Rhetorical Analysis of Walter White Essay - 1098 Words

Nick L’Italien Ms. McClain English 123 January 29, 2013 A Split Personality – Morals Against Corruption With reality shows taking over airtime nowadays, psychological thrillers in television are a rare genre. Admittedly, it can be a tasking genre to develop a show around, but Vince Gilligan has managed to create, quite possibly one of the greatest shows ever, Breaking Bad. In the pilot episode, the audience was introduced to Walter White, a middle-aged high school Chemistry teacher. He sounds like an average, typical man, but he was introduced in the most peculiar way. Gilligan opened this award-winning show with Walter, underwear-clad, holding a pistol, next to a crashed R.V. in the middle of the desert. The audience questioned†¦show more content†¦The newfound distributor turned out to be a sociopath, so in order to protect his identity Walter created the alias Heisenberg for himself. This was the point when Walter’s psychological health began decaying rapidly. Walter’s one wrong turn after another was taking a toll on him and his home life. He became the ma n he once hated, a man who his family could no longer trust. His time away from home living his secret life became extremely suspicious to his wife, Skylar. She knew about his cancer, but not of his life in the drug realm. In a very intense episode in which Walter was to meet up with this sociopathic distributor, everything takes a turn for the worst. The distributor takes him prisoner for almost 48 hours, and almost kills him. This obviously brought concern to his wife, who had no idea where Walter might be. Once everything had been resolved, Walter made a daring move to reappear miles away from home, naked, in a supermarket. He told his family, friends, and even doctors that â€Å"I blacked out. I don’t remember anything for the past 24 hours. These doctors have me on so many pills that it must be affecting me.† (Gilligan S2Ep3). This was the first of many lies Walter would produce in an attempt to hide his other life. With the deceit, his marriage began to decline b ecause Skylar did not believe him. However, it was not because of his disappearance why she did not believe him. As Walter was going into a drug-induced sleep at the hospital after heShow MoreRelatedAmerican Dream in a Raisin in the Sun4319 Words   |  18 PagesAfricanness Sometimes, because of the conception they have of other people, they would try to compel them to behave in a certain way. The white society always try then to determine the kind of life Black people are supposed to lead. This can be seen through the novel Invisible Man where the protagonist struggles hard to break from the mold crafted and held together by white society throughout the novel. 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Effects of Music on the Unborn Child Free Essays

string(110) " out that if the child plays an instrument that the child is better at math and special thinking \(Robledo\)\." Music can be used to influence people’s mood and has been used to attempt to affect the brain of a child in its mother’s womb. Some people think that having an unborn child listen to different types of music will have different effects on how the child will grow. Some people believe that music has no influence while others believe that if they introduce their unborn child to classical music the baby will grow up to be smarter than the kid who either listened to other types of music or no music while in the womb. We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Music on the Unborn Child or any similar topic only for you Order Now Studies have been done on how music can affect an unborn, and many different results have come from these studies. Not only can the unborn child actually hear the music, but the child will remember the song even after they are born. ?Music affects attitudes as well as thoughts. According to the book titled What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland, there are four elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony, and tone color. Each of these elements are not heard by themselves but are heard together as one sound. Each part of music has a special and unique way wherewith we interpret and react to it. Rhythm comes first in the musical elements because many historians say that music started with a beating of a rhythm. Whether it was the cavemen with branches or another group rhythm was the first element of music found (Copland, 33). The second element, melody, is second because rhythm is more of a physical motion and so melody is experienced as a mental emotion. The melody is the most crucial part of the music. It is the only subjective portion of music that the audience rejects or accepts by itself (Copland, 49). Harmony, the third element, is the most sophisticated. The harmony was the most recently discovered and has been greatly appreciated (Copland, 61). The last element, tone color, is the quality of sound produced by a particular musical instrument (Copland, 78). Aaron Copland later goes on to explain the difference of how we listen to music now compared to how we listened when we were in the womb. We have little to no say in what we listen to when we were in the womb; we can only enjoy it or kick relentlessly hoping that it will change. ?Some studies have been done by David Tame in his book The Secret Power of Music. In it he says â€Å"music has been found to affect the body in two distinct ways, directly on the cells and organs and indirectly by affecting the emotions, which, in turn, influence numerous bodily processes. Sounds projected into liquid media have coagulated proteins. So teenagers have brought soft eggs to rock concerts, hich became hard-boiled — wonder what happens in our own bodies† (Tame, 173) After reading this, it does make one wonder why we listen to something that can have such a negative effect and be so bad. Most people chose music their parents raised them on or something completely different. Tame later says in his book that people who listen to rock music have led lives that were much more destructive to themselves and to others than people who had listened to classical music. David Tame also did studies on plants and animals and how they respond to the different music. In a study performed classical music had appeared to bring more produce and better looking flowers than rock music (Tame, 196). ?According to BBC, Dr. Lamont did a study where the same song was played for the last three months of the pregnancy and then was played again after the child was born, even after they were a year old they recognized the song (BBC, Womb Music: How Will Music Affect oner Unborn Child? ). Another study done by Dr. Lamont concluded that â€Å"that there was no evidence that playing classical music to babies helps to make their brains develop. Dr. Lamont has done many studies for this topic and could be considered an expert. She has discovered much information for example: babies can hear just twenty weeks after conception and can remember a song for at least twelve months, and that babies cannot only remember the songs but they prefer these songs (BBC, Babies Remember womb music). ?Another study was done at the Education Oasis on how music affects babies in the womb, and they said that music does not make a baby smarter but it does prepare it for particular ways of thinking. The effect the music has does not last long but can be used to do tasks more quickly (Bales). They figured out, through many experiments, that although music did not make the babies smarter it did make their brains ready to learn and grow. The babies who listened to classical music were more ready to learn than the babies, who had listened to country, rock, folk, dance, or nothing at all (Bales). ?Although there is still controversy on whether or not music can make the brain smarter or not, more research has been done to observe the effects of music on newborns. Researchers from Brigham Oneng University studied the effects of music on thirty-three premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. Cassette players piped voices of men and women singing lullabies into each baby’s ears for forty minutes a day for four days. When doctors examined the babies on the fourth day, they found that babies who had been exposed to music gained more weight, and had lower blood pressure and a stronger heartbeat than the other (Robledo). Their research shows that music can help strengthen premature babies; however, these researchers still have yet to figure out if music can improve a child’s intellect. It is hard to study the intelligence level of babies when they cannot talk or write. When studying three and four year olds these researchers have found out that if the child plays an instrument that the child is better at math and special thinking (Robledo). You read "Effects of Music on the Unborn Child" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Oner goal should be to cultivate a love for music in oner child, not to create the next Mozart. It should be about having fun and exposing oner child to new sounds and rhythms† (Robledo). My mother listened to two genres of music when I was in her womb: eighties rock and RB. I would kick and dance for her when she played the rock music and she used RB to put me to sleep. It worked as a oneng child too; my mother has videos of me kicking and screaming for joy when she played AC/DC, Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, Duran Duran, Journey, Whitesnake, and U2. Whenever either of my parents wanted to put me to sleep, they would play Prince, Stevie Wonder, Al B. Sure, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Soul II Soul, or Earth, Wind, and Fire. These genres have had an impact on my upbringing. Like most children I stuck to what I knew when it came for me to buy my first compact disk. The quote â€Å"The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree† applies very much so to me as it does to most children when they pick what they like and what they do not; I chose a nineties rock and alternative. I liked bands that were like the bands that I listened to in my mother’s womb, but I also liked having my own music to like. The music I chose sounds similar to the music my mother would have me listen to, but it was something my dad would not sing every word to, so I liked it. My dad is not the best singer, so if I can only get a hum then my music is more enjoyable. ?A year or two later, my mother was pregnant again. This time she was told by the doctors that her baby was to be born with many brain defects. She looked for many ways to keep her unborn baby from being born with the brain deficiencies. She had watched on the local news that babies were being born with an unbelievable intelligence from their mothers playing classical music while the unborn baby was still in the womb. There was another mother whom had said that the doctors had told her that her baby was supposed to be born with brain efects but her baby was born with no defects at all and she thanked her lucky stars on classical music. My mother thought it was worth a try since music was not thought of to hurt a baby’s brain. While she had classical music on headphone around her womb, she had rock music on a second pair for her and me to enjoy. My brother was born with some brain deficiencies; he is a slow school learner but is extremely fast at learning musical instruments. If one gives him an instrument in five minutes he will learn how to compose sound, in fifteen he knows notes, and in thirty he can play a song from memory. In everything else my brother is slow at learning and is slightly dyslexic. My mother thought the classical music had helped, so when she was pregnant again she had the new unborn baby listen to classical music as well. This one was born with terrible eye sight, deaf in one ear, dyslexic, and on the verge of being mentally handicapped. Classical music through a personal study has shown to have no intellectual effect on the unborn child. Every now and again a â€Å"musical genius† is born. These children are extremely gifted in music and can play, compose and understand music with an unimaginable capacity. Although, some may imagine that we cannot measure musical greatness or potential in children before they discover it themselves. There is a way. In the book titled Musical Ability in Children by Arnold Bentley, he describes ways that we can test the musical ability and potential in children. After all, he says â€Å"musical ability is primarily a mental ability. † He goes on to tell how to test children, but he says that this can be a difficult task especially if the children are not old enough to handle the challenge of the tests (Bentley). According to these studies, there are too many variables to consider when having a child and exposing them to the different array of music that we have today. For example, the child may be born already a genius and the classical music could impair his way of thinking, there are also some disabilities a child can be born with that music just will not be the fix, the baby may reject the music altogether because the baby still remembers what has happened before in the premortal life and knows that he should be listening to a different type or knows a better type for him to listen to. Music is a stimulant. We listen to it in hard times either to make us feel better or to truly understand what the artists are saying because now we understand what they mean. We try to understand everything that we listen to, but it is sometime hard to pick up the message the artists wanted to get out in the way they present it. Music is a powerful thing that should not be taken lightly it can create emotions and pictures in our mind. Music is not something that goes away either. Once one hears a song it can be stuck in one’s mind for a very long time. Even after many years of not hearing the song it can still come back to the front of one’s mind, much faster than a memory. Music is power, and to play it to unborn children increases the parent’s power over the child by what the parents choose which music to produce for the child. How to cite Effects of Music on the Unborn Child, Essay examples

Haier Strategy Essay Example For Students

Haier Strategy Essay Haier: A Global Brand Executive Summary Haier, under the leadership of CEO Zhang Ruimin, grew from a single model refrigerator firm to the #5 white goods producer in a matter of two decades. Throughout the expansion process Haier entered over 100 countries through multiple entry modes and into other industries. The 2005 financial results gave Haier reason to pause and reassess its mission and strategic intent. The primary issue was whether to continue its expansion strategy or slow down operations and engage in a stabilization strategy. After careful analysis and debate the team recommends the latter based on underutilized facilities, operational inefficiencies, and the risk involved with increasing debt. The stabilization strategy would include continued pursuit of exports and non-equity alliances; however further significant financial investments would not be pursued. A shift from a multidomestic strategy to a transnational strategy is recommended in order to centralize operations to ensure efficiency and learning, and increases accountability based on product instead of by geographical area. Background History Haier has a rich and exemplary history, one that is studied by many business experts and business schools worldwide. Haier managed to break out of the â€Å"China mold† and become a leader in the appliance industry. Haier progressed through three stages of growth and was embarking on its fourth stage of â€Å"Global Brand Building† as of 2006. The stages provide insight to Haier’s history and culture. During the â€Å"brand strategy† stage (1984-1991), Zhang Ruimin transformed the bankrupt Qingdao Refrigerator Factory from a single model refrigerator manufacturer into the number one refrigerator brand in China with sales of US$125M in 1991. The culture of the collective-owned enterprise allowed for a highly unmotivated work force. Zhang changed the culture through historical events such as destroying 76 defective refrigerators with a sledgehammer and forcing errant workers to confess failures while standing on red footprints. These symbolic actions are still acknowledged today. Strict controls on quality, productivity, and after-sales service gave Haier a competitive advantage over Chinese competitors, catapulting it to the first place position. The â€Å"diversification strategy† stage (1991-1998) was a period of intense competition. Haier faced intense domestic competition as competitors emulated Haier’s approach to quality and productivity. Additionally, some foreign competitors entered the market. Haier sought an advantage through an emphasis on after-sales service and diversification into other products. It also recognized the need to export products overseas. Haier’s â€Å"activating shock fish† efforts, in which it acquired poorly managed firms with good tangible assets and made them profitable, allowed it to diversify within the white goods industry and enter the brown goods industry (televisions). In fact it did this with 14 such companies. Haier emerged as the #1 white goods producer in China by 1998 with dozens of product lines. Global efforts resulted in 1/3 of sales coming from abroad and total sales of $US1. 38B in 1997. During the â€Å"internationalization strategy† stage (1998–2005) Haier aggressively pursued global efforts to create a global brand name. By 2005 Haier was the #5 white goods producer worldwide with 95% of its products branded as â€Å"Haier†. Unlike many Chinese OEMs it did not rely on low-cost labor and sell to foreign brands. Haier basically followed the â€Å"internationalization process† entering markets by exporting and graduating to non-equity alliances followed by joint ventures. Haier also created foreign subsidiaries with industrial parks in South Carolina and Pakistan. It tended to gain a foothold through niche markets, such as mini-refrigerators and wine cellars in the U. S. It tackled the tougher markets first and sold under the â€Å"Haier† name. Haier accrued a wealth of â€Å"globalization† knowledge over a few short years. Zhang believed that globalization required a high level of localization and that (intellectual property) was necessary for survival. To this end, the firm pursued a multidomestic strategy thereby creating autonomous operations in major markets, as well as founding 12+ RD centers and 18 trading companies. The strategy proved sound with sales of US$13. 1B for 2005 (US$4B from overseas). The first three stages of growth culminated in a corporate culture that simultaneously pushed for increased quality, productivity, and innovation. Entering the fourth stage, â€Å"Global Brand Building†, Haier aspired to strengthen its global presence through its existing culture and further expansion into foreign markets. Zhang had his sights on creating a truly global brand name and becoming the #1 white goods provider. Haier’s record was impeccable until the 2005 financial data proved otherwise. The 35% drop in net profits prompted experts to debate whether Haier truly had the potential to become a global brand. The following section speculates on the current underlying issues related to the case. Issue Identification The symptoms that surface during this case are as follows: * 35% drop in net profits between 2004 and 2005 China market: profits and margins down since 2001, operating costs up since 2000 * Overseas sales = 1/3 of total sales; however overseas sales 1/3 of profit * Significant losses due to mobile phone business * Some facilities are underutilized (Zhang stated â€Å"we don’t need more production capability†¦ we need higher design level and a bigger sales network) * Lost bid for Maytag to global giant Whirlpool * Some experts claim Haier did not achieve global bran d status and doubted its ability to do so The facts in the case lead us to surmise the following underlying issues. Diversification: In line with Chinese culture, Haier believes in the philosophy that â€Å"bigger is better†. This certainly has some validity. There are gains with respect to economies of scale and synergy with other products. Additionally, as more goods display the â€Å"Haier† name, brand recognition increases. Also, unrelated ventures may prove profitable. The risk is that Haier is jeopardizing its core competency of white goods by utilizing resources elsewhere (spreading itself thin). The goal is to achieve appropriate balance, the concern is that Haier has overextended itself. Localization: Zhang believes globalization equals localization, which also has its merits. Speed to market and understanding the local culture and customer preferences is important. However, one could argue that speed to market is not as important for appliances since longevity (durability) is desirable. Some electronics products Haier offers requires quick turnaround, such as cell phones, however these are not the focus of expansion efforts. The other argument is that â€Å"the world is flat†, meaning customer preferences are converging as people are increasingly exposed to the rest of the world. Does The Government Control Our Rights? EssayIt is presumed that Haier engages in supply chain management. Firm: Haier needs to reassess its mission and strategic intent. The â€Å"Strategic Management Process†, which includes a SWOT analysis, provides this framework (Appendix A). As stated earlier, achieving a â€Å"global brand name† is not an optimal mission due to promotion of unprofitable activities. The firm needs to reassess whether it should continue with expansion efforts at this point. Allowing the process to â€Å"catch-up† might be in order. The current structure of the firm may not allow for proper evaluation systems. Underutilized facilities suggests Haier needs to increase exports in order to achieve economies of scale. Adjustments to the degree of localization may also be in order thereby increasing efficiency. Finally, the company needs to address the failing cell phone business (divest) and should leverage its ability to turn around failing firms. Alternatives Alternative #1 Growth Strategy (Status Quo) Haier continues pursuits of growth through significant investment with the intent of achieving a â€Å"global brand† status. Haier continues the current path of head offices in â€Å"ten target markets† and â€Å"20 factories by 2010†. Australia, South America, and Russia should be considered as well. This allows for localization of products and capitalizes on emerging markets. However, this requires significant investment and compromises economies of scale (significant operations in so many countries may not be warranted). Haier’s financial capability is questionable and increasing debt increases risk. Alternative #2 – Stability Strategy Haier stabilizes operations and focuses on becoming a leader in the home appliance industry through innovation, quality, and efficiency. Continuation of the brown goods operations allows for revenue and brand awareness. Haier alters some of its current goals, to be revisited later. Once the firm has current operations under control it may determine that 10 head offices and 20 factories is not optimal. Haier will continue pursuing other markets for exporting and non-equity alliances only. Alternative #3 – Retrenchment Strategy into White Goods Industry Haier pursues its core competency with the intent of becoming a global leader in the appliance industry. Haier divests brown goods based on the state of market and divests all unrelated assets (i. . , tourism) creating capital to invest in appliances and fund global efforts. Haier should focus on global ranking instead of â€Å"global brand†, and evaluate operations for efficiency gains. The downside is a loss of profitable products that help spread the brand name. This option is not recommended. Alternative #4 – Retrenchment into Brown Goods Industr y Haier pursues the potentially higher profit margin industry, with the intent of becoming a leader in the electronics industry. Selling the white goods and other unrelated operations will provide financial capital. Haier has some experience in electronics; however the cell phone disaster demonstrates its lack of expertise. Although Haier claims a quick-to-market philosophy, electronics is much more intense than appliances. Haier would need to hire expert industry leaders to lead this effort, and it would need to modify its culture. The main concerns are that Haier is giving up its core competency of white goods, unlikely to achieve â€Å"global brand† status, may not get full value for divested operations, and most importantly it may be the eventual demise of the firm. This option is not recommended. Recommendations After careful debate between expansion and stabilization the team recommends stabilization at this point in time. It does not want to overextend itself financially and it needs to reevaluate current operations, which is difficult to do during expansion. It is assumed that the current organization lacks the ability to adequately monitor and control operations on a high level. The company has underutilized facilities which need to be addressed. There is no immediate threat or out of the ordinary opportunity. Note exporting to new markets is considered normal business and would continue. The reduced effort on expansion reduces early-mover advantage; however the risk of unprofitability takes precedence. Our recommendation includes shifting from a â€Å"Multi-Domestic† strategy to a â€Å"Transnational† strategy. Centralizing operations ensures efficiency and learning, and increases accountability based on product or function instead of by geographical area. Goals and Supporting Objectives 1. Global leader in white goods industry 1. 1 white goods ranking worldwide by market share by the end of 2010 2. Reorganize organization to achieve economies of scale and scope (synergy) 2. Transform to a matrix structure with center of expertise by the end 2008 3. Ensure company goals are properly pursued 3. Design appropriate incentive system that rewards teamwork by the end of 2008 4. Product groups create strategies/goals that align with overall mission by the end of 2007 4. Improve fin ancial standing 5. Divest unprofitable products (i. . , mobile cell phones) by end of 2007 6. Expand direct selling approach in main markets by the end of 2008 7. Hire electronics experts by the end of 2007 8. Create a separate group for â€Å"turn around acquisitions† by the end of 2007 Appendix A Fundamentals of Management, Robbins/DeCenzo, 6th edition, 2008 References * Fundamentals of Management, Robbins/DeCenzo, 6th edition, 2008, pages 80 – 88 * â€Å"The Internationalization Process of the Firm† paper by Johanson and Vahlne * http://dept. lamar. du/industrial/underdown/org_mana/org_structure_george. htm * Cavusgil, S. Tamer. International business: strategy, management, and the new realities/S. Tamer Cavusgil, Gary Knight, John R. Riesenberger * International Business – Competing in the Global Marketplace, 5th Ed, McGraw-Hill, 2005 * â€Å"The Competitive Advantage of Nations† paper by Michael Porter, 1990, Harvard Business Review 1990 * htt p://www. haier. com/index. htm * http://www. businessweek. com/1999/99_24/b3633071. htm on Zhang

The Book Of Deuteronomy Is The Fifth Book Of The Bible, Or The Last Bo Essay Example For Students

The Book Of Deuteronomy Is The Fifth Book Of The Bible, Or The Last Bo Essay ok of the Pentateuch. Deuteronomy literally means Second Law. This title conveys its nature and purpose. In other words, this book is a repetition of the law that was given to Moses and his people on Mount Sinai. It is also a completion and explanation of that law. Besides that, this book also continues on from previous events that happened in the first four books of the Bible. It helps to bring to focus and interpret the messages that are in the first four books. In Greek, Deuteronomy means a copy of this law in a book. In Hebrew, its name comes from the phrase, these are the words. The Book of Deuteronomy was written centuries after the Israelites had lived on the Land of Promise. Moses is believed to be the author. If he is the author, it was written around thirteenth century B.C. Joshua was most likely (although it is not certain) the author who concluded the book with the event of Mosess death. Moses relates all events that happen in this book with a spiritual lesson. He takes the laws that the Lord gave His people nearly forty years before the time that the writings of this book took place and adapts it to the people and events of that time. We will write a custom essay on The Book Of Deuteronomy Is The Fifth Book Of The Bible, Or The Last Bo specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now A main characteristic that sets the book of Deuteronomy apart from the other books of the Bible is its vigorous oratorical style. (The Holy Bible 147) In other words, it is a style which involves much thought coming from the author. The events in this book took place within no more than forty days. The events occurred mainly in only three places. They were in the plains of Moab, between the end of the wandering of the desert (which lasted forty years), and the crossing of the Jordan River. (Deuteronomy)The purpose of the book of Deuteronomy is to show the change in leadership from Moses to Joshua. It was also written to be a witness of Gods relationship with the people of Israel. Deuteronomy begins towards the end of Israels time of wandering through the desert. Moses gives them instructions concerning many different aspects of the life in the land they are about to enter. The first four chapters recall the time when the people came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness because of their numerous sins. It then shows how God faithfully brought the next generation to the border of Canaan, which was the promised land. The next twenty-four chapters recall the Law of God. In it, Moses repeats the Ten Commandments that had been given to him by God at Mount Sinai. Moses emphasized that God chose the people of Israel to be His people because he loved them, and they in return should love God with all of their heart and soul. Moses also shows the importance of worshiping God. From this section is where the name of Deuteronomy originated. The last six chapters prepare the people for the entry into Canaan. Joshua becomes the new leader of the people of Israel because it was near Mosess time of death. Moses teaches the Israelites a song to remind them of Gods faithfulness in the people and how they should never be unfaithful to God. Moses then looks into the promised land from Mount Nebo, since he was never able to enter because of his unfaithfulness to God when he tapped the rock twice. He then dies. Today, the book of Deuteronomy carries many different meanings to Christianity. It shows us the differences between ourselves and God, laws and rules, and how Moses is a ?type of Christ. (Deuteronomy)Deuteronomy conveys to us the nature of ourselves and God through quite a few different ways. One is by the sinful nature of man, which is quite apparent throughout the book. The book also shows the character of God, and how He was always very faithful to His people. Another thing that it shows us is the possibility of restoration through Gods grace. .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .postImageUrl , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:hover , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:visited , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:active { border:0!important; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:active , .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1fa3049bc8dfa2efae2d4940fdba046c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: My Agreement Essay PaperThe book also contains the laws, which are the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are in effect today for all Christians. They are a guide for Christians and the way they should live their lives, and they help to guide all people to live better and more faithful lives. Moses is somewhat a type of Christ by some of the actions that he performed. He talked to God face to face which not many people did. Also, he performed miracles, which are impossible for most people. He also was able to deliver people out of slavery. They are just a few examples of the many actions that Moses took in his lifetime. Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the main emphasis is on faith and obedience. This is apparent through the repeating of the Ten Commandments, and the faith of the people and God towards his people. This book has a major religious influence when compared to most other books of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy is a book of the Bible that should be read with much thought, because it conveys many different meanings that can be used today, and that were apparent during the time it was written.

Auntie Cookie Simulation Essay Example

Auntie Cookie Simulation Essay Example Auntie Cookie Simulation Essay Auntie Cookie Simulation Essay ACC561 The cost management system is a collection of tools and techniques that identify how managementâ„ ¢s affect costs ( Horgren, C. Sundem, G., Stratton, W., Burgstahler, D., Schatzberg, J. 2008, p. 136. Aunt Connieâ„ ¢s cookie company has been in business for 24 years. The company was created by Connie Rocho, and has always been a family- owned business. The companyâ„ ¢s Chief Executive officer is Maria Villanueva, Connieâ„ ¢s niece. She has hired a new Chief Operating Officer (COO) to make decisions to maximize the companyâ„ ¢s contribution margin and operating profits. She has given the COO total control of these operations. It would be beneficial to use cost accounting system to determine it product costs. The Aunt Connieâ„ ¢s trademark has acquired success producing lemon creme and real mint cookies. The decisions to be made for the cookies include bulk order, competitor buyout, new product production, and capacity issues. Price increases for the cookies have decreased volume sales and revenue. The sales mix presently used my need adjusting to maximize production and meet demand. The first analysis to consider is the contribution margin data. In its Contribution margin section (2003), In Wall Street Words states that the contribution margin is the sales minus the variable cost of producing the product. In the simulation the company is faced with the decision to cut prices to increase the sales volume. After calculating the comparison of the cookies the COO found that the contribution margin for the cookies was high enough to allow a price reduction. The owner wants to increase marketing expenditures in addition to cutting prices to boost sales. This would be an investment in the products to reach more potential customers. By increasing market expenditures the company will build long- term equity for the cookies. Connie cookies have been offered a special bulk order of 1,000,000 packs of cookies. The company would have to reduce the volume of another product to meet the demands of this order. The COO must determine if this order will be beneficial. In order to accommodate the bulk order the company the bulk order the company must reduce the volume of the lemon creme cookie or the real mint cookies to deal with a capacity issue. Because the lemon creme has a greater contribution margin the company will reduce the real mint cookies. The general rule of thumb suggests that it is better to produce the product that provides a greater contribution margin ( Horgren, et al., 2008). It is crucial to consider all the different alternatives to see how all situations affect operating profits. Aunt Connieâ„ ¢s cookies are confronted by a competitor to purchase their manufacturing unit. The company is going out of business because of their poor production manufacturing processes. The COO must decide if they will buy the company, and if they buy what cookie will they produce. Auntie Connie must assess the all alternatives on using a comparison table. Based on the data on the table the production of peanut butter cookies would result in losses. The lemon cremes have the greatest contribution margin and high demand so the company should buy the unit to keep up with the demand. According to the table the company should breakeven around 563,000 units, which is less than the needed amount of 600,000 resulting in profits for the new unit. The baker has come up with a new chocolate cookie to be used during the Christmas season. To produce this product the company is considering a purchase of new equipment that will aid in the production of this labor intense product. Present labor can produce 1,000,000 cookies a month, the new equipment will produce 4,00,000 units a month. The COO must compute the indifference point, which is the volume at which costs for both labor and equipment are equal (University of Phoenix, 2010, para. 10). In this case labor and equipment are equal at 1,000,000 units. The forecast is for 1,800,000 units is higher than the indifference point. The company will take a loss if they purchase the equipment because the fixed cost will have to be paid even if they donâ„ ¢t produce the 4,000,000. Until the demand is closer to the capacity of the equipment the higher labor would be the best route. It is essential that Aunt Connieâ„ ¢s cookies use cost accounting systems to determine its product costs. The company can accomplish this by using the contribution margin approach by using graphs, comparison tables, the breakeven analysis, and the point of indifference. All these factors are essential for continued success. References contribution margin. (2003). In Wall Street Words. Retrieved from credoreference.com/entry/hmwsw/contribution_margin Horgren, C., Sundem, G., Stratton, W., Burgstahler, D., Schatzberg, J.(2008). Introduction to Management Accounting. [University of Phoenix Edition e-text]. New Jersey: Pearson- Prentice Hall. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ACC561Interdisciplinary Capstone course website. University of Phoenix. (2010). Contribution Margin and Breakeven Analysis[Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, ACC561-Accounting course website.

Case Study of Holistic Nursing Practices in Context

Case Study of Holistic Nursing Practices in Context Introduction The nursing profession has been defined as a very personal and interactive profession (Yura and Walsh, 1998) and to deliver and provide good patient care many authors have suggested that individualised care ensures that the patient is viewed as a person and as an individual within a set of certain circumstances (Meleis, 1991). To ensure patients are viewed as an individual within a set of circumstances (Meleis, 1991) it is useful for nursing practitioners to adopt a holistic approach to care. Holistic nursing is defined as a process where the patients are not simply treated due to the physical symptoms of a disease or condition, but are considered as a whole and the the totality of the person being treated is explored to include: mental, emotional, spiritual, social, cultural, relational, contextual and environmental aspects (Mueller, 2010). This assignment will focus on a patient case study and will explore the nursing intervention, assessment and individualised care t he patient received. When presenting a patient case study it is essential to acknowledge the issues surrounding confidentiality. The Nursing and Midwifery Council state in the code of standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008a) that it is essential to ‘make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity’ and this is an important consideration when writing an essay based on a case study. To ensure that this assignment complies with the Code of Professional Practice (NMC, 2008a) the author will ensure that client confidentiality will be maintained and respected throughout. To ensure that client confidentiality is upheld, the client selected for this assignment will only be referred to as Mrs P so that no personal identification or features of their care is highlighted; furthermore to ensure confidentiality is upheld, although this assignment case study has been selected from a client e ncountered by the author in clinical practice from their training and student development, no identifying hospital details, places of reference, names of service providers or dates of intervention will be supplied. Mrs P – A Clinical Case Study Mrs P is a 78 year old lady who currently lives alone in a centrally located council owned property in a town in the West Midlands. Mrs P was married in the 1950’s and her husband worked in an engineering factory until he had to retire due to ill health and he then unfortunately passed away in the mid 1990’s. Mrs P has lived alone since this time, moving in 2001 from their family home to a smaller council owned first floor flat. Mrs P was born in the West Midlands to an Irish father and English mother and she is the only surviving sibling of a family of six. Mrs P has two sons and a daughter, who unfortunately died from breast cancer, aged 56. Mrs P’s two sons who live locally. Mrs P left school age 14 and went to work as a cleaner in a factory; she left employment to raise her children but prior to this she worked in a munitions factory during the war. Mrs P did not work again once she was married and has had financial support through the governments benefit system and through a small private pension obtained through her husband’s company.

John The Bapist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John The Bapist - Research Paper Example John Baptist’s Parents John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah and his mother was Elizabeth. Zechariah was from the priestly family of Abijah. Both Zechariah and his wife were righteous people before the lord and they blamelessly obeyed all the commands of the lord (John the Baptist, online). Zechariah and Elizabeth, however, were very old and Elizabeth was barren. The couple had lost hope of ever having a child of their own. The lord however performed a miracle for them and this led to the birth of John the Baptist. John Baptist’s Birth and Childhood John the Baptist was born in the late first century, at around 5 B.C., during the reign of king Herod of Judea. The history of the birth and childhood of John the Baptist can be obtained from the four Gospels in the Bible and also from the writings of the Roman historian Josephus (The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist, online). John the Baptist is believed to have been born in Judea, near Jerusalem. Both John ’s father and mother were of Aaron descent and John, therefore, was of Aaron descent from both his father and mother. Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist was sister to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. ... This happened when Zechariah was performing his priestly duties in the temple of Jerusalem; Zachariah was burning incense in the temple when angle Gabriel appeared to him. When Zechariah first saw the angel he was startled, but the angel told him not to be afraid for the lord had heard his prayers. The angel of the lord then told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, and the angel told him that he should call the child John. The angel of the lord then told Zechariah that the child to be born would be a great joy to his parents and many people would rejoice because of his birth. The angel of the lord told Zechariah that the child to be born would be great in the eyes of the lord. Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that the child to be born would never drink wine or any other fermented drink, angel Gabriel told him that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth; Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that John the Baptist would bring many people of Israel back to God. The angel of the Lord also said that John the Baptist would have the spirit and the zeal of Prophet Elijah; through this spirit and zeal of Prophet Elijah he would bring many people to righteousness. But Zechariah doubted the words of the angel of the Lord and wondered how the words of the angel would come true for he was very old and his wife Elizabeth too was very old and barren. But angel Gabriel assured him that he was sent by God and that his words will come true. And for failing to believe in the words of angel Gabriel, the angel told Zechariah that he would be silent from that moment till when the child John the Baptist would be

Local Governance Modernisation and management Essay

Local Governance Modernisation and management - Essay Example In March 2001 Government Guidance on LSPs (DETRc) was produced that clearly set out the aims of an LSP as a way for improving the engagement and empowerment of local people within the local decision making process. This commitment was reinforced with the availability of funds to support this priority for those areas identified as being deprived and in most need. This paper examines how successful this agenda has been by using a case study of Middlesbrough LSP to examine the implementation of these changes. The New Labour Government came to power in 1997 with a clear remit of modernizing public services. One aspect of this agenda was the introduction of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). LSPs are defined as 'a single body that: - brings together at a local level the different parts of the public sector as well as the private, business, community and voluntary sectors so that different initiatives and services support each other and work together; LSPs were introduced to bring together to bring the public, private, community and voluntary sectors at the local l... should be aligned with local authority boundaries' (DETRc: 4).LSPs were introduced to bring together to bring the public, private, community and voluntary sectors at the local level to make decisions about local priorities. They are expected to tackle important issues for local people and improve quality of life, particularly in deprived areas, by driving forward: sustainable growth economic, social and physical regeneration improvement of public services engagement and active participation of local people in decision making (DETRc: 4) One of the more difficult elements for LSPs has been to ensure that local communities are actively engaged in this process, The Government Guidance on LSPs states that local communities should play a vital role within LSPs, 'Effective engagement with communities will be essential to partnerships' success' (DETRc:14). The survey of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in 2003 (ODPMa: 32) identified that satisfactory community engagement was the biggest issue facing LSPs. This included achieving a balance between inclusivity and keeping numbers manageable; ensuring adequate support mechanisms for voluntary and community sector members to enable them to make effective inputs; engaging harder to reach groups and ensuring geographical communities were engaged. The research highlighted that one of the main benefits of having an LSP was seen as the successful input of community views within the planning process though developing effective working processes and systems were another main issue. BACKGROUND The Local Government Act 2000 placed a duty

The Rhetoric of “Yes We Can” Essay Example for Free

The Rhetoric of â€Å"Yes We Can† Essay Darà ­o Villanueva outlines the history and significance of the rhetorical tradition and highlights the striking persistence of the power of the word in American politics. Even in our high-tech age, a three-word tagline -Yes We Can- carries devastating clout. The Greek sophists -the original masters of rhetoric, notorious for their appetite for influence rather than truth- would be both impressed by the abiding power of their art, and dismayed that, in the Gutenberg Galaxy, it has become a blunt instrument. Centuries before our time, the Greeks considered the question of how to speak so as to sway the hearers mind with the power of words. The first to examine the ways in which we relate to one another through language, the Greeks wrote detailed treatises laying bare the sinews of human communication, and their experience of language and the laws they inferred from it gave rise to Rhetoric, the art or science of the public speaker. The father of rhetoric was said to be Corax, who lived in the closing third of the fifth century BC in the Greek city state of Syracuse in Sicily; his disciple Thysias was credited with bringing his rhetorical discoveries to mainland Greece. Once there, rhetoric was appropriated by the so-called sophists. The history of the term is riven with self-contradiction. Etymologically, sophist means bearer of truth, but its modern meaning is the exact opposite: a sophistry-the stock-in-trade of politicians-is a plausible but spurious argument in support of a falsehood. True rhetoric, however ─Aristotle urges in the introduction to his Rhetoric─ is by no means sophistic. Discussing the uses of the discipline, Aristotle begins with the proclamation that rhetoric educates the common citizen and shapes his spirit, and is a useful way of advancing truth and justice, which in the natural course of things would prevail over their opposites if it were not because their advocates are sometimes inept.[1] Going back to the root of the matter, however, G.B. Kerferd, a scholar concerned with the earliest Greek sophists,[2] divided the school into three distinct types:  sages, such as Solon, whose wisdom was embodied as law; statesmen, who applied their pre-eminent talents to practical affairs, such as Pericles and Themistocles; and teachers of wisdom, skilled in passing on their learning and teaching eloquence, such as Protagoras, Gorgias or Socrates. If we view this classification in Montesquieus terms, the first group would stand for the legislative and judicial powers of the state, while the second group makes a good fit with the executive power. The third group, however, comprising masters of wisdom and oratory, embodies the time-honored marriage of interests and skills between scholars and rulers, sustained by the old but evergreen art of rhetoric. American rhetoric Leaving aside any objective or partisan judgment one might pass on his politics, which is irrelevant to our concern here, Barack Hussein Obama, a university academic, senator, and President of the United States, provides a fascinating example. He makes a perfect fit with a society as sharply characteristic as the American New World, the promised land where the political principles that were later to inspire the French Revolution of 1789 gave rise to an eclectic community, a melting pot of different ethnic origins-not all of them European-and open to all the innovations brought forth by the spectacular advance of science and technology from the Enlightenment to our own day. This was the New Democratic Nation that, ushering in modern poetry, Walt Whitman sang in his book, Leaves of Grass. One of the singular features of that New World is the somewhat astonishing survival, at some fundamental level, of the power of the word. The contrast may seem improbable, but in America the flourishing of technology and all its rich resources ─the central theme of a book that is in no way complacent, but in fact hypercritical, by Marshall McLuhan and his disciple Neil Postman[3]─ enables oratorical endeavor to thrive. Greek rhetoric, largely brought into being by the Sophists, who ─we must not forget─ were more interested in winning over the masses than the furtherance of truth, now has its promised land in the United States. A recent case in point is the impact of President Obamas Yes we can speeches. Again, it was Marshall McLuhan who reminded us that electric systems of communication ─radio and television particularly─ facilitated a revival of oral expression in human communication and cultural transmission after a period of relative tyranny of the eye over the ear: the written word, with the printing press as its handmaiden, had reigned supreme over the five centuries of what McLuhan dubbed the Gutenberg Galaxy.[4] Technopoly ─Postmans unflattering name for the United States of America─ is a locus particularly amenable to the use and development of new technologies, but, even in the twenty-first century, bears the hallmarks of a vast human community in which, as in the ancestral tribes discussed by McLuhan, the spoken word still harbors real power. An undeniable influence is exerted here by the religious bedrock that continues to underlie American society. Though fragmented and diverse, the Protestant churches visibly predominate, and in their communities the biblical and evangelical word breathes life into individual and collective spiritual experience, which draws further nourishment from the often impassioned eloquence of Protestant ministers. Barack Obama himself, a devout Christian, partakes of this culture of liturgical oratory; and, far from keeping this within the private sphere, he has no qualms about putting it on public show as one facet among many of his political personality. His beginnings as a Chicago activist in the late 1980s saw him as a leader of the Developing Communities Project, run by the Church Association on the South Side. Whats more-and this was the subject of a serious controversy, adroitly handled by Obama when his presidential campaign was in full swing-he was an active member of Chicagos Trinity Church, a congregation shepherded by the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The importance of rhetoric has been a feature of American democracy since the Founding Fathers. Its earliest master was Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States and first Republican President, who  proclaimed the Emancipation of black slaves in 1863. Obama brought this to the fore in his Victory Speech when he called upon his political adversaries, members of Lincolns own party. The man who in January 2009 became the 44th president started his campaign two years earlier in the state capital at Springfield, Illinois, where in 1858 Lincoln had delivered his landmark House Divided speech. Some political commentators have not hesitated to draw a parallel between the two by dint of their common gift for oratory. Lincolns most celebrated rhetorical legacy is a prodigious speech delivered on November 10, 1863, at Gettysburg. Running to only 246 words, what might have been no more than the close of a posthumous tribute to the heroes of a battle fought four months earlier on the fields of Pennsylvania became the historic proclamation that, after the Civil War, the American nation would be consecrated for ever as the realm of freedom: government of the people, by the people and for the people. The election campaign We can readily appreciate in Barack Obamas election campaign speeches-available at http://obamaspeeches.com-that these principles, and the more effective ways in which they have been put into words, survive today; more importantly, both the principles and the words retain their power to move and engage the citizenry. This is the power of words which Obama invoked at the end of his speech announcing that he was running for President at the same place where, 149 years before, Lincoln had spoken on a House Divided. It is accurate to point out that a decisive factor in his campaign was the recruitment of all the Internets rich resources: blogs, chat rooms, social networking and, above all, the availability on YouTube of some of the candidates key speeches, which I shall later be parsing from the rhetorical standpoint. Nevertheless, in the beginning, as in the biblical Genesis, was the Word, the foundation of the oral communication that marks us out as rational beings and as social animals. So one might say that Obama simply used the new technological possibilities offered by what some now call the Internet Galaxy,[5] just as one of his predecessors in the Oval Office had  done with what McLuhan called the Marconi Constellation. I am of course referring to Franklin D. Roosevelts fireside chats, a series of 30 radio talks broadcast from 1933 to 1944. Political scientists have claimed the chats played a vital role in getting the American public to understand two major presidential initiatives: first, the New Deal, which Roosevelt undertook to combat the Depression of the 1930s; secondly, Roosevelts decision to take America into the great war then afflicting Europe. Roosevelts radio talks have gone down in the history of communications as a great oratorical achievement. They would begin with an affable Good evening, friends, and went on for 15 to 45 minutes. 80% of Roosevelts words were among the thousand commonest in the English language. Though he shares the gift of oratory with Lincoln and Roosevelt, in Obama we have a modern-day speaker addressing twenty-first-century citizens and using hitherto unthinkable technologies to enhance what, in the last instance, is little more than the outcome of applying the principles of rhetoric and its main genres of discourse: deliberative-i.e., political-discourse, and demonstrative, epideictic discourse. The epideictic mode includes the encomium, by which one describes a person, a pattern of behavior or a state of affairs with the aim of dispensing praise or censure; one of its characteristic figures ─of which, as we shall see, Obama is a consummate master─ is evidentia, a particularly vivid form of description. Obama was no stranger ─rather the opposite─ to the forensic rhetorical genre, having first majored in political science at Columbia and later progressed to a doctorate at the no less prestigious Harvard Law School. In fact, his media debut was a consequence of his being elected editor of the Harvard Law Review, the prelude to a distinguished career as a jurist which was later to elevate him to the chair of constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Communication strategies In the American system of higher education, even at the foundational level of training imparted at college up to the attainment of a bachelors degree,  much is made of communication strategies: students are urged to study and practice them, on the view that they are of crucial import for their proper development as citizens. The significance accorded to applied rhetoric is taken to an extreme in graduate study in the social sciences and, in particular, at law school. When I first experienced life in the United States, thirty years ago now, I was struck by how versatile and broad-ranging modern American rhetoric can be. In all facets of society rhetoric is close at hand, especially in the media; television has not yet lost its entrenched primacy, although it is doomed increasingly to share its viewership with the Internet. Tellingly, you can find sites on the web specifically concerned with this phenomenon, such as American Rhetoric (http://www.americanrhetoric.com), providing a selection of 100 major speeches, or Great Speeches Collection, at http://history places.com. Rhetoric is of course present in the political discourse of members of the executive and of congressmen and senators; rhetoric is heard in the courtroom, and Hollywood has built an entire movie genre on it; rhetoric even runs through the informal, jocular acknowledgements given at showbiz awards ceremonies, and provides the sinew of Jay Lenos and David Lettermans late-show spiels; to particularly striking effect, rhetoric animates church sermons, designed and produced as television spectaculars that have now cornered weekend morning prime time. It was in this culture of the revival of the word that todays President of the United States was born and bred, and this is where he still operates today. His university training refined a number of talents that are no doubt innate. These were qualities that also graced Ronald Reagan, for instance, whose acting career proved a good fallback in the face of communicative and political challenges (the same cannot be said of George W. Bush), such as his famous debate with Walter Mondale broadcast from Kansas City towards the end of the 1984 campaign. But commentators and biographers have unanimously hailed Obama for the further distinction of oratorical fire and literary talent. In 1995, after months of writerly seclusion in Bali, Obama published  an excellent autobiographical account that met with high critical acclaim: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.[6] On reading this memoir, one perceives that the author is touched with literary passion and possessed of wide and varied learning, ranging from Shakespeare, Melville and Emerson to Nietzsche and Saint Augustine, from Toni Morrison and Doris Lessing to the great novelist of the Deep South, the Nobel laureate William Faulkner, who merits mention in Obamas vibrant speech delivered at Philadelphia in March 2008, A More Perfect Union. Barack Obamas rhetorical flair is also in evidence in his ability to empathize with his audience by his skillful actio, the austere but forceful gestures with which he delivers his speeches. He displays fine judgment in his choice of speechwriters, and is able to convey to them the guiding ideas-the rhetorical inventio, or core content of the message-to which his writers must then give the right words-elocutio-arranged into the most effective structure, or dispositio, for the intended purpose of the address. Logographers, ghostwriters, negros The history of Greek rhetoric devotes a short paragraph to memorialize the modest but indispensable figure of the logographer: in the fifth century BC exemplars such as Antiphon or Lysias worked as mercenary speechwriters. Their modern counterparts find no shortage of work as members of the teeming campaign outfits put on the road by the typical American presidential candidate, whose frenzied activity and ethical quandaries were taken to the screen by Mike Nichols in the 1998 movie Primary Colors, starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson. Obamas leading logographer is Jon Favreau, a 27-year-old prodigy who devoted two months to write the twenty-minute speech that his boss gave at the Lincoln Memorial at the start of his campaign. In addition to writing the Victory Speech for November 4, 2008, Favreau also penned the words that would have been spoken if Obama had lost. The President and his logographer understand each other so well that Obama calls Favreau a mind-reader, crediting him with almost telepathic empathy. This is the key to being a  good ghostwriter, the English term for what we in Spanish call a negro, a writer on anothers behalf. The outturn of this fruitful partnership is a corpus of oratorical pieces that already deserves a place of honor in the canon of American rhetoric. These fine, poetic speeches are also sharply effective in stirring their hearers to action. Another matter-and this is the vital challenge standing in the way of rhetoric, an art shaped, we ought not to forget, by the Sophists-is whether these beautiful pieces have any performative force, as a linguist might say. Put another way, the tough reality is that a wide gap yawns open between saying and doing; as the Spanish adage goes, obras son amores y no buenas razones, good works, not fine words, are the stuff of love. How to Do Things with Words is the title of a series of papers given at Harvard (and published posthumously in 1962) by John Langshaw Austin, a linguistic philosopher concerned not so much with the descriptive capacity of language as with its ability to affect reality, to shape the facts. Hillary Clinton, in the heat of the primaries, mischievously said, My opponent gives speeches. I offer solutions. Obama risks being stigmatized as a purveyor of hot air in the wake of his winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2009. Rather than an accolade warranted by the laureates actions, the prize seems merely to recognize the esthetics of Obamas mentions of peace in his speeches, already acclaimed by some journalists as some of the most brilliant ever spoken by a President of the United States. The American canon of oratory also includes a number of pieces delivered by statesmen who never rose to the highest office. The oratory of Barack Obama is indebted, in my view, to one in particular. I have a dream I am of course referring to the dazzling address that Martin Luther King delivered in Washington on August 28, 1963, at the crowning moment of a march on the federal capital by black civil rights campaigners claiming entitlement to work and freedom. Luther Kings speech went down in the  annals of rhetoric under the title of its core phrase, which, by dexterous use of anaphora, operates as the central motif: I have a dream. Martin Luther King, like Barack Obama 44 years later, first turns his hearers attention to the figure of a great American, President Lincoln, whose Emancipation Proclamation came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves. But that promise of work and freedom-the orator then continues with vibrant diction-has been dishonored by the American nation, and the black community is now to raise its voice in protest, like a man given a bad check. Following this apt simile, so close to the heart of a money-driven society like America, the speaker offers a short but powerful list of demands with which the movement has come to Washington. He uses this moment to identify with his audience, as if he were no more than another participant in the march, and, addressing his brothers and sisters in the second person, he urges them, Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And, as a proactive expression of his exhortation against discouragement, Martin Luther King then spoke the prophetic phrase that became the title of the entire speech, and that structures the final stretch of the oration by the figure of anaphora, the intermittent repetition of a single idea expressed in the same words: I have a dream. The speakers dream is rooted from the outset in the so-called American dream, the attainment of which is presented as still in the future. It is the dream of seeing realized Thomas Jeffersons proposition in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, that all men are created equal, as applied to the racial discrimination that at this time, 1964, still reigned. The dream is then particularized into a number of direct phrases that build up to a climax of hope propitiated by the repetition of the same form of words by a roused audience. And the first fundamental anaphora, I have a dream, several times repeated, now gives way to a second anaphora that will serve to end the speech. If America is destined to be a great nation, it will see that dream come true and liberty will prevail for all its children. To conclude his speech, the orator applies the figure of anaphora to the refrain of a popular song, written in 1832, titled America: Let freedom ring. This phrase is repeated no fewer than ten times. Martin Luther King then links up this phrase with another, drawn from a well-known black spiritual: Free at last. Almost half a century after I have a dream, the emblematic phrase of the leading figure of the Afro-American community-who tragically died in 1968, long before a black citizen reached the presidency of the United States-Barack Obama, in the speeches that were to raise him to the Oval Office, shared a number of features with Martin Luther King (who incidentally also won the Nobel Peace Prize). In the key speech on the New Hampshire primary night, the man who was to become Americas first black president had heartfelt words of reminiscence for the black preacher who took us to the mountaintop and pointed us the way to the Promised Land. Both orators share a recognition of the legacy of Jefferson, Lincoln and the Founding Fathers; both use the language of the Christian community, gathered round the warmth of the Bible; both are masters of oratory, and successful rhetorical performers in front of their respective audiences. Obama even shares Kings recourse to the figure of anaphora, this time with a phrase which was likewise to achieve outstanding resonance: Yes we can. Yes we can One of the forms taken by the emergence of new communicative technologies now in the service of political discourse is exemplified by the fascinating way in which Obamas slogan was made into a song produced by Will.I.Am (William James Adams), a member of the hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas, who then broadcast his work via YouTube and dipdive.com in February 2008 under the username WeCan08. Obama and his speechwriters were not wholly original in coining the phrase. The direct precedent of the yes we can tagline was Hispanic. In 1972, the Chicano human rights leader Cesar Chavez, who with Dolores Huerta and Philip Vera Cruz founded United Farm Workers, used the slogan Sà ­, se puede, which translates into English as Yes, it can be done. The difference between these two phrasings in English, Chavez and Obamas, has vital rhetorical significance. Yes we can contains a veritable compendium of expressive virtues, from the standpoint of the core idea, or inventio, and in terms of its dispositio and elocutio. More, it is easy to remember, and the speakers actio or performance can readily arouse a collective response, as seen on YouTube: the entire audience put their voices together as a univocal chorus echoing the soloist. The crux, however, is that Chavez slogan was impersonal, whereas Obama transformed it into a form of words unambiguously encompassing the joint will of leader and people, united by that inclusive we. The illocutionary and perlocutionary impact of the slogan can be elucidated by looking back at the tagline used for Dwight Eisenhowers presidential campaign of 1952. A marketing expert, Peter G. Peterson, who later rose to be Richard Nixons Trade Secretary, crafted a phrase which, unlike Obama, Eisenhower for obvious reasons never included in his own speeches, but his followers chanted non-stop; it was touted relentlessly by the whole propagandistic armory of Republican billboards, rosettes, medals, flags, banners, signage and badges. Peterson, the mind behind all this, lighted on General Eisenhowers nickname: Ike. Playing chiefly with the rhetorical figure of alliteration, Peterson tied Ike to the first-person pronoun, I, thus eliciting the speakers full engagement with what he or she was saying. Finally, the third alliterative term, linking the subject-the I instantiating each potential voter-to the object-the candidates nickname, Ike, was a verb with a similar vowel sound: the present indicative of to like. I like Ike became a round declaration by whoever spoke the slogan of his preference in the presidential race. I like Ike: therefore, my vote for the Presidency of the United States goes to Dwight Eisenhower, and no other. Obamas slogan is doubtless more resonant than Eisenhowers, and even more compact. Its three monosyllables make it memorable and give it prosodic, rhythmic and perlocutionary force. In those speeches in which Obama actually spoke the phrase yes we can, his audience would echo the same words, the  meanings of which range over a mass of politically charged domains. The first monosyllable of the tagline has the robustness of the affirmative. The speaker starts with an affirmation, with all that that implies as a positive bid to mobilize. And that yes forthwith engages with an inclusive we, the first-person plural pronoun that embraces both speaker and hearer, unlike Cesar Chavez precedent, yes, it can be done, which, as we have seen, has an impersonal tenor. Finally, the verb can carries power, strength, determination. An audience thus roused by a leader partakes in the meaning of these three monosyllables, which they can readily chant. The import of this is to say, aloud and in unison: We affirm that together we shall achieve our aims, because our combined strength enables us to do so. Rhetorical figures The apostrophe is one of the figures classified in the art of rhetoric as pathetic, in the technical sense that these were devices appropriate to venting the passions. An apostrophe consists in expressly calling upon the audience, in a bid to create the climate for achieving the orators perlocutionary ends. With his yes we can, Obama peremptorily urged his followers to take on and successfully resolve the decisive challenges facing the health of the Republic. Yes we can burst onto the scene of Barack Obamas presidential campaign in the course of his speech at Nashua on January 8, 2008, the night after the New Hampshire Democratic primary, which Obama lost to Hillary Clinton, his main rival. From the standpoint of rhetorical analysis, however, we should look at the full sweep of the future Presidents twelve key speeches, from his candidacy announcement at Springfield on February 10, 2007, to the Victory Speech in Grant Park, Chicago, on November 4, 2008. The first speech to feature Yes we can, the New Hampshire address, was the third of a series that repays consideration as an integrated whole, in so far as, to different degrees and modulated in different ways, it contains the doctrinal message that Obama, as a presidential candidate, sought to convey to the American people. To this end, his speechwriters put in play a vast and powerful arsenal of rhetorical resources. The first text I have chosen ─Obamas announcement that he was to run for President─ is indisputably significant for its inventio, its content, its choice of venue (the Lincoln Memorial, erected on the site where the eponymous former president gave his famous House Divided speech) and its ingenious rhetorical design. Obama draws inspiration from the founders of the Republic to promise what all politicians promise at the start of their campaigns: change. He lists the grave challenges faced by the nation, and deplores the dearth of leadership and the pettiness of politics. In response to these blights and challenges, he ties together a chain of proposals, each starting with the anaphora, Lets be the generation that Lets be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age that ends poverty in America that finally tackles our health care crisis that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil. There are no fewer than six uses of this same form of apostrophe, in which the leader stands shoulder to shoulder with his fellow citizens in the will to be the generation of change. One of these anaphoric devices engages another that already points to the main catchphrase with which we are concerned. We can control costs we can harness homegrown, alternative fuels we can work together to track terrorists down, the speaker continues. One can make out the outlines of the rhetorical blueprint of the whole campaign, which was soon to find its ideal slogan in the Yes we can phrase. At Springfield, when Obama was still one of eight Democratic candidates competing for nomination, he affirmed that there is power in words there is power in conviction. The anaphoric repetition of we can is the antidote to skepticism, of which the speaker is not unaware: I know there are those who dont believe we can do all these things. He, however, does believe it, and his faith is reinforced by the certainty that he is not alone. Hence he makes an urgent call to action: That is why this campaign cant only be about me. It must  be about us, it must be about what we can do together. We cannot know whether at that early stage on the long road that was to take Barack Obama to the White House the yes we can phrase was already in his and his speechwriters minds, but what was present was the belief that together, leader and people, they could. Sparks began to fly at the beginning of the following year. The second text with which we are concerned is Obamas speech on Iowa Caucus night, January 3, 2008. Before the party assembly at Des Moines, the candidate started his short but powerful speech with an announcement of imminent change, a change he was ready to lead. His belief is again expressed in a string of four anaphoric paragraphs: Ill be a President who finally makes health care affordable Ill be a President who ends the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas Ill be a President who [frees] this nation from the tyranny of oil Ill be a President who ends this war in Iraq. The speech concludes with a finely judged rhetorical and emotive gradation. Again using anaphora, the speaker prophesies the moment of change he is confident of achieving with his followers and the American people at large. This was the moment, he says, when America remembered what it means to hope. At this point, Obama and his logographer resort to the rhetorical figure of thought technically termed recriminatio: For many months, weve been teased, even derided for talking about hope, the candidate complains. But, turning the accusation against the original accusers, he reminds us that hope is the bedrock of this nation, an allusion readily grasped by the audience in that it looks to one of the founding myths of the United States. Obama himself embodies the truth of that foundational myth: Hope is what led me here today, with a father from Kenya; a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. The leader uses his own self as a specific model of what he proclaims, enlisting another rhetorical figure already used in that same speech and featuring in several later orations. Hypotyposis or evidentia consists in a detailed description of a specific example that illustrates the speakers argument. Before using  himself as such an example, Obama had evoked several instances of hope for change, which he had read in the eyes of the young woman in Cedar Rapids, whose night shift was not enough to pay health care for her sick sister, or had heard in the voice of the New Hampshire woman whose nephew was fighting in Iraq. This same hope had inspired a handful of colonials to rise up against an empire, and driven the American civil rights movement, led by James Bevel and Martin Lut her King, to march from Selma to Montgomery, in the racist Alabama of the Ku Klux Klan and Governor Wallace. Given these precedents, everything was in place for the candidates third landmark speech, the New Hampshire address at Nashua on January 8, 2008, to bring to light the slogan that was to usher Barack Obama into the White House and become a motto of universal resonance. With admirable rhetorical skill, this speech lays out a range of political arguments-anticipated by earlier speeches-and naturally culminates with the emblematic phrase yes we can, three words which the speaker predicts will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea. Those political propositions herald a change wrought by a new majority that desires to end unaffordable health care, end tax breaks for companies that ship [American] jobs overseas, end schools blighted by corridors of shame, and put a stop to pattern of energy use that harms the planet and humanity. By the figure of speech termed anadiplosis, Obamas oration at Nashua rounds out each of these propositions with a repeated urge that we can, always attributed to the new majority: we can do this with our new majority. His words flow like a cascade until a final apostrophe to the audience arouses the response of a chorus speaking with one voice. Returning to the figure mentioned earlier, recriminatio, the leader places blame on an opposing chorus, the chorus of cynics who insist we cannot do this. Those who deny the possibility of hope in a nation in which hope is never vain: But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. A number of domestic evidentias are then  mentioned: the struggle of the Spartanburg textile worker, the plight of the Las Vegas dishwasher, the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon and the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA. On this rugged foundation that befits the nature of the American people, Barack Obama raises his slogan like a standard, and with the choral approval of his audience he recites the phrase no fewer than nine times, before closing the speech with the final words: yes we can. Once the phrase was firmly coined, Obama did not actually utter it even once in his next speech, a long and closely argued address. This was A More Perfect Union, which Obama gave on March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia, the city which for Americans is something like Cadiz is for us [Spains first democratic constitution was proclaimed in 1812 at Cadiz], for Philadelphia was where the Constitution was enacted on September 17, 1787, twenty-five years before Spains La Pepa. The first sentence of its preamble gives Obamas speech its title, and expresses one of the core ideas of his whole campaign ─the union of all Americans─ but, in particular, it opens with an emphatic We, echoing Yes we can: We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect union do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America. Obama again gives the lie to the naysayers who dismiss his candidature as a mere exercise in affirmative action, but he devotes the lions share of the address to a harsh recriminatio directed against his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose radical invective against the United States, as his reaction to the survival of racial discrimination, had compromised Obamas electoral outlook. The candidate makes use of this sensitive juncture to assert that, for him, too, amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas, [Plato is my friend, but truth is the greater friend]. He publicly professes his religious faith and at the same time evinces an outright rejection of extremism, always confident that America can change, and that only if we do as the Scriptures would have us do ─be brothers to our brothers─  Americans will bring truth to those words of the Constitution as to a more perfect union. To illustrate his argument, nothing could be better than a fresh evidentia: the homely heroism of Ashley Baia, a 23-year-old woman volunteer working for the Obama campaign in Florence, South Carolina. Obama acknowledges having already told this anecdote at an event commemorating Martin Luther King at the Baptist church of Ebenezer, Kings own parish in Atlanta. This display of religious faith-which would be unthinkable in a European politician, for instance-comes to the fore in the next piece I propose to examine: Obamas talk given on Fathers Day, June 15, 2008, at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. As though he himself were in holy orders, Obama begins his speech with a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount, as told by St Matthew. He follows this, again, with a mention of Martin Luther King, and then holds himself out as a statesman and father, advocating the education of his children as a responsibility not only of government officials but also of their own parents. He ends the address by characterizing his words as a prayer or call which he hopes will come true for his country in the years ahead. A specific, chiefly economic theme runs through the immediately subsequent speech, delivered by Obama at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, on June 16. The title tells the story: Renewing American Competitiveness. This was not an occasion for the emotive force of a political harangue, but the candidate nonetheless refers to the Founding Fathers, who, having won independence, created a common market by fusing the economies of the first 13 states. He follows this up with a with a fierce attack on the neoliberal, militaristic and ultraconservative politics of George W. Bush and the Republican Party. In stark opposition to their approach, he proposes as pillars of an economy that is to become more competitive in the globalized world a reinvigorated school system, innovative energy strategies, a more efficient health system and new investment in fundamental research and infrastructure. His closing words, however, point back to the central theme of his campaign: Because when American s come together, there is no destiny too difficult or too distant for us to reach. Ich bin ein Berliner The second-to-last speech that Barack Obama gave in the year in which he won the presidency was also tightly focused on a specific subject, but for that very reason ─and, in particular, because of its venue─ it brings to mind another piece of oratory that has its place among the most memorable ever spoken by a President of the United States in the twentieth century. Obama only revealed his foreign policy blueprint on the occasion of his visit to Berlin, on July 24, 2008. Under the title A World That Stands as One, he sets out his understanding of cultural diversity, national interests, nations and the attitudes of all the worlds peoples. Facing a different audience-not his usual hearers, American electors-he presents himself as a citizen of the United States and fellow citizen of the world. He refers to the responsibility that attaches to global citizenship, and acknowledges that the United States closest ally is still Europe, placing on record his hope that Europe will remain united. In our continent, he says, it is likewise meaningful to invoke that yearning for a more perfect union, in the words of the preamble to the American Constitution, which Obama mentions here in Berlin. In a Berlin riven by the Wall, fraught with the intolerable tension of the Cold War and the partition of Germany, John Fitzgerald Kennedy had roused his German hearers when, on June 11, 1963, he opened his speech, delivered from the steps of the Rathaus Schoneberg, with a seeming paradox, spoken in German: Ich bin ein Berliner (nowhere in the speech was Kennedy to utter the English phrase I am a Berliner). The effect of these words was electrifying: the people of Berlin, besieged and alone in a redoubt of Western democracy behind the Iron Curtain ─an expression popularized by another great modern orator, Winston Churchill─ enthusiastically identified with the president of a power which only 18 years before had driven the Nazi regime to defeat. The audience gladly accepted Kennedys closing argument, in the manner of an epiphonema: All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. Therefore, as a free man, I proudly say these words: Ich  bin ein Berliner. This belated review of a small selection from the oratorical corpus of Barack Hussein Obama, brilliantly crowned by his Victory Speech of November 4, 2008, in Chicagos Grant Park, reveals, among other rhetorical features like those discussed earlier, a consistent theme, developed over the course of the entire process in response to the emerging circumstances of the campaign and the venues of Obamas rallies, in conjunction with an overarching strategy, which scholars of Baroque literature have often characterized as the coming together of two movements: first, the dissemination of arguments; secondly, a complementary gathering of arguments. This is precisely the characteristic tenor of this final oration, the Victory Speech. The President Elect opens with an affirmation of the continuing force of the dream of our Founders and other great men, such as Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, a preacher from Atlanta. Those doubting the dream have finally been put right by American votes. To flesh out this concept of electoral vindication, Obamas logographer again resorts to the figure of anaphora, four times repeating the same clause: Its the answer The answer is change, still the true genius of America. The winning candidate, via the figure of apostrophe, then directly addresses his hearers- whether listening to him in Grant Park itself or by the medium of electromagnetic waves-as the you that has made all this possible. This apostrophe does not disclose a recriminatio, like that which even on this joyous occasion Obama has cast in the direction of the cynics, but a veritable encomium or panegyric of those who have raised him to office, with their donations, their supportive looks and applause, and their votes, which are decisive for Obama to take on challenges as vast as two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. To personify the unanimous people as an individual, he proposes a new evidentia, Ann Nixon Cooper, who that afternoon had stood in line to vote, 106 years of life behind her. The cold shower of reality nonetheless encourages Obama to rebuild the strong  bonds of alliance between President and people invoked by yes we can, the slogan which now, looking forward, takes on the shape of a rhetorical variatio: I promise you, we as a people will get there. YouTube provides a record of how Obamas promise was met by the audiences chorus of yes we can. This was precisely the closing phrase of the entire campaign, at the very moment at which the candidate was invested with the charisma of victory. His speech was again a masterpiece of that effective communicative technology that is none other than ancient rhetoric, as revived in the Internet Galaxy. Today, Obamas speechwriters continue to exploit all the resources of the art of rhetoric, including the play on words that contrasts the interests of Wall Street-the inner sanctuary of capitalism-with those of Main Street, which stands for American towns and small cities, the emblem of the common citizenry.

Comparing the Foreign Policy of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clin

Comparing the Foreign Policy of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton Towards North Korea Since its creation after the Korean War in 1950, North Korea, also known as the Democratic People Republic of Korea (DPRK), has caused many problems for the United States. North Korea has, for instance, broken treaties and even gone so far as to threaten the use of nuclear weapons. Naturally, different presidents have dealt with North Korea in different ways. Take Eisenhower for example, he actually threatened the use of nuclear weapons against North Korea in 1953 (obviously before North Korea had nuclear capabilities). Many presidents ignored North Korea all together, and some tried to ignore the country, but circumstances did not allow it. Two such presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the 42nd and 43rd presidents respectively also tried at the beginning of their tenure as president to ignore the brewing problems in North Korea. Their indifference towards North Korea, however, was cut short, and they were both forced to engage the country early on in their respective admini strations. Their decisions in dealing with North Korea would help to define their early reputations as foreign policy makers. Their circumstances for being drawn into the affairs of North Korea were remarkably different (Clinton getting drawn in because of the threat of nuclear capabilities and Bush getting drawn in because of terrorism) as were their approaches to North Korea. Many similarities can be seen between Bush and Clinton's dealings with North Korea. Clinton started out, as mentioned before, trying to altogether ignore some eminent problems brewing in North Korea. In his Essay "Clinton's Foreign Policy in Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, and North K... ...will not know the full effect of his presidency on North Korea until well after he is out of the White House. Until then, we will have to keep on making intelligent guesses as to where his policy will bring us in the future. Works Cited Dao, James. "Bush Administration Halts Payments to Send Oil to North Korea." New York Times 14 November 2002. Online ed. Hastedt, Glenn P. American Foreign Policy Past Present and Future, 5th ed. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2003. Henirksen, Thomas H. "Clinton's Foreign Policy in Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, and North Korea." Stanford: Stanford University, 1996. Sanger, Daved E. "North Korea Says it has Program on Nuclear Arms." New York Times 17 October 2002, Online ed. Shenon, Philip. "White House Rejects North Korean Offer for Talks." New York Times 4 October 2002, Online ed.