideal of the original chuco was to look like a diamond to look sharp hip bonarro† (Valdez 2.6.16). Therefore, the boys looks up to Pachuco as a genuine symbol of what they are fighting for. The boys feel more formidable when the other boys put on the zoot suit because it gives a sense of brotherhood and community. In packs, the boys feel comforted by the numbers but with the zoot suit, the boys feel invincible. In the eyes of the police and the press, the zoot suit is seen as a symbol of misconduct and malice. After the police disperses the barrio dance and Sergeant Smith detains Henry and the rest of the boys who are main culprits of the Sleep Lagoon murder case, Smith interrogates the boys, and sarcastically comments, â€Å"you pachucos are regular tough guys† (Valdez 1.3.1). By sarcastically insulting the boys for being a bunch of tough guys, Smith is in actuality calling the boys weaklings and therefore, considers the zoot suit powerless and only a symbol of rebellion. Sergeant Smith believes that the zoot suit is just a mere ostentatious attire that makes the boys a target of discrimination. He goes further and declares, â€Å"I hear you pachas wear these monkey suits as a kind of armor. Is that right? How does it work? This is what you zooters need a little old-fashioned discipline (Valdez 1.4.41). Smith again uses name calling instead of properly addressing the boys. The à ¢â‚¬Å"zooter† signifies that Smith utterly shuns the zoot suit and thinks its so ridiculous that the boys wear them. He even goes as far as to question the secret powers of the zoot suit as if to play of the boys emotions and taunt the zoot suit further. Clearly, the police dont take the power of the zoot suit seriously. Even the headlines of the Los Angeles newspaper articles â€Å"Zoot-Suited Goons of Sleepy Lagoon† (Valdez 1.5.15) shows the yellow journalism uses zoot suit in a derogatory term and labeled all Mexicans as Zoot Suits. The press goes further and comments that, â€Å"the Zoot Suit Crime Wave is even beginning to push the war news off the front page† (Valdez 2.6.15) in order to reveal to the audience that wearing zoot suits and being seen in them was considered a crime and a rebellious action that cannot be ignored by even the news. The symbol of the zoot suit bring depth to the play as so many different individuals perceive the zoot suit in their own way. For the boys of the Thirty-eighth Street Gang, it defines their group and intentions. By wearing the suit, the boys make a single stance against the oppression and discrimination by the press and the police officials. However, for the press and police officials, the zoot suit only symbolizes the crime and wrongdoing. They believe that the zoot suit only affirms their beliefs that the boys are reckless. The zoot suit is truly a symbol of the disagreement of individuals within the Los Angeles community.

DB 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DB 3 - Research Paper Example On the other hand, the power of virtual integration is the use of the internet or general technology to replace physical elements of a company with specific information. Ford Motor Company recorded 5.7 million motor sales worldwide last year, using a huge network of suppliers. As part of its objectives to create a competitive supply chain, the firm makes use of Six Sigma procedures through collaborating with Penske Logistics to improve and streamline supply chain activities. Before Ford sided with Penske Corp, its assembly plants in South America each took care of its logistics, an initiative that led to unexpected costs in transport and supplying materials as suppliers used to pick up light loads, carrying them from plant to plant. In an effort to solve this, the company established various Order Dispatch Centers (ODC) to merge shipments to plants (Chopra & Sodhi, 2012). Within a short time, it was noted that the majority of trucks have increased the capacity to 95% when distributing shipments to and from the ODC as well as a reduced plant inventory by 15%. New technology has been put in place to help in streamlining performance. Ford Motors has used Logistics Management System, order tracing software, and metric reporting system based on the internet to achieve this goal. This shows how technology can be used to enhance competitiveness as drivers in the company now carry an electronic log and PDA scanners to offer real-time updates and ensure that all carriers have satellite communications. Meanwhile, the supply chain is stabilized through scanners that are utilized in monitoring plants delivery (Austin, 1999). A vital facet of the strategies used in the supply chain is Ford’s emphasis on accountability at every level of supply. In order to reduce expenses and boost services, the company strengthened the car manufacturer’s bidding procedure for carriers, initiating higher specifications on technology, driver certification, safety, time

Difference between the mission and vision statement.strategic Essay

Difference between the mission and vision statement.strategic management - Essay Example The main difference between the mission and vision statement is that the mission statement provides a guidelines of what the company seeks to achieve in the present as an organization while the vision statement illustrates the goals of the firm for the future. A company I once work for had the most deceptive and fraudulent mission statement I had ever seen. The company claimed that one of its values was taking care of the employees in order to improve their quality of life and of their families. The reason that the company lied in this statement was because this company was very abusive towards its employees. The firm would steal hours from the workers payroll by paying them fewer hours than they worked, they would pay the workers two to three weeks late every pay cycle, and the firm did not honor a bonus system that offered to the employees when they started to work for the firm. The actions of the managers, administrative team, and owners of the company were opposite of what the mi ssion statement claimed. DQ2 I went to the corporate website of the global coffeehouse company Starbucks Cafe. The company has a corporate responsibility program in place that affected various aspects of their operations. One of the most intriguing aspects of the firm’s CSR plan was the sourcing of materials initiatives. The company in order to help our poor communities across the world only purchases fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee is a system that guarantees poor farmers across the world a minimum price for coffee of $1.26 per pound which is twice the going rate for wholesale coffee across the world. Another aspect of the firm social responsibility commitment which I liked was their emphasis on hiring a diverse workforce. The firm also had good initiatives in place to protect the environment such as a recycling program. One aspect of their social responsibility initiatives that I did not like was the fact that the company does not have a mechanism in place to collect m oney for philanthropy causes. Considering the high profit margins the company enjoys the firm could easily donate 1% of their revenues or more to help fight hunger in places such as Africa, India, and South America. DQ3 The four major components of the strategic management process are environmental scanning, strategy formation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation. Environmental scanning is important because it allows the manager the opportunity to collect sufficient information in order to determine the relation between the company, the market, and its potential alternative solutions. I believe that the second step (strategy formation) is the most important step or component in the strategic management process. If a manager chooses the wrong strategy the subsequent steps won’t matter because the failure of the strategic initiative is inevitable. Take for example a company that decides after two years in business that the best strategic formation is too expand the company. The firm invests all the money it has on expanding without proper environmental scanning and without analyzing the financial consequences of the decision. Due to the bad plan the company realizes that now they are producing more goods than what the market seeks. Suddenly a firm that was doing well goes into financial troubles due to a bad strategic formation. 4. I agree with you that the mission statements of companies have a more detail description than the vision statement of a company. Based on the research that I made on the subject the reason that this occurs is because of the timeline perspective. The mission statement attempts to provide the people who read it an overview of the business as it is in the short term. People want to know what the company is all about and is seeking to do and realize. The visions statement is different because the vision statement provides an overview of what the company is seeking to achieve in the future. 5. I agree with a lot of the points you mentioned in your response. I believe that a people’

law :: essays research papers

Citizen Complaints and Problems Officers Examining Officer Behavior Chapter thirteen talks about the police being a public institution, that relies on a grant of legitimacy rooted in public trust and confidence. Complaints that become news events can wear away confidence among an even wider audience. This chapter provides the unique opportunity to combine citizen complaint data with actual observations. It examines the behavior of identified problem officers, as well as whose who are not labeled as such. Systematic research on police misconduct suggests most citizen complaints are generated by a handful of officers. In 1991, the Christopher Commission released its review of the Los Angeles Police Department in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots (Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991). From its investigation, the Commission reported that a small group of officers were responsible for a disproportionate number of citizen complaints. Forty-four officers who had six or more allegations of excessive force or improper tactics were identified and labeled â€Å"problem officers.† It stands to reason that officers who repeatedly receive citizen complaints will be looked upon with suspicion, reflecting the saying- â€Å"where there’s smoke there’s often fire.† Perspectives on Citizen Complaints and Problem Officers As a result of the adversarial nature of the police-citizen relationship, situations arise in which avoidance of conflict is not an option. Not every citizen willingly accepts an officer’s definition of a situation: instead, he or she may choose to rebel against or challenge the authority of the police officer. Van Maanen (1978) noted this type of citizen, termed â€Å"asshole† by police, was likely to receive street justice in the form of â€Å"thumping.† Though Van Maanen’s fieldwork took place three decades ago, police continue to confront citizens they label as â€Å"assholes† who challenge their authority (Mastrofski, Reisig, and McCluuskey, 1991). More precisely, â€Å"thumping† an â€Å"asshole† has garnered an increasing amount of both departmental and public attention (Skolnick and Fyfe, 1993). At least three different perspectives on the meaning of citizen complaints are possible. First, it may be that citizen complaints tell us little to nothing because they are unreliable or invalid indicators of officer’s behavior. Two arguments can be made in this resp ect. A citizen complaint is just that- a â€Å"citizen† complaint. It is the citizen’s view or perception that the officer acted illegally or improperly, which is unlikely to be informed by rules and procedures by police departments establishing uniform operating standards.